Computer Update

Hello, hello everyone!!

The update on my computer situation:

She's broken. Booooo....waaaaaahhhhhh.....boo, hiss booooo.

Turns out my graphics card has gone to poop and every time I turn on my computer, it white screens on me. I talked to quite a few people at Best Buy, because I was hoping someone would give me an answer I actually wanted to hear...but no, they all said the same thing, "That would be your graphics card, Miss."

We tried many, many things to make it work...even if just for a moment and BAM! We got white screened every time.

The good news?

We were able to start it in safe mode last weekend and I was able to save the pictures, videos, documents, etc., that I was so sad that I would lose. So to me, that is awesome news. I did not want a new computer, for a few reasons. I really like my laptop, it's mine! I've worked really hard on my awesome sticker collection on the cover. I know how to use it, I know where everything is and it does exactly what I need it to do. And it's only about two years old, so it's not like it's old or anything!

We will be shopping around for a new one but probably not getting a new one until around November, due to finances and a million other things that need to come in front of a new laptop. That's the sucky part...but J' has let me use his computer when he is not working on it or when he is gone during the day (he has picked up some work from a friend during the week). He's a real sweetie! It's all good though, I've been focusing more on practicing my guitar, spending more time with Savannah, although she's not too fond of that! And I've been working out...so don't piss me off!!! haha I showed my muscles to J' last night and he was like, "Whoa, babe...you're getting ripped!" I giggled.

All in all, things have been up, things have been down and they've been allllll around a few dozen times but we are still healthy, happy and just getting through this "phase" of life right now.

There are a ton of positives on the horizon for us and each day we get closer to being able to leave the Bay area and get back to our life on the road, with like-minded people and the awesome taste and feel of true freedom.

Keep the good juju chugging along out there for us and don't give up on us.

With your love, support and laughter, everything is going to be just fine!

Thank you for keeping us close in thought. The positive energy is truly felt.

Love ya'll

PEACE

P.S. I can't wait to be able to post pics again!! hee hee

Please be patient...

To all of my amazing readers that keep coming back for more...

I'm having major difficulties with my laptop lately which makes it hard to post anything; pictures, posts...anything.

Please keep a kind prayer out there for me that I do not need a new computer, because I love the one I have and it's only two years old. Right now I am using J's due to his "working for the rig" status, but am still wishing and praying and keeping the faith that mine comes through, due to the thousands of pics and videos I have on it.

So again, please be patient with me and the distance between posts. I know you are all just chompin' at the bit to get another update.

We are doing good and getting things handled!

I hope you have a wonderful day and a wonderful Holiday weekend (Labor Day).

Peace to you all

Flyin' High, Flyin' Low...Flyin' to Orlando!

On my second plane of the day. The time is roughly 5 p.m. on this Thursday evening. We woke up at 4:15 a.m., took care of "The Bugs" morning rituals, fed myself with a ham and cheese toasted sammie and diet coke...yep, the breakfast of champions! By 5 a.m. we were out of the house. My flight didn't leave until 7:25 a.m., but I wanted to be a good flyer and earn my wings and get to the airport 2 hours early like "they" say. We were at the San Francisco airport in about 25 minutes and I was checked-in and through security in about 9 1/2 minutes!! I found a plug and opened my computer to do some "work"...uploading pictures...I was only able to load half of an album due to the slow connection, but it's half of an album that I didn't have loaded, so it's all good! The plane boarded and left pretty much right on time for Charlotte, NC...where my layover was.

[caption id="attachment_5063" align="aligncenter" width="350"] See ya Charlotte[/caption]

The flight was about 4 hours and 45 minutes long but it went by pretty fast due to my awesome luck of being seated next to two amazing women from Hawaii. We talked for the majority of the flight, in between napping, reading, stretching and potty breaks. While I am flying to Orlando to help 'the moms' move...they are enroute to Rome! They flew through the night last night, flying from San Fran to Charlotte and they're going to keep on truckin' to Rome, then once in Rome they will take a small cruise ship to Greece! How awesome is that!?

During the flight we talked about all kinds of stuff from our van-life to their lives in Hawaii. One of the women, Vicki, can watch her kids and hubby surf from her kitchen window as she makes brekkie for the fam and at times, when it's mating season, has to close her windows due to the whales making so much noise splashing their tales and bodies and moaning! They spoke of how amazing the sunsets are and how they never get old to watch, as well as how magical the views are...even after living there for 30 years! We talked about our kids & our husbands, our mothers & our siblings...and of course, the Nana Bug!

It was great to be seated next to such wonderful energy, I sure needed it after the few days leading up to this trip. For some reason, I was majorly stressing about the flight, which flying has never bothered me or scared me before. I'm sure it was driving J' totally batty listening to me for three days about how nervous I was! haha So thank you ladies, my prayers were truly answered by sitting next to you and I hope you (Margaret) had an amazing 80th birthday reminiscing in the magical city of Rome! (I'm upset I didn't get a picture of them, darn.)

They gave me a pretty good push to truly start writing my book. I've really got to get my thoughts in order to start that thing, just seems like something else always gets done before that...hmmmm. So another thank you, to you, ladies!

So...yes, back on the plane. We took off about 15 minutes ago out of Charlotte and should be arriving in Orlando in about an hour or so. I'm pretty excited...actually I'm super freakin' stoked! I not only get to see my mom (after almost two years) and hug and kiss her... this mama gets to see her Baby Owl too!

My, not so little, girl and I are going to have a sleepover and just be giggly girls together and of course I get to put the official mother's stamp of approval on her man, her house & her pup! She's a really great "kid", so I'm sure her life and everyone around her are just perfect. It should make for a really nice trip all the way around and if I get to see my best Aussie mate, that will make it even better!

[caption id="attachment_5065" align="aligncenter" width="350"] Rainy Florida[/caption]

For the next 7 days, I'll be giggling with my little owl, moving the moms, unpacking boxes and shopping for furniture for her new home and I'm sure a lot more that I haven't planned for, purty fun stuff...actually, it does sound fun to me! haha I'm always happy for the time I get to spend with anyone I love even if we just lay on the floor, stare at the popcorn ceiling that hasn't been scraped off yet and using a shower curtain for a blankie! Just kidding mom...you can have the shower curtain! I'm there for the quality time and adventure.

We're coming in for a landing.

[caption id="attachment_5066" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Crazy Cloud!![/caption]

So, here we go.......

PEACE

 

JULY = Our month of celebration!!

July has always been a pretty exciting month for me, as a child...it was the time of Summer, school was out, I could play with my friends all day long, and it was my birthday month. Now as an adult, it still holds the same excitement but now I get to share the month with my babaa', our daughter Brittney and Savannah due to all of their birthdays and both of our anniversaries all in the month of July. For us, it is truly like it's Christmas in July!!!

Last year we were celebrating in the mountains of Shaver Lake in California with our traveling friends: Bob, Steve & Miss Cheri. This year we are back in California, in NoCal...the Bay Area, but celebrating with our 'sticks & bricks' friends that J' hasn't seen in about 13 years and I'm meeting for the first time. It's been a great time and fun is always had by all. On J's birthday, we woke up to homemade french toast among other amazing foods for brekkie made by our friends Jenn and Scott. The rest of the day was spent lounging in the pool then for dinner I took him to Applebee's and had one hell of a feast for the price.

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For Savannah's birthday, she was able to pick anything in the world to do and she picked taking it easy by tanning poolside.

[caption id="attachment_5038" align="aligncenter" width="350"] Birthday baby[/caption]

For our Anniversaries, the day seemed to more get away from us then going out and celebrating so we made burgers at home and just hung out. It was a nice day and really every day seems like our Anniversary because we get to spend every single day together and being together is the most important thing!

For my birthday, Jenn and I went for a 4 1/2 mile walk in the morning, made some sloppy joe's from scratch (I'm not a "sloppy" girl, but I am now, those things were the bomb!) We ended our nice time together by cleaning her porch and garage...hey friends gotta do what friends gotta do! haha Later that night, a couple of our friends took us to a restaurant named Ceviche's whose food is to die for...O.M.G.!! The shrimp looked like baby lobsters... they were so huge! We had a great time together, it's so great meeting and getting to know all of these people I've heard about for the last 8 years. Oh my gosh, I almost forgot...J' came home with TWO DOZEN roses for me. They look and smell amazing and the only request for dinner from J' was that I wear a flower in my hair...done!

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The only celebration we will not be able to attend is our 'Lil Bit's 21st birthday which is happening right now, today, this moment. I hope she stays safe, has fun and knows that we would give anything to be with her on this day...well every day!!! We love you very much and wish you the happiest birthday!

The month is almost at an end and has been another amazing month to remember and to celebrate. It's awesome that we've been able to come together with friends of the past and (for me) making everlasting friendships. This July of 2013 is sure to go down in the record books of being one of the most amazing celebrations to date! Thank you to everyone that made every memory worth remembering and smiling about for years to come, we love you so very much!

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[caption id="attachment_5050" align="aligncenter" width="350"] Here's to July[/caption]

We hope your July was as much fun as ours...maybe even better and if not...there's still three days left!!

 Here's to an even better August and more unforgettable days.

PEACE

 

 

A Million Dollar Good-bye

I've been meaning to get this post out for, well ...forever now but life seems to be moving a little fast these days so it has slipped under things, put on the back burner, blah blah blah....

No more excuses.

We are on our way to California and so we have to say "good-bye" to our friends in the Enchanted Forest of Flagstaff. The past two weeks have been not only inspiring, but for me, also eye opening as well as having the opportunity to open my heart and mind to things that have been shut off for many years. I truly met a Soul Sister for life and I will never forget the time that was spent listening, laughing our butts off, and loving this life that too many people take for granted. This blog post is about the GOOD in good-bye. There are a few different links to this post due to the awesome friends we have and them being up on their "game" in the blog world. I hope you are able to view all of the links and can enjoy every minute as if you were there.

We hope you can join us next time!

Randy the poets blog post= http://mobilecodgers.blogspot.com/2013/07/discovering-good-in-goodbye.html

A video Laurie made including a song she wrote and some great photos = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMJUYcBRw38&feature=youtu.be

A video J' took of our "Million Dollar Good-bye"=

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x11vd6g_a-million-dollar-good-bye_tech#.Ue6nd3eAfXo

We will never say good-bye, only see ya later...I mean, could you say good-bye to a friendship like that!? I don't think so. We are forever tethered and we are so grateful to have met such a great group of people and be able to call them, not only friends, but family.

We love you and can't wait until we meet up again some time very very soon!

PEACE

A Gathering Like No Other

What is this thing called the R.T.R., you ask?

For those of you that don't know, the R.T.R. stands for Rubber Tramp Rendezvous and it's something that can be described but truly has to be experienced to get the full effect but I will try, as I always do, to bring it to life on your computer screen through my pictures and stories.

This gathering was our second Summer R.T.R. We saw some people that we had met previously at other gatherings as well as greeting new faces and making new friendships along with strengthening the bond of our true tribe! It's such an amazing time.

Upon our arrival, there were already quite a few rigs parked among the trees...everything was quiet...pretty much the norm for the middle of the day.

[caption id="attachment_4987" align="aligncenter" width="224"] Joon @ the R.T.R.[/caption]

We unpacked and set-up our awning...which I'm now going between calling the Freedom Fort or the Simple Temple...both are great names for what our amazing awning has actually become. Within about an hour of setting up, we started grilling hot dogs and within about 10 minutes of that we had a good 10-12 people bringing their chairs bringing in good food to share with the group, big smiles and good conversation. Since I was the hostess with the mostest...I have no pictures to share but take it from me, it was spectacular!

The couple of days that followed our arrival date were a little slower than usual but it was a great time to catch up with old friends and meet some new faces. We were super stoked to see one familiar face and his furry babies as well as an awesome addition to his family...Brad and the traveling fur babies! haha He has two pups and a kitty...hopefully they will be "on tour" soon and we will get to see more of them.

The group walks daily, twice a day. Bob promised Homer (his dog) that he would give him a great life and keep him healthy, so every day... twice a day (8 a.m. & 6 p.m. depending on the time of year), they go on about an hour long walk. It's nice for the group as well because there is a lot of bonding time on those walks. In between the walks, there's a lot of other things going on. In the morning, around 10 a.m., we all gather and talk about different topics ranging from how we cook and our favorite gadgets to any kind of questions about living the lifestyle as well as gathering for meals and music. If you want to come, than come on and if you need or want some alone time than that's what you get. It's all about helping one another as well as doing what you want to be doing and if you want to be alone...then go be alone. Everyone understands and is very respectful of your time.

Some of our downtime consisted of bonding over cooking sweet potatoes with Bryce, talking in the forest with Steve, taking walks with the group or by ourselves, having dinner parties at The Simple Temple which would then turn into hilariously long conversations into the darkness of the night, gazing at the Super Moon, surprises from Bob, hair cuts and colors, installing solar panels and a bed on other rigs, J' being a mechanic, watching the Ravens and Squirrels "sort" our trash, beautiful sunsets, decadent oatmeal with Randy & Laurie, rainbow time, laughing, playing music...er, trying to play music haha, getting soaking wet while eating brekkie in the rain, and among a million other things just being together as a group.

There are about a million and one pictures during this time...you know me! Here I will try to sum it up in a few photos ...ya know for the full effect!!

[gallery columns="4" ids="4992,4991,4993,5003,4990,4994,4995,5004,4996,5005,4997,5006,4998,5001,4999,5000"]

I will have to upload the majority of the photos into Shutterfly when I get the data...there are just too many great photos that I have to leave out due to storage. But at least with these you can get a little glimpse into how much awesomeness we consume in two weeks!

Who knew you could have this much fun for FREE in the forest!?

There is nothing like this experience/lifestyle. I'm just happy to be able to say that we are able to live this life and enjoy it to the fullest. There are things that cannot be put into words on 'paper' for they are experiences that had to be felt in that moment that not a lot of people would understand unless they were present. This Summer R.T.R. is a moment in time that I will cherish and remember for a very long time. The people that I have to thank for that know who they are and I cannot say thank you enough for making this one hell of a Summer and making my life that much better to wake up to every day. And Bob, I want to personally thank you once again for bringing us all together so we can make these true bonds and connections that will last longer than a lifetime...You rock Bobby and I love ya man!

Thank you all for making this Summer magical! We WILL see you down the road and can't wait to hear about...well...everything!

PEACE

Thank you for the Summer R.T.R.

Yes, yes...behind once again! Truly I have to ask myself, am I really behind? What am I behind on? I guess I'm the only one that knows that...so I take it back. I'm not behind...just enjoying this amazing life we're living! We're making memories to actually have something to write about! We have done so much in the last couple of weeks, it will be hard to go back to cover all that we have done but I will try...if not for anything else than for all of you...my awesome readers out there! Don't you love that I put you on the priority list? Believe me...there's not a lot on that list...but you're all there and that's what matters.

Trying to pick up where we left off....we were headed to the R.T.R.

The Summer R.T.R. of 2013 was two weeks of greatness, amazing connections, more laughter and love than I could have ever imagined, strengthening of friendships, keeping busy with jobs here and there and memories that will last a thousand years. Bob has taken gatherings of vandwellers and those alike to a whole new level and I just want to express my appreciation for him and for those that have gathered around him, making our vandwelling life a much more memorable one. The people we have met on the road and at gatherings, such as the R.T.R., are a pack like no other. We are like minded people, that love to listen to stories, laugh at each other, help one another and we all just get "it". Some of our best friends are now people we have met on the road of travel. We all come together and just ride on the vibe of life...there's nothing like it and as I have thrown out the invitation before...I throw it out again to all of you that want, wish or thrive on a lifestyle like this and invite you to come experience "this", at least for a week. I have never experienced comradeship like this in my life, nor do I think I would ever experience this in the world of the "Matrix". It's amazing and we thoroughly enjoy it...so here I am tempting you again to come join us in this spectacular world that we live in...even if for a couple of days. I promise it's so intriguing you'll wonder why you didn't make it happen sooner.

In the next post I will try to captivate you further with moments caught on film and short stories about our time at the R.T.R.

Until then (and I promise I won't keep you waiting long)...

PEACE