Journey & Adventure

Yes, it’s ALMOST that time of year again. Time for me rejuvenate and store up on some sunshine and vitamin D before the long winter ahead. It’s time for me to pack my bags and scuba gear and head off to a place where memories are made, good times are had and the ocean is explored. For some, Disney is the happiest place on earth, but for me it’s Bonaire. You may recall this is one of my contenders for places to retire, so J and I plan on using this opportunity to do some more research into the actual cost of living, average cost of vehicles, neighborhoods, etc. Five years is still a long way off, but at least we’ll be getting an idea of how expensive things actually are. I can hardly wait to get there and park myself at the beach bar for a beverage or two - for a live webcam view of it, take a look here .  Maybe you'll see me there (in a week and a bit)... Here are a few photos of the island from vacations past… By the way - all of the above photos are cour...

In our quest for reaching the 5 Year Plan and as a means of maintaining our early retirement, J and I have been tossing about ideas on how to make some extra money. As you know, I already have my back-up plan – Flamingo Tongue Designs , although I don’t suspect this to be as successful in a third world country as it currently is here in Canada, but I guess only time will tell. As you also know, J is the resident photographer in our family. He takes 100’s of photographs when we travel – both on land and underwater, so it seemed only natural that he use his God given talent for good and tries to sell some of them. This is also a hobby/business that would be ongoing and self-sustaining no matter where we end up. If you ask me it’s a win, win. So with that said, J’s been spending hours, upon hours, sifting through his photos, organizing and submitting them for approval to various micro stock photography sites. It’s been a tedious and sometimes frustrating process - the submi...

It was a busy weekend and before I knew what happened, Monday showed up like an uninvited family member and I already have more than enough of those in my life.   Life is getting back to normal (or at least my version of it) now that The Boy has moved back home.     I will be the first to admit that he seems to have matured a little by being away.   He’s not complaining when asked to do things, he does things without being asked, he doesn’t have to be reminded to do things and he’s even doing his own laundry.     Now, I’m thinking about sending J away for a little while, so maybe he picks up on some of those same life skills…   Speaking of J, he has now officially entered into the world of selling his photographs.   He became an Etsy seller (Imagine It Photos) last week.   A first, he wasn’t sold on the idea of Etsy, as he believed it sounded “too artsy fartsy” and was more of a “girly” thing.   He’s changed his mi...

Since the beginning of my humble Blogger beginnings, I have from time to time featured photos that have been taken by my husband, J. The truth is - I rely heavily on J to capture the memories of both our daily and worldly adventures. If it wasn’t for him, I would live in a photo-less world, because honestly I cannot figure out how to work our television remote control, let alone a camera and then I’d have to upload the photos, resize them, etc, etc. It’s just far too much work…for me. Now don’t get me wrong, I do actively participate in the photo-taking process. It’s less glamorous than actually being the photographer, but in the spirit of sharing responsibilities, he allows me to carry his camera equipment for him. I know! Isn’t he a peach? Anyhooo, since it’s my hope and J’s dream that someday one of his photos will get published in a national magazine (aka National Geographic), he has decided to launch his very own blog in order to obtain a litt...