Exciting Update!

Click on over to my new Wordpress location for an exciting update.

This Blog Has Moved

For a long time now I have been contemplating moving to Wordpress.  Well, I went ahead and did it.  Please click the link here to get to my new home.  I hope you follow me over!

Viva Mexico!

My husband and I have never had a honeymoon.  We REALLY need a vacation.  When we were hanging out with our friends over the weekend one of them said he thought it would be great if the three of us couples went on a trip together.  His parents have a time share in Mazatlan.

Nuff said......

Tonight we got the call that next August we are set for two weeks in the Mexican sun.  I may or may not be able to go the entire two weeks but ten days could be possible.  All I have to do now is get my passport and buy our plane tickets.  All the more reason to get a job fast since I have the money in savings right now for that.

I googled the time share and the photos are amazing!  There are five different sites.  I don't know which one we are actually staying at but for your viewing pleasure....

I'm so ready for sunsets on the beach, fruity drinks with umbrellas, sun and sand and surf and relaxation.

  Viva Mexico!

Graduation Season

Over the weekend we went to a friends son's highschool graduation.  We have known his father since highschool ourselves.  Obviously the boy in the graduation cap and gown is our friends son.  The girl on the right is my SD and the boy on the left is my SS (sorry about the glare from theoverhead lights - this was taken with my phone and photo opps were few).

Our son's friend is headed for the Navy August 3.  He's pretty smart and his job is apparently classified.  We are lucky and proud to know him and looking forward to hearing about his life in the "real world" as it unfolds.

My SD will graduate next year - I can't believe it.

Congratulations class of 2011!

F is for Freedom?

Wow, hi there.

Life has been pretty crazy around here.

For a while now, things have not been going well at my job.  This is the job I was not looking for.  This is the job that was supposed to be such a great opportunity for me.  This is the job that was going to allow me to pay off my credit cards - FAST!

I have not been enjoying this job and I definitely feel this is not the place for me.  I have felt trapped because I am not in the position to quit due to our finances. 

Today I have a paid day off as yesterday I was "let go". 


It's a weird situation though.  Essentially my company is allowing me to choose my end date.  They asked if I would like to work for a few more weeks while I look for a new job and would accommodate any interviews I get lined up. 

I'll take it.

So today I spent lounging around at home doing whatever I pleased.  I made bruchetta for brunch and got caught up on blog reading while lounging in my new jersey dress from Old Navy that arrived yesterday in the mail.  I may even have a glass of white wine that arrived in the mail today from my wine club.

I did look for a new job too.....

So now what?  I can't say I didn't think this possibility wouldn't happen.  I was preparing for it and socking away money in savings - when I could have been paying off my credit cards.  The end date I am choosing will allow me to get paid two more times not counting the paycheck this Friday. That will allow me to put an additional $2000 in savings.  I will be able to collect unemployment if I can't find something new by then.

I'm actually pretty optimistic.  I have other things to keep me busy right now.  I'm taking this great class on reorienting my career (don't laugh) and I couldn't be taking it at a better time.

Oh yeah, and did I mention that I started a production company with two friends I met on the set of the award winning indie film I worked on?  We held our first auditions last Monday and the second auditions will be Saturday July 2.  We have a Kickstarter video planned to raise the money we need to shoot our project which is scheduled for a weekend in August. 

So not entirely freaking out here and am wondering what the universe has in store for me.  I'm thinking positive and have great references lined up.  It's summer and I plan to enjoy it as much as possible.

We got our car back last night too - it had issues for the second time and the dealership covered it all - huge sigh of relief there.

So universe - throw me a bone will ya?

Obsessions

Forgive me for not posting on a regular basis lately.  I have been super busy.  Two weeks out of my month I work at least 50 hours a week.  I am taking a class right now and trying to get my business off the ground.

Yesterday we went to a friends son's highschool graduation.  There is a house down the street from them that I am totally obsessing over.  It's 101 years old, has four bedrooms and two bathrooms.  The front and back porches are nice and deep with a shed out back.

The price has come down $60K since September.  It's totally doable for us provided we could sell or rent our condo and we could even do a 15 year mortgage probably.  I am REALLY considering this but it makes no sense right now.  We are not prepared to buy a house right now.  We have no down payment unless we make money on our place.  Our commute would be longer.  I have enough going on already and yet.....

I can so see my self living in this house.  The kitchen and bathrooms would need some upgrading eventually.  The upstairs bathroom is tiny, the tub, sink and toilet are crammed in there.  It's a four bedroom house with all the bedrooms upstairs so it would be easy to borrow room from one of the bedrooms to make the bathroom more workable.  Its double the square footage of our current home and right about what we want size wise anyway. 

There are three options to a house that I would want.  A converted industrial space loft, a one floor ranch with an open plan and an old house like the one above.  Yesterday while at our friends house we walked down and took a peak in the windows.  While I am not thrilled about the wood stove in the dining room - that can be taken out.  It's double the square footage of our current place too.

This house makes me even more determined to get in to a house by next year if we intend to stay in the area.  If we know we are going to move out of state in three years then buying a house makes no sense.

I guess a girl can dream.....

Green Means Go!

I'm really excited.

Over the past couple months I have had a project in development.  It's getting traction and gaining momentum.

I started a production company with two gals I met on the set of the independent film I worked on a few summers ago. 

We recevied almost 20 screenplay submissions and found two we really love which we have optioned.  Our first project will start filming in late August.  It's a short film but we thought it had potential to be made in to a trilogy which the screenwriter loved.  So, she is going to work on developing two more scripts.

Now down to the nitty gritty of casting actors (only two), location scouting (we think we have a place already), getting crew (this is low budget so free is a good thing), finding the equipment we need (currently we don't have any) and getting funding ($$$).

We have a twitter and FB page and will probably use Kickstarter for help in fund raising.  Stay tuned, more updates to come!

Pinterest

Have you heard of Pinterest?  It's a great little site that allows you to collect ideas and photos for inspiration.  I totally should have thought this website up since I have been doing something similar in folders on my hard drive or tear sheets from magazines in an accordian folder .

It works a little like Facebook where you can follow people and share ideas.  Here's a peak of what I like.  Pinterest describes themselves as..

a virtual pinboard — a place where you can create collections of things you love and "follow" collections created by people with great taste.
People use Pinterest to collect and share all sorts of things -- wedding inspiration, favorite T-shirts, DJ equipment. You name it, people are pinning it.

You need to request an invite from Pinterest or someone you know who is on it.  Send me an email and I would be happy to send you an invite.  This is my new favorite place on the web, a great way to post inspiration.

Happy pinning!

Butterflies...............

I love this photo! 

The color of these butterflies are amazingly intense!

May Ramblings

Hello blogger peeps!
I really feel bad for not posting a lot lately.  I just havn't had much going on.  My couch slipcover is in stall mode until I can have a weekend free of plans to tackle sewing the slipcover which I spent three hours pinning as well as the back and seat cushions.

I'm excited about a few things though.  I was a little premature but updated my sidebar for some of our debt.  It's not official or anything but this month we will have not one but two cars paid off.  The ironic thing about this is neither of them are driveable.  How crazy is that?  We are using our tax return to pay off our old daily driver my 1999 Subaru Forester which just went through engine number two and is sitting waiting for the title so we can sell it to someone who wants it for parts (car universe, please grant my wish).  That will be paid this Friday.  Our last payment to my dad for our 1987 Porsche will be a week later.  Problem is it needs a little bit of work to make it driveable. 

We got our new to us Saab back last Friday after it needing a new engine (what is it with us and engines?).  The dealership paid to have a used one with less miles put in.  We had only owned it less than 48 hours when that debacle happened.  I'm really liking the Saab.  It's super comfortable with leather seats, dual climate control (front and back), heated seats all around (the SK's are loving that!), a sun roof (oh how I missed that), a killer stereo system, hand controls on the steering wheel for the stereo and more.  This is more C's car than mine so I will bide my time and save my pennies until I can get this...

I'm not gonna lie.  I kinda dig the racing stripes.  Never thought I would say that.  I DON'T dig the four fog lights on the front of this one and I would certianly love a sunroof too.  This car is so me.  Grey is my go to color in so many ways lately.  We painted the living, dining and hallway of our condo in grey.  Our Saab is silver with grey interior and I want me a grey mini cooper!

By the end of the month I will have put $950 on CC # 4 which is scheduled to be paid off in July.  In fact, all of our credit cards should be paid off by year end.  Yee Haw!  Once that happens I can relax and plan a real vacation.  A vacation to somewhere like Hawaii or Mexico.  Pretty much anyplace full of sun where I can stick my toes in the sand, drink fruity drinks with little umbrellas and relax.

I am starting a career development class in 13 days (yes I am counting) that I am super excited about.  I have a big birthday coming up at the end of July.  I am contemplating going here for the Saturday before my birthday.  Wine and Yurts, what more could a girl ask for?  They have a spa too!

The Yurts featuer King sized beds, sky dome in the center of the roof, private bath, refrigerator, iPod docking station, sitting area, patio deck, wifi and vineyard or river gorge view.

Meanwhile, I am totally addicted to this design blog House Tweaking.  Dana and her husband just bought a new (to them) house.  They have decided to downsize so she can stop working and take care of their two boys full time.  The new house is lovingly named The Underdog.  It's a mess they are remodleing while still living in their old house that is for sale.  I am really intrigued by this because my husband and I are looking at three years until his youngest graduates from high school.  One of our ideas is to buy or build a small open floor plan house. 

Another is to sell our condo and live in an Airstream trailer like this guy (Apartment Therapy is so cool!). 

Buying a rambler we could make our own is certainly something we consider.  We are thinking of moving to a warmer climate so the house buying may possibly be put on hold for a few years.  When I look at photos online of houses for sale in my area I really try to look past the old cruddy kitchen cabinets and hideous flooring to see the potential for the four walls I am considering.  Watching Dana and her husband as they turn their Underdog in to the home of their dreams will be certain inspiration and a great guide.

Speaking of addictions, I am currently adddicted to the TV show Supernatural.  We borrowed season one from our neighbor.  Right now we are on season two which we have to get from Netflix via DVD (how old school) since it's not streaming.

Today was a nice sunny day here in the greater Seattle area.  It got to 60 at least.  I am so ready for the grey gloomy days of winter (and even spring) to be gone.  One thing about our area is even when it's warm during the day it cools off at night unless you are in eastern Washington or it's August.

Well, I have rambled enough.  Hope you all are well and more more consistent posting coming soon.  Like the reveal of my slipcovered couch!

Career Exploration

For a while now I have not been satisfied in my current job. Althought I did not finish my degree what I do for a living is not even remotely what I went to school for. I have a significant birthday looming in a few months and I am feeling the need for a change.

Last Saturday I took a one day career development class to focus on a career change. This led to signing up for a nine week intensive that starts in a few weeks. I'm pretty excited about it and am really looking forward to exploring my options.

I know that I am a late bloomer. I went to college after high school but I really didn't know what I was doing there and chose a major more out of what I liked than what was ideal - because I really just didn't know what I wanted to do. Even reading books like "What Color is Your Parachute and going to the career counseling office was a struggle. They gave you tests and said you should be a writer or an architecht - yadda yadda yadda.

The opportunity to spend serious time focusing on the right career for me sounds a little selfish. The philosophy behind the place I am going focuses more on what's really important to you personally and helps you create a vision statement for the ideal job for me.

The only thing I wish is that I had done this a few years ago. Wish me luck!

Good Juju

So a few posts ago I wrote a little about our recent car troubles. What happened since then could literally be one of those priceless adds. We heard from the dealership and the news was bad and good. Essentially our new to us car needs a new engine and since we had it less than 48 hours they are taking care of it themselves.

So it looks like I will be able to take that $3200 burning a hole in my bank account and pay off our old dead car as well as put a healthy chunck of change on one of our credit cards. It's tempting to put that entire amount on our credit cards and just continue to pay the car payments for the dead car (there are seven left) but I just don't think I want to do that. I am waiting until we get the car back which will be next week.

Also, I am looking for a new job. I left my old job of 4.5 years for my current one of which I have been at for six months. I am sorry to say this job is just not working out like I thought it would. The pay is better and C and I can carpool but it's just not the environment for me.

I am putting this out there in the universe for me to be able to find a new job and for the transition to be pretty stress free. I am not certain how this will be accomplished but I am trusting that it can be. My deadline is my birthday at the end of July but if it happens faster I will not complain.

Seven Things About Me

I received a Versitile Blogger Award from a groovy blogger/twitter friend Crystal over at Twenty Eight and a Half. I am to name seven random facts about myself and pass along to seven other bloggers.

Seven Random Things About Me

1. I have exactly 2.5 hours flight time in a single engine plane.




2. I had a pet frog for 13 years. It was a joke birthday gift called "Grow A Frog" and a tadpole was literally mailed to me in a bag of water in a styrofoam container. When it arrived my mom tossed it up the stairs at me. It lived in my mom's house after I moved away and finally passed away.




3. While most people go gaga over meeting famous people, when I have the opportunity I get all nervous and quiet.




4. When I was just about to turn two my parents and I were visiting relatives in Texas. My cousins were bouncing on a trampoline with me sitting on the opposite end. Then bounced me right off. I go tup and wandered in to the house. Later that night I woke up screaming. Apparently I had broken my leg. I spent the rest of our trip in a cast and walked around so much I wore down the heel twice. I remember when I got the cast off the doctor put the saw on my hand so I would know it wouldn't vut me. I tried to stand but fell over because I was used to the weight of the cast.




5. The furthest away from home I have been is Hawaii to the west, The Bahamas to the East, Cabo San Lucas to the south and the Arctic Circle to the north. Time to get off this continent!




6. I costumed an indie horror film summer which got me a credit on IMDB.




7. I love vegetables but absolutely detest peas. I will eat them in fried rice or a pot pie but I will not eat them alone.
   

Passing the award to...

Kilted Travel Agent (refered to here as C)

The Girls Guide to Homelessness

Crazy Aunt Purl

Small Notebook

Brooklyn Limestone

Lola B's

Wicked Bride

Holding Pattern....

Putting this out there for some good juju.

This past week has been interesting. After our car essentially dying and being replaced, our new car has a small issue which is being diagnosed. I am sitting on about $3200 that I would really like to use to pay off the old car (that died) and put the rest on a credit card.

Untill the new car get's the "all clear" I want to hold on to that money "just in case".

I am putting it out there that everything is fine and I will be able to pay off that old car and the rest will pay one card in half which will then be paid off next month.

How is that for specific.

Send me your good juju!

Pinterest

I have a new obsession. It's called Pinterest. They describe themselves as a social catalog to collect and share things you love. They have created a website that allows you to tag photos you see online and create boards with them. I have been doing something similar for years either saving to a folder on my coputer or ripping pages out of magazines.

Right now it's an invitation only site. It didn't take me long to get mine. Or, leave me a comment with your email address and I will send you and invite!

When Life Gives You Lemons........Make Saabs!

This morning as C and I were stopped at a light on our way to work I noticed what looked like steam coming from the hood of our car. It was not too obvious but it was there. In the last few days we had been smelling a coolant smell and we knew this was not good. We turned around and hightailed it home.

We had known for a while the car needed work and we were hoping to get it paid off and some credit card debt paid down before we needed to replace it. Well replacing it happened today. The car is not worth a third engine and with our tax return being deposited in our bank account (hopefully tomorrow) we had planned on paying the car off.

We got home, walked to the park and ride where are neighbors car was parked (she let us borrow it) and drove to our bank. We were approved for an auto loan and went home to scour the internet. We found a used car at a local dealership which had all of the criteria we were looking for in price and mileage. The bells and whistles are a plus.

Say hello to our new baby.

A 2000 Saab 9-5 with only 85000 miles on it. It has a sun/moon roof, dark grey leather interior, heated seats (even in the back), dual climate control for the front and seperate climate control for the back as well as controls on the steering wheel for the stereo. They only had one key and a second one cost us $238.11 plus a $55 fee to sink it to the car. Wow, I didn't know about that niftly little feature.

It had literally been put on an internet special this morning knocked down an additional $5000.

This was not necessarily in the plans right now but you gotta do what you gotta do.

I Heart The Internet - Another Recipe

A quick note before the post. What is UP with blogger and clumping all of my paragraphs together?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! Not only has the internet given me super cool twitter and blog friends like Crystal and Crazy Aunt Purl (it's all about the wine diet). It gives me yummy food I can cook at home whenever I want. I made enchiladas not once but twice last weekend from this recipe (one beef and one chicken - I liked the chicken best). The SK's (step kids) LOVED it so I know I have a keeper recipe when I can please my entire household with one dish! The latest intsalment of the Paisley Cooking Chronicals is roasted asparagus compliments of Small Notebook. You can get the recipe here. Not only is she living in Italy (a dream of mine) but she is sharing yummy recipes too! Folks, my husband (C) does not really care for veggies, and asparagus has taken him a bit to get used to (he likes it smothered in holandaise) and he REALLY liked this dish. I think it was the prosciutto that did it. I don't even think you need the cheese. The roasted potatoe recipe you can find here (thank you Tyler Florence). I had planned to have chicken with this but I didn't really need it. It was Yum-Oh and really filling! If you try this, tell me what you think!

Enchiladas Por Favor

Last night I made a recipe for Enchiladas I found at one of my new favorite blogs, Dream Book Design. My step son helped me make them. They were a little messy in the prep but so very good even without the green onion which I forgot to put on them. They are so yummy in fact that I may make another batch in chicken so I will use all the green onion I have. I can just store it in the freezer and use them for lunches. Click here for the recipe. I am off to make chocolate croisants for breakfast!

Grand Plans

So with my post yesterday about the likely probability of a sabbatical in the future, I am now in full fledged planning mode. This of course includes multiple screenings of Eat Pray Love and Under the Tuscan Sun. Afternoons with homemade bruschetta and red wine and intensive yoga sessions. It started with grand visions of international travel, living in exotic locales and jet setting from country to country with our little dog in tow (sensitive stomach and all). But that is really not enough. That is not what I want. My sabbatical idea has already morphed in to the concept of intense periods of work followed up by mini travel sabbaticals of three or four months. The intense periods of work are not at a typical day job but making films. I like this concept alot since it essentially extends the sabbatical over the course of several years and allows these mini retreats to be here in the US or abroad but we always have a "home base" to come back to. This allows me to travel and see the world which is really what my passion is. Unless I replace Samantha Brown on the Travel Channel. So what I am really planning for is transitioning from the current way I earn a living in to another means of earning a living. Something that flows a little more with my goals. The key is planning. I am a planner. I can obsess over a spreadsheet like nobody's business. I love a good list too. I want to start traveling as soon as I can.

In a perfect world, C & I would have some sort of alternative income stream. Something that could bring in enough money per month to meet our living expenses so our savings would be there if we need it but not necessary to dip in to for silly things like groceries or to pay the phone bill.

It's not that I need massive amounts of money to buy all sorts of lovely things. I just want the security of the available funds to know that I don't need to go back to a mind numbing horrible day job ever again. I don't mind living modestly. After all, you can't take it with you.

Our "home base" woube be a small structure about 1500 square feet such as a Katrina Cottage. KC 1185 would do nicely square footage wise. Some small adjustments like bedroom # 2 would not exist and the kitchen would use that space plus there would be room for a pantry and eating nook. Bedroom # 1 would be the TV room. It would be great if it was on a lake and some what private.

I plan on investing in a good camera to take photos of all the places we visit. I plan on packing my laptop to chronicle my travels and possibly write a novel that has been rattling around in my brain. I plan on connecting with my husband and hope that friends and family members will meet up with us along the way.

Sabbatical

For a while now I have had the thought of a break rolling around in my head. In truth, I have been working full time for the better part of the last 18 years since I left college. I go to work every day for the paycheck, I really don't have a passion for what I do. I'm good at it, I like the people I work with and my salary is pretty decent. I did not go to college for what I do but kind of fell in to it. I take pride in doing my best every day. But I'm tired. I have a passion for other things. Other things like travel, independent film, cozy surroundings. Things that I want to be more central in my life. Other things that I would like to earn a good living at. Things that are not material stuff but experiences. Call me a late bloomer (pretty accurate really) but I feel I have finally figured out what I want out of life. Enter the sabbatical which literally means "a ceasing", a rest from work, a hiatus, lasting from two months to a year. I am planning one of those. A year off to transition in to the next phase of my life. If you have seen the movie Eat, Pray, Love this is kind of the idea. This move is based on a real book that a real person lived through. The book is amazing and inspirational and a must read in my opinion. The author took a year off to really discover who she was while living in Italy, India and Bali (all places I would love to visit). I want to travel, experience new cultures, learn new languages, eat new food, take beautiful photos, imerse myself in something different to gain new perspective. Really become centered and setteled. I am inspired by others who are following a somewhat similar path. People like Rachel from Small Notebook who with her husband and two small children are taking a year off to live in Florence Italy. Crystal at Twenty Eight and a Half who left her job and is following her writing passion. She also will be traveling to Greece and Italy this summer for the better part of a month. A friend "IRL" at Unemployed Winner who was recently laid off from her day job and is making a go of her Etsy store (she's an incredible knitter) as her full time job. Frugal Babe who has no debt and works from home with her husband. They are trying to be self sustaining through their rather large garden and other home improvements. Stephanie at Brooklyn Limestone who started her blog detailing the rehab of their home and also posts about her extensive international travel (jealous). Laurie at Crazy Aunt Purl who turned her newfound love of knitting in to two books. These women and many more are inspiration for me. This sabbatical will not happen for a couple years, probably five. We have debt we need to finish paying off, we have two kids to get through highschool. Kid # 1 will graduate in 2012 and kid # 2 will graduate in 2014. We have to save money for this endeavor. But we are going to do it. My husband at A Kilted Travel Agent is a daily inspiration for me. He recently started learning how to tattoo which is a passion for him and combined his love of art and drawing. He is starting an internship today. While we are on sabbatical he wants to learn new ways to perform this craft from other cultures like the Balinese. I have already started this journey by simplifying my life. We are agressively paying off our debt. We are decluttering our home and our "stuff". About a month ago I ventured in to the world of film by starting a production company with two friends I met on set of the indie film, The Book of Zombie I worked on in 2007. I was the costumer and an executive producer. We will sell our condo before this all starts. The money we make will go in to an account for a down on a place after we are setteled from our sabbatical. We will place the items from our home we are keeping at my FIL's house while we are gone. Our cars will stay at my parents. The only other thing I need to research is traveling and living internationally with our dog. Looks like we will need to get him a Visa and an International Travel Health certificate. Have any of you out there in blog land taken a sabbatical or are thinking about it?