Tiny house (on wheels or not)

First blog post for me.  I don’t consider myself a good writer by any means so here are my ramblings

Love these Tiny Homes

Immediately after watching “Tiny” on Netflix my head was filled with ideas of Emily and me living in our own tiny house.  I didn’t think of all the hurdles you would have to get over first to get there and all the problems that could arise.  First and foremost I was most excited about the aspect of getting rid of all our crap.  Crap to me is everything we own that I don’t touch at least once a week.  Whether it is my old action figures and Legos I’ve had since a kid or clothes that I think I might wear sometime in the future.  After that I immediately went on to thinking about how I could possibly have fast reliable internet in our tiny home on wheels.  How will I get electricity and water and heat?  Some of those questions I still have no clue as to how it would be feasible but the idea that one day we could have a tiny house still excites me.  

So after contemplating all of these things I begin to scour the internet for places we could park a tiny house that would be able to provide a water hookup, electricity and internet.  I pretty much found nothing, mobile home parks didn’t respond to my emails and that was a last resort idea anyways.  The only feasible way I see it working is if we could park the house on someone’s land and then just run lines under the ground to our home.  So why not just buy a smaller home?  That is the idea that pretty much killed the tiny house (on wheels) for me.  I wouldn’t have to worry about any of my other problems.  While it will be more expensive and I won’t be off the grid (something that I don’t really care about) it can still by cozy and awesome. 

 

Our Old Apartment!

Not long after all this happened we were presented with the opportunity to move in with a family member who was an hour and a half away.  That meant my commute would consists of a 105 mile drive to work and Emily would have to switch schools and find a new job.  The idea of not paying rent and saving money made me not care about the commute.  We could still get rid of a lot of our stuff and start saving towards a house.  I consulted some of my close friends and parents and asked them what they thought of the idea.  Then a week later my parents offered their basement.  While we would have much less space it was only 1.5 miles down the road from our apartment.  No crazy long commute and Emily could keep her job and stay in the same school.  After we talked about it we pulled the trigger and began making plans to move into my parent’s basement.  Yes I said it my parent’s basement. 

Some might consider moving back in with your parents as a step backwards but for us this is a huge step forwards.  I went out and rented a storage unit to store our “crap” and began making trips, loading up my hatchback with as much as I could.  Then earlier this month we rented a U-Haul and moved everything out of our apartment and about ¾ of stuff went into storage and the rest came to my parents.  

What’s in store for the future?

Well Emily will be going back to school soon and then hopefully nursing school full time in the fall.  We will continue saving money and may have to move into another apartment again but at this point I really don’t want to rent anymore.  I’m very thankful for the opportunity my parents are giving us and plan on using the time well to continue saving our money.  I’ve also taken a look at some USAA loans and think that in the future we can afford our own tiny home in the area.  A lot of that depends on what kind of hours Emily works once she is a full time student again so time will tell.  I think also I won’t use the term “Tiny House”.  A 2 bedroom 1 bathroom house isn’t what I consider tiny.  I’m excited for the future and excited to continue getting rid of crap we don’t need.

Don't talk to me before I've had my Coffee.

I am not a morning person. When my alarm sounds, I usually shut it off, fall back asleep unaware of the responsibilities I am now neglecting that day, wake up an hour later, stare at the ceiling wondering what happened to being 5 years old and contemplating my life choices before 8. Now having the inevitable responsibility of rejoining society for that day I find some sort of strength to sit up and stare at the end of the bed instead of the pop corned ceilings. Why can't my greatest struggle in life be which doll I'm going to play with at daycare today? Or even how I'm going to get away with eating Oreos before dinner while mom's at work? No, instead I

ready myself for the 40 hour work week ahead, wifely duties, and all around adult responsibilities, on my mind, before 9. Now that I am no longer a zombie but a post pubescent boy (that's how I sound when I awake in the morning. It's a mixture of that and just sounding sick) I shuffle along to the kitchen to make my morning elixir.

OH coffee. Sweet, sweet coffee. You can be so many delightful flavors, roasts, from different countries, villages, just so delightfully delicious and powerful! My personal favorites? Well Gevalia for sure and not because of that cute Swed in all the commercials having housewives swoon over him. Their french roast is ON POINT. Of course any Starbucks coffee is my go too. When I oversleep for two hours I just pick one up instead of brewing my own but you can also find Starbucks in BULK at Sam's Club or BJ'S. Freeze your beans and never be without this caffeinated delight. Never. The best coffee though, my go to every morning is from Santo Domingo from the Dominican Replublic. Oh yes, when I travel there I buy in BULK. It is the best coffee that I have ever had hands down! Even during the hot mornings there I still have my cup of coffee to wake me up for the missions work day ahead! 

I never used to like coffee but I specifically remember that my second semester finals when I started college were a doozy. A friend said coffee held her over during the rough collegiate testing time. So, I went to the quick stop there and got myself a cup of regular coffee. Added cream and sugar of course since it was my first time and I hated the bitterness but after years of tasting and appreciating to complexity of the beverage, I now can just do coffee and a dash of cream. 

Now a days it is essential to my morning routine. I cannot be bothered until I have had a cup of coffee. No intellectual thoughts will emerge from my being before my blood has been dosed with coffee. No bright eyed cheery human will stand before you without some regular regulating inside me. My voice will not return to it's womanly state  (it really is quite funny to hear my voice when I first wake up it sounds like a man) unless I have some coffee to wake me up. No work of integrity will be done at my place of employment or home unless I have had a kick in the nervous system. No, none of these things can be accomplished in life unless coffee is the first part of my day! So please, if you every have the opportunity to wake me up or see me in the morning, make sure to not talk to me, or survey the surroundings in search of a freshly used coffee pot or empty coffee cup to ensure a delightful morning with me.

Why Thanksgiving is the Absolute Best

Ah November 1st. The day after Halloween in which we gorge ourselves with all the candy we acquire via either our children or workplace or just purchasing for 50% off because that's the best way to get 100 Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. We wipe away  the makeup of our zombie painted faces we were too tired to shower off the previous night and wake up to look even more terrifying than the actual costume was on Halloween night. Yes the first day of November always proves to be the most entertaining and nauseating after eating more candy than the directed amount from the Surgeon General.
Though most people enjoy that first day of November for the sugar shock, I enjoy the last week or November more. Thanksgiving is literally the best holiday ever. I don't care what your opinions are, you can try to convince me otherwise but for now, you're going to sit there and read this because it's the right thing to do. HERE'S WHY it's my favorite.

1. Food
First reason it's the absolute best is because of the amount of food that happens at this holiday. Although some might say that Christmas also has the same smörgåsbord that Thanksgiving does, I believe it to have far better comfort foods. They just taste particularly more delicious than any other holiday. Turkey, mashed potatoes, turnips, turkey, sweet potatoes, green been casserole, turkey, cranberry both canned and relished, stuffing, corn, did I mention the turkey? And why is it that turkey is so fabulous? It makes you want to take a nap. There is literally a chemical released that makes you tired. WHAT A GREAT COMBO...eating food then taking a nap while the football game is on. HOW AWESOME. Maybe the next points won't matter cause that's the number one reason right there!

2. NO presents
I love that there is no gift giving at this holiday. I don't say this because I hate giving gifts it's just so much stress goes with finding the perfect gift as well as my least favorite question which is "what do you want?". I don't know I have everything I need and want at this moment in time but I'll get back to you. The older I get the less I care about receiving gifts and the less I want them. Especially with my mentality of living simply, I don't need more clutter in my life. I also don't think telling people that "cash is fine" is an unacceptable answer. The answering what I want question is just as painful as finding what to get task. Finding gifts is painful. I try to be creative and put heart into the choices but end up with jewelry, knick knacks, or gift cards. Also to be honest, I think gift cards are the perfect gift because then I have options of what I might actually use than waiting in line to return. BUT YOU SEE THIS IS ALL AVOIDED on thanksgiving...the best holiday ever.

3. Giving Thanks
I tell most people that Thanksgiving to me is what Christmas should be. Don't misconstrue what I am saying because I do love Christmas and celebrating the day that the savior of the world was born and even Easter, the day he died where we pray for Him to save our lives but thanksgiving, we just come together as a family without gifts, sitting around, chatting, and saying what we are thankful for. I'm not sure if any other families actually sit around saying what they are thankful for but my husband's family will write their thanks anonymously on paper leaves then we throw it into a basket pass it around and pick one. We then sit around read off our leaf and guess who wrote it. Some people take it seriously, some make a joke, some make it obvious but either way it's a wonderful time we just sit around and actually say what it is we were thankful for that year!


4. It's Fall
My favorite time of year. All of my favorite colors seen in the foliage of New England, football season, apple picking, and pumpkin season. AND I'm not all about the pumpkins for the pumpkin spiced lattes but pumpkin pie, pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, pumpkin donuts, basically anything food oriented with real pumpkin. The other reason? The crisp cold air when you take a deep breath in you can smell the fire wood burning a distance away, it's my all time favorite thing. AND what's best about it being fall? Thanksgiving, duh. And that day usually involves all the best things about fall. It's a wonderful never ending circle of awesomeness. Fall means thanksgiving which is fall which means thanksgiving....you see my madness here.

SO there you have it kids. If that doesn't convince you why thanksgiving is the best holiday that ever holiday'd, well then you are sorely missing out.