Motivation

So pumped to announce I officially start a dream job today! So I would say that is my #1 motivation to ring in this awesome NEW YEAR! Happy 2017 again and again!

As you may know I have been working as a Zipline Guide with Skyline Eco-Adventures for over two months now. You may not know that today I officially transitioned to the role of Social Media Strategist with the company! This role is the first full-time social media role for the company and I am SO excited to dive in and promote our amazing brand!

Sooo you should probably be following us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter if you are not already! Pinterest and Snapchat coming soon 😉

We will also be adding our blog to our site. I will be responsible for writing the content for the blog posts and could not be more honored. Stay tuned!

Since we have courses on Kauai and the Big Island I will have the opportunity to island hop – so excited! Each of our courses are very unique so it will be helpful to zip them first-hand and get to know the other guides and employees on the other islands.

I am most excited to expand on the amazing content we have and the 3 Cs we stand for:

– Community
– Culture
– Conservation

Because of this new role I will finally get to attend my DREAM conference – Social Media Marketing World – in San Diego in March. Can I just say I am FREAKING out at the opportunity to network and learn from the best of the best. I know the information I absorb and learn will be incredibly valuable for Skyline (and I’m sure I will learn a bit for Four Season Fit too!). There will also be SO many social media nerds there and I cannot wait to collaborate with them. #SMMW17 babay.

Feeling thankful to combine my passions for social media, blogging, travel, writing, photography, and adventure all for a company I feel 100% good about promoting.

Yah – perfect for me, right? What has you motivated this week? Comment below and use #mymondaymotivator in any social posts.

I’ll be tracking your progress

Another big year. I took 2016 to really focus on ME. And that I did. Between handling nine different jobs, multiple athletic events, and two huge moves – it was – epic.

*Picture warning: this post contains a few. You were warned*

January
– Snowboarding/skiing with dad on his birthday

– Lifetime Fitness Indoor Tri

– Traveled to Maui for the Aalto wedding



– After wedding did first solo vacation in Maui


– Won big in BINGO

February
– Re-branded blog

– Invested in a nice camera and took classes at National Camera Exchange

– Snowboarding

– Mitra’s birthday

– Pizza with Coeur Ladies

– Received 2016 Coeur Tri Kit

– Moved to Colorado

March
– Biking with Coeur teammate

– Roadtrip to Vail to visit friend



– Landed job at ViewHouse

– Experienced a pool day and a snow storm within a few days. Oh Colorado weather!


– Amsberry Engagement party at Avanti (happened to by St. Patrick’s Day too!)

– Joined RMTC

– Landed job at Orangetheory Fitness

– Snowboarding at Keystone

April
– Rockies Home Opener

– Manitou Incline


– Hanging Lake

– Moab Tri Camp with RMTC




– Glenwood Hot Springs

– Snowboarding at Arapahoe Basin (A-Basin)

May
– Landed Marketing role at Full Cycle

– Became a Fitness Coach with OTF

– BOLDERBoulder10k

June
– Minnesota Trip Home

– Ironman 70.3 Boulder


– Pool Recovery Day

– Denver Sports Recovery

– Biked Sloan’s Lake


– Hiked Flatirons Vista (Boulder)

– Denver Polo Classic

– Hiked Mesa Trail

July
– Biked Lookout Mountain

– Hiked Eldorado Canyon

– Frisco for 4th of July



– Met Lindsey

– Toe surgery

– Fitness on the Rocks


– Hiked Royal Arch

– Tubing in Clear Creek

August
– Hiked and swam in Eldorado Canyon

– Hiked 1st 14er (Bierstadt)


– Top Golf with OTF

– Checked out Horsetooth Reservoir

– Volunteered at Ironman Boulder


– Tubing in Boulder Creek

– Camping in Mammoth Gulch

– Hiked Lost Lake Trail

– Biked Vail Pass

– bRUnch 5k at Postino

– Rockies/Cubs game

– Training in Frisco

– Minnesota trip home

September
– Family goodbye dinner

– Riot Fest

– Boating Boulder Res on Labor Day


– Taught last class at OTF “Hawaiian-themed”

– 106 West Dillon

– OAR concert at Red Rocks

– Moved to Hawaii (CO to IA to MN to CA to HI)

October
– First experience to Little Beach on Sundays

– Ironman World Championship on the Big Island



– Landed jobs at Body in Balance and Skyline Eco-Adventures


– First acai bowl

– SUPing in Kihei

– Snorkeling at Makena Landing

– Surfing at The Cove

– Put bike back together at Maui Cyclery and explored Paia

– First Maui bike ride

– Hiking at Olowalu Petroglyphs

– Kiteboarding

– First snorkel boat trip on Alli Nui


– Xterra World Championships

– Blacklight yoga

– Babraham Lincoln Halloween

November
– 2nd Alli Nui trip

– Zip for the Trees


– Twin Falls

– Bamboo Forest Hike

– Friendsgiving

December
– Sip and Paint at Island Art Party

– Maui Winery

– Hiking Wailuku Heights

– Skyline holiday party at Mulligan’s

– Friends’ holiday party

– ‘Ulalena show with the Skyline crew

– Christmas Eve camping

– Family Christmas gifts

– New Year’s Eve

Wonder what adventures await for me in 2017?!

I must admit – I have been a very bad blogger. If there was a Santa for bloggers I would have gotten all sorts of coal. I feel like I’ve gone in these spurts before where I am not consistent. I put too much pressure on myself. I am pretty anal when it comes to crafting compelling blog posts and if I’m not feeling it or it doesn’t live up to par – I divert. I am ALL about quality over quantity but alas one MUST be consistent with blogging or no one will trust in the consistency of coming back for more.

There are so many ideas roaming around in my brain. But my main goal for 2017 is remaining consistent. I would ideally like to post at least 2-3 times per week but I am going to start with at least once/week – every Monday.

My Monday Motivator series will be about recognizing accomplishments, What I’m thankful for/looking forward to, important/influential people in my life. You get the idea

Some of the topics I will include are:

Career

Passions – photography, boarding, hiking

Group fitness

Social media

Triathlon

Adventure

Traveling

I look forward to posting every Monday with what is keeping me motivated that week! Hoping to stir up motivation in others as well as learn what keeps others motivated!

Being a tourist in Maui and actually living in Maui are SOOO different. When I visited Maui last January I knew I was only here temporarily. I go a lil nuts on vacation! I want to do and see everything! Adventure, restaurants, activities, locals – you name it I want to experience the best of what the area has to offer.

But my mindset has been completely different now that I know I am gonna be here for a bit. Being smart with money is a real factor to surviving and lasting here. You don’t see locals living it up like a temporary tourist does. It’s just not possible. I spose unless you are rollin in the dough (not me ha).

There really isn’t a “one stop shop” for everything you need in Maui. People go to _ for _ but then they know to go to _ instead for _, and so on. It helps that many places give a discount to locals but you still need to be smart about where to go for what.

The following is what I have noticed so far for cheap go-to options:

Costco

– Gas: about $1 cheaper per gallon than anywhere else! Even if you never go IN the store the membership is worth the gas savings long-term. Because of this there is typically always a long line. *Tip – it doesn’t matter what side your gas tank is on. You can go to either side as there is a hose extender to reach to the other side. No waiting saves time!
– Bulk items

Walmart – I know I know. I’m a MN gal and Target will always be my #1. I’ve never liked Walmart. But this one is the exception. Clean and cheap. Works for me! #islandlife

– Plastic bins for clothes and accessories
– Toiletries
– Groceries

Target – Oh my main squeeze! Not as good of prices as the mainland (obviously) but still worth the trip.

– Groceries
– No bags! – You have to pay $.95/bag so be prepared to bring bags! This goes for many stores on the island but I just didn’t expect that from Target!

Saver’s

– Clothes hangers – $1.99 for 12 (great deal here!)

Ross

– Laundry basket
– NOT clothes hangers – $7.99 for 10 (rip off!)
– Clothes for cheap (just need to sift)

Craigslist

– Housing: the #1 way to find a place to lay your head at night. Most every listing uses this site. And you can filter by price to hopefully find your gem within your budget. What I wound up doing is splitting a 1BR with a friend on a month-to-month lease to make it work in the beginning. You do what ya gotta do!
– Jobs: obviously having a income is essential to surviving. Craigslist is actually the go-to place for finding and landing a job! In fact – I found all my job opportunities on this site alone! Very different from the mainland indeed!
– Any and everything!

Amazon/eBay


– These online options are still valid for Hawaii. Would be ideal to have Amazon Prime for the free shipping though!

Safeway/Whole Foods

– Ha juuust kidding. These are more luxury and expensive options that should be avoided unless absolutely necessary (especially Whole Foods) maybe one day I can shop there!

Maui Virtual Garage Sale (Facebook group)
– People sell any and everything…and for pretty darn cheap!

Hope these shopping tips help you out. Even if you don’t live ON Maui just know there are options to make your dreams come true – even in an expensive paradise

When I first starting actually considering moving to Hawaii I was very excited – and overwhelmed. All of the logistics and details that go in to moving across an ocean are quite daunting. But TOTALLY doable! Heck – I just made it happen

The following are travel tips and things to consider when moving across an ocean. This info is based on my personal move from Minnesota to Hawaii.

Car

1. The Big Car Decision

First thing’s first – I had to decide:

– Buy a car when I get there. I’ve done a ton of research and buying a car in Hawaii is extremely expensive (of course). Not many options so it is what it is. The cars also tend not to be as reliable. Between shady car dealers and the ocean salt air I’ve heard of multiple instances of these “reliable” cars breaking down. More money gone. Decision = NO.
– Screw that I’ll just bike everywhere! Yah – not happenin. As much as I’d love to be eco-friendly, save money on gas, and get super bike fit (ha) it just isn’t practical for me on Maui. I need to be able to get around for work (wherever that is) but also I want to be able to go on adventures all over the island. I mean – kinda the point of living in paradise riiight? Decision = NO.
– Bring my own car. Since I was coming from Minnesota it was not as easy as living near LA, Seattle or any other port where you can easily put your car on the ship. Kinda annoying to drive 30 HOURS from Minnesota to Cali but the peace of mind of knowing I have a reliable car wins. Decision = YES!

2. My Shipping Mate

When I knew I was shipping my car the next step was – who to go with?!

Gosh that darn Internet is the best, isn’t it (said in my thickest MN accent of course)? Research, research, research. And Yelp reviews! Once I narrowed down my options of potential shipping companies it was time to contact them and get quotes. I was able to quote my lowest price and see if the next could beat it. Wound up getting myself a fairly decent deal with Coastal Auto Shipping (a Matson company)! The research effort was worth it!

3. Setting Sail

When I knew who my carrier was I had to know how often the ship sets sail and therefore when I need to drop my car off at the port. But – at the same time I had to consider my flight…

Flight

1. Timing

I knew I wanted to be in Maui BY October 1st because I was set on spectating at Ironman World Championship in Kona Sat October 8th. Since this inspiring event is on the Big Island I wanted to give myself some time to get organized before hopping to a different island.

2. Track Prices

I started tracking flight prices from LAX to OGG (Kahului, Maui) anytime from Sept 27-Oct 1. Being flexible by providing a range helps you to find the very best deal possible. And I’d say $269 for a one-way Delta flight to Hawaii is not bad. Go me

Car to Port

1. More Logistics

So the flight was set for Friday, September 30th (weehoo I got here even before my goal of Oct 1!) and with this date in mind I had to have my car to the port by Sept 28. Noted.

2. The Roadtrip

My amazing parents offered to partake in my crazy, 30 hour journey to Los Angeles and of course I said YES! It’s a good thing my dad is a licenced car dealer and found a good deal on a new car at an auction in Riverside, California. They picked the car up there and drove that on the way home. Perfect!

In order to get there in time (and not kill ourselves doing so) we decided to leave Fri, Sept 23 to play it safe. And man did we have a blast along the way. I’ll need a whole other blog post to go in to detail 😉

Cokato, MN > Ogallala, NE > Grand Junction, CO > Las Vegas, NV > Riverside/Long Beach/Anaheim, CA > Redondo/Hermosa/Manhattan Beach!

“Things” of Importance

1. Shipping a Bike

I knew I definitely wanted my bike but toyed with where to actually ship it from. I was actually living in Colorado before the big move and helping with marketing for Full Cycle, a bike shop in Boulder. The fellas there are awesome and offer to package up the bike safely for a good price. Sooo the decision was actually pretty simple. Shipped straight to Maui without having to haul it back to Minnesota and/or on the road trip all the way to LA.

2. Clothes/Stuff

At first I thought “Well – I’ll just fit a crap ton of stuff into my car!” Um – no. Has to be completely empty to ship. There goes that brilliant idea.

The car shipping companies also have crates to ship your stuff. Got quotes from everyone and the cheapest was $1,400 for the smallest! Um what?! So I concluded the ONLY reason you would do that is if you’re stinkin rich and bringing all your furniture and big stuff like a crazy person. Or I guess a family if you can split that space and bring everything you need. But a single, solo mover – NO!

I wound up bringing the two allowed carry-ons and checked four pieces of luggage. Now it does add up as two of the bags were super large and well over 50 lbs but it never totaled near the $1,400 cost for a shipping crate. BOOM!

Hope you got some solid advice and relief from the above tips. I KNOW you can make your dream of living in paradise (or wherever) happen! Happy to help answer more specific questions if ya got them. Simply comment below or email fourseasonfit@gmail.com and I’ll try to elaborate!

Stay tuned for tips on how to approach the daunting “to do” list once you actually get to your destination. Living arrangements, job opportunities, getting your bearings, etc!

(P.S. I cannot freaking figure out why most of my images are tiny now. Didn’t change up a thing. Any ideas?! Grr.)