Lots has happened since the last blog. The biggest news is we finally have some direction in our lives. When we arrived back in WA/USA in July we really didn't know what we wanted to be when we grew up! (IF we grew up!!)

We tried doing a charter business in the San Juans. But the season is so short that none of my spreadsheets that I created showed us making any money. Hmmmm. Not good.

That period of our lives was sooooo stressful. Every day included 15 life-changing decisions, half of which would get or be changed the next day. Try living like that day after day for months on end. It is most trying and very tiring. Crying was the norm. It was one of the most difficult periods of my life...and I have been through some real shit!!!!

Finally, after the management company we had hired to manage our rentals had us swimming in debt, the light went on! "I can do that bad!!" And presto! A new property management company in Seattle was born!!

I won't bore you with the details of the other company. Actually, the details aren't boring at all! What these yahoo's were doing is head shaking and mind numbing! But I'll try to keep this as positive as possible and flush them once and for all. If you are anywhere near the Seattle area with rental property, DO NOT hire Yates, Wood, and MacDonald to manage them! They nearly drove us all the way into the ground, and would not have cared if they lost the account becasue of it! OK, enough bashing!

Once we made the decision to start our own property management company, it was pretty much a no-brainer that we had to move back to our house. So we kicked out our renters Nov. 1 and moved back in about a week later.

We've been unpacking ever since -- moving our boat home, our apartment home in Oak Harbor as well as our Seattle home all under one roof. So many boxes! Yikes! But we are starting to see daylight.

Two items before I forget. First, if you have any interest, check out our website at Full Service Property Management and let me know what you think. In fact, check out our Facebook page, too. I guess it all helps us get visibility and we need all the help we can get!

Second, we are having a "rum squall" at our house Sat., Dec. 6. If you are anywhere near the Seattle area and would like to drop by, leave us a comment and we will get you an invite. We'll be showing our photos from our trip, drinking rum from all the Caribbean islands we visited, and sharing Christmas cheer. Hope you can make it!

And if you aren't in the Seattle area, then Happy Thanksgiving and an early Merry Christmas!!