1/30

1/29

I learned all about vertical call and put spreads and optional straddles and strangles from Nick and Pat today.


Meanwhile, Len and Audrey did this awesomeness:

240.1

1/28

The new shower proceeds:

FSBO plan

Today I began outlining a FSBO plan:

• Collect key documents (title, survey, mortgage, insurance, etc.)
• Plan selling costs (home repairs, appraiser, attorney, title company, etc.)
• Decide what to pay buyers' agents and how and whether to advertise that.
• Get appraisal
• Choose price
• Choose attorney
• Compile house book (vital stats, disclosures)
• identify what disclosures must be in it
• identify what other numbers to put in
• lay it out
• print it up
• Make flyers
• Get yard sign
• Schedule some open houses
• Post to paid sites (MLS, Realtor.com, etc)
• Post to free sites (craigslist, zillow, trulia, etc)
• Socialize to friends, neighbors
• Market to realtors?

Audrey did a great job with lesson 56.  She's actually getting to where she can almost read at normal speed on the second pass through those stories.

We got a bunch of stuff for fixing up the upstairs shower and kitchen.

-32.5 @ 238.7

1/26

Len just came into town, so now we'll get some stuff done!

I spent some time researching FSBO stuff this evening.

Big step today, as recommended by the Live on the Margin guys -- we ditched our TV bill...

-33.6 @ 237.6

1/25

I got to read Live on the Margin for about an hour today.  Options are a real mind-bender.

Audrey did a great job with lesson 56.

-31.7 @ 239.5

1/24

I tested out that new paint in a couple spots and it's a perfect match in color and sheen. So maybe we can get away with some spot jobs rather than having to do any big expensive paint jobs.

I was doing some research on good boating books for the kids and came up with some candidates:

The Craft of Sail: A Primer of Sailing
Swallows and Amazons
Sarah's Boat: A Young Girl Learns the Art of Sailing
Sail Away
Kids for Sail
Time of Wonder

Time for a nice chapter of South from Alaska...

-30.3 @ 240.9

1/23

I got to read about 10 minutes on options today.

I got paint color-matched for some interior jobs and got yet another new locking knob to replace the newly-broken on the old door.  sigh...

It was a big day for realizations, not least of which is that I need more sleep, so it will have to wait for another day sometime soon for me to write about the the significance of taking down our baby gates; how the whole family getting hit with the flu led to the best day I've had in a couple years; and to elaborate on the importance or reducing your nut.

And Audrey killed on lesson 55.

-28.6 @ 242.6

Back from the dead

We all had the flu. Thus the failure to the blog. Actually I'm the only one over it at this point. Poor girls.

I got a new functional knob and deadbolt into our new front door and took some chips from the wall to get color-matched at the depot tomorrow.

I started the options chapter in Live on the Margin.

Audrey and I started The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. She did awesome on lesson 53 in TYCTR.

Lorelei asked to play word games today and wouldn't stop until lesson 3. I don't think she's quite up to it just yet, as I have to help her get most of the answers, but she certainly enjoys the ritual.

1/18

It was good to reread the fading stuff, because I'd overlooked a couple things: 1) We want to see RSI over 70 or under 30 when the swing candle forms, and 2) The confirmation candle (closed between 1st and 2nd BB) must be in the direction of the of the trade.

I Don't Want To Go!

We have been dealing with a new behavior from Audrey lately. She doesn't want to do ANYTHING! Every morning we discuss our plans for the day and no matter what the plans she always says 'I don't want to do that!' Today it was ski lessons, yesterday was school, and the day before was dance class. All things she normally loves. Of course, after she is done with the activity, she loved it, had so much fun, and can't wait for the next one. In fact, her ski instructor told me that she had an amazing attitude today, and was the only kid that never said "I can't."  Jacob and I have tried lots of responses to her refusals, some that I'm more proud of then others, but it persists. I am getting very frustrated. I think I will be searching the Love and Logic resources tonight!

A few ski pictures:

The little ski bunny

Audrey with her Eldorables group and instructor Holly

1/17

I got in another hour of Live on the Margin today. I decided to go back and re-read some of the material on fade trading to make sure I'm really getting it. Pretty sure I've got it locked in at this point.

The strategy (from memory) is to watch for a stock you know well to touch its 3rd Bollinger Band (3 standard deviations from the 20-day SMA) as traders overreact to some news item, then form a closed one-hour candle between the 1st and 2nd BBs. You place a limit order at the closing price for that candle with a stop at the swing low, then wait for the price to cross the 20 SMA. Sell half there, set the stop for the remainder at break-even, and target the 2nd BB for profit.

I would love to find out from the guys if they backtest and if so, how.

1/15

I'm starstruck. I got a note from Pat of Bumfuzzle and Live on the Margin fame. He had some kind words of encouragement for us so that was nice.

I got in a good hour of reading his book on the bus today. I finished the chapter on swing trading and began the chapter on trading fades.

We also read another great chapter of South from Alaska.

April got a quote from a handyman for helping out with some of our more involved projects to fix up the house and I was actually pleasantly surprised.

-27.5 @ 243.6

Tidying up

We have been so busy lately trying to figure out how to sell our house. Are we crazy for trying to do it ourselves? I look at the steps involved and it doesn't seem so hard, but then the execution of it is daunting! But really...is hiring someone worth close to $10,000? That is a lot of boat re-fitting we could do. I'm also pretty freaked out by the thought of having to keep this place clean all of the time. Anyone who has ever lived with me, or even come over to my house for that matter, knows that I'm not naturally the most tidy person in the world, and that was even before I had two young girls to help me clutter it up. How do tidily-challenged, busy moms do this? I need some advice!

One piece that is coming along nicely is the website. Jacob did a beautiful job with it. We just have a few more pictures and details to add to it and it will be done!

Here are some recent pictures of the girls, just for fun:

Audrey at her 1st day of Eldorables

Audrey at the Boat Show

1/16

Got to spend another pleasant hour on the bus with Live on the Margin.  I love about this book that it is very concrete and specific in its recommendations.  That's pretty unusual in trading books in my experience.

Audrey did great with lesson 52.

1/15

I'm starstruck. I got a note from Pat of Bumfuzzle and Live on the Margin fame. He had some kind words of encouragement for us so that was nice.

I got in a good hour of reading his book on the bus today. I finished the chapter on swing trading and began the chapter on trading fades.

We also read another great chapter of South from Alaska.

April got a quote from a handyman for helping out with some of our more involved projects to fix up the house and I was actually pleasantly surprised.

-27.5 @ 243.6

1/14

I picked up a bunch of stuff we need for the house fix-up list: a light fixture for the kitchen; towel ring for the upstairs bathroom; slides for the kitchen drawer; locking knob for the front door; flat white interior paint.

Audrey did a great job with lessons 50 and 51 tonight. We've finally broken out of the morse code business from the first 50 lessons.

My withholding went up $3900 this year. Can't wait to stop working for a paycheck...

1/13

I did some more research on Vancouvers today. They seem like very nice passage-makers.

Also did some more tasks in preparation for a showing next weekend. With each showing we get the place gradually more ship-shape. By spring it should be just about ready.

Here's the kanban we're using:

1/12

We went to the boat show. As expected there wasn't a whole lot to see, but it was fun anyway. The only sail boat was a Precision 23, which was cute. The most exciting thing to happen was undoubtedly when Audrey was picked from the crowd of something like 100 kids to hold Twiggy the water-skiing squirrel.

We also got a call from another person interested in seeing the house, which provided the motivation for me to put on a burst of housework in preparation. If nothing else we should have new, improved pictures to post soon.

1/11

I'm sick today.

Audrey worked on lesson 50. She was doing great and then just got frustrated with herself. I'm not sure what's going on exactly. Will have to consider how to proceed.

Boat show tomorrow.

-25, 246.2

1/10

Spent another quality hour with Pat and Nick today.  I need to write up some notes on their strategies.

Audrey struggled a bit with lesson 49.  Honestly I think she was just too tired.  She is such a determined little thing though.  I had to command her to set it aside and do some coloring.

Time to wind down with a nice chapter from South from Alaska...

247.5

1/9

Oh, I'm late for bed, but have good progress to report on several fronts.  Audrey did a a great job with the latest lesson in TYCTR this evening.  We've read another chapter from South from Alaska and find it not only beautifully written but incredibly motivating and inspiring.  I was able to forge ahead in Live on the Margin with a good 75 minutes on the bus today.  I also finally cracked open The Homeschooling Book of Answers, which my good Raothbardian pal, Whitney gave us and also found it most encouraging and motivating.  And finally, a third good weigh-in in a row this morning.  Good night!

-24 @ 247.2

1/8

Making good progress getting the office show-able upstairs. We did the next two lessons in TYCTR. We read another chapter of South from Alaska.

-23 @ 248.1

1/7

We took the girls swimming today and did laps on the water slide. It was lots of fun and great confidence-building for them. Audrey's really impressing me with her solo sliding. She comes off the bottom into water too deep to stand, is momentarily submerged, and pops up laughing and swimming for the ladder to go again. It's just a matter of time until she realizes that Mom or Dad waiting at the bottom is only a formality. Lorelei is crazy for the slide too and but demonstrates a comforting degree of reserve about approaching it alone, in contrast to her pattern of plunging in unhesitatingly at Thanksgiving.

Audrey did lesson 47 or thereabouts in TYCTR.

We read several chapters of South from Alaska, by Mike Litzow, about his family's first expedition from Kodiak to Australia, with their infant son (which they subsequently repeated with another infant son!). It's beautifully written, and especially interesting to us, not only because of the special place AK holds in our hearts, but because Mike's nephew is a schoolmate of Audrey's.

-22.4 @ 248.7

1/6

Worked on the last of the office shelving mess and made it worse in the process. One foot in front of the other...

252.4

1/5

We got our improved photos of the girls' rooms up and have been reading more of Live on the Margin.

My weight has been problematic. I'm back up to 250. I may have to actually start getting some exercise besides the simple calorie reduction I've pursued until now.

Happy Anniversary to us!

Our 9th anniversary! We've been adventurers from the start. From Y Tu Mama Tambien and planning our first drive to AK on our first date; to our first long drive together, to Thunder Bay; to our surprise weekend in Cabo, en la Casa Mananitas, when we witnessed a solar eclipse sinking into the Pacific; to our drive and train trip to Moosonee and Moose Factory, when we hired a taxi to take us to the dump to see the bears; to our drive out to Caniapiscau, when we spent the night in an abandoned hunting lodge, and had Mom and Dad call the Mounties out to look for us when we were late returning; to our first drive to AK, when I proposed in the Yukon, and we saw wild herds of buffalo along the road in BC, more bears and eagles then we could count, herds of Musk oxen and Caribou on the tundra north of the Brooks Range, paid $5 for a gallon of gas before paying $5 was an everyday thing in the Lower 48, and waded in the Arctic Ocean at Prudhoe Bay; to our wedding in Tulum; to our return to AK to live in Girdwood, then Juneau, then Anchorage, with all the attendant Dahl sheep, beluga and humpback whales, moose, brown and black bears, orcas, spawning zombie salmon and aurora; to our move to Nederland. It's really just inevitable that we should cruise, isn't it?

moments after Jacob proposed on our way to Alaska in the Yukon Territory

Miss Unicornia Fancy Pants

I was reading an old article on SAILfeed about naming your boat, and it started a big discussion between me and Jacob. It felt just like we were pregnant again, and trying to name our new little girl before she got here. We did a lot of throwing out names and either vetoing them immediately or putting them on a favorites list. I think we must have each suggested more then 50 names. We realized that we like names in Spanish (everything is just a little prettier in Spanish), or that are a little fantastical or whimsical or silly (in honor of our silly, fantasical and whimsical little girls that will be living aboard with us), or we like the little girl names we had for our babies that didn't quite make it, but still hold a special place. 

Here is our short list:
Unicornia
Fancy Pants
Sprite
Lark
Starship

Who knows with us though...we are always changing our minds :). Which is your favorite? Any other ideas that fit with our likes, and the rules of naming a boat?

Isn't this one pretty? I think she looks like a Lark

1/2

I put more of dent in Live on the Margin today. It's a great book. Pat and Nick have an uncommon amount of common sense and a great talent for delivering simultaneously prodigious doses of realism and optimism.

Celebrating

Christmas Eve with Great Grandma Verna

We have been doing a ton of celebrating lately! We had a couple of Christmas parties with friends, a big Christmas Eve party at my Aunt Danielle and Uncle Jim's house. It was really great! The next day we had Christmas dinner with my mom, stepdad and brother. Then for New Years Eve we had our good friends Josh and Alyssa up for fondue with their sweet little boys. Thankfully my girls LOVE to party. I think they could keep going and going. Jacob and I are both pretty pooped out though. Jacob is definitely fantasizing about Christmas on Christmas Island next year (he is a little more introverted :)) . Here are some photos from our fun-filled holidays:

Lorelei with Uncle Jim

Getting fancy with cousin Zach

Christmas morning

couldn't wait to put her new dress-up clothes on

making scones with Daddy on Christmas morning

Christmas Dinner

Happy New Years!

1/1

We got some nice new pictures of the girls' rooms for the house site, though we haven't gotten them posted yet. Audrey did a great job with whatever lesson it was that we did in TYCTR. Still really enjoying Live on the Margin.

Blogging is kind of a crazy thing. You can never make any assumptions about who might of might not be reading...

12/31/2011

We cleaned up Audrey's room, which was the last of our unaddressed persistent messes. It's actually never been truly clean since we moved in. Her closet especially. Nice to have that out of the way and very helpful for showing...

Here are my resolutions for 2013:

1. To eliminate all our debt -- no mortgage, no unsecured credit, no student loans. We want to cast off free of financial obligations.

2. To get to 200 pounds. That should be do-able. Since 9/10, when I weighed 271.2, I've averaged .23 pounds per day. To get to 200 by 2014, I'll have to do at least .12 pounds per day. When I strap into the bosun's chair, I don't want to wonder if the line will hold.

3. To continue to take concrete steps daily toward our goal, and to continue to be accountable to the blog for reporting those steps.

-25.9 @ 245.3 (38.7 off my all-time high of 284)