Yowzers! This was bound to happen…finally I am circling back to my “long, lost, and almost forgotten” blog/site. A lot has changed and gone on…

First off, this site used to be hosted by hostgator and I had to pay for the privilege of being hosted. The web hosting renewed every May from 2009 – 2016. This year, I decided that I wasn’t going to continue the hosting by hostgator and I decided to just go with the free option offered by WordPress.com. I never really monetized the website and more used it as a journal/place to express ideas and thoughts. Therefore, I decided the free options were good enough for me and my purposes. This has led to saving me $140/year. 🙂

You now might be asking what my plans for the site are going forward? Really, I have no idea how often I will post. I am in a different place and mindset than when I first setup this site and domain. Back then, I was in the midst of planning a trip around the world. Now, I’m working on planning a wedding, paying off a house, occasionally traveling, and saving money and investing. My thoughts are to turn this site into more of an online journal and journey for people to follow/comment on etc.

Recently, I’ve been investing in the market and have made this to be a new habit. My goal is to someday be able to cover my monthly expenses with dividend/investment income. So far I have 5 positions that purchase at least 1 new share of each stock every quarter. I’m working on my 6th position now. It’s definitely a work in progress, but it’s been fun seeing it get off the ground! I’m sure there will be at least a few more posts regarding investments/opportunities for investments.

Some major changes for me….

Since my world trip ended in Sept 2012, I’m on my 4th employer. Sometimes, I’ve left by choice and better opportunities and other times, I’ve decided to leave because of re-organizations/title changes/changes in responsibilities. I’m happy with my current employer, boss, and team so I’m hoping for a little stability in employers the next 2-4 years. It’s almost been a year since I’ve been with my current employer.

I’m also getting married in September of this year! Woohoo! That will be another great and exciting change. I’m marrying a Minnesota girl who is a pre-school teacher and has a love of helping others. She also shares my love of travel, trying new restaurants, canoeing, being outdoors, being practical/planning, and being frugal. We’re only a few months away from getting married and nearly everything is all done for the wedding! 😉

Going along with getting married, I bought a house in late February 2016! Of course with a house, comes new expenses and new things one has to buy. It’s been an interesting process and expect to see some posts related to the house as well.

Finally, although my travels have slowed down, there is still a deep love of travel, how travel can change a person, and what people can learn from traveling. I’m looking forward to my and my fiance’s 2 week road trip in late July/Early August. We’ll be road tripping from Minneapolis to Portland, OR stopping at a few national parks along the way. It’s going to be about a 4,700 mile trip and should be fun to disconnect from work for awhile.

Well I suppose that’s all for now. I hope to maybe get my site header back and get going again on this site with new posts from time to time.

Tim