My beautiful baby boy was being born....
Happy Birthday big boy!!!!!!!!
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Questions
I feel like a ball of questions today...
I've had a few questions lately from folks around me as to why we decided to foreclose on our house, so I'm going to answer them as best as I can...
When we bought our home we both believed in the American dream; a house, a white picket fence and 2.5 children. What we didn't know was that the housing market would implode on itself within a year. Believe it or not, I was the hold out for quite a while hoping that we wouldn't have to take it to the extreme of having to file for foreclosure. I hoped, with no evidence supporting those hopes, that the market would rebound and we'd be ok. What's funny about it all is that I work in the real estate business, generating new home loans and basically have my finger on the pulse of the real estate industry. I heard folks around me talking about flipping, buying a new home and then foreclosing on their existing property, but I knew that that was not for us. We had the money and could have done it, but it's downright lying on a credit application and I'm not ok with that.
When we realized that this was our best option to eliminate our house as a liability, we only assumed we'd be in the house for a few months. We never dreamed that 12 months later there would still not be an NOD (Notice of Default) on file with no clear cut end in sight. We've been saving all of our regular mortgage payment money, as this will only happen once in our life. We were both raised to fulfill our obligations and trust authority, but sometimes you need to trust yourself. We know that in the long run what we did is the best for our family, but people still choose to judge. If your choice was to pay into a losing investment for the next 30 years, or cut bait, take the hit on your credit, and start to re-build, what would you do?
I've had a few questions lately from folks around me as to why we decided to foreclose on our house, so I'm going to answer them as best as I can...
When we bought our home we both believed in the American dream; a house, a white picket fence and 2.5 children. What we didn't know was that the housing market would implode on itself within a year. Believe it or not, I was the hold out for quite a while hoping that we wouldn't have to take it to the extreme of having to file for foreclosure. I hoped, with no evidence supporting those hopes, that the market would rebound and we'd be ok. What's funny about it all is that I work in the real estate business, generating new home loans and basically have my finger on the pulse of the real estate industry. I heard folks around me talking about flipping, buying a new home and then foreclosing on their existing property, but I knew that that was not for us. We had the money and could have done it, but it's downright lying on a credit application and I'm not ok with that.
When we realized that this was our best option to eliminate our house as a liability, we only assumed we'd be in the house for a few months. We never dreamed that 12 months later there would still not be an NOD (Notice of Default) on file with no clear cut end in sight. We've been saving all of our regular mortgage payment money, as this will only happen once in our life. We were both raised to fulfill our obligations and trust authority, but sometimes you need to trust yourself. We know that in the long run what we did is the best for our family, but people still choose to judge. If your choice was to pay into a losing investment for the next 30 years, or cut bait, take the hit on your credit, and start to re-build, what would you do?
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Car Envy
We are only a bit more moolah away from my dream car. I can't wait for the chance to not have to duck and tuck kids into the Camry 4 times a day. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the Camry, more than I've ever loved any other inanimate object, but it's time for an upgrade. It's time for DVD players and movies on long trips, room to stretch out (and not be able to touch each other while in their car seats!), and space to finally be able to take the dog on trips again. She's just getting too old to be wedged into a one foot space between the kids' car seats anymore. So, hopefully in a few months I'll be able to post pictures of the kiddos in the back seat of our new baby!
Thursday, September 23, 2010
That Time of Year Again
Anyone else heading into the busiest time of the year for their family? In the next 4 months, we will celebrate all 4 of our birthdays, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years Eve, 8 close and extended family birthdays, and the birth of 2 close friends' babies. Stress and anxiety abound :)
Luke's B-Day is up first so I've got invitations ordered, waiting on arrival to mail out ASAP, the bounce house place booked, decor ordered, his birthday boy T-shirt is ordered, and I'm scoping out presents on my lunch hours. He made me a pretty good list this year, so if you need any ideas, feel free to ask.
Did I mention that I LOVE this time of year (since fall only really last here in CA for about 2 months if we're lucky!), but who the hell decided it was OK for it to be 95 degrees outside?
Planning ahead is key; if only I could remember to plan ahead?
:)
Luke's B-Day is up first so I've got invitations ordered, waiting on arrival to mail out ASAP, the bounce house place booked, decor ordered, his birthday boy T-shirt is ordered, and I'm scoping out presents on my lunch hours. He made me a pretty good list this year, so if you need any ideas, feel free to ask.
Did I mention that I LOVE this time of year (since fall only really last here in CA for about 2 months if we're lucky!), but who the hell decided it was OK for it to be 95 degrees outside?
Planning ahead is key; if only I could remember to plan ahead?
:)
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Gone for a while
Our vacation went great until the last day and then I think we'd just all had enough and wanted to be home... The aquarium was beautiful and breathtaking as usual and the kids loved the giant kelp tank which has always been my favorite. The beach house that we rented was prefect for the 4 of us and it was really nice to have a "home base" to go back to during the trip... It's just too difficult to not have a full kitchen with two small children on vacation.
Being able to blog and download my pictures on the new laptop was perfect and I'm so happy Hubs convinced me to pull the trigger before we left :)
Have you gone on vacation yet this summer? Where did you go? What was your favorite moment???
Luvs!
Mommy D
Being able to blog and download my pictures on the new laptop was perfect and I'm so happy Hubs convinced me to pull the trigger before we left :)
Have you gone on vacation yet this summer? Where did you go? What was your favorite moment???
Luvs!
Mommy D
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Cioppino: Best Ever!
We got a sweet tip off from one of the girls that I work with about a fish market in Marina that won the Cioppino battle on Bobby Flay's "Throwd@wn..." So, one our way down to Pacific Grove we stopped off at Phil's Fish Market for a little grub before checking into our hotel. The Cioppino was AMAZING, to say the least. They serve it family style, one giant bowl and two serving bowls for each of us.
We sat out on the deck, watching the fog roll in and allowing my crazy munchkins ample room to run around like crazy people. The clam chowder was, wait, I have to whisper it, it tasted like something my mom would make (in her less healthy cooking days), but better. I tasted clams, potato, carrots and celery, and a TON of butter and cream. It was beautiful.
I can't even begin to describe the Cioppino. It was tomatoey, and fishy and crabby and all so amazing. There was a TON of seafood in each bowl and I only wish we had had time to savor it. I can tell you that I think it was the best I'd ever had, even if I was trying to catch run away kids the entire time :) I think we did pretty good with our meal :)
We sat out on the deck, watching the fog roll in and allowing my crazy munchkins ample room to run around like crazy people. The clam chowder was, wait, I have to whisper it, it tasted like something my mom would make (in her less healthy cooking days), but better. I tasted clams, potato, carrots and celery, and a TON of butter and cream. It was beautiful.
I can't even begin to describe the Cioppino. It was tomatoey, and fishy and crabby and all so amazing. There was a TON of seafood in each bowl and I only wish we had had time to savor it. I can tell you that I think it was the best I'd ever had, even if I was trying to catch run away kids the entire time :) I think we did pretty good with our meal :)
In Transit
We made it up to Vacaville yesterday in time to cook a yummy meal and settle in to watch a movie with Grandpa on travel day 1. I was kinda worried about the multiple stops before we actually touch down in Pacific Grove, but so far, it's been more than good.
We are on the road in our greatly appreciated extra cab, long bed F150 (borrowed from Grandpa John), the kiddos are comfortable and not crammed in with all of our crap like in the Camry, snacking on Pirates Booty and watching all of the cars pass by. While I am feeling very spoiled as I ride shotgun and blog at the same time! Rare is the trip that I don't do much of the driving, but who knew how much you could get done while sitting in the passenger seat? I've already updated my facebook, pulled directions to the place we are headed to for lunch (PHIL'S FISH MARKET in Moss Landing, CA), balanced my checkbook, finalized reservations for the hotel tonight and am know halfway through a blog post.... Crazyness and we are only in San Jose!
More to come from lunch.... Stay tuned for the best cioppino on the West Coast!
We are on the road in our greatly appreciated extra cab, long bed F150 (borrowed from Grandpa John), the kiddos are comfortable and not crammed in with all of our crap like in the Camry, snacking on Pirates Booty and watching all of the cars pass by. While I am feeling very spoiled as I ride shotgun and blog at the same time! Rare is the trip that I don't do much of the driving, but who knew how much you could get done while sitting in the passenger seat? I've already updated my facebook, pulled directions to the place we are headed to for lunch (PHIL'S FISH MARKET in Moss Landing, CA), balanced my checkbook, finalized reservations for the hotel tonight and am know halfway through a blog post.... Crazyness and we are only in San Jose!
More to come from lunch.... Stay tuned for the best cioppino on the West Coast!
Friday, July 30, 2010
The Prep
*Clean out car and car seats (no week old Cheerios or pirates' booty from April allowed!)
*Pack mondo bag for all 4 of us, try to make it all fit in one bag
*clean house so when we return exhausted, we can crash, not clean (re-visit idea of cleaning lady... Oh how I need you!!!!)
*Empty garbages, an 80 degree house that smells like week old diapers is NO BUENO
*Kiss big, spoiled pup: sad she can't come with us, set thermostat to keep DIVA comfy
*Write out, scratch out, re-write packing lists: panic over forgetting something
* Sit, chill, and enjoy a beer... Anything forgotten (other than baby bear or Lukey's B) can be replaced, the only thing that matters is time with my babies.
*** See you there! ***
Trip highlights and photos to follow as soon as we can figure out how to fit all of our crap into our car :)
*Pack mondo bag for all 4 of us, try to make it all fit in one bag
*clean house so when we return exhausted, we can crash, not clean (re-visit idea of cleaning lady... Oh how I need you!!!!)
*Empty garbages, an 80 degree house that smells like week old diapers is NO BUENO
*Kiss big, spoiled pup: sad she can't come with us, set thermostat to keep DIVA comfy
*Write out, scratch out, re-write packing lists: panic over forgetting something
* Sit, chill, and enjoy a beer... Anything forgotten (other than baby bear or Lukey's B) can be replaced, the only thing that matters is time with my babies.
*** See you there! ***
Trip highlights and photos to follow as soon as we can figure out how to fit all of our crap into our car :)
Fridays suck
Why is it that one crappy day can just bury you in black rain clouds? I wonder what would happen if I didn't take pride in what I do for a living? What if I could give a sh!t? Then what?
I wish others could appreciate what I do...
Anyway, in the words of Bob Marley, " One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain."
Tomorrow is another day and I am bigger than what I'm feeling.
I wish others could appreciate what I do...
Anyway, in the words of Bob Marley, " One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain."
Tomorrow is another day and I am bigger than what I'm feeling.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Vacation Next Week!
So we are headed out for our yearly 1 week vacation as of this Sat and we are so excited! Matt & I have both been totally checked out at work for the past few days and are starting the daunting task of packing... We're still trying to figure out how we are going to get 2 kids, 2 car seats, a tandem stroller, a cooler full of a weeks worth of food, toys, clothing, beach toys and ourselves into our Toyota Camry!!
Our itinerary:
** Sat night into Sun morning: Head to Vacaville and spend the night at Grandpa's new house :)
** Sun morning: climb back into the car and drive from Vacaville to Marina (right outside of Monterrey)
** Sun night: Spend the night at hotel on the beach in Marina, play in the sand and enjoy some seafood
** Monday morning: pack everything back into the car and head up to Pacific Grove to our beach house on Lover's Point
** Monday night: Dinner at our favorite restaurant in Pacific Grove, Fishwife
** Tuesday morning: Spend the morning / afternoon @ the Monterrey Bay Aquarium
** Tuesday afternoon: Lunch at the Fish Hopper and then back to the beach house for a nap!
** Weds: Play on the beach and enjoy some relaxing kiddo time :)
** Thurs Morning: Going to attempt a hike at spectacular Point Lobos; we'll see how far we can get with 2 kids!
** Thurs afternoon: Pack everything up and head back home... Boo!
Our itinerary:
** Sat night into Sun morning: Head to Vacaville and spend the night at Grandpa's new house :)
** Sun morning: climb back into the car and drive from Vacaville to Marina (right outside of Monterrey)
** Sun night: Spend the night at hotel on the beach in Marina, play in the sand and enjoy some seafood
** Monday morning: pack everything back into the car and head up to Pacific Grove to our beach house on Lover's Point
** Monday night: Dinner at our favorite restaurant in Pacific Grove, Fishwife
** Tuesday morning: Spend the morning / afternoon @ the Monterrey Bay Aquarium
** Tuesday afternoon: Lunch at the Fish Hopper and then back to the beach house for a nap!
** Weds: Play on the beach and enjoy some relaxing kiddo time :)
** Thurs Morning: Going to attempt a hike at spectacular Point Lobos; we'll see how far we can get with 2 kids!
** Thurs afternoon: Pack everything up and head back home... Boo!
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