The four primary topics will be what I’m most passionate about but given our current situation there may be more relatable content on one topic or another in the near term
- Travel
- Lifestyle
- Food & Drink
- Family
Note these are not in order of importance as I suspect I’ll take a beating if I keep family in the fourth spot on the list – especially as our family expanded in the midst of the pandemic when our son was born in June. This made our crazy condo in the city a little more packed and now the dog, cat, two kids, my wife, and I cram into our small place dreaming of a move to the suburbs in 2021.
Travel
I used to travel a lot for work but like many of you, that aspect of my job has trickled to a crawl in 2021. I also used to travel to a lot of cool places for my job and before the aforementioned family expansion, it was a heck of a lot easier to extend those trips for a weekend or a few days to include some hiking and backpacking in Rocky Mountain National Park, Banff, the Grand Canyon, Death Valley or Glacier National Park.
In addition to all of these fun work trips Gretchen and I have also been able to leverage all of the accumulated airline miles, credit card, and hotel points to travel to so many amazing places around the world. Since we started dating in 2007 we have taken at least one ‘big’ vacation every single year and sometimes (like in 2019 when we took separate 7 – 10 day trips to both the Bahamas and Ireland) we’ve been able to take more than one and both of those were with our then nearly two-year-old daughter. The flight across the pond to Ireland with a grumpy toddler was not for the faint of heart but we survived (just barely and lived to tell the tales :)). Thankfully my mother who retired the day before we took the flight was able to join us and was a steadying force in distracting the little one so we could catch our breath.
But let’s be honest – most of the trip was more like this 🙂
Lifestyle
I have worked in finance most of my adult life and I’m passionate about improving the financial situation for many Americans. Professionally, I can to do this on an institutional scale through assisting plan sponsors with the design and investment quality of their defined contribution (401k) plans. However, I also like to simplify money in relatable ways while coaching friends and family on how to save and spend better.
I also try to make healthy choices across the food I eat and workout/run regularly. Sometimes this is done begrudgingly as our German Short-Haired Pointer, Clark, needs to get out and get exercise too but other times I just need to go for a run to clear my head. Running and working out allows me also partake more freely in the below topic…..
Food & Drink
A big part of travel is the foods we eat while making our way across the country. Whether it is pizza in Rome (Est! Est! Est!), squid-ink pasta in Venice, crepes from a street vendor in Paris, or schnitzel in Berlin a trip would not be complete without the food (or the wine).
Additionally, one of our money hacks is actually pretty easy and it can be defined simply as learn to cook. Luckily I married a Ragin’ Cajun and she is an amazing cook so when we come across new and exciting (and healthy) recipes I’ll share them here.
Family
Last, but certainly not least, is family and our everyday struggles in raising two (for now) wonderful kids. Like most of us, I was extremely overwhelmed when our daughter arrived 3+ years ago but now I wonder what I ever fretted about as we deal with our 6-month old son. Adding the second to the equation has been way more than 2x as much work and on those sleepless nights I may utter a choice word or two (or three or four :)) but I wouldn’t trade in our crazy life for anything.
I am always striving to be a better father and husband so I read a lot of self-help books, articles, and blogs. As I come across information that inspires me to be a better person I’ll share that here as well.
I have no shame in admitting that I am a MAJOR work-in-progress. There is so much more that I want to learn and do (hello foreign language and playing the guitar) along with just becoming more positive and optimistic about this crazy thing called life. This blog will be my outlet for all things interesting and cathartic in helping me/us live our best lives.
Thanks for reading!