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Get out of town sale

Jonathan Longnecker / December 03, 2014

Hey everybody! How was your Thanksgiving? We had such a great time here in Knoxville - everyone came to our house and we enjoyed a truly relaxed time of stuffing our faces, laughing and actually getting to talk to each other. 

It's funny how even when you spend time with your family, you can still be busy enough to cut it short or just not be mentally present. Maybe it was the fact that everyone was off from work that day - or maybe it was just cold and rainy enough for people to linger, but it was nice to hang with the family.

I've watched in amusement the last several days as what used to be just one day of sales has turned into like 5 days of "money events." Stores opened a day early on Thanksgiving day, Black Friday was still Black Friday, Saturday got devoted to local businesses, Monday the Internet was on sale and then Tuesday was all about giving. I love giving and all, but I just had to laugh and the ridiculousness of the marketing madness. I'm getting a little tired of everyone else telling me when and how to spend my money.

All that to say - we didn't do any Black Friday or Cyber Monday deals for anything in our store. Why? We didn't want to be another email in your inbox yelling at you to buy something. 

Instead, I'd like to share some news. By this time next year we're going to be on the road. Our house will be sold and everything we own will be in an RV! 

And let's just say boxes of t-shirts is not on the list of things we want to be carrying around with us.

So from now on everything in our store is 50% off. No special timeframe, no coupon codes, no midnight specials. We just need to clear out our remaining inventory. 

Oh, and one more thing. For every dollar you spend on one of our shirts we're going to donate a dollar to Rice Bowls, an awesome non-profit that helps feed orphaned kids. Like, indefinitely until all the shirts are gone. We're that crazy, guys. For real.

So go check out the apparel store! And if a particular size is out of stock shoot us an email and ask. There's a good chance we've got a blank one in your size that we can print for you.

Create Don't Hate

Jonathan Longnecker / December 01, 2014

We have a saying in our house that you've probably heard before. "You get what you get and you don't pitch a fit." It's a fun little rhyming reminder to the kids when they complain about all the things.

For example: I give them two cookies, they complain that they didn't get three. We take them somewhere special and they complain that we didn't go out to eat, too. As parents that can be super frustrating. You're doing your best, trying to make them happy and they aren't content with anything. It's not their fault, though. We all start out kind of selfish. That's why we have to teach them to be gracious and thankful, right? Right.

But lately I've been noticing that as we get older we start to forget that lesson, too.

Take a scroll through your Facebook feed and what do you see? Adults acting like children. Complaining about the President. Complaining about their job. Complaining about their amazing tiny computer/phone in their pocket that has one little bug. Complaining about their favorite TV show or movie. Complaining about their husband or wife. Complaining about Facebook, even. I know you've seen it.

Part of me wants to go shake them, "You get what you get and you don't pitch a fit!" - I mean seriously. We're not kids anymore. Why do we spend all our time complaining? 

Overabundance of all the things

Here's part of my theory: we live at a point in history where we can literally watch/read/listen to anything we want anywhere we want anytime we want. We can inhale and numb our minds without any effort. There are endless games on our phones that are programmed to be addictive and time consuming. Social networks like Facebook and Pinterest figured out that when they implemented "endless scrolling" we just didn't stop scrolling. We spent more and more time because all we had to do to get more information was move our thumb.

Let's not confine this to digital, though. Walk through your local grocery store and take a minute to look at just how many kinds of cereal you have to choose from. Or how many different crackers there are. And don't even get me started on the shampoo. I want to curse at every barely different version of Head & Shoulders lined up and indistinguishable from one another. Grrrrrr.

If you want to take it to another level go into a Walmart and walk up and down the aisles without any intentions of buying. I am constantly amazed by all the crap on those shelves. Empty, frivolous, useless junk that does nothing but satisfy our consumer need to buy something new. Rows upon rows and millions upon millions of dollars worth of nothing. And that's just one store in one city in one state in one country. 

We've become so accustomed to getting all the things all of the time that when something goes haywire we freak out. 

Entitlement and criticism are like a drug

From here we quickly move from being frustrated when the consumer machine fails us to outrage that it broke in the first place. It's like some switch gets flipped and we're 5 again, right?

"Oh my gosh, I can't believe I have to work at this stupid job all day long. Aarrhghghg!!!"

"The new 80's cartoon movie looks so stupid. CGI sucks. Why can't they just get it right?! My childhood is ruined."

"Ugh, I'm so frustrated with my husband! He won't take me shopping at the outlet mall!!"

When all we do is consume what is laid out before us, we have a tendency to become complaining, critical children. Did we pour our blood, sweat and tears into that movie, TV show or song? What about that smartphone in our pocket? Did we take a huge risk and run for public office? Did we take a risk and do anything remotely interesting at all today? Probably not.

And yet somehow we feel that we deserve to have everything handed to us on a silver platter. We feel that we can use our words to cut down, ridicule and minimize the accomplishments of others just because we don't like it.

Even worse, this behavior becomes really addictive. The more we do it, the more we like tearing others down. It feels good. Then we start to surround ourselves with complainers. And then it feeds into that nasty entitlement and away we go. It's a hard train to get off. 

It's time to stop whining and grow up

Guys and girls, we need to get off the whiney train. It won't be easy, but we need to - for our friends, for our family and for ourselves. So how do we do it? 

I think the quickest way to hack the "pitch a fit" behavior is to make. Make what? Doesn't matter. Write a song, draw a picture, knit a scarf, built a table, program an application, invent a recipe, film a video, make a craft, write a story. Use your brain to give life to something new, to create and give instead of taking all the time. 

When we spend our time consuming and waiting to be entertained it causes us to become cynical, critical and whiney. Making things is the perfect foil to change those habits because it reminds us how hard it is to create something. We start to rely less on others for our happiness as our mind becomes consumed by our art.

Even better, you'll become more interested in what you can do for others than what things like TV shows, discount sales or political parties can do for you. Giving is way better than getting. And creating is always better than hating.

Nomad Necker's Friends

Ashley Longnecker / October 27, 2014

When we first started telling our friends and family that we were going to sell everything and begin full-time RVing we got a lot of funny looks. Lots of people talk about living on the road and getting to travel but few actually commit. Some say "When I retire...." but then retirement comes and goes and the older you get the more you feel like you either can't do it due to financial reasons or you can't because of your health.

We are so fortunate to be able to have jobs that we can do on the road. My husband can work anywhere we have good internet and I can do odd jobs. I am currently trying to find a woodworking hobby that I can do on the road that doesn't require too many tools that take up a lot of room. I've looked into carving tools to begin carving my own wooden spoons, but they are pretty pricy and not sure if it's something I would enjoy. (Honestly, I'm more nervous than anything after talking to the woodcarving guys and having them tell me that these tools are sharper than scaples) I'm going to have to experiment more on that before we head out. 

One thing I really enjoy doing is taking pictures. A couple of years ago I began taking pictures of friends to raise money for our Jamaica adoption. That went over really well and so I began doing it more often. In September I mentioned on Facebook that I would be doing photo sessions to raise money for our RV purchase so that we could buy it debt free. The response from friends was great. I was able to spend time with some friends that I really love, and take pictures of thier beautiful families and raise money for our future. We are well on our way and so very excited to begin this journey. I want to highlight some of my favorite pictures from this months sessions. These are all dear friends who are helping make our dream come true and for that, I thank you!

5 Easy Unschooled Projects to Do With Your Kids

Jonathan Longnecker / October 22, 2014

Ever since Adali and I finished up her comic book project, we've been trying to think of other creative ways for the kids to learn. Even when you homeschool it's easy to follow the curriculum to the "t" and not do anything else with it. 

As my kids start getting older I'm excited to share new things with them. For instance, this week we started watching the Star Wars movies for the first time. Film education, anyone? :) Seriously, though - I get to watch it with them, give them history on the whole thing and help them tie the stories together. Even explain how some of the old effects were created and how they got updated in newer versions. They love to know how things are made and that excites me.

Wouldn't it be great if you had these little projects you could work on with your kids, too? I guarantee you they'll remember these moments many years from now - probably more than all the school functions, soccer games and birthday parties. Why? Because it's your chance to get personal with them, share knowledge with them that isn't in the form of a "stern talking to," and let them know what you're passionate about. It also shows them how much you want to spend time with them and do fun stuff together.

So! Here are some ideas to get you started:

1. Make Unique and Memorable Projects Based on Schoolwork

Ashley has been so great about doing this with the kids while she's homeschooling. For instance - a few months ago they were studying Mexico. We found a Mexican iTunes radio station, cranked it up and made a bunch of tacos. We talked about all sorts of trivia while we were eating, too. I still remember Jett randomly shouting, "I have a moustaaache!!" in a ridiculous accent while were eating. I have no idea why he did, but it was hilarious. We still say that to each other even today.

Something else you can do is work in a craft that's related to a study session. The kids went with Ashley to Lowes the other day, built a rocket stove out of paver stones and cooked their own hotdogs based on some stuff they had researched. I know they remembered that! Taking the school out of the book and into real life sticks so much better.

2. Create a Kids Book Together

Adali and I made a comic book, but you could start much simpler. I guarantee your kid has some of the weirdest, most awesome stories you've ever heard floating around in their head. Get those suckers down on paper, draw it with them and help them make real book out of it. Watch how excited they get when they can give that book to their friends and family. Before you kow it, they'll be asking to work on the sequel.

Adali's First Comic: The Legend of the Secret Sword

Jonathan Longnecker / October 14, 2014

We talk a lot around here about trying to be a family that makes more than we consume. It's not easy, that's for sure. But sometimes we push through and something really cool happens.

A couple of months ago I sat down with Adali (our oldest) and gave her a school project. I told her she was going to make her own comic book! Needless to say this went over very well ;) I wanted to make sure she didn't just draw a few pictures and call it a day, though. I wanted her to know what it was like to work towards something bit by bit. To take on something that made her push through the dip we all face when trying to finish a project.

So I told her we were going to approach it in "phases." This way she wouldn't be overwhelmed and we could tackle each major step together. Here's our process:

#1. The Big Idea

This was easy. "Adali, what do you want to make a comic book about?" "NINJAS," she said. That's my girl.

#2. The Story