Where Have I Been?

Why can't I get my act together to keep this blog and my other one  "Alice's Restaurant" updated on a regular basis???  I think of all the things I want to write about but time just gets away from me....so here I go again.

We are doing fine.   Ron made it safely home from Idaho and Oregon...he took 535 pictures and I finally got them onto the computer.  Now to get them into a post or two or three....they are in my head, just have to get them onto the computer.  Today I finally wrote a letter that I have been needing to write for almost 3 months...what is with that????

I think I need to go back to carrying a daytimer of some sort.  I have been looking at them to start in January but what to do in the meantime???  Suggestions.  I have made lists, lots of lists and where are they - on my desk in the office when I am in the motor home or in the motor home when I am in the office.  Agh....I just need to get my act together.  Not only about writing and keeping them up to date but also stuff aIround here.  I feel like I am just being a slug....and I don't like this slug that I am turning into.

 I have been doing two things that were missing in my life.  I am now getting up at 6 a.m. and exercising...I have got to lose some weight.  First goal is 7.2 lbs down and I am down 2 of that 7!  Then the next goal is down 25 lbs and then another 25 lbs.  Timeline wise I want to be down 20 lbs by 11/14 when my friend Dee arrives for a week.  So I only have 18 more to go to reach that goal.

The other thing is spending time in the Word every morning.  Right now it is about 15 to 20 minutes a day.  I would like to be able to spend 45 to 60 minutes each morning in the Word and in prayer.  And I know that will improve as I get connected to a Bible study that begins the middle of September.  More directed study is the best and easiest way for me to spend more time in God's Word.

Our motor home feels crowded and cluttered.  I need to purge and get rid of stuff but don't even know where to begin.  I need to get my monthly menus back on track.  I have done pretty good this week with meal planning by day.  But I do so much better eating wise, grocery shopping wise, spending wise and not eating out wise.  

I need help, some plans, some ideas - please share, please ask me if I am doing "xyz" - what do you do to keep your home organized and simplified?  How do you do monthly meal planning?  How do you keep motivated to keep a clean and tidy home?  Yes we live in our motor home but it is our home...it's not just a place to go camping and play in???

So to close I will share the one movie Ron took while he was with Brandon and his family.  The background noise you here is Max playing a Wii shooting game.  The baby is Treyson and it is so fun to watch his little movements.

Hope you have enjoyed catching up with us even if it is just a little bit.

And the Bathroom is Finished!!!

Let me begin this post with an order:

IF ANYONE HEARS ME MENTION PAINTING ANYTHING IN THE MOTOR HOME - TELL ME NO!!!!

This is what it looked like before I started painting.  The wallpaper is an avocado green with white.  Took 3 coats of paint to cover the green so it would not show.  The cabinets were an off white and they took 2 coats of paint.

And this was just after I had been at it for about 45 minutes and I was asking myself "why did I want to paint the  bathroom?"  You may also be wondering why I didn't take the wooden cabinet down.  Because I couldn't ~ it had two screws inside and they came right out but that cabinet was stuck to the wall.  I have no idea what we did to get that cabinet to stay up there but it is there for good!  Also giving credit where due - my cousin Mike Stortroen and his girlfriend Betsy Cook are the ones who made that cabinet for me many years ago for Christmas.

And this is the finished bathroom.  I went with a blue to compliment the yellow.  What I originally thought was off white was really a lite yellow and the yellow of the cabinets is actually 3 shades of yellow above the light yellow on the color strip.  What do you think of my earring holder?  I took a piece of corkboard and put it in a 8x10 picture frame and then thought it would be nice to add some pictures of our kids and grandkids.

I hope you have enjoyed seeing the project of painting the bathroom in our motor home.  I really like how it turned out but again

IF YOU HEAR ME MENTION PAINTING ANYTHING ELSE IN THE MOTOR HOME TELL ME NO!!!!

Taking a Break

It is hot!!! here in D'Hanis and things are slow in the park so Jared (Ron's assistant and who is working Ron's regular schedule while Grandpa is off playing in Molalla, OR) and I decided to shampoo the carpet in the office.  It really needed it...after the 3" of rain we got on May 26th in less than an hour which leaked into the office through the window the carpet was looking pretty dingy.

So yesterday Jared left a little early and went to H.E.B. and rented a rug doctor shampooer.  This morning after the regular stuff was done: reading the water meters, compiling the rental pool book and checking work emails we got a moving.  First we moved everything off the floor and all the chairs into the membership office.  Then I vacuumed and vacuumed again.  And then we scurried around and picked up all the little rocks off the carpet that the vacuum would not pick up.

Then Jared started shampooing the carpet.  Took him about an hour and as he was pulling the shampooer out the back door he turned and laughed and said "we forgot to turn the lights out."  No problem, I walked around to the front of the office and opened the door between the lobby and the office, reached in and turned the lights out.  We had already put the radio and a sign that said we were shampooing the carpet and would be in the library, cruising the park or in the motor home.

Then Jared went to hang out in the library and I took advantage of the break from the office a.nd painted the first coat of the yellow paint on the cupboards in the bathroom.  Boy does it look bright!!  And it was very clear it will need a second coat :(  I will do that tonight after dinner.  Hopefully the brightness will tone down after it dries and I get the blue towels hung up in there.*

And then I had lunch - leftovers from my dinner last night with Mindi.  She made chicken spaghetti.  I had never had chicken spaghetti but boy was it delicious!!  I am definitely going to have to get the recipe as I know Ron would enjoy it as well.

After lunch I mozied over to the library to see how things were going there.  Watched a group play bridge for awhile - seemed like Greek to me :)  And then I delivered some of the mail packages that came - since the office is closed it is important to make sure people get their mail.  Plus it gets me outside and I really don't mind driving around the park with the golf cart :)

Jared and I then went back to the office to see how the carpet looked.  It looked pretty good but some spots were still noticeable so we decided to go over those spots again.  Took us another hour or so to get that done.  Then Jared drove around the park and then went back to the library for awhile. 

So I am hanging out in the motor home, have the radio handy and making use  of my time writing some blog posts.  Nothing exciting but at least I am writing :)

*Pictures will follow as soon as it is all done - hopefully by the end of the day on Saturday.

Yes, We are Still Alive

Yes we are still alive...thought I had better check in here before y'all started sending out the tracker dogs to find us.  Here is a small recap of what we have been doing ~ told in reporter format :)

~ Ali had her scheduled eye surgery on 7/11 - all went well and she returned to work on Thursday of that week.  She has one more follow up appointment and then will get her new glasses.  She is just amazed at how bright things are, how things are clearer and the headaches seem to be gone.

~ Max arrived on 7/16 and we were very busy.  7/16 & 17 we were in San Antonio, went to the Ripley's Believe It or Not, Guinness Book of World Records, the Wax Museum and Grandpa & Max went in the haunted house.  We went swimming and ate dinner at Chili's.*

~ the first week Max was here we went to bingo, went to Bill & Rosa's for dinner, did laundry one night; the next weekend we went camping in Bandera, attended the rodeo, went to Flying L Ranch water park (Grandma got sunburned), went to OST (Old Settler Trail restaurant), went to Brick's cafe, went swimming;

~ in between we celebrated Grandpa's birthday with cake and laughter at Social Hour AFTER Grandma made a quick trip to the ER taking Grandpa who decided the way to get out of workk for a few days was to cut his hand with a light fixture while working in the clubhouse kitchen with Jared.  Grandpa is fine though his ego is a bit bruised for the accident happening even though we all have told him it was an accident.

~ the last weekend Max was here we went swimming, went to the Snake Farm, the Wild Life Ranch, swimming and met new RV friends & shared a delightful dinner.  And then we got up at 3 a.m. to get to the airport and get Max on that 6:00 a.m.  flight and then two very tired grandparents went back to the hotel and took a much needed nap.*


And then last weekend we went to San Antonio so Ron could fly to Lewiston on Sunday morning.  On Saturday we went swimming, took a nap, had appetizers and then went out to dinner at the Texas Land & Cattle Restaurant.  And on Sunday Alice drove back to D'Hanis and the campground.  Other than driving to the previously mentioned ER, Alice had not done any driving since early April.  She arrived safely back at the campground.


~ Monday Alice started a new project ~ painting the bathroom in the motor home.  Before and during pictures have been taken.  After pictures will also be taken and posted at a later date.  All she is asking if anyone, and she means anyone, hears her talking about another painting job remind her that she does not like to paint!!!*


~ the other thing Alice has been doing is writing posts for Alice's Restaurant ~ Dishin' Up Food for Thought.  Check it out here to see what has been on her heart and mind the last few days.  There will probably be 7 or 8 posts in this series of posts.


Guests that's all for now.  I have made a commitment to write at least one blog post a day either here on Wandering Workentins or at Alice's Restaurant.  Thanks for being patient with me as I got my head wrapped around a few things.


* More detailed posts with pictures to follow.