Goin' Road Trippin'

Furniture Found

As the leaves from fall show their beauty and resilience through the winter

buds of spring are smiling at me where ever I go.

We have a house to move into, a time frame of when we can move in ( 1^st of June at the latest) and no furniture when we get there. We’ve stopped into furniture stores along our way trying to decide what we’d like to have once we got back home. Before we started this adventure we had too much furniture and now we’re starting over. Decisions decisions! Thankfully Furniture Row showed us the love.

Getting cozy on our soon to be new couch

We were able to get everything we needed for our home, financed with zero interest for FOUR years! It took us about 6 hours to decide on everything for the house and we only moved around half the store trying to see what went best with what.

Beautiful and affordable! Loving our new dining room table that has a hidden leaf below.

Plus we got a free tv out of the deal. Livin’ the good life on credit…not the ideal way to go about it, and normally we don’t do anything on credit unless we can pay it off the next month, but interest free is my kinda deal.

Papa's new chair, he's so excited that his feet touch the floor when he sits in it. — Papa’s new chair, he’s so excited that his feet touch the floor when he sits in it.

Also, Furniture Row is a place that I would be happy to recommend to my friends, not only for the wonderful experience we had with Tom, on Division St. here in Spokane, but from years past when I’ve purchased furnishings from them.

sunshine and shadows, the beauty of everyday things are so awesome

We’ve had a couple friends come over to visit us in the RV since getting back to town. We made some yoga plans with Felicity and Frank for the future if Medical Lake has classes again. Later in the week Stacey came to visit, and we tried brown rice pasta for the first time.

Stacey trying out our Shrimp pasta meal — Stacey trying out our shrimp pasta meal

Surprisingly quite yummy! I’ve tried wheat pasta before and I just cant stand the flavor. If you are like me in that regard, I recommend you give brown rice pasta a try! Thanks guys for coming to visit us in our traveling home!

Up close and yummy as it looks and healthy! — Up close and yummy !

One bean for me, an avocado for the hubby… I have never, in my life, made beans from a bag. It always seemed so complex and complicated, and only real cooks knew the true secret of beans and how to make them from scratch. Gosh, I just wouldn’t know where to start, so I’ve stuck with canned beans. This week I got a crockpot meal called white chicken chili.

I found it at Walmart in the isle that has the salsa

It came with dry beans! Now I really had to step up to the plate (haha). I then inspected, rinsed and cooked in a crockpot.

checking for the bad beans — checking for the “bad” beans

Without having to flip them over you can put in clear lid and see for dark spots on the other side

Super simple. Yahoo, something new! I used 3 chicken breasts from Costco and it was a bit too much meat, I recommend using 2. Don’t forget your crockpot liner, the easiest cleanup ever!

It was pretty good, nice flavor and makes quite a bit. Onto the avocado, this week for the first time in his life Mitch cut and peeled an avocado. He was never quite fond of them growing up but has now incorporated them into our diet. Way to go baby. Life is so interesting that way, we can go through so many years and never think of trying or doing something out of our norm even in regards to food. One day you decide to try a new recipe and it opens you up to a whole new world of who knows what. Maybe beans and avocados! How cool is that?

The latest happenings for papa and pooches this week…

Milo, unaware that he smelled like Fritos to Mitch was in for a bath — Milo, unaware that he was about to get a bath

Please be done already! Don’t worry Charlie, you’re gonna get yours next week buddy

Guess who came to the gym with us to pump some iron. “Come on pop, slow down, 200 Lbs is a bit much”

Diet update…Eating healthy and always hungry. It seems to bring out the bear in both of us, from growling tummies because of our new found insatiable appetites, to loving the berries of life.

Strawberry and banana Whey drink, Mitch's favorite. — Strawberry and banana Whey protein drink, Mitch’s favorite.

Cheat day was dreamy, starting with our homemade iced coffees, followed by Applebee’s and ended with some Gelato. I am a coffee crazy girl. It used to be that I would buy a coffee every day, sometimes twice a day. About a year ago we starting adding up the cost of my addiction, realized how expensive it was and we began making our own at home. Next post I will share with you everything I use to make our super yummy at home iced coffees.

One Week In and A Pound Without

It’s official, we’ve been eating right for one week and we’re each exactly 1.2 lbs less than when we started. It’s been time consuming trying to figure what to make, getting all the ingredients and preparing it. A huge change for us, because it used to be, okay, lets have tuna helper and a can of peas.

First time ever our fruit basket is full… of fruit

Going from one, sometimes two meals in a day to eating FIVE times a day takes some getting used to. We’ve done real well actually and enjoyed six days at the gym.Mitch’s taken to running and is already up to a mile, I on the other hand am happy if I run a minute.

Had to buy another electric grill since ours is lost in storage. We've used it every day since we got it. Drain cup is a pain but cooks really well so far. — Our new electric grill. We’ve used it every day since we got it. Drain cup is a pain but cooks really well so far.

Sunday was our cheat day and we definitely itched a couple scratches, Mitch’s was a burger and mine was Doritos and root beer. To our surprise we didn’t binge out on tons of unhealthy foods.

Bush's Chili beans have a great recipe…and add a can of rotel. Delicious. ( Since we're eating good I didn't add the ketsup it calls for.) — Bush’s Chili beans have a great recipe on the can, add a can of rotel for more of a kick. Delicious. ( I didn’t add the ketsup it calls for because of the sugar )

There are a couple things we’ve noticed since changing our eating habits. The shopping is more frequent, we don’t go down many of the isles and our cart is never overflowing with random snacks and junk. I don’t think we’ve ever been so proud as to put our stuff on the belt before, just seeing how healthy we’re eating.

Fish, Sweet Potato with cinnamon, salad and tomato…. How sweet it is

Having breakfast really does effect how the rest of our day goes, we are both so much more active and involved with doing things instead of just blah, please pass me the candy, blah, when can I be couch commander, blah, blah, blah. Our energy levels have seriously increased.

Mitch's blueberry and banana whey protein drink — Mitch’s blueberry and banana whey protein drink. We’ve used the magic bullet for years and wouldn’t go without!

Mitch, who was never much of a water drinker, has taken to drinking a gallon a day, and now has as many visits to the potty as I do, sometimes more! It’s been fun to hear him comment about having to go again, and again, and again.

Chicken stir fry with wheat rice. Really good! As you can tell, we'd already made a good dent in it. — Chicken stir fry with brown rice. Really good! As you can tell, we’d already made a good dent in it.

One thing that we’ve found to be profoundly useful is the app MyFitnessPal. It is beyond awesomely cool. It adds up your calories and if you have a smart phone you can scan the bar code of whatever package your using and it will upload all the nutritional data into you diary. I’ve never, a day in my life before counted my calories but with this app it makes it fun and so easy.

Chicken Cobb Salad, We also invested in a food scale, worth it's weight in ounces… haha — Chicken Cobb Salad, We also invested in a food scale, worth it’s weight in ounces… haha

Now onto the “Day’s of our Dog Lives”…I would like to pass onto other dog owners with the leashes that retract.

Retractable leashes, handy and hurtful. Yes, that's also a poo bag container and mace. Got to be ready for crap to happen either way. — Retractable leashes, handy and hurtful. Yes, that’s also a poo bag container and mace. Got to be ready for crap to happen either way.

Please don’t try to stop your dog by grabbing ahold of the rope when they are running. I accidentally did that the other day when Milo saw another dog and decided to run towards it. I felt the sting and when I looked down, OUCH.

I'm sorry… can I have a treat now! — I’m sorry… can I have a treat now!

After posting about us making it into town and our colorful welcoming crowd, I heard from a friend that “TLO” passed away the following night from a heart attack. I’m glad that we had a chance to give him a wave goodbye as we pulled out of the drive. Our condolences go out to his family.

Pink Monkey Problems

Everyone knows how much I LOVE the dollar store. I mean everything’s a DOLLAR! Mitch and I made a trip to the ol’ dollar store before leaving Port Angeles, and while roaming the isles we came upon the dog toy section.

We rarely get the dogs chewy toys because Charlie has a habit of destroying them in minutes and then proceeds to swallow the particles as he tears them apart. Paper towels, socks, toilet paper, stuffed animals and plastic toy particles have all found their way out his derriere.

I am as handsome as I am hungry for stuffed animals

We did have Kongs but they got moldy and since traveling the boys haven’t had any toys. With that said, we decided to treat the them. We got Charlie (the golden retriever) a sturdy chewy rope and Milo (the little white underbite doggie) and a long limbed stuffed pink monkey.

I figured that we’d supervise their chewing time and throw them away once they got destroyed. The night passed, company came by, visiting occurred and then it got late. The pink monkey was forgotten by all, except for the dog with an insatiable appetite. Can you guess what happened next… Yep, in the morning there was only an arm that survived.

I kept telling myself there was no way Charlie could’ve swallowed that whole thing and the remainder of the monkey parts were just lost under the couch or the kids threw it away that night.

A week later Charlie had horrible diarrhea. We’d seen particles of the monkey throughout the week of walks, but how much more was still up there. Was it lodged in his intestines and the only thing that was getting by was fluids and he would have to have surgery?! I was beside myself; a nervous wreck and I felt like the most horrible mom in the world that I didn’t hide the monkey that night. How could I have been so forgetful? I was the one who wanted to get Milo the monkey, and I knew what Charlie liked to swallow them, why wouldn’t I be more vigilant about it? I could’ve just killed him or cost us thousands of dollars for surgery to get it out? Of course we’d get the surgery, but has it been in there too long, is he too old for surgery? Oh the worry!

Our wonderfully loving Charlie boy, contemplating what his next snack is to be

Before bringing him to the vet, we’d taken him outside plenty of times, and every time I would pray that he’d poo the pink monkey. I got so obsessed with wanting it to come out that I began making grunting sounds when he was squatting trying to poo. (Crazy, I know, she gets that way sometimes!) Every time I thought of the possibilities of what may happen tears came. How could I be so irresponsible!? Mitch didn’t think it was the monkey at all; he kept bringing up the raccoon poo, deer poo and every other poo Charlie got ahold of at times when we would give him a sliver of freedom from the leash or even on the leash just walking around. There was no convincing me of anything but that darn pink monkey.

I got an itch and I'm gonna scratch it — “Oh my tummy”

Long story, short ending… he had a parasite. The vet gave him a shot for the squirts and antibiotics to give him at home. The next day, YAHOO we got normal POO! Praise the Lord, he answered my crazy constant prayers and never again will I let Charlie near a stuffed animal.

Full Circle and Fresh Start

From Port Angeles to Spokane WA there are two steep grades on I-90 that we would have to drive before making it home. We’d gotten the truck brakes checked at Les Schwab along with getting the trailer brakes checked and the bearings packed before we left Vancouver, WA.

Loaded and ready to tackle that mountain

I’ve had such a fear that the brakes would fail us in our last leg of traveling, especially after the smoking brake incident. In my mind those mountains were the only things keeping us from making our travels complete and I could finally breathe a sigh of relief. To my surprise they weren’t as bad as I had imagined, especially after some of the previous passes we encountered during our travels.

Going over the Snoqualmie Pass — Going over Snoqualmie Pass

After cresting the last steep hill I started looking through music on my I-tunes and almost every song that I played seemed to be about coming home, the feeling of being home and going home.

Wake me when we get home. Until then, please do not disturb

There are so many songs that talk about home, if you only listen to the words. In every ounce of my being it felt so right and wonderful.

Finally tears of joy… The elephant that’s been sitting on my chest for the last 5 months was gone and I could finally breath. The smile on my face was no longer forced, the feelings of relief were real, and we were really going home!

Wake me when we get home…Unless we are stopping for a burger!

As happy as I was, to my surprise there wasn’t a parade for us when we arrived into town. Driving through Medical Lake I waved to strangers on the road, imagining they were cheering for us returning home, knowing what a long way we’ve come. I asked the guys, “where’s our welcoming committee? Why wasn’t there a parade for us?” No sooner had I stopped laughing at my own joke and we were back at our house to drop off some clothes and out came our neighbors to say Hello. There was “TLO” The Loud One standing in his usual spot, watching our every move, rocking back and forth, leaning on his cane, sporting a scruffy beard that he must’ve grown over the winter. Our music blaring, story-telling, hitch hiking neighbor (who we’ve befriended) kindly offered his yard for us to park in until our renters moved. Last but not least, the trailer dweller next door, who lacks in hygiene and teeth, and exceeds in foul language, came out to welcome us back. Ugh. We did have a welcoming committee, just not they way we would’ve liked. Oh well. We couldn’t stand it before we left, are able to laugh about it now and will hopefully somehow learn to embrace the differences and live in some kind of harmony… Only time will tell with that one! Once again, life is definitely a trade off.

My wonderful husband who has taken drove every mile we traveled. His last haul before making it home. — My wonderful husband who has driven every mile we traveled. His last haul before making it home.

Until our little house comes available, we are snuggled into an RV park called Alderwood RV Resort here in Mead, WA.

View from our trailer at Alderwood RV Resort

I am not joking when I say snuggled. The sites are so narrow; you are either kissing a tree with your RV slides on one side or doing it as you come out the door on the other.

They must not have had slides in RV’s when this place was designed.

Coming out the front door, the bush only gets in the way if you go left

They were kind enough to let us double dip (us both staying in the same site) and it is really a cute set up with their landscaping and indoor pool. It’s not too shabby at all.

Us from a distance, living next door to some big money — Us from a distance, living next door to a high dollar RV

We also have a couple other perks with staying here, one being that there is a huge empty lot back behind the RV Park where the dogs are able to run once again. The other fated blessing is a Snap fitness right next door. As I had mentioned previously, we’ve put on a few extra pounds.. We are both at our highest weight either of us have ever been. We’ve decided to do something about it. As of Monday March 31, 2014, eating right and exercising will become our new way of living, a new and different lifestyle.

YUM, real food, so long cheese dip...except for cheat days that is :) — YUM, real food, so long cheese dip…except for cheat days that is 🙂

We bought the book Choose to Lose by Chris Powell, who we love watching on Extreme Weight Loss and always feel so inspired by their stories and his passion for others transformations. We are both looking at loosing at least 30 lbs each and are super excited to get started.

First book I've ever bookmarked to reference in the future — First book I’ve ever bookmarked to reference in the future

Now that we’ve come full circle, at our last destination I can tell you how I really feel… GRATEFUL! I am so glad to be alive, to be here, to no longer be out on the road. I am finally beginning to feel like myself again, but wiser for the experience. Since October, when we left I’ve felt like I was running cross-country wearing full snorkeling gear, flippers and all.

A dream achieved rarely comes as it had been dreamt, non-the less, it’s become a reality.

I had visions of myself feeling carefree and soaking up every experience living this RVing lifestyle. I thought I was going to be this bright shining light and flourish in the entire adventure. Truth be told, I totally shut down, experienced feelings of anxiety and had panic attacks. I would cry about the littlest thing, days of travel and planning became the most dreaded feelings. The longer we traveled the less I felt like myself, the more disconnected I became with anyone around me. No matter what I wanted to feel, think and do I couldn’t make myself be how I wanted. It has been a humbling and difficult time for me, and I now completely accept that I am a girl who likes to be in one spot and visit places in a CAR and stay in a HOTEL! The ideals of oneself and the truths are not always joined… definite note to self on that one. After all this let me just say, praise the Lord for this dream!

The well traveled dogs, looking forward to having their yard back

Never will we wonder what full time RVing is like. We wont be planning on this lifestyle when we’re old and grey. We unloaded lots of material things that we didn’t need. After living in this small of a space, moving into the little house will feel huge! No longer is Mitch working at the Prison. We all got to make memories together, and Mitch and Papa have a closer relationship for it. We met such wonderful people. The dogs got to enjoy beaches near and far, something that they never experienced before. For all that and more I will cherish this experience and look back on it with the fondest of memories.