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Snapshot of Our Life: Almost the End of Summer
It’s the end of summer in most places, and everyone’s getting amped up for back to school, goaded by the store school supplies displays. Here in Southern California it’s summer all year long. I’ve been taking advantage of the stores’ summer clearance sales to stock up on frugal kids’ summer clothes like swimsuits, shorts, tank tops, and beach supplies. We’ll still be using them year-round. Of course, I’m a sucker for back to school and have started shopping for school supplies and fall clothes too. The new fall colors and plaids always get me. Plus, I found some amazing pink glitter office supplies at Staples and Walmart yesterday. Some days…
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From Frozen Years to Golden Years: Leaving Alaska {Part 4}
If you missed the first part of our leaving Alaska moving story, go read it here first: From Frozen Years to Golden Years: Leaving Alaska {Part 1} Leaving Alaska {Part 2} Leaving Alaska {Part 3} Frugal Flights I’m almost always frugal, even when it was time for us to move. We had originally planned to use our Alaska Airlines miles for free plane tickets and had enough for all 5 of our tickets to be completely free. That would cost 62,500 airline miles, and we had plenty – or so I thought. It turns out that when Michael had to fly to Seattle last minute for the job interview that…
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From Frozen Years to Golden Years: Leaving Alaska {Part 3}
If you missed the first part of our leaving Alaska moving story, go read it here first: From Frozen Years to Golden Years: Leaving Alaska {Part 1} and Leaving Alaska {Part 2}. The next week was a blur. The negotiating went back and forth on the house offer, but it proved that they didn’t have the cash portion they needed to buy our house. We prayed about the house sale and waited. The only way we could pay their portion of the house sale was if we were getting a tax refund. We waited on our accountant as the Tax Day deadline approached and jumped every time the phone rang,…
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From Frozen Years to Golden Years: Leaving Alaska {Part 2}
If you missed the first part of our leaving Alaska moving story, go read it here first: From Frozen Years to Golden Years: Leaving Alaska {Part 1}. From Frozen Years to Golden Years: Leaving Alaska {Part 2} We had some rough days and prayed a lot. Tensions were high. We almost got hit by two different cars in two different incidents that were way too close not to ponder. I was driving to the grocery store to pick up some extra packing tape for the boxes and I was praying the whole way. Above, a photo of a poster I had hanging in my office in Alaska. It’s a replica…
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From Frozen Years to Golden Years: Leaving Alaska {Part 1}
We’ve been gearing up for our minimalist move for months, and it’s finally complete! We’re now at home in sunny Los Angeles, California, but the move was by no means quick or easy. Luckily I’ve been taking notes and pictures throughout the whole process so I could share the story of our escape from Alaska to California! The first part of our story was the Minimalist Move, which was a transformational experience in itself. The process was so emotional that my husband asked me to write about it so that we would remember the way it felt later. If you missed any of the Minimalist Move story, start here: {Mobile…
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Snapshot of Our Life: 40 Below, Temperature Low
It’s the daily life that gets lost and forgotten over the years. I want to remember these in-between times, not only for the little memories that might not seem significant now, but to be able to have these stories to share with our kids in the years to come. Some days blogging is hard. Some days living is hard. Some days all you can write about is what you see around you. That is the snapshot of our life. Snapshot of Our Life: January 16, 2012 Where are we? We’re living in Fairbanks, Alaska in the first house we ever bought. We are moving away and planning to sell the…
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{Mobile Lifestyle} There’s No Place Like Home, But…
There’s No Place Like Home, But… The saying goes that there’s no place like home, but does it really matter where home is? I feel that no matter where I am, as long as I’m with my family, that’s home enough for me. So what if our home has to become the open road? Let me explain what’s been going on over the last 4 months, and why my mindset has shifted to living more minimally and happily. Takedown #1: Goodbye husband’s income. In September 2011, my husband and I got the shock of our lives: he was laid off from his job of 11 years with no warning. After…
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Frugal Home Buying: We Saved Cash For Part of Our Down Payment
We’ve just purchased our first house (a first for both of us) and we did it with frugal finesse. We saved 100% of the cash for our down payment!
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4th of July Camping Photo Progression: Sun to Rain to McDonald’s (Part 2)
Did you read the first part about our camping trip? Make sure you get the first (good) part of the story before you read on to the BAD part below! Read about camping day 1 here first. 4th of July Camping Photo Progression: Sun to Rain to McDonald’s (Part 2) I woke up a few hours later from a loud sound. It was the sound of rain – lots of it. I lay there quietly for a minute, listening to the rain pound on the tent, watching it land and bead up and roll down the outside. Then it got harder. And harder. That’s when I woke up Michael. The…
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4th of July Camping Photo Progression: Sun to Rain to McDonald’s (Part 1)
It wouldn’t have been the 4th of July weekend without some fun family camping, which is just what we did! My husband and I packed up the family minivan and hauled the kids out to Chena Lakes for some good old fashioned roughing it. At least that was the plan. The misadventure looks even funnier in photos than it was in real life! Here I present for you the 4th of July camping photo progression: sun to rain to – McDonald’s? My husband, Michael, and I have never gone camping with the kids before. We should have known we were in for it, especially with a 6 month old baby…
