Category Archives: Liz’s Life

On My Own Terms

Posted in Liz's Life by

It’s been about two months since I quit my 9-5 job to take on the role of online marketing freelance professional and full-time Mommy. I can honestly say I am so happy I made this decision for myself and for our family.

I had a lot of fear about what leaving office life would do to my career … mainly worries that it would end it completely. But I’m happy to report that has not been the case at all.

About one week out of the work force I picked up my first client, a food product available in most grocery stores, and things have taken off from there. I’ve completed three projects so far for this and other clients, often as part of a team with other freelancers, and have several large 150+ hour projects about to close.

I usually will work for two hours during the day while Lila naps and then at night after she’s in bed. If I get busier, I will hire a babysitter to watch her for a couple hours 2-3 days a week while I work.

There’s something so amazing about being able to work on your own terms. Freelancing means I’m able to go to a playdate, make a work out class and spend time with Lila all while keeping my career going. And having the flexibility to work from anywhere is priceless. I just booked a two week trip to my parent’s house in Florida and don’t have to worry about PTO.

Financially the set up I have going is perfect because we positioned ourselves up to live comfortably on just Luke’s salary, so whatever I make is just savings. Meaning there is no pressure on my month-to-month income. Right now though it’s looking like I will be matching, if not exceeding, my income from my full-time position.

There are some stressful elements. Now that I’m back into working for clients, I had to brush up on my client service skills. And I also have to be “on the hunt” so to speak so I continually win more business and grow my network. This Thursday for example I am going into a local digital marketing agency to present my capabilities to their team in the hopes that I can become one of their preferred freelancers. Plus if Lila decides not to nap well and I have a deadline, the juggling act gets tricky.

All in all, I have to say I am thrilled with this new working set up. In fact, I wish I had taken the leap into freelancing earlier. I know it’s only been two months, but at this point it’s hard to imagine being back in an office environment. We’ll see how the next year goes, I guess. It could just been a good couple months!

Have you ever thought about going out on your own to freelance or consult? What’s holding you back?

 

Mid-Summer Fog

Posted in Kids, Lila, Liz's Life by

Sorry I’ve been a little MIA lately. This tends to happen around this time the summer. I’m not sure if its that we’re coming off a vacation home, or that it’s hot out so I want to be outside, but I find it hard to get motivated to write in July.

Life lately has been a series of ups and downs. On the up side, our trip home was wonderful. Lila was showered with love and attention from her grandparents on both sides along with other family and friends.

_MG_0228 _MG_0376 _MG_0476 _MG_0568_MG_0142 _MG_0199 On the down side, we all got sick during our trip home. Lila picked it up from daycare when I had to put her in for two hours while I met with a potential client. She passed it to both Luke and me, but I got it the worst. My sinuses were so swollen I was convinced I had a cracked molar because my gums and whole jaw were aching. Not a fun way to spend vacation.

Since we’ve been back, I’ve been working on getting Lila into more of a routine so we can plan things better with friends. But baby girl is all over the place with her sleeping. One day she’ll wake up at 6:15 am and the next it’s 9:00 am. Then with her napping, she’ll sleep 45 minutes one day and 3 hours the next. I wish I could say “Lila naps from X until X every day” but we’re not really there yet.

I’ve been working hard though to find things we can do together and with other moms and babies. Yesterday we went on a hike with friends we met at church, I’m trying a baby boot camp class on Wednesday and I have a regular play date set up with a friend and her baby on Fridays. My goal is to get to a place where we have some regularity to our days. Mondays we do this and Tuesdays we do that. We’re getting there slowly yet surely.

In the past few weeks Lila’s development has really taken off. She’s got SIX teeth now at just 7.5 months. We started baby-led weaning after she showed signs of wanting to feed herself, and girlfriend has been housing food ever since. Today for lunch she ate a whole avocado, whole peach and five blackberries. _MG_0657 baby led weaning She’s also figured out crawling and is on the move. I had to finally set up our baby gates today when I found her under our computer table grabbing at some wires. It’s really incredible to watch her grow so quickly. It’s good to be back home in Nevada and into our day to day groove. I think my summer motivation block has lifted and I plan to write much more regularly. I have some posts brewing in my mind, like how consulting has been going for me, why Lila has been sleeping in the closet and my never-ending dental debacle. So, stay tuned!

Back Home

Posted in Kids, Liz's Life by

Right now we are back in the midwest visiting my family in Ohio and Luke’s family in Indiana for two weeks.

We got here on Friday night after a four hour flight into Chicago. Little bitty did well on the flight, but lost it in the car on the way to Luke’s parent’s house. I don’t blame her … it was a loooong travel day!

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But the hours en route were soon forgotten when we were with our families. We pack a lot into our trips home, and so far this one has been no different. We’ve already had my nieces first birthday party, my birthday, Lila’s first baseball game (go Mud Hens!), her baptism and some swimming.

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_MG_0109Since we’re staying for two weeks though, we are making time for some good relaxing too.

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Today Luke is golfing with my dad and brother while I hang with my best friend and Lila’s godmother, Julia, along with her little boy Liam (my godson). Then tonight it’s off to my brother’s for dinner with his family and Lila’s cousin Reagan, who is just a few months older.

Then on Saturday it’s off to Indiana to spend the rest of our trip with the Batman’s.

There’s nothing better to me than getting some good family and friend time. Living on the other side of the country means my in-person time with my closest people is limited, so I’m soaking it all up.

It’s wonderful to see Lila around so many people who love her too. So far she’s a little unsure of all the attention. She must get that from her dad. ;)

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_MG_0137I truly believe that some of the greatest happiness we get from life is from our relationships with the people we love. And over these next two weeks, I’m planning to fill up on lots of smiles, long talks, hugs and laughs with my tribe.

 

Our New Town

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This weekend we moved. Again.

No joke, since we’ve been married three years, we have moved seven times. SEVEN! I am starting to think we are sick in the head or something. Who puts themselves through that?

Anyway, now we are moved into our new place and I am forcing myself to have amnesia from the weekend. Instead I have been focusing on getting to know our new surroundings and creating a home for us.

I have to fully admit that when I first moved to Tahoe I was one of those snobby people who thought “who on earth would want to live in Reno when Tahoe is so close?” I had the perception of Reno that I saw on the show Reno 911. 

Well I have to say I totally put my foot in my mouth on that one. Reno is actually pretty great! Don’t believe me? Okay, here’s five reasons Reno totally doesn’t suck.

1. The cost of living is crazy low compared to Tahoe. We were able to rent a brand-new, fully upgraded place that has a pool and is next to a wetland’s walking area and playground for less than half of what we paid for our place in Tahoe.

2. There is a lot going on all the time. They call it the “biggest little city” for a reason, there is always something fun to do. This Friday for example, we’re going to “Food Truck Fridays” downtown where a bunch of food trucks park and there’s live music.

3. The people are friendly. We’ve already attended a first birthday party (how cute is L below?), met our neighbors and had multiple offers for help getting settled. In general, I just like that people are out and about enjoying their city.

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4. It’s super livable. There’s a Target! And a Whole Foods! And, and a CVS! Not to mention no traffic to and from these places. After moving from a small village in Tahoe, I am excited that my days of exclusively online shopping are over.

5. It’s beautiful. I thought I was losing the gorgeous scenery when we left the lake, but low and behold, Reno is really stunning in it’s own right. I took these photos right in our neighborhood on my phone.

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Okay, bonus reason # 6 I had to include. The weather is awesome here. There are four distinct seasons and over 300 days of sunshine each year. It gets hot in the summer, but it’s a dry comfortable heat. In the winter, it’s much more mild than Tahoe. But since skiing is only 25 minutes away, I can still get in my powder days!

We’ve only been here a few days, but each day I feel like I discover more I like about my new town. And while I will always love Lake Tahoe, I have to say I am learning very quickly to love Reno as well.