Oregon Vaughns

I should be getting stuff done, but why not a blog post?

Andy and I have given up sweets.  Last time we gave up sweets and wanted to go 1 year.  We made it 6 months, found out I was pregnant, and fell off the wagon.  Well, now we are back at it.  No more offering us sugar-filled foods.

I went to the dentist today – a new dentist – to find out that my gums are good (due to my obsession with flossing) and my teeth suck (due to sucky teeth and bad fillings).  More work to follow, I am sure.

We have a new living room:  new couches and a new flat screen TV (all hand-me-downs from my parents).  I will take pictures soon once we have it organized.

Sad to say:  I am addicted to Ikea.  I had a great day trip to Portland the other day with Melissa.  She, Lily and I went to Ikea.  I fell inlove.  The next time I find $1500 laying around, I am going to redecorate our entire house.  I know I could easily do it with that budget at Ikea.

Stocks I own:  E-trade & Jamba Juice

Stocks I wish I owned:  Apple, Netflix, IBM, Macy’s

Andy has asked me to read The 4-Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss.  I think we (I) have mentioned it before and maybe even shared an excerpt.  Well, it is an enjoyable book and is worth reading.  Mainly I would say it is worth reading because it shows a new perspective about the role of “work” and it suggests new ways of thinking.

Andy and I are not the type of people to get a job, work at it for 40 years, then retire.  That just isn’t us.  Doesn’t work for the type of life-style we want.  We need alternative options.

Here is an excerpt from the book about the idea of retirement:

“Retirement as a goal or final redemption is flawed for at least three solid reasons:

1. It is predicated on the assumption that you dislike what you are doing during the most physically capable years of your life.  This is a nonstarter — nothing can justify that sacrifice.”
2. Most people will never be able to retire and maintain even a hotdogs-for-dinner standard of living.  Even one million is chump change in a world where traditional retirement could span 30 years and inflation lowers your purchasing power 2-4% per year.  The math doesn’t work.  The golden years become lower-middle-class life revisited.  That’s a bittersweet ending.
3. If the math does work, it means that you are one ambitious, hardworking machine.  If that’s the case, guess what?  One week into retirement, you’ll be so damn bored that you’ll want to stick bicycle spokes in your eyes.  You’ll probably opt to look for a new job or start another company.  Kinda defeats the purpose of waiting, doesn’t it?”

Andy is playing his video game (Oblivion for xbox 360) and I decided to write a little blog post about something I was thinking.

I hate dirty hands, or anything being on my hands for that matter.  My hands cannot be sticky, dirty, or even wet.  My hands must be clean and dry.  It makes me crazy if they aren’t.  This makes me a terrible cook — I constantly have to rinse and dry my hands as soon as I touch anything.  I don’t know why this is — always been that way.  I even fear soap being left behind on my hands… sometimes to the point of not being able to use soap and just washing with hot water.

Weird, huh?

Well, not really… But, if you were to look into our living room, you might think so!

No couch and no TV!  Yikes!

The TV was sold today for $80.  Thanks craigslist.  The couch was marked “FREE” and put on the curb (also a free ad was posted on craigslist).  No luck getting rid of the couch, which surprised me.  Last time I gave away a broken vacuum – it was gone in 5 minutes.  I will try again tomorrow.

Before selling the TV, I was trying to locate the remote.  No luck.  As most of you know, remotes are Lily’s favorite toys.  If you were 11 months old (by the way, Happy 11 Month Birthday Lily), where would you hide a remote?  Lorna, my dad, and I looked forever.  Again, no luck.  Finally my dad asked me if I had to pick a place, where would it be???  The couch.  It would have to be in the couch (this was all before I put it outside for free).  But, we had already looked through all of the cushions and felt in the sides.

My dad’s genuis idea:  lift up the couch and tilt it.  If we hear clanking, we will know that it is in the couch, not just tucked under the cushions.  So, my dad lifted the couch, gave a shake… and… KA-THUNK. WHOA!  What is in there?

• One of Lily’s missing socks
• My TI 89 Calculator that I lost 2 years ago (cost me $130 to replace)
• The remote we were looking for
• A different remote
• Andy’s sports watch
• A baby blanket
• A few pens
• A DVD

Wow!  Hopefully this motivates some of you to check inside your couch.  Glad I did this all before I tried to give it away.

Here are some Lily photos.  Again, Happy 11 Month Birthday Sweet Girl

Lily spent the afternoon dragging around these three toothbrushes (from a hotel).  She knew she had three.  If she dropped one, she would back-track to find it.  She just crawled around with all three in hand.  She was so proud.

Lily’s new firetruck:

We love her so!

“I am an emotional wreck.”