The Reading Challenge...

Last year I was late to the party, but this year I am ready to go. One of my goals for 2019 (other than trying to write more) is to read more. I had forgotten how much fun reading was.

In the past 10 years, I've read 387 books. That doesn't seem very impressive, but for someone that loathed reading and book reports as a kid, this is a big deal.

I should note that the reason I didn't like reading and book reports was that I dislike being told what to read.

When I lived out west, I was a book junkie. I didn't have much else to do, so I submerged myself in brainless entertaining books like romcoms, humor, and other things that would just entertain me. I wasn't necessarily asking to be enriched.

I read mostly print books, and then I got a Kindle and started reading e-books. I loved the fact that I could just download any book I wanted and boom - start reading. However fun, it was expensive. I did Prime, I did the Kindle club stuff, and I even just straight out bought books. I also did Audible for the long car trips. But, after a while, I realized that my hobby was expensive.

The toilet debacle...

It was supposed to be an easy fix. Something that would take less than an hour to accomplish.

I should have known better.

When I was in the process of buying the house the inspection mentioned the wax seal on the mater bath toilet needed to be replaced. I asked the previous buyers to fix this by having a licensed plumber come in and take care of this. They balked at the licensed plumber part, so I compromised and allowed them to fix it themselves.

They weren't handy. Apparently.

On my second day of dwelling inhabiting the toilet started to move every time you sat down. It wobbled and scooted. Not ideal at 3 a.m. when you're half asleep. It'll wake you up when you feel like you're going to fall off. But, I dealt. The toilet was functioning, and I was careful, but I knew I needed to have it fixed.

Sidenote: I have a note card in my hallway with little projects I know need to be completed. I've marked some off, but the master toilet was first on the list. There are others on there, too. 

Sharing is caring...

I have awesome friends.

It's something I missed for those five years I was out in Dodge City. Having your best peeps in the same town as you are and have all the fun that comes with that. Don't get me wrong, I had some great friends in Dodge, but it just feels a little different here in Lawrence. Maybe it's because I'm home most of the time now, and not on the road so much. And, I've never worked with these friends. That I think is something different, too.

I have a pretty small core group of peeps in my circle here in Lawrence. They are affectionately known as my LFK Framily.

One of those framily members is Gal Pal.

Gal Pal and I are both homeowners now. We are both on the other side of 35. Neither of us has time for B.S., we're both single and looking for the man of our dreams, both professional, both have been in careers for about 15 to 20 years, and we have a lot of other stuff in common. The one thing we both share is a wealth of knowledge of being self-sufficient and independent.

Backyard friend...

I hate snakes. Hate. Them. They creep me out and I can honestly say I have a genuine fear of them. Not sure where I got that (cough...my entire family....cough).

I was out watering my patio plants one evening and as I went to shut the water off I encountered my first sighting of home ownership.

ACK! I froze. There it was. Small. With his beady little head up at attention. He was lying at the base of the house close to the faucet where I needed to be.

Damnit.

I had a choice. Let the water run. Or buck it up and turn the water off.

Damnit.

I didn't want to go near there, but it was tiny. I ran. I shut it off quick and then ran to the house. Locked the door. And didn't go back out for two days. The plants could just be thirsty.

The work bench...

The finished product. 

Every home needs a workbench. A place to do projects and a place to store cheap hand tools.

I have one now.

Thanks, Dad.

Sidenote: This was indeed a Pinterest project. The Partner In Crime didn't shoot this one down, but I thought this would be a great project for Dad and me to work on when they came for Mother's Day weekend. 

So, how did we do it? We had a rough plan, made about thirty minutes prior. Mom kept asking me if we had a plan, and I kept answering with "we'll find something on Pinterest that morning."

Trust me, I saw it on Pinterest...

I have a pinning problem. 

Pinterest causes grandiose ideas. These ideas often get a questioning eye raise from my Partner In Crime.

But, he's really nice about it. And, by that I mean he doesn't make me feel crazy or stupid. In fact, I usually see the error of my ways or the reality of the situation after bouncing these ideas off him.

A conversation usually goes like this:

Me: "I saw this thing on Pinterest..."

PIC: I get the look. It's a look that says, "how can we diffuse this down to not a good idea." Without actually saying that said idea is the "dumbest thing he's ever heard of."

Me: "What? I'm serious. It looks easy."

PIC: The head nod of acknowledgment that means, let's really think about this.

This is where I explain the idea.

I did a pretty big thing...

I decided to do a pretty big thing. I bought a house.

Why not keep renting? Because I live in a hip college town and mortgages are cheaper than renting. Sad, but true. And, well, I guess I needed a challenge.

I looked for a good six months, and finally found one I liked that I thought I could afford. This may very well be my "forever" home because I really loathe moving and this process was somewhat stressful.

It involved a quick exodus from my college town apartment. Staying with a friend for a month, and storage unit Tetris.

I can't say enough about my realtor. They were fabulous and helped so much. Hannah (particularly) talked me off a ledge more than once and made me feel like I was making the right choice.

In March 2018 I took possession of my very own tiny piece of North Lawrence.

Oh, and I watched the Money Pit on Netflix. Probably not smart. Not smart at all.

I can now pronounce you...

Here's the proof! 

I didn't join the Universal Life Church, but I am an ordained minister.

That means I can now legally perform weddings in Kansas.

I may be offering up my services in North Lawrence soon. It may be a good way to make some side cash. Hey, God wants us to be creative and thrifty - and, this is one more step to being more well rounded.

It really only took a click of a button. Now, I can order the starter pack ($40).

Crazy, but true. And, you can do it too.