PSA----your meter box!

all thats left of the old box!

 happy thursday.....

2 posts in 1 week, i may just become an influencer before the summer is over------haha! i do wish i knew influencing people with your own words would make you a paycheck 11 years ago when i started this blog, but i was a little too early to the game....

now onto why i am here again this week.....

over the last year-ish our lights in the house would flicker off and on randomly----never knew when, didn't last long and honestly (clearly) we blew it off. i did look it up a few times when it was really annoying and found, maybe its a bad bulb, maybe a factory close by sucking all the power (we do have a factory or 2 near by, so we ignored). 

then fall-ish our 6 year old LG (pretty expensive) fridge started freezing up. so we would have to take everything out and put the hairdryer in it to solve the issue of thawing out, then it would stop for a while and then randomly do it again----we have babied it to avoid buying a new thousand-ish dollar fridge. so sunday before we flew out of monday the dang thing froze AGAIN, we took everything out and 'dried" it. i prayed while we were gone it wouldn't act up because sometimes when it does, it leaks and we JUST replaced ALL of the hardwoods in february (thats a story for another day).

so this brings me to tuesday-----the lights flickered A LOT all day! i text brooks midday and told him we needed to figure it out because its getting worse----we had dinner, the boys went to soccer, i vacuumed the sitting room (which is in the front of the house) and then i moved the vacuum to the den, plugged it in, turned it on and it barely had power (hmmmm, thats weird) moved it to the kitchen, plugged it in, turned it on and it barely had power (ugh, super weird) went back to the sitting room, front of the house----full power-----

baylor starts sniffing the stairs immediately (again, weird and note the breaker box in the basement is right under the stairs) i run to the basement to check the breaker box and smell an electrical burning smell as soon as i open the door-----and the hot water heater is blinking and blinking and blinking. i call brooks in a panic----he rushes home, starts flipping breakers---- i then notice the pool is on but it is not running, about the same time he flips the ac breaker and the ac unit starts screeching (brit is in panic mode more than me at this point)----brooks shuts it all off and calls the ac company--- i will be respectful and not name them because they were supposed to call us back yesterday morning and come yesterday afternoon to check and we haven't heard from them (not this issue---moving on). 

brooks calls a soccer dad that does electrical----he comes and notices there is no electricity to the breaker box----they go check the meter/power box and it is fried! you can smell the burnt wires, whatever you call all of that....so 930 tuesday night in rolls 2 energy united trucks---they tried to get us a new box but being after hours of most places there were none, so the guy turned the transformer off and said it could not be turned on until there was a new box....

so-----my dad just moved out of the detached garage apartment behind the house about a month ago----that unit has its own water, hot water and power (its now the busy bs home) so the kids and i slept in there on busy bs mattresses (not for adults usage, i found). we hooked up a tv, brushed our teeth and said thanks for the new busy bs home!

home of the busy bs!

by 720 yesterday morning we had a guy here with a new box and we had power (complete power) to the WHOLE house by 845! the pool works, the ac works, the FRIDGE is working! the power guys said it could have been "going bad" for a while and the flickering was it sparking, trying to reconnect itself. he also noted that it could have been causing appliances to not work to the full potential (again---the FRIDGE issue?? time will tell) (note: this is the same electrical box installed when grandbob built this house in 1972)----the power guys said they have much more high tech/safer boxes nowadays! which we are now the proud owners of!

*****a few blessings:

-we still have our home---it did not burn down!

-we still have our home and it did not burn down while we were out of town last week!

-the guys that came tuesday night and yesterday morning (all of them-soccer dad included)---were patient, kind and helpful!

-we possibly don't need a new fridge now!!

-the garage apartment---is practice for tiny home living (that will happen one day) 

-all of the other appliances and electrical seem to be functioning completely normal and probably better!

-the timing in every piece of this (although it was not an ideal situation) was PERFECT!

NOW lets not talk about the waterline that busted yesterday, we had to then shut the water off and the 3 amigos (brooks, bryson and papaw) had to fix last night at dark------(insert eye roll)! 🙄

missing one of the amigos!

so heres my PSA: 

i encourage you if  have flickering lights to check your meter/power box!

i encourage you if you have an older home to open your box and make sure things look normal! old wires, odd smells, things not fully connected----call your power company!

also, note that you more than likely own the meter/power box attached to your house (therefore it is yours to replace), but it is "managed" by the power company (speaking for energy united). 

as always i appreciate the love and support on this page----its clear its summer since i have a free mind and time to blog about things that i hope help someone along the way of life!

much love, alysha 

travel tips & tricks

happy summer friends!

i hope you all are enjoying the sunshine and doing or planning some fun things for summer 2021!

i wanted to jot down some things that we have learned along the way with traveling on a budget....

if you know the dertings, you know that life is budgeted---(something somewhat funny happened friday night in vegas, i will share in a bit). 

some do's for us:

*we travel 5 days max! we do travel often on weekends thanks to family in SC & FL (those trips because of our peeps cover room and board)---- we do love to travel, but being gone for more than 5 days is too much for us! our most recent adventure we left monday morning at 7am (arrived at 9am in vegas) and came home saturday morning (left vegas at midnight)----so only 4 nights of hotels were needed!

*we booked our plane tickets using air miles----we got miles 3 years ago when we each applied for an american airlines credit card (those cards are now closed with no balance)------with covid however----we shifted those miles 3 times last summer, so we needed to use them or lose them this year!

*we ALWAYS stay in a hotel that serves breakfast---thats a brooks derting RULE! last week we were in 2 hotels---1 in vegas and 1 in flagstaff (brooks and i stayed in the flagstaff one in august)----thats another thing, when we find something we like, we tend to go back! both hotels last week offered fruit loops (which brit never gets unless in a hotel---- i am in no way a health nut, but i don't buy $5 boxes of cereal when a $1 pack of chocolate chip muffins lasts her a week!) with little boxes of fruit loops and prepackaged bagels----both kids had breakfast and many snacks for the road! 

*when on vacations we don't (don't judge) pay for pink jeep tours, museums, bus tours, etc----we prefer to be in charge of our destinations and we also don't want to pay for someone else to control our destinations. we would have paid for the hoover dam tour last week because it would have been a once in a lifetime thing, but it was closed :(

*back to hotels: we don't stay at the most expensive hotel and we sure don't camp (not a camper in any way---never will be don't try to convince me)------we are just fine at a fairfield inn! 

*we don't buy "things" when on vacay! brit did get $6 worth of stickers for her water bottles and i got a nevada tank from wal-mart-----but we don't buy "things'! our memories are in things we have done and the pics we take along the way not a stuffed animal that end up at goodwill! 

*with this most recent trip----we booked less than a month ago, we couldn't make a decision on what to do with covid still hanging around----sometimes booking late gets you better deals, but sometimes its a gamble!

*last week we knew we were going to see vegas and the grand canyon---brooks thought we would pass hoover dam, but we didn't have a full plan until we got there----we added utah-zion national park last minute on monday---we bought a national parks pass----it was $80, good for a year---- zion and the grand canyon would have been $35 each, so we opted for the year pass---which got us into other monuments, etc----and now we have a year to see more national parks!

*food-----when on vacay---- i am going to eat, i am not cooking anything and its not going to be crappy food! with that being said that may mean we eat hotel breakfast mid morning, have a late big lunch and then a simple dessert for dinner! there are NO days that we eat out 3x and we don't eat things we can get at home----del taco---was great----yes it was a little "fast foody" for me on vacay---but we would like to invest in a franchise for our southern friends (way better than taco bell). you can be mindful of food on vacation if you plan accordingly! (and clearly i would rather spend money on good food than "things")

*the car rental----probably the most annoying part of the trip----it wasn't terrible, but it wasn't the best choice on our part. when we checked in they offered a "free" upgrade to jeep rubicon---yeah it looks cool, but driving it for 12 hours to and from states at 18 miles per gallon and gas at $3.50+ it just wasnt smart as we spent more on gas than anything else! also, for the future----if you have prime, book a rental car through prime (no issues at all last august doing that)...this time was expedia!

*speaking of expedia that is 90% of time how we book trips---hotels for sure! 

so back to the "funny" story in vegas-----it was friday night on the vegas strip we needed a cab to the airport and brooks being who he is about money and counting all of his pennies----was asking anyone he could find what the rate would be (he was checking uber and the price kept jumping up and down from $25-$75, i am guessing because it was friday night in vegas)-----we were in the cab line and i guess the guy behind us had been paying attention to brooks' stress about a cab (he really hates to overpay for something he doesn't see value in)----we are next to get a cab and the guy tapped me on the shoulder and said do you have tip money?  i am sure i looked at him like he was crazy----he said here, here is a couple dollars, thanks dude we appreciate it, but we have money to get home, my husband just prefers to hoard our money!!! 

we loved this last minute trip----the kids got to see things i hope they remember forever! if you get a chance visit out west, the sights won't disappoint! 

thank for reading, for looking at our million pics (why take pics, if you don't share?), and for following the latest #dertingadventures 

much love, alysha 

its that debt post....again!

 here we are again! its 2.10----the day in 2012 my life changed, you probably know the background story by now.....brooks "found" my secret debt-----over $30,000! yep not $3,000---$30,000! it is hard to believe its been almost 10 years since we started this debt free journey....

i always come back to this day because of how defining it was for us (me) back then and how its carried over to now...we have made a lot of dreams come true by this now blessing that happened 9 years ago!

had he not found all of my lies and secrets....we may honestly not have our house or possibly our marriage. i know some think its crazy to share something like debt---money woes, whatever you want to call it, but for me its a testimony to what 1/2 of americans (maybe more than 1/2) are living with! believe me i learned real quick how easy it was to swipe a card and keep going----the hard part is not swiping a card and truly contemplating if i really need something!

when i say debt free--- i should clarify we have debt in our home and in my car----but that 2006 accord that we brought our almost 15 yo home from the hospital in, was paid off LONG ago (paid off when we had to consolidate all of my debt into a lump sum to work our way out of debt). 

when this life changing event happened, i changed, i have said it before and i will say it again i don't really care what you drive, where you live or what you wear because this life is not about that! my life does not revolve around what you have and i don't!  i am sad that so many put themselves in a hole (a black hole) to be like others----live for YOU! there is no item that you can't afford worth it! 

we still follow basic principles of budgeting to this day----brooks derting is a stickler (good thing i love him)....we budget $100 a week in groceries, we budget a $100 a week in gas, there is still money from every check put in savings and extra to the mortgage monthly---- i know if you are living in it that seems like an impossible task because honestly it WAS! but month after month it gets easier, the money grows, the debt diminishes....

i write about this as a reminder to myself and others----you can live within your means, you can do things within your means, and you can be a HAPPY person within your means.....its so easy to get caught up with the joneses----but my favorite meme is that the joneses are BROKE and in DEBT----because they are! 

i wish everyone had financial freedom because its beyond money---its a lifestyle of not being jealous of others, not envying others, not living for someone else.....jealousy is the root of most evil and jealousy is totally the root of debt! 

i hope this finds you well and that you can live your life for YOU and not for others! 

much love, alysha