Ketch Up

We spent Thanksgiving with the FL family in St. Pete, good times were had by all. Great food, lots of laughs, and time spent just catching up!

Turns out my cousin has a passion for thrift store shopping as well, it was so nice to have a buddy to spend way to long looking at everything in the store-twice.

We went fishing-or atleast attempted to do so...my FL cousin had low expectations being that Bill and I are "yankees."

"Give a man a fish feed him for a day, teach a man to fish feed him for a life time. "

Still working on our "life time" skills. Bill hooked mostly rocks, and I let the fish get away with the bait almost every time. I am determined to become an excellent fisherwoman, practice starts again this week, reels in the shop being re-spun (need the right tools to do the job).

After Thanksgiving we knew we had to leave the St. Pete area, but we didn't have a clue of where to go next. Benjamin Franklin said "fish and company stink after three days." I wanted to catch fish not be one-it was time to move on. So we did what we always do when we don't know where our life is going-we look at boats (usually online) but this time we headed to marinas, contacted sellers, and crawled around in boats, something with both love to do. Thought we might buy one in Satellite Beach, but decided to walk away, to much of a financial risk.

Again-where to go and what to do? The west is cold this time of year, and if we weren't going to be living on the ocean I wanted to at least be in spitting distance to salt water, Bill felt the same way.

The Keys Disease had gotten into both our systems, and so we conclude the best move would obviously be to live in the FL Keys for the winter, why not right? So apartment hunting we went, up and down the Keys, and arrived at a nice quaint little beach shack of a studio, on a canal in Key Largo.

400 square feet seemed like a palace compared to the RV, along with double the amount of deck space, and dockage for our "some day soon" boat, all for the right price! Not to mention a real shower stall!

We may not be living on a sailboat just yet, but for now I am content to eat a...

Cheeseburger in Paradise
Medium rare with mustard be nice
Heaven on Earth with an onion slice
I'm just a Cheeseburger in Paradise

I like mine with lettuce and tomato
Heinz 57 and French fried potatoes
Big kosher pickle and a cold draft beer
Well good God almighty which way do I steer for my

Cheeseburger in Paradise (Jimmy Buffet)

Dear Santa

So I know I should catch you up on Thanksgiving, but I wanted to share my Santa wish list with you, as I am now starting to listen to Christmas music and get in the spirit! All I want for Christmas is for people to live more; being alive and living are two very different things. Do what you love, and love what you do. Live in the present. As my favorite fortune cookie reads, one which I saved and read every day "Life does not get better by chance it gets better by change." Make yourself happy, you deserve to be happy everyday!


Enjoy yourself. It's later than you think. ~Chinese Proverb

Go for it now. The future is promised to no one. ~Wayne Dyer

To change one's life: Start immediately. Do it flamboyantly. No exceptions. ~William James

One Month, time well spent

It has been one month to the day since I blogged last, sorry for the delay, however the time has been spent experiencing new and exciting places;

Jacksonville FL we visited with cousins and Uncle Den...we always have a good time with our FL family. We played with the children, ate grits, and enjoyed many laughs. After a few days we got the itch and headed further south. Getting the itch to hit the road again is quite an awesome feeling. It is the first time I was craving the act of movement and exploration rather then being really nervous about where we would go next!

We headed to St. Augustine for a day (been there before) and decided to B-line it to Miami for a free concert. We drove down A1A and saw dolphins swimming by as we picnicked, and jumping the surf while we waded in the water at Smyrna Beach.

We reached South Beach Miami for a free Zac Brown concert on the beach. We were right up dead center in front of the stage, barefoot and dancing to "Free", couldn't have been any better.... but it got even better; those standing around us were very friendly people. We learned more about the band from a hardcore fan, about Miami and FL in general from a local, and each got a free beer!

After traveling through Miami (Manhattan with palm trees) we decided we have no burning desire to live in such an over crowded city, where life moves way to fast. So we hit the road again, this time...Key West was the destination!!!

Stopped off in Key Largo at Snapper's which is an excellent resturant/bar that my cousin runs. I had never been there and hands down had the best Key Lime Pie (even after we made our way through the rest of the Keys). I also ate the Vera Cruz Hogfish (local fish) which was delicious. Snapper's is on the water and has a nice laid back feel, check it out if your ever in Key Largo.

We then slept at Jolly Rogger's on Marathon Key, Breezy Pines on Big Pine Key, and Bahia Honda State Park on Big Pine. Jolly Rogger's we were parked right on the Gulf it was beautiful. At Bahia Honda we stayed on the Atlantic side and it was stunning (rated #1 beach in the US multiple times), check it out.

We traveled into Key West our first two full days, and it was like we had walked into the Caribbean while still standing on US soil. We rented a Hobie Cat and sailed off the beach into the Atlantic for an hour. The following day we took a Stand Up Paddle Boarding lesson/tour with Megan at SUP Key West. This is my new favorite sport, seriously you get to walk on water, freakin awesome. We went through mangrove tunnels, crossed little bays, went under bridges, learned about the wildlife; pelicans, sea cucumbers, and the locals. Mangroves take in salt water and deposit the salt out through warts on the skin of their roots. Nature amazes me more and more. Read about the mangroves and you will understand how awesome mother nature is. Go to this page managroves and scroll down for pictures, definitions, and descriptions. We celebrated our SUP experience at Irish Kevin's with some impressive live music, beer, and laughter...great night capped off with another sampling a Key Lime Pie!

We were hesitant to leave Key West b/c we knew we had to visit again and don't know how long it will be till we return. Thankgiving and family was around the corner and it was time to make our way to some homemade food and good times with the fam!

I took my Dad's advice, I'm not spending my time taking pictures, I am spending my time really seeing the world through my eyes, and experiencing things that are worth a thousand words.

(for all those who like pic updates, don't worry I'm still taking a few)

Pondering & Pictures

Wander 1. to ramble with out a definite purpose or objective; roam, rove, or stray: to wander over the earth. 2. to go aimlessly, indirectly, or casually; meander.



As we wander down south I can't help but feel a need for purpose, a need for a goal. Is my goal to be more eco-friendly? volunteering? finding the place I want to settle some day? learning to slow down? running six miles? what is this feeling, and what will fill my need?


We have been on the road for two weeks, we have seen awesome parks, met nice people, and loved the climate change, however we are wanting for something more. We are not sure what it is. What I do know is the journey so far has reminded me how strong our relationship is and how much fun Bill and I have together. Whether we are meeting some crazies, getting hurt moving around in the RV, flavoring soup w/ steak mix, or dancing in the rain we always seem to have a good time!

Adjusting

So I'm sitting in Panera like a real nomad hoping the internet connection doesn't fail me. It will be one week tomorrow since we departed our home town in Upstate NY. We stumbled along to LI to visit and unload more STUFF. I think stuff grows over night while your sleeping. You wake up and find another pair of jeans you love, and a chair you simply can't part with. However this past week was crunch week and it came down to space. The 22ft Rialta has less than 160 square feet of living space, which the two of us are sharing with our 50 lb dog...what were we thinking...we thought it would be easy- lol. Let's just say by move out day I was simply giving it away and by send off day I no longer cared if I had or had not packed something. If I forgot it, odds are I didn't need it, if I packed it I figure if I don't use it in the next two weeks I will again get rid of some more STUFF.

The pace at which we have gone from a two story house to an RV simply amazes me. I'm so glad that up to this point we both seem to be enjoying the experience. There are some down sides like hitting your head while doing the dishes, having the dog step in his water bowl all the time, bumping your knee on the kitchen counter while rolling over in bed, but as Bill has pointed out to me; all of these things are much better then sitting at a desk all day (at least for us)!

So we spent time with our Jersey cousins and the McGuiness cousins... which was awesome, having time to just simply decide to stick around longer and see family is great. Everyone asks; where are you going, what are you doing, how are you going to make money? Usually I give a quick run down of my answers, but really the honest truth is I don't have a definitive answer for any of these questions and I'm ok with that.

Nomad life takes adjusting to. Our first day that Bill and I had together with no plans simply felt odd for both of us. We felt out of sorts the whole first half of the day, like we were playing hookie, or should feel guilty for not being on the hampster wheel moving at lightning speed. We worked on the RV, spent time at the park with the dog, we to an art gallery, took a nap mid day, and picked up the cousins from school! We both felt weird, however today seems a bit more normal, not like 9-5 normal, but I didn't feel guilty today!

The idea of not knowing what I am doing tomorrow or next week is growing on me already. To be honest I'm crashing in some parking lot tonight for free and tomorrow I might take the dog to a park, go to the beach, sleep in, go for a hike, or eat some seafood or maybe I will do all of these things. When it is YOUR time to spend, you get alot more done, and enjoy doing it!

We are in Maryland its our first location south without any reason to visit other then we wanted to see it, we have no set place to stay and no family to visit, only new places to explore and interesting people to meet (so far the locals are very nice)!

For those family members reading; we are safe and happy and we have more first aid kits and fire extinguishers then I know what to do with, thanks for all the love!

Where the River Meets the Ocean

Have you ever seen where a river meets the ocean? The water is choppy and moving in many different directions. This is exactly how I felt last week. I was visiting my parents, checking up on my dog (who is currently living w/ them), and visiting other relatives. I loved spending time with the family, however it was bitter sweet, I knew it would be the last long visit I would have with them for quite awhile. I soaked up all the love, laughter, and quality time I could and it was a week I will never forget.

I prepared for one last yard sale at my parents house! I found a treasure chest of letters in the closet. These letters had not seen the light of day in years. What I found were the letters my mother had received from her mother, sister, and boyfriend (yes, my father) while away at college. These letters were side splittingly funny, emotionally touching, and provided insight into what each of these individuals was like "back in the day."

What do we get from a letter other then the content? We get-handwriting, dates, times, smells, cross-outs, doodles, and so much more!

Today most people don't send real mail, instead they use: email, text, facebook, and twitter to correspond. Today's technology doesn't require us to have patience, everything is instant and fleeting. Emails get deleted, text and facebook doesn't get archived. What will our kids have to look back on, read, or discover? When was the last time you printed pictures off of your computer? Most of us just leave them on the hard drive. I lost 3,ooo photo's in seconds a few years ago. The guy at the Apple store told me "they are floating out in the universe never to be seen again."

So... I have decided I will start writing more letters. Who knows if the recipients will tuck them away in a closet for safe keeping, but I like the idea of letters, there is something more personal and thoughtful about them.

"Keep your eye on the ball"

Not a big fan of baseball, but if my dad said it once he has said it 100 times...keep your eye on the ball...in other words-focus.

I haven't posted in 6 months, life has been hectic. We tried to sell the house but the market is rough here in NY just like everywhere else...so we rented it. Being landlords is something we have done in the past, it is pretty easy as long as you know how to find tenants. However this time around we need to find a good property manager/handy man as we now plan to hit the road in my in-laws RV! No they are not coming along for the ride.

See the original plan was to sell the house, buy a boat, sail off to sea, and then figure out how to make enough money to stay our there. NOT the most practical of plans, but hey why not? Well here is why-we couldn't sell the house, and though I personally don't value money other then to afford the necessities of food, shelter, and water, we need it to cover these basic needs. So with lemons in hand we found a new way to make lemonade!

We rented the house, sold or gave away most of our belongings (still working on downsizing even more now that I have seen how little storage I will have in the RV), and decided that it might be best to learn how to make money while working for our selves or in a fun industry before setting sail. See either way we both wanted out of our office jobs, no matter what the industry I simply hated being behind a desk. Unless I am working for myself or for enjoyment/satisfaction or a cause why do I care about being on time and pushing papers just so my boss can drive a nice car, golf during the day, and go on grand vacations...why not work for myself, toward making my own life more enjoyable! Lucky for me I don't feel the need to waste my money on silly things like fancy cars, or material items. I would like to spend my time and money on experiencing life! So we will work on our business, and/or in fields we truly enjoy!

So I quit my 9-5, I decided I can call myself "self employed" as long as I get out of bed my 9am each morning and work on my goals, our family goals, and business goals. I may not be getting paid in cash just yet, but my time will pay off when we get to embark on our journey sooner rather then later.

Bill will leave his job two weeks prior to our "send off", b/c lets face it as state before we need to eat, sleep, and afford to start our business. The business- selling frozen drinks at fairs and festivals across the country-turning lemons into lemonade! Vending will be long hours on our feet, but it will be something that allows us to travel, meet all different people all over the country, and in an environment that welcomes positive attitudes!

So plans have changed/rearranged, but life is a winding road, you have to keep an open mind, your eyes open for opportunities, and roll with the punches. Set goals and achieve them. I promised myself we would be out of our house by Sept. 1st. I wasn't sure how we would achieve this, I had hoped to sell it, however I realized the better option was to rent, found a renter, signed the lease, and they moved in on Aug. 31st. We were out!

Each morning I read two fortune cookies words of wisdom that I opened years ago, both of which inspire me each day. They read:

"Working hard will make you live a happy life."

"Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change."

Emotions and Ice Cream

I keep eating ice cream. I think it has become my comfort food, sometimes I have it before lunch on the weekend.

It is driving me a little crazy that we are finally getting all the odds 'n' ends done around the house, making it all nice only in hopes to have someone else fall in love with it. I must remind myself it is only a house, simply a structure providing shelter. Home on the other hand is where ever your loved ones are and it doesn't have to be one place, just places you simply love being. Living on a boat will let us have many homes over the course of a year.

I like to think that everyone who says they will come visit us actually will. Albany is a very lively city, a city I have very much enjoyed for the last 9 years and there will be a lot to miss, but most of all it will be our friends. We have great friends.

One thing I remember from when I was a kid in the Daisy's Troop- being a Daisy means your working your way up to become a Girl Scout. The sequence is; Daisy, Brownie, Girl Scout. I only made it to a Brownie, then bailed b/c it was way to girly-we weren't learning to camp or survive we were learning songs, arts and crafts (which at the time really bothered me). Even back then I was smart enough to know that singing "kum-by-ya" when I'm lost in the woods is not going to save me from a grizzly. But I did take away one valuable lesson- "Make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver, and the other is gold" Albany will always be my gold, they simply rock!

We met our friend Maude and her daughter at the ice cream parlor the other night. Alana is 3 and watching her walk up to the ice cream parlor and upon seeing us her eyes light up, my heart just melts. This little girl may be one of the coolest kids/people I have ever met. Alana lights up a room. At her age the world is kind, people are friendly, laughter is often, and life is good. As Alana and Maude approached the door I couldn't help but think how much I would miss nights like this. What I love about Maude is that though she thinks we are a little crazy she supports our decision. K Family...you MUST come visit!

Ok so on the right here is the Daisy uniform...really do I need an apron, since when did anyone put on an apron before hiking into the woods? Even the girl in the sketch appears to be saying "Really, I have to wear-THIS?

Updates

Worms- doing great!
I recently started to harvest the nutrient soil they are producing. You simply move the soil and the worms to one side of the bin, and start to put the bedding (newspaper) and new fresh food on the other side of the bin. The worms will make their way over to the fresher food over a period of about a month and then I will be able to take the soil they produced and put it in my flower pots!

I don't like to let my exterior plants die off in the winter so my house is full of them and they could all use some healthy soil. I jumped the gun a little and sifted out about two cups of soil.

When researching composting I had learned that the worms lay eggs and they look like little yellow seeds, and guess what MY WORMS HAD BABIES!!! I carefully sorted throw my two cups of soil looking for the eggs as I did not want to harm any of them. Check out how small they are; it is the little yellow blob in the center of the spoon.

4 Hours of TV/Week- well it didn't go so well at first, b/c when I would feel bored and couldn't think of other things to do I would give up and click into TV land. However in the last week I don't think we even maxed out our 4 hours. What I had to realize was that I wasn't bored and it wasn't that there was nothing to do. I was simply so use to zoning out and forgetting all the other things I wanted to do. Now we spend our time reading more, cooking, going to the library, blogging, listening to music, eating dinner at the dining room table again! We have been going for more walks and spending more time working on our house as we prepare to sell it. Good bye TV, hello Life!

Purging

They crushed my couch, but I looked away. We are emotionally attached to so many objects, but why? I have been following other blogs about donating, recycling, and selling items, and what I have learned is it takes time to emotionally remove items from your life.

In the past I never could have thrown out pictures, but how many candid photos do you need? I have discovered that if I sort through some photos, make a pile of keeps and check back in a week or two I can eliminate a few more. I am now done eliminating. I have narrowed my photos down to three thin albums (not including my wedding photos, which have there own album). I think that three albums for 26 years of life is pretty good!

I saved photos from all stages of life, all different experiences, and ones that triggered strong meaningful memories and emotions. Quality vs. Quantity...now I have an outstanding collection of moments in my life!

Good Bye Couch, Hello Future

So this weekend was productive! We put my favorite couch to the curb in order to paint our front porch. I have had the couch since high school and it traveled with me through the years, but it is mustard yellow crushed velvet so it is obviously from the 70's and I feel 30 years is a long lifetime for a couch. It is missing a leg and really I don't know who else would love it other than me. It was crazy comfy and I had many enjoyable naps in the sun on it, but it is time to go. I'm not gonna lie; I did keep the cushions in hopes that I could find a use for them. Today we painted all the radiators in the house, the banister, and Bill made a radiator cover for one of the radiators that is even to ugly for paint to save it. The cushions served a purpose today; I sat on one while drinking some celebratory beer on our front porch! Hard work deserves cold beer, oh how I greatly enjoyed Blue Moon, Pandora, the sunset and the company of Bill and Riley! Today was a good day!

Less Impact

There is a book out called "No Impact Man" (also a documentary film on the same topic} however the book has many more interesting details. The short synopsis-for one year a family of 3 attempts to have no negative impact on the environment, they go to extremes; no food in packaging, cloth diapers, no mode of transportation other than bikes or their own two feet.

After reading it I was extremely motivated to take action in my own life, to have less of a negative impact on the environment and to be more involved and aware of my daily choices. Simple things like- grabbing a free bottled water from the fridge at work, grabbing a snack from the vending machine, taking a long shower just because I knew I would feel cold getting out; these were things I was starting to examine rather than simply go through the motions. I have always enjoyed testing my self control and will power, I figured if I can raise the bar for myself and help save the earth why not?

These thoughts didn't start with this book the book simply helped me take a leap of faith that I could not only change my personal decisions, we as a family could try to do it together and grow together in very positive ways while doing so.

As of today these are just some of the changes we have made:
1)put our selves on the "no crap mail list"
2)canceled all but one of our magazine subscriptions (our library does not carry Latitudes & Attitudes- our sailing magazine that helps keep our dream alive!)
3)stopped using paper napkins- only use cloth
4)reuse and recycle anything and everything rather than throwing it out
5)purchase clothes at goodwill (we are very lucky to have great thrift stores in our area)
6)simplify our life-de-clutter, donate, regift(everyone does it, its ok as long as its something good!)
7)compost
8)no paper towels-we use rags from old clothes and cloth napkins
9)eat local, I would say we are an 80/20 household
10)car pool more

I thought it would be a lot harder to change our lifestyle then it actually is. Car pooling and my compost are probably my two favorite items on the list. I love that Bill drives us to work-I am not a morning person so it is nice not to have to experience road rage on my way in any more and on the way home I drive. By the time we get home we have both discussed our work days and we leave it at the door. As for my compost I ordered 1,000 worms from this worm farm on Long Island (as local as I could find this time of year) and built them a home in an extra plastic container we had. So now I can compost year round! The worms are like my new pets, they hang out in their home which is in our dining room. It's kinda of a conversation piece when we have people over. I like keeping them in the center of the house rather then the basement, I figured if they were in the basement I could forget to check on them. They are pretty awesome they eat about 1/3 a pound of food a day, not that I can really tell, but they are producing soil!

Ok I guess I must admit I also love not using paper towels. I thought I would never be able to not use them. Bill was totally against giving them up, he didn't know how we could go with out. One day I just removed them from the counter, filled a bowl with cloth pieces and told him these were our new "paper towels". He was willing to give it a shot once he realized I had something to fill the void. Tonight I realized it has been 2 weeks without paper towels!!! Well other than when Riley got sick on the carpet...yes I broke into the old stash to clean that up...the thought of laundering a cloth with his vomit was too much to handle.

Bill suggest we only watch 4 hours of TV per week-I'm game, lets just hope it lasts. It is winter in Upstate NY, this is my time for hibernation, I hope I don't cave :)

Day One of sharing my Adventure!

So today is day one of me sharing my thoughts and ideas about the future, about my plans. I'm 26, I have lived in upstate NY for about 10 years now. It is beautiful, New York is definitely special. I have a home with my adorably amazing husband (don't hate me already for being cheese...I will try my best not to be) and my dog Riley...he is crazy. We have a nice home, good jobs, great friends, great family, and generally a great life...however it is time for an adventure! See we are at the point where every time I'm on the phone with someone and I say "I have something great to tell you"...they say..."YOUR HAVING A BABY!!!". No. Actually we are selling the house, moving to Florida, buying a boat, fixing it up, and sailing away.

It is going to be the story of our lives...the journey to success or failure will be amazing either way. Why Florida? We are ready for warmer weather, beautiful beach, and to spend some time with our already uprooted NY cousins! On a more practical note living closer to the shore makes it a lot easier to sail and shop around for boats, plus we will have more sunny days out of the year to work on our "fixer upper" of a boat.

Bill (my husband) and I come from homes of entrepreneurs. Luck for us after all of our crazy ideas we both continue to come back to the same dream...live on a boat, work for ourselves, and minimize our eco-footprint :)

Ok and I might feel the need to stick it to the man and make a statement about how certain things in this world simply need to change. It is going to be amazing and I'm gonna wear a smile a lot more often, laugh harder, and not take things so seriously...I only have one shot at this life...I'm gonna go my own way...my story begins...