108 Things I Got to Do On My Year Off or Things To Do Before You Die

1 - I can do better 2 - Jury's out 3 - Pretty darn good 4 - Splendiferous 5 - Awesometastic by 43 people | Log in to rate

Ranked #29 in Me, #3,965 overall

Take a Year Off to Travel

In 2008, I took a year's sabbatical with a short list of what I wanted to get out of my time off. I had never heard of a bucket list & didn't even write a list of things to do before you die. But I discovered by giving myself the gift of a year, I got to do the equivalent of a bucket list's worth of things to do before you die.

It's incredible how rewarding life becomes when you take the time to focus on what matters most. In sharing my completed bucket list of 108 Things I Got to Do On My Year Off, I hope you'll be inspired to take time to do more of what you love whether it's in a few stolen moments here and there, a week, a month or the ultimate indulgence of a year off. What if you lived as if you only had one year to live? What Are Some Of The Things You Want To Do Before You Die?

A picture of me in Fez with "Momo" a Moroccan tour guide who has guided celebrities such as Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman & Warren Beatty to reveal the hidden treasures of Fez, Morocco.

Are You Focused on What Matters Most?

I Won't Worry My Life Away 

The Remedy by Jason Mraz

"The Remedy (I Won't Worry)" is the first single released by Jason Mraz from his debut album Waiting for My Rocket to Come in 2002. The song is about a friend of Jason's, Charlie Mingroni, being struck with cancer and how it changed Jason's outlook on life. From Wikipedia.org

Jason Mraz -The Remedy (I Won't Worry)

here you can see the real survivor Charlie Mingroni at the scene! he is Jason's best friend and he actually survived from a rare cancer called Ewings Sarcoma. it was his story that inspired Jason to write this song.

Runtime: 229
2857366 views
2125 Comments:

curated content from YouTube

My Original Sabbatical Goals 

January 2008

Click on any of these links for more stories.

1. Spend Extended Time Off With My Husband
2. Live 4 Months in Barcelona
3. Learn Spanish
4. Learn Sardana Dance
5. Learn to Cook
6. Spend the Summer in Vancouver With My Parents
7. Write a Book
8. Find a Gardening Job

Image Sources:
Check Mark - Dan Eriksson, flickr.com
Sardana Dance - Kwong Yee Cheng, flickr.com

Barcelona January 2008

#1 - Take Extended Time Off With My Husband 

Taking the Road Less Frazzled

Who hasn't dreamed of quitting their job to move to Spain to drink red wine and siesta mid-day? When my husband announces he has the chance to teach overseas for 4 months, I was torn. Should I take a month's vacation or dare ask for 2 months off?
featured lens How to Take a Writing Retreat or Writing Sabbatical

1 year. 3 countries. 54,000 words. Greetings from Lotusland is the story of how one 40 something left her job to travel, write a book and enjoy what's most important in life. If this were a book, this would be the compelling front cover that would...

#2 - Live 4 Months in Barcelona 

Why You Should Quit Your Job to Live In Spain

featured lens Why Live in Barcelona, Spain?

An Unbelievable, Once-in-a-Lifetime Experience If you're contemplating living overseas, consider adding Spain to the top of your bucket list. Barcelona, in particular, is a cosmopolitan city with all the luxuries of an urban city comparable to Manhat...

#3 - Learn Spanish 

featured lens How To Quickly Learn Spanish Sesame Street Spanish Lessons

When my husband and I confirmed we would be living in Spain for 4 months we signed up for 10 private Spanish lessons. Neither of us took Spanish in school. As far as learning another language, my husband took German in high school and I took a year o...

#4 - Learn Sardana Dance

#5 - Learn to Cook 

Half the fun of cooking was shopping for ingredients and I ended up tapping into our house guests for impromptu cooking classes despite our no oven kitchen. I learned to stock basics like no-fail couscous as a substitution for rice, to have basic soup stock on hand, tomatoes and canned tomato anything and that remnants of any liquor bottle could be used to add taste to most sauces, soups and dishes

I watched a friend of mine make a fabulous shrimp curry -- the key seems to be using a fresh hot pepper like jalapeno, two cans of coconut milk not low-fat and frozen shrimp will do just fine. Another friend improved upon the basic recipe with his specialty being "use up everything in the pantry" with his additon of crushed tomatoes and sauteed cashews and garlic.

What I discovered about cooking is that it is not so much about precise measurements but improvisational based on what ingredients inspire you at the market, what's leftover in your cupboard or whatever you fancy eating that day

Cooking is longer an intimidating, worrisome chore. It's great to be able to crack open a glass of wine & set out a cheese plate to enjoy the process of cooking. My husband has become my defacto sous chef and we now enjoy eating in more. It is much better value and we continue to surprise ourselves with what we come up with on the fly.

Terry's Hearty Lentil & Sausage Meal

Here's the recipe for an easy to make one-pot meal that's dead simple and if you use low fat sausage and lentils, it's good for you too.

Sopa de Marisco - An Easy to Make Seafood Soup

Homemade seafood soup using prepared fish or seafood soup stock and frozen seafood can provide an easy and elegant dinner meal.

More Easy Recipes from Celebrity Chefs on Oprah

Oprah recently had a show where celebrity chefs went into family's homes and showed them how to shop, cook and prepare meals. This reminded me of the pantry stocking, shopping and cooking lessons learned from friends who stayed with us which have helped me immensely to relax into cooking.

Image Source:
Lentils & Sausage, lissame, flickr.com

Ingredients for Seafood Soup

 

Baking

If there's one thing Canadian women know how to do, that's bake. For some reason we're bakers more than cooks. Could be the cold weather. Favorites include the cornstarch shortbread recipe & Dad's butter tarts.
featured lens Trailer Trash Toffee

I am all about the easy when it comes to baking. This is one of those super addictive, can't just eat one treat that always goes over well. I love to have people take a guess at the ingredients. Rarely can anyone pinpoint that the tasty, krispy crust...

featured lens Nanaimo Bars

Ask anyone from British Columbia about a Nanaimo Bar and they will easily wax nostalgic about this regional indulgence. It's a super sweet, rich chocolate no bake bar composed of three layers: a dense graham cracker coconut base with a vanilla custar...

#6 - Spend the Summer in Vancouver 

With My Parents

featured lens Take a Year Off Work

A few years ago, a pair of raisins picked me up at the airport. I think who are these shrunken people? "Hey, did you grow a few inches?" my Mom asks. Suddenly, at 5' 7", I'm Heidi Klum. As my Dad hefts my suitcases into the trunk he adds "Osteoporos...

#7 - Write a Book 

More Inspiration - Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.

I thought I'd try something different to kickstart the writing process with the unusual approach of using Squidoo to create over a hundred lenses which will serve as a kind of rough draft. Next, I'll do a massive printout of material then either discover it was a stupid idea or figure out how to weave together a compelling narrative and turn it into my own version of eat, pray, love. My challenge is to have my prose match my passion. My secret desire is to reach as many people as Gilbert's to encourage others to do more of what they love and less of what they don't.
Could not locate item B001GIQNJM. Please try again.Sorry, there are no results available from Amazon.

#8 - Find a Gardening Job 

Found a Seasonal Part-Time Gardening Job

When we returned to Washington in May, Gardening season was already underway and I had already missed two critical months - March & April. However, about a month ahead in April, I contacted a wholesale nursery and was lucky to secure seasonal employment that would keep me busy in May & June. At that point, I had plans to head to Vancouver for the summer.

Work in the Garden Instead of a Cubicle

This is the book I was originally writing in Barcelona to help people figure out what they need to do if they want a career in gardening. With people interested in green careers, I'm hoping there's a market for it.

I finished a 100 page proposal and a very, preliminary sketchy rough draft of it overseas. I sent out query letters & proposals to potential publishers.

I was working full-time hours in May & June and intended to work on edits of it while I was in Vancouver but hearing nothing back from my proposals, my motivation took a bit of a beating. So I decided to shelve it and work again on it in Spring 2009.

I posted one of the chapters online but trying to use Blogger to build a website was a bit exhausting from a linking perspective. Perhaps I will transfer some of the information over to Squidoo to make into a lens. Anyways, if you're interested, here's a FREE preview chapter of my book.

Getting Dirty - Quit Your Job & Get Paid to Garden For a Living

 

Green Is the New Internet

featured lens How Do You Get A Green Job Gardening For A Living?

What's it like working in a green job? Imagine working in the fresh air, soaking up the sun everyday, surrounded by beautiful plants and flowers and having someone pay you to do it. You wonder if it's possible to turn your hobby and passion for gard...

Do More of What You Love & Less Of What You Don't

Get Out Of Your Own Way 

My Biggest Obstacle is Myself

Most of the time, I just need to get out of my own way -- battling insecurities about writing and indecisiveness of what course my life should take next.
Defending Your Life

Defending Your Life

Amazon Price: $5.79 (as of 12/17/2009)Buy Now

Defending Your Life with Albert Brooks and Meryl Streep is a hidden gem of a movie that tackles this theme of overcoming your fears and insecurities. Its main theme is about taking risks. It asks what would we really want to do if we weren't worried about the consequences and the perils of hesitation when we hold ourselves back. What are you scared of? Defending Your LIfe inspires us to take that leap of faith that everything will turn out alright if we just trust in ourselves.

#9 - Taste Test Xurros or Churros

 

Churros, sometimes referred to as a Spanish doughnut, are fried-dough pastry-based snacks, sometimes made from potato dough, that originated in Spain. They are also popular in Latin America, France, Portugal, the United States, and Spanish-speaking Caribbean islands. The snack gets its name from its shape, which resembles the horns of the Churro breed of sheep reared in the Spanish grasslands of Castile. There are two types of churros in Spain. One is thin (and usually knotted) and the other, especially popular in Madrid, is long and thick (porra). They both are normally eaten for breakfast dipped in hot chocolate.

read the rest of the Wikipedia article

#10 - Las Meninas at the Picasso Museum 

When I feel creatively blocked or challenged, I attempt to write in the style of a writer I admire. It feels a bit like cheating but I know it's a common exercise for art students. I only have to think about Pablo Picasso and his obsession with a 1656 painting by Diego Velazquez.

It's inspiring to visit this one room in the Picasso Museum in Barcelona just to see a series of 58 interpretations and comparative studies by Picasso painted between August and December 1957. With such a strong artistic style, it's hard to imagine a great painter like Picasso ever feeling inadequate.

But Picasso channelled his energy and his series of studies from Las Meninas is a testament to the power of focus. I love that he doggedly pressed on for months studying just the one painting and according to the museum, his works consitute an "exhaustive study of form, rhythm, colour and movement".

Although the YouTube video is in Spanish, no interpretation is required to appreciate the side by side comparison of the original Velazquez painting to the Picasso paintings.

Source: Wikipedia.org

Las Meninas, Olvidando a Velázquez

Hoy vamos al museo Picasso de Barcelona, pero el protagonista es Velázquez y sus Meninas. Vemos en la exposición "Olvidando a Velázquez", haciendo honor a una cita de Picasso, lo que estas influenciaron, lo que han dado que hablar y las creaciones e interpretaciones que se han creado a posteriori. Así que prepárate que vemos obras de Picasso, Dalí, Goya, Cristóbal Toral, Equipo Crónica, Richard Hamilton y hasta una videoproyección de Eve Sussman. Ponte cómodo, que el Museo llega a tu bolsillo aunque te recomendamos visitarlo en primera persona y mirar su nuevo carné, con el que podrás ir tantas veces como quieras, suena bien, ¿no?

Runtime: 186
3619 views
2 Comments:

curated content from YouTube

#11 - Cafe Con Leche & Mini Croissants 

Forn De Pa Mistral

Best Bakery In Barcelona
There are plenty of bakeries and coffee shops to enjoy in Barcelona but the one that rates consistently #1 with the locals is Mistral, a hidden secret to most tourists because of its small unassuming exterior and cafe tucked behind on a less busy street. Once you get inside, the bustling interior and the need to take a number tell the story of its excellence. It's family run since 1879.

Best Cafe Con Leche
I'm also partial to Mistral because it's the first place I ever had a cafe con leche -- a perfect blend of half coffee & half steamed milk, never bitter. I see tourists stopping into Starbucks and can't believe it. They're missing out. Mistral's coffee is half the price and twice the value.

Mini-Croissants
You know how when you have a Krispy Kreme donut in the U.S. & the secret is to go when the sign is lit and to get the glazed donuts hot off the conveyor belt. With Mistral their delectable wonder that one of my husband's students let us in on is their mini chocolate croissants. If you get them when they're fresh out of the oven, the chocolate is melted and it's the perfect bite of pastry and oozing chocolate.

Forn De Pa Mistral
Located in the Raval area near the "Universitat".

Get the mini-croissants here for the full stand-up experience
Ronda Sant Antoni, 96
Mon - Sat 07:00 - 21:00

Go to this location just around the corner for a cup of coffee & to sit down
Torres i Amat 7 is the larger cafeteria / bakery

#12 - Satisfy Chocolate & Pastry Cravings 

Chocoholic Heaven

Pastry Shops Everywhere

Where I live in Washington, D.C., the closest pastry shop is at least a half an hour walk away. Whereas in Barcelona, you can't help stumble onto a pastry shop on every block.

In Europe, they bake the kind of bread that's crunchy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside -- the kind of bread that you need to eat within a day but that was never a problem. My daily bread foraging would include a crunchy ciabatta roll.

Barcelona is All About the Chocolate

Not to be missed, the one hundred year old award-winning pastry shop created by Antoni Escriba, who has been described as the "Mozart of Chocolate".

#20 - Travel to Andalusia & Morocco 

Field Trips With Students Beyond Barcelona

Sometimes when you start out on a journey, you don't know where adventure will lead you. We knew that we'd be headed out on two road trips with the students and one week of personal vacation during Spring break. Barcelona was so fabulous which much to see and do that I'd get a little homesick when we left town.

Madrid, Seville, Granada, Cordoba
Fez, Morocco
Architecture of Fez, Morocco Slideshow & How To Get A Guide
Riad in Fez, Morocco Slideshow & How to Book a Riad
A House in Fez: Building a Life in the Ancient Heart of Morocco

A House in Fez: Building a Life in the Ancient Heart of Morocco

by: Suzanna Clarke

Amazon Price: $10.20 (as of 12/17/2009)Buy Now

This book on my wanna read list. Fez is filled with many decrepit buildings in need of serious overhaul. But the work is tedious, requiring craftsmen to work on the intricate mosaics and more.

"While vacationing in Morocco, Suzanna Clarke and her husband, Sandy, are inspired to buy a dilapidated, centuries-old riad in Fez with the aim of restoring it to its original splendor, using only traditional craftsmen and handmade materials. So begins a remarkable adventure that is bewildering, at times hilarious, and ultimately immensely rewarding.

A House in Fez chronicles their meticulous restoration, but it is also a journey into Moroccan customs and lore and a window into the lives of its people as friendships blossom. When the riad is finally returned to its former glory, Suzanna finds she has not just restored an old house, but also her soul. "

Cool Things I Got to Do In Vancouver 

25. Work at the Pacific National Exhibition which is like a State Fair
26. See Superdog Show Everyday of the Fair
27. Attend the Burnaby Flower Auction
28. Attend Family Gathering at Two Chefs and a Table
29. House Sit A Character House w/an English Garden
30. Attend Eastside Culture Crawl
31. Karaoke with Auntie Deanna at DiDaDi Karaoke in Richmond
32. Live the Life of Semi-Retirement
33. Enjoy Small Indulgences
34. Chase Good Weather. Escape DC Humidity & Enjoy A/C Outside
35. Visit Garden Center, Lee Valley Tools, Mall Indoor Tropicals with Dad
36. Line dancing with Mom
37. Cycle the Seawall
38. Attend Ice Skating Lessons To Learn How to Stop
39. Host New Year's

#25 - Work at the Pacific National Exhibition

Favorite Vancouver Eats 

40. Bon Ton's Diplomat Cake, Nanaimo bars, shortbread
41. Deep Fried Breaded Almond Chicken, Gai Lan, Dim Sum
42. Sushi, sashimi, Japanese food at Hi-Genki, Metrotown, Fujiya
43. Okaisan, Ochazuke, Salmon, Japanese Pickles, anchovies
44. Purdy's chocolates, ice cream, English Toffee, white almond bark, Cadbury
45. Wine gums, fruit gummy bears, macaroons
46. Cheezies, dill pickle, ketchup chips
47. Fish & Chips
48. Dairy Queen Buster Bars
49. Mom's waffles & blueberries
49. Fresh veggies at Kin's. Mini-bok choi, gai-lan. Superstore, Granville Island.
50. Wine Tour Okanagan, Lower Mainland, ice wine
51. Tea chai, Murchie's, Matcha
52. Avalon milk
53. Dad's butter tarts
54. Tim Horton's

#47 - Eat Fish & Chips

Things I Appreciate About Washington 

55. Enjoy Our 1960s Light Filled House
56. Host Book Signing Party in Our Garden
57. Attend Opening Washington Nationals Ball Park
58. Nap With Cats
59. Chai at Teaism
60. Read the Newspaper With My Husband
61. Enjoy Dinners At Home
62. Read Library Books
63. Find a Part-Time, Low Stress Job to Allow Freedom to Write
64. Wander weekdays when everyone else is working

#56 - Hosted Husband's Book Signing Party

Terrific Musical Performances 

I Got to Enjoy

65. La Portena Jazz Band
66. Hall & Oates
67. Tower of Power
68. Trooper
69. Billy Dixon, So Tight Band
70. Dal Richards
71. Jodaiko at the Powell Street Festival
72. Friday Jazz at the Hyatt
73. Blues Night in Southwest DC
74. Flamenco in Barcelona

Previous Years & Other:
David Clayton Thomas
Harold Melvin's Blue Notes, Vegas Lounge Acts
Jersey Boys, Other Broadway Musicals New York
Opera at CUA

#74 - Flamenco in Barcelona

Neat Things I Learned Online 

75. Be in Media Again
76. Produce Content On Squidoo
77. Write for Associated Content
78. Summarize Articles for Brijit
79. Learn SEO techniques, Google
80. Code HTML
81. Blog, Picasa
82. Replace Boob Tube w/You Tube, Netflix, Streaming TV
83. Sign-up for Skype
84. Communicate via Web Cam

#76 & #77 Write for Squidoo & Associated Content

Things I Had Time To Think About 

85. Overcome Imposter's Syndrome
86. Let Go Of the Past
87. Let Go of Infinite Possibilities
88. Examining "Ma" or Negative Space
89. Am I a 1 Marshmallow or 2 Marshmallow Person?
90. Redefine Myself As a Winner Not a Quitter
91. Take Personal Responsibility for Environment and Actions
92. Get Out of My Own Way
93. Be In the Now
94. Taking Gifts For Granted
95. Train Monkey Mind

#93 - Be in the Now

Challenges That Came Up During My Year Off 

96. Barcelona Apartment Fell Through
97. Budget For Limited Funds, Eating in
98. Close Chapter On Former Job, Adapt to New Job.
99. Adjust to Being Away From Husband For An Extend Period Of Time
100. Give up T.V. Cravings For Netflix, TV On Demand, You Tube
101. Help Eric's Mother Cope With Father's Parkinson's Disease
102. Distractions. Overscheduled, other job possibilities, real estate
103. Uncle Passed Away, Aunt Nursing Home, Randy Pausch, 100 Places Guy
104. Aging & My Own Physical Limitations Cumulative Injuries

#104 - Aging & Physical Limitations

#105 - Obama Got Elected

Why 108? 

Life is as Magical as the Meaning We Ascribe.

Did You Know There Are 108 Stitches In A Baseball?
Elizabeth Gilbert's spiritual memoir eat, pray, love of her year abroad in search of pleasure, devotion & balance is captured in 108 delightful stories. Athough any of these 108 lenses can be read separately they are intended to be part of a larger series that will be turned into a book. As I create one Squidoo lens for each item, I'll add a link.

Did You Know The Sun Is 108 Times The Diameter of the Earth?
I'm drawn to this idea of trying to frame one's experiences tapping into the spiritual significance of 108. Some say the soul goes through 108 stages on the journey to find one's true self while others talk of 108 paths converging to an open heart which leads to the path of self-realization. Another interpretation relates 108 to feelings, 36 about the past, 36 in the present and 36 about the future.

Did You Know The Distance From the Moon To Earth is 108 Times the Moon's Diameter?
One mathematical analysis 6 x 3 x 2 x 3 = 108 offers more elaborate considerations related to the 6 senses of sight, sound, smell, taste, touch and thought in relation of 3 aspects of time past, present, future and 2 conditions of heart either pure or impure and 3 possibilities of sentiment being like, dislike, indifference. All these investigations offer ways of thinking about the past year.

On New Year's the Japanese Ring a Bell 108 Times As a Reminder to Overcome 108 Earthly Temptations to Achieve Nirvana
Then again, if it all seems like a bunch of mumbo jumbo to you, other Buddhist scholars offer this very zen answer with this very simple way to look at it. While 108 does offer symbolic significance, the actual number is irrelevant. It is simply a number chosen like a road map to provide you with a way to focus.

...
read the rest of the Wikipedia article

P.S. Just One More Thing  

Here's One Cool Thing I Got to Do In 2009

7 Reasons Why I Wasn't Going to Obama's Inauguration But Went Anyway
featured lens 7 Reasons Why I Wasn't Going to Obama's Inauguration...But Went Anyways

From where we were standing at the Inauguration I couldn't see the President being sworn in but I could sure see Aretha's hat. Nah. Just kiddin'. But the Queen of Soul looked resplendent at Obama's Inauguration in her glamourous hat that will long be...

What Do You Want to Do Before You Die? 

What's On Your List?

The Bucket List

The Bucket List

Amazon Price: $8.99 (as of 12/17/2009)Buy Now

In the movie The Bucket List two men with terminal illnesses head out on a road trip of a lifetime with a list of things to do before you die or "kick the bucket".

Creating This Lens Was Inspired by Squidoo Lensmaster Marelisa
"Stop putting your dreams off for "some day" ...Take inspiration from the movie "The Bucket List" and ask yourself: If I had one year left to live, what would I be sure to do? Create a list of 100 things you want to do before you kick the bucket."

Creating a Bucket List - 100 Things to do Before You Die

How to Change Your Life In One Year 

featured lens How To Change Your Life In One Year

Eat, Pray, Love has sold 4.7 million copies to date, an example of a recent publishing phenomenon of mid-life recovery memoirs, a mini-genre of books focusing on "how I turned my life around in a year". The books seem to especially appeal to women, o...

The Power Of Creating a Life List 

43things.com

Dream It. List It. Do It!: How to Live a Bigger & Bolder Life, from the Life List Experts at 43Things.com

Dream It. List It. Do It!: How to Live a Bigger & Bolder Life, from the Life List Experts at 43Things.com

by: Lia Steakley, Editors of 43 Things

Amazon Price: $9.95 (as of 12/17/2009)Buy Now

"Dream It. List It. Do It! is the ultimate do-it-yourself guide to self-improvement. Drawing from the true stories and experiences of the 1.5 million registered users of 43things.com, a Webby Award winning social networking site, Dream It. List It. Do It! works on the proven principle that creating a life list, sharing your progress, and checking things off as done gives a person momentum toward a bigger and bolder life."

How To Plan A Sabbatical 

Six Months Off: How to Plan, Negotiate, and Take the Break You Need Without Burning Bridges or Going Broke

Six Months Off: How to Plan, Negotiate, and Take the Break You Need Without Burning Bridges or Going Broke

by: Hope Dlugozima, James Scott, David Sharp

Amazon Price: (as of 12/17/2009)Buy Now

Surprisingly there are few books on how to take extended time off once you have an established career. Planning a gap year for college students is much different than the issues you have to overcome when you're married, have a family or a mortage to pay. Six Months Off was helpful in providing possible solutions and issues to consider.

Are You Making a Living Or a Dying? 

If You Only Get One Book On Financial Planning

This is the one book that helped my husband and I scale down from two incomes to one income so he could go to graduate school at Harvard over 10 years ago.

Then 7 years ago, using the information provided in Your Money Or Your Life I switched from a corporate career to a career in gardening.

In light of the economy, this classic book which was originally released in 1992 has recently been re-released December 2008 and the financial lessons still ring true today.

P.S. At the beginning of this year, I got a chance to meet and thank co-author Vicki Robin on the impact of "Your Money or Your Life" in helping to develop my awareness of Financial Integrity. In January 2009, Vicki Robin presented a talk to a jam packed audience at the Vancouver Public Library. It was so popular, the library had to move people to a bigger lecture room. Vicki is currently touring the country, click here for events in your area.
Your Money or Your Life: 9 Steps to Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence: Revised and Updated for the 21st Century

Your Money or Your Life: 9 Steps to Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence: Revised and Updated for the 21st Century

by: Vicki Robin, Joe Dominguez, Monique Tilford

Amazon Price: $10.88 (as of 12/17/2009)Buy Now

Amazon.com Review
There's a big difference between "making a living" and making a life. Do you spend more than you earn? Does making a living feel more like making a dying? Do you dislike your job but can't afford to leave it? Is money fragmenting your time, your relationships with family and friends? If so, Your Money or Your Life is for you.

Postscript Update 

What We've Been Doing A Year Later

It's a tremendous leap of faith to quit your job to follow your bliss and hope everything will turn out alright. At the time, I didn't have a job conveniently lined up to return to.

I'm happy to report even in this difficult economy, I was able to not only find work in my profession of garden retail but by forcing myself to leave a job where I was no longer growing, to put myself in a situation where I could continue to learn.

Thanks to Bell Nursery for taking me on last year in 2008 as a garden merchandiser where I learned a tremendous amount from a fabulous Maryland based company who work with local farmers to bring high quality flowers and plants to Home Depot garden centers across several states.

This 2009 Spring/Summer gardening season, I found a job as a plant buyer for a well established Washington, D.C. florist and garden center and am having a blast working with local growers to provide the best geraniums, petunias and pansies to grace gardens in Northwest D.C.

With both employers, I made it a priority to negotiate a seasonal work schedule which would allow my husband and I to spend time in Vancouver, Canada with my Mom, Dad, cousins, aunts and uncles. It's now our third year of taking summers off together.
Flip Video Ultra Series Camcorder, 60-Minutes (Green) OLD MODEL

Flip Video Ultra Series Camcorder, 60-Minutes (Green) OLD MODEL

Amazon Price: $129.00 (as of 12/17/2009)Buy Now

All the while, I'm continuing to write when I can. Online writing for Associated Content and Squidoo have been a wonderful discovery. To get paid to write about things I love is an added delight and bonus. Last year, I earned about $600 writing online so I'm going to splurge on this Flip Video. My next project? Documenting & uploading YouTube videos of my cat's unusual trilling/chirping. Will keep ya posted.

 

What My Husband's Doing a Year Later

My husband, a professor of architecture was fortunate enough after Barcelona to have lined up a one year sabbatical to focus on writing a book about sketching and design thinking. His first book called "To Scale: One Hundred Urban Plans" was published while we were overseas. If you're curious, click on the Amazon links below to find out more. One is for the swanky hardcover, the other for the paperback version.

Pretty soon his sabbatical will be ending but he'll be returning to school shortly in Fall 2010. In the meantime, he's been researching his second book. Here are some of the books on sketching and design he's been reading lately...
To Scale: One Hundred Urban Plans
To Scale: One Hundred Urb...
To Scale: One Hundred Urban Plans
To Scale: One Hundred Urb...
The Thinking Hand (Architectural Design Primer)
The Thinking Hand (Archit...
101 Things I Learned in Architecture School
101 Things I Learned in A...
Architects Draw: Freehand Fundamentals (Architecture Briefs)
Architects Draw: Freehand...

Are You Focused On What Matters Most? 

What would you do if you had time to do more of what you love and less of what you don't? Just do it.

Here's a list on 43things.com of other people who want to take a "one-year off" trip and have either done it or want to do it.

submit
  • Reply
    jgelien jgelien Dec 10, 2009 @ 11:49 am
    If I could take a year off I would spend it improving all my relationships with those I love, those I like, those I would like to love and those I would love to like. When it's all said and done people are what mean the most to me. Beautifully done lens. 5****
  • Reply
    lasertek lasertek Nov 25, 2009 @ 8:05 pm
    I like this lens! There are really so many things that we can do but I guess it would be much fun if we share it with people whom we care and love most.

    Hope you could visit my lens as well. Thanks
  • Reply
    spirituality spirituality Nov 22, 2009 @ 2:15 am
    Great lens, but you knew that :) Just wanted to remind you that this is featured on the Spiritual Growth and Development Group: http://www.squidoo.com/groups/spiritual-growth

    It's now transformed into a lensography and I would love it if you could feature it here, or lensroll it or something.
  • Reply
    kavinsmith kavinsmith Nov 21, 2009 @ 4:11 am
    I like your efforts, and I am very much impressed that you are promoting this beautiful language in such a nice way, your efforts are wonderful I went through all this and I really appreciate your work about Spanish language thanks for your blog. The ?Beginner Lessons? category is really very helpful to those who have just started with Spanish. Thanks, Keep going.
  • Reply
    arncyn arncyn Nov 5, 2009 @ 7:08 am
    Awesome lens, favorit'd and bookmarked! I'm a believer of taking time off from work to recharge and follow the hearts' desires . You have inspired me to take a sabbatical next year, thank you for being an inspiration. 5*
  • Load More
Show All

 

Lensmaster Lotusland has been a member since November 21 2008, has rated 119 lenses, favorited 49, and has created 11 lenses from scratch. Adrienne Jenkins donates their royalties to ASPCA. This member's top-ranked page is "108 Things I Got to Do On My Year Off or Things To Do Before You Die". See all my lenses

More About Me 

My Resume & Lensography

I Love Getting Paid To Write About Etta's Cat Fight with Beyonce, the Pregnant Grammy Performer, Robert Pattinson's Hair, New Moon Casting Calls, George Bush Getting Shoed, Tennis Ball Machines For Dogs,
featured lens Adrienne Jenkins Lensography & More About Me

I AM A GARDENER It was a bit scary the first time I wrote down gardener as my occupation on our tax forms instead of Marketing Director. That was 7 years ago. I've been fortunate enough to be able to follow my passion to garden for a living rather th...

featured lens Adrienne Jenkins My Resume

What sets superstars apart is their ability to escape dead ends quickly, while staying focused when it counts. Winners quit fast, quit often, and quit without guilt - until they commit to beating the right Dip for the right reasons. - Seth Godin Loo...

My Top 10 Lens 

More Interesting Articles by Adrienne Jenkins

P.S. Cool! How Do I Get A Feed Like This?
For Squidoo Lensmasters, add an RSS module, go to SquidUtils and click on Lensmaster RSS Feeds.

Loading Fetching RSS feed... please stand by

RATE THIS LENS

What Do You Think So Far

If you enjoyed the information provided on this lens, please leave a comment in the guest book, take a second to click the five stars at the top of the page or even favorite it :)

by Lotusland

"Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life." Confucious (more)

Explore related pages

Creating a Bucket List - 100 Things to do Before You Die
Stop putting your dreams off for "some day" . . . Take inspiration fro...
WHAT'S ON YOUR BUCKET LIST?
This light-hearted lens is devoted to asking that big, bold, and breathtaking qu...
My Bucket List/Life Wish List
I believe I was 14 or 15 years old when I decided I needed to create my own buck...
Creating a Bucket List - 100 Things to do Before You Die
Stop putting your dreams off for "some day" . . . Take inspiration fro...
WHAT'S ON YOUR BUCKET LIST?
This light-hearted lens is devoted to asking that big, bold, and breathtaking qu...
My Bucket List/Life Wish List
I believe I was 14 or 15 years old when I decided I needed to create my own buck...

Related Topics

Lotusland Recommends...

Create a Lens!