~~October 2016~~Sew, it was the greatest Stitch Experience ever!~~Final Update 3/19/2017!

[Terkina]

what a shame that the mechanic didn't understand what Josh meant. Crossing my fingers that you will hear what the repair of the car cost soon.

I have budget for everything and I try to don't use money on stuff I really don't need. This is how I'm able to travel several times a year which I love and that is a huge motivation to keep living on a budget. So I don't think you're weird

I can't wait to hear what Allison's plans are. Crossing my fingers that she follows through.

Being able to make money instead of spending money is a good thing. So it doesn't sound bad spending time at home working as long as you enjoy your work.



My car is doing good.
Today it was snow storm outside and I had an appointment at the physiotherapist. It was really difficult to drive because I could only see 20 inch in front of the car. I got to town to my appointment with out any accidents. When it was time to drive back home it wasn't that much snow outside so it was much better visibility when driving so it wasn't a problem driving back home. A lot of roads have been closed today due to the weather and flight, buses and boats hasn't operated as normal today because of the weather.

 

[Wood Nymph]

Hi D - Congratulations getting the closet cleaned out. It feels great to be uncluttered. I am slowly moving things back into the kitchen and love having half empty drawers a shelves. I still have a lot of stuff to move back in, but also plan to give more stuff away. It is a great feeling to clear it out of the house.

The one thing I have been doing different lately is cooking lots meals. We ate out a lot during the ten weeks we didn't have a full kitchen and it is a joy to cook again. I also find myself doing a lot of cleaning. I want to keep my brand new stuff as new looking as possible.

 

[debedo]

So sorry to hear the news about the truck-I just dread when something goes wrong on our vehicles.

I totally understand about the budget. We follow the Dave Ramsey method as well. I am so addicted that I have several people I follow on YouTube. The financial boards on Pinterest are never ending!! Oh the spreadsheets and binders...

Can't wait to hear about Your daughters new career plan. It will be exciting!

 

[DMGeurts]

Sorry the truck is taking so long. That's frustrating.

When it comes to money, I'm the opposite of you and it's terrible and has caused some problems. I'm terrified of it -- can't stand to think about it. I'm not kidding when I say it gives me massive anxiety to the point of panic attacks. I need to work on that....

I am working from home today...the inauguration has the transportation situation so messed up in DC that any people are teleworking. And I'm off tomorrow. Yea! I had a root canal yesterday so I didn't work at all yesterday. Feeling better today although my jaw is still sore. I have TMJ and anything that requires that I keep my mouth open for more than a few minutes results in me having a very sore jaw for a couple of days.

Good wishes to Allison as she figures out and sets forth on her next steps!

The wedding plans are coming along very nicely. Next up is airfare out to Utah...I am hoping it will drop lower than it currently is, but my parents really want me on the same flight with them and they want to buy their tickets now, when it's still at about $150 more than I want to spend. It looks like Mark and Brie will drive out -- that way all the wedding stuff we're ordering online can be shipped here so I can check it and make sure it's all the right colors, etc., and then they'll be able to drive it out to Utah. Otherwise we would have to send it to Alyssa who has absolutely no storage space in her college apartment, or one of my husband's family members but then I wouldn't be able to check it until I got to Utah and it would be too late to do anything about it if it wasn't right. Decisions, decisions, decisions.....

Have a great day!

Yes - it is a little frustrating - not so much that it's taking so long to fix - I understand that part - I'd just like to know a definite diagnosis and price quote.

Money and budgeting can be a very scary thing - and each person/couple/family handles it differently... I am sometimes amazed to hear how others do it - as I know what works for them would never work for us. I highly recommend Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover book - it's a great start. If you are interested. I wish I could share my budget here - however - I think that's a little more personal than what I want to share in a public place. I can tell you though, that Josh and I have it set up in an excel spreadsheet - I can go as far back as 2009 to see what our expenses used to be, and forward as long as I'd like - like I said yesterday, I have it detailed out until 2019 right now. Some people do it on paper (I used to - but I couldn't any longer) and other people have apps on their phone.

I do not blame you for one single second for staying home - I would do the same thing! I hope you are able to get a lot of work done and being home is always nice too.

I am anxious and nervous for Allison... We'll see where she goes and how she does.

I sure hope airfare goes down for you soon! And all of the other plans fall into place... Such an exciting and nerve wracking time for you all!

Have a great weekend!

Hoping Josh's truck isn't too bad. My husband took his in for 50,000 mile maintenance and it was $580. He really needs new tires but he doesn't drive it in the winter so it can wait until spring. We don't really have a budget at all, but luckily have been able to stay out of debt. It was tough when I became a stay at home mom, but I really didn't charge much back then. In fact we didn't have a major credit card until we needed one for our first Disney trip. It's kind of funny but my husband always paid all the bills and really watched our money very closely. About 10 years ago I took over paying everything online and I think he's happy to be done with it. I think I told you I am saving for new windows though. I hope to have at least half down and then use the free interest financing. We are skipping our trip next year. Good for you to be saving up and I don't think it's weird to budget everything out. It's what works for you. I find when I go out for a few things, I always find way too much stuff I don't need. So sometimes it's good to be stuck at home.

Only a week until our trip and I can't wait. We might leave a day early and just stay at a hotel for our first night. Right now they're talking snow on our first driving day and that makes us a little nervous. So we decided if it still looks like snow when it gets closer, we'll be ready to leave. It's kind of nice that the weather here is going to be so nice now, but then gets colder again when we leave. Last year we went at the end of Feb. and there was a day in the 60's here and my grandson sent me a picture of him in shorts.

I'm glad to hear Allison is taking the time to decide what she wants to do. Will be excited to hear what it is.

Yes... Budgeting is definitely different for every family... I know - when we were first married, I let Josh handle the finances - and I soon discovered it wasn't his strong point - so I took them back. We both have a hand in it now, though I take the lead. Saving for big purchases - like windows - can be such a daunting task - the are so expensive... That is awesome that you are cash flowing most of it though! When we did our windows/siding almost 10 years ago - we cash flowed the entire project... I am especially thankful that we did it that way - as many people would just take out a 2nd mortgage on their home and end up very upside down very quickly. I commend anyone who can pay cash! And for the record - every one of my trips has been paid for with cash. That is one thing I love about staying at Disney - the ability to go and not have to put anything on a card... Same with Shades of Green - they still take personal checks.

How exciting!!! I didn't realize that you'll be down there at the same time Suzi is! Which resort are you staying at again?

Yes - Allison is trying to sort out what she wants to do - it's such a hard decision!

Have a great and safe trip - I cannot wait to hear all about it.

Car issues are my least favorite surprises I have to spend money on Three weeks before Disney I had to put brand new tires on my car because I got two unrepairable flats!! There went $700 and another $400 a week later when something in Rob's car went wrong. SIGH. I am definitely a budgeter, too!! So, I hate when things go wrong!! BUT I am usually pretty good at keeping a cushion for just in case.

The best news is I saved SO well for our trip this year that we actually came home with a lot of gift cards leftover AND an excess of cash we didn't end up spending. WOO HOO! Disney fund for the next trip is already in place I am thinking perhaps joining Arianna for the 5K in January 2018 or a Disney Cruise sometime next year.

I know - I hate that part of being a grown up. I also try to keep a cushion - or at least a healthy savings account... I have to admit that ours was pretty depleted and we were not being responsible with our $$ for the last few weeks of the year - which really gave us an eye opener when we needed cash for the truck. Lesson learned - again.

That is really awesome! I also came home with $$ on my GCs - not a lot, but some, which was nice! Saving mine for our next trip as well.

We are also looking at going back in Jan 2018... I have to see what the girls' schedules look like though. I'd love to do the 5k with you all - I just don't know if I have it in me to try and get into the race itself - I've heard it's madness to even get registered!

Thanks for stopping by - it's always great to see you Jackie!

Hope you get some news about the truck soon.
We had fun down at the outlets. It was cold, though. We found some cute stuff for the baby at the Carter's outlet and a couple of really soft fleece jackets at Northface. I did get a new vacuum from Walmart,course. My carpet really needed vacuuming after a week. The funny thing was that someone took the old one out of the trash after I took it out to the street on Monday night.
I'm still working on quilting the quilt. Other than that, nothing's going on.
Glad to hear that you're making progress with your weight loss and getting back into shape.
Have a good day
Liz

Thanks - I am hoping we will hear something before the weekend.

I am glad to hear that your trip to the outlets was successful... I wish we had a Northface outlet near us - as I really want to get a down coat to replace the TWO that the girls lost/had stolen - both of them were white and I wore them all of the time. Sigh.

Glad you were able to get a new vacuum! Well - hopefully the person who took your old one was able to get it working again?

Thanks - I've been concentrating hard on it - considering I don't have much else to concentrate on right now - except for work. LOL

Have a great weekend Liz!

Good morning D; just popping to say hi! Enjoying your updates - except the news on the truck. Car repairs are the worst. DIL has a vehicle with a lot of miles on it and is starting to have problems; Tyler is pretty good at fixing the simple stuff. Hope you hear a price quote soon. I am so amazed at your budget; not weird at all but absolutely kudos to you. I preach to my sons all the time about if they have a credit card to put it on automatic payment and make sure it is paid every month. We have a CC that we charge everything on, only because of its rewards; but it is paid off each month. January is always a hard month with taxes due for 2 houses and 2 college tuition payments.

I wish I had your drive to clean out our closet; I so need to get in there and just start tossing. It seems everything gets thrown in there. Do you have a timeline for the bathroom remodel?

Hope to see a TR soon!

Hugs and prayers!!

Thanks - I hope we hear something soon too... Just a price would be very nice to have.

I have nothing on auto payments - yes I am that obsessive about controlling our finances. LOL However - all of my dad's stuff is on auto pay - I'd never be able to handle two households.

Yikes - January is tough for many... But wow!!! I am not looking forward to those days! Hopefully everything goes well and Feb will be here before you know it.

I do not have a time line for the bathroom - a lot of it is hanging on the truck right now... Depending on the cost of that beast is what will determine how much we can spend there. If everything goes well - we will start the bathroom sometime in March, and hopefully finish it by the end of May (though I am praying for the end of April... LOL)... The hardest part with that will be determining what we want to do with the tub - whether we want to get a new one or re-enamel ours? We'll see...

Me too - we are seriously considering a January 2018 trip... I have to see what the girls' schedules look like for next year though...

Take care Carol and have a good weekend!

what a shame that the mechanic didn't understand what Josh meant. Crossing my fingers that you will hear what the repair of the car cost soon.

I have budget for everything and I try to don't use money on stuff I really don't need. This is how I'm able to travel several times a year which I love and that is a huge motivation to keep living on a budget. So I don't think you're weird

I can't wait to hear what Allison's plans are. Crossing my fingers that she follows through.

Being able to make money instead of spending money is a good thing. So it doesn't sound bad spending time at home working as long as you enjoy your work.

My car is doing good.
Today it was snow storm outside and I had an appointment at the physiotherapist. It was really difficult to drive because I could only see 20 inch in front of the car. I got to town to my appointment with out any accidents. When it was time to drive back home it wasn't that much snow outside so it was much better visibility when driving so it wasn't a problem driving back home. A lot of roads have been closed today due to the weather and flight, buses and boats hasn't operated as normal today because of the weather.

I hope so too - we've been managing OK without the truck - we've had to be a bit creative with transportation some days - but for the most part, it's been going OK. It will be a relief to have the truck back, until then though - we are surviving.

Exactly - sometimes I am much more careful than at other times - though I am trying hard to be better about my spending.

We will see what she does... Things will fall into place for her soon - and then I'll share a bit about it.

Yikes!!! Glad you made it there OK - that is always the scariest part about driving in the winter... I've driven is some pretty awful road conditions and not being able to see when the roads are bad is not fun... I am happy to hear that the driving conditions were better coming home.

I hope you have a nice weekend Lillian!

Hi D - Congratulations getting the closet cleaned out. It feels great to be uncluttered. I am slowly moving things back into the kitchen and love having half empty drawers a shelves. I still have a lot of stuff to move back in, but also plan to give more stuff away. It is a great feeling to clear it out of the house.

The one thing I have been doing different lately is cooking lots meals. We ate out a lot during the ten weeks we didn't have a full kitchen and it is a joy to cook again. I also find myself doing a lot of cleaning. I want to keep my brand new stuff as new looking as possible.

Hi Sue! I remember that feeling all too well - it was so nice to not have everything in my cabinets and drawers - just living off of the bare minimum... Eventually I did move everything back in - though like I said, I will be going through everything (maybe this spring) and packing a few of my duplicates up for the girls to take with them when they go.

Yes! I did the same thing!!! I was so happy to have my kitchen back and to be able to cook a meal! I still find myself doing this now - it's something I never really thought about until I didn't have my kitchen for so long - I am very grateful to have it now though. And also, I am still quite obsessed about having the space clean... After living in the cluttered mess for so many weeks - I just HAD to have it meticulous at all times... To the point where I was driving Josh batty with it - so I backed off a bit, LOL.

Enjoy your new kitchen!!! And I hope that one day soon you'll share pictures with me - I can almost visualize it without - but I still wanna see. LOL I bet it's magnificent!

So sorry to hear the news about the truck-I just dread when something goes wrong on our vehicles.

I totally understand about the budget. We follow the Dave Ramsey method as well. I am so addicted that I have several people I follow on YouTube. The financial boards on Pinterest are never ending!! Oh the spreadsheets and binders...

Can't wait to hear about Your daughters new career plan. It will be exciting!

I know, me too... Josh can do a lot - he can do anything around the house - anything with computers... Though cars are not his strong suit and we are most times better off paying for that service - which always hits us hard!

Awesome!!! I've never thought to look on Youtube... I subscribe to his pod cast and often listen while I am working. I also belong to several DR groups on FB, which I love - they always have really good suggestions and opinions. I have a pretty detailed excel spreadsheet - which Josh and I created years ago - it works very well for us - It's color coded, so I know what gets paid when and as everything is paid - I can change it to "green"... It works well. I am happy to see another kindred spirit here. Happy budgeting!!!

Me too - LOL... It's a difficult decision... She will find her path soon - I know it.

***********************************************************************************************************

Well - yesterday was a pretty typical day for me... I did my heavy lifting right away - so I didn't have to worry about it later.

Then I tidied up the house a bit, made myself breakfast and headed up to work... Where I worked all day. I was able to get a lot done, which is always nice.

I did take a picture of our walk-in closet for you all.... Please don't judge too harshly... And yes - this is organized, compared to what it was. We still have a lot of finishing work to do in this area - the window still needs trim + matching window treatments and we still need to finish mudding and taping + painting the wall where we took out the old window several years ago... But like I said - NO ONE goes up here, so it will be the last area we finish. Also - at some point, I will be discontinuing use of my old dresser (which is annoying anyways) and we will install a better storage system in here... Also the shelf straight ahead which stores my tanks/tees/shorts is also a temporary storage solution and when we eventually redo this space - we plan to do something a bit better here too.

And yes - this is all of my clothing - after donating 5 giant bags to Goodwill... I have entirely too much! You can see Josh's shirts peeking out from the extreme right of the closet... The rest of this room is mine. If anything - I figure this is a good "before" photo for later...

So, anyways... Sharing non-public spaces of our home is a bit weird for me...

The other night - it was so cute... The boys lost a toy under the couch... So, Josh went to the rescue... It was so funny to see all of their heads under the couch searching for the toy...

And finally - here's this week's menu plan... I thought you all might enjoy seeing how I have been doing this? So far, so good... This has made it much easier for me to grocery shop (especially since I don't have a car at the moment to grab anything I may forget) and also this has made it easier for me to stick to my own eating plan. This one is MUCH less detailed than the one I did a few years ago - which I think is better for me, the easier something is - the easier it is for me to stick to it.

We don't have any big plans for the weekend... Staying home and saving $$ is our plan.

Victoria is going to a winter bible camp this weekend - she goes every year and loves it...

I think Allison is working all weekend?

And Josh and I will be lazy.

I am definitely planning some TR updates over this weekend. I only have 1 full day left to do and our departure day - so this TR is almost finished.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Sending prayers and Pixie Dust out to all of you!

D~

 

[ljcrochet]

I need to work on my budget. We pay for almost everything on credit cards which we pay in full every month. Makes it great for the rewards. We used air miles for Hawaii last summer.

Hopefully you get the truck estimate today.

 

[missjackiemcg]

I am definitely planning some TR updates over this weekend. I only have 1 full day left to do and our departure day - so this TR is almost finished.

Oh, boo, say it ain't so!! I can't believe it's almost over

I need some days off of teaching and working at Hallmark so I can get my darn trip report started!!! I have all my notes and everything together just never seem to have a moment to get it done. What I really need to do it get full time internet at home so I could work on it there instead of only from school or at my parents' house. That's a new dilemma. I just cannot commit to an internet provider or cable company--my husband wants to strangle me when we get started talking about it, so it never happens

 

[Terkina]

Your walk in closet looks nice. Looks like you are able to find what you want in there.

I've done the same thing for my cats as Josh did for the dogs trying to find a toy under the couch. So I think it looks normal

Sounds like a good idea to have a food journal since it's much easier to track what you eat that way.

I will miss your daily updates on what you are up to when this trip report is over.


The weather is a little better in Tromsø today, but it's still bad weather outside of Tromsø. Buses, boats and flights are still not going as normal. I had to go to the mall today to get some stuff. It was no problem driving even if it was a lot of snow on the roads. It has snowed a lot the last 24 hours. I ran into my mother and grandmother at the grocery store. We chatted for a few minutes before continuing in separated ways.

The fireworks from the mountain where the cable cars are located was canceled on New Years Eve because of bad weather. They are planning on having the fireworks tomorrow, but not from the mountain. I'm crossing my fingers the weather gets better so we are able to see the fireworks. Ulf and I are going to my parents house to see the fireworks so we don't have to stand outside in the cold and watch it.

They are broadcasting Trump moving into the White House here in Norway as well today.

 

[Mrs. Bradbury]

Regarding budget talk, I wanted to offer two sheets I use for day-to-day tracking that I've developed over the years. I had to save them as pdfs to upload them, but I use excel files. The first is a monthly form that I pencil in amounts for our fixed expenses on the day they are due; then, I write in expenses on the days as I spend money to keep track of budgeting. I also highlight the calendar days when we get paid so I can visually see what needs to be paid before we get paid again.

The second is a check register for the month. I don't keep a checkbook anymore, and just keep "a" check in my wallet just in case. We use automatic debit for recurring bills and debit cards for everything else. So I was at a loss as to how to keep a running balance for our checking account until I hit upon this method.

I just print this for each month (one sheet on one side of the paper and one sheet on the other) and keep it in my wallet, which makes it easy to follow along as I spend money.

I will say, too, that my husband goes to the ATM every payday and pulls out a specific agreed-upon amount for him to live off of until he gets paid again. Only having one person fiddling in the checking account has saved us vast amounts of panic and disagreements, I bet. He DOES have a debit card but does not use it, it just makes it easy if I ask him to buy something if the need arises.

ETA: I also round everything up to whole dollars for both forms for simplicity; by the end of the month I usually have a $10 or so surplus in my checking account compared to my check register due to this.

 

[DMGeurts]

I need to work on my budget. We pay for almost everything on credit cards which we pay in full every month. Makes it great for the rewards. We used air miles for Hawaii last summer.

Hopefully you get the truck estimate today.

I know that method works well for many people - however - it didn't work for us. LOL We do our best not to use our CCs at all - however we still have a lot of CC debt that we have been carrying for far too long, and we need to be done with that insanity.

No word on the truck yet.

Oh, boo, say it ain't so!! I can't believe it's almost over

I need some days off of teaching and working at Hallmark so I can get my darn trip report started!!! I have all my notes and everything together just never seem to have a moment to get it done. What I really need to do it get full time internet at home so I could work on it there instead of only from school or at my parents' house. That's a new dilemma. I just cannot commit to an internet provider or cable company--my husband wants to strangle me when we get started talking about it, so it never happens

Yup - it's almost over - sad huh?

Hahaha - yes - it sounds like you do need to figure something out. I hate paying for all of that stuff - but for us, if it came down to a choice between cable or internet... Internet would win hands down.

Your walk in closet looks nice. Looks like you are able to find what you want in there.

I've done the same thing for my cats as Josh did for the dogs trying to find a toy under the couch. So I think it looks normal

Sounds like a good idea to have a food journal since it's much easier to track what you eat that way.

I will miss your daily updates on what you are up to when this trip report is over.


The weather is a little better in Tromsø today, but it's still bad weather outside of Tromsø. Buses, boats and flights are still not going as normal. I had to go to the mall today to get some stuff. It was no problem driving even if it was a lot of snow on the roads. It has snowed a lot the last 24 hours. I ran into my mother and grandmother at the grocery store. We chatted for a few minutes before continuing in separated ways.

The fireworks from the mountain where the cable cars are located was canceled on New Years Eve because of bad weather. They are planning on having the fireworks tomorrow, but not from the mountain. I'm crossing my fingers the weather gets better so we are able to see the fireworks. Ulf and I are going to my parents house to see the fireworks so we don't have to stand outside in the cold and watch it.

They are broadcasting Trump moving into the White House here in Norway as well today.

Thanks - well, I can sure find everything better now than before. LOL It still needs some serious help though.

I've almost always done a food journal for after I've consumed something - but this is the first time I've really done one for the future - to plan out meals and snacks... So far it's going pretty well. It's just hard to come up with ideas sometimes.

Meh - I'll probably start a PTR for January, as if we don't go then - we will go at some point around that time, I am pretty sure of that.

I hope you enjoy the fireworks! Bummer that they aren't on the hill like they normally are - hopefully they will still be beautiful to watch.

Have a nice weekend Lillian!

Regarding budget talk, I wanted to offer two sheets I use for day-to-day tracking that I've developed over the years. I had to save them as pdfs to upload them, but I use excel files. The first is a monthly form that I pencil in amounts for our fixed expenses on the day they are due; then, I write in expenses on the days as I spend money to keep track of budgeting. I also highlight the calendar days when we get paid so I can visually see what needs to be paid before we get paid again.

The second is a check register for the month. I don't keep a checkbook anymore, and just keep "a" check in my wallet just in case. We use automatic debit for recurring bills and debit cards for everything else. So I was at a loss as to how to keep a running balance for our checking account until I hit upon this method.

I just print this for each month (one sheet on one side of the paper and one sheet on the other) and keep it in my wallet, which makes it easy to follow along as I spend money.

I will say, too, that my husband goes to the ATM every payday and pulls out a specific agreed-upon amount for him to live off of until he gets paid again. Only having one person fiddling in the checking account has saved us vast amounts of panic and disagreements, I bet. He DOES have a debit card but does not use it, it just makes it easy if I ask him to buy something if the need arises.

ETA: I also round everything up to whole dollars for both forms for simplicity; by the end of the month I usually have a $10 or so surplus in my checking account compared to my check register due to this.

Thank you for sharing those! The first one is very similar to mine... I wish I could share ours without it being so personal - as ours has EVERYTHING on it and it's quite intricate - it is very similar to yours though, as far as the lines and columns... Ours is just color coded so it's quite easy to read at a glance.

I honestly don't register my checking account at all - I know that is terrible, but I don't. We have several accounts between Josh and I at several banks - each account is for something specific... We each have our own checking accounts for our own individual spending - we have a joint account for household bills - and we have several savings accounts. My personal account, I keep enough $$ in it for Gas (as I only pay at the pump - I never go in) and enough for my Target debit card purchases (as I have to have my additional 5% off - LOL)... I am pretty strict with that budget and I know how much I have to spend... All of my other spending $$ is done with paper cash. It makes it pretty easy not to over spend - as when I am out of $$, I am truly out of $$. LOL

We are much the same way with our accounts... I transfer an agreed upon amount to Josh's checking on each payday and this is his spending amount which he has to manage and make work for his needs.

We work off of Dave Ramsey's $0 based budget - I do keep a very small buffer in all of the accounts - but it isn't much... So my figures must be accurate at all times. I also round up to the nearest dollar within our budget worksheet - which is how I end up with my surplus... At the end of the month it's zeroed out again and absorbed within our budget - so it doesn't roll over or grow.

I think it's so fun to see how each family does their budgeting... I belong to a few budgeting groups on FB - and there are some families out there, I just cannot fathom how their home runs? As what they do - would never work for us... But as long as it works for them, I guess that's all that matters.

Thanks for sharing all of your budget stuff again - I love seeing how other people make things work... If I could ever make our budget a little less personal - I would definitely share it here... Maybe I'll work on that?

Have a great weekend!

**********************************************************************************************************

Ahhhh - nothing exciting to report again today... I think that one day - all of you will just stop coming to visit because my life will become so boring. LOL

I worked out yesterday morning - right away... It was a good work out. I am noticing a big difference in how my clothes look and feel on me... Which is a good thing. It's been too long since I've had that feeling. It sort of helps though - to have so many people renewed in their interest in health... I do admit - even though I am quite dedicated and no longer do the standard "New Years resolution to get healthy" and rather, I've just chosen to live that way... It gets harder for me at the end of the year - as so many people have long since fallen off the wagon, and I feel quite alone in my quest for better health. I do enjoy this time of year - when I have so many people out there challenging me. I have chosen to do a very small goal for the month of January... It's been a LONG time - years - since I've given myself a weight goal to lose... however, it seems to be helping... And at this stage of the game, I'll take any help and motivation I can get to keep myself moving forward.

I also worked all day yesterday... I was able to get a lot accomplished - and that excites me too. The old saying of making the best of every situation seems to be helping me here... Even though I don't have a vehicle at my disposal all of the time - I am surprised at how well it is working out for us, in every financial way there is. It's very nice.

Josh took off of work early yesterday - as I didn't have a car to pick V up from school - and she had to be at the church early to leave for camp. Which was nice of him... I am so thankful that Josh has a good job in which he can be a bit flexible when he needs to be. I try not to rely on him too much for things like this - but with our current situation - we didn't have much choice yesterday.

I made chicken salads for dinner last night - with Ciabatta bread rolls... I can honestly say that neither of us were in the mood for salads, but I made them anyways and surprisingly they hit the spot. Most times - I can take or leave bread... But I love ciabatta bread and I cannot pass it up - so I ate it last night and it was so delicious - I truly took the time to enjoy it.

So - today - I really don't have any plans... Again we are laying low, as to not spend any more $$ than necessary, in an effort to continue to save for the truck repair...

I'll do an update on the TR shortly... I may try to see if I can make our budget worksheet a little less personal, so I can share it here. I'll do some house cleaning... I really want to read my book - badly - I am currently near the end of the 3rd book in The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon... I have the 4th book on the way, though I don't think it will be delivered today... So, I am trying to make it last until the next book arrives. LOL It's hard though - as it's a good series and I don't want to put it down.

And that's about all - no exciting plans at all.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend - sending prayers and pixie dust to all of you!

D~

 

[DMGeurts]

Sunday, October 23, 2016

Day 9 Part 1​

​

I was up at 4:40am - I didn't specify whether it was my alarm which woke me or my internal clock... If I were to guess - I'd have to say at this point in the trip, it was my alarm. LOL

I did my standard coffee/FB/Dis routine on the balcony. There were several mornings during this trip - while I was out on the balcony - I could hear LOUD singing from Magic Kingdom - where they were rehearsing something during the night. I did hear a tidbit about what it was at the end of our trip - for the life if me now, I cannot remember though.

I hopped in the shower at 5:45am, and just as I had gotten in, I realized that I should have showered earlier - as I had to wake V at 5:45. Oops! So, I hurried as quickly as I could in the shower.

I woke V at 6am instead.

We were out the door at exactly 7am... We took the Shady Shuttle to the Poly and the monorail to MK.

It was pretty crowded in this area - though V and I did manage a selfie with very few people in the background.

*also - I must notate, V is wearing her Buzz Lightyear tee shirt from Cindy today... For those of you who don't know Spanish - it says "You have a friend in me".

Although I didn't take a picture of it - I did note in my journal that EVERYONE was going through the scanner at MK this morning - they had several scanners set up just prior the turn styles.

We watched the welcome show - one of my all time favorite things to experience in WDW - so sad it is gone now, so I am glad we had this opportunity - although I probably would have enjoyed it more, had I known it was our last time to see it.

We were let into MK - and everyone was roped back to be led in the park.. While the hoards of people followed the rope...

We veered off to do our standard Photopass pictures up Main Street in an "empty park"... Or in this case, not so empty.

As we were making our way up Main Street - we befriended CM Norman - who was in charge of coordinating all of the PP photographers... He was making his way up Main Street as well - for his morning check-in with them... So, each photographer we arrived at - Norman was there. After several meetings with Norman - he asked us, when we were done, to seek him out and to tell him which photographer we thought was the best. Hmmmm... Norman was a fun guy and we had a good time chatting with him through out our morning...

This picture was incredibly awkward to take... I remember this photographer posing us, and just the way V and I were standing and looking at each other - it was a difficult pose to hold - as we were almost balanced awkwardly. I remember the photographer backing up to take the picture - V and I looked at each other as best as we could and we both bursted out in laughter - and the photographer snapped the photo. However - once I saw the picture - I was surprised at how cute it turned out.

We continued up Main Street...

It's very difficult to see - as this is my only picture of Norman... He is in the background of the below photo - just to the left... If you squint - you can see a Photopass photographer walking towards us - that's Norman. I also love that this photo just captures the essence and atmosphere of Main Street in the morning - the Main Street vehicle - it's just a cool shot.

Victoria decided she was hungry - and rather than finishing our jaunt to the Castle for pictures - we veered off at the path to Crystal Palace... Where we encountered Mary...

And we ran into Norman again... He inquired about which Photographer we liked best to far - however - I remember telling him that I couldn't give him an honest opinion until I saw how our pictures turned out... I promised I would seek him out later in the day and let him know what I thought.

We checked in to our ADR at Crystal Palace a bit early, we were seated at 8:30 for our 8:50 reservation.​

Link to Day 9 Part 2

D~

 

[Terkina]

I can see that it's easier to live healthy this time a year when everyone else is into their healthy new years resolution and that it gets harder when more and more people drop out of their healthy living.
I do hope the facebook groups you had before Christmas continues also after most people has dropped out of their new years resolution so you have the facebook group to motivate you.

How great that you got a lot accomplished yesterday.

It's very good that Josh is able to be flexible at work so he can help out now that you are one car short. Crossing my fingers that Josh's truck is fixed soon.

Looks like you had a great start on your day at Magic Kingdom.


Today it's "Soldagen" here in Tromsø. "Soldagen" in Norwegian means sunday in English which means the sun is back not that it is Sunday (as in the name of a day in the week). We didn't get to see the sun today because of snowy weather. I'm crossing my fingers that the weather gets better for later in the evening when they are shooting up the fireworks they had to cancel on New Years Eve. I think the fireworks will be great even if they don't shoot it from the mountain. Since they are shooting it from near the sea the fireworks will come closer which will make it look bigger.

 

[DMGeurts]

Day 9 Part 2​

​

V and I checked in early for our CP ADR... We were seated almost immediately - in the same area I had sat in with Allison on her grad trip.

The food was OK - I did notate that as hungry as we were when we checked in - it didn't take long for us to feel full, and neither of us ate very much... I didn't finish my one plate of food.

I didn't write anything about the characters - and I don't remember waiting long for any of them... so I think it was a quick meal? LOL Pretty terrible notes at this point in the trip.

I also wanted to add here - see the awesome ceilings in CP??? This is what I want to do to our main floor bathroom when we remodel - almost the same color and everything.

We settled our bill at CP, and headed out into the park.

Stopping for a Then n' Now...

And then made our was to Pirates of the Caribbean... It was walk on... And we were cold after eating.

We also rode Splash Mountain with our FP - even though it was also walk on...

After our ride on Splash - I needed a bio-break... When I came out, V was nowhere to be found.

After a bit of looking around for her - with no luck - I sent her a text, as I was starting to worry...

It wasn't long after - she appeared behind me, with a bag... That little turkey had gone into the Splash dump shop and purchased the Splash Mountain sweashirt for me- the one I've been drooling over for a year... She must have noticed me oogling over it after every ride on Splash. I felt terrible - as I knew it was an expensive item... She reassured me that it wasn't too bad - as she was able to talk the CMs into giving her my AP discount with out me being there - I don't know how she did it? LOL But she did. In the end - I still felt badly - so we decided to share it.

We had a FP for Jungle Cruise - but we weren't feeling it, so I swapped it for the Tomorrowland Speedway... V hasn't ridden that (like Allison) since our 2003 trip... We made our way that direction... Stopping for a meet n' greet with Chip n' Dale...

Hahaha - ETA... I forgot about this part. As we were walking toward the Chip n' Dale meet spot - Chip came up to V from behind and drug her off to a snack cart... He was hungry and was begging V to buy him a snack. LOL Eventually his handler talked him into taking a break - and promised him a snack... It was cute!

We were also thirsty - so we stopped in Gaston's Tavern for a quick LeFrou's Brew...

We also stopped for another important Then n' Now session...

Finally arriving at the Speedway...

And a nice double-chin selfie of me... And my opinion of V's terrible driving...

​

Link to Day 9 Part 3

D~

 

[Terkina]

How nice of V to buy you the Splash Mountain sweatshirt to you. What an extra bonus that she manage to get a discount without you being there to show your card.

 

[kittylady1972]

Yay for another update...well two of them. I love all the then and now photos especially. I have ONE particular Then and Now photo I want to get with my 3 kids with a statue of Goofy at MK but we haven't done it yet. That's on my list for our next trip for sure!

Love the sweatshirt too...how sweet of her to buy it!

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

Great update! I love the then & now pics--they are some of the most fun pictures to take! Can't wait to hear about the rest of your day at MK!!

 

[DMGeurts]

I can see that it's easier to live healthy this time a year when everyone else is into their healthy new years resolution and that it gets harder when more and more people drop out of their healthy living.
I do hope the facebook groups you had before Christmas continues also after most people has dropped out of their new years resolution so you have the facebook group to motivate you.

How great that you got a lot accomplished yesterday.

It's very good that Josh is able to be flexible at work so he can help out now that you are one car short. Crossing my fingers that Josh's truck is fixed soon.

Looks like you had a great start on your day at Magic Kingdom.


Today it's "Soldagen" here in Tromsø. "Soldagen" in Norwegian means sunday in English which means the sun is back not that it is Sunday (as in the name of a day in the week). We didn't get to see the sun today because of snowy weather. I'm crossing my fingers that the weather gets better for later in the evening when they are shooting up the fireworks they had to cancel on New Years Eve. I think the fireworks will be great even if they don't shoot it from the mountain. Since they are shooting it from near the sea the fireworks will come closer which will make it look bigger.

Yes - my FB groups are quite motivational all year long... Most of the people who belong to them are dedicated... However - I do find this time of year - there is a bit of renewed motivation from all of them and a bit of extra energy and focus - so it really helps me a lot.

It's always nice when I can be productive.

Sigh - yah... He went to visit the mechanic in person yesterday - and explained to him that while we do have other cars to drive and we are making it work... We DO need our truck back soon, as it is a main source of transportation in the winter and we need it to haul stuff - plain and simple. Our mechanic promised him he'd have it on the lift on Monday to diagnose it. Grrrr... I hope we get a nice discount for being soooo patient.

We did - I love our MK mornings - I don't know what it is, but I have never entered MK on a cloudy day? I don't know if FL is always sunny in the morning? LOL Or I am just lucky (knock on wood...).

It sounds like the fireworks will be beautiful no matter what. I sure hope they were able to have them.

How nice of V to buy you the Splash Mountain sweatshirt to you. What an extra bonus that she manage to get a discount without you being there to show your card.

I know - wasn't that sweet of her? And I still don't know how she talked those CMs into giving her the discount - from what I understood - she told them that I had been lusting after it for over a year (true)... I was taking a bio break (true)... She wanted to surprise me with the gift (true)... and I was an AP holder (also true)... Thankfully they believed her - if for nothing else - her generosity to me. It's nice to know that both of my girls understand the cost of these trips and how hard I work to make them happen... It's so meaningful when they show their appreciation.

Yay for another update...well two of them. I love all the then and now photos especially. I have ONE particular Then and Now photo I want to get with my 3 kids with a statue of Goofy at MK but we haven't done it yet. That's on my list for our next trip for sure!

Love the sweatshirt too...how sweet of her to buy it!

Thanks, I love doing them too... Finding them in my Photobucket account to post them though is sometimes tricky. I will have more to post at the end of the TR when I do my final thoughts.

Thanks - I was so touched by her generosity. I just washed it yesterday - I don't wear it often because it's white, and it seems like every time I wear it - I have a mishap of some sort... Thankfully it can be bleached - as it's absolutely necessary. LOL

Great update! I love the then & now pics--they are some of the most fun pictures to take! Can't wait to hear about the rest of your day at MK!!

Thanks! I love doing them - and I love that I have so many years of doing the same ones, it's quite fun... Until I have to post them and I have to sort through pages and pages of pictures to find the right sets. LOL That gets interesting.... However - in the process of doing that yesterday - I found many more sets I can do at the end of this TR.

Thanks - I can't wait to share it. It was a fun day.

*********************************************************************************************************

Um... So yesterday... I didn't do anything I said I was going to do - except for maybe my TR update. LOL At least I was able to get that done.

I worked on our "Dream Budget" a little bit... Hehehe... If life were wonderful and we had very little debt - this is what our monthly budget worksheet would look like.

I need to caveat this though - this is NOT our salary amount... and these are NOT our bill amounts... I just did a FAKE approximate example, so you all could see how we do our budget each month. However - everything below (groceries, vehicle gas, etc...) is our accurate budget... I keep very little buffer in our working accounts (usually $10 or less) - and all of our savings accounts are at separate banks from our working accounts - so, if someone was to get our info - we wouldn't lose everything. I know, I am weird. I also need to give Josh credit for creating this worksheet several years ago - he did all of the formulas for each box - so it's very simple for me to copy from year to year... I have previous years "hidden" - so I can go back almost a decade and see where we were financially - which is kind of cool.

This is all done on an excel worksheet - so as I add in figures and numbers - the totals change and I am able to adjust as necessary. As you can see - our main bills are in pink... When I pay them, or schedule them for payment, I highlight them to be yellow... When they have been withdrawn from whichever account, I highlight them to be green. At the end of the year - this entire sheet is green.

So, there you have it - if you have any questions, feel free to ask... I love geeking out on this sort of thing...

So, after I did that - I worked on my business taxes... Which is always FUN... I detest doing them, but alas - they must be done... I am pretty organized where that is concerned, so I am usually able to get them prepared for Josh in a few hours. It was a HUGE relief to have those off of my back so early in the year - typically I drag it out until the end of March.

I met Allison at work yesterday - she had a few things she had to go to the mall for, so I offered to meet her and go along - seeing as I hadn't left the house since Wednesday... I think I am turning into a hermit. I was a VERY good girl at the mall and I didn't purchase anything at all... My only purchase was to replace the gas we used in my car (the one Josh has been driving)... I call that success.

Josh went and talked to the mechanic yesterday - we hadn't heard anything, and we are getting to the point where we are needing his truck back... While we have vehicles to drive an we aren't in DIRE need to have the truck back - it is our only 4wd vehicle and it's Josh's main vehicle in the winter time... We didn't expect it to take quite this long to be diagnosed. The mechanic promised it would go on the lift right away on Monday morning and we should have a quote by Tuesday... Praying we have enough in savings to cover the cost of this - because as we go on, we get more and more nervous that we don't have enough.

I made home made beef stroganoff (out of the Betty Crocker cook book) for dinner last night... This recipe has been a staple recipe in our house forever - it's one that everyone likes. The family had it over noodles - I had mine over a baked potato. Eating has been good and I am feeling good about it.

Today - no plans at all... V will be home from camp by dinner time... It's been very foggy here these last few days as we are experiencing our "January thaw"... Prayers for a safe trip home for her would be good.

My book (surprisingly) came in yesterday's mail - so I'll probably spend some time huddled on the couch with my book.

I'll do some meal planning for my upcoming grocery shopping trip on Friday - so I can make an accurate list of what we will need for the following 2 weeks.

And that's all for our lazy Sunday...

I hope all of you have a nice weekend! Sending prayers and pixie dust out to all of you!

D~

 

[Terkina]

Even if the bill amount and salary amount aren't real I find it interesting to see the amount you use on grocery and gas. The prices are so different from Norway.

I can imagine that doing your Taxes is a pain. Doing my own taxes aren't that bad but Ulf struggle every year doing his Norwegian taxes because he always has to call Sweden and get them to mail some papers he need and every single year Sweden send him the wrong papers at least once so he has to call back to get the right papers. Some years they have sent him the wrong papers 3 times before they finally got it right.

How great that you didn't purchase anything while at the mall with Allison.
In Norway the price on gas drops every Sunday around 6PM and doesn't go up until lunch time on Monday. On Thursday morning they also lower the price until lunch time. I always fill gas on my car on Sundays after 6PM to get the gas as cheap as possible. I'm never out driving in the morning so it's not suitable for me to fill gas on Mondays or Thursdays when the prices are also low.

How annoying that the mechanic hasn't looked at your car yet. Sounds like it was a good idea to get Josh go and talk to the mechanic so he starts on the car. Crossing my fingers that it won't be that bad news on Tuesday.

I hope V gets home safely from camp today.



We were very lucky with the weather last night when the fireworks went up in the air. And it was a very good thing that it wasn't sent up from the top of the mountain because we barely saw the top of the mountain and we wouldn't have seen the fireworks because of a lot of clouds above the mountains. But since the fireworks was shot from near the water the fire works didn't reach up to the clouds so we could see every single firework. It was great. I found a video from the fireworks taken almost with the same view as my parents has from their house. If you want to see it you can find it here

Today my grandmother had "Soldagen" party for the family (A party to celebrate that the sun is back). My grandmother, aunt (my fathers sister), one of my grandmothers sisters and her grown up daughter, my parents, Ulf and I was at the party. This party is a tradition and my grandmother always serves rolls with smoked salmon and egg, ham rolls and some other toppings. This because the party always starts at noon in the hope that we will see the sun so this is peoples lunch. She also serves hot chocolate with cream on top, cinnamon buns and buns that are made the same way doughnuts are made with sugar all around the buns. Everything is home made and it's really good. We didn't see the sun today because of a lot of clouds outside. But we had a good time.

 

[Texan]

Good morning D! Love the update. The SM sweatshirt is the best ever. So sweet of V to get it for you. I love, love, love the Then and Now photos.

So, is LeFrou's Brew and Butterbeer similar?

Love the PP pictures; what great memories; I know you worked hard for your borders!

Have a wonderful Sunday! It is crazy windy here today but I need to go the store. Meal planning for the week!

Hugs!

 

[Born 2B a Princess]

I love the trip updates! And the "then and now" pictures are fabulous. The girls are so cute.

So sorry Josh's vehicle is taking so long. My fingers are crossed that the estimate for the work isn't too bad and that it will be able to be done quickly.

Your budget spreadsheet is phenomenal. I really do need to get over my budgeting phobia. I really do. It's awful.

I was off work on Friday because of the inauguration but there was no way in the world I was heading into DC. No way! Brie was out of school so we enjoyed a lazy morning and then a lunch date together. We don't get to do that often and it was really nice to spend time with her, enjoying a nice lunch, and just being together. After that she came home to work on homework and I went shopping at Michael's and Hobby Lobby to pick up some things for Alyssa's wedding. I also got the containers for the centerpieces ordered. Things are coming together... That evening I was on my own at home because she had plans with friends and Mark had to coach a game, so I spent a lazy evening reading in front of the fire. I started reading the Poldark series -- we shall see. I finished the biographies of Queen Mary and Queen Victoria recently and decided, after two heavy biographies, that I wanted something a little more fun to read. I tend to go in spurts with my reading -- I'll get caught up in biographies and read those insatiably, and then burn out and switch over to something fiction (Jane Austen is my favorite), and then switch over to something else, etc., and then the circle starts back up. I'm apparently just coming out of my biography phase. I love the read. Neither of my girls really enjoys reading, which I can't understand. Reading is one of my favorite things to do!

Saturday I had my volunteer shift for church so that took up most of the day, and then we had an extra church meeting that night...then church today, and company for dinner tonight so I spent this afternoon preparing dinner. It was even a W30 compliant meal -- a one pan rosemary chicken with red potatoes and green beans (although we grilled the chicken instead of doing one pan) -- so tasty and also quick and easy, which is nice.

I hope you have a great week!

 

[branmuffin]

HI D! I have been reading all along, but for one reason or the other, I haven't gotten to comment. Either little fingers keep making their way onto the keyboard, or The Dis keeps reloading. Anyway, I am here! I love the MK day update. All the PP pics are so fun! I love that V bought you that sweatshirt- what a sweet girl! The crowds looked to be pretty low for your morning, so that is good.

I really hope you get some good news about your truck soon. Your budget is so well thought out! My DH does our budget, and I am grateful because it's not my thing at all. I am glad you feel encouraged about your healthy lifestyle right now. I agree that this time of year is when most people are "gung-ho" about it & then fall off as spring comes around. We are on Day 22 of our Whole30. I am in absolute awe that I have made it this long. I know not every meal has been a perfect template, but everything I've had has been compliant. I can't really tell a big difference in the way my clothes fit or anything, but I am anxious to see if I have lost any weight.

I really hope you decide to do a PTR for your maybe January trip!