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| The view from my new house! |
Right now, I am smack dab in the middle of chasing down a dream my husband and I have had since we started dating. We used to go for drives in the mountains, talking about how someday, we wanted to live there. Fast forward a few years with kids, jobs, and the fact that houses in the mountains are super expensive. We had a nice home in the suburbs and a pretty comfortable life. But that dream of living in the mountains had never left us. Along the way, we found another dream- one of having a place where we could have horses. The more time passed, the more the idea of our dream kept coming up. And, after the wildest journey I could have imagined since early this year, it happened.
We live in the mountains.
The property we bought is amazing. We have rock formations, meadows, trees, ponds, and a stream. The house... not so much. We lost almost half of our living space, and it's been an adjustment. Fortunately, we're working on an addition, and hopefully in a few months, we'll have a much bigger, gorgeous home. Well, the gorgeous part may take a while, but it's coming.
A year ago, if you'd told me this is what we'd be doing, where we'd been living, I'd have told you that you were crazy. But a year ago, I fulfilled a lifelong dream of going to England. Which was the result of fulfilling my lifelong dream of becoming a published author. And the more I make the leap to following my dreams and finding ways of making them happen, the more I want to make more of my dreams come true.
One of the fun pieces of living in the mountains is our mail delivery. The mailman delivers our mail at the end of our very long driveway, and it's been raining a lot. So last week, the advance copies for my July book came, and he left the big box of books in a trash bag. I love that he took the time to protect my books!
What's your dream? Are there steps you can take to make your dreams come true? Even if it's just a tiny step, I encourage you to take it.
I'd love to give away a copy of my July book- read it way before you can buy it! All you have to do is leave a comment telling me about your dream. If you tell me a step you can take towards it, you'll earn an extra entry into the drawing. AND, if you DO one thing to bring you closer to your dream and post about it, I'll give you a third entry!
You have a whole week to post. I'll come back next Wednesday and draw a winner from all of the entries!
Posts
We just survived a remodel. It's one of the few things harder than writing a book under deadline.
ReplyDeleteAfter my very first trip out of the country last year, I learned just how much I love to travel. I hope to have many more such journeys in my life, including a return trip to Ireland, which I loved. I'd have a winter house there if I was rich, I think.
ReplyDeletePamela, now I know where to go for support! But at least I know I will survive! :)
ReplyDeleteDeb, I have the travel bug too. If you get a winter house in Ireland, can I come visit?
What a gorgeous view!! Congrats on another of your dreams coming true!
ReplyDeleteI love the post Danica! My husband and I share a similar dream, but since I HATE cold weather with a passion, our dream is to have a summer cabin in the White Mountains of Arizona. He can use it in the winter as a base for elk hunting out of, but I will not be tagging along, lol. I love watching the progress on your dream via your FB posts.
ReplyDeleteCongrats!!!!
Thanks Missy!
ReplyDeleteLeAnne, a summer cabin sounds great!
Congratulations on achieving your dream Danica. I, too, recently achieved a long-time goal. Last month, I left my day job to become a full-time author and freelance financial writing.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jean!! Congrats on reaching your goal! What a wonderful opportunity for you!
ReplyDeleteMy greatest dream is to be a traditionally published author. I want to write christian fictions.
ReplyDeleteThough I am still getting rejections right now, I know that one day, I will get there!
Well done, beautiful people.
Congratulations, Danica! The property looks lovely, and I do understand the lure of the mountains. We love to visit and always talk about what it would be like to live there. Major kudos to you for following your dreams to completion.
ReplyDeleteI love that you're making your dreams come true! I feel like I'm living the dream right now with writing full time. You're inspiring me to find a few more to fulfill, too!
ReplyDeleteOLUFISAYO ALABI, Go for it!! I know if you keep working at it, you can do it!
ReplyDeleteThanks Christine! It is wonderful living here.
Patricia, it is definitely a dream come true to be writing. Here's to finding more dreams!
Thanks Danica
ReplyDeleteI have a travel goal board with circles on it of places i want to travel i live in oz so last year i was able to tick off orlando florida, in october i will b able to tick off new zealand as it will b cool to c where my mum came from, each pay week i am paying off a cruise to new zealand, i mnade a payment yesterday, hopefully next year i hope to go to europe a dream ive since i was 12 in 1992 after reading a Mandie book
ReplyDeleteOh, Scraproni, that is so awesome!! I've started doing something similar. I have a notebook I use to paste in pictures of places I want to go.
ReplyDeleteSo wonderful about all of your travel adventures! I love how you are making them happen!
Congrats on the new home, Danica! Looking forward to hearing about horses next. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Sandra! Horses will be a while, but eventually!
ReplyDeleteLovely post, Danica! I love that you are going after your dreams. It's funning how things that seem so out of reach one moment start to fall into place the next. When God starts moving, he moves fast!
ReplyDeleteMy dream has always been to be a published author. I realized that dream somewhat last September when I self-published my Christian non-fiction book, but I'm still working on the writing fulltime part. I entered the Blurb to Book contest hosted by Love Inspired to fulfill my dream of writing for Harlequin. I'm hoping that I get there with this book and this contest. A little voice keeps whispering for me to whip up my series bible for this small town because someone is going to want all those stories. Still wrestling with whether that voice is named God or Ego. Someday I hope to write the next great American novel, but that is slow going.
As for non-writing related dreams, I've always wanted to go to France, and more recently to Greece. Add Italy and England and it's the trip of a lifetime for a girl who's never been west of the Mississipi, let alone out of the country. I also want to give a TED talk, host a women's conference, get married, and meet some of my favorite writers and musical artists and interview them. Oh, and last but not least, I'd love to get my MFA. ;-)
This is a great post. My dream is to be published by Harlequin. (1 entry). One step is to polish and send a requested full by an editor (of another line). I was up very late last night working on my manuscript.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to win your book. Thanks for the inspiration!
Hi Everyone!! UGH! I'm so sorry I didn't get back here sooner! I was out of town and forgot about this, and then with company... yikes!
ReplyDeleteSoo... because I am a total goof, if you entered, email me at danica@danicafavorite.com by the end of this week, and I'll send you a book.
Hey Mz. ZeyZey! I love your dreams! Congratulations!
Cathy, what great dreams, thanks for sharing!