I have been asked, “Do you sleep?” by well meaning friends when they hear about my multiple PA jobs AND my side hustle as a travel advisor for FORA. The thing is, I love sleep. I nap every day when I’m not working (as a PA) and faithfully get 7 hours of sleep a night. So, yes, I sleep.
How do I get my housework done? I have help, from cleaning ladies and an awesome co-parent/husband who understands that my passion for travel necessitates an irregular schedule. The dog goes to daycare once a week so I have time to get the house in order without her underfoot (cute as she is).
Always by my side
One of the pandemic finds I’ve embraced is grocery delivery. I’ve tried most of the services offered in my area, and have settled on Instacart. I’ve found their deliveries to be much quicker (and more available same-day), and I can use a variety of stores, both grocery and otherwise (even Staples). The convenience of having groceries delivered to my door, on my schedule, saves me hours of time per month. It also saves me from making those impulse buys – hello dairy-free ice cream and smartfood popcorn, my latest loves! If you want to save $20 on your instacart order, use my code ABARRACLOUGH1C21BF.
This grocery delivery hack gives me more time to work on my blog and travel advising. Now, I have to place my order so I can make Vegetable Yakisoba from NYT Cooking tonight!
David Malosh: @dmalosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews: @simoncooks
What household hacks have you incorporated to make life easier?
Aaaaand we made it to 2023! Nice work, everyone. Happy New Year to you and yours. Kiss, kiss and all that jazz. Now let’s look at how my travel planning business, Turtle Shell Travel, is progressing.
Let’s Recap
Where we started: Let’s just say Omicron. That kept me busy in January, February, so forth and so on. I diversified my PA work life, now doing a mix of ER, Urgent Care and College Health.
Then the fun began. In February, I signed on with FORA travel to be a travel advisor. I made my first booking in March and planned football weekends for my husband for September and October. Since then, more and more travel planning business has come my way.
I attended the FORA Live Forum in November in Brooklyn and met FORA’s HQ staff and many kind and inspirational advisors on the FORA team. I have to say, we are a chatty bunch. I wish the Forum were twice as long as it was, and look forward to attending the next one in October 2023. We met with suppliers, asked questions, shared ideas. I started my FORA newsletter and grew my mailing list. Stayed at the Hoxton in Brooklyn and cannot wait to return!
Hoxton Lobby: perfect for co-working or meeting up with friends
I learned that a travel advisor is just a modern name for a travel agent (think rebranding). My biggest booking to date has been to Jamaica. And my Guide to a Girl’s Getaway in Portland, Maine as one of FORA’s Top 22 advisor-curated Travel Guides of 2022. Living in a destination city has been such an inspiration for my travel work, and I love any opportunity to share travel ideas in and around Maine. This past week, I even planned a breakfast meeting for a local business at a local hotel restaurant. I love connecting people with great experiences.
Personally, I’ve enjoyed family time, friend time, cousin time, and more family time. All the things that make a year a great memory. It’s been a collection of great car rides with music from WCLZ. Great times up at Bowdoin, and lots of time walking with the dog. And of course, always snacks. It’s not pictured here, but Dunkin’ Donuts has been a frequent stop on my way to and fro. But Starbucks is a close second.
What’s up for 2023? I plan to make a splash on LinkedIn … connect with me here. I’ll continue my newsletter and book more great trips for clients. Pinterest is my new obsession – creating pins and using their marketing tools. Check out my Instagram stories to see my view from the front porch, pics of the dog and my morning mood on my commute.
I plan to finally take that train trip to South Carolina, Mississippi and New Orleans. And you’ll probably find me in a window seat or two writing in my journal. I’ve have United Silver and American Gold status for 2023, so I’m hoping all of my seats will have lots of leg room.
I hope you have great plans, too. Over the past 2 years, I’ve learned the that you can’t predict the future. Control is nearly impossible with most things. So you must trust the unfolding of each day. I’m happy I get to do this with you. What are you looking forward to in 2023?
