Meet the Family

Well... technically, we moved in before I started this blog. That is the good news. It is kind of comfy (small), and feels more like home everyday. Gone are the smells that used to linger, the walls I was afraid to touch, and the floors I was mortified to move around on. I am cooking every night in my kitchen, adding good scents of my own that are good to come home to.

The bad news is this. All of the packing and decorating is not complete yet. Boxes that need to be put away, or put in storage still linger around in some of the rooms. Stuff isn't an all of the walls. The place is kind of dirty. Once these things get done, I will invite you in for a look around! Until then, you must wait (as always) patiently.

The move went good. Took a while. It was bittersweet, but I am glad it is over. Day after day of driving back and forth from the new place to the old. I liked the old place. I miss it fiercely. For those of you who don't know, my old place used to belong to my dad and mom. Living there gave me comfort, and never a day went by when I didn't imagine them there. Daddy in the kitchen cooking a big country supper. Mom sitting in her recliner watching sci-fi, with a big smile and her middle finger pointing up (a story for some other time maybe). So naturally, leaving was a tough thing to do. But as the course of life goes, it had to be done. The house, after being on the market for several years, finally found someone else who loved it. It was time to say good bye. I will always have memories, but I don't know if I can ever go back. Here is my favorite view from Daddy's place.


So, back to the new place. Still so much to do. We are here... our new home. Never a dull moment!

So, I figured that you could meet us... the family here in this podunk town. That way, as the days go by, and the story stretches on, you can see one of us as you are reading along. Silly? Maybe, but it is my blog after all, so I can do this if I want... right? Of course I am!

You know Me and Drew.

The newlyweds, soul mates, new home owners. But what about the rest of the crew?

There is Hunter.

Hunter is Drew's daughter. She is 7 going on 17. She lives a couple of hours away from us, but she spends every other weekend, and also holidays here. She is so smart and so eager to please. She likes the 'Littlest Pet Shops'. That's her thing right now. The energy that girl has, let me tell you... makes me wish I was young again. And she is just like her Daddy... always hungry. I don't have the foggiest idea where they put all of that food. Both are built like a beanstalk! I worry about her teenage years though. Long legs, thin, dirty blond and huge eyes with the most beautiful eyelashes. Yep, Dad... start cleaning that shot gun!

The next oldest relative residing is Belle.

She is the spoiled rotten mama's girl. Jelly Bean is almost 15 years old, and at my side (usually) whenever I sit down. She and her litter mate were born by c section, by me in my vet tech days, and bottle fed. I lost her brother, Tazzy, last April after a long battle with chronic renal failure. She is fat, and demanding when she requires attention... if she wants a scratch, she will pat you with her foot until the loving reconvenes.

Then there is Dutch.

Also a rescue. 12 1/2 years ago, I found him abandoned on the side of the road. He was a tiny thing, a big crying ball of fur, so young his teeth hadn't come in yet. For a few days, I didn't believe he would make it. Luckily, he did. He is the smartest (and weirdest) dog I have ever come across. I am not a big dog person. I really like my cats. But with Dutch, an exception had to be made. He found his way to my heart quickly and has been there ever since.

Magnum is Drew's dog.


He and I don't like each other. He is 4 years old, deaf, and selectively stupid. (sorry, babe... but he is). I don't have much else to say about him. He lives outside.

Meet Ivy.

She is an Umbrella Cockatoo hatched 4 years ago during Hurricane Ivan. I have had her since she was about 5 months old. She didn't like me much at first... I bled a lot. She used to bite me. Now we have an understanding. Her and Drew get along alright, but she gets vocal in the evening, and while I can tune it out, it annoys him. She and Hunter have a hate/hate relationship. I don't allow those two in the same room, as the fear emitting of of each of them is so thick that you can't see through it. Ivy is quite a talker. She has my laugh down to a tee. She waves and says hello, how are you? And if I am not showing her attention, the word 'MAMA' resonates through out the house. She probably has 70 words in her vocabulary, not bad, but then again, cockatoos aren't well know for talking... they like to cuddle. And Ivy does that! She will probably outlive me, so she and Hunter better learn to love one another!

We have horses. I have 2... Onique and Stormi. Drew has one... Casey. They come home to our new place tomorrow, so I will write about that then. They haven't been in my back yard for a year and a half, so I am extra excited about having them back. Like I told you, Drew fixed a paddock for them last weekend, and spent this afternoon filling up the water trough and hanging a gate. Eventually, they will have free reign of most of the acreage, but for now it is what it is. They will have to be patient too.

That's it. Except for the fish tank. Not really family members there, but relaxing to watch none the less. Thanks for humoring me again today. Maybe things will get exciting around here again soon! Who knows!

My Husband is a Good Man

Drew... he is so quiet. Not lots to say about much. Sometimes that makes me crazy. Me on the other hand... I am a talker. I come from a long line of talkers. I can talk for hours and never tire of talking. But this isn't the point.

This whole move was for us. Me and him. My soul mate and I. We picked out a property that screamed (whispered) our names and we went for it. Yes, I have been up and down about it. SO much work. Can we really do this? Will it always look this way? What have I done?

But Drew, ever so patient, keeps asking me to trust him. He says it will look like a million dollars when it is done. 'But baby,' I say, 'what about the pasture, and the driveway, and the rest of the fencing, and the landscaping in the yard, and the.... (my mind goes on and on, constantly thinking)'. How does he reply? 'Trust me, please.' That's all. 3 tiny words. So I put my faith in him.

He has worked so hard getting this property ready. Bush hogging, putting up fence, building up creek beds (the mud hole), cleaning, installing, sweating... tirelessly. A few things that he has done especially for me are small things, but awesome things. I needed shelf space in the closets. He put up shelves in the closets. (they are tiny by the way). I asked for more storage space under the kitchen cabinets... he made it so.



If I couldn't reach, he did it for me. And the list goes on. Just last weekend, he worked all day, both days fencing in a paddock for my horses. Maybe they will come home this weekend.

I couldn't be happier. I have a man that does things for me, solely to put a smile on my face. He wants me to be happy, and he knew this transition would be hard on me. He has been so great. We still have so much to do. Years of work. But I will always trust him... even though it may take some convincing!!! =) Right now as I type, he is washing my truck. I didn't even ask. It is just the kind of guy he is. Thank you.

A couple of weeks ago, he was outside. He was supposed to be bush hogging the pasture. It was hot, so I drove out to him to give him some ice tea. Much to my surprise, he was plowing up my driveway!!! I was livid. He said his 3 magic words, and I left him to it, cursing under my breath. What I thought was going to be a sandy mess, actually turned into a halfway decent driveway. It is smooth and everything. Now, if we could only get some rain to pack it down and get rid of the dust. Unfortunately, he doesn't have it all under control. But if he did, I'm sure it would be done.


Drew, I appreciate all of the things you do for me. No matter how big, or how small. I may be difficult at times, but... well... I will always be difficult. Thanks, Babe! Love You! xoxx Me

A Story About a Trailer

The mobile home... ah, trashy to some. But in all honesty, trailers aren't trashy anymore. Not all of them anyhow. I mean sure... in podunk, you can find all types. You can even find a trailer, home made, on wheels, with grass so high you don't know what lurks underneath.

We have a long way to go. While the trailer that we bought isn't trashy... it is quite nasty. I mean, did people really walk through this house barefoot? Ew! First order of business... I made Drew take out the carpet. I mean yank it and burn it, baby. I wouldn't even go into the house before this was done, so poor Drew was on his own. I didn't get pictures, because the smell was so thick, I was afraid that something would jump on me. I don't get grossed out by much... but this did the trick. And to think, in a couple of short months... this would be my home. My word, what did I get myself into? I agreed to this? There is no freaking way!

Drew and I made a trip to Lowe's. I think he realized my need for making this place my own. We purchased new light fixtures and fans, and the next day set about installing them. Remember, we still don't have power. Just power poles. Drew hooked up a generator to run tools and make sure everything worked after it was installed, and also a fan to make a feeble attempt at keeping us cool. Yeah, like that happened. The middle of summer, in Florida's heat and humidity. No fan is THAT good... even with all of the windows open. It is a long process, installing these things. I think it would have gone much more smoothly if one of us had remembered a step ladder, but that would have been too easy. Never a dull moment, you see. Gotta keep things spiced up. Mean while, I am afraid to touch walls and counter tops, frustrating Drew to no end. I think he got a good chuckle out of it a time or two. Now, I know what you are thinking... 'What's the deal? Can't you just wash your hands or the walls or the counters?' Umm, the answer to that would be no, no I can't. I can't wash anything. I can't wash the grunge in the sinks and tubs down the drain. I can't disinfect my hands, I can't flush the nasty leftovers down the toilet. WE HAVE NO WATER YET!!! I did however have a spray bottle of bleach. I sprayed everything at least a hundred times. While not really a permanent fix, it made me feel better. A small bit better, but better none the less.

The smell in the trailer still lingered. Taking the carpet out only helped so much. I started scrubbing walls with Clorox Clean up and hand rags, while Drew went to the tedious task of plucking 1 1/2 inch staples out of the floor that held the old carpet down. He is so lucky that he has a smart wife. After researching online, I was able to suggest that he use a grinder to grind the staples down, as opposed to plucking them one by one. After we had done this for a couple of days, we were ready to try anything! Best thing is... it worked. SO Drew finished that up in record time, while I swept up the nastiness behind him. These staples wouldn't have been a big deal if we would have just put more carpet in, but in my quest to make this the nicest mobile home I could, we decided to put in laminate wood flooring, so it had to be smooth.

Did you know that making progress actually gives one hope to go on? I had heard about it before, but now I was feeling it myself. At this point, I am still filled with dread, still mortified that this... place... would soon be my new home. (OMG, what have I done? What did I allow myself to get talked into?)

There I go again, losing track. Lets go back to discussing walls. They are getting cleaner, but not clean enough for me. Some rooms are so bad, they need to be painted. When I say this, it isn't because they are dirty anymore, but because they are black. Oh yes, you read it correctly. The back room is already painted by the previous tenants black. And hot pink. With names sponged in. And stencils. Pretty! But not going to cut it in my book!!!


Off to pick out a new color that is more... me. Green, I say. Green is my favorite color. All shades. Green, they say, is also the color chosen by geniuses... what can I say (go me!). This room will eventually become the nursery, so I try planning ahead. Green is neutral, and it can be used for a girl or boy. I am set to paint. (surely, my body can recognize my need for a child, right? I mean, I am painting a nursery... come on body!! Get with the program)

I take the nails out, and the blinds down. Drew helps me tape up the wood molding, and since I can't seem to figure out how to make the spackling in the holes work, I ask him to do that too. He is so handy, that guy of mine! I commence painting. Several coats later, I am pleased. It turned out great, don't you think?

We finally get power, and best of all get an electrician to hook up the air conditioner. This means one thing, that it is time to purchase the flooring. So we load up and bring the boxes over to acclimate to the climate of the house. Now this is just silly, if you ask me. We had to set boxes of laminate flooring in each of the rooms. I think it is supposed to make this stuff easier to install. You know, I was raised in a house that if you want something done, you pay a professional to do it. My Dad was in floor covering for 40 some odd years, and after he passed, my sister and her husband took over his business. But did we get help? Nope. Drew wanted to do it himself. Also behind this decision was the fact that this won't be a permanent home, so we wanted to save money to put toward the house when we start building. It took some time, but we got it done. The Lowe's salesman said it would be easy. So did the box. It wasn't... not until we got to the last room. We were so proud of ourselves, and for the first time, I wasn't afraid to be in the house. I even did a barefoot dance!!!

OK, so walls clean, check. Bug sprayed, check. Floors in, check, check, check. I painted the master bath. Hung all of the blinds. We are almost there, baby! Here is the master bath. Of course, it is green too!


Next step... running 1/2 a mile of pipe from the road, to the back of the property so we can get water. We are still waiting for the utilities company to hook up the meter, but the pipe has to be run regardless, so we get to it. It wasn't that bad. Didn't take that long. No big deal. I dreaded that project for nothing. Whew... relief. Now if we can only get the water hooked up. By this point, we know that the utility company made an oops, and had to order a meter, since they were out. Nice of them to tell us. We are on a deadline to be out of the old house, and into the new, and when we applied for service, they told us it would be done in a week. 3 weeks later, the meter is set, and we have water!!! YAY!!! It is coming around. By this time, not much else to do other than clean, so Drew and I make a concentrated effort to get this done. We scrub, and re-scrub every square inch of this place. The dishwasher had nasty stuff growing in it, so it was run... over and over and over.. with my new best friend, Mr Bleach! We scrubbed the kitchen and bathroom floors on our hands and knees with a scrub brush. Bath rooms were made sterile. New toilet seats were put in.


We are officially ready for the move!

Welcome to Podunk!

This will be my attempt to keep you updated with all of the going ons in my life. A lot has happened, and I think it will be nice to look back and see all of the changes that take place. Drew and I got married in December of 2007, and there is never a dull moment. A few months ago, we purchased our first home together. Well, not really a home... at least not at first, but I will get to that! (patience, please) We decided to purchase 14 acres, smack dab in the middle of the country. Drew was born and raised here, so it seems only natural that I bring him home! =)

This property, came into our possession with nothing. No water, no electricity, no septic tank... nothing but a whole bunch of weeds, sticks, stobs, and it had 'what are we getting ourselves into' written all over it!

This is what it looked like the day we signed... did I mention the creek that runs through the middle of it??? We planned on putting our house on the OTHER side of it!


The first few weekends was all about putting up fences, bush hogging and clearing the back half. Not to mention, we had to find a way to prepare that mud hole called a creek so we could drive over it with out getting stuck. That took several tries, and to be honest, we still haven't gotten it figured out... I think we will end up putting a culvert in before it is over with.

After the clearing, the property actually started to show promise. I had to keep reminding myself that when I looked at it, I had to be creative and use my imagination. Hard to do when you can't see how the ground lays, and what lies in the middle of all of the over growth. Luckily, I was pleasantly surprised. The more that was cleared...


The better it looked!


And that was actually the easy part of it!!!

After we cleared the back half... we really had to get busy! We found a used mobile home, only 4 years old that was in foreclosure, and were able to purchase it at a steal of a price. That meant that we would have a lot to do to get it ready to move into... again, I jump ahead of myself. I apologize. Power had to be applied for. Deposits paid. Engineers out to measure for the lines. BUT FIRST, you have to apply for a septic tank permit. Please know, that by applying for this permit, you open up an entirely new can of worms. We had to get the ground tested. We had to provide layouts of the trailer. We had to give them an estimate in feet, as accurate as possible, to where the septic tank would be on the property. This county will not give you power, or even let you fill out an application for power without this (not so) simple permit. But do you think they tell you this when you are inquiring over the phone? Nope... of course not. They make you travel back and forth and here and there, and then BAM!!! Someone finally lets it slip the actual order of things you have to do to get things started. But not until you have pulled half of your hair out!!!

Anyhow... the septic tank permit in hand, I go to the power company, and they FINALLY say, 'OK, we can NOW take your money'. So they send out crews and a month later... we have power poles. No power yet, but at least the poles are there! Hey, it's a start!

Next up... finding someone to transport the mobile home. Again.... you have to have a permit. To obtain this permit, I had to take a copy of the septic tank permit (luckily I have it now), and run around trying to find a state certified mover. Easy? Not so much. We finally found some one. A little rough around the edges, but hey... I am way too tired to be picky. He looks at where the trailer is and where it is going to be. Well... we are back to the creek (mud hole). So Drew spends a week and a half on a tractor and a bull dozier building this creek bed up to the rough around the edges guy's exact specifications. While this is going on, I am waiting patiently for his credentials, a copy of his license, and a block plan so I can go back for the 100th time to get the permit we need to move the house.

Long story short... rough around the edges guy changes his mind... Thanks Dude (more hair coming out of my head)! Back to square one! I make calls. Drew makes calls. Everyone is calling everyone. We found someone. This guy is a real winner. He is also my original call from a month or so back (he was highly recommended). Only he never returned any of my calls, so I figured he didn't want my business. Fine... I would rather pay someone else. Well... he actually called Drew (not me). Apparently, business was now slow enough for him to want to find business and because Drew was as panicked about the situation as me, he hired him... and didn't let me know. We can just say a doghouse was involved for several days. I obtained the necessary permit, and we got it moved. But not with out problems. As dude man was pulling onto the property, he gets the trailer stuck... for like 3 hours!!! (and he wasn't even at the creek yet!) Here are 2 pictures of the trailer getting moved.




That was the only issue that day... except for the nasty weather. But I stayed dried in the truck!I just wasn't able to get a lot of pictures. A few days later they came back out and anchored it so a hurricane hopefully won't blow it away, and that was (hopefully) that last I ever see of dude man transport guy. We can just say he and I definitely butted heads.

So the game plan is this. Drew and I didn't quite agree on this mobile home. BUT, we are planning to start building a house within the next couple of years. He told me to trust him, so I am trying. We will be moving into a much smaller space than what we are used to, but ok. We are doing this together. We have BUNCHES to do. But we have to start somewhere. And it is ours... his and mine. Eventually... it will be splendid! More to come... I am only on the tip of the iceberg!