Getting a little tired of the Trump and "why did they get banned" threads, so thought I would post something here. Please feel free to post your own year in review. This is somewhat inspired by Fatmouse's Friday Random Thoughts threads that some of you may remember.
My wife and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary this past December. We knew each other for six weeks when we got engaged. Six months later we were married. We went from introducing ourselves to planning a wedding. We had some struggles the first few years, but she is the sweetest and kindest person I know. When we discovered that my son is autistic, she started reading everything she could to find ways to help him. He is high functioning because of his mother.
I spent about six months on the road working as an insurance adjuster. Most of the time was in Omaha, but I also spent some time in Denver, Melbourne Florida, Minneapolis and South Carolina. I was surprised at how much I liked Minneapolis - though I wouldn't want to be there now. What is kind of funny, is that of the five cities I worked - my software company has school districts that use our software in four of those cities. Between the adjusting and my software company - I earned 4 times more than I ever did working as a programmer. In fact, after hurricane Irma - I made as much in 2 1/2 weeks as I earned in a year as a programmer. It was unbelievable. Still, I hate being away from my family and hope that my software company grows to the point that I can focus solely on it.
Since I've mentioned the software company here before, I'll discuss it. It is growing, but not real fast. We're getting a lot of referrals from existing customers who appreciate our customer support. It would be growing even faster if I didn't spend so much time out of town adjusting, but the adjusting pays the bills. If I have two more years like the last one - I will be able to pay off our mortgage and we will be debt free. I can then cut back on the adjusting and put more time into the software company. Fortunately, the adjusting allows me to set my schedule so we haven't had any issues with customer support; but it does cut into my marketing efforts.
I've started cooking more when I'm at home. I've always done the grilling, but have wanted to try new dishes so I have expanded. I'm actually enjoying the cooking and my wife certainly appreciates coming home and not having to figure out what to cook for dinner.
On a similar note, we went to New Orleans after Christmas. Since they are known for the great food, I made up my mind that we would eat local and I wouldn't worry about the cost. Usually when we travel, I try to be somewhat frugal about spending money on food. NOLA had some great food. I think our favorite place was The Ruby Slipper. I had two different eggs benedict dishes and they were probably the best breakfast I've ever had.
For the 25 years that my wife and I have been married - she wanted an inside dog. We never had an inside dog and I knew it wouldn't be comfortable with one. But about two years ago I was swayed a little bit after watching the Westminster Dog Show. Then, I had a claim in Mobile AL where the lady had two inside dogs that were sweet as can be. I came back home and told my wife that I would be open to getting a dog. She didn't waste any time and we started looking on Craigslist.
We found a Cavapoo puppy on Craigslist about 150 miles away. He is a cross between a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and a Poodle. We called and arranged to meet the lady at a place along the interstate. He was a tiny black ball of fur. You can barely see his eyes because they are black like his fur. As soon as my wife got out of the car and saw him - I knew we weren't leaving without him. She immediately took him and cuddled with him and didn't let go of him. We named him Nico DeAngelo (Nico for short) after a character in the Percy Jackson books that my kids love.
He is a smart and sweet dog. We thought he would only be about 7-10 pounds, but he weighs about 18 pounds. He loves to have us put up the recliner and then he'll take a nap alongside our legs. He'll even "talk" to us to let us know that he wants to get up there. He'll do a sneeze, shake his head and then make a noise. He is quite active and loves chasing the squirrels on the feeder in the back yard. I put up a chain link fence so he doesn't run off.
He needed a companion for when we were working or in school (kids), so I found him one. He is a Bichon Friese mix. He is dumb as a box of rocks but is a real sweetheart. He is white and has soulful eyes. He always wants to be near us. If we are on the couch and get up to eat, he'll follow us and lay on the floor so he can be nearby. He will go along with almost anything we do to him (bathing, grooming etc...). He may not like it, but the most he'll do is grunt and groan. He is a funny dog and makes us smile. His name is Teddy
It didn't go well when we first introduced the two dogs. Nico didn't like him and didn't want him in the house. Now, they're buddies and spend a lot of time chasing each other in the house. I now understand how much people love their dogs and why they are such good companions.
Well, that's it. Tell us about your year.
My wife and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary this past December. We knew each other for six weeks when we got engaged. Six months later we were married. We went from introducing ourselves to planning a wedding. We had some struggles the first few years, but she is the sweetest and kindest person I know. When we discovered that my son is autistic, she started reading everything she could to find ways to help him. He is high functioning because of his mother.
I spent about six months on the road working as an insurance adjuster. Most of the time was in Omaha, but I also spent some time in Denver, Melbourne Florida, Minneapolis and South Carolina. I was surprised at how much I liked Minneapolis - though I wouldn't want to be there now. What is kind of funny, is that of the five cities I worked - my software company has school districts that use our software in four of those cities. Between the adjusting and my software company - I earned 4 times more than I ever did working as a programmer. In fact, after hurricane Irma - I made as much in 2 1/2 weeks as I earned in a year as a programmer. It was unbelievable. Still, I hate being away from my family and hope that my software company grows to the point that I can focus solely on it.
Since I've mentioned the software company here before, I'll discuss it. It is growing, but not real fast. We're getting a lot of referrals from existing customers who appreciate our customer support. It would be growing even faster if I didn't spend so much time out of town adjusting, but the adjusting pays the bills. If I have two more years like the last one - I will be able to pay off our mortgage and we will be debt free. I can then cut back on the adjusting and put more time into the software company. Fortunately, the adjusting allows me to set my schedule so we haven't had any issues with customer support; but it does cut into my marketing efforts.
I've started cooking more when I'm at home. I've always done the grilling, but have wanted to try new dishes so I have expanded. I'm actually enjoying the cooking and my wife certainly appreciates coming home and not having to figure out what to cook for dinner.
On a similar note, we went to New Orleans after Christmas. Since they are known for the great food, I made up my mind that we would eat local and I wouldn't worry about the cost. Usually when we travel, I try to be somewhat frugal about spending money on food. NOLA had some great food. I think our favorite place was The Ruby Slipper. I had two different eggs benedict dishes and they were probably the best breakfast I've ever had.
For the 25 years that my wife and I have been married - she wanted an inside dog. We never had an inside dog and I knew it wouldn't be comfortable with one. But about two years ago I was swayed a little bit after watching the Westminster Dog Show. Then, I had a claim in Mobile AL where the lady had two inside dogs that were sweet as can be. I came back home and told my wife that I would be open to getting a dog. She didn't waste any time and we started looking on Craigslist.
We found a Cavapoo puppy on Craigslist about 150 miles away. He is a cross between a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and a Poodle. We called and arranged to meet the lady at a place along the interstate. He was a tiny black ball of fur. You can barely see his eyes because they are black like his fur. As soon as my wife got out of the car and saw him - I knew we weren't leaving without him. She immediately took him and cuddled with him and didn't let go of him. We named him Nico DeAngelo (Nico for short) after a character in the Percy Jackson books that my kids love.
He is a smart and sweet dog. We thought he would only be about 7-10 pounds, but he weighs about 18 pounds. He loves to have us put up the recliner and then he'll take a nap alongside our legs. He'll even "talk" to us to let us know that he wants to get up there. He'll do a sneeze, shake his head and then make a noise. He is quite active and loves chasing the squirrels on the feeder in the back yard. I put up a chain link fence so he doesn't run off.
He needed a companion for when we were working or in school (kids), so I found him one. He is a Bichon Friese mix. He is dumb as a box of rocks but is a real sweetheart. He is white and has soulful eyes. He always wants to be near us. If we are on the couch and get up to eat, he'll follow us and lay on the floor so he can be nearby. He will go along with almost anything we do to him (bathing, grooming etc...). He may not like it, but the most he'll do is grunt and groan. He is a funny dog and makes us smile. His name is Teddy
It didn't go well when we first introduced the two dogs. Nico didn't like him and didn't want him in the house. Now, they're buddies and spend a lot of time chasing each other in the house. I now understand how much people love their dogs and why they are such good companions.
Well, that's it. Tell us about your year.