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

Shower Time

In an RV (or at least in mine), the hot water doesn't come on automatically. You have to flip a switch that tells the propane to heat up the water. It takes a little while for this to happen, and not a lot of water gets heated at once. When I was moving into my RV, my future in-laws warned me that my showers would need to be much shorter. Fran, my future mother-in-law recommended shaving at a separate time than when I actually showered. In my head, I was thinking, "Oh ok. So a 10 minute shower? I can do that...if I have to."
You see, I enjoy showers, and baths sometimes, very, very much. The hotter and longer, the better. I also like the air around the shower and in the bathroom to be warm so I don't freeze when I get out and dry off. Basically, I like to stay very warm in and out of the shower. In the RV, things get a little tricky.
The first time I try to shower in my new abode, I shaved in the sink first. I figured I'd be using less warm water for that than I would in the shower, so I'd be fine. Leg shaving goes well. The water was barely running, and it stayed warm the whole time. So then I turn the water on in the shower, let it get warm, and get in. It's nice at first. Perfect temperature, nice and steamy. I shampoo my hair, then put conditioner in and lather up my body. In the middle of using my little puff ball thing to dispense my body wash, I feel the water temperature start to lower. And lower. And lower. Suddenly, it goes ice cold. Literally. It's December, and the water comes from OUTSIDE.
I quickly turn it off, freezing to death with conditioner in my hair and soap all over my body. I can't very well stand there all soapy until it heats enough water for me to rinse off, so I turn the water on to the tub faucet. In my head, I just repeat over and over, "This is for Ross. This is for our wedding." I get down on my knees and put my hair under the cold cold cold cold water. That part wasn't too bad, except that my hands got cold. But I'm still covered in body wash. If you can understand how much I hate being cold, and how much I hate being cold inside my own home, you might appreciate the fact that I didn't actually cry out as I cupped my hands under the freezing water and splashed myself with it. It was reminiscent of the self-flagellation of the uber-pious monk in The Da Vinci Code. Not a good experience.

The second time I tried to shower, I thought I had learned a thing or two. I got some advice from the Wunders about how to really take a shower and not want to die at the end of it. Turns out, you can't keep the water running the entire time. So, I turn the water on, wet my body and hair, and turn the water off. I shampoo my hair, turn the water on and rinse, and then turn the water off. Then, I condition my hair and soap up my body, and turn the water back on to rinse. It's getting colder though and turns to the temperature of a penguin aquarium before I can get all the soap off of myself. Once again, I'm left feeling like I may weep from the cold and contemplating how long a person can go without bathing. I didn't even try to shave. "This is for Ross. This is for our wedding."

Finally, I have discovered how to properly clean oneself in an RV. It's actually called a bower and is a combination of a bath and shower. First, you must let the water heat for 30 minutes or more before you even try to use it. It also helps if you have a little space heater that you can use to heat the air in the bathroom. After the water heats, turn the faucet on and fill up the bath tub as much as you can with water that you (I) think is warm enough to bathe in. This usually ends up being about 2 inches of water before the water temperature starts to fall. Climb on in. The tub is small, the water is shallow, but hey, it's an adventure, right? Get a cup. Using the cup, wet your hair and body with bath tub water, and shampoo. Then, use the cup again to rinse out the shampoo. Put conditioner in your hair and stand up to bathe. It is best to do all of this as slowly as possible. After you bathe, turn on the faucet and let it get warm again, which it should, since you've been moving very slowly to give it time to heat up. Turn on the shower and rinse off completely. Then step out into the warm space-heater-heated air, clean and not wishing for death.

It is no longer a gauntlet to clean myself, though I do only shave when I visit Ross on the weekends. That may be gross in a few weeks when it warms up and I can wear shorts outside. I may go back to shaving in the sink. But I'll never shave before my bower. That's just asking for it.

May your water always be warm,

Ray