Rubbermaid Tubs Work for Me!

When we moved from California we had limited space to bring things with us. We had our Jeep Cherokee and a small trailer. So we had to find the best way to bring things with us without leaving the important things behind. Lucky for me, Hubs is very good at packing things so that you can fit the most in a small space. In order to maximize our space usage we bought a bunch of 18gal Rubbermaid tubs (they sit together much better than some of the other brands) to put our things in. We were able to stack about 20 tubs on our small trailer. What didn't fit in the tubs was put in the Jeep. We had another car at the time as well so we could fit everything that was necessary in the Jeep without worrying about sitting room. The best thing is that the tubs were waterproof. It came in handy since we hit really bad rain in Texas! You can bet that when we are headed back to California we will be using the same method. We have a few more things to drag with us this time but we also have a lot more room to put things. So that's what Works for Me!

What's been going on

The house is getting cleaner and more clutter free. Bonus for me, I can finally see the floor in my room! I swear that we have WAY too many clothes!! I think that I'm going to start getting rid of the things that either don't fit or we don't use anymore. Its no use having them around if we don't use them right? I'm slowly getting rid of things around here. It's so freeing not having so many items around the house. I want to keep up with that. I think I will have a strict policy of not bringing in too many things when we don't really need them. There's a few things that I really want to have for the boys and for the Hubs and I but aside from those things there's no reason to go overboard.

I'm not sure what's going on as far as the move is concerned. We are in a holding pattern right now. Waiting for the job to show its face. To be completely honest with you, I really want to get this move over with. It seems like the longer we wait, the harder its going to be. Its already going to be really hard as it is. We've made a lot of friends here. Every time I see a friend, I hear the comment that they wish that we didn't have to go, or "That's so sad!" with a big frown added for emphasis. I think that part is the worst in this whole thing. As if I need another thing to bring me down on this whole issue. *sigh*

I have some pictures of the truck and trailer for you. I'm a little excited about them because I think that we did really good in getting them. What a great deal don't you think? And we've sold enough stuff to pay for three quarters of the price of the trailer! God is great! Now we have that money to put into the truck to make it better than it was before.

The Bull!

The tag along!

So there you have it folks! Proof that we are actually going to do this. I'm still anxious but I know that my God has me covered. I just pray that he gives me a spirit of thankfulness and obedience. Ive gotten so comfortable here that I don't really want to leave. However, I know that he has something special planned for me and my family so I wont complain. It'll be nice to have family and friends surrounding us and maybe even helping us out.

Musings

As we get closer to the time of moving (Im not calling it a move date until we know the actual date), I wanted to talk about some of the things that we are doing to prepare for the move and other thoughts rattling around in my head. Since we have children I thought it would be a good thing to post about moving with children across the country. We also dont have a lot of money to invest in this move so a lot of our solutions for things will be quite frugal. We wont just be hiring a mover to take our stuff to California (thus the truck and trailer). So be looking foreward to more posts in the very near future.

Homebound

I thought I would share a few pictures of my soon to be (used to be?) home.

This is the old hotel downtown. Its technically a historic landmark but its still used as a hotel.

The old Nevada Theater. I've heard rumor that Mark Twain used to watch plays in this theater. It's still in use today as well.


This is a classic example of all the old covered bridges around the area. It truly is a historic area. I enjoyed much of this as a kid and I delight in the wealth of history and information there is even now as I am homeschooling my children. I can see a lot of great lessons in the future.

Tell me, is there a place that you love because of the history? Where is it?

A Truck and a Trailer

Why, you might ask?



The answer: Because we are planning a move. Where? To California. When? Ummm .. I guess you can say that it is TBA.



Here's the scoop. The Hubs and I have made the *Very Difficult* decision to move back home to the wiles of California. This is an extremely difficult decision for us because of so many factors. While we are comfortable here in our bubble of Arkansas, the Lord has put it on our hearts to make this move. As you are aware by now, we have 3 little's. That makes things here a bit difficult since we don't have any family close. Matter of fact they are all 2000 miles away from here in, you guessed it, California! So that is a major factor for us. The ability to drop the kiddos off at the grandparents house and actually have a DATE!!!! Oh its such a wonderful thing.



Another wonderful thing about moving to California is that because we are homeschooling, we have many more outlets to teach culture and history. Unfortunately, we don't have too much of that here in our bubble. We would have to drive a few hours in order to get culture and history. Its a sad fact of how this area grew so fast that it didn't have time to gain the history and culture of a slower growing area. There is a little bit of it but not enough to keep you going for long. As for science and math ... that can be taught anywhere. :P



There's so much here that I am going to miss and so much there that I am looking forward to. Its hard to put words to it all. Needless to say I have had a lot of anxiety about the whole thing. I think for the entire first week after we decided that we are actually going to do this thing, I was so nervous my stomach was in knots. (It still kind of is.) I really wish I had a lot more time to plan and prepare. But as it is we are thinking sometime between now and May. So much to do and so little time!



So that brings us back to the truck and trailer. (You thought I forgot about that didn't you!) This last week we received our tax return. I was very thankful to actually get one because I wasn't sure we would. So with that return we have purchased a used truck at a really good price and a trailer also at a really good price. Its so hard to find either one of those priced well even in this economy, but we did it!



The truck is a 1994 Ford F-150 4x4. Its in good shape for its age, but still needs a good tuneup. The trailer is a 16' tandem axle with brakes in really good shape. The Lord truly blessed us with these because I have been looking for a while and the cheapest I could find a trailer of the same sort that we bought minus the brakes was more than 1000 with another almost 200 for the brakes. I was not prepared to pay that much for the trailer. Especially since that was almost as much as we paid for the truck! So we are prepared for rain now. I think! I hope! You know how when it rains, it pours ... Knowing that, I'm preparing for a downpour!



If you think about it, please, pray for me. Pray that I don't go completely mad in this endeavor. Pray that things will go smooth and easy. Most of all, Pray that we are able to do God's work wherever we go. Because its ultimately about furthering the Kingdom.

A Fun New Recipe I Made Up

Up until recently I figured that the rice cooker was only for rice. Well not anymore! I've been experementing with it and trying to make this single use item not so single use anymore. Its working too. About a week ago I had bought a big bag of frozen ravioli's from Sams Club. These are the type of ravioli's that dont have any sauce and that's a good thing. So here's the recipe.

BBQ Ravioli's
20 ravioli's (aproximate depending on the size. Mine are fairly large)
1 cup BBQ sauce
2 cups water

Put all ingredients in rice cooker and turn it on. You might want to stir it a little while its cooking to mix the sauce.

Serves aproximately 4 (we have three small kids so it served 5 for us)

Etsy!

I have officially opened an etsy shop! My first item up for sale is ... of all things ... Birdseed Toss Wedding Roses. They are fabric roses with birdeseed (or whatever you chose) stuffed inside to toss at the bride and groom as they leave the wedding. Pretty cool I thought! They were ones that were made with the intention of being used at a friends wedding but there was a discrepancy about the lace that we used. I guess the bride didnt want lace to be anywhere near her wedding.

Personally, I dont blame her! Im not much for lace either. Something about lace reminds me of the 80's. Maybe it was the gloves that Madonna wore ... who knows. But these are pretty none the less. I might have more too. Some that dont have lace on them. They would be the extras from the actual bunch that made it to the friends wedding. I like these ones. Especially the red ones. There were five colors for these roses. Red, blue, green, yellow, and brown. The ones with the lace were just flat colors with the lace over them. (see pic) Not bad, the red ones were I think the best. They were really bright. But I like the ones without the lace better because they arent flat colors. There are patterns on the fabric and like I said before, I really like the red ones. They had a rose pattern on them. Really bright and very pretty. But I guess that's one woman's opinion. :)