Happy New Year 2014 - almost through

Lots of changes for the Earley household in 2014.

2013 was alternately a wonderful year for us (it brought us grandbaby #2, among other great things) and a bit of a difficult year.

Work was really difficult for me this last year, and I had to make some really tough decisions.  I am proud and honored to have helped build the company, Phoenix Chemical Technologies, during my time there, and I wish them all the best as they continue to grow.  A part of me is incredibly sad that I won't be a part of it as it continues to grow.  But I do believe it is what is best for them, and best for me and my family.

The good news is that with our current plan, I have become a partial WAHM again.  I'm working part-time with a remodeler and custom home builder, Superior Custom Builders, which is an awesome company!  I plan to pick up the pace on my fiction and non-fiction writing - to include blogging again (yeah!), AND launch a family business (No Time 4 DIY).  I have also started with dōTERRA, and am learning tons about essential oils and their uses!  I'll be experimenting with a more sustainable lifestyle, including vegetable gardening, flower gardening (for the photography business, and well, just because it's pretty), more home cooking (which means some recipes, especially the copycat-style recipes which I need to try many of), and more (which you'll read about, and see through photography and video on here).  All of this means more time for the things I love!!

The bad news is not necessarily all bad, but it does mean a reduction to one income until I can get a steady-ish income from my photography and writing, and as we build our family business.  That's scary, but a decision we did not make lightly. 

So, here's to a new chapter in our lives...  Hopefully we'll be seeing each other here for a while.  :)  Please feel free to share my posts, send your friends to check us out, and all advice from seasoned photographers, writers, recipe adventurers, and more is incredibly welcome!  (I'm close to begging).  :)

Homeschool Your Child For Free

I borrowed a book from the library this week, not expecting much. As the first term of our second complete year of homeschooling draws to a close, I'm concerned that I haven't done enough education for the kids (especially my high schooler) this term. They are each taking co-op classes, so I know some of the basics are being covered, but I'm concerned about my lack of a checklist and the checks in some of those boxes.

So, back to the library: the kids were being kids while there, so it was a short stop. (Really? Hide and Seek seemed appropriate to play while we're in the library????) I threw this book on top of The Well Trained Mind (my go-to resource for measuring what we *should* be doing), thinking I'd glean a few new resources. Wow! What a surprise! If this book had been my own (and it will be soon), it would now be sporting new highlight colors and post-it tabs throughout! A few of the links are broken or missing at this time (it was printed in 2009), but the overwhelming majority are workable links, chock full of the good stuff! The book is well-organized and laid out by subject, including information and website links throughout, where you can Homeschool Your Child for Free (as the title suggests).

This is a new go-to resource in my household (and yes, I have many), as is the table in the back that gives a basic suggestion for "classes" for each grade level.

Co-op, Football, Karate, Basketball... oh my!

I've allowed this blog to go on far too long without posting. To the few followers I have left, I'm sorry. :) I am happily settling into a new routine... hopefully one that will allow me more time to blog again! :)

We joined a homeschooling co-op group in September in our area. The kids are taking Animal Science (for the little ones), Biology (for the teen), all are taking Art Classes. I'm volunteering as a volunteer coordinator for the group, and have been heavily involved in the co-op. Possibly a little too heavily, as the areas of my life that I really enjoy have been neglected.

The teenager played 6-man football this year. This was the inaugaral season for our newly-formed team, and again, I was as heavily involved as possible (volunteering as treasurer).  We had a great season, won more games than we expected to, and can't wait for next year!!!  We are enjoying the time off, though.  :)

The twin boys started taking Tae Kwan Do at our local YMCA on Tuesdays and Thursdays. They've thoroughly enjoyed the experience, although we will be taking a break from it for the month of December. Mom's a little overwhelmed. :) I've used this time to work out, making my fitness more of a priority than I have in past years. I've managed to shed 24 pounds (gained back two during Thanksgiving), but more importantly, my energy level is much better and I'm feeling more confident and relaxed.

I've switched jobs. I really enjoyed my last job, both what I did and who I worked with. But working every weekend meant that I couldn't spend time with my now-14-year-old son. So I'm now working with a company that's proving to be very flexible with my hours, and where I have weekends off. It's going to be a balancing act, as my pay is the same, but without working weekends, and with my hectic schedule, I'm only getting an average of 27 hours/week. So, big pay cut. But I'm working on a proposal now that will hopefully smooth that out and allow me to get back to contributing what I'd like to my family finances, while also helping this growing company with their needs. I'm really enjoying the job, the company, and the people that I work with, so I can see a future with this company.

My husband is still working at the job he got in January. He's gone from 4, 10-hour day work-weeks to 7*10s back to 4*10's. The extra pay was really nice, and allowed us to buy a few things we'd been waiting on buying, as well as get caught up on some bills that were sitting on the back burner. But it was also crazy-hectic, as he was able to contribute much less to the day-to-day household needs, and with me working full-time, the balance fell on me to make up the difference. I'm missing the money from his overtime days, but so glad he's more able to help now. :)

I've scratched the surface on my new venture: life coaching, Dream Teams, corporate training and business consulting. Feel free to check that out at Kim Earley, Renaissance Woman. It's still a work in progress, but I'd love it if you'd follow me over there, drop me a line and comment! I <3 comments! :)

That's about it for now. There's been loads of other things going on, but it's been so long, and I just needed to get started on the road back! :) Hope everyone is doing well, and I'd love to hear what y'all have been up to!

It's almost not-back-to-school time

It's almost not-back-to-school time in our household.  I love the weeks when school starts, and I'm NOT rushing around, trying to buy a bunch of school supplies for each of the kids, overspending on school clothes that their friends think looks "cool".  We're officially making the switch to Unit Studies this year, and we talked long and hard about whether to continue to homeschool or not, but found that we still want to.  I'm excited to start doing field trips and building the curriculum around the units that we're studying.  I think I'm even more excited this year about homeschooling!  :)  The kids are, too.  I asked each of them what they wanted to do, and surprisingly Kody was the only one that thought he might want to go to school... but changed his mind after his brothers started asking questions.  :)


I'm starting also to think about my own education and how I want to move forward.  I think I'm going to become a coach with the program Profitting from Your Passions (R).  It's a fairly good sized investment, but I think I'm worth it.  {GRIN}  Mainly, I think it's something I would be good at.  I'm an excellent brainstormer, and I really enjoy that part of it.  The follow-through?  Not so much.  :)  I love thinking up new businesses, and have several great ideas, but the idea of being tied to one location scares the gypsy in me.  What I really want is to help other people find a way to walk away from a job that they hate and earn money doing what they love.  I'd like to write books about it, do seminars and retreats, one-on-one meetings and group meetings, and I want to do them all over the world, mainly in the US, but I would love to lead retreats and expeditions to other countries, too.



So, I started out with the course to the left today (disclaimer:  this is an affiliate link, but it won't cost you any more than if you buy directly from their site, and any money earned will go into my coaching fund)... if you've been reading my blog for any length of time, you already know that I LOVE Love love Barbara Sher and Valerie Young.  Today I'm listening in the background, but starting tomorrow, I'm going to start working my way through it, using the workbooks and everything.  I'm super excited to be embarking on another new adventure for myself.

I'm also taking a short 3 week writing course through LCRWA.  I'm excited about it, as it looks like great information, and may help me get another novel written this year!

In other news, we are trying to get more fit, trying to watch what we eat and becoming more active.  And I'm working on de-cluttering my house and organizing an "office" to give us a place to keep all of our bills, tax info and for me to have a place to shut myself out and write and/or study.  :)  We're also going to have it double as a school room/craft room when we need it.

My husband is scheduled to start working 6-12's and a 10... normally they go 7-12's for about three months, but the powers that be are trying to make it more manageable, so we're waiting to hear what they come up with.  :)  But they're scheduled to start next month, so I'll be looking for a babysitter for Fridays & Saturdays, possibly Sundays and Mondays, depending on what he finds out about his schedule.

So, that's what's up with us lately.  Feel free to chime in and let me know what's up with you and yours...

Hope to "see" you again soon... my writing's been sporadic lately, as my computer died in May, but I think I'll be getting another here in a month or so.

And 2011 starts with a bang!!!

So the last year and a half has been a time of change for our family.  We've learned a lot about surviving, and thriving, on less.  We've learned to make more frugal choices, and to really shop for the best price on something we want.  We've learned a lot about our goals and our dreams.  I've completed a novel, began to submit my photography for publication.  Hubby has begun to work on his painting and his art.  We've begun homeschooling the kids, gotten involved in the homeschooling community here, and learned what our goals are in that direction.  We've made a lot of changes, and we look forward to what the coming years will bring in seeing those changes come to fruition. 

At the same time, we recognized that our dreams were still lacking one very important, and as of late, elusive thing... money.  We have gotten behind on some of our bills, need to rebuild a savings account, would like to purchase an RV, among other things.  We've both spent many months trying alternate ways to earn money, but also looking for full-time employment.  We've had a few promising interviews, some where we thought job offers were just down the pipe, but those offers never materialized.  I've interviewed for jobs paying nearly half of what I normally earn, my husband has interviewed for ones where he would have earned what he was earning ten years ago.  All of that worrying and frustration came to an end within the last week.

I got a job earning just a little bit less than I did in 2009, with excellent benefits, working with what appears to be a great group of people, with a 4-day work week (Friday-Monday).  My hubby also got a job, earning more than he was earning in 2009, again with excellent benefits.  My job started today, and hubby's starts on Monday.  His is also a 4-day work week (Monday-Thursday).  This means that we could potentially continue to homeschool the kiddos, and only have to worry about daycare on Mondays.  We may still elect to put the Kindergarteners in school for a few years, but we'll make that decision in the next few days.  Our 14-year-old will continue to homeschool at least for this school year, at which point he should be at a ninth grade level.  We'll re-evaluate at that point whether to put him back in school, or allow him to continue to homeschool.

The income we'll be earning (each of us much better than we have recently come to expect), combined with our more frugal nature of late, I hope will allow us to pay off those bills, and start saving at a much faster rate than we expected, putting us back to being debt-free (or as much as one can be, with a failed business on the books) and able to put money away in savings. 

The four day work weeks mean that we'll be able to make doctor's appointments and be actively involved with the kiddos, no matter which option we choose.  Of course, it also means that we will not have any days off together (except holidays), so there's that one drawback.  But neither of us are working overnight shifts (and we've gone that route before), so we'll still be home together in the evenings, eating dinner, watching TV, movies and such.  So we'll be good, I think.

So here's to 2011!!!  :)  How's your 2011 been so far?

What we've been up to

So I've got a new post about what we've been up to at the "real" Making Our Dream Life Happen blog.  Just a reminder that all you have to do is click the post title and it'll take you to the blog post, or you can click the link above.

But I've also been seriously considering moving it on over here to Blogger, too.  So hopefully soon, I'll have more and more on this blog.  I'll keep the one over at WP for my old posts, so if you find one you want to read, you'll click on the link title and be headed there again.  But I may start putting my new posts on here.  I'll make a decision in the next couple of weeks, and let you guys know. 

In the meantime, please feel free to head on over to Making Our Dream Life Happen, and check out what we've been up to!

Fundraising Request - VCA

My 13 year old (step)son is playing basketball for the first time this year with our local homeschool athletic association, Victoria Cobra Athletics.  He's very excited about it, and has been working hard on his fundraising.  Would you please take a moment to check out my post over at the main blog by clicking here or on the title of this post, and see if you can help, even if it's just passing the original post along to your readers/friends?  We only have a few days left...

Thanks for your help!!  Hope everyone's having a wonderful November!

Just a quick note...

I'm separating this website out for my non-fiction.  At the suggestion of several instructors at the writing conference, my fiction will be written under a pen name.  If you'd like to read my fiction, email me at

for my new name & website.  :)

I will continue posting my non-fiction here so that it will remain an active site with links to non-fiction.  :)

In the meantime, please feel free to check out:

Making Our Dream Life Happen
and
Inked in the South

Thanks!
Kim

Teenage reading suggestions?

Suggestions?

Barefoot Books

I have become an Ambassador for Barefoot Books!  Please click the title above to read the whole story...