Happy Veterans Day -- Played Hooky- NEWS

Thank you to all those that have served in the military. I'm proud to be a military wife and what it means to be living in a country of Freedom. Please remember our service people in prayers.


Here's Kendall & Kyle Frank, Angie

Our family that we'll be spending time with this summer.

I played hooky today. I didn't want to fight the rain (from Ida) going to work. It's just one of those days. I chatted with Jenny and Bill from RV-Dreams awhile and watched my favorite TV shows, then cleaned the apartment from top to bottom. It sure didn't take long.

I also emailed and Carriage factory and got this response:

This coach is going to Mor-Ryde? We are hoping to ship to Mor-Ryde today. I will let you know when they have it. It will be up to them when they ship the coach to Carolina.

Should be very soon!!!!

How cool is that!!!

We may have our new home by end of next week. It's going to be a very busy rest of the month with Thanksgiving in that time frame too. Now I'm really nervous!

It's raining and getting windy. I watched our neighbors move out getting really wet. I feel so bad for them. I made a few food items, like ham salad and got a crockpot dinner going for tonight. I got an email from my boss saying to come in tomorrow because they have a "large" project for me. That figures, NOW they want something done now that I'm thinking seriously of quitting. The busier I am the better so we'll see what that's all about. Today went really fast and I enjoyed my day home.

Stay tuned, it's not going to be long before things get really interesting.

Mixed Up Day

Congratulations to Mary & Paul (aka Natasha & Boris) they got their new MH yesterday. See it here.

I got to work and Mrs Boss wasn't there. I was going to ask Mr Boss a question about something and he brushed me off, again. When he's in a bad mood he doesn't want to be bothered. I didn't see him the rest of the morning. Mrs Boss came in about the time I was leaving. So, I read blogs all morning after I did ten minutes of filing.

We still haven't heard anything from the factory about the 5er. I didn't think we would. If you're dealing with Carriage in Elkhart, don't be surprised if you don't get info from especially if you're ordering one.

I left at 1pm and picked up mom for a dentist appointment. Her tooth broke this weekend so she had to get it fixed. They made a crown for it and we'll go back in two weeks for the permanent tooth. I read almost an entire book while there. I always have a book with me for "waiting" or in planes.

I got home just in time to get supper and back on the computer the rest of the evening.

Monday, How Many More

This was a typical Monday, not sleeping much on Sunday nights so usually tired all day. Yep, another Monday, wonder how many more. We didn't have our 8am meeting till after 11:00. There was a lot going on. It looks like some of the proposals we've been working with may be our new work. If so that will help for the next three months. I won't be there that long, but sure would be nice to know the company will continue.

No phone calls today from the dealer. I doubt if he ever calls till the 5er is done and on the way. I know more then he does, or doesn't want to tell us. Anyway, it seemed line a long day today.

I took mom and her lady friend for groceries, then home to clean and do the ironing. I had several shows to catch up on TiVo so watched those for the afternoon. It started out nice and sunny but the later it got the cooler and darker it got. We're suppose to have rain the next couple days.

When I got the mail we have our lease papers to rent for longer or to give up our apartment. I hope to give it up, in February as that's when our lease runs out.

Breakfast with RV-Dreamers

I forgot to mention something really important for the newbies going fulltime. Put your pictures on DVD's/CD's and/or backup external drive. Take pictures of the "important stuff" that you have attachments to then get rid of it. I found that helped a lot in tossing it.

We got up early to meet up with Mary & Paul (aka Natasha & Boris). We met them in Durham where they found a campground near Duke hospital. It's expensive and run down, but it has full hookups and worth a night or two if you're in the area and need a stop off point.

We had a wonderful time and the ideas they gave us on what to do with stuff is great to know. Their MH is wonderful with the higher ceilings and wider aisle going to the back. They have a full side slide which makes a big difference. Thanks you two for stopping by on your way north.


They are on their way to Virginia then on to Kansas City. Read their blog and see what they're up to.

It was too dark last night when we got back from Old Salem to take pictures of Jim's new mud flaps. This will protect the 5er a bit from flying debris from the road. Here's the picture.

I've put up the pictures from the day trip yesterday. They're on the right side under Old Salem. What a great time.

The rest of the afternoon I cleared out more stuff from the closet, found my extra glasses and watched the NASCAR race. Gearing up for another week of waiting for the RV. It could come any time once they get the parts it's missing. We're having great temperatures and sunny days, so life is good. It was a wonderful weekend, thanks to friends.

Old Salem - Winston Salem Day Trip

Day trip, there's several pictures, I hope you enjoy. We've been wanting to go to Winston-Salem and visit the OLD SALEM for years and today we went with another couple. It was perfect weather and it was well worth the trip. Old Salem is like Williamsburg, VA only smaller in size. Click on the pictures to make them larger. I will have a lot more pictures posted tomorrow that will be listed to the right side of the blog.

We went with Gary and Cyndi and Gary is an amateur radio operator because he likes playing with the radios and he's got street atlas to get us to where we wanted to go.
As we parked this was our view into Old Salem.
The visitors center.
Covered bridge going into the Old Salem.
Map of the whole area.

Down the street.
Dressed as they did in the 18th century, this was in the Single Brother building.
Just one of the rooms that was for food preparation.
The bakery in the 18th century.
If there was a fire this was the pump to put water into buckets then a bucket brigade formed to put out the fire.
The200 year old pipe organ in a church. It really sounds great!
Making pottery dishes and pitchers. This kiln is watched 24 hour a day for a few days. It takes four days to cool down before they restart it again. Over 70 pottery pots are made at a time.

Old Salem cemetery
We had a fabulous lunch at the Salem Tavern. Very well priced and lots of food. I had the brats, sauerkraut and German potatos, yummy.

Play area for the kids. They were taking a stick and rolling a hoop. Quite fascinating.
Just one of the shops making woodwork.
One of the leaves it was huge!
We got back home about 5:00. Jim had taken his truck in to the shop to have tire stems and mudflaps put on so we had to be back before they closed. We went out to eat then to a birthday celebration with another couple.

Happy Birthday Jeff!! Thank you Gary and Cyndi for a great day in an Old Town.

Tomorrow is a day with an RV-Dreamer. Stay tuned for more fun.

Nothing New Another Week Done

Thanks for all the comments from yesterdays blog. Overall, if you're going to fulltime, start early to get rid of stuff or get a POD, or storage unit. I can't wait to see how much more we'll be selling when we move into the RV.

It was a gorgeous day today! It was cold when I first got up but warmed up to 55 by noon. Nice sunshine.

At work the weeklies got done but with a few problems. Both bosses were out today, so I was alone to answer the phones and get the normal Friday stuff done. At least the day went fast. I'll take one day at a time to see when and how many more days I have left. Since I know we won't be getting the 5er before December, I'm just passing the days in stride.

We're gearing up for a fabulous weekend with lots going on, stay tuned.

Working days to quit work 19 (or less)
This countdown is only for WORKING days.

Four Years Ago Today, We Decided to Go Full Time

I'd like to bring the new readers up to date and the followers a reminder how far we've come in our four years of deciding to go full time in a little box on wheels. To look back on the very first blog about the why.

It started with another fulltimer that was showing us his rig and putting water in the tanks, preparing to get some maintenance done and overall showing of his 5th wheel. I had come to conclusion Jim would never go fulltime and didn't think much about it. As we were walking away, he said that sounds like a good idea. I stopped and just stared at him, already the excitement was starting. We told no one for several months. We decided at the time that 2012 would be our target date.

First, we hit all the RV shows around the area. Second, we went to everything we could find on the internet about RV's and the types and what they cost and a budget that would be close to ours. Third, we started to get rid of our "stuff". In about a year we had figured out the difference between 5th wheel, MH, and trailer, and a good idea on which one we wanted.

The Second year, we had a car crash and totalled our Lexus. That was a turning point on getting a small truck to get use to it. We didn't do much the whole year except sell more stuff. It's easy to get rid of things you never use. Things that are pretty much out of sight like in an attic or the storage shed. There were boxes we've never opened since we got out of the military so that was the first to go.

The third year, we got the GMC 3500 dually. It was almost to the very day of our anniversary of deciding fulltime. Jim found a really good deal on the used truck that had very few miles on it. We jumped at the chance of getting it. This year was a turning point for us. It's 2008 and in June we went to the RV-Dreams.com rally in Branson, MO. With the help of Linda & Howard Payne, which I had been following their blog since middle of 2006, we learned we didn't have to wait till 2012. Now to step up the pace. Sell more and get the condo ready to sell. We were elated that it could be sooner then planned.

This is now the fourth year. We put our condo up for sale in April, sold it in September. We moved to an apartment across the street so we would have a place to transition and sell more stuff while we're still working. We ordered our 5er and it was due TODAY, exactly four years from the time we decided to take the plunge. The RV is going to be late, they can't get some parts from the manufacturing companies. It's all worked out to the very day we thought about planning our new adventure so we KNOW it's to be. We'll get to see the kids a lot more and see friends that are located all over the USA.

We've sold or have given stuff away. We still have more to toss, but most of that we need for working. I'll be quitting when we get the RV and Jim will quit work in January/February. We're looking forward to an RV-Dreams get together in Rockport, TX for all of March then over to South Carolina for another RV-Dreams rally.

For those thinking of going fulltime, the internet will be the tool for you. Check every forum, clubs, like Escapees and Good Sams which we became members of three years ago. Go to every RV dealership you can find. We also went to Hershey, PA for their big RV showing which helped in knowing what to get. We talked to full timers and met several RV'ers coming through our area.

It won't be long you'll be able to follow the transition from the apartment to the RV. It's now year four and we're ready to go.

Working days to quit work 20 (or less)
This countdown is only for WORKING days.