More mess

13Mar

So I got home yesterday and found that the absence of dog damage was short lived. There was another small chunk out of the drywall under the front window. Also the new temperature sensor I just attached outside must have fallen down. Sadie evidently saw this as a sign from the gods that it needed to be chewed on. I called Sadie over to the window. She slunk over, already knowing what was coming. I pointed to the damage, which admittedly was pretty minor and said in my stern voice, NAUGHTY! Sadie scurried away and steered clear of me for awhile until I made her supper.

I called Ali and gave her the news. She wasn’t happy to hear that Sadie relapsed into her destructive ways. I told Ali that Sadie is running out of opportunities to prove herself before she is going to find herself in a cage anytime we are not home. Ali hates the idea of crating her. I’m not crazy about the idea myself but it’s better than coming home each day having to worry about what got destroyed this time around.

My mom is going to come over this weekend for a visit. She hasn’t met Sadie yet and I need to do her taxes so it’s a good excuse to get her out to the house.

Last night after work instead of relaxing I ran the carpet cleaner. With my mom coming over and more company coming down the following weekend I wanted to get the recent carpet stains taken care of. The machine did a good job.

I got these special band aids for the areas that were burned off. They are supposed to be extra sticky so they don’t come off. I figured with me going to the gym they would be a good idea. Well they certainly do their job, perhaps a little too well at that. Ripping off the band aids before taking a shower was painful. It looked like it took the top layer of skin with it.

My new bike was supposed to be delivered yesterday but there was no one home to sign for it. I’m going to just go to the UPS warehouse and pick it up myself today during the day.

I was doing some more reading about the imminent release of the new Camaro. Evidently they have started production and the first pre-ordered cars should start hitting the streets during the next couple weeks. I read different accounts of dealer experiences when trying to pre-order a car. Some dealers were trying to pack anywhere from $2500 up to 10k on top of the sticker price while others were content with simply charging MSRP for the vehicle. Needless to say I would not buy from a dealer that tried to pull that sort of shit.

I was thinking about the hypothetical choice of going with a tamer V6 model or the hell on wheels SS model. I think if I do get the opportunity to actually get a Camaro I would kick myself if I didn’t get an SS. Like I said it would be a once in a lifetime car for me, I should get a beast. Of course this is all pie in the sky thoughts for now. I certainly wouldn’t be the type to rush out to a dealer and snag a car during the initial frenzy.

I have still been on a holding pattern with the mortgage refinance. I have been waiting for 30 year rates to dip back into the 4’s. Well it hasn’t happened so I haven’t pulled the trigger. I was running the numbers and comparing the payment difference between a loan at 4.5% and a loan at 5.125% . The difference with the amount we would loan is about $75 a month, not a huge deal. I guess I need to talk to Ali some more about it and see how she feels about pulling the trigger at the current rates.

2010 Camaro release

5 comments

Joe March 13, 2009 at 4:08 pm

We just refinanaced from 6.25% down to 4.8% which is saving us over $200/month on our mortgage.

Duf March 13, 2009 at 4:55 pm

Well we would be rolling some other stuff into the refinance that in total would save us around $900 a month. the catch is we would be extending the mortgage term back to 30 years…

Missie March 13, 2009 at 5:20 pm

A couple of things…..

1. The pet stores have a spray to keep dogs from chewing. You might want to try it. You spray it where ever you think the dog might chew. It’s a very bitter taste if they even put their tongue on it. It does work. I’ve used it.

2. I understand refinacing, but why would you refinace back to a 30 year mortage? You’d be starting all over. If your going to refinace, you should never do it unless you can refinance at the lower rate of course, with the bills you want to add and the most, no more than 15 years if your payment is still less than what it is now.

Duf March 13, 2009 at 5:37 pm

See above. The $900 a month savings gives us big flexibility if needed. We also have the ability to overpay on the note if we want to. I’m not really sure what I want to do.

My current mortgage is an ARM that happens to be quite low right now (4%) because of the current interest rate situation. However if rates would go up again we could get slammed. This would be a fixed rate refinance.

The ideal thing would be to somehow bust down the equity line that we have open. Doing so would offer us similar savings without the term penalty.

Ali March 13, 2009 at 7:25 pm

Good news – the girlie girls were perfect angels today while I was away (with multiple opportunities for potential mishaps that I forgot about). Sweet little cherub love bugs. And the spot on the wall is really SO small. She’ll learn.