Catching my Breath

Gulp, Sigh, WHEEEEZE!

We had a nice LONG chat with our mortgage broker today. In depth, thorough and looking at it from every angle.

IF our home could sell before the subject removal date, we would have NO problem at all.

IF our income was higher, we would have no problem financing the deal and taking our time selling our current home.

IF our current home had a tenant paying $1500/mth or more we would be in a good position to be landlords and keep both.

BUT since none of those scenerios is all together accurate in the timeframe we are looking at, then we cannot even qualify for the $2500+/mo payments required to operate both homes.

That leaves us with 3 unappealing options:

OPTION A: List our house aggressively, hoping for a stupidly quick offer with no subjects that can close before Nov 8th (That's 2 weeks, folks!) in this area's market that has 66 houses to choose from (without big cliffs in the backyard) in the same approximate price range.
Meanwhile pay to have the other house inspected as if everything were going on as planned.

Ya Right

OPTION B: Find a tenant, that we can trust, ready to agree NOW to move into our house with a 6 month lease guaranteed and willing to pay the required amount, AND able to move in on the day we get occupancy of the other place (Dec 8).

SUUUUURE......

OPTION C: Say "Hey, we gave it a shot, but the numbers aren't cozy" and BEG for our deposit to be released back to us as quickly as possible.

(Now it's the Realtor's turn to say "ya right").

T is pretty sure the seller will fight tooth and nail that we weren't trying hard enough to make it happen. And the Realtor is arguing that we should AT LEAST try to sell the house fast to get the "great deal" accepted on that house. My Realtor is a sweety to meet, but I think she may have a sleeping alpha-wolf inside (Actually she reminds me of you, Kimberrrr), and I am nervous.

After all that...

You know how I said I wasn't looking at houses anymore?
I'm not. In fact I was happy to stay put (I thought), then HUBBY starts talking about the trails behind the last place we saw.
We went for a second viewing, in full daylight and no time restrictions.... we poked and prodded and opened cupboards and turned faucets.
The windows are useless, the shop is sheeted in cardboard inside, and the flooring is simply ugly (imagine Shrek as a shag carpet), so what did we do? Why we put an offer in on it of course!
A safe $35,000 below asking price, about what we could sell ours for. Well wouldn't you know it, surprise of surprises they agreed to the price, and all but one of the conditions. They want to give us the keys Dec 8th.
HOLY CRAP!
I feel like vomiting from nerves.
SO much to do to sell this house that quickly! My lovely home! My precious hardwood floors! My comfortable gazebo and awesome office space! ALL to be someone else's very shortly!
Strangley T is very calm about it. In an attempt to untangle his bicyle from the mass of wheels in our garage he got a sprocket in teh top of his head.... I guess he is ready for more bicycle storage!
I feel that my kids are going to be angry, the new house is not far, but not within walking distance of their friends' either....
WHAT THE HECK HAVE WE DONE?!?!?!

Trip to Vic

Grandpa took me and the boys to Victoria on Sunday!
(Alas Tai said she wasn't going to be around.... very sad that I didn't get to see her while I was there...sniff)

The goal of the excursion? Why the Royal BC Museum of course!!!! I LOVE this place, and I am happy to say my boys seem to have caught the museum-bug too! So many interesting things, animal, vegetable and mineral from pre-historic times to present, I love it. Did I mention I love it?

Very nice view of the government buildings too...
By far the boys' favourite exhibit was the Ocean Station Exhibit . Fun, interactive and delightfully staged to feel like the inside of Jules Verne's Nautilus....

We all love the famous Mammoth! Steve pointed out to me that there is REAL ice on the walls! I had to touch it to believe him. (Cam is touching it in this terrible fuzzy picture)...

Steve had a face-off with a stuffed lynx....

My graphic's side loved the old packaging! The cannery exhibit had nice salmon tins....

And finally, this one reminded me of Kimberrrrs book! I had to get a photo. A sad portion of Canadian history was the plight of the Chinese worker. Not only were they paid a fraction of what white people were paid, they were forced to do the most dangerous jobs and were charged a "head tax" that was a fortune to them. Back home there was a bad famine and they were lured to our Western shores with the promise of the "Gold Mountain" for easy money to send to their families back home. To top it off they were actually imprisoned until their papers were approved, this picture is the exhibit of chunks of the prison walls... the writing is sad and beautiful outlining their regrets and hopes.

We left the museum many hours after we went in. Grandpa had had enough, but me and the boys hadn't! We all learned something about the world and it's history.... I think I could spend DAYS in there and not get bored.

PS My favourite part is the First Nations exhibit.... really amazing stuff. Oh! And the town! Oh! and all the stuffed animals and bones! Oh! and the rain forest...... you get the picture

This is so well done!

This is simply TERRIFIC!

Not only is it clever, it is really well done! I think everyone should see how these movies should have ended.... enjoy.

Sweet Surprise

awww shucks!

I was happy to help, indeed I LOVED being there and helping you move was just a convenient excuse to visit one of my best friends!!!! I know I don't do it enough, and it was small, small compensation to be there to load boxes off an elevator. And then you fed the crew too! And provided overnight accomodations!

So I certainly didn't expect the pretty little envelope in my mailbox today! (Nothing makes a person feel more appreciated these days than "real" mail). I let out a little squeak of glee when I recognized the tiny caps printing of your hand, and the pretty floral card with a note of thanks and more.... really, you didn't have to thank me, you didn't have to go through the trouble, but I do appreciate it!

PS, I am planning on going to Vic next weekend with the boys and Grandpa, whatcha up to?

I love my sister!

Happy Happy Joy Joy!

My sister bought 200 beautiful, wooden hangers to make her closet more coordinated... and bless her, she cleaned out some clothes at the same time. I helped with the hanger switching, and it was a major project! As payment for my help (it WAS a great time to visit and gossip anyways) she gave me first pick over her reject clothing and her old hangers... of which there were dozens of display-retail-grade hangers from the days when she had her own store. So I invited her to my house to do the same in my closet.

After all, I do have that strict one-in-one-out rule in my limited closet, so I needed to do some culling of my own while swapping out my cheesy plastic hangers for the skookum retail ones.

It went well. Apparently my taste in clothes isn't as bad as I thought my sister thought it was! In other words, as we swapped out the hangers I asked her to tell me if there was anything I had to get rid of, or was totally worn out or unflattering... she didn't say much! So to keep my rule I had to select some things that I "didn't like as much" as the new hand me downs. So I got a couple of very nicely tailored business suit pieces to circulate on days when I have meetings, and got some fashion advice for coordinating some things I wasn't sure about, with other things in my closet. In return I gave Sharon a few of my clothes that looked better on her longer frame.

It was actually really fun!

I am so behind

Maybe I have itchy feet because I feel like I am drowning? The dog (adorable and well-behaved as he is) adds SO MUCH GRIME to this already chaotic family home!!!!

Just piles and piles of hair and grit in every corner. And it just will NOT vacuum off the carpet, so I am forced to sit on the floor and brush and pick it off. I am not even talking neat-freak cleanliness here, it's just so it's clean enough that I don't feel totally disgusted. Even with sweeping and vacuuming every single day (a chore that used to be fine once a week). Frustration! I want to wash the floor, but it is too hairy and gritty to get wet, so I sweep and vacuum and chase the dust bunnies around until I have no interest in going farther with the cleaning... its rude really.

I am glad that Tim talked me into keeping the dog off the furniture!

It's not JUST the dog, I am drowning in the clutter, the dirt, the neglected chores! T works hard to do his part, and in all honesty he works harder at the cleaning than I do. I see it and I cringe, then I run to my computer as fast as I can to get away from it.

The only chores I seem to keep up with is the laundry and the cooking. We eat well and all have clean clothes. Just don't look closely for dust, and for GOD'S SAKE don't eat anything that has touched the floor!!!!!

The kids have no interest in keeping the toothpaste off every surface of the bathroom, and the toilet "overspray" may be getting better, or (shudder) I may be getting used to it. How old is old enough to start making THEM clean the bathroom? When am I going to have the time to teach them to do it correctly? They have homework, their rooms to clean and Stevie has his paper route 3 days a week. The poor lads need time to play too!

Okay, I am procrastinating again. Maybe I should go wash the kitchen floor or something.

...at least I HAVE a roof over my head to worry about cleaning! there is that, right?

No more itchy feet.

Tai's move went very smooth, even with a terrible rainstorm trying to wreck everything!
We went and saw those houses, and one was a definite contender for me, not so much for T, I have decided to STOP looking (not easy for me, trust me on that!!!). I have decided to dig in for a bit and see what happens, and this is why:

My favourite blogs have been posting about "worst-case scenarios" lately. They are talking about the financial kind, if the market keeps plummeting, if creditors call in their loans to you (did you know lines of credit, and credit card balance can be demanded by the lender at any time?) and if jobs start disappearing like in the 30s, etc...

So, after reading these tales of potential disaster, how do I feel exactly?

Having -- through diligence -- no balances on credit (except the mortgage) I am not too worried about them calling for money, BUT having a bit of money in the market via RRSPs, I AM worried about the market. All of the educated powers (even the pessimists) say that as long as you don't need to SELL right now then its okay. In fact it may even be good news if you buy these stocks cheaply and hang on for 5 years or so. ALL of these people that I follow say that a worst-case market dip would be 5 years. (But then again, the experts thought the first world war was going to only be a few months too). But where did panic this all come from? Sub-prime mortgages, high oil prices, consumer credit gone out of control???? Let me do a bit of speculatory observations here for a bit....

The power of the US market is really awe inspiring. It is a super-power not just in military force, but also world consumption. I don't think there are many exporting countries in the world that don't trade with the US at a significant level. Hey, I could be way off base with that.

Do you remember the cold war? USSR was a super power and the USA was nervous enough to spy and compete on so many levels to make sure they were on top.
What is it now?
A fragmented cluster of warring independent nations. Russia went through a very painful period of adjustment when capitalism took off (I was reading an article in National Geographic about a once bustling hospital that had only 3 light bulbs to move from room to room and the one doctor was paid in live chickens and manure for his garden!) And on the other end of the scale, the Russian mafia profiting grossly on a huge black market trade for coke and bluejeans. Nuclear subs were abandoned in the arctic ocean (to rust and leak for lack of money to maintain them), highways and railways left to disintegrate and severe lack of law enforcement in the northern, rural lands with endangered animals poached to the black market fur trade to feed families and other environmental crimes committed in the name of day to day survival. It is better now according to the papers, and they are feeling the same pain as us with the markets, governments bailing out the banks, etc. (They were a SUPER POWER, swollen with leading technology and a unified force!)

I hear that the entire European economy is taking a hit now too, and no one is surprised. And, of course, the Canadian markets are seeing some "interesting" directions too. The stories of China's growth and scary economic strength are taking a break as all the focus in the news has directed to the world banks and stock markets.

Honestly, I have always found it very bizarre how so many tiny numbers going up and down could have any impact whatsoever on our day to day lives. (Poisoned wheat going into dog food, lead in our plastics, child labour, WAR, and ice caps melting, these things seem more real to me.)

Speaking of wheat... The price of wheat and corn has skyrocketed (which makes the cost of meat go up too of course). Do you know why? The FOOD crops are being replaced with BIOFUEL crops!!!! That's right, the message we are sending to our famers, through demand on the market is that we would rather have FUEL than FOOD!!!!!!!! I heard the other day that the rain forests of South America, and other struggling areas, are being cut down faster than ever these days! Mowed down (again for BIOFUEL crops) so we can keep dumping green house gases into the atmosphere. The terrible irony of that makes me want to weep.

What can I do?

I can shelter myself best I can from the market dive by watching pennies and limiting use of credit (I am already well practiced at that thankfully). I can take each day with care and try to raise my children as thoughtful consumers for the future... (maybe help them see the global impact of each purchase they make). I can boycott ethanol when I chose my gas stations. I can chose to walk more. I can buy local foods and I can maybe even grow some of my own this Spring. I have the whole fall and winter to prepare some land (easier said than done given my STEEP lot)..... not mowing down any trees. Um..... scratch that last idea --unless the situation gets desperate.

Another List

I have itchy feet again... must be the fact that Tai is moving.... my sister is talking of upgrading, and my neighbour feels WAY too close these days.

I have an appointment to look at 2 homes this evening... one is much smaller than our current home, but the land is lovely, in a great location for the kids and there is a detached shop. The second also is on a bigger lot with mature fruit trees, backing on to resource land and also with a detached shop but an old house (not old enought to have character though, it's big enough, just UGLY) just outside our school's catchment area (meaning I would HAVE to drive them everyday)

Anyways with the excitement at the prospect of someplace new to live, there is the DREAD of the thought of selling this house. Not as easy as giving your notice and start packing, oh no, not that easy at all! There is a whole helluva lot of money to change hands with, lenders, lawyers, inspectors, surveyors, realtors, prospective buyers that will all have an opinion about what the house is worth before an offer is even made, and all the preparation to get it to that point! Hence the list.

rent a storage unit:
pack away one china cabinet
plethora of family knick knacks and photos
a bizzillion books
seasonal storage items
about 1/2 the garage
a 100 or so DVDs and videos
remove and store the second TV and DVD player
depersonalize ALL the bedrooms
one of my dressers and about 1/2 my clothes
the inversion table and extra table in the laundryroom
about 2/3 of the kids' toys
1/2 my computers and gizmos that go with them
clear off the top of the kitchen cabinets
find a new home for the chest freezer
catbox and dog crate disguised somehow
fresh paint where it needs it
keep things fastidiously clean & tidy!
all horizontal surfaces clean and clear
outside kept CLEAN
find a different yard for the boat and tent trailer

Am I panicky? Yes
Will I like bail out of the idea? More than likely

Tonight's viewings will tell, and we will have the whole weekend to dwell on the idea anyways. I can't beleive how often I moved as a kid, my parents were nuts I guess.

Creating Balance

I am a list writer!
I love writing down goals (from long term life to the purpose of each room in my house),
hopes (for the planet, for my family, for myself....)
impossible plans (just for fun),
and
to-do lists (for the sheer joy of crossing things off)
These lists take up coil books all over the house, accompanied with magazine pictures and little doodles.

It JUST now occured to me that I could do some of my lists here on the blog, silly silly me.

My summer list was miserably neglected, (that is more important than my new year's resolution list honestly) and as usual the summer whipped by so fast!

Some of the things I have carried over from that list include:

• I STILL want to get my Italy trip journal written, it has been so long now, I think I may need to read Spider's notes!!!!!!
  
• Along those same lines, I wanted to make the kids each a book for the Disneyland trip that they can keep as their own....
  
• Fix my webpage! My freelance business has a domain, but the webpage is really out of date and broken in spots.... I need to hire help with this task. Meanwhile my bandaid is the http://jennesoncreatives.blogspot.com/ where I post my work as it happens...
  
• Gut out the laundryroom. OMG the clutter!!!!!
  Part of the problem is I am not sure what the room SHOULD be! It is too big to just be a laundryroom, and full of so many other functions at the moment.... craft room, play room, catch-all dumping ground....There are lovely crafting materials in there that date back to 1992! I'm not joking! (Imagination Market materials in bins: I had hopes that my kids would like crafting, alas they are not as fond of it as I would have hoped and T abhores the mess that these "creations" make.) Honestly I need to keep a SMALL box of my faves and give the rest to the Kindergarten class or Boys and Girls Club or something.
  MY toys are still in there too. I still have my cabbage patch doll. I still love her in a weird cozy sort of way, AND my favourite barbie stuff, and the little ponies and little carebears. I was hoping to have a daughter I guess. Hey Kimber, would Zoe like some vintage ponies and carebears for Christmas?!There are bins and bins and bins of other miscellanious crap taking up loads of space.
  In my own defence, I do chip away at this black hole of clutter very regulary. Almost every weekend I have more to send to charity, but it never seems to shrink, it's the great rotating circle of crap, like the circle of life, only dustier.
  This house has TONNES of storage, but it is all exposed and part of the house. There is no cawlspace, nor attic to hide the seasonal things like Christmas decorations, Halloween (my favourite) stuff, camping paraphenilia, electric fans, air conditioner, skates, and the like. It is all out there all year long and it is stifling!
  obviously this laundryroom is a big thing on my list!
• Walk the dog 1/2 hour or more DAILY. Nice in theory, but I am not fond of it in practice.Also I want to use my treadmill, I have it, it's a good one, I even enjoy it once I am on it.... having it in the familyroom has increased it's use already... I have used it twice since I put it in there! Now I have seen the Dog Whisperer use treadmills for the dogs he is rehabilitating, but our puppy is terrified of the thing-- I don't know how Cesar does it!
• Clean the bathrooms daily. I am happy to avoid that chore. And the longer I put it off, the more I really don't want to.
• Do more with my friends!!!! I am very very busy with family, household and business stuff all the time, but I miss my friends.

That's all the list I can handle for one day....

sigh.... back to work.