2017 reflections

What a year!  I can't believe that it's only been six months of Hideout living!  We imagined getting out of debt, owning ourselves and simplifying our lives for a long time before it actually happened.  When I think about how it has all come together I am almost surprised that it's all happened as expected with very minor bumps along the way!  So thankful.

Here are some pictures of our most recent trip to Tempe Town Lake - just one of the fun outings we have enjoyed since being back in Tempe. 

Here are some major events of 2017 that we look back on with pride:

• I graduated with my doctorate from the University of Arizona after 5.5 years
• We sold our primary residence and two of our rental homes in within 90 days of each other
• We purchased the Hideout with cash
• We sold and/or donated most of the stuff in our 4000 sq ft home
• We paid off all debts and put our savings into CD accounts - we have been debt free since June!
• We sold a vehicle
• We sold 85% of our leather-bound Easton Press book collection (still working on selling the rest)
• I began my new career as a university instructor, which I love <3
• Husband resigned from his unsatisfying job of eight years
• Sister has avoided being sent to daycare since then
• Brother will begin homeschooling in January
• We have adhered to our lower budget and continued to save money each month
• We have had a more healthy year in terms of diet and exercise
• We have spent much more time together as a family than we were able to prior to these major changes

Here are our short-term goals (within the next year):

• Get the warranty work done on the Hideout (will talk about this more in a future post)
• Husband will return to ASU as a student to work on finishing a partly completed second bachelor degree in Computer Science
• Brother will start his home school curriculum
• Obtain a solar system for the Hideout
• Travel across the US this summer for 12 weeks and visit as many National Parks as we can
• Improve my diet even more - increase the number of vegan days 
• Save money
• Be less busy and enjoy time with our family
• Continue to sell off stuff in our 5x5 storage and get rid of the storage locker
• Reduce our monthly expenses

Here are some long-term goals (within 2-5 years):

• Finish our off-grid, self-sufficient tiny house on our land
• Find additional income that allows us to be location independent
• Travel to Canada and Mexico and to other destinations in the US

Overall this has been a wonderful year!  I look back and feel joyful for trying new things and embarking on this adventure.  I am thankful for the flexibility my new career affords and that our little family gets to spend so much quality time together.  I look forward to visiting my extended family in Michigan this summer.  We will be able to spend much more time there than in past years when we could only take a week of vacation time.  Life is very good.  Happy New Year! 

American Education vs Homeschooling Part I

Any consideration of a social structure, such as the American educational system, would be incomplete without understanding some of the history as well as goals of the system as it was originally envisioned by the many forces that shaped it.  Here are some facts related to the history of US education:

• Dating back to the mid-1600s children in the colonies were taught literacy so that they could read the Bible and have a firm foundation in their Calvinist religion.  
• Fast forward to after the American Revolution - there was an effort rooted in the struggle for Universal Human Rights (and the early abolitionist movement)  to model an educational system after those existing in Europe.  Many public and parochial schools were established between 1750-1870. 
• It was illegal in most Southern States to teach literacy to slaves or their children in the 1830s.  
• States adopted laws for compulsory education from 1852 (Massachusetts) through 1918 (Mississippi was the last state to adopt compulsory education).  
• In 1864 Congress made it illegal for Native American children to be educated in their own language and started placing children in boarding schools as young as the age of 4 with the stated purpose to "kill the Indian and save the man."  
• In 1896 the Supreme Court ruling of "separate but equal" officially legalized segregation.
• From 1876-1900 Industrialization forced families into cities and factories.  Children as young as 3 were put to work.  Many children worked between 10-14 hours each day to help support their families.  Removing children from the workforce to attend school, was seen as a way to build a docile and obedient workforce which would serve the interests of the capitalist class.  Popular struggles resulted in a minimum work age, workplace safety regulations, the 40-hour work week, and later desegregation.

Child labor in the U.S. circa 1908-1912

The American educational system of today is not a federal system.  It is actually a patchwork of state and local laws and regulations.  Funding public schools from local property taxes results in a highly unequal and unjust system of education.  In areas where homes are valuable and/or owner-occupied, schools are funded well; where home prices are low and/or there are many rental units schools struggle to provide safe and secure buildings let alone meet the educational needs of the students. The U.S. Department of Education's role is limited to enforcement of federal laws, generally related to civil rights.  Most regulations pertaining to schools are decided at the state level as a result of the Tenth Amendment to the US Constitution.  However there is an emphasis from the Federal Government to standardize education and prioritize language and math facts over civics, arts, and critical thinking. Disparities between spending on students varies significantly between states.  Arizona ranks very low in their per student spending.  In 2015 we were third from the bottom compared to all other states.  The range of per capita spending on student in 2015 was from $6,575 in Utah to $21,201 in New York

It is in this context that parents' today make choices about how to educate their kids.  During many conversations with friends and colleagues I have heard three general schools of thought - the first is a direct result of our public educational system which does not question, but rather accepts as a fact that children are better off attending a public school (often the benefits of 'socialization' are touted).  Putting aside the fact that socialization occurs for all humans in the company of other humans and that children do not provide the best roles models for each other - I find the "it was good enough for me so it is good enough for my kids" argument to be lacking on many levels.  The world has changed significantly since the turn of the 20th century and our educational institutions have not adapted commensurate with the significant changes in understanding about our world, technology, etc.  A more sophisticated view of the current system of public education maintains that this is an important social institution and one that we should support through participation.  The truth of this view is that the flaws of the system will not change if we do nothing.  Because homeschooling is impractical for most Americans some say we must improve our public schools through advocacy and participation.

The second school of thought is critical of our institutions of learning and sees them as deficient in creating a citizen who can employ critical reasoning to solve the complex problems of today.  Critical parents and educators recognize the limitations of public schools - namely that these institutions must manage large numbers of young people in the most efficient manner possible which often means that children are treated as numbers instead of as people.  Such dehumanizing treatment is not intentional, nor is it easily remedied by these institutions.  Examples include the mandate for young children to eat lunch in 15-20 minutes (or less if they have to wait in line for a school lunch), rules restricting toileting which result in predictable accidents and shame, and restrictions on water consumption.  Of course adults would never allow themselves to be forced to urinate in their pants by their leaders, but this is what we consider normal when it comes to managing populations of minors.  Such institutionalized treatment produces institutionalized thinkers and actors who need constant supervision and strict rules for success.  However, in most aspects of life this is not what people encounter - we must create our own systems to govern our behavior and we are encouraged or required to be critical thinkers when it comes to being good citizens, employees, friends, and family members.

The third school of thought I have encountered centers on faith, but encompasses another critique of the system that rings true.  For instance, the Amish feel an 8th grade education is sufficient preparation for assuming adult roles in the community.  In Arizona there is a large Mormon (LDS) community and homeschooling is valued in these households.  These families are critical of public schools due to their secular nature and their lack of instruction in life skills.  Life skills are certainly lacking in today's public education - there are many young adults who find themselves unable to make even basic recipes when they leave their parents' nests.  Home economics or similar courses which taught household finances and other practical skills seems to be a relic of the past in this age of standardized testing.

Public education circa 1933 in KY

Parents are often angry when institutions do not treat their children with respect and dignity, but this training is exactly the type that serves the interests of power.  How do you take a free-spirited child who wants to run, explore, and play and convert them into a cubicle drone?  Answer: You send them to institutions of public education where they are conditioned to accept dehumanizing treatment.  The process of making kids sit all day every day with brief recess is how we teach them that sedentary life is what is expected and what is normal.  This also goes for directing attention.  For example, when a child is engaged in a topic public education stifles it by forcing the child to move onto the next subject with the other students instead of digging deep and asking lots of questions about the interesting concept(s).  This serves employers by ensuring that the workforce can focus on mundane or routine tasks each day without employing critical thoughts that would threaten power.  The net result is that creativity and curiosity are limited - children learn that it is best to be entertained and school is a necessary evil.  Children do not learn to explore or question their environments and they become sedentary.  How does this model of education help us solve the pressing social problems of today?  How will we lead the world in innovation and technology when students see education as boring?  What type of future are schools preparing kids for?  After all, there are few factory jobs that require people to work on the mindless assembly line.  My prediction is that the future of education - as with all jobs - will be driven by technological algorithms.  Technology will allow students to explore topics of interest in greater depth at their convenience for low cost or free.  After all, traditional lecture-based classrooms are already obsolete and part of an outdated pedagogy according to experts.

As I mentioned in a previous post I attended a Lutheran, parochial school from K-8 and then public high schools, community colleges and states universities.  My educational path was traditional in that I learned to sit, pay attention, and absorb instead of question.  Certainly my private school in particular imparted knowledge upon us instead of trying to make active learners of the students.  I didn't find topics that were of profound interest to me until I discovered sociology in college and then public health through my career.  When I did find these topics I thought about them continually and applied the concepts and knowledge to my observations of the world.  I also talked about the concepts with anyone who would listen or engage me - my explorations or interest didn't stop at the end of a classroom lecture.  When I imagine young learners being able to fully explore ideas, experiments, and concepts I don't picture that happening in a traditional classroom with 30 kids.

To be continued...

Existential exploration

I watched Jim & Andy last night and had no idea of the ride I was about to take.  Jim Carrey came to prominence while I was in high school.  I think I first saw him in Ace Ventura, though many people knew him from In Living Color.  Husband and I loved The Truman Show and felt that it had illuminated an important Truth about the nature of reality. 

He talked about actualizing his dreams - something he was extraordinarily successful at accomplishing.  He discussed how he positively affirmed his intentions and goals without being caught up with the "how."  He put himself in a state of receptivity to his audience - "what do they want?" he asked himself over and over.  In doing this and he stumbled on an astute sociological observation - that consumers of entertainment want to be free of their concerns.  He would be the character with no concerns - it worked and he launched his career.

Watching him now and hearing what he has to say it seems that the entire arc of a human existential crisis has been documented in his life.  His experience serves as a thought experiment for the rest of us, who, unlike Carrey, have crafted much more enduring identities and have not tried on as many.  His experience shows us the fragile nature of identity - who are you?  Why are you here?  What is your purpose in life?

During this season of expectations and pressure it is an excellent reminder that our social realities are created, they are not static.  What "is" can be undone or changed.  We don't have to be everything to everybody - we can chose to be true to ourselves. We don't have to put on the masks, we can free ourselves from the pressures and explore our own being.

Desert Botanical Gardens

It's easy to forget, when you live in a house, how sedentary life is.  When you live in a Hideout it is impossible to forget because it literally takes five steps to traverse the entire house.  Also, the kids'  restlessness stands in contrast to our poor habits and I recognize that when they need to get out and move, I probably need to too!  Ever since we moved into the Hideout we have spent a lot more time outside.  The kids have gotten more out of their bikes than they ever did in our former neighborhood and we have been enjoying winter weather in the Southwest.  I may have mentioned that we have visited the Tempe Town Lake a few times and last weekend we visited the Desert Botanical Gardens where we spent an active morning walking (adults) and/or running and jogging (kids).

It's been many years since my last visit and they have added some sculptures which, in some cases enhance the natural beauty - but in other cases do not...

Anyhow, the experience was excellent despite the strange ceramics -there were so many beautiful views and amazing plants. For instance, who knew that some varieties of aloe grow to be this big?  This Hercules Aloe is well over 10 feet tall.  It is stunning!

 I love succulents - here are my best pictures:

I

I have really missed my garden, however I have been fortunate to have been able to volunteer through Brother's school - working in the urban vegetable garden with Brother.  The garden was certainly a high point of the public school we have attended this year.  Brother also brought home a sprouted sunflower in September and it recently bloomed and is currently being dried so that we can pull out the seed and grow more.  I guess I neglected to post a picture of that...So you can see that I am getting my garden 'fix' despite living in the home of a nomad.

There was a beautiful contemplation and reflection space at the DBG.  My biggest reflection was that it was a shame that the poor cannot contemplate and reflect in the space - admission is rather pricey at $25/adult and $13/kiddo.  We were able to check out a Culture Pass from the local library which saved us $50 in admission costs. 

Finally, I wanted to share a couple of the other cool sculptures that we came across.

Look closely at these - they are made from pick-axes!

It was lovely and a beautiful place for a morning walk.  Highly recommended especially if you can get a break on admission!

  

Six month reflections...

We moved into the Hideout six months ago this week!  We are living the American Dream...well, the new American Dream that is.  I can't believe it has already been that long.  So, what do I miss about a house? ...well, it is the people that I miss - not the house.  After seven years we had made many friends - and Brother's birthday is this weekend and...well...we didn't plan a party because most of our friends all live so far away now.  Regarding stuff - I don't miss any of it.  Last weekend when we visited our garage storage I found two boxes of winter clothes.  In a box I found some work clothes that I forgot I owned.  I brought them back, but now I have too many clothes for my space and I need to get rid of some of them.  

We've sold about half of our Easton Press books via ebay - that is a relief.  It seems that 90% of the remaining ones will be sold soon as we have bidders on them.  Then we just have some stragglers left.  We continue to work on becoming dispossessed.  Dispossessing is more difficult than collecting.  

The main thing I find annoying about this home is the small fridge and lack of counter space for cooking.  Since we do a lot of cooking at home I would really appreciate another foot of counter space and a larger fridge.  With that said, I have been inside a number of RVs which are larger and I just don't see the need for such a dramatic increase in space.  We are comfortable and our needs are met. On the up side we just removed a panel under our pantry -  which I thought must have some sort of components in it - to find a large empty space!  We will put shelves there and have much more space for food storage!  

Our pantry

Panel that does not conceal anything except a huge empty space
Clearly the pantry is so large we didn't need the space?

Husband is currently researching solar panels, inverters, controllers, and batteries.  The Hideout has one battery which is fully charged and not in use while we are connected to AC power.  We can add a second battery that would increase the length of time we could live without AC power.  We would like to do some boondocking while on our adventure and are learning about it more each day...more to come on that later.

I attended convocation this week to support the nearly 400 graduates of our college.  It was a fun experience to be among the faculty and to wear my regalia for a second time.  It was a challenging first semester teaching five sections of four different classes, but I loved it.  I am currently working on revising and improving the classes for next semester when I will teach five sections of three different classes.  There were surprises, unexpected twists, and some predictable challenges, but having lived through them I feel better prepared to face the next semester.  The bright spot for next semester is that I am teaching 4/5 classes online - and the fifth class I am converting to an online class for a future semester.  Maybe one day I will have all online classes and then we could be location independent! 

Our final update is a big one - we are going to homeschool Brother starting after the holiday break.  His last day of school will be the 21st.  Perhaps I will devote a future post to this decision, but suffice it say that he asked us if he could do homeschooling (we did a brief stint last year) and after much deliberation and weighing the options we all want to give it another try.  However, unlike last year when we technically did online school through a public school, this time we are going to order a curriculum and really do homeschooling.  I have many conflicting thoughts on the educational system in this country.  As someone who continued with a formal education through the doctoral level I obviously understand the benefit, but I also have seen and experienced the disadvantages at every level.  Like all parents I want what is best for my kid -  at this time I think we can do better than the public school system because we can provide one-on-one attention and allow him time to explore concepts in more depth.  We are also able to supplement the traditional subjects in music, physical activity, computer programming, and lots of field trips to cultural events and activities in and around the communities in which we reside.  While this option is not available to most families because of jobs and time constraints - we are uniquely situated to make it work as a result of our choices over the past year.  Becoming unbusy, being healthy, and being present for our kids is a big priority.  This decision seems to be the natural conclusion.

Mini-trip

We had an eventful weekend.  Back in June when we moved out of our house we hauled one UHaul trailer full of stuff to our land in the NE part of AZ.  We built a 500 sq ft garage in 2006 with the intention that, one day, it be a fully functional tiny house/cabin.  Until then it we put some furniture and personal property there...but it was a in huge pile and not organized.  Additionally there were things that we needed that were stored there and there were things we do not need that needed to be stored there!  This was a weekend of the continuation of managing our stuff. 

Our land sits at about 5500 ft elevation....the temp was slated to reach 19 degrees...so Friday I ran to the local kid exchange and found winter coats for the kids.  Brother has long outgrown his last one, and I Sister had one when she was one, but not since then...it was time to get a couple.  Together we spent about $40 for two very nice down coats that the kids loved and that, in retrospect were well worth the cash for the kids were very warm.  I did find my two boxes of winter clothes while we were there and was able to find gloves & hats for everyone...which was good, because we AZ people can't handle the cold!

Here is where we sleep when we visit The Land:

Yes, that is a tent inside the garage!   We can't take the Hideout because the roads are terrible - non-maintained - and we don't want to damage the trailer.  Someday we will pay to improve the roads so that we can drive it back. 

We were able to put a huge dent in the organization, but it could still use some work.  We also found all of the items on our list to bring back and we dropped of some unneeded items there. 

I kept many blankets and comforters from the McMansion...it was a good thing.  We needed them to stay warm last night!  We do not have a heat source, but the insulation in the garage helps, as does sleeping in a tent inside and putting blankets over the top of the tent.  It was at least 10 degrees warmer in the building than outside and even warmer in the tent.  We were cozy...in fact, Sister was too cozy between husband and I, she kept kicking off the covers! - burr!  Brother used one of our zero degree sleeping bags and slept solo - he said he was fine.  Once he was asleep I didn't hear a peep from him all night.  We have a futon mattress inside the tent so that makes it pretty nice. I was worried before we left, but found that I once again worried for nothing.  The whole adventure was really quite fun.  The kids were really well-behaved in the car, they had fun playing with toys they had been parted from, and we were able to work.  All in all a fun overnight trip. 

Regarding the Hideout - when we are away we shut off the water, just in case we have a leak or something and we are not present.  We also turn off all propane, strip surges, and we set the temp to 50 degrees - it had gotten into the 40s a few nights ago.  It was only a day, but the trailer was exactly as we left it when we got back and our neighbors even stopped us this evening and said they noticed that we were gone for a night!  It's a close-knit little park here:)  Tomorrow we will organize the things we brought back and I will take another trip to the kid exchange store to sell the too small winter clothes we are not going to be using.  Probably in January we will take a trip up the mountain for a sledding adventure - as least we are half-way there with the winter coats!

November $$

If you have been following our journey you already know that our goals are to:

• manage our household finances in a way we never have - being conscious and mindful of each dollar we spend, 
• follow a budget, 
• find ways to reduce our monthly expenses, 
• save money,  
• plan our twelve week cross-country trip, and ultimately hit the road!  

Because we are living on one, academic year income (9 months of pay), we have to spread out the money over the whole year to make this work.  Our budget, per month, is $2600; or $1300 every two weeks.  That comes out to $33,800 per year and we plan on taking a 12-week vacation on that budget from May to August.    As a family who previously lived large and wastefully on two incomes this is a huge change for us.  From time to time I want to update you (and document for myself) on how we are doing in our blissfully small, cheap, and simple life. 

Well the pennies have been counted and the final grocery/restaurant/household items budget for November was $850...$50 over the goal - but it's the closest we have ever come to our budget!

In other news we spent exactly $2563 during the month of November - $2600 is the maximum we have allotted for all of our monthly expenses.  If we spend less than $2600/month we will put the extra into savings.  When we sell off our personal property from our storage shed we put that money into savings.  Our budget is only based off of the portion of my income that we want to spend, I split my check - a portion to savings and $1300 to the checking every two weeks.  A year before we sold our house I hypothesized that we could live on $2000/month if we were in an RV.  The reality is slightly more expensive, but not by too much and there are still many ways we can reduce - we are still new at this!

Here is a breakdown of November's expenses:

• The food/household items costs ($850) above are included in that total 
• Monthly lot rent ($538)
• Cell phone/internet ($100) for our two smart phones with unlimited data from TMobile - and we use our phones as hotspots for our internet access/streaming media, etc
• Electricity bill for October ($88)
• Propane - after six months we refilled one of our tanks for the first time ($25)!  
• Brother's BD is in December and we decided to buy him a tablet ($135) (from China), and some comic books ($20)
• We spent roughly $25 on each kiddo for Christmas - we traditionally have only bought things that can fit into their stockings - ($47).  There have been many years we have strictly observed a Buy Nothing Christmas (before kids and while Brother was very young) but it is harder as the kids grow and are exposed to the barrage of nonsense at school at this time of year.  Thankfully Sister is largely blissfully unaware.  We felt a good compromise was a stocking with store-bought toys to compliment our presence, activities, and handmade items.  
• We had entertainment expenses for Netflix and a trip to the movie theater ($41) don't tell Senator Chuck Grassley!
• Gas and auto maintenance ($100)
• Storage unit rental for our 5x5 air-conditioned space ($60)
• We had some miscellaneous expenses including things like medical co-pays, prescriptions, gifts, packing materials for shipping out personal property that was sold on ebay, clothing, I needed a thermos for my coffee to take to work... ($139)
• As we have been in the Hideout for six months our insurance was due.  We pay every six months ($420) for full-time RV insurance and insurance for our two vehicles - a 2015 Toyota Tacoma and a 2009 Toyota Yaris.  Our insurance is through Geico.

Well, there it is.  I feel very happy with this month's spending.  I don't feel that we were lacking or wanting for anything.  We took a couple of free trips to the Tempe Town Lake for family time and I am on the lookout for other free or low cost activities.  I suppose our expenses likely look like most Americans' just on a smaller scale.  What sorts of things are included in your monthly expenses that I might not have discussed?  Also, let me know if you have questions that you would like me to address in a future post!

The season...

I usually don't have a lot of good things to say about this this season.  For many years I suffered SAD, seasonal affective disorder (self-diagnosed).  Though we have largely observed a Buy Nothing Christmas for many years, the hypocrisy of my life in the McMansion further exacerbated my depression around this time of year.

This year I have felt more festive and even worked on Christmas crafts with the kids!  Yes, this is our Christmas tree - it is the first tree my kids have had.

If you buy into all the Christmas stuff you probably will judge me harshly for not having a tree for my kids in past years.  But they are not suffering.  10% of the students in New York were homeless at some point during the last year - those kids suffer - my kids are not suffering, so please put things into perspective.

I am firmly of the opinion that we (Americans) have way too much stuff.  I felt that way even as I purchased a McMansion and lived through seven Christmas seasons in it.  But this is the first year I feel my actions are in line with my values - it is a relief.  Christianity and consumerism are 100% at odds with one another, but somehow most people manage to do some mental gymnastics to allow them to overindulge and buy tons of stuff at this time of year.

Our less busy, less consumerist existence, allows us to enjoy each other and to be present in each others' lives...we don't need presents.  Kids have so much stuff they don't even know what to do with it all.  They much prefer the time we can give them - reading books out loud, playing video games with them, teaching them new skills like cooking and programming - rather than having a toy they can play with by themselves or with each other (which they will likely fight over).

I've been saying this for 20 years and it has not made me any friends, but this is my truth.  As I watch those around me waste their time and energy on the expectations of the season I always feel compelled to share how very relaxed and unbusy I am between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I hope that you can find a way to enjoy the season without blowing all of your hard earned money on junk.

RVegan Friendsgiving & Buy Nothing Day

I don't know exactly how many years we have had Friendsgiving feasts...but at least 15 and maybe as many as 20 years now!  Many of those were vegetarian or vegan.  This year it was WFPB/vegan.

Last year we hosted Thanksgiving for our friends and this year we went to their house.  It was nice to use their beautiful kitchen!  We all contributed to the day, they provided lots of snacks, nuts, & veggies and I made hummus for appetizers.

We arrived around lunch and we ended up breaking our feast into two meals so that we could enjoy it all.  My friend made her delicious portobello mushroom & pistacio soup and I made whole-wheat bread.  We also had a spinach salad with strawberries and rasberries with the first course.  I completely forgot to take a picture of that meal, it was too good and I was looking forward to eating that soup since last year!  After I ate it all I remembered that I forgot to take a picture.


I did, however take some pictures of our second course!

For dinner we made Almond Butter Noodles and Lentils & Rice (Mujadara) with caramelized onions and hummus.  I make two changes to the Lentils & Rice recipe as stated in the above link - I add a cup of chopped celery to the lentils while they boil and I leave out the parsley.  If you think you hate tofu, I would challenge you to try this...When I woke up on Thanksgiving, instead of getting the turkey in the oven I put the tofu in the marinade.  It was able to marinade for almost 10 hours before it was fried and it turned out really well. 













For dessert we had blueberry peach smoothies....this is something I came up with years ago.  It has plant milk, cashews, flax seed, frozen blueberries, frozen peaches, frozen banana and dates in it.  It is a very thick smoothie and it really puts the Vitamix to the test.

It was a fun day, full of excitement...for example, Sister wanted to put her feet in the pool and she ended up falling in and soaking her clothes.  No harm done, she was rescued immediately - but she had to run around in our friend's shirt for a while without any other clothes while hers were in the dryer!  Before that happened we took a walk to the park and my friend's leg was peed on by a neighbor's dog!  Additionally, the kids made art...here is a sample by Sister.  They loved the huge pieces of paper!






In the evening we sat outside by the fire - it was a beautiful evening.  Brother was allowed to sprinkle copper chloride on the fire to change the color.  A very fun day.

I probably don't even have to say this, but today, "Black Friday" we did not shop - actually we observed Buy Nothing Day.  This morning we went for a walk at the Tempe Town Lake, which was very nice and we stayed home the rest of the day.  I got out my guitar for the first time since moving into the Hideout.  I played until my fingers were raw and painful - it was fun.  The kids started making Christmas decorations for the Hideout.  I will post some pictures when they have finished...it's going to be pretty cute and thousands of times more meaningful than anything that can be purchased.  It was a very relaxing couple of days.  I am so thankful for Husband, the kiddos and the life we have together.    

RVegan Refried Beans & Potato, Corn and Jalapeno Soup

I haven't shared any recipes lately, and for the past five days we have eaten for a song and a dance!

I returned to my trusty slow-cooker to make some meals that would last more than one day.  I love making refried beans as recommended by The Pioneer Woman.  As it turns out one of the remaining dry goods I have from the McMansion are pinto beans - an effing lot of them.  For some ungodly reason I bought a huge bag from Costco more than a year ago and despite the seemingly endless number of crock-pots I make, I still have more....I generally cook them a pound at a time which makes me wonder how big was that bag!?! Anyhow, when I cook up a pound of beans that I paid for over a year ago and cook one cup of dried brown rice per night, I can feed my family for three nights.  To supplement the beans & rice we purchase avocados, vegan sour cream, tortillas, chips, salsa and cheese (not for me!).  We make bean burritos and nachos - the kids are crazy about this dinner.  It's too easy!

The other two-night meal we made yesterday is slow-cooker Potato, Corn, & Jalapeno Soup with Whole Wheat Bread.  The picture above is taken soon after I plugged in the pot. At the end of the cooking time you add in some plant milk and mash up some of the potatoes to make it thick and creamy.  In the past I have halved the jalapeno because I was afraid the kids wouldn't eat it, but then it had no kick.  This time I followed the directions and it had kick.  Brother didn't complain at all, but it bothered sister who was a trooper and drank a lot of water between bites and managed to finish her serving two nights in a row!  She is getting a lot better with finishing the food we offer her - at this point she knows the drill.  The Whole Wheat Bread is made in our bread-maker.  We finish 2/3 of the loaf in a night so we make a fresh loaf the second night.  Yesterday I gave 1/3 of the loaf  and some soup to a neighbor who shared food with us in the past.  Technically my bread is not vegan because I use 1/4 cup honey - I could substitute Agave Nectar or Maple Syrup, but I don't.  I don't have a problem with eating a bit of honey in my bread.

These meals are very low cost, though I don't have an exact figure for you.  Tomorrow we will go grocery shopping for Thanksgiving - yes a Whole-Food Plant-Based Thanksgiving.  We have celebrated the holiday with vegetarian or vegan fare with friends for years.  It's become a tradition!  I can't wait to share our menu for that feast...Lots of exciting dishes with tons of flavor!  I will take pictures...Happy Thanksgiving!

Intentional life - Choose your own adventure!

With the exception of tragic occurrences that seems to manifest randomly and without explanation, most people can examine their life and see how their choices led them to the present.  Many years ago I started thinking about how my choices led me to where I was.  Though I didn't really have any particular place I wanted to go, I did have income goals, educational goals (doctorate), family goals (children), and material goals (McMansion).  Husband and I have a history of manifesting change in our lives...we have done it a number of times.

This weekend I considered whether Husband and I were making these lifestyle changes as a result of a "midlife crisis" - it was a concept that was raised in a conversation with a friend.  I've thought about it a bit and started to recap all of the crazy changes we have made in the past.  For example, after working as a probation officer for five years, obtaining my Master's degree and being poised to move up in the organization (also Husband had a very decent programming job during that same time & we were making a combined yearly income of $86,000) - we both quit our jobs to move to a very rural community in the AZ mountains for a job he found that paid $32,000.  At that time we were ready for an adventure, we had goals and the move to rural AZ answered many of them.  Ultimately that move resulted in us earning a combined yearly income of $120,000 after four years. That was the place were were at prior to the McMansion, children, graduate school...

I think my point is that we have taken many risks.  I could go back further...we were married in MI in March of 1997 and we were in the process of moving to AZ in May of 1997 when I had my 21st BD in a dive bar in Mesa, AZ.  It was a crazy adventure, that resulted in us both graduating from ASU with our Bachelor's degrees and starting our professional lives. 

As my mom said recently, "I'm not the person I was back then..." I am not either.  I had different ways of looking at the world at different points in my life, I have mentally and emotionally evolved.  I have adopted new ways of thinking based on my new experiences and interactions and that, in turn, has shaped the new me.  The past me made some good decisions, and many bad ones.  I am building on the good ones with intention and deliberate choices.  I fully expect that my thinking will evolve further and that I will make different choices at later points in my life.  What I think about now is whether 'current me' is setting up 'future me' for success. As I have unburdened and dispossessed myself I have become less sentimental about stuff and can see the potential of not being tied down by it all.  As I generally make healthy choices I can see (or feel) the immediate impact of not making those choices.  As a mom I will tell my kids, "you need to listen to your body," but did I listen to mine?  Not really until recently!  I think I was too distracted by all the crazy going on around me to be quiet enough to hear what was inside. 

My ultimate point is that we do, to a large extent - excluding tragedy - choose our own adventures.  We find ourselves at crossroads all the time and if we step way back we can see that choosing one will close the alternate door and lead us down a particular path.  Choosing for things to remain the same is still a choice.  But if we are suffering, if we are not at peace with our place as a result of our past choices, exploring the other options is the only way to find the life that we imagine is possible. 

Food budget and goals...

So...it's been a question in my mind - how much should a family of four spend on groceries in a month?  I did a bit of research.  The USDA provides a handy resource and you can figure out the budget for your family with the specific ages of your kids at the "thrifty," "low cost," "moderate," or "liberal" budget levels.  For us the range is $574 to $1162.  So that made me feel good about setting our budget at $800/month. 

I should define "groceries" - I am actually including any and all trips to the grocery store and including household products, paper products, alcohol, and dining out.  Our total "grocery" spending was $975 in October - so we didn't make the goal.  We spent approximately $150 on alcohol - expensive, dark, microbrews, and imported beers to be precise.  Teetotalism is in my future - I can't rationalize that habit.   Of the total, $175 was spent at restaurants.  It's disappointing because it seemed like we were doing well, but when you consider the eating out and alcohol - which were indulgences - we could have done better.  I share because we have seriously struggled with this for years - we have always overspent on food.  For us, $975 is actually an improvement.  We still are aiming for a more efficient use of our resources so that we can save our money for travel and adventure! 

Our open-source financial software, GnuCash is awesome and Husband does a very detailed job of keeping track of our spending.  It is easy to run reports to see how we are doing and it is fun to watch our savings grow.  In the past we were always able to put some additional money towards our debt (in excess of our minimum payments), but now I have a portion of my paycheck going to savings.  Our rental income and land contract income goes to the savings and we are keeping our total expenditures to less than $2600 per month (surplus to savings).  We opened a money market checking account after searching the best rates on BankRate, we also put the majority of our savings in CDs for the time being. 

I've been tracking my dietary choices since January of this year (I keep track of my dietary habits each day before bed with an app called Loop Habit Tracker).  It's a good feeling to be making progress and to visually see the progress over time.  Also it is a daily reminder or affirmation to myself that I do make good food choices.  In October I made the following food choices:

• Whole-Food Plant-Based 24/31 days (my ultimate goals is to always eat this way)
• vegetarian 25/31 days (probably ate eggs), 
• dairy free 30/31 days, 
• pescatarian 3/31 days 
• and that leaves 3 days that I ate some kind of meat.  I remember them - my neighbor, who is Filipino made pork spring rolls one day and pork BBQ another day. It was very nice of her to share and I tried some of the grub, which was quite delicious, Husband and the kids enjoyed it too.  Another time we went out to eat with friends at a pizza place - not eating dairy being my highest priority, I opted for a turkey sandwich.  

I had read Mr. Money Mustache before - he is certainly at the extreme end of saving money and living within your means, but he really breaks it down in terms of how to reduce the food budget.  However I get the idea that he does not include alcohol in his food budget calculations - maybe he doesn't drink...but I doubt it.  He may not include household expenses either.  It is worth checking out his philosophy - I agree with him in many ways.  

I hope that breaking the social taboo of silence about our household finances and dietary choices is helpful.  If not, well, it is therapeutic and helpful for me to write about it so that I can bring focus and clarity to my choices going forward!

Friends...

I've mentioned it before, but we really do miss our friends from our old neighborhood.  It was nice for the kids to play with the neighbors and to meet at the park.  It was easy to set up meetings at the community center, at someone's house, or to go for a walk or bike ride.  Since July the kids have not had such close connections with neighborhood friends.

However for the past couple of weeks Brother has been very fortunate to have met a friend and they are two peas in a pod!  I'm not sure who will be more sad, he or I, when the family leaves on Thursday.  The reason I say that is that Brother has a unique personality and interests.  He has never had a best friend or someone that is into the same things as him.  He is eccentric and likes retro video games, he reads a lot - in short, he is a geek like his parents.  For the past couple of weeks I have seen him connect with another boy on that level and it makes me so happy to see them riding bikes, talking, drawing, computing, gaming and otherwise playing.  I've seen him interact with many kids and he enjoys playing with lots of friends, but he has never been on the same wavelength as he is with this little 10-year-old guy.  They are inseparable, they have not fought, they are polite to each other, they invite each other over for dinner each night....it's seriously too cute.  I am sure Brother is going to go through withdrawal without him around.  Also, the little boy is so nice, so well-rounded, polite, and makes great conversation at the dinner table with his travel stories.  I am going to miss him!

Over the weekend both families got together and had dinner - their family has been on the road for 15 months and they have been to every state except Alaska!  They have been to many of the National Parks and monuments and have many stories about their adventures.  It has been so awesome to get to know them a bit and to hear about their travels.  One day I hope to have that sort of experience under our belt!  It makes me so anxious to be on the road!  They shared some of their trials and tribulations of their trailer - which also was comforting - knowing that their family was able to deal with whatever came their way gave me confidence that we will be able to as well.  One big difference between us and them is that her employment is fully online - her husband, like Husband, is retired!  Now, if I can transition to fully online....

Big questions & answers under construction

Who are you?  What do you want?  Where are you going?

As we deal with our myriad worldly crap we were reflecting on how much of a pain it would have been for our kids had we left them with all this stuff.  When my father-in-law died we had to clean out the house.  With the exception of a few boxes and one chest that held pictures most of the rest went to the dump.   Just because we collected leather-bound books does not mean the kids will want to keep & move them around during their adult lives.  That goes for pretty much everything we have.  Unless it has some utility there is really not much reason to keep it.  While pictures are currently my personal exception to this way of thinking, I am not feeling very sentimental about our stuff these days.  I don't miss having it around.

It's ironic that there's anxiety associated with both acquiring and disposing of stuff.  We bought most of the stuff in a state much like this:

"Acquisition Anxiety" by Laura Wacha

When selling things, we stress on whether we are getting the best price - even though any price is actually better than keeping the boxes of stuff!  There is freedom in simplicity.  It is very nice to lighten our load and our clutter as we decide what we actually need in our tiny space.  The toys are a good example.  We started out with way too many toys - it was hard for me to leave them behind.  After being here I realized the kids don't play with many toys and the toys are just clutter.  We've paired it down quite a bit.

Having a simple wardrobe is very nice too.  My work clothes consists of two pair of slacks and 5-6 shirts.  I only teach in-person two days of the week so the combinations of outfits I have available seems to be quite adequate - maybe too many!  I also have a small bin of t-shirts (probably 7-9) and a couple pairs of shorts.  If something is worn out I will replace it, but I will never have more than I currently have (In fact I could probably do with less).  The kids each have one large IKEA bin with their clothes.  Husband was only too happy to ditch his work clothes when he retired - he's comfortable in t-shirts and shorts.  We've gotten rid of many pairs of shoes.  We each have sandals and tennis shoes and I have a pair of comfortable black shoes for work.  

There isn't a person on the globe who actually owns anything - we just borrow stuff temporarily - though many of us go into massive debt to borrow stuff.  We will all die one day and we will be judged by those we leave behind.  They will reflect on the lives we lived, the people and things we valued, and the crap we collected.  Did we lord over a hoard?  What kind of life did we lead?  What did we spend our time on?  What kind of role models were we to our kids?  How did we spend or save our money?  What values did we embody?  It becomes ever more clear to me that we had been living our lives without making conscious decisions about these questions - we just did what everyone else was doing despite the fact that our health (both mentally and physically) was problematic.  

We have both been obese and had indications of the development of chronic diseases (I had high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and was pre-diabetic).  I have been very aware that my eating habits directly affect my kids'.  Being young and active they are currently healthy - their heights and weights in the perfect zones for their ages - but I know that if they don't develop healthy habits they will suffer as I, and so many in my family have suffered.  Whole Food Plant Based eating has provided us with the answer.  Insofar as we have made a conscious choice to prioritize health we have been very successful in reversing the progression of our own poor health conditions without medication.  We also have kids that are not picky eaters and have diets rich in fruits, vegetables, nuts, beans, legumes, and whole grains.  

Last night we visited friends and we cooked dinner together.  I made Umami Almond Burgers and Wonder Spread.  We had a long conversation about why we have shifted towards WFPB eating and introduced a friend to the concept of food as medicine.  My point is that spending time planning, cooking and eating healthy food is such a more satisfying use of one's time than shopping for stuff to fill the spaces in large house.  It is also satisfying to plan meals, purchase the groceries and use them up - something we used to fail at in the past when we impulse purchased food and subsequently wasted it.  One of the most clear answers I have to the big questions above is that I am going towards health.  With a focus on health for myself and the family, other decisions are clear.  

Contentment

“If one’s life is simple, contentment has to come. Simplicity is extremely important for happiness. Having few desires, feeling satisfied with what you have, is very vital: satisfaction with just enough food, clothing, and shelter to protect yourself from the elements.” -The Dalai Lama 1935

After considering keeping our Ford Fiesta, but never taking the listing off of Craigslist, we got a call yesterday that resulted in its sale!  I immediately felt lighter and less burdened by the responsibility of owning that vehicle.  It's a crazy feeling - one that I look forward to & value each time we dispossess something.  I'm actually quite pleased that this feeling continues, and is heightened, by being less possessed.  I certainly felt a wave of relief and satisfaction when we sold the house, but the feelings associated with living in this state of contentment as we continue to sell off personal properly is surprising.

 As I shed possessions I recognize a side effect is that I have shed the desire to be self-indulgent.  There seems to be a link between all my stuff and stuffing myself.  Though I had heard that food cravings for fat, sugar, and salt would disappear over time with a proper, healthful diet, I had never before experienced it until now.  Though I had, in the past, tried very hard to get to a point free of cravings, I realize now that it is not something to work at, but rather a state of mind that one can cultivate.  The best way to sum up the state of mind is one of contentment and thankfulness.  In this state, healthful food is what I want and I am am thankful to have the time and energy to plan and prepare the meals.

I was raised in the Lutheran faith (attending a Lutheran school from Kindergarten through 8th grade). Jesus, like the holy men in many faiths, practiced asceticism.  Indeed Jesus told a man seeking advice on how to live a good life, "“If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” (Matthew 19:21), the man left discouraged because he was wealthy.  Then Jesus told his disciples, " “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 19: 23-24).

I am not a particularly religious person at this point in my life, but this story has bounced around in my head since childhood.  Perhaps I now have a very elementary experiential knowledge of the truth of the story if one reflects that Jesus also said, "“The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:20-21)  So in order to enter the kingdom of God - that elusive holy space that has hitherto been reserved for the most devout, and demonstrated by Thích Quảng Đức  in this photo,

we must be dispossessed.  It is the mandate of the sacred traditions and seems the missing piece in our culture which is terribly out of balance. (Don't get me started on all the other things this amazing act of protest represents...)

I certainly am not preaching - for I, like you, am just trying to navigate this life as well as I am able.  But these insights have been swirling around in my mind and I wanted to share them.  I recently have been feeling differently and I am experiencing the world differently.  I feel more peaceful, less stressed, more centered, and less anxious.  I can only share my feelings and try to interpret these new feelings through my prism of experience.


I believe, as I have shared with many of my friends, that I am not a fan of anything that divides us or defines us into arbitrary categories.  We are all in this together - as humans we have the same biological and emotional needs and we all have the same questions.  Another truth I have internalized from my Lutheran upbringing is that God is Love - Jesus said we should love our neighbor as ourselves (Mark 12:31) to me that is a mandate for tolerance, compassion, and love for our fellow humans. 

Ok, this post is getting heavy!  And all because we sold a car!  HA!  It's crazy how something small can send you down the rabbit hole...

Food storage / hanging basket upgrade...

My mom and dad sent this hanging basket to me soon after we got the Hideout and I can't tell you how much we've come to rely on it for fresh food storage!

The problem with it was that the chain was too flimsy for the weight I pack in there!  I need it to hold lots of onions, fresh fruit and bread!  Many times it has fallen apart and dumped the produce all over the floor.  So, finally I went to Home Depot and investigated chain!

I bought this stuff - it is much more sturdy!  So the chain is replaced and it can really hold a lot!

With such limited space we have to maximize every nook and cranny!