Yay! Andy won his company trip again this year and so we are going to Maui the last week of April - yay! I love Verizon! I have never been to Hawaii, so I am pretty stoked. Let us know if you have any suggestions on things to do there :-).
We are really going to enjoy it as now that Andy is a sales manager it is much harder to make the trips so we might not go on another one for a while. The top 35 salespeople go, but only the top 5 sales managers go... So I figure we'd better enjoy this one!
I also just finished up my contract this past Friday. I am really grateful to Jay for providing me the opportunity, but I am officially going to start doing the realtor thing full time now. I just need to take the test!
The rentals don't take a ton of time overall, but in the beginning they take a ton. Sometimes it feels like all Andy and I do is work and then do rentals. So we figure my focusing on real estate is a good thing and hopefully will bring more balance to our lives. I am definitely looking forward to a bit more balance!
Our family blog :-).
Monday, April 13, 2009
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Busy year so far
I am a tad bit embarrassed to have been such a lousy blogger after we sent out Christmas letters advertising our new blog - oh well! It has just been hectic and so blogging had fallen to the backburner. A lot has been going on with us, though!
We actually found out we were pregnant on Jan 2 of this year and as would be expected were overjoyed! But that said, I didn't want to blog about it in case something went wrong, which it did...
It actually was kinda a nightmare as I went in at 7 weeks and they told me something *might* be wrong and it took weeks to figure out something really was wrong (and I am not much for patience) and then weeks more to have it finally resolve. The lesson for me there, was to not go in until 9 or 10 weeks when basically they know for sure whether things are good or bad. We also, won't be telling as many people next time we are pregnant. :-)
In any case, of course we were disappointed, but we are actually pretty happy that we got pregnant relatively easily so that we know we shouldn't have a problem conceiving in the future. It was kinda lame in that it put a damper in my New Year's resolution to get in shape and so I was delayed by 2 months in getting on that!
I also started my 3 month contract and so working obviously means I have less time to goof off! And it means we have extra money which is nice. We are paying off everything we can - like a lot of people. Soon we should just have our primary mortgages on our houses and rentals and that's a relief. We are trying to prep for when we will only have one regular salary to rely on. It is hard to adjust when you are used to two people's salaries as I am sure many of you can relate. :-)
Luckily, Andy's job seems fairly secure. I love Verizon. Andy is such a testament to the value of sticking with a company. I jumped around quite a bit in my career to get the bigger salary, title, or whatever - but somehow Andy has managed to do all that while staying at the same place.
We also bought an 8-plex adding to our rental portfolio. We actually went in 50/50 with my brother and have started a business together where we will buy properties like this in the future. It is actually quite a good marriage of skills. First, it lets us buy more because we only have to come up with 50% of the down payment which at 20% of the purchase price can be quite the hurdle. Second, we have a good marriage of skills. Jay is really handy and manages contractors really well. I am really good at doing the showings and managing the tenants. Andy is our guy who calls the utilities ;-). I am sure as most of you know, I love real estate! I feel like it is such a no-brainer way to build your wealth and savings. I am hoping that when the yet to be conceived kids go to college, that the rentals will pay for their tuition. We currently want to buy at least one property a year, but we don't have the expenses of children yet, so we'll see if we can manage.
Finally, I have also been taking real estate classes and finally finished. So now I just need to take the state licensing exam, find a broker and then I will be a real estate agent! I figure since we are really doing this real estate thing, at least we shouldn't have to pay the realtor fees. Also, I think it will be a good line of work for me to continue when we do have children so we don't completely cut off my salary :-). So, if you know anyone who needs a realtor, send them my way.
So you see, we have been busy! I promise we'll blog more.
We actually found out we were pregnant on Jan 2 of this year and as would be expected were overjoyed! But that said, I didn't want to blog about it in case something went wrong, which it did...
It actually was kinda a nightmare as I went in at 7 weeks and they told me something *might* be wrong and it took weeks to figure out something really was wrong (and I am not much for patience) and then weeks more to have it finally resolve. The lesson for me there, was to not go in until 9 or 10 weeks when basically they know for sure whether things are good or bad. We also, won't be telling as many people next time we are pregnant. :-)
In any case, of course we were disappointed, but we are actually pretty happy that we got pregnant relatively easily so that we know we shouldn't have a problem conceiving in the future. It was kinda lame in that it put a damper in my New Year's resolution to get in shape and so I was delayed by 2 months in getting on that!
I also started my 3 month contract and so working obviously means I have less time to goof off! And it means we have extra money which is nice. We are paying off everything we can - like a lot of people. Soon we should just have our primary mortgages on our houses and rentals and that's a relief. We are trying to prep for when we will only have one regular salary to rely on. It is hard to adjust when you are used to two people's salaries as I am sure many of you can relate. :-)
Luckily, Andy's job seems fairly secure. I love Verizon. Andy is such a testament to the value of sticking with a company. I jumped around quite a bit in my career to get the bigger salary, title, or whatever - but somehow Andy has managed to do all that while staying at the same place.
We also bought an 8-plex adding to our rental portfolio. We actually went in 50/50 with my brother and have started a business together where we will buy properties like this in the future. It is actually quite a good marriage of skills. First, it lets us buy more because we only have to come up with 50% of the down payment which at 20% of the purchase price can be quite the hurdle. Second, we have a good marriage of skills. Jay is really handy and manages contractors really well. I am really good at doing the showings and managing the tenants. Andy is our guy who calls the utilities ;-). I am sure as most of you know, I love real estate! I feel like it is such a no-brainer way to build your wealth and savings. I am hoping that when the yet to be conceived kids go to college, that the rentals will pay for their tuition. We currently want to buy at least one property a year, but we don't have the expenses of children yet, so we'll see if we can manage.
Finally, I have also been taking real estate classes and finally finished. So now I just need to take the state licensing exam, find a broker and then I will be a real estate agent! I figure since we are really doing this real estate thing, at least we shouldn't have to pay the realtor fees. Also, I think it will be a good line of work for me to continue when we do have children so we don't completely cut off my salary :-). So, if you know anyone who needs a realtor, send them my way.
So you see, we have been busy! I promise we'll blog more.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
How 'bout them Cowboys?
So, last night Steve had some extra tickets to the Verizon suite for the final Cowboys game in Texas Stadium - sweet!
We were super excited to go. I had never been in the suites at Texas Stadium and since it is no longer going to be the stadium, this was my last chance. Plus, it was a relatively important game as both teams were vying for playoff spots.
We had a great time even though the Cowboys threw the game away. We were able to go with Karen, Steve, Jason, Robyn and Jason's sister, Beth - fun! Jason made sure to order us some yummy food.
Oh and btw, it is super cold in Dallas again - what the heck? Looks like it is going to be another super cold winter - sad!
We were super excited to go. I had never been in the suites at Texas Stadium and since it is no longer going to be the stadium, this was my last chance. Plus, it was a relatively important game as both teams were vying for playoff spots.
We had a great time even though the Cowboys threw the game away. We were able to go with Karen, Steve, Jason, Robyn and Jason's sister, Beth - fun! Jason made sure to order us some yummy food.
Oh and btw, it is super cold in Dallas again - what the heck? Looks like it is going to be another super cold winter - sad!
Founding Fathers Kick
We are currently watching the John Adams mini-series that was originally on HBO. Andy has us getting them from our Netflix account and we love it. It kind of has us on a founding fathers kick and we are realizing how blessed we are that our nation had that certain group of men to help launch the founding of our country, its laws and institutions.
As a result, I am planning to read their biographies and have started with the John Adams one. I also wikipedia all the others - ha. So I wikipedia'ed Ben Franklins this morning and found it interesting that he wasn't uber-religious but more of a Deist - believing in a higher power. But he was very pro-religion in general and was always involved in helping to establish churches and faiths of all denominations. He did so b/c he thought morality was fundamental to a democracy b/c of the need to have virtuous men not exploiting the govt and other men.
He wrote to Thomas Paine: "If men are so wicked with religion, what would they be without it."
Of course, man can be virtuous without religion too... But I wonder with all the corruption that has come to light of our financial institutions, politicians, etc... whether we are in trouble simply because there are fewer people in positions of power who are virtuous.
I was talking to my brother about the Cowboys game we saw last night and mentioned to him that the owner, Jerry Jones, was boo'ed and I thought he said it well - well, he's a thief who has broken no laws. Just b/c something is legal, doesn't mean it is right. It just seems that many of our current leaders in business and politics don't have that sense of right and wrong. And it seems like it is impossible to pass laws and regulation for everything without creating an overwhelming burdensome overhead.
As a result, I am planning to read their biographies and have started with the John Adams one. I also wikipedia all the others - ha. So I wikipedia'ed Ben Franklins this morning and found it interesting that he wasn't uber-religious but more of a Deist - believing in a higher power. But he was very pro-religion in general and was always involved in helping to establish churches and faiths of all denominations. He did so b/c he thought morality was fundamental to a democracy b/c of the need to have virtuous men not exploiting the govt and other men.
He wrote to Thomas Paine: "If men are so wicked with religion, what would they be without it."
Of course, man can be virtuous without religion too... But I wonder with all the corruption that has come to light of our financial institutions, politicians, etc... whether we are in trouble simply because there are fewer people in positions of power who are virtuous.
I was talking to my brother about the Cowboys game we saw last night and mentioned to him that the owner, Jerry Jones, was boo'ed and I thought he said it well - well, he's a thief who has broken no laws. Just b/c something is legal, doesn't mean it is right. It just seems that many of our current leaders in business and politics don't have that sense of right and wrong. And it seems like it is impossible to pass laws and regulation for everything without creating an overwhelming burdensome overhead.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Things I don't understand...
Normally I feel like I can understand both sides of arguments. I think my parents did a good job at always asking us to think about what was the other side of an argument and this helped us to become independent thinkers. Andy might disagree with this... ;-)
But I really don't understand the whole "Merry Christmas" thing. I don't understand who would be offended by it. Obviously, the holiday season exists because Christmas is a Christian holiday that blew up in popularity. And although Christian in origin, it has a lot of secular aspects to it now including Santa, etc...
So why would people care if you say "Merry Christmas" to them? I guess some would argue it's exclusive, but I think it is the opposite. I would not be offended if someone wished me "Happy Hanukkah" just like I am not offended by "Happy Chinese New Year". I think it is nice when people wish me a greeting and I join in on holidays of other faiths and cultures as heck, why not? The more the better. I am definitely not offended and it makes me happy to celebrate. At work we celebrated all the Indian holidays with them because we had such a large Indian population and it was fun. And they loved celebrating our holidays and learning more about them. I wouldn't do any religious celebratory aspects of a holiday that would violate my faith and I get that, of course, others wouldn't want to either.
But why is it an issue? Is someone actually offended by a Merry Christmas card? I hope not because I am sure the person sending it really is just wishing you a Merry Christmas :-). And I know for me, I am celebrating Christmas and so I want to send Christmas cards. And for someone else, celebrating another holiday, I would love to get that card. Seems to me, people are creating an issue when there is none.
Merry Christmas, y'all!
But I really don't understand the whole "Merry Christmas" thing. I don't understand who would be offended by it. Obviously, the holiday season exists because Christmas is a Christian holiday that blew up in popularity. And although Christian in origin, it has a lot of secular aspects to it now including Santa, etc...
So why would people care if you say "Merry Christmas" to them? I guess some would argue it's exclusive, but I think it is the opposite. I would not be offended if someone wished me "Happy Hanukkah" just like I am not offended by "Happy Chinese New Year". I think it is nice when people wish me a greeting and I join in on holidays of other faiths and cultures as heck, why not? The more the better. I am definitely not offended and it makes me happy to celebrate. At work we celebrated all the Indian holidays with them because we had such a large Indian population and it was fun. And they loved celebrating our holidays and learning more about them. I wouldn't do any religious celebratory aspects of a holiday that would violate my faith and I get that, of course, others wouldn't want to either.
But why is it an issue? Is someone actually offended by a Merry Christmas card? I hope not because I am sure the person sending it really is just wishing you a Merry Christmas :-). And I know for me, I am celebrating Christmas and so I want to send Christmas cards. And for someone else, celebrating another holiday, I would love to get that card. Seems to me, people are creating an issue when there is none.
Merry Christmas, y'all!
Spiderman
Well, Andy had his dream come true. Our friends Karen and Steve had a Super Hero birthday party for their son's, Hunter's, birthday party. So Andy and Brian dressed up as the special guests, Spiderman and Venom (apparently a bad spiderman character).
Andy, of course, wanted to be Spiderman and he was quite the hit!
Andy, of course, wanted to be Spiderman and he was quite the hit!
Christmas Lights
One of the benefits of not working is actually having time to do all those holiday things we never got around to doing in the past like putting up lights. The last time I actually put up lights was when my brother did it for me when I was still living in my house on Richard, pre-marriage :-).
So this year, I actually had the time to put up lights. Of course, I got a bit stuck. Our roof is very steep so I had climbed on it, but got scared and decided to wait for Andy to finish the final bit of lights.
Unfortunately, Andy has been working really late because he is still doing his old job while also doing his new job and so he hasn't been getting home early enough to be able to help. And all of our weekends until last weekend were completey filled with first travelling back from Thanksgiving and then from hosting this Christmas party we do every year.
So this year, I actually had the time to put up lights. Of course, I got a bit stuck. Our roof is very steep so I had climbed on it, but got scared and decided to wait for Andy to finish the final bit of lights.
Unfortunately, Andy has been working really late because he is still doing his old job while also doing his new job and so he hasn't been getting home early enough to be able to help. And all of our weekends until last weekend were completey filled with first travelling back from Thanksgiving and then from hosting this Christmas party we do every year.So this past weekend we were able to finish putting up the lights and they came out beautifully! I am very happy that we are not the scrooge on the street! Andy was really great. He borrowed a ladder from the neighbors so neither of us had to get on the roof and risk our necks :-).
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