Fortune Cookie Veracity

Hello one and all! Received a complaint that my last blog was a tad on the negative side, so I figured I better redeem myself by blogging more than ONCE this month and by making it more sunny and cheerful.

In my defense, the blog was mirroring my feelings of frustration at the possibility of spending one more winter here and the annoyance of being unemployed and so broke I can't enjoy myself! :D

Anywho, enough of that. Now it is time for some good news! Yesterday James and I splurged and tried out the new Chinese buffet in town and I must say that it was both delicious AND affordable. No, no that is not the good news, but I'm getting to it.

As is customary after consuming the more than recommended servings of pot stickers, lo mein, and general Tso's chicken, we received our fortune cookies. Both of us expected to receive a run of the mill fortune that didn't really apply to us. However, the universe must have received my voice mail the other day about giving it a rest with all the crap it's been dumping on us lately because James' fortune was very encouraging. Check it out!



Sure enough within hours of receiving his fortune (from the fortune cookie that is) James received the pay he was supposed to have received on the 15th. YAY! Then of course that meant bill paying BUT also RV shopping.

The RV shopping is more exciting these days because it is now for decorations and other such items and it also means there isn't a giant price tag on the items. Would you like to see what we bought? Of course you would, why else would you be visiting our blog.

Being the frugal shoppers that we are, we headed to our local Good Will to see what kind of treasures we could find. Of course we didn't have to look too intently. We immediately found these rustic looking basket/tray containers.






They fit perfectly on top of the fridge. We will be using one to hold our foil, baggies, etc. and the other will hold our spices. We paid $5 for both of them! Yay us!

Our next stop on our shopping trip was to Menards. There we picked up some insulation for the plumbing under the coach, a couple of hoses for the bathroom sink project and a couple of nice throw rugs for the bathroom and the kitchen. The colors are SO pretty and look great. You should come and see them in person! Pictures just don't do them any justice.


After a stop at Menards, we headed to my favorite crafty store, Hobby Lobby. There we were in search of a handle for the pocket door at the front of the coach. We didn't find exactly what we were looking for, but we did find a handle that works and some extra treasures we weren't looking for but HAD to have once we saw them. We paid $6 for all these treasures! We were expecting to pay more, but unbeknownst to us they were 50% off!!!!

Here is the door handle. Don't tell James, but I think it looks to be PERFECT for hanging things like a purse, scrapbook tote, etc. ;)



While looking around at HL we came across these two fantastic hooks that really work with the nautical theme in our bathroom.








They will hang on the wall next to the shower. I LOVE them!

Once we finished there we headed to Wally World. We were looking for a mirror for the bathroom. We were really hoping to find an extending shaving mirror, but neither of us wanted to spend $30 for one. While wandering around WW we ended up in the picture frame home decor area. What do you know, we found a mirror that was the PERFECT match for our bathroom and the price was even better at a mere $5.95. I think it will work, don't you?



We also found a fresh water hose for a decent price. Hooray! That was one of the major items we needed to purchase and I was super excited to cross it off our list!

So there you have it all the pretties we purchased for a very reasonable amount of money.

Don't you worry, shopping and decorating hasn't been the main focus in the RV this week.

Earlier in the week our kitchen faucet arrived and James quickly got on installation after he purchased a new drill of course. It isn't anything fancy, but it is new and shiny and totally fits the space.



It is getting so very exciting! I really hope we can hit the road soon.

I forgot to post when I came back from NC a picture of the ADORABLE nesting Gnomes that Kara bought me.



They are the cutest things ever! I don't know how this gnome craze came about, but I love it. Ok, actually I do know how it got started and if you don't know the story behind it and are curious just ask me, or my friend Kim. We'll be glad to fill you in ;)

That pretty much brings you up do date on the RV Project. The only things we have remaining to purchase/complete are:

• Tiles for the kitchen
  
• Chairs
• Window Treatments
  
• Tires
• Batteries
• 50 amp cord
• Gas

We are getting so much closer and I do hope that James' fortune rings true for more than one day. We'd really like to be able to get out of here BEFORE Christmas. We can dream can't we?

Thanks for checking in. I hope this post is more upbeat. :D As always, the invitation is open to stop by and check out our place. If you wish to see me for the guided tour you only have 7 days. I'm heading to AZ on the 29th to help prepare for my first grandson. Keep warm and enjoy your day!

Hello there! Once again I have been slacking in my blogging duties and see that it has been almost 4 weeks since my last post. Unfortunately, I am sad to report that I haven’t been hanging out at the beach and relaxing in sunny, warm N.C. Instead I was doing some temp work, sending my son off to college, and purchasing new license plates for our van since someone decided to STEAL ours. I so can’t wait to leave here!

Besides those exciting events things have been very quiet in the RV which makes it difficult to write about.

We did get the bed frame put in place along with the bedside shelves. It is a pretty tight fit now, but it works. Check it out!

The bathroom is 99% complete. James purchased a towel rod to hang the shower curtain, but unfortunately it was too short, so we ended up hanging it on the wall. It looks nice though. Today we picked up another shower curtain rod (aka a towel rod) that was a perfect fit. We also purchased a toilet paper roll holder and both have been installed.

Here are the most recent pictures of our bathroom.

I am not too thrilled with the placement of the tp roll holder, but since space is limited so too are our options.

The most exciting part of today had to be the cutting of the granite tile for the bathroom faucet! Ok, so maybe James doesn’t agree that it was so exciting seeing as he burnt up the drill. As you may recall from the last time he tried to drill through the granite he had to use 2 drill bits AND the drill got hot and start smoking. This time he wasn’t so lucky. He got ¾ of the way through and then he had FIRE. So, now he has to purchase a cheapo drill to finish the job.

Anyhow, this is what our bathroom faucet looks like. Isn't it awesome? James picked it out.

We also purchased a kitchen faucet today on ebay and should have that by early next week. Yay! I think this weekend we going to purchase the tiles for the kitchen and get that job over and done with. Then we will be able to hang up the kitchen vent and install the faucet which will mean that area will be complete as well.

I know these are things that don’t help us get MOVING but they are things we can get DONE until we can get the heck out of here.

Speaking of moving. James was checking out the RV engine, batteries and the power steering pump. Upon closer inspection he noticed the pump was out of fluid, so maybe we won’t need to replace it, but rather fill it up with fluid. Keep your fingers crossed!

We have decided that we can get away with a minimum of TWO brand new tires, TWO new batteries, one freshwater hose, one 50 amp plug and lots of cash for gas in order to get out of here soon.

I am heading to AZ in early November to welcome my second grandbaby (and first grandson) into the world. I told James that I am NOT coming back to OH to live ever again. Kara and her family will be coming to OH around Thanksgiving to visit Jon’s family, so I told James that he could meet up with the kids and they could all caravan home to NC. I even shared my thoughts with Kara and I think we have him convinced that would be the BEST time to move. We are working really diligently to make our dream a reality. After spending over a year now on this project we are ready to roll, we just got to get those few little things done. So close but so far away. Aaaarrrrrgggghhhh!!!

These are the things we still need to purchase/complete to get this show on the road:

• 2 tires
• 2 batteries
• fresh water hose
• 50 amp cord
• kitchen tiles
• recliners
• money for gas
  

Well, I hope you enjoyed the pictures and the update. Hopefully next time I’m blogging it will be about our upcoming move. As always, feel free to stop by to take a tour of the RV. Don't wait too long because we are getting close. Have a wonderful day!

Well hello there! It is hard to believe 2 months have passed already without a blog entry! So sorry for the delay, I know how much you enjoy watching and seeing the progress in the RV.

I spent the last five weeks on “vacation” in NC. It was a much needed trip. I do feel so refreshed, rested and clear headed. While there I toured many RV parks. Yes, we originally had a park picked out, but once I visited I found out it was really close to the airspace for the Marines and I’m not about to replace the noise of the trains with the noise of planes! Plus the park was located right on I-17 so you would also have to deal with some road noise. In addition, the park was 15 minutes from Kara and 20 minutes from the beach. I just can’t have that! We have not totally ruled that place out, but it is no longer the number one on our list.

Unfortunately, finding a new RV park was more difficult than anticipated. There are many parks that would not accept us for the mere fact that our RV is a 1984 model. They wouldn’t even take into consideration she had been completely remodeled on the inside and totally in the now.

One park required we BUY the land in which we would be staying. That kind of defeats the purpose of living in an RV. No thanks, I don’t want to be tied down like that.

And yet another park would let us stay there and the price was right, however, we could not have electric heaters, nor would we be able to use our washer and dryer AND they did not have a Laundromat on the premise. I am over going outside of my home to do laundry. So they were crossed off the list.

If we did find a place that would allow us to have the freedom to come and go as we pleased, allow us to use our electric heat and wash and dry our clothes in the comfort of our own home, they had a waiting list with little hope of having any available spaces in the near future.

Finally, I broke down and checked out a KOA in Wilmington. I have to admit the price is a little more than I wanted us to pay, but it includes electric, internet, cable and has a pool. It is also 15 minutes from Kara and TWO beaches, but closer to Wilmington which means more job opportunities. It also has some nice Cabins for friends and family to stay when they come to visit. :D

Now the hard part is getting us out of here. James is such a good guy and has gotten quite a bit done in my absence, but with my income being cut more than half it has really put a strain on our finances. Slow and steady wins the race, but I want it NOW!!!!!

James is getting antsy too and has even put down the crazy gray carpet in the bedroom. At first I was NOT happy about this, but then I realized it was a good idea because that means we have one less expense to deal with and it’s one step closer to getting out of here. Plus, you really won’t see much of the floor since the bed is going to take up most of the space. I will deal.

Here is a picture of the bedroom floor so far.

He also purchased a range hood for the kitchen. He got the hood including shipping for less that $25! Gotta love ebay! The down side is we have to get the kitchen area tiled before we can put it up as neither of us want to tile around the hood.

This is what the hood looks like. Pretty nice, eh?

The best bargain my love found was a brand new fridge for $100!!!!!!!! He amazes me with his talents! The fridge is in place and it looks BEAUTIFUL. I was so excited to see it in person. A coworker purchased the fridge a couple years ago, but never installed it or even used it so he offered to sell it to us! How cool is that?!

Here are some shots of our new fridge.

Another big purchase that James made was a propane water heater. Once again, ebay came to the rescue. We just have to buy some special materials to make it safe and sound, but he knows what he is doing, so I have faith in him and it shouldn’t cost too much.

James also finished treating the roof and replaced the leaky vents in the bathroom and kitchen. Trust me work was phenomenal as there are NO leaks . I know first hand because I was stuck out in the RV the other day during a thunderstorm . I waited 15 minutes for the rain to settle down, but unfortunately that didn't happen.

We are so much closer to the big move, but still far enough away to make me feel sad that we aren’t ready to get out of here yet or anytime soon. There are some things that are not imperative to getting us out of here such as window treatments, new bedding, towels dishes, etc., so they will get done when they get done.

These are the important things we have left to complete:

* Tires

* Batteries

* Recliners

* Faucets for bathroom and kitchen

* Power steering pump

* Kitchen tile

The finish line is close and I’m really hoping we can get out of here before the snow falls. If not, it will make for a very long and very sad winter.

Well, I have typed up 2 pages worth of information, so I think that should have you caught up for the most part. As always, the invitation is open to stop by and take a tour of our home on wheels. Have a great one and thanks for stopping by!

Hi there one and all! Hope you had a happy and relaxing 4^th. We were very productive over the holiday weekend. It is amazing that we are still around because it was sooooooooooo muggy and sticky outside I thought for sure we’d melt away! I know, I know that is what I’m moving to, BUT there will be an OCEAN close by for me to take a dip and cool off. I had to keep reminding myself that it will all be over soon. :D

James worked a lot harder than I did, but what else is new? LOL He finished putting up the trim around floors, walls, stairs, and pretty much everywhere that needed it.

Then we had a duh moment. We have that HUGE roll of carpet (the kind used for headliners in cars) that he’s used on the storage cabinet and also to wrap around the bed frame. James suggested using it to finish off the wall where my desk is instead of going out and buying more of the bead. I was not all that excited about it, but he made a good point that it would add a little extra insulation AND it would save us about $50, so I reluctantly agreed.

Now I must apologize to my husband for not believing that it would look nice. Sorry honey! I love you so much and appreciate your talent!

Here is the project during its various stages.

Don’t worry there was painting involved…I know you are jealous…I had to paint the little trim pieces. UGH!

The neighbors are becoming more and more curious about our project and a few even approached James this weekend asking if were ever going to “finish that thing and take it camping”. They were very surprised to learn it was going to be our home and super excited to go on a grand tour of our home on wheels.

In addition to painting and finishing up trim and finishing the desk project, we had to finish the last two windows. As you may recall, this project requires removing all the screws, removing the entire window, cleaning the window frame AND all the goop from it as well as where it rested on the coach, then caulking and replacing the window and screws.

Here is a little word of advice. If you are going to do said project, it is best NOT to have the BLACK window frame directly in the sun on one of the hottest days of the summer. It is also best NOT to clean the goop off the side of the coach in the peak sun times on one of the hottest days of summer, (sunscreen was used…at least by me, but it still was *H* O* T*!!!) and finally it is best NOT to re caulk the window frame that has been sitting in the sun as the stuff tends to set a lot faster, AND the window is a tad bit on the SCALDING side when you go to put it back in place.

We learned our lesson on Sunday, so Monday we finished the very last window and had that project completed by 11:00 a.m. No burnt fingers, no fast drying caulk and no unnecessary sun exposure. I’d say it was a good day!

We also spent part of the day buffing the coach and removed all the metal stuff from the top of the coach.

Here are the projects we have left:

• Tiles for the kitchen wall
• Faucet for the kitchen sink
• Range hood for the kitchen
• Purchase fridge
• Track lights for over the desk
• Faucet for the bathroom sink
• Carpet for the bedroom
• Finish up the bed frame
• New Tires
• New Power Steering Pump
• Possibly some new batteries
• Get the heck outta here!!!!!

Speaking of getting out of here, Jorden will be going down and registering on July 22 for his classes and then July 27^th I’m hoping to be heading off to my scrapbook weekend with my girls (including Kara and Eva this year), then spend a few days with my bff from high school then off to NC. I will be back in OH in Sept. to drop Jorden off at school and to help hubby tie up any loose ends and get on our way. Oh ya, and I guess sometime in there we need to have an open house so people can see what awesome work the hubby and I do. J

Hope you enjoyed visiting the blog today. As always, feel free to share your thoughts or pop on by for your own private tour. Have a wonderful day!

Slow and steady wins the race

Hi folks! Hope this post finds you happy and healthy. We are happy to report some more of our To Do tasks have been checked off the list.

James finished up the step in to the RV with some scrap pieces of flooring. We painted trim...I know it is hard to believe we are STILL painting, but the finished product it is totally worth it. We replaced bolts, screws and clips for the awning, installed face plates for light switches and outlets, and we frosted the bathroom window.

Let me tell you about this bathroom window project. We decided we did not want to mess with curtains or blinds in the bathroom because they are just so bulky and the window is so small it was going to be a pain.

We tossed around a few ideas and then James came up with the idea of frosting the window but didn't know how to achieve the look. Being the crafty person that, I am I told him about glass etching cream and also window frost that you can buy in the can. He was very impressed by my crafty knowledge. We ended up selecting the glass frost. Our next big task was choosing a design for the window.

I have this wonderful little gadget called a cricut . This thing is amazing! I purchased it for scrapbooking and card making, but it can be used for pretty much anything. So we fiddled around with that until we found just what we wanted for the window. We ended up picking out a lighthouse and a compass rose. For our first attempt at frosting a window we did a pretty good job!

Here is the final product of all our hard work!

This is the view from the inside.



This is what it looks like from the outside.



Pretty cool, eh?! It gives us plenty of privacy yet still allows in light.

This process was quite time consuming. After we picked out the design I had to cut a template out to make certain the sizes worked well together.



Then I cut the design out in vinyl and stuck it on the window.



The trickiest and most tedious part of the project was peeling the vinyl off without disturbing the frost. There were a few little rough spots, but I don't think you can really tell since the window is in place. And like everything that is not perfect in the RV....if you point it out you will be cordially invited to leave our space. :D

Oh, I forgot to mention we also picked up and installed the last three handles for the cabinets from Hobby Lobby. If you look close you can see the trim that James painted and installed under the cabinet. It really gives it a finished look and the floor is AMAZING!



Here is a shot of the entry.



The excitement is mounting and the finish line is not far off! We are hoping the pendulum is swinging back in our favor and that the universe is done messing with us for now.

I have 4 days of work left, but my July is quite busy. I need to take Jorden to Hocking College to get registered. Then the end of July I'm headed to PA to visit my dearest friend from high school for a few days and then I leave her to visit with some of my crafty pals from all over the USA...ok mainly from the Midwest, but you get the idea.

In the meantime, I need to decided if I heading out to NC before I go to PA (which I'm guessing is the wish of my NC family) or do I head out there after all my visiting. Decisions, decisions. Whatever I decide I need to figure it out soon so that I can start packing up all my goods to get them ready for the big move.

Well, I think it is time to wrap this up. I hope you enjoyed your visit and that you are as excited about our slow and steady movement.

Until next time, have a wonderful day!

We have movement!

Hi all! I am excited to report we have movement. No, I am not secretly pregnant and feeling a baby moving around (thank heavens!), nor is the RV completed and rolling on down the road to our new adventures. The movement I'm talking about has to do with actually accomplishing some projects in the RV.

Things have been rather quiet since the money coming in is enough to keep us afloat, but not enough to fund the RV project. That has been quite difficult to deal with because we really need to get out of here before another winter is upon us.

Enough of that chit chat, I am sure you are just DYING to know what has been going on in the RV. Well, a couple of weeks ago James started putting in the wood flooring and let me tell you it looks GREAT! Only down side was we ran out of flooring so we had to wait for the funds to roll in before we could buy ONE last box.

In the meantime James capped off all the gas lines that were no longer going to be used, and also finished up the plumbing for all the bathroom fixtures. Now all we need are a couple of faucets and the bathroom will be DONE and the kitchen will be 80% complete.

We still have the kitchen tile to purchase and wouldn't you know it, the stuff is on sale at Lowe's for 5.95 a sheet! Grrrrrrrrrrrr My biggest fear is it going to be discontinued before I can get what I need, which is only about 10 or 12 sheets. Keep your fingers crossed that it stays around a bit longer.

In addition to the tile for the kitchen we need to get the fridge and a hood for over the stove. Those are 2 large purchases, but they will happen sooner or later.

Speaking of sooner or later, as I mentioned earlier James had installed all the flooring that we had and then on Saturday we headed to Lowe's and purchased another box of flooring to finish up the job. It looks so beautiful! Oh, what is that? You want to see some pictures? Well, I guess I can share, seeing as it has been so quiet around here lately. Did you know good things come to those who wait? I'm sorry I guess I should quit stalling and share. :D

So here are the much anticipated pictures. The flooring FINALLY installed, no more tripping over the boxes or attempting to move the heavy buggers around in our limited space. Feel free to share your comments about the flooring. I promise we can handle the truth!

Here is a picture as you enter the coach.




This is a shot from the back of the coach (in the bathroom) You can see my desk lying off to the left.






I hope these pictures were worth the wait. One step closer to getting the baby done and ready to roll! Thanks for stopping by!

Jack Squat

According to the hubby we have accomplished Jack Squat today. However, I feel that baby steps make a difference, so we'll leave up to you to decide who is right. :D

Today's projects consisted of painting trim, fixing the sewer pipe and staining the desk. M&M was in the house today, and no I'm not talking about the award winning rapper or the candy coated chocolates. M&M is the nickname I've given my hubby because he is so good and Micro Managing me.

I was supposed to stain the desk, but some how he ended up with the bucket, the stain and the brush and started the task before he had everything ready. How annoying! So, I just sat back and watched the show, because I can't rebuild a drain pipe or do any of the engine work because I know nothing about those things.

Here is a shot of me, I mean M&M, working hard on staining the desk.



Here is a picture of ME dressed and ready for work.



I told ya'll it wasn't a pretty site. No, there are no pictures of me actually doing work because M&M is too busy to take pictures of me, sorry gang. :D

The desk looks really nice and since it was so sunny out today it helped it to dry quicker. We wrapped all the projects up by 3 because there a tornado warnings out and we all know how fast a storm can blow in around these parts.

If you are a pessimist the work completed today wasn't worth it, and if you are an optimist the work today gets us a teeny tiny bit closer to take off. In any event, I hope you enjoyed this brief blog posting and hope to have more for you soon.