The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

- Robert Frost

the 1 less traveled by

A move to Nicaragua

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Okay, maybe 17
By Jenna Reid 643 Views

15 Things I’m Glad I Packed for our move to Nicaragua

I asked a lot of questions on Facebook about what we should pack and what was available in Nicaragua. Here’s my top 15 items I’m glad we have.

Nutribullet, Kids Favorite Things, International Phones, Kids’ Books

15. Good Tweezers

I’ve seen tweezers sold here, but if you’ve ever used a cheap pair then you know good set is invaluable.

14. Cream Tartar

This was mentioned as an item by another mom in my article; 12 Things I wish I had Packed. Before we moved I had made play dough for all of our friends’ kids for Christmas presents so I knew the value of this obscure substance. It has come in handy a few times when a toy is needed that crosses language barriers.

13. Affordable Sunblock

We use this stuff like lotion, everyone gets a daily application at least once a day. We sent ourselves a huge box that had no weight limit so I put about 6 large bottles of sunblock in it. I’m glad because this stuff is not cheap down here and its essential.

12. Sheets

When we asked people what we should pack, everyone consistently said, “sheets”. I’m not a thread counter, but we followed the advise and brought a couple twin sized pink patterned sets for Azalea and one queen sized white set for ourselves. It wasn’t until we moved into our second house that we realized what all the fuss was about. The sheets here not only are stiff, but they don’t fit a regular mattress. Our new house came with one pair of sheets and I purchased another set because Azalea now has queen sized bed. Without fail if the “Nica sheets” are used then we all wake up on top of our mattresses, not the intended fitted sheet.

11. Back Up Makeup

Not sure why I even thought to pack this since I spent many weekends without makeup when I lived in the States, but I had heard good makeup was hard to come by and since it doesn’t take up much space, I packed it. For some reason, maybe its because my hair lives in a messy bun or ponytail, but I wear makeup here pretty much every day. Also with a baby in the house, sleep is a luxury and I’m already on my second tube of under eye concealer.

10. Princess Dresses

Not a day has gone by that Azalea hasn’t worn one of her princess dresses. I haven’t seen them sold here, but I also haven’t had to look. She’s worn them so often that they are now looking a little tattered and is on my list of things we need to bring back with us when we go home for a visit.

9. Next Size Clothes & Shoes for Kids

Titus is growing fast and I’m so glad I packed the next size up in clothes for him. I only brought size T3 & T4 for Azalea which were a little big when we left, but she’s fitting in them now. She’s slowly growing out of her shoes so we’ll be picking up on our next trip as well.

8. Baby Carrier

Anyone with more than one kid knows that keeping up can be difficult. If you can strap one to you, your odds get a little bit better. I purchased the ERGObaby 360 right before we moved because I didn’t want to have to lug several carriers around in case Titus fell asleep or woke up while out. I’m so glad I did! Although we sweat like crazy, it has allowed me to take both kids shopping at the mercado, the beach, to watch parades, and strolling around the town.

7. Tablet

We’re not a plug-in family, but in my family screen time is sometimes necessary to keep the sanity. Since we don’t have a TV, Azalea uses her tablet to watch her morning cartoons. The kids both wake up between 5:30-6am, and the tablet allows time for my brain to wake up while the coffee is brewing. She also plays games and we troll for her favorite songs on YouTube. The tablet has been great for long drives to Managua and I’m sure will be very handy on our first trip back to the States.

6. Men’s Clippers

My husband is his own barber and I’ve heard these are expensive and poorly made here, so I’m glad we haven’t had to make this purchase in Nicaragua.

5. BOB Stroller

This was a big dilemma for me before we moved. I wasn’t sure whether a double or single stroller, umbrella or 3-wheeler would be better. I was so torn that we now have 2 strollers I purchased prior to leaving taking up space in our storage unit back in California. I’m SO glad I made the choice to bring the single BOB stroller. Its small enough to fit through doors and into the trunk of a cab. Its great for street, off-roading, and beach trips. I taught Azalea that the “big girl spot” is the front triangle so now its her favorite place to ride while Titus lives large in the main area. Titus’ car seat fits into the BOB too so if he falls asleep in the car I can easily take him without waking him up.

4. Nutribullet

I planned on making all of Titus’ food, so I packed the Nutribullet since I find it very easy to use and the clean up is simple. I also make smoothies a lot of mornings, so this fantastic device gets used at least twice a day. For some reason I also have a sudden interest in making hummus too!

3. Kid’s Books

We shipped most of our book collection in the box we mailed ourselves. Since books are so heavy and the box had no weight limit, this was the perfect way to get a lot of them down here. I read at least one book to Azalea for nap and at bedtime. She also loves bringing books to school. Titus is just starting to play with the sensory books. I’m thankful every day we have such a variety.

2. International Phones

I didn’t realize this would be at the top of my list of essential items until I lost mine. Having a good phone here helped me navigate Nicaragua using Google Maps, and the Waze app, stay in touch with friends back home using WhatApp and TextNow apps, use Facebook to connect with people here and keep up with what’s happening at home, listen to music via Spotify, take great pictures where ever we went, translate using Google Translate Spanish downloaded, and Skype for international calls. My “Nica phone” often doesn’t work, the camera is terrible, and the memory is too small to download or update many applications.

1. Kids’ Favorite Things

Bringing a few of the kids’ favorite things is priceless. I love wrapping Titus up after bath every night in the same ducky towel I used when Azalea was a baby. It melts my heart to watch Azalea cuddle with her huge stuffed pink frog every night and cart her blankies around the house. I didn’t bring a lot of toys, but watching her play with a toy I bought when we went with all her friends to Disney On Ice makes me smile. Maybe the kids don’t notice, but having a pieces of “home” with us makes this adventure less challenging. It gives us a history, every item has a story behind it and when I miss home I can go back to that moment and cherish it.

What other moms say:

I asked other moms living in Nicaragua what they are glad they packed, here are their answers that weren’t already on my list: underwear & bras, Tampax, bathing suits, toys, Crayola products, painters tape, kids party gifts, computer, extra pair of favorite flip flops, good quality floatie for kids, quality cookware & utensils, good quality speaker, spices, UV shirts, organic sugar-free baby cereal, Chicco portable highchair (attaches to just about any table), spring or half wet suit, printed vaccine record, and health insurance for emergencies.

Diary-list-with-pen
By Jenna Reid 473 Views

12 Things I Wish I Packed when moving to Nicaragua

 

Now that we’ve been living here 5 months, I feel I have a worthy list for sharing. Some of these items have been fetched through my husband’s trips to the US for work and by friend’s visits, but others I still yearn for.

12. Swim Diapers

I did bring a couple pairs of cloth swim diapers, but I fear the day that Titus goes #2 while in a public pool (which we attend frequently) and I have to ask for a bag to put the soiled cloth diaper in. I always have a tinge of jealousy when I see the babies on vacation wastefully changing out of unscathed swim diapers.

11. Bigger variety of clothes/less revealing

I purchased about 10 fitted tank tops in an array of colors from Target before we moved, these have become my daily wardrobe. While I’m glad I have them, I wish I’d packed more options. It turns out, my husband & I go on weekly date nights and my wardrobe was not planned accordingly.
My plan had always been to volunteer, but I didn’t plan my volunteer attire very well.  I’m breast feeding so I’m more well endowed than usual and I feel a little self conscious when I’m working at the preschool/kindergarten class I volunteer at and wearing one of my usual tanks. Most of my shorts feel a little on the short side when surrounded by children, so I only have a few items that I feel comfortable wearing in professional settings.

10. Lots of Affordable Bug Spray (some with DEET)

You can buy Off bug spray in a lot of places, but its much more expensive than in the US and we use it several times a day on 4 families members, so we go through a bottle quickly. In fact we use it so often that I keep one in our bathroom, one in the living room, one in the kid’s bathroom, and one by our bed for middle of the night use. Often times I spray myself down, only to shower 20 minutes later and need to reapply. We only brought one bug spray containing DEET and find the heavy artillery necessary for happy hours or dinners on the beach so I keep that bottle in our diaper bag.

9. Toaster

Another item you can find here, but the price is so high I haven’t been able to justify the purchase. It kills me to know we have a great 4-slice toaster sitting in our storage in California. We shipped a giant box to ourselves here and I wish that I had put that toaster in the box!

8. Board Games

Since we don’t watch TV and Azalea is getting older, I wish we had more family activities. I’ve looked a few game stores in Managua, but they are so expensive I won’t buy one just on principle alone!

7. Waterproof Mattress Cover

Its hard to feel comfortable training your child to sleep through the nights without diapers or Pull-Ups when you do not own the mattress they are sleeping on.

6. Speakers

Our family really loves music, but we have no way to blast it other than the speakers in our computers. Our first home did come with speakers and we didn’t realize how much we used them until they were gone. Definately something we’ll pick up next time we’re in the States.

5. TV

We don’t actually ever watch TV, but I did pack our DVD player and kid’s movies so it was nice that our first home came with a small TV. We also packed our Chromecast which allows us to project Netflix, YouTube and some other sites onto the TV. Our home now does not have a TV so we use our computers, but we don’t have any way to watch the DVDs right now.

4. Head Lamps

After our move I realized how useful these are when there’s a power outage and you’re using your cell phone’s flashlight app to illuminate the generator while yanking on the cord to pull start it. I believe I own two of these somewhere in a box in our storage.

3. Baby food

I made 90% of my daughter’s baby food and had planned to do the same for Titus here, but what I hadn’t planned on is how limited the food options are here. I feel like I feed him the same things week after week. Making sure he’s being introduced to variety of foods has been hard. For some reason the only baby food jars you can buy not only contain sugar, but also are made of the same fruits sold in every market. I don’t need banana, apple, or fixed fruit pre-made! The major grocery store La Colonia just started carrying the Sprouts brand of squeeze pouches, but I think they were about $2.50 each and the contents aren’t worth the price.

2. Good Shampoo & Conditioners

The water here has a lot of minerals in it and so after only a few weeks my hair started feeling brittle. I asked some of the other moms what they do and someone said they only use really good shampoo & conditioner (among other things). The thing is, I haven’t been able to find good quality shampoo & conditioner. I hear some of the salons carry it, but I fear the price tag so I never looked.

1. Good Kitchen Knives

My husband and I both agree that this is #1. The knives here are terrible! We were lucky to have two great knives at our first home and they got used not only for cooking, but also as steak knives at the table. I purchased some steak knives when we moved into our new home, but I believe our butter knives may be sharper. Thankfully our friends brought us two knives when they came to visit, but we could definitely use more.

What other moms say:

I asked some other moms living in Nicaragua & San Juan del Sur what they miss or have asked friends and family to retrieve, here are their answers that weren’t already on my list: sports equipment, video games, projector, food processor, slow cooker, mixer, Cream of Tartar for making play dough, spices, maple syrup, a favorite candy or treat, crib sheets, nursing tops and bras, surf board wax, & sunscreen sticks.

The front of our new home
By Jenna Reid 1 comment 180 Views

Moving In Nicaragua

On the move

Although our house was priced well at $1,000 per month for a North American style residential home with a pool, we were surprised to see our first month’s utilities equate to almost $650.  This was an unexpected, unbudgeted for cost.  We did what we could to lower the payables in the next months by cancelling cable, raising our air conditioners to 30°C (86° F) and being aware of the amount of time they were on.  Our son Titus, took most of his naps without A/C except for the hottest days.  We also unplugged our hot water heater and stopped using the clothes dryer. We asked the gardener only to water 2 days a week instead of 5 and explained that the pool didn’t need to be filled to the edge. We were able to cut our initial $340 electricity bill down to about $260 and our water bill from $114 to $107, but the bills still added up to more than we were willing to spend.

The higher cost of living was causing us to have to restrict our spending in ways that weren’t in line with the goals of our move.  One of the reasons for our move to Central America was that it would be easy to visit the surrounding countries, so we had planned on spending three days in Costa Rica over Memorial Day weekend.  This was about the time that we needed to renew our 90 day tourist VISAs so we’d be getting that taken care of and enjoying a neighboring country. Sadly, because of a depleted savings account, we opted to do a quick in & out of Costa Rica so that some money would remain in our savings account. It became clear that we couldn’t afford our beautiful home if we wanted to accomplish all the things we desired while living abroad.

We started putting feelers out for other housing options, hoping to find a place with a pool that was priced unusually low.  We signed a 6 month lease and were prepared to stay in our home until it was up, but thought we might be able to find someone to take it over if we found a new place.  I saw something posted for only $550 on one of the Facebook pages.  It included all utilities except electricity, we jumped at the chance to have a look if for no other reason but to see what other options looked like. It was a beautiful home with lots of windows to open up and take advantage of the breezes.  Every room had a ceiling fan and every door and window had a screen. The home was available immediately and at such a low price we knew we didn’t have much time.

We started searching for someone to take over our lease right away, but the task was harder than expected.  This time of year (the start of the rainy season) there seems to be more available than people to rent.  The next night the owner of our house called to just chat and my husband, Kharron mentioned that we were looking for someone to take over the lease because of the utility bills being so high.  The landlord is a nice man and said he wanted us to enjoy our time in Nicaragua and not to worry about it.  Kharron hung up and we smiled at the possibility that we’d get to move sooner than the 6 month lease.  We wanted to make sure that the owner was serious about letting us out of the lease and that he was agreeing to letting us move in 4 days.  He told Kharron yes and we immediately contacted the owner of the new home.

The owner surprisingly said the place was still available and unlike in the US, we saw and home and planned a move in 4 days.  Luckily we had Juanita to help us pack up and thoroughly clean the home after our move! She is the only reason this quick move was possible without much stress.

The new place is furnished, but did not come with linens, dishes, towels, or cleaning supplies.  The first day in the home, Juanita and I (and a friend) took an expensive trip to Rivas to buy all our household items.  Unfortunately, as is always true in Nicaragua, basic items can be harder to find than you ever thought possible so little things like pot holders and ice trays remain on my To-Buy list. It was kind of fun picking out our own dishes, bath mats, and beach towels!

So now we’ve officially been in our new home for 4 nights and it already feels like home.  I feel very safe knowing we have a cuiador (person who watches the home or property).  The property is completely fenced in so the dogs and Azalea are able to roam without any worry of cars.  There are only 3 homes built and 26 empty lots so its very quiet & peaceful. I do already miss having a pool to dunk my feet & body into on the hot afternoons, but for what we expect to be more than a $1,000 monthly savings, it is worth instead visiting the local restaurants that have public pools.

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By Jenna Reid 2 comments 56 Views

The Price to Move

We knew moving abroad would be pricey, but there were definitely some hidden costs we weren’t prepared for.  Not included in the table below is what we spent in eating and drinking out.  The is because of two reasons: 1. We are not that organized, 2. The cost if very dependent on how much you go out and to what type of restaurants/bars.

Total:$13,930.54
Storage Unit$163
Infant on Lap Tax $124.90
Extra Baggage$150
Shipping Dogs$1343
Hotel in Managua for 3 Nights$192
Purchase Car$6000
Purchase Motorcycle$1540
Purchase Generator$436
First Month Gasoline$422.64
Security Deposit$1000
Rent$1000
Household Items$24
Surge Protector $22
Gas Can$17
Water Utility$114
House Security$80
Electricity Utility$340
House Internet$92
Cable$30
Pool Chemicals$42
San Juan del Sur Day School (1/2 month)$108
Maid$200
Groceries Estimate$450
Flea Medicine for Dogs$40

There were two large expenses that I did not include in this table because they are not common.  First, We were surprised at the airport to find out that we had to purchase a one-way ticket back to the United States for our son, Titus and I.  United explained that Nicaragua’s policy is that an infant on a lap who wasn’t a resident must show proof of exit from the country within the 90 day VISA expiration. Caught under pressure, we purchased a non refundable one-way ticket for $1065.80.  We realized too late, that we would have been out no money if we had splurged for the refundable ticket and cancelled once safely in Nicaragua.  Second, our dog Rigley broke his leg and the first surgery, x-rays, and medicine cost $1040.

Juanita serving us a local dish, arroz aguado.
By Jenna Reid 179 Views

We’ve Got It Maid

While doing research of where we wanted to move, we came across a couple Nicaragua blogs that mentioned the extremely low price you pay to have help in your home.  No one said it better and more convincing than Mike’s Gringo Life, “We have a traditional home. I work outside the house and Carol works at home and with the kids as a full time mom. If we lived in the US, she’d probably be doing most of the laundry, housekeeping, cooking and cleaning. Here she doesn’t have to. She gets to spend an extra hour (30 minutes each way) with them every day because she is free to take and pick up the girls from the school. She creates crafts and games ready for them after school. She’s there rested, relaxed, and ready to listen and engage them in conversation. This, alone, is a treasure chest of gifts for the girls.” I knew I wouldn’t be working at least at first, and it seemed like a daunting task going from working full time to raising 2 kids, doing all the household chores, and shopping, all in a foreign country.  It was a pleasure to hear that I didn’t need to…and that my husband was on board!

We mentioned to our landlord that we were interested in hiring someone to help in the house, so he set up a meet-and-greet with his friend Juanita (and her son who speaks English).  We negotiated how many days she’d work and what hours. Juanita wanted to work 6 days a week, with Sundays off.  She gave us the choice of either 7am-12pm or 8am-1pm. I mentioned I’d like her to cut fruit to have in the frig, make lunches some days, and prepare dinner for about 3 nights a week.  She already seemed to understand the regular household chores she’d be doing. Juanita seemed perfect for the job and we told her we looked forward to her coming the following day.

So here’s the breakdown: Juanita works 6 days per week 8am-1pm officially, but usually she leaves between 1:30 and 2pm for $200 per month.  That’s about $6.70 per day or $1.30 per hour…assuming she actually left on time. At first she worked Monday – Saturday, but recently she’s asked to take Wednesday off so she can bus to Managua to buy clothes for her side business.  She now works Thursday – Tuesday. She makes lunch probably 4 days a week and prepares dinner about 3 days.  Its best if I take her to the supermarket (Palí) and the mercado to do the shopping for the week, otherwise I’m running to the store every day after we decide what she should cook.

I had an epiphany the other night while the whole family was enjoying dinner together as usual since we’ve moved.  We hardly ever ate dinner together in the US.  I’m embarrassed to say, we usually parked Azalea in a high chair seat in front of the TV with her favorite show playing so that we could get a 30 minute break.  When she was a baby I’d feed her mashed up veggies hours before we even started making our own dinner. We could never get our dinner ready early enough for us all to eat together.  With Juanita preparing the meals, its easy to eat dinner together every night, its become the norm.  Even when we cook, we start early and always include both kids around the table.  This is the way I grew up, and I’m so happy to be passing the dinner table tradition on to my kids.

Every morning I make a fresh fruit smoothie or fruit and yogurt mixed with granola.  Its easy to do now with all the hard work already done.  I have 3 Tupperware containers full every day of cut fruits to choose from.  The fruit is SO good here!  Papaya, watermelon, cantaloupe, and pineapple are our favorites.

Kharron usually comes home for lunch and we all eat again around the table.  If we don’t eat at home, the kids and I meet him in town and go to one of the many restaurants.  After lunch both kids are usually ready for their nap.  I put them to bed feeling gratified that they are getting the love and attention they deserve from both of their parents.

Juanita has helped us in so many ways outside of the household.  She not only lead us all around Rivas shopping for a motorcycle for Kharron, but also put the motorcycle in her name since you have to be a resident to own a vehicle in Nicaragua. The day after we purchased the motorcycle she rode back to Rivas to file all the paperwork and get a tune up.  She rode with me into Rivas to get local prices on new tires for the car, hunt for everything necessary to make cupcakes, to go to the cleaning store, Casa de Limpieza”, and navigate the large mercardo.  She also gives us a patient Spanish lesson each and every day she works.

There are some hidden costs to hiring household help. People in Nicaragua are paid on a 13 month payroll, paying double in December.  Its possible your maid might ask for help with a medical bill or other necessity they cannot afford. I am told that if you hired correctly, you will not mind sometimes paying for the small things requested.  We have already volunteered to purchase Juanita glasses after seeing her squint to read the small print of Google Translate on our phones.  This cost us $170 for exam and glasses, but the pride I feel when I see her put them on is priceless.  Juanita has 3 sons and asked for a loan of $100 to send her middle son to finish English class.  This came at a good time because we started to need some childcare for 3 hours a day twice a week while I volunteered.  We negotiated just $15 more a month (and towards her debt) for this extra service. Last night she asked to borrower our motorcycle to ride to church because her family’s motorcycle had a flat tire, we gladly lent it…its in her name!

We have lucked out with Juanita.  We totally expected to go through a few maids before finding the right one, but couldn’t want for anything more.  We look forward to speaking more of her language because its become clear that she is very funny and can’t wait to understand all of her little jokes.  After one month she’s already become one of the family.

 

 

Rigley and Tasha in the airline purchased crates.
By Jenna Reid 2 comments 307 Views

Moving to Nicaragua With Dogs

2 Large Dogs, Will Travel

Getting the dogs to Nicaragua was a task. Probably more our fault than anything.  We made several mistakes which ended up costing us time and money, but at least we made the rabies vaccine appointment on time!

1. Booked our flight to Nicaragua to arrive during the weekend.  – Dogs are not shipped via United Airlines PetSafe program on the weekend.

When I was looking at the flight options and deciding when and from which airport it was best to depart from, I noticed that all the flights out of San Diego arrived into Managua at 9:30pm.  I had read conflicting information about whether customs was open after 5pm, so I didn’t want the dogs and us arriving that late.  I also thought we had so much baggage, etc that I’d rather hassle with it in the light of day. Flights out of Los Angeles had a red eye option arriving at about 12:30pm.  Los Angeles was more of a drive, but I didn’t feel like we had another option.

I finally booked our tickets and then right away called the PetSafe department to book the dogs on the same flight.  I was told right away that dogs aren’t transported on the weekends and that they could fly out the next Monday morning departing at 8:30am, arriving in Managua at…9:30pm!!! Having already booked non refundable tickets for the family, I went ahead and booked the dogs.
2. Not understand the importance of the check-in time frame. – Must be 3 hours before flight (unless military), but for an early morning flight, no more than 3 hours

Kharron’s brother, Kevin, graciously agreed to take the dogs for the couple days after we left and get them to the airport 3 hours prior to their flight. Yikes, that’s early! It was set, problem solved. We boarded our plane on a red eye at 12:30 Saturday morning with a plan to spend a couple nights in Managua until the dogs came in, then go to stay at a friend’s surf camp until we could move into our home in San Juan del Sur.

We woke up Monday morning excited that we would be seeing our pooches that night.  Kharron and his brother were texting that Kevin was on his way to the airport with his dad, Baylee, and everything was going as planned. Things turned bad quickly.  Once Kevin found the cargo area it quickly became clear that he had missed the 30 minute window between when the cargo department opened at 5am and 3 hours before the flight. Dogs were not going to fly that day.
3. Book dogs on their own flight arriving at night. – Managua will not allow animals to arrive after 5pm unaccompanied by a passenger.

Kevin had to make a new reservation for the following morning.  The dogs were going to need to spend the night in Houston (more money) so that they could be on the first flight out of Houston on Wednesday morning and arrive in Managua during the daytime.
4. Send someone who doesn’t own a credit card to drop off the dogs at the airport. – United only takes credit cards, no cash allowed.

We decided to go to the surf camp anyway and Kharron could drive the 1 and a half hours back to Managua to pick them up on Wednesday. Again, Tuesday morning we were excited to get the process underway.  Kevin was on his way to the airport and targeted to arrive within the allotted window. Kharron was giving me the play-by-play as I chased Azalea around paradise.  Kevin and dad arrived on time…dogs are out of the truck…they are getting checked in…paperwork is missing…wait, no it isn’t…  It was tense! My interpretation to the story is when Kevin pulled out the wad of cash we had wired him to pay with the ticketing office then told him they only took credit cards.  NO!!!

Let’s do this again.  Dogs are booked for Thursday morning flight, staying in Houston, arriving on Friday.  We were quickly approaching the 10 day expiration date of the Certificate of Health the vet filled out and USDA stamped.  This was going to get really messy and expensive if we didn’t manage to work this out by no later than a Friday arrival.
5. Didn’t pay enough attention to recent changes in crate regulations. – I couldn’t even tell you the rules. Allow yourself enough time to buy another one if needed.

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Dogs on the dolly in the incorrect crates

We called in for back up.  My friend Kelly recently became a stay at home mom.  She’s fierce, smart, gorgeous, and owns a credit card…she was just the person for the job! We wake up Wednesday morning now with a feeling of doom.  Again, Kharron on his phone now with Kelly. Kharron’s dad again there for support. Everything is going good. We are texted the above picture.  Dogs were on the dolly!  They must be in, all is clear… wait, no, there’s a problem. Rigley’s crate is too small and Tasha’s doesn’t have the correct bolts holding it together.  They are given one new crate and BayLee goes to another airline and is able to buy another crate.

Finally, dogs are cleared and the crowd goes wild!

I get this email a couple hours later and the stress pours out of me like frozen margaritas from a blender.

Email Alert
United Cargo email alert.

 

luggage stuffing
By Jenna Reid 79 Views

Packing To Move Abroad

Is it too early to pack?

My husband & his family are making fun of me, we are 2 months out and I’ve already began packing the suitcases.  Actually I’ve barely started packing, but started accumulating items for the move; scourging the thrift stores for extra large suitcases (since we’re only bringing 6), scanning Craigslist for boxes & dog crates, sending group texts to neighbors to collect newspaper, buying packaging tape…  Its true, I am a planner, but with all there is to do “I don’t feel like this is too early!”, I say with a defiant stomp…well, at least that’s how it gets played out in my head.

I’d like to do more, but Kharron isn’t convinced that getting our storage space this early is necessary. I’ve never done a move like this.  When I moved from Northern to Southern California, everything I owned fit in my Honda.  I didn’t have kids to worry over, I didn’t have a whole house worth of belongings to compact into a 15 x 10 space, and I couldn’t just call my mommy if I forgot anything.

Now my and Ze’s closets contain no shorts nor sundresses…I think that’s a fair start.

 

Tday on the Porch
By Jenna Reid 107 Views

Moving to Nicaragua

The Journey Begins

With an emotional breakdown by Jenna and some research by Kharron, the decision has been made and implemented.

After a particularly hard day trying to sell a new mortgage company to a shrinking industry my mind returned to the late night buzzed conversations I once had with Kharron about moving abroad while running a US business.  When we first dated this was a dream of ours.  I once read “The Five Hour Work Week” by Tim Ferriss and in it he talks about working in another country where the US dollars you earn can go further.  When we met, Kharron was self employed as a website developer and we fantasized he could build websites for the drop-ship companies we created. They would essentially run themselves while we traveled the world for a few years.

These thoughts were the backsplash to my frustrated & fearful tears.  I worried about my depleting income; whether we could afford the house we lived in, our lifestyle, the baby growing in my belly.  I had become such a consumer I thought about the remodel we wanted to do on our house, our landscaping dreams, my daughter’s next birthday party. I didn’t sleep much that night because these trains of thoughts crossed and when they did I felt it like a collision within my body.  Suddenly it all made sense- this was our moment, this was our sign, we could actually do this, we could actually move to another country for a couple years!

At my computer the next day I blubbered to Kharron about my career woes and causally mentioned the idea of moving.  Feeling foolish as I heard the words escape my mouth I couldn’t help but notice the glimmer of hope I felt once spoken. Once my monolouge came to an end, Kharron disappeared to our home office, but within 10 minutes I got an email from him with the subject line, “I like your idea” and a link to this blog mikesgringolife.com.  I was skimming through it when Kharron reappeared.  He had already read the whole blog and was ready to start packing. The path was set.  Let the journey begin!