Pay it Forward Vlog

Josh and I set out to pay if forward when we did our failed 12 days of Christmas. We didn't get to it before Christmas, but better late than never.

Have you done something like this before? Tell me about it.

Our Christmas tree

A couple of months ago, Josh and I  across this tiny tree at Menards and we decided this was the perfect tree for us this year.  Josh loves Christmas trees and I can't wait for the day we are able to have a big one bought from a tree farm, or even better grown on our own land. Until then, this little bugger does the trick. We have even been religiously turning it on each night, and this morning Josh even turned the lights on before work. Merry Christmas!

About us

After a full summer of posting about our adventure, I realized that we don't have an intro post, Who these folks at Wherever We Land anyway? Who is posting this Iphone pictures and disguising it as a blog?

Hello, We are Josh and Jen who currently live in Columbia, Missouri. Josh is getting ready to finish his Science Phd and we are embarking on a new adventure to another part of the country. Stay tuned on that. I started the blog to document our moving journey and I have been getting a lot of practice in.

We have been married for 14 years and have a nine pound Ppebald Mini-dachshund named Dugout. He is crazy rambunctious and we consider him a big part of our lives. Dugout is an only child, but we hope to add a human baby sometime in the future.

I have two other blogs: Wherever We Land Knits is the companion knitting blog where I obsess about knitting and The Jen Rebecca is more of a health and intentional living blog.

Josh is too busy to blog, but he does like to participate in our adventures and give input into what goes on here.

We pretty much like to hang out, watch sports, bike, fish, camp (soon), hike, and other adventures which you will see here.  Thanks for joining us on our adventures. What do you do for fun? Leave a comment!

A little update:

It seems this blog has become more of my thing. Josh is so busy getting his dissertation ready and interviewing for post doc positions that he doesn't have time to check in. Let's face it, he never did in the first place, but he is happy to play along.

Josh has an interview and presentation in the beginning of January that I wish I could share with you, but as you know, Josh's professional life has to be kept under wraps. Let's just say, I would be really excited to live there and it's a place that has never been on my radar. I cannot wait to share, if it's in the cards.

I might include a little more personal things that are going on my end. I am starting and finishing a weight loss journey and I would like to document it.  I want to talk about our minimalism journey and I also think our dog needs to be included a little more. I used to have this blog a long time ago called Shabby Cheap. Looking back, it was a silly thing, but it documented a good portion of our lives and that's the point of this blog too.

 I've always done the comparison thing and I have to know that most of these people have been doing this for years and that is why they are so great!

12 days of Christmas Challenge

We are super sucky at the whole holiday spirit thing, mostly because of our minimalist mindset,  but also because I am not really a gift receiver. Don't hate. It's our last year in Columbia and we really want to take some time to celebrate Christmas-- that doesn't involve a giant pile of presents under the tree. (If that's your thing, more power to you.)

Okay, I'm feeling Christmas-y! And, Josh is a good sport.

We are giving ourselves until December 24 and don't have an dates sets. Hopefully we will be able to vlog about it.

12 Days of Christmas, Wherever We Land Style

1. Magic Tree and Hot Cocoa (or iced coffee)

Take a visit to the Magic Tree in Columbia with hot cocoa or in my case, iced coffee and pay for the people behind us at Starbucks.

2.  Uncle Buck, Cuddling, Christmas Popcorn Tin, and Hot cocoa

Uncle Buck is my favorite Christmas move and we love eating those popcorn tins with the mix of caramel, cheese, and butter popcorn. You have to had hot cocoa to that mix.

3. Gingerbread Houses

Decorate a gingerbread house together and eat all the extra candies.

4. Old Town Saint Charles, Christmas Traditions

Visit Saint Charles for Christmas traditions.

5. Candy Factory yearly Christmas candy haul.

Omg, Their caramels are sublime. We usually get some delicious candy their every year.

6. Buckeye and Kiss cookie making

Buckeyes and kiss cookies are our go-to. We will make sure we make enough to share with our co-workers.

7.  Dugout visits Santa at Bass Pro.

This should be interesting. Last year, Santa didn't really like dogs and dangled Dugout in the air.

8. Donate Groceries.

We should get a couple of meals together and donate it to the food pantry.

9. Dollar Store gift swap.

Take five dollars each to the dollar store and do a gift swap. What's Josh going to get me?

10. Crab legs and luminaries on Christmas Eve

We have a yearly tradition of munching on crab legs on Christmas eve and now we are adding luminaries to the mix. My childhood neighborhood always lit them for Christmas Eve and we want to start that tradition too.

11. Snowflake making and decorating.

Spend an evening cut out snowflakes and hanging them on our doors and windows.

12.  Movies on Christmas day.

Hello, Tarantino.

What traditions do you have  for the holidays? Do you do something similar?

Boy, has it been awhile! Weekly update.

It's been awhile since I have updated our blog. We moved more to a vlogging format on Youtube. In Winter, we tend to slow down a little more and stay in. After all, it is football season. I plan to do these weekly (monthly?) updates a little more often.

Since I have lasted posted, we went to Florida and back, went hiking, and had a Turkey day extravaganza-- all vlogged. I am going to update you soon with those.

Josh? He is plugging along. We still don't know where we are going to land, but we are inches closer. He has applied to quite a few postdoc programs and is neck deep into his project and second paper.

Me? Still Knitting. I am also planning to spend more time at the gym this month, all the sweets have gotten to my middle and I am moving towards health a little more.  Josh and I are starting a Couch25k program and are going to run a 5k in the spring!

If you have a chance, check out our vlogs. They are so fun! I'll probably start embedding them at the bottom of the posts.

Oh,and our blog design has been updated!!

Gans Creek Nature Area at Rockbridge State Park

Josh and I hike the Gans Creek Nature Area of Rock Bridge State Park. It was so beautiful out even for the fall and we are so bless to live in such a beautiful part of the world!