Effie, Lari and Little Red

Hi Friends!

This post is looooooong.

I’ve been enjoying this little trio of mine, Effie the travel trailer, Lari the truck and Little Red.

I could say 1,000,000,000 times….Follow your dreams. Chase your dreams. Make them happen. Little Red came first in 2016. I remember friends asking me when I bought Little Red, “Where will you kayak?”. I didn’t have big adventurous plans of rapid rivers or any risky outings. I imagined the great views the kayak might bring me while also getting in a little upper body workout. I had quiet little plans of paddling out to a spot I wouldn’t be able to enjoy otherwise, and floating. I imagined a thermos of hot coffee with me on a cool morning, or a cold drink on a hot afternoon, maybe I’d read a book, maybe I’d just stare at the water or the sky, I just knew I would love to be out on the water and now I know, I do.

After purchasing Little Red (and driving the same car for 12 years), we knew it was time for something different for me, and while Mike thought a truck was a great idea for taking Little Red when I wanted to get her out, I agreed but had bigger plans for my truck. After some careful shopping and knowing what we wanted, we found Lari. Ya’ll name your vehicles too, right?

Well the dang cancer ignited my desire to continue to do some of the things that I wanted to do in life, so I added “buy vintage trailer” to the list of things to follow through with and completed my trio.

I’ve never looked back.

This camping thing has been everything I was hoping it would be. While I love meeting new people and sharing this experience with family, I really enjoy a trip alone. I love my husband dearly, but I knew this would be something I’d likely be doing alone. He had no real interest in camping, especially in an 11’x7′ box, and still has no interest, and that’s totally fine because I’m realizing how much I enjoy going alone. No one to worry about but me. Eat when and what I want, sleep when I want, take a walk when I want, shower, no shower, lol. Really though, I realize how fortunate I am in having his support. Not gonna lie, it took a bit of work to get there.

While camping offers some beautiful views and some great chill time, it can also be a lot of work! I’m now remembering why my mom didn’t love our camping trips when I was a kid. We were a family of four, and I would say that while me and my brother and my dad, and any friends we took along were fishing, playing frisbee, riding bikes, my mom was cooking, doing dishes, making up the beds, taking down the beds, and figuring out what to do with everything that got wet or muddy after a good rain. I’m fairly certain that it rained every time we went camping. We were all having a blast while my mom worked her little tush off!

Meal planning and shopping, packing coolers, bedding, bug spray, sunscreen, a variety of clothes to be prepared for anything, then unpacking at home and cleaning up. It’s getting easier as I figure out what I need and don’t need, but it’s a physical workout for certain!

My plan for this past camping trip was lots of relaxing. I knew that four nights away in Effie would include long morning walks, taking the kayak out on the lake and finishing at least one of the books that I’ve been reading/listening too. I went to this campsite last November for my first solo camp trip and there wasn’t a single person in my campground. This site is absolutely gorgeous and is right on the lake. I knew that it would be a whole new beautiful view with the trees full of leaves.

November 2019.

July 2020

It was my first time camping surrounded by modern trailers, RV’s and then little ole me. Another fun “First” in Effie.

I had great neighbors on each side of me and we were at least 20′-25′ apart from each other. When I got back from my walk on my third morning I found a note in my camp chair from the couple that had been parked beside me. They also left me a few pieces of firewood!

Campers are some of the nicest people!

I found a perfect spot to easily put the kayak on the water. It was a quiet little cove where families anchor their boats and play all day. I cruised around out here a couple of days.

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This little spot I can see from my campsite right on the lake. I’ve discovered it’s a great place for morning coffee or an evening cocktail while watching the boats come and go at the boat ramp. I did yoga out here one morning.

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Great morning walks that led me to some of the sites along the lake for tent camping only.

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Sunday morning there was zero humidity and oddly temps were only in the 80’s all day. I remained in this chair until I finished this book. Such a great book!

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Some of the biggest decisions to make when camping alone. Should I have my morning coffee outside or inside??? Ahhhh, either was nice. This was trip no. 11 in Effie and I’ve journaled about each trip.

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I’ve done some super weird random things in Effie. These are my new curtain ties. I had some that matched the fabric of the curtains, but they weren’t holding up well and I wanted something different. These are shoe strings!

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My little cover that I made to go over the original gas stove (I want to keep it original yet I don’t want to deal with the propane if I don’t need to) gave me the counter space I was needing when I want to cook inside or need a place to set the rinsed dishes.

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The picnic table made for a great view during meal time.

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Eat inside or outside?

Okay, here comes a whole bunch of food pics, but I’m so happy to discover that it is so easy to cook quick, healthy and delicious food while camping! I thought it was all hot dogs and potato salad!

Food I packed for the weekend…..

Coffee, almond milk, eggs, pancake mix, yogurt, fruit, almond butter, cans of tuna, mayo, pickle relish, onions, peppers, avocados, tomatoes, olive oil, limes, lemons, asparagus, salmon, chicken sausages, chicken, fajita seasoning, turkey lunchmeat, laughing cow cheese wedges, carrots, popcorn, lara bars and marshmallows. Oh, and beer and wine.

I cooked more than I needed, put the leftovers in large ziplock bags, which makes it easy to store and easy to bring leftovers home in.

The fridge is tiny, so a few things work fine on the table. Did I mention camping for one is easy?

I just brought a few snack foods. These satisfied my snack desires. And marshmallows. Always marshmallows.

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Easy afternoon lunch or snack a couple of days.

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Lots of space to prep, but anything like bacon or onions, I cook outside.

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I used my little Dash Egg cooker and it worked perfectly!

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Aspargus, Mushrooms and Red Onions in my little electric skillet. Then a piece of salmon. Easy. Delicious.

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Fajita’s. I skipped any chips or tortillas or cheese because really, the smashed Avocado is my favorite part! I cooked up the onions and peppers, set them aside and cooked the chicken, then combined them both in my cast iron skillet using my electric burner outside. Keeps the tiny trailer from smelling too much like food.

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Another simple dinner I’ve already made camping. Dice up Chicken Sausages, Peppers and Onions and Montreal Chicken Seasoning. I brought a cooked potato and added a little of that in too! Topped with Avocado of course.

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I brought two pieces of salmon. Tried this same meal that I’d already had but used EBTB seasoning to see what I thought. Of course this taste great on just about EVERYTHING!

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That has been my fairly standard camping menu. Most of my favorite foods, tasty and healthy, all easy to prepare and versatile in how I can prepare them. I’m cooking one of four ways. In my electric skillet, in a pan on top of my electric burner, in my cast iron skillet over the campfire, or on the grill over the fire. Eventually I will find some more “camp” meals, but for now I’m enjoying what I’ve been doing.

Just a few favorites.

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My legs have never been a part of me that I liked the way that they looked. Don’t get me wrong. I have learned (with a lot of positive self talk and practice in that self talk) to love and appreciate them for what they allow me to do and for how strong they are! For some reason I’m feeling very comfortable in shorts this summer. Maybe because less people are seeing me? I didn’t know anyone at the campsite? Not sure, but I do know that it is feeling very good to continue to appreciate them for what they can do vs. feeling ashamed of them and what they look like. That wasn’t doing me any favors at all and it has taken me a long time to get here. But I like it here.

Hello legs! I mean, they do look better sitting down than standing. lol

After camping two weekends in a row, this past weekend was filled with a whole lot of nuthin much! Chill time.

The Garage

Okay, here is the garage update you’ve all been waiting for! (Who seriously cares? Anyone?)

I wish I had some awesome ‘before” pictures, but Mike started tearing things down quick once he made up his mind!

First he emptied the entire garage of 21 years of belongings and gave the walls a good coat of gray paint and painted all of the trim white. It looks so fresh and clean now.

The man tends to be a perfectionist (except for hanging up his bathroom towel straight. I don’t get that, but you know….) and he worked his tail off filling every hole and making things look and feel like brand spanking new! He even put those new lights in!

Not a true “before” but more of a “during” while realizing just how much stuff accumulates over 21 years and how many cabinets do we need to organize it all?

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After the paint job, before the epoxy floors.

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After the epoxy floors were put down. Mike is in garage heaven right now ya’ll. Like bliss.

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The day that cabinets started being delivered.

The dark upper cabinets on the left are for kitchen stuff. Crockpots, you know. The tall cabinets are 8′ tall and 3′ wide. There are four of them and they are full and sooo organized.

Beside those are more uppers with two lowers with a work bench on top then one more tall cabinet. He’s still got some organizing to do and a workbench light to put up, but I know he is so happy with how this all turned out. Gotta say, I could have cared less about the garage and I LOVE IT!!

Kate update

I’ll just let you read her words from her most recent Facebook update. I know she has struggled a little bit, but she’s moving forward and I’m proud of her and most of all, happy that she is happy.

WW Work Update

If you’re a WW member, then you know we’ve opened up a few studios for Drop & Shop hours and now Limited Attendance Workshops. I’ve been working the Drop & Shop for a few weeks now and I worked my first live Workshop last week in a Studio. WW has been very careful in opening up. All members and staff must wear a mask, members must only weigh in with shoes on, 6′ between members which only allows so many members to stay for a Workshop depending on the studio size. It’s weird. Not gonna lie, I don’t like it. I miss members but it just all feels strange. I’m a mask wearer and I do want folks to wear them, but I am so uncomfortable wearing it and talking. It slips off my nose, I constantly do touch it, my glasses fog up and honestly after talking for a 30 minute Workshop I felt light headed. I have SO much respect for those of you wearing a mask all day long, working 8, 9 10, 11, 12 hours shifts….or more! I’m happy to be back, but I am happy we are keeping our Virtual Workshops for now as well. I do really look forward to when things don’t feel so damn weird, as I know we ALL do.

WW and Me!

I just keep doing all the things that make me feel my best. Walking every day and loving that. Drinking 80-100 ounces a day to stay hydrated but also keeps me from snacking because I always feel full, keeping the fridge and pantry stocked with the foods that I know work best for me, and most of all, remembering that I can only control how I react to a situation.

Some days are easier than others.

Colonoscopy

As you know by now I do like to do a “Feel it on the First” reminder each month to remind you to do a self breast exam as well as a reminder to schedule your mammograms if need be.

I just had my first colonoscopy this morning. All is good! One more thing to add to your list of self care if it’s time for you to do that!

If you are still reading, THANK YOU!!!

I hope you all are healthy and happy and doing your best to find something each day to smile about.

Sending out a big warm hug to all!

“love the life you live, live the life you love”