Tag: family

Posted in 2024, Business, family, Goals, life, Memories, Writing

Creating A Business From Nothing

Posted on by nancyb422

What’s the hardest decision you’ve ever had to make? Why?

I left a full-time with benefits job to start up a remodeling company with my husband.

12 year prior I had moved cross country to live with my soon-to-be husband, so I know about making a big leap of faith. But now we’re talking about income, and we have a mortgage and a son to provide for!

For him, he was not happy with the new home builder he was working for, and as an “independent contractor” (really, just a carpenter that back then a company could get away with not putting them on payroll), the builder could make his own rules for paying for their work.

For me, our son was turning 9 and would be heading into 4th grade in September. I had had the week between Christmas and New Year off and Oh Boy, I had a taste of time off, just being home and I wanted more of that!

We got him licensed and insured, he worked on and off for the home builder and, we advertised in the local weekly newspaper that got delivered to homes.

I left my job in early June and we worked out of our unfinished basement. I took care of business and set up appointments during the day for him to go on after his work day. I also picked up a part-time job at our son’s school in the library! I worked from 9 to 1, worked the school schedule, and was in our office in the afternoon. It was a dream setup!

Over the 25 years, we built a garage at our home with office space above where we worked for 12 years, and in 2018, we bought a unit in a business complex for our office. We went from my husband working alone to present day, he’s retired, I’m semi-retired, our son runs the business, we have a great person in the office, and we have 5 employees out in the field.

It was a tough decision, but I had faith that we would succeed. There were a lot of hills and valleys over those years, but we did what we set out to do.

Posted in 2024, family, leisure time, life, Memories, photography, Travel

11/6/2024 Hump Day Photo

Posted on by nancyb422

Let’s pretend today is Wednesday! Unless you had such a horrible Wednesday, you’d rather forget it….

This was taken in October 2013. It was another fun travel trip with my sister, Janice, and her daughter Julie. We shared driving duties from Connecticut to Las Vegas, and then Jan and I would hop on planes and fly home.

We planned the trip to allow us to see a little of the area along the way. We timed our day right to stop at this site mid-morning and enjoy the grounds and the view from the TOP.

Do you know where we were? Have you been there?

Posted in 2024, family, friends, leisure time, life, Memories, relaxing, thoughts, Travel

When Vacation Is Over

Posted on by nancyb422
At the end of the week

Is there anything worse on vacation than opening the Friday on a pill case? I can’t think of one!

Our last day at Lake Winnipesauke was spent on the boat with my sister and her husband who drove over from their home in Maine. We tried to dock in Wolfesboro for lunch again but everyone had the same idea so we headed over to Weirs Beach instead. We’ve been there many times by motorcycle for Laconia Bike Week in June so this was a whole different view! We saw buildings usually blocked by big white vendor tents and the arcades were in full swing. We had lunch at Dox and headed back out to drift on the lake.

It was a great week of boating, hiking, and shopping! The early part of the week was sunny but by Wednesday the smoke from the Canadian fires made its way to us and it was hazy sun. We knew rain was coming on Thursday so we headed to Conway for shopping – but we didn’t think to bring our umbrellas so ended up buying new ones!

Packing up on Saturday and saying goodbye to our little home was sad as I was finally sleeping past 6am but it was time to go. I’m hoping to rent for 10 days next year at the same location.

Our one bedroom cottage among 4 rentals on the property

Today it’s rainy in Connecticut which is perfect weather to get laundry done, open the mail, and get ready for our family’s Fantasy Football draft tonight!

Rainy Sunday following vacation
Posted in 2024, family, friends, Holidays, leisure time, life, Memories, photography, Sports, Travel

July 31 Hump Day Photo

Posted on by nancyb422

Today I’m sharing a photo from February 2006. The same sister and her family that we went to Mexico with, we also took a few ski vacations together over the years!

We took a 2 or 3 February vacation trips to Mont Sutton located in Sutton Quebec. It was approximately 6 hours away from our home in Connecticut. We would meet up with my sister and 2 or 3 other families from Rhode Island at The Junction Restaurant in Troy Vermont for lunch. From there, we would cross over the border into Canada. We would stay every trip at an auberge right next to the slopes and rented the entire first floor wing of 8 or so rooms to make sure we had a game room for the kids and so we wouldn’t disturb any other guests! The hotel served us breakfast and dinner and we all brought coolers of food, a microwave, and whatever else we needed to come back to the rooms and have lunch if we wanted. All we had to do was ski.

The Sutton bird

This picture was from our 3rd trip to Canada. It was crazy to see this up in the tree but even funnier was what I thought I saw on the slope. My husband and I were on the chairlift, and I saw a small group of people on the side of the trail. I looked closely and then said to him “why is there a canoe on the trail?” He thought I was insane! What I was looking at was a snowboarder sitting on the ground with his board up on its side edge. From the direction I was looking, it looked like a person in a canoe!! 😂😂 I have a very vivid imagination!

Every time I see this picture in my favorites album I think about all those fun trips we took, and the canoe on the ski slope.

Posted in 2024, family, leisure time, life, Memories, photography

July 24 Hump Day Photo

Posted on by nancyb422
View from Las Carmelitas Puerto Vallarta Mexico

In August of 2006, my family and my sister and her family went to a Mayan Palace resort in Puerto Vallarta Mexico.

For one of the dinners we went to Las Carmelitas which was approximately a half hour outside the side far up into the hills. It was a little nerve wracking being driven so far away from the resort in a taxi in a country we couldn’t speak the language! After passing through the city, we turned off the main road onto a road with a gate at the bottom. What did we get ourselves into! It was a dirt road, bumpy and winding. At one point, my sister’s taxi was having trouble making it up the hill, so she and my niece jumped out of the car and started walking!

Once we got to the top, there was a beautiful open air restaurant overlooking the water. There were chickens walking around and a toddler scooting around on his toy.

The food was so incredibly fresh, I remember the ceviche in particular, it was like it had just come out of the sea. The margaritas weren’t bad either!

We had a beautiful dinner as we watched the sun set over the water. After a few hours, the taxis returned to take us back to the resort. Whoever recommended Las Carmelitas knew what they were talking about. This picture is one of the many I took of the setting sun.

If you missed last week’s photo, you can find it here.

Posted in 2024, family, life, Memories, Writing

One Name is Enough

Posted on by nancyb422

What is your middle name? Does it carry any special meaning/significance?

My two sisters and I were not born with middle names! The story is my parents thought one name a piece was enough. Isn’t that weird? They both had middle names! Why couldn’t they give us one?

At 12 years old when I got closer to my confirmation, not having a middle name turned out pretty nice because I got to choose it myself! I ran through a variety of names but you know, it had to sound right with my first name which is Nancy. Nancy Ann – nah, too plain. Nancy Elizabeth, my mother’s name – not bad, but my sister snagged that. Julia? Antoinette, Helen? All names of aunts, No, No, and No.

I settled on Catherine. It was the name of my mother’s favorite cousin, but she spelled hers with a K and I didn’t like the way the initials looked or sounded 😂. NCJ had more appeal to me than NKJ. So Nancy Catherine Jakiela is was!

After I got married I dropped the middle name and took my maiden name for my middle name. Catherine didn’t stick around for very long but it was good while it lasted.

Posted in 2023, family, Holidays, life, Memories, Writing

Carrying On Traditions

Posted on by nancyb422

How do you celebrate holidays?

Christmas with Grammy 1966 (me in the red/gray sweater, my twin in yellow, my older sister in the back with the scrunched up grin)

When someone says “Holidays”, I automatically think of Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving. The Big Three!

Ever since I was born, Christmas and Easter were primarily celebrated with my mother’s side of the family. There was a rotation of where it would be held. I think up until 1967, it was held at the family home where my grandmother and oldest aunt lived. This picture was from our last Christmas with her and it includes me, my 2 sisters, and my second wave of cousins.

Thanksgiving was a low key holiday for us because there was usually a high school football game to go to! My relatives would be off with their “other side of the family” for the holiday.

My mother died when I was 27 and not yet married and my sisters were both married but no kids yet. Our first holiday without her was Easter of 1987, and my cousin hosted everyone. By Thanksgiving I had moved to California but I know without a doubt, my family back home continued the tradition of gathering, having a great meal, and exchanging presents. The following Christmas there were three babies so of course everyone gathered together. When we moved back to Connecticut in 1995, I was able to show my husband and son how my family celebrated growing up!

My house is our old family home and so it seems natural for us to host my mother’s side of the family. We do that every year in early December. My sister who lives in the same town always hosts Easter.

Thanksgiving has become the holiday that rotates between 3 different households!