Erica and Shaun are Burners
Thoughts

We’re Back!

Erica
Erica and Shaun are Burners
A huge thank you to Monica for taking this picture at our Regional Burn. <3

I want to give a huge “THANK YOU” to all of you guys who have stood by our side while we took a little hiatus from Over Yonderlust. There was a time when things got so overwhelming, so complicated, and so stressful, that I had to let a few things go to re-prioritize my life – and blogging burnout had me ditch the blog.

Obligations and expectations are a bitch. And when something is no longer fun or inspiring, find something else. Life is too short for that.

So things are going to be a little different around here – but I think good different. We’re slowly developing ourselves and our style as we move along in the internet world and I think it is a fantastic thing to always re-create yourself. Why the hell not?

In the process of rising from my burnt out blogging ashes, I’ve had the honor of becoming a WooThemes’ Support Ninja. Working there has taught me a few things about myself – mainly that the corporate world had crushed my spirit. I was taken advantage of, I was powerless, and never applauded for my work. Making the transition into a job that cares about the blood, sweat, and tears I put into it, and proactively invests into its employees has been rather eye opening. I can’t imagine ever going back – and I think blogging and knowing what I want and what I don’t want out of life really helped me get there.

We moved into our own apartment. I shit you not when I say that it has been NINE YEARS since Shaun and I have lived on our own. From making coffee in my undies to cuddling up on my new couch watching Sherlock, I now have a new meaning of home. I want to be part of the “homebase” lifestyle right now and I’m okay with it.

That being said, we are also gearing up for a few adventures:

  • We’re heading to South Padre Island, Texas with my family in July.
  • I’m heading to Kansas City, MO the first weekend of August as I have a gallery showing at First Friday for the 365 Days project I did back in 2009.
  • Then I *may* be spending a little bit of time with Rease of Indecisive Traveler in St. Louis.
  • In late August we drive out the Burning Man. I can’t wait to go home. I have a gazillion ideas for posts about being a Burner.
  • In November I’m heading to San Francisco for WooCommerce Conference 2014. I’m hoping to head up a bit early to see a certain fabulous Abby Tegnelia.
  • Somewhere in the mix I have to zoom over the Las Vegas for a wedding.
  • And during the winter we’ve been playing around with the idea of snowboarding in Colorado or heading up to Canada for some *real* winter.

All while being able to come home to our little Austin nest. *swoon*

And a few things on our to-do list:

  • I’m officially helping my friend put together the Texas CORE project for Burning Man this year.
  • Shaun is looking for a remote job so we can live in Austin for a year (sign a lease), travel for a while, and rinse/repeat. Why not have the best of both worlds? So if you have any leads, please send them our way. He is a badass. His work ethic is epic. He is seriously awesome.
  • Buy a truck. Yup. I don’t know when it happened but all I can think about is needing a vehicle to haul our SoulPad and soon-to-be golf cart art car to various Regional Burns around the States.

  • Get Shaun is damn sleeve tattoo. He has been eyeing it for years and boys with tattoos are F-ing hot. Prioritizing money when you have Travel, Burns, and Tattoos is hard.
  • Visit people who come into Austin! Seriously, say hi!

I’m dedicating my Sundays as a “work on Over Yonderlust” day so expect to see our faces around a little more often.

Erica out!

Published by Erica

Your resident adventure geek, and travel photographer extraordinaire, Erica likes to keep life interesting. A few of her favorite things to do include Burning Man, Diving, Downhill Mountain Biking, and laying by the beach with a good beer.

34 thoughts on “We’re Back!”

  3. Welcome back lovelies! It’s nice to read what you’ve been up to and what your future plans are including little trips ‘in your backyard’ 😉

    I know exactly where you’re coming from with the blogging burnout…I got so fed up with it (and the travel blogging circle as a whole) that I’m focusing all my attention on my new website and when I’m re-inspired I’ll go back to my travel site to continue it but I think a ‘change is as good as a rest’ so good for you for taking a step back to come forward 🙂

  5. Glad to see you back, but I totally understand that blogging has to take a backseat sometimes. I also really understand how nice it is to have a home. As much as Andy and I love to travel, we both really enjoy having our own home to come back to. No permanent nomadic life for us. It sounds like you have a lot of really awesome things going on right now (congrats on the job and the gallery showing!) and prioritizing yourself, your relationship, and the things you enjoy is really important. Looking forward to hearing about whatever comes next!

  6. Glad to see you back. I see that you are more happy and settled. There appears to be a lot in the pipeline. Wish you both every success.

  7. It would be my honor to offer you a complimentary total winter immersion experience at my house in Ottawa. Not only would you have access to unrestricted hours of shoveling, there will also be introductory lessons in salting the driveway, pushing cars out of ditches, and even removing heavy snow from roofs! If it’s an authentic winter-from-the-local’s perspective experience you want, I swear I am your girl. Totally looking forward to our Feb house swap. xxx

  9. Welcome back! I’ve missed you guys and your always entertaining blog posts. Totally empathize and understand where you’re coming from, so glad you’ve taken time for yourselves and sorted through this crazy time in life, and even happier to see you back. Looking forward to more shenanigans. 🙂

  10. D’aww! Thanks Becky! I’m stoked to be back. I feel like I need this outlet. I don’t know if I would say my life is super exciting right now but I still have many stories to tell. 🙂

  11. Thanks Alouise! We are ready to have fun again. I cannot even tell you what a relief it is to have an income source again.

  12. Okay, I peed a little reading this! HAHAHA! I meant more like snow via snowboarding and the like. I think I’ll pass on the shoveling. I’ve never had the opportunity to create a snowman so that may be interesting for 5 minutes.

  14. It was a hard lesson to learn. I can do a while but I definitely need to come home to connect with friends and family every now and then. So much of our lives revolves around Burning Man right now and I feel like that is what we need.

  25. Most of the week we’re staying with my aunts. I think they live near Zilker Park. Then a couple nights will be with my friend Jessica and I have no idea where she lives. But we will definitely be in touch! I feel like I have your email address somewhere….

  27. Welcome back! So bummed I’m missing Burning Man this year, but even more determined to make it back to the Playa in 2015.

  28. Yay! I feel ya on the “homebase” club. I’m looking forward to having my own, very soon, as well. At least for a little while… 🙂

    (Totally unbiased USA travel suggestion: Go to Pittsburgh!)

  30. HAHA! I’m really loving my little haven back in Austin. We have lived here 18 years and I can’t imagine living anywhere else. That being said – I would like to try Pittsburgh. I hear good things!

  31. I know what you mean about finding money for tattoos 🙂 I’m getting my first one this month and, even here in Bangkok, it’s a bit more money than I could currently afford so I’m going to scale down and get a small one in a different location (my forearm) to start with and then do the bigger one later. Sure, they last a lifetime, but when it’s a tat or food on the table …..hmmmmmm 🙂

    And agree with you on ditching the corporate lifestyle. I did that about 15 years ago and could never go back. I work remotely (run my own websites and do freelance writing). It’s bloody hard work and sometimes barely pays the bills, but it still beats corporate!

    Love your tattoo by the way – beautiful. And, yes, welcome back!

  32. Michelle! OMG! I wish I could afford all my tattoos. I have so many that I want. We’re also thinking about heading to Thailand for a wee bit if/when we can get Shaun a remote job. We’re dying to experience Southeast Asia.

    And thanks! It feels so good to be “back”.

  33. When life is the least exciting and you can still tell a story, that’s the mark of a true writer. Go for it, girlfriend! You’re one of my fave blogs and I’m just happy to see it alive again. 😉

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