Hold on? I’m rich beyond my wildest Dreams? A Bloggers Guide to Riches!

April 30, 2014 ~ K ~ 2 Comments

I have some bad news and good news!

Bad news, I didn’t win the lottery with my lucky $2 bill while I vacationed in Winthrop, WA over my birthday weekend. Of course, this leads into my good news that I can now continue to blog and offer worthless advice to Cyndi (my imaginary stalker) and my three other readers (special shout out to my blogger friends on Vancouver Island and in the great state of Kansas). I do appreciate your following my worthless advice blog!

With my lack of winning the lottery, my retirement plans include to continue to work and save money. In the meantime, I will enjoy the sunshine. If you haven’t heard, we have had a rash of good weather here in the Seattle area for the past few days. If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook (if you don’t, you really should), you might have noticed that I have been posting photos of myself out on location as the awesome school photographer I am (and a modest one as well). Today, we hit 81 degrees at the Sea-Tac Airport and I’m sure it was 84 here in Kent, WA. I love this kind of weather: sunshine and a little heat.

Since my blogging career and online business income hasn’t exploded into a massive fortune, I am not moving any time soon to Kauai (as seen on the TV show “Hawaii Life”) or any other warm climate. Sure, I have talked about moving but I most likely won’t be moving anytime soon.

I have considered Kauai since my parents still live there but I am apprehensive considering my past experience as a youth on Kauai. And the larger question is: What would I do on Kauai? I would probably avoid doing any work of any sort and that would be a bad thing. I’d get fat and tan and lay on the beach like a Hawaiian Monk Seal and that wouldn’t be good, would it?

I would probably have a hard time blogging too because I couldn’t complain about the rainy Seattle weather or the awful traffic. What would I blog about?

Nah, I think I’ll continue to complain about the rainy, cold weather of Seattle and give worthless advice about blogging, retirement, and how to make money online. Since, I am the King of Worthless Advice, I should be perfect at it!

Thanks for not even bothering to read my blog today. Just hit the “like” button!

Sunshine kills my work day…

April 29, 2014 ~ K ~ 1 Comment

I’m out on location and we are experiencing some beautiful sunshine here in the Seattle area. Usually on days like these, I would blow off work. Instead, I embrace it with open arms. Why should I enjoy an awesome day like today?

I should stay inside and close the drapes.

In reality, I want the sun. Ah, sunshine come here my elusive lover. How you tease me!

I may complain a great deal about our rainy Northwest weather but today is not one of those days. I just wish I was caught up on my work so I could skip out of work. Instead, I’m playing catch up with digital images and I’m out on location (outside) for another 45 minutes.

I also hate writing and posting from my phone on WordPress. It is so cumbersome, I mess up on my tags, I get lost in the interface menu. I feel like an idiot. I blame it on the sun.

Have a great afternoon. Sorry, that I would be able to offer any worthless advice today….the sunshine had zapped my powers of sarcasm.

Sunshine kills my work day…

April 29, 2014April 29, 2014 ~ K ~ 1 Comment

I should stay inside and close the drapes.

In reality, I want the sun. Ah, sunshine come here my elusive lover. How you tease me!

I also hate writing and posting from my phone on WordPress. It is so cumbersome, I mess up on my tags, I get lost in the interface menu. I feel like an idiot. I blame it on the sun.

Have a great afternoon. Sorry, that I would be able to offer any worthless advice today….the sunshine had zapped my powers of sarcasm.

Day 5: Dad & Daughter Roller Coaster Adventure Trip

April 19, 2014 ~ K ~ 3 Comments

Day 5 Knott’s Berry Farm: Danger and Excitement in the streets of Buena Park!
If you have the time, hit the “like” button and help keep my fragile ego intact…thanks.
Of all my trips to Southern California, I have never been to Knott’s Berry Farm until this past February trip with my daughter on our Dad and Daughter Roller Coaster Adventure Trip. I was really looking forward to visiting Knott’s because it was another unknown roller coaster destination for us. We have been to Disneyland, Sea World, Universal Studios, LEGOLAND, but Knott’s was a new park with new rides for us. Nothing like trying something new, right?

I was warned that Buena Park is a bit of a ghetto. It turned out to be fine. No knife fights, no gun battles as I parked my rental car. I was a little bit disappointed since a few friends had hyped up the danger factor.

As I have written before (for those of you that actually pretend to read my blog), my daughter (age 11) is the only one in my family that enjoys the roller coaster and thrill rides so many amusement parks offer. She does rides that would have freaked me out at her age if I were here. I guess I’m glad I’m not 11 again. She also sings and acts in the school play, so in reality she is a lot braver than me at age 11.
There are certain pros and cons with doing this trip in February during my daughter’s Mid-Winter Break (week long break). Pro: We get out of the rain, doom and gloom, and gray skies of Seattle for the sunshine of southern California. Con: The amusement parks are on limited hours and limited operating days. For example, Knott’s Berry Farm was open all week but hours were 10 am to 6 pm. Pro: Knott’s had a special half price admission for Breast Cancer. Another Pro: Short lines for the rides; not crowded at all.

The one long wait we encountered was for Knott’s Ghostrider wooden roller coaster. I’m not the biggest fan of wooden coasters and if I had a choice between wooden and metal, I’d go with metal hands down. However, we had to do Ghostrider since we were at Knott’s Berry Farm and it did not disappoint. That sucker is one fast roller coaster and from their website, you hit 3.14 G-force on that baby. We did have to wait about 35-45 minutes and I lost my hat (from Anderson Island) but it was fun.
In hindsight, we did Ghostrider right when the park opened and that is probably why the line was so long. We should have waited and gone to something else, let the line die down, and then double back to it. The rest of the time, all the wait times were 3-7 minutes. We often would go on a ride, have a great time, and then do the ride over again since we were right there. It was truly wonderful not to have to stand in line for hours to ride a two minute thrill ride. This is how I wish it was like every time I went to an amusement park.
We also managed to have our traditional ice cream lunch. This whole vacation was “chocolate mint ice cream” for lunch. Oops. Bad Parenting but who cares? It’s a vacation!
Another upside to vacation: No one really annoyed me at all during my vacation trip. Isn’t that amazing? Knott’s Berry Farm turned out to be a great value for the money spent: short lines and great rides. I do recommend you visit it. I suspect in the summer it will be a mad house.
Thanks again for wasting your time reading my worthless advice blog. As always your comments are needed so my fragile ego can stay intact and I can live in a state of bliss.

Chocolate Chip Mint Ice Cream for lunch...because I'm a great parent. — Chocolate Chip Mint Ice Cream for lunch…because I’m a great parent.

Daughter Roller Coaster Trip Day 4: City of Ventura, Calabasas, and Santa Monica Pier

April 18, 2014April 19, 2014 ~ K ~ Leave a comment

Roller Coaster Trip Day 4

Day 4 of our Roller Coaster Adventure Trip was spent sleeping in (until 8 am) and relaxing. Even in vacation mode, I don’t sleep in. Sleeping in until 8 am is a big deal for me. Please keep in mind, we hit two amusement parks in two days and needed a bit of a break from our adventures in California. Instead of a roller coaster amusement park on Tuesday, we went to the beach in the City of Ventura, had ice cream for lunch, and then met up with my old college friend Julie and her twin three year old sons in Calabasas, California.

Even in California, people love the Seattle Seahawks.

This is the first time we have had a chance to meet her twin sons. She is married to my other friend Chris who happened to be out of town working. I’m pretty sure he planned to be out of town on purpose. Chris likes to mess with my head that way.

I do miss that age of youth and discovery with three year old kids. Julie thought that was amusing because sometimes her boys drive her nuts. But honestly, what kids don’t drive their parents a little bit nuts once in a while. My kids drive me nuts all the time. The dog and cat drive me nuts. Heck, I think you have figure out by now that everyone and everything drives me nuts. But I love people, really, I do love them.

Time flies by and it was fun to have a glimpse of the past (when my kids were younger) and I enjoy the three year old twins. We had a great time with Duplos. I discover that I am by far still a lot better at building than some twin crazy three old boys. Ah ha! Old age wins again!

Now, you know what doesn’t drive me nuts? This whole Dad and Daughter Roller Coaster Trip! One of my clients mentioned he did a Dad and Daughter trip and had an awesome time with his daughter to Disneyland. It inspired me to do this trip. I was delighted that I could take my daughter (the only one that really enjoys roller coasters and scary rides) on this trip. I finally had someone in my family that wanted to do the rides with me! I’m selfishly happy she is now 11 years old and likes to ride the scary rides. Roller coasters all the way, everyday!

On a brief side note: She has always loved those scary amusement rides since she was a little toddler. For the past two summers, as a family we have gone to Silverwood Amusement Park in Idaho, and she is my thrill ride partner. Silverwood is very affordable and well worth the visit to Idaho if you have the time, that’s my worthless advice for northwest amusement parks.

Ok, back to California and our roller coaster adventure. Julie and I and figured out earlier that we wanted to go to Santa Monica Pier and have dinner down there. We rode the Ferris wheel with the kids, spent some time in the arcade, and had a great pizza dinner. We had a great time (well, at least I had an awesome time!). I forgot how much I miss my friends that have moved out of Washington State. This dinner and catch up session was well worth the flight to California. Plus anytime I can tell other parents how to be a better parent (because I’m an awesome parent role model and everyone wants to learn from the master of worthless parenting advice…..that’s me by the way).

The twins...one is a bit of a worse driver than the other one. — The twins…one is a bit of a worse driver than the other one.

I liked Paradise Park on Santa Monica Pier. Besides it being a bit windy and cold that evening, the Santa Monica Pier was fun to visit. It has a small amusement ride area, a boardwalk with shops, an arcade, and some food booths. It only has a few homeless people to bother you as you walk around; not too different from over beach towns we have been too. Nothing like the warmth of Southern California to keep you in a reality check of everyday life, am I not speaking the truth?

Overall, Day 4 was a great day to relax and catch our breath. Day 5: Knott’s Berry Farm!

Thanks for reading and pretending to care.

Artwork by the twins….

A drawing by Erb boys. Thank goodness they got the hair on the side of my head correct!

Things to Demotivate You….

April 17, 2014 ~ K ~ 6 Comments

Sigh. It is hard to keep motivated when you have a blog about worthless advice. I find myself distracted by all the happiness and goodness of the world. Once in a while, there is some stupid financial advice you can cling to to Demotivate you. My favorite: Make more money and spend less. Whoa. Heart stopping advice.

Facebook doesn’t help either. People are always updating their Facebook status with “I’m having a great time with my family on our trip to Maui”. Or “I just won $300 at the casino and I’m currently up $600”. No one admits they have just lost their kid’s college fund (if they even bother to start one). No one says they hate their overbearing uncle during the family reunion on Kauai. I thought you were suppose to over share on Facebook? Isn’t that what your Facebook friends want?

You don’t want to be happy all the time. You want to get upset and be angry. Oh, does that offend you when I say something like that? Should I be happy all the time and have positive thoughts all the time? Should I shrug my shoulders up and say “Oh Well” when there is a school yard shooting? Should I not be angry when there is injustice in the world?

You can’t be positive all the time. There are times when you won’t be happy. I know I won’t be a billionaire in my chosen career path. The numbers just don’t support it. I can make a very comfortable living but I won’t be flying on a private jet from photo session to photo session. That doesn’t upset me. I’m ok with that.

I do wish I was a better blogger and a better writer. I wish I could have the dedication to sit down between my other projects and write a bestselling novel. However, I accept the fact I’m lazy and making excuses for not doing the things I should be doing or the things I want to do. I own my failures and understand that in their own twisted way they help to motivate me.

I’m sorry, I’m suppose to be talking about demotivating you, not helping you! Silly me, trying to better the world through my logical thought process. If something is really important to you, then you should do them. Unless it is a meth habit, you shouldn’t do it. Highly addictive and it will cause you to make bad choices. Most of the time, you hurt your family and friends. Hmm, maybe you shouldn’t do what you want, right?

I want to run my car into the stupid driver in front of me but I don’t. I want to sleep in but I get my butt up and work. I’ll work late to catch up when I fall behind. I don’t get to do whatever I want because I’m a responsible adult with grown up bills to pay. Sigh. Now, I’m feeling more demotivated. I’m glad I was about to work though this “up and happy” moment.

Back to life and reality!! To the freeways!

Road Trip Music Bitterness

April 16, 2014 ~ K ~ Leave a comment

Ah, a little complaint about road trip from a fellow blogger! Enjoy!

Ben's Bitter Blog

Because Radio Disney.

Back in March, when I was finally granted one actual week of vacation out of my 4 possible weeks, it just so happened that it was on the same week as my kids Spring Break from school and the week after my parents were just coming home from Mongolia to their home base of Utah. Since we hadn’t seen my parents for a year and a half, except through the miracle of this futuristic video chatting device called Skype and FaceTime, where people get to see your sighs instead of just hear them, we knew that a road trip was inevitable. Not the fun kind of road trip where you don’t plan out your route and you just drive and see stuff, but the kind that you just want to get there as soon as possible with the least amount of money spent and the least amount…

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Weekend – Here We Come And My Wearing Sunglasses!!!

April 11, 2014April 11, 2014 ~ K ~ 2 Comments

It is one of those rare sunny days here in Seattle and tomorrow I have a long list of yard projects for my kids to do. Heaven forbid, that I have to do any work around here. I have my stepson (he’s 23) and my teenage son (15) to do all the heavy work around here.

I even have made a To Do List so I don’t forget what those two slackers need to do. After this past winter, the yard is a disaster. The lawn needs to be mowed, the pool needs to be set up (it is Seattle, I don’t have enough warm days to warrant an inground pool), build a compost bin, and on and on.

Today and then for the rest of the weekend, we have some nice decent sunny weather. In fact, I’m wearing my awesome khaki shorts right now and going barefoot! It almost feels like spring had arrived.

I even have a nice Kona Brewing Company beer in my hand. Koko Brown Ale. A little taste of the islands.

Oh, and don’t forget I have my sunglasses on! Yippee!

Have a great island!

Tainted Love Tuesdays on LMN: How to Make Your Life Exciting!!

April 8, 2014 ~ K ~ 2 Comments

You just have to enjoy a good movie on Tuesday, especially when it is a Tainted Love Tuesday movie on Lifetime. Always a source of enjoyment for me because I love the craziness of the relationships that are portrayed on the storyline.

My life is very normal. Some would say “dull”. My friends complain I drive like an old man.

All these character traits make me prefect at giving awesome worthless advice. It helps me keep my worthless advice so real and true to the heart. I don’t have a spouse that wants to kill me for insurance money nor do I have a business partner that wants the business all for himself. My career choice is somewhat dull. I do have a vivid imagination which helps me from dying of boredom but otherwise I’m a fairly normal person.

I don’t have any dangerous hobbies that makes me exciting or interesting.

Yet, I offer a solid safe port of worthless advice for my four dear followers and my imaginary stalker Cyndi. I am the clear thinking person you can email or call and I’m there to get your head back in the right space. I make calmness appear from chaos.

I’m not a therapist and I can’t magically solve your problems. I’m no superhero. I just like to listen and hear your problems, ideas, thoughts, troubles and hopefully give you someone else to believe in.

Winthorp, WA: Land of Sun!

April 6, 2014 ~ K ~ 3 Comments

Sure, it is Sunday and sunny here in Winthorp but it isn’t blazing hot. We have blue skies and temperatures in the upper 50’s and low 60’s. For people from the Seattle area, blue skies is great and something we treasure. I’m a sucker for blue skies, what can I say?

Winthorp is a cute little town on Highway 20. The pass is closed for the winter and won’t open until May. We took the long way here but it was a fun drive. We even stopped at WalMart in Wenatchee. Sadly, I left my phone in the car and I wasn’t able to photograph the people of WalMart for you. Seriously, I wasn’t disappointed when we got in there. My wife had to tell me to stop staring at the mom with tattoos and inappropriate short jean shorts that were way too tight. I know her son will grown up to be so proud of his mom one day!

Getting back to Winthorp, the Mrs. Worthless Advice and I are hanging out here for a long weekend. The town of Winthorp is a little sleepy this time of year but for us, we just needed a nice break and this is perfect. We have a good little two bedroom cabin on the Chewuch River at the River’s Edge Resort. The deck overlooks the river and features a refreshing hot tub. And it is sunny (have I mentioned that??)

I’ll write more later, in the meantime have a great Sunday!

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