We did it! We made it to 2016! This is the year where it’s going to go DOWN. It’s finally here and we’re making giant strides. It’s an incredible feeling. Pretty surreal actually.

In the months that have passed  since we last wrote – there’s been A LOT of progress. I (Ashley) no longer go to my office job – that is a HUGE relief and it really makes things feel tangible. I’m still doing my social media/writing job which is great – this is what I’ll be taking with me along our journey too. Our goal is to survive on just the money I’ll be making – if we can pull this off it will be incredible.

Kile has a month left in his job – it’s hard for us to both think about work when there’s so much exciting stuff happening! But by the same token – time is flying.

Kile and I also put in our 30 day notice to our tiny little apartment. We now have one month (25 days! Eeek!) to get rid of all of our things and get out! Plus we’ll be throwing a week vacation to Puerto Rico in the middle of that for an extra challenge. We apparently like to give ourselves a challenge. But hey! That’s what makes the reward so good, right?

More great news is that we found a home for our Mr. Beep Boop! This was by far one of the biggest stress factors of this entire transition. We’re kind of obsessed with our cat and really wanted to find him a home with someone we know and to be honest – we’re selfish, and want him back when we return. With knowing all of that – many people weren’t interested in basically fostering a 6-toed black cat. Thankfully we found some friends that offered to take the crazy guy and it couldn’t be more of a relief. They’ll be receiving random “thank you” trinkets from all of our travels along with way I’m sure.

For the month of February we’ll be staying with Kile’s sister who has graciously offered her home to us – it’s the last month before we leave. We’re going to be using this month to basically get everything in order – forwarding addresses, canceling utilities, packing, and of course it’s nice to have a rent-free month.

Then we’ll be off to Mexico! We leave on February 28th and the plane tickets are booked. I upgraded my backpack (a sweet Eagle Creek bag), bought some packing cubes, some new flip flops (we even bought some goobery Keen sandals) and a new money belt. We’re pretty much set. It’s definitely getting down to the details at this point.

I’m not sure if it’s the frigid weather, if it’s because it gets dark super early, or if it’s just because we’re still sort of in “the grind” but – all of this really hasn’t quite hit me yet. I don’t think it will all sink in until Kile and I set our backpacks down in our new little Mexican studio by the beach, take a big exhale, and say “holy shit, we’re here and we’re totally doing it.”

We’ll be cherishing this next month and half with our friends in our familiar city. And you’ll be hearing from us before we depart!