Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Big Surprise for Wifey !

I will be posting this from my cell phone with voice to text recognition. I blame any and all punctuation and grammar errors on the phone. Lol.

I was talking to a coworker a few days ago and telling her that this coming Friday was my wife's birthday. This was going to be the first time in our 15 years of marriage that we have been apart on her birthday.

I had picked up no extra shifts the rest of the week as most of the vacations have begun to die down. My coworker mentioned that I could switch a shift with someone else creating an extended period of time off. That got the wheels in my brain turning.

I text another coworker to see if she was interested in switching shifts. My usual work week is Monday Tuesday Thursday. Normally that would give me Wednesday Friday Saturday Sunday off. My coworker was willing to take on my Thursday and in turn I would cover her Friday next week. This would give me Wednesday thru Sunday off. Thats 5 days! With no income lost.

One of my uncles owns a car dealership nearby. My dad is the used car manager. And another uncle is the service manager. I make it a point to never ask for anything as I was raised a man takes care of himself. But now that I've been away from my family for 6 weeks and my wifes birthday was approaching I swallowed my pride and made a request.

To my delight my uncles and father have loaned me a rental car that gets almost three times the miles per gallon that my Jeep gets me. By my calculations I should be able to drive to Arizona for around $100.

I am truly blessed to have such a loving family and I am excited to be on my way home to see my wife and daughters. It will be about a 16 hour drive if I don't waste too much time.

A quick stop for some drinks and I'm on my way now. Its about 1 o'clock in the afternoon Arizona time. I should get home just in time to take the girls to school and surprise my entire family with a visit.

I have asked wifey not to read the blog for a few days as it would spoil her surprise birthday present. She thinks I am putting something together for her and some girl friends from church. My third oldest daughter got her braces off today and her smile looks beautiful. I can't wait to see her in person.

Thank you to everyone who made donations . Wifey would not be getting this birthday surprise if it weren't for you.
No word yet on a trailer or a rental house. The loan officer at the trailer dealership send me a text about 30 minutes ago letting me know he would be going on  vacation.  He assured me that someone else would be contacting me soon and that I was in good hands. We'll see about that.

I made half a dozen or more calls on rental houses and was unsuccessful 100 percent. Some were already rented , some where already sold, and one denied me because I have a German Shepherd. I asked him why and he said the owners don't allow vicious dogs like pit bulls Dobermans and German shepherds. I was rather shocked at this comment. I told the man, you do know  german
shepherds are police dogs right?

Whatever. I'll keep looking.

21 comments:

  1. Ya pets are the renters bane. I sometimes think most of the strays I get are due to people moving and relationships ending more than simple economic issues.

    Have a good time I am sure she will be pleasantly surprised.

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  2. Be safe OJD! I love the blog and look forward to the updates. Go hug that Wifey!

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    1. Two hours in... What a loooong drive....

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  3. Hope she doesn't sneak a peek here and ruins your surprise.

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    1. I warned her not to look or she would ruin her birthday surprise.but her curiosity can get the best of her.

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  4. Just be safe and make sure you get there.

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  5. I can't stand it; you need money and you have a fancy phone like that? And SIX kids! Go figure.

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    1. The phone is free with contract renewal every two years. I have several (as seen in my Thunderstorm video) because I've been with Verizon for 15 years.

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  6. I know I am repeating myself and this may not be appreciated but:

    You really should look into some free / cheep mobile homes before you buy something expensive!!

    Ok - that's my $.02 worth. I'll keep quiet about it from now on. Sorry to harp.

    I hope you have a great time with your family. Safe travels on the way home.

    Best of luck.

    Cactus Dave in Arizona

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  7. Just curious, but is there some reason you typically buy new ( camper and mobile home)? There are lots of very nice, rarely used campers for reasonable prices that you could turn around and resale for close to what you paid for it. I totally agree with Jim Bob Duggar, "buy used and save the difference.". Not trying to be nosy, just know that when you are starting a homestead every penny is valuable!

    Best wishes to you and yours! I really enjoy the blog!

    RJ in Arkansas

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    1. Sure. I put most of our savings into recent education. We have very little left. Used trailers require more down payment (cash) than new. For example, a used trailer required $5,000 down, a new one at similar price requires $3k down.

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  8. Why would a used mobile and a new mobile have a similar price?

    Btw - for $3k you can get a used mobile set up and delivered and have $0 debt and payment. Can't do that with a new one.

    Most insurance companies have a list of dog breeds that they consider dangerous. Any home that has one of these dog breeds will be denied insurance. German Shepherds are always high on the list. The landlord may lose his insurance if he knowingly rents to you with your dog.

    You might want to try not calling your dog a German Shepherd on the form. Call her an Alsatian, which is the British name for the breed, which may not appear on a American insurance companies list. It's not dishonest and it might get you approved.

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  9. I cant understand why you would use money people gave you to do something as frivilous as going to see your wife. Seems like a waste of money. Your not in a position to spend this money like that. You need to save every penny and build some savings so you have a foundation to take care of and protect your family. With what you set out to do sacrifice is in order. You need to look at the long run and not be so short sighted. Couldn't the money your using now been better used towards buying a used trailer?

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  10. I can understand how some reading this might think you are being frivolous since you do need to save every penny for a new home, however, what some don't think about is that while you are home with your family you will also be helping with packing and handling some of the final preparations for moving the whole clan, right? I know with a large family to move there are a lot of details that can only be handled in person or within close proximity of the family.

    Safe travels and I know you are hugging each of those girls as often as you can before you head back to the new life you've started!

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  11. I would like to respond to the anonymous response that he shouldn't spend donated money on that. As one of the people who donated this week, I'm personally overjoyed that he spent the money that I donated on seeing his wife and family.

    Give this poor guy a break. READ his blog, he's had a rough year and it's very hard on families being apart. I hope they have a wonderful weekend together and his wife has a wonderful birthday.

    JimmyPx

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    1. Thanks JP. Wifey cried for a good ten minutes as she hugged me tight when I surprised her. I'm blessed and appreciative sir.

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  12. As a family man myself, time with your wife, and family, is priceless. Have fun sir!

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  13. So happy you are getting a visit with wifey and girls! It will help ease the disappointment that you are not all going to be together just yet at the farm.

    I have to just say (I really was the quiet child) that I think God is shutting those rental doors. It doesn't mean you shouldn't keep looking but that He is helping you avoid the wrong place. How often I have felt such immense disappointment over a house sale or purchase gone wrong before it got off the ground. Trust and obey. Sounds so simple, but we are so human.

    Keep your chin up. Hubby once drove from WY to TX to see us when we didn't have the money, and to top it off, he asked me to take time away from work (even less money), take the kids out of school and pile into the too small truck and go to CA to see his parents. My boss approved my time off despite how badly they needed me (I was the speech pathologist for the school district), and we left for CA. We stayed a week or more just visiting. My MIL died just days later. That credit card bill was a blessing, money well spent. We just never know why things are denied or why they are gifted to us, but the Father does.

    Have a blessed time, my friend.

    sidetracksusie

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  14. yeapy! hugs to all

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