Hot Days at the Creek

Our main air conditioning unit has always been broken and we've never felt the need to get it fixed. Last summer and this summer, whenever it got hotter than 89 degrees in the house, we turned on a window unit so that it cooled down to 85 and was semi-comfortable again. I like to say that we're minimalists. I don't like to spend much money. The only thing that I can go crazy spending lots of money on is food. Fresh vegetables are important to me. We eat at restaurants too often ($30/month). Apart from that, the amount that we pay for our internet, home phone, and 2 cell phones totals to about $60/month. We only do Netflix during the summer ($8/month) and my reading habit costs about $7/month. So, when that unexpected storm came and knocked down some trees in the D.C. area, our power was out for 5 days it wasn't so bad since we already weren't using any air conditioning and neither were we watching much TV or playing many computer games. What was hard for us was not having any fresh refrigerated food available.

For days when it's 90-100 degrees outside, we like to spend some time in the water. There is no way that I will spend $14 for me and two kids (Crystal and her friend) at the public swimming pool each day, so instead we go to the creek every now and then. As long as my legs are in the cool water, even when it's 100 degrees outside, I never feel hot. It's less than one mile away from us and the few people who know about it keep it as a secret. But, I'm willing to share it with you because I love it so much. So if any of you want to come to the creek with us sometime, send me an email. You are also welcome to our baby pool.