Split Happens

As you may be aware we, rather I, have posted a count down to our departure on my facebook page. It is exciting to see the seconds, minutes, hours and days ticking by, but at the same time it’s a bit unnerving since we don't have much time and the funds are quite low. Looks like hot dogs and ramen for the next few weeks.

Yesterday, Saturday February 18^th we no longer could put off the inevitable and started the prep work for the power steering pump repair. As much as we wanted to pay someone to do the work, we couldn’t find anyone who wanted to work on the problem during this time of year. Do wonder why? Well, I’ll tell you why. It is freaking COLD outside!!!!! Yes, the sun was out and it was a balmy 37 degrees, but the wind was out too and it sure made a difference in the temperature. You will be happy to know that I stayed outside with James for an hour and a half handing him tools, being his gofer and providing moral support.

During that time James removed the front driver’s side tire. This tire was going to be moved to the back and the new tire we are getting this weekend was going to be put on the front. Sounds like a good plan, right? It was, until we found out that the tire we removed from the front was in HORRID shape. It is a miracle that the coach made it safe and sound from Indiana to here! Check it out.

Since we have discovered that wonderful problem we now are looking at $600 for tires as opposed to the $200 we budgeted for one more tire. Truth be told I was a little nervous about changing our plans to only purchase 2 tires. I feel more comfortable knowing she is going to have decent skins when it’s time to roll. Let’s just hope the 2 tires we are planning on NOT replacing will be in ok shape to make it. If not, we might end up being here through the spring!

After we got over the tire shock James did some tinkering and poking around and now has access…sort of….to the power steering pump. He is still not certain if it is a line or a pump problem. We are holding our breath, crossing our fingers and wishing upon stars that it is just the lines. On Friday, James had to go to multiple auto parts stores in Findlay to find the pump and the lines. Ended up he had to order the lines which were supposed to be in yesterday (Saturday). Unfortunately, only one of the 2 lines arrived and they weren’t certain when the other would get there….maybe Monday. UGH!

James was researching/troubleshooting the power steering issue and is thinking/hoping it’s not the pump. If it is there are a couple of issues. The first being, he is not certain if he purchased the correct pump. The second, the process for installing the pump and making certain it is working properly is quite intense. He printed off the instructions (about 3 full pages worth) which was enough to instill some fear in his eyes.

Today, he and his friend are supposed to really get into the repair and hopefully find out that it’s just a line. I don’t know how much will be accomplished since one of the lines needed for the repair is not available and also it is a tad bit colder than yesterday. Whatever happens I’ll be sure to post the outcome. Keep your fingers, toes, knees, eyes and anything else you can think of crossed that it’s just a line.

Thanks for stopping by and checking out our blog!

Six More Weeks

Happy Ground Hog Day! From the news reports it appears we have 6 more weeks of winter. I won’t complain too much since the winter so far has been pretty decent. I also won’t complain about still being in Ohio since I made a New Years promise to be positive. :D

I like to think we have about 6 more weeks in the state of Ohio too, but I'm not going to put the cart before the horse, or count my chickens before they hatch. I will say things are looking pretty good for my prediction.

Now that I’ve had time to get acclimated to my new home, I’m really enjoying our decision. At first, I kind of thought we were a bit goofy for stepping so far out of the American Dream box and I’m pretty sure many of you still think we are a bit nuts, but that’s ok. So many of us live with more than we need or can afford and we just don’t want to spread ourselves thin, or miss out on life because we can’t afford to live it.

Yes, right now we are struggling to afford all the things we need to get out of here, but I truly believe once we have moved on our situation will vastly improve. My Arizona family and friends thought I was crazy for leaving sunny AZ to return to bipolar Ohio. However, so many great things came out of this move that I don’t regret it. First of all, I met my fantastic and handy husband and gained 3 more fantastic children. Secondly, I received my BS degree in business from the University of Findlay. Finally, I learned to become a strong and independent person as I mainly had myself and later my husband to rely on. Therefore, I feel this next chapter in my life will be full of successes and life lessons to cherish.

Ok enough of the blah, blah, blah! Let’s get into what you really came here for, PICTURES!!!!

A few weeks ago James and I decided we needed to bite the bullet and return to RAC for a fireplace. The one we found is fantastic and also HUGE. The sweet thing is its programmable, so once it hits the set temp the heat part turns off. Sweet! Hopefully, that will help with our electric bill which was as much as our rent this last billing cycle. YIKES!

Along with providing affordable and efficient heat, it also provides more leg room as it is much narrower than the stand we were using for the TV. It also has ample storage space, which as you know is very important when living in small quarters.

We bolted the TV on top of the fireplace in order to keep it in place while we are on road. The fireplace is also bolted to the floor to prevent it from moving around as well. Once we get to our destination, I’ll let you know how it went.

The only snafu we encountered with the installation of the fireplace was the lack of room for Molly. Since the fireplace is so large we had to find a new place for Molly. I ended up cleaning out the drawers we had under the desk area and reorganizing my scrap/craft goodies. Once that was out of the way we were able to create a “room” for the basset. I think she likes this space more than the one she had by the door. It is less drafty and more out of the way of general traffic, which makes for better naps.

As you will notice we have a new chair for the desk. Like usual, James and I came across a deal we couldn’t pass up. The chair was on sale at Menards for $35! It is exactly what we were looking for and the price was affordable, so we snatched that baby up in a heartbeat. The following week we were in Menards and passed by the chairs again and they were back up to their regular price of $95. WOW! Now if we could just find someone to fix the power steering line for an affordable price.

Hopefully, next week will have two new tires. Excuse me as I do the happy dance. It has been mentioned for quite sometime that two tires were the big things holding us back from getting this show on the road. Keep your fingers crossed that it happens and isn’t just wishful thinking.

Last weekend we fired the big girl up again and she turned right over. YAY! We do need to get the power steering situation straightened out and once that is done all we’ll need is cash for gas and its all systems go. I can’t begin to explain how excited we are. I’ve been deep cleaning the apartment the past few days so that will be ready to roll when the time comes.

We also checked all the running lights on the coach and cleaned them up and made sure they were all working. James also replaced the outside light near the door. It was missing the light cover and the wires were not very healthy so he thought it best to replace the whole shebang. It’s the little things that make a big difference. There isn’t much left to do now other than hurry up and wait.

Next weekend we will be attending the Camp and Travel RV Show in Toledo. We like to go just to see what’s new and exciting. We might even be looking for a place that can service our big girl to make sure she is road ready. If you are interested in checking out the show, click on the link and you can get a coupon for $1 off admission.

Well, I think I’ve run out of things to fill you in on, so I’ll bid you adieu until next time. Have a wonderful day!

Fine Tuning

Well, I’ve been home now for a month; all the presents have been open and the decorations put away; the New Year has been rung in full of new hope and promises to ourselves.

This year I strive to work on having a more positive outlook, although I think at times my sarcastic and cynical views are quite humors. I’m really going to work on enjoying the day for what it brings and embracing the learning opportunities that arise from the challenges…..lets hope I don’t encounter many of those. :D

James has made the resolution to once again not make any resolutions because it worked out wonderfully for him last year and he was totally content with his successes and ignored all the roadblocks…not really, but he wanted to.

Since the holiday dust has settled, we have had time to evaluate what is working beautifully in our new home and fine tuning the things that are almost how we’d like them.

The first major issue we addressed was the stuffiness of the bedroom. It is so cozy and such a perfect sleeping spot, but oh my goodness does it ever get WARM in there! For years, James has been sleeping with a fan (no, I don’t mean someone who adores him and wears a #1 foam finger with his name painted on it) to provide air circulation and white noise (although this James fan makes some pretty good white noise with her snoring).

The only problem with adding a fan to our bedroom was we had zero space for one and had a really hard time even finding a fan in the middle of winter.

Hubby is so smart and knew exactly how to fix the space problem by purchasing a shelf and some brackets to hang it on the wall. I fixed the no fan problem by ASKING almost every store we visited if they had any fans. Many said no, others had just a few and they were WAY to big, but after much searching and patience, we found exactly what we were looking for at Menards….I love that store! Mary I., I love the store, but I’m not friends with any of their employees. I only have friends who work at Lowes. :D

Another problem we had was the brightness of the bedroom and the tackiness of towels being used to block out the light. We went to Hobby Lobby and purchased some brown heavy felt and used it to cover the windows. Wow oh wow has that made a difference! There are very few gaps to allow light in and there is a double layer of felt to help keep the cool air out and to muffle the sound.

As you can see we ran out of material, so we will have to pick up some more. At least it gives you an idea of what we were dealing with having all those towels in there.

I am still struggling with the storage issue for my clothes, but someday I’ll have it figured out how I want it. Until then, I will work on my new year’s resolution of being positive and embracing the challenges that I face. :D

We also struggled with the limited space in the kitchen. The coffee pot was taking up way too much space, but was a necessity as James and I MUST have coffee on a daily basis.

First, we tried the Coleman Camping Coffee Maker. Loved the idea, but it was HUGE and wasn’t really made for a gas stovetop. It would work perfectly on a Coleman camp stove.

We scratched that idea and moved on to our second option of an under the counter coffee maker. That was another big no. And by big I mean the only one we could seem to find was the size of a small suitcase. No thanks, we enjoy having a light under the cabinet and we also didn’t want to spend $100 for a coffee maker.

Finally, we decided to give a French press a shot. That is until we saw the price tag on that lovely contraption. The press we found cost about $25 and THEN we’d have to buy a tea kettle to heat the water, another $25 and finally we’d have to buy and grind up our own coffee beans and those run about $8 and up a pound. Hmmmmmm not really something we were that into. Maybe later on down the road we’ll give it a shot, but right now we are making our coffee the financially and economically friendly way. How is that you ask? Well, we found sitting on the shelf right next to the French press, a cute little glass percolator for less than $20! It takes up very little space and once we figure out the percolating time I think we will have a fabulous pot of joe.

Now on to bigger and better things; the fresh water supply line and the fuel line. These two items are very important to our comfort and traveling plans. Now that winter has decided to show up, thanks to all the people who were whining about a non-white Christmas, the cold weather is causing problems with our fresh water supply line; in other words so cold that the hose froze.

Frozen hose means no water. No water means no cooking, laundry, cleaning or showers. Fortunately, the first cold spell was not too long so James was able to troubleshoot and fix the initial problem. This meant insulating the hose and installing heat tape which helped immensely, however it did not solve the freezing point of entry into the coach which was a metal fitting that was an original fixture for the coach. James thought long and hard about that issue and came up with a clunky, not very attractive fix, but it is so much better than no water. And as you are aware, if you point out flaws or voice your negative opinion you will be asked to leave. LOL

Earlier in the week we were blessed with a few days of wonderfully warm weather. This offered us an opportunity to see if we could fire up our big beauty. James filled the big girl with about ¼ a tank of gas (no we did not drive her to the gas station) and tried for at least 20 minutes for her to get going. The engine was turning over but never fully started up. Come to find out there was a plug somewhere along the fuel line. James made several stops to the local auto supply stores in search of the right size fuel line. Once he found the right materials and got everything installed he gave it another shot and she fired right up! We let her run for about 15 minutes and even moved her a bit so that we could fill in the hole being created by the front tire.

For our basset hound, Molly Mae, we made the most important upgrade when it came to her. We originally purchased a pillow for her as a makeshift bed. Hubby thought it looked tacky and Molly thought it made a great chew toy so we had to purchase a new bed. I was content with another pillow type bed, but hubby insisted she needed a couch. He was hoping if she had her own “furniture” she’d stay off ours. LOL Thanks to Big Lots we found what met everyone’s requirements- affordable, comfortable and fits the décor.

We are really comfortable in our space and making a list of the things we still need to tweak to make it “just right”, but isn’t that how it goes no matter if you live in an apartment, a house or an RV?

There is still no definite date for our departure. That is ok, we are going to take one day at a time and continue to do what we can to make our daily lives more comfortable.

I hope you enjoyed catching up on our blog. We enjoy all the visitors and welcome any and all comments.

Have a wonderful week!

Here we are!

Hi all! It has been TWO months since I last posted. I know, I know, I am a poor excuse for a blogger. However, I did have good reason. My daughter Kaylee had a baby boy on November 25, 2011. Isn't he BEAUTIFUL?!





He was threatening to arrive early, so I left for AZ on October 29th and returned to OH on December 13.

So much happened on the RV front that I should probably return to the beginning and fill you in.

From where I left off we had water in the kitchen and the bathroom and had put up the tile in the kitchen. We put it up about a week before I left for AZ. It turned out so nice! How rude of me to make you wait so long to see the finished product!




Look how the glass tiles reflect the light. I love our choice!

















Don't ya just love it?!

The day that my flight was to leave, I had just enough time to help James move the washer and dryer into their respective places in the RV. The washer fit perfectly as we knew it would because we had previously had one in place. The dryer on the other hand was a little bit more of a challenge. So much so, that it took a day or two before James could get it just right. It also ended up causing some damage to our beautiful ceiling, but you can't tell unless you are looking for it.




Just so you know, James and I have a rule. If anyone comes into our home and begins to point out the flaws we will calmly remove them from our home and not allow them back. LOL This is our baby and we don't want to hear anything negative about it. :D

Once grout work was completed and the washer and dryer were in place. James decided it was the perfect time to move EVERYTHING into the RV and start living in it. When I say everything, I mean everything, the bed, the T.V. , the dishes, food, etc.

We are still in Fostoria at the same address, but it is much more affordable to heat the RV instead of an apartment.

When James very first moved in he was using a camp chair since we didn't have the recliners. We ran in to a snag with them, so we ended up canceling our order and for the time being we have second hand recliners. They fit and are somewhat comfy, they just don't match the decor, but we have plenty of time to find what really works and what we really want.

We are using the coffee table until we find the perfect fireplace for our space. The coffee table is working out nicely and gives Molly her own little quiet spot, out of the way of traffic. No complaints from her on the move.








James got the vent in over the stove and the kitchen looks fantastic.






My desk area is superb! Still trying to figure out the flow of the area, but I'm in no rush. I think my favorite thing about my desk is the Christmas tree my hubby got for me! He knows how much I love Christmas and was sad to not have a tree this year, so he went out and bought AND decorated the tree and had it waiting at home for me. Gotta love that man!



The window treatments are just temporary as well. We are still trying to figure out what we want to do, but don't really care for the nosy neighbor peering in at us during various times of day.

I'd show you the bedroom, but we have all sorts of light blockers everywhere. The street lights from the neighborhood are a little much to the point it feels like daytime if you don't put something up to block the light. Once we get our room looking a little prettier as well as functional I'll show some pictures. However, if you pop on over I'll be more than happy to give you the full tour.

Hopefully you found the wait for the blog update worth your while. I tried to add as many pictures as I could. I must admit though, pictures just don't do it justice, you really need to come and see for yourself how pretty it turned out.

So many of you have been asking how soon we will be moving. First, it was going to be August, then it was November. We have decided NOT to put a time limit on when we'd like to be out of here because it just leaves us feeling disappointed when the date comes and goes, so we will let you know when we figure it out. :D

Thanks as always for stopping by. Hope you and yours have a wonderful Christmas and happy New Year!

We have Water!

I know I just updated the blog yesterday, but we have some exciting news to share and just couldn't WAIT.

As you are aware, we purchased a fresh water hose the other day on our shopping excursion. Since today is such a bright sunny day, James thought it was the perfect day to test out the hose and get the water flowing. The exciting news is everything works and there is only one minor leak and it has already been fixed. I had no doubts that hubby would do a good job.

Check it out!!!!



Not only do we have water, we have HOT water! It's so awesome!!!!!



In addition to the water working, the stove is up and running as well. We are really close now. Maybe if we are lucky, James will be in N.C. when I get there in December. Keep your fingers crossed.

Today James also hung the mirror in the bathroom and the hooks we purchased. Don't they look great?! The mermaid is next to the sink and the seahorse is next to the shower.





So now all we really need to get this show on the road is a 50 amp power cord and couple of 8R 19 1/2 tires. That is it! That would get us on the road and on our way to better days.

If you know anyone who as tires or a power cord they no longer need and would be willing to sell at a decent price, PLEASE let us know. We are willing to drive to pick up any of the items.

Also too, if you have any extra gas or cash gift cards that you'd like to toss our way, we are open to donations. Hahaha, I'm just kidding, but not really. :D

Thanks again for popping in. If you want to check out our new home, you better hurry up cuz it's looking like we won't be around much longer!!!!

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!