Nails on a Chalkboard

I am so bad about writing in this personal blog. It could be because I almost constantly have the TV on, or because focusing in general has never been my strong suite. But here I am, forcing myself to do it, and in the end I will thank my self for it!

So We have been here about a week, and even though I miss Montreal’s unique atmosphere, and all the familiar sights and sounds, Michigan is not so bad. 

Our apartment is SO much nicer (and bigger), we bought a 2013 Civic Sedan, and we booked a venue for our wedding!

Originally we had planned to do it a traditional wedding venue in Virginia that was a large estate house. But after getting into contract details we realized that there were just too many restrictions to have the kind of hands on, family-made wedding we had in mind!

This was something my parents defiantly agreed on, and they were even happier with our new plan to get a big beach house for a week, have our family come stay with us, and throw the whole wedding in the middle of it!

It took a few months, but as of yesterday we finally booked the house (that sleeps no less than 50 people!) and set the date! September 14th, 2013!

So now I am getting a move on the actual planning! Mike’s brother and sister-in-law own and operate a printing press company out of Richmond (ittybittypress.com) and have offered to do our invites for free, as a wedding present! I am so excited, and I know they will do a kick ass job. I will have to post pictures when the time gets closer!

Well I have some final coding, designing, and illustrative work left to do on the blog, then I need to get a tripod and some food-photography-props, but after that I don’t really have any excuse but to post! 

Back to the grind!

We made it!

So we made the move! It was a stressful and busy week but we did it! Now we have an apartment (with 200 more square feet than we had!), a car, and a totally new life!

Today was Mike’s first day at work, so I feel as though its my responsibility to get back on the grind! I already had an interview with a catering company, but it will be a week before I will now if that pans out, so for now I need to get back on my blog!

I have finished designing, and coding, so next is just a couple last minute tweaks, then posting! I am super excited about it, and I hope it is well received! I hate to even look at my blog roll, but I guess I should wade through all the posts I missed!

Crazyness

So I haven’t been posting lately, but I swear I have a good reason.

Mike’s job, for the last year we have lived together, has always been very unsteady. We always have to be looking for the next thing, counting our pennies, and saving for the inevitable unemployment that comes when a contract runs up.  It  is even more unsteady because now he works for a small studio here in Montreal that is very new to the scene. They have been doing as well as any start up, and we have loved living here! But last week , due to some technical failings, Mike got stiffed his  check. Anyone living on a budget could understand that we went into panic mode.

We had saved enough money in the bank to make a move out of the country (just in case work dried up for us in Canada and we would be forced to leave). But we were counting on that check to be able to stay for a few months while we waited for the next project. We went into panic mode, and I suggested that Mike call some old work acquaintances to find a new job. And he did, almost immediately!

Pretty much as soon as he got a new job offer, he received the missing paycheck! So we started to get confused about weather to stay or to go.  Then the new job offer was taken off the table because the company wanted to think about it for a while. So back into panic mode we went.

Not receiving just one paycheck shook our faith in the Montreal studio. We are getting married this year, and we aren’t Canadian citizens, so every penny counts. We didn’t even realize how much we wanted to go to a ore steady job, or how sad we would be when we couldn’t.

Then almost as soon as the offer was rescinded, the Montreal studio called Mike and offered him a weeks worth of work! So off to work he went. Surely enough, one day into work the new job offer came back, and just like that we had a huge decision to make.

It has been so hard to decide, probably the hardest decision either of us has ever had to make. Stay in Montreal, or move to Michigan?   If the question was as simple as that, the answer is easy, stay in Montreal. But it isn’t. Stay in a unsteady job or move to stability? That was an easy answer, stability, but It directly contradicts our desire to live in Montreal.  There were so many other variables in our decision making but after painstakingly looking at all the angles and seeing what was best for us, we finally decided.

We are leaving Montreal and moving to Michigan. Like, now.  Or rather, Monday!

I think the main factor in our decision is the stress that our current situation puts us under. I think we just want to be able to relax for a while. To be able to tell someone that I will be living in the same place next month, to be able to plan, for me to be able to work,  and most importantly, to be able to get married with one less (huge) stress.

So there you go! My blog design is practically done, and I am very proud of it! I have a few more things I need to finish, and then after that I can start busting out some content, and get started on building a solid readership!

Until next time!

Busy Bee

Feeling pretty good this week. Had a productive and fun weekend with Mike involving a few lovely meals out and lots of beer .

This will be his last week working on the movie, so in a few days we will both be working from home again. Luckily though, this time we will both have separate work spaces, so hopefully the apartment wont feel as small!

On another note, the snow actually melted away because of some random golbal-warming-induced rain we had, so today’s snow is more than welcome! It feels unnatural for it to be Janissary and to still be able to see the sidewalk!

Well here I go, Productivity away!

Getting a late, grumpy start to my day!

Oops!

So my Aunt (not really an aunt) Sharon calls me up last night to tell me Uncle Larry will be in Montreal on business! I got all excited to see him, and we planned to meet on a street called Place D’ Youville (which is a few Miles away from my neighborhood) for Breakfast this morning. When me and Mike get down there, we realize that the Hotel he is staying at doesn’t exist! We looked around, called some places, tried to coordinate with him, and even asked a cabby how to find the place he was staying at. After walking around in the cold at 7 in the morning, supposedly lost, we find out that not only does the place not exist in Montreal, but that Uncle Larry is in Quebec City! Silly Aunt Sharon got us all confused! 

That, coupled with a crappy nights sleep, makes me pretty exhausted, and it is only 9:30!

 

Good Morning!

Well I am up! It was a struggle, but I am here!  I managed to get out of bed, eat breakfast, and shower, all so I could sit down today with a focused mind. 

I recently decided that I want to try to put full time hours into this blog, mostly because I can’t work right now and there is no reason not to! I figure if I devote a lot of time to it in the next few months, when I finally do go back to work I will be able to maintain it without killing myself!

So today I plan to sit down and put eight hours into it! I wrote up a list of things I need to get done, made a cup of tea and now here I sit, ready to work!

So  I have been a pretty bad blogger the last few weeks. 

But I will spare the Holiday excuses and give you an update on all the work I have been doing. Even though I haven’t been posting, I have been working on my site.

I have so many pages of ideas, and sketches, and general scribble bits! I have to say I am very excited! I have so many ideas, and I actually think hey are unique and fun!

So as well as content ideas, I actually have original artwork/illustrations by Mike! We spent HOURS by the computer over the break and collaborated on a feel for the site. I have to say it actually turned into a really well developed idea. Not to mention it’ just so freaking CUTE!

Unfortunately, the crappy camera I was using has officially died and I am awaiting a replacement camera, so I can’t make too much progress in that department. But there is so much work to be done in other areas of the site that it hardly matters!

So as well as working on my site, I have come to the conclusion that I need my own work space  Up until this point the desk was primarily Mike’s and was strictly utilitarian for my use. Now that I want to try to do at least 30 hours a week on the site, I need a inspirational/organizational desk of my own! I also need a little photography table for the kitchen that I can scoot up next to the window to get some beautiful light for my food pictures!

 

So there you go, a nice summary of where I am with the blog! 

I’ll be back soon!

Lazy Days

So I have been MIA lately, and to be honest, it is because I’ve been a little down in the dumps lately  But I promise to get back to the grind! I Haven’t been permanently discouraged and will be very productive this week .