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the official magazine of the fulltime families camping club october 2011 issue 18

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page 2 www.fulltimefamilies.com in this issue letter from the editor 3 close to the counters 4 what`s in season 6 free webinar rv inspections 6 trapped in the american dream 7 master bedroom office makeover 9 installing a wood floor 9 a place to sleep and play 10 win a $100 gift certificate 11 easy changes big impact 12 what drives us the mamabus 13 excerpt from how to hit to hit the road 15 painting your rv 17 ftf e-book lending library 18 celebrate october 18 coming soon 19 want to contribute there`s always room just email info@fulltimefamilies.com with your ideas on the cover image created by stephanie mulac in honor of the fulltimefamilies.com site redesign submit your rv kitchen photo for our november cover to info@fulltimefamilies.com your ad here did you here the one about the guy who dreamt he was eating a marshmallow he woke up and his pillow had vanished don t read this part this part says nothing interesting nothing at all so please stop reading right now go read an article or something i mean it stop reading ok i can see that you won t stop so i ll just have to make you can you find pinky the marshmallow somewhere in this issue pinky is hidden find her and send an email to info@fulltimefamilies.com with the page number all participants will be automatically entered to win this month`s giveaway see the giveaway column for prize details you re still reading copyright © 2011 fulltime families magazine all rights reserved personal use of this material including one hard copy reproduction is permitted permission to reprint republish and/or distribute this material in whole or in part for any other purposes must be obtained from ff for information on obtaining permission send an e-mail message to info@fulltimefamilies.com by choosing to view this document you agree to all provisions of the copyright laws protecting it.

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october 2011 issue 18 page 3 letter from the editor howdy pardner from santa barbara we are parked on the edge of a cliff in the santa ynez mountains ­ high above the posh streets and breezy beaches of santa barbara by my calculations which are sometimes questionable ­ despite my degree in accounting we have been in california for the past 7 weeks when we were making plans to become a fulltime family we would talk about going to an area for about three weeks and then moving on back then ­in our naïveté ­ an area an entire state so we estimated it would take us 144 weeks or 2.75 years to see all of the lower 48 just thinking about keeping that pace exhausts me in the last 16 months we`ve toured 14 states and i still feel a bit fatigued much of our time has been spent exploring learning growing and fixing things it seems that something is always breaking needs attention or could benefit from an upgrade recently we installed laminate floor because we could no longer turn a blind eye to the stains on the carpet our good friends and fellow ftf`s the pantekoek family helped us with this massive undertaking ­ you can check out the video here we are always curious about how other families make their homes on wheels more livable looking for ingenious uses of the minute space we all have even our virtual home fulltime families.com also got a makeover this past month the new site helps us showcase the tons of content we`ve been creating in future months look for even more features on our website ­ all geared to supporting your adventure hope to see you down the road our view at rancho oso heaven let us put sunglasses on your rv custom fit ­ made at your rv site daytime privacy ­ enjoy the view without being the view black for best unobstructed view blocks up to 98 of uv rays 10-year warranty todd and renee seeley distributors · fulltime families member #81 713 208-5569 · info@rvsunshadecompany.com www.rvsunshadecompany.com

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october 2011 issue 18 page 4 our last close to the counters with pam daley many month`s ago when we sent out the message we were starting a magazine for traveling families pam daley answered the call and assumed the role of our kitchen guru her articles have been insightful educational and always humorous we learned about jellied moose nose how to make marshmallow bunnies king cake you can make in your camper and pound cake in your crock pot if you haven`t read all of pam`s posts you should definitely check them out in our past issues this is pam`s last column for fulltime families she`s taken on a camphosting position in oregon that requires her full attention pam thank you for all your have shared with us we will miss your wit and wisdom and hope to see you in our future travels csa ­ are you familiar with this term i wasn`t until this past year when one of my daughters started purchasing her produce this way csa stands for community supported agriculture ­ it`s a way to buy direct from a local farm or group of farms naturally the types of produce you can get will vary depending on the season where you are and what is grown in the area but you know that what you receive hasn`t been sitting on the grocery shelf for weeks you`ll get ultrafresh food with all the flavor and vitamin benefits sometimes it was harvested just that morning and once you`ve tasted a real fresh tomato you`ll wonder how they can call those round red things in the supermarket a tomato over the last 20 years community supported agriculture csa has become a popular way for consumers to buy local seasonal food directly from a farmer here are the basics a farmer offers a certain number of shares to the public typically the share consists of a box of vegetables but other farm products may be included interested consumers purchase a share aka a membership or a subscription and in return receive a box bag basket of seasonal produce each week throughout the farming season a csa share is usually purchased at the beginning of the season and you pick up your box of vegetables fruits etc weekly at a designated location some subscriptions will allow you to customize your box while with others it`s a take what you get adventure personally i love this option ­ one of the things i love about farmers markets is the chance to try something completely new it`s not limited to just fruits vegetables either ­ there are sometimes options for fresh eggs meats even bread made with ingredients grown right on that same farm while the majority of csa subscriptions are for the entire season i`ve found that farms will sometimes offer a week-by-week option if they aren`t already sold out while in alaska we were able to purchase a local csa share for just 3 weeks in august we will be spending the winter on the oregon coast and i`ve been able to find short-term fall winter csa shares available there as well even if you can`t find a formal csa farm ask around for recommendations of area growers who sell direct to consumers for more information a fairly comprehensive list of farms check out http www.localharvest.org/csa/

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page 5 recipes in honor of the rapidly approaching fall season where did the summer go i`ve found a couple of great recipes for using some of the abundance of apples you may see in your local csa boxes ­ apple fries and a super-easy apple crisp enjoy apple fries dipping sauce ¼ cup whipped cream cheese ¼ cup marshmallow cream dash pumpkin pie spice mix well with a wire whisk until creamy set aside core the apple to remove seeds hard center peel and slice into french fry shapes put the apple pieces in a bowl with ¼ cup corn starch and coat well with your fingers shake the excess corn starch off using a strainer heat the oil in your fryer or deep frying pan to 375 degrees f 190 degrees c place the fries into the fryer for approximately 3 minutes or until they turn to a golden color remove and place on a paper towel sprinkle with cinnamon sugar 1/4 cup sugar ¼ tsp cinnamon let cool a bit and enjoy with your dipping sauce easiest apple crisp 4 apples peeled cored and sliced 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 cup all-purpose flour 3/4 cup white sugar 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 egg beaten 2 tablespoons butter melted preheat oven to 375 degrees f 190 degrees c in a 9 inch square baking pan mix sliced apples with brown sugar in a large bowl mix together flour white sugar cinnamon and salt in a small bowl beat together the egg and melted butter stir into flour mixture spread evenly over apples bake in preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes or until topping is golden and crisp pam her husband mike and teenage daughter sarah are on their way back to the lower 48 from a summer in alaska they will be spending the winter on the coast of oregon as camp hosts you can contact her at rvkitchen@fulltimefamilies.com

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october 2011 issue 18 17 page 6 october produce eat fresh eat local eat in season stay healthy by eating what s in season each month we include a list of in season produce here is what s fresh right now vegetables fruit grapes availability varies from state to state so check field to plate s seasonal lookup guide to see what s freshest near you make healthy eating an adventure by picking your own check out this great website for a pick your own farm by you http www.pickyourown.org/index.htm pomegranates cranberries apples sweet potatoes pumpkins winter squash broccoli spinach lettuce continuing education free webinar on rv inspections on sept 22nd we hosted a free informative webinar about performing rv inspections terry cooper the mobile rv professor shared some very useful information with us whether your in the market to buy your own rv and want to be armed with in depth knowledge of what specifics to look for to get a well built or if you want to find any hidden flaws in your own rig before they become a critical issue this is a seminar you don t want to miss just click this link to view the webinar in it s entirety http www.mobilervacademy.com fulltimefamilies/rvinspector.wmv come join the rv professor terry cooper for a free webinar learn to do your own rv inspection

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page 7 the american dream from 14 points of view this article is from a group writing project of travel writers all interpreting the american dream once upon a time i woke up and realized the american dream was a nightmare a wild goose chase a trap a typical family striving towards the american dream is like a bunny on a treadmill with a carrot dangling just out of reach with each step you feel like you`re making progress but you`re really not getting anywhere do you disagree let`s examine this epiphany in depth 0-15 you are fully swathed in a cocoon of blissful self-centeredness you believe the world revolves around you and you may be right but be forewarned there`s a hurricane a coming 15 ­ 18 yes ­ it starts this early you begin to realize that actions have consequences namely that the caliber of work you produce will directly impact what college will accept you yee gads time to put your nose to the grindstone ­ you`re 15 and you`ve put your first foot on the treadmill 18 ­ 22 ish you vacillate through highs and lows trying valiantly to master the perfect combination of business and pleasure you`re in college right you gave up some pretty major high school hijinx to get here are you willing to forgo all those college mixers but you`re also aware that you`ll be paying these tuition bills plus interest for the next 10 years you want your education to be worth it right ok 24 ­ now it`s really time to buckle down ­ get on a career track ­ start paying off your college loans ­ oh and if you want to be able to retire in 40 years you`ve got to start saving now 25 ­ 30 you`ve landed a job and now it`s time to start settling down if you`re following along you`ve now been delaying enjoying your life for the last 15 years ­ but don`t worry you`re getting closer to realizing the dream so keep trudging along you find a mate spouse and start raising a family 30 ­ 45 remember those few happy go lucky years from 0 ­ 15 well you`re the parent now so it`s time to raise a blissfully ignorant self centered child ahh the circle of life oh and to add insult to injury ­ you`ll need to carve out a portion of your income to save for the childrens college while still paying your`s off lest you be considered a neglectful parent you re fully trapped now ­ feet firmly planted on the treadmill wake up go to work come home have dinner spend 5 minutes with the kids go to sleep do it again thankfully there`s that sweet 45 minute reprieve on saturday in between soccer and ballet www.fulltimefamilies.com continued on page 16

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page 8 www.fulltimefamilies.com

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october 2011 issue 18 page 9 a window office with an ever changing view after 17 months on the road i was frustrated every month when it s time to publish ftf mag i had to pull out all my paperwork my pc and set up camp at the kitchen table this meant with every meal i had to pack up my work and make room for the rest of the family piles of my paperwork were tossed on the bed until i could reclaim my workspace i eyed different spots in my rv where i could install a desk maybe i could take over half the bedroom closet maybe i could set up a small space in one of the bunks when i seriously considered installing a desk in the bathroom i knew i had reached a point of desperation at about the same time the coast to coast trips pulled into the campground and i was able to tour their rig which is a true testament to velcro hooks and making an rv a home suzanne said you can fit so many more clothes in baskets than you can in drawers and a light bulb went off in my head the days were numbered for our flimsy constantly breaking dresser drawers we ripped them out salvaged some of the handles installed a cube storage system in the closet got rid of the mirrored doors hung the tv on a mounting bracket and left only the counter space and supports which turned out to be the perfect height for a double desk chris needed a workspace too this project cost $190 cube storage $60.00 9 cubes $60.00 tv bracket mount $40.00 handheld power saw $30.00 it took about 4 hours we also used a drill to cut holes for the wiring we plan to add a few baskets to the top shelf of the closet and a some office organizers to the desk for paperwork i am thrilled with my new office space and feel truly inspired by my revolving view got wood or stained carpet you can hear me say it right on the video i sent my husband out for a new broom and he came home with a whole new floor while we were parked next to the pantekoek family in sunriver or we installed a laminated wood floor athena and darin had installed several of them already in s b homes but they were confident an rv install was not only doable but easy well it wasn t all that difficult but it did take the 4 of us three days to complete given the minute square footage we covered three days was a good chunk of time we filmed the install and will be uploading it to the fulltime families youtube channel in a few days so click on the link and subscribe so you ll get a notice when it s finally up and ready for you to laugh at umm i mean watch we love our new floor because it so much easier to keep clean and gives the camper a beautiful finished look!

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a place to sleep and play by marci livingston we have a 16 year old 29 foot class c with no slide outs when we were on our first extended trip 31 days we noticed our 4 boys had limited play space we were constantly moving things around to find room for all of us and our stuff my husband had the idea to get rid of our bed and replace it with something that would fold up out of the way when not in use the positives and negatives of our choice we lost the large storage space under the bed we still have space under the bed to store about 3 medium sized storage bins we have floor space for the kids to play there is no other space in our rv like it and we added 4 small boxes of toys since we did not want to disrupt the rv too much the futon is sitting up higher than a typical couch would the adults can easily climb up on it the kids use the platforms on the sides of the futon/couch to climb up with ease when we removed the bed there was no carpet where the frame was sitting we purchased an inexpensive rug from wal-mart that matched the carpet we decided a tri-fold futon would fit in the bed space and would cause minimal disruption to the current floor plan as we traveled down the road we called futon stores in the towns we were planning to stop and finally found just what we needed we spent about 400.00 for the futon mattress mattress cover and materials we were able to remove the bed frame and install the futon without disrupting any of the cabinets this modification has given us valuable floor space that the kids use constantly it gives us a room with a door to have added privacy for getting dressed and allowing my husband a quiet place to work we searched everywhere for an example of a rear folding bed and had no luck except in the conversion bus market with the wrap around couch this is what gave us our idea additional pictures of this modification can be found on our blog feel free to contact us with any questions we would be happy to help www.livingstonfamilyadventures.blogspot.com

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october 2011 issue 18 17 page 11 ftf october giveaway win a $100 gift certificate from restaurants.com this month we re giving away a date night a family style feast lunch on the ocean brunch in the mountains you decide restaurants.com has thousands of eateries nationwide you can cash your gift certificate in anywhere in the country send an email to info@fulltimefamilies.com with your name address and the page where pinky s hiding hurry entry deadline is october 31st 2011 if you like us in and no this is not the one keep looking ftf members receive exclusive savings to learn more visit the members area at fulltime families.com real life please take a moment to like us on facebook wanna get into 275 museums science centers or children s museums for free around the country the evansville museum is a great traveling companion take your membership with you as you travel the country with our $35 friend membership which is good for the entire household you can get into over 275 museums across the country ­ free to join today call the director of membership at 812 425-2406 or go online at www.emuseum.org to see a list of participating museums go visit www.astc.org/passport don`t forget to mention fulltime families evansville museum of arts history science

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page 12 easy changes big impact the ticknor tribe is a fulltime family o f 13 this is a reprint from their blog which can be viewed at http ticknortribe.blogspot.com bethy loves beauty and i love that she decided that the loft was a little plain for her taste and it was high time that she decorated it she started off by choosing a new comforter and sheets but the walls just weren t doing anything for her and i m not really for painting the rv i love to see other rigs and their artistic paint jobs but i m just not there yet once you start painting you have to keep painting especially since all the colors that i just love are so trendy also the loft opens to the living room and lime green or cotton candy pink just wouldn t really go so once she had picked her comforter she went online to my favorite decals site lot 26 studio they sell what are essentially big decorative wall stickers the decals are removable and reusable and lot 26 has the nicest ones that i have found online they have everything from classy to funky sayings to dots b&w to pastels to a-little-toobright-for-me bethy wanted something with some color to match her comforter and she found several that she just loved she picked a set called dream imagine stock #p2215-l we were super happy with the customer service that we got from lot26 and the clings arrived within the week which is a miracle out of california lol the decals came in a very professional package with a cover sheet that had pictures of the stickers installed for those of us that need a little help and were 2 large sticker sheets filled with smaller individual parts of the big design the designs are such that you can modify them and make your picture different than the ones shown if you want beth just copied the pictures on the color cover sheet moving the stickers around to accommodate the dimensions of the area that she was covering it was a bit like a puzzle but you could copy the designs they had come up with or make up your own she did a little of both the clings have been on for a couple of weeks now and we are super happy with them they are sticking really well but aren t leaving a residue on the wall either both of which i worried about given the varied temps in the rv and the surface that we were putting them on she had quite a few stickers left over so she cut them out and put them in an envelope in case one of her installed flowers or birds got peeled off we have lots of little fingers that think they are beautiful too she can just fill in any damaged areas with leftover stickers tho so far they have stuck super well and the littles haven t bothered them i love that the stickers are not permanent and it is such an inexpensive way to decorate when if we tire of them we can just peel them off and put up a new design it was super easy and she had a great time decorating her little bedroom but so far she is tickled with her little mod and i love that she is surrounding herself with beauty what we surround ourselves with is what we will become just because we live in an rv doesn t mean that the kids can t decorate their rooms or have their own space yet we don t really do things like this on the road we tend to save projects like this for when we are parked for a bit though this took maybe 20 minutes www.fulltimefamilies.com

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october 2011 issue 18 page 13 what drives us the mama bus the mama bus trip is the long-time dream of my friend lois she`s always wanted to drive crosscountry with her kids but just couldn`t figure out how to make it happen for me making it happen is the easy part i applied my travel hacking skills well honed after almost 4 years on the road with my own family and in three short months we went from farfetched dream to packing the van we raised the money for this trip creatively from cookie baking to wood stacking to contests won to corporate sponsorships garnered in the three months before we left we managed to raise $4800 the projected cost of the trip less food which we`d eat at home for two stay-at-home mamas and their combined 11 kids that`s not bad my kids have been a few places in the last four years and have sampled liberally from three continents and ten or so languages we`ve invested a lot of time and effort in their educations through the edventure project living and working in lots of different countries lois family has rooted down deep developing a farm in northern new hampshire my kids are seasoned travelers for hers this is their first big trip for both families this is our first coast-to-coast exploration of our own continent our primary purpose for the journey is twofold to make memories and deepen our relationships with our kids children grow up alarmingly fast and secondly to learn we both have home schooled our children since birth and we share a vision for learning by doing and education through exploration the mama bus trip is one big field trip for our family this is a short chapter in our continual journey for lois family it`s perhaps just the first of many shared adventures for both families it`s an epic high point of childhood in which a grand expedition is shared by best friends wouldn`t you have loved to take two months off of school and travel with your best friend as a child the kids have learned to dream big dreams to work hard to put boots to those dreams they`ve given up a lot of creature comforts and pushed forward with focus developing the stick-toitiveness necessary to carry out the hard parts not to mention a boatload of history geography literature science and more that they`re learning on the academic front i`m writing this in oregon 24 hours away from the official halfway point of our trip our feet in the ocean party at the pacific ocean so far the trip has been all we`d expected it to be and more the kids are doing great the van is holding up we`ve had more adventures and interesting encounters than we can count and everyone is still excited about what`s yet to come.

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october 2011 issue 18 page 14 trapped continued from page 7 50 ­ 65 retirement is now in sight ­ if you can just get through the next 15 years you`ll have it made provided a you`re still alive b you`re healthy c you`ve saved enough money to fund your newly found freedom it`s only taken you 50 years to be able to enjoy your life on your terms really this is the american dream yikes i m thankful my family decided to stop dreaming and start living we`ve been on a 30,000 mile short cut not to retirement but to life our american dream actually entails seeing america all of it with our kids living full time in our camper i know it`s not for everyone but i do hope that all families at least consider that there are options and choices and that sometimes dreams even the american dream need a bit of analysis interested to see what others have to say about the american dream click here to see more points of view continued on page 18

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page 15 excerpt from how to hit the road be forewarned how to hit the road has been found to inspire immediate action focus and determination some readers experienced the sudden urge to sell everything they own pack up their families and head out on extended long term adventures some families have reported that after reading how to hit the road they found themselves homeless wandering the country via rv only the bravest subscribers should read the following chapter 5 ­ what to do with all your stuff where to put it all time to start organizing if you are good at this ­ then you`re way ahead of the game however if you look at your pile of stuff to put in the rv and feel overwhelmed this is a great place to seek help you could hire a professional organizer and let them do the whole thing or you could enlist the help of an ultra-organized type a friend of yours the latter is probably a better choice since they`ll probably be cheaper or maybe you can even come up with a swap ­ you organize my camper and i`ll babysit your kids for x amount of hours we are big fans of those plastic drawers did you know you can take them apart and reconfigure them a million ways we use two narrow sets ­ with 5 drawers each to hold our two older boys clothes in the tiny cabinet the rv manufacturer calls a wardrobe our 4-year-old daughter has two draws allotted for all her clothes with the exception of her collection of dresses that hang in our closet the baby currently 1 year old has a single drawer in the master bedroom dresser i have two drawers for foldable clothes in the dresser and my husband has the remaining four the rest of our clothes are hung in the closet we are fortunate that our rig has a coat closet i would never own one that doesn`t and we keep you guessed it coats and jackets in it we also have a smaller cabinet underneath it that we use as a shoe hamper under the master bed we keep very heavy winter clothing snow suits and some odd items the kids have not grown into yet we also keep an extra comforter there and what`s left of my sewing kit approx 10 of what i had in our sticks and bricks under the kitchen sink we keep cleaning supplies and for some strange reason a large jug of olive oil that`s where my grandmother kept hers so i guess old habits die hard even when you live in an rv we have a freestanding dinette so we sold two of the chairs and added a large padded bench seat with a hinged lid and storage in it i keep all the kids homeschooling materials my husband added wooden risers to the bottom so the kids could work at the table comfortably for more information on where we store all our stuff log onto the videos section of www.fulltimefamilies.com there we business name have a complete tour of our rig save 10 on your copy of hthtr be mindful of your camper`s gvwr see chapter 3 and do use code ftfsav10 not overload your rig don`t risk your family`s safety for the this coupon expires october 31st 2011 sake of stuff click here to continue reading ftf readers save 10 off www.fulltimefamilies.com

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