Dear Xanga,

Sorry, but I’m just not feelin’ it. I think my blogging days are at an end. I may just keep the one I set up at LiveJournal. It’s not you, it’s me. I miss the old Xanga. I’d say we could be friends, and let’s stay in touch, but we both know that never works out.

I went today to have a biopsy on a nodule on my thyroid. I will post next week when I get the results. The radiologist said most of the time they are benign. I’m hoping for that

The Dave Ramsey course is going well. Roger is in this with me and is participating more than I expected.

I also hired a trainer. That is working out well. I’ve regained almost all the range of motion in my right shoulder – it was never back to 100% after my last bout with frozen shoulder. I’ve also lost some upper body mass 1″ each off my waist and bust. Not bad for just 5 weeks work!

I signed up for “Financial Peace University” after talking with Roger about wanting to get control of our spending so we can retire someday. Tonight is our first class. I’ve already done a few things to prepare. I’m following Dave Ramsey’s “Baby Steps” – step one is to put aside a $1,000 emergency fund. Done. Step 2 is to begin the debt snowball. I’ve already paid off our smallest debts and will start the real “snowball” in October. I have a couple of high balance credit cards (over $10K) plus the Durango and Dart (both new this year) and the new travel trailer to pay off. I’m thinking this will take about 2 1/2 to 3 years. Then I’ll start paying down the mortgage. Wherever that may be.

Because…

I listed our house for sale, as the housing market is improving a lot in this area. My house is now worth quite a bit more than I paid for it. We are going to downsize – we’ve found a few houses we like.

One is about 2500 sq ft. 4 br with 2.5 bathrooms, full finished basement, nice double deck, pool, patio, 3 acres, house built in 1995 (my favorite of the two)
The other is 1700 sq ft 3 br with 3.5 bathrooms, full finshed basement, nice deck, patio, just over 1/2 acre built in 2001

We had made an offer on one before we saw these two. Fortunately, the bank came back with a counter offer, so we could withdraw our offer and not lose our deposit.

When I say downsize – my current home is 3300 sq ft with a 1500 sq ft finished basement, 4 br, 3 full and 2 half baths, deck, just under 1/2 acre. Taxes are ~$5,000/year The other two houses taxes are MUCH less. We’re talking about a savings of about $500/month with a new lower mortgage and lower taxes. Even with a 15-year mortgage.

I spoke to a financial adviser yesterday who is very familiar with Dave’s program and said because of our age we should also continue saving for retirement. I stopped contributing to my 401(k) but am considering contributing this year to a Roth IRA. That’s if our combined income isn’t too high. Our base income falls under the limit, but if Roger works a lot of overtime, we’re over the limit. Anyway the financial adviser is going to do some calculations and tell us how realistic our retirement dreams are (based on how much they say we need to put aside!)

Amazing to think that three years ago I didn’t have a bit of debt.

I wonder if I have to pay to change my site or anything. I haven’t paid, nor did I donate. I honestly didn’t expect Xanga to survive so I started a journal on LiveJournal. I may stick with the new Xanga, though.

Dave Ramsey is my new hero.

I love his quote, “people spending money they don’t have to buy things they don’t need to impress people they don’t like” to sum up what happens when people allow themselves to indulge in their ‘high credit score’.

I looked around my house, my closet, my garage and realized that I don’t need a 5000 sq ft house, I don’t need 40 pairs of shoes, I don’t need 40 purses, I don’t need a particular skirt in 6 colors, I don’t need 18 pairs of Not Your Daughter’s Jeans… the list goes on.

I also don’t need my 6-figure debt load.  Or my high 5-figure credit card limits.  

I am going to pay off all of my debt and pay cash for everything.  I am going to start by selling this house. I talked to a realtor yesterday and found out that in a comparative analysis my house is worth almost $100K more than I thought it would be worth and $60K more than I paid for it just over three years ago.  It’s fortunate that I live in a highly desirable subdivision in this town.  Lots of doctors move here because of the great hospital campus we have a couple miles from here.

We are looking at buying a house that cost HALF of what I paid for this one – and putting down a substantial amount of money.  We’ll get a 15-year mortgage and try to pay it off in five years.  My plan is to be completely debt-free in five years.

I’m going to also invest in a Roth IRA.  This will be money I’ve already paid taxes on so when it comes time to withdraw, it will be tax free at that time.  My goal is to retire in ten years and maintain my lifestyle.  I’ve seen a lot of people who didn’t prepare for their retirement who lost everything because they couldn’t make it on just their social security checks (which were never intended to be anyone’s sole source of income in the first place!)

When I was buying this house, a friend asked me “Why are you buying such a big house?”  And I answered “Because I can.”  That is the DUMBEST reason to buy anything!

 

 

Adopted from Tyche who adopted it from AmyinVA:

What was the last thing you put in your mouth? Pinwheel cookie (haven’t had one of those in a long long time!)

Have you ever kissed anyone named Matthew? Probably

Where was your profile picture taken? Right after our chorus contest in April at the hotel where we were all staying.

Can you play guitar hero? I‘ve tried it. Like just playing a real guitar better.

Name someone that made you laugh today? Roger

How late did you stay up last night and why? About 1:30 am. After a very successful reunion where we invited all the classes from 1970 through 1979, had the reunion committee over for a barbecue and music and drinks. The last guest left shortly after 1am.

If you could move somewhere else, would you? Looking at houses now. Looking to downsize. Want smaller house with more property and no neighborhood association. Hope to move before Winter.

Ever been kissed under fireworks? Probably

Which of your friends lives closest to you? Mike and Mary

Do you believe ex’s can be friends? Yes. Mac and I are still friends.

How do you feel about Dr Pepper? Don’t drink regular, but sugar free doctor pepper was the first diet drink that I thought didn’t taste like diet pop.

When was the last time you cried really hard? The day my sister Melanie passed away.

Where are you right now? In my office, sitting at my ‘gaming’ computer.

What bed did you sleep in last night? Roger’s and mine.

What was the last thing someone bought for you for dinner? Just got back from Red Robin where I had a crispy chicken sandwich, fries and a strawberry lemonade.

Who took your profile picture? Roger

Who was the last person you took a picture of? Roger

Was yesterday better than today? Yesterday was different from today. Not better or worse.

Can you live a day without TV? I could live the rest of my life without TV.

Are you mad about anything? No.

Are you upset about anything? No.

Do you think relationships are ever really worth it? Absolutely. No relationship is a piece of cake. They all take work on both sides. Good relationships are worth working toward.

Are you a bad influence? No. Unless I’m with a group of friends who are dieting. Then I’m a horrible influence.

Night out or night in? Night in, after dinner out.

What items could you not go without during the day? Something to connect me – either my computer, my Kindle Fire or my phone.

Who was the last person you visited in the hospital? Sheri’s mom, a few days before she passed away.

What does the last text message in your inbox say? “Sorry we couldn’t make it last night. My daughter was having a panic attack, and we ended up taking her to ER because we didn’t know what was wrong.”

How do you feel about your life right now? Life is very good.

Do you hate anyone? The worst thing one can feel for another human being is apathy. I feel that for a lot of people, but hate? No.

If we were to look in your xanga inbox, what would we find? Not much. Mostly ‘where to contact me should Xanga fail’ messages.

Say you were given a drug test right now, would you pass? Yes.

Has anyone ever called you perfect before? Not likely

What song is stuck in your head? Hallelujah by K.D. Lang

Someone knocks on your window at 2am, who do you want it to be? I sleep next to the only person I want to see at 2 a.m.

Wanna have grandkids before you’re 50? Since I’m well past that and have no natural children, I would say it is highly unlikely. However, I do have step grandkids already.

Name something you have to do tomorrow? Work (from home)

Do you think too much or too little? Too little. I do everything with as little effort as possible. Playing games, for example, if they require too much thought, I don’t bother.

Do you smile a lot? When I’m around other people, I do. Alone, maybe on the inside, but rarely on the outside.

Who was your last missed call on your Mobile phone? The same person who sent me the text about missing my party last night.

Is there something you always wear? My medical ID.

What were you doing 30 minutes ago? Reading Xanga

Did you have an exciting last weekend? Every weekend in the summer is exciting! I haven’t had a ‘free’ weekend since April!

Have you ever crawled through a window? Yes.

Have you ever dyed your hair? Yes.

Are you wearing a necklace? Not today.

Are you an emotional person? Not really.

What’s something that can always make you feel better? My husband and my dog.

Will this weekend be a good one? It was a great weekend.

What do you want right now? To take a nap, which I think I’ll do as soon as I finish this survey.

Have you ever worn the opposite sex’s clothing? Yes.

Have you ever worked in a food place? Yes

What’s on your schedule for tomorrow? Work.

Does anyone know your Xanga password? No

If you haven’t seen the video of the new Xanga site, please go view it.

I think I’ll be sticking with Xanga.  I will copy my Livejournal posts over to Xanga 2.0

I guess if I can pay to play World of Warcraft, I can pay to blog.  Hopefully I’ll see you all over there!

This will likely be my last post, although I will still come in every day and read and comment.  I have been looking at other online ‘journal’ type sites and I think I’m going to go with livejournal.  It most resembles the things I like about Xanga.  I just can’t see paying to blog.

So if you’re inclined to follow, I’ll be at sherylj.livejournal.com

I’ll continue checking in here until “here” no longer exists.

It occurred to me that I have only met two Xangans in person – one I knew before Xanga, one I met after Xanga: @Tyche (whom I met online in another community) and @nevragn – who I met here when I had my “NotMarthaStewart” blog when I was doing a “clean sweep” of my house.  We’ve met up for dinner a few times when I’ve had to drive past her town, and consider her to be a good friend

Some Xangans I would like to meet are:

@ToastedNuts – because I’ve known her since before Xanga, and she allowed me to use her employee discount to buy my Mustang in 2002

@DMO224 – who seems to have disappeared

@Gneiss_Guy – just because he’s a nice guy

@Megabyyte – because she is so pure of heart and just an all around nice person.  

@AmyinVA – we’ve been online friends for so long and have exchanged Christmas cards – I feel like I already know her.

@maggie70 – because she’s just so damn smart  And I’m talking about wisdom from living, not from a book.

@Dippity – because I love her ‘no BS – take no prisoners’ attitude!

There are others, but these are the ones I can think of off the top of my head.

Who would you like to meet?

 

 

 

O. M. G.

I am on a committee that is putting together what we are calling the “Reunion of the Decade” for people who attended our high school in the 70s.  There are lots of threads in the group on Facebook  and I follow it very closely.  One guy, whom I really don’t know (although I do know his two older sisters – one was a class before mine and one was the class after mine), asked me if my husband was the same Roger who lived next door to “Carters”.  He said that when he was 12 and Roger was 16, Roger sucker-punched him.  And he is still so pissed off about it he was posting tons of venom!  I couldn’t believe it!

Here are some of the posts:

Bill:  is your husband the same roger Johnson who lived next to the carters??? if so, tell him i still owe him a sucker punch to the gut!! like he did me when i was 12 and he was 16!! can’t wait to see em!!! is your husband the same roger Johnson who lived next to the carters??? if so, tell him i still owe him a sucker punch to the gut!! like he did me when i was 12 and he was 16!! can’t wait to see em

Bill: i’m kidding… the past is the past….ha!! i’m just being silly!!! he did do this thou….

Me: Bill must be a different one. His neighbors weren’t named Carter. Did you live on E___ Rd by any chance?

Bill: YES I DID… SANDY IS MY SISTER…oop’s..caps haha!!

Bill: did he live by w____ lake??

Me: Did you run around with Denny, Roger’s older brother?

Bill: i say this because your husband looks like what he would look like now & no i did not hang with Denny,but i know of him.

Me: They lined next door to C____. You might be thinking of Ronnie. I think Roger is younger than you.

Bill: c_____!!! ok…YES… Ronnie was an asshole…sorry i don’t like the guy!!

Bill: roger was mona’s age…

Bill: he’s the same guy…no doubt….

Bill: i’m 53 now.

Bill: i’m cool…like i said…”the past is the past”. i just want to confirm …why he did it…that’s all… i ran into randy H years ago at pine knob…..and put the fear into him….(i was in my 20′s & looking to get even..i said he was an asshole & forgave him….today….who cares……it’s over. i just want answers to …WHY??)

Me: He said he doesn’t remember. We were both class of 74. I think Sandy was a year older and Ramona a year younger.

Me: He said it sounded mmore like something Randy H would do.

Bill: and ronnie….they put him up to it!! i know…they were around the courner….watching!! yes….i have him to thank for me watching out for people who can’t protect them selfs….i will step in….

Me: Ronnie would have been 15 years older than you. Roger thought you were the one that his older brother Denny hung out with. Denny would have been class of 69, Ronnie was a couple years older than Denny.

Bill: that was Robbie who is 60 mow….Ronnie is Robbie’s age…6 yrs older than me. i see your husband play’s guitar’s….teach me fool!!

Bill: btw…i’m left handed!!

Me: Oh, you must be talking about Ronnie C, not Roger’s brother

Bill: was my posts that messed up….ronnie c no!!…not denny  no!!…..i’m talking about YOUR HUSBAND” ROGER!!! Damn…now i’m getting pissed again!!! f73K the others… your husband “hit ” me!! IT’S HIM THAT I WANT ANSWERS FROM!!! HIM!!!

Bill: sorry…stop protecting him, i know he remembers….if he say’s no…..he;s lying!!

Bill: i’m done with this….

Dixie: This probably is not the best place to discuss 40 year old grievances, is it? Maybe Bill should send Roger a private message.

Bill: Dixie…piss off…. did you get punched?? i deleted alot of …hate…let’s not go there!! i will speak my mind where ever i want!!! it not your business!!

Me: Agree Dixie I didn’t ‘feel’ the venom in these posts. I thought it was mostly banter. Guess I was wrong lol

 

In a separate thread:

Bill: i’m getting upset over …..past thing’s…….now.i had let these things go……only to get worked up about them again…..time to let go…….again……. please….stop talking about it….now…..it make’s me want to get even…which i will never do…….sorry for being rude……:(

[Note, he is the one who started the conversation.]

I’m still shaking my head over this.  Maybe I should start a ranting post about how pissed off I am at a guy named Tony who stole my purse when I was in the kindergarten!  LOL