Home!

We made it! We finally arrived at our land on Saturday evening at 6:30 PM.  The first thing we did was just walk around and explore. The house and land are very trashy, left from the last people, but that is something that we can easily remedy.
We have a small pond! We didn't even know about that. We also have a creek, and a small patch of muskeg. The muskeg will draw mosquitoes, but I am still super excited about it! I can already see blueberry flowers, and it will also have cranberries, crow berries, watermelon berries, and cloudberries. I am excited to see what I can do with those.
It is good to be home! We have parked our motorhome and trailer, and put  our boat in a good spot, and it is great to have a place to come back to when we are out in town.
Andy got the electricity hooked up!  I didn't know it would be so easy to live off grid! I am just super thankful that Andy knows what he's doing, and had batteries, a homemade generator, and cables all ready  to go before we even left PA. 

We had the first meeting of the new church, River Of Life,, in Matt's living room yesterday. I was amazed at how many people were there, even though some were just visiting. 40, including children. We had a really Encouraging time of sharing, introductions, and telling how God brought each of us to Alaska.

Alaska Ho!

We are in awe of the Yukon! Gorgeous mountains, breathtaking lakes, lots of wildlife, and best of all, the practically empty road makes it feel like it all belongs to you!

 I saw a bumper sticker once that said, "I survived the Alcan Highway." For me, the opposite is true. I survived Canada and THRIVED on the Alcan Highway! 

Tuesday night we had a 10 star place to stop for the night. Muncho Lake was a gorgeous blue lake surrounded by mountains, and best of all, we could park right beside it and have the whole view to ourselves!

There has not been any cell service in the mountains the last couple days which makes our families think we dropped off the face of the earth. I think we might have done just that...and landed in heaven.

Two flat tires and one break down later, we are in Alaska on the home stretch, hoping to make Palmer by tonight. Palmer is only 6 hours from our place, and after the trip we have just been on, six hours is nothing!

The Rugged Northland

We finally made it! 

To the Alaska Highway, that is. I had no idea Canada was so HUGE! We drove most of the way across Saskatchewan and the whole way across Alberta on Monday the 22nd. We were on the road from 6:15 AM to 11:40 PM.

We spent Monday night with some friends on the BC border and had a much needed break talking, relaxing, and doing laundry, showers and filling up the water tank in the motor home.

Joe and Lori live on the edge of a canyon and said the moose and bears are prolific. Lori said that in the winter the moose like to come lay beneath her dryer vent to get warm.

The scenery gets more spectacular the farther north we go. We have seen a moose and some elk as well as three black bears within a mile of each other.

We are headed into the Yukon Territory. Only about 600 more miles to Alaska as nearly as i can figure! 

In Which Things Begin To Get Hairy

The down side of having a dog along, particularly an Alaskan malamute who has long hair and sheds profusely, is that after a while EVERYTHING has hair on it. I am constantly picking hair off everyone. 

The amazing thing about lego's is that they cleaned all the dog hair up from the floor by their static electricity. The only problem is that now the lego's are covered in dog hair. 

Disgusting. 

It's no use doing anything about it now, but when we get to our place, I plan to vacuum everything off thoroughly.

Also somewhat disturbing is the fact that we have not showered in days. Suffice it to say, it is TIME for showers.

We are now past Saskatoon, still headed north and west. We hope to get to the Alaskan Highway in Dawson Creek, BC sometime tonight.

The night was much more restful without the puppies in here, although Jasmine was awake several times. 

We are all trying to adjust to all the extra light these days. It got light at 4:30 this morning, and Gabe was up an hour later. Hopefully our children will soon learn how to sleep even when it is light out!

I am super thankful that the puppy job is slow right now. I have an international phone, so I do have service here in Canada, but it is hard to hear people calling in simply because it is so LOUD in here when we are driving.

Andy has done all the driving so far. He thinks it would be cool to be able to say he drove the whole way to Alaska, and I'm not about to get in the way of that. Driving a motor home with a 24 foot trailer attached is not exactly within my comfort zone anyway.

Alaska Bound

We crossed the border into Canada last evening and spent the night along the road somewhere in Saskatchewan. 

The Border crossing went fine except for Jasmine screaming and crying through the whole thing. Gabe was loud and rambunctious from being in the motor home so long. I think the officials felt sorry for us.

Our rig checked out fine, and the officer didn't take long at all to inspect our motorhome and trailer. Whether that was because we had all our paperwork in order, or because the whole place reeked of puppy poop, we are still undecided.

 Moral among the crew was rather low last night, and was made worse by the puppies howling so loudly beside our bed that we couldn't sleep. 

Andy let them out of their cage in the night and let them roam free in the motorhome. This would have been great idea if it had worked to make them quiet, but it was a fail as far as that went and we were up by 3 am.

Again. 

Thankfully we only had about seven piles of puppy poop to clean up in the morning, as well as dog hair. 

We kicked the puppies out.

I'm not sure why we never thought of this before, but the trailer has a vent for air circulation, and we have a temperature probe we can put back there to make sure it doesn't get too hot for them. 

What bliss! What sweet peace and quietness! It is now a cinch to walk back to the bedroom or bathroom where before it took some pretty major contortions to squeeze past the puppy crate.

We feel dizzy and bleary eyed, and are hoping for a good night of sleep tonight, but on the up side, at least we learned something from the experience. We now know that if we ever want to go insane, all we have to do is take two small children and five puppies on a two week trip in a motorhome! 

We drove a couple of hours this morning, but since it is Sunday we didn't want to try to make many miles. We found a beautiful place to park named Last Mountain Lake and spent a few hours there walking along the beach, letting the puppies and Gabe run in the grass, and taking some much needed naps.

The scenery isn't anything to write home about. Trains, grains bins, oil wells, trains, grain bins, oil wells. Canada is pretty boring so far.

We hope to make a lot of miles tomorrow, but for now it is good to have a day of rest.

Random Mom Questions and Andy's Perspective

As a mom I sometimes ask questions that never even crossed my mind as a single person. Like this morning I caught myself wondering how many times it is worth it to reheat my cup of coffee. Sitting down for breakfast was pretty much non existent this morning since first Gabe needed help with eating his breakfast, then Andy needed a refill from the front where he was driving, then Cherokee needed water, and soon the puppies set up a ruckus because they were thirsty too. 

In between I kept stopping to slam the door closed again. It doesn't latch sometimes. Then when I finally thought I had a minute to drink my coffee and eat a muffin, Jasmine woke up. Life on the road is not boring! 

I found my first gray hair this morning. Andy says it's from the stress of the crazy life he has taken me on. If so, bring it on! I'll gladly get gray at 23 if it means we keep having this much fun going on adventures.

In an email Andy wrote to his family, he did a great job of recapping the last few days. I think I'll let you read his perspective of life on the road.

The Misadventures of a Traveling Dog Zoo

Hi everyone! I'm up at 4:30 EDT because the puppies were yowling and whining right next to our bed, then Jasmine started up, so I figured I might as well get up and give the puppies a potty break and see what I can do to help Jasmine. 

Turns out that Jasmine had simply rolled onto her back, but the puppies needed to pee. It's amazing how they have crate trained themselves. I have to watch it that they don't pee in the motorhome before I have a chance to take them outside because to them it is out of their crate, so it must be okay, right? 

I took them out by two's and they did their thing. The one puppy took off running, which I was concerned about because we are in the middle of a truck stop parking lot, but then it just hunched over and​ started pooping, so I guess that it had the urge to go and it wanted to get as far away as possible. 

Driving this rig has been very eventful! Going over the Appalachian mountains on route 22 in PA I was down to 25 mph! This thing doesn't do that well on hills, but for a few more mpg, who can complain? One thing I found out about motorhomes is that they are built as light as possible in order to give as big of a home as possible while allowing for weight restrictions. 

I found this out when the motorhome suddenly dashed to the right as I was driving. Then a tractor trailer came roaring past on the left and when it was past, the motorhome dashed to the left. I guess it's the effect of the air being pushed by the tractor trailer hitting me, and then the vacuum behind it pulling me back in again.

Another issue is wind from the side. In western Ohio and Indiana we had a strong Southwest wind, and it really bucked us around, requiring constant vigilance and correction. I couldn't go the speed limit either, because it was all the Beast could do to go around 60-65. 

That was Thursday, and that night I was just about falling asleep with my eyes open during Gabe and Kaitlyn's birthday party. I was eventually urged to go take a nap at 7:30, which I did, and ended up pretty much sleeping the rest of the night! I guess the work of keeping the motorhome on the road had worn me out. 

Friday was better as far as wind was concerned, but we did drive through Chicago which as usual entailed a traffic jam. Now we are out in Wisconsin! 

I have discovered that truck stops out in the open country are the way to go! I grew up never really thinking about all the trucks at a truck stop, and​ what they were doing, but when you are traveling long distances with a big rig and need a place to park for the night it is really nice to be able to have places designed for huge vehicles. Truck stops in urban areas tend to fill up quickly because they don't have a lot of space to play with, but here there is lots of land to work with and not as many people, so there are plenty of spots available! 

We are enjoying the RV life. Tabitha hasn't even set foot outside since yesterday morning because all the necessities are right here! It's definitely the way to travel long distance, but it's not necessarily cheap!

Cherokee and the puppies are getting things figured out. At Dad and Mom Thompson's place we had the puppies running outside, and they were being all friendly and playful to Cherokee, which she tried to tell them that they may not do (by freezing and perking her ears back in a particular way). But being lab cross puppies, they didn't get the concept in the least bit, so one by one they were corrected, after which they went yelping under the motorhome untill I came and comforted them. They have a lot more respect for Cherokee now, though, and are much less likely​ to come up on her when she is panting with her tongue hanging out and enthusiastically lick her dangling tongue. Just tonight she growled at one puppy and several of them yelped and they all ran into the cage where they stayed for a while until they felt safer. 

Yesterday I took two refreshing naps so I could keep driving. It was amazing! I jest went to the back and laid down on the bed I always sleep on! All I had to do to accomplish that was squeeze past the puppy cage in the bathroom, crawl over Jasmine​ without waking her, lay down in the fourteen inches of bed between the edge of the bed and Gabe's playpen and sleep! 

The next time I needed a nap I simply crawled up over the cab in that neat bed area. That works much better because there are fewer contortions to do in order to get where I am trying to go.

Now there is a puppy sleeping in my lap, Cherokee is stretched out on the floor, the rest of the puppies are stretched out here and there, Gabe is asleep in his playpen, Jasmine just rolled over and woke herself up so I put her back to bed, and my dear wife is sleeping the sleep of one who has been caring for a grumpy child for a day and needs her sleep. There are idling trucks around here and there, and the day is just breaking. Who can tell what today will bring? I can't wait to find out!

Love to all, Andy.

Off To The Wild Blue Yonder

We stayed at my sister's place in Indiana last night. It was so good to connect again and just talk. It was also sad to say goodbye, but as we got out on the open road and typed Anchor Point Alaska into Google maps, a great thrill ran through me. We are headed home! Nothing but a long, long road separates us from our land at this point, and hopefully we can put in a bunch of miles every day now. 

It has been fun traveling in a motor home - some of the time. When we left PA, within the first half hour the puppies had puked, peed, and pooped. Then it got hot in here. The smell and the heat combined began to drive me about nuts till we got to Ohio. Thankfully yesterday the puppies did very well. It seems like they have crate trained themselves! So yesterday it was only the heat to worry about, as well as Jasmine not sleeping. She won't sleep more than about half an hour at a time when we're moving. I'm not sure if the jiggling wakes her up, or the heat, or the noise, but it has been frustrating for me. Andy says I should just accept it and do the best I can with a grumpy baby, and I know he's right. 

Going to the bathroom in here is an adventure in itself! The dog crate is taking up most of the bathroom, so till you ease yourself around that, there is hardly even room to sit on the toilet. Plus, when we are on the road, the whole motor home rocks and sways, so keeping your balance while perched there can be quite the feat!

We are hoping to skirt out around Chicago today if possible.

The Old Folks At Home

We got to my folks place in Ohio at 10 PM Tuesday's night. We spent all of Wednesday there just catching up with the people there at Ohio Wilderness Bots Camp, seeing the new chuck wag and hanging out with my family, including my Grandma and Aunt who came for the day.

We enjoyed great conversations, delicious food, and a rousing game of Settlers. Andy and I went for a spur of the moment four wheeler ride (so lovely to have babysitters!) and Mom showed me around her garden. The strawberries were ripe! Gabe ran around in a perpetual state of juiciness. Biting into a ripe red strawberry, the first one of the year, is always like tasting summer to me. I wonder if we can grow strawberries in Alaska...

Gabe got a lot of books read to him, and really loved his Uncle Silas. The cast added appeal too (four wheeler accident).

We came away from there so feeling so full of both love and gifts. Mom sent fresh milk, bread, and eggs, and my sister Joanna provided the fun, unhealthy snacks. :) They also loaded us up with books, maps, a braided rug Joanna made for our new house, food, whatever we said we could use. Sure we added some weight to our rig with our stop in Ohio but we are trying not to think about that. (Ahem)

Goodbye's Are So Final

 We left yesterday at 3 PM for Alaska! It was hard to say goodbye. Dad and Mama, Laverne and Julie, and their girls all gathered around and prayed for us before we left. There were many tears, and we passed around the tissues. These are  in our Folks; our people.  The thought of not seeing them for a long time made the goodbye that much harder. It's always hard during those last few moments to know what to say. Words don't measure up. Talking is not enough to express all the feelings and emotions churning around.
And then we were off! Our two children, two dogs, and five puppies with us. Everyone waved as we headed out the lane one last time, and we swallowed the lump on our throats and looked ahead.
We have driven this stretch of road toward my folks in Ohio so many times, but I feel like I saw it with new eyes that day. Saying goodbye to each bit of countryside we pass. We don't know how much time will pass before we see Pennsylvania again.
We feel as though we've been launched. Andy said he feels like he has more dignity now that we are off on our own. Not that we were embarrassed about our way of living, but living with your parents is generally viewed as being a "mooch". Living there on the farm taught us so much and was the place that gave us the freedom to do what we are doing today. Had we been paying expensive rent or a house payment, I doubt we would have been able to head off to Alaska to build our cabin debt free. It at least would have been much more diffucult. But yes, I understand what Andy means. There is a certain amount of dignity and pride in striking out on your own, standing on your own two feet. I know it will be an adjustment, but I am so excited about the challenges that await! We have been planning to move for a year now, and now that it is finally happening it feels a little unreal.

Weekend Obstacles

We were disappointed to not be able to leave on Sunday, but I don't know what we would have done without the extra time! 

I was sick on Saturday, and we also found out that the motorhome was overweight. 

Saturday we spent our time pulling everything we could out of the motorhome and putting it in the trailer to cut down on weight.

Everything that wasn't necessary, went. We even put the coffee in a smaller container!

Andy also spent 9 hours on Monday working on our car to get it fixed. He had no idea it would take so long! 

This morning he was working on our minivan for a while too, and when we went ran out of time, we ended up just taking it to a shop to be fixed. 

We have found someone to drive our van up for us, but since the guy can't do it until the end of June, we want to keep our options open and therefore notarized Andy's folks to be able to sell it for us if we choose. 

Saturday night, we realized that Andy's passport had expired in February. I guess we really should have had our ducks in a row a little better than we did! 

Andy sent the paperwork out Monday morning, overnighted it, and it should get back to the farm on Wednesday morning. 

Andy's folks have then agreed to overnight the passport to Indiana where we will be at that point. This let us leave a day earlier!

We have 2 dogs, and 5 puppies here in the motorhome with us. 4 of the puppies are sold to people in Alaska, and we will drop them off on our way to our land. There is only one left available!

Flexibility Is The Name Of The Game

Sooooo, we will not be leaving on Sunday as planned because our trailer is not registered.

A little over two weeks ago, Andy went in to get our brand new trailer registered, but here we need the origional Certificate of Origin document, and all the trailer company gave us was a copy. Phooey. But like I said, this was all over two weeks ago, so Andy thought we had plenty of time. He got on the phone and called up the company to ask them to send us the original document. Well, they sent it...two weeks later. It came two days ago. But when Andy went in Friday morning, yesterday, to try to get the trailer registered again, here the state of Pennsylvania requires the Certificate of Origin to be notorized by the manufacturer, which it wasn't. I guess only three states require notorization, and of course PA is one of them. So we've been weighing our options. Andy thought about leaving last night at seven to drive the 30 hours to the Florida manufacturer and back, but he couldn't get a hold of anyone at the company to see if they were even open on Saturday. When we finally figured out that they would be open, it was almost too late to start driving, so we looked at tickets for flying. Expensive, and none had a returning flight the same day with enough time in between to get to the manufacterer. We looked into train fare. Also expensive, and it would take over a day anyway. 

The last option and the one we decided on, is to fed-ex the document down to Florida. It will get there either tonight or Monday, hopefully the company can get it notorized quickly, and send it back to us by Tuesday. Then maybe we can get the trailer registered on Tuesday and leave Wednesday the 17th. 

We are pretty frustrated with the trailer company, and also PA laws. As Andy says, "Let's just move somewhere where there aren't so many silly laws - like Alaska!" 

But in the midst of it all, we are learning to trust that God has a bigger plan in everything that happens, and will work everything out for our good. 

Gearing Up To Leave

This week. Wow. I feel like I have been moving at High Speed from the time I get up to the time I go to bed, and still not getting nearly enough done! We've been getting stuff together for the Canadian Border crossing, including paperwork for any guns we want to take up, Vet certificate of health and rabies shots for our dog, a list of everything in the motorhome and trailer, proof that we will be passing through Canada and not planning to stay, etc. Whenever Andy isn't in the fields helping his dad with Spring Planting, he has been fixing the car we need to sell, and also making a homemade generator that will charge our battery bank to supply us with electricity. Yes, we're going off the grid, folks! That's about the only option if you don't live in the city in Alaska.

We are also still trying to find someone to drive our van up for us. After calling everyone we thought could be remotely interested, I finally found someone who is actually willing to consider it! He said he would get back with me later today, so I have been praying that God would make a way for him to do it. If not, we might have to notorize someone down here to sell the van for us, and just buy a new vehicle up in Alaska, which would be ok, but we would be better off paying someone's gas to drive the van up, plus a ticket back to PA than getting something up there. The quality of vehicles within our price range in AK isn't the greatest from what we have seen.

So yes, this week has been the kind of week where it feels like there's never enough time in the day to get everything done. I have been rushing from one thing to the next hardly stopping to eat. Except for today. Today I am so tired  that I don't even care. Jasmine was up about 10 times last night, so I am running on zero sleep. She is fighting a cold, so her nose is stuffy and she can't breathe right when she has her nuki. Therefore she wakes up every hour or so.  

In other news, we have still been trying to find good homes for our puppies. At this point, we still have six left, but someone is coming tomorrow who sounds pretty interested. We shall see. This could be a VERY interesting trip if we are taking one adult dog as well as six puppies with us in our Motorhome! I did post the puppies on Alaska list since it looked like we had to take some with us anyway, and I have had quite a bit of interest! Several people want us to give them a call on our way up if we have any puppies left. 

We plan to leave after church on Sunday and head on out to Ohio to see my folks one last time before going to our new home!

The Coffee Subject

I love coffee. And it seems like we've been needing more and more energy as our Moving To Alaska

date approaches. It seems like there is never enough time in the day to get everything done! Enter COFFEE, and we begin running around at triple speed like the energizer bunny accomplishing everything on our list in record time! Kidding. Coffee actually doesn't affect me much at all as far as the caffeine goes. I can sleep right after I drink a whole cup of regular. So pretty much, I drink it for the warm yummy drink's sake. 

But Andy hates coffee. He says the taste is terrible, plus it affects him like crazy and makes him all hyper and emotional. It's actually rather funny to watch.

Neither of us like coffee black. I don't even want to get into the whole debate about how people who don't like it black aren't real men, don't actually like coffee, etc. Yes, I put sugar and cream in my coffee, and yes, I'm proud of it. I don't want to be a real man anyway. It doesn't even appeal to me. But moving on - 

My sister gave me a recipe for a coffee drink. It sounded super weird. But she said it was good, and I was pregnant with Gabe at the time, so I thought the extra fat couldn't hurt.

Wowsa! I loved it! After a lot of begging, I finally got Andy to try it and he loved it too! So now I don't have to drink coffee all by myself in the mornings because I finally learned how to "make it right" as Andy puts it.

We both love our morning coffee along with a big breakfast, and Andy is always telling people about how awesome this coffee is. Personally, I think it tastes better than any coffeeshop drink I have ever had. Yes, it sounds weird at first, but try it before you dis it!

Bulletproof Coffee

First you need some coffee. 

(Any kind will do, although Maxwell House is just pretty bad, even bulletproofed. We got a whole bunch when it was on sale, though, so we are stuck with it until it's gone.)

Brew the coffee 

(I personally LOVE our little coffee pot, and it doesn't use any electricity either! Just boil water, dump in coffee grounds, and strain it after ten minutes of steeping!)

1 Tablespoon Coconut Oil per cup

1 Tablespoon Butter per cup 

(The butter is what I originally thought was gross, but it gives it an amazing, full-bodied flavor and isn't oily at all!)

1 Tablespoon sugar per cup

OPTIONAL

If you want a super-duper cup of bulletproof coffee, add 1/3 teaspoon vanilla, and 1 Tablespoon milk per cup!

Put the ingredients in the blender, and pour freshly brewed coffee over the top. Blend at high speed for one minute. Pour into your favorite mug and enjoy the frothy deliciousness!

Mmmm. I loved doing this post because it meant I needed to make some more bulletproof coffee so I could take pictures of the process! 

Here it is folks - the drink we drink every morning and absolutely love. The great, the wonderful, the yummy - Bullet Proof Coffee!

(Please excuse me. I want to go drink it while it's hot!)

Eating Well For $30 Per Week

Eating costs a lot of money. If only we didn't have to buy food, we could save lots of money, right? But eating is also rather important to live, so I guess we have to just make the best of it.

The problem is, our little family eats a lot. Andy, Gabe and I can put away a crazy amount of food per meal. I once read an article about feeding two people for $25 a week. Awesome! But HOW? $30 a week is stretching it for us. So I read the article again, and noticed that the lady talked a lot about serving sizes. The next couple weeks, I started watching how much we actually eat, and found out that when a box of pasta says 6-8 servings, THAT is how much we eat. Hmmm.
I thought I would make a list of things that helped us eat for less. Since Andy and I got married, we have stuck to our $30 per week budget. It might have to change soon, as we move to Alaska where food averages 2-3 dollars more expensive than here, but we plan to live on canned goods for a while. :)

1. Do A Once A Month Shopping Trip

This was huge for me. When we first got married, it felt like there was never enough money to go around when it came to food. I went to the store every week, but if there were sales, I never had enough money to stock up and therefore felt like I would never get ahead. Then I began shopping once a month. It made all the difference! At the beginning of the month I set aside $20 for milk, and $20 for the middle of the month for fresh stuff or getting things that I run out of. Then I have $80 left to work with, and with that larger chunk of money comes the ability to get ahead by stocking up on cheese, butter, coffee - more expensive items - when the price is reduced.

2. Make A List

Don't go into a store without a clearly laid out list! If you do go without a list, particularly if it is around lunchtime, it will be impossible for you to say no to items that you really don't need. I write out a list of the things I need, and sometimes put a star beside the ones I really can't do without. This helps me discriminate in the store if I don't have enough money to go around. I also try to get one or two things that are NOT on my list so I can go home actually feeling like I had more than enough money, and came away with something "just for fun". 

3. Make Menus

It really isn't that hard to make menus. You just have to sit down with a cookbook or two and DO IT. If I can make time for this when I have two children under two and a full-time job, you can too. :) If you can't do a whole week's worth of menus in one sitting, by all means, do a few meals now, and then a few more later. But for the sake of your budget, MAKE MENUS!! It will help you create a list of grocery items you actually need and will use instead of them sitting on you shelf for a few months. It will also help you not buy things impulsively.

Here's what we had last week. It was yummy, and it was all well-within budget for us!

Monday - eggs and toast

Chili soup and cornbread

Deer steaks, sweet potatoes with butter and maple syrup, sauteed asparagus

Tuesday - blueberry baked oatmeal with milk

Leftover soup, bread

Spaghetti, salad

Wednesday - eggs, scrapple, and hashbrowns

grilled pb&j sandwiches, corn

Tomato soup and cheese sandwiches

Thursday - raspberry scones and Chia pudding

pizza quesidillas, green beans

Leftovers

Friday - biscuits and sausage gravy

beef and vegetable stew and leftover biscuits

mac and cheese casserole, peas

Saturday - Pancakes 

leftovers

Pizza and fresh asparagus

Sunday - granola or coffee cake (made the day before)

Chicken Alfredo casserole, green beans

Hotdogs, baked beans, salad, chips and salsa, brownies (had a cookout with friends)

We like our food. But it isn't usually very fancy, and it usually doesn't take lots of ingredients. We also rarely ever have dessert. It just adds to the grocery bill and isn't good for us anyway. We go through enough sugar as it is, just putting it in our coffee every morning. :)

4. Don't Buy Too Many Items

When I am in other people's kitchen's, sometimes I wonder what on earth they put in all their massive cupboards. The other day I found out! Food! I could hardly believe all the different kinds of food in one place! It looked like a grocery store! If you want to try a small budget, something that will seriously help is if you only get a few items. Staples for us are rice, pasta, potatoes, and flour, as well as coconut oil, butter, cheese and cream cheese. I don't buy mixes, and we use spices to make our food taste good. We don't get many fresh fruits and vegetables, particularly if they are not in season. They are simply too expensive to buy year round. We eat fresh out of our garden, and during the winter months, we eat canned or frozen stuff.

5. Grow a Garden

Not everyone has the space to do this, but it seriously helps the grocery bills when you grow your own food and in turn, can or freeze it for use later.

6. Take Advantage of Cheap Stuff

Most of our meat is either free or almost free. you just have to be willing to get your hands dirty. Andy hunts, so some of our meat is deer that we butcher ourselves. A neighbor with a dairy barn had a cow with a broken leg who needed put down, so he gave it to us. We butchered it, the steaks and roasts were tough, so we made it all into hamburger and ended up with over fifty pounds of meat in our freezer after giving a bunch away, and splitting the rest with Andy's parents. For pork, Andy got a small pig at the auction that went cheap - $3.27. We spent more on sausage seasoning than we did on the pig itself! For chicken, we often do chores at the local chicken barns while the owners are away on vacation and noticed that when the chickens leave to go out to the processing plant, there are always lots of runts left behind. The owners were happy to have us take a few birds home, so we gathered up about fifty small birds, took them home and fed them a couple weeks till they were nice and fat, and butchered them ourselves. So I guess we had a little bit of cost for feed, and then the time we spent butchering them, but still! Cheap meat!

7. Make Your Own

Making your own baked goods - bread, cornbread, biscuits, coffee cake, pizza crust - really helps out with costs. Even if you never have before, it isn't too hard to learn. There is every kind of recipe imaginable on the internet, and they usually have very detailed instructions.

8. Stock Up

If there is a sale on something you use frequently, by all means, buy a lot! Not only will you not have to spend money on that item for a couple months, it will help you out cost-wise in the long run. Especially if an item has a good shelf-life or is freezable, this really helps the budget. I heard someone say that they don't have the pantry room to stock up on stuff. Ummm... I don't have a pantry, and I live in a motorhome. If I can do it, you can too!

So these are a few ways we have made a small food budget work for us. It's not for everyone, but if you want to try it, I hope this helps you!

Neither Here Nor There

I have been feeling pretty scattered lately. Pulled in many different directions. There are the children to take care of, the phone job that keeps me hopping, and then getting ready to move to Alaska in just a little over a week. I had no idea what all goes into moving out of the area! We have to close out our bank account, get rid of our landline phone, make sure our bills around here are all paid up before we leave, as well as all the dinner invitations and family get-togethers - people wanting to get together one last time before we move so far away. We decided not to turn down any invitations to hang out with people, but it does stretch us a little thin with all the late nights and going away.
Andy is busy trying to help his dad get at least some of the spring planting done before we head out, but the weather has been rather uncooperative, and it just rains and rains. The trailer is all filled up with stuff - mostly canned goods - we had no idea we had so much! So now we are looking for someone to drive our van up the Alcan highway for us. Twice we thought we had someone lined up only to have them back out, so now it's getting down to the wire and I'm trying not to worry.
We are also in the middle of finding good homes for all our eleven labradoodle puppies before we go. We still have seven left, but two people are coming tonight to look at them, so hopefully they will want a couple of puppies. The pups are super cute right now - seven weeks old and adorable! We brought one into the house and it follows us around with its tail wagging furiously.  It is hard to keep from tripping on it though. In the words of Andy - "It's a shoe that moves!" Gabe just loves playing with him, so that's a definite bonus on these rainy days when we are stuck inside.
To top everything off, we all got sick. Colds with headache and fever. I'm glad it happened now instead of next week when we are trying to leave!
So that is our last week in a nutshell. Feels like we aren't really HERE anymore with our thoughts going more and more to Alaska, but yet we aren't THERE yet either. It's a pretty conflicting feeling. It's hard to leave the people we love here, and yet we can barely wait to go see Alaska again, explore our property and get started on our cabin! Come quickly leaving date! And just hope that we have everything done by then!