Sorry I haven't been back in a few days... I wasn't receiving notifications for my own thread - so I didn't even see all of your responses until this morning.
Sounds like V's car is going to be OK when she get the things fixed that needs to be fixed on it.
How exciting that Allison is looking at a new car. Crossing my fingers for her that the mechanic doesn't find too many things that is wrong with the car she want to by.
Congratulations to Allison on paying off her student loan
She has done an incredible job paying it off so fast.
Here it's still fall and today it was 42.8ºF outside and a little rain. It looks like the sunny weather we have had all fall is coming to an end. Ulf has to get the tires on my car changed next week because now the temperatures are getting closer and closer to freezing point.
We will see what happens with my trip to Germany next year and when I will be there.
Yesterday Ulf made a first draft of our road trip route for our USA trip in 2020. I don't know how to show you the picture of the route here on the DIS now that photobucket doesn't work here anymore.
Yup... It will still have some visual damage after all is said and done - but it will be safe to drive and that is the most important thing to me.
Yes... Well... I will talk about Allison's potential car below.
Thank you - I am so very proud of her!
Hopefully Ulf can get your tires on next week before winter weather moves in.
And if you'd like - you can send me the picture on FB... I know there is a way to upload it here too - I haven't done it though, so I am not sure how to?
You are teaching your girls some awesome financial lessons. They are doing great with it, too.
I hope Allison's Passat works out for her. Is it loaded with extras like the Jetta?
I am super proud of them! Now, hopefully it stays with them for life... They would have a pretty incredible financial future if it does.
I will talk more about the Passat below, but yes - it's loaded... Power moon roof, heated seats, air, power windows - everything.
Congrats to Allison for almost being debt free at such a young age.
It's kind of funny that both girls found cars with front end damage. It's good that V.'s car will be fixed and safe to drive. Hopefully Allison can buy her car , too.
I'm glad your bag came out of the wash okay. I know what you mean about liking the feel of an unwashed bag. It just doesn't look or feel the same after washing.
I hope your visit with your dad went well yesterday.
Nothing much is going on here. I'm off this week I'm trying to use up vacation before Christmas. I'm taking my car in for new tires before it gets cold and someone's coming out to fix the dryer on Wednesday. Apparently, there's a a lot people with old dryers that need fixing.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend.
Liz
I am so proud of her for that! She worked so hard!
I know, right. LOL I am beginning to think that VWs with front end damage are our lot in life.
I'll talk more about both cars below.
Me too, I just prefer the stiff feel of them... It looks great now, but just a little floppier than I'd like.
All of our visits lately have been great... He truly seems like he is adjusting well.
Enjoy your time off! I sure hope your dryer is a quick and easy fix.
Thanks - I hope you are having a nice week.
Wow! I'm gone a week and so much happens! So glad you could meet with your Mom's friend. I think you have a wonderful and rare relationship with your girls--I think more girls are at odds with their Mom's until they are a bit older. So not really getting to "know" your Mom really isn't that unusual and with her health issues, totally understandable. Good luck with finding more of her history.
Glad you Dad got to church and it looks like they will take him as one of their own and watch out for him. It will give him another avenue for friends and relationships in his new town!
V being able to buy her own car is amazing! The alignment is mandatory when the tie-rods are replaced, or you will ruin the tires (ask me how we know
Glad Allison has paid off her big loan and is maybe getting a new car also. That was an expensive lesson to learn, but she will carry that lesson with her and it will definitely help her with her future financial choices.
Looking forward to your wardrobe choices. Glad the SBW bag got clean and ready for the trip!
Thank you... I often think of my relationship with my girls, and how I cheated my mom out of that... Not only that, but that I am even capable of having such a relationship with my girls due to my (lack of a) relationship with my mom - if that makes sense? I had really nothing to go by... No map, no experience... I think that is one of the reasons I am so fortunate... I've definitely had other "mom-figures" in my life, and I knew what I was needing/missing in my own childhood - so I think that may have helped me a bit. Overall, I am just lucky.
I thank God for my relationship with the girls every day.
Yes - church is working out so well for dad... I couldn't ask for a better group of people. Many of them have taken him under their wing and watch out for him. I am so thankful.
It's at the mechanic now, and I cannot wait for it to be back and to be safe for her to drive - I've had a lot of anxiety over it during the last week... Even the other day, she told me that she wished she would have waited for a car that didn't need as much work... Live and learn kid (and we told you so...).
Yes - it was an expensive lesson to be learned, but she could have handled it so many other ways... In the end, she did the right thing and she worked hard. So proud!
I took pictures of most of my outfits yesterday - so I will be posting 1 or 2 today.
Congrats to your daughter on the loan payoff! That has to be a huge weight off her shoulders. Sadly many in that situation would end up defaulting on the loan. Expensive lesson but the experience may end up saving her much more money in the future. V's car looks really sharp! Hope it serves her well. And Allison might have a VW too. With the work it needs, maybe the price is negotiable? When I look for cars, I like them to feel solid and not tinny Love the mug - I need to give one to my sons - ha! The SW shirt looks like a work of art. Nice find. I need to look thru my Disney shirts soon. Our trip is in 47 days! I recently bought a limited edition shirt on eBay - The Great Movie Ride That's a Wrap. It was sold to AP's after the ride closed. Paid way too much for it but I'm glad I bought it GMR was a favorite of mine. Hope you have a good week!
Thank you - I am so proud of her! Exactly... It was a big "life-lesson" to learn, but she has thanked me countless times for teaching her about money and how to handle it... She has made some excellent financial decisions lately - and I couldn't be more happy for her!
Thank you - I sure hope so too... Once all of the needed repairs are done, I will feel so much better about it. I don't like the cosmetic damage on the front - I know if she would have held out, she could have found a car in better shape... sigh. Oh well, now she has to deal with it - she may also have an expensive financial lesson in her future.
Yay for a trip in 47 days!!
And that shirt sounds awesome! So sad about GMR...
Thanks - same to you!
Awesome that your girls are both going to behind safe wheels, and at no extra expense to Mom and Dad!!!
You are truly preparing them for financial success the rest of their lives, which is awesome!! My Mom and Dad really did this for me, too, but somehow my brother escaped the valuable lessons--he has had credit card debt since the opening of his first credit card it would seem!!
I hope I do as good of a job instilling these lessons with Jimmy as you have with your girls. Way to go, Mama!
Hopefully - that's the plan. LOL Yah - it's kinda nice to go to the mechanic and not have it be us who pays.
I hope so... I just hope it sticks with them! I have a close person in my life who has severe financial issues, and it's so difficult for me to watch... I had to stop giving advice years ago, as it just fell on deaf ears, and that annoyed me more than anything. So, now I just have to watch them suffer financially - as "helping" by giving or borrowing would do nothing but prolong the problem. It's so hard.
You will - I know you will! Jimmy is so lucky to have your for a mom!!!
Just chiming to say how proud I am of your daughters. Love Victoria's first car!! Glad you have a reliable mechanic to make it as safe as can be. VW's are good cars. I always insisted on every imaginable air bag for any used cars purchased for our sons. Hubby was eyeing a Jetta for Ariece that a fellow officer was selling but he wanted way too much $ for it. And Allison!! She may get her own VW! And I cannot tell you how full my heart is and so proud of your Allison for paying off that huge loan. That is a lot of money for a young girl to pay back. And then paying for their Disney trip as well!! This is what determination and savings does, and you taught them well.
Hope your Dad enjoyed church yesterday! Wonderful start to the week for him.
I am following along and stopping by when I can!! Have a beautiful week Dorine.
Thanks - I am so proud of her too! Yes, we love our mechanic... We only started using him about 4 years ago - but he is great! And he treats my girls like his own kids - which I like, and makes me feel safer too. Just the other day, when I took the Passat in for Bill to look at, he was telling Allison over FaceTime that he isn't able to do all of the work on VWs - so it has been known to happen where people have to then take their VWs to the dealership... Allison didn't like that at all, as Bill has taken good care of us over these last years and we trust him. For people who don't have much car knowledge, we are very fortunate.
I will talk more about Allison's potential car below... I'll try to keep it short this time.
Agreed - I am so proud of her!!! And to pay it off so early... The more she saw the balance go down, the more she was determined to pay it off sooner - it was awesome!
And it's wonderful that they are both paying their own way to Disney... That helps this mamma out a lot.
Dad enjoyed church very much - I am so happy that it is working out so well.
Thanks Carol!
I did receive your email and I read it... I will try to respond in a timely manner.
A huge, huge, huge congratulations to Allison on paying off that student loan. And a HUGE kudos to you and Josh for setting such a great example for both of the girls. Both paying cash for their cars, taking care of the repairs, not incurring additional debt -- that is so fabulous. Yea!!! Frustrating that V's new car needs so much work, but good for her for having a plan in place to pay it in cash. I totally understand your feeling about the car being safe for her.
I'm still debating about which debt to pay off first -- the one that will make the biggest monthly income impact, or the one with the smallest balance, or the one with the highest interest rate. DH and I disagree on which route to take...but since I'm the one who handles most of the bills, I am thinking I should just decide and be done with it. LOL
Mark and the girls ran a 5K on Saturday. Andrew and I were the cheering section...his knee is still injured and I just wasn't up to walking the 5K in the frigid (40 degree) temperatures. So we were the cheering section. It was Mark's first ever 5K and I think he's hooked now...I asked him for Christmas gift ideas and the few ideas he gave me all have something to do with running. After the 5K Mark and Andrew went back to MIL's house and started putting in her tile backsplash in the kitchen, and MIL, the girls and I went to a home expo. I was hoping to find some inspiration to help me pick flooring, countertops, and paint for the house but I think I came away more confused than I was before. I don't have an eye for combining colors and textures and I don't want to do anything super trendy, but I just can't figure out what I want in terms of the floor and countertops. I know I want gray for the countertops, but I'm not sure which shade of gray (or white with gray in it...or black with gray in it...?). Cabinets will all be white, and I'm torn on the color for the walls...a soft gray, or perhaps just white? And then the floors...Mark wanted slate floors but that will show everything...so I was thinking dark wood (actually "luxury vinyl plank" or tile that looks like wood"), but our dining set is dark wood and I don't want them to totally blend together...so then I was thinking about "regular" medium tone wood but I don't know that I want to mix regular wood with gray...so I'm just super confused. Mark suggested finding a design center or something like that and just going in and paying for a consultation, so I might do that. Any suggestions? I don't want to go with anything super trendy, but I do love, love, love gray...and I'm not a brown/tan/beige person, so I'd like to avoid those colors. So many decisions!
I am loving the sneak peek of the bags...I think I've decided that, when I get our debt all paid off (other than the house), I'm going to reward myself with one of your gorgeous bags.
Exactly!!! All of the above! I am so proud of both of them! And so happy they are determined to live an "as-debt-free-life-as-possible" - it's not easy.... Though I do feel that being strapped to all of the payments is much harder.
Yah - it is so frustrating that V's car needs so much work...
I tried to tell her that she needs to find a car closer to home, which our mechanic can look at... She is definitely paying the price for shopping too far away. She told me the other day that she kinda wishes she would have waited and found something without damage... I think she is learning this lesson - or she will very shortly when she has to pay for all of the work to be done. It sucks, but there is only so much we can do... In the end, it's her $$ and she has to make the decision. As it is though - once these repairs are done, she will have to drive this car for a while to recoup some of the costs, as I don't think she will be able to sell it and break even. It's going to be close. At least it will be safe.
I really like the snowball method - paying off the smallest to the largest debt regardless of interest. You get the small wins that way to propel you forward. And if you actually do the math - if you are paying everything off anyways... The $$ you are saving in interest is very little... the real problem is the balances themselves. In the end though - you have to do what works for you... Just pay off something. LOL
Awesome about Mark's 5k!!!
I loved running so much when I did it!
And exciting about picking out kitchen stuff... I went with a lot of neutrals, just because I wanted the option later to be able to coordinate... I am super happy with our budget kitchen re-do, and happy that we didn't create too much more debt to dig our way out of at the time - since that portion of life was right during our biggest debt increase... However - we easily could have taken out a second mortgage, and really made a mess. LOL In the end - I'd stick with the grays... and that neutral palette, it will be very nice and you can add whatever color pops you'd like later.
Hiring a consultant though, probably wouldn't be a bad thing - as it might make it easier to visualize.
Thanks! I am going to start sharing my outfits for our trip today.
I am so excited!
Just catching up and wanted to say how brilliantly your girls are doing paying off student loans and buying cars and remaining debt free! You are right to be so proud of them and yourselves for setting such great example and being so supportive.
Oh and I love the shirt
Thanks so much!!! I am so proud of them! I hope they continue on this financially responsible path in the future - only good things to come for them, if so.
LOL - I know - I love that shirt too!
Thank you! It sounds lovely and I would really love to see a picture!
Sorry to hijack the thread for a wee moment but hopefully these photos will give you an idea I did a close up of the countertop as it's not solid black but has a little grey through it. Hope this helps you decide
Loved seeing these pics - thanks for sharing them, you have a beautiful kitchen!
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OK - boring car updates first...
V's car is now in the shop, we dropped it off yesterday and it should be done today or tomorrow. It will be such a relief!
Allison's Passat saga... I picked it up on Monday and took it to our mechanic... I was hearing "clunks" from the front end when I'd let up on the brakes - so I specifically had that investigated. As it turned out, the upper ball joints were failing on the front passenger side and also the lower control arms on the same side. This is a major repair which Allison was quoted between $550 - $710, depending on how high of quality she wanted to spend on the control arms. At that time, our mechanic deemed it "not safe to drive"... And then I had to drive it 20 miles back to the owner... That was a little fun. Not. Allison decided, with the price of the car and the quote to fix it + new tires, it was out of her price range and she told the seller that she was no longer interested. That was a hard decision for her to make, as I know she really wants a newer/better car. So then, last night, the seller contacted her and dropped the price in half! He must have researched how much it would cost to have these repairs done... So, now she is considering it... The price of the car + repairs + tires still brings it in at about $300 under blue book value. We will see what she decides to do... I know it's tempting for her. I could go either way, honestly... But - she could save for a few more months and really get a nicer car for a bit more $$... And we KNOW that her current car is reliable with no projected repairs (knock on wood)... What would you do?
OK enough about cars. LOL Believe me - I am sick of talking about them. LOL And putting my own life on the line to drive them all over the county.
Last weekend was amazing. I. Did. Nothing. I can't say I've ever done nothing. LOL From Friday night through Sunday night, I sat on the couch, in my pajamas and watched episode after episode of Outlander. It was glorious.
I am still watching it - though not quite as determined... I managed to watch Season 1 Part 1, Season 1 Part 2 and the first half of Season 2 over the weekend, and I've been chipping away at the last episodes during this week. I have the final episode to watch in Season 2 tonight, and the set is due back to the library tomorrow... Phew! I can't believe I did it. LOL Not looking forward to watching tonight though - after reading all of the books, I know what happens... Not looking forward to bawling my eyes out.
I've been working out and eating well... I sure would love to lose another size before our trip. I know I can do it!
I started to assemble and take pictures of my trip outfits yesterday, in earnest. I managed to get 6 of them done. All subject to change if I find something I like better... With 9 days... 2 of them are full travel days, I will need 7 outfits. One of the bags, I am not sure will make the cut? I just don't like it all that much... It's the red gingham Chip & Dale bag. We'll see. I also have plans and hopes to make 1 or 2 more for myself, if my schedule permits... That will be a last minute ordeal though - as my schedule is FULL... and since I didn't know about this trip far enough in advance, I didn't clear my work schedule for the dates I'll be gone... So, I will also have to do that work before I go. Plus V's requested items... Never a dull moment and no rest for the weary. All in all, before our trip in January, I will have 7 bags to make above and beyond my regular work schedule... So, lots of evenings and weekends (and potentially, holidays) in my foreseeable future.
I have not decided which outfits will be worn in each park... The one thing I love about my themes is that they are totally interchangeable, and any one of them can be worn in any park without difficulty... I honestly probably won't decide until the night before and I look at the weather... As some of my outfits are warmer than others. I will have my fall jacket with though - so I could put that over any of my outfits if necessary, and most of my outfits are layered, so I can take off pieces if necessary too...
I've decided that many of my outfits will include jeans this trip... I plan to bring 2-3 pairs of long jeans, 2 pairs of denim capris and 2 pairs of denim shorts... That way, I can switch out for the weather and do laundry if necessary. Also, tee shirts... I am bringing 4 colors (red, white, gray and black) both long sleeved and short sleeved versions - then I can change out as necessary for the weather... Or wear both.
I am starting off with one of my favorites... I love working in gray-scale and I love wearing my wardrobe in gray-scale too... If you look at my closet - everything is predominantly white, gray and black - with a bit of red thrown in. Steam Boat Willie is a classic, and just a fun theme to wear.
I have a plain gray tee shirt, with a plain black fleece jacket, denim bottoms depending on weather... Then all of my accessories... Headband, magic band, gloves, bag and shoes... I've decided to leave my big clunky bubble-gum jewelry behind on this trip (for the most part, I may bring one set?) - it weighs too much and with all of the extra clothing items I need to bring, I think it's best to leave it behind.
I need to try to wash my dotted Vans again... I love them so much!!! However, when I washed them a few weeks ago - they made them with red interior fabric, and I feel like a bit of the red bled through and the dots are ever-so-slightly pink... That drives me a little nuts and something I was worried about when I got them initially... So, I think I will try a second washing to see if I can get them any whiter. The girls insist it isn't as bad as I feel like it is, but I am sorta picky with things like that.
So, that's about all for trip stuff for right now... I might try to work some park plans into this PTR in between outfit postings? Just to keep it a little interesting. I still have a few months before I can start posting FP updates, and I've pretty much given up any hope of seeing FoP this trip...
Today - I will be working all day... I have a heavy work-load this week.
I plan to take a break at lunch time to go see dad... and hopefully at some point this afternoon we will get a call that V's car is finished, if so, we will go get that too.
I hope you all have a wonderful day! Sending prayers and pixie dust out to all of you!
D~