All In The Family...

"Didn't need no welfare state.... everybody pulled their weight... girls were girls and men were men..."

I love "All in the Family," even with all of its political incorrect-ness  (yes I realize this isn't a word but lets say it is today... I'm tired). I guess the sound of it in the background takes me back to childhood evenings spent with my grandmother. We would watch All in the Family and she just loved Johnny Carson! "Herrrrre's Johhny!!" I'm not quoting "The Shining."Eww. 

All in the Family is what I'm listening to as I write this blog.

Today was a long day with nothing accomplished. It was incredibly HOT as we drove around "getting to know our city" and looking for spaces for our future business. We were able to see quite a few options today, but until the Dallas home is sold (the tree-house issue), we have no business putting ourselves into a financial bind. I suppose this is where patience is a virtue? We're feeling a bit of a sense of urgency due to the positive response we're getting thus far from the community, but we want to do this right. I will try to maintain patience AND stay positive. Nothing wrong with a little bit of liquid reinforcement, right? 

We celebrated the girl's 17th birthday yesterday with a trip to the orthodontist. Then she wanted to go to Sprinkles Cupcakes and The Olive Garden. We love Sprinkles, but I'm ready for a new "sweet treat" place (not that I really need one). We always have to go to the Olive Garden after orthodontist visits for the chicken g'noche soup.  It's easy for her to eat and she loves it. I love the salad... simple and not too bad? Okay, I know it's bad. 

With the girl's birthday being over, the children have officially been turned over to their father for the month of July. This gives the wife and I a month of dieting and quality time together, but umm, this is how she spent our time during our short lunch stop today...

This is the wife's iPhone set up on the table. She has it positioned just so, in order not to miss a thing on the screen. What is she watching, you may wonder? The dogs... our dogs as they sleep in the utility room while we sit, sweltering in a greasy fast food restaurant, eating fried little balls of fat, and waiting for our next broker appointment. I'm not sure about you, but I think this abnormal obsession will not bode well for potential vacations... she's losing it. 

What would you do??

We have a home we're trying desperately to sell in Dallas. While it's in the middle of Dallas, it's in a beautifully hidden neighborhood. There are huge trees older than my deceased grandmother would be right now, a natural spring that runs behind the houses, and stone decking that wraps around the natural spring all the way through to the streets. If you've ever seen the San Antonio River Walk... it's a small version of this with homes rather than stores surrounding it. The home is a 1957 Ranch Style with updates, but no modernization. It is your grand mother's home... cozy and loved, with an amazing backyard view. That is until the neighbors put a huge tree house in next door, taking the view away. We loved the master bedroom/balcony, because from there you had the absolute best view of the back yard. Not anymore... now you have a tree house looking directly into the bedroom.

I have put a document together showing the pre-tree house views and the post tree house views. I want to add the negative feedback were getting from potential buyers to this document and go talk to the ex neighbors myself. I don't want to be confrontational... I just want to show them what I've got and discuss. The thing is, we're going to lose money on this house regardless of what we do.

Here are the options as I see them now:
* Bring a lawsuit (which would cost them a ton of money defending unless they just move or take the tree house down) for monies lost in the sell of the home if we can ever sell it.
*Take whatever money we would pour into a lawsuit and modernize the home so that we can sell it based on indoor features... the problem is that people can get a ton of great stuff in a brand new home for about 200,000 thousand less than this comfy home.
*Sell the home for what a 1957 style ranch house would sell for, losing about 150,000 to 200,000 on it, because the reason for the price was the lot itself with its beautiful view, not the home itself.

What would you do? I mean, the lawsuit may NOT go anywhere, but we're losing money one way or the other...

Here are some before and after pictures:

Our first major snow storm... from the balcony

I loved the sunsets just as much here as I do now!!-balcony

Fall was beautiful-balcony

It was so peaceful... I do miss my trees-blacony

Just sitting outside, listening to the locusts-balcony

We were so excited about adding this patio

The tree stump you see in the corner of the other yard is the tree the tree house is in... it towers the patio

New balcony views

More

View from the wife's old office nook

View from the patio

So there it is... 

I hope...

"for more love, more joy, and laughter... " No really... I hope everyone made it through the Fourth of July without scorched eyebrows!!

We made it through without any tragedies, thank goodness. If you guys have been reading my blogs as of late, the "no tragedies" phrase is the key here!

Today was crazy busy... I ran around half the morning for the girl. She'll be doing drill team at her new school, and they had pictures this afternoon. This of course had to be scheduled on her first day of drivers ed, which she is taking in her dad's city an hour and thirty minutes away. After my running around, the wife and I had an early lunch/ late breakfast date with a woman here in town about the business we want to start. I think it ended on a positive note, but things have to happen before we can get it up and running...

So, more things have happened here in Poltergeist Hell, but I'm not going to blog about it this evening. I will say this though. The wife said today that she's to the point of wondering, "What next?" Here's my take on it:
Never ask "What next?" I firmly believe that's inviting more into your life. There are so many possibilities of horrible things that can happen... Don't invite it. "What next?" We are lucky we have the ability to overcome...

Now to give you a great big goodbye from one of mine and the girl's favorite reality TV shows: Yes we love junk TV!!

The Toddlers and Tiaras pose... Sparkle, sparkle girl!!!

Finally... Happy 4th!!

The sail boat races.... Love this!!

I've bought all of the required foods for a "good old-fashioned" family picnic on the boat, with the kids and friends. I'm not sure why I place so much importance on food during the holidays, but I truly feel like it's not an event if we don't have the required fare!

All of this could have to do with my dysfunctional (I've used this word a lot lately) childhood. I have only one memory of my mother taking me to see the fireworks. I was four years old, she was drunk, and we hitchhiked back home. I don't remember how we actually made it to the park to begin with.

I think the closest memory the kids have that can be compared to my own beautiful childhood memory, was from this past Friday. I only had one glass of wine, but that combined with the steroid medication I've just been prescribed, obscured my judgement a bit while I was getting the boat back in the slip. You see, I'm the one who pulls the boat out and parks it. I'm good at it! Just not on this night... but the wife had faith, our friend's husband was very supportive, and well, at least I didn't run it into the dock or other boats... It just took a bit longer.

Now that I'm 4 days into my medicine, I'll avoid the wine tonight, and be happy with the food I've gotten for us! I hope everyone has a wonderful July 4th!!!

✰✰✰✰✰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰ In Honor Of The Fallen Men 

✰✰✰✰✰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰ And Women Who Served Our Country; 

✰✰✰✰✰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰ For those who have served in the past; 

✰✰✰✰✰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰ For those who are serving now;

☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰ And For Those Who Are Still Fighting.

☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰ THANK YOU

☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰☰ AMERICAN HEROES!! 

The furry babies in their holiday bandanas! The kids are too old to allow me to dress them up anymore, so I've transferred this need to my dogs.

Happy, happy....

...July 4th to all of you, from us!!!

Happy 3rd!!!

A while weekend of holiday "happy" wishes!

Let me say now, as I've probably said before, the casino is not a nice place. It would be absolutely beautiful if I could be a winner at least once. I mean a big winner. I want to know what it feels like to have that machine light up, and an attendant get called to give me my money. Now most of you could say that this rarely happens, but it happens to the wife quite a bit. Hmphhhh! We had a good time though. It's something to do indoors when the heat is so stifling outside, that you can't breathe.

Tonight we will go out on the lake again for fireworks. The best thing about living in a small town is that you can see the fireworks in the small towns surrounding you, AND you get a different show every night! I love fireworks!

We were lucky to have the in-laws stay over, because guess what?? They smelled gas, just like our friends did a few nights ago... and GUESS what?? The gas leak was confirmed. SO... lets go over this in bullets:

*House was struck by lightening the day we closed on it.
*We had to replace all three a/c units.
*The electrical wiring had to be redone and all outlets had to be replaced.
*When we get a heavy rain, water pours through our huge picture windows in the great room, giving a "beautiful" waterfall effect.
*Two of our chimneys weren't built right and are now collapsing.
*We need a new roof.
*We've had workers in the house for the full four months we've lived here, and have only been without them for one full week.
*Vandals
*Gas leak

I swear this house is cursed. It's going to suck itself  up like the house in Poltergeist. On the bright side, we have a beautiful lake to look at... and the home itself is beautiful.

Happy 2nd!

Okay...

Still having a rough time breathing, but feeling a bit better today.

Last night we enjoyed fireworks on the lake. Taking pictures weren't happening because there were a lot of waves!! We'll try again on the fourth.

This will be a very short one, because we have errands to run before the mother-in-law arrives. We're heading to Choctaw, Oklahoma to gamble... woohooo. I will have some major problems being in that smoke filled environment for hours on end. Maybe I'll win... it would totally be worth it! :)

Fridays are My Days?

Only if I rise before anyone else in the house... I can usually squeeze out an hour of time in the morning before everyone else emerges. I suppose you could consider ours a high maintenance family. The kids, though they are teens, seem to need constant entertainment from the wife and I. The wife... (I plead the fifth, but she knows she's high maintenance :p) The dogs aren't your typical dogs... they require tons of attention and control.  Then of course you have the general house-hold duties to attend to. So yes, I have my Friday morning time, then my day starts, ill or not.

Last night was yet another stressed evening... one that had me investigating (I'll talk about this in another blog... I was proud of myself!), worrying, and subsequently having bad dreams. Let me try to sum it up in bullet form.

* The wife and girl left the house to run an errand, but on their way out, saw the group of delinquent boys, and followed them.
*The boys were swinging a baseball bat, and acting suspicious as they drove around on their golf carts (little *&*%s!!).
*The wife reported this to security but was told they couldn't call the police. We want to know why...
*The security guard stopped the wife and told her that another couple was on their way to the gate with the delinquents in tow because they threatened their boys.
*Police were finally called, not sure by who and charges were pressed against one of the boys.
*The other parents showed up crying and to retrieve their monsters, with pompous dad looking on as if his son was the most innocent of all... the ring leader went home.
*The wife is now a witness in this case
*We are so screwed...

So today the wife is headed to the HOA office to log a written complaint about our car, and another one documenting last night's activity. She will ask why on earth security can't call the police. She's going to show the articles of the HOA to the community "leader" and point out that they are not being carried out according to what is written.

Bullets:
*HOA's have way too much power and you don't want to get into a situation with them.
*We will have to keep a detailed log of every communication with these people from now on.
*We will have to make sure we are following every rule so as not to draw attention to ourselves.
*We are so screwed!!

I'm going to be positive about all of this.

Now it's time to get moving on our day! There's grocery shopping to do, b-day presents to buy for the mother-in-law, cameras to order, dogs to bathe, and then on to our dysfunctional family evening spent on the boat... yep!