Although my youngest daughter gave it away, we had a little “surprise” party this evening. My children picked my wife up after work and we all ate a piece of banana cream cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory. That pie is just too good!
Oh yeah, I forgot…
I usually spend the mornings alone. I and the crickets are the only ones up so it is a very peaceful, almost solitary time.
However, as I came up the stairs of our apartment after my morning thanksgiving walk this morning, I was greeted by my wife and two children holding up a sign saying, “Happy Birthday Our Champion! We Love You!” I I was truly surprised. I had forgotten…
Today is my birthday!
Yes, I was born on 9/11. I might point out that I was born on this day LONG BEFORE it became a date to remember here in the United States!
I am finally 49. I say finally because I have been thinking that I am that old for quite awhile.
Anyway, it was a pleasant greeting. It is always both comforting and encouraging to know that there are people who love and appreciate you.
A completed project
We had a scheduling conflict tonight…
my son and youngest daughter wanted to go to the school football game.
I however, wanted to take my wife out to dinner, so…
My son decided to take the old F-150, named Wild Bill to the game. Before they left, they put the new seat covers that he made on and I must say that they look and fit pretty good! I am impressed!
Another small step
My youngest daughter took another step into adulthood. She started her first real job.
She applied earlier in the week at a veterinary hospital directly across the street from the high school.
It definitely isn’t a glamour job…
she is cleaning up dog dirt!
Oh well, do not despise the day of small beginning!
Yo baby, yo baby, yo baby, yo!
I just finished my morning run. I only “sprinted” one time…
After that first one, I didn’t feel all that confident that i could do any more and still finish the run, so I just tried to keep a good pace.
Actually, I “sprinted” twice because I ran the last 2/10ths of a mile and finished with my second best time THIS YEAR!!!!
I nearly broke 31 minutes! That may not be fast to you but it is very good for me!
So sorry, but the answer is
We just received the call that everyone here has been anticipating…
and the answer is an unfortunately “No”.
My wife’s father will not be able to buy the house. His stocks have dropped quite a bit this year and his CPA didn’t like the idea.
My son was really disappointed. He was truly looking forward to making that place shine!
I must tell you that I am very grateful that Grandpa took the offer seriously enough to meet with his accountant over it. I made it to him as a serious offer. I am grateful that he considered it!
So, that door seems closed so I will keep pushing until I find the one that is opened!
A big open house
My wife and I attended an open house tonight…
We went to meet our children’s teachers at the high school.
I must say that I was impressed. Every class had a very good, if not great teacher. No wonder this high school system is so highly regarded.
Big A’s physic’s teacher casually mentioned that they were studying “kinematics.” I don’t remember studying that topic when I was in high school.
I wondered if I was the only parent in the room that didn’t know what that was. I have to confess that I almost raised my hand…but then I thought that would only serve to reveal my ignorance…
so I pretended to understand, nodded my head, kept quiet and fooled everyone!
Say what?
It never ceases to amaze me at how different my wife and I are and how differently we look at things!
I took here to see the 4,200 square foot Southern style mansion on the lake to see if she like it as much as I do.
She did…
However, the discussions (plural) that we had before I actually called her father were tortorous! How can two UCLA graduates have such difficulty communicating? I mean, we both speak English. How tough can it be?
Pretty tough it turns out. After all, she is a WOMAN! She ended up communicating two distinct points that were directly and completely in opposition to each other.
I, the man of the house (and the superior of the species! LOL!) am supposed to make sense of it!
Anyway, after nearly an accumulated hour of discussion, I called her father and proposed a joint venture on the project. He said that he would give us an answer by tomorrow. The whole family is anticipating that phone call!
Well, looky here!
I picked my son up from school (Cakes was at home, sick and in bed) and took him to the local airport to inquire about flying lessons. A few weeks ago, he was bitten with the flying bug.
I then had to pay the rent for the storage facility which is 10 miles in the other direction. I didn’t feel like driving 2 miles north to take the “fast” route so I drove on a road that I have rarely if ever driven.
As we were nearing the facility, I noticed a house with 2-3 foot weeds in the yard. That is my signal that there is something wrong with the property. People are very fastidious (select the word, right click and look it up in the dictionary!) about their yards here.
We turned around and discovered a beautiful 4,200 square foot Southern plantation style home on 1.7 acres that shares a private lake that is in foreclosure!
It definitely qualifies as a “Wow!”
and we have until Friday to make an offer!
I can’t wait to show my wife.! I’ll keep you posted!
Sometimes marriage is hard
Sometimes, marriage is tough. And frequently, it’s not the big things that are the toughest. It’s the small things, the things that should have been easy, that were supposed to be great but weren’t because the you and your spouse are just so different.
After seeing our oldest daughter hit the road back to Dallas, I decided to take the family out to show them the latest housing possibilities.
My thinking is that if we renew the lease on our current apartment, we are going to be paying $100-200 more per month in rent. If we add in the price of the storage facility, we will be approaching $1,500 per month. I think that we could buy a house and have lower payments.
Keep in mind that I have not found gainful employment yet. My wife works part time. That means that we cannot qualify for a loan. We do have some cash from the sale of our house in California.
So, if we are going to buy a house, we are going to have to make a creative deal directly with the owner. Needless to say, my options are limited.
So, I have been looking for houses in the $200-250K range. You might think, like everyone else, “Oh, but housing is so cheap there!” That is true, except…
We need to stay in the Blue Valley high school district since it is the best in the state and I don’t want to disrupt my children’s lives again. The problem with that is that area is the most expensive county in all of Kansas!
Oh, there are bunches of two story, 1,800 square feet houses planted 4 inches away from your neighbor’s house. But that isn’t what we are hoping for.
And there are miles and miles on McMansions selling from $400,000-$1,000,000.
But a nice house with a little land in Overland Park is not so easy to find. So, I took them out to show them my latest “discoveries”.
One house is small, old, desperately needs updating but sits on a gorgeous 2.5 acre piece of land. The land alone is worth the price. The next one is small, sits on 1 acre, but is bordered by two relatively busy streets. Etc, etc.
My wife has told me that she has a need for a “Wow!” house…one that she can say, “This is why we left California and moved to Kansas!” So I know that she is being gracious when she says “I like this one” because I know that these are not “Wow!” houses. They are nice and could be made beautiful.
However, when we drive by the $700-$1,000,000 area and she says, “Now, I LIKE that one!”, it just tears me up inside. I am the one that has to figure out how to pay for these things and I can’t get that for her!
So, I gradually grow quiet…
and she feels bad…
and that is how it went.
