.jpg?ssl=1)
- Welcome to our “brand new” YouTube studio set up!
Okay, it’s not “new” (we’ve had this 3rd floor space completed for several years now – Derrick’s “office” is in the opposite corner and it’s where I have my exercise bike, plus the kids love to play in the big open space!) but we have added a few new features to turn it into a “video recording space”. We got the LED lights two weeks ago and while they look really fantastic to the human eye, they simply weren’t bright enough on camera. So this week, we added this LED panel to our setup and now it’s looking REALLY good!
The reason for all of the cool lighting is Derrick and I are now recording a YouTube show/podcast (we truly don’t know what to call it) – it’s us, on camera, sitting and talking about roller coaster stuff. It turns out, we have a lot to talk about, so it’s fun to put those thoughts/words onto camera! We’re still getting into our groove, figuring out exactly what we want the format to look like, how we want it to look, what we want it to feel like – but we’re doing it and figuring it out as we go along.
We’re calling it “ERT with Derrick and Kara” (ERT stands for “Exclusive Ride Time” in the coaster world) and you can watch the first episode HERE with the second episode dropping soon! - This week was a busy week – Tuesday was our monthly Rising Tide Society meeting (which was amazing and delightful and encouraging as always). I got to be “in charge” of the discussion this month, so that is always fun! (In case you aren’t familiar, my friend Tiffany and I run the Greensburg, PA chapter of the Rising Tide Society – a community of creative entrepreneurs who’s goal is “community over competition”. We get together once a month to network, catch up, and talk about a centralized business topic – typically while eating delicious food and drinking coffee – win win win.)
- Tuesday was also voting day. I have a lot to say on that topic, but I’ll spare you my thoughts.
- Thursday was the Just Between Friends consignment sale in Monroeville! If you’re thinking: wait, didn’t that sale just happen a few weeks ago? The answer is: yes. JBF has four sales around the Pittsburgh area and the Monroeville location happens at the end of August every year. Well, this year, they were struggling to secure a location for their fourth sale, so they decided to come back to Monroeville for a “round two” sale! At first I was like, “My kids don’t really need any more toys, and I already bought them their winter coats and snow pants at the August sale – do I really need to go to this one in November?” And then I realized: both Braelynn and Leander have gone through HUGE growth spurts in the last few weeks – I had Braelynn try on her snow boots (that were “big” on her in August) and they are now too small. So, needless to say, I went. And I was so happy I did! I took some stuff to sell, and already (it’s Saturday morning and the sale has been open for pre-sale day on Thursday, open-to-the-public yesterday) the stuff I took has sold BETTER than when I sold in August! I’m blown away by how much I’ve sold already – and the sale still has two full days to go!
I found Braelynn a beautiful Christmas dress, a few clothing items the kids both needed, and of course: a few toys that have already been stashed away for Christmas and birthdays! - Afterward, I got to have dinner with my sister!! She came as my guest to the sale and we were simply going to leave and go our separate ways, when we decided – let’s go out to dinner together! SO WE DID! It was so delightful to simply sit down together, chat, eat, and not be interrupted by our little munchkins (whom we love dearly and who love each other).
- Last weekend was the most beautiful, warm, glorious last-hurrah-of-fall that there ever was! We were super motivated to get stuff done and WOW did we get stuff done! Derrick and I cleaned out our garage and then we cleaned out our basement – both HUGE tasks that we’ve been putting off forever. We went and got a Bagster to fill with junk and we filled it to the very tippy top. It’s insane how much junk you simply accumulate over the years! So many boxes, old appliances, and leftover stuff that just got tossed down into the basement or carried out to the garage. Well, it’s all gone now!! And it feels absolutely wonderful.
We even put up our Christmas Tree last weekend!! With the time change and the evenings getting darker so much earlier now, we needed that extra glow. It’s wonderful. - We had plans to go visit Derrick’s parents this weekend – we were supposed to have Thanksgiving with the extended Abbey family, but sadly, sickness has kept us home. We’re all fine – no one is sick here (knock on wood), but sickness has struck both Derrick’s Grandma and Derrick’s Mom, so we’re home this weekend! And we have nothing on our calendar, so who knows what we’ll get into today!
