On the Road Again!

It has been an awesome week at home with Dave. Needless to say, I am not all that anxious to leave Canada.

Yet, here I sit, waiting for the flight that will take be back to Chicago for a couple of hours before I hop another flight to get to Kentucky. Thank goodness for work travel to keep my mind off the fact that all I want to do is curl up in Canada!

I'll be sure to post about this week. Let's just say it included lots of being outside, time with friends, a debt payoff celebration and general mushiness of "distance makes the heart grow fonder" kind.

Currently...

Inspired by a post I saw over on happydally...

CURRENTLY

Listening:  To Dave talking on the phone

Loving:  The fact that I am back in Canada

Thinking:  About dinner...we are making homemade roasted tomato soup tonight

Wanting:  Something to take away my cold symptoms

Needing:  Some really warm socks on my feet

3 Words:  Elated, Elevated, Enjoying

Hope you are all having a great weekend! 

Heading Home

Ok folks...it's been a while since I've seen my better half.  So I'm making the trek to the wintry north baking-in-absurdly-bizarre-springlike-weather north and am going to enjoy some time with Dave.

I have to say that a long-distance marriage is much tougher than I ever thought it would be.

Dave and I dated long-distance and even were married across the miles for the first few months following our wedding, but it's taken on a whole new dimension now.

Conversations that used to start while we were cooking dinner together and would linger into the evening don't take place and are confined to the square of the Skype window (I'm not hating on you, Skype.  Ya know I love you).  Dinners are prepared and devoured separately and our weekends can't be spent together on walking trails hand-in-hand.

While it's tough, Dave and I can get handle it.  I figure that navigating long-distance relationships is like navigating an obstacle course at time.  You've got to deal with barriers, walls to scale, tightropes to tiptoe across, mud pits to crawl through and ladders to climb.  All of this applies when you are together as well, it's just I sometimes think it can be a little easier when you've got the other person by your side.

At any rate...we will be side-by-side again soon and I am so grateful for that time together.

Look out Saskatchewan...Heather's on her way home!

Good People

In my travels for work and otherwise...I have met some outstanding people.  Kate Lemay is one of those people.  She was in town yesterday and we got a chance to catch up.  I met Kate about three years ago and since then, she has been an inspiration to me.

In addition to that, she happens to be one of the most creative and talented people I know.

When I saw her yesterday, she gave me a collection of her work...something totally unexpected and something absolutely wonderful.  Kate is an artist and she allows the universe to speak through her on canvas through watercolor.  

My photos of her work don't do it justice.

It's beautiful.

It was so good to spend time with Kate.  

You should need to check her out here. 

A Guest Post from Canada...

A guest post from Dave Canada.

*****

Dear Heather,

We miss you.

Canada.

xoxo

A Weekend with Tello Films

I have some ridiculously talented friends.  

Among them is my friend Christin Mell.

Christin is the co-founder of Tello Films, a small but mighty company that puts out some great lesbian web-based content.

This weekend, they were holding auditions for their latest project and I was lucky enough to be asked to help out.  Wait, strike that.  It's Christin.  She asks...I can't say no.  It's just the way our friendship works. 

It's awesome like that.

I was stoked to help her out because I think she is amazing and the work Tello creates is fantastic.  Working alongside her this weekend were Jessica King and Julie Keck, writers and filmmakers who are every ounce as awesome as Christin.  Their awesomeness can be found here at King is a Fink. 

Needless to say, it was a very fulfilling weekend with amazingly talented women.  These gals know their stuff and I am so glad I was able to help out.  

In short...go check their stuff out, like them on Facebook, follow them on Twitter.

If you see their stuff anywhere...be sure to check them out cause you won't want to miss it!

View from Chicago

It's been a good week...

Hi there...my name is Heather!
Apparently I like to eat gloves!

Art is popping up everywhere!

Some Pop-Up Art with slightly creepy glowing hands
Learn more here

El me

Delicious dinner at Coco Pazzo
Roasted veg in parchment paper...yum!

It's Your Birthday!

Happy Birthday to my awesome husband!  

He does such a great job holding down the fort in Moose Jaw while I pursue my 

career dreams in Chicago.  

I am a very lucky person to have Dave in my life.  

I wish I was home to celebrate with him in person, but I've got big plans

for when I arrive in the Jaw later this month.

Buuuut, in case anyone was wondering.  I am a good wife and I managed to find him the most

*perfect* of gifts.

I really hope it arrives in the mail today.

If it doesn't, he'll just have to wait for the big surprise.  

I'm pretty stoked about it.

And, no...it's not me wrapped in a bow.

Although that would be pretty awesome.

For both of us.

Just sayin'.

Happy Birthday, Dave!  I love and miss you very much!

xo

Balance: $0.00

One of the things I haven't shared on this blog is the journey Dave and I are on to become debt free.  Well, I wanted to share that we took our first HUGE step on that path last night and I can officially declare that we are credit card debt free!

I think whenever folks decide that they want to take charge of their financial future, it's an awesome thing.  Dave and I have pretty massive dreams for ourselves and getting our finances in order is a big part of making them a reality.  

We each walked into this relationship with debt and we were both able to sit down, talk honestly about it, work on budgets (almost...every...single...night people!), and set goals for ourselves.  We have a debt thermometer that hung on the side of the fridge so we could visually track our progress and have a daily reminder of our goal and created an interesting way to reward ourselves along the way.  

We managed to pay off a lot of debt in just a year and a half.  It was hard work, but as of last night - with me looking on virtually - we were able to press the button that allowed us see the thing that we've been waiting for:

BALANCE:  $0.00

We aren't done yet, but we are well on our way to now saving for the future as opposed to dealing with our past.

And friends...that's a GREAT feeling...