Hump Day

ei34

...sort of.  Holiday weeks always skew hump day.
Schools by me are closed all week, so taking the kids to the local children's museum in a bit, which is hosting a Mo Willems' musical that we've seen the last two years but they can't get enough of.  (Mo is one of the kids' favorite authors.) 
Hope everyone's work day goes smoothly!

climbingsingle

Well, it wasn't a holiday week for me

How is it only Wednesday!?!!? I am stressed, and annoyed, and pissy, and frustrated. I'm leaving for Mexico next week for my BFF's 40th birthday trip, and I'm so ready to just be on the plane already. 

charlotte989875

I’m home sick snuggled up with the pets. Wicked sore throat, headache, and chills. No fever so it’s probably just a cold just I took the day off anyway. 

Well @ei34 I took my niece to the children’s museum on Sunday, which is probably why I’m sick. My sister just said “yeah I should have warned you not touch anything”. Just an FYI. But it was super fun. 

I’m planning to watch some private practice, nap, and read all day. 

kvruns

have fun @ei34 our Children's Museum just opened a temporary Mo Willems exhibit. DS isn't super familiar withthe books but I think he will enjoy it 

kvruns

Target Valentine's clearance is 90% in case anyone is interested -- well 70% off food/candy and 90% off general merchandise. I picked up candy to use for Teacher appreciation week (April or May?), candy for Easter, and some Vday shirts for next year. 

MissKittyDanger

I just googled Mo Willems - only one I've seen is about "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus"
What are the books about?


I feel nauseated. I've felt sick since dinner last night M picked up the soft shell chicken tacos from Costco. They were good, but idk .... didn't sit well. M and BabyKitten had no issues, so who knows.

I've picked a paint colour for the bathrooms and kitchen! We're going to wait until it's nice and figure out a day where BabyKitten can go somewhere while we paint. It may depend on the day/time if it's a sleepover.
The paint is going to be a grey with blue tones. Subtle but if I put a blue towel or something there, it'll bring the blue up.
Rest of the house is going to be a light grey, so I think it'll look nice.

short+sassy

@climbingwife, your trip sounds so fun!  Especially being a vacation with friends.

@charlotte989875, I hope you start feeling better!  At least you are all squared away for a day to do nothing but rest and relax.

It's now been a decade, but I have to share my own "outing with my niece" story, lol.  I don't see her (or my nephew) very often because they live in CA.  But I was out there visiting when she was 2.  But an "older" 2, where she could walk and talk pretty well.  One of the days I was there, we went to the San Diego Zoo.  We brought her stroller.  But she would have none of that!  She insisted she was a big girl and she could walk.  So walk we did.  Almost that whole big zoo...at the pace of a toddler, lol.

I'm sure it drove my sister nuts, because they went to the zoo a few times a month, but I loved every minute of it!  Plus, she was chattering to me about all the animals as we got to their exhibits.  Facts about them.  Accurate ones with 50-cent vocabulary words.  Yep, when my 2-year-old niece threw around the word "diurnal" (active during the day), I gave my sister a look and said, "You know you're in trouble with this one, right? lol"

missJeanLouise

This week has flown by for me... I think it is partly this new workout routine coupled with the fact that Thursday is my Friday. 
Thursdays are normally coffee/play dates with my friends and babies but last week we couldn't sync naps and this week everyone seems quiet. I have to get caught up on laundry (code words for not change out of leggings all day) so I invited everyone to mine but we will see what happens. I feel like no one wants to change out of leggings this week.

Friday I have nothing planned but hopefully DH and I can get it together enough to take DS to the new mangrove boardwalk that recently opened. 

Saturday I booked DH a spa day with a massage, mani/pedi, and beard trim. He surprised me on Sunday by shaving his beard so idk what the beard guy is going to do, lol. Then later I am going out for a friend's birthday. I was looking forward to it until they decided on a karaoke place. There is only one way I can tolerate karaoke and I wasn't planning on getting that drunk lol.

charlotte989875

short+sassy said:

@climbingwife, your trip sounds so fun!  Especially being a vacation with friends.

@charlotte989875, I hope you start feeling better!  At least you are all squared away for a day to do nothing but rest and relax.

It's now been a decade, but I have to share my own "outing with my niece" story, lol.  I don't see her (or my nephew) very often because they live in CA.  But I was out there visiting when she was 2.  But an "older" 2, where she could walk and talk pretty well.  One of the days I was there, we went to the San Diego Zoo.  We brought her stroller.  But she would have none of that!  She insisted she was a big girl and she could walk.  So walk we did.  Almost that whole big zoo...at the pace of a toddler, lol.

I'm sure it drove my sister nuts, because they went to the zoo a few times a month, but I loved every minute of it!  Plus, she was chattering to me about all the animals as we got to their exhibits.  Facts about them.  Accurate ones with 50-cent vocabulary words.  Yep, when my 2-year-old niece threw around the word "diurnal" (active during the day), I gave my sister a look and said, "You know you're in trouble with this one, right? lol"

That’s awesome, it’s amazing to me how much little kids know. The things my niece says sometimes are just incredible! I’m lucky I get to hang out with her so often. 

How did things go with your noisy tenants? 

levioosa

Feel better @charlotte989875!

You’re so close to vacation @climbingwife. You can make it!

Work has been super busy the past few days. I haven’t been able to catch up on any of my actual usual work. I’m looking forward to the weekend. Everyone is coming in with Influenza A. I’m the nasal swab queen at work. No one likes to see me coming lol

VarunaTT

I'm down in my feels from this weekend. 

K is finally home.  They went back to UC on Monday.  The doc said we had to keep watching for any neurological sx, just b/c there was a slim chance of meningitis w/their sx, but he also felt it was a likely medicine interaction, since there were actually 3 possibilities of interactions that could've caused those symptoms after going through their entire med list.  Since I had to work and K's mom is retired, they stayed with their parents.  K has another nose spray Rx, saline nose spray, and an antibiotic now.  Doc said he felt it was really just a horribly bad sinus infection, mixed with this med reaction.  They do seem to be getting a lot better, but last night was their first night home since Sunday.  I missed them.

The other stuff (community work) has, of course, gotten ugly.  I'm still not sure what I'm going to do, because while I feel a sense of duty to make sure the center doesn't close, it's obvious that means dealing with the negatives.  And I've walked away because of the negatives before and I'm unsure of putting myself back into that maelstorm.

Work has given another bonus, which is nice.  While I was looking forward to putting all of that on the one remaining credit card balance I have, I think I'm going to take a small portion and get a massage and a float.  I can feel my shoulders hunching up around my neck lately.

OliveOilsMom

kvruns said:

Target Valentine's clearance is 90% in case anyone is interested -- well 70% off food/candy and 90% off general merchandise. I picked up candy to use for Teacher appreciation week (April or May?), candy for Easter, and some Vday shirts for next year. 

I was there yesterday and got a few bags of jelly beans.  I also went to buy Valentine stickers that I would have saved for DD for next year.  They were not discounted!  So I had the cashier put them back! LOL!

Eileen - We love Mo Willems - that musical sounds fun!

Yesterday was pretty great!  DD was on GREEN!  LOL!  She was super excited and when H walked into her room, she came running up to him saying "Daddy, I'm on green!"  It was also almost 60, so he took her to the playground for 20 minutes as a reward.  She also got to play on her tablet, have pizza for dinner and get a gift from MIL.  She was in such a good mood!  It also extended into this morning, so hopefully she turned a corner and will continue with this behavior!

I'm heading to Wegmans at lunch to get some things.  I'm making a tomato & mozz salad for her birthday party on Sunday.  Thoughts on if its too early to buy the cherry tomatoes?  I'm not a tomato person, but this salad is easy and always a big hit when I throw a party.  I could probably also get them at Aldi or BJs, which are my two shopping trips on Friday.

OliveOilsMom

Vanuna - I must have missed the stuff with K.  Glad they are on the mend now!

short+sassy

charlotte989875 said:

short+sassy said:

@climbingwife, your trip sounds so fun!  Especially being a vacation with friends.

@charlotte989875, I hope you start feeling better!  At least you are all squared away for a day to do nothing but rest and relax.

It's now been a decade, but I have to share my own "outing with my niece" story, lol.  I don't see her (or my nephew) very often because they live in CA.  But I was out there visiting when she was 2.  But an "older" 2, where she could walk and talk pretty well.  One of the days I was there, we went to the San Diego Zoo.  We brought her stroller.  But she would have none of that!  She insisted she was a big girl and she could walk.  So walk we did.  Almost that whole big zoo...at the pace of a toddler, lol.

I'm sure it drove my sister nuts, because they went to the zoo a few times a month, but I loved every minute of it!  Plus, she was chattering to me about all the animals as we got to their exhibits.  Facts about them.  Accurate ones with 50-cent vocabulary words.  Yep, when my 2-year-old niece threw around the word "diurnal" (active during the day), I gave my sister a look and said, "You know you're in trouble with this one, right? lol"

That’s awesome, it’s amazing to me how much little kids know. The things my niece says sometimes are just incredible! I’m lucky I get to hang out with her so often. 

How did things go with your noisy tenants? 

Don't know quite yet.  They're getting served with the 30-Day Notice to Vacate today, probably late this afternoon.  However, I'm going to send the "main" tenant a text message at lunch.  Just to give her a heads up to expect it.

It is always stressful to give people bad news, because you don't know how they are going to take it.  The date they need to be out, per the notice, is March 22nd.  I included what their pro-rated rent will be for March and that their security deposit CANNOT (yes, with capital letters) be used to pay that.  But that's what people often try to do so, more likely than not, I'll be filing for an eviction for non-payment in early March.  FWIW, I also included an assurance that their security deposit will be paid out promptly (minus any damages) after move-out.

I did give an option, outlined in the notice, that if they move out earlier (on/before March 1st), then they do not need to pay March's rent.  I'm actually hoping they go with that option.  It's the least financially advantageous for me because it would pretty much guarantee I'm not seeing any rent for that house until probably April (or longer).  But they're already a problem for the neighbors and my other tenants so, the sooner they're gone, the better.

MissKittyDanger

@OliveOilsMom Glad to hear DD had a great day Fx it keeps up, now that she sees how happy everyone is when it's a green day!

@VarunaTT Glad K is on the mend. Scary!

kerbohl

@MissKittyDanger That colour sounds really pretty!  Just flat gray can get a little dull, but I always thought gray with blue tinge really pops.  That's the colour in my bathroom and I hope I can find the same colour again if I ever need to touch it up!

I got my hubby all excited last night because I found his dream LARP camp.  I don't think there is any possible way we can afford it, but he was just obsessing over it last night.  Here's a look: https://www.realtor.ca/real-estate/21545516/429284-8th-b-concession-grey-highlands

Puppy still has to pee every hour during the night.  I hope she doesn't have a bladder infection, but I think it is just the meds messing with her.  I hope her body rights itself soon, because it must be annoying to have to pee that much, poor thing.

short+sassy

kerbohl said:

@MissKittyDanger That colour sounds really pretty!  Just flat gray can get a little dull, but I always thought gray with blue tinge really pops.  That's the colour in my bathroom and I hope I can find the same colour again if I ever need to touch it up!

I got my hubby all excited last night because I found his dream LARP camp.  I don't think there is any possible way we can afford it, but he was just obsessing over it last night.  Here's a look: https://www.realtor.ca/real-estate/21545516/429284-8th-b-concession-grey-highlands

Puppy still has to pee every hour during the night.  I hope she doesn't have a bladder infection, but I think it is just the meds messing with her.  I hope her body rights itself soon, because it must be annoying to have to pee that much, poor thing.

@MissKittyDanger, I agree with the bolded!

@kerbohl, that looks like an awesome vacation home!  But I was laughing that it looks so rustic and weathered (in a good way), but is a fairly new house, lol.  That huge separate sauna is WOW!  I bet it would fetch a pretty penny per night on Airbnb.  Just sayin ...something to keep in mind if you all are ever more seriously looking for a camp.

I don't know what it is like in Canada, but in the US, banks are usually brutal in their underwriting for second homes/vacation homes.  Brutal!  They even make buying investment properties look like a walk in the park, lol.  I've heard it is typically a 50% down payment required.  With especially stellar credit and debt-to-income (DTI) ratio.  

kerbohl

@short+sassy Yikes, 50%?  Le sigh.  The advantage is that my parents are also looking for a hobby farm, and it would be their primary property (which we would buy with them and make an arrangement to use) but I don't think this one would work for them.  They probably wouldn't like sleeping in a loft ... 
We wanted to get a viking hall, and this place just fits the bill so well.  Too bad it's so pricey ... thought that is sort of to be expected!

short+sassy

Random vent.

It's annoying enough to be in cubeland now, instead of my previous office.  But it's also louder (though not too bad usually) and colder.

The colder part is getting on my nerves.  I bought a light feeling, but extra warm jacket for a Lake Tahoe trip a few years ago.  I'm going to buy another one.  Just to keep at my office, smh.  I finally gave in and broke out the fingertip-less mittens a few minutes ago.

Update.  Geez.  I'm such a sucker.  Long story short, the "main" tenant of the noisy family sent me a text message that this came as a "surprise" and she really doesn't want to move.  Just to add a layer, the main tenant doesn't speak English.  So I always use Google Translator to text to her in Spanish.  My official notices are in English, but I'll text her the gist of them in Spanish.  But it is frustrating because I can't just call her on the phone and be like, "Look..."  And I need to be careful not to use slang/casual phrases that probably won't translate my meaning correctly but, for someone who understands English, would probably get my point across better.  Her daughter...who is an adult, but young (18)...is bilingual.  So the daughter calls me and pleads her case that they will stop playing the music and give them one more chance.

I expressed my concerns that I've actually given them many chances and nothing has changed.  I also gave other examples, that it isn't just the music.  That's just been the most obvious noise problem I've been pointing out (repeatedly).  But it's also X, Y, Z, etc (which have also been in official notices and in a longer e-mail I sent that was in both English/Spanish).  She swore up and down they'd change and to please give them another chance.  So I did (sigh).  But told her this is absolutely their last chance and I will not hesitate to post another 30-Day Notice to Vacate.  In closing, I even expressed a bit of my frustration that it is as if they did not think I was serious until now.  But I am and I have been.

TBH, I don't think they're capable of it.  Because it goes beyond noise.  It's having consideration of others.  Which is a personality trait that exists to varying degrees.  And, right now, that degree is almost all the way to zero for at least some of the people living there.  It can be changed, over time, with self-realization.  But it's not a switch that can just be turned on/off. 

Edited to add:  However, we'll see.  I sincerely hope they will make a change for the better.  Because, at least from my end of things, they've been great tenants to work with.  But I can't be selfish and have my other tenants and the neighbors around them living in misery.

MissKittyDanger

@short+sassy  Have they been living in the states long? Sometimes it's an unrealized cultural difference. Not that I'm saying they shouldn't have realized by now that it may have originated by misunderstanding.

Is there a way to ask if there's been any misunderstandings in regards to the letter?

MissKittyDanger

@short+sassy  @kerbohl If I could get a good link, I'd show you. It's a Canadian Tire brand, so it's just being an absolute jerk on links.
I'm biased to the grey tones  

NBSquared2017

My day is better than yesterday! 

I’m a bit bummed because I realized the the Girl Scouts discontinued Savannah Smiles. They were my absolute favorite cookies in the world :-( 

MissKittyDanger

NBSquared2017 said:

My day is better than yesterday! 

I’m a bit bummed because I realized the the Girl Scouts discontinued Savannah Smiles. They were my absolute favorite cookies in the world :-( 

Ooh I have never heard of this cookie. What are they?

NBSquared2017

MissKittyDanger said:

NBSquared2017 said:

My day is better than yesterday! 

I’m a bit bummed because I realized the the Girl Scouts discontinued Savannah Smiles. They were my absolute favorite cookies in the world :-( 

Ooh I have never heard of this cookie. What are they?

It’s a powder sugar dusted lemon cookie! 

They are so amazing. I found a copy cat recipe that I’m going to try this weekend! 

short+sassy

MissKittyDanger said:

@short+sassy  Have they been living in the states long? Sometimes it's an unrealized cultural difference. Not that I'm saying they shouldn't have realized by now that it may have originated by misunderstanding.

Is there a way to ask if there's been any misunderstandings in regards to the letter?

I think they have.  One of them I know has.  It's two sisters (in their 40s), one daughter (18), and daughter's child (ie, granddaughter).  The "main" tenant, whom I primarily deal with, moved here from NY state last year.  She moved from where she was living into this rental.  Though she'd been down a few times before that and I'd met her at the showing and before we signed a lease.  She was living in NY for over 10 years.  I assume her daughter/granddaughter were living up there with her.  I don't know as much about the sister.  Other than she was already living in NOLA and has been with her current employer for two years.

The culture difference...or more all-encompassing..."perspective difference" is something I try to take into consideration with all my tenants.  For example, I haven't wanted them "guessing" what I mean by too loud.  Not necessarily culturally related.  But because that's just people sometimes, lol.  I have specifically told them, if the music can be heard outside their own walls, it is too loud and disruptive.  I've given specific examples of what has been inappropriate.

On broader strokes, I've tried to better refine how I communicate with tenants.  Y'all are familiar with my longwinded posts, lol.  I'm exactly like that IRL.  I personally like having ALL the information and nuance.  So, in turn, I try to give ALL the information.  But I've seen from experience that is usually a mistake with tenants.  It confuses them instead of making things more clear.  I really strive to keep information as clear and simple as I can, while not leaving out anything vital.  But I also know I struggle with that and will always err on the side of "too much" than "not enough".