Prayers for Boston...

I really don't want to believe that this is going to be our "new normal".

Thoughts and prayers to all affected by the tragedy at the Boston Marathon yesterday.

"T minus 4" Tuesday...

11:00am - Oh, I don't think I am ever going to make this deadline.  I am overwhelmed and just want to curl up into a ball.

It's snowing and I can't get things into the van to put into storage.

I am a little surprised that people who I thought were friends have never offered me any type of help, knowing it's just me... no husband, and no sons in town to help.  Just having someone come by for encouragement would have been nice.  I have two good friends who have been able to help where needed and I really appreciate them :)  Thank you C. and J.  But otherwise, no one else has made comment.  So really, what is the measure of a friend?  How many true friends do we have?  I fear that many of the people we considered friends,  really may have not been friends at all... they were only acquaintances.

I guess am a little growl-y today.  I am sorry.

7:00pm - Well I finally was able to load some stuff into storage in between snow flurries at about 1pm.  I feel better about the space... lots still available, but now I am afraid I may run out of boxes!  Never ending stress, I guess.

I actually had an emotional meltdown in the middle of the afternoon.  In tears and everything.  Lots of memories and the enormity of the task before me.  But I almost have the back bedroom cleared for cleaning tomorrow!  Still have lots more to do tonight, and if I take a break for longer than 5 minutes, I have a difficult time getting back up!

And, I am doing a load of laundry that I will be putting onto hangars and hanging in the van tonight.  First step toward making it my home.

Also, I got word today that I got my first web page building job!!  So excited.

I guess it is all going to work out after all.  Just need to keep plugging away at it for now.

And I guess I should apologize for my comments earlier about friends offering help.  I was humbled in my thought process later in the day that this whole mess was created by me and my "collections" so why should anyone else be burdened with the moving of it all?  That put it into prospective.  Of course I tell my sons that my stuff is the reason I gave birth to them... to help me move it around!  lol  So if anyone was offended, please forgive me.

:)

"T minus 7" Saturday...

In seven days, next Saturday, I am supposed to be out of my rental.  I still have a lot of boxes to pack into storage, and to clean all the rooms.  The garage is cleared, but there is still a yard sale going on.  I was going to do one for 5 days, but snow is predicted for Monday so I will be wrapping it up tomorrow afternoon.  There was a lady from a church in town who said they are having a big rummage sale, and could she pack away what I had left?  Can she?  Can she!?  I feel so blessed!  One less thing I will have to think about.

I am really looking forward to the simplicity of life that living in the van will bring... especially after dealing with all the chaos of my stuff.  Some things are really difficult to part with, but I am proud of what I have been able to let go of.  Kudos to me!

But also on that note... I don't believe I can let go of the smaller storage unit.  I am going to need all the room I have with both of the units I've rented.  Too much stuff for sure.

:)

And More Boxes...

Still up to my eyeballs in boxes and stuff, but I am feeling quite positive about it all.  Just making my way through them one at a time and sorting things through.  I asked my landlord for a few more days and it's ok with him.  This will leave me fewer days to paint ceilings for a friend, but I am pretty sure I can get that done in a week.  My planned leave-town date is the 28th.

Tomorrow I am headed out of town for a few days, not the best timing, but it will be a nice reprieve.  When I return, I am having a 5 day yard sale.  Sure hoping the weather will be decent.  After that, everything goes either to the dump or to Goodwill.

It's sunny today, 43*, with a 26mph wind coming from the NNW so it feels more like low 30's, and I was stacking boxes in the van to take to the storage unit.  I climbed in, shut the doors, and just sat and looked around.  I can't wait to make this van my home.  It is so comfy and secure feeling.  I couldn't hear the wind, and it didn't shake the van.  My new little home will be solid and safe.

There are little things I want to fix, but I'm sure it will get worn (and furry) with the cats and I in it after just a short while.  I found some heavy sheet material in my boxes that will be perfect for a curtain across the back of the front seats for privacy.  A spring rod will fit nicely.  Pretty bright and cheery, don't you think?

OK, well back to the boxes I go!

:)

Boxes...

Well I sold my lawn mower yesterday, and several people stopped to see the stuff I had out in the yard while I was cleaning out the garage, so I made a few dollars.  Yay!

I managed to put 26 banana boxes into storage at the end of the day.  Here is a pic of the beginning of my stacking.  I found a larger unit and will be moving everything my sons moved into a smaller one into here, after my last day in the rental house, which is supposed to be the 15th.

I got sidetracked from my Green Drink on Tuesday by a pizza, and on Wednesday by a cheese enchilada, so I am starting out the day with my drink even though I don't usually do breakfast.  Having coffee seems like blasphemy, but I so enjoy my coffee.  I have given it up before, and probably will have to in the future, but I realize I just really like drinking coffee.  Today's drink will have kale and raspberries in it :)

The weather is mid-50's with 60% chance of rain.  I would so rather just crawl under the blankets to make the world go away!  Not sure if I will have the garage door up and the Sale sign out or not.  I'm trying to get everything in the garage taken care of so I can have all of my "for sale items" in there.  I've had a couple yard sales in my house (weather cold and no room for anywhere else), one or two now in my yard (warmed up a bit and sunny), and now in the garage (cleared out enough and raining).  Still planning to be out in time, but I am slightly beginning to doubt it.


:]

Totally Overwhelmed...

I am up to my eyeballs in boxes, and I have two weeks to move out, with a break of three days for a short trip with friends in the middle.  Everything I have is not going to fit into the small storage unit I've rented so now I am looking for something bigger and will end up moving everything my kids moved for me over Spring Break from the original storage unit to the newer, bigger one!  I have so many boxes still in the garage to go through, I know I won't have the time, and on top of that, I'm trying to have an ongoing yard sale in order to get rid of things and make a little cash.  Unfortunately, the spring weather is NOT cooperating and the sale will have to be in the garage which means everything that is not for sale needs to get out of there because people go through everything, and I don't have any more room in the house for boxes... despite the the fact that I now have little furniture.  Does it sound like I am running in circles?  I am.

:]

Turning over new leaves...

No joke... seeing as it is April 1st.  I have wanted to make some changes in my life, but never seemed to find the time, so I am hoping this drastic change of events will propel me in the new directions I've been wanting to go.

First on the list:  Eat Healthier

I purchased a NutriBullet online, and made my first Green Drink today.  It consisted of Organic Spring Mix greens, a banana, and half an apple, and a little water.  I forgot to add the "superfood" mix I also purchased.  I also think I'll add more water next time because it was fairly thick.  It will take a little getting used to, but it was pretty tasty.  My plan is to have one each day.  I need to read the recipe book.

Second on the list:  Floss

Yes, I have been told this for years, just like you, but I just never do it.  I had my yearly teeth cleaning this morning and the hygienist said if I didn't start flossing regularly, I could be looking at some major periodontal problems with my gums in another year or two.  OK, sounds like this is pretty important so I had better get at it.

Third on the list:  Lead a more active lifestyle

The plan is to use my bicycle when I have the van parked.  I thought I could attach it to the ladder on the back of the van.  My son says no, because the ladder is only held on with 4 screws.  My other son says I should get one of those bike holders that slide into the hitch.  Well, I can't really afford that, so I now figure I can actually hang my bike from the roof rack, and adhere it to the ladder with a couple of bungee cords, and a lock.  I'll keep an eye on the screws, but the rack should actually be supporting the weight.

I feel exhausted now with all these new leaves already.

Cats have an appointment to get their rabies shots at 3:00.  More on them at a later date.

:)

Guess I jumped the gun...

I realized I shared what was keeping me awake, without sharing what the Great Adventure is that lays before me!

Well....

In a nutshell: I lost my job, I was behind on rent, I needed to move out before I owed my landlord any more money and if I am going to live in a house on wheels, I might as well go somewhere, right?

I found a paper I typed in the 80's where I wrote that my desires were to travel and to be more artistic.  Now, 30 years later, my desires are still the same, and I am being given the opportunity to do just those things.

Besides living in the van and traveling around without time constraints, I am also starting my own web page design business, and making/selling jewelry.  They say to be careful of what you wish for... we shall see.

The long story is something I don't wish to totally share at this time, but losing my job was not because of something I did wrong... I was a "student temporary" working with the Forest Service, and through a series of 9 events over the course of 13 months, only 1 of which I had any control over, I was out of the position.  Considering that I originally thought I would be working for six weeks, and ended up working for 27 months... it was a good run!


:)

What kept me awake tonight...

I am at that age where I often have a difficult time falling asleep.  Mostly it is due to the fact that I start thinking of all sorts of things that I didn't have a chance to think about during the day while I was busy with other things.

So tonight, as I was trying to get comfortable on the sofa (bed is in storage in Arizona) I began to think of how to stay relatively clean while living in the van.  Birdie Baths for sure because I am not going to be able to afford a campground each night.

Then I remembered the solar shower we rigged up on our property in Eastern Washington when we camped there.  The water sometimes almost got too hot in fact, while the bag was laying in the sun.  I could attach it so that it lay on top of the van, and it would warm up pretty quickly there.  I might even be able to actually shower, if I were in a remote place, at the back of the van with the doors open and a curtain across the two doors... hmmm.  It holds a lot of water but if I warmed only part, I could add water to get the temperature just right for the shower.  If it's a Birdie Bath, then I can just add cooler water to the pan in the van.

So I got up and checked the internet.  Walmart has a 5-gallon Coleman Solar Shower for $6.88.  Can't beat that!  Guess I can go back to bed now.

:)