Tax Season

Jordan and I actually love tax season. I know that this might actually sound weird and crazy to most people but it is probably our favorite time of the year.

 It is a little intense at moments as we try to round up W2's from states all across the country and fill out the proper paperwork, but that I can manage. The main reason you could say we love this time is because we have right in front of us the exact amount of money that passed in and out of our hands throughout the past year. I understand this could cause a head ache for some, but ever since we have journeyed into a "minimalist" lifestyle it has become a game for us. Over the past four years our income has decreased by almost half every single year and our enjoyment for life has only multiplied. Again, I do know this does sound crazy.  But let me also tell you something, we set a record low this year of taxable income.... $14,000 COMBINED!

And to be honest, we couldn't be any happier.

I'll dive into the reasons why in my next post, but before I do I want to leave you with some quotes and great excerpts that completely exemplify our goals as we travel farther into the simple life. So grab a cup coffee, sit back and really take a minute to think about these things.....

Edwin Way Teale. “Reduce the complexity of life by eliminating the needless wants of life, and the labors of life reduce themselves.”

Anna C. Brackett. “We go on multiplying our conveniences only to multiply our cares. We increase our possessions only to the enlargement of our anxieties.”

Socrates. “The secret of happiness, you see, is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less.”

(The following are some excerpts from the guys over at theminimalists.com)

What is minimalism? If we had to sum it up in a single sentence, we would say, Minimalism is a tool used to rid yourself of life’s excess in favor of focusing on what’s important so you can find happiness, fulfillment, and freedom.

Minimalism has helped us:

-Eliminate our discontent

-Reclaim our time

-Live in the moment

-Pursue our passions

-Discover our missions

-Experience real freedom

-Create more, consume less

-Focus on our health

-Grow as individuals

-Contribute beyond ourselves

-Rid ourselves of excess stuff

-Discover purpose in our lives

Minimalism is a tool that can assist you in finding freedom. Freedom from fear. Freedom from worry. Freedom from overwhelm. Freedom from guilt. Freedom from depression. Freedom from the trappings of the consumer culture we’ve built our lives around. Real freedom.

Fear traps us. It prevents us from growing. It prevents us from contributing to other people. It prevents us from living happy, satisfied, fulfilled, free lives. In fact, fear is the antithesis of freedom. It is, by definition, constricting.

We often hold on to things because we are afraid to get rid of them. We fear losing those things that we think we might need. We don’t just fear the loss of these things though, we fear the loss of what these things might potentially mean to us in some distant hypothetical future.

When you say that out loud, it sounds ridiculous. Try it. Say I’m afraid to get rid of this [insert object name here, e.g., T-shirt] because it could potentially make a serious impact on my life someday in the future. Ridiculous, right? And so there is an obvious question we must ask ourselves when we’re holding on to something: Why am I afraid to get rid of this ?

We have good news though. Fear is a choice. You actually choose to be afraid. And you can deliberately choose to live without it. All you have to do is make a conscious decision, a decision to not be afraid. When something stands in your way, you must ask yourself, what am I afraid of?

So many people have chosen to get rid of their fears and move on with a meaningful life. But don’t take our word for it, try it out yourself”¦

Throw away your favorite T-shirt.

Get rid of your TV.

Write that novel.

Start taking yoga classes.

Do something you wouldn’t normally do.

Live your life.

Live a better life.

What are you afraid of?

It’s time to stop being afraid of whatever is preventing you from being happy, whatever is preventing you from being free. Because in the end, you’re holding on to the fear because you’re afraid to give it up.

.......stay tuned to our next post to see how and why we survived a year with $14,000 and loved it!

"You Can't Have a Testimony without a Test"

Jordan and his second cousins!

The weekend before dropping Justin off at the airport we volunteered to take Jordan's 2nd cousins to Memphis so they could visit with their dad for the weekend. As we were waiting for the kids in Little Rock to be dropped off by their mom, little snow flurries started coming down. We knew a storm was coming but we weren't sure how big it was actually going to be. We decided not to worry about it too much and pushed on to Memphis with the kids. We were in front of the storm the entire way there. We met his cousin at a restaurant to make the drop off and as we talked for a few, the snow just started coming down and that's when his cousin told us that all the roads and highways back to Hot Springs were closed. Apparently, the storm hit hard and fast. Ambulances were flying off the roads and cars were piled up everywhere. We bid farewell and tried to come up with a plan because we were now stuck in Memphis for the weekend with nothing but the clothes on our backs and White Lightning. 

We had already decided to hang out with our friend Anoli, a friend from Fallbrook, that evening. She moved here a few years ago from California. We had been to Memphis last year but a town is always better when exploring with a local. We were all pretty stir crazy from being trapped in the cabin for the past couple of weeks... so we were all ready for an adventure! We met up with Anoli at the school she teaches at for their homecoming basketball game. We watched for a while and it was quite an experience. We were definitely a minority in the building but we had fun soaking in all the culture! They had a dance team perform at half time and they introduced their homecoming court!

Before she took us out on the town for the evening we went back to her townhouse so she could get changed. We were talking about our situation and how were kind of stuck in town and she invited all three of us to stay with her the entire weekend!!! We took a big sigh of relief and decided that all we really needed to get to survive the weekend was a couple of toothbrushes. We could wash our clothes if we needed to!

one of the beautiful plantation homes

Her town home was located on the nicer side of the city right to next to all of these huge plantation homes. Beautiful brick homes with pillars, wrap around decks, two stories high with beautiful front yards. We were so happy to be there! After catching up for a bit at her house we drove down to Beale Street. It's full of blue's bars, clubs, and restaurants. By this time it was really snowing. Big fluffy flakes that would float peacefully down onto the busy street. It was actually one of the most amazing sights I've ever seen in a city before. The street was hustling and bustling with people, the neon lights were shining in every color, the street was covered in white, big soul music blaring in the background, and the snow just kept falling. It was a scene fit for a movie and I was right there in the middle of it. The whole night we just went from place to place listening to bands, dancing, and enjoying each other's company. Anoli brought her friend, Charissa, with us too! She was amazing and kept us laughing the entire night long. We made it back to her house sometime in the early morning and tried to catch some sleep before another fun day together.

Great BBQ

Charissa our new friend

such a beautiful winter night

The next day we went to an amazing BBQ place and walked around the hotel where Martin Luther King Jr. was killed. They have an amazing memorial set up there with different audio touch screens so you can learn all about the details of that horrible day. As we were walking through a gentleman around 40 stopped by. He had on a nice big black coat, a hat and lots of layers! It was about 25 degrees outside. As we continued walking through, he walked next to us giving us all sorts of extra information. He had a gentle soul but you could tell he was as strong as steel forged in the fire. Just as we reached the end of the memorial the man shared his story with us. Last week his family and six other families lost everything they owned in an apartment building fire about six hours east of Memphis. He and his family took anything they had left and made their way down to Memphis just a couple of days ago. It turns out that a week before his apartment was burned down, he had applied for a job on the Mississippi to be a welder for the big boats. As he shared all the hardships of loosing everything, finding his way here, taking care of his wife and daughter, he suddenly got a big smile on his face as he told us that he ranked in the top 20 of hundreds of applicants for this new job. He was going to start in just six days and would soon be making $22 an hour. Until then, he was looking to make $17 a day to keep his family in a shelter that is more like a private little apartment with it's own kitchen and bathroom. Even through all he had been through he had a sense of pride and kept his chin held high. We gave him the money we had in our wallets and told him how amazed we were by his attitude and sense of hope through all of this. He got a twinkle in his eye and a big perfect smile on his face and simply said, 

"You can't have a testimony without a test."

Wow.... that blew us away. What an incredible blessing to meet this man. We spent the rest of our time in Memphis grateful and humbled. Thank "Mr." in the black coat with the great smile for taking the time to talk to us and leaving us with a statement we will never forget.

Sunday afternoon we picked the boys back up and headed back to Hot Springs. The roads had all cleared up and we were grateful for warm showers and clean clothes.

Grateful Host

We are into week two of our time here and only have a few days until Justin goes back home to California. It's going to be kinda weird when he leaves, we have adjusted to always having three people. It's been an amazing and a humbling adventure having a guest on the road with us.

On one hand we have had so much fun sharing our life with someone else. Sometimes the hardest part about living in an RV at such a young age is that we don't have anybody our age to relate to our daily life (most RV'ers are over the age of 55). It's also hard because we experience so many new cultures, we see so many beautiful places, and meet so many new people... that unless you're actually a part of those experiences you can't really relate. We can tell our stories and try to share the experience with you but it is just not quite the same as actually being there experiencing it for yourself. So being able to share all of these things with one of our closest friends has been absolutely incredible. He saw everything we did, met the people, had the conversations and soaked it all in with us! We are so grateful for Justin and our time together!

The other crazy thing that has happened to me since we've hosted an extra person on the road is that I have become incredibly grateful for every single one of the hosts who have had us in their homes. I realized that opening your home, or tiny home on wheels, takes a lot of courage because you are completely vulnerable. You are voluntarily opening up the the door for someone to see every detail of your life. That person sees you when you climb out of  bed with crazy hair and sleepy eyes as you crawl to the coffee machine. They observe the way you run your home, how you do your dishes, the way your treat your spouse on a very real day to day basis.... They taste your food, see your messes, watch how you handle good days and bad days..... THEY SEE EVERYTHING! And that is a little scary. Sure you can put on act for a couple of days or maybe a week but having someone in your home for a month or more- they start to see A LOT! (hopefully Justin still loves us after this trip!) ha!

The funny thing is that we are usually the guests, so I guess I never really noticed the other side of it all. But having Justin here with us for a month was a complete eye opener. And in a really good way. Hosting someone in our home really made us appreciate all of you, who have given us a safe haven in between all of our adventures. We can't thank you enough for your open doors and open hearts.

Week One- Arkansas

(I am a few months behind but I am going to try and catch up within the next couple of weeks! So don't  mind the old posts!)

Our first week in Arkansas was pretty uneventful. We laid low and watched a lot of movies. It was in the 20's and 30's most of the week so we started a lot of fires and snuggled up in blankets. Jordan and I applied to a lot of jobs and we were able to buy "White Lightning," a 4x4 Nissan Xterra. Since we plan to stay at the ranch until the end of April and want to work we will need something to get around! Although it wasn't the exact car we wanted to get we are stoked on our find. We are happy to have a car on this side of the country now too!

Welcome Back to Arkansas Dinner!

Meet White Lightning

Snuggle Time

Our saving grace during these cold winter nights!

Justin getting his "mountain man" on

It feels so amazing to be back at the ranch and to show Justin around one of our favorite little hide-outs in the world. There is something so perfect about this place. The nature, the pond, the big deck with a great view, the creaky old log home. It just fits us and it is a perfect little "vacation" for us. We always love coming to see Aunt Wendy and spend time with her. She is as busy as always. Not only is she finishing her doctoral degree but also her Master Herbalist degree. On top of that she is starting a new company called "Crooked House Herbals" (crookedhouseherbals.com). I have been helping her in her herbal kitchen making oils, tinctures, salves and creams- as well as soaking up all of her herb knowledge. I have been wanting to learn about natural medicine and herbs for a while now but we never seem to have the time or the money to make it to a school. So for now I am thoroughly enjoying it. Even within this first week I am completely blown away by all the new information. How incredible are these plants that were given to us by our Creator!

Jordan and Justin got to do a side job for a future TV show this week out in Mena, AR. Justin could potentially be the lead editor so he going to check it out and Jordan is taking behind the scene and cast photos. They are pretty pumped about it and we are stoked because he gets paid! Which is definitely needed right now since we are on the job hunt!

The pond at the Ranch

Jordan's first catch of the year

Justin caught one too!

Well, the boys are out fishing for the afternoon and I have to go finish getting our little house cleaned up, fill out more applications and get a grocery list started!

unpacking Destiny into a beautiful log cabin for the winter

Love when the boys bring home dinner! 

Crappie!

One of my favorite things to eat, especially in fish tacos!

Snowy Morning in Arkansas

I sit on the porch coffee in hand

It's 19 degrees, my coat and my gloves are on

Trying to keep in all the warmth I have

As I exhale my breath steams

You can see my coffee steaming too

The horizon is filled with layers upon layers of rolling hills

And just before you reach the sky a huge mountain range lie

Down below I hear a crunch and crackle as the

tiny birds scavenge for seeds to fill their hunger

Until Spring finally comes

There is no sign of her as icicles fill the trees

Ice surrounds every branch every leaf

With the occasional burst of sunlight

The whole forrest glows like crystals

Clouds cover almost every ounce of blue

but there is something magical happening

Slowly but surely tiny snowflakes start to fall

Whisping in the wind, swirling through the air

til they make their way to cover earth's floor

The winds blow through the trees

It sounds so angry as the frozen timbers

are not willing to bend, crraaaack........crrrrrrrreeeeeekkk

Hold on little trees, withstand the wind or else 

You will loose a ........ branch. 

There it goes falling from way to high slamming to the ground

Winter is here, in all his splendor

Creating a mystical wonderland

And I sit here on my front porch 

With my coffee in hand to witness

Every part of it

Texas to Arkansas

We picked up Justin from the airport at 4pm and instead of hitting the road we decided to stay one more night in Dallas. It was actually pretty amazing because Justin had a childhood friend move to the outskirts of Dallas and she invited the three of us into her home! It was really wonderful to meet Lauren and hear crazy stories of Justin's childhood. She was incredibly hospitable and so much fun to hang out with. It felt like we all had know each other our whole lives. We actually ended up having so much fun that we ended up staying an extra night. It was super cold outside and we didn't really have any future plans, so we figured why not!

I am continually blown away by the kindness of strangers on the road they open their homes and become the most incredible host/hostesses. It's people like Lauren and many others on our trip that make it all worth it. we get the rare opportunity to see behind the scenes into many people's lives all over the country. We are able to see the heart and soul of America- the people, the stories, the triumphs, the hardships that you would never read about in the news. One stranger after another we gain another friend. As our community grows they teach me how to love a little bit more, to listen longer, embrace now, become a better friend/wife/sister/daughter/aunt, and to enjoy my life more.

It was hard to say goodbye to LAuren. We all became instant friends and we kind of wanted to kidnap her and take her out in Destiny. A million thank you's would never be enough for her hospitality! We cannot wait to see her again. 

Getting a little STIR CRAZY!

360 view of amazing sunset!

Pro-Bowl

Caught red handed eating one of my bananas!

At this point in our journey eastbound we were facing a dilemma! There was talk of a big storm, 10-20 degree weather, wind, and ice storms. We could either brave the storm and head south to Louisiana to get a little taste of Baton Rouge and New Orleans or we could book straight out to the ranch for a warm retreat! 

We decided on the later. We had enough of the cold weather and freezing temperatures and were ready for a fireplace and hot showers! Although we did take a pointless 250 mile detour to check out a worthless truck. We have been searching for a 4x4 truck to buy and keep on this side of the country. We haven't had much luck! We thought we struck gold on a Toyota Tundra so we drove the 250 extra miles and we ended up getting played! The guy failed to mention the brake lines were being held together by c-clamps and vice grips, one third of the steering wheel was missing, the engine and underside of the truck were rusting away and the body damage was way more than he was letting on! 

After being extremely frustrated with the whole situation we through up the white flag and drove straight to the ranch. We could find a truck once we were here for our winter getaway! 

PS- It snowed that night after we arrived! So happy we weren't in the motorhome for that- I wasn't ready to be stuck in another blizzard!

Wondering in Dallas

The View from my Window

I can’t even begin to explain why I love Texas so much, but every time we drive through there my heart grows full and feels like it could explode. I know that part of it is the vastness, how open it feels and the huge fields bursting with life everywhere you look.  I love the ever presence of God and the sense of community you get everywhere, even from a gas station clerk. I love the old-fashionedness about it. Like there are still people living off the land and not getting overtaken by the consumerism that is America. I love that there are rolling hills and big oak trees mixed with old barns and cattle. I love all the old churches and their beautiful buildings. I don’t know it just feels right there, whatever it is, Texas has done something right…. Even if all of this is in my head and I have created a dream world I would drive through the two lane country highways any day!

 

 

A fancu busniess building that we acciddentally walked through. Quite awkward since we were dressed in many layers probably looking quite like gypsies surrounded by business suits!

 

Crazy church in the Art District





Community park with ice skating and a free outdoor library



 

the city

awesome tree fort in the middle of the city for the kids!

There was a giant eyeball on a grass field right in the middle of the art district... still don't know why!?

 

 

creepy and awesome

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jordan and I stayed on the outskirts of Dallas while we were waiting for Justin to come back. We got pretty overwhelmed by the city! So we explored nearby lakes and parks, drove through neighborhoods and admired the old brick houses. We went out for a lunch date and relaxed in a Walmart parking lot. We ran errands. We stayed at an RV park, way out in the middle of no where. We spent an entire day at Starbucks and got some work done for Surgical Fibers and updated the blog. We had a date night at Applebees and endured a 19 degree night in a Walmart parking lot. We turned on the generator and plugged in the electric heater while using our built in propane heater to get Destiny up to a livable temperature. And on our last night together we went and explored the Art District of Downtown Dallas. It was beautiful and they have done a really great job. We were so impressed. We walked around for miles and miles looking at different museums, parks, and buildings. Then we went out for a burger right on the main street. We sat right up against these huge glass windows and just watched the city. People hustling and bustling. Business people, people going for a run, couples on dates or a person walking a dog. We watched and watched. They had lights strung up on all the streets creating a perfect glow and the perfect atmosphere. We slowly wondered back to the motor home and got a good nights rest before we had to pick up Justin the next day.

 

 

 

 

The most amazing piece of art we saw!!! The inscription reads "The artists must be sacrificed to their art. Like the bees, they must put their lives into the sting they give."