gmayeaux

A glass of wine and a measure of bourbon

We have been through new normal a couple of times in this family. The first new normal occurred after my husband crashed on his bicycle when we were dating. Fourteen broken bones and one ICU stay later, we had to figure out everything again from his recovery to our relationship to what his eventual newContinue reading “A glass of wine and a measure of bourbon”

Decisions, decisions…

So, one of the slight anomalies about my new life is that I still have this very small, thin tether to my old life. In a bit of a safety net move, I rescinded my full resignation in favor of a partial, no-obligation employment status. I work when I want for a negotiated fee. IContinue reading “Decisions, decisions…”

Are we there yet?

I keep asking myself, “have I adapted to being mostly retired yet?” and it feels like if you have to ask the question, you haven’t really adapted. Yet today, I’m confident: I’ve adapted well. The biggest clue? I don’t dread Mondays anymore. In fact, Mondays are really just another day in a list of sevenContinue reading “Are we there yet?”

Moving on…

For the past three years and in particular the last nine months, it’s felt like we have been trapped in a cycle of renovations. Nights and weekends, countless trips to the home improvement store, cleaning around construction materials and somehow fitting in pieces and parcels of life here and there. Renovations have been the tintedContinue reading “Moving on…”

Lawn mower revelations

To mow our rather massive yard, it’s a three-step process, although the order can be switched up depending on the circumstances. But first, there is trimming around all of the trees, gardens, structures and the house itself. The next step is to hand mow both the backyard portion that we use everyday and around someContinue reading “Lawn mower revelations”

Gratefulness as a lifestyle

This past weekend, it occurred to me that if I were to ever tick off the major things I’ve wanted out of life, I’ve been lucky enough to receive all of them. No, we don’t have untold riches by which we can retire and spend the rest of our days traveling and pursuing all sortsContinue reading “Gratefulness as a lifestyle”

It IS real.

So, it’s been almost three weeks of “new life”. In fact, Friday is the three-week anniversary, but who’s counting? And while it’s early days yet with the distractions of a major renovation project cluttering up the process, life is different. First, the outside pressure is off. I hadn’t realized that in working as a consultantContinue reading “It IS real.”

Weekend renos…

For many, it was a holiday weekend. For our little fam, it was renos. But again, we are close to the end. This weekend involved hanging both the hall closet and guest bathroom doors as well as the “big cleanout” of my office to prepare for laying floors next weekend. The thing is this weekendContinue reading “Weekend renos…”

Twister’s kitty emergency!

Normally, a kitty emergency around here is when I fail to either a) get the snacks made quickly enough, b) fail to open a door quickly enough or c) fail to promptly deliver whatever said kitty wants quickly enough despite not knowing what kitty really desires. As much as I tell them that those areContinue reading “Twister’s kitty emergency!”

Figuring it all out…

So, yesterday I got some bad news for my microbusiness. It appears that the major thing I was hanging my hat on – a federal grant writing opportunity – may not come in anytime soon. Yikes! That was the bulk of my early consulting work. But on the flipside… . Well, I didn’t make theContinue reading “Figuring it all out…”