A rare weekend of dates!

This weekend has been definitely unusual for us.  Marty and I rarely ever get to do anything without kids.  We definitely don't mind it, but it is nice to be able to eat where we want to or go see a movie that doesn't involve animation or super heroes.

First, Marty and I enjoyed his last Friday off until July.  (His work schedule rotates every 4 months)  We decided to celebrate our last day of "freedom" by going to eat at our favorite Mexican restaurant.

Lunch was great, but soon it was time to get Jameson from school.

THEN, on Saturday, Jameson was invited to a birthday party/sleepover at one of his best friend's house.  The last time Jameson went to a sleepover, it was the weekend before school started back...a little over six months ago. We took advantage of the alone time and went to see TWO movies!

The first movie we saw was Identity Theft:

From IMDB

 Oh my goodness, (other than the language) this movie was HYSTERICAL!  I haven't laughed this hard in a very long time!  Melissa McCarthy is a comedic genius!  I saw an interview about this movie, and they said in the original screenplay, Melissa McCarthy's character was supposed to be male, but they rewrote it just so she could play the part.  In my opinion, EXTREMELY GREAT decision.

Identity Theft was over by 6:30, so we decided to stay and see another movie...Beautiful Creatures:

From IMDB

I hadn't really heard a lot about this movie, but was intrigued by the trailer and description.  I also felt like it was a sort-of Twilight-ish type of movie, since it is an adaptation from a series of young-adult books.  Even though it wasn't as great as Identity Theft, it was a really good movie.  I'm sure it will never win an Oscar (unless the tornado scene wins for special effects....WOW), but it was a good mystery, supernatural, love story type of movie.  It definitely made me want to read the whole series of books!

After the movies, we grabbed something to eat and headed home.  It was nice to go to bed when we wanted too, instead of me staying up until Jameson decided he would finally go to sleep.  LOL

Even though we had a great time, we were glad to see Chelsea at church and then pick-up Jameson from the party.  He had a great time, but I bet he didn't have as much fun as we did!

Oh, the places you'll go!

I'm crazy about Dr. Seuss and think his books and poems are fantastic for children of all ages (and adults, too!)  So, when a friend asked me if I could make a frame similar to what she found online, I had to try.

It was a lot of work (vinyl does NOT stick to canvas very well.  LOL), but I think it turned out really cute!

Oh, the places you'll go!

Making herself at home.

Over the past week or so, Sweets has been super cuddly.  Any time one of us gets still, she jumps right up and snuggles right in....no matter what we are trying to do!  I hate to make her move, but sometimes I just can't work with her in my face (or on my chest, or wrapped around my hand, or behind my neck).  HAHA!

Whatcha' doing, Mom?

This looks like a nice comfy spot.

So you notice how red my face and neck are? (I'm not wearing makeup).  I was BURNING up!  I hated to disturb her, so I sat there and suffered.

 

Jameson is LOVING it.  She has actually started climbing up in his lap, too!

Today she really freaked me out. I was working on something on the computer, and she jumped right up on my chest.  She flopped right down, turned her head upside down, and fell asleep.  She was SO asleep, her ears weren't perked up, she wasn't purring, and she wasn't wiggling her tail (what she tends to do when she snuggles with us.)  I kept watching her to make sure she was still breathing.  I wanted to take a picture of her, but my phone was in my pocket...the pocket she was sitting on.

After about 30 minutes, she jumped right up, stretched, yawned, and ran over to another cushion and promptly fell back asleep.

Yup, I think she's finally made herself at home!

You can't be too careful...

In parking lots! 

I just wanted to make sure no random building materials came anywhere near my car.

Hey, maybe I will actually lose a little weight with all this extra walking!

When I left the house this morning, I wouldn't have guessed...

...that when I got home, I would be driving my dream car!

  (Well, "dream car" as in the family car that I really wanted but didn't think we could afford, not as in some exotic sports car that I KNOW I will never be able to afford.  HAHA!)

After months of research, looking, crunching numbers, and a really weird case of a "missing car", we finally ended up with the car that I wanted from the very beginning...A 2013 Nissan Pathfinder. 

I've been driving a Pathfinder for the past 7 years and I've loved it.  However, with it reaching almost 200,000 miles on it, I knew it was time to move on to something newer.  We have been so fortunate that we really haven't had to do much mechanical work on it, but I knew that the time was coming where it was going to cost us more to repair it than to get something new.  Plus, with all the miles I drive back-and-forth to work, I have to have something dependable.

I've wanted a new Pathfinder since the very first photos were released to the public, which was about a year ago.  We not-so-patiently waited for them to hit the dealerships....which finally ended up being late November.  But holy-moley Batman, they were expensive!  We didn't think we would ever be able to afford one. 

We changed our focus to something more affordable, which had us searching for Toyota Venzas.  They are pretty difficult to find used, and way too expensive when bought new.  We thought we had found the "perfect" Venza last week....well, y'all know how that turned out.  BUT, the one good thing that did come out of that trip, was the gum-smacking, pushy salesman told us that Nissan was offering VERY low interest rates on their new vehicles.

So, I went home, started crunching numbers using used car interest rates (for someone with our credit) and then using Nissan's credit rates.  Surprisingly, I found that we could get a brand new Pathfinder for just a few dollars more a month than a 2009 Toyota with 40,000 miles on it.  It was a no-brainer!

I found a super fantastic deal on a base model Pathfinder at Jim Burke Nissan, which just happens to be the exact same place we bought our last Nissan.  Their prices were literally at least $3000 less than all of the other dealerships within a 200 mile area (and trust me, we've looked at them ALL)!  We looked at the base model, but the above little blue beauty was sitting right out front...begging to come home with us!  Fortunately, I had printed out the ad for this one and was able to get it for LESS than the base models at all the other places!

I won't deny there was a lot of negotiating to get the deal we did, and at one point, we got up to walk away, but we ended up pleased with the final result!

We are so relieved to be done with this process and so happy with our new car!  It's the color I've always wanted, and it drives like a dream!

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I was in no way compensated for this post by Nissan or Jim Burke Nissan.  Just sharing my positive experience!

Love is a Battlefield

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

 

 

 Admit it, you are singing that song in your head right now!  You are welcome!

Ho! Ho! HUH?

What? 

 Don't you all have a 3 foot tall, tin can Santa still sitting out on your front porch on Valentine's Day?

Adventures in car buying.

Happy Tuesday friends!  If you are reading this, that means you survived Monday....congratulations!  LOL

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We had an interesting Saturday.  Like I told y'all a couple of weeks ago, we are looking for a new (to us) car.  

We have almost decided on a Toyota Venza, and have been watching a few online for several weeks.  Well, the Venza I had been watching that was PERFECT, had a price drop of $3000 on Friday, which put it right in our target price range.  We immediately sent an e-mail requesting an appointment and within 2 minutes, we had a call from a salesman.  We set up an appointment for Saturday.

**The car dealership we made the appointment with is one of a huge complex of high-end dealerships.  The car was listed at the Lexus dealership.**

Marty de-junked and cleaned the car like a pro.  Once our car was ready, we headed to the dealership, which was an hour away.  We walked in for our "appointment" only to be told they couldn't find us in the system...at all.  Not only were we not in their system, they didn't recognize the salesman's name, and the car was already sold.

EXCUSE ME???

You talk about being TICKED OFF!  We were livid!  And if you follow me on Twitter, you may have caught part of my rant!  Not only did I vent on Twitter, I may have sent a not-so-nice e-mail to the dealership.  I know they are in the business of selling cars, but have the common courtesy to call us and let us know not to make the HOUR LONG DRIVE.

We went to cool our tempers by getting something to eat, and then decided to hit a nearby "motor mile" to see if we could find anything else we liked.  Rebound buy, anyone?  We ended up at a dealership that happened to have the same make of car we had been looking at, but quickly realized it was a piece of junk (or at least hadn't been taken care of very well). Then, a super-pushy salesman (that wouldn't stop smacking his GUM), who wouldn't take no for an answer, somehow persuaded us to take a test drive of a GMC Acadia.  The car was beautiful and had all the bells and whistles, but it had way too many miles on it and just couldn't see spending that much money on that "used" of a car.  I just wish we hadn't wasted TWO hours there, because we didn't have time to seriously look anywhere else.

We drove home disappointed, but realize that it just wasn't our time to buy a car, or at least this particular car.

One good thing did come out of the long drive:

 

When we got home, we had a weird e-mail from the car dealership, replying to my not-so-nice e-mail, with some lame attempt of an apology.  But it also implied that WE called the wrong dealership.  Which was complete crap because we never called anyone.  We hit the "schedule an appointment" tab ON THEIR AD FOR THE CAR and THEY CALLED US!  Whatever!  It's totally fine if you don't want our money!

Fast forward to Monday....Marty gets a phone call from the original salesman he talked to on Friday.  He wanted to know why we never showed up to look at the car on Saturday.  Marty then informed him of everything that happened and that we were not happy about our treatment.  Well, the salesman tells Marty that he knows the car isn't sold because he had moved it to HIS dealership on Friday, getting it ready for us to come on Saturday.  Well, HIS dealership was the Porsche, the car was listed at the Lexus.  Seriously, the two dealerships are YARDS apart  from each other, in the same complex.  It's not like they are on opposite sides of the city.  Do you think anyone bothered to tell us we needed to come to the Porsche dealership instead?  NOPE!  He then tells Marty that he didn't understand why they didn't tell us where the car was because they knew he had it with him, etc, etc, etc...  He told Marty that he was going to get his supervisor to call around immediately and find out why nobody told us where to go.  I'm holding my breath! {insert eye roll here} 

My theory:

They DID sell the car either Friday or Saturday morning.  Financing fell through or the customer had buyer's remorse and returned it to the dealership on Monday.  "Oops, now we are stuck with the car again and need to get rid of it ASAP."  "I know, lets call these suckers who showed interest last week and see if we can get them to come back."

I HOPE I am wrong, but I'm not counting on it.  Marty is expecting a call back from them tomorrow, so I guess we will see.  However, they will have to offer us a MIGHTY GREAT DEAL to even get us to think about driving back over there again!

Who knew buying a car would turn into a game of hide-and-seek?

It's Valentine's Day already!

Hey friends!  I hope you all have had a wonderful weekend!  Praying for all of those that have had horrible weather over the past week.  Snow storms and tornadoes...weather is such a weird and unpredictable thing!

How is it possible that Valentine's Day is this week?  Wasn't Christmas, like yesterday?  Time is just going WAY too fast!  (I think I say that a lot...but wow, I feel like my life is just slipping away!)

Thankfully, I have until Thursday to finish Jameson's, but I had to get on the ball and finish mine for work this weekend!

I saw this idea on Pinterest last week and thought it was adorable.  I really didn't think I would have time to design something similar, so I just left it on the back burner and tried to figure out something else to make for my co-workers.  I found a couple of things, but nothing was as cute as that one (that wouldn't cost me an arm and a leg to make!).  I showed several ideas to Marty, and he loved the same one I did, and encouraged me to try it.  I worked on it for a while and finally was able to come up with my own template.  I am thrilled how well they came out!

The M and M's on the top are supposed to be all white....but seriously, there are only about 10 white M and M's in a large Valentine's Day bag.  HAHA!  I wish I had taken a picture of the back, where you can see all the M and M's.  I stacked them in shades of red->dark pink->light pink->white.  It looks all OMBRE back there! LOL  I hope my co-workers will love them!

My goal was to complete Jameson's Valentines today, too...but I bought the wrong size ink for my printer. So, I'll have to make another trip to the store and spend big bucks to by the correct size ink!  (In the same note, does anyone need any size 125 Epson ink?  I can make you a real good deal.  LOL)  Normally, I try to go all out with his classmate treats, but he is OVER that.  He picked out a super-simple Valentine and that's all he wants me to make.  Here is an image of what his will look like:

It will be attached to a plastic Army man.  No candy tubes, no super time-consuming treats....just a simple heart with an Army man.

**sigh**

First Chelsea graduates, and now this.  Where did I go wrong?  HAHA!

These next two things aren't Valentine's related, but I thought I would share anyway.  

I had the pleasure of designing an invitation for a surprise baby shower for a friend.  I had to block out all the information for now, because who knows if she will see it!

The background behind the dots and the damask is actually a very light pink.  It doesn't show up well in the photos.  I stressed out about these and almost printed them with several misspelled words!  It doesn't work well to do something like this when you aren't 100% fresh!  LOL

This is another one of my sequined shadow boxes.  I made this for a friend's daughter who was re-doing her room.  This is the first one of these I've done that isn't holiday related.

 

 

The words are actually silver and they just sparkled right along with the sequins and glittered background.  I loved the way this came together! 

Well folks, that's all that I have for today!  I hope your Monday is calm and uneventful!

Seriously?

Why do we even bother having a hamper?

Seriously!

Where am I supposed to sleep?

Where am I supposed to sleep? 

Is there such a thing as too many movies?

Hey friends!  I hope you are all surviving after last night's Super Bowl game.  

Personally, I don't have any interest in pro football, so the Super Bowl really isn't something that is important to me.  We did watch, however, once I found out that Michael Oher was playing.  I do love me some "Blind Side".  HAHA!

Since Wednesday, we have literally done NOTHING in this house.  Jameson and Marty have had the dreaded stomach bug, so being productive has just not been an option.  It's hard to go out and do something when you need a bathroom within 5 feet at any given time.  So, we just sat around, sprayed a ton of Lysol, washed a lot of hands, consumed a lot of Sprite and crackers, and watched a lot of movies.  Our DVR and DVD player have really gotten work outs these past few days!

Here are just a few of the movies we've watched this week.

Since Jameson met Nikki Reed at the Scotty McCreery concert in December, he's had a little obsession with her.  So, he didn't complain when I wanted to watch some Twilight movies....well OK, all of the Twilight movies:

I didn't watch them all in a row, but I did manage to squeeze them all in over the past 5 days. 

Don't judge.

We happened to catch X-Men First Class on HBO:

And when we realized that Jennifer Lawrence was in the X-Men movie, we decided to watch The Hunger Games next:

I had a lot of fun telling Marty and Jameson about all the differences between the movie and the books.  (I also did that with the Twilight movies, too.)

We also managed to squeeze in Easy A (Jameson wasn't watching):

Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Rodrick Rules (Jameson was definitely watching.):

and Shaun of the Dead (Jameson's request, but it was the edited TV version):

and everyone's favorite movie of the week, Hotel Transylvania, which came out on DVD this week:

**whew**

That's a lot of movies and that's not even counting the bits and pieces of movies we caught here and there throughout the week.

Thankfully Marty and Jameson are on the mend and so far **knocking on wood**, nobody else seems to have symptoms.  Even though we had sickies in the house, it really was a good weekend.

So, I guess the answer would be, NO, there isn't such a thing as too many movies!