Never A Dull Moment

Boy, have things changed since my last post. And that was only last week! On the "business front" it looks like it's a no go. Everything was fine until we got to the bank. There were no problems with our credit but given the economical situation of our area, heck, our country, loans aren't as easy to come by. And if they are, you have to have a down payment, are paying out of the butt, or some non-attainable options. For instance, not only the bank but the Small Business Administration requires 20% down along with a second mortgage on your house (so if you go bust they can take your home), and it would only be a 10 year loan. Yikes! So, we definitely don't have the 20% down, taking a second mortage on our house would be too big of a risk, and the 10 year loan made for a pretty high payment. In addition, we had hoped to apply for a larger loan for improvements, etc. but they didn't recommend it as we'd have to "prove" a need for it and it'd also make our down payment that much more. So needless to say purchasing a business isn't our calling. At least not at this time. Of course our minds are constantly churning about things we could build our own personal business on and we'll never rule out purchasing a business in the future. We firmly believe things happen for a reason and at this time it wasn't meant to be. So, that's cool. Just go with the flow.

With not having a business to think about we had an enjoyable relaxing weekend which finished with a day spent lounging at Soak City's adult pool and celebrating Viking's birthday and Father's Day with all of the 'rents. Ah, gotta love summer. Getting out, enjoying the weather and getting things done. I feel as though we haven't made much progress on home improvements this summer as we've had in the past. Mind you, it's early in the summer but still. I don't really know if that has to do with money or our mindset. Probably both. My medication has definitely helped me relax and go with the flow. Add on top of that not having extra money and you just kind of let things go. It's not like our house has fallen to disrepair but we're not constantly working on an improvement like we have in the past. Hopefully next up will be insulation and siding. That's going to be costly. Don't really know how that loan situation's going to work out. Ah well, we shall see.

In other exciting news we've been eyeing some scooters. Yes, us, looking at scooters. We've come to the conclusion that we want one and it'd be smarter for a variety of reasons. 1-David has a work vehicle, meaning his personal vehicle sits here and almost is never used. It's a 2004 with only a little over 30,000 miles. We're basically paying on it and have insurance for almost no reason. We'd like to just get rid of it but the buyback won't totally payoff the loan. And it's not like a dealer will just buy the car and not have you buy another car. 2-Even using the Aveo we go through about a tank of gas a week. I'd like to reduce this if possible. 3-it's a little more "green" 4-and you can't deny that they are pretty darn cute. So we found a dealer in Norwalk that deals Vespas and some of the other quality brands. Yesterday we went to check them out and get a quote. It looks like they'd give us a good trade-in amount for David's car. The only roadblocks are that we got to check with the bank to see if they'd take an negative amount left from the car and put it on the loan for a scooter (it's a small amount, but still, it's a negative amount) and we found that we'll have to get a motorcycle license. We weren't expecting this as we had been told we didn't need one. However, there are a multitude of sizes/powers of scooters and the ones we're looking at can go up to 55 mph. Anything that goes over 35 mph requires a license. However, you can get your permit and still drive it. There are stipulations such as only driving during the day, no passengers, and wearing a helmet. As for getting a license, you can take the test or take a class to receive your endorsement which automatically gives you the license. The problem with the class is that looking at the schedule all of them are full 'til September. Bummer. But, we'd at least be able to get permits and drive it alone if need be. As with everything, this is just an idea that we're pushing around at this point.

As for me being vegetarian, I'm still going strong and am enjoying it. As I tell people, eating meat is a non-issue. I don't even think about it. If I had been a huge meat eater before I can see it being an issue, but that wasn't the case. The biggest issue would be fast food places, which are best to avoid anyway, so that's what we're doing. And any place where I think I may have an issue I ask for no meat and they kindly oblige. I'm still gaining information to research and reading making sure I'm eating the right things and getting all of my nutrients/vitamins. And I've already had to deal with people's snide remarks and negative reactions even though I don't really bring it up. For instance my office manager saying, "She's gone off the deep end. How much you want to bet she's anemic?" Of course I proved her wrong and gave her a specific reference as to educate her. She was surprised by my answer but accepted it and walked away knowing that she had made a wrong assumption. The thing is, I'm not out to prove anyone wrong or to try to convert people. I just don't want people to make wrong assumptions or non-founded statements. Something I may have an issue with is becoming adventurous in the kitchen. I can see that most vegetarians/vegans make some awesome recipes and adjust them as needed. Just like the meat situation, I wasn't really a cook before so I don't see myself becoming anymore cook-like with my change. It's just not my forte and time isn't on my side when it comes to cooking. Thankfully there are other options out there that make it easier. I can only imagine trying to do this 10 years ago when it wasn't so readily accepted and you didn't have many pre-made/easier food options available. So far everything I've tried has been great. I absolutely loved the corn dogs and the Boca burgers were delicious too. David's even dabbled with some of the food. He won't be changing over, but I appreciate his interest. This is a good thing that I've done and am content with my decision.

I'm gearing up for Texas which is next week. Hopefully mom and I will have a good time. I have a few things on our "to-do" list including Sonic. I may not be able to eat they're burgers, but I can still get an ice cream treat!

This weekend we're heading up to Cleveland for the Ohio City Run and Crawl 5K. It seems like forever ago we ran in the Half Marathon. It's definitely time to get back on the horse for another 5K. It should be fun.

And lastly, obviously you have all see my last post with David's new 'do. When I walked in the door I saw him trotting toward me. I still had my sunglasses on so I couldn't tell what I was seeing. I couldn't believe he did it but I absolutely love it. I'm still wanting to add a little color to my hair. Not my whole head, but a bright strip of color. Not sure how the boss would like that. According to him he says, "Well, let's put it this way, clients judge us by what we look like. And raises are based on production. That's all I'll say." So in other words he's saying if you want a raise you better not do it because people aren't going to come in because of your hair. Right, I believe this. If anything I can see people liking it. Maybe I'll do it for our cruise. It's only 3 months away. I think I can wait.

There's never a dull moment with us, which always makes for an exciting time.