Annie Anderson | Blog

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The KWJZ Smooth Jazz Festival yesterday was AWE.SOME! I cannot even begin to tell you how cool it was. I’ve never been to a concert at the Chateau Ste. Michelle so that was an experience as well. (I have been to the Chateau numerous times for other things, though. It’s a gorgeous place. If you’re anywhere in the Seattle area, you owe it to yourself to check out the wineries in Woodinville.)

Anyway . . .

My mom picked me up about 10 am so that we could arrive early enough to hang out, look at all the booths (food, food, wine, food, and many others) and enjoy the surroundings. We even got there early enough that we got into the VIP parking on the Chateau grounds.

The weather wasn’t all that warm, in the low 70’s and it was kinda overcast but it was comfortable for an outdoor concert. I’m actually glad it wasn’t hot. I don’t do that well in temps above 80.

Gates opened at noon-ish and we found our seats in the reserved seating area. Even though security had to check everyones bags and coolers, it went surprisingly fast and we were inside within 10 minutes.

Since we both have food allergies, we brought a cooler of stuff (I’ll post my moms killer vegan potato salad recipe maybe later this week) so we didn’t sample any of the great food booths - except an incredibly tasty and delicious Mango Lemonade - but wow! The smells were enough to make ones mouth water and tummy rumble!

First up was Nils, kicking off the concerts at 2pm. He did a mix of old and new stuff that can only be described as incredible. Nils is a great guitar player and a true showman. He even waltzed through the isles a couple of times and it was great. He really knows how to have fun. Nils’ 2007 CD, Ready to Play is beautiful.

Next was Marion Meadows. His set was awesome! Marion is a pretty funny guy, he had us laughing a couple of times - a real character. And his sax skills are spectacular! I wish I could play the sax like that. He also stepped into the isles a couple of times and touched hands with some of the fans. A very personable and instantly likable guy. His show was great. And his band is awesome too. His keyboardist is a little gal with awesome pipes. I don’t remember her name, but he introduced her as the gal who sang the Lion King vocals in the movie. She was great, too. Check out Marion’s 2006 CD “Dressed to Chill.” If you like sax, he’ll blow you away.

Third was - how to describe, because AWESOME just isn’t enough - Wayman Tisdale. I’ll tell you, that guy is one hell of a guitar player. And so nice! He’s incredibly down to earth and humble for being such a huge star, both as a guitarist and in NBA basketball. He played a bunch of songs from several of his CD’s including his most recent, Rebound. Wayman had the crowd up on our feet almost the entire set. It was the by far the best the set of the day. I wouldn’t mind seeing him again.

And last, was the Crusaders. The lineup included the original members - Joe Sample, Wilton Felder, Nils Lundgren and Ray Parker, Jr. - along with Joe’s son, Nick Sample and a guy on drums whose name I didn’t catch. I mentioned Friday that I don’t particularly like the Crusaders, but seeing Joe Sample and Ray Parker, Jr. was cool. Ray even sang a bit of his famous “Ghostbusters” song, except that Joe made him change the words to the Crusaders. It was pretty fun. They sure can rock a crowd still for being “old guys.”

My mom and I bought a wine we hadn’t tried before - Syrah, pronounced like sir-ah - that was delicious. It’s very similar to Merlot (which is my favorite) except that it has a more spicy flavor. We shared it with my husband when we got home last night.

So - there you have it! I’m definitely going to both days next year and hopefully my husband will come with me too. He’s not that into jazz but he’d still have fun. And although I liked sitting in the reserved seating area because it was so close - we were about 12 rows back! - I think next year, I’d rather bring all my stuff and my lawn chairs and sit in the grass.

And if you’re in Seattle, let me know if you go next year. I’d love to meet you.

In the arena,

PS - Just a quick update - our septic is fixed!! YAY! My husband and his buddy put a new line from the house to the tank, fixed the junction box and got it all put back together before noon yesterday.

Make $10k in a weekend - “Too good to be true.” That’s the first thing I said when
I heard of http://tinyurl.com/5lq2g4. You can’t REALLY make $10K in a weekend. But I quickly bit my tongue once I saw the content. . .

Annie Anderson is a freelance copywriter and graphic designer specializing in the small business and real estate markets. Her tagline “Making your business, my business” means that she’ll take the utmost care when creating words and images for your business - just as if it were her own.

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With all of the things going on around our house lately, I’ve learned the value of outsourcing. It’s a concept I learned more about when I read Tim Ferriss’ “Four Hour Workweek.” And although it sounded good, it didn’t really hold much merit for me until recently.

Now, outsourcing is something I’ve intended to do for quite some time because I did like the idea of it, especially for housekeeping and yard maintenance, but I’ve just not found the time to get it done and actually hire anyone. But since we’ve had all this fun with our plumbing, our septic system and water heater, it’s now on the high priority list.

Do you outsource anything? If so, what?

And if not, why not? Do you plan to do so at some point?

If you do, does it add as much value to your life/work as you thought it would?

Do you plan to outsource anything else?

I am going to start with housekeeping (vacuuming, sweeping, mopping, etc) and lawn mowing. Because even though my husband likes mowing the lawn, he doesn’t always have time to do it when it should be done. And it’s frustrating for me because I can’t do it for him. ;-(

The dilemma, then, is how often to have the housekeeper come? Twice a month doesn’t sound often enough (not for this family! lol) but twice a week I think is too much.

Or maybe I should just hire the teenager who lives in this household . . .

Make $10k in a weekend - “Too good to be true.” That’s the first thing I said when
I heard of http://tinyurl.com/5lq2g4. You can’t REALLY make $10K in a weekend. But I quickly bit my tongue once I saw the content. . .

Annie Anderson is a freelance copywriter and graphic designer specializing in the small business and real estate markets. Her tagline “Making your business, my business” means that she’ll take the utmost care when creating words and images for your business - just as if it were her own.

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A few months ago, I wrote about testing a blogging schedule that perhaps you’ve noticed, I’ve failed to adhere to. While I think it’s important to have a general baseline for what I write about, I found having a daily topic schedule (such as recipes on Fridays, for example) was simply too confining for me.

So, I’m officially declaring that I will no longer have a particular schedule - most of the time. There will be a sort of general outline I follow but for the most part, I will write whatever I feel like writing on any given day. And should I decide to do a series of posts on one particular topic, I will try to space them out so this blog doesn’t seem like it’s only discussing one topic all the time.

Speaking of that, I commented about something similar on Barbara’s blog recently where she’s running a *great* series of interviews with Lorelle Van Fossen. I mentioned that I don’t want to blog about a topic often enough that I begin to think, “Gee, what if someone comes to my blog and they think this is all I write about?” I don’t want that to happen.

I think variety - and moderation - are truly important. Perhaps more important than a schedule.

What are your thoughts?

Make $10k in a weekend - “Too good to be true.” That’s the first thing I said when
I heard of http://tinyurl.com/5lq2g4. You can’t REALLY make $10K in a weekend. But I quickly bit my tongue once I saw the content. . .

Annie Anderson is a freelance copywriter and graphic designer specializing in the small business and real estate markets. Her tagline “Making your business, my business” means that she’ll take the utmost care when creating words and images for your business - just as if it were her own.

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I’ve mentioned briefly a couple of different times the past few days about having some issues with our septic system. It’s not been a very fun ordeal - especially not with little kids who *insist* on playing in the dirt. With the hose. What IS it with dirt, water and kids???

Anyway - we started having problems a few weeks ago and thought it was just a clogged drain as the tub just wasn’t draining quite right. Since there are three girls in this house with long hair, we figured it was likely related to that.

Well, it wasn’t.

First, we had our septic system pumped out and cleaned. That’s when we learned the line coming from the house to the tank was beginning to crumble (it’s concrete) and would need replacing - ASAP.

Then, we find out there’s a good possibility that the drain field has failed as well. Not only does that mean replacing some pipes, but it means tearing up the yard to do so. Right in the back yard where the kids play.

While exposing the line that needed replacing, my husband hit the main water line to the house (which stupidly enough runs right OVER the septic tank line). It sent water spewing everywhere! And flooded the septic tank. Which we just had emptied.

So, we had to turn the water off . . . again. Do you know how hard it is to bathe dirty, dusty, muddy children with no water? Yeah, let’s just say it’s next to impossible.

I’m thinkin’ that if we ever decide to move again, it’ll be to a brand spankin’ new house where we can properly monitor systems and perform proper maintenance.

Now, the question is - do I hate moving more? Or do I hate dealing with other people’s poor maintenance habits more? I’m beginning to think moving - which I absolutely loathe - is preferable.

In the arena,

Make $10k in a weekend - “Too good to be true.” That’s the first thing I said when
I heard of http://tinyurl.com/5lq2g4. You can’t REALLY make $10K in a weekend. But I quickly bit my tongue once I saw the content. . .

Annie Anderson is a freelance copywriter and graphic designer specializing in the small business and real estate markets. Her tagline “Making your business, my business” means that she’ll take the utmost care when creating words and images for your business - just as if it were her own.

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This is just a test of the gallery function. You can ignore this post.

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I don’t know about you, but I am picky. Well, with certain things anyway. But as a graphic designer, sometimes that’s a necessary fault. (Being too picky, though, can be more than just annoying to everyone else around you.)

I mean, do you ever *know* exactly what you want and then, you can’t find it? That seems to happen to me on a regular basis with design stuff. I’m thinkin’ that makes me a bit picky. Hopefully not too picky. Just picky enough to be decisive.

With the rising price of gas, groceries and other necessary items, I think we’re at a time in history where it definitely pays to be picky. Whether you’re fortunate enough to be in a spot where money isn’t a huge concern or you’re in a spot where penny pinching means the difference between eating or not eating, being a good steward of your money is important. This means more and more that one must be picky about products and services bought each month.

Because of health (allergies and kids w/ADD) issues, we’ve always been fairly careful with what we purchase but I’ve noticed in the past few months that the those dollars just don’t stretch as far as they used to. I’ve also noticed some manufacturers changing their products. I don’t know if that’s a result of the changing economy, but for someone who has to be careful of allergens, I find myself reading and re-reading labels constantly. Every time I have to change the products I buy as a result, it often ends up costing more.

Now, I try to buy organic products and other items that are all natural, sugar free and the like. (Those items just always seem to cost more anyway.) But in order to be a good steward of my families money, I’m going to have to try some alternatives. Here are things I’m planning to do:

• Plant a vegetable garden
• Buy from local farmers markets
• Buy environmentally safe products that are concentrated (so they last longer)
• Ensure we eat a balanced diet
• Drink plenty of water
• Use coupons (manufacturer and store issued)
• Shop for the best deals overall
• Walk when feasible instead of drive

Are you becoming more conscientious of the products you buy? If so, what are you doing to stretch your dollars? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

In the arena,

Annie

By the way - if this is your first time here, or you haven’t done so yet, please consider subscribing to my RSS feed. You can use any feed reader you wish.

Annie Anderson is a freelance copywriter and graphic designer specializing in the small business and real estate markets. Her tagline “Making your business, my business” means that she’ll take the utmost care when creating words and images for your business - just as if it were her own.

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I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up.

There. I said it. And it’s true.

Now, don’t get me wrong - I love design and writing and coaching and real estate but I still feel like there’s something else - something I’m missing, maybe. I don’t know.

(Yeah, I know - how could I be missing something with my plate so full, right?? Yep, I wonder, too.)

But even as a child, I knew I wanted to be a writer. It truly is my passion. The way words come together on a page is magical for me. But even so, I still don’t really know what I want to be when I grow up.

(Mind you, I’m in my 30’s. With 4 kids.)

It’s just that often, I don’t even feel grown up. Sure, there’s responsibilities and bills to pay and those little people (who are getting so tall, I nearly don’t recognize them) to take care of. A house to take care of, a car to maintain and all those good things and yet, sometimes I think “What do I want to DO with my life?”

There are so many things -

• Travel the world
• Go on a cruise
• Learn to fly helicopters
• Teach
• Build an orphanage
• Live on farm with animals and a huge garden
• Start a non-profit organization to help others in need
• Travel the US in a motorhome
• Learn another language . . . or two or twenty

And stuff like that.

I read Tim Ferriss’ Four Hour Workweek a while back and found I could relate to a lot of the information there, wanting to get to a point that my business runs itself more or less, leaving me free to do other things with my time. And frankly, by this age, I always thought I’d have it all together and be getting ready to do just that. Not so. It’s a little depressing at times.

All of this to say, it’s time to get there and ratchet this gig up to a new level. What do you think? Have you read the Four Hour Workweek? What are your thoughts and plans to achieve the lifestyle you want? Mine is finally beginning to seriously get somewhere.

Hey, I might even grow up soon.

Or not.

In the arena,

PS - Just found a great post by Cath Lawson called “131 Star Bloggers and Their Best Posts” and I’m honored that Cath would include me in the list. What a special way to say thanks to all of her commenters and readers. And so I’d like to say a very heartfelt Thank You to Cath for making my day, being so generous and for all the great things she shares with us on her blog. Do yourself a favor and check out Cath’s blog.

Annie Anderson is a freelance copywriter and graphic designer specializing in the small business and real estate markets. Her tagline “Making your business, my business” means that she’ll take the utmost care when creating words and images for your business - just as if it were her own.

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