5 tips to have a good night and sleep well

Hello you guys!

I thought I would share with you what I do to have a better night of sleep and also how to go to bed more relaxed, helping your body realize that is time to slow down and go to bed.


1.Take a warm shower/bath. You can use bath salts and oils or you favorite bath bomb, try to use products with a soothing calm smell like lavender.

I like to use in my baths Epsom Salt and a few drops of Lavender Essencial oil, and then whatever bubble soap I have in hand, I also make sure the water is warm and nice, I will grab a book or put some relaxing songs and spend a half hour there just letting my body and mind relax after a long day.

2. Dim the lights or use a Himalayan Salt lamp, just make sure it's a warm-color light, that way your body is triggered to release melatonin, the hormone that helps regulate sleep. 

3. Turn off you cellphone, if you can't turn it off at least make sure that it's on silent and then put it away from your bed. No calls, texting, snapchat, facebook, nothing. 

Having your cellphone with you all the time specially close to the time you go to bed makes you focus on answering messages and checking facebook, instagram, twitter, snapchat and what not, so to resist the urge just put it away and go do something that doesn't envolve your phone, you will be surprised to realize how much you can do, and how much time you actually have but didn't realize till now cause you were buried in your phone. 

The best thing I did was to unplug one night a few months ago. I was tired and my sleep was totally messed up, so I decided to turn off my phone, I told my mom so she wouldn't get worried in case she called, and I did not touch my phone till morning. I had such a good night, I did watch some tv for like half hour then I got bored and started to read, which I always complained I didn't have time for, but in reality I just wasted I lot of time on my phone instead of reading. I also did some catching up on my planner (paper planer), brushed my teeth, meditated in bed, and before 12:00AM I was ready to sleep. 

4. On the same note as turning off your phone is: avoid electronics altogether, because the light on it is so bright that makes your body understand that is not time to sleep therefore it doesn't release melatonin as it should. As I said above you find so many things to do once you disconnect, you might even just go straight to sleep, which your body will thank you. 

5. Make a list of the things you're grateful for, it can be on an actual paper or just mental.

Just take some time to acknowledge all the things you have in life, as simple as your bed, food, life itself, the people that love you, a job, health, it will put you in a greater mood, and the more grateful you are the better life gets because you won't take it for granted. 

Well, those are the things I try to do as often as I can, but I won't lie and say that I do it successfully every night, but I hope you do... and then tell how it works for you :)

Much love, 

Carry on girl 

How to work while traveling

There are many possibilities out there to work and travel at the same time, all of them require that you have discipline while planing and saving for that period but all of them are totally possible and really fun. 
I will try to give you guys some tips on programs for that purpose, and then you can decide for yourself which one works best.

WWOOF - Well, this is one of my favorites because of how they approach the experience, they are a worldwide movement where you volunteer to help on organic farms wherever you would like, it's a non-monetary exchange, which means you don't get paid... but WAIT, your "payment" would be accommodations and food in the farm where you're volunteering, how cool is that?! So while you're traveling, you're learning all about organic products and you're helping people, meeting people, traveling while not having to worry about rent and such, but be advised that you do have to pay for your traveling costs and means to get to and from your destination.

 I haven't got the opportunity to do this myself yet, but it's definitely on my list in the future, I grew up in  a farm till I was 13 years old, so the idea of traveling and learning all about organic farms makes me happy :) 

Au Pair Program - I can't say I know EVERYTHING about it, but I'm pretty close... I was an Au Pair for 2 years in the U.S. in Boston to be more specific. In this program you will work with kids, you take care of them in their house, and you live with the family and they pay you weekly. The program is regulated by the government so the pay is standard and you need an agency to apply for it.
Requirements:

• Intermediate English
• At least 200 hours of experience with kids
•  At least 18 years old
• Valid drivers license. 
• Clean criminal record 

It's one of the cheapest ways I know to live for a extended period of time abroad working and get paid to do so, you can also study, and you live with the family you work for providing childcare, which means you don't have to pay rent or food. 

I won't lie to you and say that is easy and all butterflies and sunshine cause it isn't. It's hard sometimes, you struggle, you will cry cause you miss your family and home, you will get frustrated with the language, you will laugh SO MUCH at yourself with the silly mistakes you make, but, oh Gosh, it's the best experience in the world, because you don't go through that with no purpose, you learn so much, you grow as a person, you get to know yourself, you travel, you make friends, you experience life, you party, you find your limits and boundaries... I know what you might be thinking:  "but I already know that"... Trust me when I say this out of love: YOU DON'T! 

When I got in that plane on September 2013 I was one girl, I had ideas and expectations, I was sure I was so mature and independent for my age, which I was for many reasons but I had no idea I had so much more to grow, learn, fall, and conquer in life.

Today, almost 3 years later I am the person I would be at 28 years old or something like that because I got so much out of those 2 years living in another country, another language, different culture, habits, people... I didn't have my mom one hour away, I had to live with the family I worked for, I had to learn to drive, shop, speak in a totally different environment, and it was worth every second of it.

I'm so proud of myself for taking that step and for all the mistakes I made, because I got to build this strong and truly independent woman that I am today, and although I have so much to learn I know I have a much more clear view of the world to do so. I fell in love with the kids that I took care of, they are my world till this day and they will always be, the families I worked for are my friends and I love them like my own family and those bonds we created are beautiful memories today.

B E S T experience of my life! :) 

P.s. I can make a post talking just about the Au Pair with  more information if you guys would like, just let me know in the comments. 


Working on a Cruise - Surprisingly enough not a lot of people think about it, but working on cruises it's a great opportunity to travel to many places and save money at the same time. 
You need to apply on agencies that contract the crews for the cruises, once you apply they will analyze your curriculum and then make an interview via Skype if they think you might be a good fit and then from there they will ask you to go for training and doctors and stuff like that to be able to work.

The time you can work varies from 6 months to a year it all depends on the destinations and on the contract you make.

Also, the area you work depends on your skills, there are areas where you need specific qualifications like photography, cooking and so on. 
There are also more basic position where they offer training prior to boarding, like housekeeping, cleaning, waitressing, entertainment and many others. 

In this case you will of corse live in the ship while you're traveling, they provide food and accommodations and when you get paid you're basically not spending unless you decide to buy something while in the cities you stop. 

The cost to start working on cruises will depend where you live, but you have to pay for the training that is made usually in some official marine training center, so you learn what to do in case of emergency and stuff like that, and you also have to pay the doctor that will sign you off because there are specific doctors approved to do so. 


There's a few more options that I'm doing more research on to be able to share with you guys, and as soon as I'm done I will tell you all about it.

Much love, 

Carry on girl 

Alternatives to get things done out of the house or the office - Remote working

We all have those days where we need to get things done but we don't have the inspiration, or we are tired from all the other thousand things we do, we have a full house, or we can't stop staring at the same wall for hours without one single new idea... so what do I do when I have those days? 
Let me take you along my alternative work day...

Starbucks Office - Be honest, you've seen all those people sitting at Starbucks with their computer looking very busy and important, and you thought they were all hipsters enjoying the free wi-fi.. well, turns out being one of those "hipsters" it's quite inspiring and relaxing and people do a lot of work there and let me explain why:

First because it's a change on your environment, and there's people around but at the same time they don't bug you and they don't try to talk, because you do look busy, but you are in a social scenario and of corse you can talk to people and meet new people if you feel like it. 

Second, you can be focused just on what you're doing there, may that be work, studying for school, sending emails, even looking for a job or just browsing the internet without interruption, in my case it's where I go to work on the blog and check emails, I never wear earphones because I like the sound of the coffee machine and the noise of all those people talking and the music playing inside, it's my white noise, yes I'm that weird.

Third, there's COFFEE... and for me that's a game changer because I know there's unlimited access to coffee while I'm working, obviously you have to pay for it but it's so worth it.

So if you're feeling like you need to get out of the house or you need to change your surroundings it's worth the shot... and that's coming from a girl sitting on a Starbucks on a gorgeous fall day with a latte and a laptop enjoying the colorful leaves outside the window cause it's straight freezing outside 

Nature inspiration - This one it's pretty simple, I grab a blanket or a towel to sit on the grass, some coffee, water and snacks, and then I find my favorite spot at a park, sometimes I go to the beach, or maybe the backyard depending on where I'm leaving. As long as I have green, nature, and peace of mind to sit down and create I'm good to go. 
*Just remember that if you don't have portable wi - fi you might need find somewhere where you have access to internet or maybe the hot spot on your cellphone. There's cases which you don't need to be online to work. My situation is actually better when I don't have wi fi because that means no distractions or things popping on the screen, I can just open a blank page and write as much as I want, save it, and when I get home I will upload it, simple as that. 


Weekend getaway - This one is one of my favorite options, but I can't do it very often because it does cost a lot more than an afternoon at Starbucks or a park. One of the best things I ever did was to get a bed and breakfast in New Hampshire for the weekend, it was one night only but my check-in was on Saturday morning and check-out on Sunday morning, but I paid an extra $20 to leave at 6pm since the inn wasn't full so they didn't have to clear the room early. 

I love the woods and nature if you can't tell by now, so I got a room facing the lake and the woods and since it was September it wasn't so hot outside anymore but I got a blanket and my computer, hot tea and sat on the little balcony and got so much done, just my thoughts and I. 

I'm not a mom yet, but I worked for a very long time as an au pair, which means I lived at the house where I worked, and although I love the girls to pieces the house was always loud and full and sometimes I needed the peace to clear my mind and be productive by myself, so I know there's a lot of mommas out there, or college students, or maybe you just live in a full house and you might want to consider set aside $100 ( That's counting food too and depending on where you live you can find much cheaper options) and get a solo getaway one of these weekends, trust me, you will be glad you did. 


Housesitting - Well, this one is a win win win... First of all you don't have to pay hotels or anything, you might be doing a friend a favor, or even getting paid to stay in the house. A friend might ask you, or you can you house sitting websites that connect you to people that need someone to watch their house for one day or even week/month whatever the situation is. There's a website called "Trusted House Sitters" that you have to pay to join and have a membership because of corse they have to make sure you're a good person and not a criminal and all of that, but once you start matching with people you can leave a review about your experience, they will leave about you too so you can build a network and then do house sittings when you feel like it. 
Maybe your friend is traveling and you're taking care of the house, or their pets and therefore you have an empty house for yourself to be creative and in peace, I have done house sitting for friends a few times and it's great...see.. win win win! 


So, this are the things I have tried so far that worked for me, and I hope some of it helps you somehow... If I find new ways to get out of the house I will share with you guys.

Much love... and coffee, 
Carry on girl 


Disclaimer: This post isn't in any way sponsored, everything said and done here is my own experience and my true opinion.