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Glenda,

You have a lot to handle there. At least getting out of the storage will cut one bill from your load.

I'm still wondering about your cabin, though. It has appeal for you, and I know it would for some others, too. If it's not for hunting, maybe there are some Calvin kinds of families who'd like to vacation and could deal with the water, etc. to stay someplace less expensive than what the snowmobilers offer, once you can get the outhouse ready. I know if I were trying to go somewhere to write, being away from the road would be a selling point to me.

But for now I'll just say that I'm still amazed at all that you can get done.

Thanks,

Joe


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I agree with Joe that it is incredible how much you DO get done. I may be a busy woman but YOU make ME tired!

I know how easy it is to fall behind in a hurry. I just had $500 in truck repair (extended warranty didn't cover) and with the record sub zero temps for extended days my electric doubled in one month. Yikes!

Glenda, if your life was a business you would have to 'cut the fat' to keep the doors open. What is the fat in your life? What is left to cut? You quit smoking right? (yeah for you!!!!) You're cutting out the storage. Is Weekenders and GoYin making money or costing money? Even if it isn't a monthly income but helps you with deductions to get a fat refund then I consider that income. What about cable tv, phone, cell, internet? I know it's hard to think about life without any of those things anymore but I'm facing the decision of what goes and what I can keep. I was going to cut off the landline phone and go just with a cell and then I was told that for any type of satellite tv or internet you need a landline phone?!

What are your assets? What would you advertise and promote to draw people to spend money at your business?
-cabin
-energy
-knowledge
-smart
-love of dogs
-not afraid to try new things
-passionate to help family

So that cabin - write up something with all the great things about it. There are people that actually LIKE just what you have to offer and don't have to spend an arm and a leg for all the amenities. Make them sign a waiver or acknowledgement of ability release to use the generator or it stays locked up and they use battery lanterns. If S24 wants so bad for you to keep then he needs to put some sweat equity into the project. You'll keep it but he maintains it and participates in making it rentable. BTW, isn't that where you are holding the DB party in July? ;\)

Have you checked into refi for the house or the car? lower the payments, combine them?

Is there dogsitting opportunities?
Is there grocery shopping delivery service opportunities?
Is there enough stuff to have a rummage sale?
How about some of those tools you bought and don't reuse?
Is there a McDonalds for S22 to get a job? I hear them and Starbucks have great benefits!
You do so much for your kids, certainly your D should give you a spot of storage in a room that is tucked out of the way.

It's hard to live and make a living, the cost of everything goes up and up, and the income just doesn't keep up. I keep a mental list of what goes first if/when H bails on me, it't not easy to think of going without the essentials of a basic life.
Maybe moving in together and renting your place out would be a way to get caught up and get some positive cash flow for all of you. Is that something you could do for a while?

Gosh I gotta go, Extreme Home Makeover is on and I just keep crying again. That show is so great but so sad too!


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Glenda
You probably do more before 9AM than I do all day. It is not easy for kids and this society seems so unforgiving of past mistakes. Try to get a good night's sleep and the ideas may come. I liked WCW's post. Best wishes.


"All I want is a weeks pay for a day's work"
Steve Martin



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Quote:
You probably do more before 9AM than I do all day.


No, that was one of XH's biggest complaints. I am a night owl. Morning is the worst time of day for me. But, I spent the majority of my life working swing, graveyard, both together, etc., and it was never an issue when we had children who needed their mom available during the day.

WCW -- I am about as tense as a newly strung and stretched barb-wire fence. I made a comment about my car but I think it went to cyberheaven. S24 discovered I have a coolant leak with piles of white-looking stuff on the top of my engine. The same dealership does all my work since I have a service maintenance agreement but I'm just waiting to see how hard they fight to get out of fixing this under my extended warranty. When it snows -- it's a whiteout.

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Quote:
Is Weekenders and GoYin making money or costing money?


Weekenders isn't making me any money, but I buy my work clothes at a discount. That is pretty much all I'm doing with that right now. GoYin is still on the positive side but not enough. I also use the two businesses to write off Internet -- it's all on-line work -- and the phone which I have to have to have Internet. I don't have cable, satellite, direct TV or anything like that. I have 5 air channel and a pair of rabbit ears.

Quote:
Make them sign a waiver or acknowledgement of ability release to use the generator or it stays locked up and they use battery lanterns.


No generator -- no heat! Well, not much heat anyway. There is a drip stove but it does not heat the cabin when it is really cold. It is the six electric heaters that run on the generator that keep it warm.

Quote:
Is there grocery shopping delivery service opportunities?
That was the very business I was trying to buy. They already have the basics done - web site with on-line ordering, yellow pages ads all paid for, wireless credit card machine, and enough customers to pay the minimal expenses until more customers. Couldn't swing it even at half the appraised price of the business.

Quote:
Is there dogsitting opportunities?
I don't have room for any more dogs in my pen and as little time as I spend with mine I think I would find a lot more things they get into if I wasn't ever home except to smell like other dogs.

I'm sure D would say okay but all has to be cleared through her SO and, well ...

I really don't have a lot of tools right now that I won't be using. I have the skil saw, jig saw, cordless drill, sawsall, a couple of hammers, and my mitre saw that I'm using on the floor. When I do get done with that floor, I have to start on the kitchen. It will end up being totally gutted. I figured I'd need to just replace the cabinets, too many don't work or need work, but I have to take out all flooring down to the original (mold). I'm either going to need to hire an engineer or do some research so I can get the grade and drainage right in the back yard next summer. Hopefully it won't drain into the crawl space this spring again but we are having a lot of snow. So, when I finish that, I'll probably go ahead and build another wooden deck. The tiles looked really nice as a patio but they are a problem with the drainage and the dogs have had a great time digging them up. So, I have half a patio.

I have a feeling the next place I buy will be a fixer upper as well just to buy enough at a price I can afford. But I am going to look into HUD rehab money. It has to be owner occupy so I need to be picky BUT I can get six months of loan payments with the loan so it could be rehabbed prior to movning in. I won't even think about it until summer. That really is a lot of S22's complaints about working here. Even without much furniture (two chairs, a coffee table, a TV, a buffet, and a bookcase), it all has to be moved around the flooring and the mitre saw in 300 square feet of space. Oh, and then there are all the boxes of laminate, too. It is a lot of work when you're living in the space. Vacuum, put plywood down, measure, put in a couple of rows of laminate, move all stuff to new space -- repeat. There are so many errors on my part, S22 thinks we are going to run out of laminate. If we do, I am going to change my mind and get a commercial carpet remnant for the living room -- easier to vacuum up dog hair and I swear they shed all the time in town.

Heck yeah! We wouldn't even need the generator in the summer -- 24 hours of sunlight, propane cooking stove, BBQ, and it's warm. I can haul plenty of Guiness, "vino", diet Pepsi, and water on the back of my fourwheeler. July would be the time. August is WAY too rainy. So, if you want to come party at my cabin on the 4th of July weekend -- let me know! Maybe I can get the outhouse ready before that.

I don't know why ... I'm just down. Sometimes it just seems the harder I swim the faster the current gets. I wanted to know something about S22's insurance, which is paid on XH's account. S22 doesn't know what kind of insurance he has? I think he pays XH for it -- but I'm not asking. I don't want XH to ask me for money if he isn't. I was hoping perhaps the insurance would pay for putting in the back window we just had to have done. No response to my question -- I guess I'm just to mean to answer. So, what the heck -- big IT security person he is -- I finally just went to the insurance site and put in our old ID and password. He hasn't changed it. So, at least I got my answer and S22 doesn't have coverage for that. Oh well -- why would I have thought otherwise?

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Well, blizzard on! I found out today I don't have an extended warranty on my car. Say what? I don't think XH ever bought a car without an extended warranty and we were together when this one was bought. I have a 5-year maintenance warranty -- okay?

So, I have no coverage for the o-ring something or another that is leaking coolant, no coverage for the pinon something or another that is leaking, and a leaking seal in my transfer case. Of course, my question is why they didn't notice any of these things until now....when I'm out of warranty.

But....all I know is I need my car to work so WCW I'm gonna double that truck repair cost and hopefully not raise the bid.

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Glenda,

You have a blizzard? We got a Dixie blizzard during the night. I can only see some of the deck floor out back, and there are patches of grass (well, what I call grass) in my front yard that are coated with snow.

Good luck with the car. Maybe it's time to meet a nice mechanic? \:\)

Happy St. Valentine's Day!

Joe


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Glenda, my truck is back in the shop because after $500 of exploratory surgery the problem was not found or fixed. It still quits when I let off the fuel, and keeping it on the road with no power is NO fun! I took it to a different shop this time. They call me Ms WCW. That takes some getting used to!

While my truck is in the shop we are getting another 6-8 inches today and I am driving a goofy little car. I am supposed to pick up my mom for a Womens Only Valentine Banquet (its become our tradition) and then drive an hour to get there. What's really disappointing is that my mom likes riding in my truck and gets the 'high view'.

Cabin heat isn't needed for the summer months right? battery lights would work.
Dog sitting - go to the dogs house for care 2 or 3 times a day. Some dogs just don't do well to go to a kennel and the owners would be happy to have you come care for their dog (or cat) at their own home. I know a lady gets $10 a day to care for cats in her own home!


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Riding the trail less traveled.
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