Years ago I stopped trying to keep New Year's resolutions. I've decided to change and list a few goals in the hope that I can keep them.
*De-junk my house. In what I hope will help me accomplish this goal, I've started a new blog, Bits Of Treasure I created this blog ONLY for selling items I don't want. Tomorrow, I will post the first photos and descriptions of what I'm selling. Items will range from clothing to houshold items, books, whatever I think is good enough to try to sell. It's possible my effort will fail; no one will visit the blog, but I'm giving it a try.
*Work on cross stitching an hour a day. Since I haven't been able to stop myself from buying more cross stitch patterns, I have to put myself on a stitching schedule and finish the projects I've started. Some of my unopened projects may end up being sold via my new blog.
*Organize. This means: shred unnecessary paperwork, gather magazines and catalogs for the local recycle bin, burn photos to DVDs, file papers we need to keep, clean out/organize our main closet. Dispose of all unwanted paint, cleaners, and other household liquids.
That is all I want to accomplish for now. I have other goals, but I want to work on a few at a time.
What were your top 5 TV shows of 2006?
1. Grey's Anatomy (ABC)
2. Ugly Betty (ABC)
3. Men In Trees (ABC)
4. Brothers & Sisters (ABC)
5. Medium (NBC)
Kerry, my second cat, is very sweet but extremely shy because of her partial blindness. However, she heard about all the fuss made over Kelly--how pretty Kelly is and so on--and was kind of hurt. So, Kerry quietly asked me earlier today to post a photo of her for all to see. I didn't take the photo right away, so she took a nap. She's a little confused to find the camera flash going off in her face, as I just woke her up.
Mike might have to cut a little bit of wood off the back of the side clamp. It doesn't fit around the white frame on the back side--the clamp only fits about 1/2 of the distance of the front, so the frame is kinda just hanging on on the back. But, I don't care, I'm happy with this as now I can get back to stitching.
The knob on the left side loosens to allow me to tilt the frame at the angle I want. The bottom left square with the knob on top, that's the height adjustment.
I've been busy today, but will definitely be stitching this evening!
How do you take your tea or coffee?
Submitted by Vasquez.
I drink tea without Splenda or lemon. Sometimes I'll add milk to my tea. My husband and I drink iced tea all year. I'll drink hot tea if I'm sick or I'm cold and can't warm up.
When I drink coffee, which isn't often, I always add milk and Splenda. I add Splenda because I find coffee is usually too strong for me to enjoy without sweetener. In the summer I'll occasionally drink iced coffee, also with milk and Splenda.
Kelly just started this chewing thing a few days ago. She may be bored or maybe she wants some greens to eat. She climbs up on my cutting table, chews on the flowers and refuses to move. Only Mike and my son Brian are allowed to pick up Kelly. I have no clue why I'm not allowed; she made that decision years ago. I think I will buy some 'kitty greens' for her for Christmas.
We had a cat tree a few years ago, but my cats never used it so I gave it away. Now, Kelly wants to climb. It figures. I guess we could build a cat tree for her. I should put that on my list of projects for the New Year.
Sorry Kelly's eyes look weird. iPhoto doesn't take red-eye out very well.
Show us your desktop.
Submitted by Anthony.
My parents vacationed in Englewood every year and then moved here for their retirement. I spent quite a few summers of my teenage years on this beach.
About 25 minutes from here is Boca Grande, an island where millionaires and billionaires have homes. The late actress Katherine Hepburn had a winter home on Boca Grande.
Sorry I haven't posted lately. I've been busy and Vox was pushed to the bottom of my list, as it were. My mind has been occupied by something else. Last Friday I was bored, so I decided I would Google 'Michigan blogs'--blogs written by people who live in Michigan. I wanted to read something new.
Well, I found a blog that blew my mind. It's a blog written by a guy who went from having zero income to making two million dollars buying real estate here in the Detroit area, and he did this in 18 months. He writes about his experiences and teaches others how to do what he's done.
Real estate is something Mike and I have been interested in for about six years but we didn't think seriously about it until this year. 'Investment real estate' is buying bank-owned homes (foreclosed homes) and homes seized for unpaid taxes, rehabbing them and selling them. According the the blog I read, right now in the three-county area that makes up the Detroit Metro area, there are over 90,000 foreclosed homes. This means banks and mortgage companies own all these homes and they are scrambling to sell them.
We know that investment real estate is not as simple as just buying a house and selling it. So, we have to learn what to do--and more importantly--what not to do so we don't kill ourselves financially. We also know it takes a lot of hard work to make two million dollars in eighteen months. We don't expect to do that. We would be happy with $70,000-- $80,000 profit in our first year.
I am sort of disgusted with myself, though. I held a real estate agent's license in '95. I gave it up about a year later. I absolutely hated working for a real estate agency. But, I should have kept my license and paid the holding fee to a holding company. Then, all I would have to do is take some continuing education classes and pay to have my license renewed. Mike and I have been talking about the possibility of my going back to real estate school (ugh) and getting my license again. Why? Michigan law states that without a license, we are limited to six home purchases a year. The thing about going back to school is, things have changed with regard to real estate education since I left 11 years ago: there is the basic class and the classroom final, but now there is a pre-test which is done online. Then there is the big state test. And, the passing grade for both the classroom final and the state test has increased from 70% to 75%. Yikes.
One thing I learned from the blog has my head spinning (well, not literally, LOL) When Mike and I are truly read to buy our first property, we need to form a LLC (Limited Licensed Company) or form a company and incorporate it. This is something I remember from Accounting classes in college. Forming an LLC or an Inc. will keep our personal assets separate from our business and keep our personal assets safe from any legal action. Forming an LLC or an Inc. is not a big deal, but it's something I never thought we'd be thinking of doing.
We also have to work to improve our credit record. Improvement happens slowly. All we can do is pay our bills on time--which we do anyway--and try to pay off a couple of our credit cards in 2007.
I don't see us being able to start buying property until 2008. We have a lot of information to absorb and a lot to think about in 2007. But buying in 2008 is definitely one of our goals.
What's on your holiday wish list?
For my Cross Stitch:
DMC Embroidery Floss--'Variations' Floss (2 boxes, 24 skeins total).
Silkweaver's Fabric: (Evenweave) 'Romance' (30" x 30")
Silkweaver's Fabric: (Evenweave) 'Rock Quarry' (30" x 30")
Books:
'Baseball Field Guide'
'The Complete Idiot's Guide to Conversational Sign Language'
'American Sign Language The Easy Way'
'The American Sign Language Phrase Book'
What is your pet peeve, the one thing which really drives you mad?
Submitted by Beki.
People who are arrogant and/or bossy. While I am able to get along with people, bossy and arrogant people make me immediately angry. I have no patience with them.
