Autumn Takes A Break

To the beach. Yes, that is twice in like three months. It's a good year.

There is nothing better than a Pony weekend. This summer's birthday girls requested a beach trip since the lake house is no longer available.

On top of that I had other family coming to Texas and wanting to visit the day we returned. So I had to get creative and come up with something other than them coming here as I don't even have room for four more people to sit.

I took the girls and dogs to their grandma in Fort Worth. Then I drove back here so I could ride to Gulf Shores with my friends. A 13 hour ride.... Which was a blast.

The weekend was spent on the beach. Like 10am to 2 am. Both days. And til 2 the first night also. Have I mentioned what hard core sun worshippers my friends are?

Unfortunately I wasn't well most of the time and was napping in the air conditioning until the sun was ready to go down.



No worries. Night time was beautiful and it was the weekend of the super moon.


All too soon it was time to go home. Since I had another two hour drive after getting back to town I was lucky to find two other moms in a hurry to get home. So we were up and gone at 6:00am and home before the other car even hit Texas.



But we didn't rub it in or anything. And yes we did make it in 11 hours instead of 13.

After that I headed back to Ft worth to pick up the girls and meet other family in Arlington.

We surprised the littles with a trip to Six Flags. Mouse loves her cousin Sweetheart. I'm not sure which of the two surprises Mouse loved more- her cousin or the park.


Of course it is not allowed for us to spend any time with family that other people don't cause drama and cast a nasty pall over our time. So in the end the only thing that made the trip worth how I killed myself to make it happen was the joy of the cousins in each other. That's all they know and will remember so its all good.

Now we are back to the tin can. Everyone is worn out in a good way.

It was a great break!

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Windows in Wide Open Fields

The last of the wedding quilts has now been delivered. Wishing I could start something new but there is just no way in the trailer. I can hardly fit a computer on the table. A sewing machine is out of the question with our limited resources.

My nephew and his lady finally tied the knot last weekend. Of course we have claimed her as family for years, but now its official. All I can say is....what was she thinking????? LOL! Just kidding!


Their quilt is another Pinterest find. T had commented on it after I pinned it so I decided to go ahead and make it from them. The original can be found here at a blog called juicy bits. The creator saw some buildings in a field and created it from that visual.

My version is a little different as there are no instructions on how she did it so I had to make it up as I went along. I was short on my yardage guessing and made a cutting mistake so I ended up with six "buildings" instead of five. I like the odd number better but it still turned out well.

I don't have the skill and did not have the time to play with the quilting so I did wiggly lines through the blues and then what I am calling crop rows through the green. The orange windows I left unquilted so they would stand out a little more.

It is probably the largest quilt I have done so far. Was really loving my new machine with the wider throat to work with. This is on a king size bed.

For the back I found a cool cityscape fabric and used up some of the extra front fabric to insure I had enough coverage.

A look at the quilting. Nothing fancy here. Quick was the name of the game.

I used orange for the binding as it was what I had the most left over of. It also brought out the orange in the backing fabric.

And that is the last of my quilts until we finally have a home for our own. I have a whole list of people I want to make for so I need to get busy. Too many ideals in my head...I need to create them and free up some space up there.

Trailer Tales Two: The Blood and Guts Edition

...or, how Girl Scouts comes in handy again.

With Hubs gone on his next rotation, the trailer isn't feeling as cramped. This is a good thing as the snipping and fighting drove me to a meltdown of mammoth proportions that may or may not have resulted in my dropping the F-bomb on my children in the middle of one of their fights...while I was on the phone...and had already tried to get them to stop twice with zero results.

Thank goodness it was my sister on the phone and not a business call. Oy.

Since we will not be closing on the dream house and have to start the hunt all over again in mid July, we also decided we had enough with the occasional wifi. We now have our own Internet and this has appeased the wild animals and resulted in less bickering.

Shut- up and get on the computer. # Things you'd never thought you would hear yourself say to your children.

Cooking is at a minimum. With lack of prep and clean up space it's just not a fun thing to do. Lots of sandwiches and Mac n cheese. # Things you never thought you would feed your children every day. I'm over it.

Our most fun issue with the trailer this week was the bloody one. Songbird got tangled up in one of the dogs lines while trying to enter the trailer with her hands full, and fell on her knee onto the metal steps while in a fully flexed position. Sliced into the joint like butter.

So here is where Girl Scouts come in. Scouts teaches first aide at every level. If you go through scouts for years you have had it several times with more age appropriate training each time. And as a leader I had to have CPR and first aide every two years.

So the three of us handled the crisis very well. Even with the pain, crying and screaming, dogs upset and confusion.

Mouse followed orders quickly and supplied me with the towel to use for pressure on the wound. Songbird knew just how to apply that pressure. And I didn't freak when I saw her kneecap. We had the situation under control, the dogs back in the trailer and everyone back in the car for a trip to the ER in about five minutes time.



Notice the lack of blood! Part is where the cut is located and the other is Songbirds skill in applying pressure. To herself. Way to go kid.



It's a nasty trailer bite but the kneecap was not harmed. The scar will be ugly.

Since my kids are older I didn't think about the steps. I know I would have if they had been smaller. But here's a heads up for those staying in a rv with metal steps- be careful. Fall away from them if possible.

Of course this happened a couple of days after I ended up in Urgent Care after my left lower eyelid, tonsil, ear and neck swelled with an infection. Only the left side. Doctors claim I'm weird. Lol. I'm just happy to have the new insurance that is paying for all this.

So that's it for this edition of trailer tales. It's getting easier in some ways, and harder in others.

No telling what next week brings.
But you know what? Even with an ER visit a month in the trailer is cheaper than a week in a hotel.
Love it.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

For My Friend....The New RETIREE Dependent!!!

My friend Sandra over at Dairy of a Stay at Home Mom is beginning the journey that is the adjustment to civilian life. Soon they will be leaving their last base and heading for their first civilian home. I am enjoying watching their journey as it seems to be going so much better than ours......

LOL!

But then anyone that knows us know that we are incredibly blessed. We just have to go through the most possible solvable problems and hassles to get there. But we do get there.

Anyways, Sandra posted about the journey they are about to embark on and the fact that they will be stuck in a hotel for about a month. With two dogs and two kids (plus a few extras). Sound familiar?

Her journey will be rather different than ours. But on many levels it will be very much the same. Lots of people living in one tiny space.

One big challenge for their family will be food. We have a kitchen. They have a refrigerator and a microwave. It was her brainstorming on how to make that work that prompted this post. I started to comment with some suggestions and realized I had too much to say.

So this one is for you Sandra!

The crockpot IS awesome. Unfortunately most of my recipes are for real foods and this can be a hassle for clean-up reasons. Thank goodness for the internet and access to recipes full of cans and boxes and precuts. LOL. Its amazing how much stress it takes off to "cheat" and use these recipes. It seems like it would be so easy to cross contaminate in such a small place so I am doing the unheard of and buying meats already cut so I don't use a cutting board with them. This place is on septic which bleaches are harmful to so I am just sucking it up and wasting that money (in my eyes) for now. Pre-cut veggies. Cream of soups...all these things I usually avoid.

A electric water kettle is a very good thing to have. It will make your tea in the morning/afternoon/night and the kids can use it to make ramen if they get hungry. Also, any of the canned soups that you use a can of water with? Heat the water in the kettle and mix a can of the hot water in. No stove. Soup in two and a half minutes. MUCH less time than the microwave even. (This comes in handy with a sick person that needs a quick chicken soup meal.) (And I will admit...I am a tea snob. Do NOT mirco my tea water.)

We use a cheap toaster alot. Pop-tarts (the kids think they have died and gone to heaven), waffles, toast. Great for a quick breakfast with little to no clean-up.  (And didn't you make some of those pretty dish drain towels with the cloth on one side and towel on the other? Bring them!)

Does your hotel have a place you can grill? We have a camping propane grill that folds up small. Some hotels we have stayed at had their own grills. Or you can find the pubic parks or campgrounds in the area and use theirs for a change of pace and a chance to get out of the little bitty living space and let the dogs and kids play. (Remember a couple of lines to stake the dogs with as most places require they are leashed...but a leash is just too short for any real time enjoying the outdoors. And some folding chairs which are easy enough to pick up when you get there.)

Some things we have but don't really use: pop corn popper - just use the micro; rice cooker - clean up is just too much; small food processor - just buy the pre-cuts. The amount of stress, time and frustration saved from trying to do something in a inadequate space is worth its weight in gold.

We have our favorite tea cups and a handful of other cups to drink from, and a "picnic set" which is a case with knives, forks and spoons and a can opener, but otherwise its disposable. Another wasteful practice most of the time -- but see clean up above. LOL. Oh, and sandwich bags, freezer bags, snack bags....don't leave home without them.

We have a handful of clothes pins that get used for a million things. Also, an expandable shower rod which we hang in the bathtub so all our towels have a place to dry. I even put some of those cafe curtain clips on rings over it to clip little things up like wash clothes. Pulls down fast and easy and takes no space to store in between uses.

If you have any little personal fans they are good to have. Even a cold room can be stuffy. We have fans for every bed. We also carry a "dog sheet" that we throw over the furniture. It not only saves the couch, it is cooler for them to lay on.

A kid attitude adjustment tool for us is a membership to the Y. Ours is like $68 for the whole family and they have a computer room, a game room and the best outdoor pool in town. Worth its weight. Plus for us the showers are a plus since our bathtub/shower is more of a storage and laundry closet at the moment.

Another really great thing I have is something that will charge multiple devices from one plug. On Amazon I found a radio (that will play your phone music also) that will charge up to six devices -- phones, kindle, ipads, ipods, mps players. Hotel rooms never have enough plugs. I'm sure you have at least 4 computers along with the kindle and phones. At the very least carry a power strip with you for the computers and one for the kitchen appliances you take.

Our own personal blankies have been the best emotional comfort. Familiar and well loved...well worth the space they took up in the car.

Good luck to you Sandra! Don't know if this helped any or if you have it all covered! Can't wait to read about your adventures!

(And feel free to cry on my shoulder any time you want.)

Autumn Asks: Could It Have Been Any Worse???

And the answer is flat out no.

Three inspections of the house. Three bombshells.

Lets start with the easy ones first.

Pest inspection.  Can you say termites? In two areas? And its not a new colony. But hey, that really is one of those things. It can be fixed. We did not find weak areas.  But you are looking at 2k to treat.

Then there was the septic inspection. First, the tank really was too close to the house. Poor guy had a time finding it as it didn't have a ring with a cap above ground. Lots of digging. Plus there were clean-outs in 3 places. Does that mean three tanks?? No. It didn't.

So, the tank is originally built for a house with two bathrooms. Now it has five. Plus kitchen and laundry. Tank is way too small for this. (The house has not actually been lived in since the renovations started so it has never handled that kind of traffic yet.)

Now, the tank liquid level was also way too low. Was is leaking? Not sure. So we had to open all the faucets in the house to fill up the tank before the guy could even test it to see if the lines were working.

And I found a valve that was shut off in the master bath. What does that mean to you? To me it means there is a problem. So yes, yes I did yank that sucker on. And it appeared to be that the cold water handle in the master shower was stripped and could not be turned all the way off so it was shut off to keep it from dripping.

Anyways - long story short the tank was working. But it was not going to handle all the additional bathrooms. I asked for a ballpark figure on what it would cost to put in a new system (the current one is not up to code but it is grandfathered in). Price tag was about 10k.

Now, we have the actual home inspection.

It failed everything.

Electrical was not proper type of sockets all over and almost nothing was grounded. Lots of half installed or broken sockets. No GFCI in the kitchen even.

Roof - no flashings around several things. There were two water stains in the ceilings that I had him check for moisture - but they were dry.  Also, most of the sofets were missing and there was exposed stuff that should not have been out in the elements.

Outside walls - improper installed siding all over. Raw corners. Gaps. The replaced windows were not sealed. Bricks missing.

Heating/Air and water tank. Scary out of code and jerry-rigged. SCARY. They wouldn't even turn them on it was so scary (obviously they were off). Upstairs thermostat didn't work so we couldn't check that system.

Plumbing? Low water flow in several areas. The stripped handle in one shower. And then the missing head in one shower.

And remember those stained ceilings? Well guess what happened when we ran that shower upstairs with no head? We had a waterfall downstairs. Not a little one. We flooded the place. And guess what stopped it? Why it was that one valve that was turned off. And no, this was not in the disclosure...but it was definitely a known plumbing problem.

Dishonest much???

At the waterfall we were done. We had reached a point of hilarity that was actually good for the soul. It was so bad it was funny.

And to top it off, when we turned all that water off in the house? There was a copper pipe that they had bent up and CRIMPED off. Not capped off. Well apparently all that pressure was a little much cause that sucker failed! And we had water all over another floor and it took us a while to find that hidden crimped pipe in a closet to figure out what the heck was going on.

Mr. Owner had some serious mopping up to do when he got home.

Should I feel bad?

I think not.

So, we had everyone finish all their inspections and reports even when we knew we were walking away. See, if we send those reports to the sellers agents they now have to disclose everything they found. So of course I made the formal request that all inspections be sent....and saw that they were.

One good turn deserves another. Plus I let it be know that I would GIVE anyone a copy of my inspections that was interested in them for no charge.

We are out a chunk of change. We gambled and we lost. And its okay. Something can't remain your dream home when you witness one nightmare after another. It will never be the house that got away...it will always remain the house we got away from.

We did scramble and look at a few new places that afternoon but didn't find what we were looking for.

Hubs leaves today so the hunt is off until he returns mid July. (You cannot imagine how thankful I am that he was here for the inspection.)  That ensures at least another month of trailer living -- which is not fun. But its all good. At least we are not in a hotel paying insane prices.

Maybe next time right?

Two Down....One to Go

I don't know why we all think this photo is so funny. Didn't you know we own a bioic dog? LOL!

Today is Songbird's 18th birthday. Any other time I would make this a picture heavy tribute to my middle child. But the photo album? Somewhere in the state of Ohio.

So no pictures.

It's hard to believe Songbird is now all grown up. Graduating a year early has helped me transition to this fact over this last school year. In September she will start college. She was sort of forced to take a year off from school with all the jobless time and moving and transition time. None of us are actually complaining about this.

Songbird was the cutest little thing with big brown eyes and unruly curly hair. As a child she was not easy to parent until she was about 10 years old. She was stubborn and always wanted things her way. But then she matured and became a joy instead of a constant parenting chore. LOL! (Persistence moms! It does pay off!)

As a teen she worked hard in school and on her extracurricular activities. She was never in trouble but didn't tend to pick the best of friends very carefully. She lived. She got hurt. She learned.

As a young adult the girl is funny with just the right amount of sarcasm (but still doesn't understand how wasted that is on a certain 9 year old). She works hard for her employers and is the one that gets called to see if she wants to pick up extra shifts. They give her glowing references and tell her if she comes back to an area to come back to work with them.

The world is her oyster. Its going to be fun to see where this one ends up and what she makes of herself.

So, for us as parents, that's two down...one to go. We managed to get two to adulthood.

And it hasn't killed us yet.

But this last one?

It remains to be seen.

It Was A God Thing

I know I haven't said much about the house hunt. We are under contract.... Again.

Our search for our first non-military home has been rather disappointing. Maybe we are putting too much significance on this house. Maybe.

We can actually afford a nice home at this point. Even nicer than what we are willing to spend -- some habits die hard. So we picked an amount that was rather reasonable and still it was twice what we ever did before.

At this price we expect certain things. Plus we have a list of desires like a place to keep the RV, an office for both of us, a decent sized kitchen, not in certain school districts, etc.

I contacted an agent on a property on our first trip into town to look. She set up several things. During that trip it turned out we were going to be in a day earlier. I tried in vain to get the agent to take us out that Sunday. Maybe she doesn't work Sundays. I don't know.

So I turned to the Internet in the car that Sunday morning on our way into town. I found the first place I wanted to see (not on the other realtors list to show us) and contacted the listing agent. Again - early Sunday morning. Within 45 minutes we were not only set up to see that house but others as well. Score.

So we worked with him Sunday and then her on Monday and Tuesday. And after working with her days we would turn around and work with him nights.

We ended up offering on one of her houses. The owner decided to pull it off the market. We had another of hers we were going to offer on - it was in foreclosure and we didn't have time to get it before it went on auction.

We returned to Arkansas a little defeated.

During the remainder of our time in Arkansas they were supposed to be sending us potential properties. Only he did. Tell me that didn't make our decision on who to keep working with.

So it is with him that we end up finding the perfect place. Unfortunately the seller is in a bad financial place. We walked away.

But after seeing everything in our area we found no alternative....until we started looking 40-50k above what we want to spend. So we are back and under contract with the one we walked away from.

This means nothing yet. We are concerned about the inspections as the seller is in no position to fix anything major they might find.
Plus with all the work it needs (lots and lots of little things) we are concerned it might not meet the contract price on appraisal. They had it appraised and it was more than the contact - but that doesn't mean my lender will agree.

We are literally walking on eggshells waiting. It's awful.

My only comfort is that I feel like we were taken out of the first realtors hands and directed to the second by God. No explanations beyond that's what we believe. So I'm hoping that means this is the house we are meant to buy. This is our home.

Monday we have three inspections set up as we want everything checked so we can walk away or go in with eyes wide open. It will have cost is a very pretty penny already if this doesn't work out.

Closing date is set at June 27. I'm not going to say much about the place until it looks like its really going to happen.

I will say all four of us love it and want to live there. I can see myself living out the rest of my days there. It feels like home should feel. (A rather big statement from someone who has never lived anywhere longer than 7 years. )

So wish us luck, send prayers our way, send out positive energy - whatever it is you have to share.

And I hope I don't have to cry on your shoulders after Mondays inspections.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

The Trailer Zone...Edition One

Why oh why did we think it would be okay to move into a travel trailer?

Just kidding.

In a hotel,we would have already surpassed the amount in one week that we have paid to stay here for an entire month. It is a no-brainer for sure. Dogs complicate everything...and pet deposits are the debil.

As you can imagine though, moving a family of four plus two into a 30 foot tin house on wheels is full of new adventures and pressures and funnies...almost on an hourly basis.

That's not a complaint.

Unfortunately the internet connection in the park leaves a lot to be desires. (Spoiled much Ms. Autumn??) Half the time I can't even get on the network. The other half its like having dial-up from the 90's.  I kid you not.

If our connection was better I am sure I would post more of the funnies. Instead I end up saying unkind words to the computer and slamming the screen shut in frustration. Oh, poor poor spoiled white girl.  Next I'll be whining about losing my pony, right?

So, I will just have to try and remember it all and post little Trailer Zone issues as the connection allows. Because it is funny stuff.

Of course I already told you about the wrinkle spray incident of 2013. It really was funny. I was kinda surprised that none of the other park residents came out to figure out what was up. That dratted propane gas alarm is SO LOUD. I thought the Dobie was going to have a heart attack. (Hmmm...Dobie- why was I surprised no one came to check?)

We have also all had to get over our seasickness. Yes, trailer living is not for land lovers.  Every time someone so much as blinks the place rocks. And an attack of the giggles by a certain 9 year old is sure to rock the house FOR REAL.  Do you know how crazy it is to have to tell your kid to stop laughing? But I do believe we are all over that phase and have our trailer legs now.

Lack of space has not killed off one family tradition. You know, the one where the whole family ends up in mom and dads bed? Except now our bed is rather smaller than ever before...and in a tiny tiny room. Doesn't stop them. All six of us can still be found on mom's bed. (Its currently the only room I have a fan running in nonstop also - going to rectify that soon and see if it helps any. Moving air just makes things better in a cramped space.)

On one evening Hubs was hoping to run the teen out of the room so he reached down and grabbed my hiney. This brings all kinds of squeals of disgust and shock from any teen. That is just not allowed. So I yelp as I didn't see it coming, the teen squeals at the extreme grossness, and the chihuahua BITES hubs!!! LOL!!! Then we all laugh until we have to pee. Because Bogart is a lover, not a fighter. But some things apparently are not only NOT OKAY with the teen.....

Rain has a whole new place in life when you live in a trailer also. Of course there is the ever present threat of tornados in this part of the country. Luckily I have some friends that have offered to shelter our family if necessary -- since our town has NO SHELTERS. The front winds rock the trailer and set the dogs off. The noise is triplified I swear. This sets the dogs off even more. Big babies. And the rain itself is loud on the roof.

But we are all dry and safe. Well, until we try to exit the trailer after the storm abates.  You open the door and find.....you are stranded in the middle of a lake. Do you know how much dogs love to get their feet wet when they go out and pee? Right. NOT! Now not only do you have to force them out to do their business, you have to stand ankles deep also and it all gets tracked back in to your little ity bity living space.  Niceeeeee.

That I think about covers the highlights of this weeks trailer zone. Please note that this is not a complaint column, its more like the funny pages.

Oh, I will leave you with one more tale that isn't in the trailer but that the trailer was useful for..

I was out running errands with the girls one day -- you know, going to the Dollar Tree for some more fine china (paper plates) when a lady accosted Songbird and half forced her way into the passenger side of the car where she was to try to talk me into helping her out with some bus tickets. It was crazy aggressive but not scary aggressive as I try to ensure we are not in a victim  position as much as possible. Anyways as the lady was giving her story as to how she is not a panhandler and here is her license to prove it (that proves what?) I leaned over and looked her straight in the eye and told her: Honey, I'm homeless right now. (Which the teen throws in an emphatic UH HUH also.)

Stopped her dead in her tracks. She backed out of the car and found herself someone else to ask for help.

Now I'm not 100% sure a trailer counts as homeless.  We do have a roof over our heads. And we do own the roof over our head and are able to leave our things in it rather than have to carry them with us everywhere.  The biggest difference is that we are temporarily homeless with the means to buy our way out of this state. So should I have used that excuse?  Probably not. But its not a lie. I have no address. I have no actual home. I have a rather large vehicle we can legally stay overnight in. So I used it to my advantage. And I have to tell you, when the unfortunates start to get really pushy and aggressive it is nice to have an out. I am not okay with having my personal space invaded because someone wants whatever money I have.

So anyways, hope you all are enjoying your holiday weekend with your families and loved ones. We are thinking of you all!

Six Months Later.....

.....we really do move into the trailer and head for Texas. It was time. Hubs is now doing his Saudi rotations and we are starting our new life schedule. 

So we packed up and left the vacation home. It was a great place to stay with the kids while we went through the adjustments and changes. They got to live close to Nano for once. 

Now we have settled into a RV park in a central area where we are house hunting. Of course all these storms are rolling through and shaking things up. We also found out that there are no storm shelters here. In tornado country.  I might have to get politically active over that. Not acceptable. There are so many people living full time in RVs around here. They don't matter??

Trailer life is hard on the kids. And the dogs. Cinder has managed to get loose twice by rushing us out the door. Nut case. She doesn't go far and we are in the middle of nowhere so it hasn't been a problem. I don't want her to scare someone and get us kicked out. 

House hunting has not gone well. This time we found something we loved and the owner needs to be rescued from a financial disaster due to a divorce so he is asking too much for the property. He is stuck in a hard place. We aren't used to not getting a deal. Time will tell if we are able to work it out. It doesn't look promising. 

Oh - and just so you know....... If something falls onto a spray can of wrinkle spray and empties the contents in a RV bathroom....the propane gas alarm will go off. For a long time. And it's very loud and will scare the dogs. And the kids will complain about it hurting their ears.  

Cause that's trailer life. 

The End of Arkansas....In Sight....

I guess I'm pretty overdue on an update for my family and friends. On one hand it seems like I don't do much of anything while in this holding pattern.  On the other hand it seems like I manage to keep busy enough.

Mouse had her 9th birthday. It was a small family affair...as usual. Big brother came through with a horse for the American Girl. He gives the best presents.

I've done so much quilting that I finally broke down and purchased a quilting sewing machine. No. Not the 10K babies that are all the rage. I just couldn't go there. Luckily I learned about a simple Brother that is nothing but a quilter. Straight line - no fancy stitches. Large throat -- the thing I really needed so I don't have to fight the quilt so much while doing the actual quilting. Needle down, leg lift. Its amazing how much time I save with these little features. And well under one thousand. Very very happy with that. Really, I don't know if I ever would have broken down and paid the big bucks for the fancy machines.

Hubs and I made a quick trip into Texas as the preliminary house hunting start. It was time to get our feet wet. We looked in three different areas with three different realtors. 21 houses in 5 days.  I was DONE by the end.

We looked at Tyler first. LOVE the area. We didn't find anything to offer on with what we are looking for but had one strong possibility. We left with some questions on that house which the  realtor was too get back to us on. (In the end it was overpriced and I didn't like the house.)

On the way to our next areas we had pretty much decided Tyler was it. Its about the same size as Waco but more upscale.

Once in Waco we spent the evenings with our son and our friends....and Tyler pretty much lost appeal. Why in the world would I go anywhere but straight back to all the friends and family right there where we left them??? After all, with Hubs gone half the time, I need a built in support network. And it just doesn't get better than 10 of my favorite friends and a grown son. Duh.

We found the perfect house. Well, I didn't love the house but I loved the property and could imagine a long and happy life right there. We offered. The owner pulled it off the market. Hubs was crushed. It had all we were looking for and more in our price range.

The only other one we were about to offer on ended up being in foreclosure and we would have had 12 days to close on. With a VA (government) loan. Hah! The government does not work in 12 days. They would probably take 12 months just because we asked. So we let that one go. It was missing some of what we were looking for and was in Waco school district which is a big no-no anyways.

So we came home exhausted with two strikes. (And as a side I must say I'm glad we didn't offer for the houses in West -- dodged a bullet on that one. A massive explosion in your new town is not the kind of welcome most of us look for. And a big shout out to all my friends and family that are either first responders, medical staff, volunteers with the Red Cross, proving shelter or meals.....you guys are my heros. Can't wait to get back to living with you!)

And now Hubs is back in Saudi and I am starting to unravel our lives from this area. Starting to get rid of the winter clothing and eat all the stuff in the pantry. Funny. We came for Thanksgiving.....and stayed until May. LOL. Our life never goes according to plan. But that is okay.

We anticipate the move in mid May. Yes, I am pulling Mouse out of school early. She will live. We will be staying in a long term slot at a RV park for however long it takes to find and close on a house. Two kids. Two dogs. It will be painful. There will be short tempers. I hope to find a camp for Mouses summer days and a job for the teen.

Hopefully the next news will be good news with a new home in the works. Or maybe it will be the woes of living in a travel trailer with a family and pets. Surely that will bring some humorous events.

Remember us in your prayers. Its not tragic but its not easy being us!

Beach Zen

As happens in our life the last two years, an event came up at the very last moment that made for some quick plans and a trip to the beach.

Our old stomping grounds. Where Songbird was born.

I was lucky enough to find a condo on Mexico Beach in Florida for Mouse's Spring Break. There's more to the story that makes all this make more sense but its not for public consumption so I'll just have to remain a little mysterious.

Anyways.

The teen was thrilled and Mouse was very excited.

Most people would go for Panama City Beach or Destin....but I prefer Mexico Beach. Its a very small community right on the sugar white sands that caters to families.  They wont even rent to the younger crowds so it is NOT a meat market spring break area.  There is also nothing to do there but go to the beach. No big tourist attractions. Like maybe 4 places to eat. One store that sells groceries -- a very small selection.

So if you want to go to the beach and just hang in the surf and sand with your kids....its beyond perfect. If you want the whole tourist experience.....go to Panama City Beach instead.

Sadly, our trip was just a girls trip. It would have been much better with daddy. But when daddy is gone so much, Spring Break still happens. Summer still happens. Events still happen. So do you not do anything? Many women I know wouldn't. But I don't want my girls to miss out on so much life because we were waiting. Its not what I prefer....but its what life has for me to deal with.

So, I was really in need of some zen time. And here it was.

I packed a bag of books and blankets and headed for the beach. Mouse was IN LOVE. She spent the whole week saying THIS is where we needed to move to...not Texas.

Mouse also was very sick and I thought we would end up spending some quality time at Gulf Coast Hospital with pneumonia ..but the sea air worked wonders and the freezing water (which I could not keep her out of) killed the temperatures. Somehow we managed to avoid the hospital. But I sure didn't win any parenting awards for my handling of this sickness!! Well, Mouse might disagree.

We took long beach walks every day. I took the girls out to Tyndall Beach so we could go for miles and miles without seeing a soul. Definite benefit to being a military dependent on the gulf coast. Mouse did 5 miles on this day. She was a trooper.

Songbird wanted to find sand dollars, but it was sea urchin time instead. I did find a few for her out on a sandbar.

I didn't get to see as many of my old friends as I would have liked, but I did get to spend a little time with the most important one. Made me homesick.

And I did take the girls out to Panama City Beach so they could enjoy the touristy stuff.  Mouse was in love with the tacky beach shops and tourist traps. She is an advertisers dream, that one. Mom! Can we stop at the shark!!!!

I did get my zen time. It was very good. There is something about a beach walk that soothes my soul in a way nothing else does. I think its mostly the sound of the surf...which really appeals to my senses. And the squeaky white sand under foot. The breeze that cools and carries the sounds of the gulls. The unlimited vitamin D beating down on your skin (or at least on the 70 spf barrier coated on my skin).

All too soon it was time to pack up and leave. Mouse bemoaned this fact long and hard. She spent the first few hours in the car trying to hard sell the beach as our next place to live. She does not think its fair at all that the rest of us got to live there and she never did.

The trip home included a stop for lunch with my uncle in Pensacola, and an overnight and retirement party for one of my mother-in-laws in Mississippi. A good way to end the trip.

And each hour on that 9 hour drive home got progressively colder. Soon I was crying with Mouse about how I wanted to go back, and why didn't we rent on the beach while we were in limbo. LOL. I SO hate the cold!

Now we are back in the cold. But we aren't too sad...because daddy will be home soon! Its been a long month and a half without him!

Life From My Lawn Chair

Another 4 day finish! Life is all about putting out fires lately. Yet another event came up that required our presence and a gift. Luckily I bought the material for one of the wedding quilts I was going to make...and due to time constraints had to do something else instead.  That left me with the makings for a quilt...that had no home.

This pattern is called Lawn Chair and is a free Moda pattern which can be found here.  And honestly -- it is so fantastic that I am making a bigger one for myself.

I had an audience when Songbird and I took it out to the beach to photograph. LOL.

It really has a lawn chair look  so I only quilted around the patterned strips to give it that braided look of the old lawn chairs.

I used up the end piece scraps on the back. I hate throwing material away -- even end pieces. I also don't like to buy a single color backing fabric...normally I use up my left over fabric from the front. This time I want to make another quilt just like it so I did buy some fabric for the back.

You can't really see the quilting that I was trying to show in this shot. Only the patterned pieces are outlined.

This shot of the back gives you a better ideal.

I did not have time to have a signature/dedication block made so I just free motioned my name into the side.

I have to say this is probably the easiest quilt I have ever done. There are no seams to match up when you put it all together. Start to finish it took 4 days and that all. If you are a beginner and want to try a cool looking quilt, I recommend this one.

Tectonic Plates

Another finish spring. Not being real specific as I have several gifts I am making for several things in the near future.

 This is another pinterest pin on my quilt board. It links to the blog Esch House Quilts where she has blogged about it here.

I liked the color with the gray and orange pop. I'm not usually an orange person but this was striking.

I used the 2 1/2 inch and 4 1/2 inch strip cutters on the Go!Cutter to cut the strips. I used a picture of the quilt to recreate the look. The blog does not have instructions - this is a quilt she made up herself and used as an entry in a show.

For the back I used a city scape fabric in greys and black. With the extra strips I made a few grey stripes and some wonky log cabin blocks to cover side to side.  Then I used left over pieces of the orange to finish it out.  A black/grey was used to bind it so its kind of like a picture frame.

I did not have time to wash it so there is slack showing in the back in the places I did not quilt through -- the orange areas on the front. This will shrink up and have the wrinkle texture when it is washed.

Quilt was boxed and delivered on our Dallas trip. Yet another rush to get it done. Seems to be the only way I know how to do it!!

I did not use a signature block as I was out of time but I did quilt my name and year into it.

 And thats Tectonic Plates!!

Mouses Dream Comes True

Mouse had a dream. One she talked about ALL. THE. TIME. So much so that it became banned in our house on threat of no more presents ever in her lifetime.  l

It was bad.

And as jobless people it was also a dream out of reach.

See, Mouse just had to have an American Girl Doll. Of course this didn't happen until after we were jobless. There was no way a doll over $100 was in any of our cards for over a year.

But things are a little better now. And Mouse has a birthday coming up.

And we had to take a quick trip to Dallas.

Of course it was a secret that I was going to take her to pick out her birthday gift. But she is too smart. As soon as I told her we were going to Dallas for the weekend, she informed me that they had an American Girl store in Dallas.

So I still had to listen to endless conversation on what she could do to earn a trip there.

And she was besides herself when we went. It was really fun to watch her.

So I have a very happy little girl. I still can't believe I spent that much on a doll. Apparently the $40 knockoff she got for Christmas just wasn't cutting it. LOL!