work-life-balance – The Yuppie Homesteader

Is this normal?

Today, I was able to do some significant quiet work for two clients. Then, I wrapped up my day at 4:37 p.m. In the meantime, the laundry is still caught up, the house is still picked up and I spent a little of my so-called lunch hour cleaning up the kitchen. I was also aContinue reading “Is this normal?”

Four days, four weeks and four months…

I have the next four days off. And by “off”, I mean “look at your email only occasionally.” (Hi, my name is Gail. I’m a workaholic and a responsibility junkie.) Yep, I admit it, I’m just a little bit obsessive about email and work. But, for four days, I need to let work go andContinue reading “Four days, four weeks and four months…”

Forty-seven million.

I’ve been doing some retirement planning. (Hint: I’m always doing retirement planning.) But I did the math. If a human being lives to 90 years old and there are 365 days in a year and 24 hours in a day and 60 minutes in an hour, a human will have just about 47 million minutesContinue reading “Forty-seven million.”

My “porch of indecision”

It’s no big secret that I am/was a huge Jimmy Buffett fan. Anyone who can celebrate summer, relaxation, a margarita and the ocean is just A-OK with me. While I often fantasize about living a Jimmy-like life, the truth is that I am also fairly confident he was an incredibly hard worker and did notContinue reading “My “porch of indecision””

Vacation, Sabbatical or Retirement?

So, major turn of events here: it turns out I’m not built for retirement – or at least not yet. Even sabbatical was a little hard. At the end of the day, I feel like I need to use my brain. As fulfilling as taking care of my family is – and it genuinely isContinue reading “Vacation, Sabbatical or Retirement?”

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 In a bit of a safety net move, I rescinded my full resignation in favor of a partial, no-obligation employment status.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…”

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”

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.”

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…”