Refilling the Creative Well

Over the past few weeks, I’ve had some much-needed opportunities to reconnect with my creative side—and it’s been so refreshing.

It started with a visit to an art installation in Houston with a friend. The exhibit was incredible—an immersive blend of science, technology, and art that really sparked something in me. I shared photos and videos with my mom, and she loved them so much that I ended up going back, this time bringing her and one of her friends along for the experience. It was just as magical the second time.

That same friend and I also caught a live performance of Weird Al and Puddles Pity Party in The Woodlands, which was as entertaining and quirky as you'd expect. A perfect mix of humor, music, and theatrical flair.

And most recently, I spent a full day at a retreat for the community band I play with—and also serve on the board for. It was a full day of music, collaboration, and connecting with other musicians. Exhausting in the best way.

All in all, it’s been a creatively rich few weeks, and I’m so grateful. Sometimes you don’t realize how much you need that kind of outlet until you dive back into it.

Summer Busy times!

Summer always has a strange rhythm, doesn’t it? It speeds up and slows down at the same time. For me, things have definitely shifted into a faster gear—especially at work. For those who don’t know, I work in the grocery industry, coordinating delivery plans to make sure stores are stocked and running smoothly. And when summer hits, so does the hustle.

Vacations, cookouts, holiday weekends...they all mean more planning behind the scenes to keep things moving. Lately, I’ve been juggling delivery schedules like puzzle pieces—making sure everything fits, even when it feels like the pieces keep changing shape.

With the extra busyness at work, it’s actually been a good time for our community band to take a little break—we’re officially on hiatus until August. I already miss the weekly rehearsals, the laughter during warmups, and the joy of making music with friends. But I know we’ll come back refreshed and ready to play when the new season kicks off. In the meantime, it’s nice to have a little space to breathe.

I’ve still been carving out time to see friends—grabbing dinner, catching up, laughing a lot. It’s funny how even a simple patio meal or a spontaneous evening out can work like a reset button. No agenda, no expectations, just good food and better company.

I’m also trying—emphasis on trying—to keep stress from settling in too comfortably. That means getting outside when I can, saying yes to things that feed my energy, and giving myself permission to say no when I need space.

So that’s where I am this summer: working hard, slowing down when I can, and trying to be present for all the little moments in between.

Hope your summer is bringing you a mix of light, laughter, and maybe a little less screen time.

Trying to be a bit more professional...

I'd like to try to be a bit more professional in my blog posts, since this is not just a way for me to vent, but I know that others are reading through the posts as well! So, here goes nothing! My attempt at talking about our upcoming patriotic concert on Sunday, June 29th...

Behind the Scenes: Preparing for Our Patriotic Concert

As a board member of our community band—and someone who handles logistics for our concerts—I always look forward to this time of year. Our annual Patriotic Concert is one of our most cherished events, and this year, it’s happening on Sunday, June 29th at 4:00 PM at Holy Covenant United Methodist Church.

From rehearsals and stage diagrams to flag décor and making space for the community chorus—we’ve been busy.

Music, Community, and a Lot of Planning

This concert is more than just music; it’s a community celebration. That means coordinating not just our band members but also our community chorus, who will be singing with us on several selections. Adding singers to the mix always brings an extra level of excitement—and complexity.

We’ve worked hard to make sure everyone fits on the stage (which is no small task when you’re combining instrumentalists, vocalists, percussion gear, and patriotic bunting!). We’ve spent time adjusting our setup to ensure the band and chorus can perform together comfortably and with clear sightlines to the Music Director.

Rehearsals, and Red, White & Blue

Behind the scenes, we’ve been coordinating rehearsal schedules between the band and the chorus, and making sure our flag-themed decorations are ironed and ready to go. There’s something special about walking into a space draped in red, white, and blue—and we want every audience member to feel that sense of pride the moment they step through the door.

A Musical Tribute to Our Country

This year’s concert program includes a mix of stirring marches, reflective tributes, and classic patriotic favorites. From “America the Beautiful” to rousing Sousa pieces, it’s the kind of music that brings generations together. And with the voices of the community chorus added in, the experience becomes even more powerful.

Join Us!

If you’re in town, we’d love for you to join us. Admission is $11 person, and there’s no better way to kick off the Independence Day season than with live music, fellowship, and a celebration of the values we all share. Bring your friends, your family, and your love for music—we’ll take care of the rest.

Birthdays and PTSD

For years, I haven’t wanted to celebrate my birthday. Ever since my dad passed, the day has felt heavy—filled more with painful memories than joy. It’s hard to explain, but birthday wishes and well-meaning celebrations have sometimes triggered a kind of PTSD response in me. So I’ve mostly kept the day quiet, under the radar.

But this year was different.

My birthday happened to land on Memorial Day, and I spent it doing something meaningful: performing in a Memorial Day ceremony with the band I play with. The City of Sugar Land hosted the event, and they invited us to be part of the program. Jeff, Mom, and David came out to watch, which made it even more special.

And you know what? It was a good day. No stress, no anxiety—just music, remembrance, and a little bit of healing. 

Balancing Pasta and Pressure: Life Lately

Earlier this month, I had a much-needed evening out with a couple of friends. We discovered a unique Italian restaurant that had actual Fiat car parts incorporated into its décor—definitely not something you see every day! It made for a fun and memorable dining experience, and the food didn’t disappoint either. Those kinds of spontaneous nights out are always a great reminder to enjoy the lighter moments when you can.

On the work front, things have been far less relaxing.

We've had a couple of major projects roll out recently, and unfortunately, both ran into issues. The core problem? Key stakeholders weren’t looped in ahead of the changes, which led to confusion and miscommunication across teams. It’s been a frustrating situation—especially when you're trying to manage the chaos and still find yourself on the receiving end of the criticism.

One project, in particular, aimed to streamline operations by eliminating an estimated 25–30 delivery routes per week—a target we’re now successfully meeting. Ironically, the transportation director, who led that project and was informed of the planned reductions, is now concerned about having drivers without enough work. It’s one of those classic “cannot win for losing” moments.

Amidst the stress, there was a new opportunity for growth: leadership in action. Our department managers recently asked the supervisors to start leading our weekly meetings. I was the first one asked to step up. While public speaking isn't exactly in my comfort zone, I leaned into the challenge—and even added a little humor by creating nicknames for each of the supervisors based on the areas they oversee. It helped break the ice, and hopefully set a tone that the rest of the team will feel comfortable following.

It’s been a month of mixed experiences—some energizing, some draining—but all reminders of how unpredictable both work and life can be. I'm learning (and re-learning) that sometimes, a good meal and a laugh with friends can be just as important as meeting deadlines and running meetings.

Project Overload and Unclear Direction

It’s been a very active season at work, with several major projects moving through development and implementation phases. While I welcome the opportunity to take on new challenges, the process hasn’t been without its complications.

One of the more difficult aspects has been the sheer number of competing ideas and perspectives being brought to the table. Everyone seems eager to contribute their vision of how things should work—but unfortunately, many of those approaches have missed the mark when it comes to building a process that actually functions effectively.

As a result, both projects have experienced repeated delays. Now, we’re heading into a critical phase, with one project scheduled to go live this weekend and another shortly after. At this point, there’s still a lack of clear communication and direction across teams, which creates a lot of uncertainty heading into launch.

It’s hard to say how things will unfold—but like many in operations and logistics, I’m staying flexible, responsive, and ready to problem-solve in real time. Here’s hoping for smooth rollouts and a stronger sense of alignment moving forward.

When the Weather Doesn’t Follow the Rules

If the weather had a personality, you might say Houston’s has been feeling a little unpredictable lately.

This past January alone brought an unusual rollercoaster of conditions. We experienced two significant cold snaps, one of which was so intense it brought a rare sight—snow in Houston. In a region known more for humidity than flurries, seeing the ground dusted in white felt almost surreal. In between those cold spells, a tornado touched down, serving as a stark reminder that Gulf Coast winters aren’t always calm. And to cap off the month? We were suddenly basking in temperatures in the 80s, as if winter had been a brief, strange dream.

But January wasn’t an outlier—it was just the latest chapter in a year full of extreme events. Over the past 12 months, we’ve also seen:

• A second tornado, once again highlighting the increasing volatility in our local storm systems.

• A powerful spring storm that knocked out power across large parts of the city for several days, affecting schools, businesses, and daily life.

• And, of course, a hurricane that reminded us of the force of nature we always keep one eye on during the warmer months.

Each of these events on their own would be noteworthy. Taken together, they paint a picture of a climate that’s becoming less predictable and more extreme. For residents and businesses alike, it’s a growing challenge—how do you prepare for everything from snow to hurricanes, often within the same year?

As we move forward, it's clear that staying weather-aware isn’t just a good idea; it’s a necessity. Whether it’s investing in backup power solutions, updating emergency plans, or simply staying informed, adaptability is key. Because if the last year has taught us anything, it’s that Houston weather no longer plays by the old rules.

New Year New Travels New Weather

Jeff and I are finishing up our long holiday work weeks. We've been working mostly straight through since the middle of December. We'll soon be finished up and back on our regular schedules at work, but after we take a few days vacation to recoup, relax, and decompress after the busyness of the season. 

We have booked a room at a casino resort in Louisiana, but are also aware of a polar vortex heading our way around the same timeframe. While we are looking forward to getting away for a bit, we are taking extra precaution to secure the house for the freezing weather. 

Not something I wanted to plan for while trying to recoup and relax, but we will survive! 

Tornados...Tornados Everywhere

Yesterday, my phone began blowing up with weather notifications. I picked up my phone to look, and two different apps were sending notifications to seek shelter. Like RIGHT NOW. That's unusual - as I'm normally only getting a notice from the pushes to my phone (i.e. the Amber Alerts). But the actual weather app was now also pinging my phone.

The notices said there was eminent (extreme) danger and to seek shelter immediately, as there was a tornado warning in effect. I've gotten tornado warnings before, but never to this degree. So, I did as any normal person from the Texas Panhandle does, and I went outside to look. 

Sure enough, just to the south of our house was a tornado. It was forming, but I could absolutely make out that it was a tornado. It was traveling northeast, so it ended up going just to the east of us, in an open field just past the houses to our left. I could see debris flying up as it was getting closer to us.

I ran inside and woke Jeff up (he sleeps during the day as he works overnight), and made sure he was dressed, and in the hallway for safety. We both looked outside once again, and the tornado had passed us at that point, and was continuing to go east. We found out that two different neighborhoods not far from us were hit pretty hard (Sunterra and Winward). 

The storm carrying this tornado continued on, and the tornado itself bounced around all the way to Beaumont, and possibly beyond! I stopped tracking it when the storm crossed over the Beaumont area.

This marks the second time this year that there has been a tornado very close to our neighborhood. In May 2024, there was a tornado in the fields across FM 529 from us, making its way to Cypress. That tornado did some major damage to some transformers and towers near the FedEx depot at Grand Parkway and West Rd. It also took down some of the power lines along FM 529, leaving our neighborhood without electricity for several days. 

Jeff and I went to stay with my mom and step dad after that one, because they still had power. It was crazy because we could follow the path of destruction of that tornado all the way from Bellville past our neighborhood in Katy!

Speaking of spiraling cones of wind, we also made it through Hurricane Beryl in June. The eye of the hurricane went directly over our neighborhood. We kept electricity through most of it! 

The only damage we took from the two tornados and the hurricane was needing some shingles repaired after the hurricane. We've been quite lucky this year!

Surviving the Holidays

We've made it through another Thanksgiving holiday. Things have been so crazy this month that I almost forgot that I had not yet posted anything. 

I'm still responsible for making all holiday delivery changes for the holiday week. However...it has changed up a bit this year compared to all the other years I have done the scheduling. Looking back, it has been my responsibility now for 5 years, going on 6 years this coming spring. 

Customer Service used to write the schedule for our customers to get deliveries during the holiday week (we are closed on Thanksgiving, so no billing, selection, or delivering on the actual holiday itself). So, customers who normally get either a delivery or they are due in with their orders on Thursdays have to bill and deliver another day. We would double check the projected changes behind them, and then they would implement the changes into the system.

Five years ago, it changed to me making the changes and implementing into the system. The person in Customer Service decided he did not want to continue to do it any longer, so he trained me how to do it. I would go through the spreadsheets (5 in total: Grocery/Frozen, Meat, Produce, DFW area Meat, and DFW area Produce) and make sure everything matched by store by billing, upload into the mainframe, and verify it was correct. Then I would work with Customer Service after they had sent the schedules to the stores to make edits to the schedule as needed.

Now, it is a bit different. Instead of having 5 separate spreadsheets, everything is populated in one spreadsheet. So, all the product types are grouped together by store, which makes it easier to go through. There is a separate team responsible for implementing the schedules into the system, so I have to be quicker in my edits so they have time to get it uploaded and verified. 

Besides all of that, now we have to get approvals from leadership in the warehouse, transportation, and sales before we can send the changes to the teams that maintains the schedules. And...if customer service says that the customers do not like their schedules...OH WELL. No changes are made - we can bill something off schedule, but we cannot edit their holiday schedule. 

As we are in the middle of Thanksgiving planning, I had to rush through and complete the Christmas schedule edits. We are now in the process of getting them approved by leadership so it can begin the upload process to the system. Never ending madness around here!

Making the Most of Untraditional Weekends

One of the things Jeff and I truly enjoy is planning short getaways together. That said, when I talk about our "weekends," I'm not referring to Saturdays and Sundays like most people. With our non-traditional schedules, our weekend typically falls early in the week—and even then, it's not always easy to align our time off.

I work Wednesdays through Sundays during the day, while Jeff works overnight shifts from Thursday evening through Monday morning. Most of the time, we make it work. While Jeff sleeps during the day, I’m able to work remotely in a quiet house. But when it comes to planning a getaway, the logistics become a bit more complicated.

We can’t simply finish work on Sunday and head out for a couple of days like many couples do. Jeff is usually getting up and preparing for work just as I’m finishing my day. That means we can’t hit the road until Monday morning—after he gets off work—leaving us with only Monday afternoon and evening at our destination before we need to return on Tuesday. I have to be ready to start work again on Wednesday morning, while Jeff still has another full day off before his next shift begins.

It’s a tight window, and unless we plan for a destination within day-trip distance or I take time off, we’re often left with very limited options. Occasionally, Jeff can arrange to take Sunday night off, which allows us to leave Sunday afternoon after I’m done with work—but that’s not always feasible given the demands of his job.

Looking ahead, I do hope that one day we’ll have more flexibility. Ideally, that will come when Jeff is able to transition into a less physically demanding role—or when retirement enters the picture. Until then, we’ll continue to make the most of our limited time together and squeeze in whatever adventures we can, even if they’re short and sweet.

The challenges don’t stop with travel plans. Holidays bring their own set of complications. While my remote job allows me to work from virtually anywhere with a solid internet connection, Jeff’s work is strictly on-site—and even more demanding during the holiday season. Every year, the only other person on his shift takes the final two to three weeks of December off, leaving Jeff to cover both schedules for more than 21 days straight. It’s a heavy load, and it often means sacrificing family time.

To his credit, Jeff has spoken up in recent years, and small improvements are happening—other team members have begun to step in and help cover a few of those overnight shifts. Still, more needs to be done to create a fair and sustainable balance, especially during the holidays when time with loved ones matters most.

Until then, we’ll continue to adapt, plan creatively, and hold onto the hope that more flexibility is on the horizon. After all, making meaningful memories—no matter how brief—makes the effort worthwhile.

Hello September...Here We Go!

The arrival of September usually brings stress, frustration, anxiety, and lots of additional work. It marks the onset of "Holiday Season," which is quickly approaching. 

This means decorating for both fall and Christmas, buying and wrapping Christmas presents, deciding if we are going to be able to meet with family for the holidays (we have issues in the holidays due to work schedules), completing delivery schedule changes for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's (all to be completed within the next 3 months), making spur of the moment changes for stores' deliveries...

Not to mention planning and executing Fall and Christmas concerts, publicity for the concerts, rehearsals, social media blasts, emails to patrons, designing and printing the concert programs. 

I have already planned some outings with a friend for Friday nights during this time. It will force me to get away from the work, and spend some time decompressing from everything. I'm already looking forward to it!

In October, we will see "Sleeping Beauty" in a whole new way, as the ballerinas wear LED lights, lighting up the stage as they dance!

Also in October, we will see the Houston Symphony perform "The Rocky Horror Picture Show."

In December, we will see a parody of Die Hard, called Yippee Ki Yay.

There are some other Christmas themed attractions I would like to see, and may be able to get around to them in November if available to. The Museum of Fine Arts puts out a Christmas Village every year, and last year the friend and I were able to go in January to see a whole Christmas Lights display set up in the local shopping mall parking lot.

The Holiday Delivery Season: From Dread to Optimism

Every year, it starts the same way. Around August, a little knot of dread settles in my stomach. I know exactly what’s coming: the holiday delivery schedules for Thanksgiving and Christmas. It’s a season that should feel magical — lights, shows, festive events — but for me, it always came with a heavy side of stress.

I remember one year, hunched over my computer, five different mainframes open at once. Dry goods. Frozen. Meat. Produce. And then the Dallas-area versions of meat and produce. One customer change meant navigating all five systems. If I wanted to adjust holiday billing? I had to run through all 1,000 grocery/frozen customers, then meat, then produce, then Dallas meat, then Dallas produce. And the moment Thanksgiving deliveries were done, Christmas schedules loomed. September through December was a relentless cycle of updates, spreadsheets, and last-minute changes while the holiday week raged on around me.

It was exhausting. And frustrating. And no matter how much I tried to plan, surprises always found a way to pop up — a truck rerouted, a customer last-minute change, a holiday promotion added.

This year, though, feels different. With the integration into the National Routing Team, the new OMS system, and a dedicated team handling schedule maintenance, I’m finally seeing light at the end of the tunnel. Now, all product types are housed in one place. One spreadsheet shows everything for a customer. One screen lets me see it all. The chaos of navigating five separate systems is gone.

I’m cautiously optimistic — but also excited. For the first time in years, I can imagine actually enjoying the holiday season. Maybe I’ll catch a show, sip some hot cocoa, even breathe. The work is still there, of course, but it feels manageable. Efficient. Maybe even… pleasant.

After years of holiday scheduling dread, that’s a gift in itself.

Aftermath of Hurricane Beryl

What an interesting, scary, and wild week it has been so far. Hurricane Beryl made landfall near Matagorda, Texas as a strong Category 1 hurricane early Monday morning. When it went over the Yucatan Peninsula prior to that, it spun the hurricane, and aimed it towards Matagorda...it was originally supposed to make landfall near Brownsville.

The hurricane made a direct path to Houston, and the eye of the hurricane actually traveled almost right over our neighborhood. What an insane experience that was, to be going through hurricane force winds and rain, then all the sudden NOTHING.

The company I work for took on damage to the frozen warehouse, which will now need to be repaired. Both the grocery and frozen warehouses are without power, and work is having to be done manually to get loads out since they do not have access to printers or copiers right now.

Over 2.25 million customers were without power after the storm hit. Centerpoint Energy has restored a good portion of those customers as of today, but many are still without power, during the hottest part of the year. 

So far, the death count is up to 11 in the Houston area due to the storm.

Happy Hurricane Season (sort of)

It has already been quite the active season, and we are only a month in to the Hurricane Season.  I can only imagine what it is going to be like in August and September...hope it does not get more intense!

Tropical Storm Alberto made landfall in June - in Mexico. Florida had a few scares as well in June, with some disturbances along the east coast.

We are now prepping for landfall of Hurricane Beryl.  It was originally supposed to make landfall in northern Mexico, but has shifted to the north, and is now aimed squarely at Brownsville. It could turn more and head towards Corpus Christi more, which will put us in an area with more rainfall expectations.

We are already on the dirty side of the storm, and are expecting several inches of rain Monday - Wednesday of next week. If the hurricane turns more and aims toward Corpus, the rain will be much more intense.

We've already been sending water and supplies down to Brownsville to prep for the storm to be hitting them early next week. Here we go!!

A New Creative Chapter?

One of the things I genuinely enjoy about maintaining this blog is having a space to share my thoughts, reflections, and day-to-day musings. Writing here has become a surprisingly therapeutic habit—something I look forward to continuing, even if the posts sometimes feel a bit like rambling. There’s value in documenting the moments, no matter how small.

Lately, I’ve been toying with the idea of starting a second blog—this time with a more focused theme. I'm constantly on the lookout for weekend getaways and short vacation opportunities, especially within Texas. Over time, I’ve gathered a growing list of travel ideas and hidden gems, and I’ve been thinking... why not share that information in a more structured way?

I’ve already started keeping notes in a physical notebook, and I even tried organizing everything in a bullet journal. But keeping it updated—and making it look the way I envision—has proven tricky. A digital format might be the way to go. Not only would it be easier to access while on the go, but it would also allow me to build something more creative, polished, and shareable.

Now I’m feeling inspired to explore design ideas and layout options to bring this new project to life. It’s always exciting to start something new—and who knows? It may become just as fulfilling as this space has been for me.

Caught Between Going Out and Staying In

A part of me wants to go out and do something on my days off. Get out and see the world! Travel! But another part of me wants to just stay at home and take care of the tasks at hand. Lots of things to do, lots of things that need to get done...

We have been away from home for 10 days now between our vacation to Fredericksburg and the Tornado hitting West Houston - causing us to lose power at home for 5 days. That part of my head just wants to stay at home and get caught up on shows, do laundry, grocery shopping, etc.

But another part wants to still get out and see the sites and sounds of Texas and beyond. We've enjoyed the road trips, exploring small towns, eating at local restaurants, visiting local museums, etc. I want to do more of these.

One thing I have noticed is that when I am home...I want to be out on the road. When we are out on the road...I want to be home. Day trips out would probably be our best best right now.  That way I can be home after a while to handle the things that need to get done.

Just Wanting to go Home

For our birthdays this year, we decided to spend 5 days total in Fredericksburg, Texas. We toured the National Museum of the Pacific War, toured the Pioneer Museum, checked out the Old Tunnel State Park, LBJ State Park, LBJ National Park, Enchanted Rock State Park, Pedernales Falls State Park, did 2 different wine tastings, did a beer tasting, went Antique shopping, and walked Main Street window shopping in the stores there. We went by Fort Martin Scott to check it out, but it was closed. Mom and David decided to join us on this trip, and we had a great time with them!

After getting home on Thursday, May 16th, an intense storm came through. A confirmed F1 Tornado touched down in the Katy/Cypress area. It actually began not far from our house and did some extreme damage to electrical lines around Grand Parkway and West Road, about 15 minutes from our house.

Several houses in the neighborhood saw damage to the roof shingles being torn off. As of now, we do not see any damage to our house, thank God! But power has been out since Thursday, and it is not expected to be back on for days to weeks from now. Power lines that feed into the neighborhood have either snapped in half or have fallen down. As of Saturday, May 18th, nothing has been done to begin repairs of those power lines.

Mom and David did not lose power at their house in Brenham, so we have temporarily relocated to Brenham until we can get back in our house. We were home for a grand total of 4 hours before having to head to Brenham. On our drive to Brenham, we passed 5 trees that had fallen over the road, and were being moved off the road by locals.

Bellville had downed power lines as well right at the golf course, and they were repaired on Friday. Several school districts closed on Friday because they had no electricity to supply the classrooms!

Frustrations - Destress or Not to Destress?

The company I work for has a major project under way, which I am very involved in, designated as a Test Lead. This project has been in 2 phases...the first phase went live last year. Phase 2 is what is being worked on right now. There has been some set backs in the project, which has been in the works since the beginning of 2024. 

We were initially supposed to go live with the project in March, but that did not happen. Then they told us the project would go live at the end of April. I thought that would work well, as the band I play in has a concert the first weekend of May and the project would be well under way in production by that point...allowing me to perform in the concert.

Just found out this past week that the project has been set back again. We are now scheduled to go live the weekend of the concert, meaning I am not able to perform in the concert that weekend. I am super frustrated as this is the one outlet I have to destress and decompress from work, and from every day life. 

I really hope that it does not get pushed back again, as we are going to be out of town in the middle of May for our birthdays. My manager knows though about the travel, so he will need to make other plans if testing needs to be done that week.

Yearning to Try Again

Several years ago, I attempted to launch my own YouTube channel. Let me rephrase that - I DID launch my own YouTube channel, but it did not go anywhere. I posted weekly content for a few years, but never got the views or the subscribers to be able to make any kind of revenue from it. I only got one check for $100, in 2-3 years of continuous uploads.

I was seeing it as an option to bring in money for Jeff and I to go on vacations once we retire. We were video recording our vacations, and I was making podcast style videos about vacation ideas, suggestions, and ways to save money, then posting the videos on the channel. 

Then, after I decided that the YouTube channel was not a viable option, I started making actual podcast episodes, and having them distributed through several of the normal podcast listening apps. While the YouTube videos were mainly based around Disney vacations, with some Las Vegas stuff sprinkled in...the podcasts were mainly Las Vegas episodes (including vacation ideas, weekend get-away options, history of the different casinos, etc.) with some Disney sprinkled in. I did this for a couple of years. 

There was an option to have ads run on your podcast, and that would generate revenue whenever someone would listen to the podcast. I would get a few cents for every listen. I never got a check through the podcast hosting site. I did have some change I was building up for payment, but it was less than a dollar and it had to reach the threshold of $100 before a check was cut. 

I stopped the podcasts because the hosting website went under and completely stopped hosting and distributing podcasts.  I would have continued creating and posting them, but I ended up filling my time with other things instead.

I am back to wanting to create something again. My only really sort of consistent creativity outlet (besides performing in the community band) has been posting to this blog...and even then I'm only posting about once a month and took quite a long time off there after my dad passed away. I don't know yet how often I would want to post or what I would want to post about - twice a week, once a week, once a month? What do I make the podcast episodes about - music, vacation information, just random talking, like how I post here on my blog? 

I've taken the time to create a Lone Star Bass Clarinet YouTube Channel, and have an email address with it. I am not sure if I want to create video style podcasts and post on YouTube, or if I want to try create more audio only podcasts and finding an outlet to upload and distribute those. 

I have the first steps taken care of. I just need to decide if starting to research and post again is something I'd really want to put my energy in to and do again.