December 2008

Well, I am sorry to be putting this in so late, but we were a little busy during the month of December.

We moved into the basement bed & bath in Leesburg, VA on December 1st. The neighbors were already getting nervous, seeing a huge truck (Ford F350) pull up with a truck camper and trailer. But since we knew what suburbia life was like in our old house, we figured we had ~ 24 hours to move everything in and then get everything out of the neighborhood.

Unfortunately, the owners hadn't moved out yet! But the bedroom that would be ours was open and available, so we were able to move most of our stuff in there.

It was interesting to note: this home was considered to have six bedrooms BUT really, it only had four, because the bedrooms in the basement do not have closets! When we listed our home, the loft room I considered that as a room, not as a bedroom because of the no closet rule. I don't know...the logistics of it all and whatever the Realtors say to make it seem great - well, that is how it seems to work.

So we moved in on December 1st and 2nd and the people in the main part of the house moved in on December 2nd and 3rd.

It is a little weird living in a house again, especially in suburbia. None of us in the house parks in front of the house, it seems the neighbors don't like looking at cars and SUVs. (Although there are cars down the street in front of houses, oh well.) The house is so big, going up and down stairs is different, doing laundry on the second floor while living in the basement - I'm getting some exercise!

We do not have too much furniture, the laundry baskets turned into drawers, the owners left hanging closets, and they threw away 2 plastic shelving units, which I took and we are now using, and we have a folding chair and a long Costco craft table which we had before. Our bed from the camper came out and is now on the floor of the bedroom. We feel like we are back in college.

But anyway, we are able to use the kitchen, we have our own refrigerator (what do I do with all that space?) and some space in the pantry. We are getting used to being in a house, but the first few days I missed the camper - I was actually homesick for our camper!

So our camper has a leak in the slide-out portion (not the roof) so after we got everything that we needed from the camper and the trailer, we brought the trailer first to a place in Winchester t get it fixed (the ramp's spring tension cables were off) and then we were off to Outdoor Express RV to get them to fix our camper. We had heard very good reviews about them from our friends at the Mid Atlantic Truck Camper Rally. So we figured they could fix the problem. We told them that we were not in a rush, and to please get it done sometime this winter. Then we headed back home.

Sasha is totally loving the commute, down from 1 hour 15 minutes to 15 minutes, sometimes 20 to 30 minutes depending on traffic. Of course, suburbia commuting can be fun - with only one way in and out. Sasha did find another way out, but I do find it somewhat amusing. If there was a real rush to get out, we would all be screwed.

Sasha and I decided that in January, I would find a part-time gig to keep me busy, to help with the rent, and if possible, to gain more experience for those NPS jobs. To date, I have applied for ~40 NPS jobs with several more to do in January. But usually by February or March, they have started to call you up or let you know whether or not you have gotten a job. So I started checking out the area around Sterling, and lo and behold...there is a huge complex called Claude Moore Park (not to be confused with Claude Moore Historical/Colonial Park in McLean), there are two museum/visitor centers, a rec center, and lots of hiking trails. So I went to the museum to apply for a volunteer job for one or two days a week. (Turns out it will only be one day a week, and three hours a day - similar to the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley (MSV) gig.)

Speaking of MSV, my last day was December 12th, where I gave lots of tours of the house, and the tours were different, they were the holiday tours. So I spent more time over there for my last day, then enjoyed the museum. It was their holiday special on that Friday, where they had a band, sold wines, and had a holiday dinner sold in the tea room. The house and museum were beautifully decorated and people came from all over to check out everything.

So anyway, I applied to a child care job within the complex. I had an interview on December 31st, and hopefully I'll get this job. It is a part time job, five days a week, mornings only. We shall see.

As the economy seemed to get worse and worse, I was quite happy that I had bought all of those provisions throughout the year. I think we are going to be using them. Of course, some of the prices are going down, but it seems as though the sizes are getting smaller too. I'll have more on this subject in January, where I devised a great product for grocery shopping.

So for Christmas this year, we again are not getting anything for the parents and our sisters and brothers, instead just focusing on the kids. I had told my sister that I 'd like to get stuff for her kids, as long as it was NOT plastic, and not from China. Unfortunately, there are not too many things that they want and that fit that criteria. Thankfully, there is one universal item - Books. At least they are published in USA and usually are not plastic. So that's what we got for the kiddies.

Plus, my niece - Lindsay got a pearl for her necklace - it is amazing - the price for pearls has not gone up since we started getting her the pearls. I might have to go back and get a few more for each birthday and Christmas. And we got my nephew a $25 Savings Bond. I figured, since we bought a 30 year bond this year, might as well get him something similar. He probably won't understand it, but in 10-30 years, it will come in handy for those important purchases. So I think I will continue to get that for him like I get the pearl for Lindsay. Because gold is too expensive and he dies not wear jewelry.

So we went to my sister and her family's house in Richmond for Christmas Eve, Sasha was able to get our of work at 12 noon, and we got something to eat on the road, and we got to Karen's by 3:30 pm, not bad considering there was only a little bit of traffic.

We helped light the candles for the Luminaries; it has become a tradition to do this every year. After that, we had the kids open up presents and then the rest of the family did too. I think, because we were in the family room, sort of watching a movie, that there was less focus on the parents and adults opening gifts and more on the kids.

We had a sumptuous dinner of seafood delight that my sister made, quite fabulous. There were no dramas or spillage during the dinner and the table was beautifully decorated. We all ate until we were full.

I hope to get some pictures from the folks or my sister, as we did not take very many pictures. We don't really take too many pictures, we seem to always forget. But when we go for a hike or visit a park, we remember the camera. Whether we take pictures is another story.

Speaking of parks, the day after Christmas, instead of shopping like everyone else, we (my parents and us) visited Jamestown, the National Park (not the private one.) We have a few pictures from there, but what was really cool was that we were able to go on a Ranger Walk and Talk. The ranger had been there for over 20 years so he really had his talk down pat. He had been there before 1993/1994 when Jamestowne NP was stating that the river took away all of the fort. A professor came in and stated that NO the fort was still there, he just had to find it. And it would take him a day to find it. And he did find it in a day. So now they have an extra museum over part of the burial ground, (Kind of like Dinosaur National Monument's Visitor Center.)

So anyway, we spent quite a bit of time there and then headed over (on a free ferry) to Smithfield and Surry and had dinner at a beautiful and expensive restaurant right on the water. We all had a three course dinner. Mom and I only had half our dinner so we could bring the other half home.

The next day we just goofed off  and relaxed on Sunday too. But then on Monday (Sasha had made his famous tomato sauce on Sunday for Monday's dinner), my sister and her family came over for historical day. We went to Jamestowne Settlement (next to the National Park but it is a separate entity.) It turns out that Williamsburg residents get in for free, and their visitors also get in for free, with the hopes that they will come back and bring others to check it out. Their tax dollars at work, I guess.

So what did we do, we forgot the camera! Maybe my sis will send me some for the website :) This is a really great place for kids, lots of hands-on type of stuff, with people outside at their stations telling people about what they are doing.  The kids managed to last about an hour and a half, I could have stayed there all day. Oh well, as they get older hopefully they will be able to go for longer times.

We then all went over to my parent's house and had a spaghetti dinner with the sauce that Sasha made. It was fabulous!

On Tuesday, we had to leave, so that I could start volunteering for the Heritage Farm Museum the next day. We checked out three campgrounds on the way home. The first was OK in a pinch, if nothing else was available, the second was great and would be a fun place to work and the third was like a Thousand Trails or other timeshare type of place, no one at the gate, so we walked in to check it out. If this is what RV timeshares are like, I think we will stick to boon-docking. 

On Wednesday, December 31st, I spent the morning at the museum (great place, a bit different from the other museum, but I like it as it has some similarities and a large play area for kids.) Then went over to Sasha's work where we spent the evening watching a movie and surfing the net.

Expenses: Hopefully not as bad as November. OK, definitely not as bad as November but still, kind of high. We spent a bunch of money on going out to eat and less on regular food and household. The Farm Market was the last of the apples which I got when I went to the Museum of Shenandoah Valley last gig. While they may get wrinkly, they are still good, so that is OK with me.

Obviously, the transportation portion has gone down. If it did not, that would be really bad.  We used the truck to go down to visit the folks, it needed to be used. The motorcycle needs a new tire and it has been cold outside, so Sasha has not be using that lately.

Our trailer got fixed, not bad for the price. We then put it into storage on the farm. The camper expenses should really read House expenses, but I do not want to change it, don't want to be a permanent household person. But we got a few more things for the apartment, hooks for our towels and clothes.

We had to pay one last month for the gym, so we did. But being on a month to month and being able to get out of it quickly was very nice. Plus it was a nice gym. I hope it survives in the coming months as the recession really hits home.

I bought a couple of books from the Museum and also when I was in Jamestowne, they are showing on the right part of the website. Good books, I've read them or am reading them through January and February.

Also, for the first time in a long time, we went to the movies. Just for the tickets it cost $21! For a large popcorn it was $6.75! I guess going to the movies may not be on our agenda very often in the future. That was just a ridiculous price. So we got a double feature for the price of one. It was interesting to note, NO ONE and I mean NO ONE was at the theater. No kids, young adults, seniors, NO ONE was there. And it was Friday night!  I do not think Movies are Recession proof, especially when they cost so much. I think maybe more people will go to matinees and use coupons. And bring in their own food. I know we will if we go again.

And of course, bought gifts for the Kiddies for Christmas. So, this was a cheaper month than November, but I'm hoping January will be even a cheaper month than December. We shall see. 

Check out Next Month: In January, A New Year and a way to save money!