Ricky went to Japan

Per usual, I wrote this a while ago and I’m only finishing it now, to explain the time gap between what I wrote initially and now. At some point I will switch to past tense.

I write this in the San Diego airport as I prepare to board my flight to LAX, which in turn will fly to Japan. This is actually my first time out of North America; it's a little hard to believe I’ve waited until my mid-thirties to do this. Then again, maybe not. It wasn’t that long ago the world seemed to be closed due to Covid. And prior to that, I was working crazy hours in San Jose, and then prior to that I was in school and therefore didn’t have a job, meaning a trip like this would be quite expensive.

I think what I’ve partially learned is there are some ways to make a trip like this cheaper. I’ll write about what I’m doing to make it cheap, which doesn’t necessarily mean you should do the same.

First, I used airline miles to book the trip. I earned a decent amount of them from flying for work and what not, as well as signing up for a credit card. So the flight was free in a sense.

Next, in Japan I stayed in capsule hotels. These cost something like $50 a night, which is quite affordable.

The food and transit in Japan are all generally pretty cheap. You can take public transit anywhere, and the cities are also very walkable (although big, so you will get some steps in!).

I loved that even in the airport, the prices are pretty reasonable. I bought a sandwich from a vending machine for $2 there (there were actually three halves, each different: tuna, beef, and egg salad).

Many of the attractions in Japan are free as well, like visiting the giant Buddha or the LDS temple. I actually went to services there on Sunday (well, at the stake center right next to the temple). That was an interesting experience as well.

The last part I wanted to mention was planning. For this trip, I just piggybacked on my coworker's Japan trip. Normally you would need to plan something like this out yourself. Or, if you paid someone to plan your trip, I think it could be quite expensive. Instead, stealing my friend's plan was free. Nick also helped me understand some of the culture there, which I might not have picked up on my own.

I recorded an episode about it here. I think I ramble about the specifics of the capsule hotel, which does take some adjustment. I think I will have to go back at some point. And also at some point, I might write more about it. Then again, it has been six months between when I started this post and the present, so perhaps not. Feel free to comment on what you think I should write next.

San Antonio

 Brooke and I recently wrapped up a trip to San Antonio! I honestly didn’t realize quite how much history is packed into this city. For reference, Europeans first established a permanent presence in Texas in 1690 with the founding of Mission San Francisco de los Tejas.

I’m actually writing the start of this post from the base of the Tower of the Americas, a 700-foot observation deck and restaurant. It’s been fun and really reminds me of my recent trip to Japan; they have a massive culture of observation towers and decks over there. Sitting here by the fountain at the base, the sound of the falling water completely drowns out the city noise. I haven’t done much "on-location" writing recently, and it’s a refreshing change of pace.

Earlier in the trip, we hit SeaWorld. It was a total blast—definitely a more ride-focused experience than the San Diego location. They also have a Beluga whale and Pacific white-sided dolphin show, which our home park doesn't have. The other two shows we saw, the sea lion and orca presentations, were pretty similar to what you’d see in San Diego.

I will say, it feels like SeaWorld might be hitting some tough times. The park is currently only open on weekends and wasn't crowded at all. While that made for a great experience with almost no lines, I do worry about the company’s future. I’d dive into my pitch for "SeaWorld at Sea"—a SeaWorld-themed cruise ship—but I’ll save that before this turns into a Ricky Rambles episode.

We spent the rest of our time downtown exploring the Alamo and the surrounding attractions. As a kid, I remember idolizing Davy Crockett. I’m not sure how historically accurate the Alamo movie was, but Davy was certainly the star! Brooke and I found ourselves wondering how things might look today if Santa Anna hadn't revoked the Mexican Federalist Constitution. Imagine a timeline where Texas and California were still part of Mexico. I’ll leave the "alternate history" talk there, though, so this doesn't accidentally become a post on my politics blog.

Of course, I had to sample the Texas BBQ. I think I had the best pulled pork and chicken of the trip at Harmon’s. Even though those aren't usually my go-to BBQ items, they were excellent. The brisket and ribs were solid, too—though don't tell anyone, I actually preferred the St. Louis-style ribs.

We also visited Two Bros. BBQ Market. We did the "family-style" box, which was served picnic-style where you grab a box and share. It worked well, though I wish there had been a bit more brisket. The sausage was great, and the smoked turkey was surprisingly delicious. I also appreciated that they had four different sauces to choose from; one was a bit fruity, which was a fun twist.

I’ll be covering more specific details of the trip on Ricky Rambles soon. Depending on my publishing schedule, I might owe you a few more deep-dive posts on some of these spots!

I never ended up sharing my St. Louis post, but similar to that trip, parts of San Antonio felt surprisingly empty. Looking out from the tower, many shops appeared closed. It might have just been nearby construction, but it felt a little odd.

On the flip side, other areas like the freeways were absolutely packed. I was also surprised by the variety in the suburban strip malls—there was a boba shop right near our Airbnb! The suburbs here have a bit of a rural vibe that reminds me of Eagle, Idaho, just with more boba options. The architecture, however, feels more like Kansas City.

Overall, it was a great trip. There are still a few things in the general area I’d like to do, like visiting Ryan Holiday’s bookstore, The Painted Porch, or eating at Oma’s Schnitzel Haus. Both were a bit too far outside the city for this run. I also still need to link up with Jeff in Fort Worth for the lunch he won through The Frug Life.

I’ll be back to Texas soon—I’ve definitely learned that this state is massive and it takes a while to get between cities!

More updates to come soon.

Brooke and Ricky go on a cruise!

Over 6 years ago Brooke and I went on our first cruise on the Norwegian sky. I mostly liked the experience and you can see some of my blogs on it here.

Just this month we returned from our second cruise ever, this time on the Norwegian Jade. Instead of a video though, I’ve recorded my thoughts on my podcast Ricky rambles, which, by the way, if you haven’t signed up for it, I think you should. I think it is the spiritual successor to the YouTube channel. 

Anyways here is one of the episodes coving the cruise below, I will most a few more over the next few days.

Small Town

 

Like many of my posts, I wrote this a while ago, but it sat in the 'to be edited’ folder for a long time. Well, if you are reading this, it is out.

We bought a home over a year ago, in the suburbs of San Diego. Most of my adult life I have spent in the suburbs of one place or another- San Diego, San Jose, Utah, etc. But I can’t help to wonder from time to time, what might it be like to live somewhere other than the suburbs. I sometimes think back to my time in Wyoming, or even the ranch we stayed at in San Jose (of all places [the other place in San Jose was an apartment]) and wonder what it would be like to live in a more rural area. Perhaps even at that cabin in the woods I always think about.

On the other extreme, I think about moving downtown, or to live in the downtown of a city. It could be fun to really experience a walkable living experience. I sometimes don’t love driving everywhere. In the suburbs it's the only option. If I lived in the city, I might experience something else. 

Or, what if I combined both of those? What if I stayed in the downtown of a very small town? I have passed through small towns over the years each with a downtown, or really, more like a main street. You know, the kind of place you would see older looking two story buildings with an aged storefront on the bottom floor. I have sometimes wondered what it would be like to stay in the apartment upstairs. 

Well, I’m finally living that experience right now (when I initially wrote this article that is). Now I know what it is like. Musty! Ok, maybe not every upstairs apartment in a small town’s main street smells musty, but the one I am in does. Which is a bit unfortunate, because otherwise the place is so quaint. You can open the windows to see a pretty quiet main street. I sometimes think things in the suburbs close early, but here things really do. Most of the shops are closed at 5 or 6, the restaurant below us at 8, the gas station at 10, and then I think that is everything. 

My one other complaint staying in Nauvoo, Illinois, by the Mississippi river, is the flies. There are a lot and they are annoying.  Otherwise, it is a lovely little town. The sites run by the LDS church are nice, lots of free stuff which is fun. 

Some other properties in the area aren’t run by the LDS church but rather the Community of Christ (well they were at the time, that has since changed!), which was once called the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I thought some of their recounting of history was interesting, maybe I will go into more detail on another blog of mine. I’ll add a link here if I ever get around to it. 

Ok now back to present day Ricky. The time in Nauvoo was very enjoyable. I should write about the experience overall, rather than just focusing on one aspect of the trip, the odd little apartment thing we stayed in. 

I guess there are really just a handful of things to do there, see historic sites related to the early Latter-day Saints and go to gift shops that cater to people that go to such sites. Still, both parts were enjoyable. I even bought something from one of the gift shops there and I was tempted to buy more, which isn’t very frugal of me. 

Anyways, it was a little funny how it all worked out. I had never gone to Illinois in my life, when suddenly I went twice in the space of a month. Once a personal trip, this trip to Nauvoo, and then again for a work trip, for a conference. And I haven’t been back since. Hopefully I will make another trip out that way at some point there. 

Bryce Canyon

 Brooke and I took a much needed vacation this week(well, quite a few weeks at this point) to Bryce Canyon. The last time we went on a vacation was August of last year. Although, at my current production schedule, this post will probably be out in August of next year!

 

I’ve been to quite a few national and state parks in Utah, but I don’t remember going to Bryce Canyon before. The main feature of Bryce is these interesting standing rock pillars called hoodoos, which are formed via water seeping into the ground and then freezing, causing gaps to expand between the rock. Eventually they form these stand alone pillars.

The park was fun, although, I will say, it is kind of just one thing. Like here are some hoodoos, travel a bit, now here at the same hoodoos from another view point. Then you hike through the hoodoos. This hoodoo looks like Queen Victoria. So the one experience is like a kind of one note. Granted there is a lot more variety than the St. Louis arch, which was truly one note (here is the arch, and that is it).

 

I thought the accommodations were kind of fun. We stayed at the “Ruby Inn”. For dinner, there was a buffet, the Cowboy Buffet and Steakroom. Which I thought was great. Granted, this wasn’t a fine dining establishment (think hometown buffet). But all the meat options were pretty good, there was meatloaf, smothered pork chops, ribs, pot roast, teriyaki chicken. There was also salmon, but I didn’t want to eat that at a buffet in Utah! The salad bar was good, something like you would have at a sizzler, or any other salad bar. I probably ate 4,000 calories.

 

I think the last time I went to a buffet was Hometown Buffet near Van Nuys after my grandfather’s funeral. It was fun to go to one again. I didn’t need to eat anything until breakfast the next day, and even then, I wasn’t starving. The breakfast buffet was also good, but it was mostly just the same fare any hotel breakfast place would offer, well, an upscale one at least. Eggs, potatoes, meat of the day, carb of the day (pancakes or french toast), yogurt, fruit, cereal, cottage cheese, oatmeat, toast, bagels, etc.  I guess one nice thing is the syrup and salsa were both in the hot food section and were warm, which was a nice touch.

All the Meat You Will Eat

 If case you haven't heard yet, I wrote a new book,  a children's picture book in fact! I had a little episode of my podcast Ricky Rambles where I talk about it.

Link to the book

San Fransico has a Beach

 As you probably know by now, Another Boring Life story Blog has some major content issues. Not that Brooke and I haven’t been doing fun stuff, we have, but we have some issues getting the content written and then published. This post was from our San Jose days, which seems like a lifetime ago. That said, I still remember this restaurant and now that I think about it I do want to go back. Ok, so let's travel back in time like 5 years to when I wrote this, maybe at little more.

Brooke’s Mom came to visit, so we went to San Francisco for the day.  We went to the Golden Gate State Park and that was fun. This time, blackberries were in season, so I picked a few. Some of them were really good! We heard a band playing in a tunnel and they had really interesting acoustics. Listening to the jazz music bound off the tunnel walls, it was pretty enjoyable. After playing a while, I noticed them backing up and splitting the tip money between them. It reminded me of my childhood playing music in front of my house at Christmas time and splitting up the tip money. We made a lot less money than them! We also went inside to split it up, not out in the open.

We also visited the botanical garden, it was pretty interesting. There was a section on nice smelling plants. We smelled some sage that smelled like pineapple.

Later in the day, we went to the beach in San Francisco. It was cold, so we didn’t go in the water or anything. We went to Cliff House, a restaurant overlooking the ocean. It was like 30 bucks an entree, so a little expensive, but it was really nice. I had a braised lamb shank with shiitake mushroom. And the star of the dish was the mushrooms, they were sooo good. They were perfect umami explosions. Brooke got a pork chop with broccolini, which was pretty good. I thought to myself, surely the broccoli was made by one of my audit clients in Salinas.

 

We stopped by the beach in Half Moon Bay. On the way we drove through Pacifica, which is where Democracy Now is recorded. It is a quaint little town, reminiscent of earlier times. There also is a huge tunnel to pass through on the way to Half Moon Bay. When we got to the bay, even though it was approaching dusk, it was hard to find a place to park.  Apparently the beaches there close promptly at dusk. There were a lot of people there for some sort of pumpkin festival.  After a little bit, we drove back.

It's Hot

Note: I wrote this post not just near labor day of this year, no no, this post is from near labor day a year prior to that. So enjoy this 1.5 year old post that Brooke only now got around to editing!

It has been a long time since I have posted here. Frankly, life just escapes me sometimes. I’ve signed myself up for a lot of differing activities, which I don’t want to bore you with at this time. However, I will tell you a bit about what I am doing this very second. I am at the public library because it is well over 90 degrees outside. My little house, which we moved into just a year ago, has no AC, and it is a furnace. So instead I am here. 

On one side, I don’t really have a way to play video games or other distractions here, so that is good. It gives me some time to actually write. You may or may not know it, but I’m working on my first novel (depending on when you read this it may be free to read on Wattpad). So I probably should be writing that instead. I’ve found the best way for me to get writing down is by postponing or procrastinating something else. So I am being productive while I procrastinate! It is a win-win.

The library is mostly quiet, although I just heard a man lightly swearing from a table over. He must be losing a game or a bet of some kind. Actually, perhaps it is Sonic The Hedgehog based on the sounds I have heard. The cool air is refreshing but the plastic backed chair is not so relaxing. Still, better than being hot. 

On the way to the library, Brooke told me, that “San Diegains need to just admit that San Diego isn’t perfect year round and that sometimes the weather is awful.”  Given the current weather, I guess she has a point. It is hot.  Maybe we do need to just “admit it and get air conditioning.” 

I will get Monday off, Labor day off. While I always mean to post these things soon after I write them, I generally don’t. So maybe it will be Christmas time before you read this (Note from Ricky in the present, I was really on the nose here). Maybe that will be the next time I read it as well. And I will say to myself, “Oh, it wasn’t really that hot was it.” To which I say to my future self, “yes, it was really that hot.” In any case, I will have to try to figure out how to stay cool, as staying home isn’t really an option. 

Wherever you are, I hope you are staying cool, unless it really is Christmas when I get around to releasing this, in which case, stay warm. Or maybe if you are in the southern hemisphere where summer is winter and winter is summer, then… Ok, I have digressed. But then again, I think this whole post is a digression.  The rambling of a hot person in a cold library trying to write and not entirely succeeding. At the very least though, I can say I did this.

My trip to Woodland a long time ago

 I have an archive of posts I intended to post but I guess didn’t. Here is one of them, a very short summary of my trip to Woodland CA. During my time at EY I would sometimes do inventory counts, so I would show up to a warehouse, watch people count things and count along with them. During this time I traveled all over the bay area and saw a bunch of towns in CA. Anyways, here is the original post. Maybe I will start publishing content on here again at some point, but not promises. 

So I had to make a trip to Woodland, California for work. Sometimes I go to the strangest little towns. Well, I guess this one might just be a suburb of Sacramento or something. 

I also passed through an interesting in little town that had like a vacation town/small town feel, like a cute little main street. I didn’t capture a picture, for what I hope are obvious reasons. Also, during the drive, I saw a beautiful sunset. There were some foothills in the distance, and some grasslands, and a picturesque multicolor sunset.

I also had to pay a toll (hear the story on the podcast).

And like every time I go to a hotel, I watch a little television - this time Food Network. I had a relaxing morning the next day, I didn’t have to go to work until 10, so I enjoyed breakfast and took my time getting ready. I finished my work really quick, then made the trek home almost without incident. As I got close to home but still on the freeway, I narrowly avoided an accident. Someone merged into my lane without checking their blind spot. I avoided them by moving into the other lane. It was close, but I fortunately avoided an accident.

Another Podcast?

Well, as you probably know, Brooke and I haven't been keeping up with this blog. I'm not sure that will change anytime soon, but in the meantime, I do have another project that might interest you, yes, another podcast.  It is just a bit of meandering and nonsense not too dissimilar from what this blog was like.

Our License Plate Saga

From the Archive

It looks like I have some posts I wrote a while ago that I didn't publish. Well here they are now:

It has taken us awhile to get new California license plates on our car. Read further to find out why. Hint: it involves 3 trips to the DMV, 2 smog tests, a trip to the hardware store, and a trip to the body shop. Hopefully you can learn something from our experience.

When we first moved here in September, we didn't know there would be a fee for not getting California plates within a certain amount of days. We didn't even look into it much when we got here because Ricky was busy with his new job, and I was busy trying to get a job. In November, we finally looked into getting our car registered here. We found out that there was going to be a $66 fee for not doing this within 20 days of taking up residency here. We made an appointment at the DMV for a date at the end of December, because that was the soonest available appointment date.  

In order to get our car registered here, we would have to have a smog test done. So Ricky went and had that completed mid-December. We went to the appointment at the DMV the day we got back from Christmas vacation in Utah. There was a long line out the door, and a lady was talking to people in the line one by one to see what each of us needed. Turns out, the computers were down that day, so they couldn't help us with what we needed done. So we scheduled another appointment for another day (which Ricky had to request work off for). 

When we went back to the DMV, there was thankfully no line out the door. However, there was literally nowhere to park, so I dropped Ricky off and was driving around looking for a place to park for like 15 minutes. In that time, Ricky had gotten most of the things taken care of at the desk. I finally came in and just signed a few things. The lady informed us that our smog test was done incorrectly and we would have to have it done again. Apparently, the people that did our smog test saw our Utah plates and did a smog test under their out-of-state requirements, and not California requirements. She said everything else was good, so we could just pay and have our plates mailed to us when our smog test was taken care of. However, they did not accept credit, only debit, cash or check, so we literally couldn't pay during that trip. We didn't know they wouldn't accept credit! The lady was really nice though, and got everything else in order for us. She said to just come back to her desk once we got the new smog test done.

Ricky went back to the place we had our smog test done and let them know what happened. They did another smog test for us, one that met California's standards this time. Then he went back to the DMV and finally got our California plates!

However, when we went to switch out our old plates for our new ones, we realized the screws holding in our back license plate were were stripped. So we went to Harbor Freight and bought vice grips. Ricky used those to try to turn the screw, but ended up breaking off the head of the screw! I then asked on a Facebook page and found someone in the ward who had screw extractors and a drill we could borrow. We tried those, but our screws would still not budge. 

So I ended up calling a nearby Auto Body Shop to see if they could help. It was an unusual request, but they said we could bring the car in. It was a struggle even for the worker there, and took a little while, but he was able to get our screws off. He used a blow torch to heat up the screws, and that's what did the trick. 

Unexpected Places

Sometimes you find yourself in an unexpected place or situation. Like I didn’t intend to go to the birthday party of a six year old today, but here I am. 

Perhaps it is the times we are in. With Covid, I don’t go much of anywhere nowadays. The office (while the bank I work at is online only, the employees are not) and home are the only places I really go. But sometimes I think we need a little variety in life, sometimes we need a little bit of surprise.

When we don’t physically go places, it is harder to find yourself in an unexpected place. It is a little hard to get lost in your own living room. 

When I stopped by to drop off a package, I thought it was just that, to drop off a late Christmas gift. But then I started chatting and pretty soon a party was around me, just like that.  I think it is in moments like that we can break from the monotony of daily life and to something out of the normal.  Let’s hope we can get back to normalcy too, as I think everyone has missed a birthday or two.

…

Perhaps that's why I haven’t been writing too much for the blog. What is there to say? I went to work and I came home? Sure, that is a bit of an oversimplification. And I do have lots of items to mention here. 

Brooke and I are loving our stay in San Diego. So much so, I think we are going to start looking at buying our own house in the area. It may be quite a process (with real estate prices so high right now). But we will see where the journey takes us. I think I am looking to stay more or less in the same area I am now. One of the perks of working at a bank is access to cheap financing. So with that aspect of the home buying process simplified, I can work on getting a good deal. This is all a topic for my other blog and podcast though.

Well stay safe, wherever you are. 

And oh, Happy Birthday Alice.

Parks and Rec

Prior to Brooke and I getting married, Brooke had like never seen a TV show. OK, maybe I am exaggerating slightly. We did watch a few when we were dating. But prior to that, her favorite TV show was Arthur from PBS… Which must have been from like when she was 7 or something.

So after getting married, we first watched The Office as I personally had just finished Parks and Rec recently (Well, I guess the whole world had finished it recently in a manner of speaking). Anyways, after The Office and a few other shows, we have finally started Parks and Rec. Now, with the benefit of a few years of hindsight, I am able to see how formative the show was for me in a number of ways. For example, April Ludgate's favorite band is Neutral Milk Hotel and her favorite singer is the lead vocalist of the band, Jeff Mangum. I started listening to the band when I heard this and I still enjoy them to this day. Brooke and I recently finished the season 6 Grand Finale which had the Decemberists in it, which I now enjoy as well.

As I reflect on some of my political leanings, I can see a resemblance between me and Ron Swanson. At the same time, I do relate to Leslie's character. Ron is often more of a caricature of libertarian ideals than a realistic libertarian. At least in my mind. I don't hate the government; it is a very necessary part of our lives. I do think he has a point often. The government's meddling in our daily lives is expensive and unnecessary. But this isn't my political blog. You can read that here.

No, this is just the personal blog, which I think Brooke and I have been neglecting a bit lately. Just a few months ago we were traveling the world. That’s a part of it. But another part of it is a new project I am working on. I am working on a new book. This one isn’t about bitcoin or money or anything like that. No, this book is about me, and some of the journey’s I have been on in life. This book is about some of the people I have met and my experiences interacting with them. I’m still in the writing phase of the book, so it will be quite a while before I publish it. But you will hear from us again soon, in one way or another.

The Coronavirus Pandemic

Things have escalated pretty quickly with the news of this coronavirus, COVID-19. Last Thursday, the 19th, Ricky and I went to Walmart to get a few more necessities. It was so crowded! It was impossible to stay 6 feet away from anyone! The aisles that actually had stuff in them always had 4-5 shoppers, so you can’t just wait until the aisle is empty to social distance because people are everywhere. Walmart was really stocked with water! It had so much water of all brands all over the place! But we thought we should get a few more rolls of toilet paper, and the toilet paper aisle was turned into an Easter aisle! It was like the toilet paper aisle never existed! So, no toilet paper for us. Gratefully, we have a bidet. Here are some pictures of the empty aisles. It was scary how empty many of the aisles were! There were like three choices of cereal, only canned corn, and absolutely no bread, which is what we came for. Luckily, we found some English muffins and cinnamon raisin bread in the bakery section. 

 

On Thursday night when we were in Walmart, I got a text that I would not actually be going into work the next day. The preschool I worked at closed, effective immediately. We also heard the news that the whole state of California was to now shelter in place, or stay at home. So, I am now furloughed and Ricky is working at home for the most part. It’s been an adjustment and I feel like I’m just starting to get used to it. We’ve been going on daily walks, which allows us to stretch our legs a little and get some fresh air. We love walking in the canyon that is right by our neighborhood.

Also, Ricky has been busy cracking open our macadamia nuts from our tree and roasting them. They are DELICIOUS!!! I tried to capture it and it's hard to see, but the birds were moving in and chirping like crazy! All types of birds were interested by the nuts - there were finches, pigeons, and even a hummingbird flying around, watching Ricky, and waiting. It was so funny!

How are you guys doing during this strange time?

The Bountiful Summer

Recently, my mother wrote a book about my great uncle and my grandfather. I wanted to share some of my experiences living with my Great Uncle Dean. As well as share a link to my Mother’s book.

I wanted to reflect on the summer of 2017 for a little bit. It was a fantastic time for Brooke and me. After I graduated from BYU, we were actually kicked out of our student housing in Provo. My job in San Jose was starting in September, so Brooke and I needed to figure out what we were going to do for 3 months. My great uncle Dean lived in Bountiful, so we got in touch with him and his daughter Becky to see if we could stay with Dean. They were delighted to have us stay. Brooke had recently worked in a mini-retirement home of sorts and helped older people who couldn’t live by themselves. It was a match made in heaven.

At this time, I was preparing for the CPA exam. I set my computer up in the basement, and there I studied continually for essentially the whole 3 month period. I only took breaks during the day to make lunch and dinner for the three of us or sometimes to go to the grocery store.

Uncle Dean often had trouble moving around. He really liked to go to the grocery store, but often a trip would take more than an hour. I was prepared for this. In the car I would read the CPA exam textbooks, and in the store I would bring flashcards with me. Any free minute I had was filled with flashcards. Our favorite store was a place we called Market Square (I think it is labeled the NPS store; I don’t know where our name for it came from). There we would buy all sorts of expired or nearly expired food for bargain prices. I really haven’t seen too many stores like it. I don’t know if you can sell expired goods like that in California, where I am from. We also would get lots of produce for super cheap. For example, the Costco salad mixes could be bought for a dollar or less at Market Square (I think it's like 4 times that much at Costco). You would just need to use the food up pretty quick. It was a great chance for me to try out some new ingredients in the kitchen. It was a fun time. On the nights I didn’t cook, we went out to dinner. I think Uncle Dean also really liked to go out to eat. He had lots of restaurants he liked. Some of them his daughter Becky, was understandably not a fan of. So I felt especially good when we were able to go somewhere he wasn’t able to go to normally (Like Chuck-A-Rama).

Somehow, even though Uncle Dean was barely able to walk on his own (with a walker, granted), he was able to live on his own with an association of help from different people. For example, the neighbor Chris would help with the yard work. Uncle Dean’s cousin Eldean would help clean the house. Eldean was quite a character. She was an avid Trump supporter, and would just gobble up propaganda from PragerU and other extreme right wing sources. Sometimes I would try to tell her these crazy conspiracies were simply not true, but she wouldn’t have it. Even Uncle Dean, a lifelong republican, didn’t like Donald Trump. In fact, Uncle Dean was such a republican, I recall once a driver was driving a little fast/recklessly down the street and Uncle Dean said, “must be a democrat.”

There were also nurses that would come from Midas Creek. They would help Uncle Dean put on his compression socks in the morning. It was quite an ordeal. His diabetes caused his legs to swell up quite a bit. They would only come 3 times a week or so, so the other times, Brooke would help.

And of course there was Becky. Becky would come at least once a day, often twice or more. Every night she would help put Uncle Dean to bed. Putting Uncle Dean to bed was also a bit of a task. To end the day, his compression socks had to be removed. I think it was a little easier removing them versus putting them on, but not that much. Uncle Dean’s nighttime pills also made him sleepy, so it was important that he not spend too much time in his chair getting ready.

Once or twice, Brooke and I helped put Uncle Dean to bed. On one of those nights, Uncle Dean slid out of his chair and was on the floor. We had to hoist him up somehow and get him into bed. Uncle Dean was a few inches taller than me, and quite a few pounds heavier, so this was quite a task. Becky, Brooke, and I struggled a bit. On one of the occasions, we had to get John to help, Becky’s husband. John easily picked Uncle Dean up and put him into his bed. The other time, Nick and his girlfriend came and the 5 of us all worked together to get him into bed.

Prior to our arrival, Becky would bring food to Uncle Dean everyday as well. Becky was also often the voice of reason. Sometimes Uncle Dean would want to buy all sorts of crazy stuff. For example, he wanted to buy medical scrubs as pants. I think I may have discouraged him a little, but when we got back, Becky told us he had way too many pants already. So we helped bring them back for a refund.

Ultimately, our time in Bountiful was one of the most fun periods of our married life. I passed three sections of my CPA exam with scores in the mid to high 90s. We bonded with my Great Uncle and Becky and her family.

Moving and a Mini-Retirement

Ricky and I had a wonderful Thanksgiving in Utah, and wish you a happy holiday season!

We have been so behind on our blog posts for some reason. I guess there has been a lot going on lately! For those of you who don't know, we quit our jobs and went on a pretty big vacation/mini-retirement (Here's the announcement video we made to share the news with people). We had both been working really hard at under-staffed jobs and were just really burnt out. I loved my job at the beginning, but it was just time to move on. I was definitely taking work home with me. And Ricky was working like 70-hour work weeks!  Work was literally taking over our lives. So, we needed a vacation. Plus, we wanted to move to San Diego! So we did!

We moved to San Diego shortly after quitting our jobs, we got a little settled, and then headed off on a long vacation. We went to Miami, boarded a cruise ship for our first time, traveled with Norwegian Cruise Line to Key West, Florida and to Nassau, Bahamas. We were supposed to have two more ports but Hurricane Dorian caused our port in Freeport to be cancelled, and the port at Norwegian's private island Great Stirrup Cay was also cancelled. That cancellation was due to the inability to be tendered to the island from the ship because of the wind (Norwegian, you need a dock on your island!). That was REALLY disappointing! We even arrived at the island and saw it and noticed how fun and awesome it would be, and then they announced it was too windy to tender people to the island. We were so sad! But the "at sea days" were actually pretty fun! They had all sorts of activities going on all throughout the day. And yummy food! We loved the food! It was our favorite part! Being on a ship in the ocean and not seeing any land around you is a bit scary, but we were never toooo far out in the ocean (compared to some other cruises where you're at sea for days). It was a good first cruise experience, and we definitely want to go on another cruise again sometime! It is a great way to travel and actually more affordable than I ever thought before I actually looked into it.

Anyway, after the cruise, we flew over to Orlando to experience Disneyworld and Universal Studios Florida. Those were fun! We did a day at Epcot, a day in Animal Kingdom, and a day in Universal Studios. That was definitely enough for us for one trip, but we do want to come back and do the rest of Disneyworld one day!

After Florida, was a stop at my family's home in Utah for a little rest and family time. We also went with my family to Park City! It was so cold, but so fun! After 80-90 degree humid Florida weather, snow in Park City was a bit of a shock to our bodies. Ricky actually was sick with a cold for awhile (which I think he caught in Disneyworld), but luckily we could get a lot of rest in Utah.

From Utah, we flew back to San Diego for just a night, and then walked across the border using the bridge to the Tijuana airport early the next morning. We went with Ricky's friend Fernando and Fernando's brother. We could not have done this trip without them because we literally understood like less than 5% of what anyone said to us. Fernando translated EVERYTHING for us, and Fernando's brother rented a car and drove us all over which was awesome! But traffic was an actual nightmare!!! Traffic in Mexico City is the worst traffic any of us had ever been in!!! It was horrible! Other than that, it was a good trip and fun to see the sights. We saw the Pyramids of Teotihuacan, went to Six Flags Mexico with our Six Flags passes, went to the museum of anthropology, and did a canal ride in Xochimilco. It was fun, but we were all so excited to come back to the states. Our Airbnb didn't really have hot water, so we were excited for hot showers again. Plus, we were sick of the traffic.

Mexico City was the last leg of our big trip, and then we rested awhile and did some work and renovations on our house in San Diego. We haven't quite started new jobs yet, so we drove to Utah for Thanksgiving. Since Ricky was sick during our last time in Utah, we packed this Utah trip full! We caught up with so many friends and family! It was awesome! And it snowed a lot, so that was fun! It was a wonderful trip, but too short. We had to work our travel days around the weather, since we were driving.

We are getting our house festive for the holidays and just wanted to say hi to our followers on here (I did not expect to write this much! wow). We wish you happy holidays! What are your holiday traditions?  How was your Thanksgiving? We absolutely love to hear from you!

If you're interested, here are a few links!

Here is the link to our Youtube channel, where Ricky is slowly getting up our travel vlogs:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCA0Q5lakuMY-Md-lXWZjjjA

Here is the link we use to send easy, custom postcards to our loved ones (if you use this referral link, you get a free 3 dollars, which is enough for your first postcard!):
https://www.mypostcard.com/en/invite/ANOTHERBORINGYOUTUBECHANNELXCRG

Here is a referral link that you can use to get some free money to use on Airbnb (I think it's like 40 free dollars towards a stay and 15 free dollars towards an Airbnb experience!):
https://www.airbnb.com/c/brookeh10857?currency=USD

And here is a link to Rakuten, which we always use when buying things online (especially this time of year) that gives out cash back for all the things you buy (on Amazon or other online retailers). It's a referral link, and you get 10 free dollars if you sign up using it!
https://www.rakuten.com/r/PANDAL593?eeid=28187
(They literally send you a check in the mail - it is awesome!!!)

That reminded me of one more link to share. You guys know about Ricky's podcast, right!? He talks about frugal living. It is legit!
anchor.fm/thefruglife

Love you all! Happy Holidays!

Mexico city has been an adventure

Mexico City has been an adventure. I'm writing this on my phone in the back of the rental car. Yesterday we went to the pyramids, which was a spectacular sight. I will include a related video once I make it.

There were vendors selling all sorts of souvenirs. Someone even tried to sell me an obsidian dagger. I don't think airport security would have liked that. We also saw some ocarinas for sale, mostly 5 hole pendants which I'm not a huge fan of. Those are mostly just a toy.

Driving back from the pyramids was a nightmare. It took over 3 hours. Google maps said it would take 1 hour and 20 minutes. The last 2 miles took 2 hours. There were police and road closures everywhere. It was the worst traffic I've ever been in. And I have lived in the Bay Area and driven in Los Angeles quite a bit, etc. Mexico City takes the cake.

On the way to the pyramids, we were stopped by the Mexican police. They wanted 6,000 pesos for some nonsense laws they made up on the spot. Brooke and I didn't have any pesos, so my friend and his brother paid 2,000 pesos of the fine and we got out ok. Still, it was pretty upsetting. We had to find a bank to get more pesos.

The place we are staying also lacks some of the comforts of the states. The hot water may or may not work. So far, I have taken one cold shower and one lukewarm shower.

The windows in the building have no screens, so you could just open up the window and jump or fall out if you were so inclined. The apartment is on the 4th floor and there is no elevator, which is the highest I've been without one. Some of the stairways are quite tight and require me to duck. It certainly is an interesting place.

Twin falls

It looks like my posts are a little backlogged. Here is a post about our vacation this summer.

On our way to vacation in Idaho, we stayed in a hotel in Twin Falls. It is a very interesting town, lots of shopping, then banks, cars, small businesses, and stuff. I don't know what people do for work outside of retail.

We went to a McAlister’s at about 8 pm, an hour before close. They were out of almost everything! I got a salad with spinach instead of lettuce. It had Bleu cheese and a shallot sherry dressing. It was pretty good. Pretty French haha. I had a reuben as well. The employee gave us some cookies to make up for all the missing items.

We went into the small town of Shoshone which was so small and quaint, I loved it. We looked through an antiques store. Brooke and I finished and sat on a bench by Ace Hardware. Suddenly, a cat appeared. I told Brooke and she was startled, the cat was already under the bench when she noticed. Brooke being startled startled the cat too. It wanted me to pet it, so I did. Its slightly mangled fur indicated it was a street cat. It was quite sweet though. Like a big Maple, just a lot more quiet (Maple was the name of our cat friend on the ranch). It went into the Ace Hardware. I followed. Inside the store, the cat kept looking back at me, expectantly. Eventually it proceeded through a side door where there was water and cat food.

Brooke and I walked across the street to the gas station to wash our hands. The gas station was super cute. It had little booths to sit, and a milkshake machine thing!

We also explored a little more, seeing a Mexican shop run out of an old school bus. I took a picture. The lady who owned it saw me, so I said hi.

We continued down and saw some active shops, but many were closed. We saw an apartment above a store for sale, imagine living in a town like that. Across the street, we saw a creepy mansion. Look at these pictures and see how big it is. It is kind of wild.