Today was probably one of the most fun and exciting days that I've had since I got fired. I woke up to the news that it was a snow day and school had been canceled. Hooray for Wisconsin weather! I laid there for a while trying to do some creative visualization. I got really into it and came up with some completely wild imagery. One of my favorites was me and this guy running across a field of tall grass holding hands. When the field suddenly drops off, we both leap into space and fall into a clear turquoise lagoon that I assume is in Hawaii. I saw things I would rather not see, someone I love and care about laying on a mountain in tremendous pain and agony, it appears to be from a physical mishap, but later on I realize that the true distress is either spiritual or emotional in nature. I pictured the friend I was thinking about the other day and literally saw the cookbook that I think he could write, with or without the help of his wife. An interesting side note there, I told him I would pray for him, he reached out to some people he doesn't know and may possibly have a book deal in the works. That was super cool to hear.
Jill and Jane's older sister fractured her tibia and fibula this morning when she slipped on ice at McDonald's. She went through the drive thru, noticed they had forgotten the ketchup packets, went inside, and promptly broke her leg. It will require surgery and nobody got any pictures of the floor for her, accidents happen, but companies can be liable for accidents. It will be interesting to see how things develop. While there is never a great time to break a leg bone, winter in North America is a suckier time than summer where you can wear shorts and don't have to contend with crutches while traversing ice and snow covered surfaces. Probably the best part of my day was watching an episode of Criminal Minds with my daughter (I hope I got that right). I guessed who the killer was as soon as I saw him although I had guessed incorrectly previously so that's a mark against me. We were both highly critical of most of it, I'm no law enforcement agent, but there were a lot of things that just didn't jive. Maybe TV is just not for me although I've had many friends rave about shows like Breaking Bad and others that escape my mind at the present moment.
After her show was over we went driving. We hung up the laundry together before we left. I had asked her to do that hours earlier, but she hadn't. One of the things I have a habit of doing is piling on tasks that need to be done, but in this case I had asked her previously, and it had been a condition of her going driving. She gave me a look when the show was over and told me that she thought we were going to go driving. I told her that I had been waiting for her and then we had a funny moment where she told me that I always tell her that we're leaving even when she wants to keep watching whatever she happens to have in front of her. On our drive we stopped at Molly's Gluten Free Bakery which is a place that I wish I could eat at, but can't because absolutely every single thing they make has potato starch in it. There cakes, pies, breads, rolls, cobblers, muffins, cookies, cake pops, and other treats are stunningly beautiful. The facility is a dedicated gluten free one and I shop there when I need a fabulous dessert for people who are skeptical about the whole wheat free idea.
Every year we buy the girls a cake from Molly's, or I should say I did when I was in charge of such things. Their decorators are very skilled and I've never had anyone complain about the taste or texture although it is obviously not quite the same. Yesterday Jill told me she had been craving a mint brownie. These are one of their best creations in my mind, but of course I can't have them. I had planned to stop and pick up one for her on my way to get her from school, but since there wasn't any today, that plan had been foiled. I offered to pay for her, but she told me she would take care of it. There was a new shop next door that we walked around in for a while. It was a lot of 'rustic' type things that I would probably never buy although I did take quite a few pictures because I thought they might be fun to send later. One of the projects on our list today was fried rice. I gathered things together only to find that we were out of onions. Thankfully my daughter works at a grocery store so she reminded me on the way there, and I decided I might as well pick up a few other things as long as I was there.
I broke down and bought an organic sweet potato. My sister's breakfast burritos smelled so good that I made some for myself. I normally stay far away from pork, but I bought some today and I spent extra for the brand that was certified gluten free. It sucks to pay extra for things like that, but the peace of mind is absolutely worth it. Another thing I bought was some asparagus that looked very fresh and was absolutely delicious when I got home. I love rice bowls so I had one of those tonight. Rice (duh) with onions, mushrooms, sweet potato slices, and asparagus spears. It was vibrant, colorful, nutritious, healthy, and not super expensive. It filled me up (although I had been eating all day) and made me feel better when I was done. I never did get around to the fried rice, but I can do that tomorrow. A woman I met on Twitter wants to be an architect, she just purchased a tiny house, I've wanted one ever since I was a kid, I reached out to her and I'm so glad that I did because she is a wealth of information. I followed her before I found out she also posts some pretty scandalous pictures, but whatever, I'm all about the info and contacting her was a super smart move on my part. That's what I love about experts.
Not only did she save me a ton of time, she gave me emotional support which is what I needed most. She told me I didn't owe her anything, but I said I was happy to give her something for her time and efforts. I have no problem paying for value when I receive it. She wanted fifty, I would have given it to her, but since money is an issue, I asked if twenty would be okay and she said she was fine with that. There's a French Canadian company called Cabane that has a beautiful Scandanavian model that runs about $37,000 USD, she sent me a Forbes article on a company that makes fireproof structures. It has more of a home feel and is probably worth the $66,600 that they want for the Traveler model. I would love to build one of these things myself, but my carpentry skills are limited to knowing which end of the hammer to use. Tee hee. I would probably be better at designing something like that although I'm sure that's tougher than it looks. One thing I'm great at is recognizing efficiency when I see it. I live in a luxury apartment and it's maddeningly inefficient at times although there are elements I liked enough to plunk down the money for rent.
This morning when I was doing my visualizations I asked God if he wanted me to start getting rid of my things and he said yes. When I asked how much I should get rid of he said all of it. Now since this is a visualization I don't know if this is really God communicating with me or not, but it is a fascinating coincidence that less than twelve hours later I'm looking at a house that would require me to get rid of the majority of what I own. Having built in furniture means I wouldn't need the things I have. This is obviously a big step to be taking, but I think this is the route I'm going to go. I don't need a lot of space, and I can't afford to live in such a costly place. Even if I end up spending $70,000, that's not a lot to spend on a structure I could live in for the rest of my life assuming I don't need nursing home care (shudder). What a lot of people don't realize is that when you buy a tiny house, all of your problems vanish. You no longer have financial problems, you magically start composting and your vegetable garden provides everything you need outside of things like sap for maple syrup that you can tap and boil yourself.
You'll buy sheep or alpacas and spin the wool into yarn that you can use to knit your own sweaters, scarves, hats, mittens, and socks. Baking is no problem because the video I watched showed a woman putting a something or other into the oven. You can chop your own wood, and the place doesn't ever get dirty like a regular home wood. You're closer to nature, you'll routinely sit and just contemplate the beauty right after you made your own artisanal vegan nut based cheese substitute. This pairs well with the wine that you made last year when your grape arbor yielded a healthy crop. Going off the grid isn't scary or a ton of hard work, you just buy this tiny house, and it happens without you really doing much of anything. Everything is cute, all of your decor matches, one of the homes I saw was mostly white and that's not a color that ever attracts any dirt. Nobody fights in these homes, there are no zoning issues, and other people that have purchased full sized homes typically welcome the tiny home dwellers with open arms and a basket full of homemade jams and gluten free scones that can be enjoyed over a steaming cup of DIY chai.
All joking aside, and I was joking (I hope you laughed at least a little at that), I am going to find a way to make this happen. It's funny how God can work miracles in your life when you fully trust in him and surrender to his plan. Yesterday was sobbing to anyone who would listen. Today I feel like I'm on top of my little world. Even if I have to take money out of my retirement accounts to finance this, I hate doing that, but I can't see spending so much more on living space that I don't own. Unbelievably the company is located in Rice Lake, WI, it's about a four hour drive, but I've been wanting to take a trip somewhere anyways, and I would want to see the place before I buy it (obviously). Maybe this won't end up working out, but I have a feeling that it will somehow despite my not having a job. The cool thing is that I don't have to make a decision right now although I would love to break my lease and use what I would have spent on rent for the house. I'll have to look into where I could put it, I'm not as worried about that. I've always dreamed about living in a trailer park, I guess this is my chance (wink).
If I lived down South I'd look into buying a boat. If some guy walked up to me and told me that he wanted to live with me on a boat, I'd be so there after I got his driver's license, social security number, last five years of tax returns, his high school mascot, the name of his first pet, and his mother's maiden name. Who knows, maybe I could even end up working for this company myself. It's something I believe in and am passionate about. I don't know how I'd feel about moving up there if that was required, but maybe they're looking for a sales person that's about halfway between Milwaukee, and Madison. I'm so happy that I got fired from my job and my daughter wants to go live with her father. Without those events, I wouldn't be here today. Every obstacle really is a way to reframe and challenge previously held conceptions. Attitude is just about everything, it's mental, and I'm beyond grateful that I've worked on my relationship with God because I can see his hand at work in my life. I'm also very grateful for the other experiences I've had that had led me to where I am at this moment. All of my hard work feels like it's paying off, and that is such an awesome feeling. I hope everyone I know feels surrounded by love, happiness, beauty, peace, and joy.
Xoxo,
J
P.S. Y'all are invited to my house warming party. Bring your own compost!
Much love,
j