It’s been a little over two months since I left my cube job. And I still feel fantastic. Now that I’ve had some time to relax and do a little soul searching… I’m still lost. Not sure what to do with my life right now. I’m not in any dire need for a steady job right now, but I wonder if it would make sense to get back into the job market in order to save up some cash to use for buying additional income properties. One thing I am seriously considering is working in real estate. Not only for myself… but actually working as a real estate agent. That way I stay in the business and I get a paycheck. I’m not quite ready for the commitment of a new job yet though.

I’ve been making decent cash as an actress lately AND I signed up with the top talent agency in my area. A HUGE accomplishment for me. So do I head to LA and put everything I have into acting? Not sure if I’m ready for that leap yet.

My drop ship company is still doing well. Well enough that I cover my costs and business is picking up. I know it won’t do much more until I invest more time into beefing it up. But at least it is still going strong!

My sister and I completed our children’s book and we are now on the look-out for a literary agent. We’ve already received three rejection letters! I’m excited about that because it just means we are that much closer to getting an agent. I figure we need to get around a hundred rejections before we have acceptance!

Nixon and I are both stoked for the holidays. A time to reflect, relax, and enjoy family and friends. We are both excited to see what is in store for us in 2011! Happy Holidays to all you current and future lifestyle designers out there! We hope 2011 is your best year yet!

Photo by wxwillett

Yep, you heard me right.  I made the jump.  I conquered my fear.  I quit my job of nearly 7 years.  But how did I do it?

Easy.  I just did it.

Was I fully prepared?  No.

Did I have another source of income? Health insurance?  Not really.

It came down to the realization that if I didn’t do it now… I might never do it.

I worked for nearly 7 years as a mechanical engineer on the space shuttle.  So, yes, technically, I am was a rocket scientist.  I get got paid very well.  So making the decision to leave my job was NOT an easy one.  Most people I tell think I am crazy.  And I actually like that.

It’s been a month, and maybe I’m still just living on cloud nine before my inevitable fall…  but at least for now, things are going great and looking up!

I had an acting gig this week that paid really well and I just booked another for December that will also pay well.  In other acting related news, I have an audition in a couple weeks for an agency I am seeking representation from.  I was referred to them by a company who uses me a lot for commercial-type work.  This is a huge opportunity!

I mailed three literary agent query letters for the children’s book that my sister and I co-wrote.

I’m submitting myself for a temporary (4 month) dream job.

AND… Nixon and I are going on a 12 day vacation to Costa Rica!  Hot diggity!  The sweetest part is we were able to use only a small portion of our accumulated sky miles to pay for our flights.  I love free stuff (even more now)!

I’m not sure what will happen in the future.  I may decide to get another cubicle job (I know, I know!) in order to rack up some extra cash.  But it would only be temporary.  Nixon and I have dreams and a cubicle is not in them.  Maybe we’ll move to Costa Rica or to Vegas? Who knows?  Maybe we’ll jump on a jet plane to Los Angeles.  At this point, anything is possible.  And that feels so damn good.

Nixon and I are back from our blog sabbatical.  We did not intend to take one, but sometimes that is just how things go.

We are living very happily in our new property… one side of a duplex in the downtown area.  Nixon has a new bike to match mine and we have been loving biking around town.  After all is said and done – taking into account our rental properties – we only pay a couple hundred bucks between the two of us to live where we are.  It is so liberating!  I have worked hard at my job for the last 6+ years thinking I needed to have a nice big place to live and a nice car and all those silly things.  I have to say, I am loving our simple life.  We live in this small space with only what we need.  We sold the rest of it.  The last big item we need to sell is Nixon’s car.  And there is still a chance I may sell mine too.  But we will see.

I have some BIG news coming and will share that next time!

Nixon and I are still here and we are still chasing our dreams.  This is just the beginning.

Photo by I’mBatman

It’s been a little while since we last posted anything… but it’s not because we’ve forgotten about The Daily Cubicle… it’s because we’ve been busy working on all our dreams and haven’t had a moment to spare!  A quick status update:

Adrienne finalized the purchase of a duplex which we will be moving into in the next couple of weeks.

We have successfully found renters for all our properties! Five rentals!

Adrienne has completed her children’s book draft and is preparing a query letter to literary agents.

Both of us are busy doing a quick remodel on the rental half of the new duplex… installing cabinets, fixing some plumbing, painting, new carpet, and a bunch of little things.  Our renters move in on Thursday! Eek!

We are also working hard to complete the last few details of the current 4 bedroom home we are living in.  Our renters are moving in in about 3 weeks… so we are glad to have a bunch of time.

80sGear.com is doing great!  We haven’t had much time to spend on it lately, but are consistently getting an order or two every other day.  At this point, we are breaking even with our costs.  Once we are settled in at the duplex, we will be branching out with some new products… what will soon be our niche!

Life is busy but fun.  Looks like Adrienne’s dream of quitting her day job may come sooner than later… her company has been doing a bunch of layoffs.  But we’re not worried.  We are busy preparing ourselves to not need a 9 to 5!

More updates and photos of remodels coming soon!!

Photo by pattyequalsawesome

I know it may seem silly… but I would like to share my good news on my drop ship site.  I have yet to start an Adwords campaign, and yet I have had 3 orders!  I had one a couple weeks ago and two more yesterday and today.  It got me excited so I decided to do a test run on Adwords.  I had a $100 credit to use up and did my best on the keywords (it’s my first time!).  I will post my results on here.  And if you haven’t seen it… check out my drop ship site here… www.80sGear.com

Photo by Misserion

Take a look at my drop ship site… 80sGear.com and let me know what you think!  It’s been a long time coming and a lot of work to get it up and running.  Now I need your feedback!  I will be testing an adwords campaign in the next few days with some adwords credits I’ve been saving.  And if you happen to see some t-shirts you like or you think a friend would like, be sure to use the discount code TDC for $5 off any purchase until May 5th!  I look forward to your comments!

For the last 10 weeks, Nixon and I have been working on our “Getting Fit” dream.  We both vowed to work out more, eat better, and cut out alcohol.  Here are our final results:

Adrienne:

Week 1 weight: 137

Week 10 weight: 130

I know seven pounds doesn’t seem like a lot, but when I started this thing, I was already in pretty good shape.  And now I feel fantastic!  I believe that most of my weight loss was due to healthier eating and drinking tons of water!

Nixon:

Week 1 weight: 192

Week 10 weight: 175

Wow!  Nixon has done an amazing job!  He has lost a total of 17 pounds!  And you can tell!  He looks healthier and he says that he feels great too.  I think the biggest change for him was taking out alcohol.  Even an average of a beer a day can really add up with all those empty calories!

Now that our contest is over… we have decided to do 30 days of exercising every day but Sunday and no alcohol, no sugar.  We have both found that in order for us to stay on top of being healthy, we need motivation.  Having contests here and there have been great for us.  Plus it’s good to do it alongside another person so you are accountable to them too!

Another thing I’d like to work on is late night eating.  We tend to work on house projects at night and we don’t usually eat dinner until we are done… sometimes as late as 10 or 11 pm!  This is not good for the body.  I’d really like to start having dinner around 5 or 6 pm and then no more eating the rest of the night.  Hot tea usually helps if I have any late night cravings.  With summer around the corner, it will be much easier to eat earlier, I think.

Do you have any of your own tips on staying healthy?  Is there anything that has worked well for you in the past to keep you motivated?

Photo by alancleaver_2000

Life has become complex.  Cell phones, the internet, traffic, money problems, health issues, crazy schedules, 40 hour work weeks, kids, dogs, bills… I could go on and on.  How are you not all dying from the stress?

But I have a confession.  I am one of those people who NEEDS to be busy ALL THE TIME.  I am always picking up new hobbies and keeping myself busy with business projects.  And… I work 40 hours a week at a regular 9 to 5 job (my daily cubicle).  I won’t lie – my life can be stressful.  And I tend to get overwhelmed easily.  That is why I needed to take a good look at my life and figure out where I could simplify.  At the beginning of this year, I came up with the four D’s to simplify my life:

#1: Debt Elimination

It’s been said before but it needs to be said again.  Debt will take over your life and create unhappiness.  It’s something that is always on the back of your mind.  Do EVERYTHING you can to pay off your debt (meaning credit cards, student loans, car loans, etc).  Some may not agree with me, but I don’t consider a mortgage to be debt.  There are way too many advantages to having a mortgage to consider it that (i.e., tax breaks, rental income, appreciation).  I have been fortunate enough to stay relatively out of debt most of my life.  When I was younger I had a couple car loans and some student loans but I saved and paid those off as soon as I could.  The key to keeping out of debt is not accruing more debt.  I bought my current car in January 2006 with the intention of keeping it until it could no longer be driven.  My car is paid off and I imagine that I will be driving it forever.  However, one of my goals is to move out of the country and if/when that happens I will happily sell it (without the intention of buying another one).

#2: Diet Improvement

I know it’s not just me who has noticed this, but the world, notably America, have gotten sick and fat.  I bet that only one hundred years ago our rates of obesity and disease were a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of what they are today.  And there’s no reason for any of us to get better.  Because we have medicine.  We have medicine for everything.  We here in the US like to treat the symptom, not the problem.  And when you have no symptoms, why even worry about the underlying problem? From what I’ve seen and read, our diet is the number one aspect of our lives promoting disease and obesity.  In my mind, it is America’s number one problem.

My solution to our diet crisis?  Simplify.  I’ve noticed that the more complex a food or drink, the worse it is for us.  For instance, a carrot is much more simple than a package of Ramen (oh, those college days…).  A carrot has one ingredient, Ramen has over 30.  It goes back to Occam’s Razor, the principle that states  “entities must not be multiplied beyond necessity” and the conclusion thereof, that the simplest solution is usually the correct one.  Ramen seems so simple… just noodles and spices.  But next time you think about indulging in that 10 cent meal, take a look at the ingredients list.  I wonder how much processing and how many ingredients are in your average meal?  Fast food is by far one of the worst (most complex) foods you can eat.  For my own diet, my solution was as follows:

Nixon and I have joined a gardening group.  We have to donate 20 hours of gardening throughout the year and $50 to receive as much local, organic fruits and vegetables as we want.  We very rarely drink alcohol and stay away from sugar.  We tend to eat a lot of whole foods.  AND the biggest thing – we don’t eat out.  Now, of course, we aren’t perfect, but 95% of the time we follow this “diet”.  We are also vegan… so we don’t have to worry about all the steroids and antibiotics found in meats and dairy products.  We also eat as much organic and local as we can to decrease our risk of taking in any pesticides and other chemicals used to transport food long distances (to keep them fresh).  And a huge thing for us… we drink water.  Yep, the simplest drink there is.  We stay away from soda, juice, sports drinks, etc.  Because really, all you need is water.  It has done wonders for us to simply drink water when we are thirsty.

#3: Downsize

Nixon and I are proponents of downsizing.  In the past, Nixon and I bought into the system.  We went to college, got degrees, got careers, and made money.  Then we spent our money.  On our cars, houses, and useless shit.  But what this does is puts you into a state of needing to make enough money to support this lifestyle.  It takes away your freedom.  Four years ago, I would have been in a WORLD of hurt if I lost my job.  I had a mortgage that was nearly half my take home salary each month, a car loan, and a life of eating out and spending that went along perfectly with my 9 to 5 paycheck.  Unfortunately, most people live this life.  We spend what we make.  It’s great for the economy… but bad for our individual freedom.  Nixon and I came up with our own downsizing solution:

We are renting/selling real estate properties that are bigger than we need and more expensive than we want to afford.

In about two months, we are moving to an area of our city where we can walk or take public transportation to just about anywhere we need to go.  Thus, we will be selling Nixon’s car.  And, once we move into this house, we will be splitting a mortgage payment of $600.  For comparison, the first house I bought on my own had a mortgage of $1850… and I was living alone!  I’m actually shaking my head at myself while I type this.

We are selling off anything we don’t need… see #4 of this list for tips on that.

We have simple phones with simple plans.  No data packages, no iphones.

We don’t have cable.  If we get the itch to watch TV, we just get on hulu.com.  It’s fabulous and free.

We spend time with people we really care about.  Life is too short to make time for everyone.

#4: De-Stuff Yourself

Nixon and I recently started to de-stuff ourselves.  We went through everything we own (all our stuff) and decided to sell or donate everything we didn’t need. You could argue that we really only need shelter, food, and water.  But let’s  be a bit more realistic and start with the basics.

We don’t need any clothing that we haven’t worn in the last year.  Goodbye sweater from 1992!

We don’t need more than one couch.  But I guess that’s what happens when two households become one.

We don’t need more than one TV.

We don’t need that mountain bike that is collecting dust.

We don’t need that pile of worthless crap that includes music tapes (it was so00 difficult to part from my Pretty Woman soundtrack) and a belgian waffle maker.  And by the way, this is a HUGE pile of worthless stuff.

So far, we have donated enough to deduct about $1000 from our taxes and we’ve sold enough to make around $1000 in cash.  We are going to use this cash to purchase new computers (read our blog post on Mac Monies for more on that).  We figure we will need around $3000 to have enough to buy two new Mac Books.  We are well on our way and still have some big ticket items that we need to sell.  Anyone need a Love Sac or a Trek mountain bike?

Overall, we are much happier having followed the four D’s of simplifying.  We are on our way to escaping the daily cubicle and we are realizing that we want different things from what we wanted even a year ago.  My baby sister is pregnant with her first and to me, that is a reminder of what is important.  More than becoming a millionaire, more than living on a beach, more than being a “success”.  It reminds me that the simple things are what matters and that a simple life isn’t so bad.

What are your tips for simplifying?  What have you done in your own life to live more simply?

Photo by joiseyshowaa

I found what shall soon be my third property.  It is a cute little duplex right in the heart of downtown, built in 1907.  I saw it and had to have it… even though Nixon and I aren’t in the perfect position to buy it right now.  But if you always wait until the moment is perfect (when doing anything in life) you’ll never get around to it.

There were 5 other people making offers on this particular property but turns out I had the best one.  I think they liked the fact that I would be occupying the property.  I also put down a large amount for earnest money.  Our settlement date is May 12th, so for the next month we will be getting the house inspected, getting financing finalized, and all those other little things you need to do when buying a house.

After all is said and done, once we move into the duplex, we will have either no mortgage or a very small one (maybe a couple hundred dollars).  This takes into account the money we are making from our other rentals.

We are both so excited about our move downtown and the freedom it will give us.  We will not feel tied to our jobs since we don’t need to rely on our paychecks to cover our mortgage.  And since it is downtown, we will be selling one of our cars and using public transportation and our bikes to get around.

It truly is a new beginning for us!  If you have ever thought about real estate as an investment AND a way to make “passive” income… get off your butt and make it happen!  So far, it is working for us and taking us on the road away from cubicle hell.  Join us.

Photo by tipiro

Nixon and I want to be Real Estate Tycoons.  I’m not sure why I wrote that in Caps but it seemed important enough.  We each own two properties.  Nixon rents both of his and at least breaks even, but with the tax breaks probably ends up making some money.  I also own two properties… one that I am renting that makes good money and the other one we live in and are currently remodeling.  We want to have it ready to put on the market (to sell) by June 1st.  In the meantime, I am looking at multi-units to purchase between now and then.  I’m hoping I can qualify for a loan since I will have to show that I can afford payments on two homes.  I have found two great looking duplexes in our downtown area (where we want to buy).  And they are very affordable.

The problem… am I rushing into purchasing something?  Should I wait until I’ve sold our current residence before taking on another loan?  Or should I jump on the chance of getting a good deal on a property while I can?  I am leaning towards the latter.  I am putting away an amount in savings each month that could cover the cost of the new mortgage, so I say why not?  But I’ve always been like that – I’m cautious – but I jump when I have an instinct.

Update 4/1/10:  I put an offer on a duplex.  Waiting to hear from the bank if they will accept my offer.

Photo by tipiro