Thank you, Everyone! Hopefully I am back on track now!

Thank you for all the fruit!

How cool! congratulations.
What are the TWO micro businesses you are starting.

By the way…that wasn’t long to be unemployed.
:)

Hi – Microbusiness consulting – like how do I add POS at Conferences to make my cell phone a credit payement processing unit – - answering those types of questions.

The second idea is to start an “Educational Supplementation” blog – like what ELSE can I do to add to my kids curriculum? And each week would be a full description of a whole new product/project/ and we take it further with pictures, videos and additional ideas. For instance, if we use a history program – one of the side activities would be having the kids get into the roles of the times – say – ancient Persia – and maybe they are rug merchants – and they do a video about how and why their rugs get made, materials, labor, etc., – and how they will deliver the rug – and using proper measurements of the time – lol – no cm no inches!! And create an info-mercial or website or both about their rug. Stuff like that – just ideas swirling at this point…

How very COOL!
Great ideas. I love the “ideas swirling” part of your process.
As both the father of a very literate 7 year old who is reading at about 4th grade level after just completing 1st grade…
AND
As a person who has concerned himself with children’s literacy my entire adult life….
And as an expert read aloud professional (including my Santa Claus activities), I GREATLY appreciate the idea of an educational supplement blog.

I am going to post a “thought” on this site in a second…a joke, but also a joke with a whole lotta TRUTH about content marketing contained in it…

So watch for it…

:)

Thank you for your kind comments. I am greatly concerned about the levels of education in this country (U.S.) and as someone really into neuroscience, child development and education as well as a parent, it’s something I really should be doing…

LOVE the joke!

Authentic democracy depends upon an electorate who can READ, critically think and make informed decisions.

I sometimes shudder at the shocking illiteracy and the number of adults who do not read.
Reading is a lifeline….

Glad you liked the joke!

Hi Darlene,
I agree with Patrick: your ideas are terrific and I love them!

What would you LIKE to do with some of that time? Create something? Read? Write? Go places? Be in nature? Spend time with friends? Clean or declutter? Take up a new activity? I would agree that your new extra time is a gift. Do something that makes your heart sing. For me, part of what I would do is DANCE!

i agree with susan!
i stopped working full time a while ago and have quite a bit less money as a result, but the time i have and the enjoyment makes up for all of that.And what’s the point of having loads of money when you can only enjoy it when you’re retired, and maybe can’t physically do what you’ve always planned…
for example: in the last week i’ve taken a yodelling course (LOVED IT!!) and will continue to yodel, have been to a 24hour theatre event (which i could never have done working 50 hours a week), have had time to package our honey and devise some marketing strategies…

What a blessing, I wish I had 20 extra hours a week!! Darlene, it seems like time at the gym, home-schooling and reading are the most important for you. Now, you’ve got extra time for all three of these. Take 10 hours a week for your number one choice and 5 hours a week for your other two! (5 hours for the gym might not be enough per week? Depends on how long it takes to get there and back.)

Thank you, everyone! I have been on the same treadmill for 25 years – GASP – and have only occasionally thought about what I wanted to do in the future. I would usually stop that train of thought because I HAD to go to work, and no use thinking about that when you HAVE to get to work.

I know I should LOVE the gift of more time, but it is really scary to someone who is so entrenched. I think the first order of business is to clean up this house! And then I can have the space to think properly. It’s weird to think that next week, I have half my life back. I hope that part of me that wants to charge right out and get two more part time jobs to fill the void settles down…

Your plan sounds great, Darlene!
I use some of my free time to volunteer in a small NGO and I love it. I am sure you’ll find what works for you!

darlene, that IS a wonderful opportunity! i also wouldnt know where to start, well… i do this time of year! i would spend every extra millisecond outside piddling in my yard :-) Good luck to you on your new adventure, i know you will find your new niche in no time.

Enjoy

We have just a computer monitor, no TV, but of course still watch limited video online and through Netflix. You could certainly try unplugging it or canceling your cable for a month or more, especially with summer coming up and lots of outdoor activities to do now!

I love the idea of unplugging it. We don’t subscribe to cable, only Netflix.

We unhooked the TV antenna from the roof almost 3 years ago to get rid of the darn temptation. We now use TV to watch a DVD from time to time. And we watch The Big Bang Theory on the internet :-)

Getting rid of TV was tough at the beginning but it brought us freedom!

Hi! Just popping in for a visit! :-)

We did what Cat did. Cancelled the cable, a few years ago. For us it was easy, because we seldom watched it – one day, thinking about the unnecessary expense and the (sometimes) wasted hours, we just cancelled it.

I think I understand the problem, though. Occasionally, I did switch it on, and then I experienced what most people do — I’d get sucked in, to program after program after program, and hours would disappear — when one program ends, there’s always something else that looks interesting enough. And that did enter into the decision to cancel it.

And I agree with Cat, about the freedom. The TV service just isn’t there, so there’s no temptation, and all those hours previously spent (wasted) watching it, are OURS now.
We still have the big monitor, to watch DVD movies on once in a while.

I say: Go for it!!
Think of all those hours of your own life you’ll get back!
You’ll get to actually live those hours of your life, instead of living vicariously (becoming hypnotized into watching other people living their lives, or pretending to).

And there are all kinds of other issues, such as the effect that TV has on children.

Ahem … sorry for the lengthy speech. ;-]
This has been a topic of interest of mine, for a long time.

There’s an excellent book, and still relevant, even though it was published years ago:
“Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television”, by Jerry Mander
www.amazon.com/Arguments-Elimination-Television-Jerry-Mander/dp/0688082742/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1337976445&sr=1-1