Jim & Denise?  Never heard of them?  Right, but with any luck you will.  Oh, wait, you have because you're reading this blog.  Here's a a glimpse of who we are today - at least the professional side.  I hope this is the last time I resort to referring to myself in the third person.

My current home hypervisor - a virtualized server that's a media server, file/print server, home automation and security server and also runs a virtual machine optimized for Photoshop and Lightroom.

Jim (that's me) is an IT manager who's worked in the computer field his entire career - starting waaay back in the early 80's.  After putting himself through college for a BS (Bachelor of Science)  in Computer Science, he immediately opened a private consulting company performing computer and networking support for a number of small and medium businesses.  He acquired those skills from his day jobs starting with PC repair and builds, corporate networks for small companies, and eventually network engineering for the Universities where he received his diploma.  As a young man in his late 20's working for himself was ideal - being his own boss, good exposure, lots of travel, and all during an exciting time in the information age.  In the 90's, he focused on helping companies understand and embrace this new thing called the Internet, and that lead to an offer from a world 100 manufacturer of network equipment to come work for them as a customer engineer.  For the next 5 years he saw even more travel in the US and Western Europe - too much in fact.  When his son came along in early 2000's, he decided to change jobs so he could be home as his son grew up.  Now his son is a teenager, looking to enter high-school next year.  It won't be long before the boy heads off into the world for himself, and the urge to return to life of travel is starting to tug at Jim's heart.

Denise is also a self starter.  She left home during her Senior year of High School to gain the independence she craved.  Her first occupation after High School was as a cosmetologist and in her early 20's she was content.  She thought she'd be happy doing hair her whole life.   But the cosmos does funny things when you have an entrepreneurial spirit and you reach your goals, it tends to make you rethink them.  By 1998 she had decided to pursue a new career in the legal field.  She got a job as a legal assistant and went back to school, completing her BA in Social Sciences in 2012 to hang next to her NALA (National Association of Legal Assistants) Certified Paralegal sheepskin that she received in 2007.  Now a successful Litigation Paralegal, she's an officer in her field's professional association.

Of course, we're far more than our careers.  Those day jobs pay the bills but they are not who we really are.  Next time I'll share a bit more about what we do away from our desks.

Ever had one of those moments - where a simple idea or comment sticks in your head as a perfect truth?  A thought you keep returning to because it just seems right?

Here we are at the Oceanfront having dinner with friends.  This photo was taken a year before we set our new plan in motion.  

Denise and I were talking a few months ago about our future as we get older.  Currently, we each own a home, each have a successful career, and also each support side business ventures.  Our thought, that little acorn of an idea, was to move from our corporate jobs, divest of the majority of our material things and spend our later years pursuing those side ventures we really love.

For Denise, those ventures support healthy living: Feng Shui, anti-aging products, health supplements and homeopathy.  For me, it's art - mostly photography.  We each have mentors- successful folks in these areas that have made a good living in these areas.  So we know it's possible.  

As we continued to talk, the idea began to take the form of a realistic set of goals.  We want to travel while still young enough to really enjoy it.  We want to share our passions with other people through social media, workshops, and perhaps even books some day.  

So, I'm starting this blog to record our journey.  I'll try to post at least once a week as we put more meat on the bone of this animal, and start activities in support of this new dream.