Springtime is coming up soon and we have more stuff than we should have still. Even trying to downsize, we still have too much lying around. Garage Sale, here we come!! Our besties are having one this Spring and we may just bring our stuff there. Since it's really hard to find our house, unless you know where to look, it would be better to combine our stuff there. Hope to make enough to put a down payment on some land way down South. And also, get our place a bit more saleable for when we can finally put it on market.
We have a camper that we're needing to fix up and hope to be able to take that down with us. It would be useful on the drive down there and save us in hotel rooms. It's just a little pop up, but it should work fine - especially with the generator. More and more, it seems, I feel the pull to leave here. Maybe it's the 12" of snow on the ground right now. Maybe it's work and my own restlessness. Whatever it is, I wish we could just pack up and go right now. We'll get there..... someday.
Well, I've been at the Topeka Cemetery for a few months now and all is going well. Not as fast as I'd like, but well. I actually got a commission check this month! wooHoo! :) All that goes into our savings account, of course. Right now, we're concentrating on the house. There's a lot to do to it to get it ready for a buyer! New roof (friends and family helping to cut down on $$ outlay), new plumbing throughout. New tub, sink and wall in the main bathroom, redo the hardwood floors, kitchen cabinets and countertop. Those are just a few I can think of. We did end up spending about $300 more than we thought - we bought an old pop up camper! It's from 1976 and it's orange and ugly, but it's in great condition and it will be WAY easier to use than any of the tents! Of course, now that we bought a camper, our besties are seriously looking at moving out West! *cry* We'll have some place to visit - and we'll have Skype and text and telephone.... not the same, though. I miss them terribly already and they're not even gone. My new business It Works! has been a Godsend for us! For me, it's the health benefits - for hubby, it's the extra pay. :) That will go directly into our retirement/relocation account! If we make enough, we're kidnapping besties and bringing them with!
Just what kind of horrible blogger am I, anyway?! I'm sorry. :( If you can forgive me, I'll just catch you up!
My work partner and I spent a lot of time bouncing around ideas about the business, and finding stable full time
jobs, and the like. We spent most of March taking care of our neighbour, who had just lost his wife. In addition to cleaning his house, we were pretty much at his beck and call constantly. By the end of March, it was time to trek back to Mexico. While I was there, my partner was in Hawai'i. Nice trips! :D
Anyway, we went through April and May pretty much figuring that we would, at some point, close our housecleaning business. Yes, the money was good, but the job is SO very hard. I have so much respect for people who do that all day every day!
So, we told our clients we were stopping, found a good person to take them over and my partner and I each got jobs. She has a wonderful job as personal assistant with a really great family. I got an office manager position for a local fitness club. 90 days later, I realized I was in the seventh circle of hell, and quit! LOL
Next week, I will start my new position as manager-in-training for the historic Topeka Cemetery. It's as beautiful as it is old and I can't wait to get in there and get stuff going! I'm so very excited about it! My former business partner may be interested in a part time job there, too, so that would be fun to work with her again!
Well, we now have sort of a timeline. 18 to 24 months. Seems like forever, and seems like the blink of an eye! I know there is a lot that needs done here first - savings, job/career, readying the house to sell and more. We'll know more about things in about a month. Right now, I'm just trying to figure out what we can bring into the country (our pets, dishes) and what we can't (wooden furniture, brooms). Lots to learn!
So, I went out with my business partner to Home Depot and bought 6 nice tubs to pack things up in. Things we aren't using now, things that mean something to us, things that we might use when we move but don't want to get rid of right now.
We are also getting ready for a roommate! A friend of ours will be moving in with us for a few months and I have to get that guest room cleaned out and the basement bathroom finished - since we do want to give her her "own" bathroom.
In other - more shocking news..... Hubby told his Vice President about our plans to relocate at some point! I couldn't believe it! Apparently, in the meeting they discussed all the perks, the good and bad, the possibility of telecommuting, and more. Wow. Really - I couldn't believe it. Well, I guess I should kick some things into gear now, huh? We're looking at maybe two years..... :)
However, a lot has happened! We found out just before hubby's birthday that we're going to be grandparents again! How fun is that?! Also, hubby's birthday is on Valentine's Day, so we had that to celebrate. We've done a lot more talking, planning, goal-setting and the like. Our basement bathroom remodel is nearly complete and looking (and working) awesome! That's all the fun stuff.
Now, for the not so fun stuff. Our furbaby Allie needs surgery. She injured one of her legs pretty good and is going to have a plate put into her left hind knee. Right now, we're charged with keeping her as immobile as possible. The surgery itself is going to set us back nearly $2500.00, not counting the after-care and hospital stay. She's still young, so this is what we need to do to give her the happy, healthy, joy-filled life we promised her when we adopted her three years ago.
So, to help with that, I've set up a page (more to come) of stuff we can sell to help raise the money to get her the help she needs - Thanks to some WONDERFUL, AMAZING, GENEROUS people, we are able to afford her
surgery! We're still raising money for her after-care - we don't have all of that yet.
Remember when I was talking about the bathroom? So the shower I bought didn't fit (drain hole issue) and instead of boxing it back up and taking it back to the store, hubby decided to take off the door, take down the walls, and rip up the floor! Now, we need to replumb the entire thing, put down a new floor and then do the little bit that I wanted to do in the first place.
Well, we decided that since, at some point in the future, we're going to be selling the house, we should probably start doing stuff to the house for it to be more sellable. Or rather, bringing in the most money we can for it. There are a lot of things we've been wanting to do, however they were always - in the future, whenever we had the house paid off, etc.
Why not enjoy some of the changes we're going to make before we sell the house, though? So, we're taking out the old blue 1980s bathroom in the basement and painting it "Sandstorm". We're going to trim out the window in white, repaint the medicine cabinet white and put in a sandy coloured tile floor. I went out today while hubby was at work and bought a white vanity and new angled shower. We'll need to add a window treatment and a new light fixture, and a ceiling(!), but so far, things are going all right.
I started painting the walls, but need hubby to help get the old (ugly blue) and old (torn plastic) shower stall out before I can do more. Need to find a light fixture, too....
After much consideration, thought, research and relying on friends and family, we've decided that Corozal is where we'll most likely settle down. It's a beautiful little city on the Caribbean Ocean and seems like what we're seeking in a relocation/retirement haven. So, now what we need to do is start getting our house ready for sale. Since there's no timeline, there's no real hurry - but, we might as well start somewhere, right?
I think, next week, I'll start on the basement. And if any of you have seen our basement, you'll know that it's pure 1980s industrial. Office style false ceilings, long tube lighting, horrid vents - and the bathroom. . . well, I'm not even going to go there. Let's just say it's 1980s blue. UGH. So, I bought some floor tile and will be getting a vanity/sink this weekend and start the ripping up! I'll try and post before and after pics. :)
Our finance guy came over yesterday and talked with me for over two hours with regard to savings, bills, taxes, job market, credits, accounts in the US and in Belize, and much more. We decided on an Intermediate-Term Municipals Fund, another Roth IRA, and then within 12 months, opening an off-shore account. I can honestly say, I've never, ever thought I would have an off-shore account! This is too wild! However, so far, things are looking good. I've decided to start training for a work-at-home type of job. I used to do graphic design, a lifetime ago, so thought I'd start relearning that - as well as copywriting, SEO and editing. My degree is in English and Art, so I should try and use it. 10 years in the non-profit sector have kind of gotten me out of the loop on it all. Now that I don't have a full time job, I should do something more productive than Facebook!
This is going to be an adventure - wish me luck!
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