alindsey75

Just got back from Peru- amazing how quickly the little Spanish I know just clicks in automatically when that is the only language spoken. I learned more phrases and vocabulary over the 2 weeks I was there, but more importantly it inspired me again to work on this goal.

So, my husband wanted goats. I said no a hundred times, then decided to just look into it. Next thing I know I’m bringing home 2 adorable miniature female goats (read: miniature and female was the only way I would consider it). Their names are Trixie and Pixie. Now they share the yard with the dog and the chickens- YES, we are within the Seattle Municipal code limits for animals at our house. Believe it or not you can have small livestock and chickens in Seattle (up to 4). Anway- there goes my landscaping idea for now. I think I need a landscape specialist for people with goats, chickens, and dogs to come help me with the yard- anyone know anyone? :)

My husband and I had this rare opportunity to buy our neighbors house from him- under the table- before it went on the market. The beauty of this was that it came with renters. We had lived next to the renters for 3 years already (the owner moved out 3 years ago) and knew they were great people. We didn’t have to worry about finding renters. We also didn’t raise the rent on them, though we lose about $150 cash flow/ month. Hey, but you know what? We’ve crunched the numbers, and having low rent, great renters, and NO VACANCY is way better in the long run. The house will appreciate a minimum of $12K a year, which is $1000/month- so what’s a $150? We also get to write off the depreciation of the house (as in the structure, not market value) off our taxes- it’s a good gig all around. To be fair, I think we were REALLY LUCKY- don’t know if we could’ve done this any other way.