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Tired... Travel... Home Improvements...

July 25th, 2013 at 08:16 pm

**It's hard to sleep in our house these days. LM has not slept very well with his brother gone.

The cat has been a total and complete menace. I have been making sure to exercise him vigorously after work - it seems to be helping.

So, I've got like 3 more night of this? Oy vey. BM come home, so I Can get my sleep back!! Big Grin Usually no kids or cats bother me. The cat often wakes me up at 5am, but I am an early bird and that doesn't bother me. IT bothers me when he wakes me up at midnight too. He's been just getting into *everything* because he doesn't have his wild play partner to tire him out and occupy him.

**As for BM? He's been gone over a week, and doesn't seem overly keen on coming home. Too bad! LOL.

My dad mentioned going to Japan next year. He is not offering to pay for us, and I am not sure of even the travel logistics of all of us going. I was kind of waiting to see how this trip went, but am thinking that maybe my Dad should just take BM with him. I think they would have a great trip!! So, with how things have gone so far, I am more starting to think it is a GREAT idea.

Actually, both our families have lots of travel on the brain (& seem to think we are made of money all of a sudden???). So we have a LOT to figure out. Sending one off to Japan appeals to me, as far as compromise and most enjoyment. (Dh could maybe go for it, but he is really whiny about traveling without me, and man, I just don't want to go. & dh has already been to Asia a few times, so, I think he will survive). Dh has never been to Europe, and I admit all this England stuff is enticing us. We are very jealous. IF we go to England, maybe he will be okay with just BM going to Japan. I have to talk to my dad about it.

{We were planning to go to China next year, and that is up in the air. Our relative there does not want us to come?? Our parents kind of moved in to fight over our travel dollars - where they want to go and where they think we should spend it in turn. Japan is logical second choice. So, will see. Now I am thinking part Japan/part England, with the China dollars}.

In addition to all this, my dad talked me into visiting my sister next summer, and dh's friend is moving out-of-state and also going to be married in a third state (next summer). I did look at a map to wrap my brain around all this and realized dh's friend is moving 4 hours from my sister. (IT was more a shot in the dark if we could combine any trips, so WOOHOO, glad I thought to check a map)!

For the wedding and the friend and the sister, I am mostly thinking of ditching the kids on those trips, from a financial perspective. Heck, I was thinking "just me" to visit my sister, but now my dh has to go, if his own friend in the vicinity. Travel Destinations: Illinois, Montana, Ohio. (I've generally never known anyone in the "middle north" states, but I guess I do now).

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Home Improvements:

**The carpet is still looking TOTALLY AWESOME. LIKE NEW!! I can't get over it.

I am going to put a way crazy good review on yelp, and talk up this place to everyone I know. & we will hire them again in the fall to do the upstairs. (I was just giving it time, to see if all the stains came back, and to save up pennies for the upstairs. This is no cheap rock bottom carpet cleaner).

**Dh fixed the freezer leak. Thanks to the internet. We gathered a tube was maybe clogged and dh just flushed it with hot water. Easy peasy; problem solved.

**We got our kitchen faucet replaced today. Phew! We had a small leak, so that should clear that up. My dad was impressed we got 12 years out of it, given the hard water.

Got the faucet on Amazon for $160 (stuck with Moen at plumber's recommendation, and kept the super fancy one we already had. Which is probably a common style these days, but wasn't 12 years ago). I picked up $150 Amazon gift cards at the grocery store so I could get 6% back on my credit card. The 6% probably cancels out the tax.

Plumber was $125.

My dad quoted $500; we pulled it off for $285. Phew!! (Difference being mostly "cost of living." I am starting to have an appreciation that "DIY" is maybe more valuable given their zip code. But, I also think my dad is exaggerating in his mind how much it would cost for installation). We didn't shop around too agressively, but Amazon was by far the best price of anything we saw. So sounded fine to us. I sent dh off to some "discount warehouse" where saw the same faucet for $400, for reference.

We obviously weren't going to go for super high quality for something that will barely last a decade. But we are used to a pull-out faucet with different spray settings, so wanted to stick with that.

**The battery went out on my garage door opener remote. Bummer. I really don't recall every losing a battery on the old door, but it it possible I just don't remember. This was annoying because the remote is less than one year old. But, at $3 for a battery, I will get over it. Wink

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