a life update

I am not a sharer. Well let’s clarify that because now I sound like a bratty kid that won’t let you play with my ball.

I have no problems sharing my stuff. I am not good at sharing me and my personal stories. Which, I know, makes writing a blog a natural fit. It ain’t easy folks but I am going to give a go for you. In the reader survey more personal posts were requested and someone really wanted to hear about my move and journey so far, ask and you shall receive.

The Move:

The actual physical move was surprisingly low stress. We had a great time visiting family along the way and I enjoyed taking pictures and cultural landmarks. Is a corner really a cultural landmark? The amount of souviener shops would certainly have you believe it is something.

Tom and I both really enjoyed Oklahoma City and will head back some day to catch the OKC Thunder and the AAA Baseball team, The Redhawks, play. We also loved St. Louis and know we will be there to watch a Cardinals game as we complete our goal to go to all 30 major league baseball parks. We have completed 6 so far, San Francisco, Oakland, San Diego, Dodgers, Angels and Cincinnati. The best meal we had was in St. Louis at Mango. If you go try the fun cocktails and a piece of Pionono cake for dessert.

Life in the Midwest:

Well it is different there is no doubt about that, but we love it. The pace, the people and the free time we have now has be a welcome change. Being close to my family and friends after 16 years has also been very welcome. I do miss being so close to our Southern California family. We have also settled in as sports fans, made it to all but one Colts game and have seen two Pacers game with a third next week.

Snow on Halloween, however, was not a welcome change. Apparently, the cold is now here to stay and I am not at all outfitted properly for the weather. While I may freeze my tookus off, the change in seasons has amped up my excitement for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I really can’t wait to sit by the fire on Christmas Day. This will be the first year we are all under the same roof for Christmas. Coming down the same stairs on Christmas morning as a kid is almost more excitement than I can handle. Maybe I will even wake my brother up at 4am to play games, eat candy and send him to ask my parents if we can go downstairs yet ever hour on the hour. Just kidding, I will let everyone sleep even though I know I will be wide awake. If this winter is as rough as last winter I may be seeking refugee with those Southern California relatives even sooner than I thought.

It took a little time, about a month, for Tom to find work but he is enjoy his job in sales. I am loving my new role and limited responsibilities. Added bonus the people I work with are great and make it extra fun to go to work again. I have only been working about 4 days a week which has been a welcome surprise.

The Blog:

The nice surprise of only working my paycheck job 4 days a week has afforded a lot more time and focus to my slice of the internet. I built a light box which is my new favorite thing and has dramatically increased the quality of the photos. I still love my macro lens more than any other toy so expect a lot of close up shots.

I am going to ALT Summit in January and could not be more excited. I got my first bag of swag in the mailbox, found out Jess Lively will be there speaking and started working on business cards. I feel so official working on business cards. With the need for business cards came a new logo and some tweaks to the banner. I fell like I have an official color palette I love now and can move forward without touching it for at least a couple months!

In December and January you will start seeing my writing on a few other blogs as a contributor which I am super stoked about. They are great blogs and I am excited to get to know some new readers. When my first posts are live I will let you know on social media.

Today should be the day I announce the book of the month, but honestly my heart just never got into the idea so I won’t be doing any more books at this time. Instead I am coming up with some new features based on the feedback I got from readers. There will be a few more series that involve recipes. Nothing is completely hashed out yet so if you have ideas now is the time to let me know. One feature that is ironed out is Date night. Every month I will be sharing dinner and a movie ideas for you and your special someone or your movie buff friends. Look for the first movie next Friday.

I have a couple other BIG projects in the works but they aren’t quite ready for unveiling so that will just have to wait until the next update.

Consulting:

I put myself out there and offered up my services of consulting/coaching and am looking forward to helping people tackle big projects. Since I am just getting started I am trying out some new things. If you are interested in trying my services send me a message I think that you will find the options extremely budget friendly for the next few months, like they won’t put a dent at all in your budget. Spots are limited so don’t delay if you are interested as prices will increase in March.

House Hunting:

I am most excited about this. We are giving it a few more months to get settled financially and then we will be on the house hunt in January. We are strongly considering Irvington, a historic neighborhood not far from downtown Indianapolis, because of my love for old homes. I am no Rehab Addict but I prefer character over a home that was built to look like all the others on the block. The biggest thing I am looking for is a kitchen that hasn’t been remodeled because I know I want my own space and why pay money for kitchen remodel I am just going to tear out. My public service announcement for the day: Could we please stop with the glass mosaic tiles they are getting boring.

I will have more frequent updates about house hunting on Instagram and even more details on Facebook. If you love a good house hunt get there now and follow along so you don’t miss a thing!