You are under no obligation to read this, but I need to just get everything I’m feeling out into a post.
Thank you, thank you!
Cheese alert!
Thank you for being readers, fellow supporters and most of all, friends.
It’s really kind of cool to see people interact in the comments with each other, helping out others and being genuinely interested in what I’m writing about (still mind-boggling for me).
In the spirit of honesty, I will admit that I have not had time to read every single comment on my posts let alone reply to all of them, so if you do have specific questions, please contact me instead, okay?
Bloggers: I do know that many of you are searching for employment and are going through personal struggles (I read blog posts when I can), so I just want you to know that I am sending good thoughts your way and truly hoping things work out, even if I don’t comment.
I am also going to gingerly give you the link to my Formspring account from The Everyday Minimalist, where you can ask questions anonymously there (no, really. I have no clue who most you people are, but thank you for being so nice!)
What I am going to miss the most about leaving Canada is meeting up with people I consider to be good friends, both readers and bloggers.
I wish we had met so much sooner than 2010 or 2011, so I’d have more time to meet up and spend with you over my lifetime.
Never mind! I will be back in Toronto to visit at least once every other year, so we’ll meet in a flurry then 🙂
Figured out when I can retire: Hello 50s!
BF and I have been making notes to figure out when we can retire.
We’re thinking in 20 years, so I’ll be in my late 40s to early 50s.
Yes, I am imagining having kids will start to be on my mind this year or next.
Our magic number is $800,000 each, in today’s dollars, or $1.5 million in 20 years, trying to account for inflation.
The plan is also to retire in Portugal rather than staying in North America.
I’ve been (and am still) as busy as a bee
You’d think that in between traveling and coming home, I’d be totally chilled out, relaxing and sleeping like a mofo.
Instead, I am spending 15 hour days organizing my life.
Why? For one thing, I took 19,000 photos in 5 weeks. Nineteen THOUSAND.
I have to sort them all into 3 separate categories:
- Viewing (friends and family)
- Photography (artsy shots and natural wallpapers)
- Blogging (yay! They’re all being showcased on this blog and The Everyday Minimalist)*
*Scheduled until the end of 2011, posted every Thursday.
- sorting through all my snail mail (ick)
- running errands for myself and my family
- backing up all my data, photographs on my hard drives
- tying up loose ends with bills, payments and my company
- organizing the two blogs
- double-checking our travel plans
- learning Portuguese for our eventual retirement in the country and to practice next week
- getting ready to move to the U.S. and packing for it
- making sure I pare down on more things before I go
- preparing for upcoming trips (New York City and San Francisco are ON MY LIST, folks)
Thank goodness BF is a rockstar in the kitchen and he’s been keeping me and my family well-fed this whole time.
I know, I know. First World problems. 🙂
When I get back from Europe, I’ll do more photo posts.
I should have done it properly the first time I went to France, England and Portugal, but you live and learn, right?
So that’s been what I’ve been up to lately and thinking about. This is really going to be a fantastic year of Travel and Change for me.
Just a girl trying to find a balance between being a Shopaholic and a Saver.
I cleared $60,000 in 18 months earning $65,000 gross/year.
Now I am self-employed, and you can read more about 
FB, thank you for being such an inspiration and sharing your experience with us, internet “strangers”.
You will definitely be missed when you leave for Dallas *tear*, but good friends are always together in their thoughts (and through the magic of the internet). I’ve on the East Coast (Canada) as I type this, but I can’t wait to get together again when you are back from Europe!
*hugs*
*gets all fuzzy* 🙂 You’re absolutely one of my favourite people I’ve met so
far. See you in Aug/Sep for another food fest and funny conversations 🙂
I was thinking of you and a few others as I wrote this post…
FB it excites me so much that you want to retire to Portugal! Not many of us out there!
I love that you’ve worked out ‘your number’ too. Happy organising 🙂
*high five* 🙂
I was thinking of Spain too, but ultimately, the chorizo swayed me. 😉
Good luck with the kids. Why retire in portugal?
I love the food, the weather, the language and the people 🙂
Best of luck with all of your travels! Can’t wait to hear about them.
Glad to hear things are going so well! I’m excited to see your photos!
It sounds like a really fun year of travelling for you two! I hope you have a great time (again) in Portugal. Somehow, that is one of the few countries that I haven’t been to within Europe (also still on my list: Norway, Sweden, Finland, and much of Eastern Europe).
I myself am going to China for a year (gasp!) in less than two months and I am excited to go – though really really struggling with what to pack as it’s going to be much hotter in the summer and much colder in the winter than here in the Netherlands. I’m going to let myself be inspired by your posts on packing 😉
Oh you should definitely bring a range of clothing if you are going for a
year 🙂 The weather was actually a lot colder than in Canada, and a lot
warmer than in Canada… even though we’re in the same Hemisphere. They had
cold streaks when it should have been warmer, and vice versa.
What are you going for? School? Work? Fun?
I hope you have a better time there than I did 🙂 The only cities I liked
were Hong Kong and Macau.
I’m going to Beijing to study Mandarin and hopefully my Chinese will improve a lot over the year! 🙂
I think I’m just going to review all my clothes (there are also lots of pieces I just don’t wear anymore – so I have also some purging to do) – and do lots of layers? I don’t have many really warm clothes, as temperatures rarely drop below zero here in the Netherlands during the winter so I never really needed them. I guess I can always buy new clothes there if I really need them, but I’d still like to be a bit prepared for sudden cold days.
Bring cashmere sweaters then. They keep you warm and are a fairly light and
thin layer 🙂