Do Not Lose your Safety Deposit Box Keys.

As I write this, I have a countdown clock open and ticking down in front of me. 40 hours until departure. We've been busy having drinks with friends, and fussing about our packing list - as expected.

Buut... every plan has kinks doesn't it?

Here's ours: I lost the keys to our safety deposit box. Yep. With all this moving around and packing, they're gone. I do not suggest this.

Turns out that the bank can't just please let you into the box, even if you ask. You must pay. You must book a locksmith - who usually books out up to a week in advance. But if you beg and plead and let them know you are moving out of the country at the end of the week!! you can get in. For $200 we had a lovely visit with Wayne the locksmith who literally DRILLED our box open today.

Less that one day to go and we're chasing our tails and running all over town in cars we're borrowing from friends and family while trying to solve problems that shouldn't even exist.

Silver lining: we got to move our box to a bank branch thats more convenient to us now. 39.5 Hours. Losing my bananas.

Have a good day and don't lose your stuff! ha ha...

ARGH! Frustration and a House

Our house deal was supposed to go firm today - but our deal fell through. The buyers decided not to go through with the purchase and backed out. Argh!

We're frustrated, disappointed and trying hard not to be angry. We've sold a bunch of stuff, booked a storage locker and redone our budgets in anticipation of a mid-April possession... and now it looks like we're back to showings and waiting. Waiting and showings.

Feels like someone threw an ice-cold bucket of negativity on our excitement. Tell me friends - how do you stay motivated and positive when nothing seems to be going your way??

** Update: Okay, sorry for being such a downer friends! I wrote this last night... but even today I'm feeling much more cheery. I've found a short term solution:

[1] Put the sign back and move forward!
[2] Go to Dairy Queen and get a mint Oreo blizzard.

We got an Offer!!

 Hey Friends!

We got a conditional offer on our house last night! I’m running around collecting condo documents, ensuring everything is ready for the home inspection and preparing to sell more stuff on Kijiji.... The offer goes firm in 10 days – so I’ll keep you posted. April 27 could be our last day in our home!

Side Note about keeping stuff: We’re getting a storage locker for some things {mainly family heirlooms, old business records, etc} but I’ve been mentally adding other things from around the house to it… Remember here when I had a hard time selling my bike? Yep – the same thing is happening for our bedroom suite. I know, I know – just sell it you’re saying {Juliano’s with you on that one}. 

 

Talking to Juliano last night {who has been endlessly patient with my unreasonable amount of attachment to stuff – good Buddhist, I am not} I realized that we bought that bedroom suite as a newly married couple. We had everything from our first arguments – to secret whispers about making trip plans here… it represents the stability of the work we’ve put into this marriage and this home we’ve built together. How can I sell that?!?!

But I can. I’ll list the bedroom set, and it will sell. But it won’t be my marriage and my home going out the door with it – it will just be some {nice} furniture. Selling our things has been way more difficult than I was expecting and trying to reconcile that has been a work in progress – it’s not as easy as it looks!

I don’t want to sound like I’m throwing a pity-party here – 

just keeping it real on the de Brito front!

Cut the Bullshit

We try to strive everyday to cut the drama and bullshit out of our lives. I think there are 3 categories all of the people and events in our lives can fit into:

1. Bullshit - these are things that drag you down, or use up your energy in negative ways.

• Other People that are emotionally draining to you. These people can be friends or family, but they cause you more grief than good. They continually stir up problems for you.
• Outside Situations these are often necessary, and harder to control. Horrible commutes, filing insurance claims, getting speeding tickets. These activities just add to your stress load.
• Yourself. Yep, this is usually the hardest to accept - but sometimes YOU are the eye of your own hurricane creating the drama around you. Own up to it.

2. Average - these are 'bullshit neutral'. You do them because they are part of your day, but they don't add any enjoyment to it, or take any away. For many, your job falls here, or doing dishes or eating.

3. Awesome - These things make you HAPPIER. They are people that inspire you and lift you up, surroundings that you enjoy, activities that move you. Fun times and unicorns.


Most people have too much Average. Everything is mundane, and life rarely changes. This is usually fine.

LOTS of people have too much bullshit. When you continue to be surrounded by bullshit situations, dramatic people and reflect that in your own actions... you end up with this:

The elusive 'majority of awesome' isn't free or easy. It takes work to cut out the things you don't want in order to get a good balance, and a happier life.

We strive hard to keep the bullshit quotient in our lives low. We identify and minimize our interactions with the people/situations that cause us drama and headaches.We fill our time with positive activities that move us toward our identified goals.

Cheers to goals, charts and awesome things!

House Update

This is the first time we've ever sold a house. Have I mentioned that? We've bought two, but never sold.

It's really nerve wracking! We are SO GLAD that we have a great realtor, who's helping us with every step of the way. She helped us with the staging, organizes all of the showings, and I know she'll be a star when it comes to negotiations!

We've had about 8 showings in 2 weeks, and we have 2 more tonight. We have to leave the house {in perfect condition} for an hour or so every time this happens. So.. we go on a lot of coffee dates :) I'm really hoping that we sell this month!

Side Note: Some of the realtors who've shown the property give feedback to our realtor. It's usually nit-picky stuff like this:  

"It is unfortunate that they have used peel&stick tile lino and laminate flooring in the majority of the home. However the layout is one of a kind for sure and that huge bathroom is a definite bonus! I think despite it's "average" rating my client still has put it on her short list."

I most certainly DID NOT use peel & stick lino! It was there when we moved in! I wanted to change it! Ha ha ha.. I can't take it personally, but it's hard when someone criticizes your home - no matter how accurate they are.

Want to know what -36 Celsius looks like?

 

It looks like this. That's Juliano in the blue jacket.

We're like Antarctic penguins cuddling together for warmth on the C-Train. 

Bundled up like Randy in A Christmas Story.

Brrr....

Daylight Hours - Not going to miss the dark!

Okay - so I had this post ready to go earlier, but I had to wait for the end of 'No Complain Week' to post it!

Calgary is a crazy place, situated very close to Santa's place at the NORTH POLE... thus giving us long winters with crazy daylight hours. It's the middle of December here, and this is what I see every day:

It's dark when I go to work, and dark when I come home. According to 'SCIENCE' we get around 7 hours of sunlight per day now. I work 8 hours a day. This can get depressing!

In the spirit of No Complain Week here's the good: In Summer, it's AWESOME! We get over 11 hours of sunlight....

This endless darkness is not something I'm going to miss... I want some sunshine today :)

Enjoy your day

Official No Complain Week

We are the Architects of our own Adversity...

Like most people, we complain too much. In an effort to take control over the 'temperature' of our life - Juliano suggested we institute a 'No Complain' week! It starts today - and I'm excited!

Rules are simple: No Complaining, whining or bitching about anything. Penalty for a complaint? A compliment issued in the same direction. If you complain about traffic being bad, maybe you should appreciate that you have a car to drive!

Trust me these, simple compliments hilarious to come up with - but really force you out of a cycle of negativity. We didn't actually intend to choose Christmas week for this - but it's going to be an extra challenge... Here's why:

- it's Christmas
- Lots of extra driving
- Out of town family and friends are expected
- We have some business logistics to iron out
- We're taking care of our dog (usually lives with my mom - we love him so much, but he can be work!)

- This seems small, but Juliano's blackberry is on the fritz. (If you've been 'butt-dialed' by him this week - sorry! ha ha)
- We still have to work the regular week, and we commute both ways

All of these things could potentially add some extra complaining into our lives (yes, you can even complain about good things!) - but this week it's all positivity (even if it's a little forced...)

We'll let you know how it goes!

** The Jingle Horse is just for added festivity**