What Will We Accomplish Today!?

When I get the kids up some days… I ask them this….

— What are we going to accomplish today? What are we going to get done (together…. as a team)?

Some days my list of “To-Do” — is as simple as #1 – Relax, Breathe, Be Grateful, Laugh

I’m hoping that when they face adversity they can look at it and consider it something positive that has been laid in front of them. Trusting that it will all work out (whatever it may be) and continue to do the right thing (whatever that may be) at the time….

We do a lot of “HAPPY THOUGHTS” here….
We do a lot of praise.
We do a lot of “I’m sorry because I did _______ and Will you forgive me?”

I’m hoping when life knocks them down… they can get back up with a smile on their face and determination in their hearts/souls and keep on trucking with the best during the worst….

I think your attitude has a lot to do with what happens to you in your life.
If you are thrown a whole bunch of horrible things one after another and think woe is me…. then chances are likely you will not see the light that can come out of that experience…
If you look at it as a new challenge or learning opportunity then even in the worst of times you can power through to another day.

Travelling with kids. Travelling at all… Trying something new… Not having a clue about the future…. Putting everything on the line…. hoping for the best…..

No job lined up. No place to live figured out. No real PLAN for the future.. BAHAHAHAAA It’s Hilariously SCARY!

Some may say I’m crazy. I think I just put my trust in something and think no matter what everything will turn out okay in the end (or so I hope).

I know I have today though… and I know today counts… today is what matters.. and the next few weeks… the mornings… that turn into afternoons… which will inevitably become evenings leading into nights…. The sun will rise tomorrow… and to that I am grateful. Today is awesome. I just hope tomorrow is too!

I hope my children can take away some sort of road schooling education from this trip… something worth more than what textbooks can offer them…. A year ago they didn’t know desert, mountains, jet skis, pontoons, boathouses, etc…. But now…. They’ve seen the desert… They KNOW different animals, weather patterns, culture, plants like a cactus (And the girly girl knows it all too well as she had a needle in her rump a few months ago after leaning a little too close to a pretty one)…

They are so young still.. but I hope they learn how to speak their mind.. hope they learn how to face adversity as well as RESPECTFULLY face the education system (educators/administrators) that they are a part of….. I do not know how to INSTILL a desire to learn in them… TO INSTILL the mentality to readily use and take what you can from teachers, mentors, people at the market, or whoever you can (knowledge is so limitless)… Time. Time. Time….

********************* What will YOU accomplish today ?! **************************

Take Vacations … Happy People …. The time is now…

 

I wish I could constantly be surrounded with people who “get it” about travel – seeing new things – doing new things –

But for now….. I’ll just surround myself and amuse myself with these posts of quotes/pictures that make my heart happy.

If I sit still too long I get antsy. I like seeing and doing new things. I can not sit at home all the time and just be in a ROUTINE without the opportunity to try new things or venture off past the horizon….

All I can hope is that everyone out there somehow gets this travel bug before they’re too old to act upon it…
Such a happy life…

I am content. And THIS is a vacation of sorts. I am happy now. The time is now. (I think of the song.. shining happy people now by REM)

NOW — I can NOT help but insert the video to go with it… MUST LISTEN. MUST appreciate. Must dance along. 🙂
Enjoy the ride.. this is life. Today. Now. And it’s Hilariously Awesome.

Smiles and Ambition and Dreams and Motivation. Yes, Please!

 

 

 

Having Experiences are Worth More than Having STUFF

If I can instill ONE thing into my children that rages so strongly inside of me….. It would be this….

Do not collect STUFF (or collect it but don’t hold it as high importance)

But rather..
GO
SEE
DO
FIND
EXPLORE
RESEARCH
TRY and FAIL
ASK QUESTIONS
and KEEP SEARCHING

Make sure you collect EXPERIENCES

(The kind of experiences you can transform into out of this world stories you can tell over a camp fire)

Another one of my favorite quotes that I try to live by and set an example by….

Says SO MUCH in so few words… and I love it….

Have Less
Do More

Happiness is…… breathing (and traveling)

 

I can not wait to see. do. smell. taste. experience. new things.

Especially MOUNTAINS.  I think mountains will be GOOD.

 

I think STUFF is over-rated.   I like STUFF but I like my TIME better… and I like doing awesome things with my kiddo’s more than I like my STUFF.

Now that I’ve bought an RV —  I am happy.

WHO and WHAT is around the next corner? Who will we meet? What will we get to see next?!

Whatever and whoever is there… I BET it is beautiful…

HAPPY SUMMER of 2014!!!!! Let’s Celebrate!

—- The excitement of adventure and uncertainty.

 

There’s no end to this.  There won’t be a point where I can say I’ve had enough or I do not want to travel anymore…..  I look at others who have seen and done so much more in the world past where I have been and wish that some day I could maybe figure out a way to do that too….

I love my wanderlust. 😀

Road Trip – Day 1 Tomorrow

Road Trip (adventure) (camping trip) (never ending journey) here we come.

I hope I get some sleep before the first section of this very long ‘road trip’ adventure beings. Nervous and scared. Excited and anticipating. Ready to see and learn. Ready to experience. I can’t believe the departure night/day has finally arrived. All I can hope for is a trip not plagued with break downs and mishaps ……

WISH US LUCK. SAY A LIL’ SOMETHING FOR US and SEND US SOME GOOD VIBES. DO A HAPPY RAIN DANCE FOR US.

 

*smile*

I live for moments like these…. pictures like this…. where even the picture doesn’t DO the VIEW justice.

How awesome is this life? Happy Days.

Memoir – What Happens When You Get Rid of All Your Stuff (Article)

I have always felt this urge to get rid of “STUFF” and to have LESS of “stuff” around me.

I am OK with only a few things….

I like to have the basic needs met but everything else is just filling up space around me and usually overwhelms me and I want it gone, want it out of my sight so I do not have to worry about rearranging it or cleaning it….

Moving a family of 4 into a 28 foot MH is a feat to accomplish.

I minimalized everything. Bathroom stuff all in one tiny tote. Emergency kit full of band aids and medicines readily available….. Kitchen stuff GONE…. Hand held can opener, no toaster, one big pot, one frying pan, a couple spices to season with, mini bags of flour/salt/sugar, paper plates and lightweight easy fix meals…

I couldn’t give up the coffee pot or the French press…. THAT is something that adds ‘value’ to my life… DAILY.

This article was TOO GOOD not to share….

(sometimes I fall upon one and share it here… THIS is one of those times).

When deciding what to “keep” and what to “give away” I had to look at each item and decide if it was truly worth adding it as weight to our motor home…..

Most of my keepsakes are pictures. Printed pictures. Of memories.
Other must haves – Art and Educational things for the kids (books, papers, paints, workbooks, flashcards, etc)
The kids all have enough outfits to last us a few weeks without getting to a washing machine and honestly I think even THAT is too many outfits…. (I might just toss outfits as they get dirty along the way and let them dress in their “play” clothes for the first part of the trip)..

Towels….. Microfiber super soakers do a WORLD of wonderful things…. They’re small and work miracles… so YESSSSSSS… No space hogging towels lingering around.
I kept 2 glass/ceramic dishes that were my mothers…. They came all the way here from New York with me and They will make the journey back…. But if you’ve ever cooked in a real glass dish VERSUS a cheap metal pan… *sigh* you know the difference…. 🙂

I narrowed down their toys so easily that I amazed myself. BOOKS took precedence over toys.
AND they have their hand held video games to keep them company too….
I kept a couple hoodies, a few pairs of pants, and one winter coat for them all….
Everything else went on it’s merry way out the door to be donated to someone else who doesn’t have ENOUGH STUFF yet.

I would much rather have empty cabinets than look in my motor home and try to “figure out” where I’m going to put something…..

Crazy that we’re doing this again.

Hope for a safe trip. Hope for no break downs. Hope for no mega issues.

Selling or Giving Away EVERYTHING Again

We did this last year when we were leaving New York….

I had a yard sale. and another yard sale. And then got to the point where I wanted STUFF gone.

 

So GONE it went.

 

 

This year it is very different.  I did not actually buy most of the things around us….  I had so many things donated that I have tried to donate things back out and really am not asking for much when it comes to selling things….  Every single dollar counts but I don’t want to “make something” from nothing.   I appreciate all the generosity from this city…. the people here really helped us with the transition into the city.   I have one of the best landlords I have ever met and couldn’t have asked for a better group of people to surround myself with in the past 11 months…..    I am truly sad and have cried my fair share of tears about leaving a place where we can live in peace, feel safe, and comfortable.   Without a select few helping hands to reach out and say “What can I do to help?” — this year would have been VERY difficult.   The stress of trying to “make it” and be able to just get by would have overwhelmed me…..  But it didn’t…… The people in this city are willing to help when they see someone who needs a little lift up.   They have services here for families in need.  We fell into that category but I made too much money to qualify for any ‘assistance’.   We were blessed with help in more ways than I can count and no amount of THANK YOU will cover my gratitude.

The commute every single day was exhausting and I’m mostly GLAD that it is over….     WHO would have thought?!!!??  A school district without a school bus system….. (It wasn’t on my list of questions to ask when I started researching the area/schools).  I learned.  Oh, how I learned.  AND — I love learning… so all is well.

I look around our house right now and sigh a bit of relief.   More than half of our “STUFF” is gone….   I have packed up some brand new clothes (donated to us) and am sending them to New York so they’re there for us when we arrive……   I have packed up the motor home….  decorated it slightly with some dollar store stickers and homemade curtains from my Nana who wished me well on my way 11 months ago. She helped me ‘decorate’ the travel trailer that we drove all the way here… and put her heart and soul into the curtains we now have….. (I’m a “THROW IT TOGETHER AND JUST PUT IT UP” kind of person and she’s the “Let me measure this 10 times, cut it once, sew it… ooops the stitch is crooked… take stitch out… re-sew it…. and it’s PERFECTLY MADE” kind of person)

I look around and we no longer have chairs to sit at to eat dinner… (we’ve been having “picnics” on a blanket in the living room — or just going outside to eat — or going in the camper to giggle at our upcoming adventure)

I look around the bedrooms and only my bed is left (I have someone coming to take it the day we leave) — My kids have had BRAND NEW BEDS the entire time we were here… and it was WONDERFUL… but they usually didn’t sleep in their beds anyway… I’d put them to sleep in the beds but they’d end up on the floor in front of the fan or in the hallway or in the bathtub or in the closet or at the foot of my bed or in bed with me… etc….. I would find them all over in different places… OTHER THAN in their nice new beds. 🙂

I look around and see only a few toys lingering around. I see only a couple outfits. I no longer see decorations on the walls. I no longer see papers of artwork all over the place. I miss my pictures (obsessed with pictures only SLIGHTLY)……. I have to go out to the motor home to get my ‘picture fix’.

The garage is empty…. The back yard is empty….
The bathrooms are pretty much empty….. The cupboards are almost empty….

Living “Less Is More” — is my favorite way to live.

Cheers ~

Find YOUR authentic voice