Risk Big or Go Home?

Okay. Here is the scoop. I have been crunching numbers and looking at plans and weighing options for building our dream adventure lodge and have decided that a risk is inevitable. The question is how much should we risk? There are two options and I am feeling a bit like a chicken for leaning toward the going home option, because it is another delay in the process of achieving the big kahuna. However, I am just terrified that risking big might just destroy our credit and put us out on the street. Let me know what you think.

OPTION 1: RISK BIG
We can build this house and run a lodge with rustic luxury accommodations for up to 24 (4 rooms) overnight guests in the walk-out basement, and have room to run a reception hall with rustic luxury accommodations for up to 100 inside or 200 inside and out.
This would provide us with a realistic extra earning potential of $140,000 / year gross paying off the loan quickly and providing a beautiful place for our family to live. The advantage is that it is our dream and will work perfectly for the full-scale business we want to run. The drawback is that at the cheapest, if we do a LOT of the work ourselves, it will cost $500K, and even if by some miracle we got the mortgage rates on that big of a loan, the monthly payments would demand that the business be successfull right away.

OPTION 2: GO HOME
We can build this house adding a walk-out basement, log siding and wrap around decks, and run a bed and breakfast with rustic luxury accomodations for up to 10 overnight guests (2 rooms).
This would provide us with a realistic extra earning potential of $46,000 / year gross paying off our mortgage more quickly and providing a place to live. The advantage is that we could do this for under $300K and could make the monthly payments on this mortgage even if the business flopped. It would also provide us the opportunity to build equity and save up for the Big Risk when we know what we are getting into, can afford it and well, when it isn't quite so risky. The drawback is that the place is more of a home than an adventure lodge, and we would have to move again to make our dreams come true.

It is still going to be a risk either way, but going home would be a significantly safer, round-about way to the dream. I'm leaning toward going home; what do you think?

A Really Good Day

Mom, Dad, Kaia and I all went down to Silver Falls and I ran 7 miles in 1hr. 10 min. Yae for me! It felt good, but now my knee hurts a little. We had so much snow the last few days and today was the first really warm, sunny day since so there was a LOT of water. I counted 20 waterfalls of 20 ft or more. The falls that always have water coming down were spectacular and Dad and I got drenched. It was great. I felt like Marty from the movie Madagascar when he realizes that the picture he was imagining while on his treadmill back at the zoo was real! SPECTACULAR!!!

Once we got back to town, we decided to get cleaned up and go downtown. It was a great trip! Kaia was mesmerized by a man painted silver and pretending to be a statue. A little boy gave him a dollar and he came to life scarring the little boy half to death. Kaia was so confused by the entire episode, but continued fixated on the man throughout his whole performance. He juggled and did some other kind of wierd stuff, but Kaia liked it and I tipped him a buck.

We also saw the max train and some musicians and a group of hackysack players down at Pioneer Square. They had a stereo there and were kicking around those sacks like mad, pretty impressive stuff. Dad and I both agreed that if we even attempted such tricks, we would end up on our faces. As we were discussing this, I set Kaia down to watch them. She must have thought they were dancing and began to mimic their spastic maneuvers with the music. I wish I had the video camera.

We then went to a fantastic restaurant named Tadai. It is a seafood place and quickly became my new favorite in PDX. I had the best Sushi, the freshest salads and the most amazing desserts in tiny perfect bite size pieces. Kaia had fun turning a soft-serve ice cream cone in-side out and got a kick out of learning to eat with chop sticks. She actually holds them both in one hand and then stabs something gooey... my Crème Brule was her favorite "chop-sticks" food.

She also got a funky balloon hat from a clown who surprisingly didn't scare her, but she refused to wear it... I think she understands that it is a ridiculous thing to do and thinks that she is too sophisticated for that. Overall, it was a really good day. I enjoyed my favorite trail, ate shrimp and crab and a million other crazy new delicacies, and got to spend memorable time with Kaia and my folks.

There's a Nubbard in the Cupboard

So, in the world of mommydom, there are many of opportunities for Dr. Seus and silly games. Today was a perfect example of one of them. I was mindlessly clicking away on the internet and booking plans for our upcoming vacation and had been diverting Kaia away for the last 1/2 hour. It was obvious that she wanted to play, but I really needed to book tickets and reserve rentals and hotels and all that logistical stuff.

I put her in her room with a few toys and hoped that she would entertain herself for just a few more minutes so that I could complete my little project. It was about 10 minutes later when I began to hear this muted squawk. They weren’t “I’m scared or hurt” squawks, just “I am stuck somewhere I shouldn’t be” squawks.

I ran into her bedroom and the squawks got quieter. That is when the panic started to set in. I called for her. “Kaia?” she responded “Mama?” in the same tone right back. Just a bit louder to track her down by sound: “Kaia!” “Mama!” Her reply brought me to the kitchen where she had pulled apart the Bisquik and Rolled Oats for a little snack. There was definite evidence that she had been playing with the lazy suzan, but no sign of her cute little self anywhere.

Finally, I hear her last little squawk, and the cupboard rattled just enough to tip me off. There she was on the second shelf huddled up with the hot cocoa packets and covered in Bisquik. Wonderful! The lazy suzan is one of only 2 cupboards that we don’t have locks on, and she frequently pulls stuff out. But this was the first time that she had opened any containers or actually ventured inside the cupboard… I don’t think it will be her last.

She was safe, no damage done, but I had to laugh. I learned that if Kaia wants to play, she is going to play, and there is nothing I can do about that. I think she learned hide n seek from the neighbor kids but it will be a few years before she understands the concept of confirming a seeker before she goes and hides. I guess it is just one more thing for me to guard against on my little one’s big adventures of growin’ up.