A Day in the Life

I've live in Idaho for a year as of today (I'm writing this on the 18th).  One year ago today, the fella and I pulled into this little, random town in the middle of nowhere and for the first time lived on our own.  No roommates, no parents, just he and I and the deer in the yard.  We've loved every second of our life here and love the fact that it really is a random, off-the-beaten-path type of place. 

Two of my best friends in Columbus had many questions about life in Idaho-what do you do? Where do you go? Who do you hang out with? What places are there for food? etc.  I told them that I would do a few "day-in-the-life" posts to give them a glimpse into my daily life.  Today is Saturday, so I thought I'd do a post about a typical weekend day.

We woke up this morning and went to some yard sales.  I found a pair of jean capris for $2 (plus a free basket), a sign for the Laundry Room that says "Laundry Room-Drop Drawers Here" for $1, and a set of jumper cables for $1.

After that we came home and set up the army wall tent that we bought yesterday for our hunting camp.

All laid out ready to go!

The stakes and posts.

The center pole takes both of us to set up.  The fella takes the top part and heaves it up while I attempt to step on the end to steady it while simultaneously pushing from the bottom while trying to not fall over and ruin the whole thing.

All set up!

The inside is huge, and it came with a wood burning stove for those cold winter nights.

 After we set up the tent, I cut up some carrots and cantelope.

I attempted a healthy snack before our seriously unhealthy lunch.

 This weekend the Sacajawea Cultural Center is having their Heritage Days.  There are old-timey vendors, music, and dutch oven cooks who sell their food for very reasonable prices.

Dutch oven lunch-potatoes, pasta, paella, enchiladas, and bacon. Delicious! Apparently there are dutch oven cooking clubs.  It's kind of a big deal.

Primitive living exhibit.

I think this is beef jerky.

The outdoor kitchen.

Apparently this is the archaeological dig site. I think that plastic bottle is an original.

A bridge.  The fella was kind enough to say I could go first. Then we walked in the opposite direction.

Did you know that the Indians drank Arizona lemonade and ate Lunchables?  Neither did I.

 After our rather large lunch and walking around in the heat, we decided it was time for some relaxation, so we came home and settled into watch a few episodes of Lost.  We started watching it from the beginning a few weeks ago and we're hooked!

Then, the fella went out elk watching and I've settled in to watch The Devil Wears Prada (which I could watch a million times for some reason), eat popcorn, feel guilty about the popcorn, and then decide whether or not I should eat a salad to balance it out or just not eat anything else.  Ahhh, decisions. I decided to make chicken tenders with hot sauce. When the fella gets home, we'll probably watch another episode of Lost and then head to bed.

And that, my friends, is a day in the life in Idaho.  Next weekend in the fair and Rodeo that I'm very excited about.  Fingers crossed for funnel cakes!!!

Scouting for Elk

Hunting season is quickly approaching and we are in full preparation mode.  Two weeks ago we went to Missoula for supplies.  Last week we went shooting and scouting for Elk. This week we bought an old army tent so we can leave camp set up and sleep on cots rather than the ground.

For those of you that don't hunt it's sometimes hard to understand the fascination.  I myself sometimes find my brow furrowed when the fella starts talking about the stuff he needs.  I ask, "why can't you just use what you have?" and then he explains it and it makes sense.  There is a lot of gear, a lot of cleaning, a lot of preparing, and a lot of time actually hunting.  But boy is it worth it!  When we have a freezer full of meat, we save huge amounts of money at the grocery story, and we have the peace of mind of knowing where it came from and how it was prepared.  I'm not what you would call a "clean eater" (though I am snacking on carrots right now. Is it "clean" if you douse them in ranch?), but I do like to know roughly where my food comes from.

Last week, we drove to the area where the fella plans on hunting so we could scout for elk. I took some pictures along the way.  I'm still deciding whether or not to get a fancy camera, so in the meantime, I'm using a little point and shoot....camera or no camera? That is the question.

Idaho traffic jam.

We're like a modern day Lewis and Clark....

No pictures, please.

It's really difficult to get a picture that truly captures the size of where we live.  I think this one does a pretty good job.  It's just unbelievably vast.

I read in between looking through my binoculars.  The Devil in the White City is a great book!

It's weird thinking that we're the only people for miles.  It's a little unsettling, but at the same time very cool.  Not to mention rare.

We didn't see any elk, but we did see a few of these guys.

We didn't see any elk that time, but we did get to see a little more of the area near us.  Plus, it's fun just to be outside walking around, taking pictures, and exploring.

Renter's Lessons

I've been a confirmed renter for my entire adult life. I've loved it, someone else takes care of maintenance (except when I need to change the breaker in the fuse box so the washer would work moments before the boy I was dating-the fella-showed up for dinner-I'm lucky he was more impressed by that than if I had actually made the dinner he was eating), I can move whenever I need want to, and there's no debt involved.  It's been the perfect situation...until now.  I'm feeling the homeowner itch. The rental situation we are currently in is weird, and while I don't want to go into detail on the internet (what if they see it?!?), I've decided to write a post about things I've learned throughout my many years of renting.

1. Make sure you have enough money to cover all the bills, even if you have a roommate. It might save your rear from getting evicted someday.

2. Always fill out the form saying what is already wrong when you move in, it saves deposits. Also, when they ask about the holes in the door you have proof they were already there...leave out the part about adding more with a mallet.

3. Do not-I repeat, DO NOT-make the mistake of thinking that yourself and a roommate can live in a 1 bedroom, 3 story walk up loft when each of you has a full/queen size bed.  10 hours in, you'll be looking for another place.

4. Don't count on it when people say they will help you move out of said 1 bedroom, 3 story walk up.  Sometimes a very nice cook from work will show up with a case of beer and help out, but most likely you'll be carrying a recliner down 3 flights of stairs on your own. Man strength!

5. Sometimes rentals are haunted....

6. Sometimes you have to leave things behind when you move (for the 4th time in 3 years) because it doesn't fit in your car and none of your friends have a truck, and you're tired because you've moved 4 times in 3 years (sorry porch swing that I left hanging on the porch on 3rd Ave in Columbus/Grandview...I miss you).

7. Don't paint the walls in an apartment.  It's hard to cover and they take part of your deposit.  Scratch that, that was the most home-y apartment I had in Columbus and I loved the colors for the 8 months that I lived there!

8. Don't count on property managers to know what they're doing.  It's safe to assume that at some point or another your move in day will overlap with the previous tenants move out day.  And no, telling the previous tenant to leave the key on the mantle is not professional.  Neither is putting the wrong dates year on a lease.

9. Make sure to call and switch the bills before you move in. Some companies shut off utilities for 24 hours before restarting it in your name.  It's very inconvenient, especially in the middle of August in Virginia. You might end up calling the cops over some fly paper on the fans (long story).

10. Always, always, ALWAYS get a lease BEFORE moving in. It will save a lot of hassle later.

11. When someone says they will do something that needs to be done to the house tell them to call when it's done and you'll move in then.  Don't move in before it's done, especially if you don't have a lease.  Guess what, they won't do it.

12.  You'll know when you're ready to be a homeowner.  I never thought the day would come.  Buying a house always seemed like a waste, especially for someone who wants the freedom to come and go and move and wander.  But a day may come when you feel the itch.....but then how would you have ridiculous rental advice to give?

Rustic Living Link Up

I hadn't planned on doing a post today, but Ashley over at Rustic Living is doing a Wednesday link up and I wanted to join in the fun.

In light of the fact that I really have nothing planned or important to say, I'll just do some random musings.

*I spend way to much  exactly the right amount of time reading blogs.  I just get hooked!

*I can't wait until the new seasons of all my favorite show including, but not limited to:

The Office

New Girl

Revenge

How I Met Your Mother

Big Bang Theory

*Kristen Bell just described why she likes sloths on Ellen and it was hilarious.

*I'm so glad summer school is going well.  It was so poorly planned, and I, a middle school teacher, was going to be thrown into a group of lord knows (actually He probably didn't know) how many children (the number went from 7 to 22), with no knowledge of what to teach K-4th graders. Luckily, I ended up being paired with a second grade teacher who knows what's going on.  That would have been nice to know before my 3 day freak out session last week when I was panicking because I had no idea what to do. Whew!

*Kristen Bell talked about sloths for a long time.

*I teared up a little when the USA girls won gold in gymnastics last night (if you had it DVR'd and I just ruined it, I'm sorry! I'm also impressed by your ability to completely tune out media until you've watched it). I couldn't really cry because the fella was next to me and I didn't want him to think I was a wuss.

*I got bitten by mosquitoes no less than 15 times today.  Dumb.

*I used to kind of like the Subway commercials where the adults talk like kids.  Now, I just think it's creepy.

*Can someone go grocery shopping for me? Usually I like it, but I just don't feel like it today.

*That reminds me, I have to go check the mail to get the shopping flyer so I know what's on sale.

*Then I have to make my grocery list.

*And be ready to go shopping in about a half hour.

*That's not nearly all the random thoughts I'm having right now, but I've taken up enough time.

*Oh, a few more things.  Sometimes I just sit and think about stuff, weird, big stuff, and then I have to ask someone, usually the fella, my weird, big questions.  Here are a few:

-How does the world stay where it is? We're just hanging here! How is that possible?

-Vocal chords are weird. How do they work? And no, a scientific explanation of vibrations and sound and whatever is not sufficient. How do the vibrations make words? 

Ok, now I'm done.  If you stopped by from the link up, or anywhere really, I appreciate that you've made it this far :)