What I'm Thankful For

I've been out of the trailer park for three months now. It's amazing how time flies! It's also amazing how much can change in such a short amount of time. The juxtaposition of living in the trailer park and living in a new apartment (and being married of course!) really gives me a lot to be thankful for. So here are my biggest "thanks" in no particular order:

HEAT
Ok, so maybe there is a particular order because this one is a biggie for me. I go to bed and wake up knowing that I will stay warm and toasty throughout the night. In the morning, I'm not shivering so actually taking my pajamas off to put on work clothes isn't torture. I hardly ever cry when I get out of bed anymore. If I do cry, it's because we have a Tempurpedic, and I'm leaving it.

WATER
Running water. Hot water. Water that doesn't freeze your skin on contact. Basically, water at a temperature that allows me to wash my hands, face, and body without whimpering. It's a blessing. And my personal hygiene is much improved. So, you're welcome.

BATHTUB/SHOWER
These days, I don't have to take a combination bath-shower, also known as a bower. I get to choose. And there's enough glorious hot water for either. If I take a bath - which, I must add, is in a GARDEN TUB THAT MY BODY FITS IN - I still have enough hot water to then shower off. It's heaven in a GARDEN TUB. Did I mention how big my bathtub was? It's human-sized. Major upgrade.

ROSS
Of course my husband is a blessing to me. We went from seeing each other once a week to EVERY DAY! We can't get enough of each other, but then again, we have about 50 years to try. It's great coming home to someone and sharing life, responsibilities, cleaning duties, pets, Netflix, DVR space, etc. with a person. A person who's great and loves me. He's seriously the best.

SPACE
Another great thing is being able to be by myself. I can get away from Ross/pets/everything and just go watch a Hallmark Christmas movie.
Side note: This one is the BEST:

Anyway, if I don't feel like being around people, I can go into my room and be alone. In the RV, it was a struggle to get away from my cat.

TV
It has been years since I had cable/satellite TV. I couldn't afford it in my old apartment, and Shady Grove's cable offerings left much to be desired. I survived off of a mobile hotspot and Netflix. On weekends, I got to go to Ross's house and catch up on shows, but during the week, it was me, Milo, my cat, and Gossip Girl (Chuck + Blair For Eva!).  Now, we have movie channels and Netflix. I always have something to watch! The first month we were here, I did nothing but watch TV. Some may call that lazy, pathetic, or even sad. I call it living the dream.

DECORATIONS
Who knew getting to personalize your space would mean so much? Since I was borrowing the RV from my in-laws (who rock by the way), and because the walls were made of questionable material, I didn't get to decorate at all. Granted, I had so little room that my stuff was over flowing onto the furniture so I always felt at home, but still I couldn't really claim anything as mine. Now, my walls are full of pictures and fun stuff. I am actually writing this from my desk (yay, space!) which is bordered by 2 walls on which I have my calendar, two canvases, a portrait collage, the letter R, a shelf of kick knacks, and a 6 opening picture frame. That's one small corner. I have a lot of stuff. And now I get to show it off.
As a side bar to this "thanks," I must add that I love candles. I was too afraid to burn any in the RV, given the lack of space or viable exits, but I have two burning right now, and my house smells like Christmas. Ahhhhhh....

LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION
Now that I don't live in the middle of nowhere, I am minutes away from fun, food, and people! Our apartment is in a great location and accessible to major highways. There are three grocery stores by us, countless restaurants, two pharmacies, several car washers/oil changers/tire fixers, a comic book store, an arcade, and even a movie theater. The theater kind of sucks, but hey, it's super close! Once I get home from work, I have options for what to do next. That's pretty nice. At the RV, once I was home, I was home. It was too far to drive somewhere else after driving an hour+ home from work. The city is where I want to be!

Well friends, since it is Thanksgiving, I need to get cooking. I'm in charge of a food item for the first time ever! These are going to be the best deviled eggs anyone has ever had! I just have to make them first...
Wishing you a very happy and safe Thanksgiving. Go Cowboys!

Don't put a frozen turkey in hot oil,
Ray

Pro Pain: The Saga Continues

It was a grey day in Texas today, and that reminded me of winter when the sun went down early and I froze half the time. And I remembered a great story I hadn't shared yet. It's a doozie.
By now, you know how much I hate being cold, and how easy it was to run out of propane in the winter. Well, one cold winter's night, I am curled up in my bed under about 3 blankets and a sheet along with a personal heater in the shape of a cat watching a scary movie when I realized that I was bundled up under layers of warmth and still really cold. Fearing the worst, I got up and turned the thermostat to 80 degrees. Lo and behold, nothing happens. I'm out of propane. Go figure. Shady Grove fills propane tanks every week day for a fee, but all you have to do is unhook your tanks from the lines into your RV and set them in your driveway for the propane guys to pick up. They return them to your space full, and you can hook them up to your RV and bask in the warmth they give. So, I get my coat and boots on and go out to unhook my tanks so I don't have to do it tomorrow morning before I leave for work.
I shut the tanks off and try to unscrew them from the hose, but the collar on one of them won't budge! I wrap it in my jacket and try. It doesn't give an inch. I go back in the trailer to find a pair of gloves to use, but I can't find them anywhere. I end up grabbing a towel and trying that, but to no avail.  I'm pretty sure it's frozen shut. That sounds like a big problem to me, so I call Bob the best future-father-in-law ever to see what can be done if the collar gets frozen onto the propane tanks. It's about 9 o'clock at night, but he answers with what can only be described as an unamused tone. When I explain to him that the hose connector is frozen onto the propane tank and I can't get it off, he tells me to get that pair of gloves he left. When I tell him that I've already looked for them and can't find them, he's not too happy and gives me a little lecture about making sure I know to fill my tanks BEFORE they both run out. But, being the great future-father-in-law that he is, he offers to come out there to unhook them for me. It's a 45 minute drive for him to come out there from where he and Fran live. I tell him it's really ok, I can go one night. I said I would borrow a pair of gloves from the place I worked and unhook them tomorrow after work.
"But then you'll have to spend another night in the cold because they won't fill the tanks until the next day." He lets out a big sigh. "I'll come out there, just hold on. There better not be a pair of gloves there."
I assure him there isn't, and we hang up. Well, it is still freezing, and I have 45 minutes, so I get back under the covers and start the movie again.
I was watching You're Next, a movie about a holiday that goes terribly wrong. It was just getting good, the bad guys were trying to kill the main character and the suspense was building, when I heard a knock on the door. I was so engrossed in the film that the sound jolted me out of bed before I realized that a killer probably wouldn't knock before he busted in to murder me. Nope, Bob was here. My hero.
I open the door and tell him he almost gave me a heart attack, to which he replied, "Why are you watching a scary movie by yourself?" Good point.
He handed me a pair of gloves he brought and we head to the propane tanks. I put the gloves on and try to turn the collar on the hose. It spins easily. I look up at him (he's 6'6") with my mouth wide open.
"I tried my jacket! I tried a towel! It really wouldn't move before! Really!"

He shakes his head and lets out another sigh. "Gloves make all the difference. You really don't have any? I thought I left a pair for you."
"No, I looked. I didn't find any."
We start back towards the door of the trailer.
"If I find a pair of gloves in here, I'm kicking your ass."
I chuckled at that. Then Bob looked in a drawer I swear I had looked in, and he came up with 2 pairs of gloves. TWO.

I felt what can only be described as hilarious shame.The look he gave me... Well, let's just say I was glad he was leaving. I felt so bad, I apologized profusely and promised I would do a better job of getting my propane tanks refilled before they both ran out.
As he is walking out the door he says, "And don't watch a scary movie by yourself!"
"Don't knock on my door!"
He turns around and says, "Then deal with your own fucking propane!" and climbs in his truck.
Deep down, he's really glad I'm part of the family.


May you always find what you're looking for (before a large, angry man gives you a death stare),
Ray

The Lament of a Broke Bride

This evening I met a friend that lives close to my old apartment complex for some Zumba. That's what you do as a bride, work out. All the time. You also eat cake a lot, so really, it's a fair trade.

Anyway, since she lives by where I used to, I left work and got to drive by my old place. I got there in 20 minutes at 5:45 in Dallas. I almost cried. That could be my travel time if I didn't live out in Shady Grove. I could've been home by 6:05! 

So you can fully comprehend my suffering, I'll explain. I live so far away from civilization that people who live in DFW have never heard of it. It takes me an HOUR to get to work in the morning and another HOUR to get home. That's also on a toll road, so I pay for the experience. I haven't calculated it yet, but I bet I spend close to $10 in tolls everyday. To drive in bumper to bumper traffic both ways. So to drive by my old, wonderful, centrally located apartment 40 minutes earlier than I would ever get to Shady Grove hurt my heart a little bit. I miss that place. 

But then I think about how little I pay to live at Shady Grove (and that it's temporary). I'm consoled by the fact that my last rent bill (including water and electricity) was under $400. I'm not as broke as I could be. I'm going to pay off my credit card in 4 months (less than that if I stop buying stuff for my honeymoon). I can still go out with my friends (and not worry about bills). And most importantly, I'm not worried about paying for my wedding!

As much as I miss my old stomping grounds, I know it was the right-ish decision for me to move to Shady Grove. Plus, Ross and I will be in our own place soon enough. And who knows? We might move back towards the city. 

Here's hoping,

Ray