Finally back from vacation

So...I didn't get to blog on our trip like I wanted to. Even in the few days we spent in Florida (with free wi-fi access), time didn't seem to cooperate with me.

I will say that we had a fantastic vacation! Cruising is something we'll likely do again, and the girls really enjoyed their time on it, too. So did R's parents. But I think next time, we'll either go to Alaska or Europe. While I do want to visit other places in the Caribbean, it's time to see other places in the world.

Now that we've gotten laundry and our carpet cleaning out of the way, pictures and my travel log are definitely forthcoming! Stay tuned....

Knit one, two, three

Not too long of a post today...I need to get a lot of stuff done between now and the next 24 hours before we take off for Orlando. I need to figure out what I want to take. Now I have to think about what I'd like to take for knitting.

This blog used to be a strictly knitting and fiber-arts related one. I decided to move away from that, but I still knit. I am getting projects done Unfortunately, I've been terrible about documenting my knitting endeavors, but my aim is to get that remedied when we return on the 26th. My Ravelry page will look completely different when I'm done with it.

Maybe I'll write from the airport tomorrow morning, or when we get into Florida. I'm on a roll now! :)

This must be some kind of record...

So...I don't know if I've ever written four blog entries four straight days. Must be something in my water. :)

Right now, I'm just getting ready for my vacation. Highly uncharacteristic of me, but I'm the last one to pack. Maybe I'm a little intimidated with having to get 10 days of clothes ready, and 7 of those days mean we can't do any laundry - unless we want to shell out $25 a bag for Royal Caribbean to do it. No thanks.

I'm also trying to figure out what to do with my articles. I've written about 5-6 of them that, with a little polish, could be ready for submission to a website, maybe a publication. Now I just have to find the right ones - that's the tough part. There are so many out there, and I guess I fear that anything I've written is not suitable for any of them. I also have to think about what to submit to stock agencies, too. I've applied to Fotolia, Dreamstime and Shutterstock, but haven't submitted anything. There's also Bigstock Photo and iStockphoto (this one I did submit stuff, and got rejected).

Those are my somewhat modest goals for the summer: have my photos accepted for stock and have an article published. Also finish my NYIP course, which I have to do by September.

Who said my summer wasn't full??

It's a living...for a few months

I'm pretty lucky during the summer. Since I've worked for school districts, I've had the last 12 summers off and have enjoyed every one of them. The one problem I've had was to find something that I can do during those 2 1/2 months. I've tried coaching, copywriting, graphic design and fiction. None of these things have really panned out.

So I'm still trying to find that golden ticket, the thing (or things) I can do where I won't feel massively guilty about taking time off. I think I've found them now.

Travel writing is something I never thought about doing. The travel part, of course, is something I love. But unlike copywriting, it's something I can believe in and really enjoy. The income potential is rather slim, but that's not the point. I'm pretty good at writing, and have actually written about 4-5 short articles as well as one 1,000 word one. I can foresee doing more of this in the future. But having it replace my current career? Probably not. Still, I find it a blast.

Another interest that is growing into something more is photography. I first took it up in 1985, with an old-school SLR camera, which I still have. But rather than try to do something artistic, I'll probably try to do more travel/editorial and stock work for now. I thought about photographing people, but the thought of setting up an indoor studio is kind of "meh" to me right now. Still, I'm learning more about it, really re-learning all over again. But like the writing, I'm very psyched about it.

Here we go...hopefully, I'll something to show for it by the end of August, before I head back to school. :) In the meantime, here's a few samples of what I've done with my photography

Evergreen Lake


Niki at Red Rocks Amphitheater


And Coit Tower in San Francisco

Time for all the things I need to do

I realized that part of the reason why it's been hard for me to keep up this blog is because it's relatively difficult to upload photos the way I want to. Photography is one of those things that I'm including in this blog, along with travel, writing (and travel writing), knitting, cooking and being a parent. I'm trying to do a lot of things during my time off this summer. Here's the laundry list:

- Apply to microstock agencies
- Get an article published somewhere
- Establish a for-profit website
- Possibly become an online editor for family travel
- Finish a photography course

Some people wonder why I put J and N in summer camps while I'm off. I've never been able to answer that question in a satisfactory manner, until now. As you can see from the list, there's a lot to get done these next few months, and even then our vacation is going to inevitably get in the way of that.

Still, it's hard to stay too much away from these sweeties...

Wow, it's been WAAAAY too long!!!

Still here, still alive.... :)

My regular work this year was in a word, nutty. As a result, I have really neglected this blog, and my intention is to not do so this summer. I have plenty to still do - writing and photography in particular, and also learning about web copywriting (things that I'm hoping will provide some supplemental income over these next few months).

And yes, I'm still knitting, trying to get about ten projects done at once...eek

Another thing is trying to stay in shape for our upcoming vacation next week. We are going on Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas, heading to the Bahamas, St Thomas and St. Maarten. I can't describe the excitement I'm feeling, Everyone is going - kids, in-laws and of course hubby.

I'll try to see if I can blog from the ship, but it may cost us quite a bit. I'll at least get an entry or two off in Florida, before we set sail.

Until the next time...(which won't be in 10 months!)