Please don’t get confused by my jubilant title that I am excited about fall. I think I’m one of maybe ten people who doesn’t get super excited about fall. In fact, there are only 3 good things about fall in my opinion:

1. Soup & Chili
2. Boots
3. The State Fair

I know, the leaves are pretty and colorful all that, but to me, it just looks like the trees are dying. Plus, it starts to get C-O-L-D. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a total baby when it comes to cold weather. I always was, but now that we’ve spent the past two winters in Florida, I’m REALLY a baby. I’ve been known to put on a down parka in 55 degrees before. I’m that pitiful.

One thing I will say is that the sunrises and the sunsets are gorgeous in the fall. The sun has more of a golden glow, and the other morning, I got up out of bed and happened to look out of the window just as the sun was rising – the sky was blazing neon pink, and I literally stopped in my tracks and yelled, “WOW!” out loud to no one but myself.

Flying Solo

Almost half of the month of October I was flying solo… as in straight up bachelorettin’ it! Chris had promised a friend that he would help deliver his boat from Solomons, MD to Tortola, BVI’s, so he left me to fend for myself for about 12 days. It’s always nice to have alone time, but this was the longest we had ever been apart and not been able to talk to eachother. I will say that I got a LOT done. I spent my time cooking, cleaning the boat, walking and playing with the dog, taking a couple of online courses and yes, working my butt off.  It was good because it passed the time so I didn’t worry about him.

I read an interesting article recently about introverts, and it squashed the misconceptions many people have about us. We’re not antisocial. We really do like people (well, most of us do). We just don’t do super well with idle chatter, small talk or trivial subjects. We crave deeper conversations and friendships. We also need a healthy amount of alone time to maintain our sanity, which of course, isn’t something you get too much of on a boat. Chris and I do pretty well, though. He knows when to let me have some “me” time, and he also goes to bed earlier than I do, so staying up late gives me time to recharge my batteries.

I will say though, when he finally got home after this trip, I was thrilled to see him. Actually thrilled is an understatement. I’ve been on cloud nine since he’s been back!

Extra Income

Extra income was pretty good, but then again, last month’s income took a nosedive, so it wasn’t hard to beat it. As always, let me explain that this does not count the income I make from my full-time job, nor the honey’s book sales, music sales or his freelance income. This is strictly my side income – I show this so that others can see examples of how they can make money on the side and to know that it is possible to make at least a few hundred extra bucks or more a month.

Extra Income Summary – October 2014

Web Design Work: $442
Online Sales: $165.20
Affiliate Income: $15.07
Adsense: $8.92
Writing Gigs: $0
Contest: $100 (I won $100 Gift Card from West Marine from Sailboat Interiors!)
TOTAL: $762.40  (up $589.88 from previous month) 

All in all, I’m proud of October’s income. It would have actually been more, but I’m still in the revisions round with one of the clients, so they haven’t yet paid me the balance due on their account.

November is actually looking like it could be more promising than October, but we’ll see. I’ve got a few new web design clients and if those sites go smoothly and I get paid in time, I’ll have a really decent month! Stay tuned.

Cheers!