Remember This? Re-visiting the Chris Martenson Videos On Our Economic Situation

Two things.

First, I am slowly working on re-writing my missing post, the letter to my children, and I will post it again as soon as I have it done. I think it will be worth the wait.

Second, remember waaaaay back in October (2008) when I posted this link: http://www.chrismartenson.com/crashcourse. I hope if you didn't watch it then, that you will now. I am very interested in discussing this with other folks.

"The Panics"

So our van has been out of use for several months. We hope its just the alternator (vs. something electrical), but we have to wait and save up money for it to be checked out. Anyway, so the car has been sitting in front of the house, and every once in-a-while, the kids talk about how we can't drive it until we take it to the "panics." That's how they mis-pronounce "mechanics." Fitting.

When I need to take a car to the mechanic, it definitely induces panic :-).

I just wanted to post this so I have it written down somewhere and don't forget it. Toooooo cute!

Having a large quantity vs. having a large amount: value

Recently I've written a lot of good blog posts in my head, but I am sorry to report that now that I finally have a chance to sit down and write, they have all escaped my head.

That said, I do have an interesting child development report regarding my son, M.

Earlier this year, I tried to introduce M. to the idea of counting money, and also saving/donating/investing/spending money. I had hoped it would be a math, economics, social justice, and sensory (coin recognition) exercise that we could work through in multiple ways during Montessori as well as through a very small-change allowance. He took little, if any, interest.

However, lately he's begun asking for more things, and I've had to say no quite a bit. Sometimes I have a reason in addition to financial limitations, but not always. When money is the only reason, I've taken an honest, though not (I hope) fear-inspiring, approach with him. "I don't have money for that" is an answer that seems to be satisfactory at least half of the time still, particularly when I can think quickly enough on my feet to redirect his interest to something fun we can do together.

Today he told me he wanted to eat at a restaurant. I told him I didn't have money for it. "Yes you do, you have a lot of money! Do you want me to show you where it is?" he replied. "Sure," I said (I'll admit that I was secretly hoping he'd found some forgotten dollar bills somewhere in the house). And he disappeared into my bedroom. He returned a moment or two later with a jar of change that I generally use for tolls, but that contains mostly pennies. "Look! You have a lot of money here!"

I asked him, "M, do you want to know how much money this is?" and he eagerly nodded his head. We began counting. I told him that a hundred pennies is equal to one dollar. By twenty pennies, he had tired of counting, and left the work to me. By thirty or forty pennies, apparently tired of waiting for the tally, he was telling me, "that is one hundred...that's a dollar." I kept at it, and finally we got to one hundred pennies. There was still a little bit of random change left, including some more pennies, so I counted that too and added it in. I actually was pleasantly surprised it was as much as it was, close to $3.00!

"See!" M. declared victoriously, "we can eat at a restaurant."

So then we had a talk about what $3.00 could buy, and how it is a lot of money in a way, but not a lot of money when it comes to things like eating at restaurants. I got out the kids' "piggy bank" again. I gave the kids the quarters that were in the change jar, and made sure they added one to each section of the piggy bank (it's actually a "cow bank," a Christmas gift for the kids from my mother!): one for saving, one for spending, one for investing, and one for donating. I told them I would give them more when I could. Trying to think of something that would really motivate them, and inspired by my friend Sara's ice cream-allowance connection from when her kids were a bit younger, I told the kids that when they had about 16 quarters, it should be enough for each of them to get an ice cream treat at the corner store.

They were really excited about this, though I worried a bit about whether they could wait as long as it would take to collect 16 quarters. Still, I felt good because it seemed like M. at least had a starting point to make the connection that just because you have a large quantity of coins doesn't mean that you have a large amount of money. It seems like a good basic math and economics lesson.

Then my alternative to going to a restaurant to eat was to take the kids to a new park, in a neighborhood near us that we hadn't explored yet. We had to drive there, and when we arrived, we found an ice cream truck in the parking lot. Yikes! This had M. digging in every nook and crannie of the car, where he found a total of about five pennies, which he insisted could buy him some ice cream afterall! When I finally convinced him five pennies wasn't enough, he took up the idea that he could wish 100 pennies into existence to make a dollar, simply by saying that is what he had. I told him I wasn't even sure if they sold anything for a dollar anyway. It took some convincing for him to let go of the idea, and I was a tiny bit tempted to let him go up to the truck and try and buy something just so he'd believe me. I guess we still have a ways to go, but I still feel excited that he is starting to pick up on the difference between quantity and value.

It makes me feel like giving up my debit card for a bit, so he can watch me grocery shop with cash, and help me keep track of what I am spending. I wonder if I could carry an envelope with a certain amount of cash and coins, and hand him the right amount of money (approximately) for each item I am purchasing so that he can physically watch the amount change as we decide on purchases.

I also wonder if there are any printable charts on the internet that outline for kids about how much it costs to buy a variety of items (from a gumball to an ice cream cone to a toy truck). If not, maybe I'll make him one. Meanwhile, we'll keep counting change when he shows some interest. I'm curious to watch how this kind of knowledge will develop for him.

Is Your Income is Dropping to $500,000?

Someone on one of my Mothering Boards posted about Obama capping the CEO salaries at $500,000 for those companies receiving federal money ("bailout bucks").

Stealing an idea from another mom, I'd like to offer this to any executives who are facing tough financial issues such as needing to sell their homes or reduce personal employee salaries:

I can help you successfully live on $250,000 a year. I am available for consultant services, and I will help you navigate the changes in your personal financial life. The fee for my services is $250,000 per year.

:)

No, seriously.

In Case of Suffering...

Dearest Family and Friends (an open letter),

In case of suffering, please call me.

I don't want any of my family or friends to suffer silently in these hard economic times. I don't know how many of my local family and friends actually read my blog, but just in case, I want to say here and now that I offer the following:

• Shared housing while you are trying to get back on your feet. G and I are having trouble keeping up with all our bills in this new year. It was tough before, but now I have received a salary cut and G is job hunting when jobs are scarce. Come stay with us for a bit if you need a place. Contribute what you can in rent, even if a small amount. It will help us while helping you. Or simply help us out with home repairs or pool maintenance, or car maintenance, or as of this spring, building small raised garden beds for our urban food garden.
• Dinner. Sharing meals can help us all keep our spirits up and, done right, will ultimately be cheaper. Let's split some costs and enjoy one another's company. Your house or ours. Bring the ingrediants you can scrounge up and we'll bring what we can scrounge up at our house. Then we'll cook and eat together. The "new economy" will at best give us the vehicle to redefine the good American life. Hopefully we will all play more music together, break more bread together, and play more games together.
• And another option for dinner. If you like vegetarian food, when we cook something, every-once-in-a-while, we can make a little extra for you to have fresh or put in your freezer. You can do the same for us when and if you are ever able, but no pressure. We can also get together to share in the task of baking and cooking from scratch, especially those items that can be frozen or stored well. The more we all have in our freezers, the less convienence food we will all buy and the less we will eat out. Also, a full freezer is cheaper to run than an empty one and a full oven is cheaper when on than one that only has one or two things in it.
• Shared heating. If you are worried about your energy and heating bill this winter, let's talk. By turning down the heat (as low as it will go without bursting the pipes) and by keeping the lights out for just a couple of days (or even for a night), you can save money. Come over for a night or two, then catch us on the flipside.
• Bulk memberships. If you need to stock up, let me know so we can schedule to shopping together. We have been given a wonderful gift of a membership to both BJs and Costco. I can tell you when we are headed out there next, and you would be most welcome to join me and share in our membership. I'd also be happy to split items when the cost of buying is cheaper in bulk but neither of us needs quite that much of something (pickles or whatever).
• Gardening, with prep starting in early spring. G and I are entertaining ideas about how to eat locally and in season (redefining our entire diet) and grow more of our own food. Neither of us have a green thumb, nor do we have much space for gardening in our yard. However, if we can get together with folks who have more of a green thumb/more knowledge, as well as someone who has some space, we can offer some of the labor. There are no "community gardens" accessible to the public in our city currently as far as we can tell.
• Clothes and toys for your kids. If you have a child under three, we might be able to help. We are not done having children so would like to keep our items, but if you are willing to keep track of anything with our name on it, we are happy to loan out clothes for little ones who have outgrown their wardrobes as well as toys for little ones who have reached a new developmental phase and need some new toys.
• Women's clothing exchanges. Sizes change, tastes change. If you are needing or craving something new to wear and are around my size or a bit smaller, call me. I'd be happy for you to rummage through my pile of clothes I've sadly outgrown, etc. Maybe I'll have a thing or two of interest to you. (And if you have anything you think might interest me, let me know that too.)
• Make cleaners in bulk with us. If we buy the supplies together in bulk, we can make cheap and healthier (than store bought...also more ecologically sound) household cleaners including laundry deteregent. By doing it together, we'll also have more fun. We'd have to learn how, but I'd also entertain making soaps and shampoos and other personal care goods together.
• If it feels like your home is falling apart around you, but you can't afford the work and don't have the man-power to do it yourself, let's talk. We can come help you at your house for some number of hours if you come help us at ours. By sharing the work, we make it more likely that we can "do it ourselves" which will save money.
• I'm open to other ideas to about how we can help each other out.

For those of you who are not local, I still am here offering to be a good listener and to hold you in loving prayers.

Please don't be prideful. Now is not the time. If you need help, reach out. We're all in this together.

Love,
S.M.G.

Oh F**k!

Sorry. I hate to just go around shouting like this, but I can't help but shout that right now because oh, f**k oh f**k oh f**k. A couple of oxygen sensors just blew on our car, along with some other crap that I don't even understand, and it will cost us about $1000 to fix it. Oh this is such a bad news. Alright, if I can negotiate a deal on our energy bill, extend our payments out even more, maybe we can come up with about half of what we need. I just don't know. I just don't know how we're going to pull this off.

My Latest Financial News

First, the good: The congregation will not be cutting any staff this year. I can keep my job.

There are a range of staff cuts being considered, however, ranging from 3% of income to 15%. The different levels have different implications. Some involve cuts in hours, others we are expected to simply "suck up" because hey, these are hard economic times and we've been saved from lay-offs.

Nothing is in stone yet. The finance committee still needs to make a recommendation to the board, the board needs to vote, and then the whole congregation needs to vote. But, I suspect I am personally looking at a 3-5% cut, hopefully around the 3% range.

The only thing that is saving me from despair (since as the board president here said to me, I am "already cutting awfully close to the bone" in my personal finances anyway), is that they will allow me to take my cut in professional expenses (my training and development budget). Luckily, this budget line is able to absorb a 3-5% cut, though it will mean my professional activities will be on hold for the year. However, it won't take additional cuts, so let's hope the economy turns around and fast!

The (hopefully minor) bad news is that one of my proposals for a potential budget cut, I think, varied significantly from how the senior minister here views our work as a congregation...and I am just hoping she is gracious about it. I am still learning here when I can push for innovation, and when that is problematic for my working relationships in a congregation where folks have served for almost entire careers.

Money, Money, Money, MONEY

While our elected leaders continue to debate what to do over one significant facet of the economic crisis we are in, life goes on for the rest of us.

My dw G and I, like many Americans, are feeling vulnerable at this time. For us, perhaps more so than some of our friends and family. The reasons for this are:

1. Though the political focus, at least for the time, has shifted to Wall Street, and as an extension, Mall Street (a caller on an NPR show had a good point that Main Street has already had its crisis, which came about with the "Big Box Stores," and that now, Mall Street is really the next street down from Wall Street)...fossil fuels are still a *huge* issue.

For folks out west, most of you probably see this crisis primarily in terms of transportation. For many of us in New England, our homes are heated by oil and we are seeing immediate and direct effects of the crisis. In my home, oil is not only our source for home heating, but also hot water. Worse still, we live in a particularly cold and snowy region of our state. The winters here are very difficult.

It now costs well over $800 to fill up our oil tank. If we were to heat our home and use our hot water normally, we would need to refill our oil tank every two to three weeks. Obviously, this is not financially feasible even for folks securely in the middle class.

2. G became a stay-at-home mother last year. This has really held our family together on so many different levels. It has truly been a blessing. We knew when we bought our home (which was truly *cheap* for our area) that she would need to return to work at least part time. We envisioned her working two or three evenings per week, and us continuing to maintain a schedule similar to what we have now with her at home. However, now that we have been in our new home for a few months, we are really aware of how close we are teetering to financial doom. G needs to get a job and *fast,* especially before winter hits, but even sooner. It looks like she will need to work three evenings per week for sure.

Definitely time to batten down the hatches. So my next post will be my tight-wad list. What's on yours?

My Dream Bike

By the way, of course everyone in the below photos should be wearing helmets. Yikes!

This is my dream bike right now. I started reading the blog of someone using it, and I am just in awe. I could fit both kids AND groceries. Or heck, the dog. I could have a new baby and bring the baby too. I could bring loads of books and art supplies back and forth from work, even in the rain. I know it would be less maneuverable than a good ol' fashioned bike, but I don't mind. Really. I swear if I got this, I would drive only in the winter or when heading out of town. I am in LOVE.

It would pay off in gas, I am certain of it. Still, I don't have the money. The CHEAPEST is $2500 and would have to be shipped from out of country, putting it waaaaay over the top. Couldn't I build something like this within a $1000 range, somehow, if I knew some talent to help me??! Not that I can afford a $1000 bike either, but...one can dream. Or fundraise???

On a related but different note, I was brought to this discovery by two paths:

1. I have been looking for a good bike and a good biking system where I can take the kids around town and also pick up groceries.

2. I have begun to tiptoe into a big debate on one of my online parenting boards about the safety of bike seats for young kids, versus bike trailers, versus riding in cars. I would LOVE to see any statistics anyone can dig up on each of the above three. I would like to do some comparison, taking into account that the studies might be apples to oranges. Still, I'd like to just see.

Now I Will Tag...

Once I take a nap (just took a dose of my meds and am falling asleep here), I will tag:

The Learning Umbrella

Ms. Kitty's Saloon and Road Show

Monkey Mind

Rainbow Mama

PeaceBang

And while I am posting, can I ask this? I love to garage sale but am so bad at finding a good deal. One of my goals for next year is to significantly reduce the amount I am driving. I may have even found a bike trailer to hitch on for the kids through Freecycle. My problem is that I need a bike. G. has a bike, but it is too small for me. I don't have money for a bike, however, and am thinking Craiglist or Freecycle are going to be my best bets. Yet, looking on the central Mass. Craigslist, I got totally overwhelmed. Can anyone help me keep an eye out for a good bike on that list? Or at least tell me how to choose a bike: how do I know what size I need, etc?

Your Guide to Home Inspection Preparation

I know, I know...hearing about my house-hunting adventures is probably getting a little old.

Just indulge me. If we buy this house, it will all be over in about a month. Inspections begin in less than 36 hours. The clock is ticking. My blood pressure is rising. And I am responding in my usual manner: CONTROL everything I CAN control.

Your Guide to

Home Inspection Preparation

In Three Easy Steps

(note: most advice is taken directly from

The Virgin Homeowner by Janice Papolos)

Step 1

Gather together the following: A loose leaf notebook and dividers, blank paper with holes punched, brightly colored tags with strings on them, and the book The Virgin Homeowner, by Janice Papolos, which I reviewed below. Also get your camera, and if your camera is not digital, some film. If your potential-house has any special conditions, such as a pool, get some study materials on that as well. And finally, on an optional basis, get sticky tabs of some sort to mark important information (see below).

Read The Virgin Homeowner. If you don't have time to read it all, read the section on home inspections. If you can squeeze it in, try to also read each section on the major components of a home: heating and cooling systems, plumbing, etc. But definitely, definitely, read the section on home inspections. Preferably, read this before you hire an inspector. The book will have more detailed guidelines.

If you have picked up a supplemental resource, such as my book on pools above, read up. If you don't have time to read it all, read enough to get basic familiarity with the system and its major components, to develop a list of starting questions, and to get some basic vocabulary. If you don't have time to read that, skim through it to get what you can.

Step 2

Get out your notebook, dividers, blank paper, and if you have them, your sticky tabs. Make a label for the loose leaf notebook if desired. I chose to affix my sticky tab dispensers to the notebook and to make a color-code index. My sticky tabs are post-it flags I can use to draw attention to anything I write about work that needs to get done on the house. Each color represents the time period in which the task needs to get done:

• Within 6 Days
• Within 60 Days
• Within 600 Days (~2 years)
• Later than 600 Days, On a Regular Schedule Such as Annually, or "Not Needed but Maybe Someday"

Then, create dividers of your choice related to subject matter that will be covered in the home inspection. Mine are:

1. Bathrooms, Kitchen, and Plumbing
2. Electric
3. Heating and Cooling
4. Appliances, Warranties, and Utilities
5. Fireplace, Fire Protection, and General Safety
6. Roof, Foundation, and Basement
7. The Healthy Home: Ventilation, Pest Management, and Toxins
8. General Interior
9. Garage
10. General Exterior
11. Landscaping, Exterior Water Systems, Driveways, and Walkways
12. Pool

I also chose to use this notebook to store all documents related to the purchase. If you do this, bear in mind that you may need a loose leaf notebook fitted for legal sized papers, as papers you sign at the closing may be legal size. Additionally, you may have to upgrade to a thicker notebook depending on how many papers you acquire. Based on our first home purchase experience, I am guessing that a 1.5 inch notebook would have been the minimum needed. I am hopelessly hoping for fewer papers this time around. My last tabs are:

• Referrals, Pre-Closing Papers, General Documents, Etc.
• Finance
• Closing Papers
• Other

In each section of the notebook, I placed approximately three blank pages for note taking and drawings during the inspection. Notice that I chose dividers that have a "sleeve" for storage. Keep in mind that your inspection isn't just a time to make sure "everything is up to snuff" and to come up with some negotiation points for a reduced price. This is your chance to become fully acquainted with your potential house and to become educated about its condition and care. It is also a time to create your list of work that needs to be done on the house, and set priorities. And finally, it is your chance to document details that are important in the condition of the house.

Bringing a camera to the inspection is a good idea. You can take pictures to document, to help you remember certain details, and to generally admire, among other uses. If you can, place a "time and date stamp" on the photos so you remember when you took them. Slip the photos in the sleeves. You can use the sleeves for other items that come your way during the inspection, and later on, who knows, you could even use it for paint chip samples (just keep in mind that the inspection is the WRONG time to be thinking about selecting paint colors).

Step 3

Mark three brightly colored tags for major water shut off locations: the main water, the hot water, and the outdoor sprinkler system water. Again, an inspection is a chance to get ready to care properly for your potential-home. You are paying an inspector not just for the details on the condition of your home, but also for education on how to care for it.

I also am bringing extra tags to my inspection in case I want to mark anything else I am likely to forget. For example, I may want to mark switches on the furnace that will guide me in its operation.

And that's basically it. Now you are ready for your home inspection.

By the way, the usual rate for a home inspection ranges from around $200-400. In my area, the average price hovers around $300. However, we are paying $495. This is because the inspector we interviewed about whom we felt most confident, and who promised us the most generous amount of time for the inspection, smf who seemed most adept at educating homebuyers (and even turns down home inspections when buyers can't be there), and who is a member of the "American Society of Home Inspectors" (ASHI) charges that much.

Unfortunately, I also learned today that pool inspections can be quite pricey. For a complete pool inspection (visual examination, leak test, and dive), I was quoted $790 today! That's approaching double the cost of my home inspection, so I am not sure what I will do about that!!?

Yep!!

That's THE ONE.

I loooooooove it.

That said, here's the obligatory pros and cons list:

PROS

• The location is good, both for re-sale and for our purposes. There is stuff we can walk to, including a park.
• This house is totally move-in ready!
• The house is vinyl sided, so we won't have to worry about painting it. In this climate, this is a big issue because here houses need to be painted frequently.
• Most of the windows are updated.
• There is a new furnace.
• There is a lovely little inground pool-- K. will LOVE it.
• It is the perfect size. Not impossibly large, but not too small for our purposes either.
• Our agent thinks this house is likely underpriced, but it is not a foreclosure or a short sale. She just listed a house (without a pool) in this same neighborhood. It didn't have a garage and was listed at $267,000. She immediately received six offers. This is a DEAL (though the downside to that is that we're probably going to have to fight for this one, and it is already the top of our price range).
• All appliances are included in the price, and they are newer appliances.
• The mantel on the fireplace is beautiful, there is a window seat in the living room looking out to the front street (M will love it!) and there are a few nice built-ins and storage spaces throughout...including a nice built in bookcase in the smaller bedroom.
• The staircase is nice and wide (easier for moving furniture, and feels more comfortable too)
• There are a lot of windows, for great ventilation. The ceilings are somewhat high, which adds to the house's good open feeling.
• The house has been well maintained and feels like it is in good condition. The floors are also in relatively good shape.
• The master bedroom, while it doesn't have its own bath, is very close to the bathroom and is very large: 14x20 at least. A second bedroom is also a good size.
• There is a lovely sunroom type space on the first floor that could be used as an office or playroom, or for any number of purposes. It's great!
• There is an enclosed sunroom type porch next to the pool.
• The driveway is shared. Often this would be a big draw-back. However, there is still a two car garage (apparently with a garage door opener), the driveway is well maintained and wide enough for its shared use, and it also means maintance is shared with the neighbors (and word is, the neighbor's sons shovel it).
• The seller's agent is in the same office as our agent, which may give us some advantage in getting an offer accepted.

CONS

• This is at the top of our price range, and the taxes on this property are also rather high.
• There is not a real back or side yard. There is the pool, which is gated. Then there is also a paved area that the current owners have set up as a nice children's play space. In addition, there is a small area outside of the paved and pool areas. It currently has stones as well as a stone walkway, and a patio-swing. The no-yard factor is actually a pro for us because experience shows we can't maintain a yard very well. We have a very hard time with that. However, we do have a large dog to think about. On the other hand, our dog is 12 years old (so not buying a house because of her may not be adviseable), and there is a place for her to go outside even if not ideal.
• There is asbestos on some pipes in the basement. However, they are encased, so it would only be an issue if we decided to do updates. We'll talk to the inspector about it during the inspections.
• The roof appears to be older. It may need to be replaced in the next few years (we'll find out in inspections).
• The heat is by oil, and there is only one heating zone=expensive. This is something, however, that we could probably address in the years to come given that there isn't major work to do elsewhere in the home aside from the roof.
• One of the bedrooms is very small, probably 8x8 or something. And there is no room for expansion. This is an issue for foster licensing, but because one of the bedrooms is very large, if G. and I were willing to take the smaller one at some point, we should be able to continue being licensed for the number of children we would like to care for.
• There is likely lead paint inside that we'll need to get removed.
• There will be costs associated with maintaining the pool, though the good news is that it seems well-maintained currently and they have done some updates on it.
• There is no open, neighborly porch.
• The basement does get some water, which is VERY common in this city, particularly with this type of foundation (however, there is a sump pump and a dehumidifer already installed).

I've called our agent, and she is at a doctor's appointment right now. She is going to call the selling agent and get a feel for urgency. If there is not an offer on the table yet and no word of one yet, I will meet with our agent tomorrow at 11am to write one. Otherwise, her brother (another agent) will be writing the offer with me later today, or she may do it after her appointment. Updated at 4:30 to say that she checked with the selling agent and we were the first to come in. The next showing isn't until tomorrow at noon, so we'll be able to write our offer tomorrow at 11am. I am so nervous about getting this offer right, so we are competative but don't break the bank. I really, really, really WANT this house, and I KNOW it will get other offers. It is unfortunate that I will do this without G. having seen the property, but she said it sounds GREAT, so she is on board and excited. She just can't wait to see it.

Side note: The bad news is I was basically out of my office all day. I worked much of the day Monday (my usual day off), and a lot of Tuesday (despite missing my day off). My assistant had to be out both days for personal reasons. Today I was running late because I was seeing G. and the kids off to New York. Then G. called late this morning to say she got a flat tire. She usually can change a flat tire, but was having difficulty getting the tire off. She was on the Mass Pike and AAA said that when you are on the Mass Pike, they can't send somebody out. The state police have to come. The state police came, called somebody to help, but the folks were taking forever, and it was past the kids' nap time, and everyone was in quite a state. So I stayed on the phone with her until help arrived. Part of the time she had me on speaker phone talking to the kids, who were miserable, while she kept working to try to change the tire.

I came to my office this afternoon and found a note from my assistant saying she wasn't coming in tomorrow but would be in on Friday, and that she wouldn't have time to get several things done. I don't mind at all. But I called to check and make sure everything was okay, and she seemed short with me. I have been in late a lot lately, and I know that makes her work harder because we can't chat in person about stuff. I value her so much, and I am terrified that I have really let her down. I have such a knot in my stomach. I hope everything is okay with her and between us as well. She is amazing! I have always been paranoid about my own inadequacies, and whenever anything like this happens, I always assume I am making someone's life miserable and that our relationship is coming undone. I know there are a thousand other things that could be happening, but boo hoo! I am having super, super anxiety.

Enough Food

Someone I know online is in the practice of re-plating her leftovers after eating at a restaurant:

http://replate.org/

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/441533/replating_as_a_gift.html

She added to the second article above that she marks the container with the date and time and what is in it as well.

Not a bad idea. However, if I am eating at a restaurant, I often am spending money that I haven't budgeted, and I am counting on eating the leftovers for the next day or two to make the money stretch as far as I can.

If one doesn't have any food on hand, maybe passive help will work?http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1743880

Timing is Everything

Today my supervising minister said that he heard from the senior minister this dangerous little tidbit:

There is a top university very near to me (which shall remain nameless) with something crazy like a 19 billion dollar endowment. The divinty school within that university is currently a focus of the university. They are supposedly encouraging folks to come to the seminary with *tremendously* generous amounts of financial aid. Through the grape-vine, apparently, the senior minister heard they are not only giving gobs of tuition assistance, but that they are even giving students/families apartments to live in during their studies. They have completed their application cycle for 2008-2009, but in September they will begin recruitment again for 2009-2010.

I'm not going to say anything else about this. Timing is everything, and sometimes timing just doesn't add up. I just want to say, hmmm.

The House-Hunting Report

Here's what I wrote on one of my message boards tonight:

We exhausted ourselves looking at houses today. It was completely, utterly tiring. Honestly, I would be willing to put an offer on any of them (they all have good points and bad points), but none of them make both G. and me smile except for one:



http://www.remaxadvantage.com/search.asp?search=standard&agentid=104861

MLS# 70 55 9 738 (take out the spaces)

Both G and I walked into this one and just felt really comfortable there. We like the layout, and it just FEELS good. I wanted to sit down and stick around. G. literally left *beaming.* She smiled ear to ear all evening thinking about it. The problem is that it is somewhat of a rehab project.

• It will need a new roof.
  
• All the shutters need replaced.


• Some of the windows still need replaced.


• The lead and asbestos need to be removed.


• It may need a small amount of electrical work (though it does have a brand new electrical panel).


• The kitchen will need some major work, and as a part of that project, we'd probably end up converting a "bonus" room right next to the kitchen into a bathroom and laundry room combo.


• The basement is very wet. It has an ancient drainage system that would need to be replaced and it needs a sump pump or two.
• There is an old oil furnace (luckily sans asbestos). It would be in our best financial interest to update the heating system, converting it to a multi-zone gas-powered system (fortunately the house is gas metered).


• The (small) yard needs work and needs to be fenced.
  

Eventually the driveway will need to be repaved. It also needs a lot of cosmetic updating.

Much further down the line...we'd knock out that front entryway (it is unuseable right now...very, very, very musty...though rest assured that the rest of the house doesn't have that smell), and we would hopefully put in a porch or a deck.

I'm unsure about taking on a house like that right now. And I worry about the wet basement, in terms of longterm structural issues. I also think a rehab loan might knock us out of the running because right now I've heard they require 30% down and are more expensive loans.

Actually, there are some other downsides to the house as well, which would impact re-sale value. It is on a very busy street and right behind the house (next door, basically, as it is a corner lot), are several business (rather than more residences).

BUT we LOVE the house. It is a comfortable size and very likeable in soooooo many ways. And the location is very good (besides the busy street, which we actually appreciate because our kids like watching cars go by). And it is much cheaper than many of the other properties we've looked at.

I'm gonna talk to one of our mortgage people tomorrow and see if this is at all possible financially. The house has been on the market for a year. Most houses that have been on the market when it hit bottom have now sold. Not this one. The seller is motivated (although we have to consider that when they first listed, the house was listed at $240,000). I am really tempted to put in an offer of $180,000 or $185,000 (or less if the price of the work adds up enough to justify doing so) and just see what they do.

That makes dw nervous because she loves the house and wants to start offering at $190,000. I'm not ready for that yet. There is so much work.

Our agent is gonna give us the contact information for a contractor who will give us estimates for all the work. This will give us an idea of what is a fair offer and whether we can afford this either as a rehab loan or by reducing our downpayment to help cover the costs out of pocket.

We also have one other property that just came back on the market that we've asked our agent to see. We'll see what we decide to do. Stay tuned.

House Hunting This Weekend!

I am getting anxious about buying a house.

My agent says that buyers are coming back to the market in droves at the moment (after I asked her because it seemed like every house we liked got an offer before we could get in to see it).

I don't want to have sold at the absolute bottom of the market only to have to buy when the market is in full upswing.

I'm irritated.


So I asked our agent to show us a handful of houses on Sunday. I picked them out. Let me show you the one I like the best right at the moment:

Why do I like it so much?



Location...Location...LOCATION
+a front porch *and* a back deck!!

To see the full listing, go to http://www.remaxadvantage.com/search.asp?search=standard&agentid=104861, scroll down to where it asks for the MLS number, and plug in the following (but take out all the spaces):

70 744 9 18
(note: at some point I will take this down)


This house just might have the potential to make the house-hunting process joyful again. When I think about it, I get butterflies in my stomach.

BUT, it is not perfect. Here is the ol' pros and cons list:

PROS

• It is within our price range in a location I ADORE! I like the location because it is in an area of the city considered broadly to be desireable (good in terms of an investment), but it is in a more economically mixed portion of that area (good in terms of our souls). There are trees and sidewalks in the neighborhood (you'd be surprised by how little of that there is out here), and there appear to be families with children around. It is walking distance to a lot (at least in comparison to everything we've found in this city so far). I haven't even seen it all yet. A new vegetarian restaurant (seriously unheard of out here) just opened up a few blocks away (I swear we could single-handedly keep it open)!! From what I could tell, we could walk to at least a couple different restaurants (granted one is a faster-food type chain), to at least one if not two pharmacies, to a youth center with a basketball court and a very tiny park (see below under cons for some issues), to a "corner store," and MORE! You just don't get that kind of thing in most areas of this strip mall city. It is on a side of town that really appeals to me, despite being very congested through the route to my work...however, it is in the perfect spot because there is a short-cut I can take. It should be a ten minute drive to work, I think. The location makes me want to put an offer on it site unseen, for crying out loud! I swoon.
• As I said, it has a really cute porch! PLUS a nice looking, big deck!
• The backyard is perfectly level, very well-maintained and seemingly low maintance, and seems to be of decent size. It appears to be fenced, though the back portion of the fence would need to be replaced with something more dog-proof.
• It has a newer boiler, newer water tank, replacement windows, and vinyl siding.
• Supposedly the kitchen and bathroom have been updated.
• All appliances are included.
• Heating is by gas (much cheaper than oil), and the water heater also works by gas. Given the smaller size of the house, heating should be affordable.
• The house is pretty darn cute. Even cuter in person than in the photo.

CONS

• While I love the location, there are some issues with the location. On the next street over, there is a medium-size liqour store. Across from that there is a trashed out, ill-maintained Rite Aid (pharmacy). Though the house is less than a half mile from a park, it hardly deserves the title. The park is right on a majorly busy street. There is graffiti all over the park, and all it consists of a lonely slide and a few swings and *a lot* of litter. Though it is next to the youth center, it feels very sketchy, especially as night begins to fall. Also, across the street from the park is a commercially owned (though small) stadium. On one hand, I want to get involved in cleaning up and adding to that playground, but part of me thinks it's hopeless.
• This is another house with potential size issues. Again it is one the same size as our old house that we felt we had outgrown. I do feel that having porch and deck space increases the size of a home on some level, but we are a growing family.
• Also, a big red flag here is that the listed square footage differs greatly from public record (it is listed with a few hundred more square feet).
• The room sizes are not listed, and the rooms look small...especially that rinky, dinky supposedly updated kitchen. If any of the bedrooms is smaller than 10x10, we can't buy this house due to foster licensing.
• The bedrooms are divided between two floors. Ack! I don't know if I can handle that.
• Right now there are carpets everywhere. It says there are hardwoods under all carpets, but there is no way to know what condition they are in or even if this is true.
• There is only one bathroom, there is no fireplace (Waaaaaaaahhhhh...I really, really, really want a house with a fireplace damnit! A lot! How much does it take to add one?), and though there are four off-street parking spaces, there is no garage.
• There is likely lead, which means for foster licensing we'll be sinking a bunch of money into the house right away to de-lead. On the other hand, this is an issue with most of the houses out here.
• There is only one heating zone (more expensive, less efficient, and less environmentally friendly), and the heat is also by steam which is a potential issue with M's asthma.
• I am not a fan of wallpaper personally, and it has wallpaper in every room.
  

So what does it mean when you love the location in so many ways, but there are also other glaring location concerns?

And they say to always buy for location, but when does location trump other downsides?

I know, I know. I haven't seen it inside yet, and I could end up hating it. Plus, for all I know they'll already have accepted another offer by Sunday. And knowing my luck, this won't work out. But for now I can't stop thinking about it.

A Montessori School Open House Experience

The following are notes from a conversation I had with the Director of Admissions at a Montessori school near us. The post directly above this one will be the letter I sent to the school regarding these notes (I've edited both the notes and the letter to conform with the use of intials as names on this blog). I thought this was interesting enough conversational material for us here. What does this say about where we are as a society when it comes to special needs? What does this say about what is happening in the world of Montessori right now?

Notes From a Conversation With the Montessori School Director of Admissions (J.)
April 8, 2008


At first I wrote down J.’s exact words because I found them so striking, but mid-way through the conversation I became very uncomfortable with the tone of the dialogue, so I did not feel that verbatim notes were necessary for my decision about my son’s placement.

Me (going through the questions on the enclosed form): “What experience does the school have in working with children who have special needs?”

J.: “We don’t really have resources for children with special needs.”

Me: “So you don’t admit children with special needs?”

J.: “No. It’s not fair to the children. We want to do what’s fair for the children.” After a pause she added, “I mean, it depends on the need. Like, a child with cochlear implants. That kind of thing we can handle.” [Note: She did not say a “deaf child.” The implication is that only a child who has had implants would be acceptable. Not a deaf child. I also want to note that earlier in the conversation when I asked what type of scenario would signal a child and Montessori are mismatched, her immediate response was, “When a child can’t listen.”].

She continued: “This is something we tell parents over the phone before they come in, so it doesn’t surprise anyone.”

Me: “No one told me this over the phone.”

J.: “Did you talk about special needs on the phone?”

Me: “Yes, I did.”

What follows is the remainder of the conversation. I am writing this just a couple of hours after my visit, so my memories are still fresh and clear. I believe this is an accurate representation of what was said.

· J. asked me about my son’s special needs, though she didn’t really give me any time for a real explanation. I told her that he has global developmental delays, and was about to share more when she continued talking. J. said that she wasn’t qualified to “know what that means,” but that her sister (if I recall correctly) is a special education teacher and that her sister has told her (J.) that “there are high and low functioning” children with special needs and that “[Summit Montessori School faculty] should read all the reports very carefully.”

· J. asked me if I had “any reports” about my son (she did not specify what type of reports from whom). I told her that I do, and before I had a chance to ask what type of reports, she told me that the faculty would need to see these in order to make an admissions decision. I said something very close to the following words, which I chose very carefully at that point because I wanted to make sure that I was not misunderstanding. “You said earlier that the evaluation process for admission involves an approximately twenty-minute lesson and observation period with a teacher. Are you saying that for children with special needs, the admission decision is not made on this period of observation, but rather from reading reports about the child?”

· I remember the first part of J.’s answer clearly. “Yes.” After another pause, she said: “Well, it depends. We have got to read those reports. We’ve had parents come in and tell us their kids are low needs, and then they come in and the kids are all over the place. Parents don’t really see their children. We can’t just take what they say.” [Note: the tone of J.’s voice indicated to me that she was talking about parents misleading the school.]

“Yes, we usually do twenty minutes of assessment for a child without special needs, but for a child with special needs, it might be forty-five minutes. We would read those reports for sure. Because in the end, yes, parents are important. But this isn’t about the parents. This is about the children.” J. re-stated several times that “reports” would be vital, and she consistently downplayed the role of teacher observation in the assessment of my son’s match with the school. It was clear to her that written “reports” of any type would carry a heavy weight, and that the teacher observation was only a small part of the process.

· J. also referred to the school as not being “a place for special education. We’re just not able to do that.” It was unclear to me if she truly grasped Maria Montessori’s work as being “special education” in and of itself. She also didn’t give any indication that she remembered that Montessori’s first work was with children who had been identified as having “special needs.”

If I was looking for a special education class for my child, I would be looking elsewhere. In fact, my child qualifies for free early childhood education in a special education setting, which would obviously be an incentive for me to place him in such a setting. However, I demonstrated throughout my visit that I am an educated, thoughtful parent who is well versed in and committed to the Montessori model. I also demonstrated that I want an environment for my child where he can thrive.

Clearly, as a parent, I am concerned about the match between my son and any school. I don’t want him to be in a school where his needs can’t be met, and of course, as someone who values the Montessori philosophy, I am aware of the need to respect the community as a whole as well. I wouldn’t be taking the time to tour Montessori schools if I didn’t believe that my son could be “mainstreamed” into a Montessori school. I am completely confused as to why J. would assume I would want to set up my son for a bad experience like that, after observing me tour the school and ask thoughtful questions.

The messages that were communicated to me verbally (and nonverbally) during this conversation included:

· Children with special needs are not welcome. J. does not want me to apply for my son’s admittance. If I want to push it, I might be able to get admittance for my son, but first I need to prove that he wouldn’t “be a problem.”

· As a child with special needs, my child would be under a level of scrutiny in the admissions process and in the classroom that other children in the school do not experience. (By the way, can you imagine a job interview in which you had to sit there and talk about your own special needs/challenges/etc. for twenty minutes...wouldn't you end up sounding like an impossible person to work with?)

· I am not considered to be among the experts on my child and his needs. Anyone who can write “a report” (of what type, it never was specified) on my child must hold more expertise than I do, and would be better equipped to provide information about whether my child would do well in a Montessori classroom where specific special education services are not provided.

By the way, it is very sad to me that even in the public schools, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) ensures that parents are viewed as a part of the team of experts involved in a child’s life, but an independent Montessori school does not take this approach. Also, you should know that my child will be receiving special education services from his school district, including speech and occupational therapy, via IDEA, even if he is enrolled in a Montessori School. He is an unlikely candidate for a one-on-one assistant in either setting, so this wouldn’t be a concern or issue in the “match” at this point.

· As a parent, there is a considerable possibility that I would mislead the school into admitting my son even if that wasn’t going to serve his best interests, or the interests of the school.

· If my son were to be admitted, he would be considered a liability to the integrity of the community. Once I mentioned that my child is developmentally delayed, J. stopped listening and started talking. She wasn’t interested in hearing about what I knew about his challenges, let alone his gifts and strengths. She was clearly very focused and concerned about what level of “burden” he might be, and she clearly felt I wasn’t qualified to be a part of that conversation.

I am choosing a school for my child. I am going to be investing money in this school, and I am going to be handing over my precious little one and entrust a school with his care and education. I am having a lot of trouble imagining myself applying for my son’s admission into Summit Montessori School.

For all of my children, even those without special needs, I want them to participate in educational communities where individuals with special needs are seen not in simple terms as a liability, detraction from and burden to the community, but that they are seen as human beings who, like everyone, can participate meaningfully in the life of the community. I would hope that all of Summit Montessori School’s parents would want their children to learn to relate to people of all abilities, to be in an environment where they can practice how to be fully inclusive of people who have both the same and different strengths and challenges from them.

I've come to treat my son's special needs as a normal part of human diversity. In my life’s journey, I’ve learned that every human being has “special needs.” My son's needs are simply among the slightly less common. But some of those same needs are part of what affirmed for me that Montessori would be right for him.

The “no admittance for people like your son” sign has been posted on Summit Montessori’s door. What a loss for not only my son, but for the children in the school who lose out on the opportunity to learn to engage in a diverse and interesting human world.

I do want to send a special thank you to D. and one of the founders of the school (whose name I have forgotten, I am sorry to say), for asking me as I was stepping out of the building, what I thought of the school, and for taking the time to chat with me as I worked through the initial shock and confusion, as well as utter sadness, I had experienced during my conversation with J. The messages D. gave me were empathetic, considerate, and warmly welcoming, and the founder’s messages were cautiously welcoming. I also appreciate the founder offering that I could call either D. or herself if I wanted to arrange for an assessment for my son for entry into the school.
---------------------------------------------------

On a completely different note, I want to say that I am surprised at the reaction I received from the school’s business manager when I asked about staff compensation and financial aid. I told her I understood that asking about staff compensation was unusual for parents, and she agreed and asked me why I was interested. I told her that I want my children to go to a school with “happy, healthy, satisfied teachers” (and I should add “people who are highly qualified and who feel valued for their work”), and she said that made sense to her. I am just surprised more parents don’t ask. I was so glad to hear that your school strives to be very competitive in its salaries and compensation of teachers and staff.

I also asked her about financial assistance for two reasons. First, because Summit Montessori is by far the most expensive Montessori school I have found in the area (double the average cost for the half-day program), and I wanted to know what assistance might be available because we are a lower middle class family. Second, because the school’s current director and my tour guide had mentioned that the school strives to be diverse, I wondered if that included economic diversity. I asked the business manager what percentage of students receive financial aid, and she told me this number is confidential. However, she did give me the percentage of tuition that provides the financial aid budget. I thought you might be interested to know that it is unusual for a school to make confidential information on the approximate number of “scholarships” they award each year.

Offer Accepted

While giving folks time for my allie series, I thought I'd just do a quick post to say our home went under contract today. The buyer accepted our counter-offer, which was for our original "worst case scenario" that we budgeted.

It is for an amount which will allow us to pay off our debts. I am praying we'll have enough money left when all is said and done to still have a small downpayment for a house out here, but we'll have to crunch the numbers. If they want us to do anything after the inspections are all complete, we may be in a tough position. I really don't want to go under this amount.


Overall, I am having an interesting emotional response to all this. I am overcome with a silmultaneous flood of regret in leaving this home behind, and absolute relief that we have a buyer, pending any additional inspections (which they've already begun).

I think a true grieving process about this move has begun.

I loved this little house. Most of the best things in my life happened at this house. G. and I closed on this house just before our wedding. I first responded to my vocational call in this house. We became parents in this house. Our children were born while we were living there.



I will miss the community we lived in an incredible amount. I knew this wasn't going to be easy, but...

letting go is much harder than I anticipated.

On the marketplace beat

As talk of recession becomes more and more dominant in the public discourse, I find myself challenged to balance my views of the long-time human practice of predicting impending doom with the fact that yes, bad things do happen. The depression happened. Recessions happen. People lose jobs and houses. I could lose either or both. We all could. Things could get really messy around here.

While putting on my shoes to head out to work this morning, the image of the famous photo at left, Dorothea Lange's Migrant Mother (1936), flashed through my mind. The woman in the photo is Florence Owens Thompson (who later said she wished Lange had not taken her photo reportedly because Lange did not give her any compensation, did not send her a copy of the photo, and did not take her name or ask her anything about her story, etc.). She was thirty-two years old when this image was taken. That is, very close to the age I am now.

In many ways, my family is among the especially financially vulnerable right now. This possible recession has been precipitated by a housing crisis rip tide that we were swept into. We are carrying a rent and a mortgage at the moment as we live over 3000 miles from the home we own, a home which we have been desperately trying to sell for over a half year now. We've had to talk about foreclosure, though fortunately we do believe that we can avoid it.

The home we are renting is heated by oil. Before we knew what it would cost to heat this home, we spent $800 on oil in a matter of twenty days. We live in a rather cold climate.

In terms of income, I support my four-person family on a low middle class salary, with plans for my dw G to supplement this with her working class earnings. My job is not among the particularly secure. Our savings were wiped away in our move. We are already living beyond our means, despite the fact that we have no other debt besides our mortgage and home equity (which we took out to prepare to sell our home before the market took the dive that it did, and which also has actually and ironically been paying our mortgage) and that we are conservative spenders living a pretty simple life. It wouldn't take much to correct this, to get our budget back on track, if only the housing market could make it out of this slump. It is the housing that is killing us.

Predictions of the immediate financial future of this country and the world seem to vary wildly. One interviewee on NPR (Marketplace, I believe), who had proper qualifications, claimed that based on the patterns of previous recessions, we can safely bet that if we go into an actual recession, we are going to come out of this much more quickly and much more safely than folks are predicting. Many others are recommending that folks batten down the hatches. They are taking a moderate stance. They are explaining that this, like all recessions, are a natural correction/pendulum swing in the marketplace and that things will get pretty bad for a while but that we should all ride this out with some sense of patience and calm because at some point, we are going to come out of this. I've heard multiple people in this camp say, "Just start storing some nuts for the winter."

On the other end of the scale, there are a few who are predicting a devastating and long-lasting financial turn for the worst. A buddy of mine online, who apparently successfully predicted the "housing market boom" that occurred over the last couple of years, is suggesting that we all prepare for this to become not only a full blown recession, but for the recession to develop into a depression worse than "The Great Depression." The reason? Our whole economy is built around having cheap energy, and we are depleting fossil fuels at a breathtaking speed. Of particular concern, OIL. Batten down the hatches is an understatement for her recommendations. Think Y2K.

Here are the links she recommended:
http://www.richardheinberg.com/
http://www.peakoil.com/
http://www.energybulletin.net/
http://www.postcarbon.org/
http://transitionculture.org/
http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/
http://www.kunstler.com/

She basically is suggesting that we all prepare to be as independent of the economy (built on finite fossil fuels) as we can get. Stockpile food while you build a garden that you can use to feed your family. Harvest rainwater. Find ways to cook without cooking fuel. Move close to the places you need to go. Find ways to light your home without electricity and stockpile candles. Get a wood stove and secure wood sources. Consider moving to a climate without extreme hot and cold.

(more of Florence Owens Thompson from Dorothea Lange)

These are good earth-saving if not money-saving, and thus, potentially family-saving suggestions. However, if she's right, I fear my family is doomed. Not only did I just move over 3000 miles from a place of moderate, survivable temperatures to a place with extreme cold in the winter and extreme heat in the summer, but I also have not the slightest green thumb nor do-it-yourself ability. And since I've just moved to a rental home, I don't have the power to insulate, start a garden, install a wood burning stove, replace windows, nor do anything else to improve our chances of survival, at least not without permission from the landlord. And it is probably not in my best interests to invest in this rental home where I have a short-term lease, unless I end up signing for a longer lease or am committed to buying it down the road.

Of course, as another online buddy pointed out, the most extreme end of this side of the spectrum lands smack dab in conspiracy theory: http://www.projectcamelot.net/norway.html. And someone else aptly concluded that as humans, we tend to predict the apocalyptic in these types of scenarios. She's right. People have been predicting the end of civilization since the beginning of civilization. People have seen reason to have no hope for at least as long as history has been recorded in writing. Consider for example, this quote, which I've seen attributed to Hesiod of 8th century B.C.

"I see no hope for the future of our people if they are dependent on frivolous youth of today, for certainly all youth are reckless beyond words... When I was young, we were taught to be discreet and respectful of elders, but the present youth are exceedingly wise [disrespectful] and impatient of restraint" - Hesiod, 8th century B.C.

Perhaps we not only tend toward the apocalyptic, but also the apocryphal.

So yes, bad things can and do happen, and I will try to be disciplined enough in the next month or two to indeed batten down the hatches here. There is much I can't control, but I can at least start with these :

• Pay off some large bills that have gone unpaid for far too long...work on my credit score
• Get a renter in the home we own
• Re-evaluate our monthly budget and cancel any services we no longer use, etc.

At the same time, fretting over a recession is just going to contribute to the emotional response that seems to be dooming the stock market right now. While I find it an interesting intellectual exercise to consider how folks would respond to a depression in these modern times of ours when we are used to living longer, for instance (a post for another day, perhaps), I don't find it particularly calming to my own already high stress level to predict what may come to be known as apocalyptic and apocryphal stories. I'm visualizing instead, a stable future...for my family, the United States, and the world.

I hope you will forgive me

I've been writing blog posts in my head for the past few days, in anticipation of actually creating a blog. I have been waxing poetic all over the place. But now that I am actually sitting in front of my computer with a blank page, my mind has suddenly frozen. Forgive the rough start that I am sure this will be as I test drive the world of blogging. I hope that in short order you will find this a very interesting place to visit.

That said, I am exhausted right now. G and I just sat down and plotted out what our next nine days-- my last nine days here in town before I move-- will look like. The list of things to get done is endless, and when I think about it, it makes me want to sleep. Of course all I really want to spend my last days here doing is savoring these moments with my family before we are apart.

I guess this would be one of those instances when I should just do what I can, and then surrender the rest.

On a brighter note, here is a little car-related story. We've gone back and forth about purchasing a car for life in our new state. We have a 2001 Mazda MPV and a 1993 Toyota Corolla. The Corolla has been so trusty and good to us, but we have put tons and tons and tons of miles on it. We've had some trouble deciding if it will be worth the cost of having it moved with all our stuff.

I think we have been pushed into a decision, now, though, since I will be leaving on a plane at least a couple months before our stuff is moved and the rest of the family arrives. So we've been talking, and we have decided I may truly need to buy a car.

When G and I shop for cars, we tend to hold out for the rare "older" car with low miles thing. Five years ago we bought a 1983 (!) Dodge Aries with only 33,000 miles on it for $850. When we took it to the mechanic to get checked out before we bought it, she said the biggest problem with the car is that it suffered from lack of use. Had I not been rear ended a half year later, I am sure we'd still be enjoying that gem.

Anyway, we are lucky enough to have stumbled upon this beautiful station wagon above. It is selling out in our new state. It is a 2004 but has just under 7,000 miles on it! We had been wanting a wagon for the ease of fit with the two car seats. G's brother's wife, "N," is test driving it for us tomorrow. I'm not sure how we'd come up with the money for this kind of a purchase, but the low miles just might be worth some tricky financial moves. It is around $11,000. I'm excited to hear how the test drive goes.