For my Five on Friday I decided I had to focus on my condo and the reasons I have decided to stay a while! HA!
I was DYING to get out a few months ago. I wanted to move so badly I could taste it and then a few things changed! I found out my company site was shutting down. That tends to put the future in a bit of flux. Purchasing a new townhouse would be silly when the future is so unsure right now. So, I decided to take matters in my own hands and make my current situation more to my liking!! I ran for president of the condo association so I can influence decisions that are being made for my home. Best idea ever! It can be a pain in the neck but it is worth it to have the influence in the rules at your home!
One: The main thing that changed is we have found a new management company for our condo! They are awesome!! They resolve issues quickly and fairly and they believe in the issues and resolving them and not just letting them keep going on and on. Our old company was Arbors and they sucked! Getting a company that actually WANTS to do the work has made all the difference in the world when it comes to the quality of our lives!!!! They are helping us write and enforce policies and it is great!!! It is hard to explain but in a condo building; a few bad people can truly make life miserable for others so easily!
Two: My floors rock!!! If you have been a reader for a while then you know that I recently tore up my carpet and installed Pergo floors myself (well with the help of my parents and siblings)! You can read about it here if you missed it! The floors are awesome and I love them so much I don't want to leave them!!! HA HA!!!!
Three: After I finished the floors; I wanted to get one of those vacuum robots! I have four cats so that means there is ALWAYS hair! No matter how much I brush them all it is inevitable! But...this baby runs around vacuuming all day - it is sooo awesome!!! If you have hardwood or cats; I recommend one of these! BEST INVENTION EVER!
Four: When I started traveling for work I purchased cameras so I could check in on my fur babies whenever I wanted. I would fly out of town on Sunday and return Thursday so the cameras gave me TONS of peace of mind!! Since I not longer travel, I have added cameras on the exterior of my home! It is fantastic!!!! I can see everything that happens on my phone inside and out! Total peace of mind! I HIGHLY recommend them to anyone!
Five: The last but most important piece of why I now love my home is Alexa!! My sister got me Alexa for Christmas last year and it is so awesome! I feel like the Jetsons (remember that show???). I can ask Alexa to run any of the things above and she does!!! She can work my cameras, my Dyson fan/air filter, my Roomba vacuum, and my lights! I just say "Hey Alexa...
"turn on the living room light"
"turn on my bedroom light"
"turn on the vacuum"
"turn on the fan"
"make the fan oscillate"
I am telling you...Alexa is amazing and so helpful! Who needs a man or a roommate?!?! I have Alexa! I only wish I could give her a new name because I want to be able to call her Rosie (that was the Jetson's robot maid-LOL!!!!)
Well, that is it for me! I am a happy little camper living in my condo right now! Fingers crossed everything stays the same and life will continue to be happy go lucky! I will live out the rest of my years in my condo with my cats until the day they find me deceased and all my cats crying over my body...or just nudging me to wake up and feed them!! HA HA!
1. Great decision to get involved in your building management and make changes and things happen. But it is a thankless task at times. We were once involved in the management of our own highrise apartment block.
ReplyDelete2. You did it yourself. We think in the future we will go from carpet to 'timber' in the living areas. We might be too old to do it ourselves, but if it is a do it yourself thing, then it shouldn't cost too much to get someone to do it.
3. My brother had an inferior model and has stopped using it. It kept getting stuck all the time. I love the idea of it and I am sure the right model would work well.
4. I like.
5. It would be Google Home for us, if we could be bothered. How does Alexa turn on a light switch and or press buttons? I feel old.
LOL Andrew!!! Alexa is great!!! You get Alexa and a few plugs and whatever you want her to work you plug it into the special plugs. It is fantastic! HA! Have a great week! HUGS
DeleteI love that you took matters into your own hands and did all those great things for yourself Ann. I have been thinking of an Alexa and now I am more intrigued. Maybe you could do a post on all the things she does for those of us still on the fence.
ReplyDeleteI can definitely do that post on Alexa in the future! I love it! She is great for lazy people like me-also for single people like me that can't say "Honey turn on that light"...ha!!! HA!
DeleteAlexa is great. Did you hear about te little girl named Alexa whose parents are suing Amazon? She’s being teased at school, ids are telling her to do things.
ReplyDeleteLOL! Now that is funny! I guess it is not politically correct to do that these days?!?! But...that really is funny though! HA
DeleteLife is pretty good💜
ReplyDeleteIt definitely is...and there is always tomorrow for it to get EVEN BETTER! HUGS to you Linda!
DeleteOur son got us Alexa for Christmas and set it up for us. He also got us the lightbulbs she can control, but it didn't work with something or other. I'm not all techy, but I'd love to get the thermostat she can control. Ours went off-line about 2 weeks ago and I had no idea how to get her back on. I figured I'd get our son to fix it on Easter, but surprise, surprise...she's all of a sudden working today. Anyway, glad you're loving your condo these days. Getting things the way you like them goes a long way toward contentment. Have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteUsually when she quits at my house - I just reboot my computer and she comes back - HA! That is awesome that he set it up for you too! Way cool!!! Have a fantastic week Stacy! HUGS
DeleteNice upbeat post on your comfy home! I'm glad your condo management changed for the better.
ReplyDeleteI've been in other homes that have Alexa, I'm not quite ready to make that jump. Maybe if her name was Rosie!
LOL! I am with you on that! I want to change her name also to Rosie but it wont let you! For now, she has to stay Alexa! :-( Have a great week Abby!
DeleteThank you for the chuckle about renaming Alexa Rosie! Good for you on becoming proactive in your condo association and having a say in the changes! Your flooring looks fabulous. Enjoy your Friday and weekend!
ReplyDeleteThank you Robin - I hope you have a great week!!!! HUGS TO YOU!
DeleteThose cameras are the best. I watch my dogs ALL DAY LONG to make sure everything is ok. I panic now when I cant find them... the cameras are spoiling me.
ReplyDeleteGlad you got new management!!!
Right Rebecca Jo!??! I love them too! Total peace of mind!!! I am obsessed!!! have a fantastic week!! HUGS
DeleteStay and enjoy those great looking floors and all the other goodies you are liking. Hugs
ReplyDeleteThanks Mags - I think I am going to!!! HUGS!! Have a great week!
DeleteLove your new flooring, Ann! I love our Alexa, but she's technologically challenged. (That, or WE are. Ha!)
ReplyDeleteHA HA! Thank you for the compliment! I am very pleased with how it turned out!!! Have a great week! HUGS!
DeleteLoving your home and its location does bring peace of mind! Those security cameras don't hurt, either! I LOVE your new floors. The color is perfect. We have three cats. I can vacuum and by the time I put it away and turn around, there is another clump of hair on one of the rugs. Love the cats though! Great list!!
ReplyDeleteI could not live without my cats but it is amazing that they are not all bald!1! I clean hair off the couch and chairs daily - it is never ending!!! HA!!! Have a fantastic week Terri!!!! HUGS
DeleteI always say if you can't be happy where you are you won't be happy anywhere. Smart you finding a way to be happy where you are.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you can say "Hey Alexa, change your name to Rosie"...lol
I already tried that Ann - sadly, it does not work....:-(
DeleteHave a fantastic week - HUGS
Good idea to get involved in the organisation so that you can be more in charge of what is happening. All your modern technology like the cameras and Alexa sound amazing. We could have done with cameras to check on our old cat whilst we were out and about. I'd love to have a wildlife camera outside to see which animal is diggin in the potato beds:)
ReplyDeleteYou can do that also with the Blink cameras...they are waterproof!!! You should get on - you will definitely enjoy it! Have a great week! HUGS
DeleteThis all sounds amazing. One piece of advice though as you are using Alexa to be so helpful - make sure you have changed your router's wifi password to something other than the default. You're so tech savvy you've probably already done that but just in case - makes your network that bit safer.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely Wendy! First thing I do when I get a new router. No doubt someone is listening with all the cameras and Alexa but I am not saying anything to the cats that I would not say to anyone else...sadly, no secrets at my home...HA HA!
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