The Black Friday haul

First off, the refi closed successfully on Tuesday - HUGE relief!

I hope everyone had a sparkling Thanksgiving.  I'm one of those nutcases who goes out shopping in the wee hours of Black Friday every year.  When Mark worked for a big box electronics retailer in the early years of our marriage, I never went shopping because of how crummy the day was for him.  Then in 2009 I started going out by myself for fun and have gone every year since.    That first year I was sort of foolishly thinking that I could waltz into Kohl's shortly after it opened and would get exactly what I wanted.   When the checkout line stretched around the entire store I walked in and walked right out, going instead to other stores in the same plaza and driving out to Cabela's.   After that year I got smart and planned ahead for which stores I would go to, for what deals, and in what order.

This whole "opening on Thanksgiving" business is utter BS and I refuse to shop for Black Friday deals on a holiday.   As someone whose father has always been a restaurant manager (and in his industry always works on Thanksgiving) and whose husband spent a lot of years in retail and had to work this Thanksgiving (albeit with like 2.5 times pay due to the holiday), I believe it's important for those often low-paid service and retail workers to be able to have a real holiday.   (Is this where my brother chimes in and reminds me that as an active duty service member he has duty on his boat on both Thanksgiving and Christmas this year, with no holiday pay to speak of?)

Anyways, I knew I wasn't going out last night.  The only electronics item we really want is an LCD TV and the prices on those are usually best in January/February, so we're waiting on that.

I dragged my tired carcass out of bed at 4 when my alarm went off.  It was challenging, and in a future post I'll elaborate on why, but I made it happen.  I got dressed and out the door by around 4:15.

Target
I arrived at around 4:25 AM and parked in the second space from the door.  The employees said that it had been an absolute madhouse at 9 PM when they opened, but most people were there for the electronics doorbusters.  They still had some of them - I very nearly walked out with a 40" LCD TV, but decided that moving it myself was not advisable at the moment.

I had planned to pick up mostly housewares and maybe some toys and clothes.  I managed to get nearly everything on my list, and because it was between 4-10 AM and I spent at least $50 on items in certain categories, I got a Target gift card for my trouble.   I used my beloved debit RedCard and got another 5% off my whole purchase!

• 16 piece Corelle dish set - winter white frost (I picked up two boxes of these last year and wanted to add to it)
• Memorex DVD player (for the little LCD TV we have in our room - no need for anything fancy)
• Paul Frank fleece pajama pants for me
• Angry Birds toddler pajama set for Lily
• Jenga and Memory games
• Queen size flannel sheets (I love flannel sheets in winter!)
• Graco baby doll accessory play set (not for Christmas - to be Lily's potty training present)

A.C. Moore

I pulled in at 5:03 and got a decent spot.  I was apparently #90 to enter the store and got a $5 gift card.  My sole purpose in going was the 50% off Melissa & Doug.   They had this deal last year and it was awesome for Christmas gift giving and I was psyched to see it again this year.   

Unfortunately I got stuck in line behind two women who were quibbling about their holiday themed duct tape ringing up for 10 cents per roll higher than the advertised price.  One of them was buying an effing Cricut machine (they're not cheap!) and yet demanded that a manager re-ring her order right there rather than having to wait in line.   All to get 10 cents back on each of three rolls of duct tape.  She kept looking back at me and saying, "Sorry, but you understand."  Um, no.  It's THIRTY CENTS, and I will give it to you from my own purse if you'll freaking move along and let me put this heavy basket down!  I was a little disappointed that the manager caved as soon as this shopper expressed an objection to waiting in line - hello, I and others have been waiting in line behind her for a lot longer!  

• Wilton gingerbread man decorating kit
• Melissa & Doug wooden fridge food
• Melissa & Doug wooden pantry products
• Melissa & Doug magnetic dress up dolls
• Melissa & Doug grocery basket
• Melissa & Doug lace & trace shapes
• Melissa & Doug lacing beads (x2)

The lacing beads were all I really needed to find there.  Lily is insistent that Santa is bringing her "a pink lacing" and after some questioning and observation at daycare pickup we discovered that she wants a lacing bead set.   We don't make a big deal about Santa in our house, but the jolly old elf will be bringing the lacing beads!   I picked up two because Mark always gets a ticket from the Giving Tree at his office (he tries to choose a child of the same age/sex as ours).   We like to give several toys and the lacing beads make for a great choice for an older toddler or preschooler.   The rest of it is all for Lily, especially for her play kitchen.  

Lowes

Lowes is in the same plaza as A.C. Moore so I figured I'd stop in.   I just got a few things.

• Two pointsettia plants
• A balsam fir wreath for the front door
• Outdoor power stake with remote (for Mark's lighting display)
• Christmas light storage reel
• Two plastic storage containers (they were a doorbuster BOGO)

I briefly considered a nice looking storage bench but decided against it due to the weight and size of the box.  Then I headed home (with a stop at Dunkin Donuts) and found my family still asleep.  I left the packages in the car and went upstairs for a snuggle with my favorite people and dog, then had my breakfast while Mark got Lily ready for daycare.   When Mark left to drop her off I headed out again to Joann Fabrics.  

Joann Fabrics

I'm sewing matching flannel pajama pants for us and a pajama set for Lily for Christmas morning and needed fabric.  Snuggle flannel solids and prints were on an awesome doorbuster sale this morning but none of it was Christmasy enough so I went with the slightly more-expensive holiday theme flannel.   I had a 25% off coupon for my entire purchase (excluding doorbusters) so the final cost of the flannel was still really good.   When browsing the holiday fabrics I saw a cute panel for a cloth Christmas-theme alphabet book so I got that panel too, and will go back this weekend with another coupon for the batting.

• 7 yards of red and white snowflake flannel
• A Christmas themed cloth book fabric panel 
• 6 yards of 3/4" elastic
• Thread
• A new cold drink cup for work

With that, I headed home, brought all of my treasures into the house, and collapsed on the couch for a 2 hour nap!  Mark was kind enough to wake me up when he left for work.  I'm of half a mind to get the dishwasher and washing machine going and then to run back to Target for a body pillow that looked pretty darned inviting...

The saga of the mortgage refi

Back in August, as we saw mortgage rates dropping, Mark and I discussed the virtue of refinancing.   We bought our house in early 2006 and were fortunate to have a nice 5.125% fixed rate, which at the time was actually below market rates (we were able to take advantage of a first time home buyer program because Mark was working part time while finishing his degree and therefore our income was a hair below the limit).

The problem?  Well, like just about anyone who bought a house in this part of the country between around 2004 and 2008, we bought close to the peak of what we now know was a housing bubble.   We've lost not only the equity that we brought to the purchase (which was not insignificant; we saved for a year while living in a crappy low-rent apartment and living very frugally) but also what we've paid towards principal for the last 6.5 years.   If we had to sell right now we might get what we still owe on it.  Don't get me wrong, I'm glad we have a house that can (barely) accommodate a growing family, and that we can afford; there are a lot of people who aren't as fortunate.   It's just that we planned to stay put for around 5 years, or until after the arrival of our first child, then sell and move up to something bigger and better.   You know, a house with a garage and a fenced in yard for the dog and the kids to play in, and maybe a nice bonus room that we could use for my crafting projects.   Well, in April it will have been 7 years and realistically we're looking at 4-5 minimum before we'll have enough equity to sell and move.  We're basically stuck here for the foreseeable future.

So I was pretty convinced that a refinance wouldn't be possible because we'd have to have the house appraised.  I called our original mortgage broker just to ask - and she told us that we were eligible for an FHA streamline refinance.   Limited documentation and no appraisal, with a sub-4% interest rate and a huge lender credit towards closing?  You could have blown me over with a feather.   Our response: sign us up NOW!  We did have to pull together some pay stubs and bank statements and stuff like that, but nowhere near the level of what was required to get a mortgage the first time around.   Our credit is decent so there were no worries there.  We signed everything and got our 60 day rate lock on September 6th.  

They warned us that it might take a little while because they've been inundated with these refinances with rates where they are right now, but we were assured they'd do everything in their power to get us closed within the 60 days - ideally in late October.  Well, when Halloween arrived it was clear that we would not be closing by late October.   They extended our rate lock in early November and we had to sign a new good faith estimate.   Fine and dandy, we're making progress!   Then on Monday (the 12th) I got the email and phone call that they'd underwritten and approved our loan - and we have to close by the 20th because our rate lock expires on the 26th and there's a 3 day right of rescission that has to fit in between.   Um, OK?   Mark's work schedule isn't that flexible and he already took a day off this week to come with me to a doctor's appointment, but he can try to make it work as long as we have a few days' advance notice.   I can always just take a personal day with pay for stuff like this but I'd rather give my boss a little bit of a heads up.  

So I called the closing administrator on Tuesday and left a message to call me - nothing.   On Wednesday, both of us tried to get ahold of her - again, nothing.   By yesterday I was in a semi-panic - three business days left in which to close and no one's freaking returning our calls!   I finally got in touch and she informed me that they needed a letter, signed by both of us, indicating whether or not the property is currently listed for sale (Captain Obvious, we're doing the streamline because we have no freaking equity - no equity means there's no way we'd be trying to sell it.  But I digress).   This was at 10:15 AM and Mark leaves for work 40 minutes away at 11 AM so time was of the essence; I printed out a one-sentence letter at work and had Mark stop by the office to sign on his way to work, and got it faxed over.   Late in the day the closing administrator contacted the attorney's office to have them schedule the closing.  

The paralegal contacted us this morning - freaking FRIDAY.   Monday and Tuesday are our only options here.   Monday would be nice since it's one of Mark's regular days off, and Tuesday morning would have been almost as good since Mark doesn't leave for work until 11.   Except the attorney's office only had 1 and 1:30 PM free.   Lovely.  We took the 1 PM slot out of sheer terror that if we didn't take it we'd have no other option.   Mark has to burn a half vacation day for the closing, which kind of sucks but will be worth it in the end.  

I swear on a stack of Bibles that if this closing doesn't go through as scheduled, I might sit in the mortgage broker's office and sob.   Loudly.

Oh, how I love my Crock Pot!

Life has been hectic lately - many days I fall asleep on the couch after I get us fed and Lily to bed.   Fortunately it's the best time of year to start using the Crock Pot (insert your preferred slow cooker brand here) to make all kinds of tasty, low-effort meals for the family!   On a cold November day when I've been going nuts at work and I have a hungry little girl to feed, it's so nice to come into the house and smell a delicious stew, soup, or chili that will be ready to eat in minutes.

The first key is slow cooker selection.   I have an actual Crock Pot brand, but there are probably 3-4 different name brand slow cookers on the market.   Prior to this model, we had a very basic Crock Pot that I'd used for around 6-7 years but the crock was getting scratched and more difficult to clean, so I picked my Crock Pot Smart-Pot up at Target on Black Friday two years ago.  I love it because it allows you to set the cooking time and then automatically switches to warming mode.   There are even fancier ones with fully programmable touch screens, but this one gets the job done for us.

I always try to prep my ingredients the night before.  Any cut up meats and veggies go into gallon zipper storage bags, I put spices in a little baggie, and then all I need to do in the morning is dump everything in, add water or broth and any canned goods, and turn on the power.   Even better, I can have Mark do it before he leaves for work if it's a recipe that won't handle 8-10 hours of cooking time.  I don't brown meats, onions, mushrooms, etc.  Having to haul out a pan and do that prep work (and washing the pan) starts to negate the awesome time-saving properties of the Crock Pot.    If ingredients are freezer-friendly, you can even prep everything and use the Food Saver so that all you have to do is pull the bag out of the freezer and let it thaw in the fridge overnight.  

I don't often use slow cooker liners, although if I'm cooking something that has sugar in the liquid I usually will to make cleanup easier.   I usually just fill the empty crock with warm soapy water and let it soak for an hour or two before washing it with a sponge and my trusty Bon Ami cleanser.

This week's family favorite slow cooked recipe is a simple beef stew:

2-3 cups of peeled, cubed russet or Yukon Gold potatoes
2 cups of peeled, chunked carrots (we like carrots!)
1 cup button mushrooms (optional, Lily and Mark don't like them so I usually skip them)
1 large onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1.5-2 lbs stew beef
2 cups beef broth or stock (I use low sodium)
5-6 sprigs of thyme, leaves removed from stems (you don't want stems in your stew!)
1 clove garlic
salt and pepper to taste

Put vegetables in the bottom of the slow cooker with meat on top.  Add broth and seasonings.  Cook on low for 8-10 hours.  Enjoy with buttered biscuits or bread!