Confession time here! I put on some exercise leggings today (getting ready to walk later) and mentioned to Jay that my "muffin top" was a bit smooshie. I don't think that's really a word, but I bet you know what I mean. So that made me stop and think about planking and I had a second of panic when I realized I couldn't remember the last time I dropped for a plank. Well, since we all know that I am either thought and action are one OR a procrastination princess I set out to do a plank! I did do a minute one. Since this is confession, I'll admit I had set the timer for two minutes and that was just not happening!
" Like a river that don't know where it's flowing
I took a wrong turn and I just kept going"
So, new goal? Yeah, we'll be back to working on planking again. It's so easy isn't it? You lose track for a couple of days and before you know it a month goes by (or longer!).
Thank you to all of you again for your support and encouragement for the weight loss and for my recovery from the gall bladder surgery. It means a ton to know that there are so many of you out there cheering for me!
For those of you that follow for our full-time RV exploits I wanted to take a few minutes and talk about how our style of RVing has evolved and how there is no typical way to RV. Many of you know that I follow a lot of blogs. One in particular is RV DREAMS and they recently had an article published https://mrvthebuzz.mobilerving.com/open-road-lifestyle/features/rv-road-stories-linda-howard-payne where Howard mentions that you have to be a bit of a risk taker for this life. I guess that is true to an extent but I think a lot of that is perspective. I mean, yes, you can have an engine blow and if you are not prepared that can be awful. But in a sticks and brick home you can have your roof go... or your furnace. Life happens for sure. Howard and Linda were great inspirations to us but they also happen to be much more effluent than we are. I don't mean they are independently wealthy. They have always worked hard for their lifestyle. I just mean they are in a different tax bracket than we are. One of Howard's coin phrases is "there is no right way to RV". I think that is exactly right.
We are "settlers". By that I mean we don't move every day or two. Yes, there are people that full time that actually do that. Kudos to them! Unless we are trying to get to a certain destination we typically stay in one place at least two weeks. Because of that, we tend to have a much longer set up and take down routine. I have read that many people are able to have their routine done in 10-15 minutes and be one the road. Ours is more like 1.5 hours. Yes, really. Why such a variance you ask? Well, I have a lot of glass for an RVer. Crazy, right? Maybe it's because we are still fairly new to this and haven't got disgruntled, but I like being able to have many of my favorite "home" things around me. I bubble wrap more than a handful of things on travel day. Will I be crushed if they get broken? Well, I will be disappointed, but I'll have all the time I've enjoyed them instead of them being stored somewhere or someone else enjoying them. I am fortunate enough to have the storage space to allow me to bring many of my favorite things so I do. Simple as that.
Set up is almost as long, first because of the unpacking I packed up to move, and then because I like to vacuum and clean while I unpack. Jay gets the outside and is usually done much quicker than I am. But it helps that we have separate areas since two sets of eyes are better than one.
My point to all this? If you are considering the full-time lifestyle don't be scared! Or, if you are, don't be overwhelmingly scared! All of us come at it differently. I'm not saying don't plan or research (you know I'm a huge believer in research!) but don't think you have to make 6 digits a year to consider it. That being said, if you have an engine blow or something else happen you have to be able to go with the flow. Have an emergency savings account if you can, or if it's not that large yet, understand that you could maybe be stuck in one spot until you save enough to get things fixed. Don't think you have to give up everything you love. Be in the spirit of it. Use the nice glasses! This isn't camping for a weekend, it's your life! Enjoy what you love!
Now, when we are moving from point A to point B quickly I leave most of those things packed and we can roll in about half an hour (including walking the dogs). I'm sure if it were an emergency we could be much quicker but we're in this life to take it easy! ;)
We don't have a perfect life... we have a perfect life for us. I'm sure many, many people would not have left their comfortable middle class life to work part time and think about how travel will effect their monthly budget, but really, when you wake up to a new back yard and meet some fantastic new people...I can't imagine anything better.
Thanks as always to all of you that follow along!
~Mikki
