Tesla FAQ

 I love our Tesla. I get A LOT  of questions about it. So I thought I would dive into some common ones for everyone so that you can be a little more educated. Might be helpful to those of you that are considering electric!

Must be really expensive? 

No-- not really. It did not cost more than buying a truck. We paid extra for the bigger battery (called long range) with our Model 3. The cost for purchase was around $52,000. That does not cover the cost of registration or sales tax. We also decided to upgrade our electrical in our garage and had an electrician do that. This is not necessary but I can fully charge my car overnight with the charge upgrade ability. 

Is the electricity expensive? 

Also a no. This of course depends on where you live and what time of day you charge. If you don't know electricity costs more during peak hours. You can schedule your car to only charge during off peak hours. We have ours set up to charge between 10pm-7am each day. Our cost in our area is .06 cents per kilowatt. In the last 31 days I have spent $22 charging my car. That does not count in the free charger we found in Door County. 

Are you scared to run out of charge while traveling? 

Nope. The car has an amazing interface and when you put in your travel destination it will tell you if you need to stop and charge. So far I have traveled from IL to home and still have 36% charge left. We have the larger battery so we can go about 350 miles (estimate) on a charge. The car will also alert you if the battery is low and recommend super charge stations where you can get juiced up really quickly! 

How does it handle?

It is amazing if I am being honest. The horsepower and torque are a bit insane. People can get sick in the back seat of you take off fast. But it handles like a dream especially in the rain. If you upgrade to the bigger battery you get AWD and I love that the car seems grounded all the time. 

How long did you have to wait for delivery? 

About 3 months and almost the entire car was made in the USA. So if you are looking for an American made car this is for you. 

Could you customize it? 

Yes. I was able to pick the battery size, color of the car and the rims. The interior is REALLY simple and I actually have loved that. It is super easy to clean and has a ton of space inside. 

What about the interface? 

The interface or computer (tablet) on this computer is amazing. Nothing compares on the market. I am not just saying that I test drove a ford mustang mach e and their computer system was just not as quick and easy to use compared to the Tesla. I will share I was really scared this car would be too techy for me but everyone that has drove this car or rode in it agrees it is not hard to get used to the tech. I also love the app that comes with the car so I do not need a key to drive/unlock and I can turn the air on while in the office before getting out there so I do not melt. 

Any strange things? 

I mean yes... It gets confused sometimes and thinks there are people/items in the way. The cameras are really sensitive. I am used to it now and laugh it off but if the car alerts you there is a person in the garage it can scare you. We did not pay for self driving but it does lane correct you. Here the car thinks I am running over a person. I was parked in the garage. No people. It also will sometimes get really mad if you have curse control on (I adore the adaptive curse control by the way) and will actually try to slow down on the highway if you drive to close to the walls (especially the cement ones in Milwaukee). 

Would you recommend it? 

Yes. I would if it fits your life style. I say that because I have a short commute and I have a diesel Jetta that is meant for long trips or when we are doing outdoor things. There are some places in WI (north woods) I would not want to depend on trying to find a charge right now. I think soon the market will have more awesome electric options but if you are looking for a quality car to get into electric this one is awesome. 10/10 recommend after a couple months of driving. 

Got more questions? Ask! I love talking about cars. 

Until next time~ Emily 

Tinker & Belle

 It has been a while since we had any animals in our home. When our 20 year old cat passed away in September we knew we needed some time without pets. Last week Ryan's (my husband) coworker shared a post about 2 bonded sisters needing a home.  Below is the post that was shared with us. 

Ryan saw this photo and said something about their little eyes made him feel like we had to meet them. I was shocked because he wanted to go all summer no pets. I love animals though and I was onboard to meet them right away. We went on last Thursday and I swear for me it was love at first site. See some photos from that meet and greet below. 

The above photos are of Tinker. She is more outgoing than her sister. In fact we were told that Belle barely ever came out and was really scared. Here is the back story on the girls to put their lives in context. They came from a hoarder home where their previous owner had passed away. They did not really come out to greet people at the Brewester's Place ever. My heart went out to them because I knew my home would be the perfect fit. We have no children and our house is huge so they would have plenty of quiet and space. We took them home last Sunday. See some photos below of that pick up. Tinker was easy to catch. Belle was a challenge to say the least. 

Once home they got put in their "kitty room" yes they have a room they only have to share with my spin bike all to themselves. They slept for like 6-7 hours and then they wanted to explore. Here are some photos from the last couple days with the girls. They are bonding with us now and even though they are skittish they are warming up to their new home. 

Things they love: Cat nip, the mouse toys, snuggles on their terms, the laser pointer toy and sleeping in tiny spaces they can hide like behind the dryer. 

Belle. 

Tinker and Ryan BFF for life.

Tinker and her whale marking.

Tinker loves to snuggle. 

How do you tell them apart since they are twins? 

Tinker: She has a front brown leg, a white shape on her back that looks like a little whale, has white that goes up towards her eye. When she talks her little mew is deep. 

Belle: Is very dark in coloring. Has a black stripe straight down her back, has "cat bangs" with the white and black on her face,  is more shy, when she talks her mew is really high pitched. 

We are so in love with these little sweet babies. More to come I am sure. 

Until next time~ Emily 

2022- It's April!

 Yes. Here we are April. It's still snowing out. It is not yet Spring just yet. The flowers in my garden are fighting for it popping up regardless on the temperature like angry warriors showing up to the battle they cannot currently win. How has your 2022 been so far? There is a lot going on. I am working on myself more than ever. I am trying to find my footing in a world where I work back in the office full time and still fit in fitness in my life. On top of all of that juggling of work life balance I am trying to slowly do things with people outside of my home. 

My life often feels like the below picture lately. 

I think it is easy to get overwhelmed trying to find a new balance. I also think it is going to be different for each person. I got a promotion to business manager in January and trying to get the feel for what that looks like for me is a transition as well. I find some days I really have to fight to keep myself mentally/physically on the same page. 

I hope with the warmer weather (when it shows up) I can get back to some of my favorite outdoor hobbies that bring me joy. 

You may also have noticed I don't post as much on here (sept 2021? what!) or on social media that much. I am stepping back a little for my mental health and living in the moments a lot more. I took zero pictures at the wild life sanctuary or any family get togethers this weekend for example. 

I hope you are doing okay. I will leave you with my favorite Miranda Lambert quote lately....

"Well, I'm a giver Yeah, and I'm still giving 'em hell" 

Until next time-

Emily

What does burnout look like?

 
I am seeing burnout in record levels in those around me and it is concerning. I feel like people are drowning from either COVID-19 fatigue or just life burn out. I am worried as an empath. I try to be supportive and if the individual is open to it I try to give some tips to help but ultimately... you have to take care of yourselves people. We live in a culture where we are seen as a failure if we slow down and take time for ourselves to recharge. It's looked like a luxury if you take a bath or sit and just read a book for the night. Our society really needs to change and I am determined to be a good example to those around me. I want them to see my life and be like "I can do that too I can take the time to recharge." I mean this brings up another thing people throw at me "but you don't have kids so you have plenty of time to do that." 

I am going to be clear here. My journey is not yours and yours is not mine. We do not have to compare our struggles this is not a competition. We need to stop that attitude in our society and instead look over when someone else is struggling in their personal journey and help them up. Regardless if we think their struggles are not as bad as ours. 

I also want to say this-- You have to put the work in. You have to make your self care a priority. 

I will also share some things that work for me with burn out and how I get back to center. 

• Put it on your actual schedule and make the time. Even if it is 5 minutes alone in the morning just drinking coffee and sitting. 
• 
  Find things that work for you. I enjoy the following you may not like any of these ideas but find what works for YOU.  Mediation (Sanvello app and Peloton app), Walking outside, Working out, Reading a book,  Making dinner, Talking to my husband, Watching bad reality TV or even taking a bath. 
• If you are REALLY struggling right now in a moment don't suffer through it. If you can get up--- walk around-- play your favorite song-- do a quick 5 minute mediation-- go make that cup of tea-- self care can be real quick like that to just keep it together when you are burning out. 
• When I am burning the candle at both ends and BURNINGOUT I will often have to set more firm boundaries. I will tell people "I am not in a place to be able to help you right now I need to focus on me." We need to be more willing in this society to set up personal boundaries to protect our own well being. 
• Cancel some plans. It's alright you do not have to do everything. I think COVID-19 taught me that it is okay to say no to things. 
• It's okay to not be okay. I love this saying. Some days are hard and that is fine. We cannot be expected to be happy and perfect all the time. When the days get hard sit in it and feel your way through it. Make sure you look for EAP resources or maybe do a virtual visit with a therapist if it is getting to be too much. I do that as needed myself. But please know you are allowed to have crappy days! 
• Take a break from social media. I mean it. I have a week off in October and I most likely will be stepping away for at least a couple days to just live!

I hope I did not come off as a preacher here. I just want to help people around me because I am seeing people really struggling lately. Please take care of yourselves out there and reach out to me if you want more information on any of the self care things I do. I love sharing ideas. 

Be safe!

-Emily

Stella: Hospice Life & Being Special Needs

 I have had a lot of questions about our 20 year old cat Stella since she is special needs and I have been sharing some of her journey lately. I figured this might be a good time to deep dive into that exact journey. 

• We know Stella is 20 and this is an end of life care plan for her and has been for a long time. We legit call it hospice care like if she was a human. We always have a goal of giving her the best life we can with her illness's and we know that there is no cure for what she has. Ryan and I have had lengthy conversations on this topic and we agree that once her bad days start to heavily outweigh the good then it will be time for her to go over the rainbow bridge and be put down. We are under no rose colored glasses thinking she will live forever. In fact I cannot believe she has lived this long! 
• Stella has always been sickly. ALWAYS. When we picked her up at 5.5 years old she had barely any fur and was not eating. She has lived most of her life with on and off random issues. The biggest health problem she has is kidney disease. We are unsure how long she has had this disease but her phosphorus numbers are alarmingly high since the last time we bought her in for this last year. This causes issues with eating, going to the bathroom and sometimes pain for her. 
• I want you to know that we are blessed. We have the means to take care of a special needs cat with bills running into the hundreds. We took her on and knew what we were getting into. It's why I am so passionate about Safe Haven and want people to donate to them for my birthday. I know the dedication of my time (no vacations without her), money and frustration (sanity) that it takes to give your all to taking care of a special needs animal. It is around the clock care there are no off days. 
• I mean I want to take some time here to go over what we are currently doing for her treatment but it is ever evolving. It involves special medicated food to bring down her phosphorus levels, gravy meant for cats with kidney disease (yes gravy for cats!), antibiotic shots (she may need 2), meal stimulant's that you rub in her ear and you cannot pet her for 2 hours after,  a phosphorus binder I had to order off of amazon and miralax mixed with milk. It's a lot... we make it work and I hope it will help within the next week.  
• I know that some people read all this and think "why don't you put her down already she is 20?!" Listen... As a special needs human I think every life deserves a chance to live a happy life. If at 5.5 years old we would not have adopted Stella I assume they would have put her down she looked homeless with all that fur missing. Everyone in this world deserves to be loved and cared for. She is the most gentle/sweet soul and I know I don't regret any of the time or money over the years I have spend on caring for her. I am sure Ryan would agree. 

Here are some of her cute pictures for you to enjoy. 

Can you tell she loves her basket in her old age? 

Be safe out there!

Emily 

Mountain Biking August 2021

 

Do you ever later in life start a hobby or something and you think to yourself "man younger me would never do this!?" That is exactly how I look at mountain biking. I got into this last year with my fat tire and I enjoyed it so much. I knew with a normal bike my back would not tolerate down hill, rocks or tree roots it was not even an option. I mean I even broke my tail bone riding last year.... OR so I thought.... 

I never even knew there were different types of bikes guys. Like when I bought my first REAL bike that was like not from Walmart and cute I just wanted something to trail ride. Nothing crazy. So I got this bike which at the time I had no idea was called a hybrid bike. 

Blue my first bike.

So let's talk about it. What the heck is a hybrid bike? There are a lot of bike types and currently I have 3 of them. ha-- anyway a hybrid is not something for mountain biking and also not a road bike for riding on the road. It sort of is a multi-purpose bike but honestly it does not really do anything really well. It cruises nice yes but does not have the speed for riding on the road fast. It also is NOT good at mountain biking unless you want to destroy your back. It was a good beginner bike. 

Last year for Christmas I got a fat tire bike and it changed my life. I love hiking and I love being in the woods. Being able to be in the woods and bike was like mixing my two favorite hobbies. Single track riding on a bike is heaven. I never sweat like I do on a bike. It is an amazing full body work out. The only issue is my fat tire bike is a tank and it does cushion my back but not enough on hard ground. Here is my fat tire which I love riding in the winter. It does awesome in the snow!

Ru (named after Ru Paul) my fat tire!

As you can see my fat tire is a heavy bike and it is not meant for being agile by any means. So recently Ryan and I had some talks about me possibly getting an actual mountain bike. We had been wavering if I needed a full suspension bike (shocks on the front AND back) or what is called a hard tail with only front suspension. I had no idea what any of this meant last week when I was shopping for bikes by the way I learned a lot in a short time. We saw a Rocky Mountain bike for sale on market place and after much research we snagged this full suspension bike up. Full suspension bikes are EXPENSIVE so that was a big investment in my biking. I rode this bike on Saturday and I had a blast. Struggled on hills so we are going to see about adding a gear to help with that and maybe change up the tightness of the suspension as needed. Ryan wanted to try a hard tail out on Sunday so we rented two in door county. My POOR BACK! I need full suspension. Even if I cannot get the gearing right and need to walk my bike up some hills anything is better than that hard tail ruining my back. 

Rocky the newest bike to me (full suspension) mountain bike. 

So here we are I sit here with a sore back and bum but well on my way to looking like I belong on the trails out there. I cannot wait to go for another ride really soon and continue to share these rides with Ryan. I am happy we both love biking so much. Onto looking for a good bike for Ryan next!

Hints:

Get the padded shorts. 

Having plenty of water is a must. 

If your bike does not have metal studded pedals get some. Game changer. 

Until next time~

Emily