H.A. Larson's Blog, page 15

Back on the Trails

Finally, after months of working two jobs or being incredibly busy, I'm back on the walking/hiking bandwagon. Besides walking to work and back again - and at double the distance I might add - I've been hiking like the nature-loving gal I am. I really missed being out on the trails, so I'm making up for lost time by hiking as much as possible. This past weekend, I hiked with my best friend Rebecca on Saturday, and with my son on Sunday. Rebecca and I went to a tried and true, yet simple, favorite: Schramm State Park.



The path in Schramm is straightforward in that you can either take the full circle, or cut it in half in a couple of places. There are also a couple of shortcuts along the path as well. One thing I had never noticed, in all the years I've hiked this park, was an obvious path down to the creek that runs through it. Either I've never noticed it before or I don't remember. I have a feeling it's the latter because the kids never missed a side trail to something like this back when they were younger.



While I'm pretty sure the kids went down the path to this creek, I haven't, so it was fun to see something different in a place I've been to countless times. It was still early in the morning so the air was fairly cool, and the foliage looked so lush and green, especially against these larger chunks of rock.
The entire trail, without any sidetracking, is about 3 miles from your car back to your car. Since we did do some sidetracking, we ended up getting closer to 5 miles altogether. Afterward, we found a secluded shelter with a picnic table and had a brunch composed of food items we both brought. It was a wonderful way to spend time together.



The next morning, Sunday, my son and I headed out early (again to beat the heat) to take a hike in Neale Woods. Neale Woods is my favorite place to hike in my area, and it never gets old for me. Over the years, I have watched the trails change and grow here so it's easy to take a new adventure.



We hiked out into the West side of the park, back to (Nature) center, and then looped back into the East side of the park. We got a good four miles in altogether. We stopped here where my son lamented, much like I have in the past, about how the old observation deck is no longer a feature in our beloved nature area. 



After our hike, we found a shady spot behind the old house turned nature center - that's no longer in use as such - for a much-needed drink of water and a snack from my hiking pack. It felt good to rest our feet and take respite from the sun after a nice hike through the woods.
In fact, it just felt good, overall, to be actively hiking again. I do so miss getting out into the forest as much as I used to, but I plan on turning that around this summer. It should be easy enough now that I have more time. 
I hope the rest of your week is great.

-H.A. 







 

Coffee Talk: Writing, Walking, and Summer Vacation

 

I have a fresh cup of coffee next to me, and there's a cool, gentle breeze winding through my open windows and through my home. A heatwave is upon us but the mornings are still cool, so I take advantage of this by letting in the cool morning air. When the outside temperature hits 70, I will close up my home like a tomb to trap the cool air inside and repel the hot air from outside. Living in a basement apartment has its advantages and I haven't had to run my air conditioner yet. I'm sure that will change the further we progress into summer, but for now, I don't.




I've been busy this week working on...my new book! That's right, your girl is writing a new book. It's not your typical H.A. Larson work of fiction, but it's one that I've been wanting to write for a handful of years now. I won't give away anything just yet, but I will when the time is right. I will say, though, that it's nice to be back in the writing groove. I have the book I'm working on and the monthly editorial I've been doing for a few months now, but I am starting to come up with some new story ideas for Slime&Grime. With life and everything that's happened over the past year, Brian and I just haven't had the time or mental space to work on anything music-related. But, things are starting to come back to life and shows are starting to happen, so we can start branching out past album reviews again. I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to that. 




I can't speak for you, but I have to say that I've done a solid backslide over the past year. I've let myself go, so I've made a promise to kick myself back on track. My new place is twice the distance to work from my old place, so I started walking all the way to work and back this week, and it's kicking my ass. In a good way, because, man, did I need it. I'll be making a dedicated post to this later as one of my Healthy Life Updates, so stay tuned for that.




If any of my previous vacation posts have told you anything about me, it's that I take a yearly vacation every summer. This summer, things will look a little different. Yes, I'm still taking a vacation but I'm breaking it up into staycations that span 3- and 4-day weekends. With my move just behind me, finances are a bit tighter. I had to pay bills for two places from mid-April through the end of May and, on top of that, I'm just a single-income household now. Staycations are nothing new to me, though, so I am coming up with some fun ideas. I'll be posting them as they happen, so you can join in the fun with me. It will also give me the motivation to finish a post I started a few years ago (yes, a few years ago) about how to take a successful staycation.

I hope you enjoyed our chat over coffee this morning, I know I did. I'll be posting this Sunday and then, hopefully, get back to my normal posting schedule. I'm also trying to post up a weekly vlog on my YouTube channel, so go check those out if you're so inclined. 

Frugal Living in my new Place

 

We finally finished emptying and cleaning out the old house the other day, and it's simply the best. Turning in the keys to a place I lived in for so many years seems like it might be a sad thing, but it was absolutely the opposite for me. It was the last part of an old life that needed to end, and now that it has, I am finally free. This means I can fully focus on my new life and my goals for the future. 
One of my goals, of course, is to maintain my frugal lifestyle. I've always been frugal, but now that I can call all the shots in life, I'm going to amplify it a bit on my road to FIRE - my main goal for the future. I'm in a new place as well, so I've had to get creative in some ways while other ways stayed the same. Here's what I'm working on:

1. Storage

In my old house, I had my grandmother's old standing freezer. This made it easy to stockpile flour, cornmeal, vital wheat gluten, bread from outlets, and other various items. Now that I live in an apartment, I had to take that into consideration in my months-long search for a new place. I specifically picked an apartment that had a basement storage unit. While I have some things stored in there for obvious reasons, I also utilize that space for food storage. I made a short Youtube video about it, but I purchased some five-gallon buckets with screw lids. In these, I store my vital wheat gluten, flour, sugars, and rice. Eventually, I will buy a few more I can store oats and beans in. For now, my beans are on a shelving unit where I keep shelf-stable items, along with gallons of water, cooking oil, and various items I got on super sale.

2. Laundry

In a past post, I talked about how I am now a proponent of air drying my laundry. Not only do I save a lot of money (as I only have to pay for washing) but it's better for the environment. To that end, I have a couple of drying racks that work well, but they don't hold as many items as I would like. This is because they're fairly small which also makes it harder to hang bulky pants and towels. To get around this, I purchased a clothing rack as well. It has two levels for hanging clothes, so I hang all the shirts, towels, and various like items on that using hangers. It works fantastic!

3. Bread

I've been making bread in my two bread machines for years, but they never seemed to come out quite right. Sure, they were still delicious but seemed to be lacking some density. Finally, after a bit of research, I've learned to make the perfect loaf, so now I do NOT buy bread anymore. I make it myself and since I have two machines, I can make a lot of fun flavors.

4. Spending Freeze

I'm a saver by nature, but I'm always looking for new ways to ramp that up. It seems like, even though I don't spend much money on non-necessities, that I still seem to spend a bit of money at least every few days. When I look at what I'm getting, it's not like I'm wasting money or anything, but I'm not buying anything that couldn't wait. So, I've decided to do spending freezes here and there. Currently, I'm on a two-week spending freeze. Besides some bills that I have to pay this week when I get paid, I'm not spending money on a single thing. I have all the food and supplies I need stocked up at home, and now that my daughter is out of school for the summer, I'm going to be walking back and forth from work.

5. Utilities

I've always been the dad of the house, hollering at anyone trying to turn up or down the thermostat. When I was apartment hunting, I mentioned in item 1 that I specifically picked one that had a storage unit. I also had other criteria, one of those being a basement/garden apartment. Having a unit underground or partially underground means you save a lot on your utility bill. We had a couple of 90+ degree days already, and it stayed a cool 73 in my place. The unit has ceiling fans in the bedrooms and living room, so while the upper units around me ran their air conditioning, I ran my fans. My first bill was so small, I nearly cried! 

6. New Goals

Now that my past is behind me, I can focus on new goals going forward. I've already touched on one before, but I plan on having my four-month emergency fund beefed up to six months by the end of summer. 

I'm also diligently tracking all of my expenses outside of my monthly bills so I can see how much I'm spending in different categories. This way I can determine how much I spend on food, for instance, and where I can cut down on certain expenses. 

Now that I have my stockpile set up and running, I want to pad that up over the summer. Since I do so much of my cooking and baking from scratch, I need a good amount of supplies. Supplies deplete quickly so having a good surplus is always good. Besides, you never know with our economy how things will look by the end of the year.

I'm saving up for a new car. My old car is on its last legs, and so I'm going to let it sit as much as possible for the rest of the year. I want to get a new car and could easily get a loan for one right now, but I do not want to have a large debt again - especially considering how hard I worked last year into this one to get debt-free. I plan on having 50% for a down payment so I can lower my monthly payments and interest rate. This means waiting until I get my income tax refund next year to help bulk up the amount I'm already saving.

And that's it. That's what I'm currently doing in my frugal lifestyle. This, of course, will only benefit me on the road to FIRE. Do I need to be quite this frugal? Well, I'll let you decide but I will say one thing: I'd rather save it now so I can spend it later. 

Have a great week, friends, and I'll be back in a few days. I've got a lot of fun posts on the horizon, as well as some writing. Also, if you're subscribed to my newsletter, a new one is coming tomorrow!

I Can't Wait for it to all be Over

 

I have something to say: I'm over it. Having a month and a half to move into one place and out of another gives you plenty of time to move everything you want to keep into your new place and then deal with what's left at the old place. This is where I, my ex-husband, and our kids have been since mid-April. At first, it was pretty great, but as time goes on, it's wearing thin.
See, it's amazing to see just how much crap you've managed to accumulate when you are emptying out a house you've lived in for nearly 11 years. For the past four weekends, we've done nothing but move into our respective places and work on the old house...mainly the latter.
If that wasn't fun enough, we've had a comedy of errors happen along the way. We've been locked out of the house twice - once by our son and another by the landlord; we've thought we were making excellent progress a few times only to remember that we still have a shed and an attic full of crap; we've had a garage sale weekend that started off on the wrong foot and never really recovered, and I've had so many people interested in buying my appliances and other items only to never message me back.
On top of all this, we've had to work our full-time jobs, and mine has been incredibly busy for the past two weeks during a time when it's usually slow. Of course, right? I'm busy in my regular day-to-day life because, as you all know, I still do a lot of things from scratch/the old-fashioned way. The landlord is also eager for us to be out so they can start working on the house, so I had to finally let them know that we have paid all the bills for this month and that we will be there until the end, geesh! It's all enough to make me want to pull my hair out.
The other day, after nearly breaking down in tears for about the third time, I texted my ex and said, "I don't care if it kills us, we're going to be done with that house by this Saturday." See, Monday the 31st is the last day we have possession of the old dump (our loving nickname for it) and since it's a holiday weekend, I'd like to enjoy Sunday and Monday as a weekend. I mean, after busting my ass for the last month and a half, I feel like I've earned a weekend where I don't have to do crap.
All right, H.A., just take a deep breath. Four more days. Please let me have the strength!

Texas Trip: Fort Davis and Hiking the Davis Mountains

On our second day on our trip within our trip, we headed a half-hour north to Fort Davis, Texas. Fort Davis is named after an actual fort and our destination for the day. This is a view walking down the long covered porch to the main office. Across the parade grounds, you can see the smaller, individual buildings that housed the soldiers and support staff.



According to the U.S. National Park Service, the fort is the oldest fort in Texas and played a key role as a frontier military post and it protected people as they traveled on the San Antonio-El Paso road on their way to California during the Gold Rush. You can read more about its history here.



Like many other old military forts I've seen over the years, they are often strategically placed. Fort Davis is no different as it is positioned next to the Davis Mountains. Ahead of me, you can see my daughter walk the trail to the Post Hospital, which is located behind all the personal quarters.



The rocky Davis Mountains loom over the old hospital.



A display inside the hospital



The office of the Post Surgeon.



After we walked through the hospital, we headed into the Davis Mountains to hike. We took the Hospital Canyon trail to the top.








A view from the top!



After we reached the top, we connected with the Scenic Overlook Trail and headed back down to the Fort from that route. Overall, it was only a few miles but the switchbacks and lack of shade definitely made it a bit more challenging than you would expect. I was glad we were there on a cooler April day - as opposed to July!
After our hike, we utilized the picnic area within the park and had a picnic lunch (of course) before heading back to the Antelope Lodge. Like I mentioned in the last post about this trip, this entire area only comes alive Thursday-Sunday. Since we were there Monday-Wednesday, there were so many things that were closed that would've been nice to have visited, such as the Old Overland Trail Museum, the Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute, Museum of the Big Bend, and a few towns with the neatest shops and art museums. Yes, even those were closed Mon-Wed. Regardless of what we didn't get to see, we still got to visit some neat places and it was a fun trip. 

I hope you enjoy the rest of your week, and I'll have a new post up on Saturday. 

Texas Trip: Big Bend National Park

A view of the Chisos Mountains during daybreak

Well, well...look who's back. And, yes, I do mean me. I'm at a place now in life where I'm ready to get back into the swing of The Write Life, and it's pretty great if I am being honest. So, in honor of that, it's time to post about my trip to Texas at the end of March/beginning of April. 

My daughter had Spring break during that time and I had enough airline miles for us to fly somewhere. I had wanted to take a girl trip to somewhere we hadn't been before, like Seattle or Boston, but it's funny how airline miles work. You'll have enough for one place but not another. Undeterred by this, I got to thinking that maybe we should fly down to Texas to see my mom and my grandma. Sure enough, my miles would get us down there for free, and since I could stay with my mom, I would also save on hotel costs - although she was more than excited to host us and I made sure to buy some groceries while I was there.

At any rate, Mom was so excited that she planned a little trip for us to go somewhere in Texas she had always wanted to go: Big Bend National Park. She booked us a cute, old but remodeled, motor lodge about an hour from the park and so it was that we hit the road for the long drive out there a few days after we arrived.

The aforementioned motor lodge is the Antelope Lodge in Alpine, TX, a small, sleepy little town that only comes to life Thursday-Sunday. Of course, we were there Monday-Wednesday, but I digress. Built in 1950, the motor lodge harkens back to the days when families piled in big, gas-guzzling cars to take trips to National Parks and roadside attractions. Complete with a small kitchenette that looks the same as it did when the place was originally built, it was like stepping back in time. While some modern decor has been added, a bit of freshening of the buildings, and a common area added that includes a fire pit, it remains much the same as it was when it was built 71 years ago.



We slept well after the seven and a half hours it took to get to Alpine, so we were rested and ready for the remaining 1.5-hour drive to get to Big Bend National Park. At over 1,200 square miles, the Park is the largest protected area of the Chihuahuan Desert and the Chisos Mountains are contained within. While it's large and a popular place for backpacking and hiking, it's the least-visited National Park due to its climate and remoteness. Towns are few and far between so if you need gas or need a bathroom break, it's best to do so whenever you see a town.
Regardless of its challenges, it's a beautiful park with lots of wildlife, flora & fauna, and mountain views as far as the eye can see.






The mountain trail we really wanted to take was closed down for road maintenance. It was pretty discouraging, I admit, because most of the trails run through the valleys or are too difficult to drag my mother on, so we had to find an alternative route. We decided on the Homer Ranch Trail as it was already getting quite warm.









The trail is named after the old ranch that used to thrive here. At the time when it was built (1929) it was one of the largest ranches in the area. Today, nestled between the peaks of the Chisos in the scrub-covered valley, the shell of the main house stands the test of time.



For not being occupied since 1943, the ranch's walls are still pretty sturdy.



With the exception of the missing windows, the interior is also pretty solid. I imagine the dry climate of the mountains and desert, combined with the heat of the south have helped preserve the old farm.



Within view of the old house is the corral where the Wilsons kept their animals. 



After we hiked around the ranch for a while, we made our way to another area in the park: it's border with the Rio Grande River. The river was pretty dry, but my daughter still enjoyed cooling off her feet in the water. The river winds between these two cliff faces. On the left is Mexico, which we stepped foot on, and on the right, Texas.



On the Texas side, there's a cement staircase that zig-zags up to the top. It commands views into the mountains for miles.
After our hikes, we found a shady picnic table and had a nice picnic lunch - you know me, I packed in all of our food and drinks.



After lunch, we made our way back to Alpine and the Antelope Inn. After I made dinner in our quaint little kitchenette, I started a nice bonfire in the community area (wood provided by the Inn) and we enjoyed the evening singing 60s pop songs and drinking wine (for my mom and I) and soda for my daughter.

While all the traveling was a bit tiring, having the opportunity to do some of my favorite activities with two of my favorite people was a nice way to spend some time and relax after the crazy pace of the last year.


I have one more post about my trip to Texas and I'll put that out next week as I move back into my regular blog schedule of Wednesdays and Saturdays. Until then, enjoy your weekend.







 

I'm Getting Settled

 

Courtesy Getty Images

It's been far too long since my last post, but, to be fair, I did warn all of you that I was heading into a busy period. I wasn't joking when I said busy, either, because it's been a non-stop whirlwind since then. The majority of my time has been spent moving into my new place. Since I moved less than a mile from my old place, I've been moving every single day as opposed to moving everything at once. There are some great advantages to this as it has allowed me to bring a load over every day and get everything put away. This coming Saturday, I will get the last of my big things in here and we will be able to finally call it home-home. We (my daughter and I) have been living here for a week now and we have what we need, but it will be nice to finally have our beds here (air mattresses work, though!) and our t.v. 
Another advantage I have is that the lease on my old place isn't up until the end of next month, so it gives us plenty of time to move before we have to deal with all the stuff that is left. A garage sale or two, a few dump runs, and a massive cleaning will all take place. So, while I still have a month of work to do, I'm halfway there. 
Earlier this week, I got my computer over here and my office space set up, followed by the hookup of my internet service. For years my home office was half of my old, small dining room table so it feels quite grown up to have an actual office. I scored a free desk from a friend of a friend, another friend gave me a nice printer she wasn't using, I purchased a small filing cabinet, and I rounded it all out with my desk/office supplies. It's quite inspiring, honestly, and much-needed as I work from home half of the time and write from home as well. I can't wait to be finished moving so I can truly get back in writing mode.
For far too long I felt uninspired as I lived an unhappy life where I felt stuck - in more ways than one. That drive is back, but I still need to put it to the side until I get finished with this move. Every day, though, I'm getting closer, and I'm so ready to fully close the chapter on my old life and move forward with this one. Until then, friends, my posts may or may not be a bit sporadic as I move through the month of May. Either way, I will be back. This time for good.
-H.A.

It's Always Good to Come Home

 

I returned home this past weekend from a much-needed vacation and it felt great. Getting out for some travel and adventure is amazing but nothing beats coming home at the end. It was good to sleep in my bed again and be surrounded by familiar things.
As for the trip itself, my daughter and I flew down to Texas to spend a week with my Mom. It was one of those win-win-win situations. The reasons being, I had enough airline miles to fly down for free; we stayed with my mom, thereby getting free lodging; my mom has been going through a rough patch so it was good to be there for emotional support; and Texas is a big place with lots of fun things to do. We went to a few national parks and were able to celebrate my grandma's birthday with her before we flew back home.
It's also been incredibly nice not working a second job. I have my evenings free again and it's allowed me to be around to make dinner, take care of household chores, and prepare for our move. As far as that move is concerned, we can start moving in at the end of next week! I'm so excited to be starting a new chapter of my life and it is significant for me as it's a new beginning. After all that I've been through in my adult life thus far, it feels great to get a fresh start and to have solid goals that I'm working on. Most importantly, I can do it all for myself. My life is my own and I can live it and plan it how I choose, and it's the most liberating feeling in the universe.
Like I mentioned in this previous post, it's a busy period for me so things will be relatively quiet while I move into my new place and clear out/clean up the old one. Until then, have a great rest of your week, my friends.

Having more Time

It's been a week now since I worked my last shift at my second job, and I have to say that it's been pretty great. It was nice to end my workday at my regular job and just deal with normal, everyday stuff this week. I've been doing the dishes every day and making dinner for my daughter and myself every night. It may seem little, but it's significant for me. I feel more relaxed than I have in months. 
I also noticed that I'm more focused on my full-time job now that I'm not so tired and I actually wrote almost every day. It's wonderful to see myself shifting back into my old routine. Now, to just get moved and settled into my new place.
Until then, though, vacation in the Lone Star State is calling me. We have some pretty exciting plans and I can't wait to get started.
Have a great weekend, friends, and I'll see you in a little over a week.







 

My FIRE Journey: Two important things I did while paying off Debt

 

Recently, I talked about how I paid off over 20k in debt over a 15 month period. Paying off this debt was essential to my future as I embarked on a new life as a single mom of one*. But, truth be told, there were two other goals I was working on, in conjunction with my debt repayment, that were just as important. Let's talk about them.

1. I Built an Emergency Fund
The reason I had gotten into debt in the first place was that I had nothing set aside for emergency purposes. Sure, I was saving regularly for well over a decade but it was on a very small scale, and what little I had saved up I invested in an existing retirement account. While this was smart on my part, it left me nothing to fall back on. Sure enough, I had a series of misfortunes and had to rely pretty heavily on credit cards for a few years. This led to my large debt load. 
When I hatched a plan to aggressively pay off my debts, I knew I that had to put myself in a better position. I needed to have liquid cash reserves on hand in case I fell on hard times again. So, while I was paying off debt, I began building an emergency fund (EF). As of today, should anything happen, I have the equivalent of four months of living expenses saved up to fall back on. By the end of summer, I will be at my first major EF goal of six months of living expenses saved. By Spring of next year, if not earlier, I hope to have a year's worth of living expenses saved up. That is my ultimate goal.

2. I Aggressively Invested
I knew that I couldn't just save money. Sure, I need an EF, but I also need to grow my money for retirement. With this in mind, I began investing as much as I could into a handful of investment accounts, both old and new. By the last quarter of 2020, between my employer-sponsored retirement accounts and my self-funded ones, I was investing 40% of my income. By the end of this year, I want that number to be at 50%, and sometime within the next five years, I want that number to be around 75%. 

3. Bonus: Side Quest
There was something else I did while doing the other three (debt repayment, saving, and investing). It's not a necessary goal, like the other three, but it's smart, beneficial, and falls in line with my frugal, FIRE-loving self, and that is supply stockpiling. My part-time job was in a grocery store and one of their perks was a 10% discount on almost everything in the store. Since I worked there several times a week, I was able to stay abreast of sales. For instance, in one three-day period, they had canned corn, canned green beans, canned kidney beans, and canned chili beans for $0.39. At the same time, they had their store brand of pasta for $0.69. Those were extremely cheap prices and with my discount, I saved 4 cents on the canned goods and 7 cents on the pasta. This means I only paid 35 cents a can for the canned goods and 62 cents for boxes of pasta. I would also scout sales and slashed prices at other stores. I was in a store once that had a super sale on shampoo and conditioner, so I stocked up on those. These are all items with a long shelf life, so I will be able to use them for some time to come. There's all to be gained and nothing to be lost from this practice.


Paying off debt is incredibly important, but taking steps to save for the future and invest in your retirement will help ensure that you stay debt-free. So if being debt-free is your goal, hatch a plan and implement it, but make sure you invest and build an EF at the same time. 
I hope you have a great weekend! 



*I have two children, but only one lives at home. The other is grown and on his own.