SabbaticalScapes

Hi All!

Well over 30 countries ago, I took a step of faith to travel the world and live life to the fullest.  To date, the adventure has slowed down a bit but it has not stopped!  I found a great deal this spring which took me on a 5 day cruise out of Galveston to Progresso (Merida) and Cozumel, Mexico…plus a few relaxing days at sea.  All for $282!!

The ship was nice, the food was great, and it was the perfect getaway to celebrate my Mom’s birthday.  In addition, this trip was just what I needed to rewire, revamp, and just reconnect after spending my time writing, researching, and searching for my next career opportunity.  Coupled with a short jaunt to Phoenix a few weeks ago, summer is off to a great start!

What about you?  This is the perfect time to GETAWAY!! Any summer travel plans yet?

One thing that resonates within me is that it is ok to…Do something different, Go some place new, Put on a new perspective, or just Change your daily routine.  It is all about the experience…just Go!  Where will your dreams take you?

“Do something today that your future self will thank you for” – Joel Osteen

The Passport Party Project stopped in Austin on March 3, 2012.  With sponsorship from Expedia, the goal of the project is to gift 100 girls from age 11 – 15 with their very first passports by April 2013.  The project will stop in various cities, bringing together 10 girls for a day of travel related activities, fun, and getting their passport applications ready for submission.  So when the project founder Tracey Friley invited me to volunteer, I knew I had to be there for the party!

Driving from Houston to the Miracle Foundation in Austin, my mom and I hit the ground running.  Having only connected with Friley by social media, it was a pleasure to meet her in person.  After catching up, I immediately extended an offer to help get things together for the day.  Shortly thereafter, the girls started to arrive.

The girls were soo excited!!  They began the day perusing magazines for pictures that represented places they wanted to go and things they wanted to do.  Placing the pictures on a luggage shaped cardboard cutout, the girls had made their very own vision boards.  While creating their vision boards, Friley and the volunteers, Shelly Seale, Julie George, Iris Petitt, Melissa Sustaita, and myself, had the opportunity to share travel stories and adventures.

The day continued as the girls had a blast playing dress up with travel attire from around the world.  It was amazing to see the joy and happiness on their faces as the costumes actually brought out their excitement to travel even more!  After a nice lunch, the girls each had their chance in the photo booth to take their passport photos.  Several girls even won prizes such as an HD flip camera from Friley, a travel-themed children’s book from Hartlyn Kids, and a custom made map necklace from Paper and Place!”

As the day came to a close, it was evident that the party was a huge success!  The smiles on the faces of the girls were such an inspiration.  It has been said that nobody can do everything, but everybody can do something. With that said, Friley has definitely done something!

 “The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.” Saint Augustine

Happy Travels!!

~A

Have you heard about the Freedom Riders?  In spite of threats, imprisonment, and beatings, groups of courageous Americans journeyed through the South on buses in effort to segregate the South in 1961.  I must say that I was totally unaware of this important part of our American history.  

Taking a deeper look into the people and the times, award winning film maker Stanley Nelson’s powerful documentary airs on American Experience May 16^th on PBS.  Students have also been invited to “Get on the Bus” to retrace the journeys and to blog about the experience. 

In a special event held at Houston PBS studios, I had the honor of meeting Mr. Nelson and hearing from a panel of original Houston Freedom Riders.  The Houston Defender newspaper was also on hand covering the event.  Click here and you will see a familiar face – http://www.defendernetwork.com/freedom-riders/.

“We were past fear.  If we were going to die, we were gonna die, but we can’t stop.”   ~ Rider Joan Trumpauer-Mulholland.

I won!!  In a contest sponsored by Carnival Cruise Lines, I won a spot as a face on their billboard campaign.  Woo Hoo!!Since one of the billboards is located in Conroe, we had to take a roadtrip to see it.  Click the photo to see me in action!!

Inspiration – “Focus on where you want to go, not on what you fear” – Anthony Robbins

Be blessed!

~A

The other day I did something that I never thought I would actually muster up the courage to do. After many flights and fantasizing about how cool it would be to fly a plane, I got the opportunity to do it!!

After a safety check and review, I climbed aboard the Cessna 172 eager for adventure.  As co-pilot with my trainer and pilot Thad, I maneuvered the craft over the skies of west Houston overlooking downtown and Williams Tower. Although I was nervous, Thad was actually comfortable as I took control…Okay, it was only for about 15 minutes, but it was exhilarating!! As I check this adventure off my Life List, I am actually considering getting my pilot’s license in the future.

Has anyone else had flight lessons or earned their license? Let me hear about your experience.

Also, I was so excited to be featured as a case study earlier this year on the Vagabonding website.  Here is the link in case you missed it http://www.vagablogging.net/vagabonding-case-study-angela-petitt.html.

 Keep checking in…Always more to come!

Inspiration – Don’t wait to realize you shouldn’t have waited!

Photography, or at least taking pictures, has always been one of my favorite things to do.  I love my Nikon!!  But generally, after all the photos I have taken on all my journeys, I basically just use the point and shoot capabilities.  So, when I saw the groupon offering a great deal on a Val Westover photo workshop, I didn’t hesitate to purchase.  

The hotel venue was packed!!  Honestly, I wasn’t expecting that at all.  The workshop started off with a lecture that well covered the essentials of camera operations and capturing true emotion.  Then, after a break, most participants met up in Uptown Park for a hands-on shooting “safari”.  As an extra bonus,  I actually got a chance to meet and talk a bit with Val when I ran into him and his team at Pot Belly’s during the lunch break.  I really had a lot of questions, but couldn’t think of any one of them at that particular point…go figure LOL!!

I must say that the hands-on safari portion nailed it for me and several others.  It made all the difference to have the lecture coupled with the practical application of trying out what we learned.  Otherwise, I would still be in point and shoot mode.

Today was a beautiful day and a real treat in getting to use my camera in a fuller capacity. Val and Stephanie were great, very personable, and extremely helpful.  They know their stuff!!   Oh yeah, afterwards I rewarded myself with Walnut pecan apple pie from McCormick’s and Schmick’s!!

Inspiration – If there is a good thing about photography, it is that it can be easily enjoyed. – Lord Snowdon

Happy Snappin’!!

Blessings!

~A

Filled with diverse cultures, haute shopping venues, and really good restaurants, Houston is such a fabulous place to live. But, these are not the only reasons I love my city. Being home to several “mega-churches”, I am so excited about the many faith based opportunities around town.

Lakewood Church

Victoria Osteen and Angie

Known as the church with the smiling preacher, Lakewood Church is the largest church in America. With that said, it has many ministries to fit every season of life.  Needless to say, I have been blessed by this ministry for many years.  Last week was no different.  I attended the League of Professional Women to hear Victoria Osteen. She was warm, motivating, gracious, authentic, and just absolutely wonderful!  Her message was to stay anchored to God.  Sometimes we can’t define what it is on the inside, but we know there is more.  Dig deep on the inside to see what God wants to do. Furthermore, a dream is bigger than a job. It is a successful life.  What a great night!

Second Baptist

On the west side of town, I went to the Table Tapestry Ladies Fellowship at Second Baptist.  This is an annual event where ladies elaborately decorate dinner tables, worship, and fellowship.  I must admit, I wasn’t interested when I first heard about it. But at the last minute, my neighbor Celia had to work and gave me her ticket.  I had a blast!! Those tables were decorated in ways I had never seen before.  They were creative and stylish…go figure.

Along with pasta and salad, Jenni Mccollum spoke about identifying our cheap substitutions for God and the futility of running after them (John 4:14).  We then had special music and an opportunity to fellowship. Of course, I didn’t know anyone. But, Celia personally escorted and  introduced me to the ladies at the table. It was such a pleasure meeting  everyone, especially Gabrielle.  She is a young aspiring model and actress doing some exciting things.  Look out for her. I am sure we will be seeing her on tv and in print soon! Good luck Gabrielle!! Her mom Marcia Greene was actually the hostess, with Lita and Diane rounding out our table. 

Memorial Drive

In the Memorial area, Memorial Drive Presbyterian had a FaithWalking conference. Like me, you are probably asking -What is FaithWalking? Well, it is a program sponsored by Mission Houston that equips leaders to help those in need and also works toward the spiritual and social transformation of our community.  What impressed me the most was how the leaders in the program were really impacting the lives of those in need.  Good stuff!

To make the day even better,  a limited amount of free dinner tickets became available. Knowing how much I love

FaithWalking Table #17

 to eat, I raced to the table to get one.  My new friend Louise invited me to sit at her table. I had such a good time getting to know everyone! It amazes me that I walked into the conference not knowing anyone. By the time I left, I had several new friends.   

Inspiration – I stepped out of my comfort zone and was rewarded with an experience of a lifetime.  Get out of the boat and let your adventure begin.  

Be blessed!

~A

Hi All!!

One thing I determined to do while on sabbatical was to embark on new opportunities and activities.  So far, I have zip lined in Cabo, snorkeled and played with monkeys in Roatan, been caught in a sandstorm in Egypt, and attempted horseback riding here on Texan soil.  In addition, I took  golf lessons and fell in love with the game..or at least what little I do know about the game – LOL!!

So, it was right up my alley when I saw the Women on Course Luncheon event notice. This organization is all about the golf lifestyle – the game, the fun, the travel, the networking, and most of all, the relationships. I had to be there!!  

Mmmm…who could I get to go with me?  I wanted someone to share my joy – Ahh haa…At that moment, I immediately contacted my savvy friend Dr. Laureen Wishom.  She is an award-winning success coach, strategist, entrepreneur and author.  Since she is all about promoting women, I knew she would be interested.

The luncheon was FABULOUS!!! It was held at woman-owned Fleming’s this past Saturday afternoon. The agenda included a fashion show, financial tips, food, and fun.  I met so many wonderful women like Iman Houston, who “worked it” as one of the fashion show models. Her mom, Ty, appropriately coined the term New Energy to describe the joyous and excited atmosphere that was created by new relationships being formed during the event. 

Oh, I want to mention that Sandy Castillo shared such an amazing healing story (can’t wait for the book)! I was also very much delighted to meet Meredith Raine, Stephani Tipton, Susan Kramer, Denise Marks, and Jane Seaman.  We were all pleasantly surprised and energized with all the great conversations going on between like-minded women. 

On the way out, it seemed like no one wanted to leave. We were all still talking, laughing, networking, and trying to decide what size/color jacket we wanted as our membership gift. It was at this point that I met Susan Deison, Connie Warner and her sister Linda Peck, who was visiting from California.  Although a golfer for many years, I talked Connie into signing up for membership as well.  This was definitely an awesome way to spend the afternoon.  We all had a great time and left with high expectations for the upcoming events.

Thanks Leslie Devitz, Shelley, Shirley, and Women on Course !!

Inspiration – Don’t limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far as your mind lets you. What you believe, remember, you can achieve.  Mary Kay Ash

Be blessed beyond measure!!

-A