Free book! (Also, a little rambling update, and an Ed story.)

***If you make it through my rambling, my Ed fans will not be disappointed.***

"Trailer Life", by moi, will be available as a free Kindle download the next three days. This October 17, 2015 through Monday at midnight, Trailer Life is yours for the taking.

I do this because I think it's fun...and because I realized long ago that writing doesn't really make any money, so I might as well just have fun with it. I think I've made enough take the fam to Taco Bell. Twice.

I am contemplating locking myself in a room and cranking out a book that would be completely different that Trailer Life. Like, totally fictional, but based on a true story. A thriller. With death. And then offering it for like $.99.

But then I think, I still need to do some research at the state Board of Equalization and tax information, so that *crossing my fingers, toes, and still praying* if I pass the bar (only one more month of wondering if I have to study again) I can be all expert like in my estate planning and asset protection.

Did you know if you don't have a will that names guardians for your kids that court will appoint one, and that the person/family has to go through the foster care licensing requirements before they can have your kids? My sister just went through this process to be a foster parent for newborns in the county, and it was a bit ridiculous. No paint or chemicals in the garage. Safety stuff everywhere. That would eliminate me as being appointed because we've got stuff everywhere. My kids drive a John Deere. Pretty sure that's against the county code of fostering. Speaking of, I've heard a rumor that your kids could be placed in foster care while this is taken care of. I need to substantiate that rumor, because HOLY MOLY if that is true, that freaks me out. So, we both kick the bucket at the same time, and the kids have to deal with that AND with foster care? NO THANK-YOU. Talk about trauma. I will find out ASAP. (You can fill out a simple will form for free in CA, just make sure it is signed by two witnesses. It's at the California Bar Association Website. This is what I did 5 years ago before Ryan and I went out of town by ourselves. We are rarely together without the kids...but it felt like the right thing to do. I'm beefing up our plan because I can't help others yet, but I can help myself!)

In happier news, roads are all closed down and we are having mudslides and weather! Welcome, El Nino, (that second "n" needs a squiggly line over it)! Grateful not to have been caught in it. And that happy part is that my own road is clear.

Last random bits: we are starting music at the school again (starts today), Will is knocking out Boy Scout requirements, Ed is knocking out his Cub stuff, and Kacy is practicing her pie crust technique for her Personal Progress stuff. Jessie took a bath the other day "to wash the badness" out of her, because she has decided she wants to be good. (O-kaaayyy...)

Ed saw roadkill while we were walking to the cattle gaurd for morning pick-up that freaked him out because as he came close to it it lifted it's head to look at him. I've never seen Ed scared of ANYTHING before. A fluffy bunny that you assume is dead and that then makes eye contact with you will do that. Have I told you that Ed thinks roadkill is good luck? He gets excited about it. He also said a live rattlesnake in the road is twice the good luck of roadkill, and a DEAD rattlesnake in the road is TRIPLE good luck.

We should be set with luck around here.

F.O.C.U.S.

Lately, I have been thinking a lot about focusing. Namely, I have a child who gets distracted so easily. Very much like the absent minded professor...I hand him church clothes and tell him to go get dressed, and 15 minutes later I find him standing in his underwear playing with a Lego thing or reading a book in the middle of this bedroom. I say something like, "Ed! Why aren't you dressed?" He looks down and is surprised to find himself in his skivvies, and then embarrassed that I'm staring at him and he doesn't have many clothes on.

I ordered a supplement called "Focus Factor." Before he took the first pill, he was worried. Like, depressed and anxious worried.

"I don't want to take this." he lamented.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because I'm afraid it will get rid of my imagination."

Ouch.

Hi, my name is Karrie, and I am an imagination killer.

He's taken it twice because we can't remember to give it to him, and since it might kill his imagination, I'm not all hyper-vigilant about it.

ALSO,

FOCUS means something else, and I need to apply it to myself. I'm in this really weird stage of my existence this year. I am neither here, nor there. Adrift in a sea of uncertainties, if you will. I keep thinking I need to do this or that, or I would like to try this...and most of it has to do with making some extra cash to pay for the debt I had to go in to take the Bar exam. (And I'm still praying that I can pass. Miracles can happen, you know.)

But, I need to focus on the bigger picture. I heard this on a podcast and it stuck with me.

I have to make one small change to it, and attribute it to the person whom I heard it from.

F: follow
O:one
C: course
U: until
S: success(ful)  

-John Lee Dumas

I added the "ful" onto success because I think it sounds "right." Also, I stopped listening to the podcast because it bugged me. It was too...too...what is the word I am looking for? More like a sales pitch than informative, maybe? It's called EOFire (Entrepreneurs on Fire) and it is actually very good. I can see that a lot of people would get a lot of good use out of it. It is well put together, consistent, and current. It's just not for me.

Anyways, I need to FOCUS. I have SO MUCH to do in order to prepare for my career. I have so much to learn, because I want to be the best at what I do. But I'm still trying to figure out what it is I will be doing.

You see, I need to know about Estate Planning, because I need to do my own, and because I have a small list of people who would like me to help them. Plus, I kind of like it.

But I also need to know about business law a bit, because I know a lot of people who own businesses, and I need to know how to wrap up or pass on those businesses. Especially family businesses. Like ranches. Plus, I kind of like it.

And then there is Family Law. I am drawn to it. There is a market for it. I keep going back to it in my head. I really, really hate how poor the customer service is in the family market arena. People who require a divorce or child custody attorney are under a lot of stress and are riding an emotional roller coaster. I've had too many friends who have had to endure a missed deadline, or haven't had their phone calls returned. That really, really bothers me. I love families. Even if a family is splitting apart, I would love to be able to ease them through the process and help them learn to live as two separate units for the good of their children. Make the most of the situation. I think that is what would make my heart the most happy, in the end.

But, so is helping someone through the legal process of death. Death is such a natural thing, but the legal process of it is NOT. The idea of saving wealth, be that $20,000 or $20 million to pass on to the family, makes me happy. Asset protection, people. Most folks don't think they have anything worth passing on and think a plan is for "the rich." I'm from Kern County. There are loads of people who own homes. They need a plan. Because what a gift it is to give your family your worldly assets, no matter how small, to give them a leg up in life? I like it.

Anyhow, I am educating myself in all things wills, trusts, the new AB 139 that was just signed...and that reminds me: I think I need to write a letter to the dude who sponsored that bill and ask him to clarify a small portion of it. I need answers. I have NO IDEA if that is how to get an answer, but I'd like the legislative intent of one of their qualifications. It's a little ambiguous. Oh, I'm also learning about TAXES. Ah, taxes. What a lovely, BORING topic, but so necessary. So important.

I'm off. Look for another random post at another random time.