Lowering the price

It's time to renew our realtor contract.  And she suggests that we lower the price.  A few weeks ago I wanted to lower the price, Ironman did not.  So we asked the realtor and she said we were getting regular showings and we should wait to do that.  I guess waiting time is over.

I am ready to sell.  We are having to spend more money to replace the window that was of concern in the home inspection.  We also paid a plumber to upgrade those few tiny things in the guest house.  We paid an engineer to give us a report on the slab.  We paid a contractor to upgrade a few more things.  We are tired of paying people to work on a house we don't live in.

Then our neighbor put up a huge fence right on the property line.  Yes, it's his property and he could do it if he chose but it is so U.G.L.Y.  Nobody in the neighborhood has an ugly fence like that.  It's already an unattractive house, and now it's even less appealing.

Yesterday at work I heard about a job opening for next school year.  I think I'll throw my hat in the ring.  Why not?  It would be full time, though.  On the other hand, I could get a tuition cut for Dancer Girl.

I'm having a tooth pulled and an implant next week.  This tooth has given me fits for 30 years.  No joke.  The dentist told me I could have another root canal but he was uncertain if it would fix the problem.  I may be back in his chair once again in 5 - 6 years.  Ready for yet another root canal.  My other option is to pull it and replace it with an implant.  I thought about it for a couple of days and decided I want it pulled.  I've heard there's "nothing to it"  Well, we'll see.  Should I take photos for the blog?

I need this on a T-shirt!

Tired of feeling frustrated

Not to repeat myself over and over like an old woman but....... my house is still on the market.  STILL.ON.THE.MARKET.

We've heard all kinds of comments.
"too big"
"too small"
"yard is too much to care for"
"Wish you had a pool"
"love the guest house"
"What's the deal with the guest house?"
"What's the deal with your neighbor's fence?"  (man, if I only knew)
"What's the deal with your asking price"  LOL  Now, that one kills me.

Three deals up and three deals out.  Crazy.  Crazy, crazy, crazy.
People are quick to tell me their own tale of woe selling houses.  I've heard it all.

Today I took some photos of a few GOOD things around here.  Sure they are just little things.  But it's the little things that help me make it through the day.  Just the little stuff only I enjoy.  So, just for fun, here are a few:

This is my left over ribbon jar.  You know when you have just a couple of inches left, or you clip off the ends of a ribbon.  I just drop those little scrap ribbons in the jar.

My label maker.  Connects to my mac with a USB thingie.  So you can type anything and it'll print out on a label.  Currently, after my file makeover/organization afternoon, the label maker is empty.  Anybody know where I can get a coupon for labels?

My free stuff.  Free samples.  Free with purchase.  Free with matching coupon.  If it's free I'll get it.  And honestly there's more than in the photo.  We use those little shampoos, etc for traveling.  And let me say that the N.Y.C. brand nail polish that is only $1.24 regular price at Target is the BEST nail polish I have ever used.  No kidding.  And I've used the expensive stuff.  I should take a photo of Dancer Girl's nail polish collection.  I'll save it for next time.

School lunch menu.  We get a calendar of choices.  Circle your choice for the day.  I've asked and yes, you can change your mind as you go through the line.  (I guess they factor that extra food into their serving line)  It sure is nice to be able to have some control........ nice to be able to choose.  And there's a salad bar every day.  So if neither of the 2 choices appeals to you, you can always hit the salad bar.  Just a little thing but I've worked at schools where lunch wasn't fit to eat.  "Mystery Meat" took on a whole new meaning.

While I was in Dallas I OBVIOUSLY hit The Container Store and guess what they have?  Reusable shopping bags with the iconic graphic.  I was SO EXCITED.  And even better:  99 cents.  It's the little things.  Man do I love that store.

It's been that long?

Wow.  I haven't added to this blog since Thursday?  It's been a crazy couple of days.  We spent the weekend out of town for The Engineer's birthday.  Shopped and ate way too much and spent money.  Fun Fun weekend.  Happy Birthday Engineer!

Our house is still on the market.  We have had a plumber come through and do a few minor adjustments.  And I'm talking MINOR.  None of them were dealbreakers.  Ironman got quotes for replacing the big 2nd story window.  We paid half of the cost to have the window ordered.  Should be installed next week.  So that is about all we are willing to do. Ironman called last night and was in a bit of a tirade.  Our next door neighbor has erected this big old fence and moved it closer to our driveway!  I'm sure he did it because he COULD.  Since the house is vacant.  Well, it's not totally vacant.  But we do not live there full time.

We do have a showing scheduled for tomorrow late afternoon.  So at least the house is still getting walk throughs.  I checked on realtor.com and our house is still the only 4 bedroom, 4 bath house for sale for miles.  And we actually have 5 bedrooms, 4.5 baths.  If you key in the larger stats a few other houses do pop up on the market BUT they are priced well above ours.  So we are still waiting.

And so what do I do with time on my hands?  I completed the January I heart Organizing challenge.  Who cares that it's February!  I'll get to February's challenge in March!

Here is the proof:

 Bottom drawer. Oh goodness.  What a MESS .  I mean, you can't find a thing in there

Top Drawer. Now, the files are in alphabetical order.  So that's something.  But it's so messy!

Wow!  Bottom drawer now.  After the organization hit it.  I even pulled out the label maker.  And found new hanging files with tabs.  Put all the financial aid stuff in the back.

And here's the top drawer.  Do you see I have EXTRA SPACE?  Do you think I should delete those labels?  It's just the usual stuff.  Maybe I should.  And once again, new space in the back.  I put all the papers that have anything to do with our house we're selling in that box in the back.

And now here's my little work area in my little rent house.

It's not too, too bad.  Notice the new bulletin board I painted and added fabric and ribbon.  I also painted the lamp and put fabric on the shade.  That's a flower clip on the side.  And new files in the back for those things you need every day.  And my fave thing on the desk?

This caddy I got at Michaels.  Oh my gosh how did I live without it?  And it spins!  A place for everything.

Update:  My house has been on the market for TOO LONG.

My Niece Gets Married!

Saturday night in New Orleans is a good time to get married.  Ironman, The Engineer. The I.T. Girl, the Dancer Girl and I all went to the wedding.  We met the entire family
at their suite.  It was a crowd.  There were a lot of people with the same last name!  I remember when I first met all these people.  How overwhelming it was to be introduced to this huge family all at the same time!

Nieces and nephews are now all grown up with children of their own.  Funny to watch them as adults.  Funny to remember stuff.  Just stuff.  I laughed and laughed and laughed.  We all had a great time.

We walked a few blocks together to the church at the end of Bourbon Street.  And after the cermony we walked back.  The newlyweds rode through the city and made a grand entrance into the ballroom.  Lots of food, dancing and activity.  And could Big Brother cut a rug!  I was amazed!


















Bride dances with her father.  Wow.  Who knew he could dance like that?  And who knew I'd forget to take photos of the bride and groom's dance.   Another niece is going to email me her photos.  So I'll add it later.




Did I mention there was a lot of food?
Gumbo, jambalaya, crawfish pie, fettuccine with chicken and shrimp, crab cakes, roast pork, and of course wedding cake.  And that's just what The Engineer ate!

Not my best photo.  I took it with my phone.  So that's my excuse.  It was a happy night.  We needed a break from the house selling stress.

And then back to school on Monday.  The Middle School Tennis Jamboree.  Wow there were a lot of 6th - 8th graders.





I need to remember my camera.




No news on the house.  Tomorrow is The Engineer's birthday.   A teenager no longer. We got him one silly gift and several really good gifts he's not expecting.

Tick Tock TImes goes on

Another day in the rent house. How I'm coming to hate this place. No news about our house. No news at all.

I'm going to start looking for a job for next year. Since our house hasn't sold, I need to get a paycheck.

Home Inspection Report

Our realtor emailed the report to us. Wow. Nothing..... and I mean NOTHING on the report is a deal breaker. Here are a few of the deficiencies he noted:
The hot water heater in the little house needs a drip pan under it.
The shingles on the roof of the little house were installed incorrectly along the perimeter. Basically they are not overhanging the edge far enough.
No hand rail on the stairs leading to the back bedroom
Rust on the hinge of one of the french doors in the master bedroom. RUST. I mean, it's not rusted so much as to not function. It's just a little rust. Sand it, Paint it. FIXED.
Gutters need cleaning
Hair line crack in a tile in the master bathroom
Fireplace needs cleaning
One strip of siding is missing on the porch ceiling of the little house.
Condensation noted on the inside of one of the kitchen windows. He suspects the seal is broken.

There were a few other minor things.

None of those deficiencies are deal breakers in our view. The buyers should have gotten the report and negotiated with us for the repairs/replacements. But instead the inspector scared them to death. I'm sure he was opinionated and rude. I'm sure he told them they were buying a money pit. I"m sure he recommended they not buy that hunk of bricks. And they believed him. So they terminated the contract.

Beyond frustrating.

Ironman called a plumber to come and check the hot water heater and any other plumbing deficiencies. He assured us these little repairs/replacements were easy and no big deal and he would do them and then present us with a signed report about the efficient plumbing. That is UP TO CODE.

Ironman also called a contractor/carpenter to meet him at the house next week to look at the roof.

Ironman said he would take care of the tiny rusty edge of the french door.

And we'll replace that window. Nothing to it.

Crazy that the buyers would be scared off so easily. ANY house they find will have "stuff". Good luck finding a house that nice in town. They will regret not buying it. There is NOTHING else for sale in that town. Nothing else.

And so we are back to square one. Back up to full price. The realtor did say she has 2 showing scheduled for next week. I don't even want to think about it.

No Deal

And as quick as we made a deal, the deal fell through. The official home inspection was Friday. Our realtor was concerned because the inspector assigned the job by the bank has a reputation for being a deal killer. She even called the bank and expressed her concern. She was assured this time would be different. And........ he killed the deal. The list, which we haven't seen and probably won't be seeing, was "a mile long. " The one item our realtor did know about was the plumbing in our little cottage. The inspector reported that the plumbing was not up to code. Which, in a way, was deja vu for us. The last deal that we reached on the house fell through over the slab. The potential buyers had an engineer who explained that he thought the slab would settled in the next 5 - 10 years and recommended we put 11 cement piers across the back. We countered with our own engineer report. No cement piers needed. Slab is in good shape. We now have an official, stamped engineer report guaranteeing the condition of the slab. And so now we have decided to pay a plumber/contractor to meet us at the house to inspect the plumbing. We will work to replace any plumbing deficiencies and work toward obtaining an official guarantee on the cottage.

What a disappointment. I skipped the valentine dinner my husband made and went straight for the cake.

We are back to square one.

Our realtor tried to soften the blow by saying she has a family who has toured our house in the past, and has now contacted her again to tour the house another time. They have been looking and looking and there is just nothing out there. So they are reconsidering ours.

Ironman was philosophical about the whole thing. He says he has been looking at houses to buy and nothing catches his eye. So he feels like waiting will be good for us. That a great house will come on the market in the spring.

I'm tired of waiting.

And I am so GLAD I did not mention this contract to Dancer Girl or I.T. Girl.

Speaking of I.T. girl, she went to the dentist today. He recommended we contact the orthodontist about removing her bonded retainers. Her bottom teeth are shifting....... WITH THE RETAINER. And her 2 front teeth are pushed so close together it is impossible to floss between them. And she had a small cavity. She emphasized SMALL. I emphasized CAVITY. The first cavity among all three children. Wow. I should have taken a photo of the xray computer. Your xray shows up immediately on the computer screen. So fancy. I'll do it next time.

In other news, my niece is married. The Engineer drove over on Saturday morning from college and then all of us drove five hours to the wedding. Just beautiful. We all had a wonderful time. We were STARVING, though, by the time we got there.

Sitting around later I wondered out loud who would be the next family member to marry. I noticed Ironman had a funny look on his face. He told me later that it COULD be The Engineer. Oh no!! He is turning 20. So it is conceivable that in the next 5 - 6 years I could be the mother of the groom. Very exciting!!

I'm staying home tomorrow. I'm worn out.

Home Inspection

So far our house is still under contract. We are hesitant to celebrate. I think we will hold the celebration until we leave the closing meeting with the attorney. I have not told I.T. girl or Dancer Girl about the contract. I did tell The Engineer and he was happy.

We got word on Thursday the the home inspector would be doing his thing at our house on Friday. Because we do not live full time in this house, we weren't told an exact time. But that did not keep me from thinking about it all day Friday. Will the air conditioner pass inspection? The roof? The large window in the den? The plumbing? We have a guest cottage on the property. Back when we listed the house we decided to guarantee the cottage. We did not have to do that. But we wanted to make our property more attractive to a buyer. So yes, it's guaranteed and will have to pass inspection.

When we built the 2-story, 1 bedroom, 1 bath cottage, we did not complete the kitchenette area. It is plumbed and ready for a kitchen. We also did not have the septic tank enlarged. Or whatever they do about that. We were told we didn't need to replace it, that the existing one was adequate for all the bathrooms. But Ironman is concerned it won't pass inspection. He's done well, though, to not worry constantly about it. We have agreed to just wait for the report.

We also sat down and crunched the numbers and came up with a dollar amount that we can reasonable spend to bring the house up to code. To repair or replace anything turned up by the inspection. Now, I said REASONABLY. Every house has something and ours is no exception. The buyers are just going to have to decide for themselves what is important and what can "slide".

I will tell you this, when I'm the buyer? OH GLORY DAYS!! I WILL have that a/c unit inspected top to bottom, over and under and between. And then I'm going to call for a 2nd opinion. So whomever has my future house needs to be prepared.

I still haven't gotten enough time or energy to take photos of my makeup bag. That'll be fun. I will get around to it soon.

Another milestone

Schools were closed today in anticipation of a big snowstorm. Wintry weather was predicted. "2 - 4 inches of snow," they said. It was a surprising yet exciting announcement on the evening news. We celebrated. I.T. girl was concerned that the school district would be forced to add another day to their schedule as this is our third school closure due to weather. Funny how things just stopped at the house. Homework ceased. No laundry rush. The organizational thoughts that swirl in my head as bedtime nears stopped. You know, "did I sign all the homework?" "Are Dancing Girl's leggings clean? As soon as the school closure list included our schools, activity stopped. It was like vacation mode set in instantaneously.

So this morning the house was quiet. No one had to get up early and prepare for the day. And it never snowed. Nope. No snow. No sleet. No freezing rain. Just a cold, cold drizzle the entire day. Apparently the air temperature did not drop as low as predicted and so the precipitation remained liquid.

But we weren't disappointed. We'll take a day off anyway we can get it.

Dancer Girl and I hit the orthodontist office by 10am. Big day for both of us. My last child getting braces. Wow. Amazing. Since we've moved I've noticed many professionals are younger than me. Uhhmm. The minster of the church we attend - younger than me. The dentist - younger than me. The orthodontist - younger than me. At least my OB-GYN is older! Oh, and I can't forget a very important professional - the girl who cuts my hair. Younger than me.

So Dancer Girl was excited but nervous. Now she looks so much older. Not a baby anymore.

Deal!

Late yesterday afternoon our realtor called and said, "We have a deal".

We settled on a price. The realtors are taking a cut on their commission.

The realtor emailed me the contract, I initialed, signed and faxed it back to her. We don't have a fax machine here at the rent house but there is a FedEx office location within a mile of my house. So let's discuss FedEx Office. I LOVE THAT PLACE!!! Why do I love it? I get all happy in there. I love copy machines and fax machines. I love that you can bring in your zipdrive and copy a big old banner if you want. LOVE THAT. I can not wait to print subway art. Oh gosh as soon as I get my own house. I can't wait!! Love, love. love that place.

And many other people must love it because it was packed.

I also love that you don't have to ask for help. It's all self service. And I love knowing how to operate it all. As much as I dislike Best Buy, I love FedEx Office. They are not the same kind of place, I know.

Took Dancer Girl to the dentist yesterday. No cavities. Braces going on tomorrow.

And we're expecting more snow?? Are you kidding me? I'm so over it.

I applied for a teaching job for next school year. I decided it was something I should do. I know I can do the job. That's not the hesitation. When I discovered the job included full benefits and would pay for Alison's tuition to attend the middle school I knew it was something I should go for. So far all I've done is submit my resume. Yesterday a teacher asked me again if I'd applied and she told me she didn't think they'd gotten many resumes. So far that's all I know. If this job doesn't work out, I'm sure I can just keep on doing what I do now. Gosh, I'm working at that school 4 days a week!

And the working at the school is cutting into my blog time.

Closing Date: March 5. Now if we still have a deal at the end of the home inspection I will celebrate.

Holding my breath

We have news on the sale of our house. The potential buyers countered our counter. We are within $5K of each other. Our realtor said if she can get us to meet halfway, she will waive a part of her commission. Today I was ready to just accept their latest offer and shout it from the mountaintops. Ironman was not so eager. He wants to meet in the middle. We are going to wait until tomorrow to make a decision.

Tomorrow I'm working in the morning and then off to the dentist in the afternoon. It's supposed to be cold again.

My idea folder is full of crafty, cute, inspired ideas. Just waiting for me to open it up and get to work. I.T. girl and I looked through the clearance lamps at Target this afternoon but never found just the right one. We don't care about color - because we paint everything. We don't care about the lamp shade, because we cover and monogram everything. But we do care about the shape. And we just couldn't find one that was just right. So we will keep looking.

My new camera fund is growing. Yes, I could probably just go buy one now but with selling the house and all I don't want to spend that much money haphazardly. I'd rather save it up as I go. It's been fun to ask around and try out cameras. I've learned the camera body is not as important as the camera lens.

But back to my Target trip. I had only "deals" in my buggy. I told the boy checker that I had several "free" coupons and he even looked at them before he began scanning. Then can you believe he totaled my purchase and forgot to scan the coupons? So I had to go to customer service for a coupon refund. Thankfully, the lady working at customer service was not busy and knew just how to process the refund. So I got $12 back in cash. I thought they would credit my card.

I did not take a photo. But we had 4 boxes of cereal, 2 of them were free. One free excedrin migraine. Frozen broccoli (Bird's Eye) was .41 EACH. I got 5 since Ironman eats broccoli just about every night. Dog food. Grape Juice. Frozen strawberries and banana mix for smoothies. 1 gallon of milk. The milk was also free when you bought
2 keebler cookies any type. It did not state a size requirement so I just bought the smallest boxes I could find. And got the milk free. After all my free coupons, and all my Target coupons my total was $12.11. YIPPEE!

I promise tomorrow I will answer some challenges: From Kristin "Show us your make up bag" And from Danielle "Show us the favorite things on your desk" I can't wait!

The sun is shining!

After 2 days of steady snowfall, the sun is shining brightly in the sky. And all that snow is melting into mush. But I like the sun so I"m not complaining. It's noticeable how much better I feel today having the sunshine. Dancer Girl and I went shopping to get her a dress for the Valentine Dance on Friday. Thank you Dillards. She did not want to go there, but I told her "let's just look around". They had many, many dressed in the junior department marked down half price. She tried on about 12 or 13 before deciding on one pink and black dress. $45. Thank you, thank you. Then we bought shoes and stockings and jewelry and we were finished! I'll have to take a photo of her on Friday night.

I hit a deal at Albertson's today. BOG2 chicken, BOG2 steak, BOGO ground turkey, and coffee. All i had were the in ad coupons from the Albertson's circular they have by the door. No manufacturer coupons at all. I was excited! Oh, and I had 2 bags of ice because we don't trust the pipes in this house and do not have our ice maker hooked up to a water source. So we pay for our ice.

Speaking of this house, I had to pay rent today. For the month of February. Every month I just KNOW it'll be my last month to pay rent. We have not heard a word about the counter offer we presented yesterday. Our realtor said she would work really hard to get this deal done. Well, get to working.

I have a pot roast on the stove. Going to throw in the potatoes and carrots in a few minutes. Thicken the gravy. The house smells like suppertime.

House for Sale!

It's Friday morning. A realtor called requesting to show our house to her clients today. Be my guest. Go right ahead. We are not venturing out in this weather.

Come on house, SELL

Third time's the charm

We had an offer on the house today. This is our third offer in this house selling drama. When the realtor called and said we should expect an offer she, at the time, had no details. Just that as soon as she herself got the written contract she would email us the details. And she did. Naturally, the first thing we scrolled for was the PRICE. And we laughed.
When the realtor called to see if we'd gotten the email we were still laughing.

"I can tell y'all got the email" she said, laughing herself.

So the offer was for $55K less than the asking price. Still, it is the best offer we've received so far. The rest of the contract was straight forward. No lines excluded. No lines added. No out of the ordinary demands such as "remove fence". Nothing like that. So that was a relief.

Still the little problem of the price. At this price, we would be selling for $100/sq ft. And that is probably how they came up with that number. We have decided that $109/sq ft really is out bottom line and is in the neighborhood range.
And so we countered. Gave them until noon Saturday to respond.

Before we did that, our realtor called their realtor........ sounds like a soap opera, doesn't it? Or Junior High. We basically wanted to make sure these people are serious. That they are interested in doing a deal. B/C we are tired. And do not feel like playing a game. We will work with them. We are motivated and eager to sell. We paid to have an engineer inspect the guest house so that we could include it in the property sale as a guaranteed structure hoping to attract buyers.

And just to be clear, we also installed new carpet in the bedrooms, new appliances in the kitchen and repainted walls and trim. We hired a contractor to recondition the wood floors in the living area near the french doors as they had slight water damage. We hired a cleaning service to scrub the entire house top to bottom including light fixtures and the refrigerator. We left our refrigerator because it was too large for this little rent house. We will include it in the sale if the buyers are interested in it. I've always hated that refrigerator. Another story for another time.

Surely the buyers are expecting a counter offer. The offer states that they will have 100% financing from their lender. So the downpayment is not going to be an issue.

Third time's the charm.

In other news, it's snowing. Began as hail, turned to snow. C.O.L.D. As someone said at work today, "I need to move farther south!"

I need to add more photos but there has been nothing to photograph lately!

I did get a challenge to show "What's in your makeup bag" So I will try to get to that this weekend.

Everybody: CROSS YOUR FINGERS! KISS A RABBIT'S FOOT. Maybe this is IT.

Groundhog Day

Today is February 2.  Today is Groundhog Day.  The day every year when that little prickly fellow named Phil is rudely awakened to predict the weather.   I got up early as usual and turned on the news.  I watched the top hats pull Phil out of his burrow and that little creature did not see his shadow.  And so he decided spring was coming early this year.  Well, Phil, I hope you are right
Today we did not get above freezing.  Tomorrow we will not get above freezing.  And then the precipitation will start.  Weathermen like to call it "wintry mix".  I call it "Stay at home weather".  So I am keeping my fingers crossed that school will be canceled Friday.  Or tomorrow.  Tomorrow and Friday would be nice.

We have no report from the family that toured our house yesterday.  Ironman did ask the realtor about lowering the price of the house.  She said that we are getting plenty of showings and interest at the current price so we should wait to lower it.  The market picks up in the spring.  Oh my gosh if I had a penny for every time somebody told me that.

I don't have any photos for today.  I need want a new camera.  And a silhouette machine. And a new house.

I am so ready for warmer weather.

Showing at noon

So here we go again.  People come through my house, look around, and then leave.  Sometimes we hear comments but most of the time we do not.  We've gotten 2 sad offers since our house has been on the market.  And both times from someone who toured the house, waited a few days, toured again and then made an offer.  The last offer we got was 2 weeks ago.  After we countered we never heard from them.  Not even a courtesy call saying  "we decided we didn't want the house."  Nothing.  I talked to my realtor and our visit today is from these non-courteous people.  But hey, they are returning knowing what our offer to them contains.

I can't help but feel a little excitedly cautious when my house is being shown.  Today just happens to be a severe weather day.  Temperatures started out in the mid 60s but should be in the 30s by noon.  So there was a line of severe weather that passed through the city this morning.  The last time these perspective buyers toured my house it was pouring rain.

I actually think visiting a house in bad weather may be a good thing.  You can see if the window seals leak, roof leaks, plumbing overflows, driveway floods.  Ironman and I always drive through a new neighborhood after dark on a weekend to monitor the party animals on the street.  We are not interested in living in a wild section of the neighborhood.

We do have our eyes on a house for our family.  While at tennis team practice with The Dancer Girl I sat and visited with a fellow team member's mother who also moved here from out of town recently and lives in the neighborhood we like.  This mother is funny because she's from Maryland.  MARYLAND!  Where is that?  LOL  So she would tell me things about the city or about her neighborhood and then she'd say, "Is that a southern thing?"  I enjoy her.   She enjoys her new neighborhood but, like many people, worries about resale.

In other news, took The Dancer to the orthodontist yesterday for her first appointment.  Things are so high tech!  You check yourself in on the whiteboard, grab an iPod to play with as you wait.  Tech put her x-ray on the wall in a HUGE display so I could consult with the orthodontist who, btw, is THIRTY YEARS OLD if he's a day.  The Engineer and My I.T. girl both went to an orthodontist who was ONE HUNDRED YEARS OLD so it's quite a change.  And such new treatment available.  I was amazed.  So after signing my life away financially we left with an appointment for next week to "get braces"  The Dancer is so excited and so proud.

I'm working on the last of my Valentines Day decorations.  And pretending to not wait by the phone for an offer on my house.