So today marks 4 weeks in my new life as a vagabond. I have learned many things. Life is simpler in a small space.  Kind of freeing actually.  You have to be at a point in your life where you are ready to let go of all the clutter to make it work. I spent the summer cleaning closets and letting go. If it stayed in my house I had to have enough of an emotional attachment to make it worth packing. I tried to give my kids the things I thought they would appreciate or had developed their own emotional attachment to. The rest went to friends in our neighborhood or to Deseret Industries. This way my kids won't have to do it after I am gone. (Believe me boys you will thank me later).

I am grateful for my eternal companion and best friend who is sharing this journey with me. We made this plan 20 years ago and have spent that time saving for this adventure. We "saved until we were living paycheck to paycheck" for a long time.  But it was ok because we had a goal in mind.  I spent most of our married lives budgeting and could squeeze a dollar til it cried. We are back to that point now as we try to figure out how to live on my salary working 3 days a week and Mike's monthly draw from his retirement. A friend of mine told me a few years ago that it was hard to spend the money you had saved for your whole adult life and she was right.  But we are blessed to have a wise financial planner who managed our savings very well and thanks to Bob Aamodt we are doing fine. He reassures me and is a voice of reason when I have sleepless nights wondering how we will work this all out.

Mike is great to pick up the slack while I work. He does the laundry (and folds it), helps cook meals and does the dishes. We are compromising on things like TV and radio stations. See Mike likes the old time country music (the kind that makes your ears bleed) and I like more modern stuff. But we are working it out and widening our musical horizons. We have a satellite dish but only get satellite reception on one tv (yes the mobile mansion has two) so when we can't antenna reception on the other tv I have watched more sports and he has watched those mushy Hallmark movies (and even said "that wasn't too bad").

Mike is an awesome trip planner and pulls this beast down the road like nothing was there.  I have driven once since we left (and it ended up being in the dark and during a rain storm).  Afterwards, I was even more grateful that I don't have to drive.  I have pulled our trailer and can do it in a pinch but it isn't my most favorite way to pass the time.

I am learning new tricks with technology (and how to use the cloud) so down the road I hope to be able to share pictures of the things we have experienced and the sites we have seen. We have truly been blessed to live in a beautiful country and I am excited to be able to experience new Inge and see new places.  Stay tuned for more as we are #ontheroadtoanywherewewant.

It's been an "Aha" moment day

So I have been at my new job for 10 months. I have to learn this new program to compute tax and net operating loss and non-refundable credit carryovers. I have been playing with this program for about 8 months. So today I start computing on a new client (following behind someone elses work-again) and all of a sudden I see it. There they are those pesky little carry overs and I can back into why all of the carry over isn't used on this taxable year. So it isn't really true, YOU CAN TRACH AN OLD DOG NEW TRICKS. Sit up and fetch are next.

Sick Day

This morning I woke up with a migraine. I haven't had one for a long time. I called in sick and tried to go back to sleep. No such luck. I don't know why when you can sleep in I can't but on work days I have a hard time dragging my fanny out of bed. It did feel good to spend a day relaxing. I haven't done this for a long time. I guess it was time for a mental health day.

The Cable Guy

Yesterday the cable guy came because the digital box in our room wasn't working. He was so thorough, he changed the cable wire in our toom and fixed it so the internet is smoking hot its so fast. The tv in the family room gets an unbelievably clear picture. It isn't often these days that you get such great customer service especially from the cable company.

Random thoughts on Summer Days

This day started out great. Sitting on the deck sipping a beverage. Then on to laundry (which I hung on the line outside) sprayed the weeds in the grass. Put down bug killer and cleaned my shower. Man am I glad I don't work on Fridays (wait I just don't get paid for the work I do on Fridays).

Mike has been working out of town all week. I am sitting in the shade waiting to take him home. Its funny how after sleeping next to someone for 30+ years you can't sleep when they aren't there. I have really missed him. Next week he is off to Monticello for the week. He has lost so much weight this year I have got to get the boy some new pants. He is dragging them around half way down his legs.

I went to the doctor today for my check up. Things weren't as bad as I thpught with my blood sugar but everything else is a different matter. Checking on my heart to make sure my shortness of breath isn't anything serious. Also checking on my gallbladder to see if that is why my stomache is acting up. Oh and my knee, checking on the arthritis in it. Trying to decide if it is time for a new one. I am almost hoping so. It has started to hurt quite badly. I feel like I am falling apart. But life is really looking up.

We bought a new truck last week. Took our old one in for its 2nd oil change (it was 3 years old) and a new pickup followed up home instead. It is pretty awesome and runs like a cut cat. That Mikey is so spoiled.

Happy Mothers Day to me

May 8, 2011 really was not the best Mothers Day I have ever had. May 8 is my dads birthday. He has been gone for 16 years now and I still miss him terribly. This was also the first Mother's Day when I didn't have a mother to honor. We lost our Mom on November 17, 2010. Then to dredge it all up again, we had a graveside service for her on the 23rd of April to inter her ashes. It was like losing her all over again. Even though I lost a Mom who had the capability to guide me 5 years ago when she had her stroke, she never lost the capability to love.

So the last of the one two punch for Mothers Day was when the boys decided to have not one but two squabbles. I am so ready for them to out grow this. It doesn't matter who works the longest hours or the hardest. And they need to not take things so personal. If they are going to tease, then they are going to have to take it when someone teases back.

The high point of the day are the wonderful women who love my sons. I hope my boys realize how blessed they are. The thing that gets me the most is that they would go to the mat for each other but then they also say the most hurtful things to each other. I really tried hard to teach them manners. They are getting along better but it just breaks my heart. I guess now I know why my Mom got so upset when I would fight with my sisters. After a while we got to the point where we would hide the arguments from her.

So anyway, I do need to be thankful for the gift I got from mike and Dave. At my advanced age, I am old enough for yard art. They gave me the cutest frog and turtle for my planter box in the front yard. Next it will be pink flamingos. Those will need to go in the back yard because I can see those works of art going missing.

So anyway for better or worse, Mothers Day 2011 is in the record books and life as we know it goes on.

Hurray, The Wicked Witch is Dead

I am not generally the type of person to celebrate the death of anyone but I have to say I am so proud of our military and glad that Osama Bin Laden wasn't taken alive. This one person has been responsible for manipulating the lives of many to his nefarious ways and endinng the lives if so many innocent people. I am, however, glad that he was accorded a decent burial according to Muslin customs. That one action shows the difference between people of the United States of America and the terroristic groups found in the world. Even though this guy was one of the worst specimins of humanity, we still treated his body with the respect it deserved as he was laid in his final resting space. I am glad that the body wasn't buried on land to later become a shrine by the terrorists. All that is left now is for Osama to make is peace and be judged by his God.

Again, I have to say a big thank you to the military that sticks with it no matter



how long it takes. And a second thank you to the families who go without their loved ones so we may sleep a little safer at night.