Great Selling Point: FREE Honey!

Who says that there's a bee shortage?

Family has so many bees living in walls of home that honey drips out, discoloring wallpaper

Associated Press
Last update: March 12, 2008 - 9:45 PM

SAN MARINO, Calif. - The situation at the Stathatos house on Virginia Road is getting sticky. So many bees live in the walls of the stately Tudor home that honey drips out of the walls, discoloring the wallpaper in the dining room.

The bees had been good tenants, peacefully coexisting for years with the home's human residents, Helen and Jerry Stathatos.

But lately the house has become a hive of activity, with bees buzzing around an upstairs bedroom, said Dustin Mackey, a bee removal expert with Bee Specialist.

Mackey made a house call in late February to vacuum the busy insects from a window frame and seal the floor in the bedroom.

"You walk into the house and it smells sweet," Mackey said. "I felt like I was in a jar of honey." Mackey said Jerry Stathatos said the bee problem had been going on for at least 20 years, but living in an apiary never bothered the family.

Calls Wednesday to Helen and Jerry Stathatos were not returned.

Mackey said Stathatos decided against removing the bees because it might require them to pull down several interior walls, where "thousands, maybe millions" of bees have taken up residence.

"They are making honey and we can't even get to it," Helen Stathatos told the San Gabriel Valley Tribune newspaper.

Just outside the front door, near a hole the bees use to enter the house, Mackey saw thousands of bees "just hanging in clumps."

"They've got the most beautiful garden you've ever seen, with flowers all around the house. It's the perfect environment for bees," said Mackey.

Yes, this couple has some definite problems. I guess they didn't need the sub-prime market to render their house worthless. Who has the fortitude to live with bees for 20 years and allow honey to seep through the walls? The only thing worse would be walls full of rodents. I get the heebies just thinking about it.

Unfortunately, at this very moment, I have my very own developing bee hive.

On Wednesday, March 19, we noticed a raucous swarm of bees hovering around the window of the playhouse that our neighbor gave us in November. This is the day the swallows usually return to San Juan Capistrano. Sometimes we have swallows trying to build their mud nests under our eves. It's quite a messy nuisance. I can tell you, though, it's not nearly as bad as this:

When I called the exterminator, the lady who answers the phone told me that they had received many reports of bees swarming, but that the insects were just trying to protect the queen bee and, more than likely, were not building a hive. She said that I should save my money and wait 24 hours for the bees to disburse.

On Saturday, forty-eight hours later, the window of the playhouse looked like this:

One guess as to why the two videos taken on my cheap digital camera are so shaky. I don't swat at bees (that would be dumb), but I was dancing around quite a bit because, to get a good shot for y'all, I had to stand directly under the bees.

There's something I haven't told you. When our kind neighbor offered us this very cool two-story playhouse, he told us that there was a beehive in it and he intended to put an insect bomb inside to kill them. You see the side that the bees have swarmed on now? Well the hive was on the other side of the same window, in a small compartment. We told him that we'd rather not shower pesticides in the entire dwelling where my children would be playing on a daily basis just to kill the bees in a small exterior cavity. So we called the exterminator and he charged us $200 to drill a hole in the wood and spray a small amount of pesticide (it took about seven minutes). We had to clean out the hives ourselves ("we" = my husband).

With this repeat, it's apparent that for bees there's no place like home.

A Promise that Lasts Forever

It's hard for me to focus on real estate, the economy, or even our business when we are so close to Easter. Last year like now, we were still debating whether or not to keep our apartment buildings (even as they were listed with agents). We would be convinced to sell them because we had been paying into them every month since the closings in 2005. Then we'd hear the promises of our property managers and decide to give them more time to recoup our initial investments and subsequent losses--only to be disappointed, frustrated, and worried all over again. I can't even remember last Easter due to all of the stress that we were under.

This year we may not have any money, but we don't have the stress, either. I've been hearing about the inevitable fall of the major banks due to their large exposure in the sub-prime lending market. People are debating about where to put their money. Some recommend various trading sites as being relatively "safe" to transfer investments into. We have two rentals that are still worth much more than what we paid for them and are occupied by long-term tenants. This is not a bad time to be sitting on the side lines. I don't worry about where my money is--because I already lost it last year. After living expenses, any profit left over is put right back into our growing business. That's an investment that I don't worry about because it's under our complete and total control.

It's so easy to prospect clients for promotional products. As some businesses start to flounder in this economy, they need to advertise more than ever (OK, so they may not be a long-term customer). They also want new and unique products to sell in their stores. There are not many promotional product companies that actually cold call on prospective customers. Most rely on mailings, storefronts, and/or word of mouth. Not us. My husband's degree, training, and specialty is business and sales. He's just doing what he knows best to support his family--and it's really paying off. We don't have a fancy web site or slick ads, but we do have awesome customer service and support---not to mention low pricing on most competitive products.

Wow! I feel like this post is a commercial, but that isn't what I set out to write about. Sometimes when I get started, I never know where I'll end up! However, if you've noticed, I don't tout the name of our company. I have shown you some of our products, like the compressed tees, and they're still selling well, especially our awesome San Diego designs. But there are thousands of other items that we market now.

I can honestly say that, without the complete failure of our apartment endeavors, we would have never been motivated to start this, or any other, enterprise. As I see it now, being physically in charge of our business while it's new (whether it's managing properties ourselves, running a retail establishment, consulting, etc.) is the only way to ensure its success. We had to trudge through all the muck to get to where we are supposed to be, which is right here, right now. Slow learners, aren't we?

This blog is about real estate (the good and the bad), our recovery from investment losses, and a bit of family life thrown in for some good fun. However, my story cannot be complete without the mention of my faith (which I have done on occasion). If I avoid the subject in fear of offending someone (although I hold no judgments whatsoever), then you'd never have a sense of who I really am. And, if I expect you to take valuable time from your way-too-short days to read these posts, then the least I could do is be real with you.

Now, as we emerge from the ruins, and during our most serious time of crisis, our faith was the only thing we had to hold on to. At any moment, we could have lost our houses, apartments, and most of our possessions. Our friends could have even disowned us in disgust. But we knew that God would never abandon us as long as we cried out to Him. And cry we did. The act of prayer alone gave us peace and hope--two things money can't buy. It seemed to take forever--and we certainly didn't make the money that we desired--but, at the eleventh hour (much later, actually), our apartments sold and we were relieved of a majority of our financial burdens. So, we may not have earned the profit that we wanted (and felt we deserved), but we were given exactly what we needed.

Tonight is the beginning of what Catholics call the Triduum (trid-yoo-uh m)--or the Three Days (from tonight through Easter night). This evening we remember the Last Supper, tomorrow we commemorate the covenant signed in Blood (the Crucifixion), and on Saturday night/Sunday morning we celebrate the Resurrection (the Easter season continues for 50 days, ending on Pentecost Sunday). It is a promise of eternal life--one that never leaves us disappointed, frustrated, or worried. Christmas is a big Christian holiday, but not nearly as important as Easter. So, with that very insufficient explanation, I will not be posting again until Easter Monday (or just Monday for my non-Christian readers).

I Just Have the Sharpest Scissors

I did something yesterday that I haven't done in years. I took my three youngest boys to the barber.

I usually cut their hair myself. Even though we are on Easter break, I find myself busier than ever. One reason is that I have a list of tasks that I need to complete for our promotional products business. We just fulfilled a huge order for several stores in San Diego (YIPPEE!). Our new strategy was a step in the right direction, but I have much more work to do now. I've been gearing up for this and have been excited for the past two weeks. I knew that I'd be taking on a more active role and felt just as I did on my first day of a new job. It's so great to get my hands dirty on something other than a diaper, but it would be better if I could focus.

I have a long list of commitments that I made in the Monday morning meeting with my husband. I thought that I'd finish them yesterday. Well, it's Wednesday, and I've made a dent, but I'm still not done. Yesterday, I received a call from a supplier of new items that we want to carry. I wasn't expecting any more business calls for the day and was nursing the baby. The number was from Minnesota and I thought that it was the parents of one of my son's college friends. It wasn't.

The vendor bombarded me with information about his products, so I pulled the baby off to grab a pen. This didn't go well with her and she started to scream---into the phone. He paused for a second, as though wondering if he had reached a professional place of business or a day care center. I asked him to hold, but couldn't find the right button on the phone. I handed the baby to her older brother and mouthed the word "dates". She loves the date pieces rolled in wheat flour from the bulk at the local health food store. I was able to slip away and take the notes that I needed in order to get the stats and cost of the product--it's more involved than you might think. (Note to self: develop "Vendor Inquiry" form to document needed information.) Luckily, I didn't forget anything!

Between work duties, I had been telling the boys all week that I'd be giving them a haircut. Today, I reminded them every five minutes not to start a big project or game because they'd be getting that haircut. I even made them change clothes, so that they wouldn't get their soccer practice outfits itchy.

I've been cutting hair ever since my husband was in the military. Our armed forces have very specific regulations in regard to their hair. I had been accompany my husband to the barber on base, when, one day, he asked if I thought that I could do it myself. It looked simple enough and we went out (to Fedco--remember that store?!) and bought real barber scissors. They were very sharp--in the mid 80's, that is.

Well, that segued into my being the designated hair stylist for our homeschool group in Poway. I'd get so stressed and nervous cutting people's hair that it would take me ages to finish. No one complained, though, because it was free. I would do it in my friends' yards, the parks where we met, or pretty much anywhere. Once someone asked me if I was a hair stylist. I said, "No. I just have the sharpest scissors of anyone in the group."

Over the years, I saved lots of money and gave my family cuts that they've enjoyed. As I've had more children (thank God for girls who don't need to cut their hair if they don't want to!!), it's been harder to squeeze an hour cut (times six, if you count my husband) into my schedule. My husband and oldest son visit the barber, but the others like me to do it, especially my teenager because he knows that I take great pains to make him look good so he doesn't embarrass me.

Yesterday, I just ran out of time, and I knew that the rest of the week was booked. So if I didn't do something drastic, my children would look like Neanderthals on Easter Sunday. I wanted to go to the barber closest to our house (seven miles away), but my husband said it would be cheaper if I went to one a bit further. He said that they charge less for boys than the $9 they do for men.

We walked into an empty shop and the two barbers there started to work on the boys immediately. Ten minutes later, all three were done and their hair looked fabulous. But the "men and boys" cut was the same price--$10!! No credit cards (there go our AMX points). I happened to have enough cash in my purse for the cuts and tips. When I walked out, I thought I had someone else's children by accident because I hadn't seen my kids' faces in weeks. Super cute!

Visiting the barber meant that I didn't have to stoop for hours straight, no yelling "HOLD STILL!" every 30 seconds, no one staring at us from the road, no tiny pieces of hair lodged into the skin of my inner arms for days (no matter how many times I change my clothes and shower), and no "ouch" from the scissors that are no longer the sharpest (even though I've had them sharpened by professionals).

But paying so much for something that I could do myself didn't sit well with me. Next time, I'll figure out how much I could make for our business in the time that it takes me to cut my kids' hair. If it's fiscally practical, I'll stick some phone books on the resin patio chairs, pull out my sharp rock scissors, and wrap rubber bands around my sleeves at my wrist before I call the boys over.

Attempt to Flip and Go Broke

My friend (the same one we traveled with--yes, the couple still talks to us after spending four days straight attached to our hips) told me about a commercial he heard on the radio for the "Flip and Grow Rich" program. I haven't had the pleasure of experiencing it yet, but I assume it has something to do with Armando Montelongo from A & E channel's "Flip this House."

Regardless of who is behind the commercial, how big is your ego when you think that you can sell a giant load of poop to average people like me? Do you really think that anyone listening to the radio will believe you when you tell them that they can buy a property, fix it up, then turn around and sell it right away, and make lots of money in this market? Puhleeeze!

So, I might find a house like this to flip--with a nonexistent kitchen:
Let's say that I worked 100 hours (over the course of two-three months) installing everything (not counting any permits that I might need), and spent only $15,000 because I did it myself on the cheap. Am I supposed to sell it quickly when it's done? By then it would be worth the market value at the time that it was purchased. But, when it's finally ready, real estate, most likely, will have declined even more. So I'd be stuck with something that I threw money into, but can't sell. After you factor in the mortgage payments of a vacant property, there's fat chance that I'd recoup my investment, much less make a profit.

It's unfortunate that those who have touted "flipping" real estate in the past have not changed their "investing" model in order to stay current with the market. That's what most successful business people would do. It's almost like they want to pretend that their way has always been, and always will be, the most profitable.

You may live in a neighborhood and have noticed that a house has been for sale for two years, with regular price reductions. You've also noticed an inordinate amount of "For Sale" signs on every street corner. I doubt you'd say, "Hey, it looks like that house down the street is a really good deal. I could buy it and then turn around and sell it again for a profit that will cover all of my costs of acquiring and disposing of the property, and then some." It would go against every grain of common sense that you possess. So, why are they trying to sell us on this now? There must be someone out there who thinks that this is a good time to flip houses which are declining in value as we speak.

I'm not familiar with Armando Montelongo, so I did a teeny bit of research. It seems that he has a mentoring program along with a book--and his family owns several business in Texas (some of which are defunct). I did a quick search on the site of the organization with absolutely no teeth Better Business Bureau and found this complaint history (he seems to be in some type of network) for Premier Mentoring, Inc.

Now, we can say that 99 complaints in the last three years is no big deal considering the volume of customers they must have. But then I stumbled upon this site. Don't let the April, 2007, date turn you off. Comments are being posted all the time and there are some for the past day or so. All of this took me five minutes to find. So, if you're ever tempted by a slick radio or TV ad, do some research before you fork over your dough. The money for an unrealistic program is the least you'll lose. If you follow the advice of some of these "gurus" you may just lose as much money as I did in apartments (and I didn't even have to buy a program to do it.)

Are You a Guest or a Host?

I had another adventure this weekend. It wasn't a vacation like last weekend, that's for sure.

My friends, who moved to Virginia, had bought a preforeclosed house in Temecula before we met them (because if we knew them at the time, we would have tried to talk them out of it). They were trying to save the house of a couple with a young child. The agreement was that my friends would buy the house and the couple would rent it from them (for the amount of the mortgage payment, which was interest only) until they cleaned up their financial act, at which time they would buy it back for what my friends paid for it. My friends gained very little from the agreement up front, but thought that it would be worthwhile to help out other human beings. (These are the same people who saw someone fall off a freeway overpass, exited to turn the car around, arrived at the scene, and gave the man CPR long enough to sustain his life until the ambulance took him to the hospital.)

Yes, believe it or not, people like that do hang out with people like me. I know it's surprising, but it's true. If I knew them before they entered into this agreement, the first thing I would have told them was never to mix business with charity. Unless you're running a philanthropic organization, you need to be in business to make a profit. If you want to give someone a charitable contribution, then don't expect your donation back.

Unfortunately, they found this out to be true the hard way. The couple had recently filed for divorce and told my friends that they would be vacating, which they did. With the drop in market value out here, it's devastating to them. Their objective now is to get a tenant in there as fast as possible. They have a property manager who received an expensive estimate from a cleaning crew because the tenants left so much stuff in the house, garage, and backyard. So my friend called to ask if my teenage son would like to earn some money by merely moving the items from around the interior and exterior of the house to the garage, so that they could replace the carpet, hire a painter, and have the house professionally cleaned. No problem, I said.

My son and I pulled up to the house on Saturday and there was a fancy car in the driveway, so I called my friend to ask if anyone was supposed to be living there. No. (This kind of freaked me out because a house that we owned in the same neighborhood was broken into while it was vacant and someone was sleeping inside.) When I rang the doorbell, no one answered, so I used the key to unlock the door and hesitantly peeked inside. I called and called and it appeared as though the house was, indeed, vacant.

Now I had to find out who the car belonged to. I noticed the neighbor next door moving one of his vehicles, so I thought I'd start there. This was our very snarky exchange (I was really annoyed):

Me: Excuse me, sir, but do you know whose car . . .
Him: Yeah, that's my car and the owner was here this morning and gave me permission to park there during my garage sale.
Me: Uh, the "owner" is my friend and she lives in Virginia.
Him: No, I've known the "owner" for five years and she gave me permission to park there.
Me: Do you realize that the previous owners were going into foreclosure, so my friends bought it two years ago, and they've been renting it back ever since?
Him (with long face and sassy come back): No, I didn't "realize" that.
Me: You don't have permission to park there. Now please move your car (with twisted "I'm so annoyed by you" face).

A minute later his wife ran out with the keys and apologized for parking in the driveway. We talked and I realized that her husband was just as confused about the situation as I was when we started our little discussion (the "renter" was there this morning to drop off items for their garage sale). He came out and we joshed and everything was good with the world now that we were both on the same page. Evidently, they had been taking out the trash, having their gardener mow the lawn, and fixing things for the house next door, thinking that they were doing their friends, "the owners", a favor. They felt burned, but said that they would continue to fill the trash cans every week until the piles of rubbish lined up against the full length of the wall were depleted.

Speaking of trash--it was time to enter the house. It was in shambles. There was stuff everywhere. Much of what was left behind was still in their original packages unopened. Since the PM had given my friend the heads up about it days before, she had contacted the woman's divorce attorney and the husband himself (the state of California is extremely particular about the steps to follow when disposing of a tenant's abandoned possessions). Each claimed that they did not want anything left behind and they would sign forms attesting to that. Therefore, my friend wanted me to give the salvageable belongings away before she hired someone to haul them off.

What a pigsty! The backyard had not been maintained for years. The house was filthy and needed new blinds, screens, carpet, and other repairs. The garage door and opener were broken, as was the back gate. They left stuff in cabinets in the kitchen, bathroom, linen closet, office, bedrooms, backyard, and garage. OK, I almost can understand the totally irrational individuals who blame the banks for their foreclosures and then trash the place before leaving. But these people were hurting my friends who had saved them from uprooting their daughter and having to move from their home--not to mention that their credit didn't have a foreclosure on it, either. They were the ones who had a favor done for them, yet they repay my friends by leaving the house looking like a trash heap.

There was so much there that the couple apparently didn't want or need, which would be a treasure for someone else. THESE PEOPLE HAD FINANCIAL PROBLEMS!! Yet they couldn't stop themselves from buying, and subsequently leaving behind, many new material possessions. Not only that, but many necessities like soap, laundry detergent, toilet bowl cleaner, dishwashing drying agent, shampoo, make-up, frozen items and other food that rotted after they left, etc. were still new, but left in the house. Didn't they have to go out and buy some more unopened packages of those? I guess that they also didn't need their money (yes, lots of coins that they had saved!), towels, hangers, unopened bottles of wine, an office desk (still in it's plastic wrapping) and chair, a couch, bookshelf, utility tools, brand new weight set still in the box, movies still in wrappers, cases of cleaners and food, and so much more. It's really unbelievable!

Even if these items will be useful to someone else, didn't they stop to think of what a hassle and expense it would be for the owners, who, did I mention, were doing them a favor, to dispose of it all? I understand that the financial stress and anxiety from the divorce may be overwhelming, but does that mean they have a right to treat others so poorly?

My son spent five hours in there, worked his tail off, and was only able to clean out the small downstairs area and get everything into the garage. It's still filthy, but that will be taken care of when the house is professionally cleaned. The PM is bringing a military wife through tomorrow because she will be leaving the area in a couple of days. I hope she has the vision to see past the mess and to what the home will look like when the cleaning and repairs are completed.

With 20/20 hindsight, this is a message that my friend sent to me (yes, she's profound, too!):

I remember how hard S. and I have worked every time we have moved to leave the house in really good condition. S. says that it is the difference between people who are guests and people who are hosts. People who don't think about how their actions effect other people or the world around them are guests. They don't think to help out or do their share. People who are hosts are the people who end up doing the lion's share of contributing to the common good. The renters are so busy blaming each other that they don't see how they are hurting other people. Well, thanks for reading. I am pretty frustrated at this point, and I knew that you would understand on some level. On the other hand, you would have never been stupid enough to try and help people like them. Your vision is better about stuff like this. Sometimes our rose colored glasses get in the way. I guess I always try to believe the best in people will come out -- lesson learned hopefully.

So I ask myself, do my daily interactions with others indicate that I am a guest or a host in this world?

Perfect Present

After spending fifteen minutes an entire week searching for the perfect present for my husband's birthday this weekend, I think I finally hit paydirt.

This shirt says "B4 you even Ask..."

~Yes, these are all my children and they're awesome!

~Yes, we have television; we just don't need it!

~No, this is not some sort of daycare; it's 24/7!

~Why should we fix it if it's not broke?

~Yes, we know where they come from...God.

~We had planned on two, my spouse just can't count.

~Yes, we've heard of birth control; no birth and no control.

~You should enjoy our large family; our kids will be paying your social security.

~We didn't plan the first few, why start now?

~Are we done!?! We're just getting started!

Things That Make You Go "Huh?"

I've been busy for the last week (well, except for my little vacation) being inundated with information about an inane verdict by a California judge that homeschooling is, technically, illegal. Huh?

I would give you a link right about now, but the information that I've received has been pieced together slowly and isn't all in one place. There are many facets of the case to consider. If you're not familiar with this story, a family court judge, who was hearing a case about alleged child abuse, issued a ruling that, not only may the parents involved in the case not homeschool, but no one has a right to do so in this state. Um, I'd like to see him tell all 166,000 (just an estimate, it's probably double that) homeschooled children in California that they have to now attend a public school to ensure that they are not being abused at home. Huh? Can you imagine that many children flooding the public school system all at once? They'd beg us to keep educating them at home.

Since February 29, my inbox has been smokin'. Directly after the verdict, our terminator of a governor said that he would support any legislation that makes homeschooling legal. The State Superintendent of California Public Schools also made a statement in support of homeschooling and that nothing in this state will change. The Home School Legal Defense Association filed a brief to depublish the court verdict so that it is only applicable to that case, and not the general public.

Today, Clear Channel will broadcast a show (Roger Hedgecock) in support of homeschooling. All families are encouraged to participate at the studio or to write a testimony to be read on the air.

This is what I sent in:

As my children beg me to let them "play" with the flashcards of the presidents of the United States yet again, it gives me an opportunity to reflect on the latest ridiculous court ruling.

I've been homeschooling for over 11 years. The oldest of my seven children will be graduating from college in two months with a 4.0 grade point average. I'm not so sure that could have happened if I didn't homeschool him starting in the 5th grade.

You see, I don't "teach the test" to my kids. Although we stick to a strict academic schedule, my focus is to teach them the love of learning. Once that's ingrained, they will seek knowledge independently for the rest of their lives.

Personally, I'm not worried about the future of homeschooling in California.Traditionally, when those in power try to take away a basic right, like the right to defend ourselves or educate our children, the masses unite to ensure that our freedoms prevail. Homeschoolers are unique in a sense that we don't like to bring attention to ourselves, unless it's absolutely necessary. You see, the government has a track record of making the lives of homeschoolers and their families miserable (even though most of us follow the law). So waving a flag and jumping up and down tends to do us more harm than good. However, in this instance, many are voicing their opinions that they have a right to school their children at home.

In our case, if the judges of this state are so far gone that they want to legislate how my husband and I raise our children in our own home (when they are well cared for and happy), then we'd just pick up and move. Yes, I would uproot our family and find a home in a different state because I so strongly believe that the right of the government to legislate the masses ends where my right as a parent begins.