The Chit Chat Chit Chat Thread

[donaldtoo]

This made me laugh. Don't you just love it when it (at least appears . . . ) that the sales people "size up" the potential customers when they walk in the door?

Quite a few years ago, I recall hubs and I went to a car dealership and we were in the market for a new car. A salesman came up to us right away, and made a big deal about a bunch of good, used cars they just got in that weekend. Um, . . . we hadn't asked about anything . . . we had just walked in the door . . .

I then noticed a middle aged couple walk in the door and another salesman immediately directed their attention to some new Fords in the showroom. So I looked at hubs and said, "Let's go." Our salesman's jaw dropped, and we walked out the door (and went to another dealership, which was better). Hubs knows that when I say, "let's go" there's no changing my mind!

Yep, to many, the car buying thing can be a real PITA, but, I learned from my pop many years ago how to turn it into a fun game, and that has never let us down...!!!!!

 

[Gabe1]

I'm finally home!!!!!!!!!!!! I know there's an advantage to getting all the major errands run in one day but today was crazy! Maybe it wouldn't have been so bad if we didn't have to take James clothes shopping AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! @Gabe1 when is this going to finally stop?

Thanks. And done. Mass was at 11this morning. All three families were fed, called upon, waked and funerals. Today was the roughest. The man raised good men (I don't know the DD) they in turn raised great kids and most of them have kids so he was a Great Grandpa. The entire family volunteers in town so often and heavily involved in the church. His children work in the family business as does many of his Grandchildren now.

My Gran believed things came in threes. It was three and hopefully done now. *phew*

On an high note: I became a Great Aunt again yesterday. The baby girl was born on my SIL Birthday!!! Best Birthday Present ever! This niece is a sweetie pie, so excited for her.
Nice way to end this long long week.

 

[donaldtoo]

So true. My tiny little boy is also taller than me now. But since I am just 5'2", it didn't take much. It's just weird.

Yep, that whole growing thang!!!
I used to be 5'-10", but, I'm now about 5'-9"-ish...hey, aging...!
Oldest DD is about 5'-5" as is DWifey. DS (1lb. 4oz. super premie miracle man) is 5'-7" and so is youngest DD.
I'm surprised I ever got to 5'-10" anyway, 'cause my mom is 5'-3" and my pop is 5'-7"...!!!

 

[donaldtoo]

Happy Saturday and weekend everyone! I just had a leisurely breakfast of potato chips and coffee.

What flavor chips...?
Pancake, bacon, egg, French toast...!!!!!

 

[donaldtoo]

so.. I gave my mother videos to review about the Carnival Vista, and it was a resounding no. She facepalmed at the number of bars and the tiny amounts of public pools.

Interesting...
We had a great public pool and a hot tub 3 decks directly above our cabin. It had a retractable roof, so that was closed for our slightly chilly departure. But, it was awesome!!! The lido deck also had a larger pool and two hot tubs. No lack of pools or hot tubs for us!!!!!

 

[StarWarsGirl]

We had pretty bad luck with the 2 cars we bought over here. The first one was so so small and once I got pregnant, we gave that thing up because the seatbelts weren't even long enough to fit around a baby carseat. But it had an oil leak anyway. So then we bought another car.....Seat I think? But that thing was NOTHING but problems....when we bought it, they told us they had just replaced the engine, so it was basically like a brand new car, even though it was 9 years old. Great...but within 2 years, we had to replace the engine again....2000 euros to replace it. Plus, in the winter, when it got cold, the doors would freeze up and you couldn't open them or get them closed. My husband had to drive with one hand on the steering wheel and the other holding the door closed until the car warmed up enough to get the door closed. I had to crawl out the window once because I couldn't get my door to open, and then there was the time that the window was frozen shut, so I couldn't roll down the window and the door would only open from the outside, so I had to flag someone down at my work to come open the door for me so I could get out of the car. It was a mess....and they dealership just said it was a manufacturer's defect, nothing they could do about it. So when, after we replaced the engine, it died after ANOTHER 2 years, and again, it was the engine needing to be replaced, we decided we'd had enough of owning cars. We started leasing and it's been fantastic. You get a new choice after 5 or 6 years, you always get a NEW car, so you don't have those problems with it, everything is covered in the payment....it's automatically insured and if something breaks, we don't have to pay for the repairs. First we had a Toyota Yaris and now we have a Peugot 208 or something? I liked the Yaris a bit better....it was easier to get in and out of and it had a camera in the back. But as I'm not the one driving, I don't give input on stuff like that...and we got this one at a discounted rate since it was our 2nd car from that company. There are definite advantages to leasing instead of buying.

That's the route I'm thinking would be best to go. I was thinking it would be nice to have a car paid off by the time I'm looking to sign for a mortgage on a condo or a house, but as the sales guy made some good points about leasing, plus with my commute to work being so short, I can do a low mileage lease. And not having to worry about paying for maintenance is a huge plus. Plus, all of the vehicles I'm looking at were redesigned for this model year, so if they have any major issues, I won't have to worry about that if I lease. And I might be able to get a nicer car than financing. I don't think there's any way I could do a Buick Regal other than leasing.

 

[DryerLintFan]

That's the route I'm thinking would be best to go. I was thinking it would be nice to have a car paid off by the time I'm looking to sign for a mortgage on a condo or a house, but as the sales guy made some good points about leasing, plus with my commute to work being so short, I can do a low mileage lease. And not having to worry about paying for maintenance is a huge plus. Plus, all of the vehicles I'm looking at were redesigned for this model year, so if they have any major issues, I won't have to worry about that if I lease. And I might be able to get a nicer car than financing. I don't think there's any way I could do a Buick Regal other than leasing.

You know, in 2005 I bought a Toyota Yaris two door hatchback. I lived in California at the time and it made sense for my life. A couple years later I found myself driving it between North Carolina and New Jersey, and then ended up in Ohio. Where it snows and gets icy. And this car is horrible in snow and ice.

Had I known I would someday move to a snowy region, I might have bought something different. So you're right that you won't know where you'll be in 3-5 years. That's valid.

But I haven't made a car payment on that car in seven years. My insurance is halF, too.

In three years, whatever car you might buy/lease to might not fit your life. But if you lease, you're out 100% of the money. If you buy, you'll likely be able to recover a lot of what you paid. Or, like me, you might find that no car is really perfect for your life, but this little tank is good enough. And then you won't have any car payments going into your mid/late twenties.

I know you're smart with money and you're considering your options, but I'm throwing this out there. That salesman was almost definitely picked out for you based on age/gender, and his point seems good but he's also trying to sell you a product you didn't come in for.

 

[Gabe1]

Hi all! I have missed you all, but I didn't want to subject you all to my bad case of the Disney blues. DD leaves to go back in 7 days. And don't think I didn't keep looking at flights and trying to find a room. But, I have been short handed at work, so I convinced myself to be responsible (Blech).

*waves* Hi! Been thinking about you guys this week as you are a topic of discussion on every TV, Radio and newspaper this week. Blah! *sympathy* and {{{HUGS}}}

A couple of weeks ago we almost did an impulse trip. The airfare was so cheap. Why does the DD get to return to WDW?

 

[Gabe1]

Your both wrong ... it's the start of April !!!

Me too, me too, me too!!!!!

 

[Mr Ferret 75]

Me too, me too, me too!!!!!

You always struck me as the sensible type.

 

[Disney Lover Addie]

It’s freezing where I am! How’s everyone’s day?

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Thanks!
Better, but, still splinted. Will take a look at it tomorrow morning.

How is your DH doing?
Much better, I hope!

Cute about Kapono, although she didn't hafta' steal hers...!

View attachment 259650

Glad to hear your finger is doing better. Hubs is doing okay, he is very happy to out of the boot. He is still taking it easy on the ankle and it still hurts a little if he does too much activity. We are going to start walking the halls at school in the mornings so he can build up some strength again. He doesn't want to walk outside much as there is too much ice and he is nervous about slipping, and I totally understand that.

Cute pic with the bagel thief! Kapono doesn't have to steal hers, but she sure loves her little pieces!

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Had a fun morning. Took the kids snowtubing at this ski resort near us. They were wiped after an hour. We then ate an early lunch at the ski lodge that made Disney prices seem reasonable.
View attachment 259670View attachment 259671View attachment 259673

Yeah for tubing! I took my own lunch when we took the students on our field trip but the food at the snow tubing place really wasn't that bad. They had a grilled cheese and wild rice soup special for $5 I was tempted to ditch my lunch for that.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Yep, a lot of different cabin options!
Since oldest DD and SonIL had aft veranda cabins on their DCL honeymoon cruise and loved it so much we got them for our Carnival cruise, and they were awesome!!!!!
The middle of the Gulf, and sooooo relaxing...just beautiful brain drain...!!!!!!!

View attachment 259679

For our next cruise in July we couldn't get 3 aft cabins, as they were already booked, but, we have 2 cabins with balconies port side and one cabin with a balcony starboard side, with an elevator core between, towards the front of the ship!

This was our aft cabin floor plan on our Dec. cruise...!!!!!!!

View attachment 259680

We had a cabin at the very back of the ship on our last Dream cruise and we loved being back there and the veranda was bigger than the last one we had. I think we are spoiled now that we had a veranda that last two times, but it is so nice to have that little extra "deck" space for our exclusive use. When we cruise again someday we will definitely get a veranda of any size!

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Thanks. And done. Mass was at 11this morning. All three families were fed, called upon, waked and funerals. Today was the roughest. The man raised good men (I don't know the DD) they in turn raised great kids and most of them have kids so he was a Great Grandpa. The entire family volunteers in town so often and heavily involved in the church. His children work in the family business as does many of his Grandchildren now.

My Gran believed things came in threes. It was three and hopefully done now. *phew*

On an high note: I became a Great Aunt again yesterday. The baby girl was born on my SIL Birthday!!! Best Birthday Present ever! This niece is a sweetie pie, so excited for her.
Nice way to end this long long week.

Congrats on the addition to your family! I'm sorry you have had a tough week but the addition is a nice end.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

I hate hindsight. It just reminds me that all my decisions were stupid!!

I'm sure they weren't all stupid, you made a good decision to marry your hubs! And a good decision of coming here to meet all of us!

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

@MinnieM123 I saw the Swan and Dolphin is having a promotion for for residents of the state for the winning team of the Super Bowl. So you might want the Pats to win to get a deal on a WDW trip. It is for stays through the end of 2018.

https://www.swandolphin.com/offers/biggame.html

 

[Goofyernmost]

It’s freezing where I am! How’s everyone’s day?

68 degrees about that same time today.

 

[Elsa]

Still cold here

 

[DryerLintFan]

Have any of you fine people ever used Kids Nite In at WDW?

Was thinking about this mommy/daughter trip and how I won't likely get to go on any thrill rides. So I thought it would make the trip exponentially better for me if I took an adult only night and did the Ultimate Night of Thrills tour (all the thrill rides in AK). Simba's Clubhouse would have been perfect because it's nearby and would be really fun for her, but they're closing the doors at the end of July.

That leaves Kids Nite In as the only option left. Well, besides just not doing any thrill rides this trip...