Not just a job…

It wasn’t just a job to me. “Just a job” means the place you go to during the day, do your time and then go home without caring about anyone or anything you did. For the last eleven months, work felt like another home to me. That’s not to say that it didn’t stress me out, and there wasn’t drama. Let me start at the beginning.

Last October, I was unemployed and a lovely lady at an employment agency I had signed up with contacted me and said that she had the perfect assignment for me. It was with the company her husband worked at, could I go in for an interview tomorrow? I thought, the alternative is to sit at home NOT earning money, so sure, why not?

Xulon Press is a self-publishing company for Christian Authors.  That means that Christian authors can contact Xulon, and they will help publish their books. It does cost money, but the author gets to keep 100% of the rights, and no agent is going to call them hounding for pages, or whatnot. It’s a pretty sweet deal, and quite a few of their books had been picked up by traditional publishers.

Working for a company like Xulon Press was a new experience for me.  I’ve worked for great companies, and I’ve worked with great people, but I’ve never gotten the opportunity to have both in the same job.  Again, I still had stress, it was’t perfect, but it was the closest thing to perfect I’ve ever gotten.   It was exactly what I needed at the time.

A couple months ago, when Christopher and I came up with this amazing idea, one of the hardest things to decide upon was leaving my job.  But we came up with a solution – earlier in the year when Christopher was laid off from his previous job, they let me earn extra money by doing data entry for our editorial department.  If they would let me do that again, then I would be okay, and have a way to earn money as well.

It was a pretty easy decision to give my “notice” as quickly as possible.  Part of my job responsibility is being my boss’s assistant, and he was the first boss I ever admired, respected, and quite frankly loved.  He was like a father to me, and was there for me through a few rough patches.  I didn’t want to leave him, or the company, in the lurch and if they were going to replace me, I wanted them to have time to find a replacement.

So fast forward now to a couple weeks ago.  My friends at the company arranged a going away lunch, and a going away cake.  They weren’t a surprise or anything – yet still, at the luncheon, I was shocked and awed that 27 other people showed up (out of a company of 60-70) to celebrate me.  And they weren’t all from my department.  I felt so very loved and appreciated.

And then there was the cake:

After one of my coworkers (who is a pastor at his church) prayed over Christopher and I and our journey, we enjoyed this delectable treat from Publix.  Seriously, it was amazing (Thanks Michelle!!!).

This all happened throughout the week, and again, I felt so blessed.  So blessed in fact that I was therefore shocked on Friday when I was dragged by the aforementioned Michelle into the conference room, for a sales meeting that I had set up (seeing as how I’m the Sales Assistant, that’s my job).  Only usually I’m not in the sales meetings, since I’m not a sales representative.  What was even more interesting is that the other sales representatives, not in my department, were in the meeting.  As my boss started the meeting with sales information, my mind wandered.  This was after all, my last day.  I was trying to wrap up loose ends before I left for the day, and now I was in a meeting that would have no effect on me??

And then came the surprise.  This meeting was about me.  Okay, maybe I’m lying a little bit.  Maybe I had a SLIGHT inkling that would happen.  But whatever.  They asked me to make a little speech.  I told myself I wouldn’t cry, and so far I had succeeded (except for a small bit in the morning, but that didn’t count!) and continued to not cry throughout my speech.  I explained what I stated earlier in the blog.  That I had never worked for such a company, or with such people.  And I considered them my family, and would never forget them.

At that point one of my coworkers pulls out a gift bag.  Some of my coworkers actually read my blog (Hi everyone!) and knew about the plight of not being able to take everything I wanted with me, including something I love to do – crafting/scrapbooking! So they gave me this gorgeous scrapbook album with four photo openings in the thick leather cover.  And when I opened it, I found stickers for some of the cities they know I’m headed to, a Boston travel book, and a large stack of notes and letters from my coworkers. Suddenly, something happened that NEVER happens to me.  I was speechless.  After catching my breath (and wiping the tears that had fallen) I explained that this further proved that I will never in my life work with such an amazing group of people.

And then my boss had to go and pull out his gift bag.  He had bought me a giant box of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (my favorite candy in the world) for the drive.  He gave me a big travel encyclopedia book that has all kinds of information about every region and area of the United States.  After he pulled out a beautiful leather-bound copy of Jesus Calling (signed with a note by him), he gave me a leather-bound journal for me to write in on the trip, and told me that he knew of a great company that could someday publish my book. (haha)  And lastly, he said the thing they would miss most about me was my inspirational spirit, and my constant desire to motivate everyone (I was the Sales Assistant after all!).  So he gave me a pack of inspirational notecards and asked me to send them once in awhile to share some motivation and inspiration with them.  Which OF COURSE I will do.  Finally, my boss (a retired pastor) prayed over me and our journey (you can never have too many prayers!).

I cannot express enough how loved, appreciated and blessed I felt after that outpouring of love.  I wish I could write a love note on here to each and every coworker that touched my life.  I’ll just leave it to this: I may not have been at Xulon Press a full year.  But I grew up quite a bit during my time there, and I wouldn’t have done it without my amazing FRIENDS (since they are no longer truly coworkers).  I have had friendships that outlived jobs in my life many times, but never so many from one job.  I love each and every one of the people at Xulon Press, and I only hope someday I can show them how much they meant to me.

 

Don’t forget to “follow” the blog! I’m hoping to revamp the website over the next couple weeks, so stay tuned for upcoming changes.  Stay tuned for next Monday and my next post!

Packin’ It Up – Part 2!

Well, it’s official. Our house is empty, we have moved out, and we are now temporarily taking up residence in my dad’s house. And just like everything else in this process, this past week and weekend were NOT hiccup-free. In fact, there were a few points along this particular journey that made me wonder what the heck we are doing.

If you have read the Our Story page, then you know that Christopher travels for work. It is part of the reason he came up with this crazy idea in the first place. Well this past week – while we were supposed to be packing up the rest of our house – he had to travel for work. Add to that the fact that I have now had a cold for a straight two weeks (since it’s impossible to get rest because we are MOVING), and you have a recipe for disaster. I had decided to take a couple of nights this past week to try and relax so that I would get better.  I mean, we had until SUNDAY to pack up and clean the house, and Christopher would be back home on Friday – that was plenty of time, right?! Boy was I wrong. Oh, so very wrong.

In hindsight of course, I realize that I should have pushed through. I would have plenty of time to get better while at my dad’s house, and things never go as planned. But I had remained faithful that everything would work out. I just had no idea what a struggle it would be.

Friday was my last day at work (stay tuned next week for my blog about leaving my job!), and they were gracious enough to let me leave early. Since I had so much to do, and Christopher was on his way home, this was extremely helpful. After I had been home for about 30 minutes, Christopher informed me that they would NOT be picking up the pod on Sunday. In fact, they are CLOSED on Sundays. They would be there on SATURDAY. And they could show up any time between 1:30 and 4:30.  That’s right folks, we were losing an entire day! And, it is one of my closest friends’ birthdays, so I was going out to dinner that night.  Christopher assured me that I didn’t need to cancel, that we would figure it out. He is so wonderful.

Saturday morning, we woke up at 7 AM and rushed around the house like chickens with no heads all morning. Around noon we had done so much that we paused for lunch. We had some yummy pizza (I LOVE pizza. In case you were wondering) and then rushed around again like chickens… well you get the point. At about 12:45 we decided to get more organized and go room by room to make sure everything that needed to get into the pod, got into the pod. Again, we had until at LEAST 1:30, so we really needed to make sure everything was done by that point, just in case.

At 1:20 (no, I am not joking or exaggerating) the guy shows up to take the pod away. Well, we made him wait the 10 minutes to throw everything we could into the pod – they told us 1:30!! Here it is, our completely full pod:

We then stood outside and watched him take it away, a process that took about 15 minutes and was FASCINATING. I’m a total nerd and love machines, and this was AWESOME to watch.

It was difficult watching 90% of everything we owned drive away. But we didn’t have a moment to spare, we needed to keep on working.  So the next thing we did, was go through everything we are bringing with. We still needed to consolidate and pack it up nice and neat so that it would all fit in the van. Once that was completed, we packed up the van as though we were going to hit the road (make sure everything fits) and we headed to my dad’s to sleep for the first time, since our bed was now in the pod.

Sunday, again, we woke up at 7 AM and after getting ready headed back over to what was now “the old house” – after a quick stop at Home Depot to grab things we would need to clean and fix up the house. As soon as we got to the house, Chris started mowing the lawn (we couldn’t have our new tenants living in a jungle!) while I loaded up the van with everything that needed to go with us to my dad’s – either because we were giving it to someone else over the next couple weeks, or we were going to use it up or whatever the reason. My dad and his girlfriend showed up around 10 to pick up the motorcycle – they have a nifty ramp thing and a huge truck – and stayed for about two hours helping to clean. My Aunt Michelle showed up around 11 and stayed until 2:30, and then my Uncle Ben and Aunt Hillary came around noon and stayed until 2:30. My family is AMAZING. A few times I felt like crying because I was so tired, I hate cleaning and I was overwhelmed by how much we had to do. My old roommate (not because she’s old, but because we are no longer living together haha) stopped by because she was going to store all of our lawn equipment and tools. She’s awesome.

Basically, the point is, with everyone on hand, we did it. AND I was the one who patched up all the holes, my Aunt Hillary helped sand the dried patches, and then I went back and did the touch up paint. I know, I’m awesome. By 4:30 we had finished EVERYTHING, and we were on our way back to my dad’s house.

Yet again, another point on this amazing journey that should have been so easy, and it wasn’t. But we still did it. We accomplished everything we needed to, and we were shown yet again by those closest to us how very blessed and loved we are. I could NOT be more thankful to my family for everything that they did to help us.

And finally – a couple pictures of our sad and empty house:

Yes – those lovely wall shelves were designed by yours truly, and came to life by the hands of darling husband, Christopher.

We may have lost a house, but home is where the heart is or some dumb cliche like that!

 

Stay tuned for next week, when I talk about how difficult it was to leave my amazing job! And don’t forget to click the follow button!

Packin’ It Up

Picture this: I’m standing by the bed, hovering over a full box of shoes, snarling and snapping at my husband.  I was like a rabid dog, telling him to get away from me or I’ll bite his hands off.  Mostly, I was kidding.  Only mostly.  Why was this feral scene unfolding in my house this weekend?  It’s time to pack it all up!  Christopher had told me I couldn’t bring all my shoes with me on the road.  Even though I knew it was coming, I was NOT pleased. To top it off, when I was packing away the rest of my shoes (while trying to convince him that I should be able to bring the strappy glitter shoes in case I have to wear my formal dress, which led to the conversation that I wouldn’t be TAKING the formal dress!!), our shoes together barely fit in a 18-gallon tub.  Again, this is after I’ve pulled out about 10 pairs to sell/donate and the 5 or 6 pairs I’m bringing, and I can guarantee you Christopher only had a few pairs in that tub.  I may have a shoe problem.  But I digress. At this point, Christopher was telling me to get rid of a couple pairs so that they would all fit in one tub. CAN YOU BELIEVE THE NERVE?!?! I compromised. I told him since we would be buying a new pair of sneakers soon to replace my old ones, I would donate the old ones, thus making room for all of the shoes in one tub.  I’m so gracious, I know.

So here we are now, sleeping on our mattress in the living room. The pod we are renting is outside in the driveway, chock full of our stuff. With the help of a few friends and some family, after just two days, we are almost completely done with packing away everything we will not need for the next year.  All the furniture we are keeping, everything from our kitchen (we even gave away all our non-refrigerated food to my brother and sister-in-law who won’t need to grocery shop now for a few weeks), everything is off the walls, the couches were taken apart (thank you Ikea!) and wrapped, etc. The list goes on.

It feels a little sad, honestly. Packing up my yarn box knowing I can’t take it with me – I know it doesn’t mean I can’t crochet, I just can’t use THAT yarn.  Putting away the wedding scrapbook I’ve been working on for the last three years, proof it won’t get finished in year four of our marriage.  Not to mention all the shoes I won’t be able to wear, the blankets I won’t be able to cuddle under, the glasses I won’t be able to drink out of, it’s all reminiscent of what I’m losing this coming year.  As humans, we are creatures of comfort, and this little exercise is proving to be no exception.  We may have only lived in this house for two years, but it is our home.  

And yet, as I walk through each emptying room, I realize something – it’s worth it.  Stuffing everything inside plastic tubs and cardboard boxes and loading it all into a storage pod means one thing: FREEDOM.  The act itself is what enables us to go on this adventure of a lifetime and experience something so amazing.  So next weekend, after we have finished not only packing up everything we aren’t taking, but packing up everything we ARE taking, we will load up the van and head over to my father’s house.  It might be bittersweet to drive away from the house, and I might even cry a little bit (I am not a robot after all!), but it will all be worthwhile. Because roughly three weeks later, we will leave for Boston, our first stop on the year-long journey.  

It is these moments, as I sit on the living room mattress, writing this blog, that I ponder everything we are doing. Every obstacle and challenge that we have had to face, and will continue to face over the next few weeks, are all for this great and amazing purpose.  I’m probably sounding cliched at this point, but I don’t care – I’m so excited for what will come. 

(The inside of the storage pod after the first day)

 

And if you are still excited to read about it (which I hope you are!) please click the tiny “Follow +” button at the bottom right and enter in your email address.  I post every Monday right now, and once we get on the road, will probably post a couple more times a week.  This way every time I update my blog, you will get an email. I assure you, I will strive to make it worth your time! 

It’s just stuff, right?!

Getting rid of your stuff is HARD. Christopher thinks it’s fun, he calls it a purge. I call it letting go of memories and never looking back. Isn’t it weird how tied we are to our stuff? As I go through each room, each closet and each drawer, I pull out items that I haven’t used in weeks, months, maybe even years. And yet I remember EXACTLY how I came to possess every item. The purse I guilted my mom into giving me and then never used. The scarf I HAD to have and then never wore. The camera my parents gave me when I was in high school and decided to dabble in photography, and haven’t used in over a decade.

Christopher and I have been planning to host a garage sale since we moved into our house, well over two years ago.  But we kept putting it off and I kept donating items, until this adventure came upon us. And suddenly, WE HAD WAY TOO MUCH STUFF! It seemed there was one answer – we needed to finally have a garage sale. So when we found out the renters wanted to move in a good two to three weeks before we had originally planned, we realized we needed to have it NOW.

It was so hard at first. Until I started filling all the boxes, and then I found I wanted to add more and more, sometimes adding things I wouldn’t normally have thought to sell. Like all the games we have (we do a lot of game nights), or half my wardrobe, or 75% of my purse and bag collection. A scarf and two baskets I had crocheted myself found their way into the sell piles. Suddenly it was easy to think someone else might love the items I loved.

But then came figuring out how much to charge for each item. If you’ve ever been to a garage sale, or even heard of a garage sale, you probably know that most of the appeal comes from bargaining over price. So usually when hosting one of these sweaty (thanks Florida summer!) markets, you price everything just a tad higher so there is room to haggle. Well Christopher decided that since the goal was to get rid of stuff and not make money, we weren’t going to do that. EVERYTHING MUST BE PRICED TO SELL. I told him that’s crazy, we would be losing money – and again, he reminded me that it wasn’t the point. Sighing, I lowered the items I was working on and we moved on.

Fast forward to the morning of the sale. First of all, let me tell you – if you want to gain new appreciation for those special friends in your life, tell them you are moving and have a garage sale. The outpouring of love and support we have received has been so overwhelming I can barely stand it. I hope I never stop having opportunities to thank those around us, because there is nothing like watching a friend come over at 7 AM, alongside your family, and deal with your craziness as you try to set everything up, all before her first cup of coffee.

Finally we started to get customers. The first customer of the day, and he wanted four of my really nice purses (a couple with tags on) and a couple other items.  He asked how much for the purses, and I told him $5 for all four because I hadn’t yet decided how much to ask for. I felt really weird afterwards. I should have asked for $10, maybe $20. But remember what Christopher said…. not about the money…. blah blah blah…. Another sigh. And then we had a lady come up who wanted to buy a LOT of stuff. Clothes, bags, shoes, knick knacks, etc. As she was walking through she had already been asking me to bring my price down on items. I agreed, because Christopher said… you get the point. And then we totaled it all up, and it was $46 – so I said, let’s make it $45. After bargaining quite a bit, we agreed on $35. Again, I felt a little strange. These were our items and I was practically giving them away! And then, as I watched her walk away with 4 or 5 bags of our unwanted and unnecessary items, a new feeling washed over me. I looked around at the other people walking around the sale with handfuls of stuff and realized, we were getting rid of so much stuff! Suddenly, I wanted everyone to take everything they looked at! I would give them any price if they would just take it off my hands. Because Christopher was right, it WASN’T about the money. It was about the fact that getting rid of these items means we can go on the adventure of a lifetime. It means we need less in storage, and we will have a little spending money too.

The garage sale continues today and I can’t wait to see what I will encounter, and the people and neighbors we will meet. Yet again, we are finding that even though things aren’t going the way we had originally planned, they are even better and even more amazing in so many ways. I can’t wait to see what else this adventure has in store for us, and we aren’t even on the road yet!

Check back again next week, I post every Monday! And don’t forget to subscribe to my blog!

We rented the house!

There is one KEY component to all of this – one thing that could have ruined this great idea of ours.  We HAVE to rent out our house in order to cover our mortgage.  Another thing we thought would be easy….

We reached out to friends and family, everyone we could think of that might be looking for a place to live.  And it wasn’t working out.  We listed it on Craigslist for about a week when we were contacted by a property management company.  There had been discussions about whether or not we would use one, and this was a sign, maybe we needed help.

Ideally, the house should be rented furnished – that way we don’t have to store all our furniture along with our possessions (the few we are keeping).  But we were willing to rent unfurnished because that’s what most people want.  Also, our start date tentatively is October 3rd (that’s when our first reservation starts) but Christopher had been thinking maybe we would start moving a little earlier and have him do customer visits on the way to Boston.  None of that could be ironed out however, until we had renters, and they had a move in date.

One day while we were on vacation a couple weeks ago, we got an email – the Property Management company was showing our house while we were out, they found renters who wanted it partially furnished (yes!) BUT here was the catch.  They needed to move in by September 15th.  That is MORE than two weeks earlier than we were planning!! I was really torn – I had given my last date of employment for September 12th with my company, so that I would have a full 2 weeks to get everything ready.  This included a garage sale, packing up what will come, and what will be stored, and taking care of last minute crises that inevitably always pop up.  So was I really willing to push everything up EXCEPT my employment??

OF COURSE I WAS! We knew this “adventure” would be challenging, this was just another bump Christopher and I would get through together.  Surrounded by the most amazing group of supportive friends and family, we can do anything.  My father and his girlfriend have graciously agreed to allow us to stay with them while we are in wait of beginning our trip (since we still haven’t finalized which day we want to leave).  We are having our garage sale THIS weekend, labor day weekend, and already we have friends and family pouring in their support, offering to help work it, offering supplies, etc.

Even though everything isn’t coming together the way I had imagined it when we started this, it is all falling into place in a much more amazing and unexpected way.  I can’t wait to find out what else is in store for us!

Check back again next week, I post every Monday! And don’t forget to follow me!

It Should Have Been So Easy

It all sounded so easy at the beginning….  Just log onto this website called Airbnb.com, pick a place to stay, and BAM! You have somewhere to go.  Oh if only that had been true….

Our first stop on this whirlwind tour of the East Coast, as mentioned in my last blog post, is Boston in October.  I have never been but I have ALWAYS wanted to go.  Well to be fair, that is true for most of the cities on our list.  But to me, Boston was a little bit more special.  First of all, I LOVE history.  Not in the “I watch hours of History TV every day” way, but in the, “I love to learn about the history of places” and “I love tours” way.  Boston is so full of history, it’s busting out of the seams!

On top of that, Christopher has a couple of friends living there (one in the city, one in a suburb) so we knew it had to be on our list (as are other cities where we have friends/family).  The kicker was the timing of the trip.  We had planned a week-long vacation smack-dab in the middle of August since January (we just got back actually), so we knew we would need time after that to get everything ready.  Beginning of October seemed like the earliest we could go without killing ourselves in the preparations. And, DUH – Boston IN October! It was a perfect match.  So picking a place to stay should have been just as easy, right?!

Airbnb.com is a WONDERFUL site.  No, they are not paying me to say that (but um, I wouldn’t object to it *cough cough*), it’s just true.  Their search features are so comprehensive, and the way they use a ratings system to keep everyone honest and safe makes me feel a whole lot better.  So the issue was not with Airbnb.com itself – the issue was in our needs!

As it turns out, we weren’t the only ones who have the bright idea to go to Boston in October.  (again, DUH)  And with our budget and small list of needs, it wasn’t an easy quest.  So, here it is, our list of demands:

1. Needs to be pet-friendly. Seeing as how Boston is a BIG city with lots of apartment buildings, those are fewer and further between than you would think.  But just because it wasn’t listed that pets were allowed, I would contact the host (person renting) to ask if they were – you never REALLY know.
2. Needs to be in downtown, near public transportation. Thanks to Boston and it’s lack of visitor-friendly parking in most areas, we need to be able to walk, ride our bikes, or hop on some sort of public transit system in order to get around. And as with most cities, the further out you go, the less public transit available.
3. Needs to be in a safe neighborhood.  This is due to us, y’know, wanting to be safe.  I feel like this is self-explanatory??
4. Needs to be at least one bedroom.  We will both be working from home most days.  In order to survive each other, we need to be able to separate. A studio would NOT cut it.
5. Needs to be affordable. Again, we have a budget for every month.  We knew that Boston would be at the high end of that budget, but we can’t do this if we can’t afford it!
6. Needs to be AVAILABLE.  Surprisingly (or maybe not) this was one of the most difficult parts.  There just weren’t a lot of places available for a full month.  Most people on Airbnb.com are renting out their OWN places, meaning they probably live there and rent it out when they go out of town. There are exceptions of course, but this was the biggest obstacle.

Thankfully, Airbnb,com allows you to make Wish Lists, and keeps track of who you’ve contacted, and who you haven’t.  After sending out about 30 – 40 emails to hosts in Boston, we had received acceptances from about 3 potential places, 2 of which were not in areas we wanted, but were keeping the options open just in case, when BAM!! Three weeks into the search (only two of which I was sending out emails) the stars aligned and we were able to book a place, in our budget, that allowed dogs, in a desirable neighborhood.

Even though we can’t book it yet (until we get our place rented or we sell our car, whichever comes first), I’ve already started on my Wish List for city #2 on our list – Raleigh, NC!  Honestly, even though it was a pain and a heartache emailing all of those people, Airbnb.com makes it so easy, it’s almost fun.

Countdown to the trip – I have no idea.  We have to rent out our house first… 🙂

Challenge Accepted!

Be sure to visit Our Story to read all about the adventure we are embarking on!

 

After Christopher and I decided to spend a year moving to a new city on the East Coast every month, I spent a week going over all of the potential issues I could think of, all the reasons why not to go:

• Would Christopher’s boss sign off on this?
• I love the company I work for, what would I do for work?
• We have two pups, to bring them or not to bring them?
• How much would we ask to rent our house for?
• What would we do with our stuff?
• We have two cars, both of them almost paid off, and neither one of them would work for this type of adventure, what would we do?
• Where exactly would we go?

And it turned out, Christopher and I had answers – GOOD answers – to every question! And we even had a few “why’s” to add to the list of “why not’s” we were crossing off.

• Would Christopher’s boss sign off on this? 
  YES! He did! Christopher is a Regional Sales Manager for the East Coast, and works from home. As long as we are in his territory, and near a major airport, we can technically live anywhere.

 

• I love the company I work for, what would I do for work? 
  While I wouldn’t be able to continue my job as Sales Assistant, my amazing company will allow me to do data entry for them on the road!  It doesn’t pay as well, but it means I will still be getting a paycheck.

 

• We have two pups, to bring them or not to bring them?
  Bring them! Airbnb.com is very comprehensive, and all listings state whether or not they allow pets.  It may cost us a little extra, but there’s no way we can live for a year without our “fur-babies”.

 

• How much would we ask to rent our house for? 
  Honestly, as long as our mortgage is covered, then we’re good! We are actually in the process now of finding a renter, but we are confident that we will find someone.

 

• What would we do with our stuff?
  We decided to have a giant garage sale right before we leave to get rid of a bunch of our stuff for some much-needed cash, but since we aren’t selling EVERYTHING, we will be renting a POD to store whatever we have left.

 

• We have two cars, both of them almost paid off, and neither one of them would work for this type of adventure, what would we do?
  Since we are planning on only living in major cities with public transit, and we will both be working from home, we will only need one car.  We decided to trade in the husband’s car for a Ford Transit Connect Van (see picture at the top of the page).  And as it gets closer to time, we will sell my car outright.  It will be paid off completely by then, and we will use that money for any incidentals we occur.

 

• Where exactly would we go?
  That list started populating VERY quickly.  We are still tweaking it, but we have at least 10 cities on our list, starting with Boston in October so we can see the leaves change!

 

• Additional reason to go?
  We don’t have kids yet.  The best time to do this is BEFORE we have kids.  I don’t want to wait until we are retired to have adventures!

 

• Another reason to go?
  I’ve never “left home” – I moved out of my parents’ house, but I never went away to college, or moved more than 20 minutes away.  I will miss my family like crazy (especially my niece and nephew!), but it’s temporary, and we will be able to come back home for important events like Christmas, etc.

 

• And lastly?
  IT’S THE ADVENTURE OF A LIFETIME!!

Stay tuned! I will post a new blog every Monday!