My flight has been delayed two hours and my little guy is going nuts. He really misses me and I’m missing him too. I really miss my other kids too. I don’t think I’ve been this long away from them for so long. It’s been a great vacation, but I want my kids around me again.
So, I was all stressed thinking that I would miss my flight except when I arrived I found out that it is leaving two hours late. Hmmm…that always makes me nervous, but I guess it is normal. I bought a bunch of clothes, but crammed them into my computer bag and a plastic bag that I am keeping my purse in as well so I can carry it all. I’m grossed out that everyone has to take their shoes off before getting on a flight. Yuck. If I get any athlete’s foot I’m going to charge the government for it.
One thing that cracks me up is how you hear all these announcements over the speakers in airports but you never really hear what they say. It’s really important information too. I know that just now they said something about a flight that I’m sure people need to know, but with all the yacking nearby how in the world are people supposed to hear it?
I forgot to snap a picture of my breakfast. It will be so much easier to do with my iphone when I get it. I had two breakfast tacos with salsa from Chili’s. Mmmm yum. I finally was able to sit down and drink a diet coke. The whole trip I had iced lattes all day long because my wireless works best at Starbucks (usually) and Starbucks does not have diet coke. I’m about latte’d out. Did you ever think I would say that?
Oh what else? I’m too pooped to think about anything else. Since I didn’t have any Internet access last night I went to dinner with my bff and her husband and had a couple of margaritas. Now, I’m not a big drinker anymore. I did my time in my teens and 20s and now I’m a working mom. I don’t have time to drink. I would pour some of my margarita into her husband’s glass because I did not want to drive back to Sacramento while drunk. I don’t need a DUI when coming back to California.
I guess that is about it for my whole day. I’ll be getting home at about 11 P.M. and then crashing. I will have to start my garage sale up again tomorrow and hopefully all week for the next two weeks. I want to sell everything so if you live nearby come and buy buy buy!
I FINALLY had a chance to stop at a Chinese place and get some chow mein. You see, in Wisconsin they have forgotten that mein actually means noodle and chow mein is some form of chop suey over rice. I had the chance today to visit one of my old favorites Hunan Chef Wong in Pleasanton, California today and have some good old chow mein. I ordered the house special which has all the meats in it. Mmmm yummmy.
I also found a place I liked. I still have to have a credit check so hopefully that will all go okay. I’m also going to have to do some modifications so it is a 4 bedroom instead of 2, but that’s ok. The kids will just have to deal with it until it’s done. It’s in Livermore, California. I wanted to get into Pleasanton but I guess the schools are supposed to be good in Livermore as well.
My real estate agent will be calling me back to see if there is a price change tonight and I get to see if my credit checks out. I’m crossing my fingers here big time. We really need to move from that frozen tundra and back to home. Oh, the big seller on my place was the back yard. There is a little dog pen and a huge area for BBQs and patio furniture. There isn’t any grass either, which is a big plus for me because I really do not like to mow.
So everyone cross their fingers for me :)
I’m sitting here at Starbuck’s in Pleasanton working until 3 and then I’m going to go look at a place. While I’m sitting here this person is sitting outside right in front of me. I swear he looks like a friend of mine from work from about 10 years ago but I can only see the back of his head and sometimes his profile. The mannerisms are the same but the beard just throws me off. I don’t think it’s him but it has been at least 10 years since we’ve seen each other. I would kick myself in the butt if it was him and I didn’t say anything but I would just shrivel up run if it wasn’t him.
I can be such a dork sometimes.
I had another iced coffee and a portabela mushroom panini with feta and ricotta. It was a way different taste than I’m used to–a little tangy. I’m not so sure I like my sandwiches tangy. I got to see my bff today. She came in with her daughter and we all had coffee together. Now I’m stuck here working until 3 pm. I hope time goes by fast because I want to go look at those places soon.
The Starbuck’s in Pleasanton off Bernal is nice, clean and friendly. There isn’t much to say about it because it is just another Starbucks. LOL
Okay he just turned to the side and I’m almost positive it isn’t him. I did try to call his cell phone to see if the guy picked up but he didn’t. HA HA I’m so relieved.
I’m sitting here at the Hilton in Roseville eating scrambled eggs with salsa, bacon, watermelon, and fresh pineapple. Life is good. Oh, and an iced Starbuck’s coffee. Unfortunately, the coffee was from a machine and isn’t a latte, but what can you do, right? I don’t like people thinking that I eat a lot so I grabbed a tiny plate. I know, I could have had a ton of it. LOL
I’m headed on down to Pleasanton and Livermore today. Maybe I can do some more great stops along the way. You know, I would love to do this for a living. :) Travel along the cities just to do blog reviews of places. What a life! And you know, if I ever have the chance to get an iPhone I will take pictures for you and blog about them. That picture of my dinner last night was through my computer.
I love to enjoy good food and it’s even better when the service is excellent. As a working mom I don’t get to enjoy a lot of room service or elegance very often so tonight was an extra special treat for me. Since I got such a great deal on priceline.com with my stay at the Hilton, I decide to splurge a little bit on dinner. I think I owe it a bit to myself since I had been living on microwaved cheese quesidillas since I arrived.
When I arrived the staff was extremely nice. Everything was done with a smile and an extra can I help you with anything else. Then came the room. I didn’t expect to get a double, but it was. The beds are so dreamy and comfy that I don’t even want to leave tomorrow to do business. I know I will welcome coming back to the hotel after the long drive to the San Francisco Bay Area.
The desk and office chair are extremely comfy and easy to use. They’re very elegant compared to the kitchen table at the other place. The countertops are marble and the wood looks cherry although I am probably wrong.
Then came dinner. I splurged a little and ordered a Tahoe Joe’s sirloin steak, green beans, vegetable pilaf, Caesar salad, and a roll. It is everything I expected. I should have ordered a bottle of wine, but that would be really pushing my budget this time around and I need to wake up early in the morning anyway.
I give the Hilton and Tahoe Joe’s 5 G’s. You can find this great place in Roseville, California. I don’t know what the normal rate is as I got mine through Priceline.com, but I can assure you that it isn’t what I paid for it. I’m very pleased and you all know how difficult it is to please me. :)
Steak Dinner from Tahoe Joes
It’s been really interesting. I started off by making reservations through priceline.com. When I originally put the schedule together I had scheduled Thursday through Tuesday thinking that I might find a place right away because the one real estate guy said “oh people are going to want to close real fast” but because of work I had to reschedule for Friday. Unfortunately, I wasn’t thinking and kept the return day on Tuesday which wasn’t enough time at all. It’s Tuesday now, have I found a place? NO.
The flight was okay, kind of long. I had a real fast layover in Texas. I didn’t even get to hear any authentic accents :( I really only had time to run off the one plane and hop on the other then sit for another 3 or so hours until reaching the Sacramento airport where I quickly found my shuttle to get my rental car. They had handed out my car accidentally so I was upgraded to a Toyota Camary. I’m not too impressed by the Camary as it lacks the power that my Thunderbird has. I guess that is a sign of the time to come though.
The hotel I had a “great deal” on, the Crossroads in Rancho Cordova, was kind of a dive. It wasn’t roach infested or dirty, it was just there. The bed was really hard and there weren’t very many channels to watch. There was a kitchenette that was really handy although I didn’t use the eggs and butter and ended up giving them to my neighbors. I did make quesedillas in the microwave. Yummy.
On the door of the hotel room it said I had to pay $89.00 per night so I rescheduled my hotel room. I bid on $50.00 a night and got into the Hilton into a lovely room with two beds. It’s overkill for just me, but it is absolutely gorgeous. The Internet access is free with the room, unlike the other place where it cost $4.99 per 7 days.
Have I found a place yet? No. I have an agent sending me offers on a couple of places. I have to call her back after this program. I would love to see the inside of the places and I hope I can schedule that for tomorrow AM and then I’m going to drive out to the Bay Area and look out there. I would prefer the Bay Area, but I’m limited to what I can spend so I might not be able to do so. I’m keeping all options open. I might buy the one place I found for $10,500 and then rent it out for $900.00 a month. It’s not in an area that I would love to live in at all.
I’m also having to work during my mini vacation and it is really hard to schedule work and looking at places at the same time. I wish I was only scheduled at night but I’m not that lucky I guess. I’ve tried to swap my hours but so far no one is grabbing my shift.
Right now I’m listening to a real estate webinar so I’ll need to cut it short soon.
I’m sitting here ready to buy something. I have 3 agents who are supposed to be helping me. NONE of them are contacting me. So what if it isn’t a $200,000.00 home. It’s cash, it’s ready to go and you’re going to miss out because I’m using the agent who has been the best to me. Actually, the one who has is in LA and he was quite honest telling me he wouldn’t fly up there for my price, but still. If I had to go to LA, I would buy from him.
Otherwise, forget the agents. You know what? I’m going to stay an extra week and buy directly from the home owner and you guys can all go for the next two years without a check while the market digs itself out of the hole. I’m sick of waiting for you on your time.
Have a nice day.
I finally bought an iPod Touch only because I needed something to help me in my search for a house. Unfortunately, it doesn’t do the things I need it to. Honestly, what is the point?
Sure, it’s nice and handy as a music and video player, but I have that on my iPod Mini. What I really wanted was something that could take pictures and videos. I wanted to go look at the houses and take pictures and send home to the kids. I also wanted it to be able to make Skype calls, but I guess it doesn’t have a mic either.
What is the point?
I’m going to try and return it as I really don’t need it if it doesn’t do those specific things. Honestly, it was a real waste of money. Sure, the design is great and it’s real pretty. I’m sure it’s just as nice as my son’s iPod Touch, but I think what I needed was the iPhone except I don’t need the service and an iPhone without the service contract I believe is way more expensive than the iPod Touch. I also wonder, will Apple even take this thing back now? It’s only been a day. And, it’s not like I have time to go to the Apple Store again. Sigh. I might just be stuck with it. At least I’ll use it for business only and be able to write it off, but I would rather have the iPhone as that would be much better.
I’m really annoyed. I’m trying to find a decent place to buy where my kids and I can live a normal, happy life and never see snow again. I’ve been searching real hard in certain areas and visiting the sites listed in the Helpful Links section of Bird-Dogger.com. Since Bird-dogger.com is there to help people find information about real estate, I thought the information would be very useful–and it is.
I mapped some of the crime in the neighborhoods that I’m interested in and have narrowed it down to where I definitely do not want to live. I have also mapped out where some of the sex offenders live and have come up with some very frightening results.
I try and look at the offense because sometimes a sex offender isn’t actually a sex offender but is just someone where the law crossed over in some obscure way such as a guy who just turned 18 and his girlfriend is 16. Of course, they should be keeping their hands to themselves, but they’ve been in love or something and, well you know what I mean. I don’t consider those sex crimes like some people do. They’re both pretty much at fault and people should just get over it.
No, what bugs the hell out of me are the real creepy men and pedophiles who are listed less than one-mile from an elementary school. Can we all say ewww? WHY are these creeps allowed to live there? In the area I chose there are two elementary schools real close to one another and there are at least ten sex offenders who took advantage of someone younger than 14.
What is wrong with this picture?
I’m all for blasted them off to some remote island where they can never touch anyone else again, but that is impossible. Why can’t we just place them far, far away from the kids? Please?
Someone made me smile today. Between all the moving fuss and the new tasks at one of my jobs I needed something comforting. At first I thought I would go to McDonald’s at try to get a coffee one more time but decided against it. I didn’t want that kind of trauma in my life at the moment. Instead, I drove a few more miles out–I think about 15–and went to Starbuck’s where I ordered a venti iced latte and two banana nut loafs for my son and I. When I went to pay for it the cashier said “no, don’t worry about it, the car in front of you paid for it.”
Wow. I was completely shocked. By the time I had found out the car was already down the road and turning onto another busy street. I couldn’t even catch up and thank them. I think I actually cried, I’m certainly not used to it. Had I not been flabbergasted by the whole thing I would have done the same for the next person in line but it completely stumped me. The cool thing is that maybe I’ll do that next time for someone and make them how I felt afterward.
So whoever bought the latte for me - THANK YOU! You really made my day :)
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