dreaming of our future....

So, I came across a great blog full of incredible resources yesterday at www.thesimpledollar.com. I haven't had a chance to look through the whole thing yet (it's really massive), but it's definitely going to be one that I check on a regular basis. One of the coolest things the author does--besides all of the great, practical tips--is offer book reviews of many of the same business books I've either been reading or am planning on reading. For instance, I've had my eye on "The 4-hour Workweek" for some time now. Instead of buying it, though, now I can just read the review on the blog. Cool stuff. Check it out.

I also want to give "blog props" (it's a made-up word!) to my friend Scott's blog. Scott and I have been friends for years and although we definitely don't see eye-to-eye on favorite college football teams (he's a Georgia Bulldog), he offers some great insights on a lot of other issues. You can read his blog here.

I'm currently reading (again) "The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People". This is, I think, my third time through, and I think I'm reading it at the perfect time. As I'm starting to increase my vision for our future and expand my horizons, I'm recognizing that there are quite a few disciplines I need to develop, and this book is helping me to do that. One of the things that has really struck a deep chord with me is the ability to "begin with the end in mind"; in other words, to create the dream before you start moving toward it. It sounds simple, but, quite honestly, I've never thought to do it! Anyway, last night I spent some time "vision-casting" our future, typing out about a page on how I would like our lives to look in a few years. Here's what I wrote:

Beginning with the end in mind, here is my vision for our future:

We are in our log-cabin home on the side of a mountain in North Carolina. Smoke rises from the brick chimney and, as we watch the sunset from our swing on the spacious porch, we look forward to the warmth of the fire, as fall is setting in. Our children are playing in their playroom downstairs, while upstairs we begin cooking a gourmet dinner in our equally-gourmet kitchen. We have all the latest conveniences, including WIFI internet access, HD plasma screen TV’s, etc., but those things don’t define us. They enhance our lives, but we don’t allow them to encompass us. Our beautiful home is large enough for not only our immediate family, but is great for entertaining, as well. We have approximately 3500 square feet of living space, including 6 bedrooms, 4.5 baths, a 3-car garage, and a huge basement area that is split between a play/game room for the kids and a theater/sports room for the adults. On the deck is a large eating area, complete with a summer kitchen, and a spacious hot tub allows us to soak our cares away as we enjoy the mountain view.

We are completely debt-free, except for our mortgage and a few business investments. The only time we consider using large amounts of credit is when we come across a great business deal that we know will earn us a nice profit. We work together on several business ventures and “work-from-home” jobs. Tripp may be employed through traditional means every once in a while, just to build capital, but, generally, all of our business/work is done from our home office, which, again, is filled with the most up-to-date technology.

In addition to our business lives, Becki teaches our children full-time in our home. We are both very active in our church, and not only lead and host our own small group, but also mentor young couples. We are certified financial planners with Dave Ramsey (one of our businesses) and we help people with their financial issues. In addition, Tripp is seminary-trained in Apologetics and teaches a small class at our church, as well as leads youth camps several times throughout the year in various locations and times. Our Pastor has even asked him to lead a sermon series on the defense of the Christian faith in a few weeks.

Because of the dynamic nature of our lifestyle, we are able to travel frequently and for many reasons. We will sometimes travel as a family to business conferences/seminars/meetings and also to a few of the camps that Tripp is speaking at. We can also take trips—planned and unplanned--to see our parents and/or extended families, and we never miss an organized event in our family life (reunions, for instance). Several times a year we pile into our SUV and travel to Gainesville for an extended weekend to see the Gators play. We also make a point to go to a few road games each year, and will even throw in a bowl game every couple of years (we even got to see the Gators win their 5^th National Championship in the Rose Bowl last January!). We make a point of taking the kids places that they will have lots of memories from, and are frequent visitors to National Parks. We use our traveling opportunities to help teach the kids, and believe they are getting the best education possible by seeing the world with us!

We are all in great shape, healthy, eat right, and exercise as a family. Tripp plays golf at least 3 times a week and is teaching Jacob, our youngest, the game right now. Becki recently became interested in tennis and is getting quite good at it. The kids are always interested in doing physical things outdoors, and, although we enjoy watching TV occasionally, they almost always find something more “interactive” to do.

Besides our SUV, we also have a 4-door sedan as well as a 2-seater sports car in the garage. We briefly considered buying an RV, but rent one on occasion for trips (we did this two years ago and drove to California for the family reunion, stopping at places like Durango, CO, Mesa Verde, and the Grand Canyon as we went!).

We are constantly hosting dinner parties, game nights, movie nights, etc. Tripp loves to have people over to watch College Football when they’re not at a Gator game.

We are blessed more than words can say. Though we are well-taken care of materially and financially, our true joy is being able to “do” lives together as a family, with no one telling us what to do, when to do it, and how. We are self-made and independent…but not arrogant about it. We recognize that everything we have is a gift from God and it is only by His love and grace that we are allowed to live this lifestyle.

mini-vacation

So, Becki and I took a couple of days off this week and had nice, long, four-day weekend! It’s been awhile since we’ve been able to get away—just the two of us—so we got a motel room in Orlando and did something we’ve always wanted to do—the Food & Wine Festival at EPCOT.

Now, we’ve done this “casually” before, meaning that we’ve walked it and poked our heads into a couple of different seminars (this is where we were, with our friends, Paul & Becky Schryer, introduced to the joys of Chocolate Bock beer, but I digress). But we’ve always wanted to “eat our way around the world”, so to speak, and never had the cash or time to do it. This year was different, and we had a great couple of days doing just that.

So, without further comment, here is a list of where (and what) we ate, along with my scientifically precise rating (1 being gross, 10 being heavenly in all aspects):

- Italy: Pizza with Fennel Sausage, Bell Peppers, San Marzano Tomatoes and Mozzarella. This was a solid 4. Just OK. I liked the thick crust, but the rest tasted like something I could get anywhere—like Sbarros, for instance.

- Germany: Spaetzle with Creamy Mushroom Ragout. I give it a 7. Loved the sauce and the ‘shrooms. The Spaetzle was a little dry, but I liked it. Also tried the Debriziner Sausage and Sauerkraut in a Pretzel Roll. This gets a 6. Really, it was just a sausage on a roll with Sauerkraut. Nothing special, although the meat was cooked perfectly for a sausage and I enjoyed the pretzel roll.

- China: Pork Pot Stickers. 8. We both liked these a lot. Not too tender, not too crisp, with a yummy sauce. Great stuff.

- India: India Rice and Coconut Pudding. I can’t rate this one as Becki tried it. It smelled OK, though. She seemed to like it, although she said it tasted like it had Sprite in it. I don’t believe that’s a staple of Indian cuisine.

- Spain: Papas con Chorizo (Potatoes and Spicy Sausage). 8. Not enough potatoes, but that’s my only complaint. They’re not kidding when they say spicy.

- Ireland: Broxty Potato Pancake with Bacon chips and Kerrygold garlic and herb butter. This one gets a high 9. Outstanding, innovative dish. I could have eaten lots more. But I had to save room…

- Mexico: Chilaquiles (Baked Tortillas with Chicken and Cheese). The only reason I give this a 6.5 is because they slathered it with a green chile sauce, which I generally don’t like. It was OK, as were the tortillas themselves.

- Dominican Republic: Dulce de Coco (Coconut Flan). This one is a 7.5. I actually don’t like Flan that much, but this was a very rich and sweet taste--it was hard to put down.

- Canada: Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup. Let’s put it this way…I had 3 separate helpings. One of which I walked all the way back through the park for. Easily the best food I had at the Festival. 10.

- France: Quiche au Fromage de Chevre (Goat Cheese and Sun-Dried Tomato quiche). I was really looking forward to this one, but it was a bit of a disappointment. Dry crust, and I had to search for the goat cheese. 5.5.

So, if you’re keeping count, that’s 10 different countries (not counting our normal Japanese lunch stop and a dinner of Fish and Chips in England). That sounds impressive until you realize there are 28 stations to try, each with at least 3 samplings. Looks like we’ve got more work to do…we’ll update with the new dishes...

For now, I guess it’s time to hit the gym again!