Radio Silence.

More than a couple of days have passed this week without a post. My husband and I came to a conference for his work and it was far more social, scheduled and exhausting than I could have planned. I am now nursing a minor cold - cough drops, ginger tea, and vitamin C have become my best friend. Here is a rapid-fire reply to the past week of questions:

• If you could have anyone over for dinner, who would it be and why?

I would invite Nigella Lawson to come to dinner with me because I think we would have a blast cooking together and making a wonderfully delicious meal! She seems so fun, carefree and I think I would learn a lot about her life journey.

• When do you feel most energized? 

I feel most energized when I am dreaming up new ideas and creating them. Dreaming about potential business ideas, finishing the design for our village home, working on the landscape layout of our garden and listening to inspiring podcasts really fills me up and brings me energy. I also feel energized after having deep and intentional conversations with dear friends.

• Who is someone you need to set boundaries with? How can you go about doing so?

I need to set boundaries with my phone. I recently learned a lot from a book called The Tech-Wise Family which outlined some great thoughts and practical steps for interacting with our technology. I was challenged by the concepts of passive versus active participation and how we do not want to be constantly passively participating with technology. To start, I am finally going to buy an alarm clock ASAP and leave our phone charging stations in the living room.

• How do you feel about winter? What about summer? 

I generally enjoy winter more than summer. I perspire more than the average, therefore, summer can often be full of many embarrassing and sweaty moments. But since dating Salih, I have started to enjoy and appreciate summer activities more. He is such a beach bum and loves the heat. However, for me, there is nothing sweeter than a sunny winter day, layered with sweaters, scarves and lovely warm coats.

• If you could choose a word or theme you want to embody this year, what would it be? 

Gratitude and adventure. The past year was emotional and challenging and I really doubted and catastrophized nearly every aspect of my life (poor Salih). I was definitely going through a quarter-life crisis and learning to be at peace with myself. I think an attitude of gratitude would have really prevented a lot of the pain that was self-inflicted. Salih and I will most likely have a lot of change in 2020. I hope my perspective can shift into an outlook of adventure and gratitude.

• What’s a show you’re watching right now?

Right now, Salih and I are slowly watching Friday Night Lights together. I have seen the series before, nearly six years ago and it was so good that I was excited to watch it again. Even though Salih is Turkish, he is not the biggest soccer fan but he loves American football. So I knew this was going to be a slamdunk, excuse my mix of sports metaphors. Even if you don't love American football, I really think this series is worth watching. The emotions are so real and if captures a very genuine aspect of American culture.

• If you could snap your fingers and have one power, what would it be?

I wish I could connect with nature and accelerate the health of the planet. I would want to help the earth clean itself, filter the ocean, heal from mining disasters, recover from droughts and even grow healthy crops and gardens. Basically, I wish I could help the earth have a powerful voice that would demand respect from the human race. Kind of like this girl from the 2005 movie called Sky High.

• What do you want to leave behind in the new year? 

Self-doubt and judgment - of myself and others. We are all trying to do our best.

Final Question:

Visualize yourself at the end of 2020. What are you most

proud of? What are you happiest about? 

#findyourvoice #writingchallenge #2020vision @letsfindyourvoice