Hey Humble Readers!
I am such a happy happy hobbit today!
We have been living in the hobbit hole for almost five years. That is almost longer than anywhere else I've lived in my lifetime. When we bought this place it was a huge step up from our dumpy one bedroom apartment with carpet in the kitchen (for which they were charging us more than $900 a month), but we didn't have any savings. So the only mortgage we qualified for was a 40 year, zero down mortgage (an option the government has now vetoed).
That's right, a 40 year mortgage for a two bedroom condo. Yikes! But we wanted to start building equity and the payments were less than what we were paying for rent, so we went for it.
Fast forward almost five years and our mortgage was up for early renewal. I knew that the call would be coming from the bank, and given what our financial picture has looked like for the last couple of years, I was fairly concerned about what kind of interest rate we could get.
I fully and honestly confess that I know very little about how mortgages work, other than you borrow a lot of money from a bank and they charge you a lot of interest, and then you pay them back for years and years and years. I have had images of us being in our late 70s and early 80s still living in this condo.
So the call came from the bank just before we left for K-town. The mortgage was up for early renewal, and there were some good rates available, but they were only available until the end of February. I scheduled an appointment for today, and my Beloved and I made our way down the hill to see our mortgage specialist.
I was worried. I was actually really worried.
It turns out that I had absolutely nothing to worry about. At all.
Apparently, we made a great choice five years ago when we chose to pay our mortgage weekly. That has given us a huge leg up. Simply by paying more often we were already down below 30 years on our mortgage. I was happy to learn that.
And then the mortgage lady told us that she could cut our interest in half. While that sounded good to me, I didn't grasp the big picture. Until she showed us our payment schedule on her computer screen.
We have gone from a 5.39% interest rate to a 2.69% interest rate. And by keeping our payments at the same amount each week we have knocked a whole lot of time off our mortgage. As of today, it would only take us 17 years to pay off our mortgage.
17 years!!! Do you know what that means?
It means we are no longer upside down in our mortgage! We are paying more toward the principle than to interest. We are moving forward, not backward. We are gaining ground.
We are locked in for two years, which fits our current plan almost perfectly. We are going to live as cheaply as we possibly can for the next year and a half or so, and pay down as much of our debt as possible. With the added income from my Beloved's new job, we will hopefully knock out two thirds or more of it, if we can.
And then, in two years, WE BUY A BIGGER HOBBIT HOLE! Something with 3+ bedrooms, 2+ baths, a finished basement and close to a park. Preferably a townhouse or a duplex (my dream house is currently available in our price range... hopefully something similar will be available two years from now).
I have a perma-grin on my face. Who will dance with me?
(As an added bonus, when I stepped on the scale this morning I was thrilled to learn that I am now 26.5lb down! Only 8.5lb to go for my first target!)
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Sunday Night Chit Chat: Recovery Mode
Hey Humble Readers...
We made it safely home last night around 7pm, after a little over 12 hours of driving. Thankfully, Ginny only got carsick once, and that was just about an hour into the trip. My mom followed us in her car, and went on to the big city to the north of us to spend a few days with my sister, before heading to Winter-peg to visit some more family. She just wasn't quite ready to face not having GG to look after on a daily basis, so traveling will keep her busy. The highlight of the journey was when we had stopped at the mid point of the trip to gas up and have lunch, and my mom locked her keys in her car at the gas pump. Oy!
Today has been all about recovering from our trip. Laundry, grocery shopping, and washing all the mud off the car (the pass was really slushy and mucky). The wee-lings, who had been struggling with sleep while we were at Mom's, slept for more than 12 hours last night! It was after eight o'clock this morning before we heard a peep from them. Miraculous!
Onto the Chit-Chat...
Here's what I'm
Reading - I just started "The Book Thief". It's a different sort of book than what I usually read, but I'm enjoying it immensely.
Watching - Probably just going to clear up some room on the dvr. I love the Oscars, but this year I didn't get to see the majority of the movies, and I'm not able to do my usual Oscar night dinner of appies and snacks, so I'm just not feeling it.
Listening to - The wee-lings go crazy for the dogs in 101 Dalmations.
Cooking/Baking - Because it's been such a busy day, I didn't want anything too involved, so I'm making my Lazy Sausage Casserole. It's so yummy, with lots of veggies. Here's the recipe if you're interested.
Happy I accomplished this week - I managed to speak at GG's memorial, which I wasn't sure I'd be able to do. I cooked almost every meal while we were in K-town (saving my mom the stress of cooking for a horde). And I washed the car today.
Looking forward to next week - Actually, I'm more hoping than looking forward to something... our mortgage is up for renewal, and I'm hoping that we'll be able to get a better interest rate (appointment on Tuesday). Other than that, I'm just planning on getting into a normal routine again, and starting my spring cleaning.
Thankful for this week - Safe travels, children who travel moderately well (carsickness notwithstanding), and for the privilege of having known my Grandma.
**Bonus Question** What item is currently at the *TOP* of your wish list right now? Well, the big ticket item would be a bedroom set for my Beloved and I (we have no head board, and my Beloved uses a laundry basket for a dresser). I really love the Hemnes set from Ikea, but the closest Ikea is a fair jaunt away, and the pieces wouldn't fit in Tilly the Toyota anyway. The smaller ticket item, and far more attainable, is a decent shoe rack. I'm so sick of all our shoes being all over the floor in our entryway.
*****
This was posted as a part of Carla's Sunday Night Chit Chat. Pop over and check out what others are chatting about tonight!
We made it safely home last night around 7pm, after a little over 12 hours of driving. Thankfully, Ginny only got carsick once, and that was just about an hour into the trip. My mom followed us in her car, and went on to the big city to the north of us to spend a few days with my sister, before heading to Winter-peg to visit some more family. She just wasn't quite ready to face not having GG to look after on a daily basis, so traveling will keep her busy. The highlight of the journey was when we had stopped at the mid point of the trip to gas up and have lunch, and my mom locked her keys in her car at the gas pump. Oy!
Today has been all about recovering from our trip. Laundry, grocery shopping, and washing all the mud off the car (the pass was really slushy and mucky). The wee-lings, who had been struggling with sleep while we were at Mom's, slept for more than 12 hours last night! It was after eight o'clock this morning before we heard a peep from them. Miraculous!
 |
| Ginny with her cousins Felix & Oscar |
Onto the Chit-Chat...
Here's what I'm
Reading - I just started "The Book Thief". It's a different sort of book than what I usually read, but I'm enjoying it immensely.
Watching - Probably just going to clear up some room on the dvr. I love the Oscars, but this year I didn't get to see the majority of the movies, and I'm not able to do my usual Oscar night dinner of appies and snacks, so I'm just not feeling it.
Listening to - The wee-lings go crazy for the dogs in 101 Dalmations.
Cooking/Baking - Because it's been such a busy day, I didn't want anything too involved, so I'm making my Lazy Sausage Casserole. It's so yummy, with lots of veggies. Here's the recipe if you're interested.
Happy I accomplished this week - I managed to speak at GG's memorial, which I wasn't sure I'd be able to do. I cooked almost every meal while we were in K-town (saving my mom the stress of cooking for a horde). And I washed the car today.
Looking forward to next week - Actually, I'm more hoping than looking forward to something... our mortgage is up for renewal, and I'm hoping that we'll be able to get a better interest rate (appointment on Tuesday). Other than that, I'm just planning on getting into a normal routine again, and starting my spring cleaning.
Thankful for this week - Safe travels, children who travel moderately well (carsickness notwithstanding), and for the privilege of having known my Grandma.
**Bonus Question** What item is currently at the *TOP* of your wish list right now? Well, the big ticket item would be a bedroom set for my Beloved and I (we have no head board, and my Beloved uses a laundry basket for a dresser). I really love the Hemnes set from Ikea, but the closest Ikea is a fair jaunt away, and the pieces wouldn't fit in Tilly the Toyota anyway. The smaller ticket item, and far more attainable, is a decent shoe rack. I'm so sick of all our shoes being all over the floor in our entryway.
*****
This was posted as a part of Carla's Sunday Night Chit Chat. Pop over and check out what others are chatting about tonight!
Friday, February 22, 2013
Hobbit-ish Thoughts on Death
Hey Humble Readers...
I know, I know. That title doesn't really inspire happy thoughts, does it? But since GG (my grandma) passed earlier this month, there have been a lot of conversations in my immediate connection about death, and more specifically on final wishes.
So, here are my thoughts...
When I go, I want to be cremated. I think caskets are just odd. Why would I want to look at someone's body when they've died? The only way I can picture my great-grandparents is how they looked in their coffins. (And don't even get me started on people who take pictures of the dearly departed!) And of course, the cost is obscene.
I don't want a fancy urn, put me in a coffee can. I don't want to be on the mantle or in a columbarium somewhere. I don't want a headstone, or any other sort of place that my family will feel guilty for not visiting. I want to be dumped somewhere meaningful to my Beloved or the wee-lings, or heck, dump me on a rose bush somewhere. I would rather my loved ones remember me as I was in life, not as my remains will be in death. And because of my beliefs, my remains will be just that... all that remains. So what happens to them after the fact really doesn't matter to me.
At my memorial service, just because I'm contrary, I want to have all the hymns and worship songs that I can't stand, and I want it noted in the bulletin that I really can't stand them. Earth and All Stars, Shine Jesus Shine, and Sent Forth By God's Blessing. All are songs that have either been sung all too often in my worship-life or I just really don't like the lyrics.
Memorial services and funerals aren't for the dead, but for the living. I want there to be a sense of fun, possibly even goofiness apparent in my service. I want it to be a celebration rather than a mournful solemn occasion.
Have you ever given any thought to what you want for your 'final wishes'?
*****
I'm a tad bit behind on my ICLW (and regular) blog reading and commenting. I will get caught up when we are back home again in a couple of days. I will be checking in with all of you soon!
I know, I know. That title doesn't really inspire happy thoughts, does it? But since GG (my grandma) passed earlier this month, there have been a lot of conversations in my immediate connection about death, and more specifically on final wishes.
So, here are my thoughts...
When I go, I want to be cremated. I think caskets are just odd. Why would I want to look at someone's body when they've died? The only way I can picture my great-grandparents is how they looked in their coffins. (And don't even get me started on people who take pictures of the dearly departed!) And of course, the cost is obscene.
I don't want a fancy urn, put me in a coffee can. I don't want to be on the mantle or in a columbarium somewhere. I don't want a headstone, or any other sort of place that my family will feel guilty for not visiting. I want to be dumped somewhere meaningful to my Beloved or the wee-lings, or heck, dump me on a rose bush somewhere. I would rather my loved ones remember me as I was in life, not as my remains will be in death. And because of my beliefs, my remains will be just that... all that remains. So what happens to them after the fact really doesn't matter to me.
At my memorial service, just because I'm contrary, I want to have all the hymns and worship songs that I can't stand, and I want it noted in the bulletin that I really can't stand them. Earth and All Stars, Shine Jesus Shine, and Sent Forth By God's Blessing. All are songs that have either been sung all too often in my worship-life or I just really don't like the lyrics.
Memorial services and funerals aren't for the dead, but for the living. I want there to be a sense of fun, possibly even goofiness apparent in my service. I want it to be a celebration rather than a mournful solemn occasion.
Have you ever given any thought to what you want for your 'final wishes'?
*****
I'm a tad bit behind on my ICLW (and regular) blog reading and commenting. I will get caught up when we are back home again in a couple of days. I will be checking in with all of you soon!
Thursday, February 21, 2013
February ICLW: Quick Update & Proof that I Am A Crotchety Old Woman
Hey Humble Readers...
I hope that your week has been going well. Things here in K-town are going ok. The service was small, but nice. After the internment, many of the people who attended the funeral came back to my mom's house just to chat and hang out. Most of the out-of-town guests left over the course of the day yesterday, and now it's just me, my Beloved and the Wee-lings remaining. We'll be heading home to the Shire on Saturday... and praying that Ginny doesn't have a repeat of the car-sickness that she had on the way out here (thank you all for your input on that, btw).
So, now that's out of the way... Welcome visitors! I'm an IF/RPL survivor, a mom of two hard-won wee-lings (aged 9 months and 27 months) and the wife of an ent. We live in a small city (the Shire), on the Canadian prairies, just east of the Rocky Mountains. I'm a pinterest addict, wanna-be novelist, good cook, mediocre baker, deluded crafter, and tv junkie. I'm a stay at home mom, who loves watching her little ones learn and grow, and is very quickly getting sick of El.mo and singing the Itsy-bitsy Spider.
A few times in the past, I have done an ABCs of Me as my ICLW intro, and I think I'm going to do that again. But this time there's a theme. Things that bug me... (I'm generally a pretty happy person, just been a little on edge lately). Here are the ABCs of my pet peeves.
A - Asters. Flowers are supposed to be pretty. Asters just aren't.
B - Birds. They're creepy. They're dirty. They're icky.
C - Chapped Lips. I am a lip balm addict.
D - Downton Abbey. Not the entire show, just how they ended the third season. That REALLY REALLY REALLY PISSED ME OFF!
E - Edemame. I just don't get it.
F - Fat-phobics. Especially doctors who are fat-phobic. To paraphrase J.K. Rowling... 'There are so many worse things a person could be than fat.'
G - Grocery shopping. It gets me out of the house, but that's about the best I can say for it. It's expensive and time consuming. And really, for what groceries cost, there should be someone who comes home with you and puts them away for you.
H - Hate disguised as humour. Or disguised as patriotism. Or as faith.
I - Infertility. In all it's forms. The way it tears a person down, the toll it takes on a marriage, and the lasting scars that seem to be slow in fading into memory.
J - Judgemental people. Especially when I'm the one being judgemental. It makes me less of a person, and no fun to be around.
K - Ketchup. It's okay in recipes, but I can't stomach it on fries or eggs or kraft dinner (that would be mac & cheese for my American friends). I also can't stand Kraft dinner, but that's another story.
L- Laundry. It NEVER ends!
M - Misophonia. This is an actual disorder that is defined by the fact that sufferers have an extreme dislike to certain sounds, even to the point of extreme physical and emotional responses. For me, it's related to people's mouths (chewing, swallowing, lip smacking, etc) and repetative sounds (like the sound of someone typing). I wish I could tune the sounds out like normal people do.
N - Nylons. Tights and pantyhose also fall into this category. A man must have designed them.
O - Olives. Yuck.
P - Panties. Just the word, not the article of clothing. Please, for the love of pete, just call them underwear.
Q - Queues. (Yes, it's a stretch). I don't have a lot of patience for waiting in lines. And I always, inevitably choose the wrong line... you know, the one that moves at a snail's pace.
R - 'Reality' TV. Why exactly is Kim Kar.dash.ian a celebrity? What has she, and her ilk, done that I should spend my time following their every move?
S - Scary movies. I used to love them. Now I can't even watch the trailers for them.
T - Transportation as sport. Namely NASCAR. I don't understand how watching cars drive around a track is sporting or entertaining. But that's just me.
U - Underwear shopping. No matter how much I psych myself up for it, it's never enjoyable.
V - Varicose Veins. Just another sign I'm too fat and getting old.
W - Winter. We've had snow on the ground since Halloween. I'm done with this season.
X - Xcessively (another stretch) high gas prices. We are spoiled in the Shire because our prices are some of the lowest in the country, but they're still ridiculous. And now here in K-town, the prices are astronomical.
Y - Yapping dogs. My mom's little shi'tzus are driving me nuts!
Z - Canadians who pronounce this letter as "zee". It's "zed" dang it.
Let me know what some of your pet peeves are.
I hope that your week has been going well. Things here in K-town are going ok. The service was small, but nice. After the internment, many of the people who attended the funeral came back to my mom's house just to chat and hang out. Most of the out-of-town guests left over the course of the day yesterday, and now it's just me, my Beloved and the Wee-lings remaining. We'll be heading home to the Shire on Saturday... and praying that Ginny doesn't have a repeat of the car-sickness that she had on the way out here (thank you all for your input on that, btw).
So, now that's out of the way... Welcome visitors! I'm an IF/RPL survivor, a mom of two hard-won wee-lings (aged 9 months and 27 months) and the wife of an ent. We live in a small city (the Shire), on the Canadian prairies, just east of the Rocky Mountains. I'm a pinterest addict, wanna-be novelist, good cook, mediocre baker, deluded crafter, and tv junkie. I'm a stay at home mom, who loves watching her little ones learn and grow, and is very quickly getting sick of El.mo and singing the Itsy-bitsy Spider.
A few times in the past, I have done an ABCs of Me as my ICLW intro, and I think I'm going to do that again. But this time there's a theme. Things that bug me... (I'm generally a pretty happy person, just been a little on edge lately). Here are the ABCs of my pet peeves.
A - Asters. Flowers are supposed to be pretty. Asters just aren't.
B - Birds. They're creepy. They're dirty. They're icky.
C - Chapped Lips. I am a lip balm addict.
D - Downton Abbey. Not the entire show, just how they ended the third season. That REALLY REALLY REALLY PISSED ME OFF!
E - Edemame. I just don't get it.
F - Fat-phobics. Especially doctors who are fat-phobic. To paraphrase J.K. Rowling... 'There are so many worse things a person could be than fat.'
G - Grocery shopping. It gets me out of the house, but that's about the best I can say for it. It's expensive and time consuming. And really, for what groceries cost, there should be someone who comes home with you and puts them away for you.
H - Hate disguised as humour. Or disguised as patriotism. Or as faith.
I - Infertility. In all it's forms. The way it tears a person down, the toll it takes on a marriage, and the lasting scars that seem to be slow in fading into memory.
J - Judgemental people. Especially when I'm the one being judgemental. It makes me less of a person, and no fun to be around.
K - Ketchup. It's okay in recipes, but I can't stomach it on fries or eggs or kraft dinner (that would be mac & cheese for my American friends). I also can't stand Kraft dinner, but that's another story.
L- Laundry. It NEVER ends!
M - Misophonia. This is an actual disorder that is defined by the fact that sufferers have an extreme dislike to certain sounds, even to the point of extreme physical and emotional responses. For me, it's related to people's mouths (chewing, swallowing, lip smacking, etc) and repetative sounds (like the sound of someone typing). I wish I could tune the sounds out like normal people do.
N - Nylons. Tights and pantyhose also fall into this category. A man must have designed them.
O - Olives. Yuck.
P - Panties. Just the word, not the article of clothing. Please, for the love of pete, just call them underwear.
Q - Queues. (Yes, it's a stretch). I don't have a lot of patience for waiting in lines. And I always, inevitably choose the wrong line... you know, the one that moves at a snail's pace.
R - 'Reality' TV. Why exactly is Kim Kar.dash.ian a celebrity? What has she, and her ilk, done that I should spend my time following their every move?
S - Scary movies. I used to love them. Now I can't even watch the trailers for them.
T - Transportation as sport. Namely NASCAR. I don't understand how watching cars drive around a track is sporting or entertaining. But that's just me.
U - Underwear shopping. No matter how much I psych myself up for it, it's never enjoyable.
V - Varicose Veins. Just another sign I'm too fat and getting old.
W - Winter. We've had snow on the ground since Halloween. I'm done with this season.
X - Xcessively (another stretch) high gas prices. We are spoiled in the Shire because our prices are some of the lowest in the country, but they're still ridiculous. And now here in K-town, the prices are astronomical.
Y - Yapping dogs. My mom's little shi'tzus are driving me nuts!
Z - Canadians who pronounce this letter as "zee". It's "zed" dang it.
Let me know what some of your pet peeves are.
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Her Mother's Daughter
Hey Humble Readers,
We arrived in K-town safely, even though the snowy roads were genuinely un-fun. We left at 4:30 in the morning, and thankfully the wee-lings slept for the first few hours.
However, we discovered that my wee sweet girl has inherited an unfortunate trait of mine.
Ginny gets car-sick.
Ginny got car-sick.
FIVE TIMES.
I'm totally bummed for the poor girl. We attempted to employ the wonder drug grav.ol to no avail. She just kept on puking. We are going to have to look into ginger and other alternatives. Any input?
As soon as she was out of the car, bathed, and the center of Mama's attention, she was feeling much better. Are we surprised?
We arrived in K-town safely, even though the snowy roads were genuinely un-fun. We left at 4:30 in the morning, and thankfully the wee-lings slept for the first few hours.
However, we discovered that my wee sweet girl has inherited an unfortunate trait of mine.
Ginny gets car-sick.
Ginny got car-sick.
FIVE TIMES.
I'm totally bummed for the poor girl. We attempted to employ the wonder drug grav.ol to no avail. She just kept on puking. We are going to have to look into ginger and other alternatives. Any input?
As soon as she was out of the car, bathed, and the center of Mama's attention, she was feeling much better. Are we surprised?
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