Ch-ch-ch-changes...

Ugh.  Our housing bubble has burst.  When I found this apartment online from San Mateo it looked fabulous but we were so nervous to sign a long term lease, sight-unseen.  No problem, the leasing agent said, just sign a six-month lease and if you like it you can renew.  Whew!  Problem solved.  What a relief.  So we did. 

And we walked into our penthouse apartment (that was stretching our budget) and fell in love.  You've seen our views.  You've heard about the swimming pool and playroom and workout room and lounge and roof deck.  It's been like living in a luxury hotel.  And don't get me started on my commute to drop off and pick up the children each day.

And then last week we got a notice to renew our lease (which isn't up until July 14th).  And BAM!  That's when the bottom fell out of our fairy tale.  They're increasing our rent by almost 20%!  Apparently they have a small print kind of way to get around the pesky "rent control" thing in the lease.  Has the market really changed that much in the 10 weeks since we signed our original lease?  I tried negotiating.  And pleading.  And begging.  They came down a fraction - 2%.  But it's still way over our budget.  They offered us an apartment 23 floors down that stares right at the building next door for $300 more than we're paying now AND a $1,000 "transfer fee"!  Wait a minute.  Aren't we saving them time and money by not having to advertize and show the other apartment?  They want to charge us to stay in the building so that they only have one apartment to find a new tenant for instead of two? 

*sigh*  We're so sad.  We love this place. 

On the other hand, who knows, maybe we'll find something even better (or at least bigger) and for less money.  We can go without the pool - there are plenty of public pools around.  And Kevin can go for a run in the morning instead of the workout room.  But we'd love to have a view.  And the light. 

Wish us luck.

And as if that weren't enough change going on around here, Ella has decided that she wants to cut all her hair off.  She wants short hair. 

What's the big deal, right?  It's only hair.  It'll grow back.  It'll be better for summer.  She never brushes her hair anyway. 

I don't know why but it makes me sad.  I love her long hair.  I've put her in a waiting period to make sure she really wants to cut it short.  I've been stalling her for about two weeks now and she hasn't let up.  She knows how long it will take to grow back if she doesn't like it and she still begs me daily to get it cut. 

So, she's got an appointment with my hairdresser at 10:30 tomorrow morning.  Stay posted for photos.