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Category: With Thoughts Like These

Sleeping on Super Charged Batteries.

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Whatever combination of sunshine, heat, fun, two or three two hour long swims a day, long walks about the resort village, or the current time change, that it was, it has left me unable to fall asleep at night until about 3:00am or later. I don’t know if being a boring lump whom suddenly Pumps Up the Jam for eight days straight, and then returns home to a quiet life of lumpishness is what’s doing it, or if I have insomnia about my MRI results again, i don’t know. But it is irritating. I’m going to need to find a very physical activity to do here in the cold that saps my strength in a similar way, because my 7:00am wake up for school is going to get ugly fast if i can’t fall asleep until 3:00am, instead of around 10:00pm for the foreseeable future. Can all that vitamin D from the southern Florida sun supe up your internal batteries? I don’t know. Feels like it can. I’m buzzing. Brrrt!

Maybe a vigorous walk around the farm will help temper all this pent up energy. It isn’t like I’m snacking on high sugar treats well into the evening, or pounding sodas to keep me wired awake at night.i don’t drink coffee, or tea, nor espressos or cappuccinos either. If anything I’m taking in more water here than while I was away. Hm. A real conundrum. A puzzle, if you will. I shouldn’t be worried about work projects. I have submitted samples and am waiting on a data sheet. I filed paperwork for the non-profit on time, and I’m in the process of getting my taxes sorted out ahead of April. So those shouldn’t be a factor, atleast not consciously anyway. I’m back in my own bed at night, which I prefer to where I was sleeping in the Keys. My room is a lot darker than the one I stayed in too, so it shouldn’t be a matter of light pollution. Our neighbourhood is pretty tame, so it isn’t a noise issue. I think it’s just energy. I was building up and expending lots of energy when we swam for 90-150 minutes two or three times a day. Plus walks, and beach combing with the kids. I was even riding a fixed gear bike around the resort grounds once or twice.

I absolutely detest the cold so I get pretty sedentary between December 1st, and April 15th, where our weather is just The Worst. I need to figure something out. I know that the heat itself down there does a lot to sap my strength and make me tired. Plus all that fresh sea salt air that can make me tired like it does on the lake at the cottage. Probably a collection of things.

I felt just like this when I had to do both courses of Steroids for my guts. I slept maybe three hours a day, and felt like I could punch a mountain. I got so much done during those eleven weeks. Was also pretty irritable, bordering on angry towards the end of those courses too. Now, I’m not mad, just annoyed at myself for not falling asleep at a reasonable time.

Make up dates… and their associated trauma.

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We were gone for two consecutive Wednesdays so that means my children missed out on two gymnastics classes. My wife, being the sweetheart that she is, has booked a make-up session for our girls so that they can get the most out of a high cost, pre-paid for program that they do. This has obviously crossed a line somewhere and both kids are melting down about having to go, and do an hour of gymnastics this afternoon. Oh my. The horror. How could you infringe upon their March Break Minecraft madness sessions.

I will say that we swam 2 or 3 times a day, and went on various other adventures in the sun, so they had plenty of physical activity. Just not of an organized kind, like Dance, Girl Guides, Taekwondo or the before mentioned Gymnastics. And yet, the shit fit continues. So that should be fun to look forward to in four hours time. Yeah!

Saturday is here, and it’s cold again. Grey skies and lots of cloud cover. It couldn’t be any different from our vacation if it tried. I for one miss being outdoors so much, and I really miss the swimming. So much so that I find myself with too much energy at night, and I am unable to sleep. I was able to ride a fixed gear bicycle in the Keys, and swim, walk about, beach comb and just enjoy the outdoors. Yes I had to wear SPF 50 sun shirts, or cake on the sun screen to comfortably do so, but I like warmth far more than the cold. I am looking forward to being outside here to trim our hedges and start on the lawn. I’m actually going to have the lawn aerated this year. For the first time ever. Might even go for a Weed- Man spray too. But I’m not sure yet. I’m not entirely sold on the need for a perfect carpet of green grass. I’m pretty partial to the blues and purples of some of our lawns weeds. And the pop of yellow from dandelions is a nice touch. Plus those help out the honey bees in their time of need. I’m a leaf mulcher, not a bagger & get rid of’er. Keep those nutrients near by, in the beds. Gives toads and such a warm place to hide for the winter, and it protects my bulbs from squirrels and chipmunks. Little bastards.

I’m sure our elderly neighbours hate us because we are so laissez-faire with the grass. I find a saturated all green carpet of grass is a good magnet for attention. Makes you look wealthy, and catches the eye of thieves and burglar types. My ratty-tatty lawn definitely does not scream wealth lives here. Mainly because it doesn’t,  wealth that is, but no point dressing the place up to look like it does and inviting unwanted, potentially dangerous attention. That’s how I feel about it. Kooky as it sounds. The old slightly rusty minivan does a lot to keep us grounded, and not looking too eye catching either. My 18 year old lawn mower says a lot about our household too. Ha. No diamonds here I’m afraid. Lots of rocks, but no gems. The kids weekly evening programming took care of that!

I have begun the process of doing my taxes. That’s always an eye opener. Will need to spend some time on that before we get into April. The dreaded tax season! Aah.

Hopefully you all enjoy your Saturday, the last one of March Break 2024. School is back in as of Monday. We wish you all well. Ciao Bella.

Traveling with Crohn’s Disease is a lesson in patience, and timing.

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Am I sad I missed two, three hour plus long boat trips with my wife and kids? Yes, yes I am, but the carnage I dealt to the bathroom said I made the correct choice to stay in and be within ten steps of the can the whole time. Having to pee off of a moving boat is one thing, but the guttural machinations of my innards are best left away from spectators eyes. It’s not a team sport, and I don’t need cheerleaders. Although on our last day I did get out to swim in the ocean and have an hour long ride with the family. I burned my legs and hands, obviously, but had a good time. Seas were a little rough going but I managed to not get seasick. Lovely! The aquamarine colour was to die for. A big expanse of nearly cloudless sky overhead, and salty sea waves to float in with my children. Next time we will try snorkel masks and breathers and attempt to skulk around a small reef to look at some fish.

I’m glad I had the time to wait for a better opening on the boat trips, so I didn’t have to forgo all of them. I had bought some fresh Twisted Tea, but could drink only one of the twelve. If my guts are in a better mood next visit I can try my hand at one or two more. I wanted a six pack, as that feels more manageable to me. But no glass on the pool deck, so the larger can assortment it was! I should have stuck with the original or just half & half’s, as the raspberry was not to my liking. Live and learn.

I was able to swim a fair bit atleast. Knowing there are clean toilets all throughout the grounds makes it easier to go and do something for an hour without worrying about having to run all the way back to my room to avert a crisis. Ha. I run to my room while it runs down my leg. And what a glorious couple of runners we are. Argh!

It was 16°C here the day we came home but it is now 2-5°C and rainy. Gotta love it. I’ve gone grocery shopping, and answered a few emails, and done a little work today. Off to a good start. Take care out there. Ciao Bella!

First day back in the really real world.

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Vacation is done, flight landed around midnight, got through customs by one, and our ride home got us in safely just before two. By the time we watered, brushed, and consoled our kids we were in bed ourselves by three this morning. It is lovely to be home in our own beds. The Florida Keys are a wonderful island time kind of place. But being home is truly where I am able to relax. However, swimming, boat trips, and a face full of sunshine with heat is hard to beat. A very nice get away to ring in March Break on my wife’s year off. We don’t typically travel over peak times like this, but leaving early, and returning midweek was very cost effective.

I swam out in the open ocean with my kids for the first time in five or so years. Very clear blue, and not as warm as the pool. Thankfully. Pool was hot, almost bathtub temperatures! Taking the kids with our SPF 50 sun shirts to swim two or three times a day was really great. Over the winter I really miss the outdoors.

We even ventured down to Key West for a hot day trip. Had some Cuban food, wandered a few museums, and walked down by the gigantic cruise ships along the water front. Finding parking in Key West was a challenge. Didn’t help that we were in such a large vehicle. Key West was not built for extended oversized SUV’s, and 10,000 walking cruise goers at the same time. Was nearly three hours going down, and two and a half hour drive back. The kids were champs and held it together fairly well. It was hot, bright, and tiring.

Somewhere out in the Atlantic.
Being brave, but ultimately second person in after I jumped in first.
Me absent mindedly burning both legs on our last day.
Calm waters by the route markers.
The canal we called home for the eight days in Key Largo.
Treasure hunting for gems, crystals and coins of any sort.
Carnival cruise ship down in Key West.
A random Mc Donald’s with a fantastic view.
Kayak collection down on the beach.
An alternate view of the canal from our portion of the dock.

Back to the real world now. Work to start/finish. Groceries to get. Mail and packages to go collect. Kids to keep occupied for the remainder of the break. We had a few tears when we had to leave the vehicle once at the airport. The youngest wasn’t ready to leave grandma & grandpa behind for a few days by themselves. After she ate she perked up. We flew in a fairly sizable 787, with three rows of three seats and two aisles. Tonnes of overhead space too. First time I’ve done a Duty Free run in ages.

Best eat some breakfast and get back to work! Ciao Bella.

Dune: Part Two

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I enjoyed it just as much as the first one, though it does seem to have lost a little of that world building touch. No more mentats, lurid family pets and things of that ilk. Still a gorgeous spectacle to behold, and it runs on rails right from the get go, carrying on after the exploits of Part One. Timelines are changed to be very streamlined, and they have changed various plot points but it reads on screen coherently as far as I am concerned. I don’t know if it would qualify as a “Master-Piece” on its own merits, but certainly as a pair, and more likely as a trio with a more definite ending after one additional installment.

I’m not going to be controversial here but I feel as though Florence Pugh and Christopher Walken were used to great effect. I can tell that Florence will be a bigger player along with the as of yet unborn sister Alia in the third portion. I’m also glad that they thinned out the royal entourage and hangers on by using just Lady Fenring as a go between hinting at a broader court of intrigue. This movie could easily bloat up to twenty to thirty hours if you tried to stay too close to the source material. I for one am glad they trimmed, blurred, and shuffled characters and events into one another to simplify the story. I never liked the Barron’s propensity towards CSA, and eliminating the assassination attempts and subsequent murders of raped children was the correct call. The gladiatorial match hints at the behind the scenes scheming which the Harkonnens are prone to, so that left me satisfied with one aspect of the streamlined divergence from the source material.

Speaking of villains, Beast Raban plays a cowardly bully very well, and Feyd Rautha was a fantastic psychopath with a knife fetish, and a insatiable blood lust. Worth the price of admission.

Otherwise it was pretty good. I enjoyed it a great deal. I will buy it on bluray if it is offered as physical media come summer time. The CGI is of a high quality. The on location filming is really lovely. The depth of field would lend itself to 3D with no issues. I saw it in DBox Atmos AVX because that was the largest screen locally that I could see it on that doesn’t require more than an hour drive each way. I was going to aim for the late late show but opted for the six PM, and it was a touch fuller inside than I have grown accustomed to. Not a fan of crowds nowadays. Too many people coughing or sniffling for my comfort. Should have stuck to my guns, although had I of done so then today would be a wash. I can’t stay up until 2AM, then do the 8AM school drop off run, and be a fully functional human adult. I don’t have that in me anymore. But I digress.

Good movie, great sequel, better as a whole. Fingers crossed for a third and final installment from Denis Villeneuve. Have you been out to see Dune: Part Two yet? What was your assessment of the film? Ciao Bella.

Will soon reach 10% of where it was…

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I do not know if it will be a blessing or a curse to have lost seven hundred and thirty days off of my writing streak through an innocent mistake, but I will tell you this, I’m glad to still be here, going on like I have a second chance to revisit things I may have skimmed over, or given short shrift. I do tend towards glibness when I’m not feeling much love towards a subject. I continue to stumble across posts written from a few years ago which I do not recall ever writing. I am not sure if that is a good thing or not. More than 1,000 posts over the lifetime of hosting this blog so it shouldn’t be surprising to anyone that I can’t remember every single thing I’ve written. Some of those posts were pretty decent. Others are crap. I’d like to try to raise up the overall quality of the writing here. Perhaps I do that by making notes to myself before hand. Having a good think on topics first, or spending more than just five minutes reading over and editing posts. I should not be afraid to keep a post short if I have nothing to say. And… I’m surprisingly ok with that.

I’ve said it before, so obviously I’m going to restate it again, an affectation of mine, repeating myself that is, that I don’t want to make this hobby of a daily writing challenge to be any harder than it needs to be. The moment the vibe is off, I’m done. I keep it lax, and lazy, and go with the flow of the moment. It’s not a paid gig, nor a side hustle. This is where I go to order a few thoughts, or to leave a paper trail of my wood working exploits. If I have to get up and dance to make it happen, or I put pressure on myself to ever be increasing view numbers & eye balls I’ll hate everything about it. It’s low rent for a reason. I’m not a “content” producer. I’m just a forty year old dude saying shit. You feel me, cuh! Silly stupid shit. Sometimes I write random shorts of absurdism. It’s fun. It’s easy. It only requires that I put pen to paper and make the words come out. They don’t have to be great words, eloquent words, gracious or empowering words. I’m not looking to showcase vocabulary; though that being said I have stumbled across a few interesting words and used those as a writing prompt, but that’s rare. Uncommon even.

Sometimes I like to discuss the writing and illustration of my children’s book. That is a fun little project which I have allowed to stretch on for years longer than it should have. I came up with the story when my oldest was about to turn four, she’s almost ten. I started to put the art work together over the Covid lock downs of 2020, 2021, and parts of 2022. I don’t know if I even opened it in 2023. That has required me to paint digitally which is not a strong suit of mine. So I resist it, and thus the project has dragged on for years now. I don’t imagine it would be some surprise hit with the masses either, so no rush there.

I even go on a bit about the two books I wrote of collected short science fiction. There are also a few autobiographical shorts from life experiences mixed in there too, but that isn’t really a big draw for people. Lots of folks have kids. It might he relatable, but not a big motivator to buy the book, or read them on Amazon Kindle Unlimited. I do intend, at some point, to mash both books together into one document and have four copies printed just to have it as a physical thing I can put on my desk. I think that that would make it seem really real. Just a thought. A day dream I’ve had a few times.

Yeah – so, quality is what I’m aiming towards now that I’m on the path to revisit my old writing streak high score. Maybe I’ll figure out how to become a more clear, and concise communicator? Who knows perhaps I’ll even pick up a tone, or a voice all my own on the way. Those smarter than myself tell me perfect practice makes perfect, rather than just repeating your old stupid mistakes and calling that experience. We will see! Ciao Bella!

Basement Karaoke: Tales of the moonlighting groan inducing, happy to try but I ain’t no good, singer of others songs.

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I originally recieved a full blown karaoke machine as a wedding present from my colleagues at Moosehead Breweries Ltd / The Premium Beer Company many, many moons ago. And one late summer day a year or more ago I dropped it coming up the stairs. I dropped it one step, but it was enough to muck up the machine and create that burning wire smell. So now, I use the microphones, and reciever on an old amplifier to do my caterwauling downstairs. The JBL Boombox 2.0 is across the room with my wireless play list, and I can stand comfortably in the living room and wail away. It’s pretty glorious. I’m terrible, but enthusiastic. I usually give it a whirl when everyone else is out of the house, but a friday evening sing along is never that far out of reach!

I have a mix of 50’s, 60’s, early 2000’s, and even some current music in rotation. Oh, and it’s loud. So loud. So very, very loud. My favourite. Crooning alone to my oldies and having a sweaty fun time. I’d ask you to check out my set up but I don’t much care where it lands on the private in home Karaoke continuum. It’s not run through a PA rig so right there you can tell it’s not a professional kit, so why do comparisons at all. It’s loud, it’s fun and it works, that’s all that matters to me.

On another note (pun intended) I plan to go see Dune Part Two this weekend and I am pumped! I’ll catch a Sunday night late show and will hopefully avoid a massive crowd. Other than that I have no plans to do much of anything, unless more work comes in that needs to be reviewed on Monday morning. Ciao Bella!

Slapping some stain on the old girl.

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It was sunny and plus thirteen for about 90 minutes earlier today, so I popped out to the wood shop and dashed some Walnut coloured Danish Oil Stain onto my youngest daughters new single bed frame for the cottage.

I started by spot sanding a few bits that didn’t get all the love they needed the first couple of go rounds, and then spent a few minutes dusting it off with the air compressor. Then I splish-splashed the Danish Oil rub on it with a very wet foam brush, and ran through a few clean rags wiping it off. I think I managed to avoid runs in the finish, but I’m sure there’s one someplace very visible that I couldn’t see while I was bustling away this AM.

Good thing it’s so light weight, I didn’t need to call for help to move the whole thing around while I worked. Rests on my bench easily enough. It’s times like these that I am thankful for all the space saving theatrics I’ve had to undertake recently. My old layout would never have been wide or clear enough for both the frame and me. No chance I could have freely walked all 360 degrees around it before. I could still do with the whole shop being a good 36 inches wider, but that’s a very expensive construction matter. Also not going to happen. No way I tear down walls, and add roof for just three feet. Plus the property line is right there and no municipal office would ever grant me permits to get closer than eight feet to the line. So I’ll do what I can with what I’ve got.

Side bar: I am toying with the idea of taking down the pre-built racking that looks kinda shifty, in favour of metal racks, and reclaiming higher up wall space, but I need to get rid of several stored doors, and car seats, strollers, and household junk before I do that. It needs careful planning. I could benefit a great deal from doing so, but it’ll cost me both time & money, and a fair bit of aggravation to boot. I’m thinking it over. But I digress.

The Pine bed frame is one inch thick, with box joints, and a slatted cross member design. The feet all screw on, and the slats screw down into their mortises for extra peace of mind. It’s light weight, and has been stained to a Walnut brownish tone. One single pass. I’m told with Danish Oil I could do multiples, but I find one wetly soaked coat works fine for me. It ain’t no heirloom quality piece but it should last a few years. I hope.

(Fig 1.) Pieces break down. 6 feet / 6 slats / 2 rails & 2 ends.
(Fig 2.) Hand scraped finish, but sanded to 100 grit. Very rustic appearance.
(Fig 3.) Assembled upside down. Original Pine colour showing.
(Fig 4.) Starting to Stain with it still upside down. Notice how much room I now have to get all the way around it! Ohh- Aah.
(Fig 5.) All stained up, drying & off gassing that nose prickling oil finish smell. Could stay in here for a few days getting that smell to dissipate.

Finishing isn’t exactly my favourite thing to do. It’s sticky, and smelly, and finicky too. My shop doesn’t have an air cleaner, nor do I use anything better than a shop vac to control the dust I make. Not good for high end, ultra high quality finishing. But I get it done regardless. Although now the temperature has plummeted down to minus one, and will go even lower and bring in some snow too. So I don’t know how anybody can plan around this type of thing. Well… a temperature controlled working space would alleviate those stressors, but I ain’t got that kinda dough just lying around for a quirk of mine.

So maybe a single spray on layer of Diamond Coat will go on next, or not. This piece may not be worth the additional effort. It will get scratched & marred. I’m none too concerned about that. If I can get a shot of it in situ up north I’ll update about the bed frame one last time. Take care out there. Ciao Bella.

Getting the results.

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I’ll have to wait until mid March to get the results of my MRI. I hope that because I’m waiting several weeks that means the results are mild to fair and not a total disaster. No major upsets expected is what I’m saying. I’d hope that if things were dire, or required visits to additional specialists that they wouldn’t set the follow up for a month afterwards, but would work a person in asap. But perhaps the medical field doesn’t work that way anymore, for one reason or another.

I’ll keep people posted. Once I know something I’ll be certain to discuss it here later. I could follow the progress if I require surgery, or need to undergo additional testing, or go see other persons in adjoining medical fields. We’ll see where this thing leads us content wise. I’m never afraid to overshare. TMI warnings for everyone.

My hardwood delivery from KJP Hardwoods showed up yesterday, yay! I have 20BF of rough sawn Walnut lumber, roughly 4/4 thick. To tell you the truth with minimal additional work I could put it straight into use. It’s a shame I can’t order eight foot lengths, but shipping gets difficult on stuff that long, and heavy. I’m going to make some book shelves for the girls which are low profile, and make a new Urn for myself with hand cut dovetails. I need to make the covering lid too, and a felt lined interior tray as well. Should be good practice for all those Dovetails. Or I’ll get frustrated and move on to box joints, or try my hand at finger joints. As long as it looks nice. Not that mitred corners aren’t nice, but I want my eternal vacation spot to be premium! With tiny rubber non surface marring feet.

Not to mention I should finish my daughters bed by either staining it, or moving it up to the cottage as is. One way or another i need to get it completed and moved out of the garage. Perhaps I’ll find some time today to decide my plan of action, and follow through on it.

I think it’s Wednesday today. Felt really tired and sluggish yesterday. Not sure where that came from, could have been a symptom of the barometric pressure changes.

In other news I did get a free large drink from Booster Juice yesterday, which was rather tasty. Two of my wife’s friends messaged her to say that my name came up for the daily giveaway promo they do all February. Hard to believe we’re even in February given yesterday’s twelve degrees and raining thunderstorms. I drank 80% of my juice berry concoction and enjoyed it quite a bit. Starts off a bit tart, but once you get used to it then the whole thing goes down pretty easily. I guess I was caught off guard by the inclusion of grapefruit. Have a great Hump Day! Ciao Bella!

Work spaces and their impact on productivity.

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The work from home situation.

I am currently freelancing from home, from my own office/studio space. A place where I can not only create paid design/production work, but can make music, sculptures, paintings, and models too. It’s a place I enjoy hanging out in. It’s  clean-ish (depending on the needs of the job at hand) and quiet during the day, warm & dry, and the best part is it requires zero commute time to get to. So I don’t mind getting to an item at 6:30am one day, or answering a panicked email at 11:00pm the next day. I can pop laundry in as I walk to the bathroom. I can do a grocery shop over lunch. But best of all I’m here to drop my kids off at school in the morning, and available to pick them up at the end of their day. I don’t have to spend four hours a day, five/six days a week traveling downtown, and then across town, then walking several blocks to a job. I’ve excised that demon.

My topic wasn’t WFH, but the space in which I operate. I’ve worked places with no assigned seating or computers, in an open room on tables, in a bank of cubicles, and in a couple of offices of my own with a door I could shut, an air vent of my own I could manipulate, and my own lighting. Being secluded by myself was always the best for me. Collaboration is great, and loads of fun, but the bulk of my labour required very little of it. As normally my bread & butter item in my workload was production. Retrofitting someone else’s art work to fit new specs. A style guide answers the most basic questions, and it was just a matter of producing enough of the artwork to suit all the different brands, sub brands, and partner brands to stay afloat. I do not miss firing off 115 projects a week, every week, until the new fiscal when planners, and bulk sell sheet orders would come my way, and I’d do double, to nearly triple that. Yikes. My wrist fried out, and my eyes went twitchy, and I was not a very kind person. I don’t miss any of that, except the steady pay cheque.

The cool thing now is that when I have a quiet period, of hours, days, or weeks, I can tackle a DIY project, or build in my wood shop, or paint/sculpt/draw in my office, ready to answer a phone call or email. Some times I can even pick up a guitar and strum along to music for a spell. I’m contract, and freelance so I’m not tied go an eight hour day, with a keyboard counter, or a clock watching supervisor. Thank god!  I’m here and available and you only pay for the hours you use. Works great for all involved.

Hot lunches, and a semi private bathroom, shower and laundry on site. Video games and movies on hand. A gym with weights. What more could a person ask for. Oh yeah – no people though. No external interactions 98% of the time. Ah – PERFECTION!

I tell you what. I could accomplish more at home in 3.5 hrs than I ever did in an office over 8. No walk by’s, no drop ins, no gather rounds or team meetings, no memos or circle the wagon moments. All work, no fluff, and no in office pantomime of walking to talk to all the right people just to be seen, and sound busy. It really is fantastic to drop all of those extra steps and just get to do the work I love. Yes I have to send invoices, and do my own books, and plan around delays in payment or lull periods. But freelancing offers me so much more family time while I have young kids that none of that matters all that much. Glorious. But, I’ve always had a spouse that out earned me by a wide margin, even at my highest paying job, so there is that to consider. It was cheaper in the end for me to take a pay cut, but for us to not have to pay before & after school care costs for two kids, plus sitters for pa days, winter break, and march break, and the whole summer.

How do you have your work space set up? How do you like where you are? What would you change? What are you able to change? Take it easy.