What the heck should I do all day? (In response to COVID-19 isolation)

Hello everyone! As you may have noticed, I've taken a break from blogging since I relocated to Switzerland in August of 2018.

What? Why did you do that?

Good question! As many of you know, in addition to being a vegan blogger, I'm also an extreme sports athlete. Having started with drag racing at the tender age of 22, it seemed only logical that I someday get into skydiving and BASE jumping (jumping off of buildings, antennas, bridges, and mountains with a parachute). I've been participating in skydiving regularly since 2016 and BASE jumping since 2018. My BASE jumping "career" almost ended abruptly in my first year when I had a terrible accident in Norway in 2009 that resulted in me shattering my heel bone and breaking my ankle. It was during this time of reflection that I started this blog.

Now let's fast forward to November 9, 2016, which is the day that Trump was elected president. I do not want to turn this into a political blog and appreciate all of my followers regardless of which party they identify with, but, for me, this was equivalent to the end of the world. In 2017, I called the German Embassy to see if I might have been born a dual citizen as my mother was born in Germany and come to find out that the law changed the year I was born, so I was born a dual citizen even though my older brother was not. So I could actually leave the country? It started as a joke, but ended up changing my life. I went to the German embassy in Washington, DC in 2017 and picked up my passport, then moved to Switzerland in August 2018 where I've been happily BASE jumping since!

Again fast forwarding...this time to today and here we are in a crisis. Here in Switzerland, everything has closed except for pharmacies, grocery stores, gas stations, etc. We are supposed to stay inside, but that's driving everyone crazy. And I have a personal crisis in that I ruptured my ACL and tore my meniscus in a skiing accident, so I've been recovering inside since December 30! This experience has made me grateful for all that I have and now I'd like to give back to my community. So, I thought I'd share some resources that may help brighten your day. Instead of overwhelming you with lots of resources, I'm going to highlight just five to begin.

1. Rouxbe Cooking School: They call themselves the leading online culinary school and while I'm currently taking their classes and planning to review them, from what I've seen, they are very high quality classes. They have just announced a 30-day FREE membership providing access to 75 lessons, hundreds of chef-created recipes and more than 12 courses ranging from pasta to knife skills. Everything is available to members 24/7 and can be streamed on any device. With restaurants being closed in many areas, it's the perfect time to hone your cooking skills! To sign up, visit https://rouxbe.com/trial.

2. The Dailey Method Meditation: This FREE 21-Day Meditation Challenge is perfect for those who don't feel like they have time for meditation. I've been doing it from Day 1 and it starts with just 5-minute long meditations and progresses up to a 13-minute long meditation (so far). I find it cleansing to clear my mind and be present a few minutes per day. They started on March 2 and are scheduled to continue through March 22, so be sure to access them soon. I imagine they'll be online a bit longer than the last scheduled day. You can access the meditations at https://thedaileymethod.com/Online/browse/class-format/dailey-meditation/21-day-meditation-challenge/.

3. DuoLingo: Learn a new language for FREE! Using DuoLingo's platform, you can begin learning a new language right away. They make it fun and interactive and some languages allow you to access "stories" to chat with a bot. If nothing else, it's entertaining and you are bound to learn a thing or two. To join, go to https://www.duolingo.com/.

4.  Yoga District: DC's leading yoga studios is offering live online classes in yoga and meditation. This studio employs top-notch instructors and offers high quality instruction. Full Disclosure: I used to teach yoga there as well. :-) To see the class offerings, go to https://www.yogadistrict.com/.

5. Tour a Museum (Virtually): Travel and Leisure Magazine put together links for 12 museums that offer online interactive or video tours and they are really cool! Who said you couldn't become more cultured sitting at home? To view, go to https://www.travelandleisure.com/attractions/museums-galleries/museums-with-virtual-tours.

So that's it for today. I hope you enjoy these resources and I hope to be back with more soon. Let me know if you know of some I can share with others!