Monday, October 02, 2006
The ups and downs of browser life.....
The tension over whether or not my house will sell continues to climb. I did FINALLY have a showing yesterday, my first one since I dropped the price, and my first showing ever on a Sunday. I'm trying to not invest too much of my hope in a single showing, but if I don't try to be at least a little upbeat, I end up depressed about how long this is taking, literally staring at the phone, willing it to ring. I've done what I can to keep my house tidy and appealing, but I can't make someone buy it. I wish I didn't have a second mortgage that has to be paid off; otherwise, I could just go ahead and move to Sioux Falls and let the house here sit until spring, when the market will pick up again. But I'm desperate and nearly broke and need a sale YESTERDAY! As it is, if someone were to make an offer today, I still wouldn't close for another month, which would have me moving around Halloween at the earliest. I guess one bright side of this is that rental trucks should be plentiful; I mean, who wants to move to South Dakota during blizzard season?
More disappointment from the Sioux Falls housing market. Two more of the homes we were interested in have sold. There are fewer than half as many homes available in our price range now as there were before Labor Day. Without fail, every house we liked that has lowered its price has sold within two weeks of doing so. The property I like to call the "Elvis house" (they have a statue of Elvis in the basement) is still for sale, but they just dropped the price by $5000 last week, so it may be gone when we are finally able to make an offer on something. The house on the edge of town built in 2000 has dropped its price too, so that's likely to get snatched up too. Fortunately, Dan did tour two homes on Friday that are somewhat new on the market. One is centrally located and has 2000 square feet. It is an older home, built in 1962, and the kitchen is tiny, but it does have updated everything plus a fenced yard, so I wouldn't rule it out. The price is also very low, making it quite a bargain. The other house is actually kind of exciting. It is newer, built in 1977, and while it is smaller at 1750 square feet, the kitchen has been expanded to have more counter space and storage. It has a brand new roof, newish furnace, new flooring, a storage shed, and appears to be quality construction. It's over by our friends' house. The only thing it lacks is a fenced yard, and we'll need to acquire a washer and dryer. It's priced $5000 more than the other house, but it's probably worth it because it is 15 years newer. There are three other homes I've asked Dan to tour when he gets the chance. I'm trying to keep tabs on as many properties as possible that would work for us so we have some choices when the time comes to buy.
I plan to talk to my realtor this week to see if she got any feedback on the showing and if she thinks we should change anything we're doing right now. One thing I think could help is if we had a rider on the real estate sign saying "price reduced" or something like that. Maybe people who have already seen the house might come back and reconsider it at the lower price. Other than that, I can't think of anything else to do but wait.
Have been on the phone with docs and the new insurance company trying to get the non-covered med situation straightened out. I have been approved to use Armour thyroid and Cytomel in place of Synthroid, but it will not be cheap. I was denied for Lunesta, but the insurance rep told me today that they have just begun covering Ambien CR, so I will probably give that a try. The CR version is different than the original Ambien and is more suitable for my type of sleep disorder. As for the Seasonale, I just found out on Friday that a generic for that is available, so I will be covered for that because the insurance company now has a letter stating that I am taking it for a medical condition and not for birth control (the insurance won't cover birth control). And I am going to try the generic omeprazole rather than Nexium; it is generally limited by the insurance to a 90 day supply, but my gastroenterologist will be sending them a letter stating that I have a chronic qualifying condition that warrants longer-term use. I still have to wait for letters from the insurance companies documenting these approvals before I have my docs give me new scripts, but at least I am making progress. Walgreens is gonna be seeing a lot of me over the next few weeks. I want to get all my meds straightened out before I move because my current docs have gone through all the drug trial and error with me and already know what does and doesn't work for me. I'm hoping that when I get new docs in Sioux Falls that they can just look over my records and continue what I'm already doing. I'd like to avoid any unnecessary additional testing or being forced to go on meds that don't agree with me.
Actually got through to the administrator for my disability pension today; that was a minor miracle! Turns out she LOST my paperwork, and that's why I never got the form I need to fill out! Luckily, she found it last week and will be putting my application in the mail to me today. After I fill it out and return it, it will still take a couple of weeks to process. I just hope I get approved and start getting payments before we buy the house in Sioux Falls because then I can claim the benefits as part of my income, which should help our loan application.
Speaking of loans, I have not yet begun getting pre-approved for one because I've been waiting on the damned disability pension. But I talked to Dan on Friday and yesterday and asked him to send me his pay stubs and bank account and credit card statements because I have everything else we'll need here at the house. Last night, I started gathering some of the other materials we'll need. I've done a bit of shopping around online for rates so I have a general idea of what we'll be paying. I wish I could say I'm totally confident we'll get what we want, but with Dan losing so much income and me being on disability, it will be tougher to qualify than it was on our previous loan. Luckily, we do have a solid eight year history of home ownership with no delinquencies and have fantastic unblemished credit going for us. I think the fact that we're shopping for a house on the low end of the price range will also help. I am trying to be extremely careful not to overextend us should our financial circumstances change again. Thank God we actually have someplace to go where the cost of living is cheaper.
On Saturday, I actually went stir crazy and found myself staring at the phone, hoping desperately for a showing. I decided that I needed distraction. So I finished editing photos of Chip and of my visit to my high school re-opening and put them on a CD. I took that CD and another one containing the rest of the pix from this year and got prints made at the local camera store (they make the best quality prints). I also popped into the scrapbook shop since it was right next door. I got more pages and page covers for my current album (I should be able to squeeze 2005 and 2006 into the same album), some stickers to go with my pix of Rocky Mountain National Park, and background pages for that trip plus Easter and the Chip pix. I have finished the 2005 part of the album and am sorting the new pix and writing headers and captions for them. Then I will do the layouts with the goodies from the scrapbook store. I need the distraction of a hobby like this to keep me sane. Seriously.
I'll be making a much needed visit to the massage therapist and chiropractor on Thursday. I'm in a great deal of pain. I discovered that my neck pain from the accident isn't completely gone despite having worked out all the trigger points on that side of my neck. I was changing light bulbs and washing windows on the outside of the house when the neck pain came back, and I realized that it was being caused by a trigger point on my shoulder blade! So I worked on that with a Thera-Cane but haven't quite been able to get rid of it on my own. And I'm having a horrible time with my left hip and lower back, which never particularly bothered me until Labor Day weekend when I slept on it wrong. I keep working the knots out of the muscles in aquacise or by doing stretches, but the spasms come right back after a few hours or even a few minutes. I need to find a way to keep the muscles loose long enough for them to heal. And I re-awakened my carpal tunnel a few days ago by spraying the back yard for weeds. I'm hoping the massage therapist can help me out. It will be a huge relief when Dan and I are together again and he can take care of the physical labor that is making me hurt so much.
I must mention that the weather here has been unusually awesome the past several days. No snow in town so far, and that means we actually are experiencing a fall season! Normally it goes straight from summer heat to snow, so the trees don't get a chance to change color. But this week, the tree out front has reddish purple leafs, and the burning bushes are turning a brilliant red! And the grass is still green. Make our house look great!
Am still perusing the new fall tv shows, both to decide what I want to continue watching and so that I can write up a review for But You Don't Look Sick. Am still on the fence about "Six Degrees". It's interesting, but not as exciting as I had hoped it would be. Am bummed about missing "Ugly Betty" but am enjoying the new season of "My Name Is Earl". "The Office" so far seems funnier than last year, which is cool. "Grey's Anatomy" is a great deal of fun, what with the panties on the Lost and Found bulletin board, Christina getting caught in her underwear by Burke's parents and the return of McSteamy (he was just BARELY covered, which was AWESOME, heh heh). Am watching "Men in Trees" on Friday nights because nothing else is on and am finding it surprisingly enjoyable. Watched the season opener of "Saturday Night Live" and was disgusted with how bad it was. I thought the quality could only go up once they got rid of Horatio Sanz, but I was wrong. Their "Weekend Update" barely elicited a chuckle. The only high point was watching The Killers perform. Luckily, last night's episode of "Desperate Housewives" made up for the predictability of the season opener. Was NOT prepared for Gabrielle and Carlos to find out that the baby wasn't theirs! So I will keep watching. By far the best new show of the season in my opinion is "Brothers and Sisters". I was surprised that they killed off Tom Skerritt at the end of the pilot, but boy, does he have a rotten legacy! His kids get to deal with the results of his corrupt business practices and a mistress that won't politely go away. And Sally Field is awesome as the grief-stricken mom. I will follow this show faithfully. And of course I am still eagerly awaiting the new season of "Lost". I am also considering tuning in to the new show with Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin and Tracy Morgan; I think it's called "30 Rock"?
I've taken several breaks typing this, but the carpal tunnel is screaming! Such is the nature of browser life.
More disappointment from the Sioux Falls housing market. Two more of the homes we were interested in have sold. There are fewer than half as many homes available in our price range now as there were before Labor Day. Without fail, every house we liked that has lowered its price has sold within two weeks of doing so. The property I like to call the "Elvis house" (they have a statue of Elvis in the basement) is still for sale, but they just dropped the price by $5000 last week, so it may be gone when we are finally able to make an offer on something. The house on the edge of town built in 2000 has dropped its price too, so that's likely to get snatched up too. Fortunately, Dan did tour two homes on Friday that are somewhat new on the market. One is centrally located and has 2000 square feet. It is an older home, built in 1962, and the kitchen is tiny, but it does have updated everything plus a fenced yard, so I wouldn't rule it out. The price is also very low, making it quite a bargain. The other house is actually kind of exciting. It is newer, built in 1977, and while it is smaller at 1750 square feet, the kitchen has been expanded to have more counter space and storage. It has a brand new roof, newish furnace, new flooring, a storage shed, and appears to be quality construction. It's over by our friends' house. The only thing it lacks is a fenced yard, and we'll need to acquire a washer and dryer. It's priced $5000 more than the other house, but it's probably worth it because it is 15 years newer. There are three other homes I've asked Dan to tour when he gets the chance. I'm trying to keep tabs on as many properties as possible that would work for us so we have some choices when the time comes to buy.
I plan to talk to my realtor this week to see if she got any feedback on the showing and if she thinks we should change anything we're doing right now. One thing I think could help is if we had a rider on the real estate sign saying "price reduced" or something like that. Maybe people who have already seen the house might come back and reconsider it at the lower price. Other than that, I can't think of anything else to do but wait.
Have been on the phone with docs and the new insurance company trying to get the non-covered med situation straightened out. I have been approved to use Armour thyroid and Cytomel in place of Synthroid, but it will not be cheap. I was denied for Lunesta, but the insurance rep told me today that they have just begun covering Ambien CR, so I will probably give that a try. The CR version is different than the original Ambien and is more suitable for my type of sleep disorder. As for the Seasonale, I just found out on Friday that a generic for that is available, so I will be covered for that because the insurance company now has a letter stating that I am taking it for a medical condition and not for birth control (the insurance won't cover birth control). And I am going to try the generic omeprazole rather than Nexium; it is generally limited by the insurance to a 90 day supply, but my gastroenterologist will be sending them a letter stating that I have a chronic qualifying condition that warrants longer-term use. I still have to wait for letters from the insurance companies documenting these approvals before I have my docs give me new scripts, but at least I am making progress. Walgreens is gonna be seeing a lot of me over the next few weeks. I want to get all my meds straightened out before I move because my current docs have gone through all the drug trial and error with me and already know what does and doesn't work for me. I'm hoping that when I get new docs in Sioux Falls that they can just look over my records and continue what I'm already doing. I'd like to avoid any unnecessary additional testing or being forced to go on meds that don't agree with me.
Actually got through to the administrator for my disability pension today; that was a minor miracle! Turns out she LOST my paperwork, and that's why I never got the form I need to fill out! Luckily, she found it last week and will be putting my application in the mail to me today. After I fill it out and return it, it will still take a couple of weeks to process. I just hope I get approved and start getting payments before we buy the house in Sioux Falls because then I can claim the benefits as part of my income, which should help our loan application.
Speaking of loans, I have not yet begun getting pre-approved for one because I've been waiting on the damned disability pension. But I talked to Dan on Friday and yesterday and asked him to send me his pay stubs and bank account and credit card statements because I have everything else we'll need here at the house. Last night, I started gathering some of the other materials we'll need. I've done a bit of shopping around online for rates so I have a general idea of what we'll be paying. I wish I could say I'm totally confident we'll get what we want, but with Dan losing so much income and me being on disability, it will be tougher to qualify than it was on our previous loan. Luckily, we do have a solid eight year history of home ownership with no delinquencies and have fantastic unblemished credit going for us. I think the fact that we're shopping for a house on the low end of the price range will also help. I am trying to be extremely careful not to overextend us should our financial circumstances change again. Thank God we actually have someplace to go where the cost of living is cheaper.
On Saturday, I actually went stir crazy and found myself staring at the phone, hoping desperately for a showing. I decided that I needed distraction. So I finished editing photos of Chip and of my visit to my high school re-opening and put them on a CD. I took that CD and another one containing the rest of the pix from this year and got prints made at the local camera store (they make the best quality prints). I also popped into the scrapbook shop since it was right next door. I got more pages and page covers for my current album (I should be able to squeeze 2005 and 2006 into the same album), some stickers to go with my pix of Rocky Mountain National Park, and background pages for that trip plus Easter and the Chip pix. I have finished the 2005 part of the album and am sorting the new pix and writing headers and captions for them. Then I will do the layouts with the goodies from the scrapbook store. I need the distraction of a hobby like this to keep me sane. Seriously.
I'll be making a much needed visit to the massage therapist and chiropractor on Thursday. I'm in a great deal of pain. I discovered that my neck pain from the accident isn't completely gone despite having worked out all the trigger points on that side of my neck. I was changing light bulbs and washing windows on the outside of the house when the neck pain came back, and I realized that it was being caused by a trigger point on my shoulder blade! So I worked on that with a Thera-Cane but haven't quite been able to get rid of it on my own. And I'm having a horrible time with my left hip and lower back, which never particularly bothered me until Labor Day weekend when I slept on it wrong. I keep working the knots out of the muscles in aquacise or by doing stretches, but the spasms come right back after a few hours or even a few minutes. I need to find a way to keep the muscles loose long enough for them to heal. And I re-awakened my carpal tunnel a few days ago by spraying the back yard for weeds. I'm hoping the massage therapist can help me out. It will be a huge relief when Dan and I are together again and he can take care of the physical labor that is making me hurt so much.
I must mention that the weather here has been unusually awesome the past several days. No snow in town so far, and that means we actually are experiencing a fall season! Normally it goes straight from summer heat to snow, so the trees don't get a chance to change color. But this week, the tree out front has reddish purple leafs, and the burning bushes are turning a brilliant red! And the grass is still green. Make our house look great!
Am still perusing the new fall tv shows, both to decide what I want to continue watching and so that I can write up a review for But You Don't Look Sick. Am still on the fence about "Six Degrees". It's interesting, but not as exciting as I had hoped it would be. Am bummed about missing "Ugly Betty" but am enjoying the new season of "My Name Is Earl". "The Office" so far seems funnier than last year, which is cool. "Grey's Anatomy" is a great deal of fun, what with the panties on the Lost and Found bulletin board, Christina getting caught in her underwear by Burke's parents and the return of McSteamy (he was just BARELY covered, which was AWESOME, heh heh). Am watching "Men in Trees" on Friday nights because nothing else is on and am finding it surprisingly enjoyable. Watched the season opener of "Saturday Night Live" and was disgusted with how bad it was. I thought the quality could only go up once they got rid of Horatio Sanz, but I was wrong. Their "Weekend Update" barely elicited a chuckle. The only high point was watching The Killers perform. Luckily, last night's episode of "Desperate Housewives" made up for the predictability of the season opener. Was NOT prepared for Gabrielle and Carlos to find out that the baby wasn't theirs! So I will keep watching. By far the best new show of the season in my opinion is "Brothers and Sisters". I was surprised that they killed off Tom Skerritt at the end of the pilot, but boy, does he have a rotten legacy! His kids get to deal with the results of his corrupt business practices and a mistress that won't politely go away. And Sally Field is awesome as the grief-stricken mom. I will follow this show faithfully. And of course I am still eagerly awaiting the new season of "Lost". I am also considering tuning in to the new show with Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin and Tracy Morgan; I think it's called "30 Rock"?
I've taken several breaks typing this, but the carpal tunnel is screaming! Such is the nature of browser life.
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