One of our readers commented that they wanted to know more about Julie and I other than what we had already put in our ‘about us’ section. So here is some more in depth information about me. I am sure Julie will post more about herself soon. Yes that is actually me to the left – this picture was taken at my 40th birthday party that my cousins threw for me. I included this silly picture as it ties in well with my goal to have more fun this year!
My name is Leslie and I was born and raised in North Bay, Ontario Canada. I have two brothers; one older, one younger. My younger brother is actually my first cousin by blood. My parents raised him from the time he was 3, so in our hearts he was a part of our immediate family. My father died at the age of 50 from complications due to alcoholism. I am a God Mother to 2 on my side of the family and 3 on my husband’s side of the family. We do not have any children of our own…that just wasn’t in the cards for us. We do however have fur kids to take care of…2 dogs (Bella & Ace) and a cat (Charlie).
I went to Laurentian University to study nursing and finished up my BA in psychology at Nippissing University. I moved to Ottawa Ontario in 2002. My now husband (Roch, pronounced Rock) lived there and we had been long distance dating for 6 years. After the devastation of 9/11 we were propelled into seeing if we were compatible for the long haul, so I moved in with him. We got married in 2004, which was the same year we bought into a franchise. It was a year of changes for us! In 2006, I left my career to help grow the business and we are still in that business today.
My mom has also been involved in the business from day one. We moved her down in 2004. Since money was tight, she moved in with us. We lived in a town home then…which over time became a bit too small. We now live in a 2000 square foot bungalow just outside the city and my mom still lives with us. So we have worked together and lived together for the past almost 10 years. I know what you’re all thinking, believe me we have heard it all before. The surprising thing is, is that it works well for all of us. We are truly blessed to have the personalities that we do. We compliment each other well. We have our moments, we are human, but 99% of the time we enjoy our living and working arrangements.
I’ve always wanted to write a book (still on the bucket list), and blogging gives me a platform to write about a variety of topics. It also gives me an opportunity to connect with people I probably would have never ‘met’ otherwise. I hope our blog will be a source of secondary income some day too.
Hopefully this makes you feel like you know me a bit better! Enjoy your week!
4 comments
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kristiwiley
January 29, 2013 at 12:01 PM (UTC -4) Link to this comment
HA! That is awesome. I love it. See, that wasn’t so hard and I love the picture. WRiting a book is on my bucketlist, too. I really need to sit down and just finish one of them. And yes, living and working together can be tough, but you all seem to make it work.
kristiwiley
January 29, 2013 at 12:07 PM (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Damn! I had a another comment written. I have fur kids, too. A dog named Remington who just recently had a ACL surgery (ouch) and a ginger lion (he thinks he is one) cat named Tucker. I am also in a long distance relationship going on two years and I’m done with it now. So, I have planned a big life move to England in September; however, I’m ready to go now. Any advice merging the worlds from LDL to Live in couple?
I also have finishing my book on my bucketlist. I really need to hunker down and do it.
lesliel
January 29, 2013 at 12:58 PM (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Thanks for your replies Kristi! Our cat Charlie also thinks he’s a dog or at least that is how we are raising him since we didn’t know anything about cats before we got him.
You are going to have a major life changing move! Good for you for taking the plunge. Merging two worlds always brings its challenges, especially if one of you is set in your ways (my husband is 9 years older than me and had never been married or lived with a girlfriend, so he was definitely set in his ways!). There really were 3 repetitive spats we had – housework, money and sex. So we ended up getting a house keeper to deal with the housework issues. We kept separate bank accounts and then one joint one for household expenses. This prevented either of us “questioning” the other on what they were buying. Damned if I was going to be questioned about how much my hair salon bill cost. This also made us both feel secure in that fact that we were both pulling our own financial weight and that I wasn’t gold digging (he made more than I did). AS for the bedroom, we tried to make more time for dating.
Since I was the one that left my home, my family, my friends, my apartment and my job, I had a lot more adjusting to do than he did. Recognizing that this was the root of a lot of my mixed up feelings also helped. It took me just over a year to feel a lot more settled and secure. One of the things that really got me through was asking myself “does this (whatever I was mad about) really matter? In a year from now will I even remember this?” It helped me put things into perspective.
I wish you fantastic luck and definitely let us know how you’re doing!
kristiwiley
January 30, 2013 at 11:47 AM (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Well, I’m here until September. So, i have some time to make lasting memories with everyone I know and do things around my city that I wouldn’t normally see. So, that’s exciting!
He’s the same way…never married or lived with someone and he’s five years older than me. HA! Too funny. He’s set in his ways, but he’s also learning for me. He understands that I’m coming from a different culture, i.e., more firewood and central heating and new boiler (I want to be able to turn the faucet on and get hot water without waiting 30 minutes). Our big issue is the dishes. I’m a little OCD when it comes to them and I can’t stand the way he or anyone (except one girl who is like me) washes the dishes. I freaked out the other day saying we have to change this whole sink, washing process (okay, it was a yelling shriek). He just calmly backed up and asked what we could. I think I get more set in my ways, too.
I realize it will take me awhile and I do have skydiving friends, a few other friends in Eastern England and France that I know on my own, and some blogger friends to help me. Plus, I stole one of his friends for my own. So, I’m hoping this eases the transition. I’m definitely going to have to introduce him to low carb/low cal foods like using sweet potatoes instead of regular potatoes all the time.
Thanks for the advice and I will certainly keep you updated.