1. The curvy, hilly roads that are terrifying in the truck are kind of fun in the Mini.
2. People on the other end of the mic at a drivethru don't care if you're there or not... you can sit there for a couple of minutes without be acknowleged.
3. Trying on clothes is demoralizing.
4. Having a group of bikers gawk at your car as you drive by can turn your whole day around.
5. Being in a room with music is cool. Hearing music from afar sucks. I hate the sound and feel of bass. It brings back my apartment-living days.
And I have a great business idea. Amazing business idea. But I can't share it on the blog. You'll have to wait. But it's awesome. And I have a potential investor.
And we found a house that is feasible. It's owner finance. It's in TN. We really like it. We really want it.
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Thursday, February 7, 2013
127 - Uh-huh
Gained 0.2 lbs today, but I did have soda yesterday. I know. I'm a bad person. But I didn't gain more than 0.5 lbs, so I know it's okay to drink soda. For me. You do what you want to do. Mike experienced a similar gain, but he had to eat on the road so it was expected. Could also be that we drank water later than we're supposed to... we drank what we're supposed to, but there is a ten hour period in there where you stop before bed and then sleep. So I'm still happy with the results. I was still drinking water until 11 pm.
I'm so proud of my baby. He's got the difficult task of cooking in a hotel room, but he is determined, and when he sets his mind to something... watch out. Anyway, armed only with a George Foreman grill, a spork, and one of his "pocket" knives, he made this (I supplied the cheese, hahaha):
Screened in porch
This door leads outside... no lock... no bolt... Not that I've felt unsafe here, but I am a door locker. Not a window licker. A door locker.
Condo porch. The have Swiss Alp looking buildings of four, two on the first floor, two on the second floor. They gave me a key to a second floor condo.
My girl, Scout... just down those stairs... so nice to have her back.
I'm so proud of my baby. He's got the difficult task of cooking in a hotel room, but he is determined, and when he sets his mind to something... watch out. Anyway, armed only with a George Foreman grill, a spork, and one of his "pocket" knives, he made this (I supplied the cheese, hahaha):
While I, with a kitchen, a pot, two pans, a cutting board and lots of cleanup to do afterward... made this:
In my defense, the couch cushion leans a little to the left and I didn't know we were taking photos.
I'm also supposed to have a beet and carrot salad on there but I just couldn't stomach it today. It's literally beets and carrots, I usually shred them and add some lime juice and it tastes okay, but it's a lot of work and the payoff isn't so good. If I had my food processor with me I might have tried, but alas, space is limited and yet again... what I need is... in storage. I had a salad for lunch so I decided to just keep some of the cheese (in the amount that I'm allowed) off to the side instead of putting it all on my zucchini as suggested... because really, cheese on zucchini is a little weird to me. And my point is... I could have subbed a salad for the CBS, but... I didn't want to. So there.
Giving myself time to digest and then I'm having my wine and chocolate. Probably going to town tomorrow to get more wine. I have a ton here, but she wants us to drink reds and I'm a white girl. Yeah. In every way a white girl. This is a really tasty red though, and after I drink tonight's glass, it's gone... so you see... I NEED more. Luckily the vinter is just down the road... a ways... a piece... she's a piece down the road...
So the other exciting thing I did today was tour the cabins versus lake homes versus condos so that I can give my friends and family an idea of where they would stay should they come to visit. The cabins are not bad... a vast improvement to the ones in Florida for sure, they're like an efficiency in layout, no door to the bedroom. The lakehouses... I wouldn't stay in one of those unless I had nowhere else to go... they felt like a thin shelled egg, and while the front door locked... there was a door leading out the back that didn't. WTF? I had originally thought those would be the way to go, but they have absolutely nothing going for them other than proximity to the cafe. The condos are where it's at. That's where I would recommend staying, but I'm a creature of comfort if I have a choice. So here are a bunch of pictures.
The cabin:
Screened in porch
Lake house... no view of the lake...
This door leads outside... no lock... no bolt... Not that I've felt unsafe here, but I am a door locker. Not a window licker. A door locker.
Condo porch. The have Swiss Alp looking buildings of four, two on the first floor, two on the second floor. They gave me a key to a second floor condo.
My girl, Scout... just down those stairs... so nice to have her back.
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
126 - I'm a Loser Baby...
Mike left for West Virginia this morning. He took the truck instead of flying since I have my car. With the drive to the airport, flight times, waiting around to get through security, etc. it was about the same amount of time but he has more freedom and doesn't have to deal with the TSA. That alone is worth it. Ain't nobody got time for that.
We both lost 2 lbs yesterday, so my total is now 7.4 lbs lost and his is 6.6 (he had pizza and beer and still lost so that's good news for him). I realize the first day's loss was mostly water weight, but still, that's pretty cool. Means we didn't react to any of the foods we ate yesterday, and if it continues we should see about a 0.5 lb loss per day from here on out until we encounter a food that disagrees with us. Since we have the same bloodtype and seem to have similar issues, I'm betting that we will test the same on most foods.
Today was the best day yet as far as flavor and feeling full goes. Lunch was a spinach salad with goat's cheese and roasted veggies. I made my own balsamic vinaigrette that was delicious on both. For a snack I had homemade hummus with carrots. Then for dinner I had chicken, a salad, cucumbers, and roasted broccoli. But the best was yet to come... 1 oz of chocolate... and wine. Wine I say. Delicious red wine from a local winery. It's called Wanted: Dog at Large and I thought it was a port when Mike first gave me a taste. It has that same rich, sweet flavor. Yummy.
Mike has the challenge of trying to stick to The Plan while he's away from home. I packed him up with as much as I could, but there are things he has to do on his own. He surprised me, because as much as he's been griping about the food and lack of beer, I think he likes the changes he's seeing. The surprising part is that he made a trip to the grocery store tonight to get supplies to try to cook some of his own food. It's going to be difficult for him, moreso at lunchtime, but I love the fact that he is determined to try. We both complain about our weight, but the overriding factor is how we feel. I'm tired all the time with a few aches and pains, and he's in pain all the time plus he has insomnia. In a lot of ways I do feel better already, and I am definitely sleeping better.
I know the food makes a difference, but I think hands down, the water is probably the biggest component of it. I can see that neither of us was getting nearly enough water. At least when I had my bathtub, for reasons I can't even explain to myself except that it was cold and I took hot baths, I would drink a bottle of water, and then another bottle or two afterward. Since we've been traveling I haven't really had much, I've been drinking soda and cider. The only thing I am not fond of is being so tied to the bathroom, but I hope that once my water levels adjust, that will taper off... it has to... That said... I need something with flavor in it every once in a while. So once I figure out what fruits we can have other than apples, pears and blueberries, I'm probably going to try making some agua fresca. I hate tea. I tried. I bought some Tazo orange, and I was hoping it wouldn't taste like tea... but it did. Same with the dandelion tea. The only teas I seem to tolerate are Passion and Chai (but I've only had that with milk and honey). I just hate tea. It makes me want to gag. I loathe it. Despise it. Would rather drink my own urine (not really). It's just gross.
I don't watch a lot of network tv anymore, but during our satellite outage I found one program that I am loathe to miss: The Chew. It's fun. I loved Clinton Kelly already from What Not to Wear, but he's even more fun on this show. It's part cooking show, part current events, part game show and pure fun. I also enjoy Steve Harvey from time to time, but don't tell anyone, it's my secret.
So not much happened today really. Gracie saw geese and wanted to get at them. I was in the kitchen almost as much as I was in the bathroom. And I took the trash out. Tomorrow I am going to see if I can tour the accomodations, we tried on Monday but everyone is off on Monday, and then we forgot about it... but yeah, I need to step it up, I have people coming out soon and I need to give them choices. :)
We both lost 2 lbs yesterday, so my total is now 7.4 lbs lost and his is 6.6 (he had pizza and beer and still lost so that's good news for him). I realize the first day's loss was mostly water weight, but still, that's pretty cool. Means we didn't react to any of the foods we ate yesterday, and if it continues we should see about a 0.5 lb loss per day from here on out until we encounter a food that disagrees with us. Since we have the same bloodtype and seem to have similar issues, I'm betting that we will test the same on most foods.
Today was the best day yet as far as flavor and feeling full goes. Lunch was a spinach salad with goat's cheese and roasted veggies. I made my own balsamic vinaigrette that was delicious on both. For a snack I had homemade hummus with carrots. Then for dinner I had chicken, a salad, cucumbers, and roasted broccoli. But the best was yet to come... 1 oz of chocolate... and wine. Wine I say. Delicious red wine from a local winery. It's called Wanted: Dog at Large and I thought it was a port when Mike first gave me a taste. It has that same rich, sweet flavor. Yummy.
Mike has the challenge of trying to stick to The Plan while he's away from home. I packed him up with as much as I could, but there are things he has to do on his own. He surprised me, because as much as he's been griping about the food and lack of beer, I think he likes the changes he's seeing. The surprising part is that he made a trip to the grocery store tonight to get supplies to try to cook some of his own food. It's going to be difficult for him, moreso at lunchtime, but I love the fact that he is determined to try. We both complain about our weight, but the overriding factor is how we feel. I'm tired all the time with a few aches and pains, and he's in pain all the time plus he has insomnia. In a lot of ways I do feel better already, and I am definitely sleeping better.
I know the food makes a difference, but I think hands down, the water is probably the biggest component of it. I can see that neither of us was getting nearly enough water. At least when I had my bathtub, for reasons I can't even explain to myself except that it was cold and I took hot baths, I would drink a bottle of water, and then another bottle or two afterward. Since we've been traveling I haven't really had much, I've been drinking soda and cider. The only thing I am not fond of is being so tied to the bathroom, but I hope that once my water levels adjust, that will taper off... it has to... That said... I need something with flavor in it every once in a while. So once I figure out what fruits we can have other than apples, pears and blueberries, I'm probably going to try making some agua fresca. I hate tea. I tried. I bought some Tazo orange, and I was hoping it wouldn't taste like tea... but it did. Same with the dandelion tea. The only teas I seem to tolerate are Passion and Chai (but I've only had that with milk and honey). I just hate tea. It makes me want to gag. I loathe it. Despise it. Would rather drink my own urine (not really). It's just gross.
I don't watch a lot of network tv anymore, but during our satellite outage I found one program that I am loathe to miss: The Chew. It's fun. I loved Clinton Kelly already from What Not to Wear, but he's even more fun on this show. It's part cooking show, part current events, part game show and pure fun. I also enjoy Steve Harvey from time to time, but don't tell anyone, it's my secret.
So not much happened today really. Gracie saw geese and wanted to get at them. I was in the kitchen almost as much as I was in the bathroom. And I took the trash out. Tomorrow I am going to see if I can tour the accomodations, we tried on Monday but everyone is off on Monday, and then we forgot about it... but yeah, I need to step it up, I have people coming out soon and I need to give them choices. :)
Monday, February 4, 2013
125 - Results
I lost five pounds and Mike lost four. I call yesterday a success even if it was mostly water weight.
Today seemed a little easier. We had most of the same foods but I tweaked them a little. I didn't use the coconut milk with the flax, and it was much better. Mike seemed happier with his toast and almond butter (and I was jealous... I'd rather have that). The flax won't be a favorite, but it was at least edible this time. With dinner we got to eat rice in addition to the kale which also made Mike happy. And since we were out most of the day, we had our snack for dessert (pear and almonds).
Hopefully tomorrow we wake up and will have lost weight again. Otherwise, almonds are a problem. And I don't want almonds to be a problem... that would be... a problem.
Not too excited about tomorrow's menu. Breakfast is more of the same... not too bad. Lunch is a soup, but the soup has zucchini and broccoli in it and just doesn't sound appealing. Dinner will be better, chicken, and roasted veggies.
So ready to add cheese and chocolate and steak back into the repertoire. And butter. And salt. I keep telling myself that tomorrow is the last hard day... and hopefully this weight loss continues.
Today seemed a little easier. We had most of the same foods but I tweaked them a little. I didn't use the coconut milk with the flax, and it was much better. Mike seemed happier with his toast and almond butter (and I was jealous... I'd rather have that). The flax won't be a favorite, but it was at least edible this time. With dinner we got to eat rice in addition to the kale which also made Mike happy. And since we were out most of the day, we had our snack for dessert (pear and almonds).
Hopefully tomorrow we wake up and will have lost weight again. Otherwise, almonds are a problem. And I don't want almonds to be a problem... that would be... a problem.
Not too excited about tomorrow's menu. Breakfast is more of the same... not too bad. Lunch is a soup, but the soup has zucchini and broccoli in it and just doesn't sound appealing. Dinner will be better, chicken, and roasted veggies.
So ready to add cheese and chocolate and steak back into the repertoire. And butter. And salt. I keep telling myself that tomorrow is the last hard day... and hopefully this weight loss continues.
Sunday, February 3, 2013
124 - The Plan, Day 1
So today we started The Plan. We managed to make it through our daily water requirements without issue, and as an added bonus I've gotten a lot of exercise going back and forth to the bathroom to pee. So here are my thoughts...
She claims that people love the flax granola, that they become addicted to it and don't want to branch out when other breakfast foods become an option. I cannot imagine who these 'people' are. The unsweetened coconut milk tastes like water, the granola itself has no flavor so the only way I can stand it is to make sure that every bite also has blueberries in it. Now granted, she also says (and I've heard this before on various diets) that your tastebuds are overloaded from processed foods and will go through a reset period during the first three days, meaning that in the future you will be able to taste flavors you've been missing out on because of all the salt and flavor enhancers. I already miss salt. The best part? The longer the flax sits in the milk, the more this gooey stuff starts to ooze out of it. So, personally, I can't wait to be able to eat toast with almond butter on it. Mike is going to go ahead and do that because the flax was brutal and didn't agree with him. At all. Gonna leave it at that.
Lunch... I spent a lot of time in the kitchen peeling and chopping carrots. It smelled pretty good even if carrots aren't my favorite. I had high hopes. I also put together a salad of greens, pears, sunflower seeds, and topped it with lime juice. And there was the roasted broccoli with orange oil. The salad and broccoli were good. The soup was... well... it was there... in my spoon... It was just bland and didn't satisfy either of us. I was starving before I ate, and once I finished eating, I was still starving. There was plenty of food, I think it's just that there is not enough flavor. Or maybe I didn't eat enough, because she says most people can't finish the food. Am I a freak? I don't know. It's too bad that we don't have rabbits... they would have been in heaven with all the carrot peels I tossed in the trash today.
We had an apple for a snack. It was delicious. Hands down my favorite meal of the day.
Dinner had me back in the kitchen. More carrots. Shredded carrots and shredded beets with lime juice. Can't wait to see what that does to my gut. And sauteed kale 'with vegetables'... shiitake mushrooms... that's what 'vegetables' were with the kale. So I added garlic (which is allowed) and sauteed it, then added the sunflower seeds in the recipe and topped it with diced avocado and spicy coco sauce. The coco sauce has potential, but it needs salt. It was actually good, I like the flavor of it, but it also didn't satiate my hunger.
So basically, we are still hungry... so we had a piece of bread with butter. It's not on today's menu, but it was a low reactive food and I felt like it was a safe option. And we had the other half of the avocado. And Mike is torturing me now with the smell of pizza because he gave in. Caver.
Tomorrow is more of the same pretty much. Tuesday will be a little easier. Each day after that will be better, but I can't wait to eat chicken again. I think I need to eat meat to feel full. And it would be nice if today was a chocolate day... even one ounce would be nice.
Mike's not a happy camper. He usually raves about my cooking, and he's still raving about it, but today it was not complimentary, hahaha. It's nothing I did, we agree it's just a lack of flavor in general. I did my best with what I had. If all goes well I will drop weight. I figure as little water as I was drinking, that alone will get rid of a few pounds.
Interestingly, I had pizza yesterday and this morning I was up three pounds. In a single day. She says that pizza is a bad one for people because the cheese most restaurants use is not really cheese, the tomato sauce has citric acid in it and tomato sauce in general is highly reactive for most people, and the crust has a lot more gluten in it. She said you typically gain one pound for every slice you eat... I ate two and gained three pounds... so as usual I am a bit of an overachiever. Yea for me.
I do not look forward to breakfast...
She claims that people love the flax granola, that they become addicted to it and don't want to branch out when other breakfast foods become an option. I cannot imagine who these 'people' are. The unsweetened coconut milk tastes like water, the granola itself has no flavor so the only way I can stand it is to make sure that every bite also has blueberries in it. Now granted, she also says (and I've heard this before on various diets) that your tastebuds are overloaded from processed foods and will go through a reset period during the first three days, meaning that in the future you will be able to taste flavors you've been missing out on because of all the salt and flavor enhancers. I already miss salt. The best part? The longer the flax sits in the milk, the more this gooey stuff starts to ooze out of it. So, personally, I can't wait to be able to eat toast with almond butter on it. Mike is going to go ahead and do that because the flax was brutal and didn't agree with him. At all. Gonna leave it at that.
Lunch... I spent a lot of time in the kitchen peeling and chopping carrots. It smelled pretty good even if carrots aren't my favorite. I had high hopes. I also put together a salad of greens, pears, sunflower seeds, and topped it with lime juice. And there was the roasted broccoli with orange oil. The salad and broccoli were good. The soup was... well... it was there... in my spoon... It was just bland and didn't satisfy either of us. I was starving before I ate, and once I finished eating, I was still starving. There was plenty of food, I think it's just that there is not enough flavor. Or maybe I didn't eat enough, because she says most people can't finish the food. Am I a freak? I don't know. It's too bad that we don't have rabbits... they would have been in heaven with all the carrot peels I tossed in the trash today.
We had an apple for a snack. It was delicious. Hands down my favorite meal of the day.
Dinner had me back in the kitchen. More carrots. Shredded carrots and shredded beets with lime juice. Can't wait to see what that does to my gut. And sauteed kale 'with vegetables'... shiitake mushrooms... that's what 'vegetables' were with the kale. So I added garlic (which is allowed) and sauteed it, then added the sunflower seeds in the recipe and topped it with diced avocado and spicy coco sauce. The coco sauce has potential, but it needs salt. It was actually good, I like the flavor of it, but it also didn't satiate my hunger.
So basically, we are still hungry... so we had a piece of bread with butter. It's not on today's menu, but it was a low reactive food and I felt like it was a safe option. And we had the other half of the avocado. And Mike is torturing me now with the smell of pizza because he gave in. Caver.
Tomorrow is more of the same pretty much. Tuesday will be a little easier. Each day after that will be better, but I can't wait to eat chicken again. I think I need to eat meat to feel full. And it would be nice if today was a chocolate day... even one ounce would be nice.
Mike's not a happy camper. He usually raves about my cooking, and he's still raving about it, but today it was not complimentary, hahaha. It's nothing I did, we agree it's just a lack of flavor in general. I did my best with what I had. If all goes well I will drop weight. I figure as little water as I was drinking, that alone will get rid of a few pounds.
Interestingly, I had pizza yesterday and this morning I was up three pounds. In a single day. She says that pizza is a bad one for people because the cheese most restaurants use is not really cheese, the tomato sauce has citric acid in it and tomato sauce in general is highly reactive for most people, and the crust has a lot more gluten in it. She said you typically gain one pound for every slice you eat... I ate two and gained three pounds... so as usual I am a bit of an overachiever. Yea for me.
I do not look forward to breakfast...
Friday, February 1, 2013
123 - Thar She Blows
The first time winter weather blew into the park it was a little scary because the wind really picked up and I told people it was almost like going through another hurricane. It was so crazy that I compared it to Ike. Once when I attempted to peek out and see that everything was secure, I could barely open the door against the push of the wind. Guess that's a drawback to our great spot on the end by the water... we are the windbreak for everyone and everything behind us, and the water does nothing to slow the wind... but most days it's just gorgeous and there's nothing to complain about. So anyway... the awnings that we put on top of our slides to keep the debris off (official term: slide toppers) flap in the wind whether it's a low breeze or gale force winds. Sometimes they sound like gremlins jumping on top of the roof, sometimes they sound more like a low rumble, and other times it just sounds like someone is outside the RV looking into your storage compartment... but I checked, and no one was. :)
I think at the time Mike thought I was overreacting when I mentioned the how hard the wind was blowing. And when I said that I didn't want to be out on the roads after the sun went down if it was supposed to be rainy and cold. And I think all that changed last night - last night's cold front was nothing to sneeze at.
I knew it was coming, just not when. We were at around 60 degrees during the day and the low was expected to be around 28 degrees. Since it stayed in the 50's until well after dark I figured we were in for some pretty strong gusts; this was not my first rodeo. Just like last time, you could feel the wind hit the side of the RV, see the recliner start to rock, and then the slide toppers went crazy. At one point Mike muted the tv because he thought the rumble might be a tornado. Since the temp was supposed to be well below freezing, we had to switch to gravity feed versus city water, but we hadn't gotten around to filling the tank just yet... So out I went... The RV blocked the wind pretty well, but just listening to the wind howl and tear through the trees was pretty intimidating. When everything was done I went back inside, but I almost couldn't get the door open. There's not much to grab onto, our door handle is more like a latch, and the wind was incredible so it took some doing, and then once I pried it open I had to hold onto it so it wouldn't slam into the side of the RV and get pinned there. Lasted about two hours, and then it was over. There was a little sleet, but nothing that stuck, and thankfully no hail.
Today, on the other hand, was gorgeous. We went into town, back to the awesome Thai restaurant we found. The lady who runs the place is a hoot. This was the second time she gave us sake after we'd paid the bill. She likes Mike's cowboy hat, but I got the hug. After that it was off to Walmart to return a couple of things (and for once, we didn't replace them with anything - WE WALKED OUT EMPTY HANDED!!!). Drove around for a while and stopped into a bar to hang out with a friend, but the place was too damn smoky. We lasted about a minute. I just can't tolerate it anymore, I don't like the smell, but it was also so thick that it bothered me physically. My throat is actually scratchy right now. So we went to a little shopping area, looked around, and had dinner at a nice Mexican restaurant before heading home.
Before we hit the road this morning we stopped in to say hi to Mary Rose, the lady who sold us our membership. She's very nice and we clicked and I've been meaning to make my way over there but I got busy and time somehow slipped away from me. Anyway, as we were talking I realized that even if we do get the house in TN, which... who knows... not everyone is keen on lease to own or is in a position to owner finance but I'm still hopeful... I could, conceivably, work here and live in the RV and come 'home' on my days off. It's about a three hour drive, so it's about like going to Austin for the weekend, which is something I did quite often when Mike and I were dating. And she mentioned that if you work over 40 hours, which sounded like a real possibility, you can use it as comp time, so I could save that up for when Mike will be home and we can have a long weekend. It's not much money, but it's probably fairly flexible, and it's close, and the salary might include the week we have to pay for each month. Huntsville is a hike and I just don't know if I'm ready to be a professional again, but I do know I wouldn't look forward to the drive and the traffic, especially with the weather they have around here. The stress that I feel like I just got rid of would come flooding back in no time. If the owner finance deal doesn't work out, it's a job that I would keep at least until September/October, and all or part of it could be put aside toward a downpayment. I talked to the manager a couple of days ago and he seemed very interested in me until I told him we were probably here until March or April and then the fire died down, so maybe this will reignite his passion, hahaha.
So that was our day. It's 12:30 now and I wish I was sleepy... I'm getting there but I'm not exhausted yet and I know that if I get in bed now I'll just lie there wishing I could sleep, so I guess I'll see what's on tv. Good night everyone. :)
I think at the time Mike thought I was overreacting when I mentioned the how hard the wind was blowing. And when I said that I didn't want to be out on the roads after the sun went down if it was supposed to be rainy and cold. And I think all that changed last night - last night's cold front was nothing to sneeze at.
I knew it was coming, just not when. We were at around 60 degrees during the day and the low was expected to be around 28 degrees. Since it stayed in the 50's until well after dark I figured we were in for some pretty strong gusts; this was not my first rodeo. Just like last time, you could feel the wind hit the side of the RV, see the recliner start to rock, and then the slide toppers went crazy. At one point Mike muted the tv because he thought the rumble might be a tornado. Since the temp was supposed to be well below freezing, we had to switch to gravity feed versus city water, but we hadn't gotten around to filling the tank just yet... So out I went... The RV blocked the wind pretty well, but just listening to the wind howl and tear through the trees was pretty intimidating. When everything was done I went back inside, but I almost couldn't get the door open. There's not much to grab onto, our door handle is more like a latch, and the wind was incredible so it took some doing, and then once I pried it open I had to hold onto it so it wouldn't slam into the side of the RV and get pinned there. Lasted about two hours, and then it was over. There was a little sleet, but nothing that stuck, and thankfully no hail.
Today, on the other hand, was gorgeous. We went into town, back to the awesome Thai restaurant we found. The lady who runs the place is a hoot. This was the second time she gave us sake after we'd paid the bill. She likes Mike's cowboy hat, but I got the hug. After that it was off to Walmart to return a couple of things (and for once, we didn't replace them with anything - WE WALKED OUT EMPTY HANDED!!!). Drove around for a while and stopped into a bar to hang out with a friend, but the place was too damn smoky. We lasted about a minute. I just can't tolerate it anymore, I don't like the smell, but it was also so thick that it bothered me physically. My throat is actually scratchy right now. So we went to a little shopping area, looked around, and had dinner at a nice Mexican restaurant before heading home.
Before we hit the road this morning we stopped in to say hi to Mary Rose, the lady who sold us our membership. She's very nice and we clicked and I've been meaning to make my way over there but I got busy and time somehow slipped away from me. Anyway, as we were talking I realized that even if we do get the house in TN, which... who knows... not everyone is keen on lease to own or is in a position to owner finance but I'm still hopeful... I could, conceivably, work here and live in the RV and come 'home' on my days off. It's about a three hour drive, so it's about like going to Austin for the weekend, which is something I did quite often when Mike and I were dating. And she mentioned that if you work over 40 hours, which sounded like a real possibility, you can use it as comp time, so I could save that up for when Mike will be home and we can have a long weekend. It's not much money, but it's probably fairly flexible, and it's close, and the salary might include the week we have to pay for each month. Huntsville is a hike and I just don't know if I'm ready to be a professional again, but I do know I wouldn't look forward to the drive and the traffic, especially with the weather they have around here. The stress that I feel like I just got rid of would come flooding back in no time. If the owner finance deal doesn't work out, it's a job that I would keep at least until September/October, and all or part of it could be put aside toward a downpayment. I talked to the manager a couple of days ago and he seemed very interested in me until I told him we were probably here until March or April and then the fire died down, so maybe this will reignite his passion, hahaha.
So that was our day. It's 12:30 now and I wish I was sleepy... I'm getting there but I'm not exhausted yet and I know that if I get in bed now I'll just lie there wishing I could sleep, so I guess I'll see what's on tv. Good night everyone. :)
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
122 - The Hubs is Home
After three looooooooooooooong weeks, Mike is home again. And he brought Scout (my car).
I was in an accident over a year ago. This woman who was driving a daycare van came into my lane and I was unable to avoid the collision despite honking and moving over as far as I could. Insurance paid for the repairs but it pissed me off because my car was about six months old at the time... basically brand new. Fast forward to last week when Mike is getting routine maintenance done and points out that you can see the belts in one of my tires, and I only have 16,000 miles on the car. Apparently, the alignment is off and the only way to get it back into camber is to replace the struts. It's barely out of alignment, but it's enough to cause ongoing issues with my tires and those puppies ain't cheap. So I've had to reopen the claim, and I will have to take it to the shop to get an estimate, wait for the inspector to determine that it results from the accident, and then I can take it in to get it fixed. In short, a hassle, and I can only hope she gets it all back in spades... you may think that's harsh, but she lied and said I came into her lane, then refused to speak to the insurance company, so I got stuck paying my deductible (and there were kids in the van who could have been injured because she wasn't paying attention)... and I got stuck paying for the alignment and a new tire - which will hopefully be covered by the claim but there is no guarantee.
Yesterday we ran around town for most of the day, then to kill time we went to a state park. We thought we'd walk a trail and take pics then head back to the car and go to dinner. What could go wrong?
It seems impossible that a trail can be uphill all the way. It's confusing when a trail is multiple choice and you don't know which option to take. It's disconcerting when your trail turns into a logging road then disappears. It's cause for concern when the sun starts to set and you're still in the woods. It sucks when you finally find a road and have to walk down it for about a mile before you get back to your car. Sucks even more when a park ranger stops to talk to you but doesn't offer you a ride. Even after you mention you are lost.
So we were tired... and a little cold... but we made it out and headed to dinner at Wentzell's. Oysters were good, the rest was eh. Today we ran more errands and had lunch at a cool Thai restaurant in town. Food was good, owner was awesome, we got a free bottle of saki. Got our hair cut... I miss Missy... Went to a winery run by another awesome lady. They have lemon wine and cranberry wine. Lemon is my new favorite.
And now it's picture time:
This was our plug... documenting it for insurance but never posted it...
Birds nests
Mike got some good shots of the water fowl this morning
I was in an accident over a year ago. This woman who was driving a daycare van came into my lane and I was unable to avoid the collision despite honking and moving over as far as I could. Insurance paid for the repairs but it pissed me off because my car was about six months old at the time... basically brand new. Fast forward to last week when Mike is getting routine maintenance done and points out that you can see the belts in one of my tires, and I only have 16,000 miles on the car. Apparently, the alignment is off and the only way to get it back into camber is to replace the struts. It's barely out of alignment, but it's enough to cause ongoing issues with my tires and those puppies ain't cheap. So I've had to reopen the claim, and I will have to take it to the shop to get an estimate, wait for the inspector to determine that it results from the accident, and then I can take it in to get it fixed. In short, a hassle, and I can only hope she gets it all back in spades... you may think that's harsh, but she lied and said I came into her lane, then refused to speak to the insurance company, so I got stuck paying my deductible (and there were kids in the van who could have been injured because she wasn't paying attention)... and I got stuck paying for the alignment and a new tire - which will hopefully be covered by the claim but there is no guarantee.
Yesterday we ran around town for most of the day, then to kill time we went to a state park. We thought we'd walk a trail and take pics then head back to the car and go to dinner. What could go wrong?
It seems impossible that a trail can be uphill all the way. It's confusing when a trail is multiple choice and you don't know which option to take. It's disconcerting when your trail turns into a logging road then disappears. It's cause for concern when the sun starts to set and you're still in the woods. It sucks when you finally find a road and have to walk down it for about a mile before you get back to your car. Sucks even more when a park ranger stops to talk to you but doesn't offer you a ride. Even after you mention you are lost.
So we were tired... and a little cold... but we made it out and headed to dinner at Wentzell's. Oysters were good, the rest was eh. Today we ran more errands and had lunch at a cool Thai restaurant in town. Food was good, owner was awesome, we got a free bottle of saki. Got our hair cut... I miss Missy... Went to a winery run by another awesome lady. They have lemon wine and cranberry wine. Lemon is my new favorite.
And now it's picture time:
This was our plug... documenting it for insurance but never posted it...
Birds nests
Mike got some good shots of the water fowl this morning
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