The Blessings of Baby’s First Christmas; when she was as new as the freshly fallen snow.
One magical Christmas, when our Baby was as new as the freshly fallen snow.
Category Archives: Penny Espinoza
Struggling To Live Below Our Means
I’ve often heard sorted-stories of people working endless hours, even double shifts or weekends, to live above their means and ‘keep up with the Jones’. But…rarely do I hear of someone struggling to live below their means.
This in a nutshell, is exactly what my husband and I have been trying to do for several years now. This is what seems impossible to do in this day and age. Still, we keep searching for ways to keep dwindling down the cost of living so we can actually sock money away for a real emergency or for a way of life actually worth living.
To us, ‘living’ isn’t getting up day after day to go to the same place…to do the same thing…to be met with the same outcome week after week, month after month, year after year. This is the norm for the majority of societal folks, but it just isn’t ‘for’ a small percentage of us who desperately want quality over quantity, used but paid for over new and in-debt to pay for, free time rather than overtime, or living over ‘never enough stuff’ and bragging rights. We’d much rather own our old and used assets than be paying for something until we’re too old to enjoy that asset or perhaps never make it to the ‘pay off’ date.
It is a grim reality, but even-still…it’s a fact-of-life for so many hard working folks who go through life like robots and never even realize it. Is this the way it was supposed to be back when this country became a country? I wonder what our forefathers had in mind for our nation…for our way of life. I wonder what they thought living really was all about.
I’m not talking about what the history books tell about our nation’s history, but rather what the people of long-ago felt from day to day, what they dreamed, what they wanted for their futures or that of their children. I wonder about so many things; too many things for one woman’s mind to bear at times. I am the victim, I guess, of an over-active imagination or restless mind and spirit.
So…with that ‘bit of a rant’ behind me, I am still in pursuit of a different…less complicated, lower cost-of-living, way of life. I know…somewhere out there, we (me and my family) will find a place where we can live below our means and actually be allowed to do so in peace and with little or less judgment from those folks zooming along in their big trucks or fancy cars they struggle to pay for, or those who live in big, fine houses they’ll be paying off until they have one foot in the grave. I’ll take living with less and actually owning my rickety old stuff, and being happy to know it’s really mine, over grinding my nose to look good to people who don’t really know me at all. Which, in turn, means they’re opinions aren’t worth a hill-of-beans.
The simple life might seem rather elusive where we are standing right now, but I feel sure that it’s just over the next horizon. It’s so close…I can feel it! To me, that’s something worth looking forward to and worth every ounce of sacrifice I can muster.
When you’re attempting to live the good life—less really is more.
*Simplify Your Life—Free Your Soul*
.V..
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Sailing Club Work Party
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Sailing Club Work Party
Here’s a little something I put together for the LWSC–to remind us of the good times!
Many more to come!! Fair winds and see you at the club!
.V..
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Sunday Mornings At The Club
Another Sunday morning…waking up at the Sailing Club, and all is peacefully quiet in this lakeside world we only-just discovered a little more than a month ago. It is here, in this place, where I feel most alive; having felt a bit numb for the past year we’ve spent within the confines of the dungeon we are soon to vacate. Not soon enough–I might add. I am so happy to be waking up here…and not there.
This little ‘escape in the city’ is a pure joy to us. Nico loves tinkering with Peniki II (our newly aquired San Juan 24 sailboat), and I love making coffee the ‘more primitive’ way with my campstove; enjoying the view from atop the peninsula as I stir…then sip. “Aaaaah! This place is a pure gem.” I feel a rush of blessings as I turn toward Peniki (our trusty old VW Camper Van) to see that Nico and Baby are still sound asleep inside. ‘Wow! I really do love this.’ I tell myself.
The sun casts a glow over the port side of my face, as I realize this moment will soon end and day will overtake morning. But that’s alright with me, since we’ll be heading back down to the docks to work some more on Peniki II, while I work a bit on my tan (to cover my forty-something flaws…no doubt).
I sip my coffee…I look around just to make sure I’m not dreaming. I tell myself that this is my new reality, and I am thankful even more this minute than I was just a moment ago. Looking over at Blanca–our little schnauzer–I see she’s been playing in the briar patch again, and has sticker-burs dotting her fir to prove it. I have to laugh when I think back to yesterday, remembering when me and Baby went for a short swim and how Blanca swam out to us…only to discover that she couldn’t touch bottom. Not only did I have a toddler clinging to me, but also a little white ‘scaredy dog’. *heh um*
The music of birds chirping is now being joined by the morning stirs of Baby in the van, waking up and looking for Mom. My time for ‘me’ is fast-coming to an end–this I know. I hear her cries–it’s time to wrap it up. To whomever takes the time to read my words, I bid you Happy Sunday. May yours be magical too.
.V..
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It’ll All Come Out In The Wash
My mom used to say “It’ll all come out in the wash.”, if ever I had a problem I couldn’t seem to solve. Well, this week has been riddled with life’s little adversities…but it has all worked itself out in the end.
One challenge I faced was over this past weekend when we went camping; Baby didn’t take quite so well to sleeping in the van fold-out bed. It’s been almost a year since we set up camp in Peniki (our old VW Westfalia) and it seems she’s forgotten the drill. Last year when we were out there on the road, giving in to wanderlust, Baby was much smaller and was easily managed by placing her in her play-pen and giving her some toys and such.
This year…? It’s a whole different ballgame! She is our little explorer (she comes by that rather honestly) and she wants to see and be seen, hear and be heard…even in the middle of the night. Which gets me to the root of the problem: she didn’t sleep…at all! She screamed, kicked, and thrusted about the camper van like a rabid rag doll. Needless to say, Mom and Dad did NOT sleep at all either! Instead, we ducked and guarded ourselves against Baby’s kicks and jabs; I got it a few times, and I have the bruises to prove it!
So…we ‘somehow’ made it through the night–Baby finally went to sleep after I rocked her in my arms, while I was half-asleep…standing up…in the drive-away tent. Then came the dawn on Father’s Day. Here we go again…!
Just as the sun was about to make a grand entrance to our lovely, peacefully quiet, and breezy cool morning…Baby began to stir around, then came the screaming! ‘Why me…?!’ I wondered silently.
Before long, Nico was awake and we were once again being punched and kicked by a half-awake toddler with a really bad temper. Ugh!!! I was fast losing my cool, so I enlisted the help of a much more ‘patient’ soul than I myself. Daddy to the rescue!!! Yippee! I didn’t want to land Baby in Nico’s lap on the dawn of Father’s Day, but it was my only choice.
So…that was the start of our Sunday, and I won’t go into details exactly…but I finally had to take over again and enforce a bit of discipline once I ‘knew’ Baby was aware of her behavior, she wasn’t hurting, nor was she still asleep. A Mom’s gotta do what a Mom’s gotta do sometimes. And, just as my Mom & Dad would’ve done, I nipped it in the bud.
The crying stopped, I received good morning hugs and lubbings from the very same little girl who’d been kicking me just minutes before, and all was right with our Father’s Day. We got through the rest of the day without incident, visited with our sailing club friends, worked on our boat a bit, and baby took her very first nap on our new/old sailing yacht ‘Peniki II’ while the rain drizzled lightly outside the stern hatch.
We invited a few club friends onboard Peniki II, had a few margaritas from what was left of the mix that’d been enjoyed the day before, rolled up camp then headed back to the city. I look forward to doing it again…soon!
*Taking the good with the bad*
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Living in St. Croix — Dream Life
Last night…me and Baby were dancing in the streets of St. Croix. Wearing colorful pastels, we were in the middle of a Fashion Parade. It was so lively…so bright…we were so happy.
I didn’t see Nico, but I somehow sensed that he was out in the Boat Parade. My Dad was there…he was the King; a well-known, well respected man. He was in pastel colors, wearing a Fedora hat; standing on a boat…waving in the parade. We were staying in a bright and sunny villa in the middle of town. Me and Baby were smiling and laughing…dancing and twirling.
I was wearing a pink knit sundress…I somehow knew I’d designed myself; though it was sold by Victoria’s Secret. I looked so vibrant…glowing. Baby was older, but not much. We opened our door to see beautiful Victoria’s Secret models holding hands, trailing each other in a Conga line; dancing down the stone streets.
One of the tall blondes turned to me and waved, smiling as she called out, “I’ll call you as soon as we’re done here! I have your number.”
I replied, “Ok! Talk to you later.” And me and Baby danced our way back into the villa. It was wonderful!
Then…I woke up!
*We’re never too old to Dream*
Fifty Something World 
