Whelp, there’s good news and bad news. I suppose like a band-aid getting ripped off, I’ll start with the bad news and get it over and done with. Quite depressing really. We did our finances. And that’s the end of the story…
Just kidding. We did our finances and discovered two things. 1) We somehow miraculously made it without starving last year, as we lived over our income by $2500 for the year. I mean, that’s not horrible. We know folks who get in over $10,000 in debt easily. But we can’t figure out how we did this, because we actually don’t have any debt right now, even $2500, and our finances showed that we clearly made $2500 less than we spent. 2) We cannot afford our dream townhome duplex that we were supposed to move into in June. Well, we could afford it, but we’d have to live like hermits, not visit friends, not go out to eat, not see any movies, our cats can’t get sick, and I’d very likely still end up getting a job at Ace Hardware just to make ends meet. Sooooo, we are not moving anytime soon.
This hurts. This hurts deep. And it’s so materialistic of me, too, but I can’t help it. This place we were trying to get, and succeeded in acquiring would have allowed us to host friends and family for weekend getaways on Whidbey Island. It had a large downstairs living area that was perfect for cold weather/rainy day workouts. We were going to get a king size bed and use the queen for friends to sleep on. It had two bathrooms, a beautiful view from the balcony, and even more amazing neighbors. I now completely understand why some people buy a beautiful car well outside their means. Because I am still trying to figure out a way we could make the townhome work for us. But it isn’t remotely possible. We are planning on flying out to Memphis this September, and I might try to visit California in November. Not to mention we will on some occasions want to get off the island.
Trying to see the brighter side of things, we adore our current landlords. Leaving them after only 3 months would have been actually devastatingly difficult. And here, I can plant a nice garden, play with geese and chickens, we get free internet and utilities. This smaller place, while I can’t put up all my knickknacks, or all my books, or even all our clothes, it will save us more money in the long run. 
But even with all the positives, I’m still a little sad to say good-bye to the townhome.
So, let’s move on to the good news before I get too depressed. I have found a fantastic fitness facility on the island called Vibrant Fitness. It’s located, believe it or not, on the Island Fairgrounds. There are small group classes that challenge the participants in ways I haven’t experienced since Vision Quest. In fact, the whole feel of the place reminds me of the small community of Vision Quest. 
More than just a great place to workout, I think EarthFit can grow and improve under Adam’s watchful eye, professional expertise, and deeper understanding of fitness. I don’t just want to get back in the best shape I’ve been in, I want to learn what he can teach me, and maybe even have a shot at testing out some of my ideas.
What’s more important to me right now is being able to work on my programs and my books without feeling the stress of finances or the stress of a job that would ultimately end up coming first as a priority. So, staying in our small apartment here in Freeland and getting to know the folks at Vibrant Fitness are the best things for me, my health, my fitness, my sanity, and my future.
I guess it is a good news kind of day.
We will work through it, I think this happened for a good reason. Also, my open studio on Saturday is right next to vibrant fitness, very cool.