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One of my week 1 goals was to get the internet up and running at this house.  This has proved more difficult than i expected.

1) There are no land lines out here. No cable. No fiber optics.  No DSL, ethernet, etc and so on.  There is only wireless internet.  Not the wireless that connects to a router (while that is possible) but wireless that is on top of your house searching for the dish across town.

2) This dish isn't on a conveniently tall antenna pole (see photo). No it's on top of the tallest thing in town, a cotton gin.  And if that cotton gin is at the lowest point in town you are outta luck.  (see photo, antenna far left side).

3) Final piece of the mud pie: This house has trees blocking the view from the top of our roof to the cotton gin antenna.  The Farmer has to build a lightning pole so that the internet company can install their wireless connection.  Did I mention this pole needs to raise up and down so that the installation guy doesn't have to climb up it? (Because trust me, this big guy couldn't climb it if his life depended on it) Did I also mention this only is for 1G speed?  Our town doesn't get 3G.

But Rachel how are you writing this amazing blog with no spelling or grammer errors? (Ha!) I'm writing this on my new android RAZR. Its my mini computer helping me stay connected in a major way.

Living Life to the Fullest with no internet!

-Rachel

Puck Packing!

Well the big move weekend is finally here.  I am up to my eyeballs in stress and anxiety.  When this happens instead of screaming and jumping off a cliff I'm the type who sits completely still.  Obviously, I've found time to write a blog post!


Here's what is going through my head:


"Pack the dishes, that will be easy"
"Ya, easy until I'm hungry for dinner then I'll need the dishes!"
"Go get fast food then you won't dirty dishes"
"Are you kidding?  I gotta save money for gas, who knows how much gas I'll waste with that extra weight in my car"
"Fine, don't do the kitchen. Do the bathroom"
"But I'll need to shower after I pack, I'll be so gross"
"FINE do the living room!" 
"I don't want to do the living room, it's so pretty and it makes me happy looking at it."
"If you were packing you wouldn't have time to look at the pretty living room!"
"Ok, well where should I start? The kitchen?"
....


It's a vicious cycle.
the Farmer comes tonight with his brother, who is sleeping on the couch.  So I definitely need to get the boxes off the couch.  But what should I fill them with??

Wish me luck!


Living Life to the Fullest, one box at a time!


-Rachel

What's your color personality?

I recently took this color personality quiz which was pretty fun.  I was expecting the simple green, blue, black, white colors....but I came out with the color personality of: CORAL

 *elegant*

*down to earth*

*sweetly feminine*

It finally clicked.  I'm elegant yet down to earth and sometimes I'm even sweetly feminine.  So coral is most definitely my color personality.  I love natural blues, greens, whites, etc and a pop of coral would look beautiful in every room in my apartment.  I'm so excited with this!  I've never LOVED orange or LOVED pink, but I'm always drawn to them...and coral is the best of both worlds!

Some Inspiration in shades of Coral:

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Love the blue walls, carpet, art work and oh ya, there's coral

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Love that the coral is on the wall and everything else is neutral.
But because of the walls this room has a bright character!

Love EVERYTHING about this collage - patterns, blue, white, coral, texture, gold!

Love the symmetry. Love the blue and white with pop of coral

all three above via
Love the blue and white again, but also the texture in the pieces from nature
Oh, and there's a pop or coral!  It totally makes a room for me!

Don't get me wrong, sometimes coral triggers the thought of an old lady's 1970's condo or a retirement home in Miami.  But I find relaxation in both of those examples. 

An old lady with nothing to do all day...yes I'd love to be her.

In Miami living off my retirement?  Can't wait for that day either! 

And yes, I'm sureyou thought of coral and thought of the photo below (which I LOVE)

No matter how you look at it, I'm smitten by coral.

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Living an "elegant, down to earth" Life to the Fullest with hints of coral!

-Rachel

Things to know at age 25(ish)

Click photo to enlarge

Read the entire article here

Photo: My trip to Port Aransas last year

You can't be fearful

This week has been weird!  Mainly Tuesday and Wednesday, I've been in a funk.

I think it's because I had a job interview on Monday and it wasn't as great as I thought it would be.  It went well, but he needs to fill another position before he can even think about hiring for the position I interviewed for.  So that kinda shot me down and I've been down ever since.

I'm also SO ready to start wedding planning but I can't do anything until I pick a wedding date.  I can't do that until we meet with the priest which can't happen until after Easter, so we're at a stand still.

I've also started packing up my apartment. It's really sad to come home to bare walls and boxes.   But I know it's better to get started sooner rather than later.

Today I took my vitamins (haven't done that in 5 days) and saw this quote:

source

So True.

I can't be scared I didn't get the job and grateful I was even considered for an interview.

I can't be fearful our wedding date will be unavailable and grateful I have an amazing man to marry!

I can't be scared to leave my apartment and thankful I have a safe home waiting for me on the other side. 

It's one or the other.  If I'm scared, I'm not thankful.  How can you be thankful for something you are scared of?  I know you can- I'm doing it right now, but I shouldn't.  That's the point.

It's all about perspective. 

Another night of solid sleep and I should be good to go!  Just in time for the weekend.

Living Life the the fullest with gratitude not fear.

The Red Roof House

Since I posted about my Blue Roof House yesterday, I wanted to share with you another piece of real estate in the West Texas area I'm in love with.  This is my Red Roof House.  Technically it's not MINE, but it's my dream home.  It's been for sale for quite a while and I've been praying for a miracle, but God has other plans! 

I just saw online that it's *contract pending* and The Man has assured me he's not the one in contract.  So sad... 

All the information below is from the realtor's website: http://www.scottlandcompany.com/properties/rwdhideaway/index.shtml All Rights Reserved, etc.
So if you want to be a really great friend, feel free to put in a bid on it!  I'll let you stay in the master bedroom every time you visit!!

Stats:

316 acres more or less
House Built in 2006 (most homes in this area are MUCH older than this)

3,346 sq.ft. main area -  400 sq.ft. basement - 926 sq.ft. garage
Brick/Austin Stone exterior

I do wish it had SOME landscaping

The great room has a vaulted ceiling with cedar beams/panels and a double-sided fireplace which also opens to the study/formal living room.

The great room is also open to the kitchen which has granite counter-tops, natural wood cabinets with rustic appeal hardware and lighting, the island/bar with a granite top and a great pantry.

The high-end, stainless, appliances include a double oven, modern gas cook-top, dishwasher and built-in refrigerator.

There is also a formal dining room as well as a breakfast nook.

 The master suite has large windows with a great view.

The master bath has a separate shower and tub, granite counter-tops and a large walk-in closet.

The additional two bedrooms are also suites with great closet space.

There is a finished basement, separate utility room with a sink, lots of storage and an attached three car garage.

Basements are SUPER cool to this city girl!

Doors from the master suite and great room lead to the back patio which also includes an outdoor fireplace.

The home features gorgeous wood, brick tiled and carpet flooring, modern light fixtures, ceiling fans in most rooms, two geo-thermal heating/cooling systems, a new domestic well and septic system.

Utility/Laundry Room, so many Pinteresting ideas in my head for this space!

GREAT Foyer...Love love love!

Realtor says "It is very hard to find a property that has the aesthetic appeal of this one west of I-27."

SO true!

The home is situated so that most of the year there is no direct sun coming into the windows. Every room with a view of the striking landscape. The remainder of the property is expired CRP and native grass along the draw.

a Quonset barn with lean-to, cattle working pens and hydraulic chute.

I would totally turn this into a party barn

This property is surrounded by sprinkler irrigated farmland and has Base acres in Corn, Cotton and Wheat.

That's West Texas for ya

I would consider this a 'hill' in West Texas

The home with 21 acres may be purchased apart from the remainder of the property or the property may be purchased in whole.  $500,000 for 21 acres or $750,000 for all 316 acres.

I am in LOVE with this house....I hope I meet the new residents and become their best friends.  This is easily one of the best properties in this part of the state.

http://www.scottlandcompany.com/properties/rwdhideaway/index.shtml

<>This house is not mine to make memories in, YET.  But I'll keep praying!<>

source

Living Life to the fullest, with faith in God's timing.

Blue Roof House

Ok, so this won't come as a huge surprise to my 1 follower...but if you happen to read this blog and don't know...I am moving! 

I'll be leaving the Dallas Fort Worth metroplex for My Man...he lives in the plains of the Texas Panhandle, or is it known as West Texas?  I don't know and I only have about a month to figure it out! 

I'll be leaving this

For This

Seriously, it'll be a BIG change. 

In order to save money for the wedding and our future we've decided to stop the $500/mth expense of traveling to see each other.  Instead I'll move there and travel for wedding and family functions.  This will also cut my living expenses, which will be awesome!  No $650 rent or $150+ in utilities.  Just gas money (which is about to hit $4.00/gallon what a joke!)

My Man lives near his family.  His sister lives across the street and his dad is renovating a house on the corner.  Technically the Man is living in his sister's house and she is living in his house.  But her house is SMALL and she has 4 kids, so being the AMAZING man he is he's letting her live in his house.  He is was a single guy, so a 30' x 30' house was plenty of space.  Yea, 30' x 30' that's 900 sqft.  That's larger than my apartment, but not by much.    It's a cozy house and I like it.  There's PLENTY of room to expand on the land...it just hasn't happened yet.

But my move IS happening and I'm going to make this house into a home!  I have all these plans for this cute little cottage - yes, I've convinced myself it's a cottage.  So while I'm dreaming of all these amazing things I'll share with you the progress.

Big change that recently happened:  New roof on the house.  Very cool, great for insurance purposes, metal roof so very modern however the roof is blue.  Yes. The roof is bright blue.  I have to keep reminding myself this technically isn't my house....but wow, a blue roof.  I am stunned, I really couldn't think of what to do to that house to make it look nice with a tacky blue roof.  But when I saw it in person I realized the potential.  #1: no one in town has a blue roof so we can say "we're the house with the blue roof" and everyone will know where we live!  #2 character.  Roofs can really speak to the character of house and they are an easy way to add character if the house or landscape is bland.  Like say the plains of West Texas....

My inspiration so far....

source

Source

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Technically this is a Garden Shed, but it looks like a cottage!
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   So alot of white houses with blue roofs.  I'm not really feeling that blue house with the blue roof AT ALL.  I would still need some type of nice accessories, so I'm thinking copper would work well. 


source

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But first, we'll need to paint the house white, it's an off-white color now...actually kind of yellow.  But it will soon be white!  Which will go LOVELY with the dust storms out in West Texas.  I'm not expecting this to be easy...but I know it will be fun! 

Feel free to share any ideas for the look of the Blue Roof House!

Living Life to the Fullest by moving out West!

-Rachel

Sharing is Caring

Have you heard about Kony 2012? 

My 15 year old sister sent me a Facebook request about Kony today.  And then my friends at Dateless Until I Do wrote a blog post about it as well.  They included a 29 minute video that I started to watch, but the tears were flowing so be warned!

The author of this video begins by pointing out that due to the internet, social media and facebook we can share everything today.  And when you look at Pinterest, Twitter, Google+ you realize people are very willing to share.  It's almost addicting.  But then, when it comes to war, murder, injustice and the loss of human rights - who is willing to share their view on that?  Especially when it isn't our war and our personal human rights....

I've realized if I want my blog to be a platform of my life and what I find important than I must be true to myself and share this with you.   I'd share it with my family, the Man and my friends so I'm sharing it with you.  Watch this video

I also want to share with you an amazing book I recently read. 

It was given to me by the Man's sister.  His sister is an incredibly loving stay at home mom who volunteers her time with the Church.  I was shocked this small town mom would find a book about a person and event halfway around the world!  This book ,"Left to Tell", is about the 1994 Rwanda genocide.  Not exactly the bedtime reading that I am familiar with.  But don't worry this book will not give you nightmares.  Instead the author, Immaculee, passes along her courage, faith and passion for Living Life to the Fullest!  If you need a copy of this book feel free to borrow mine!  But purchasing this book online ensures the funds go towards the recovery of the people of Rwanda. 

In the mean time, learn about Kony 2012!  Hopefully someone has already shared this with you and you can share it with someone!