Festivities and madness

I was just thinking about holidays and parties.  When I was a kid, I couldn't wait to grow up and host parties.  My aunt was the perfect hostess.  It seemed like she knew how to do everything-make the perfect cocktails, exotic dishes, her decorations were charming and elegant.  She made Martha Stewart look like an eastern bloc haus frau.  My mom's specialty was Christmas.  I remember she hosted my youth group's Christmas party one year.  It was way cool, still tops the charts in my books.

So here I am, knocking ever so gently on 40's door, with my own 9 year old about to be 10 year old and Christmas less than a month away.  Last year, I did the big birthday party at my house with all the people.  I was pooped.  It didn't seem like it was really up to my aunt's standards, I don't know, I was too stressed to really enjoy it for myself.  Javy was happy, that's all that counts.  This year, I'm thinking simple, dinner at Wrangler's while Javy gets lavished with attention.  

So that got me to thinking, duh, my aunt was probably freaking out on the inside, too.  My mom obviously has been scarred by her past successes, because she's perfectly content to be a hermit and never socialize, again.  So I should never give up on my pursuit of making others have the time of their lives.  I'm still going simple for Javy's birthday, though.

But Christmas....  I just can't control that urge to go all out, no matter how much it hurts.  And just like Clark Griswald Sr, I'm gonna need a lot of help from Jack Daniels.  

Sometimes, all it takes is some luck and a smile

First the excuses for neglecting my blog....  I could say that I've been really really busy!  We're in the process of buying a house,  I work a crazy shift at work and don't get off until 1130, home at 1230 and still have to get up at 530 to get Javy ready for school...  But whatever, I'm no busier than anyone else, really!   I think the real reason is that my iMac keyboard broke and I have to type this with Javy's Crayola keyboard.  The keys are not like a regular keyboard and it likes to add frivolous characters.  For a typing purist, this is painful, but on with the blogging.

I decided to buy a house this year, Javy needs stability.  Since we've moved to Kauai, we've moved 3 times.  Since he's only going to get bigger and heavier, I need to start thinking about having a place that is accessible for him.  So the search began around July.   I started researching assistance with housing for people with disabilities.  I came across the USDA's rural loan program and from there I got the ball rolling.  The lady from the USDA sent me a chart of banks who had successfully completed their loan process.  I picked 3 of the lenders and contacted them to get pre-approval letters for no apparent reason other than they were successful according to the USDA's chart.  This is how I met Doug Henderson at Central Pacific.  You see, I am not a bank's dream client.  My income is just above poverty level, I have no money to put down and my credit score is amusing, to say the least.  The USDA's loan program gives me a little boost and my credit score was above their minimum.  Its kind of like having big brother back you up so that banks will feel more comfortable giving you money.  But still, I think that most banks would have sent me packing because I would have required extra work.  Doug has gotten to know us and he took on the challenge.  He didn't just see us as numbers.

Meanwhile, I had found a home, I thought might be perfect for us in Kekaha.  I contacted Sleeping Giant Realty via e-mail because I don't like to talk on the phone unless I have to.  Not sure why I contacted them, except that they had a really great website.  Martie Law called me back and I felt really comfortable talking to her.  She is awesome.  She set up some appointments for usto see some homes in Kekaha.  They were all duds.  Javy even started crying in the first house, I took this as a cue to get the heck out of there.  We moved the search a little further east- I chose three houses, two of them I just knew could be the ones-in Waimea and Kalaheo.  The were old farmhouses with lots of land around them, I was sure that Javy should be a country boy.  The third was a random one in Hanapepe Heights.  I never really liked it up there because the houses seemed so close together, but why not, it was in our price range and then I could only prove my dislike for Hanapepe Heights.

Long story short, old farmhouses need a lot of work.  The house in Hanapepe Heights is awesome.  It`s level so there's no need for a ramp.   It's a nice open living area so Javy can wheel himself around and the bathroom is a good size.  I am not a rocket scientist but I think that this was a good deal.  So with Doug's careful orchestration, we've made it through the loan approval process and we're just waiting on the USDA to give us their kiss of approval.  House warming party is pending.