Thursday, April 23, 2015

Remember Me? Busy and Boring

It has been 2 weeks since I posted!  April has been BUSY!  The short and to-the-point summary is....we are fine, nothing has changed.  Life is just BUSY!  Additionally....life is sort of "boring."  Busy and boring?  Yep.  Busy because all the usual things just take up time. Boring because it is all the same ole, same ole. 

So in an attempt to fill you in on the busy and the boring, here is a very long, not very interesting update!

House/Moving

More showings, nothing new to speak of.  Met with the realtor last week, and we are talking about dropping the price in a few weeks.  We want to give Spring Home Buyers a little time (considering there are still areas with SNOW....not us, but some areas).  We have also discussed listing the house as" buy or rent", but we aren't ready to do it yet.  Renting out the house here pretty much seals the deal that we won't be able to buy a new house, and I am not ready to give up yet.  We are getting closer to the deadline where that decision needs to be made.

Again, renting out the house here is just a laundry list of issues (management company, pool liability, no control how the house looks when it goes back on the market...just to name a few).  And renting a new house locks us in to a small area in regards to school when we are ready to buy, we have to move again, not being able to make a real "forever"home.  Ugh.  We have thought about a rent-to-own option (on both ends), if it is available and we are able to find a house that we would want to do this with. 

Work

The frenzy of a few weeks ago has unleashed its wrath on me.  I knew this was coming.  But it is making for very full days, and a constant feeling of being "behind."  Nothing is late, but I can't seem to find the bottom of any pile.  Anytime I do, it just fills up 2 hrs later.  Additionally, other staff members are "behind" so then they spend a few hours playing catch up, and then DUMP EVERYTHING on me.  I get hours upon hours of work dumped in a matter of seconds.  And there are 12 full time people.....you do the math. 

I took off 1.5 days, and my desk looked like a paper factory exploded.  I have another day off in 2 weeks, and the timing of it is horrible.  But right now, it won't matter WHAT day I take, it will always be horrible.  So I am taking the day for myself, and that is that.  I have been bring work home in the evenings and on the weekend to make up for my time off, and so far, I have been able to mostly make up my time.  Good for the pay check.  My upcoming day off is the first day of the payperiod, so I will have plenty of time to squeeze in the "extra" hours.

Kids

Both are fine.

Sassy is really turning into a moody little thing.  Welcome to teenage years. She can be this incredibly sweet girl...and then BAM!  ATT-I-TUDE.  I think part of it is age...part of it is just being sick of being here and not with Dad.  She also isn't eating well.  She says she isn't hungry.  This has been going on for months.  I spoke to her doctor at her last check-up, and the doctor talked to her about the importance of eating.  She is growing and healthy....she just "forgets" to eat unless I remind her...especially on the weekends.

Bossy completed 2 Merit Badges for scouts this month, and should be getting a total of 4 at June's Court of Honor. Braces are going well so far.  His eating has decreased....so I am fighting to make sure he eats enough. He is on this kick where he thinks we should get a snake....NO.  Not a chance in all that is good and green that this is gonna happen.

 G-man's Visit

He came home for a visit last week, and left this past Tuesday.  It was rough.  We all fell into the "routine" of having Dad home, and having to say goodbye again was difficult on all of us.  We were able to accomplish all of our Dad To-Do list in a week though:

Family Time:  We each got a 1-on-1 date with Dad.  Plus, as a family, we went to the trampoline park, outlet shopping (these darn growing kids!!), and a beautiful nature hike.  PLUS family dinners, hanging out and watching favorite tv shows, and the kids were able to play basketball, help him with some yard stuff, and misc other stuff while I was at work.  Orange Kitty needed 3 teeth removed, so we also had that done (I am a wuss...I was so afraid something "bad" would happen with the cat and then I would be on my own to deal with my own grief and help the kids with their grief....so I waited to do the surgery while he was here.)  And while not "family" time...G-man also got a night out with his peeps from his old office (I was invited along...but declined.  Hanging out with his work friends when I don't really know them, and they would just be talking about work stuff....no thanks.)

House Stuff:  G-man changed out the storm windows back to screens, turned on the water to the outside faucet, put out the patio furniture.  He did some yard work, helped me get ready for the 2 showings we had while he was home, and just helped with the day-to-day stuff. Plus, he and I went through stuff in the attic that we hadn't gotten to yet....most of which was donated.  We have a big pile of "trash" that will need to go out a little at a time as we can fit it in the trash can.  The attic looks terrific....it looked good before....now it is even better.

Moving Stuff:  We met with the realtor (see above).  We did alot of talking about next steps.  He was able to bring our attic stuff to Goodwill, so that cleared more space and is a tax write off.

Finances

We are nearing the "reset" anniversary date, so stay tuned for that....I am hoping to have a milestone to report...but not sure yet.  I don't think it will happen, but I may be able to jockey a few things.  In general...there isn't much to say.  The bills come....I pay them.  Until after the move, there isn't going to be alot of "effort" here.  Our pay cut has left the day to day budget incredibly tight, so I just do what I have to do.  With the exception of the credit card, which is more "variable" in payment....everything else is on autopilot.  The balances go down each month...nothing exciting to report.


That's it folks.  I wish I had something interesting to say...but I really don't.  I am in this holding pattern that is driving me batty.  I really am looking forward to moving FORWARD.  But in the meantime...I might be scarce.  Unless there is something you would like to know.  Let me know!




11 comments:

  1. I was hoping you had been quiet because you were busy selling the house. But even if that didn't happen yet, I feel like it will soon! Everything else sounds good... Growing, healthy kids... I hope you guys can complete your move soon. It must be very rough being separated by distance. I've known people who have done that and it doesn't sound like fun.

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    1. I don't recommend the distance thing for long term. It is tough. He misses us and my parents are driving him crazy. We miss him and the anticipation of moving is driving us crazy. Soon. ...hopefully soon.

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  2. Dang! Ya we we're all hoping you were busy w. the realtor closing on the house. Your house will sell, spring and summer are the better months.

    HS

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    1. We are running out of time. We have to be in a new place by early August because of school. We are almost at May.

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  3. Doesn't sound boring to me! I so hope that house sells soon praying and keeping my fingers crossed for you!

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  4. It sounds like it would be worth it to even take a loss on your current place to gave it sell. Is that an option? I was wondering how you've been.

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    1. Unless we put it on a credit card. ..we don't have it. Or we use the cash for the difference. ..and we put the move on the card.

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  5. When I sold my house for a $13K loss I put $10K of it on a 9.9% fixed interest credit card. It sucked but at least the rate was fixed and I paid it off within a year. Do you have an option like that with a credit card? Or a balance transfer option with a low interest rate? I remmeber how crappy I felt when I had to sell at a loss.. Here's to hoping the best for your sale!

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    1. We could...but we won't be able to pay it off in a year....that would be an extra 1000 a month and we just don't t have that.

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  6. Glad to know you're OK, even if things aren't evolving the way you'd hope they would (i.e. the house selling).

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