A Final Farewell

Today I post my last blog on Notes From The Trailer Park....we are finally moving into a real house!! Hallelujah and Buh-Bye Mobilehome "Estates"!!

Here's some of my favorite trailer park memories :)

*The Roof
One spring, we had alot of rain storms and the roof was leaking. Brad & our neighbor Brian went up there to inspect the damage. While they were walking around on the roof, I was sitting underneath them in the dining room talking on the phone....unfortunately for Brian, he happened to step in a soft spot and his legs came THRU the roof and into our dining room! He would have landed directly in the baby high chair had Brad not caught him!! I was startled and screamed, but of course afterwards I couldn't help but laugh at the site of legs dangling out of the ceiling.

*The "BBQs"
Some of our neighbors started having these "BBQs". I guess you could compare them to block parties but a little un-traditional in the presentation. The host trailer would load up a firepit (on the driveway) with some chopped wood, throw large amounts of beef and pork onto his bbq grill and crank up the country music! I was hesitant about joining the bbq's, thinking I'd stick out amongst the blue jeans, boots, & beer bottles but I was actually able to get in touch with my inner hillbilly. Sure, I got teased cause I didn't like drinkin beer but they got me to try beer brauts (mmmm yummy!) and managed to convert me into a country music fan.

*The BathTub
I got a wild idea to convert our laundry room into a scrapbooking room! That meant, moving our washer/dryer to the master bathroom and REMOVING the giant circle tub which usually served as a laundry hamper :) Brad talked his friend Kevin into coming over to help with that project; the two of them fired up the tools and sawed that tub in half! They proceeded to open up the bathroom windows and throw chunks of tub into the yard. It was truly a "trailer trash" moment.

*The Neighbors
The needy one. The scary one. I will never forget the neighbors who...
Always walked around in the street barefoot and half dressed.
Always rode their bikes around with their little dogs in the front baskets.
Always smoked outside in their pajamas at noon.
Always got in trouble with the law and once had 7 squat cars surrounding his trailer.
Always went for walks with me and encouraged me to exercise.
Always drove less then 5 mph and continually held up traffic in the trailer park.

And the final trailer park countdown....

10. Window Air conditioners
9. Floor Vents
8. The "Clubhouse"
7. Attack of the termites
6. Smokey & the Pj's
5. The dreaded "Raising The Space Rent" letter
4. Guest Parking Spaces
3. Park Power Outages
2. Double Wide vs Triple Wide
1. Trying to sell our mobile home with atleast 6 different Realtors and none were successful.

I Still Got My Standards!

I grew up blessed with many privileges....one of them was that every couple months, my mom would take us girls to the Beauty Salon. Not SuperCuts. Not a BarberShop. We went to the real deal. The kind of place where you walk in and see the "regulars" sippin cappuccinos, sharing the latest gossip. Everyone knows you by name. The little old ladies pinch your cheeks and give you kisses. You make an appt to see your favorite stylist and she KNOWS how you want your hair done. And its not just a cut. The wash, the scalp massage, the blow dry, style, everything was included. They even had a special sponge duster to brush off the excess hairs that might fall on you. I could count on good conversation, free goodies, compliments and an entire fun, girly pampering experience where you walk out on the door ready to conquer the world!

Well, today I had a rude awakening that those days are long gone for me. Mom went to heaven, the economy is bad, my hubby is out of work and we live in a trailer park. Times are tough.

I got a coupon in the mail for Fantastic Sams summer specials and since my hair hadn't been cut or colored since Christmas (disgusting I know!) , I figured I would give it a try. How bad could it be?

I walk in to this particular location and am greeted by the owner, who says she is available to take me right away! I thought Yay! The owner is probably the best and I am going to get top quality service....

The first thing she does is pay me a compliment! "So tell me why did you color your hair black"? I said, Excuse me? That is my natural hair color. (The ENDS of my hair are brown from where the old Christmas color used to be) She went on to tell me that the brown was much prettier than my natural color and she suggested I go blonde for the summer. I politely declined as I had no interest in giving my husband a heart attack today.

With that subject buried, she next suggested that we go wash my hair. Apparently she forgot to wear her glasses. I had just taken a shower and came in with a soaking wet mop of hair. I pointed out to her "My hair is newly washed and not yet dry", BUT since she didn't trust my conditioning, we had to walk over to the bowl and wash my hair for the 2nd time. The water was freezing cold and I was certainly not going to receive the type of scalp massage I expected. Her version was to throw a towel over my head after the wash and vigorously rub my hair dry enough to turn blonde on it's own :)

Back to the cutting chair I walk and sit down to explain that I wanted lots of layers and weight taken off the back. She went straight to work, sprayed my hair completely wet AGAIN (???!!!) and barely spoke the entire time. Never asked me any questions. She left a few times to answer the phone. In no time at all, she announced she was done and I looked down to see hardly anything on the ground. (my hair is so thick, usually there is a enough leftover on the floor to make a wig for someone else!) The cape came off and I soon noticed the aftermath of my hair cut mostly showed in 1000 tiny little hairs covering my clothing. (which she wasn't going to brush off) She spun me around in the chair and asked if I liked the new cut! Well honestly, I was a little puzzled. My hair was still totally soaked and she said a blow dry would cost extra. She had to take the next customer and had no time for a style either. I couldn't even tell anything changed. You would think in the least Fantastic Sams would offer Self-Service blow dryers! Or perhaps a Curl-Your-Own Hair station? Nope! Not gonna happen.

I paid my $16.95 to the cashier and left. I didn't feel like I could conquer the world. I didn't feel like I could even show my face in the grocery store. It was over 100º outside and my naturally curly hair was just minutes away from poofing into a lion's mane. Thankfully, I keep a hair clip in my car and quickly did the sunglasses over bangs + hair wrapped up in a clip.

What was supposed to be a fun, girly experience totally turned out disappointing. Even though I'm not rich in wealth, I still got my standards! Shouldn't Fantastic Sams have higher standards too? I think next time I will try my luck at the spanish salon on 6th street. I won't be able to understand a word the stylists say, but those ladies know how to deal with with thick, massive manes and maybe I'll atleast get some chips n' salsa or something!!

PS: Thank you Lord for wonderful friends who have loving mothers, willing to step in and help me as their own daughter. Melinda's Mom, Linda is coming over tonight to teach me the art of home hair coloring :)

Shopping on a Trailer Park Budget

What do you do when you are in need of a desperate break from your trailer park? (and your kids) Go shopping with your sister OF COURSE :)
Laurie and I recently made a trip to "the mall". This was out on the ordinary from our usual Walmart shopping adventures. Neither of us had much spending money but we decided to make it our mission to shop only clearance racks and see what kind of bargins we could find. My sister and I are total opposites when it comes to our taste in clothing but as always, I had a mini camera in my purse so we took some photos in the dressing room of Jcpenney.....which was the department store where we found the best bang for your buck! And below is the photo proof, that cute outfits (atleast we thought they were cute) CAN still be purchased on a Trailer Park Budget!

*click on photos to view larger size*

Laurie's Turquoise Dress: Orig $80 on sale $19.97

My Top: Orig $28 on sale $7.97 -- My Jeans: Orig $44 on sale $9.97

Laurie's Top: Orig $48 on sale for $12.97

My Jacket: Orig $199.00 on sale for $44.00
I tried it on as a joke but the dressing room attendant thought I should buy it! LOL

This was JUST to prove that yellow looks gross when you try it on! :) Dress $19.97

Always gotta find something purple!! Top $4.97

Part TWO: Things You Learn While Living In a Trailer Park.....

This may be an ongoing list :)

5. Electrical. You can not blow dry your hair, while the curling iron is plugged in, and the air conditioner is running. It sets the power off! (which happened to me today!) The same challenge lies in the Plumbing dept too. Our family knows never flush the toilet or run the dishwasher while someone is taking a shower otherwise they'll get a very CHILLY shower!!

6. Earthquake Drills. We frequently get to experience random earthquake drills in our trailer park. This comes in very handy since we live in California! Here are few things that can set the trailer to "shaking status": *Helicopters flying over us too low. *Bulldozers and machinery digging in the lot behind us. *Loading my new mega washing machine with a dozen pairs of jeans.

7. Accountability. One thing you can count on when living in a Trailer Park is accountability from your neighbors. I can never get upset and raise my voice at the children without BOTH sides of our neighbors hearing the entire battle. I can not gossip on the telephone. I can not get into an arguement with my husband. The neighbors can hear us word for word. That's what happenes when you can reach out and touch each other. Knowing that they are listening (especially because they're nosey) helps me think twice before I speak. 

8. Porches. Right now our porch is a catch-all that needs to be cleaned out! After all these years I've never found quite the right "stuff" to decorate our front porch. But porches in a trailer park are a big extension of the home itself and taken very seriously in our neighborhood. You have to express yourself with this space. Our park manager makes her rounds to "check up" on the status of our porches.  Some neighbors use it as their sanctuary placing ponds, plants and swings on their front porch. Others inclose theirs in with mesh netting and sheets flowing (for fancy affect of course lol). I've seen people add on a whole room complete with furniture, while others use it as pub (bar tables, refrig, dart board, the works!). Lord help us!

TO BE CONTINUD........

Big Big House

This week I was feeling especially crabby about living in a trailer park. The weather's been warming up and the kids want to play outside 24/7 which = me sitting outside watching them!

Problem #1: ALL neighbors, on ALL sides of us smoke cigarette's. It's a trailer park thing. We didn't get the memo before we moved in, but we quickly learned how most residents go through a pack a day. And I'm totally allergic to it! My eyes start watering while my nose is itching and then comes a headache.

Problem #2: Broken families. Besides my husband and I, there is only 1 other family on our entire street that has an original marriage still in tact between a husband and wife. Its not only a sad fact, but it's a fact that affects us. There are over 20 kids on our street, some of them are outside with no shoes, no recent meals, parents may be gone or working from home.....kids come over hungry, thirsty, lonely, or needing help with something! I feel like I could run a full time ministry just to neighborhood kids.

Problem #3: Because we have no yards, sidewalks, or driveway without cars, all the kids have to play in the street. Meaning all the toys, bikes, boards, scooters end up in the street. And my hubby and I have to take turns watching that cars zooming by don't hit the kids.... (if you're ever in a trailer park and hear someone randomly yell "CAR" that automatically means get over to the side of the street pronto!) Needless to say we usually get nothing done while we sit outside supervising. So there goes afternoon housework.....

OK enough of my grumbling :) As I was on my way to Walmart this morning the song called "Big House" by Audio Adrenaline came on my ipod. I guess my hubby left an old playlist on shuffle because I hadn't heard this song in ages. But the words spoke to my heart......it says.....

I don't know where you lay your head, or where you call your home
I don't know where you eat your meals, or where you talk on the phone
I don't know if you got a cook, a butler or a maid
I don't know if you got a year, with a hammock in the shade

But Come and go with me, to my Fathers house.
It's a big big house, with lots and lots a room. A big big table, with lots and lots of food
A big big yard, where we can play football. A big big house, Its my Fathers house


So although while I'm on this earth, I may live in a home full of inperfections and lacking many nice qualities ....I can have hope! Because one day I get to go to heaven and my Father has prepared for me a place with a big big yard, lots and lots of rooms, and hammock in the shade :)

Potty Training in a Trailer Park

This month my son Judah decided to jump onboard with potty training. I thought the day would never come when he'd actually choose Batman Underwear and a new Scooter (both worthy bribes) over wearing diapers! Brad and I were so happy that Judah's been using the potty (at home, church, stores, friends houses) that we failed to cover the rules about going pee OUTDOORS........

Last week while Judah was in the street riding his scooter, all of a sudden he "had to go"; he pulled his pants and underwear down to his ankles and pee'd right smack in the middle of the street. Now parents in "normal neighborhoods" might be worried in a situation like this....but Trailer Park folk aren't bothered by these things . Our next door neighbor Earl was outside drinkin a beer and started laughing out loud when he saw what Judah was doing. Brad didn't help matters when he encouraged Judah to take aim at the fire hydrant!! Of course I scoulded Judah to never pee in the street again but apparantly I was not specific enough with my expectations of him.

Yesterday afternoon the kids were outside riding bikes in the street. The hispanic children, their parents, aunts, uncles, cousins were all outside playing in the street too. Our elderly neighbors were just getting home, unloading groceries out of their car. And what do ya know....Judah couldn't wait. He "had to go" again! THIS time he proceeded to find a bush that was in front of the Community Clubhouse. (directly across from the Trailer Park Manager's home) He happily relieved himself all over that bush, bare buns shining in the sunlight. People saw. People laughed. They waved back at me to make sure I knew what was going on. Gotta love potty training in a Trailer Park.........

Things you learn while living in a trailer park....

After living in a trailer park for 7 years you learn a thing or two.....

1. People think you own a "coach". Apparently back in the day, mobile homes were called this. But I am most certain no magical pumpkins were involved in the making of our trailer park!

2. Sophisticated peers imagine our home is made of tin-metal. They look for a "hitch" in the front bushes and a license plate in the back yard. I wonder, do we really give the impression of traveling gypsies?

3. Guests are intrigued by a shed. "Normal" houses have garages; they hold ordinary things like tools, bicycles, Christmas decorations.....but SOMEHOW our shed is fascinating to trailer newcomers. I've seen grown men so curious to take a peek inside, you would have thought we had a trap door in the shed leading to buried treasure.

4. MOST residents in our trailer park have modern vehicles that operate. They don't keep old trucks up on blocks. There's no rusty cars parked in the yard. Not ALL of Jeff Foxworthy's trailer park jokes are true ;)

TO BE CONTINUED.....