Breaking Even Blog Break This Week

Sadie on Sand Beach this summer.

The Breaking Even blog is taking a brief hiatus this week.

My dog has recently become very ill and after taking her into the emergency vet yesterday, it was found she has two tumors on or near her heart. This is both a risky and costly surgery, and one that’s almost impossible for my 15 year old dog.

My Internet Silence

Hi! I missed you blog friends. You have probably been online all week. Question is, where have I been?

Besides having a busy week involving houseguests (of the two and four legged variety) a six hour road trip beginning very early Friday morning, it was hard to sneak in work (let alone fun like blogging) without a working internet connection near my house.

I almost didn’t move because of Time Warner Cable. My suspicions of hassle were confirmed as I spent the last two weeks trying to get the internet at my house, which I still didn’t have when I left yesterday.

I had happily been mooching off my neighbors connection for a few days when sometime Wednesday, the connection got weak. I was able to look at webpages and update my Facebook status sometimes but couldn’t seem to do things like attach documents to emails (you know, work). I was relieved that I was going to have my strong consistent connection on Thursday when the cable guy came to turn on my internet.

Why I’m Getting A SCUBA Certification

I’ve recently enrolled in a SCUBA certification course. Last night, I finished my pool skills and took my final written exam. The next thing to do is an ocean dive, which is something I’ll do in the next few weeks before the water gets too cold. (Don’t worry, I’ll have a wet suit and my instructor has been doing this for over 20 years so he won’t allow me to do anything dangerous.)

The logical question is why have I thrown down $500 for a SCUBA certification (and eventually a few hundred dollars in equipment) when I don’t even have a boat?

My instructor in action!

Two Years Later

Many people think this blog is more about me than it is.

Most of the time, I am writing about 25% of my life, carefully chosen parts even. I figure my name and business are on this publication and there is a certain level of formality I keep in the interest of clients and potential clients reading it. There is personality behind things certainly but I bet if you think of more controversial topics, you’ll notice they aren’t on the Breaking Even blog.

In addition to self protection, I also feel that the topics I cover (saving money, business, marketing) are a bit more interesting to my audience than a blog about all things Nicole Ouellette would be. (I mean, I’m not Oprah!)

But it’s hard to ignore this date and what it means personally. So I won’t.

Two years ago, my life changed when my father unexpectedly drowned.

I’m Moving: A Follow-up

Great news for me this week is that I have found a new rental and I am moving in two weeks. Here’s my new house, which is three times as large as the apartment I am living in right now.

My little house, some random car for scale.

I was told how hard/impossible it would be to find something affordable and year round in Bar Harbor but here’s how I performed my real estate miracle:

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