I just returned from a 5-day trip to Orlando with my teenager, a trip I have been looking forward to since the moment he agreed to travel with me. It was everything I’d hoped it would be and more. We spent five blissful days communicating, hanging out, playing together, and not fighting. He talked to me, he laughed at my jokes, and he shared things with me - all activities that have been missing from our relationship since the onset of puberty.

In part, I have VisitOrlando, the Nickelodeon Suites Resort, Universal Studios, and SeaWorld to thank for this experience. They organized the trip and picked up the tab for most of our visit. They let my son and I share the magic of Harry Potter World, a real treat since we’d read the books together years ago. They provided the pool that he asked me to swim with him in, the rides we loved, and the shows we swapped opinions about.

But the real credit for this fabulous vacation goes to me and Devin - and the power of one-on-one parenting.
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As I write this, my husband is at the local grocery store stocking up on D batteries and - well, I don’t know what else he’s hoping to buy. My plans for the day included unpacking from two weeks of suitcase living and getting caught up on work. It hadn’t occurred to me to prepare for Hurricane Sandy, despite having known about the storms impending arrival in my state for days.

In my defense, I live in Western Pennsylvania and most of the weather news has been focused on the East Coast. As a new Pittsburgh resident, I’m still a little unfamiliar with my place in the geographical scheme of things, but I know that Philadelphia is about a six hour drive from me. I assumed that meant we were just going to get some rain and maybe a little wind. I told the kids to wear their winter coats and take umbrellas to school.

According to Twitter, Allegheny County officials (the ones I’m supposed to be listening to) have declared a state of emergency and warned residents to prepare for 72 hours without power. Oops. Off my husband goes to get batteries.

It’s safe to say that I do not plan well for emergencies.
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I became a grown up on Thursday, October 18, 2012, at about six thirty in the evening.

I’m 32 years old and I have two children, including one in middle school. I’ve been married for over a decade. I’ve bought and sold three homes, paid off two car loans and purchased an appropriate amount of life insurance. None of those adult milestones, however, prepared me for the rapid aging I experienced last week when my stepdad died.
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Begin with the end in mind.

It means to live with intention, and to be clear on what that intention is. Successful entrepreneurs know that a clear picture of the end, the goal, is crucial. Whether opening a new store or starting out as a freelancer, a proper business plan tells where to invest your most precious resources: time and money.

It makes sense to begin with the end in mind, to decide where you’re going before you start.

What’s a little trickier is taking the time to stop and seek directions when you’re already flying down the highway.

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I woke up this morning in a foul mood.

Scratch that. I woke up this morning in a fine mood, and then I rolled over and checked my email. A critical email from an editor promptly put me in a bad mood (reason number 836 why I shouldn’t be checking my email in bed.)

As I lay in bed waiting for the sun to finish rising, one email spiraled into a parade of my favorite self doubts and insecurities marching across my mind. Before the first child could ask for breakfast, I had decided I sucked at my job, hated my life, and would never have the time or breathing room I needed to make things right again.

I should mention here that I have been traveling full time with my husband and two kids for the past ten months. We’ve never gone hungry and the only work I’ve had to do for the past year has involved writing, which I adore. Also, I may be flying to the Caribbean in a couple weeks for a quick trip to check out a luxury resort - for work. In other words, I love my life and my job and I have more breathing room than most people can even fantasize about. But early mornings are no place for logic, clearly.

At any rate, by the time I opened the laptop to begin work, it seemed my temperament for the day was firmly set to ‘not good’.
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I have to make some big changes in my career. Soon. Well, soonish.

Because some of my revenue streams have evaporated, new ones need to be tapped. Because I work in an ever-changing medium, adjustments need to be made all the time, and truth be told I’ve gotten pretty lazy about keeping up with those changes while traveling the country with my family.

I’ve made significant changes outside of my work life in the last year. My husband has become temporarily unemployed in order to travel full time and take on the responsibility of our children’s education. I moved out of a 3,000-square-foot home into a 24-foot travel trailer. I’ve visited dozens of American cities in the last eight months. I’ve gone from a two-car household to a one-car family, often not only sharing a vehicle but doing so in completely unfamiliar surroundings.

Yes, there have been a lot of changes for me in the last year, and so I have been understandably lax about keeping up with the ones that need to be made professionally.
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Today my daughter and I are boarding a plane bound for an all-inclusive resort in the Caribbean. We’ll spend four days enjoying white beaches, spa treatments, and VIP pampering. It’s our very first mother-daughter getaway, and we’re setting the bar high.

Oh, and it won’t cost me a dime.

The tab for this trip is being picked up by the PR company representing the resort. As a travel writer, I am invited to go on press trips like this (OK, not like this, this is definitely one of the best so far!) several times a year. I also receive free hotel rooms, admission to world-class attractions, and meals at fabulous restaurants.

I don’t get health insurance, but there’s no doubt that the benefits of my “job” are fabulous.
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Not having a boss is awesome.

Except for the part where you don’t have a boss.

By that I mean, there’s no one around to make sure I’m on task. Sure, my kids demand to eat regularly, which is a constant reminder that money must come into the household, but by the time they’re clamoring for food it’s too late to worker harder or smarter. I have to rely on my own internal motivation and self discipline like a real grown up.

This would be a heck of a lot easier were it not for the Internet.

Facebook and Twitter are just the tip of the distraction iceberg. YouTube and its plethora of music and comedy can feed my ADD for hours. My Google Reader is always full of blogs waiting to entertain and inspire. My inbox is as much a to-do list as a but don’t do it now! trap.

And now, the world has fallen in love with Pinterest.
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This is my last post for the Full Time, All the Time blog. It’s hard to believe that it has been more than two years since I started writing here, but it’s even harder to believe why I’m leaving.

Over two years ago, I took on the role of blogger here when my predecessor Karen Waldron of Chookooloonks stopped working full time in a corporate office and started building her own business from her home. My very first post here was about how I felt guilty watching Karen leave the workforce, but how certain I was that working out of the home was the best choice for me and my family. Two years later, I’m writing my last blog because I, too, have left the traditional workforce behind in exchange for self-employment.

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I know that there was a time not so long ago when the Internet didn’t exist. And then the Internet did exist, but it was a luxury. And then it came to our homes in dial-up, then cable, then… well, you see where this is going. We’ve come a long way since Al Gore invented the Internet and today we live in a world in which a great majority of our ideas, products and services are exchanged “in the cloud.”

I make my living entirely online. I don’t have an office and every product I make or service I deliver is digital. And yet, I am currently living without reliable Internet for the first time in almost 15 years.

It’s been an interesting couple of weeks. My workload is nearly the same as what it was when I was living in a house with 24/7 wifi service, but I’m getting it done in three days a week instead of five or six.

Ironically, a lack of Internet has made me more productive.

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