Travel Dreaming: Africa

My goal in life is to just continually travel the globe, so if anyone has any amazing ideas on how to make that a possibility, let me know.

Until then, I'll just keep compiling "dream lists" so that I know where to go when a ton of money falls into my lap.

I've been obsessed with Egypt since I was a small child. I would pour over my mom's old National Geographic magazines and look for anything Egypt related. It's also a dream of mine to come face to face with a lion in the wild. And since it's a dream, the lion would curl up at my feet and pur while I pet its mane.

Look at his face. He wouldn't hurt anyone.

Without further ado, here are the places that I would most like to visit in Africa:

The Pyramids at Giza

Tombs, tunnels, ancient everything. Sign me up.

Victoria Falls

Gorgeous, right? However, I will neverevereverever swim in the pool area on top of the falls. Who was the first person that was like, "hey, let's see if there's a spot on top of this gigantic waterfall where we don't plunge to our death?" How much trouble shooting went into that? "Well, that obviously wasn't the spot..."

Mount Kilimanjaro

Stunning. And how awesome would it be at a mountain that has giraffes around it?

Morocco

The colors. The markets. The architecture.

I just want to spend a month there and soak in everything.

Cape Town

I'd be lying if I said that one of the main reasons I want to visit this city is so that I can go on a Great White shark tour.

Oh, and it's gorgeous.

I'm sure there are countless places in Africa that are incredible and breathtaking, so that is why you should tell me what places I need to add to my list. Have any of you visited Africa?

I'm a Sucker for a Theme Party

Anyone who has spent more than one hour with me knows that I love theme parties.

I mean, what's not to love? You get to dress up, bake food, eat food, and hang out with awesome people with a theme.

It's just the best.

My friends and I have had some incredible parties, if I do say so myself.

Michael Jackson Day, Harry Potter Day, 80's Night, Waiting For Guffman Night, 90's Night, Back to School, Mardi Gras, Oscar parties, Zelda Day, 30 Rock Day, and Ron Swanson Night just to name a few.

Jo and I used to host X-Files Marathons, but unfortunately those took place before the day I got a digital camera. But, the names speak for themselves: X-Mas Files (at Christmas), HeX-Files (at Halloween), ThanX-Files (at Thanksgiving), MeX-Files (for Cinco de Mayo), Eggs-Files (at Easter). I feel like there were more, but my memory is already fading.

I am currently dying to have a Mad Men night. Who doesn't want to dress up like Joan and have a bunch of Don Drapers walking around?

So, who's coming to Mad Men night?

Highs / Lows

High: I've been house sitting a lot lately. This is always fun, because basically it means that I get to live vicariously through another family that has a bigger house than I do. It also helps if they have a pool.

Low: Since I pack as sparingly as possible when I house sit, I have basically been cycling through the same 2 necklaces, 2 pairs of earrings, and 5 dresses since July 6th. (Don't worry, I wash the dresses). However, I am looking forward to the end of August when I can move back home and start incorporating more into my wardrobe.

High: The Olympics took place. It was an exciting time that included, but was not limited to, the Fab Five's win, Team USA's gold in Basketball, Lochte's tweets, Missy Franklin's all-american-ness, and Mustafina's face. She will cut you.

Low: The Olympics ended. It's true. All good things must come to an end, I suppose. However, the silver lining in this is that in two years they will be back again. And they'll be in Russia!

High: It's SHARK WEEK. An entire week that is devoted to one of my favorite apex predators. Now we just need a saltwater crocodile week (hello, death roll), and a komodo dragon week. (I would also accept a Big Cat Week, which I think might already exist, and a Snake Week, even though I'd have to close my eyes a lot for that)

Low: I didn't go cage diving with Great Whites this year. Maybe next year.

Apparently I'm Predictable

Either I’m the most predictable person in the world or my friends just know me very, very well. Or maybe I just have very specific interests. Or maybe I talk too much?It’s probably a combination of all of those things.

If Anne of Green Gables (or Gone With the Wind. Or You’ve Got Mail) is on TV, at least one person will text me which channel it’s on.

If something happened with Jay-Z, Beyonce, or Kanye, I will inevitably receive a handful of tweets/Facebook posts/texts about whatever happened.
I’m always notified if there have been more shark attacks than usual, or there was a crocodile attack, or they found a man-eating lion (basically, anything apex predator related).

If a documentary about a serial killer is on TV, I’ll get at least one text telling me to turn on the TV.
It’s kind of the best thing ever. I suppose I do the same thing to my friends when something reminds me of them. It all works out.
What pop culture/newsworthy items do you get texts and alerts from friends about?

Update: I literally just received some picture texts from my parents of some sharks they just saw get reeled in off the coast of St. Simon’s Island, GA. They know me well.