Big Dreams, Little Budget, and How We Are Making It Happen

I am a dreamer. A head-in-the-clouds-walker. My mom has thrown up her hands in exasperation more than once, proclaiming, "You just want it all!"


And, yeah, I guess I do. 


I want to be loved and in love. I want my family to be happy and peaceful. I want to be understood, and if not, then left alone to be me and not criticized for it. I want the practical things, too, like being financial solvent, and not constantly worrying about each month's bills. I want my boy back in my life, most of all.


I can want all day, all life long, but how to make all these things happen?

Research. Action. Risk. Reward.

That is what I am going with. For now, shelved are the big vacation plans, the purchase of acreage in the sierras, a vacation home on the Russian River or Northern California coast; gone are the plans for a personal trainer and private Pilates instructor, for buying the old church in town and turning it into a brewery; put on hold are the motorcycles and boats and weekend convertibles.


Shelved are the wants and things that I have no control over.

Enter Excel spreadsheets, and Quicken budgeting. Enter negotiating old debts with creditors and finalizing payoffs. We go back to the drawing board, and try different avenues for finding sustainable income. We do our research, make smarter investments of our time, energy and money.


All of these things have led me to doing something I thought I would never do: buy investment real estate. I have struggled with the idea of buying foreclosed properties because I feel bad for the people who have lost their homes. Although I have some good business skills, a killer instinct isn't one of them. I keep picturing little Janie on the street, dolly held in one hand, big eyes glistening with tears. I am a melodramatic sap, I know, but I still can't seem to get the image out of my head.


So, I committed myself to finding a property (or properties) that were for sale in markets with a high demand for rentals. This, done correctly, could provide a source of income now, and be a financial asset later in life.


Step 1. Research


Some of the most depressed markets home-wise are becoming or have become markets with a higher demand for rental properties. It is not hard to see why; times are tight and people need a place to live, and renting becomes a cheaper alternative than their mortgage, if they haven't foreclosed already.


Cities with low house prices and high demand include Stockton (no surprise there), Detroit (or there), Las Vegas, Orlando, Bakersfield, Phoenix, and Ft Lauderdale. Atlanta and San Francisco are also notable due to their stagnate house prices, yet ever-increasing rents. But the creme de la creme and biggest surprise: Chicago.
Condos, lofts, and flats in the downtown and highly sought-after North Side are at an all time low, while the demand for rental properties continues to surge. When looking at price per square foot coupled with potential ROI, there is no better city than Chicago to buy in right now.


Step 2. Action


We have started making the calls, contacting potential properties and their agents. We have started the preliminary financial discussions, and are meeting with our broker this weekend. (Yes, our money guy works weekends and even comes to our house, even though we don't have much of it.)


Step 3. Risk


This is scary. We have never been landlords. Chicago is thousands of miles away. We are using our savings and tapping some retirement funds for this. All of these things are definite risks. But without CALCULATED risk, there can be no....


Step 4. Reward


What will this do for us? It provides us with a second source of income. We will actually be able to pay the mortgage, insurance, and taxes with the rental income AND put money in the bank each month. It will build equity, providing us with a measure of financial security in the future. 


It will make it possible to re-launch a legal assault on my ex, and bring my family back together. It may provide for college tuition for him, retirement for ourselves, or the ability to help our parents as they age.


Eventually, in the not too distant future, we will even be able to start pulling some of those fun things back off of that shelf, and enjoy the fruits of our labor.

By the dawn's early light

"Oh-o, say can you see, by the dawn's early light..."

The opening lines of our National anthem, although not the most descriptive of the poem by Francis Scott Key, have always painted such beautiful colors in my mind.

This morning, after nights of interrupted, restless sleep, I awoke with the very start of the dawn, when the sky is just slightly bluer than the black outline of the trees outside my window. I watched the sky lighten and brighten for over an hour, feeling a mixture of contentedness and inflamed inspiration, so fortunate to have witnessed the magic of an uncontrived beauty in our often over-processed and manufactured world.

At one point the thought to grab my camera flitted by, but I made no move to retrieve it. I suppose I knew subconsciously that any attempt to capture the colors, the mood would be nearly impossible; it was as if the dawn had been painted for me in that moment, only those moments, exactly as it was supposed to be seen.

I suppose I could attempt to describe the colors to you, Reader, the darkest of navy, the richest of cobalts, the truest cerulean, the lightest blue-butter-cotton sky, but such injustice I would do to you and the glory witnessed. My truest and best advice: see the dawn on a clear Spring morn, and hope to be as inspired as I.

"My profession is to always find God in nature." - Henry David Thoreau

"This is the true joy in life - being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap; being a force of nature instead of a feverish selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy." - George Bernard Shaw

Friday the 13th Party...of 3.

We had planned a fun night of pizza, cupcakes, and drinking games centered around this past Friday the 13th, complete with a viewing of both classics "Friday the 13th" (1980) and "Friday the 13th II" (1982).  Sadly, only ONE PERSON actually showed up.  Wish I had known that before the three Family-size pizzas and 18 cupcakes were made.  ARRRRGGGG!

Not to be completely defeated, we rallied on, played the game (all 3 of us), gorged on pizza, and enjoyed my "Killer KupKakes", which turned out to be AWESOME!  By the end of the night our sides and faces hurt from laughing so hard; maybe it was meant to be just the three of us.

For a very decent recipe, try Alton Brown's Devil's Food recipe (although I HATE his frosting).  You can either make your own cherry pie filling (one of my faves by mybakingaddiction.com), or buy it in the can (I won't judge).  Bake the cupcakes, allow to cool five minutes, hollow out the middles, spoon in filling, top with cake you have hollowed out, and cover with a dollop of frosting once completely cooled.  


These little cakes look delightfully bloody, have a gooey gore center, and, of course, taste delicious! If prepared in a slightly "cleaner" way, these make for romantic Valentine's Day treats, too.

FUBAR

So, without working laptop loaded with the correct photo editing software, my blog has fallen sadly behind.  I will be trying to get everything uploaded from Poland, Mexico, Jerusalem, and in between in the next two weeks.  Unfortunately, it won't be chronologically accurate, but deal with it, okay?

Unplanned and Perfect: Our First Day in Jerusalem

Today is our first full day in Jerusalem.  We left CA Thursday at 10:30 am and landed (an hour late) at 2pm in Tel Aviv, Israel.  After clearing immigration, gathering baggage, passing through customs, and picking up our rental car, it was already 3:30. The drive to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv was surprisingly pretty, through green rolling hills dotted with homes, and we were even graced with a rainbow during a break in the light rain. Thank goodness for GPS; the road signs are mostly in Hebrew, but we found our hotel fairly easily, and by 4:30 we were parked, checked-in, and settled into our room.


Barely able to keep our eyes open, we were passed out by 5, awake again at 7:30 and ordered room service from the Shabbat (Sabbath) menu, which is all cold foods like salads, smoked salmon, cold cuts, etc. A Unisom each and we were out by 11.


Morning dawned clear and bright, and we woke refreshed and ready to get our Holy Land on.  Breakfast is provided as part of the room rate, and was quite good; several choices of cold cereals, smoked and pickled fish, fruits, yogurt, cold salads, and cheese, along with juices, coffee, tea, and assorted pastries. Our meal was healthy and delicious and a great way to refuel after airplane and airport food.

Old City walls, including Mount Zion (to the right)

Following a very rough idea of where we were going, we headed towards the Old City planning on visiting Mount Zion outside the Old City walls before venturing inside.

After only minor confusion, we stumbled upon the gravesite of Oskar Schindler made famous by Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List. It was quiet, and except for a small tour group, the graveyard was empty.

Oskar Schindler's grave. (Left: side view of grave with stones. Right: top of gravestone with inscription)

View of Jerusalem from Mount Zion cemetery.

We also visited the site of King David's tomb which is as unimpressive as all the websites and guidebooks say it was going to be.  Within the same complex is the Coenaculum (Latin for "dining room"), the hall that is the supposed place of the actual Last Supper.  The first time we walked through, it was thronged with tour groups, one of which was holding a loud prayer service in half of the smallish room.  The next time we passed through, two groups were leaving and another was on it's way in and we happened to get this shot between them.

The hall of the Last Supper

Adjacent to this site is the Church of the Dormition, the site where Mary, mother of Jesus, lived the rest of her life after Jesus' crucifixion and fell into a deep sleep (the "dormition") and died.


We entered the Old City through the Zion Gate on the south side and strolled through the Armenian Quarter to the Jaffa gate.  Just passed the gate is the entrance to the southern ramparts.  For 16 shekles ($4.26) each we gained admittance to the walls and some of the best views of both the old and new Jerusalem.

The ramparts dropped us just outside the security entrance for the Western Wall, the holiest spot in Judaism. Pictures of the Wall and the surrounding plaza are forbidden during Shabbat. There are separate sections for men and women at the Wall, so we split, had our private moments each, and met back in the center of the plaza.  As is tradition, I left a prayer on a slip of paper in the Wall itself.


From there we briefly entered the Muslim Quarter, were turned away by the nicest, politest, heavily-armed Israeli police officer at the entrance to Temple Mount, which is closed to non-Muslims during Shabbat. Feeling munchily, we opted for street-food as is our custom in foreign countries, and were delighted with the yummy chicken shawarma we shared.

Chicken shawarma & Pepsi, 25 shekles ($6.65)

The quieter streets of the Armenian Quarter

Without a map and no real inclination to visit any sites in particular, we happily wandered the ancient streets and inadvertently found ourselves on the Via Dolorosa, the path that Christ took from death sentence to crucifixion. Thronged with pilgrims, tourists, and locals alike, it was difficult to distinguish the stations that we passed or find much reverence in the experience since the streets are so different from the time of Jesus and are now lined with every kind of tourist shop imaginable.

"Hey, I think this is kind of important..."

Realizing that we had been on our feet non-stop for the last 6 hours and over 8 miles, we decided to take our aching feet back to the hotel, digest what we saw today, and maybe actually have a game plan for tomorrow and the rest of our time here in Israel.

For two jetlagged travelers just out for a leisurely stroll, we sure did find ourselves at several major tourist destinations and accomplished many things on our Israeli "to-do" list. Tomorrow we plan on visiting the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (one of the alleged burial and resurrection sites), the Dome of the Rock, and the Mount of Olives, perhaps a drive back to Tel Aviv if the weather is nice.

I want a teapot that big.