Monday, February 16, 2009

Kailee was recently promoted to first violin in her 7th grade orchestra...here she is playing at her Spring Concert! This is Arabian Nights...

I'll have to ask Kailee what this one is, but I wanted to get it posted...


And more from the Spring Concert:

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Custom Home In Missoula, Montana

I thought, "Let's buy a lot and split it; then we can build a great big custom house! Cool." Then the market tanked. What a nightmare! From interest payments that could have bought a small condo to bankers who are sharks in suits, it has been one of the most illuminating experiences of my lifetime (giving birth being the other).

The actual building of the home is a blast. You know, having carpenters who cost tons of money at your beck and call; yeah, lot's of fun. The rest is enough to kill you. I need a magic wand that finishes the project on time, kills the banker, makes subcontractors want to get their work done on time and wait forever to get paid, and then sells the house to some rich Californian (oh yeah, there aren't any left) at the last minute. And in the meantime, maybe someone who reads this will want to actually purchase the house and dig me out of my biggest blunder (but most beautiful creation) ever!

OK, it's not as bad as all that. At least I had a benefactor; from whom I have drained all her retirement funds from 30 years of teaching. Maybe the money is better off sitting in this monstrosity than in the stock market, but I'm sure she would rather have had the choice. They say the Missoula housing market is safer than the stock market; they said we'd get to Dow 30,000 too. How about we just finish it, move in, sell it in 24 months and get our money back? Or maybe I'll publish my futuristic romance novel and someone will pay me loads of money for it. Or maybe I'll fly to the moon on deorcael energy...
Ok, maybe someone will buy my really cute idea for kid's shoe storage. That's probably a little more in line with reality. For all my MBA buddies out there, I really don't want to hear about your success stories right now. Save it until after my book hits #1 on the NYT best sellers list.
Meanwhile, I'm trying to save our billiard retail business from going under, keep my kids in line, sell the house next to this one, and find a job (did I mention keep my sanity?). I promised to post the 1st chapter from my new book, but I'm still thinking about it. Camping World stole my Shoe Buddy even though it was patent pending, so I'm assuming someone will also steal the subject matter from my mind. I might risk it though, just to see if someone else thinks its as good as I think it is.
If you're interested in buying a custom home in Missoula, Montana and you have $649,000 (and no, I can't bargain with you...I'd rather move into it) to spend, let me know. I've got a great house you should see! The lot is a beautiful 1/2 acre in a private valley about 5 minutes south of Missoula with access to hunting and fishing, so check it out and save my sorry a**! See ya!
Blake