March 18, 2025

Instead of creating a lengthy list of resolutions this year, I’ve been focused on one big goal: At least one weekend trip per month, whether anyone else wants to go or not. “Weekend” is loose–I’ll settle for a 2-3 night getaway once per month (because sometimes the places I want to go are a little more reasonable on a Tuesday night).  Up first was a winter weekend spent at The Greenbrier–a destination that’s been on my bucket list for more than 20 years. Back when I was at Virginia Tech, a friend of mine. who was in the a capella group Juxtaposition, used to sing at The Greenbrier every New Year’s Eve. Ever since first hearing about America’s Resort in the Allegheny Mountains, I’ve always wanted to visit.

December 18, 2023

As the year draws to a close, I’ve been settling into my new house and hanging up all of my art. My 2023 vision board is sitting on my downstairs desk — I’ve yet to determine whether to hang it upstairs or down — and it occurred to me that I’m going to miss looking at this thing. It’s the first vision board I’ve ever created, and while I was a bit skeptical, I love how it turned out. I’ve enjoyed having it near my desk over the last 12 months. I’ve been thinking about what I’ll create for next year. Is it cheating to swap out some images, but keep some of them the same? I’ll definitely be re-using this template!

Here are some notes about the images on my board and how the year turned out.

January 18, 2022

Last weekend, Benny and I took a little road trip to Basye, VA for a wintery weekend getaway in the mountains. I rented a fantastic AirBnB as a belated Christmas gift for my family, so we could all get together and celebrate before my brother and his new fiancé move to Colorado this month. It was a perfect and relaxing weekend, and a nice change of pace. It was my first little trip away from VB since the pandemic started, and a really nice way to kick off the new year. Thanks to the snow and icy temperatures, we barely left the house (except for lots of mini dog walks) and didn’t feel bad about it one bit. We ate delicious food, drank lots of hot beverages and a few glasses of wine, exchanged a few Christmas gifts, put together a ridiculously difficult puzzle, played a little pool, wore lots of flannel shirts, and celebrated Stephen and Emily with a champagne toast by the fire. Benny did pretty well for his first trip away from home! I’m so glad we had the opportunity to do this, and wish Stephen and Emily the best in Colorado!

May 27, 2013

August 21, 2012

Lisa DeNoia, author of Coastlined, blogging on and off since 2003. Jersey Girl in Virginia Beach. Entrepreneur, technology innovator, photographer, figure skater, traveler, sailor, avid lover of books. Guardian of Benny, also pictured above.