Friday, May 5, 2023

May the 4th Be With You!

We are almost all Star Wars fans in our home. My oldest daughter is decidedly not and the younger daughter hasn't seen much lately to make up her mind. But the rest of love the movies and some of the characters. 

So, yes, I do love being able to celebrate the holiday devoted to fans - Star Wars Day. May 4th for you non-fans. This year, I decided to take up the fun challenge of doing something cool. I printed out these cool bookmarks that you can find by 123homeschool4me. She has a HUGE database of free printable resources. This time though, I was only interested in the bookmarks. I printed off 2 copies of those. But then I found some others too... Figured I would let the kids choose any they wanted. The rest though.... I had a plan for! I also decided to go ahead and laminate them. They last longer that way.

I had been wanting to make a sweet treat for my family to enjoy. We have been under so much stress and so strapped in the financial department, that treats weren't so common for us. And I wanted to make it really special! I found these two ideas. But in the end, we created our own.

The craziest option is the BB8 Freakshake. I had never heard of a freak shake before. I was thinking that might be too much sugar, but I thought maybe I could make some of the attachments for fun.

The one my husband really wanted was the Wookie Chocolate Milkshake. Much simpler. He was most excited by the waffle cookie being included. It doesn't require much. We weren't going to waste the time and effort to make the belt across a jar, but with some icecream, chocolate syrup, and these wafer cookies - I think I made it close enough! 

I made some little chocolates using my Star Wars molds. We had these the weekend before Star Wars Day because the boys would be out of town. This way they didn't fully miss out on the fun. The X-Wings weren't as strong as I usually have them... maybe next time.

For the actual day, my daughter made some Twix cookies that we put the chocolate ships on top of. It was delicious!  

I had taken time out to play dress up with the girls. I pulled my costume bin out and let them create their own characters, both rebel and empire sides. While I can't share their photos (for safety reasons), I will show you what outfits they came up with for me! They also chose my makeup colors and we all played with my Star Wars palette from ColorPop.
The blonde is my Jedi costume, while the redhead is the Sith. They were pretending to be Vader's daughters, taking turns being Light and Dark. So of course they decided I had to be both as well.
We had a fantastic time! Even my non-fan daughter was getting into the cosplay aspect with great vigor. It made me proud. We had some mermaid photos afterwards for Mer-May. And they can't wait to come up with the next idea! Until next May, may the force be with you!

Thursday, April 27, 2023

The Tiny House Insides Are Getting Fleshed Out

One little thing at a time... That is what I tell myself. I also have to keep reminding myself and the others that there is a purpose for all this! Sometimes the cabin fever hits a little hard and the attitudes flare up. So we have to consider what this is for and the overall meaning of why we are doing all this. This week was by far the hardest on us all. My husband and I even came close to exchanging words that don't fall under Christian curse words level. Don't know what Christian curse words are? Tim Hawkins has quite the list. My go-to is honey sugar ice tea for the biggest needs. Otherwise I say something simple - oh, fudge! But when my husband used a real curse word - something even his coworkers think he is incapable of doing - I had to tell him to reign it in or my red-headed temper was going to come loose.

With that being said, we have moved into what was supposed to be the final week of work. We have to move in increments, but that works for me. I'm worn through. However, it has meant that we missed the deadline and have to adjust the moving plans as far as storing things in the tiny house goes. 

It is like adding muscles, tendons and skin to the room. Weird analogy, huh? We did an anatomy class recently. Still got that on the brain.

Monday, I finished all the painting of the rafters that were already hung. I also put up the insulation we had on hand. Though we did not get the standard version my dad used to get for the houses we fixed up, I learned the hard way that it still had fiberglass and caused a painful itching of the skin and scratching of the throat. I thought this new kind was something more organic, therefore safe to breathe in and didn't need a long sleeve shirt while setting into place. Next batch I added, I covered as much skin as possible. I wished I had a turtleneck shirt, but then I'm one of those people who have an irrational fear of wearing turtlenecks... so.... yeah. 

Tuesday and Wednesday kinda blur together for me... Then again, that is how most of my days have been. I take steps, finish tasks, and forget anything that isn't directly needing my attention. Tuesday was when we got the delivery of the drywall. We had to carry them into the tiny house to keep them from being ruined.

The next day, the delivery of 18 packs of insulation arrived. I spent that day installing 8 of those packs myself. It was hot, itchy and I couldn't finish due to needing more of the crack sealing caulk. My husband and I ended up working when he came home from work until it was so dark that I had to use my cell phone flashlight to see. We found out that the size of wiring my husband bought was too short. So he couldn't add the final wiring. Which led to me not being able to install the rest of the insulation. Which also meant we could not finish the drywall in time. Not that we had enough time anyhow with darkness falling so quickly. 

I'm glad for how much we were able to accomplish. While we didn't reach the goal, we had to accept that it is what it is. We are at the point where the boys can't really help us, especially with the 3 trips the kids have coming up. So my husband and I are doing the work alone. And that is after my husband has full days to work at his job.

Helpful hints for this week:

1. Don't let the stress get too high. Harder to do than it sounds. We took too big a bite when we thought that we could complete this project within a set time. And because of that, we got too stressed out.

2. Even if you think it is helpful, don't remind your build partner that saying the same phrase over and over isn't going to change the facts. 

3. Keep a calm head. Even when others around you can't seem to. Silence might be your best friend. How about what most of us heard as kids, "If you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all." 

4. Order at least one extra... While carrying the sheetrock boards inside, the boys snapped one. Thankfully, we have extra. And we needed to cut some pieces. So we will still make good use of everything. But better to be prepared than without. 

Until next week! We are once again setting a goal. Two more weeks. That is when we hope to have this finished. Let's see if we can. And if we can't? Well, we will do what we can.

Monday, April 24, 2023

From Outside to Indoors, the Transition in Work on the Tiny House Begins!

Every house needs sturdy walls. With a layer outside and a layer inside. We had to complete those outer walls before moving inside to do the inner layers. 

Monday we finished the bulk of the large side wall. My in-laws sent us a jigsaw, and let me tell you right now - it is amazing! Made the intricate cutting so much quicker and easier. We were also blessed that the rain that fell was light. Otherwise it could have been bad for the roofing that was still exposed. It would have made the yard too muddy to be working in. But! I'm glad for the light rain. We had less dust blowing into our eyes this time around.

Tuesday was when we hung the siding on the front triangle of the building. As much as possible, we are trying to line up the patterns, but at this point, we are also just wanting to get it done quickly.

Wednesday was the day we finally finished the roof! I really don't ever want to have to do roofing again. We put the in last shingles as well as the ridge caps pieces. It isn't entirely uniform, but we went with what we had and it works just as well. Besides, how often is someone going to be looking up here. Except the birds of course.... They loved watching us build for some reason. I think they were checking out the new surface they planned to drop a load on. Devious creatures that they are.

Thursday we finished the back triangle part of the siding and one of the upper pieces along a side wall. Not much, but it was progress!

Friday we started putting in the wiring for electricity.

We need to install 2 light switches, 4 electrical outlets and 3 light fixtures. While my husband is doing electrical work (he is that kind of engineer after all), I had begun painting the boards black that will be the rafters along the ceiling.
Why black? It was the color I had lots of after painting the galaxy on our game room ceiling. Besides, my hope is to incorporate an eventual steampunk theme in the tiny house. Black rafters might just be perfect for the idea I have....

Saturday we had to take a break to run errands. But as soon as we could, we were back to work. At least until the dust storm came in.

I had just moved wood and swept the dust away from the porch. But within an hour, it had come back with a vengeance. And then some! Thank God we were able to finish putting up all the siding around the building.
I think God had been giving us mild weather until we accomplished this part. Why do I think that? Because after the dust storm, we had rain come down heavy. And woke up to a hearty cold on Sunday morning! 

While we cut the pieces for the siding, I started collecting the little cutouts from it. I told my husband that I have an idea of how to decorate my Little Free Library that we plan to build next. So he started cutting them to look more like rounded doors! But I'll share more on that with you when I finally get to build it.

 

Sunday was our last day of more than a couple hours to get things done. We have to be finished by this upcoming Wednesday. My husband and I installed the wiring from the main house to the tiny house. Not so easy as the photos might lead you to believe. While he dug a trench, I painted rafters. Then together we had to pull the cables through a tubing that would protect them underground. 

Helpful Hint: Want to know a great tip on this? It involves lubricant. Yes, lube. We happened to have some on hand. Never use the stuff though. If you pour some down in the tubing, the cables typically run in a lot smoother. We didn't do this initially, so I got one of those hardcore workouts. You know the one. Looks like someone playing jump rope in a squatting position by themselves. I had to shake the tubing while my husband shoved the wiring in. Once we added the lube though, it started going a lot smoother!

It was such a cold day, we lit up the fire pit. It was so nice. But it made me wish we had hot dogs and marshmallows... 

So thankful we made it that far. We have the wiring inside going to each electrical box, with an additional one that we hope will be hooked up to an air conditioning unit eventually. We also hung most of the rafters. I have to go back and finish painting them during the day. We were scheduled to get a delivery of sheet rock on today, but rain prevented that. Lord willing, tomorrow! This little home is going to start looking like one on the inside! See you in the next update.

Thursday, April 20, 2023

Exploring Midland, Texas With the Nerdy Unicorn!

Midland, Texas was nothing like I'd expect it to be. While being a decent-sized town, and perhaps comparable to Waco, it has a different topography and style. We have been exploring little by little, when we can.  I thought that I'd share some of our favorite places around this town. Whether you are just visiting or if you are considering moving, here is a little insight.

Readers need books!

Since first coming to Midland, we started to explore around it. As a home schooling family, there were certain places we needed to establish ourselves with. The library is my favorite place to go to and was the first place we got hooked up for our book needs. While there are two locations, we have preferred the Downtown Plaza location for its distance from our home. The building itself is a work of art. Murals are painted on each side. One side has a metal art installation that looks reminiscent of a steampunk hot air balloon.  My daughters and I love bringing the dolls out to get some new photos. Inside this one, there are also screen walls that sometimes play movies or just have cool changing images. There are historical displays inside too. We even found the old map section in the back of the adult side. Those are so cool! To make things easy, I often just put in hold requests. They hold things for up to 3 days. If we are in a hurry, this makes it easier for us to grab and go. I love our librarians. They are always friendly! And when I have asked for recommendations on books, donut shops or even where to find a park, they were more than happy to share!

Taking time to play

We have also been to the Dennis the Menace Park. This is a large park with multiple sections for various sizes in kids to all play on. I think that is what we love most about this park -  the various sizes in the equipment. They have something for all kids. Even my teenage boys can fit as they chase around their sisters! And they aren't just the run of the mill slides and swings. They are themed to give kids more imaginative play!

Sparking the Urban Explorers in us

Across from the park, however, is some place we have been wishing we could urban explore.

I've had difficulty finding out what it was meant to be. Ever since we arrived, there has been no progress in the build. Sad really. It takes up an entire city block. The only thing I found was that it possibly was started as a housing project of some sort that has faulted on their payments and not done anything since 2019. It may have been recently sold, though. So maybe work will finally resume. It definitely makes us wish we could explore other places like it around town.
This town is in between transitions. From a booming oil town to a shift towards a tech town. They are tearing down old businesses and some new ones have moved in. That is just since we made the move.

Donuts! 

We started going to the local Shipley Donuts when my kids won free donut tickets from the library for a reading program. We were going every Saturday morning while we could. I love how they had a mural painted on the side that incorporated Midland's oil history.

They are not the only donut shop in town, however, and to be fair we had to give other places a try. We went to Jack n' Jill's, but we had gone after 10am so they had hardly any selection left. Despite that, they were the fluffiest donuts I had ever tried! I'm really hoping we can go back, earlier, to try other ones. My husbands favorites were the cinnamon rolls and long johns.  

Wall Street Antiques

I love looking for deals. And this one place has so many! I've found things for the dolls, relatives, husband and even my sons! This place is bigger than you'd expect when you look from outside. So many booths filled with antiques, vintage pieces and even some new items. You could go every week and still find new things that weren't there last week.

This vintage find was from the 90's. Remember the Sleeping Beauty dolls back then? For the entire outfit, brand new in the pack was only .99. Even better was that the corset comes separate so I can mix it with my Steampunk outfit for the dolls. But that is just one thing I've found there! And the employees are always helpful. Don't hesitate to ask questions!

Where's the meat? 

My husband and I gave up eating most meats you get at the regular grocery stores. We can't seem to handle whatever they are adding in, be it the dyes or the gases. So we had turned to farm stores or farmers markets when we could. My husbands coworker suggested Midland Meat Co. for our needs.

He swore their meat selection was not only amazing, but the best quality that could be found around here. After getting some, we are hooked! We have tried their ground beef, hamburgers, Texas antelope steak, lamb and Wagyu hotdogs so far. I would say that the hotdogs received the lowest score among our family members. But the burgers have become a family favorite. We get the ground beef in a larger pack and I split it up for shepherds pie, chili, and even taco night.

Meat isn't all they have though. They sells seasonings, produce, Volleman's milks and side fixings for your next cookout. We liked their local made cheeses too. So many flavors to choose from! 

Steak Express

Okay, so here's one I'd not have thought worthy of trying. However, we had family visit and decided to order out. After checking options and dietary needs, we all settled on Steak Express. What is it? A steak delivery company! No, seriously, they cook and deliver fully decked steak meals. They offer lots of variety in meats and sides. I wouldn't say this is my favorite place, but for the food being so good, I'm adding it the list. We definitely can't afford it often. A little too pricey for our family.

Having it delivered is a pretty cool bonus too. After all, food like this cooked to perfection after a long day is tiresome.

This is all I have for now. There are so many other places we hope to check out. (I'm keeping a list now!) And as I do, I promise I'll share my results. But I'm curious, so indulge me, if you have time. What is the first thing you would look for in a new town? Let me know and maybe that will be the next place I try to go to.