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?