Mistakes, goals and anniversaries

I just realized today that we passed our 6th month mark last month! I really must have just been functioning on auto pilot to not think twice bout it! I hate when that happens. Anyway since we have hit 6 months I want to share our goals for our fulltimeing adventure and some what not to dos in rving.

What we’ve learned NOT to do-

– Don’t under any circumstances leave the awning out while you’re gone even if it’s not windy… Trust me one this. 😉
– Make sure all cabinet doors are secured before travel… Especially ones near slides.
– Make sure when filling black tank to rinse it (just for good measure) you do not leave the bathroom unattended… Again trust me in that.
– When pulling into a campground make sure fence posts are going to be far enough away and or all gates are open before turning in. Your camper will thank you.

As you can see we’ve made our fair share of mistakes, but the way I see it is if we don’t make mistakes then we wouldn’t be learning. If you aren’t learning then you aren’t growing so I feel like we re doing just fine in this thing called life. I’m sure we will be making plenty more so stay tuned, but for now here are our (my) goals for the future. Not real far in advance but I would love to finish this project of painting I’ve taken on.

Goals for the Future-

– Finish painting
– Organize RV
– Finish hanging curtains
– Hang decor
– Paint bunks for the boys
– Paint bathroom
– Paint bedrooms
– Make up my mind on what do with the cabinets ha!

As you can see I have quite a bit left to do to make it homey. It’s coming a lot though as I have painted the majority of the living room area and one curtain is hung haha! Maybe I’ll try to get it all painted before Christmas. That’s a big maybe as I have plenty to focus on, school, cleaning, organizing etc. it’s a busy life as a stay at home homeschooling parent. I wouldn’t trade it though.

Making this RV a home…

So I’d like to apologize for being that slow blogger. Besides the fact that we really haven’t been up to much, I don’t want to just be a boring blogger so I’ve been trying to make sure I have good content for everyone to read. So in turn I don’t post often, but on to making this RV a home that I love.

Since this is our home now and I love pretty things I thought it was high time to start making this RV more homey and me. What better way than remodeling and painting, right?

My inspiration as of late as been bright and airy if that is such a thing. I have a big thing for blues and whites. Beachy theme I guess you can say. I love all the white cabinets and neutral walls with just lovely decor. I can’t seem to get enough of it. I won’t be painting all the cabinets right away, mainly just because I don’t feel like tackling that by myself yet. My main plan is to just paint the walls and hang my new curtains for now. We have plenty of projects to get going too so I’m sure I have plenty to keep me busy for a long time.

Source: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/129900770477534460/

First I have taken down all the ugly border that the manufacturer put up… Really who designs these RV’s? It left a good amount of sticky residue so now I’m working on getting it off so I can finally paint before it gets too cold here.

We’ve also taken out the couch and dinette that was in here and replaced it with a bigger comfy recliner couch. Haven’t replaced the dinette yet with table and chairs but its on the list. I don’t think I’ve spent this much time on Pinterest since it first came out haha. I have so many ideas not enough space for it all.

Next on the list of projects is to work on giving the boys a space they can call their own. I plan on making curtains for their beds and letting them choose paint for their walls in their bunks. Also we are thinking of tearing out the dinette in their room too and giving them extra floor space to spread out as it is pretty cramped in there and they don’t tend to use the dinette too much. They definitely don’t use all those toys in the benches of the dinette. Also we are going to get some stuff to help organize their room as there isn’t a whole lot of organization going on in there at the moment.

Any way not a whole lot going on around here hopefully soon I can get a lot done on the remodel and make it look blog worthy around here ;).

 

 

I’m so excited!

Guys! Sweet Home RV has gotten a makeover! I love love love it! I feel it looks a little more homey and me. I searched forever to find someone to help me out a little and not only did I find that but she blew away my expectations. Tiffany Kuehl Designs http://www.tiffanykuehldesigns.com/ is amazing and not only that but shes super sweet and will work with you.

Yes I am aware you can already see, but I’m just so stinkin excited I needed to post of pic of it too!

If you are in need of a blog makeover then check her out! She does primarily blog spot, but can make you some ala cart items too. I hope you all enjoy the new look and will continue to stick around I am working on some new blog stuff for the future! 🙂

Chicago

Chicago Skyline seen from the Museum window

When we found out we were coming up to Indiana for a job it was not only last-minute, it was fast. I made the decision to leave my SUV as it needed an oil change and just didn’t feel like making a 1500 mile trip in a truck with no one to help me drive just yet lol. So since I didn’t have my car here I haven’t done a whole lot of getting out and about which to be honest I am perfectly fine with and since Mark only gets one day off we chose to use it as a time to go see Chicago.

Field Museum

I’ve always wanted to go see the windy city. I’m not really sure why, maybe just to say I’ve been, but its been a desire for as long as I can remember. We have only ever been close enough once before and just didn’t have the budget or the time so I’m really glad we did it finally. We decided we were going to go check out the Field Museum because our oldest is pretty fascinated with history and the like. Now if only we would have remembered to check the NFL schedule! 😉 Since the game that Sunday happened to be in town we had to park the truck over at Millennium Park and can I just say I have never wished we had a car so bad until that day. Marks truck is huge and underground parking garages are SCARY! But we made it work and found a spot. Luckily (or not so luckily) we just dealt with tailgating traffic after we parked the truck. We left the Museum we left before the game ended. I do have to say its kind of cool to be so close to the stadium that you can hear the announcers that you were normally only see on TV, but I still was not interested enough to stay haha.

Solider Field

If you’ve never been to Chicago go and definitely check out the Field Museum it is great and very educational for the kiddos. I actually enjoyed it and I HATE history. We were there for hours and still never got to see everything. (THREE STORIES y’all!) We were able to check out one of the 3D movies they had there and all I can say is I wanted to take a nap. Not because it was boring, but because I had just been walking enough. lol

After the Museum we walked back to Millennium Park to see the Bean and hopefully find something to eat. The Bean was awfully packed and the kids did NOT enjoy to long walk back. I have to say I was pretty exhausted too. I will say I didn’t want to leave the city I wanted to see more. We thought about going back today but we were just not feeling up to a lot of walking. Maybe next time. I still want to go see Navy Pier, the aquarium and just see the sights some more.

From here we will head to Iowa sooner or later I will get my truck back haha. Check back soon! 🙂

Hello Indiana.

So I know I said we were going to be stationary awhile, but things change only for 3 weeks though. Though I can’t say I’m disappointed ;). I am going to thoroughly enjoy the cooler weather. We had to come up here so my husband can help finish a job that needs done quick. We signed up for this lifestyle so while the 1500 mile trip seemed daunting we were up for it.

We left out Saturday for Oklahoma so we could visit my mom for a day and can I just say that trip was a nightmare. We only made it as far as New Braunfels before one of our RV tires blew. We had signed up for Good Sam roadside assistance back in July while on vacation in San Antonio so we of course called them to help us out. What I figured would have been a quick fix turned into a 4 hr nightmare and we just ended up having to replace everything ourselves. Yay! So by 6:30 pm we were back on the road and on our way to Oklahoma. Made it to Waco before the other tire on the same side blew, by then we were so exhausted and frustrated we just got a hotel room and called 24 hr tire repair. So what was supposed to be a one day trip turned into two.

 

We finally made it to Oklahoma Sunday afternoon and proceeded in being lazy the rest of the day. 🙂 Mark had been having some pains in his right side and we were worried it was his appendix so we got him in to the DR as soon as possible. Turns out he just strained a muscle or something at work a few days prior. Thank goodness he didn’t need emergency surgery. So that was a few extra days, Nana and the boys sure didn’t mind.

We headed out to Indiana Wednesday morning and made it in around 1am. That was fun setting everything up and trying to be quiet. We finally made it to bed by 3 am and can I just say it was freezing! I needed like 3 layers of blankets to warm up lol.

It is beautiful at this campground lots of trees, everything’s green! I can’t say I’m disappointed waking up to the smell of trees and campfires. 🙂 My youngest has already exclaimed that he loves it here and he doesn’t want to leave. I sure do wish they had wifi, but I guess I will look at it as a way to help me disconnect some from the internet. As I edit this post I’m sitting in a Chick Fil A freezing my butt off! LOL Still working on getting a ATT hot spot device for home use. Hopefully soon! Bare with me as I am slow blogging for now. 🙂

Summer Heat

So whoever had the bright idea that one AC in a 36 ft RV was a great idea…was dead WRONG!! I’m dying over here. All is well in the morning for while in fact most mornings I’m freezing and need my blanket, but come afternoon I’m literally sweating my butt off. No amount of fans or little clothing can help this chick out. I told my husband today that I will be glad when fall and winter come around so I can actually not dread being in my RV in hottest part of the day haha (polar vortex why did you miss us??) Now it doesn’t help that South Texas has little to no shade trees in their RV parks. Why?? I have no freaking clue!

We are toying with the idea of upgrading our AMP system and installing another AC unit above our bedroom, but we all know that costs money. Why can’t money grow on trees? If we really had known what we were getting ourselves into we may have passed on this RV. Now don’t get me wrong I really like this RV it has everything we needed plus some wants, but the 30 amp system and one AC are BIG negatives for us at the moment. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve blown the breaker and of course the HEAT. I’m sure things would be looking different had we been in a cooler climate for the summer time, but we aren’t. We do know that upgrading those items are still cheaper than buying a different RV so obviously we are sticking it out ;).

Of course we are still adjusting to life in a RV and we all know it’s completely different then a house life so there are definitely some big learning curves. We try not to have so many things plugged in when we need to use the microwave for longer then 1 minute or when we know we are going to use the hot water and it in turn turns on we make sure to not use the microwave or have too many things running. We have been running our water heater on the electric lately because we have no idea how much propane we have and haven’t filled it since we bought it. I know right? We are slackers ;).

It’s been so hot lately I’ve turned to sheets covering the windows and paper blinds. I will so enjoy being able to have real curtains and windows open when it cools down. I think I may have found some fabric to make curtains out of to match the big curtain on my sliding glass door. Now I need to just decide on curtain rods and how I want to hang said curtains. My sewing machine and I have a love hate relationship so the less sewing the better. 😉 I am going to be putting a black out fabric on the back so I can block out as heat as possible when needed and sun. Next on the redo list is the bedroom! I’m considering making a headboard to block the window above our bed. It’s just not realistic for us to have it not blocked. We never use our windows in our room as my husband loves a dark bedroom and can’t stand any lights when he sleeps. So I’m on the search for fabric for that and the curtains on the opposite window in the room. 🙂

I hope y’all stick around since some exciting changes are going to be happening soon hopefully! Don’t forget to go check out my Facebook page Sweet Home RV at  http://www.facebook.com/SweetHomeRV. I’d love to have y’all over there too!

 

 

 

All of me…

I know this blog isn’t exactly a personal blog about me or my struggles, but I’ve had a lot on my mind lately and I need to get it out. Basically it means I’ve had way too much time on my hands ;).

Anyway, for as long as I can remember I’ve been a people pleaser and to some extent still am. I hate confrontation or anything that makes my adrenaline fire up. I’m not good at saying what needs to be said for fear I’ll be hated or ignored. It’s only been about the last year and half that I’ve cared to be honest and want honesty. I’m sure I’ve always craved it and in the back of my mind wanted it, but I’d run from it and just do anything I could to get things back to the way they were.

Which in return let me harbor a lot of resentment and guilt. Guilt for letting myself not be as important as the person I’m trying to please. Why was I not as important as they were? In reality I was I just never told myself I was. I’ve never had a lot of self confidence and I know that’s one major factor to why I am/was a people pleaser.

I am by no means perfect nor do I claim to be or believe anyone can be. I’ve made my fair share of mistakes (recent and past) and I’ve had my fair share of disappointments the last few year. I’m not going to hide from them and try to fool anyone to thinking otherwise, but I need to move on from them. So I’ve decided I needed to change for the better and become a stronger me mentally and physically. All I know is I want to come out on the other side stronger and better then I was yesterday…

Twiddling Thumbs

For all of my adult married life I have been at stay at home wife/mom, but now that the boys are older and don’t need their mommy every second of the day to entertain them I’m finding it hard to entertain myself. I dabbled in photography a bit when the kids were younger and loved it. Now that we are traveling and I am homeschooling I don’t get out much. Before the road I had 8 hrs of alone time a day so I kept myself occupied with Zumba, shopping, friends and food. I don’t necessarily have that luxury anymore. Don’t get me wrong I love this lifestyle, but I do still miss my 8 hrs of me time lol! I don’t know anyone who really wouldn’t honestly. So I’ve been on a quest to find something to help keep me from feeling the effects of cabin fever and maybe even make a few bucks off of, but most importantly just something that makes me happy and proud to say I did that (besides my kids).

I’ve scoured Pinterest forever trying to find something that could fit into my RV life. Wreaths, Decor, Sewing etc.. I don’t know! I love refinishing furniture I’m not fantastic at it, but I loved the few pieces I did for my house. Obviously if I could I would buy all kinds of old furniture or the like and re-finish it all. Though as we all know is not exactly feasible in a small RV or any RV for that matter. So many options and so little space! Ha! I am also a big sweets person so baking would be something I’d consider, except its Summer in South Texas and hot as can be! Yikes… that sounds as enjoyable as being stuck in the desert with no water. Kind of. 😉

So what is a girl with my dilemma to do?? I don’t exactly know yet, but I’m sure I’ll come to the conclusion soon. I’ve been toying with the idea of getting back in to photography so who knows maybe you will see some more pictures again in the near future. Or you will be seeing some crafts who knows! I like surprises sometimes 😉

 

The 4th and a Pool Party.

I haven’t been around lately, though I’m sure y’all have noticed. We really haven’t done much besides for the 4th. We went to San Antonio and spent a few days with family and seeing some sites. It was definitely a nice change of pace. Normally we would either sit at home and shoots off fireworks or we went to someone’s house and had cookouts.

While in San Antonio we went to the Natural Bridge Caverns, The Alamo and the Riverwalk. I can successfully say we throughly enjoyed ourselves.

 

Also it was my youngest birthday this past Friday. He turned 6 years old! Crazy! I feel like these past 6 years have went by so fast. We just had a small pool party for him with some friends we have made down here. It was a great day. It’s safe to say he’s pretty happy ;).

Not much else going on here. We moved RV parks a few weeks ago so we are closer to Mark’s work which is nice since we can now see him at lunch. But we have honestly just been RV bums and hanging out at the pool. Hopefully I can have more interesting posts in the next few weeks and I won’t try to run off again 😉

 

Ramblings

We’ve made a few updates throughout the RV lately one major one was getting rid of the hideous blinds that cover our front door. That also meant getting rid of the big valence we had over head. I was way too giddy about it, but what I can say it makes a huge difference in here!

 

I had my husband do the muscle work for me! Love him! He installed a cheap curtain rod I found at Wal Mart. Then it was my turn to play. I had found a really cute shower curtain at TJ Maxx the day before so I bought some curtain clips from Wal Mart and went to work. I love how it turned out I only wish I would have bought the other one that was there so I could make some curtains for the rest of the windows in here. I may just have to find some fabric that works with the colors. We shall see.

 

We’ve also changed all the lights to LED lights, the others put off too much heat in here. We also replaced a few fixtures in the bathroom. Starting with the shower head the old one was tiny and never gave enough water. The new one we have is so much better! All the faucets in here except the kitchen sink are ugly. So I found this pretty oil rubbed bronze sink fixture and it looks tons better, next will be the shower with a matching one.

 

 

We have also went to the beach a few times. I personally dislike the sand and sun so I usually stay in my shade. The first time we went I had thought I put enough sun screen on, but apparently it didn’t work so needless to say I was a lobster by days in. I’m still peeling!

 

A few days later a friend came to visit so we went to the beach with our dogs. We only took our boxer this time because our dachshund is still healing from his broken paw. I was pleasantly surprised to see our boxer love the water. Heck he loves everything and everyone. He sure gave us a run for our money. I probably should take him out more often lol!

 

Mark and I bought the boys some boogie boards because they have wanted some for a while. Well over the weekend they finally got to try them out. We had a late start to the beach and I chose one farther away from the hotels this time. I was pretty disappointed to see the seaweed hadn’t been cleaned up out here like it usually is on the hotel front, but we made do with what we were given. Since we had such a late start we didn’t stay too long because we didn’t want to get stuck in the horrible traffic the island has on weekends. We luckily didn’t have to sit in traffic for too long and avoided the huge mess it normally is. We tend to stay home or away from the island as much as possible on weekends because of it, but the boys stay pretty occupied with the friends they’ve made here at the RV park. 🙂

 

I have to say it was really nice getting out and about a bit on the weekend. We spent Fathers Day at the RV just being lazy all day. Most likely the way my husband prefers it ;).