Stacey
Friday, April 16, 2010
Thursday, April 15, 2010
OUT.OF.CON.TROL!
I am seriously SO behind here that I HAVE to catch up.
I am going to ignore my Google reader until I can make some progress around here.
Most of the stuff that I read but don't comment will have to succumb to the delete button.
But for all my friends, please be patient. I will save you and catch up very soon!
Don't give up on me!
Stacey
I am going to ignore my Google reader until I can make some progress around here.
Most of the stuff that I read but don't comment will have to succumb to the delete button.
But for all my friends, please be patient. I will save you and catch up very soon!
Don't give up on me!
Stacey
To Build or Not To Build
Shakespeare's version was a bit more profound, but I am sure he never wrestled with such a complex issue as this! :)
As you know, when we first moved here, my husband snatched a house out of the hands of another potential buyer before I could even see it and give my approval.
Daring, right?
Finding a decent house for a decent price in this small town had proved difficult, but we were not ready to commit to building until we had saved some money and figured out what we were doing.
So, we lived in the house for 2 years until the timing was better for making another move. We originally put the house on the market ourselves in November. Well, let me rephrase that. My husband put the house on the market while he was home "sick" and I was at work one day.
Again daring, right?
We were hoping to catch a first-time home buyer that was looking for a good little house for a good deal, especially with the new buyer incentives being offered. We had nary a nibble until January when we had 3 people look at it within a 3-day period. Nothing. My husband was getting antsy to get it sold and move forward on our potential plans, but no sell meant no plans so he called in an agent.
I hate wasting money.
Luckily, our agent worked in the same office as one of the top agents in town. She had us a buyer within 2 weeks.
And we were left shocked. We were not prepared for that!
So, our life went into overdrive. Gathering boxes, packing, figuring out what needed to go with us and what needed to stay in boxes, the garage sale, managing our everyday normal life activities while living in chaos.
I might have been a little overwhelmed and stressed.
A little.
Maybe.
Maybe a lot!
We completed the transaction the last full week of March but she did not take possession until March 31st so we could have time to move and clean.
And it almost went through without a hitch.
We set the movers for the last Saturday of March. And I set myself and the kids for an out-of-town trip that weekend to go see family. And be out of the way. I actually needed to be home, but my brother and his family were in from out of state and I had not seen them in a few years so we needed to be there more.
I took care of transferring all of our services so my husband could move our stuff in and manage the two houses before I returned on Sunday. We had located a small rental house that would do while we were building a house.
Unfortunately, we had miscommunication with the electric company. You know the truth is that they messed up but they won't admit that! My husband had no electricity at the new house until Saturday morning before the movers were set to load our stuff up. The plot began thickening on Friday afternoon when my husband discovered that the property had not been cleaned before we were to move in. He was willing do it himself, but no electricity made that job difficult. He cleaned as much as he could sans electricity and hoped to be able to vacuum the carpets the next morning. Luckily, his buddy arrived early the next day and he cleaned the carpet while my husband met the movers over at our house.
I am going to use the term "clean" loosely because the "clean" version was far below my acceptable standard of living. Not to their fault, they had tried to get it clean. It was just way dirtier than I had hoped. It needed Merry Maids to come clean for about 3 days, but we were out of luck there. With the house as clean as the boys could manage, stuff got moved in.
In lieu of the intensity of the problems with our move-in, our landlord lowered our May rent by $200 and offered to have new carpet installed.
Both wonderful concepts!
Lower rent is great. The time and energy it took to clean (and not even clean it as much as it really needs) was not great. New carpet (and tile in the bathrooms) is great. The week-long process of living in limbo, moving furniture around each night, and having our family out of sorts for a week was not great.
The gentleman that does her carpet/tile work for her was really great. He came everyday after work and worked for 4-5 hours to get the job done. It looks great and I feel so much better about walking around AND allowing my children, especially the baby, to be in the house.
But I will be honest. That entire week was incredibly stressful and basically stunk. That is putting it nicely!
Moving on.....
We start construction on a new house today, in hopes of moving that bus by the end of July.
I have more to say about that, but need to save it for another day.
Stacey
As you know, when we first moved here, my husband snatched a house out of the hands of another potential buyer before I could even see it and give my approval.
Daring, right?
Finding a decent house for a decent price in this small town had proved difficult, but we were not ready to commit to building until we had saved some money and figured out what we were doing.
So, we lived in the house for 2 years until the timing was better for making another move. We originally put the house on the market ourselves in November. Well, let me rephrase that. My husband put the house on the market while he was home "sick" and I was at work one day.
Again daring, right?
We were hoping to catch a first-time home buyer that was looking for a good little house for a good deal, especially with the new buyer incentives being offered. We had nary a nibble until January when we had 3 people look at it within a 3-day period. Nothing. My husband was getting antsy to get it sold and move forward on our potential plans, but no sell meant no plans so he called in an agent.
I hate wasting money.
Luckily, our agent worked in the same office as one of the top agents in town. She had us a buyer within 2 weeks.
And we were left shocked. We were not prepared for that!
So, our life went into overdrive. Gathering boxes, packing, figuring out what needed to go with us and what needed to stay in boxes, the garage sale, managing our everyday normal life activities while living in chaos.
I might have been a little overwhelmed and stressed.
A little.
Maybe.
Maybe a lot!
We completed the transaction the last full week of March but she did not take possession until March 31st so we could have time to move and clean.
And it almost went through without a hitch.
We set the movers for the last Saturday of March. And I set myself and the kids for an out-of-town trip that weekend to go see family. And be out of the way. I actually needed to be home, but my brother and his family were in from out of state and I had not seen them in a few years so we needed to be there more.
I took care of transferring all of our services so my husband could move our stuff in and manage the two houses before I returned on Sunday. We had located a small rental house that would do while we were building a house.
Unfortunately, we had miscommunication with the electric company. You know the truth is that they messed up but they won't admit that! My husband had no electricity at the new house until Saturday morning before the movers were set to load our stuff up. The plot began thickening on Friday afternoon when my husband discovered that the property had not been cleaned before we were to move in. He was willing do it himself, but no electricity made that job difficult. He cleaned as much as he could sans electricity and hoped to be able to vacuum the carpets the next morning. Luckily, his buddy arrived early the next day and he cleaned the carpet while my husband met the movers over at our house.
I am going to use the term "clean" loosely because the "clean" version was far below my acceptable standard of living. Not to their fault, they had tried to get it clean. It was just way dirtier than I had hoped. It needed Merry Maids to come clean for about 3 days, but we were out of luck there. With the house as clean as the boys could manage, stuff got moved in.
In lieu of the intensity of the problems with our move-in, our landlord lowered our May rent by $200 and offered to have new carpet installed.
Both wonderful concepts!
Lower rent is great. The time and energy it took to clean (and not even clean it as much as it really needs) was not great. New carpet (and tile in the bathrooms) is great. The week-long process of living in limbo, moving furniture around each night, and having our family out of sorts for a week was not great.
The gentleman that does her carpet/tile work for her was really great. He came everyday after work and worked for 4-5 hours to get the job done. It looks great and I feel so much better about walking around AND allowing my children, especially the baby, to be in the house.
But I will be honest. That entire week was incredibly stressful and basically stunk. That is putting it nicely!
Moving on.....
We start construction on a new house today, in hopes of moving that bus by the end of July.
I have more to say about that, but need to save it for another day.
Stacey
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
P.S.
I know!
I KNOW!!
Mommy can't deal right now!
Stacey
I imagine myself kindred to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde's mother when he was a babe.
Someone is having horrible teething experiences around here.
Enough said!
Stacey
Enough said!
Stacey
Monday, April 5, 2010
It was my first. It may be my last
I had my first grown-up garage sale.
I am sure that my family did a few when I was growing up. I don't really remember, so if we did, there probably weren't that many.
But this was my first solo.
I have always avoided the things. I know. You always hear how people have incredibly successful garage sales and that is great. You also hear about all the hard work it takes to put one together.
That was the part I had avoided up until now.
I am your Goodwill Gal. When I get the purge urge, I typically load up some sacks or boxes and head over to Goodwill or the local donation center. For several years, I gathered my donation receipts and they helped once tax season rolled around.
I never found it worth my time to go to all the work for a garage sale.
With my latest purge before we moved 2 weeks ago (another story!), I had that overwhelming feeling that a lot needed to go. Too much stuff!! So, we began loading up the garage and made the decision to give the good old garage sale venue a chance to prove itself.
The weekend turned out pretty good weather wise. That Friday was clear all day and we got to about 10 AM on Saturday before the rain came. Our sale was actually inside the garage, but the traffic slowed down so much after 10 that it wasn't worth my time.
Both days were interesting. It was nice to be up early with my coffee and watch the sunrise. It was Spring Break, so my kids had lots of outside time that Friday. They even ran a little lemonade stand, earning themselves $6 to split betwen them. And we sold 9 boxes of Girl Scout cookies! Never hurts to try! The people came in waves which was fine with me.
It was both amusing and shocking to see what people expected me to let them pay for my stuff. At one point after a frustrating encounter, I mentioned on FB that garage sales were not charitable organizations. One friend reminded me that I was letting them pay me to haul off my stuff. Good point, but some of those people were literally wanting stuff for practically free.
Case in point. My leather jacket. Yes, the one my husband didn't want me to get rid of, but also the one that I NEVER.WEAR! EVER! It just doesn't feel comfortable. I did promise to not go below a certain price and I didn't.
It still resides in my closet.
I have lots of other examples, but you get the point.
In the end, I think I did pretty good.
Between the two days, we made a little over $350. I also sold my washer and dryer for $150, so our total bumped up to $500.
All for a good cause.
My new babies.
Meet Harper and Ryder.
(Hey, since I am not having anymore children, I have to somehow use the names my husband vetoed! Actually, he only vetoed Ryder. I never got around to trying out Harper on him.)
My old but reliable pair had seen better days in the last 13 years. I had bought the set before husband and kids, but with the capacity for husband and kids knowing that day would arrive. They still got the job done, but it took a lot more effort these days.
The washer seems to be doing a great job. I love drying my clothes with no dryer sheets and pulling out soft, non-static clothes. We did not get the steam version. I tried. These seem to get the job done.
They are so efficient that even my husband has been voluntarily doing laundry.
We so should have gotten those babies sooner!
Stacey
p.s. At this point, I am hoping not to do a personal garage sale again. I am hoping not to have too much stuff again!
I am sure that my family did a few when I was growing up. I don't really remember, so if we did, there probably weren't that many.
But this was my first solo.
I have always avoided the things. I know. You always hear how people have incredibly successful garage sales and that is great. You also hear about all the hard work it takes to put one together.
That was the part I had avoided up until now.
I am your Goodwill Gal. When I get the purge urge, I typically load up some sacks or boxes and head over to Goodwill or the local donation center. For several years, I gathered my donation receipts and they helped once tax season rolled around.
I never found it worth my time to go to all the work for a garage sale.
With my latest purge before we moved 2 weeks ago (another story!), I had that overwhelming feeling that a lot needed to go. Too much stuff!! So, we began loading up the garage and made the decision to give the good old garage sale venue a chance to prove itself.
The weekend turned out pretty good weather wise. That Friday was clear all day and we got to about 10 AM on Saturday before the rain came. Our sale was actually inside the garage, but the traffic slowed down so much after 10 that it wasn't worth my time.
Both days were interesting. It was nice to be up early with my coffee and watch the sunrise. It was Spring Break, so my kids had lots of outside time that Friday. They even ran a little lemonade stand, earning themselves $6 to split betwen them. And we sold 9 boxes of Girl Scout cookies! Never hurts to try! The people came in waves which was fine with me.
It was both amusing and shocking to see what people expected me to let them pay for my stuff. At one point after a frustrating encounter, I mentioned on FB that garage sales were not charitable organizations. One friend reminded me that I was letting them pay me to haul off my stuff. Good point, but some of those people were literally wanting stuff for practically free.
Case in point. My leather jacket. Yes, the one my husband didn't want me to get rid of, but also the one that I NEVER.WEAR! EVER! It just doesn't feel comfortable. I did promise to not go below a certain price and I didn't.
It still resides in my closet.
I have lots of other examples, but you get the point.
In the end, I think I did pretty good.
Between the two days, we made a little over $350. I also sold my washer and dryer for $150, so our total bumped up to $500.
All for a good cause.
My new babies.
Meet Harper and Ryder.
(Hey, since I am not having anymore children, I have to somehow use the names my husband vetoed! Actually, he only vetoed Ryder. I never got around to trying out Harper on him.)
My old but reliable pair had seen better days in the last 13 years. I had bought the set before husband and kids, but with the capacity for husband and kids knowing that day would arrive. They still got the job done, but it took a lot more effort these days.
The washer seems to be doing a great job. I love drying my clothes with no dryer sheets and pulling out soft, non-static clothes. We did not get the steam version. I tried. These seem to get the job done.
They are so efficient that even my husband has been voluntarily doing laundry.
We so should have gotten those babies sooner!
Stacey
p.s. At this point, I am hoping not to do a personal garage sale again. I am hoping not to have too much stuff again!
Sunday, April 4, 2010
A New Day
The last few weeks around here have been filled with
decisions
discouragement
disagreement
disappointment
drama
dirt
deep cleaning
diet
and,
death.
Starting tomorrow, I think I can finally put some normalcy back on the schedule for us. Starting tomorrow, you might even see me around here a little more.
But today?
Today is a new day.
One of my dearest friends buried her mom this afternoon. The family knew the time was coming and it came last Tuesday. Her heartbreak made my heart heavy as well. Living six hours away made my being there undoable and my words to her on the phone didn't seem like enough. But I know that I will hug her neck soon and we are just looking forward to that day.
For her mom, her new day came last Tuesday.
But I find it comforting, and so perfect, that the family celebrated her life today.
On the day that was Jesus' new day.
The day that He made a new day for us.
Because He made a way for us.
Her memorial service being today, well, the significance is not lost on me.
I am quite sure that it isn't lost on my friend and her family either.
Stacey
decisions
discouragement
disagreement
disappointment
drama
dirt
deep cleaning
diet
and,
death.
Starting tomorrow, I think I can finally put some normalcy back on the schedule for us. Starting tomorrow, you might even see me around here a little more.
But today?
Today is a new day.
One of my dearest friends buried her mom this afternoon. The family knew the time was coming and it came last Tuesday. Her heartbreak made my heart heavy as well. Living six hours away made my being there undoable and my words to her on the phone didn't seem like enough. But I know that I will hug her neck soon and we are just looking forward to that day.
For her mom, her new day came last Tuesday.
But I find it comforting, and so perfect, that the family celebrated her life today.
On the day that was Jesus' new day.
The day that He made a new day for us.
Because He made a way for us.
Her memorial service being today, well, the significance is not lost on me.
I am quite sure that it isn't lost on my friend and her family either.
Stacey
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