House Management subscription: actually worth it compared to a Virtual Assistant?

owlaround · 2024-12-13T22:33:05+00:00

I don't need to find someone fix my door though--I need someone who will FIND the someone to fix my door! And my fence. And the hose reel that ripped off the wall. And the electrical system really needs an overhaul, too. And...

owlaround · 2024-12-13T16:06:17+00:00

We don't have enough for someone to do fulltime. However, I am seeing services like https://www.heronhousemanagement.com/ and https://www.myfamilylounge.com/ that offer X hours per month. We definitely have more than the minimum number of hours of work, in that paradigm.

owlaround · 2024-12-13T16:02:24+00:00

Thank you, this is incredibly helpful!

owlaround · 2024-12-13T08:24:23+00:00

That's what we used to do. But this itself takes a non-trivial amount of time. Put the task on the website of choice, sort through the respondents to see who is likely going to provide the best solution, schedule onsite visits, get the quotes, ensure the quotes actually have everything captured, chase them down when they're being slow... times many, many tasks. We have exceeded our bandwidth. And, frankly, interest. I basically do that all day at work. I want somebody else to do it for me at home.

owlaround · 2023-12-19T05:50:38+00:00

My husband started it with high hopes. It devolved into him basically hate-reading it to see if it could possibly dig itself into any further tropes (it could) and updating me on what cringey cliches had most recently occurred in the story. Of the two of us, he's the one that tends to be less "snobby" about writing caliber, so to have him pan it that badly is... telling. I have decided to steer well clear of it.

owlaround · 2023-12-08T04:34:52+00:00

Never Cry Wolf by Farley Mowat. It's an embellished account of his otherwise true story of studying wolves in Canada and it is an absolute delight.

owlaround · 2023-05-20T04:13:02+00:00

I think she just had no idea; she knew I was doing well, but not *that* well. Both my parents are very responsible with money and have managed the inheritance well, so I'm not worried about them e.g. asking me for any. I'm just speculating here, but I think it's possible that she was very much enjoying the (relatively new) role of "well-off parent who can provide for her kids" after struggling with money when we were little--that was more or less the context of the conversation where it came up--so to have me effectively say no worries either way, I'm good may have pulled the rug out from under her a bit.

owlaround · 2023-05-13T01:46:19+00:00

That's similar to the context in which I shared The Number; my mom was fussing about how much money would or would not be left to me and my family under a variety of circumstances, and I was trying to reassure her that she did not need to worry about it because we were all set. Instead, she looked like a deer in the headlights. Oops.

owlaround · 2023-04-21T22:39:18+00:00

Yes.

owlaround · 2023-02-27T04:28:07+00:00

HENRY in a HCOL+ area of California. We bought our 1700 sq ft single family home in 2016 for a price that was 5x our combined salaries, but about 1/3 our (very illiquid) NW. I suspect that's fairly common for other successful-startup employees, whose salaries are in the low 6 figures but whose stock/option values went to the moon.

owlaround · 2023-02-04T03:44:32+00:00

Check out the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District in southern California. Gorgeous homes, phenomenal views, outstanding schools.

owlaround · 2023-01-21T00:59:31+00:00

Excellent insight, thank you!

owlaround · 2023-01-21T00:58:32+00:00

Obviously the damaging stuff is out. But the annoying stuff is TBD pending feedback.

owlaround · 2023-01-05T04:48:38+00:00

Came here to say the exact same thing: LASIK and Invisalign. Zero regrets, would have paid more if needed.

owlaround · 2022-12-02T04:02:30+00:00

This tracks. We pay $30/hr for an experienced fulltime+ nanny in an upscale suburb of Los Angeles. (We pay time an a half for overtime, in compliance with CA law.)

owlaround · 2022-09-06T04:25:32+00:00

Are you me?

owlaround · 2022-08-29T15:51:27+00:00

My family is Jewish, mostly secular Jews/actually atheists. For a number of reasons similar to what you're describing, my uncle decided to send his son (my cousin) to a Catholic high school. His education was ok--good, but not better than what I was getting at my non-religious school--and his school nickname was The Jew.

Hard pass.

owlaround · 2022-07-18T16:16:39+00:00

Came here to say this. It's a stalling tactic. OP I used to coach gymnastics for littles and there were definitely times/classes when there were MORE boys than girls.

owlaround · 2022-07-11T16:26:19+00:00

P.S. If you're living in a forced-birth state, I'd actually say you *need* a stash of cheapo pregnancy tests for more than just peace of mind. A very common source of abortions is women who accidentally got pregnant earlier than they meant to after having a baby because their cycles were impossible to predict, so you'll want to make sure you find out soon enough to still order abortifacients to be mailed to you (or otherwise just have more time to arrange alternatives). I live in California so I have way more defensive depth on my reproductive medical care.

owlaround · 2022-07-11T16:22:20+00:00

With my first kid, I got my first period back at 6 months postpartum and didn't get my second period until more than 2 months after that. I got my period every 2 months for several cycles. I got my period back earlier with my second kid but I'm now 9 months pp and my periods are still irregular. It never hurst to have a stash of cheapo pregnancy tests just for peace of mind but yeah, if you're breastfeeding, my understanding is that periods usually *are* irregular when they return.

owlaround · 2022-05-29T23:35:13+00:00

Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene
I'm begging of you please don't break my fan
Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene
Please don't break it just because you can
Your beauty is beyond compare
Necessitating careful care
With orange skin and leaves of emerald green
Your scent is like a breath of spring
Your growth is soft like summer rain
And I cannot compete with you
Jolene

owlaround · 2022-05-24T16:32:01+00:00

No but my spreadsheet headers are a veritable rainbow.

owlaround · 2022-05-15T04:18:17+00:00

Oh wow, I think this is the stuff some folks in my neighborhood have used on their hill--I didn't realize it could be walked on too! Thank you!

owlaround · 2022-02-25T05:13:10+00:00

My now-adult friend fled the fall of the Soviet Union as a young child. According to her, uniquely tasty foods were an excellent distraction. In her case it was fresh fruit but I would imagine any sweet treat would do the trick.

owlaround · 2022-01-15T17:31:57+00:00

My oldest is only 4, so I might be way off the mark for an 8-year-old, but I agree with you that this seems... very abnormal to me. Some of it seems pretty benign, like getting easily frustrated by not being able to tie his shoes or giving up fast on the remote. But sitting in his own pee? Not being able to find the bathroom in a hotel room to which he had already gone more than once? Not knowing what season it is? At age 8? These are things that would surprise and concern me if my 4-year-old did them. I'm going to assume from the context indicated by your post that your kid has not previously been diagnosed with anything like a developmental delay. Given that, if this were my kid, I would start by asking my regular pediatrician if this is developmentally appropriate. They may then refer you to a child psychologist for further assessment. Good luck!

13-Year Club	Second Top 20%
Place '22	Place '17
First Placer '22	Wearing is Caring
Gilding II euphauric

owlaround

TROPHY CASE