Taking a Slightly New Direction

When I started this blog a few years ago, I meant to have it as a storage space for the Trip Reports from Walt Disney World, but I caught the bug and started writing more about the family.  I then made a post regarding podcasts, and its popularity caused the blog to undergo a metamorphosis and change into a sort of repository for updates of Disney-centric podcast episodes.  That lasted for quite a while, and it gained popularity; however, I received many requests to add more podcasts, and, coupled with time constraints in real-life, I had a perfect storm of no time to do the podcast updates, the dreaded burn-out and a laptop with all my templates, iTunes, etc. dying.

The end result involved writing posts that simply were not to my liking.  Add to that the fact that others had started doing a similar thing (and doing a much better job), and I ended the podcast updates; however, trip reports continued, and a new format was added - my experiences with Team AllEars!  I utilized this as a platform for updates and fundraising announcements for the 2011 and 2012 Teams.

After the half-marathon in January 2012, I again went into a hiatus as I was over-invested with my time.  I was pulling an equivalent of 1.5 jobs with my teaching at both the University and the local Community College and my advising role at ISU.  I was coaching/assisting 2 different baseball teams.  I was heavily involved with our local scouting organization as both our boys were in - I wore several different hats on top of being a den leader.  I was also trying to devote as much time as I could to completing my Ph.D. work as I was starting to worry about the school allowing me to finish.  The end result was a total of 0 posts for all of 2012 and most of 2013, when it again became a platform for Team AllEars, which, if you're a reader, just concluded with the most recent dozen posts on here.

Well, as my life experiences have evolved over the years, so has the blog.  I feel that I'm ready to take the format of this in a slightly different direction.  In a way, it might be harkening back to an earlier version; in another, though, it's new.  I'm going to experiment with making this primarily more of a travel blog...more than just Disney-based (though you can expect to still see a healthy amount of Disney information, as some of the posts in the queue will deal with the Mouse).  Our family has been fortunate enough to do a little bit of traveling, and we have had a number of people ask for help in planning trips to some of the places that we've been to.  Most of these inquiries have been for help with planning trips to Disneyland and Walt Disney World; however, we have also offered advice for people going to places like Branson, the Wisconsin Dells area, and, just recently, the Napa Valley area.  As the boys are getting older, I'm confident that we'll start more trips to places like the various Universal resorts, historical locations (they have already started these with other family members), etc.  I also haven't given up my journey/crusade in trying to get Sheri on our first cruise :) .  I'd like to include entertainment, dining, and more in these posts.  Granted, you may still see the occasional family blog post sprinkled in amidst the rest of posts...

The goal is to shoot for a post to the blog every week, though this can obviously depend on real-world constraints and writing material.  Hopefully I can provide good material for you on somewhat of a schedule. 

With that...here we go!