I decided to boost the Facebook ad again. It's just a 3 day run that costs $12 and usually produces good results. I'd like to get 2 more long term out of it and fill the park up until others leave again.  I've got 3 open lots right now, but one is going to be taken for a month starting Sunday.  So try to fill up 2 more lots and be done with it.  For a little while, lol.  Someone noted to me that one of the recent arrivals has 3 air conditioning units on it ...wow!  I hadn't noticed. They are paying more because I upped my rates, but I would have wanted another $25 per month out of them for a 3rd AC unit. 

Anyway, I got all the way up to the sewer line coming out of the toilet and had to stop.  Need just one more fitting a 22 degree angle coupler to get the main line lined up with that line.  I may have to cut that line off and raise it some, so I will need a coupler as well.  I won't know until I get the pipe all the way up to that area.  However, I don't - or shouldn't anyway - need anything else to finish that project up until I go ahead and get to installing a vanity. But, I'm installing a T on the sewer line for that s well.  k

I do have some extra parts - including a 90 - I just don't have any more 22's or inline couplers. 

The oil workers who are all together brought in a trailer. The trailer has 2 motorcycles on them - custom Harleys.  They must be planning on staying a while.  Or who knows.  Someone said one of them is worth 40 grand at least. They must be worth something, they took one of the wheels off of the trailer so it can't be hooked up to and hauled off. 

Another one came back early today in his truck with a car following him. He stopped - I'm hooking up my trailer, we'll be gone a week. He had told me about this when he moved in.  He's going to Talladega for the car races.  And sure enough, he hooked up his trailer, pulled it out, they parked their car in their space and left.  He wanted to be sure no one was going to take his spot, lol.  I wouldn't have allowed it anyway, but I get why they'd want to block the space. 

Well - the folks are leaving tomorrow evening.  She wants alone time with hubby, I'll have the kids for 2 full days and partial of 2 others.  No matter. I can work all day tomorrow and all day Friday.  I'm needing to get out there early tomorrow to beat the rain so I can finish the sewer line and get a toilet working again, gag.  After that I have plenty of work to do inside. Really need to get that AC installed. 

Anyway, get that sewer stuff done, put up a curtain on the window, finish the electrical and I'm calling it a bathroom with shower available.  It may not be the finished product, but it will work and that's all I'm looking for to at least get it advertised.  I will, of course, keep working on it but if someone needs the toilet or a shower, there it is.  Might be a bit odd without a sink, lol, but that's coming soon! 

____________

Many hours later. A traveler called, said they needed a place, do you have anything available? Yes, indeed.  Well we won't be coming in until after 10: 00 pm, is that okay? Sure! Please go to my website to pay, I won't be there that late.  And sure enough, they paid.  It isn't 10:00pm yet but I will get a notification from the camera if they do pull in. If only I could get at least 2 of these going every day......

Well, off to bed.  I need to be at the property earlier. Like 8:00 am would be good.  

 As normal, I realized I needed to install more things on the sewer line - now - before closing it all up.  You build the line, you want to install everything you need or will need in the future now. You can cut it open for future reference, but why, when you can just install the stuff now and not have to go through all of that, including having to cut into a line that has had human waste traveling down it? Yeah, makes no sense. 

Specifically, a T to use for a future kitchen and another T for the vanity as well as a T to vent the line.  I still haven't installed the p trap because I wasn't able to make it that far yesterday - it started raining and I needed another T.  It's whatever, today is supposed to be rain free and I intend on getting all of that stuff done if humanely possible.  

Whatever the case, after it started raining, I did some drywall on the bathroom wall and then started installing the electrical wiring to get a switch and ceiling light in there. Big pain - there was no clear route for the wire, I had to chip out wood on several studs to route it properly. Installing the ceiling light was no piece of cake, either.  There was nowhere to install it, I ended up having to put several more pieces of wood up there at the ceiling to get it installed.

That all took over 7 hours.

During that time, I got several complaints about the dumpster. It has become clear someone is dumping trash in there that doesn't live at the park. The question may have been answered by one of the complainants who stated the people in the house across  the street asking him a couple of days ago whether they could dump their trash in there? NO, was his firm reply, he stated to me anyway, to the person and said it was for the RV Park use only.  But do you think that's going to stop them?

I doubt it.  Even with a sign out there, I am guessing they are the source of the trash. And who knows who it was that dumped all of that insulation in there last month. None of our people, no one has a house with attic insulation at my property unless my vision has become very, very bad.  Well, I need to find my hunting camera, get it functioning and install it out of site on a tree branch nearby.  I'm not going to keep having this dumpster overflowing with trash.  

And let me just note, some of these RV'ers have lived in much larger parks and stated they didn't fill up a dumpster in one week like that. It is literally overflowing right now, there are bags of trash on the ground. We're talking a dumpster, not a residential trash can.  This is an intolerable situation. If I can't identify who is doing it, I may have no choice but to install a padlock on it and hand out keys. I hate to do that, it's really going to add more trouble, but what else is there to do?  

Anyway, the collision center has now stated the 26th instead of the 25th for a completion date, with the caveat that "we may be able to get it in this week, but we won't know until later this week, we will call and let you know".  I haven't asked them to get it done quicker beyond stating at the very beginning of this that I don't have a rental car.  I just wanted them to know I don't have until the next of never to get it done. 

However long it normally takes, fine, but let's not drag it out longer, I was attempting to say without actually saying that.  So, they know I need it back as soon as possible.  

Anyway, I still have my ads running on Facebook.  I'm losing one or even 2 people (that I know of) in less than a month's time, I want to fill the 14th lot up.  The 13th will be occupied for over a month starting on Sunday.  I'd rather just fill the park entirely up and have a pause on having even one overnight lot rather than having 2 more lots empty when that time comes.  

However....yesterday, I got 2 phone calls. The first was going through Hot Springs and looking for a place to stop for the night. Umm, I'm 3 hours away?  They quickly ended that call, they knew the town I'm in but apparently misjudged the time it would take to get here.  The second were a set of couples traveling together in 2 vehicles.  Do you have 2 lots available? Yes I do! Come on over! They were just coming into town from the East and it wasn't anything for them to keep traveling a few more miles to get to my place.  

Turns out it  was 2 pickup trucks with campers on the back.  Campers of today are nothing like the campers of yesteryears. They have holding tanks, sink, bathroom, small fridge.  They manage to cram all of that stuff in there.  I was a little surprised when they pulled in, lol, they didn't state they were in pickup trucks.  Well, I gave them a discount, I didn't feel right trying to charge them the same amount as a 42 foot long 5th wheel.  They were coming from Hattiesburg, MS headed back to their homes in California.  

If I could have a steady stream of these types of travelers stopping in, it would make it worthwhile to keep a couple lots open. It is  traveling season.  It's these types that wait until the last minute to find something that I'm getting in there.  And in a few cases, they plan their routes and I am where they figure they will be on their trip to wherever to stop overnight.  The price is what's drawing them in.  

Since I have no access to a vehicle during the day, I end up having to make trips to Lowe's at night.  I didn't get everything I wanted to last night, it was late and the store announced closing time in 15 minutes. I got the sewer parts, yes, but there are other things I need for other projects.  

No matter, I have plenty to keep me busy for today.  In fact, I suspect the sewer stuff will keep me busy all day long.  I hope to have it finished today, tho, just before more rain comes tomorrow.  I need my toilet back! The hard parts will be trying to align the shower stall line with the T and the sewer line coming out of the toilet with that T. Lot's of tee's.  I bought extra parts in case I get them misaligned. 

Well, my ride is arriving soon. Gotta make lunch and drinks - especially my coffee. I've found the day goes much better if I take a thermo with coffee in it over there.  It stays hot for a long time and it's just nicer to have.  I can only hope I get some more last minute travelers in there today, I will have 3 open lots for it.  Or even a long term out of the blue to move in - it happens that way a lot. Like, no a preplanned event, "we're coming on such and such a day", it's more like "you have anything available right now?" 

Why yes, yes I do!  Come on over!

G'day

 I've got 2 open lots right now, but Sunday it will be down to 1.  Which is good because one dude was only staying a month and at least one other leaving soon enough. This is a far cry better than the 4 open lots I had the other day. Actually, someone is coming in today for one of those lots, but it's only an overnighter.

I don't discount the overnighters, just saying there is nothing reserved on that lot after that.  It's funny how people come tricking in tho. I guess it will just be a constant battle to try and keep the lots full.  I start getting a little edgy once too many of them are empty and 4 empty lots? Is too many.  It's also strange how I was getting so many calls for long term and then all of a sudden, it all dried up - for a while anyway.  

The fickle nature of the business, I guess.  

Well, I've got my ride taking me over to the park in an hour.  I just got out of bed, trying to wake up. Stayed up too late last night trying to deal with taxes and then going and taking them to the post office and after that, deciding I need to stop at the store.  It is also supposed to start raining in a few minutes - that was quite the surprise to see that in the forecast.  No worries, I can work on the interior if the trench gets wet/muddy again.  

Started Keto after 30 plus hours of eating all kinds of garbage.  Wasn't hard to re-start.  It's when you've just eaten whatever for weeks or months is when it's a bit different story to try and restart a pretty restrictive diet.  

Well, this isn't going to be a long entry. I just sitting here enjoying my coffee, thinking about the day and the Lord.  But the lady is coming in 25 minutes to take me over there and I need lunch and drinks made up before she arrives.  

Goals today depend on rain. If it rains, I'll work on the bathroom drywall.  If it doesn't, I'll be in that trench and the goal will be to get that wrapped  up and perhaps even start backfilling it.  The unfortunate part about the sewer setup is there always seems to be something that pops up where I will need a fitting or something and a trip to the store. That's a trip I cannot currently make. It's kind of frustrating to be in the middle of something and find out you don't have everything you need or something you didn't know you needed pops up. Then you have to switch gears and either start working on something else or waste the time driving to Lowe's, getting whatever and coming back. 

I think I have everything, but who knows.  That AC needs installed as it's getting pretty warm.  The insulation will need installed to help with keeping it cool in there.  I could go on and on - but those are the top priorities that need done. The bathroom and AC.  And at some point, needing to make a trip to get a vanity.  That's not today, just saying I need one.  But, I want to be able to advertise a toilet and shower stall asap.  No sink? No worries, wash your hands at the tap outside, lol. Or just go back to your RV and wash your hands - for now anyway.  

I'm not going to tell anyone that, obviously, just a little humor in the sea of things to do.  I think installing that p trap is going to be a PITA and redoing the sewer pipe under the toilet is going to be fun as well. That's trying to get the fall correct so everything actually drains down the pipe, not "let's have a community gathering point before it even reaches the main line" situation where all of that "stuff" accumulates and just - sits there. That is going to be gross if my assessment turns out to be correct. 

Yes, I have extra clothing over there, lmao.  

G'day

 I became confused on trying to estimate taxes.  That's because I wasn't thinking correctly - this isn't my forte, I've never done this before.  

I was thinking, ok, I'm going to take home X amount per month and then pay the taxes out of the business account. 

But it doesn't work that way, lol and I don't know why I was thinking that.  Whatever you get paid, you are taking the taxes out of that pay, not paying yourself out of the checking account your net pay and paying the IRS out of the business account.

Which in turn threw my numbers all off.  All I know is, if you want to take home over $44,725? You jump into a much higher tax bracket.  The tax rate goes from $1,100 to $5,147.  And you also pay 22% of a predetermined amount they have on the tax sheet - a jump from 12%.  I'm definitely not going to try taking over the $44,725 amount.  I can't really even do $44,725 net pay anyway.  

No, I just realized I am in error again. Not in my favor tho, I can take more, in fact, I should be able to afford taking all of that $44,725 per year which amounts to $3,727 per month gross pay and take out 428.91 per month of that pay stuffed into an account I'm going to open to put that money aside for Federal taxes, property taxes and insurance.  

No, that isn't right either.  I will have to set aside the federal taxes in a personal account and the property and insurance in a business savings account.  Good thing I'm writing this out.  

Okay. I am going to lower it to somewhere around 40k.  This is per year - starting now, tho, not from the beginning of the year.  It's crazy that I have to pay taxes on no earnings, but the estimated tax apparently forces me to average it out for 4 quarters.  I'm just groping my way through this, I have to send the IRS something by tomorrow.  

I'm pretty sure the CPA is going to tell me to switch the LLC to an S-Corp and somehow, that reduces the tax liability - substantially I am hearing and reading.  I don't know how to switch it and I have no idea what the tax table looks like for that.  I am looking off of the standard IRS tax estimation sheet for single taxpayers sole proprietor.  

Ok, see? I have no idea what I'm doing.  I'm calculating taking 3 grand per month from the beginning of the year.  But I haven't taken anything this year.  So if I want 3 grand per month going forward, the calculation is only for 9 months including April, which means $27,000 per year for this year.  

Next sheet of paper, please.  I've got all kinds of hand written calculations and now realized that none of those are correct, lmao.  

Alright, now I'll have to do calculations until I get my net pay around 3 grand per month.....tic tock tic tock.....that's it. I can take $3,400 gross pay per month, pay $287.66 in taxes (thank God Texas doesn't have an income tax) leaves me $3,112.34 net per month.  That in turn leaves me almost 3 grand per month left over for operating expenses.  

I literally have no idea how much I'm going to be paying per month for electricity once we get into summer, I'm guess $130 per lot that's $1,820 per month just for electricity.  That may be high, it could be less and could be much less.  I have no clue, there is no way for me to tell except going by other park's giving their averages.  These people for some reason won't tell what they actually spent on any given month for electricity, not sure what the big secret is, the page is for owners and managers only. 

Whatever. We get done with June and I'll flat post it on there what the entire electric bill was for however many units I have there at the time with AC units running all day long. I will give the number of units with 2 ac's and the number of them with 1 and break it down to average per lot.  

But it's this unknown with electricity that makes it next to impossible to guess how much I can pay myself and still pay bills plus put aside money for expenses.  This is why I want that Hipcamp thing up and going. It may draw people in - it may not.  I will set up 2 of them to start with and see what happens. I have enough wiring to set up 4, maybe 5 of them.  I'm going to try to stay at $15 per night and see what happens.  If someone is traveling through and sees a place offering basic electricity, a water spigot if they need one by the shed and a place to take a shower and use the toilet for $15, I figure I'm going to get some people in there.  

Well anyway, I have decided how much I will pay to the IRS so that check is going to come out of my personal account and I am going to simply write myself a check from the business for 2 grand to start with and dump that into personal account. I want a paper trail, but I don't have to go to the bank to do it.  Just write the check and do the online check deposit.  My business account has ample money in it to pay me at least 2 grand right now and still have plenty to pay whatever other bills are coming in this month, but the biggies have already hit.  

Those pay checks will go into a special folder and they will all get dumped in there religiously, there will be no guessing at the end of the year how much I paid myself.  Although, I should be able to set up Quickbooks to show a paycheck to myself.  So that's it, write out a personal check for $863, put it in an envelope along with the estimated Tax voucher and send it to the IRS.  The whole point is to stay out of tax trouble. If the CPA can reduce my taxes, fine.  What I pay tomorrow will not be repeated the next time, it will be a lower payment. 

That's only if my calculations are correct.  I'll show the man what I did and he can agree with it or tell me I'm wrong, either-or is fine by me.  

Now then, now that I finally have this figured out to the best of my ability, I can get that dumped into the mail tomorrow.  

It is done. Finally. Good, bad, ugly, right or wrong, it's done.  Pay myself tomorrow, this was enough brain activity for one day.  I have plenty to do tomorrow and going to try to get up early enough to get to the post office, drop this letter to the IRS off and get over to the property.  

____________

Untenable idea.  No vehicle access tomorrow, I went to the post office tonight instead.  Then to Kroger's for water and ice, over to the property - hadn't been over there today anyway - put some water bottles in the cooler and filled it up with ice.  That will keep at least 2 days.  We are done with this tax junk for now, have to pick it back up again when I go to the CPA

I'm very tired.  I didn't do a lot of physical stuff today, but what with being up 3/4's of the night last night eating too much pizza and this brain exercising today? Toast.  It's almost 11:00 pm anyway, past my bedtime.  I've got my pay ride coming over at 9:00 am - I'd go earlier and I might but I don't want to set an expectation I can't meet. If I sleep tonight, I will sleep in in the morning.  I don't have to worry about water and ice, just take some food, the laptop and an extra pair of clothes. If I'm doing the sewer line, I'm getting dirty.  I don't want to be dirty getting back into her car to go home. 

With that, I'm off to sleepyland. 

 Monday - morning - not very early. 

I screwed up last night. I knew what I was doing but I couldn't stop myself.  You see, I completed a 30 hour eating binge last night that included everything that I have been craving for a while now.  The final straw was Domino's pizza.  The Extravaganza pie that has all kinds of meat and some veggies on it.  I ate way too much of it.

The problem? If I eat more than 2 slices of pizza in the evening, it will keep me awake all night long.  This has been going on for many decades now.  But as I said, I couldn't help myself, I kept wolfing down one slice after another....after another..until my gut was completely full.  I knew at that point it was going to be a long night.  It's not that I feel particularly bad after eating pizza like that, it just keeps me awake for some reason.  Nothing else does that.  I gained 4 pounds in that little eating spree.

No worries here, I didn't get so carried away with it that I extended it for many days or weeks or even months.  I'm not going to do that, I have a goal to reach and I am going to press forward with it now that I have gotten that out of my system - for now anyway.  If/when I go back to AZ next month, I doubt I'll try to stay on keto then, either.  But  until then, I will keep strict keto.

So yes, I am a bit tired but I have stuff to do.  I just decided that getting up early and getting over to the property to work was out of the question.  I am now just going to wait until Taylor gets home at around noon.  I have to go to court and deal with this ticket and I have to get to the post office and return that DirecTV equipment.  That didn't last long - DirecTV that is.

I wrote ATT off several years ago and I should have just stayed that course.  But alas, I just had to go back to it to get away from Dish's high prices.  The next time this happens, I will just cancel Dish, stay off of it for a month and start a new service unless they offer me the discount again.  I can deal with not having access to satellite to save myself a bunch of money.  I can't really do that at the AZ property but I definitely can here. We have smart TV's and unlimited internet, easy enough to just stream stuff in.  

Well I take that back.  I can do it at the AZ property, I just don't want to if I don't have to.  I have switched several times over there when one or the other company refused to give me what I wanted or needed.  DirecTV once lost my business over there for the old equipment we had and kept breaking, they refused to replace it.

Well, they refused until I got to the customer retention department, a thing I had been trying to get to before I decided to switch to Dish.  Then, when I went back to cancel DirecTV, I finally did get to that department without asking and they offered all new equipment for nothing, not even a new contract.  Too bad, so sad, too late, at the gate, I already switched, you can have this junk back. 

They didn't want it.  Of course not, it was outdated receivers that were well beyond their prime.  

Anyway, I will get the post office and court done and then it's a toss up whether I will go do stuff at the property.  Probably not.  It's going to be too late to tear out all the sewer stuff. I want to get it all cut out of there and reinstalled in the same day, if possible. A solid 6 to 8 hours should afford me enough time to get it done. 

On an aside, I tried this new Bing with AI technology that the internet is raving about and apparently Google is freaking out about. I mean, it worked okay, I guess...didn't really think it was any better than Google but it was better than Bing used to be.  Bing basically is trying to give Google a run for it's money. The problem is, I have several accounts that are tied to Google and atm?  I am not interested in just canceling those accounts or attempting to change how to access those accounts, this blog being one of them. 

Have I actually gotten all the start up costs paid and over with?  Well if I haven't, I'm very close and I'm ready for that day to say yayyy! It's all done and no more money needs to be spent right now on new construction!  There's probably another 10 sheets of drywall I will have to get - not a huge expense, some outlets for the HipCamp, maybe have to rent a bobcat to backfill all of that trench dirt. We'll see, it's a lot of dirt, but I am loathe to spend that much money on what would amount to maybe 45 minutes worth of work on a bobcat.  I could use it for other stuff, I suppose, but it's so freaking expensive. Even their 4 hour rate is almost $400 after taxes/fees.  Getting anyone to do that kind of labor for hourly rate? Lmao, yeah, good luck with that. 

I probably could just do a little here and there and get it done over a week's time or so.  

I still need that outside hanging lamp for illuminating the door/entryway.  But that's maybe $30 - $50.  I want to get a small vanity and that's going to cost around $100.  Realistically, to finish what I have started, I probably have around $500 more to go.  The kitchen setup can wait.  It will wait, for now anyway.  I suppose I could just get a used oven in there with a range top.  That's really what those types of travelers need, something to cook on.  But, then I would have to get a sink to wash the pans.  And all the drain pipe and stuff to run the water and drainage plus the electrical outlet.  Well, I think I have the electrical outlet, but that heavy gauge wire? It's like $80 for just the little bit that I need! And of course I would have to buy a cabinet for pots, pans, mixing bowls and kitchen utensils. 

See? It will end up costing me $500 to $800 or even more just to do that little bit.  I just don't have that right now to spend on such luxuries.  A bathroom with a shower stall and laundry will have to suffice.  I've noticed people going in there using the toilet, lol.  Yes, they have a toilet in their RV's, as I have stated before, for whatever reason, people would rather use a regular bathroom. The funny part is that the walls aren't all up yet, lmao.  I haven't advertised that the bathroom is finished yet, either.  I mean, if you walk into the shed and some dude is in there taking a dump, you won't see him.  The wall is up right there and the door. You'd have to either go open the door or peek around the other side of the door where there is no wall.

That got put on hold temporarily to get everything else done.  It's a priority this week, but court is top priority today since this is the date they have printed on the ticket to get it done by. So is returning that DirecTV equipment.  

There are just some days where I just write off working at the property and that's that. Days I would normally go over there and work, I don't include Sundays on that list. Sundays - as I grew up anyway - are supposed to be a day or rest. Where you go to church, worship the Lord with other believers, go home and make a Sunday afternoon dinner then go take a nap. I complained about this regularly at my last job when I was driving most Sundays and absolutely hated it.  I dealt with it - yes for those huge paychecks - but I disliked it greatly.  It was even more disturbing that other drivers with more seniority were able to ditch Sunday driving to people like me with less seniority.  

I don't miss that job.  I haven't missed that job since I was released from it.  

I don't miss trucking in general, at all.  I don't care about the 'open road' in a truck anymore. It's nothing like it used to be 30-40 years ago.  There is no wonder there is such a huge turnover of new drivers in their first year. I think it was 86% the last time I looked and no, I'm not looking again now. It's way up there is the point.  The older generation of drivers is slowly falling off and newer generations of drivers is not keeping up with that attrition.  This is undoubtedly why they are trying to ramrod through all of these autonomous trucks that won't need a driver behind the steering wheel, or so they say. 

Whatever the case, I have 3 hours until Taylor gets home, I'm going to look once again at tax stuff.  My books are caught up now.  I mean, completely caught up.  It's all on Quickbooks and that's all I'm doing. I was going to keep a written ledger, but after seeing what Quickbooks does, I see no need for it.  QB literally does everything and more that hand written ledgers do and handwritten ledgers take up a lot of time.  I just wrote 2 receipts off of Quickbooks for cash transactions. That goes into the ledger and is counted as sales income.  I don't have to take the money to the bank if I don't want to - and I don't want to.  I need a riding mower badly.  Oh, that's the other big expenditure, of course!

I knew I was forgetting something.  Walking around behind a self-propelled mower does give some great cardio exercise, but come summer and the heat wave? No thanks.  It will be bad enough driving a riding mower, but pushing one?  Maybe early morning before the worst of the heat hits.  I remember building that bridge in the worst of the heat last summer. 

I'm sitting here attempting to figure out how much I will make for the entire year this year.  I've taken no paycheck yet.  

Wow. I was doing the estimated taxes all wrong.  The wording is sneaky from the IRS website.  I just figured out I can take $3,000 per month net pay, still pay the taxes and still have almost a grand left over.  I need to save money -not for expansion although that would be nice, but to have an emergency fund and be able to pay cash for the property taxes and insurance for next year. 

The only thing is, my calculations were conservative on what I will be taking in on a monthly basis.  It may be that every month I will keep getting these random reservations in like I finally got with a 33 day reservation, another 2 day stay that left yesterday morning and another overnight stay that I got last night.  

However. If I don't take more than I just calculated and it just sits in the business checking account, I am not taxed on it. It's just what I'm paying myself that counts.  If I were just to collect money and not spend what was leftover, ever, I would pay nothing.  Of course, I think that might open me up to scrutiny by the IRS and I am not going to do that anyway, but still.  

Since I have enough to last a while longer in my personal checking account, I don't want to take a paycheck until after the beginning of the month, where I will take in a nice sum of money and then I can take my 3 grand and hope that I can take even more after I get this other operation going.  Or, just get all the lots filled up with long term. The Hipcamp isn't long term tho I guess it could be if it goes that way.  It would be difficult for a person to live there long term.  No holding tanks, every time they needed to go to the bathroom, they would have to go to the shed. Not a big deal, until you think about having to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night.  

Not really intending that to be a long term operation back there, not atm anyway. But, I need to think outside of the box and consider all the potential alternatives.  If the operation doesn't sell for overnighters or several night's stay, I suppose I could advertise it as long term but with well worded caveats.  No surprises, folks, you aren't getting 50 or 30 amp outlet and you aren't getting a sewer dump.  You could probably run a garden hose clear over to the nearest water outlet, but that would be on your dime, not mine. 

I'm just optimistically hoping that HipCamp will eventually bring in at least $500 per month.  It will be on the reservation system as lots 15 and 16 with respective pricing to begin with, including that lengthy description of what they will be getting and what to expect before they rent it out.  

Never-the-less, I do feel a lot better now that I have figured out I can take more than I initially thought I could in a personal paycheck.  I assume but will be looking at whether I need to write myself out an actual check to show it listed in the bank as a paycheck to myself, or if it's legit to just transfer the money to my personal banking account.  Not sure how that's done, more research is necessary.  

I think writing a check and putting a copy of it in a file to show exactly how much I paid myself for the year is the way to go. Leave no room for errors, these are copies of the paychecks, this is exactly what I paid myself, any other questions, Mr. IRS Taxman?  One of the biggest reasons I wanted the books caught up is for the potential eventuality of an audit.  I will be hearing from a CPA soon enough as well, next week I think was the appointment.  

Anyway, I have until tomorrow to get that estimated tax in the mail. I'm going to stew on it - in a good way, not stewing like I'm angry - for the rest of today and try to decide what I can take without cutting my business account too short to begin with.  There is plenty of money in there right now, but taking a paycheck and paying estimated taxes will cut that thing to less than a grand.  Getting rid of constant start up costs is going to be extremely helpful as well. 

A person starting up a park like this from scratch likely wouldn't have any idea of all of the little expenses and even bigger ones from the vantage point of having had just bought land and getting the process started. You look at the big costs from the contractors to build the main portion of it out. You try to look at all the other costs but when you haven't done anything like this before? I was definitely way off.  

This is why I am not wanting to take exactly the full amount I can take for paychecks leaving little left over. Besides saving for emergency fund, taxes and insurance, there may be more things that I haven't considered that I will need to dump money into.

The grass situation coming up is one of them. I have considered it, of course, but how am I going to go about doing it?  

I dunno, stay tuned for that I guess. I'm going to keep searching out all the options before making a decision. The winter grass is still looking good, but the day is coming when it will all die out and I will have dirt lots - that's just not where I want this to go. 

Well, enough for one entry. My mind is buzzing with all of this tax stuff and attempting to figure out a reasonable paycheck.  I'd really need to be able to take at least $3,500 net pay to not have to go back to work and have a reasonable comfortable lifestyle.  Getting rid of the car payment in 3 months will help with that.

G'day

?? One thing I hate, and that's writing an entry, accidentally hitting whatever key that does what it does and having the entire entry erased. Hit undo? It doesn't come back. 

So there is an entire entry about the last couple of days that is just vanished.  

I am not going to go into the detail I had with the previous entry - I was almost done with it - but I will give a synopsis. 

Let's see. Friday.  Well, I got the small shed done and got most of my stuff out of the big shed.  I then framed the area for the ac unit and then started trying to cut the tin for the ac to fit into.  My blade broke and that was the end of that. Those 2 items took many hours to complete. I then assessed this disaster of drainage these people had done. Wrote down all of the fittings I would need and took a few pics - that helps me figure things out if I forget while at the store and don't understand why I wrote down a particular item that I then think, why do I need that?  

That was pretty much it for the day. It was 6 hours and then it was time to go home.  Actually got a ride from James and Taylor instead of having to pay for it.  I'll save my money where  I can save it, the lady giving me rides is pretty dependable at least.  

It wasn't until after I left that the 2 nighter, repeat customer pulled in.  And then at 9:00 pm, the long term showed up with their older trailer.  They pulled into a back in site, I was watching them through the camera and then they decided to take lot 7 - the lot where the trashy people pulled out in the middle of the night.  Yesterday morning, I started getting texts about them.  "There is junk and boxes laying everywhere all around the trailer!", they exclaimed and then stated that the dogs were left outside, unattended. 

Okay, those are both big no-no's in my book I'm not running a trailer trash park and dogs have to be attended - according to my insurance policy, not some thing I made up out of the wild blue yonder.  Much of my rules are either based on common courtesy and cleanliness or my insurance company requirements.  But, I have to give them the benefit of the doubt. 

It turned out, they contacted me right after the lady had sent me pics.  I very gently informed them of the rules I would like to have them review and sent a link of them.  Then I pinpointed dogs not being left unattended or stuff being stored outside.  Just not going to happen.  This was a very casual thing, done intentionally to not make them think people were complaining or that I was unhappy with them already.  At least give them time to sort through their stuff and get it organized.  

Anyway, yesterday/Saturday.

We went to the older kid's soccer game.  He was tired, cranky and irritated. Why? Because younger brother decided to wake up in the middle of the night and intentionally wake him up, keeping him awake for hours.  Younger bro is getting himself into all kinds of trouble both at home and school. Anyway, soccer star was crying on the sidelines as the coach took him out after playing for 40 minutes to let other players in.  He was pouty and crying all the way home.  We all knew why and when we got home? They both ate lunch and were put to bed.  

Mommy and daddy left for Longview to do a client thing and I stayed home with them.  They slept 2 full hours and woke up in a much better mood.  We went to Longview to meet up at Bubba 33's.  I did end up cheating yesterday, I had been planning on it. Months of no cheating was getting old, I had to take a break. A meat pizza and a drink.  After that, off to lowe's and then off to Dairy Queen.  An extreme chocolate blizzard, over to the park, tried to collect from the newbies but they had left.

I examined the lot. Good enough, they had cleaned everything up. The only thing of note was a busted door window. I contacted them, told them they needed to fix that. Busted windows on trailers just gives the appearance of a trashy park.  They said they already had the parts and were going to fix it. 

We went for a ride on the 4 wheeler for the fun of it and then went home.  That ate up yesterday, but I did get the parts to fix the tragedy that these contractors left behind in the trench. NO way I'm covering that all up and hoping it will work.  One of the fittings had already busted loose from them using the incorrect glue.  All of that is going to be cut off, trashed and start over. 

I'll be doing that tomorrow-Monday.  Today? Well, both James and Taylor are going to be out doing stuff, so we are going to have to miss church. Well, we've been going for moths, missing one week isn't the end of the world.  Yes, I'm just staying home today.  I don't see any reason to pay $24 to go to and from the park to work when I usually, at least now, do not work on Sundays. I do need to get over there and collect that rent tho.  The newbies and lot 3 - if he is staying. His friends, the slobs, left in the middle of the night, I dunno if he's staying or what.  But if he is, today is rent due day for him.  

I can see his trailer on the video surveillance, he's definitely still there.  

I am also going to pull the trigger on a trip back to AZ. I have been thinking about it a lot. I can make all the excuses in the world not to go back - I really don't feel like traveling right now - but I need to see mom and my son.  And a few friends if possible.  I'm not going to stay long, maybe 3 or 4 days.  3 of my credit cards have ample points to pay for a flight from the airport in Longview - GGG - which flies to Dallas and then to PHX.  I could probably make 5 trips with the points I have on them.

I have decided to go next month. The price is relatively the same regardless of which day combinations I choose. It's around $500, up over $100 from the last time I checked this.  

I haven't pulled the trigger yet, I will probably decide today which dates  to go.  

Anyway, that's enough for now.  

 First and foremost: 10 hours of beautiful sleep.  I mean, it's only 7:30 am right now, but I went to bed last night at 9:00 pm and I only woke up twice - and only awake a few minutes.  I can't tell you how wonderful it feels to actually get some sleep.  It's just amazingly helpful for the mind and body.  Okay, I'm still really fazed out in the brain right now, that much sleeps messes with me, but I'll pull out of it eventually.  I'm definitely going over to the property to work today regardless.  

My shed needs that sheet of plywood. Yesterday evening, I decided to get it at Lowe's in Taylor's truck. Otherwise, I don't even know when I would have been able to get the thing.  No, I didn't feel like going up there to Lowe's. Not after all the shoveling and putting that shed together and leveling and everything else I got done. The keypad door handle is installed.  Much easier than I thought - it always helps to read the instructions lmao.  

Today's agenda? I dunno, there's still so much to do, but finished the shed will be the first thing and then moving everything out to the shed will be the second.  The shed needs that ac installed, continue work on the drywall, install the insulation, backfill the trench - just still plenty of work to do.  I really just want the stuff out of the shed so I can get that thing opened to everyone and start getting the money in those coin collectors in those machines filling up so I can at least pay the monthly payment for them. A little extra would be nice to pay for the hassle of having to get quarters out and roll them up.  I didn't and won't be getting a change machine any time soon. Way too much money, the cheapest one I found was around $700.  

For $75, I can buy a coin counter.  For $11, I can buy a funnel with a special tube at the bottom.  You pull the quarters out of the counter, dump them into a funnel and the quarters drop into your wrapper. If this is a once or twice a month thing - the coin collectors on those machines are huge - I'm not going to worry about it. I just don't want to sit around counting quarters and I'm definitely not taking it to the grocery store to use one of those coinstar machines that counts your change, takes up to 15% of your money for the privilege and then you get what's left over. 

No thank you.  

On another note, I woke up this morning to find that 35 nights worth of overnight lot rentals have been made.  The - lesbian - couple are staying again.  I noted their sexual  preferences because I am not responsible for what people do in their bedrooms with other people or what gender the other person is.  I also don't go around making fun of or condescending to such people. They are human beings, made in the likeness and image of God, as the Bible states, and also that God is no respecter of person and further that he would have ALL to come to salvation.  The problem with the Christian community for so long is that they openly reject such people.  

But, if you believe one portion of the Bible, then you should believe all of it and take it all into context.  "ALL have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God".  We are all in the same sin boat. Different types of sin, yes, but all of it has the same end result.  

And anyway, these are nice people. They don't start trouble with anyone and act perfectly normal.  

The other one is a person that has come 3 times already and is stopping through again.  I don't know why he likes my park so much, actually there are always 3 people traveling together. I have never spoken to them, lol, they want to be left alone. As long as they pay their lot fee, I don't care.  They can keep to themselves as much as they want.  This time they are staying 2 days.  They show  up, drop their trailer and take off to wherever they are going. I would guess they have family here or perhaps some sort of event that brings them.  

That was pretty quick. That's another lot taken for 33 nights that I don't have to worry about.  Hopefully these other people are showing up today with the Great Dane.  That's 2 lots taken. That leaves 2 lots open and I'm still trying to rent out that 13th lot.  I will leave one open for overnighters.  Pull through lot 5, to be specific.  I know I'm losing another renter - at least - in less than a month, so I want to get the place as full as possible while still leaving one space open for the travelers.  

I also don't know if the friend of the people that left in lot 7 is staying or going. He hasn't replied to me, sort of leans towards him leaving.  I have had several inquires in the last 24 hours about the long term spaces and I am not turning anyone away until people actually show up, pay the rent and occupy the space.  In fact, if it were to go that route, I would be tempted to rent all of them out long term and be done with it for a while.  That way, when someone leaves, I am not screwed for doing last minute ads for people to take the lot.  It really isn't much fun having these people leaving without notice.  Anyway, that person's rent is due on the 16th, we'll find out soon enough if he's staying or going. 

Still, it was encouraging to see reservations coming in filling up that many nights.  It's been quite the dry season without any of that coming in at all.  

That's it. I have my ride coming in 40 minutes to take me over there.  Taylor left early this morning, James is off today but he is super busy with his side business he has started and stuff that needs done around the house, I will just take a pay ride over there and not bother anyone with it.  I'm finally starting to wake up and get rid of this fog in my brain.  

Well, I guess I best get my stuff together and get ready to leave.

G'day. 

 Break time.  3 hours later the shed is 80% done. I still have to build the door - it comes with the kit and of course I forgot something vital to setting this thing up: a sheet of plywood for the flooring.  I'm not going to just have the thing sitting in the dirt, I want my tools and such protected.  So I will have to borrow Taylor's truck at some point, and get a fresh sheet of it. I was going to put everything in there today.  Oh well.

One good lead for a person wanting to move in. Not necessarily confirmed, but they are very interested.  I've got to get some more trailers in here, end of story. But I am balking at the thought of lowering the price again, I will just be screwing myself come summertime and extraordinarily high electric bills.  So, for now, I'm leaving them where they're at.  

Another person of interest told me there isn't anything available over my way. Ok? Well, I have availability, tho admittedly I was telling people I was full for quite awhile, I did also tell them that they could check back periodically for people come and go in these parks. 

That tow truck family may end up coming back after they get their trailer fixed. This has been going on for about a month and a half with them. The only park they are going to find cheaper over this way is a trailer trash park with people who look like they're hoarders.  Piles of useless junk outside, I wouldn't tolerate that for a minute.

In fact, I was loathe to tolerate these people in lot 7 that were throwing beer caps, cigarette butts and garbage on the ground.  Even after asking them politely to please stop and also get out and pick it up, they didn't do it.  I'm sort of glad they are gone, but, there goes that money as well.  I think it's more important to keep a good reputation and a clean park than it is to base decisions solely on collecting money - tho that is a highly important factor, obviously.  

Well, I'm going to get that door built and then I'm going to see about getting the new keypad door handle installed as well.  I still have several hours before my ride comes back to pick me up.  Yes, about 3 hours actually.  I just needed a break, hungry, I brought last night's leftover chicken with me, quite tasty.  I am going to want to get a sheet of plywood over here asap, I want this stuff out of this shed and get it open to everyone.  I aaalmost thought about putting a piece of drywall down, lol, but we all know how long that would last.  

If those things don't keep me busy for 3 hours, don't worry. There an AC unit to install - which will be a lot of work framing for it and of course there is the drywall venture to continue on with for the bathroom. And a lot of other stuff........weeks worth or work left here.  Cutting out the insulation is going to be a pain, I can tell just looking at the walls.  I'll get it done, yes but dang that's going to suck.  

The collision center called with an update: They don't see any way to get it done sooner than the 25th.  well, I wasn't complaining or begging to them, at all.  I just noted that I don't have a rental car.  The obviously told them I don't have until the second of never to get my vehicle back.  I want them to do the job right and get it right the first time. If that takes longer, so beit. 

I have a ride now - it's $24 per day. I suspect less than $200 worth of rides versus $800 plus worth of rental car.  And maybe not even that much for the rides.  Taylor will let me use her truck whenever she isn't needing it.  Which is very nice and sweet of her : )  But, we throw favors back and forth. I get the kids on the days she needs it - tho I don't really think of it as an imposition.  I buy a lot of dinner food.  I do things, in other words, for the household as much as they do. Just one big happy family.  

She has been in throes of frequent, intense nausea, unfortunately, and throwing up food a lot with this pregnancy. I really am trying to help her out as much as possible.  She's trying to work while carrying the baby, that's enough for any person in itself.  She hasn't figured out what she likes to eat and what she doesn't like to eat, that baby inside of her is apparently very picky!

Well, I'm going back to work. Feeling much better now that I've eaten something.

 Wrote a lengthy post yesterday and forgot to post it.

Oh well.

I spent near 4 solid hours yesterday pushing the mower - well it's self-propelled but it has to be lifted up to get over the humps - and picking up trash.  Mostly at site 7 where those people left abruptly overnight.  I'm guessing their friend will leave once his rent is due in a couple of days as well.  I only say that because I texted him asking if he was taking off with his friends or sticking around?  No reply.  That could mean anything, I suppose, but he's usually pretty quick to respond to texts.

I'm getting a mix of people asking about lots available and asking if I rent RV's with the lots?  No RV's, sorry.  Even if I did, I wouldn't sayit would be completely reasonable price. At least $600 per month. I think I previously said $550 but that's not enough.  There is too much risk involved with renting one out and potentially having them trash the place.  

And anyway, there is a huge shortage of rental accommodations in my area and in 2025, it's only going to get worse. Far worse. Well I take that back, there is a very large, luxury apartment complex being built on the other side of town. They are definitely spending some money on that thing, millions of dollars.  It will help alleviate the problem but it won't solve it completely.  

If I had more money sitting in my bank accounts, I would definitely buy an RV and give it a whirl.  But I don't and right now, I've got 4 lots sitting empty.  One being filled on Friday - hopefully - and I don't know if those people will come back that needed  to leave the day after they moved in because their electricity wasn't working correctly.

I'm just glad the thing didn't burn down and toast other trailers with it. Descriptions of it when it came in were that it was dirty and had pine needles all over it.  So it was sitting for a while, not being used. Yeah, you have to maintain those things or they go south - and can go south pretty quickly.  

Whatever the case, I am going to try and build that other shed today and get my stuff out of the main shed.  I don't particularly care for the idea of having to carry the tools back and forth every day, but to be able to set up the laundry table and get the place looking decent, Ima need to move all of that stuff out of there.  I may even have time to install that keypad handle for the door.  If I can get those done today, I will go ahead and try to get the sewer pipe leveled in the trench and start backfilling that stuff in.  

After that, just get those sheets of drywall up on the bathroom wall so I can say it's ready to use.  There isn't a lot to go to get that part done and start advertising it, but the sewer pipe definitely needs to be adjusted so everything as actually flowing, not sitting inside of pipes stagnating.  

Anyway, I have a ride allegedly coming at 8:30, about 35 minutes from now.  We'll see if that works out.  I have to be home in time today for the kids, but that isn't until 3:30.  It's plenty of time to get stuff done over there. I think it took 4 hours to put that other shed together and it wasn't any fun because the wind was blowing and trying to blow over the tin sheets standing up, only being held in place by a couple of screws at the bottom. It's just the way the thing is put together.  

Well, I probably should get offa here. I need to get a roast in the crock pot and get my stuff ready to go. I'm definitely not going over there without taking some food and ice.  Temps will only get up to 74 today, but I still get pretty thirsty after working for a while over there.  

There is still so much to do before I could actually ... the shed is finished! Oh well, soon I can say it's ready to use, just not done completely lol.  People are using that washer/dryer set like crazy and that's only a few of the people in the park.  Once I can get that keypad in, I can let everyone know it's ready for use.  But, I'm getting my stuff out of there first and getting a padlock for the door.  And I"m putting the shed in view of my eyes over there, on the side of the big shed instead of behind it.  The other one had to go behind it because it has the water heater inside of it.

Well, offa here.

G'day. 

 The lady was talking far too much technical stuff to me.  I was trying to keep up with her, but business tax stuff is out of my league.  I have an appointment with a CPA later this month, I'm going that route. Meanwhile, I filed form 4868 which is an automatic extension up to 6 months.  I'm simply not qualified to try to do this myself.  I want an accountant to hear all the info I have pertaining to this business startup and the 401k cash outs and house cashout - tho that is not taxable because it is considered a loan.  

This takes a lot of pressure off of me for right now.  Now that that's filed, I have to work on another form for estimated tax payments.  I shouldn't have to make any payments for the first quarter because I took no pay. I still haven't.  But I dunno how it works, the form is printed, I will be working on that pretty quick here. 

I also have to file a statement with the state of Texas, another thing I am going to work on next.  I have spent hours on this, literally. I just decided today was a bust and stay home and do taxes, that's that.  

Meanwhile, the newbies that came in yesterday are already leaving. They had just gotten their RV out of the shop, parked it, hooked it up to electricity and baam!  Half the trailer outlets including one of the AC units weren't working.  Back to the shop. I suggested that if that shop - or actually it sounded like backyard style shop - doesn't work, I have the number for a man that knows his stuff that will come to you to fix whatever is wrong.  

Now, I'm not saying he's free, I just know that he's worked on 2 rigs in the park and there are no complaints with his work.  

Unfortunately, instead of getting $475 from them, I got $15. I just charged them less than full night's stay to try and keep them on the baited hook. Yes, please come back whenever the thing is fixed.  So who knows if I'll ever see them again.  ?? Your guess is as good as mine. The other people are - allegedly - set on coming to my place once they get to town.  And then the dude that showed up last night at 1 am. He will be paying me some time today, he was at work when I texted him.  He must not have gotten much sleep, having come in at 1:00 am, having to hook up and then gone by this morning? That will make for a long day at work. 

But, he's young, you can tell by his voice.  He can manage it better than - people like me that frequently have sleepless nights.  I still try to get stuff done, but it's a real chore.  

Basically, I'm just taking a break right now with all of this stuff.  I had to snap photos of who knows how many more receipts to input to Quickbooks.  And then categorize them and save them.  It's been a day, I'll tell ya that.  Alright.  I filed the no tax due report to texas electronically. That was pretty easy, a one page form asking specific questions that were easy enough to fill out using the notice from the state they sent me a few months ago.  

One more thing off of the list. 

Now, to tackle this form for making payments for income tax.  As I stated, since I took no money from the account for personal pay, I shouldn't have to pay anything? Lol, I don't know. It's rather confusing, because they are asking for the amount of money you think you'll make, ie: take out of the business to pay myself - for the full year and pay a quarter of it.  

I think.  So, do I have to pay for money I haven't even received yet? This is where a tax professional will come in.  The lady from turbo tax is calling me back later after she's off work. She knew her stuff, at least, and recommended I file as an S corp. Yes, but how do I do that? Don't I have to change the whole designation of the business for that? And how is that done? And how much do I pay now even if I"ve taken nothing yet?  So many questions.  

I'll take a look at this form but if it's too much or I'm getting confused, I'll wait for her to call me and see if she can give me some guidance.  

At least I'm tackling this garbage and I have my bookkeeping for the business up to date.  I do mean, up to date as in, right now, it's all good.  At least, as far as I can tell it is. 

__________

So, I have a ride to the park early morning and  a ride back. Taylor, that is.  Works for both of us. She needs me to get the boys tomorrow afternoon (and today as well) and so she will take me early and pick me up. I'll have 5 hours to get stuff done, that's plenty of time to mow the lawn and get some stuff done at the shed.  I have put up a question about rides in the local gossip group. If anyone is doing it in this town, someone in there will know who it is.  There used to be someone giving rides for pay but they have since stopped doing it. The only thing here is a bus line that goes everywhere but where I need it to go.  

 What a not so great night to not have a good sleep. 

I was awake half the night and then finally fell asleep around 6 am.  Now it's just too late to have Taylor pick me up at the collision center. I'll have to take it over there later and find my own way home. I've got to get over to the park and collect money and get some stuff out of the vehicle that I will need for the shed in the next coming weeks.  

Taylor got up earlier than she had to to take me over to the collision center. I was just going to put it off and get my stuff done, but since there was a ride available?  I went over to the park, looked at the new trailers - I was going to get payments - and then left and met her at the repair facility.

It was better than drive myself there and then either walk or try to figure out a ride home.  

And, this morning, one of the long term had left.  There were 4 people living in that one trailer and they were slobs. Beer bottle caps, cigarette buttes and small pieces of trash laying around on the ground.  I had asked them the last time I received payment to pick all of that stuff up and keep it clean.  

Mixed feelings. I'm happy they are gone because of their slobbish natures, I'm not happy that I have yet another lot to fill.  Well, I was going to be up to 13 lots filled come Friday, now it's 12. I'm glad I didn't turn anyone away in the last rounds of people wanting to move in. I was really just holding back - I just had this feeling I need to fill up 13 lots because eventually, someone is going to leave. If not the guy that already told me he's leaving in a month, someone else. 

The nature of oil/transient workers, they apparently give you no notices and they just up and leave for the next job. That will take some getting used to.  So, after this guy arrives on Friday - which I suppose he is, we have had a lengthy conversation about Great Danes, walking trails, guns and snakes - I will still have 2 lots available.  Lol.  

It's not like the RV industry isn't transient in nature as it stands, but I'd like to get a few more truly long term people in there that actually are from this area and are going to stay in this area.  The insecurity of having people coming and going like this is a bit unnerving.  

Anyway, I spent $8.98 getting the 2 newbies in, the other guy probably found me via Google search.  I'm going to extend the ad now that I know I need yet another lot filled. At least I know where I can get some results and not pay a lot to get them.  Now, about the park...

Time to do some serious looking for rides, taxies, whatever.  Taylor will be gone literally all day today, I can't use her truck and I at the very least need to get over there and mow the grass.  

More stuff.  The people that moved in yesterday - well they had electrical issues with their trailer.  They had just picked it up at a shop and now they find out half the trailer still doesn't work for electrical outlets and AC. So, they are taking it back to whoever they were dealing with.  Personally, I wouldn't take it back to a place that doesn't even check their work to make sure everything works.  

So, who knows if/when they're coming back.  Just keep running an ad now.  Back down to 11 spots filled.  This stuff is a bit surreal how it works.  Just hope the ads will get a couple more people in there fairly soon.  These people that left without notice last night had their rent due tomorrow.  Not really helpful, lol.  

Well, I'm stuck at home and time to get busy with finances/bookkeeping.  

 Busy day. 

Lots of calls all of a sudden.  2 people want to move 2 trailers in, 1 person wants to move another trailer in and another one is allegedly coming today.  I could take all of them, of course, and eliminate my pull throughs.  It's tempting of course.  But, the 2 trailers coming in together are not a sure thing.  They want to come after work and see the place first.  Of course, I would want to do the same thing. I'd rather have those 2 because they are late model trailers and more in keeping with what I want in there.  

I dunno, I might just take whatever comes in at this point.  Overnighers are a rare commodity right now and not paying near as much as they need to to even come to the same amount as a long term.  I have 2 reservations for this month, they are far enough out I can cancel them and refund their money, they can find somewhere else to stay.  It's just down to the nitty gritty with trying to get in as much money as possible. 

Of course, all of these people might be no shows and there's nothing to consider.  That's very possible and happens often enough.  

Meanwhile, I got the keypad door lock today while I still have wheels to travel with. Tomorrow is turn in day for my SUV. I am going to get the trailer and bring my generator home before taking it in.  I don't have any use for it over there right now and it's in the way.  Without that large generator, everything else will fit into the next shed I still need to build.  

Whatever the case, I am very pleased to be getting results from my facebook ad whereas the google ads that cost so much money really don't generate much.  I spent over $200 on the last Google ad and only got one person out of it.  I'm spending $15 on this Facebook ad and have 4 serious inquiries.  

It's a good way to start out the week, at least.  I got some of the drywall up for the bathroom. I haven't done that in a long time so I kind of needed some time to figure it out again.  And I have no clue how to measure or cut the triangle shaped stuff at the ceiling.  I'll be looking for youtube videos once again after this, lol.  I got the inside camera working again. Someone had moved the router and it wasn't getting a good enough signal for streaming.  I started on the outside camera - but the battery needs recharged. I"m going to see how long that battery lasts.  If it can go a week or so, I will not drill yet another hole in the shed wall to feed a line through it. 

The cameras have giant battery packs in them  - like 4x2 inches.  They claim to last a long time, but who knows for sure.  Oh, I did get the framing up for the drywall at the ceiling. I figured out a way to do it without too much hassle. I mean, it was involved but nothing too serious, just tedious.  I ran out of screws before I could get any further with it.  

I don't know what I'm going to do tomorrow. I want to get busy with getting tax stuff done.  I want a few days worth of time in case I get hung up.  I can see getting hung up on something, lol.  Even if the software does it all for me.  

__________

These people drive me crazy. We're coming as soon as we get off of work at 5:00! I'm over here almost til 7. No shows.  I text them, if y'all are still coming, that's fine but I'm fixing to leave here.  If you have changed your minds, please let me know and I will move onto the next person. 

Half an hour later? Oh, we're on our way! Great! Pick one of the back in sites and have at it! I"ll come over in the morning to settle up!  Hilarious.  The other dude coming from Oklahoma City and was supposed to be here this afternoon? He'll be here at 10:00 pm.  I wasn't sure which lot I would have him in so I told I would contact him later.  Well, I am giving him lot 2, a pull through.  These people are paying my new rate.  Everyone will be paying my new rate unless I get desperate, too much time passes and I can't get anyone in there. However, if the other guy shows up tonight, I'm good.  That's 12 lots rented out long term.

And yet another one says they are coming on Friday.  I had to vet them first. An older trailer, I wanted pics of all 4 sides. If it looks good, I don't really care how old it is.  If it's trashed, don't bring it to my place.  Well, they sent 4 pics and there was only one minor dent on one side.  The paint looked decent, I'm good with it.  That will fill up 13 of 14 spaces.  

Oh, if those people come on Friday? They have a Great Dane!  That would be cool if Addler could have a friend of his own size and breed.  Who knows, they are coming from somewhere 11 hours away, is all I was told. 

Then there was 2 ladies that were to come and take a look - 2 separate trailers.  After talking to my eyes over there, I'm guessing they are the truck that came driving through and left.  They didn't call back, so I moved on.  Can't please everyone, won't even try.  Just trying to make happy the people that I've got.  

Anyway, I hooked up the other camera on the outside of the shed today.  Now I can see these people coming and going - and anyone else coming through there. The cameras are recording 24 hours a day but they also take snippets of any movement that are loaded onto the phone app.  So, if someone is driving through there, I will see them either real time or afterwards.  I would like to see all of these people that are coming and going out of there.

And tomorrow. The dreaded day.  I have to take the vehicle in.  I'm getting up early to get my last stuff over there. If I had a small fridge I could take over, I definitely would.  It will likely be that I will have to spend whole days over there. If I need something from the store? It will have to wait until Taylor's truck is available.  Another day or 2 that trench should be dry enough to get with that program.  Damnit.  

That's what I forgot.  I need 2 inch pipe and fittings to run another drain pipe for a vanity to the bathroom.  Gag.  Oh well. It's not like I won't have any transportation, Taylor offered her truck when she's not using it.  She is going to pick me up at the collision center tomorrow to take me home - but it is likely I will ask her to drop me off over at the property. I will just fill her tank up whenever I am using it.  That's cheaper than a rental car.  

And I also forgot an outside light fixture.  Lol. At least I got the keypad handle today. 

Well, I'm not going to bed too late tonight.  I want to be able to get up when I wake up - which is usually around 6:00am. 

 Happy Easter - Resurrection Day!

The day celebrated when Christ rose from the dead, snatched the keys from Hades and ascended into Heaven!  

I thank the Lord for Salvation through Christ's shed blood, the final and ultimate atonement for our sin.  "For without the shedding of blood, there is no atonement for sin".  Blood sacrifice was God's ordained way, Christ was the sinless sacrifice that can wash you sin away into a sea of forgetfulness.  Thank you Lord!

Of course, we are going to church this morning.  After what they said last week, we will assume the parking lots will be full and I will probably be leaving a little early to get a space somewhere to park.  And then, proceed to the front row as they asked last week.  You know how it is, you haven't gone to church in a long time or maybe have never gone, but you want to be a part of an Easter celebration, you stand  or sit in the back of the church?  So, endeavor to make it more comfortable for them to experience a service that will undoubtedly be about the sacrifice Christ made and about how you can experience salvation for yourself, become a new creation in Christ and have your name written in the Lamb's  Book of Life!

Do you believe all of that? Absolutely I do!  Without hesitation or doubt! 

___________________

I look forward to this coming week.  Why? Well, to continue work with the shed, yes but also to say  goodbye to much of what happened this week. It wasn't all bad, definitely, but there was enough bad spots I'd just like to turn the page.  I have wonderful taxes to do this week and I will be without a vehicle for probably 2 weeks starting Tuesday.  Yayyy!  It won't be all bad.  I'll stay home a couple of days, get these taxes figured out to the best of my ability and get it over with.  That's tax return, projected tax for the IRS and whatever the comptroller of the state is demanding, some document you must file to show your earnings and such - even if you made no money at all.  

The shed will be put on hold while I do that. It will also be put on hold to mow the grass, which has grown quite abundantly. I really need a riding mower.  

But I will try to get some of the walls up for the bathroom tomorrow so that at least it can be used. The sewer line? No idea, I'll get to that when it dries up a bit more.  A lot more, actually, lol. I will be taking a complete change of clothing over there tomorrow with me to keep available for when I can get that done.  Including a nice towel so I can wash that stuff off of me before changing clothes. Well heck, if I get the walls up, I can actually take a shower over there!  

It really shouldn't take too long to get those walls up, but I do want to run the wiring in there first. Even that shouldn't take more than a couple of hours.  Well, maybe longer since I've added a few more outlets to the equation.  Make that half a day lol.  I tend to be very cautious about wiring - there really isn't any room for errors. Get the wiring done right the first time and triple check it.  I've already got the wiring over on that side of the shed, just need to drill more holes through the wood to get it to where I need it, namely, nest to the door to the bathroom for a switch and then up to the ceiling and install a light and down to the floor for a regular outlet.  

It doesn't sound like much until you start looking at it.  Now is the time to get it done, now that I have most of the framing up.  

There is still quite a lot to do in that shed. It's basically building a house but in a shed.  

None of this even includes a kitchen - I still want one and I want to at least get the water and electrical and drain pipe lines run to that area before  I close it in with drywall. But, that can wait.  In fact, I have so many "top" priorities this coming week, it's hard to decide which to do first. I think installing that other camera is right up there as well as mowing the grass again. 

Anyway, unless I get a wild hair, I am doing nothing over there today. I mean, it would be good to at least get the grass mowed in the dog park area today tho.  That's a large area and the grass has grown so much. 

Fortunately for me, the guy that didn't know how much longer he is staying has paid for another month and still doesn't know when they are sending him somewhere else, only that he is probably staying long enough to warrant paying another month in advance. 

I'm getting views on my Facebook ads, no bites on those, yet. It was interesting that a rash of inquiries didn't come in at the end of last month.  In fact, the whole thing is interesting in that inquiries stopped about the same time I lost 2 tenants.  I dunno, maybe I need to lower the price back down again.  That's what seemed to make people interested, it's just that prices that low are not really tenable when thinking about summer electric bills - which is just around the corner.  

It's a hard place to be in, trying to wait and hope a few people will show up to take 2 more spots or go down in price - but hamstring my profits once those high electric bills come in.  

Well, anyway, it's time to get ready for church.

 

 Temu - I believe a Chinese online store that keeps invading my facebook, google and other spaces with unbelievable prices on things.  If it's too good to be true, it almost always is, especially on the internet.  I'm interested in as little commerce with China as possible as it stands.  Not to mention who knows if it's legit - even if Chinese - to be buying from them. The only form of payment I've seen for them that I would even try is PayPal.  

I guess I accidentally deleted a new listing for Facebook for my park. So, I just boosted another one that I've relisted numerous times - it's actually done the best for me in terms of results and it's quite cheap.  Try, try again.  The ad did generate a person allegedly coming in Monday for a month or so.  Again, I'll take whatever I can get.  A day, a week, a month, a year, whatever it is, I'll take it. 

The more I look at new and used car pricing, the more I know that getting this SUV fixed - versus them paying cash for it's "current market value" was the right thing to do.  The cash they give me would be a fractional down payment on a new car or truck.  Prices for new vehicles have skyrocketed and prices for used vehicles have as well. These car dealers are offering cash on the spot for used vehicles. 

The problem is, even if they give you good money, you are going to have to turn around and spend a fortune on another vehicle.  I'll stick with this gas guzzler for a while longer.  Maybe a long while longer. Once they fix it, it will look great again, the rest of the body is in excellent condition.The interior needs a drastic cleaning, I'm not doing that until I'm done with the shed.  Then I"ll get everything out of it and put it with the rest of the stuff in the sheds.   

It's been quite the day.  An Easter Egg hunt, a birthday party, 2 trips to the property.  The last trip, the boys went with me and it just so happened another 8 year old was visiting his dad at the park as well, so the played for quite a while on a rather wet hill of dirt and they all got covered with it.  I also spent an hour talking with people at the park - it's the way it goes there. The guy that paid me today says he's not sure if he will be leaving in a month or not - he just doesn't know.  It sounds like he will be tho.

He apparently comes back twice a year to work on the power plant down there.  I need some more long term in there pretty quick.  One hopefully coming Monday but he already stated he was only going to be there a month. The guy that showed up out of the blue had said he has a friend that will move in and he also told the eyes of the park the same thing - but that hasn't materialized.  ]

I dunno, but I'll keep running my Facebook ads until 2 more lots are filled.  What else to do.  I've only got 2 more reservations for the pull throughs for the rest of this month.  That's on the 16th.  That isn't going to work - tho I am getting these last minute calls, at least a few of them, people needing a place to stay while traveling through.  I need a lot more reservations for April, May and beyond.  If I have to turn it into all lots being long term, I will. Versus losing money for the travelers that aren't materializing enough to warrant having any overnight lots.  Or, maybe just one overnight lot?  

Who knows, get the 2 filled up and then, I will probably just leave the ads up. Yes, I can hope that amenities will bring them in, but if they don't.....

I dunno, but it's getting late and I'm outta here. 

 Called the collision repair place yesterday  When do you expect to get this thing rolling? She looks it up, oh, well we were waiting on you to call us to schedule this,.

I had to laugh, not on the phone to her, but after they told me? Lol.  The lady told me 3 times the other day when I was in there that she would call me after they hear from the adjuster.  Obviously that didn't happen, lol.  Anyway, I got over that quickly, I just am appalled sometimes with customer service reps of whatever place you happen to be dealing with telling you one thing and then taking 180 degree turns.

That was Direct TV the other day. It's gonna be X price, the guy tells me after he keeps adding stuff and I'm like, I want to keep the cost down.  Oh don't worry.  Oh, I'm not worried, I thought, I don't need satellite that bad. There are plenty of apps on my smart tv that will pipe in movies and such. Maybe not specific channels I like, but to save the money? yeah. 

We get to near the end and I ask this guy specifically: what is the total cost going to be with ALL fees and ALL taxes?  He's off the phone for several minutes and then gives me a price.  Are you sure? this is the total amount I'm going to be paying on a monthly basis for a 2 year contract that won't ever go up?

Yes.  But what actually happened at the end? Yup, the price went up $8.  Nope, we aren't doing this and I interrupted him and told him as such. He tried to explain it away and I hung up on him. He called back and I did, in no uncertain terms, tell him to never call me again.  

These people at this collision place weren't that bad, it's just the idea that you tell someone something and then you come back to it a few days later and the story changes.  Whatever the case,  I was then informed that they won't even order the parts without at least 2 day advanced notice to bring the vehicle in.  Great, I thought, another little gem they left out.  The only good news I got was that they can have it done "in about a week and a half". I'll set my mind on 2 weeks in case they are exaggerating their completion date. I don't need a rush job, I need the job done right the first time, guarantee or not.

So, Tuesday is the day set to bring it in.  Which is fine. I get the whole weekend and Monday to get stuff done.  On Tuesday, I'll find someone to give me a ride home from there - I am not walking that far, thanks, and then I'll figure out how I'm going to get around.  A local taxi would work -if it's really available.  I'll be looking at that and any other options once Tuesday rolls around.  

Oh, I did get the Direct TV streaming device. Notice I didn't say devices. Yes, there are 2 TV's that I clearly told them I need to have devices for.  I find out there is only one device ordered regardless of the fact that if I want the other TV to show other channels? Yeah, you have to have a separate device.  So I had to call these people about it. OH, well you didn't order 2 devices ????  I told you specifically what I needed, I've never done Directv Stream before, I have no clue how it works.  I mean, I know it runs off the internet, that's it.  

So now, I am faced with another $10 per month for another device - or - pay for a "refurbished device" up front.  Apparently people aren't real happy finding out they have to pay more for the service they thought they were getting in the first place. I ordered the refurbished device at $49 - saves me a lot of money over the length of the contract.  Yes, I forgot to say, I did call Directv back the next day and talked to someone else about getting service. The nice thing about Stream is that you don't have to have a service tech coming out installing a dish and the whole setup. It was relatively easy to set up.

I can now see the inside of my shed with a camera.  That was quite the ordeal - another case where the instructions are less than helpful. It's more like a general guide to steer you in the right direction.  I wasn't able to install the outside camera because it was raining all daylong.  I still have a lot to do in there, this week kind of slowed me down with everything that happened.  

Anyway, there is an Easter Egg Hunt at the church in a little over an hour.  They are saying that there will be 5,000 eggs. Yes, you read that correctly: five thousand eggs. It's a big church and they apparently also expect non church people to show up with their kids. I am taking the kids even tho they completely misbehaved this morning, making all kinds of noise early and getting themselves into various forms of trouble. 

But, after that, I want to get some work done today while I have transportation to get back and forth. Take the kids home, back to the shed, back to work. The thing that is going to hold me up is the trench full of water and mud. I simply won't get down in there to install that P trap until it both clears of standing water - which it probably is by now - and at least dries up a little. Take an extra set of clothes maybe on Monday, get in there, fix that setup, get the sewer pipe set right, back fill enough to keep it that way and get with the program.  And change my clothes after I'm done, lmao.  

My next order of business, however, is to install and get working the other camera.  I have to drive over there to find out if people that have made reservations actually show up. Well, I can ask the older couple but I really don't want to be bothering them all the time with business stuff that they may not want to be involved with.  A camera on that shed will eliminate that problem.  I will be able to see who is driving through there, when and what times people are home.  

The other thing that desperately needs done is mowing the lawns.  Just can't do it with wet grass - it clogs up on the outlet where it blows either out to the side or into the bag and you have to keep fooling with it. Hopefully this coming week it will dry enough to get it all chopped down again.  It was strange that the stuff wasn't growing after it got to a certain height, then all of a sudden, after months, it started taking off.  Now there is grass that is close to 10 inches tall. It takes around 3 hours to cut all of it.  Right now? That's as good as it gets. It's that or buy an expensive riding mower or pay an expensive service.  Just not happening, at least for now. If I do end up on the road again, then I'll pay someone or a service to come out twice a month and mow all of it.  

I'm pretty sure I'll end up back on the road.  I dunno what kind of job I'll find with that accident, but I will find something.  

Enough. I'm just sitting here trying to wake up enough to get my @$$ in gear and get moving.  I'm going to work on taxes tomorrow.  Last year's taxes shouldn't be that hard with Intuit already having all of the construction costs in there, the only thing I need is my W-2 which I got in January.  Then I'll work on projecting my earnings for this year.  I have yet to take a single paycheck.  

I have 4 grand in the business account, that's after paying the electric, trash and water bill, plus buying stuff for the shed., the land payment, the washer/dryer payment and other things.  I'll be collecting a couple more grand in the next coming days - providing no one else leaves of course.  I've had some inquiries and allegedly a person coming in Monday to stay for a month.  That will help quite a lot even if only temporary.  They're all temporary, really.  I get so many inquiries about whether I have RV's for rent along with the lot? No.  I have read mixed feelings on the facebook groups about doing that. Some say it's not worth it, others say they have had success.  I don't really have the money to buy a decent unit right now, if I did, I would consider it.  Around $600 - $650 per month for everything.  I know, it's just a trailer but you are paying for a place to live plus the land to put it on plus all of the utilities including free wifi. I'd call that a pretty good deal.  

A "someday" thing along with building basic cabins for people to live in.  Not for glamping, to live in.  Either a one room deal or maybe one bedroom, a small bathroom and the rest open.  Not here and now, but it's something I will be doing sometime in the future.  For now, I have to have another septic system installed first before I can even think about adding anything.  I think the laundry is going to amp up the usage of the current septic system quite a lot, adding more lots to it probably won't work.  I'll be watching the sprinkler system to see how often it's coming on.  

I'm going to make a trip to Longview probably Monday to get a keyless entry handle for the shed door. It's expensive but it's the only real way to give access to both long term and overnighters without having to issue keys.  I don't see how issuing keys would work with overnighters besides having to make endless trips over there handing them out and collecting them.  Well, I could see a drop box to put them in after the overnighters leave, but people can be forgetful, especially when they are leaving and getting everything put away.  

A keypad would simply be issue the pad code to long term and have the code on the site when they register.  It's $150 to get one and it's going to be money well spent. My wire came in for hip camp, I have the circuit breakers, I just need to finish the trenches, install the wire and boxes and walah, that's done.  Simple? Yes, hard work? Definitely.  

I am, fortunately, getting to the end of the money spending.  The serious money is done and over with. I'll need a few more sticks of 2X4's -- maybe  - I'll need 10 or so more sheets of drywall.  I do need to get a vanity for the bathroom - that's $100 used or $139 plus tax for brand new, simple design.  Those are the 2 biggest money spending things left, the rest is small stuff.  I still have this pain of how I'm going to get that wood up on the ceiling.  I need some help - help is hard to come by and not cheap.  

Anyway, I know what I need to get done in the order it needs to get done in.  

And with that, I'm getting read to go to church with the kids for the egg hunt. They have been looking forward to it all week long.

G'day.  

 My size 35's are now just falling off of me.  If I don't use a belt, they are so loose that they don't cling to anything.  I had a couple of weeks of no improvement and actually going back up a few pounds, but apparently I'm at the end of that run and now going back down again.  My belly has definitely shrunk substantially.  No, I'm still not claiming to be skinny, not at 211 pounds, but the progress is palpable and visible.  

I can fit into 34's now. I have one of my pairs of 34's out I use for outings. I'm still in 35's for working. I've already ruined a bunch of them with dirt, glue and other contaminants, there is no sense in ruining even more of them for working purposes. I'm down 4 notches on the belt as well. Well, almost 4. In between 3 and 4, if I put it at 3 my pants fall off if I put it at 4, it's a bit tight.  If the fat loss continues, I will end up needing a new belt, this one will be far too long.  

I have heard nothing more from the insurance company except that they have it assigned to a local adjuster.  That adjuster hasn't called me and neither has the body shop. I will be calling the body shop today to inquire whether they have approved it or indicated if they will be approving it?  As much as I need my vehicle, I need it whole again even more.  I'll somehow deal with the inconvenience.  I don't know how, yet, I'm not interested in an expensive rental car, that's all I can say. Maybe for a few days, but definitely not several weeks.  I still can't believe this policy rider doesn't have a rental car included.  

_________

Kind of at a standstill here. It is pouring rain outside and has been for hours.  I need some of the lumber out back to finish above the door.  I simply don't feel like getting wet. Walking out there right now, I would be soaked quickly.  I also need a large T frame thing to do the drywall correctly and get good cuts.  I figure I can get one cheap enough at Harbor Freight.  It's been a long time since I installed any drywall.

I could also start installing insulation, that is even further out back and on the trailer. No thank you and anyway, I realized I forgot to get adhesive for it.  It has to be able to stick to the metal with something, lol. Oh well.  I got the big stuff out of the way, this has been a crazy week, there are cases where my thinking just isn't all there.  

The door is up, the framing is up, there is some framing to go above the door but not a lot. It's going to be difficult because it will be hard to reach.  It's probably 8 feet up to the top, maybe higher.  

I like rain - but this is too much. It's flooding everything, it's making life difficult. At least I was able to confirm the power is back on over here. Amazingly, they must have did a workaround on the downed line because it is still down and they aren't even out there working on it. They did put up poles - apparently a new setup to mitigate the lack of power getting over to the other side of the highway and hence, to the property.  I guess they will just come back to it when the weather is better? I can't imagine doing that kind of work in this kind of heavy rainfall.  

I haven't heard from the insurance agency or the body shop, but I don't think I'm going to call them today. I need to make some more runs and that will be much more difficult once they get my vehicle in the shop.  I'm sitting here, in the shed, listening to the rain pounding on the roof - it's pretty loud.  Trying to gather my thoughts - what else do I need besides that T thing and glue?  

My hipcamp wire came in yesterday, I'll need some outlets and a few boxes for that.  Well, and circuit breakers.  Unfortunately, I will have to drive clear to Longview for those, Lowe's doesn't have the brand i need for the breaker box.  I may have to do that today while I still have a vehicle.  Yikes. I hate driving in the rain, not because I am afraid to but because people don't know how to.

It also isn't exactly legal to be driving the vehicle with a busted out headlight.  I have been taking my chances because I have little choice. Get the stuff I need or don't, but if I don't, this project is thereby pushed out for a month or longer.  Hmm, best start writing a list, now that I'm thinking about it. 

The repair guy came by.  He knows nothing about commercial dryers and freely admitted it lol. He did, however, look at my exhaust hose and said "You have the equivalent of 5 elbows which is the equivalent of 25 feet when it comes to dryers. After 20 feet, the dryer has a hard time drying the clothes."....and other stuff I did not know and never heard before. So, I will be pulling the dryer out and cutting the hose to size. I just stuck the whole thing on there - I had no idea it can make a difference.  Apparently this dryer is like most other newer dryers in that it senses the moisture and knows when to shut off.

However, I figured out the mystery of why the dryer never shut off on my own. There is a label pasted to the top of the coin op part that has some writing on it that I never read. I read the instruction manual instead.  That label says something to the effect that there may be an "existing run time" left on the machine - presumably for testing it/quality control. Turn the machine on and let it run until it shuts itself off, which could take up to 8 houirs.

8 hours?!! lol, ok, well at least I now know why.  This guy didn't know either, it was just happened upon.  

I'm pretty burnt out today. Last night just took it out of me. You can only wake up so many times before it's just shrug your shoulders time and do what you can before you run out of steam.  I guess I will just close up shop here and head up Harbor Freight - my vehicle is parked right outside of the shed.  And there is parking close to the front door of the store.  The rain is unrelenting at least so far and it's been many hours now.