Exercise

I flat wore those dogs out today. I went much further back into that mountain range than I have been with those dogs, then started some serious climbing. About an hour of non-stop, rigorous climbing and hiking. Got back from that and started throwing the weights around. Got done with that and did my normal outdoor chores in cleaning up dog poop and pulling even MORE weeds.

Now? I flat wore MYSELF out, too! I just ate a light meal and will not eat again until tomorrow, making it a 2-meal day at around 1,200 calories. At the rate I move around at work and hiking, I'm burning at least 3,000 calories a day. Plus I'm lifting weights now, meaning I'm going to start consuming more protein for muscle mass building. The biggest goal is to build muscle mass, increase metabolism and burn fat. I'm not an obese person, but - I've just been on a downslide to the over-weight market since my house burned down. I can explain why I started gaining weight back then, I have no such excuses now and I'm getting pretty serious about this workout regimen.

The newest tenant has already put in a bid on a condo somewhere. She went to the place she thought she wanted to live - after viewing one of them she said the place was so small, it was no bigger than the room we are in (my utility room, which is pretty small!). She's a neat lady - nice to find good tenants without all the drama queen crap. She has money which means she isn't mooching anything and actually gave me a huge bottle of joint stuff for the dogs and offered to buy a bag of Kirkland dog food from Costco. I said sure, please get me the dog food, but I won't be taking freebies - I'll pay you back.

So, she and Mary went walking out - to go eat dinner somewhere and then to Costco. If only ALL tenants could be THAT easy to live with! Apparently Mary and this lady have made instant friends. They were out here gabbing for what seemed like hours last night - I can keep up with them, but I most certainly did not feel like it. Mary seems to be pretty good at keeping friends even after the living arrangements are over.

Surprisingly, I am STILL getting calls from people out of state that want to move here and need a temporary place to stay. Apparently not too many renters are intereted in that. I wouldn't be, either, but this is "discretionary" income. It isn't, really, but it's a third tenant and the money I get from that can go to getting things done around here. The money she gave me a few days ago is going to buy a doggy door. $125 for the door and I'm going to have it installed by a professional - on the side - for $50.00. This is a "rough weather" door that has two flaps in it and is MUCH larger than the one I have in my kitchen - the Danes will fit through it easier. The biggest bonus is it's an in-the-wall style and I can put it in the utility room. It seems like a lot of money just for dogs - but it isn't really that bad. I figure I'll save at least that much money in cooling costs this summer by having that installed in a room that doesn't have cooling anyway. The AC won't have to work near as hard to keep it cool in here - that's the goal of course.

The only mistake I made with this tenant is I offered $100 off the first month's rent. I won't be doing that in the future with the 3rd room. I'm doing them a favor by giving them temporary shelter at MUCH less cost than if you were staying at a hotel. I'm also doing them a favor in taking the risk of letting them come in here, sight unseen - though I did talk to this woman at-length on the phone before committing to letting her stay, and I did get the $200 security deposit IN ADVANCE.

Well, I'm learning this stuff, is all I can say. Not a master yet, but I'm going to get there eventually. I can just about guarantee that some day in the future, I will be renting out homes. This isn't get-rich quick, but it is a second income. It's a way out of working until I'm 75. People need a place to live, many people can't get their own home. It will be a couple of years, I'm guessing, before I get my credit score up high enough to warrant a bank allowing for a second mortgage. Plus probably need a good down payment.

Anyway, don't want to get too looking too far in the future - but it IS good to set goals for oneself and get on track to doing whatever it takes to realize those goals, even if the fruition of it is years down the road. I'm pretty much a goal-driven person - I fade and whither away without them. This property is still a goal in prgress - the goal to get everything done that I want done. Landscaping, ceramic tile, the rest of the ceiling fans, some better "window treatments" they call them - appearance stuff.

Do you set goals? Do you follow through with them until you realize and experience the fulfillment of them? What drives you?
ben

Tuesday

It's starting to get warmer. 85 right now. Come home to a house that's about 95 inside. Yup, had to break down and turn on the AC. But only for a few hours until the sun goes down and then it will cool off again. It's far too early to start warming up this much. We're not even out of February. I remember years in recent history where it was cold all the way up to April, then it started warming up, May starts getting warmer until the peak of June - when literally all hell breaks loose.

I'm kinda waiting til' it cools down at least a little to take the dogs for a walk. I noticed that even with what I've been doing, I'm still putting on fat - slowly, but - I want to reverse that totally. It's obvious that I'm going to have to step it up. I'm all for it - I just wanted to ease back into heavy workouts instead of jumping right back into it. I mostly only drink water and some coffee, with a little milk here and there. I'm eating twice a day - I eat well on those two times, yes, but the first meal is a large salad with all kinds of veggies and some ham. The second meal is whatever I want, but quantities are not large as I'm not that hungry after that first meal.

Admittedly, my workouts have been fairly light. The mountain climbing is good, but the duration isn't long enough for the intended result - only because I am concerned the Danes won't be able to handle it, keel over and croak, otherwise known as a heart attack. I figure, though, that I can start going on a little longer walk at this point. I want them to be in good enough shape that by summer, they aren't going to be dying out there if I walk them. If they do, I'll be going without the dogs and they will just have to stay home. As it stands, evne if they can handle it pretty well, I'm going to have to get a dog cargo pack for one of the Danes and make him carry water for everyone.

Regardless, I will get my workouts back to where they used to be, I just don't think it a good idea to suddenly start cranking out as if you're in top condition. I've heard of people actually dying from heart attacks because they start too fast, too hard, too much, too soon. When I was younger, wouldn't think twice. Start getting a little older - will definitely think twice about it.

Now that I'm facing warm enough days to warrant the use of AC, I am going to have to install that new doggie door soon. Like this weekend soon.

Plus so many other things I would love to get done around here but for want of one thing: Money, honey.

Anyway, today at work was good. Busy enough to stay busy and not have to try and invent things to do. Tomorrow is looking pretty good as well, at least for half the day. After that, who knows. It seems that stuff comes up at the last moment quite often nowadays. Contractors wait until just at or before the time they need materials to have them delivered. Before? They'd order the whole project's worth of materials at one fell swoop, it would all be delivered out there at the beginning of the project and any subsequent visits would just be for things they didn't foresee, such as engineers or city inspectors making changes on a site's plans.

I'm a wee bit tired and want to take a short nap before I go on the walk.

C'ya later!
ben

Monday

A few things have occured since my last posting.

First, the new tenant showed up - check in hand. I already had a check from her from before, but it was for too much money so I just held it for her til' she got here. She was supposed to be moving in today - there is nothing in her room. Which didn't stop me from cashing the check. I think she's busy unloading the giant U-Haul truck that she paid someone to drive down here.

Anyway, she's here for a month or two at most, according to her. From this point forth, I intend on just getting some short-term renters in there. Off and on. If we get a little tired of 3 renters, take a month off - if I can even afford that - and then get someone else in there. Plenty of market for short-term rentals in this area.

As much as the economy is tanking, education is taking off. People are registering in droves for grant money to get through college - at least according to Mary.

Second, I got through to my mortgage company again, and only waited a few minutes! Yeehaw! Oh, well anyway, I asked about a loan modification. I am less then 30 days late, so I don't qualify for that. The lady said I will qualify on the 1st of March. The options are to have the past due balance put on the end of the loan; or, repayment of the past due amount extra on each mortgage payment (like I can afford that) - I don't remember what the other was. The only one that appealed to me was putting the past-due amount onto the end of the loan.

Anyway, I then asked about refinancing. "Midland Mortgage company is only a loan servicing center, we don't refinance loans". I started to say that I saw on your website.....OH, yes sir, we ARE refinancing mortgages in Arizona. She transferred me to that department - who never answered. I have to go through them to get to the refi department, they won't give you the direct number. Gag. Get my interest rate down 2%? Talking hundreds of dollars a month in savings. Well, it'd be $200 per month off the payment, at least. NO, it would be more than that. It's amazing how just a couple of interest points can make such a huge difference - but only on house loans, on something like a car loan - not a huge difference.

Weed battle out back is ridiculous. I lightly water them so they will more easily pull out - roots included. Seems like 3 more show up in it's place. I can't spray weed poison or my plants will die. Only recourse - file yet another complaint against my neighbors. They have 3 foot tall weeds and grass over there, and it's all coming this way. I am SO tired of the way those people live. For the purposes of keeping the yards cleaned up and at least some kind of landscaping out front, I would love to have a homeowner's association in here. For most other purposes - I would not. It would never fly. Have to have 3/4's of the neighborhood's property owners sign off on it. WAY too many people opposed to such a thing. I understand - they can become VERY abusive, reckless with power.

Anyway, I just got through doing some weightlifting, plus digging up more weeds, plus watering the plants out back. Have to ask Mary if she's been watering out front - ground looks dry, doesn't look like she has. I'm going to develop my chest, tri's, bi's, quads, lats and other muscle groups - the set up I got for Caleb for Christmas has attachments for that. I'm shooting for 3, maybe 4 days a week. Nothing too intense to start. Can't believe how much muscle mass I have lost - I can't lift half of what I used to be able to. I guess that's what happens when you stop working out for 4 years.

The house is warm - it got warm today - around 85 degrees.

Well, anyway. I'm just WISHING I had money or credit right now. There are houses less than half a mile away going for less then 50k. One is a 1,500 square foot house that has 3 bedrooms and 2 baths going for $39,000.00. 2 years ago, ALL houses in that subdivision were going for a minimum 200k. The mortgage on $39,000.00? I could rent the place for $500 and pay the mortgage and still make money off of it.

Enough. I have some other things to get done and I don't really want to sit here too long before getting it done. Just want to keep moving.

C'ya later.
ben