Home Again

We soaked up as much sun as possible in beautiful Orlando! It was a lot of work and a lot of fun. I absolutely loved talking to people about LifeBio and showing them online how easy the program is to use. (The web-based program allows people to answer questions about their life, add pictures, and generate hard bound, full color books.) I seriously felt like I could keep doing it for ages! And now it looks like I will be continuing my work with LifeBio in a sales capacity (10 hours a week), in addition to the editing and design work I've been doing. I am excited!

This is me with Beth Sanders, president and founder of LifeBio and my new friend.


On Tuesday, after going to Downtown Disney on Monday, we took off after to work to Cocoa Beach, which is about an hour from Orlando. The waves were big, and the seagulls attacked us, but it was wonderful nonetheless.


Then on Wednesday, we had checked out of our hotel, finished up the last day of the convention, dropped Beth off at the airport, and we had a couple of hours to spare. So we went to this skiing place near the airport that uses a rope system. This is him blowing me a kiss as he came around a corner. :)


And this is Ryan being his crazy self at the convention. We all got a kick out of his little obsession with these weird boxes. He kept threatening to take it on the plane with us, asking everyone if they had any spills.

All in all, it couldn't have gone better. Ryan was amazingly helpful, and we managed to do everything we wanted to do. Things couldn't have gone better at the convention, and I am even more pumped up about personal history than ever.

Much love,
Ek

Hello from Orlando!

I just wanted to give everyone a quick update. I'll add pictures and more details later. Anyway, as you may already know, Ryan and I are in Florida! I was asked by a woman I've been editing for, another personal historian, to work at a convention here. It's the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging. We're talking to people about my passion--writing their life story! It's going well. We work hard and long, but then Ryan and I get to play in the evenings. Last night we went to Downtown Disney; tonight, who knows where! Anyway, we love you all!

For the Girls

Boys, you can make fun of me all you want, but this one's for the girls. (Okay really, what boys read my blog? I think only my relatives...)

Anyhow, here's a picture of my new shoes! My discount at Banana is very good (50 percent off 5 items a month, 60 percent seasonally, and 30 percent off sale, for those of you who care), but even with it, I still can't afford many items! I'm thinking maybe I can buy one...maybe two...items a month. It really is nice to buy something that's classic, high quality, and will get a lot of use.

Today while I was working, a co-worker asked me what I'd buy if I could buy anything in the store. We had fun walking around (the store was essentially empty), imagining what we'd buy. She told me she had worked at JCrew over the summer and had spent every cent she made on clothes. All I can say is that that isn't going to happen to me! We've got much better things to do with our money...like buy groceries, pay the electric bill, and contribute to the second richest Catholic institution in the world, next to the Vatican. (A customer told me that today in a most serious tone. It made me laugh.)

Then after all this imagining with my co-worker, I told her that my husband and I had only brought a carload of things out to Indiana and that's all we plan to leave with. So I won't be collecting too many clothes. She was stunned. I'm pretty sure her wardrobe wouldn't fit in two blue tubs. :)

So girls, do you like the shoes? (25 bucks, baby!) Should I keep them?

Update on Life

1. So the other day I was working at Banana when I noticed this darling little black girl and her mother come into the store. I said hello to the mom and was about to say hi to the curly headed beauty when I heard her say, "I like your ring." I replied, "Well thank you!" And the next thing she says is "I like the bling-bling on there!" I guess bling-bling means diamond in her vocabulary. The mom laughed kind of embarrassed-like, but I thought it was the cutest thing!

2. On Monday and Tuesday this week I spoke at two different Rotary clubs in the South Bend area. I talked about the trends in autobiography and memoir in our country, the benefits people are finding in writing their life history, and a few things that make a life history something others will want to read.

It's my third time doing it, and I found that I'm not even nervous at all! I always sit next to the club president at the front-most table for lunch, and then they introduce me, and I take about 20-25 minutes, including Q&A. I give a handout with all my contact information, and then I hope people will want to talk to me afterward. Monday's meeting was particularly successful that way. Practically everyone wanted to tell me a family or life story after I talked. It was great. All in all, I've added 20 people to my email list, gotten three people to request a consultation, and had another three people offer to refer me to someone they think will be interested in working with me.

Public speaking is one thing (like music and Alaina) that will definitely make you feel alive!

3. We're trying to figure out how to get out west for Christmas without busting the bank... Nat, how bad do you think it would be to drive it in December??

Anyway, we love and miss you all!