Crib change
Posted by michellemoquin on April 25th, 2008
Yep…it is time for a change. Doug and I decided to sell our house. It was a quick decision; one that took no thought at all. About a week ago we were finishing up all the little design details, and we decided it was not only time to finish this project that has taken a few too many years to finish, but sell it as well. We have gotten complacent in regards to living here, as we had only planned to live here 2-3 years and we are into the 7th year here! Not that we haven’t enjoyed it but it is time for a change.
I love this house but I also love change and I am not attached to leaving here at all. Neither is Doug. In fact Doug and I started looking around already and there are some cribs that are more in line of what we want to live in. Plus, it is a great time to buy. And a great time for us to sell. We have put a lot of green and muscle into our crib and it is a place that many would love to own. And for those that are downsizing from their million dollar plus property, and there are many out there, our house is their next step.
After deciding not to go with a local realtor, Doug and I found this cool service on-line called Redfin. Ever heard of them? Well you will now. 60 Minutes did a segment on them and I was immediately sold! No pun intended. They sell your property for you but you do all of the work with their help. And believe me it’s worth it! Their compensation is only 4 grand - yep you got it - 4 grand! You give them 5 bills up front and the balance when you close. If you don’t close you don’t pay the balance. We also decided that we wanted to give the buyers broker 2.5% instead of the usual 3%. Another savings back in our pockets! Now this is the way to sell a house!
Redfin is awesome to work with! In less than a week we had 3 phone meetings with the Realtor Gina and her transaction coordinator Regina. Both have been great to work with. They are informative, organized, and detail oriented women. All qualities that I look for when do any kind of business. We were basically asked a bunch of questions about the house so that they could set up all of the marketing material for our house. Once that is complete, they post the MLS ad, Craig’s list, and they send us a PDF of the house flyer and a guest book, which I print myself. We put our own ad in the Sunday Chron, and where ever else we choose….Super easy.
We had a professional photographer come by, also part of the Redfin deal, and take photos which included a virtual tour….you’ve got to see this! It came out so beautiful! Tour Factory did an incredible job - thanks Chris! Check it out and let me know what you think.
They then drop off a sign, (today) with a holder to hold all of our flyers, and the lock box, for realtors who want to show our house to a prospective buyers outside of open houses. And speaking of…I sign us up on their website for open houses and broker tours, which we hold ourselves. We can do as many as we want or need. And since we work them ourselves we are not held up by the schedule of the realtor. I love having all of the control.
So…we worked quickly with them and in less than a week it was complete. Since this past weekend, Doug and I have been crazily finishing up minor details and I have been staging the house. I can’t tell you how important it is to stage a house before you sell it. Statistically houses sell for much more and much quicker when they are staged.
Check out this stat: The average days on market for a house that hasn’t been staged is 136 days (This is nationwide not for California which is statically much quicker) And the average days of sale pending status after staging is 7.6 days nationwide! Cool eh? These days staging is a flourishing business…it may be my next calling…we’ll see. I’m dying to write an entire article on staging because I am so excited about this book that I found that helped me tremendously to stage our home. And I can’t tell you how much I learned about myself and materialism in the process - very enlightening. Therefore, I am going to leave it at that….stay tuned for more on staging in the very near future…..
Important Announcement:
I didn’t even have a chance to tell anyone, including my family because we have been so busy getting ready. Of course I finally did tell my family but I didn’t mention the open house - I want to surprise them when the house sells…So hush hush! I just love surprises, don’t you? They will be thrilled! - So that being said, my announcement is for your eyes only:
We’re going live on the MLS this morning! Yippee! We’re sooo excited. I don’t have the MLS number yet as it won’t be posted till later this morning but I’ll let you know the minute it is. Our first open house is Sunday from 1-4:30 and we are having a luncheon broker’s tour the following Thursday. And another open house the following Sunday…that is if we don’t sell it by then…but I’m hoping we will :) If you’re in the neighborhood, stop on by!
Got to run…so much to do! Have a good one too.
Gratefully your blog host,
michelle ?
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April 25th, 2008 at 8:59 am
Hi Michelle, you guys are quick! We’re selling also, yesterday we signed w/a realtor that charges 3% total - but- I will definitely check out the site and call Redfin today also! Your house does look ‘move in ready’ and that’s a good time to go.
I’m going to call you for the name of the staging book asap, off to the gym right now but after that I am on the phone to you, hope you have a few minutes to chat about RE staging : )
Zen Lill
April 25th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
Michelle
In response to your comment about us girls returning and acting to help our countries by becoming world leaders and guiding them towards a better way. The planet earth can no longer be affected by a single country except the USA.
It is the only country that can act unilaterally and have global effects. The problem with trying to do so from another country is that the USA meddles in the affairs in so many countries that on a daily basis countries are reacting to some influence or decision that the USA has made.
Hence, becoming a leader of one of those countries will avail the world very little. Most of the leader’s efforts would be consumed reacting to actions the USA has taken either directly involving her country or to a set of unstable circumstances caused by some other country’s reaction to action the USA has taken.
Most of the time those actions will involve profit making by someone or some corporation affiliated with those holding the power strings in the US government. Follow the money. In the US every world or local decision on the federal lever is made with the idea of profiting some political contributor.
The America people are, for the most part, not aware that 93% of all their federal laws enacted to police their food, drug, medicine, guns, energy, transportation, financial or any other entity affecting their way of life are written by the industry the law is supposed to oversee.
So of course the credit card, banking, mortgage, drug, food, gun, gas, insurance, etc industries write laws that benefit them over the American people. The politicians take their donations and sign them into law. PAC is the de facto head of the USA. NOTHING will change as long as it is legal for PAC to exist as an organization that can contribute to the campaigns of America’s politicians. It is simply bribery made legal by the people who are being bribed.
Whatever the individual American’s position on Guns, religion, or immigration may be it is not what drives the politicians. Those are just issues that are used to divert the voters attentions from the economy, health, and general welfare of the nation. What drives the politician is getting the money that can be made from holding that position. So he sells out to his contributors because their money feeds his re-election campaign.
The incredible waste is that for a few thousand dollars here and there, they sell out their country to special interest that bilk hundreds of billions of dollars from his constituents. These politicians commit to death thousands of our young impressionable women and men to enrich the coffers of those that make huge profits on wars and conflicts.
So few have been made extremely wealthy while so many have lost their lives, or the lives of loved ones to make it possible. The greed of those with huge fortunes insulates them from the plight of the ordinary person. He brides the politician for more advantages to make even more money while the rest of America struggles to keep their homes, pay their rent, buy food or fuel,or, get adequate health care.
The special interests divert the voter with issues of socialized medicine, etc while they die or are forced into bankruptcy for lack of affordable health care. What does it take for the citizens of the only modern country in the world without universal health care to say “I don’t care whether I get it from socialist or capitalist give me health care like those other modern countries have, nationwide health care. One does not need god, or a person with super powers to get her or his politician to vote for that. One only needs that citizen to vote for someone who is not in the pocket of the insurance special interest, PAC. What does it matter what party gives life to you or your family or friends via national health care.
Party affiliation works only for the PACs and their special interest clients. While the citizen argues party doctrine and ideologies, PAC continues to rule because both candidates are in its pockets. Vote the end of PAC and special interest influence by voting for whoever will give that to you regardless of her or his party affiliation. Does one need a god or super hero to help the voter do that?
China is rapidly approaching being the other country on the planet that can influence the world the way the USA can. Liang has considered becoming that leader. She probably has some ideas that she wishes to entertain with you on the very subject. We all have some that we would like to discuss with you when we meet.
I personally feel that China does not have the citizen diversity or the freedoms afforded its peoples to be allowed to be such a world player. The problem with our America is that there is such racism here that if Jesus came back the same organized bigots would incite the people against him because he was jew. And if he looked like the Jews of biblical times he would be considered with that hair (as described in the bible- “like that of a lambs wool”), he would be considered black. If you are watching the news, then you know what organized bigotry can do to detach the people from the message of a savior.
No the only solution is to cut out the cancer. Sometimes that means removing some good tissue too. We don’ feel that we can be that surgeon. In deference to you we will try to mute some of the hate that will be spewed out to affect the May 6, vote.
But you should know that the republicans and the hordes of special interest that do not wish to see a change in their control of both houses of congress have set up secret donation outlets to fund Hilary’s campaign. We will not interfere with chicanery by those who would use it to effect how America’s is governed.Tthat is the purview of America’s citizens. If they continue to allow themselves to be diverted by racist demagoguery, then the history that we witnessed should be their destiny.
Sir
Lydia
April 25th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
Al
Many whites make the claim that you do. “I do speak up against racism, discrimination, and prejudice, I hate it, and this view has sparked many heated debates. I point this stuff out often.”
I made it often myself. Yet, if we were truly honest with ourselves we know that we give mostly lip service to it. As for your assertion, “I do not benefit from any affirmative actions by the white mans control of US politics and corporate power (check it out using my demographics and you tell me, you have the skills & technology).Quite the contrary, I am also a victim of discrimination, and a minority here.”
Yes, I do have the technology and since you asked I will use my technology to check it out. I trust the truth will not be too painful. Like most white males you are quick to find a situation that says that you are the minority or are being mistreated because the system gives the minority the advantage.
That feeling of being “victim of discrimination” arises from taking for granted the benefits of the affirmative action white men have been receiving from a system the;y designed to give them those benefits.
First we need to establish a frame of reference for our discussion. For purposes of debating lets agree to define “Affirmative Action.” Let’s acknowledge the current denotation. The dictionary define Affirmative action as “an action or policy favoring those who tend to suffer from discrimination, esp. in relation to employment or education; positive discrimination.”
But that is actually the white man’s dictionary definition of affirmative action. He uses it to define an action that he is not in favor of for something he or his ancestors have done to OTWs(other than white). He calls it positive discrimination because he wants it made perfectly clear that he is being discriminated upon to give this group the favoring action. Never mind the fact that what is really happening is that the government or entity is trying to bring some parity to a situation that is the way it is because of the white man’s systematic negative discrimination of that group. So we will hence forth call the dictionary definition the white man’s connotation of Affirmative Action.
I propose an unbiased definition of the term for the purposes of this discussion. Henceforth when the term Affirmative action is referred to, it will be using this definition.
Affirmative Action - An action or policy enacted and enforced by government favoring one group over another to the detriment of the group discriminated against. This definition will be called the neutral connotation of Affirmative Action(AA).
Using that definition Al would you still argue that you do not benefit from AA?
You are obviously familiar with discrimination by a majority of like citizens(same race) over minority. You live in a city that has a very large spanish speaking population. They, mimicking the white man’s actions, have enacted voting bloc that favors latinos. This infuriates you. But it didn’t bother you in all the other cities in America where the systematic discrimination of OTWs occurs by a majority of white voters. I am not condoning their actions. Merely, pointing out that a adage as a catholic you are undoubtably familiar with. The one about throwing stones if you live in a glass house, or would the one about the pot calling the kettle be better here?
Sure you have benefited and continue to benefit from and affirmative action. Consider that while you are so sensitive to your feelings of being discriminated against if favor of the latinos, those latinos receive 11 times the jail sentences that you would receive for the same crime. He is more 11 times more likely to go to jail or prison for a crime that you would not get jail time for.,hell if he were black that figure would rise to 27 times.
He is 8 times as likely to get the death penalty for similar crimes. Before you dispute check the oratory of the US Supreme court on the matter. They said that although minorities are more likely to be given a death sentence by a jury that of itself is not cruel and unusual punishment. See white men on the highest court in America find nothing wrong with affirmative action for you, a white man.
I suppose that you are not aware that you get treated differently when stopped by a cop. That’s another affirmative action benefit that you take for granted. You don’t get followed in department stores, searched more often in airports, harassed by anyone in authority. You get preferential treatment in most job positions. Not because you are smarter(you may be) but because of the color of you skin. That would come under the neutral definition of AA.
No you are not a racist. But you do suffer from the white man’s neurosis. My mother often cautioned my brother against that when he traveled abroad. You are not a victim in America, if you are a white man. The neurosis that white men suffer from is that they could be. That is how you can be easily manipulated to condone racists acts, statements, an assumptions that would normally make you suspect. That neurosis is both contagious and incurable. Hence, the need for extermination.
That was not a guess. My only guess was to ascertain the degree of your neurosis. Just about any white man in America can be convinced that he is being discriminated against in America. Only a person suffering from a;mental illness, mental disorder, psychological disorder, psychoneurosis, psychopathy, obsession, phobia,or fixation could believe that he is being discriminated against by a system run by only white men for white men for 200 plus years. Of course, he could just be a good liar, You know claiming discrimination while winking at all the privileges he receives for being a white male.
For all your complaining, I don’t think that for a moment you would trade races and attempt to travel across the United States of America. If you did, how far do you think you would get before you hated the way the white man’s system allows the white man to treat his fellow Americans? How would you react to unreasonable harassment by police as you travel across a your own country. In most cases you would receive better treatment when traveling abroad. How you react to not being seated in restaurants, being called demeaning names in front of your family, not being able to use facilities you now take for granted as a white man? Sure you benefit from AA. A failure to honestly acknowledge same dose not invalidate the fact.
By the way no one need “physic abilities” to know that in a system where all the presidents, most of the congress, governors, mayors, judges, cops, juries are white, the white would be the beneficiaries of AA. Only a person suffering from neurosis would not be able to grasp such a simple fact. And that definition definitely fits you and most men like you.
Of course you will not cop to any of that,You suffer from the neurosis, hello! But I am not doing any surgery on mother earth. So relax. I like you despite your neurosis. You have a sense of humor that’s nice.
Lydia
April 25th, 2008 at 5:22 pm
Aliens
I know that you read this blog. We will be back soon. Now that I am not afraid of being consumed I want to meet. I’m not interested in talking to humans they are too primitive for me now.
I know that most of you don’t dine on us. But I would like to meet some who do. As long as you are aware that Zmiv and Gleia will have my back. I feel that I can hold my own if you would like to make it a contest of wills and skills. I have played with both Zmiv and Gleia. I know the rules.
I mentioned Zmiv and Gleia since if I win you would not lose your life. I don’t eat your kind. But the game excites me. So if any who are interested, I’m always available.
Plaju
The Plaju say that some of their kind have evolved into humanoids with fangs, sounds like vampires to me. Although our vampire lore says they just suck blood. I understand that is what you do at first to keep the meat fresh for long journeys. Like our spiders that sting their prey and save it for their young to dine on.
Your pupils still have no ability to adapt to light after centuries of mating with humans. Perhaps I can help you in that area. I would like to use your ability to preserve humans in what we call the undead state. I could work something out to help you hunt in the day time.
My country has an abundant supply of ready food that will never be missed. I passed you home planet on the way here. They say that you will not be able to return because you are the offspring of repeated human breeding. I used my suit on you planet and had no problems negotiating the terrain. I loved the hunt. Eat or be eaten, what a thrill. L said that she never felt so alive. She absolutely loved the criwel ritual. I prefer the shoba.
We can meet in my country along the old mongolian boarder. I have no aversion to meeting at night. I know that you prefer mating with americans. but I can show you the taste and thrill of the hunt in China. There are men there that have dominated women for centuries I am aware of the female emergence among your kind that have crossed the barrier to make with humans and produce humans that do not or can not feed for phycological reasons. Beautiful women like yourselves would prove irresistible to these barbaric men. They live to dominate small exquisite women.
Let me introduce your female children to the world of chinese cuisine. My taste does not run to human. But I am open to learning to devour or at least preparing some of them for the hunt.
The Jungku are waiting on the outer rim of the paolve. They plan to come to earth if they can strike a bargain with the Emperor to get a license to hunt your children. The claim is because of their human element and the fact that you can only give birth to girls, the demand for their flesh is at an all time premium. I will always act to protect women. We are Girls. Soon to be GIRLZ, the most powerful force on this side of the lvteridge. Even the Emperor will one day have to bargain with us.
You should talk with our Commander. Perhaps she will make a place for your daughters aboard her ship. I am sure we could find a way to help your daughters learn to eat as you do. I have heard that they are feared because of their strength and their ability to walk in daylight.
I would love to match my skills with theirs. L says that she would meet with them on the moon. I know that they haven’t ever left the planet earth since you discovered they can not adapt to space air. We can be of service. The moon would make for a wonderful practice battle field. It is close enough for you to monitor and far enough to keep prying eyes away. Us girls will personally guarantee their safety from attack from the jungku. We plant to be on earth only 30 days so take advantage of my offer as soon as you can.
Thank you all out there for attempting to communicate with us. We have been in silence since we reached the Emperor’s new web defense. Your well wishes have been received heartily. We know that some of you have shared our experiences with your virtual sims. Thank you for accepting our invitation to share our exploits.
We understand your desire to escape the Emperor’s lock on the comings and goings of the many different groups of you. You had enjoyed unfettered access to the open corridors. We will use the knowledge gained from the plain shifters to assist you in your need to facilitate the return to your home planets.
Liang
April 25th, 2008 at 5:54 pm
Aliens
Weeshaah
Thanks for the invitation. I will have to decline. Hunting humans does not appeal to me. They are too stupid to match wits with me and far too weak to contest my will. They have no weapons with which to defend themselves against an attack by me. I prefer more of a challenge. There artillery while it can pierce your defenses have no affect on my person.
I understand that you often go to other planets with prey that make the hunt interesting. If I can get an okay, I would love to accompany you on that trek.
As soon as I check in with Michelle, I will make plans to accompany you to Esllik. You will have an opportunity to observe my skills first hand, I know that you watched real time while we were engaged on some of our missions via our virtual sim, but this time I will know that I am being observed. I will make an effort to showcase my skills.
It will be a pleasure to have someone of my intellectual reach to converse with while we spend the next 30 days. I abhor having to be among these creatures. I no longer consider myself an earthling. I am what a thousand years of mutations at their most advantageous rate would have produced. There is no resemblance accept appearance to these pitiful creatures that I share. My place is deep space. Where every day is a good day to die. If I died here, it would be an insult to the power I have acquired. I long to be away even as yet i have not set foot on my birth planet. My roots are firmly planted in deep space, The Climax will return me to the bugs. Do not make yourselves scarce while I am on earth.
Madaline
April 25th, 2008 at 6:53 pm
Tal
I return to you in full splendor. I have brought with me the suit that drives you crazy. It will be donned as soon as I have deactivated my cyborg. Why my husband is still alive means it was way too tolerant. Is he in for a surprise.
I long for you loins. The picture of you becoming part of me is the only thing that brings me the desire to return to earth. I picture your understanding of the parts of my body that weep for the pleasure of your touch. I feel the tease of that huge head as it heats my ass cheeks before you bring the vibrations inside my ass to a standstill after hours of match muscle movement to thrust to counter thrust. It made me feel like your dick was dancing inside my ass. You controlled me throughly, everything even my breathing matched the rhythm of your motion inside me. Whenever you paused to let my body’s nervous system catch up with the pleasure rolling over my the outside of my body. I would stop breathing until I felt your balls resume their tympanic dance upon my ass cheeks. I would silently scream not another orgasm in my ass. Yes, I would continue to scream it until I felt you nibble the back of my neck. Oh what a delicious release. Tal my body is yours.
I miss water only because of the way you bathe me. How I love how you draw your fingers under by breast while you enter me from behind. My pussy can not believe that it is so much better each time you do it. What is your secret for making me so wet that my juices lube your dick and float to the surface in such abundance. No one has ever made me so wet for so long. When your roll over top of me and gently chew my nipples while thrusting so hard I fear that you may forget that I am that tender woman whose body begs for more even as you tease me the head of you dick half in and half out of my pussy.
When I see the shaft I wonder how it is that you can make my pussy sing with the staccato motion of only half the head of your dick inside of me. Yes, my oh too smug man, I have been thinking of that shaft. I sometimes want to reach down and grab it like when you put my hand on it and hold my ass cheeks in your hand while your make that hot smooth head find my button of extreme pleasure and push it and push it and push it until I think I will surely die of pleasure right in your arms.
What a cruel man you are. I know the plan by hard. I come over and over, You pull out hold me close until I stop convulsing, then your plunge that huge thing so deep into me that i feel my pussy muscles grab onto the shaft of your dick for dear life. h my god, oh my god I hear the words but I can not be sure that i am saying them because the screams from the orgasms inside my pussy is drowning everything out. I am mad and I never want to be sane again.
Those were not my words, they were Lydia’s. She said that when you did it to her she said that she went mad from the pleasure. I said Tal promised me that only my ass and pussy would experience his simultaneous orgasmic technique. She laughed so hard and said ask the Girls, thats beauty of it. He makes you so mad from the pleasure you believe that no one else could possible experience what happened to you. She was right, You never promised me that.
I love you Tal and I am not afraid to admit it openly. Now that I can match wits with you I can share the incredible person you are with the universe Known or otherwise. You have taught me that in sharing I receive more of you that is truly mine to enjoy. So I wouldn’t deprive the Girls of having my man visit them with what i get every time i see him.
If you are on earth, I will live there forever in bliss because your love making is matched and check mated my your understanding of a woman’s emotional moods and needs. I have been raving about that pleasure machine that you take for granted as your body. But I look forward to the way you listen when i just want to talk or rave. I love how you resist answering me when I don’t really want an answer to that question. You never made us Girls feel anything but respect as equals. You never made us feel that we had to earn anything from you.
I love men because of you a non earth man. Who is a true companion in every aspect of a relationship. Can Aliens be gay? Can they be macho? Can any man know a woman’s body the way you do and not have been a woman once in his many lives? You effect my moods by anticipating my reactions to your presence.
Tal I know that you have heard this before. I make it openly as Vsuul says. I hide nothing. Do with me as you wish for as long as you wish. However you leave me you will leave a woman who will always love what a man could be and appreciate the time he gives her to show that appreciation.
I feel so good knowing I will be on earth with you soon. Just remember you are in my world now. I will command that dick when i want it. Stray too far and piss off this hot woman and you will understand the meaning of the earth expression of the wrath of a woman scorned. Remember when i suit up, I kick ass.
Your Madie
April 25th, 2008 at 7:38 pm
Hey Michelle,
Nice work. I’m sure your staging looks beautiful. I’ll be around on Sunday. I’ll make sure to swing by and say hello.
Daphne