Social Media Organization

Currently I use five social networks on a regular basis: Facebook, Twitter, Google+, SoundCloud, MixCloud, and Instagram. I sort of treat each of the social networks as if they are a language. I have many friends that I follow on multiple networks, but many seem to be active on only one of those accounts.

For people I have actually met in person, Facebook seems to be the melting pot. Almost every person I went to high school with now has an account and is at least somewhat active. The cool thing about this is that you can connect with almost anyone who you've come in contact with. There are obviously negative aspects to this ability, but it is nice to have a way for almost anyone to find and contact you, without having to give out location or phone number details. I tend to post a few times a day on Facebook. Lately, I have been sharing things from my family life and new music I have found. I tend to get the most response on photos that I have shared.

Twitter seems to be a network that a lot of my friends have joined and forgotten about. I find it fun to post on an alias account and as a business, but it has never really turned into a network where I share a lot of personal things. I will post pictures to this account from time to time, but they don't get as much response as they do from Facebook.

Google+ is my favorite feature-wise, but I don't use it as much as I'd like. I hope more of my friends and family try it out ;)

I find all of my music on SoundCloud and MixCloud and I share family photos on Instagram!

How do you use your social networks???

Bringing it Together

Now that we are all settled from traveling, it is now time to step back to the grind and continue the family toward economic growth. This is the last month we will be living at our apartment in Country Meadows and we couldn't be happier to move out! For the most part our 2+ year long stay has been smooth with only a few major issues arising such as my neighbor's apartment catching on fire and our bath tub leaking into our other neighbor's ceiling.

We will be now moving into a 3 bedroom, ranch style house in Ann Arbor. This will give us more space to keep our things and allow us to have our own yard to play in! The back yard is fenced and we have lots of room to plant vegetables and flowers along the perimeter.

The plan is to pack it all up over the next 2 weeks and get moved in by June. Hopefully everything goes smoothly!

Back To Reality

The past few months seem to have gone by so quickly! Recently I took trip out to Denver, Colorado with my boss for the 4/20 US Cannabis Cup and I just returned home from a beautiful wedding in the UP of Michigan.

Going out to Denver was a very cool experience and it really gave me a good visual as to how Michigan could generate large tax revenue from recreational marijuana sales. Anyone with a state-issued ID that was 21+ years old was able to visit a recreational use club and purchase marijuana just as one would buy beer or cigarettes (with quite a heafty tax as well!) Some day I hope to see the people of Michigan fully accept marijuana as an economic tool to better our state's economy.

Although the trip was a lot of fun, it felt great to get back home and to hit the road again with my family to head up north for the Warra wedding. The drive was long, but it was well worth it. Before long, we were reunited with much of my fiance's family for a wonderful wedding and reception. We were only able to visit for 2 1/2 days this trip, but hopefully we will be able to stay longer on our next visit.

Upon returning to work, everything seemed to go smoothly while I was gone. We didn't run out of product and the shelves were still stocked (for the most part). We provide the largest selection of medical marijuana products to Medical Marjiuana patients and caregivers of Michigan and if you haven't visited yet, I highly recommend you do!

Ironic Encounters

Today we had a false alarm at work, but as per protocol, the police were sent to check things out. This has happened a few times in the past so I didn't really think twice about it. When the two officers got to the store (about an 8-10 minute response time, not bad considering the weather), I immediately recognized one of them. It was the same officer that had pulled over a friend and I years ago and ended up arresting us for possession of marijuana.

To me, the situation was hilarious. Technically I was in possession of a lot more than the last time, but it didn't matter since we are a medical marijuana dispensary. I kept my composure and acted as if I haven't met the guy; I could tell he knew me.

Sunday Sledding

After a few fresh inches of snow fall this afternoon, we decided to take the family out to Rolling Hills county park (not metro park, oops). It was $5 to get in and $2/hr to rent tubes to ride down the hill. We also brought along our green saucer sled we recently picked up Meijer.

The hill was perfect for my 4 year old and we had a great time. Check out some of my pictures:

Short Recap of 2013

The year 2013 was one of the best ones yet! There are so many positive things that I have accomplished this year, it makes me very proud when I compare it to when I first started college. This past year I purchased a 2006 Toyota Corolla, completed my undergraduate degree in Computer Information Systems from Eastern Michigan University, celebrated my eldest daughter's 4th birthday, gave birth to our second daughter Annabelle, and helped turn ArborSide into a profitable business with strong growth.

Next year I have many goals. Although they are large, I do believe with hard work they are very obtainable. I hope to move into a house, pay off at least a quarter of my student loan debt, pay off my current credit card debit, and be able to put away at least $200 a month into a savings or investment account. I also hope to help open at least one more location for ArborSide.

Time to step up my game :D

Happy New Year!

Trip to the Upper Peninsula!

Over the past weekend we had the opportunity to visit our family in the Keweenaw Peninsula of Michigan. My daughter was delighted to spend some quality time with her cousins. The vacation was well worth the drive and I can't wait to see them all again soon!

Check out a selection of photos from our adventure on Google+.

link: https://plus.google.com/photos/114803521812773673008/albums/5929997416341673985

Have a great night!