It's official! We've secured all stops on our trip. We will be in Alaska, the Wyoming/Idaho border, Arizona, Florida, Maine, and last, but not least, Kentucky!! The trip will end with the total solar eclipse on August 21, 2017. You can see more about it here: http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEmono/TSE2017/TSE2017.html
Then we return home. We'll be at each stop for approximately two months and will be visiting surrounding cities/states/countries while there. I can't wait!!! (Okay, I can. After all, I still have to get this house packed up!)
When we were looking at places for our last stop "in the middle", we came across the listing for the house in Kentucky. We contacted the owners and it turns out that they are "world-schooling" their kids and are currently helping at an orphanage in the Caribbean. I love that! It's great to hear about what other families are experiencing around the world. I especially love that they're helping people along the way. I've never been to Kentucky, so it will be interesting to learn more about it firsthand.
This week we scheduled the painters to come in and freshen up a few of the rooms. The upstairs bathroom is 99% finished. The pictures have come off the walls and have moved to storage. Boxes are slowly building up to join the pictures. Multiple trips have been made to the donation center and the house is looking more and more like a blank canvas every day.
As of today, 91 days to go.....
Wishing you all a wonderful Easter!
- Jen
Friday, March 25, 2016
Saturday, March 19, 2016
Double-Digits and Counting...
The fact that I'm a day late should tell you how this week went. I feel like I've been running from one thing to the next non-stop!
Cookie season is winding down for the Girl Scouts, so our daughter has been busy with site sales. Their troop leader is a cookie season dynamo and made sure the girls were organized and ready. If you haven't bought your cookies yet, make sure to pick some up quickly because this is the last weekend!
I love how the girls decide what to do with the money they earn. I wasn't in on the planning meeting this year, but last year they were able to buy over $300 worth of supplies for a local animal shelter- on top of paying for a trip to Great Wolf Lodge! It was amazing. They loved being able to make the calls on where their money was going. That's the whole point of cookie sales. The girls learn how to set goals, run a business, learn how to deal with rejection, budget money, and then plan where their money will go. All valuable experiences to prepare them for the future.
Our youngest son and I were invited to the retirement community where our new friends from the pool live. We were generously treated to a tour and lunch. It was fascinating to find out that the woman who gave us the tour was a doctor before retirement, and was the only woman in her class. We take so much for granted these days. Did you know that women didn't even earn the right to vote across the United States until 1920? That's less than 100 years ago!! What a wealth of knowledge and experience we have in our older generations. It's a shame we don't spend more time with them. My son was most amazed by a man who is 100 years old.
House improvements have been going full-steam ahead. When my husband isn't at work, he's in the upstairs bathroom grouting, or sealing, or scraping, or something. It should be complete within the week and is looking fantastic! I can't wait to show you! Below is a small peek.
We reached a milestone this week. 100 days. We now have less than one hundred days until we hit the road. A little scary, but I have every confidence that we can be ready in time. Our first walk-through from potential renters was this morning. It's getting more real every day!
- Jen
Cookie season is winding down for the Girl Scouts, so our daughter has been busy with site sales. Their troop leader is a cookie season dynamo and made sure the girls were organized and ready. If you haven't bought your cookies yet, make sure to pick some up quickly because this is the last weekend!
I love how the girls decide what to do with the money they earn. I wasn't in on the planning meeting this year, but last year they were able to buy over $300 worth of supplies for a local animal shelter- on top of paying for a trip to Great Wolf Lodge! It was amazing. They loved being able to make the calls on where their money was going. That's the whole point of cookie sales. The girls learn how to set goals, run a business, learn how to deal with rejection, budget money, and then plan where their money will go. All valuable experiences to prepare them for the future.
Our youngest son and I were invited to the retirement community where our new friends from the pool live. We were generously treated to a tour and lunch. It was fascinating to find out that the woman who gave us the tour was a doctor before retirement, and was the only woman in her class. We take so much for granted these days. Did you know that women didn't even earn the right to vote across the United States until 1920? That's less than 100 years ago!! What a wealth of knowledge and experience we have in our older generations. It's a shame we don't spend more time with them. My son was most amazed by a man who is 100 years old.
House improvements have been going full-steam ahead. When my husband isn't at work, he's in the upstairs bathroom grouting, or sealing, or scraping, or something. It should be complete within the week and is looking fantastic! I can't wait to show you! Below is a small peek.
The vanity counter was installed yesterday, and as I type, my dear husband is installing new glass doors for the bath/shower. The cacophony from drilling and the guys on our roof cleaning out the gutters is deafening. A small price to pay for the progress being made!
We reached a milestone this week. 100 days. We now have less than one hundred days until we hit the road. A little scary, but I have every confidence that we can be ready in time. Our first walk-through from potential renters was this morning. It's getting more real every day!
- Jen
Friday, March 11, 2016
Contractors and a Slobbery Pillow
Slowly but surely we're making progress toward being ready for our departure date. Nothing monumental happened this week but a lot of little cogs were set in motion. I made calls to contractors for gutter cleaning, bathroom counter measurements, yard work, and so on. These little things will add up to make all the difference in how our house functions while we're gone, and hopefully, how it will look when we return. The goal is to list the house for rent soon, so we'll be starting the "Quick! Someone is coming by to look at the house- pick that up!" mantra. I'm sure our kids will love it and be completely on board.....yeah right. ;-)
Volunteering with our oldest son at the Food and Clothing Bank last weekend was fun. It's good for him to see how these organizations work and he totally stepped up. When I was a child, I was one of the people standing in line- so I'm especially thankful for the opportunity to help now. As an adult, I can appreciate the impact places like this make for families who are just trying to make ends meet and stay together. When I was younger, though, I was ashamed and embarrassed because I thought my friends would make fun of me. If you've never known what it is to struggle, then it can be hard to empathize with those who are struggling. I can honestly say that I'm thankful for that experience because it taught me that no one is "better" than anyone else and you can learn something from every situation. I now have the drive to serve others, knowing that we are the same.
Once we were given the tour, several of us were assigned to the clothing area, which was perfect for me and my affinity for order. There is a door in the side of the building where people can donate bags of clothing and other items. The pile can get pretty big, so it needs regular sorting. The nicer items were hung on racks so people can look through them easily. All the clothes with holes, stains, pet hair, or smells (yes, smells...) were either donated to the Salvation Army or thrown away. For the most part, people donated really nice things and only a few items needed to be thrown away. I'm not sure why anyone would donate their old, slobbery, stained, ripped pillow- but there it was. Thank goodness for gloves! I can't give the Food and Clothing Bank enough credit. They really do care for the people in our community and work hard to make a difference- and they do!
Coming up: Girl Scout cookie site sales and more house projects... It's going to be a busy week!
- Jen
Volunteering with our oldest son at the Food and Clothing Bank last weekend was fun. It's good for him to see how these organizations work and he totally stepped up. When I was a child, I was one of the people standing in line- so I'm especially thankful for the opportunity to help now. As an adult, I can appreciate the impact places like this make for families who are just trying to make ends meet and stay together. When I was younger, though, I was ashamed and embarrassed because I thought my friends would make fun of me. If you've never known what it is to struggle, then it can be hard to empathize with those who are struggling. I can honestly say that I'm thankful for that experience because it taught me that no one is "better" than anyone else and you can learn something from every situation. I now have the drive to serve others, knowing that we are the same.
Once we were given the tour, several of us were assigned to the clothing area, which was perfect for me and my affinity for order. There is a door in the side of the building where people can donate bags of clothing and other items. The pile can get pretty big, so it needs regular sorting. The nicer items were hung on racks so people can look through them easily. All the clothes with holes, stains, pet hair, or smells (yes, smells...) were either donated to the Salvation Army or thrown away. For the most part, people donated really nice things and only a few items needed to be thrown away. I'm not sure why anyone would donate their old, slobbery, stained, ripped pillow- but there it was. Thank goodness for gloves! I can't give the Food and Clothing Bank enough credit. They really do care for the people in our community and work hard to make a difference- and they do!
Coming up: Girl Scout cookie site sales and more house projects... It's going to be a busy week!
- Jen
Friday, March 4, 2016
The Fun in Functional
Do you remember my shameless plug for my online Thirty-One Gifts party? Well, I'm thrilled to say that it went even better than I anticipated. Because of the enthusiasm of my friends, I was able to check off quite a few items from my wish list- FOR FREE!! Hooray!! In case you aren't familiar with this company, they sell products that include storage solutions, bags, and fashion accessories. I absolutely love their mission statement, ethics, and quality. You can find their site here: http://www.thirtyonegifts.com/catalog/ I'd be happy to put you in touch with a few consultants I know if you're interested in something.
Well, the fact is that I'm quite addicted. A friend hosted a party a few years ago and I didn't want to buy anything because I didn't like the fabric pattern choices at the time. I'm a quilter so design is a serious thing for me. Plus the products seemed too pricey. After all, I've never been one to care about expensive purses and bags. BUT my friends' consultant (Hi Kate! ;-)) wouldn't let me off that easy and convinced me to buy the hostess gift that my friend didn't want. It was a pink gym tote that had a handy zipper compartment for shoes at the bottom. I felt a little guilty shelling out $35 (normally $80-ish) for a bag when I could have bought something at the local big brand store for less. Let me tell you, that bag changed my whole perspective! The quality was so good that I ended up using it for EVERYTHING- airport carry-on, overnights, the beach, paperwork, and much more. It's still going strong, whereas anything I would have bought at the big brand store would have been long gone by now. So the price has meant spending less and wasting less in the long run and I still love my tote. That's how the addiction started. Recently, my sister-in-law became a consultant. Even though I'm pretty loyal to my original consultant I still want to support my sister, so I hosted the aforementioned online party.
Here are a few of the items I was able to get for free. These products will be helpful for just about every aspect of our upcoming trip. The trailer will need to be carefully organized and we'll have to be mindful of what and how we pack clothes-wise. After all, we'll be participating in a wide range of activities over the course of the year. Since we'll be visiting local scout troops, my son's and daughter will need to keep their uniforms handy. Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts, in particular, have several small, easy-to-lose items. For example, my boys are forever searching for their neckerchief slides and books. To solve this problem, Thirty-One offers this little gem called the "Hang-It-Up Pocket."
In case you were wondering what our family has been up to this week, we've had a whirlwind of scouting activities. My daughters' Girl Scout troop participated in a service project with Mountains To Sound Greenway http://mtsgreenway.org/ where they planted trees at Lake Sammamish State Park. It was a muddy-wonderful mess! My youngest sons' Cub Scout pack put on a carnival for the younger scouts and did a great job. Tomorrow my oldest son and I will be volunteering at our local food bank as part of his Citizenship in the Community Merit Badge and then he has an igloo-building outing. It's an exciting time in our home and I'm so thankful I get to be a part of the lives of these kids. Who knows what amazing changes they may bring to the world we live in?
Well, the fact is that I'm quite addicted. A friend hosted a party a few years ago and I didn't want to buy anything because I didn't like the fabric pattern choices at the time. I'm a quilter so design is a serious thing for me. Plus the products seemed too pricey. After all, I've never been one to care about expensive purses and bags. BUT my friends' consultant (Hi Kate! ;-)) wouldn't let me off that easy and convinced me to buy the hostess gift that my friend didn't want. It was a pink gym tote that had a handy zipper compartment for shoes at the bottom. I felt a little guilty shelling out $35 (normally $80-ish) for a bag when I could have bought something at the local big brand store for less. Let me tell you, that bag changed my whole perspective! The quality was so good that I ended up using it for EVERYTHING- airport carry-on, overnights, the beach, paperwork, and much more. It's still going strong, whereas anything I would have bought at the big brand store would have been long gone by now. So the price has meant spending less and wasting less in the long run and I still love my tote. That's how the addiction started. Recently, my sister-in-law became a consultant. Even though I'm pretty loyal to my original consultant I still want to support my sister, so I hosted the aforementioned online party.
Here are a few of the items I was able to get for free. These products will be helpful for just about every aspect of our upcoming trip. The trailer will need to be carefully organized and we'll have to be mindful of what and how we pack clothes-wise. After all, we'll be participating in a wide range of activities over the course of the year. Since we'll be visiting local scout troops, my son's and daughter will need to keep their uniforms handy. Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts, in particular, have several small, easy-to-lose items. For example, my boys are forever searching for their neckerchief slides and books. To solve this problem, Thirty-One offers this little gem called the "Hang-It-Up Pocket."
It's a zipper pocket that goes over your hanger. I had ours personalized and like the neutrality of the gray striped fabric, but they have other options too. As you can see, the pocket is pretty big, so it holds all the accessories for each uniform. It also has that little loop at the bottom in case you need to hang pants or something. On the back are two large loops that could hold ties, scarves, or anything, really. I normally hang the boys' shirts directly over the pocket, but displayed it like this for the picture so you could see how it works. Here's how it will look during the trip. Handy, no?
Another item that will come in handy are these "Your Way Cubes". They fold down flat and have chalkboard fabric on the front. This is perfect for us because we can take them with us wherever we go and change the writing as needed. At the moment, they are being used in our pantry. A LONG overdue addition. I was about to go insane because of the snack food avalanche that attacked me every time I went to get out a box of cereal. Now we can remove whatever we want without trying to catch something else. I've discovered a few added bonuses, too. Because we can't see everything, we aren't "boredom eating" as much. Also, we are eating a larger variety of items because when we want something, we have access to everything- not just whatever's on top. Win-Win!
I have many more items that I was able to get for our trip, which would have cost a fortune if I hadn't hosted a party. There are still things I need to save up for but I can honestly say that they are worth the cost. I really do use Thirty-One products every. single. day. and they're all well made and useful. Plus, I love the fabrics and personalization choices that have come out in the past few years. No, I don't work for them. This is just a review of something I've come to love. :-)
In case you were wondering what our family has been up to this week, we've had a whirlwind of scouting activities. My daughters' Girl Scout troop participated in a service project with Mountains To Sound Greenway http://mtsgreenway.org/ where they planted trees at Lake Sammamish State Park. It was a muddy-wonderful mess! My youngest sons' Cub Scout pack put on a carnival for the younger scouts and did a great job. Tomorrow my oldest son and I will be volunteering at our local food bank as part of his Citizenship in the Community Merit Badge and then he has an igloo-building outing. It's an exciting time in our home and I'm so thankful I get to be a part of the lives of these kids. Who knows what amazing changes they may bring to the world we live in?
- Jen
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