Happy Birthday Sister!

I finally made up to Milwaukee to visit my sister this weekend. Her birthday is Monday, so my dad came up for the day on Saturday as well.

It was my first time seeing her new place, including the new-new couch (since the first one didn't fit). And, um, boxes. After the whole couch debacle, all she had was a papasan chair, a couple bookcases and a coffee table. When the second couch finally came (and fit) she was kind of used to some of her random items. Like using the microwave box for an end table.

We put an end to all that--we did some shopping and got her two new end table lamps (darn it--the one I rejected from my living room got rejected from hers too. Want it mom?), as well as a new end table. And my dad brought up a floor lamp. Her room looks so. much. better. (I'll add some pictures in later). She was very resistant to losing those boxes, but we got 'em out while she wasn't looking.

We also went fancy for our mutual favorite meal--Saturday we made waffles (in the Grilleration, hahaha) and Sunday we did crepes. Our first one turned out terrible, but we totally got the hang of it by the end.

We had dinner at Roots, which I actually had walked by before--it looks really cool.

Roots

After my dad left, he called to tell us there was some sort of super moon* that won't happen again for a long time, so we bundled up and walked out to a point on the lakefront to see it. It was very bright, so I guess it was super, and the walk was fun either way.

It was great to see her, and hopefully I'll get back up here faster this time!

*This is unverified and in fact I have no idea what it means. My dad said it and we just believed him.

Back on the Road!

It's finally time...I rode my bike today!  It's been stuck at School since December 4, when the weather turned halfway through the day.

 [And then I tried to find a picture on the internet and post it here--my bike is awesome but, um, dirty and in the basement right now. My bike is like a secret bike, and no pictures of it exist. Or they've all been destroyed. Or something.]

The high was in the upper 50's, it was sunny and balmy and not too windy, and I totally needed a good bike ride.  I wasn't even slow or anything--right at my normal gear, although as I was feeling all proud of myself for not being as pathetic as anticipated, I hit a bridge and had to downshift like four gears. (Yes, you can laugh at me tomorrow when I can't walk, which is highly likely.) It took me only a little over an hour, right on par with my usual time--and not bad at all for 13 miles.

I started* bike commuting back at my old School, a nice 3 mile commute. It took almost the same time as driving, so it was no different. And, added bonus, I hate working out so it took care of that too. Then I moved a mile further away. It was a quick adjustment though. Just a few more minutes on the bike (or in the car).

And then. I switched jobs over the summer. If I haven't mentioned before, one of the things I don't like about my new School is that it's really far. The commute sucks. That was a principal thing I was upset about when I got the job--how would I ride my bike?

Until I realized the only thing stopping me was myself (and, you know, sanity). It's a little more involved now--I can't just wear the flats I'm going to wear to work (and sometimes most of my outfit). I never used to carry water, but now I need it and have to stop at the park for the drinking fountain when I forget. And after a flat** incident last fall, I have a little emergency kit that I don't know how to use. I think my plan is to flag down a sympathetic cop, as no one on the south side actually rides bikes.

Anyhow, I probably need to go get a spring cleaning and tune up and whatever else, but it's great to be back on the streets!

*I was really obsessive about starting. I actually walked the entire route first so it would look familiar from my bike. It seemed very brilliant at the time and took three hours. I did learn how much I dislike Cortland.
**Your tire can be really low but still ride-able. My pressure should be between 60-85 I think, and it was at 30. When you realize you have special valves and cannot in fact fill up at the gas station, RIDING TEN MILES IS REALLY DUMB. You won't be able to walk for three days. Sometimes I am too tough for my own good.

Happy PI Day!

Happy Pi Day!

Pi Dominoes

Glass boxes

Last fall, in the Crate & Barrel catalog, I saw this:

Crate & Barrel

And I decided I really, really needed a glass box. I cut out the picture and put it on the fridge (to remind myself? For a hint for Mark? Who knows.) Even the small one is pretty pricey at $49.95 though, and while I really really wanted one, I don't have a rock collection like they show. Or really anything else that is just begging for a glass box.

So I didn't ask for it for Christmas or anything, I just idly wanted it. And then when we went to pick up a gift at West Elm, there it was:

West Elm

They're smaller than the Crate & Barrel ones, and also a good bit cheaper. This I can do. So I picked one up when B and I had our shopping spree. It looked so nice on my coffee table, if a little, well, empty. We had some M&Ms in the candy jar, so I put those in. Which mostly looked (unsurprisingly) random.

But over the weekend, I fixed it. I keep a bunch of stuff for when I eventually start to scrapbook (I make cards, but Mark hopes I will make us a scrapbook someday). I pulled some "us"* stuff out of my box, arranged it in the glass case, and now it looks way better:

 In case you're curious, I put in tickets from two concerts we've been to, a photostrip from the City Museum in St. Louis, the punch card from a corn maze we did when our Couples Group went on a retreat last fall, the sticker from the Apple Cider Century (my very first organized bike ride!) and of course a turtle. I didn't put too much time or thought into it, but so far I like it!

What would you put in a glass box? Anyone have any better ideas?

*True Story: My first thought was...."Hmmm, I could put my rush nametags in there" I saved them because they tend to be very elaborate, and they would look cool. But I might be just a bit too old for that.

Paid Off

In other news, I'm pretty sure* I own my car now.

My car was the first thing I ever took out a loan on. I know in general its bad to have loans, but I've never carried a balance on anything, and it seemed like it would be wise to prove I COULD pay something back if I wanted to. But it always makes me feel guilty when I read personal finance blogs.

In my case though, it wasn't a terrible decision. First, I could have paid cash if I'd wanted to (and could have paid my car off at any time). Second, my interest rate was 2.9%. And third, I'm pretty sure it made my credit score go up.

I can't be certain about the credit score thing, because I didn't know my exact score shortly before I bought my car, but it's always been in the mid to high 700's. When I bought my condo a little over a year later, my lender's score (they always use the middle one of the 3 bureaus) was 806.

Anyhow, I feel more affectionate towards my car now that I own all of it. This is silly, since yesterday I didn't own $185.15 of it...which is like the floormats or maybe a wheel**. But anyhow, now its really-really mine, and my only remaining debt is my mortgage.

Hooray for me!

*I have automatic payments set up, and this last one was for the remainder of my loan ($185.15) so I assume that takes care of it. But who knows...I paid it off early, so maybe there is something else I need to do.

**I did the same thing with my condo, where I put down 25% and then amused myself deciding which specific part of my condo I owned. Conveniently, it has four rooms. I decided I owned the dining room. If I ever have problems with the bank, can I give back say, the living room but keep the dining room??

Now THAT'S Progress!

I made some changes to my living room two weeks ago, and almost 2 weeks in, I'm really liking it. The new lamp and rug are winners for sure (as is my random glass box). The jury is still out on the pillows. Several people who have stopped by think they look great, but Mark and I still feel like they're too white--something more cream would be better.

This is what we started with:

Anyhow, here's where we are now:

Doesn't the rug make a huge difference?

 Several things are placeholders right now:

• The chair was in the dining room. 
• So was the lamp that is now on the mantel
• We still want a new coffee table

The jury is also still out on those pillows:

I know the colors aren't great, and the couch definitely looks good with light-colored pillows. We just think they're too light. It's tough to tell, but the blanket on the chair is cream, and the pillows are white. They are off-white enough that in the store with all their white-pillow friends, I was like "oh, they're cream." But not really.

As for the chair:
We both LOVE it. It was a 16th birthday present for me. [When I moved in we couldn't figure out where to put it, and my mom put in the corner of the dining room by the windows, telling me I could sit there to...look at cookbooks? We all laughed since she was obviously just trying to justify the placement (it's right next to the bookshelf with the cookbooks). But surprise surprise, she's right. We DO sit there and look at cookbooks.] In the living room? It just looks too old-fashioned for me. I'm trying to get away from the look of the coffee table, and the chair isn't helping. I think I found a new chair already, but I'm probably going to wait and ask for it for my birthday.

I'm also on the lookout for a lamp for the mantel; the one that's there right now doesn't really work. But at least now I know I want a lamp there. And it helps fill that 11 feet of space.

Anyhow, what do you think?!?

Dear Connie

I'm sorry I'm an idiot sometimes. I'm not sure why I didn't file a homeowner's exemption for my county property taxes. At first I thought you were being mean to me (which I probably deserve for being so dumb), but you weren't. You were one of the most helpful telephone service people I've ever talked to.

You told me:

• Which two forms I needed
  Where to find them and precisely what they were called (It's a "Homeowner's Exemption Certificate of Error"--and you even mentioned it will say C/E Number, but I shouldn't worry, as that's for office use only).
• What I needed to include
• Where to take it when I fill it out

And then, you kept going. You mentioned that my assessed value went up, and gave me several steps to go through and places to try to get it adjusted.

And also, after I get my paperwork filed, you explained that I needed to call my mortgage company--but make sure I talk to the Escrow Department--to have my payment adjusted down again.

You're the best government employee ever, Connie. Thanks!

Seriously? This woman was SO HELPFUL. She was the one who mentioned the assessed value and how to get it adjusted. She also did not have to walk me through how to get my mortgage payment adjusted back down, especially in such great detail.

And in case you screwed up your taxes too, never fear, fixing them isn't that bad!

I had to fill out a form to make it correct for this year, then a certificate of error to make it correct for last year, and then submit a phone bill* showing I had service at this address. I also now have a list (including the phone number!) of places to call to try to get my assessed valuation down. Awesome.

I know no one really cares about my taxes, but there's more here: Don't psych yourself out. I knew I messed up and was afraid fixing it would be a pain. But putting it off wouldn't have helped, and now I feel so much better. Take something you've been procrastinating on and DO IT!

*I could have used my license, had I bothered to change it.