Impulse Purchase: Hot Tub

In honor of #TBT I'm going to go back to a year ago, earlier in the relationship, to a great adventure. I'd been on the look out for free pavers and bricks to use in the backyard, so I hit Craigslist. I figured I'd browse every so often and if I saw something I'd jump on it. One evening I was doing just that and got a result for "free pavers" when I search. The entire ad was for a Hot Tub that came with the pavers under it, for free.


I looked at Mitch and asked "Do we need a Hot Tub?" He wasn't officially living at my house yet, and responded very diplomatically with "Well, do you want a hot tub?" Of course I wanted a hot tub, who doesn't want a hot tub?!? So I asked again, "Do we need one? We might need one." Mitch agreed, a hot tub would be really nice to come home to after a long day of dealing with teenagers... So I emailed the poster and said I'd like to come look at it.
We'll skip the boring part, and jump ahead to: I bought the Hot Tub!
I may have skipped over a few of the logistics when deciding to purchase a hot tub, but again- HOT TUB!


I assumed we'd use my dads truck, load it on the bed, drive it to my house, and lift it over the wall. 5-6 adults should be plenty, and my parents and brother had been roped into helping, but I was confidant I could recruit a few friends. Everyone is a winner when a hot tub is involved.
I was informed that I was wrong. Turns out hot tubs are really heavy- even when they're empty. And the yard we had to move it out of was lower than the very narrow alley and a truck couldn't back into the yard due to the steep slope. And apparently a hot tub can't just sit on the bed of a truck to drive across town. So my dad and brother went to Uhaul and rented a truck. My parents neighbor and Mitch's brother also got recruited to help in the moving of it, and with 6 adults we were able to lift it and move it into the Uhaul. When I drove Mitch's brother Jon home after it was loaded he very suspiciously asked whose idea it really was to get the hot tub. I assured him it was indeed mine and Mitch just supported it, he wasn't the mastermind. I'm pretty sure Jon thought I was crazy, but also the perfect match for his brother.


The hot tub was then unloaded in my garage. Where it sat for several weeks. We cleaned it up but there was no way it was being lifted over a 6 footwall. So plan B was concocted- Take down the wall!
Luckily my garage is an add-on and really just an enclosed car port, so the back wall is attached by 2x4s and a few bolts. I invited some friends over with promises of beer and pizza, and just like in Germany, the wall came down! The washer and dryer were moved, and the hot tub was lifted up by another 6-8 adults and moved the 30ish feet into it's new home. We rejoiced and drank beer and marveled about how awesome it was going to be.


Then came the next obstacle- making it work. My house is older and the electrical is sketchy at best. I had some friends look at it, but due to the high voltage, they didn't feel comfortable with the wiring. Luckily my mom has a friend who does electrical work and she and her husband were able to get it wired in an afternoon and for cheap.
We filled it up, flipped the switch, held our breath, and then rejoiced as it worked! We had a hot tub!


It's been put to good use, hosting many a relaxing evening and a few parties since it's relocation to my backyard. All totaled, it probably cost about $500, but it's been worth every penny. By far the best impulse purchase I've ever made! I look forward to many more hot tub evenings to come.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Working on my fitness

Exercise and I have a long, sordid history. In short- I don't like it. I quit tap and ballet when I was 4 because I got "dizzy legs". I tried gymnastics, figure skating, soccer, swimming and many other things. I always finished the season, because that was the rule in my family, but I was never good. I played soccer mostly for the orange slices and capri suns and was really good at staying far away from the ball and picking weeds. I joined the high school swim team at the insistence of my best friend. We shared the slow lane and I often cheated on the work outs, cutting off a lap or two (or three). I shuddered when the word "volleyball" was uttered in PE and, because I was a good student and got A's in school, when the PE teacher said we had to finish running the canal in 17 minutes, I would cross the finish like at 16:58.

Mitch on the other hand is naturally athletic. He started karate when he was 6 and holds a third degree black belt. In college he was part of the rowing team. When he met he had a membership to the rock climbing gym. I worried he'd quickly catch on to how anti-exercise I am and move on. But instead, he's been encouraging me to try more things.

Several years ago I had a gym membership that I used regularly. I would meet a friend and we'd go to pilates class twice a week and aerobics once or twice as well. There were times we skipped in favor of a sushi dinner, but for the most part I attended regularly. When my work schedule changed, however, it was no longer feasible to be able to meet up and attend the classes. I tried a few weekend classes, but usually lacked the motivation to get up and go. I've joined gyms since, I go for a little while, and then quickly lose interest. The treadmill gets boring, I hate the elliptical, I'm afraid of free weights, and I'm a chicken about trying classes alone.

Over the past year my weight has increased significantly. To the point where my clothes are too small and I don't feel comfortable in my own skin. I've had weight issues for as long as I can remember. I was always the chubby kid and I like food. I like fruits and vegetables, and I regularly eat fish and chicken. But I also like baked goods and fancy cocktails. And I love cheese! The compromise is obvious- either I have to give up the baked goods and cheese or I have to increase the exercise. If i'm going to have my cake and eat it too, I've got to go for a run.

I hate running! Like nothing else I've ever hated, I hate running. If a bear were chasing me I would give up and be eaten instead of run. There is literally nothing in this world that can make me run. I tried couch to 5k, but it involves running! A brisk walk is fine, but that gets dull after a while. And to actually burn calories walking takes a really long time and I'm busy. This year at work has been the busiest of my career and most days I'm exhausted when I get home. Which often leads to more eating out and less exercise, which of course leads to more weight gain.

But i've recently gotten to the point where I'm ready to make some changes and I'm fortunate that Mitch is beside me 100%. I got an old bike from my mom and started to ride. It was rough. I could got about 2 miles and then felt like I was going to die. So we went and checked out some new bikes and after selling many, many, many books, CDs and movies to Bookmans, had enough trade credit to get a brand new bike. I knew it would be better, but I had no idea how much better. The bike I was working with was a 25 year old mountain bike in desperate need of a complete overhaul. Getting on a new bike was like magic- I could pedal, I could brake, I could ride with ease and increase my speed.

I'm not quite a pro rider yet, and I don't think I'm ready for the Tour de Tucson, but I'm already actually enjoying exercise. I was never a big fan of bikes. My brother Casey is 2 1/2 years younger than me but rode a two wheeler sans training wheels before I did. And when I finally learned to ride, he liked to get really close and "swoop" me, which led to me crying for my mom to make him stop and him riding away laughing at succeeding in his mission. Clearly I am not a natural. But the few rides I've been on lately have been fun. I'm building confidence and enjoying myself. I'm riding slowly and Mitch is being very patient and riding slowly right next to me, all the while encouraging and supporting, and never once complaining about the slow pace.

My goal is to get to the point that I'm confidant enough to ride my bike to a destination- like a restaurant or yoga class. I'm not ready for the real roads yet, but I'm getting there. In the meantime I'll keep riding around my neighborhood and trying to make myself like exercise.

New Car!

We bought a car! Last week, Mitch's car died. The mechanic called with the fateful news that Great White was no longer. It limped to the dealership where it was traded in. And we bought a Brand New Car! Which I will continue to say in my best game show host voice, probably forever.

Whats the big deal, right? Its a car. People buy them literally every day. But we bought a car TOGETHER! We're both on the title. We cosigned for the loan. It's officially- we are inextricably linked by debt. I bought a car once before, when I was 19. My dad cosigned my loan, but a few years ago I took him off the title.

We were fortunate enough to be able to borrow from the "Bank of Dad" for a large downpayment on the car, so our loan amount is pretty small. And Bank of Dad has the best terms and interest rates around! I'm incredibly grateful that we are privileged enough to have parents who can help us out, financially and otherwise.

At first I felt very odd about taking a loan from Mitch's parents. I like being independent. I pride my self of being self sufficient. But i quickly came around, because in reality we couldn't afford a new car any other way. We work in public education in one of the worst funded counties in the worst funded state in the country. Our salaries are ridiculously low. We cant afford a $500 car payment. Thats more than my mortgage!

The more i thought about it, the more I realized that even though I like to think of myself as self sufficient, I do rely on others, particularly my parents, a lot. My mom and I make Target trips at least once a month- and she always picks up the tab. Be it for toilet paper and shampoo or that really cute top that I can totally wear to work. Both of our parents regularly take us out to dinner and pick up the tab. Rarely does a week go by where we don't have at least one meal out on someone else's tab.

And it makes me incredibly thankful. We're really lucky to have two sets of wonderful, loving, supportive parents. Its great that we get to go out to eat and spend time with our families. We are given nice gifts and treated to things. We have a lot of privilege that allows us to have fantastic adventures, travel, and work in jobs we love. We still stress about money and how we're going to afford things, but certainly much less than if our parents weren't as supportive. And we'd be stuck with a crappy old car, instead of a fancy new one!

The Backstory

Mitch and I met in December 2014 while working at nearby middle schools. We went on our first date on December 12- bowling. We bowled two games and chatted- the typical get to know you things. Then he asked if I wanted to bowl a third game or perhaps go down to 4th Ave. I chose 4th Ave. We walked and talk, wandering downtown, stopping at Maker House, Borderlands Brewery, Congress, grabbed ice cream at The Hub, checked out the very odd AquaDec, where I'm fairly sure we crashed a company party, and ended up at SkyBar with pizza from Brooklyn. Can you get more Tucson than that?? We talked about tortoises (we both had one), gardening and aquaponics, and all sorts of other things. 5 hours later he brought me home. We planned a second date for later that week, and the rest is history.

It's been a year and half since that date. We've lived together for a year and we've had lots of great adventures together. I've met my match- he makes me laugh, hugs me when I cry, and is truly the best guy around. So now that we've gotten that out of the way... on to my first foray into blogging!