Big House = Big Money

I have figured out a new mathematical equation. For those of you already with houses, you're probably like...

duh, Kari, how original.

But for those of us just getting out of those teeny-tiny (as Tin would say) starter apartments and into something with more than three floors (that are your own, mind you), the bills can be quite overwhelming. And that is without the need for heating or air conditioning! Just the electric bill is over three times what we spent in the apartment, the phone bill is higher (probably because I am using the Internet more, but also because now we are in a "rich" residential zone, where there are more taxes, whereas before we were near the poorer residential area Comite del Pueblo, so prices for basic services were lower). In our apartment we didn't have to pay for water, since the monthly dues took care of that, but here in our new house we pay like $20 a month. Gardening and upkeep, cleaning supplies to clean five bathrooms (don't laugh Andres - even if I don't clean them regularly I DO buy the supplies!), even furniture and wall hangings to try and fill up the space a bit! It is so weird to go from an apartment where you could barely move to a place where your voice actually echoes for lack of "stuff." It is quite fun, in a way, because I no longer have to fear those U.S. shopping sprees (that is, until the house gets cluttered again and we have to sell it and use it for storage and get our very own mansion).

One thing we finally decided to splurge on was sitting paraphenelia. Mom and Dad both experienced how awkward it was to visit while using the stairs and coffee tables as chairs. We plunged in and bought a beautiful sofa set, a la St. Albans, very soft and suede-y (dry clean only and please do not get it wet... Aargh! what?!"@# With two little boys? Oh no, what did we get ourselves into...) and definitely worth the price of a car!


Whew! We'll be paying that one off for some time. At least our guests have somewhere to sit (did you hear that my sisters? You can come and visit now because you have somewhere to sit).

Plans to buy a matching set for the third floor, but once the kids are a little older. As it is, the ones up there match now, too, due to the artwork (with non-removable pen, of course) of my little 2-year-old.