Ach, it’s a Bonnie life!!

My mind, not the game … I’m in the middle of preparing a Business Plan for the next year (or so) and every time I think I have the framework down and can start fleshing out the various components, I think of another HUGE factor that needs to be taken into account. My mind is just boggling at the moment with all of it.

So to give my poor brain a bit of a break, I’ll start with a “recap” of this Bonnie Life… some know my story and some don’t but it’s been a roller coaster ride, I’ll tell you…

I grew up “a townie” in Niagara-on-the-Lake … a beautiful place to visit (provided of course that you’re over 19 (drinking age) and if you have a driver’s license and a car), but a really boring place to grow up. There was “nothing” in town. There were (and still are) a lot of cute touristy stores, but otherwise?? Nada, zip, not much at all. There was no mall to hang out at, there’s no McD’s (or any fast food places at all), there’s no movie theatre, no record store, nothing really for a teen. Is it any wonder we used to play “Capture the Flag” on (and in) places we probably shouldn’t have been? Last time I was there I noticed that a McD’s had opened near the high school, but that’s a few miles outside of town, I’m sure it wouldn’t be allowed in town. Of course, as an adult, it’s wonderful to go back and visit - go to the theatre, shop in the Christmas Store, hit a few wineries and the lovely brewery in Virgil, but this is now and that was then …

As soon as I graduated from high school I went to London to go to University to take a B.Sc. degree in computer programming. I loved computers. I discovered that I loved “playing” with computers, but programming??? No thanks. So .. what to do? Rather than waste money I didn’t have going to university, I decided to move to Toronto, get a job and think about it. When I knew what I wanted to take at School, I’d go back. Simple, right?

Well, the first thing that brought that crashing down was my mother. Apparently if I moved to the big, horrible, Evil City, I’d be murdered, mugged, and raped (not necessarily in that order) within the first 5 minutes. While mother was lamenting the impending death of her only daughter to her friends, she hit upon another idea for me. Why didn’t I go to Germany and live with her friend Inge? I could learn German, see Europe, work for Inge’s company and it would keep me out of the Evil City.

Hmmm. Let me think here. I’m 19. My choices are to (1) move to The Evil City and struggle to find a job & apartment and figure out what to do with the rest of my life or (2) have a free trip to Europe for a year or so? What to do … what to do… So the next thing I knew I was applying for residence/work permits and packing for my European adventure.

This seems like a good stopping place for the moment (and I really should get some work done today…), so stay tuned all!!

My first Blog .. so exciting, and so NOT something I ever thought I’d do.  I’m a pretty simple person - I prefer books to movies, I prefer CDs to MP3s, and I prefer most foods to be homemade over store bought.  Don’t get me wrong, I like technology, I just don’t necessarily think it has to be everywhere…

But let’s back up a bit here and introduce myself.  I’m Bonnie.  I’m a wife and mom, as well as a professional career woman.  My husband is a Stay At Home Father to our two boys who will be turning 8 & 14 this summer.  As they’re getting older, my Darling Husband is now thinking that after 8 years of “retirement” he’ll go back to work.  So he has enrolled in a College course - taking the Registered Home Inspector’s Certificate & Licensing course.

I commute.  Such a long process for such a short sentence … I leave my home at 5:15 every morning to arrive at my desk for 7:30 am.  And my 3:30 departure from the office gets me home for 6:00 pm.   I figure that my kids don’t notice whether I leave at 5 am, 6 am or 7 am, but they sure do notice if I can manage to be home for dinner at 6, or if I don’t get home until 7 or 8 (or 9 …)

Oh, and we have pets… several pets.  There are two kittens named Mack Truck & Princess Ebony Wednesday, 2 Rainbow Boa Constrictors named Kahn & Suzi, 1 canary named Tweetie Bird, 5 rats named Jack & Annie, Max (Jack & Annie’s 2 newborns don’t have names yet), and several tankfulls of fish.

I work as a Manager for a large Canadian firm and am presently thinking about that a lot.  I’ve been approached to set up a consulting firm with a person that I have worked with before and whom I respect a lot.  But I have a really good job, and making the leap to self-employed from having that certain paycheque every other Thursday … that’s a scary thing.  One of the many really wonderful things about my husband is that he really supports my career.  Heck, he quit working for over 8 years to look after the house & kids so that I could concentrate on my career.  That’s support!!  And it’s worked well for us.  He is really supporting this new concept for me.  Of course, there’s a lot of work to be done before a decision can be made - business plans, lining up a couple of clients to start us off, and figuring out how we’re going to keep the mortgage payments up while this gets off the ground. You know, little stuff like that…

My kids are terrific.  The little one is very sweet, cuddly and loving, but at the same time he’s a human Tasmanian Devil … he’s ALWAYS on the go, preferrably with a ball being thrown or kicked at the same time.  He recently discovered that his name means “Messenger of Destruction”, and how appropriate that is!!!  His favourite subject at school is math and he’s a really smart kid - he just needs to learn to Stay On Task!!  This is a frequent phrase in our house.  My older son is very quiet and sensitive.  He excels in French, English and is a talented artist.  He’s happiest when sitting at the library with a book… or two.  But he also loves going to summer camp every year and canoeing, snorkeling and horseback riding all day.

Okay, speaking of Staying On Task .. it’s the first of the month, one of by busiest days and I need to get to work!!  But I’ll check back again and update more soon!!