Move It Or Lose It Sister

Busy Busy Busy! I have been extremely busy. I by no means am complaining. 3 photo shoots in less than 24 hours is definitely good for business. I have been so blessed with incredible friends. Not only do they trust me with capturing their special moments, but they refer others to me trusting I can do the same for them. I have recently ordered new business cards, t-shirts, and other promotional items for the business.

What do you think?

Our camp site started to become annoying. The constant shutting off of the power and the persistent dirt that just seemed to continuously make its way into the RV were becoming too much. Jason transferred our spot early to a paved site further back in the park.

We were so happy with our new site, seeing as it was 2 sites away from my sister Tara and her boyfriend Justin. Justin's father recently purchased a class A (bus) RV and were testing it out post purchase. It was so much fun having them nearby at all times. In the mornings, the dogs would both be outside around the same time. Taylor would take off running towards Lacey.

Between our site and Tara and Justin's site happened to be a church group. 30+ children tent camping for 4 full days. Song time was early in the morning and although I am happy to hear 'I am a C-H-R-I-S-T-I-A-N' coming out of their mouths, I am not that excited about it being at 8am. The group had booked a tree lined spot full of tree roots and shade. Of course the kids wanted to be out in the sunshine playing in the nearby field. Thus field happened to be our campsite. Perfect. I don't mind kids using our site to play here and there, but this is technically our backyard and you're in it. I went out one time asking that they stay clear of the cars as some were getting extremely close (I think even sitting on the bumper). They respectfully said okay and moved. The next day I see them back at our site only this time with a football. They would throw the ball back and forth towards our RV and away for the RV. On multiple occasions the ball would come lose hitting our folding table, the RV itself, and our grill. Kids would run so close to the RV that they would be on our paved site (10ft wide total). I went out for the second time and asked that they throw the football in the other direction. Day 3 came around and they were back at it again. The final straw to break the camel's back was when one of the little boys came over to our site, picked up our axe, and started walking away with it!!!!! I ran to the door, swung it opened, and in my best teacher voice said "PUT THAT DOWN!" The little boy set the axe down and walked away with his head down. What a safety issue. He would chop his foot off and we would get sued. Ridiculous.

We met a great military family of 4 while at our new spot. They were tent campers and just here for a few days while the kids were on spring break. I loved sitting at the dining room table watching them interact. Bikes, kites, balls, etc. It looked like so much fun.

We were switching sites again due to another RV coming into our spot. Check out time is 1pm and check in time is 3pm. While I sat at our site with coffee in hand watching Taylor sniff around, a lady approached me saying, "Excuse me." As I turned around, I noticed her walking towards me very aggressively. I responded with a "Hi" and a "Yes?" She comes within 2 feet of where I sat looking down at me like I were in trouble. She says "We are suppose to be moving into this spot today. Are you planning on leaving?" "Yes, I said. We have to be out by 1pm. What time is it?" She didn't know the time but I chimed in with a "I think it's around noon. We should be out by 1." She tells me "Well we are already checked in." That's funny seeing as we aren't even suppose to be gone yet and check in is at 3pm lady. So that is exactly what I told her. She didn't seem to like that and decided to reply with a bitchy "We are parked right over their waiting." What nerve some of these people have. Look, I know you want to get in the spot, but you aren't suppose to be here until 3. She ran back and told her husband that we would be out by 1. He decided to be just as big of a jerk as she and swing their RV right around the circle, backing it into our spot right next to us. I couldn't believe it. What never they had. Thank goodness Jason was out to the gas station on a monster run because he would have been pissed.

We ended up pulling out at exactly 12:59pm. I was so proud of us. We came over to our new spot, unhitched, and set up in less than a half hour. We are really getting good at this. Wouldn't you know it. . . as we are setting up, the bitchy couple who are moving into our old spot come walking by. Not in a rush anymore huh? I hope we don't get cranky like that when we are their age.

The Luck of the Irish

A beagle in her recliner and a husband sick in bed. Not the way I imagined our Saint Patrick's Day being spent. I did however manage to get out of the house last night while Jason worked a concert for a quick grocery shopping trip. My first corned beef is currently cooking in the crock pot while potatoes and cabbage will join the meal a little later on. My heritage is a melting pot of great mixtures, one of those being Irish thanks to my dad's mother. We did make our way to church this morning. I guess the 11:30am service isn't really considered morning anymore. Pastor Fidel filled in for Pastor Bob. He mentioned Saint Patrick actually being British and at age 16, being captured and brought to Ireland as a slave. There, he publicly announced his joining of the Christian faith. Pastor Fidel went on to say how the lines have become crossed and now the holiday has no religious involvement at all. Instead, people celebrate the day with green beer and poor choices. Well. . . I guess the beer, clear cups, and green food coloring I bought during last night's grocery shopping trip are now all a waste.

I met an adorable couple at the dog park. A husband and wife completely crazy about one another, their two dogs, and a baby boy on the way. Of course I gravitated towards them and eventually became lost in conversation. With only 1 week left of her pregnancy, she mentioned being ready for him to be out. I asked if they had taken maternity pictures. My heart always hurts a bit when people miss out on capturing these once in a lifetime moments. She searched for me on facebook (I should always think to bring cards to the dog park) and I hope we can get them scheduled for a shoot soon. Turns out they also go to Calvary Plantation. Small world!

Markham has seemed to be quite empty lately. I think the snowbirds have started on their trip home already. We kind of like the lack of traffic in and out of the park. Our current site is a bit closer to the front of the park. Jason was growing annoyed with the long drive to and from our site. Our spot is completely surrounded by a canopy of trees,  most shaded with a great view of the sunsets. We aren't on the water this time, but Taylor is enjoying tracking the animal scents along the woods. She especially liked doing that at 4:30am the other day. Mommy did not like it very much. Me in pajamas (and not very conservative jammies may I add), running with a flashlight in the middle of the night, chasing Taylor 4 campsites down who was completely disappearing into the thick blanket of fog. Lovely!!!

Our site has been having an issue with the breaker box provided. When you park the RV, you usually plug into a beaker box for power, a sewer connection for. . . well you know what for, and a hose line for water. The power randomly shuts off at this site causing everything to turn off with it. A bit annoying. Jason has to go outside every time and flick the breaker. He rather just deal with the issue as it happens than call up front and move or have them spend hours fixing it.

We are starting to think of areas to relocate to. We are still planning on staying with friends of our in April who live in the West Palm area. While we are up there, we need to get our bedroom slide fixed at Palm Beach RV. We also are considering the Naples area. I have loved the area for years and finally got Jason to consider it these past few months. The home prices are still  bit high for us there and to get the price we want, we would need to be a bit remote and far from the everyday luxuries (i.e. Publix, gas stations, etc.). I still want to look into it. Not that you really care, but here are to pros and cons for each area;
West Palm/Loxahatchee Area                             

PROS                                                              

1. Cheaper houses                                            
2. Large, usable lots                                            
3. Good school system                                      
4. Friends close by                                              
5. Slower paced life                                          
6. Centrally located                                            

CONS                                                                

1. Possible cancer cluster (big concern)            
2. Not near family                                                
3. Further drive to Jason's work                          

Naples/Bonita Springs/Estero Area

PROS

1. Close to family (mine and Jason's)
2. Snowbirds/a lot of $$$ to the area
3. Nice houses
4. Closer to Jason's work
5. Slower paced life
6. Calvary Chapel in Naples

 CONS

1. Not as good of school systems
2. Higher cost of living
3. Narrow lots (hard to use fully)

There are more reasons for both. I guess we won't truly know how we feel until we spend time in each location together. Getting to know the areas, shop at the stores, live our daily lives. Any advice would be greatly appreciated (both good and bad about both places).

5 seconds of fun for $2.00

I am not sure if it has to do with the station change or just a weird coincidence. . . but my husband came home from shift a different person. 3/11/13 was his first shift back out at the Big Cypress reservation. It has been quite a few years since he has been on shift out there. He came home happy, not stressed, and although he did still take a nap, it was a much shorter one. He talked all about how great his day was, even with a few bumps that arose. He just seemed to be in an overall better mood. Hopefully this continues.

Last night Jason and I took a much needed date night. We set out on 595 east bound. As we approached the airport, we noticed a group of police officers blocking a large portion of the road. As we slowly drove past, I saw what looked to be debris in the road. It seemed as if there were red wet rags scattered all over. It then appeared to be a larger piece with a huge chunk out of it. Brace yourself. . . I realized it was a body. . . and the rags were really just body parts. I freaked out. I have never seen anything like that before. I immediately called out that it was just a sack of tomatoes mashed on the ground. I figured this would delete the images I just saw and replace them with a sack of tomatoes. My lovely husband responds with. . . maybe it was a dog and not a person (like that was suppose to make me feel better). NOOO!!! It's a sack of tomatoes! Goodness gracious. I had to continue to reminding myself of the tomatoes throughout the night whenever the accident would pop into my head.

News Story

We continued east bound on 595 and ultimately returned to his birthday party location, the Quarterdeck on the Dania pier. Halfway through the meal I asked about our loyalty card and the points from his party converting into cash. . . $35.00 worth of points :) So dinner was basically free and of course delicious. A stop at 7-11 after dinner for a Monster and 2 scratch off tickets. Jason wanted me to win big. . . He should have picked better tickets then because we didn't win anything. Actually, we lost $2.00. Since we ate dinner for free I didn't mind the 5 seconds of fun that $2.00 bought. More so, just the simple fact that he thought I would like the idea. I did!

I had been wanting to go to Jaxson's ice cream for a while, but can never bring ourselves to drive all the way out there. Since we were close, we headed that way. Luckily, they seemed to be open when we pulled up. As we approached the building, lights flashing and all (just taunting me), the little old man who has been there forever stands at the door and points us to the pick up window. No! I want to go inside and eat. I want the full experience, not just the window. Jason approaches the guy and he reluctantly cracks the door, just enough for Jason to ask "What are you hours?" The guy looks at his watch and say a quarter to 11. That's funny. It's exactly a quarter to 11. Well played little man, well played. I didn't want to waste our trip on the pick up window, so we left. . . without any ice cream :(

Not wanting to go straight home, we tried to figure out what to do with the rest of our night. Jason's friend OJ text messaged us saying him and his girlfriend were bowling and we should come. Sounded like a great idea and seemed like a fun way to complete our night. It definitely was a good night. I won both games beating everyone :)

What's Worse?

My husband wakes up, uses the restroom, sits in the recliner, gets up, gets dressed, and the first words out of his mouth are. . . "I'm going into work for a little bit." "But it's Saturday and you're off," I replied. "Yeah well I want to get unpacked and talk to the Captain prior to starting in BC on Monday." Fantastic!!! Another day spent without my husband, or so I assumed. Jason left and by left I mean me, and without any food in the house. Jason had asked if he could do the shopping and cooking for the month in hopes of getting us both on a healthier diet. Well. . . there is nothing in the house. . . I'll let you figure that one out.

So with Jason gone to work, I figured I would run to the store and do a bit of grocery shopping myself. I text Jason letting him know my plan. Now of course I am that person in the store with the list, pen, organized cart, and yes, I am the crazy lady who goes up and down every isle. Yeah. . . I have a problem. So I am shopping, hitting up all the good deals. I can make corn beef and cabbage for St Patty's Day. I can make a yummy soup. Ohh. . . Chicken is on sale. SCORE! My extremely full cart is now starting to overflow. As I turn down the last isle I get a text. . . from Jason. It reads "So was I (referring to going grocery shopping). Just spent 200 dollars, please do not buy food!" AWESOME! What am I suppose to do now? I text Jason and asked what he would like me to do with my full cart. His response is to leave my cart there and come home. I am so overcome with emotions at this point and now begin to cry in the middle of Publix because of pure embarrassment. I ended up putting somethings back, not all. I couldn't spend another hour returning everything I had picked up.

I get home to find Jason cooking lunch. Now I don't know what is worse. . . the fact that he isn't at work like he told me he was going to be and instead is home cooking lunch, that he went to the store and shopped at the exact same time I did, or that we purchased the EXACT same items. Our home is now stocked with 2 bottles of ketchup, 3 packages of paper plates, a ton of tomatoes, 2 things of bread, etc. It could have been worse. . . I could have bought the rest of my cart and doubled the amount of exact items he purchased.
Our score for communication today????? ZERO

59 degrees and falling

It's not every day that a cold snap all the way from Canada comes to Florida. With temperatures dipping into the 30's, it's no wonder the inside of the RV reached a record breaking 59 degrees. Yes, like most homes we do have a heater. Only thing is, our heater runs off of propane. Not only would we be using up tank after tank, but the wonderful smell of melting plastic mixed with burnt hair is not something I wish to fall asleep to. So. . . sweat pants, socks (I hate wearing socks to bed), 2 comforters, and snuggling with my Taylor girl were able to get me through the first cold night. Why wasn't Jason keeping me warm? He unfortunately was working 3 days straight. The next night I had the bright idea to turn on the fireplace located in the RV's living room. I set the temperature to 72 and left my bedroom door open. Again I wore socks, sweat pants, used 2 comforters, and snuggled with Taylor, only this time. . . we woke up to a 66 degree room. I love those Amish people.

This is similar looking to our fireplace :)

My sister and her boyfriend bought a beagle puppy. I am finally a proud aunt. Lacey is just 13 weeks and reminds me so much of Taylor as a puppy, both good and bad. I remember those sleepless nights in the beginning. Waking up at all hours to let her out pee pee. Having to repeat myself over and over again and the non stop energy. I warned Tara about what to expect, but it's hard to resist their adorable faces. The puppy seems to think Taylor is her mommy and has even tried nursing from her multiple times. It is by far one of the cutest things I have ever seen. I know Taylor would have been the best mommy. 

photos courtesy of What A Joy Photography

Friends of ours have invited us to stay on their property with the RV. This should give us a great advantage and allow us to save some money. With a $900 per month site fee, it becomes difficult setting money aside. It's so nice having friends who don't mind us being their lawn ornament for a while.