The Garden looks fantastic and it isn't even finished yet. It is even better than I imagined when I first started planning it last January (2014) while in Florida. I am sore all over but it is a fantastic feeling. People always complain about these types of jobs but for me there is nothing better than working in the fresh air and sunshine to build something of worth.
The only concern I have is how much the flagstone patio will heat up the bedrooms in summer although it will be welcome in winter. I'll have to figure out how to mitigate that... and how and where to plant wisteria. We had sand and mulch delivered yesterday afternoon and after one bbq and one birthday party, I am very happy with our progress. I laid out all the beds and mulched on one half of the yard while K laid weed barrier and moved two tons of sand from the street to the back of the house.
We still have to level the sand and lay the flagstones but the beds are ready for planting, all 96 square feet of them. This is a dream come true for me to have such a large space for growing my own food. My goal is to grow and preserve all our own produce in the next two years. K does his own thing with the garden beds and wants two of the six 4x4 plots. I plan to start with three and fill the last one with sand for k. There is always room to expand.
Wish me luck!
Sunday, March 29, 2015
Saturday, March 28, 2015
Simple Spring Tonic
Pull the cold-weather dandelions from your garden. Right now before they take over the whole thing or at least before they begin to flower.
Any 'dandelion' that grows in a rosette is fine to eat although people who have latex allergies should avoid those that produce a white 'milk'. I have no such issues but avoid eating the spiky ones.
Wait until after a spring shower if possible then gather the leaves all together and yank upwards and slightly to the side to pull the root out. If spring showers do not coincide with your weeding schedule, you can use a 'weed popper' or a digging stick to loosen the soil around the roots then pull with the same method as above.
Gather about 10 plants, take them inside, wash the dirt out and remove any dead or damaged leaves.
Allow the plants to rest while you prepare the other tonic ingredients.
I took the liberty of pulling some fresh mint from an overgrown plot for this tonic.
To this I add dried spearmint (bulk herbs online), red clover flowers I gathered last year in Winter Park and black tea.
Place all ingredients in a french press or glass jar, cover with boiling water and let steep overnight.
Strain with pressure and add 1 Tbsp honey.
Let the the root, leaf and flower power your day and repeat a necessary.
Any 'dandelion' that grows in a rosette is fine to eat although people who have latex allergies should avoid those that produce a white 'milk'. I have no such issues but avoid eating the spiky ones.
Wait until after a spring shower if possible then gather the leaves all together and yank upwards and slightly to the side to pull the root out. If spring showers do not coincide with your weeding schedule, you can use a 'weed popper' or a digging stick to loosen the soil around the roots then pull with the same method as above.
Gather about 10 plants, take them inside, wash the dirt out and remove any dead or damaged leaves.
Allow the plants to rest while you prepare the other tonic ingredients.
I took the liberty of pulling some fresh mint from an overgrown plot for this tonic.
To this I add dried spearmint (bulk herbs online), red clover flowers I gathered last year in Winter Park and black tea.
Place all ingredients in a french press or glass jar, cover with boiling water and let steep overnight.
Strain with pressure and add 1 Tbsp honey.
Let the the root, leaf and flower power your day and repeat a necessary.
Thursday, March 26, 2015
Warm Black Lentil Salad with Shitake, Goat Cheese and Almonds
Cook black lentils in water and duck or bacon fat for 20 minutes or until tender.
Saute mushrooms in fat for 5 minutes over medium heat. Season with add salt and red pepper.
Drain lentils if needed and place into a bowl, add mushrooms, top with goats cheese and roasted tamari almonds.
Enjoy this earthy delight.
Saute mushrooms in fat for 5 minutes over medium heat. Season with add salt and red pepper.
Drain lentils if needed and place into a bowl, add mushrooms, top with goats cheese and roasted tamari almonds.
Enjoy this earthy delight.
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Revisiting the Numbers
I revisited my numbers the other day and realized that my major investment will cover exactly my projected living costs thus attaining financial independence (in two years when the note is paid off).
This is both reassuring and cause for concern although, as I am still quite young, there will be time and opportunity for making more money.
Obviously I can't complain that it cost $50 for two meals when I just spent next to $75 for a single meal/night out with friends and then again for sushi. This is as always, a matter of changing my internal environment (cook at home) rather than changing the external environment (price of food).
This is both reassuring and cause for concern although, as I am still quite young, there will be time and opportunity for making more money.
Obviously I can't complain that it cost $50 for two meals when I just spent next to $75 for a single meal/night out with friends and then again for sushi. This is as always, a matter of changing my internal environment (cook at home) rather than changing the external environment (price of food).
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Taking Advantage of the 21-century Job Market
I came to the following realization today,
"I can do my job either well or very well but any sense of purpose I once had in it is gone."
I won't go in to all the particulars of why my once stellar career appears meaningless at this point in time but given the above assertion, by my own hand, should I not then attempt to find another meaningless job with better perks?
In particular, I would choose an office much closer to home (1 hr. commute each way), higher rate of pay (clearly), and more annual leave (currently 2 weeks).
I hadn't really ever thought of changing jobs because I work in a specialized industry that has severe geographical restrictions. I felt a great sense of purpose and truly believed that the work I was doing was important and contributed a great deal to one of the most fantastic accomplishments of the human race.
While I know that I contribute a great deal at work, my enthusiasm is greatly diminished; diluted by the long commute, endless swirl, metrics, reporting and lack of vision and leadership on the program.
Skimming over that rabbit hole of my disillusionment with America's competency in space (funny how it slipped from dominance to competency, even in my mind), if my goal is to retire early, I ought to at least consider maximizing my effeciency in the work force.
I have considered taking on an additional job and laughed it off as ridiculous unless there is a way to record my dreams in chap-book fashion and deliver them to a voracious market. I just don't have enough extra time between work, commuting and child rearing.
I have also considered quitting my current job and working at a bank (regular hours) or even retail (still, better hours than my other job) but this would obviously greatly increase my time to financial independence. I also dismissed this option as the deranged fantasy of an overworked and overtired new mother but the appeal of working closer to home is very strong.
To be fair, I have also requested approval to work from home since the only person I regularly meet with is a friend the next cube. We often take a stroll around campus of eat lunch together. However, I can IM my snarky despair to her from anywhere and we often meet up for drinks or dinner anyway. Of course, this needs to be discussed and reviewed by many manager and approved by some others and I have noticed that my current workload to accomplishment ratio is under scrutiny. So, we will see what comes of that.
I also feel a sense of dislocation when it comes to my salary. I should be earning more and my employer tells me that in order to get a real raise, I need to run bring business to the company. (WTF? Why the hell would I do that? If I had a business contact that needed my help, I'd start my own company.)
Besides, I basically killed myself working 12-13 hour shifts for all of a year+ (Sept '14-Dec '15). Burned through three nannies, raised my infant daughter apart from my husband and basically went through a maddening experience and when I received my W2 statement, I had earned the equivalent of some starting salaries for other less stressful jobs (with normal hours and no TDY) I could probably apply for and get hired right now.
There are two serious drawbacks that I can see at the moment. One is I would no longer be working in the Aerospace Industry (there are other jobs but they are equally far from home). However, in two years time I will no longer be working in the Aerospace Industry so what difference does two years make? I "believe" in the project I am working on but it is not exactly a vocation or calling for me.
I am not fully vested in my employer's profit sharing until October this year (I think). I'd have to look into the particulars but I recall reading that I must work there for five years before I am fully vested in the retirement/profit sharing program. Although weighing this against the soul crushing commute, cost of petrol and slow steady destruction of my car, I may not leave much on the table if I leave without being fully vested.
At this point I am ready to leap without looking.
This is just an initial thought. I will have to muse upon it further and explore other possibilities/ ramifications but I am definitely polishing up my resume and sending it out.
There is no reason why I shouldn't look around me to see what my options are.
"I can do my job either well or very well but any sense of purpose I once had in it is gone."
I won't go in to all the particulars of why my once stellar career appears meaningless at this point in time but given the above assertion, by my own hand, should I not then attempt to find another meaningless job with better perks?
In particular, I would choose an office much closer to home (1 hr. commute each way), higher rate of pay (clearly), and more annual leave (currently 2 weeks).
I hadn't really ever thought of changing jobs because I work in a specialized industry that has severe geographical restrictions. I felt a great sense of purpose and truly believed that the work I was doing was important and contributed a great deal to one of the most fantastic accomplishments of the human race.
While I know that I contribute a great deal at work, my enthusiasm is greatly diminished; diluted by the long commute, endless swirl, metrics, reporting and lack of vision and leadership on the program.
Skimming over that rabbit hole of my disillusionment with America's competency in space (funny how it slipped from dominance to competency, even in my mind), if my goal is to retire early, I ought to at least consider maximizing my effeciency in the work force.
I have considered taking on an additional job and laughed it off as ridiculous unless there is a way to record my dreams in chap-book fashion and deliver them to a voracious market. I just don't have enough extra time between work, commuting and child rearing.
I have also considered quitting my current job and working at a bank (regular hours) or even retail (still, better hours than my other job) but this would obviously greatly increase my time to financial independence. I also dismissed this option as the deranged fantasy of an overworked and overtired new mother but the appeal of working closer to home is very strong.
To be fair, I have also requested approval to work from home since the only person I regularly meet with is a friend the next cube. We often take a stroll around campus of eat lunch together. However, I can IM my snarky despair to her from anywhere and we often meet up for drinks or dinner anyway. Of course, this needs to be discussed and reviewed by many manager and approved by some others and I have noticed that my current workload to accomplishment ratio is under scrutiny. So, we will see what comes of that.
I also feel a sense of dislocation when it comes to my salary. I should be earning more and my employer tells me that in order to get a real raise, I need to run bring business to the company. (WTF? Why the hell would I do that? If I had a business contact that needed my help, I'd start my own company.)
Besides, I basically killed myself working 12-13 hour shifts for all of a year+ (Sept '14-Dec '15). Burned through three nannies, raised my infant daughter apart from my husband and basically went through a maddening experience and when I received my W2 statement, I had earned the equivalent of some starting salaries for other less stressful jobs (with normal hours and no TDY) I could probably apply for and get hired right now.
There are two serious drawbacks that I can see at the moment. One is I would no longer be working in the Aerospace Industry (there are other jobs but they are equally far from home). However, in two years time I will no longer be working in the Aerospace Industry so what difference does two years make? I "believe" in the project I am working on but it is not exactly a vocation or calling for me.
I am not fully vested in my employer's profit sharing until October this year (I think). I'd have to look into the particulars but I recall reading that I must work there for five years before I am fully vested in the retirement/profit sharing program. Although weighing this against the soul crushing commute, cost of petrol and slow steady destruction of my car, I may not leave much on the table if I leave without being fully vested.
At this point I am ready to leap without looking.
This is just an initial thought. I will have to muse upon it further and explore other possibilities/ ramifications but I am definitely polishing up my resume and sending it out.
There is no reason why I shouldn't look around me to see what my options are.
Saturday, February 7, 2015
Fingers Crossed
Perhaps this will carry on and become a regular catharsis of my thoughts or perhaps it will not. In any case, I am writing today to state that I am 22 months and 3 weeks away from paying off the mortgage on my rental property.
On the very same day that I clear the principle amount of the loan I will immediately become financially independent. That will be just over ten years from the start of the mortgage and while I do not know everything that will come to me in the next two or even twenty years, I can say the life of this mortgage has been the worst ten years of my life. I need not enumerate all the peaks and valleys, the paradise lost, the physical challenges, or even the paralyzing depression I have suffered and do suffer this very day. On the other hand, it may well be a decade of highlights including the accomplishments of financial independence, a daughter, space flights, and an entirely new understanding of the world. I will revisit this at the true expiration of the ten years.
In the mean time, and I am still in the mean time, I struggle to function at work. The entire structure of work is leaning as it always has but ever more so in the direction of those who talk rather than those who do. There is a lack of leadership which causes too much self-directed 'work' and group decision making (or not), the thinking of which physically makes me ill. I have no confidence that I can repeat my previous performance and I feel all the responsibility but have no authority to steer the bus and the services my group is supposed to provide are all going to pot at this very moment. I had such high hopes for the future of manned space exploration. We were going to colonize Mars! Then I realized how the world worked (everyone fighting like cats in a bag), which causes a lot of movement but leads to no ultimate change. I attribute this to a lack of leadership and vision. This is the present state of things 'at the office', and I want out, now.
Although, I did not begin this blog post with an idea of griping about work. I am writing as a wish, a hope, a prayer that I will be able to make it through to the end of this hellish tunnel called modern life and into another phase of existence called financial independence. I realize after the past two years that the decay rate of my own creativity and my own soul, even, is exponentially increasing. I noticed in college that my creative writing and artistic abilities were shrinking as I crammed for my engineering courses and always assumed it would come back when I had more time but it seems the time has gotten away from me again.
Fingers Crossed.
On the very same day that I clear the principle amount of the loan I will immediately become financially independent. That will be just over ten years from the start of the mortgage and while I do not know everything that will come to me in the next two or even twenty years, I can say the life of this mortgage has been the worst ten years of my life. I need not enumerate all the peaks and valleys, the paradise lost, the physical challenges, or even the paralyzing depression I have suffered and do suffer this very day. On the other hand, it may well be a decade of highlights including the accomplishments of financial independence, a daughter, space flights, and an entirely new understanding of the world. I will revisit this at the true expiration of the ten years.
In the mean time, and I am still in the mean time, I struggle to function at work. The entire structure of work is leaning as it always has but ever more so in the direction of those who talk rather than those who do. There is a lack of leadership which causes too much self-directed 'work' and group decision making (or not), the thinking of which physically makes me ill. I have no confidence that I can repeat my previous performance and I feel all the responsibility but have no authority to steer the bus and the services my group is supposed to provide are all going to pot at this very moment. I had such high hopes for the future of manned space exploration. We were going to colonize Mars! Then I realized how the world worked (everyone fighting like cats in a bag), which causes a lot of movement but leads to no ultimate change. I attribute this to a lack of leadership and vision. This is the present state of things 'at the office', and I want out, now.
Although, I did not begin this blog post with an idea of griping about work. I am writing as a wish, a hope, a prayer that I will be able to make it through to the end of this hellish tunnel called modern life and into another phase of existence called financial independence. I realize after the past two years that the decay rate of my own creativity and my own soul, even, is exponentially increasing. I noticed in college that my creative writing and artistic abilities were shrinking as I crammed for my engineering courses and always assumed it would come back when I had more time but it seems the time has gotten away from me again.
Fingers Crossed.
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
In which I realize I am a Terrible Employee
I see the end of the road and the end is motivating but the road seems too long.
Some days/weeks it is hard to find the motivation to keep going but when I think about it I have no other choice but to finish. I have a massive mortgage to pay down and beyond the basics, I have very little use for money. I have a job that pays well and that I enjoy well enough for what it is. If I wasn't buying a rental property, I'd park all my money in the bank anyway.
Even with a clear goal in mind and a five-hundred mile journey behind me, I have come to realize that while most days my job is fine, it leaves a huge hole in my life. Time I could be walking, standing, feeling the breeze on my face, writing, gardening, sleeping...pretty much anything besides working. I don't particularly like/trust/respect my boss(es), and I have several. A few of them are alright but no one I'd befriend under different circumstances (well, perhaps one, but he is not the one in charge). The problem is, I just don't care. I don't want to overachieve and be responsible for fixing a million things, convincing people to change their minds, explaining myself over and over. I'd rather talk to people who already get it or have the latitude (and altitude?) to show people what I mean rather than arguing in endless circles. I don't care to work 70+ hours per week, besides for the money and if I didn't need that, I'd tell them to pound sand.
I want to learn more about primitive living, test my mettle against the Colorado Trail, spend all day at the park. I want to do a million things that don't pay and if they could earn something, I'm not interested in selling my time/ideas/effort/work for money at the moment.
I need a break, yes but, I need to find the motivation to get through these next 852 days, break or no break. The motivation to shorten that time span is there. I feel like I can only squeeze a few more dollars out of my budget but over the course of 2.5 years only adds up to ~$3000. Does that really make a difference? That is half of one normal payment... to gain financial independence two weeks earlier. Is that really worth it?
I don't feel deprived by my lifestyle at all. I'd have the same budget under any circumstances. The problem is I still (four years later) lack the freedom I desire.
I even lack the freedom to find another job in a different field. It would be hard to replace my current salary and I see earning anything less as protracting an undesirable situation.
Perhaps I will look for another job in this field with higher pay. If I am selling my life, I may as well go to the highest bidder.
Some days/weeks it is hard to find the motivation to keep going but when I think about it I have no other choice but to finish. I have a massive mortgage to pay down and beyond the basics, I have very little use for money. I have a job that pays well and that I enjoy well enough for what it is. If I wasn't buying a rental property, I'd park all my money in the bank anyway.
Even with a clear goal in mind and a five-hundred mile journey behind me, I have come to realize that while most days my job is fine, it leaves a huge hole in my life. Time I could be walking, standing, feeling the breeze on my face, writing, gardening, sleeping...pretty much anything besides working. I don't particularly like/trust/respect my boss(es), and I have several. A few of them are alright but no one I'd befriend under different circumstances (well, perhaps one, but he is not the one in charge). The problem is, I just don't care. I don't want to overachieve and be responsible for fixing a million things, convincing people to change their minds, explaining myself over and over. I'd rather talk to people who already get it or have the latitude (and altitude?) to show people what I mean rather than arguing in endless circles. I don't care to work 70+ hours per week, besides for the money and if I didn't need that, I'd tell them to pound sand.
I want to learn more about primitive living, test my mettle against the Colorado Trail, spend all day at the park. I want to do a million things that don't pay and if they could earn something, I'm not interested in selling my time/ideas/effort/work for money at the moment.
I need a break, yes but, I need to find the motivation to get through these next 852 days, break or no break. The motivation to shorten that time span is there. I feel like I can only squeeze a few more dollars out of my budget but over the course of 2.5 years only adds up to ~$3000. Does that really make a difference? That is half of one normal payment... to gain financial independence two weeks earlier. Is that really worth it?
I don't feel deprived by my lifestyle at all. I'd have the same budget under any circumstances. The problem is I still (four years later) lack the freedom I desire.
I even lack the freedom to find another job in a different field. It would be hard to replace my current salary and I see earning anything less as protracting an undesirable situation.
Perhaps I will look for another job in this field with higher pay. If I am selling my life, I may as well go to the highest bidder.
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