April 8, 2008

  • Countdown to Chicago Trip

    I did not have a good day today. I woke up with hot, shooting pains up my right side from my hip to my underarm. It faded if I kept still or laid down. I have NO CLUE as to what was causing it except perhaps that I missed a couple of my nighttime pills for neuropathy (it’s caused by diabetes). I finally HAD to take pain pills to control it because I needed to get to WalMart to refill some of my prescriptions. If I am going to Chicago for Gallant’s wedding and then leaving the next day after returning to drive with the Beast to his brother’s place in Centralia, well, I won’t have time for that.

    I actually counted all my pills to see if I had enough (except for the two I knew needed refilling) and did find out I needed one other one refilled. I am really upset over the fact that I am currently taking six different medications. I used to laugh at people who had to take a lot of medications. Learn something from this. Do NOT laugh at people taking a lot of meds. It can come back to bite you in the ass.

    Our pink dogwood has been in bloom now for a couple weeks and it is so pretty that I really hate the thought of it losing it’s blooms. But, alas, it will. It’s just nice to look out my back door and see it. It will be absolutely beautiful when it is more than a sapling.

    COUNTDOWN TO CHICAGO…..FOUR DAYS FROM RIGHT NOW BUT ONLY THREE BY THE TIME YOU READ THIS!!!!

    When I went to Walmart, I picked up some odds and ends that I would need like kleenex (my allergies are driving me nuts every morning), some Efferdent (yes, I do wear dentures and I don’t want them yellowed or nasty looking), some Aussie Instant Freeze to help me spike out my new *do* and some more test strips for my glucose meter. With all the EATING and partying we will be doing, I need to keep track of my glucose level and I was down to about six or seven. Now that I have insurance again (I WAS on Cobra from my last job….and with pre-existing condition, it’s almost impossible to find something affordable), my doctor told me he will write me a prescription for my test strips since he wants me to test my blood sugar levels four times a day every other day. That adds up and test strips are pricey. Whatever portion of it they pay, it will help.

    My sister, Dee, told me that they were testing the blow up mattresses to make sure at least one of them didn’t have a slow leak. I remember staying at Bee’s house a few years back and sleeping on one that was almost flat by the time I woke up in the morning. Now that I have a really bad back, we hope to avoid that. My sister, Dee, is also known as Bratfink, and if you haven’t read her blog, you are really missing something. She has a skewed send of humor that we all love. If you are offended by sometimes bad language, tho’, don’t go there. She is who she is and that’s all I can say. But she sure has gained a following. I read it the first thing every morning and check later in the day because she sometimes writes updates. We talk on an IM all the time but I also find out a lot of stuff only by reading her blog. So, go, enjoy. It’s here on Xanga…under Bratfink.

    The Beast spent most of his day today either on the internet looking up houses in the Guntersville area or out riding around in the neighborhoods that he had found possible houses for us to buy as an investment. We have a couple CD’s coming up in May and the interest rate really sucks. So, we came up with a plan because my niece, Tara, was told by her landlord that she has to move out at the end of her lease or even before then if she finds something suitable. The house she is renting is settling badly and needs to have foundation work. It’s creating major problems in the house she is in so she was talking about finding an affordable rental in the same school district (she promised her sons she would do that).

    The Beast came up with a brainstorm and discussed it with Tara. We would buy a house that was in the school district and, with an amortized payment, would fall within the amount she wanted. We would put it under a Land Contract for her with the provision that, in five years, she would get an actual mortgage and buy out the *loan*. We would be selling it to her (in five years) at the same amount we paid for it less the amortized amount she had paid against the original price. We figured it out at 6% interest (which is much higher than we will probably be able to get for a few years) and, even paying taxes and insurance, it falls below her maximum amount.

    However, one thing we did not figure is that she is looking at these houses differently than we do. She has NEVER lived (in memory) in a fairly new house. She actually said to the Beast tonight *You are looking at houses like YOU were going to live there*. She really doesn’t understand that we are looking at it as an INVESTMENT in her and we want her to have a nice environment. I told the Beast, while I am in Chicago, he has a lot of time to check out properties and then take Tara out to see them on the weekend. She will relax and learn to look at things right once he reminds her that even if the walls ARE all white, she can always paint them in HER colors after she moves in.

    Also, what she is not considering is, if something happens to change her situation in the future and she doesn’t want to fulfill the land contract, we would want to be able to resell it or even move into it ourselves. That is why the area it is in is so important to both of us. She is family but……she is still young enough to change her mind. She might even, once she restores her credit after her divorce, want to move closer to her job when the boys graduate. That is NOT that far off and would relieve her of a 45 minute drive every day (in good weather). Then where would we be if it was not a good property? Oh well. We won’t do it if it doesn’t look like it will work for us. We won’t waste our time or money on a bad investment from our standpoint.

    I’m thinking of protecting any money our kids might inherit after we die. They will have to pay off any outstanding bills, that’s a given, but they would also have to sell the property and vehicles unless they made some sort of provision with each other on that. That’s IF there is anything left by the time we both are gone. I have my own plans if the Beast dies before I do. But I’m not going to discuss those plans right now. We shall just wait and see.

    Time for me to hit the sack now. I’m feeling fairly good and that means I should wake up feeling good. I have to finish packing and get some other stuff done before I leave. That includes making up the chicken and veggies to add to Baron’s kibble. The Beast needs at least a week’s worth because his brother will make up enough for both is dog and Baron when we get to Centralia.

    He gets meat very cheap since he is a butcher and works for a major grocery chain in Illinois. He’s actually a supervisor and does more ordering and stuff but he’s almost ready to retire now so he’s training a couple people at different stores now. The chain is going to wring whatever they can out of him before he officially retires, I am sure. At least they are not fighting him about vacation days and other days off he has coming to him. He’s spent 30 years working for them so he gets a LOT of both types of off time. I think he will be off more than he is on in the future. He officially retires in July, I believe.

    Okay, I’m exhausted and ready for bed. I WILL make another entry before I leave for Chicago. I may even be able to tell you about Gallant’s wedding while I am IN Chicago because Bee offered me her computer while I am there (when she is not on it, of course). I will try but I KNOW Bratfink will tell you all about it if I don’t.

    Love you all. Kiss, hug and tell those you love that you do. Always end your phone conversations with *Love you* and watch it spread like wildfire. It’s easy to do. Try it. Have a great week and may your weather be wonderful.

Post a Comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *