You get what you pay for.

Anyone who has read my blog up to this point needs to know that we have willingly placed ourselves in these different situations. I am not complaining about the living conditions that we've endured in the past year, because the more I think about it, the more I realize that you really do get what you pay for. Sure, we could be renting a beautiful townhouse or 3 bedroom condo elsewhere, but that wouldn't help us to pay down our debt faster. When our current situation wears me down, I try to focus on the fact that we will be debt free next spring. Believe me when I say that is easier said than done.

This new place has brought many challenges, mostly in our ability to have patience. We are still waiting for a stove. Do you know how many meals you can cook without a stove? The answer is a lot. I've learned how to use a microwave and grill more in these last two months than I ever have in my whole life. And, we are still waiting for an electrician to come and fix the electric sockets in our kitchen and bathroom. Currently, we have a lovely green extension cord running from our bedroom into the kitchen. Thankfully, a mutlti-socket surge protector has allowed us the ability to plug in more than one appliance at a time. And, I think I've finally mastered the smell. When you have six bunnies living under your family area, and 3 barn cats living under your bedroom, you find creative ways to mask the animal smells. I've placed Bounce dryer sheets over the vents on the floor in our bedroom, and I now have a febreez non-burning candle right at our front door, which I change weekly. On top of that, I spray febreez on the carpets and couches about every other day, and last but not least, I burn candles. All of those things combined seem to help. But, I'll be honest, that's probably been the single greatest challenge for me so far.

I will say that we are nice and cool this summer and have used the inground swimming pool quite a bit. The property is beautiful, and we have thoroughly enjoyed the wild raspberries and blueberry bushes on the property. We look forward to the apples on the tree and the grapes soon to be growing on the vine.

I just want to reiterate that we willingly placed ourselves here (and at The Shack)! My mother reminds me on a regular basis that she thinks it's ridiculous! But, you really do get what you pay for. When I look back on the time that we spent becoming debt free, I want to be able to remember all that we went through to get to a better place financially. We want to be the head and not the tail. We want to be the lender and not the borrower. In order to get that place, sacrifice is sometimes required.

It's raining, it's pouring...

Most people listen to the rain outside and think, did I roll all of my car windows up? I'm listening to the rain thinking, Yippeee!!! I can do laundry again. Weird, I know. But, since living in our new place, we've had to deal with a lot of changes, one being the well that now supplies our water. It's not like I've never used well water before. I've just never been at a place where the well water is so low that the water coming out of my faucet turns a disgusting pee/brown color. That can certainly put a damper on your desire to do laundry and take showers. The hot water seems to run clearer than the cold water, but I wasn't going to take any chances with my clothes. I can handle showering in it, but there's something about washing your clothes in water that looks like pee that is just not right. Now that I reread my last statement, maybe I need to reconsider!

Inside The Shack- the crawl space

Right underneath our kitchen was an open crawl space. When we first moved in, we were told that it was going to be closed off, but in the dead of winter, we were still dealing with an open crawl space which was bringing the frigid drafts right into the home. When our landlord refused to make the crawl space his priority, Glenn bought insulation and repaired all of the holes in the foundation. The temperature went from 45 degrees to 60 degrees inside our home after Glenn made the repairs.

Inside The Shack- finally settled

A tour of the inside.

Inside The Shack- building shelves

Because there were no shelves or closets in the main living area, we put our creative minds together and brainstormed how to create our own closet and shelving system. We shopped at Home Depot for wood, and Glenn made shelves and a closet for us. One night, as I worked late into the evening on my grad work, he kept me company by staining the wood.

Inside The Shack

The day of our move into The Shack...so much stuff and not very much room to put it.

A frozen freezer

One of the joys of living at the shack and dealing with our kitchen appliances.

The Shack

I guess it's about time I post pictures of our former humble abode. Funny, I just didn't feel comfortable posting any pics while we lived there. I guess I felt too embarrassed. We moved at the end of June, and I couldn't be happier. Oh, there are plenty of other challenges that we are dealing with at this new place, that is for sure. But, here's to the shack, and here's to living there no more!