Local Adventures

Having an adventure doesn't necessarily mean that you need to pack up and head to a far off place. Sometimes it just means discovering something new. This week, for example, we discovered a few local family owned businesses that gave us a taste of other cultures. We also made new friends and discovered interesting art forms- all within 20 minutes of our house! See? Adventure can be anywhere and anything!

I've told you how diverse Florida is and that there's a large British population here. Because of that, we decided to do some research to see if we could find authentic British fare. We didn't have to look far because just down highway 27 is a small shop named The Proper Pie Company. They make all kinds of things you don't normally see on our American menus. They're masters at the art of Cornish pasties (pronounced (past-eez), which are savory hand-held pies. They also offer fresh fish and chips (fries) served piping hot from the fryer, which I like dipped in malt vinegar. The shelves tempt you with various candies and the fridge is stocked with drinks like "Ben Shaw's Dandelion and Burdock", which has a flavor that reminded me of root beer, but it had another taste I couldn't identify. My kids loved it!

Their homemade shortbread was dense, buttery, and crumbly and everything was fresh and perfectly seasoned. We'll definitely be visiting again before we leave. If you go to their website they advertise a traditional English Tea (not the Americanized version) that I can't wait to try!

We wanted to make chicken enchiladas with green sauce this week but couldn't find tomatillos anywhere. After another search we ended up at El Zocalo Supermarket in Haines City, which is probably the best Hispanic market I've ever been to. Because we grew up in California, my husband and I have been to many, so we have a pretty high standard of what authentic Mexican looks and tastes like. This family owned market is exactly what we were looking for! It's clean and the staff are friendly and knowledgeable. They offer a great selection of everything and their pastries are soft and fresh. I even saw a restaurant area with a tortilla factory... fresh tortillas!!!! I've found myself looking for reasons to go back all week, although I may not bring my youngest. He's bound to see the piñata's and want to bring one home. I'm not sure it's a good idea to trail a piñata out the back of the trailer when we drive up to Maine in a few weeks..... although we'd probably be the most festive on the road! I wonder what the dogs would think?

You see that red filling? That's guava! So, so good!

I'd be lying if I told you my kids are as outgoing as I am. The youngest, maybe. But all three are more comfortable at home with the people they've grown up with, in the routines they've grown up with. Meeting new people on this trip has really been a stretch and I'm so proud of them for moving outside of their comfort zones. It's taught them that they're so much more capable than they ever thought and that there are so many more things in this wide world than what they see on a daily basis.

One way we've been meeting new people is by visiting local scout troops wherever we go. They can interact with kids their own age and see how they do things. For example, my oldest visited the Boy Scouts in Alaska and my youngest and I and camped with the Cub Scouts. In Idaho, my daughter carved pumpkins for Halloween with the Girl Scouts. At Christmastime in Arizona, we all helped the Boy Scouts set up luminarias at Tlaquepaque for the Festival of Lights.

This week my daughter and I visited a local Girl Scout troop at the park. They have a mixed troop, which means they have girls of all levels in one troop. The little girls just loved my daughter and they all had a great time running around the park together until long past sunset. It was fun to watch.

We also attended a leader meeting for the Girl Scouts of West Central Florida with them and were just in time to participate in a World Thinking Day event. The local girls made some really beautiful displays and their creative treats gave us some fun ideas to bring home with us when we return in August. The scouts everywhere have been so hospitable and we've enjoyed our time with them.

I had my own little adventure this week too. A quilt group has started meeting at the library, so of course I had to check it out. The group includes everyone from students to international snow birds. One woman came and showed some beautiful pieces of mixed media art that she had made. My favorite thing she showed was her ice-dyed fabric! It was amazing and now I'm on a mission to learn how to do it myself with the kids. You can visit her Etsy shop here to see some of the other pieces she's made.

She decided to test what would happen if she used bleach granules on her fabric. It ended up looking like constellations, but faded the fabric overall. I love her curiosity! She's definitely a kindred spirit!

The quilt group is figuring out which direction they want to go, but for now they've decided to have a weekly show and tell and work on individual projects. The woman who started the group is teaching some people how to make quilts from start to finish. Many have also agreed to make quilts for local charities. Quilters are generous like that. Here are a few works in progress:

We leave for Maine soon and will be traveling up the Eastern Seaboard. We'd love any tips or ideas you may have! Have a great week!

- Jen

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.

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

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."

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

Trailer Secured!

This past weekend we visited the RV show (yes, again) to make sure we felt good about our trailer model choice. After all, we’ll be toting it all over North America for more than a year. We’ve decided on the 2016 Viking 17BH. It’s small, lightweight, and features bunk beds so our family of five will be able to sleep comfortably when the need arises. Of course, we all had fun looking at the mammoth RV’s that boasted separate rooms full of storage, entertainment centers, kitchens with islands, and expanding walls- but that isn’t what we need for this trip.  It was still fun to look, though! We are happy to announce that the deposit has officially been paid and we pick it up in April! This will give us enough time to prep it for the trip but we won’t have to store it longer than necessary.

Scouting activities sprinkle our schedule over the next few weeks. We’re planning on meeting up with local troops wherever we stay so the kids can participate in outdoor activities and service projects with kids their own age. This will allow them to make new friends but will also help us to contribute to the local community and meet all kinds of people while we’re there. We want to learn about different cultures and places, so this affords us a more personal opportunity to do that. So far, I’ve reached out to a troop in Alaska. They’ve been kind enough to respond that they’ll be happy to receive us when we arrive. Meanwhile, less than five months till launch!

- Jen