Since I live in the financial world, time basically seems to operate on quarters. Since we are nearing the end of the 1st quarter here in a few days, I thought I would summarize the happenings of our year so far (can you tell we did nothing on our house this weekend and I'm trying to at least have an updated post?). Anyway.... on to the happenings of 2008:
The Good:
1. We moved into our "new" house and finally do not have to move anymore for awhile.
2. We finshed our bathroom to the point it is usuable and no longer had to live by frequenting gas stations and other convenient restrooms or using our friends for their showers.
3. We got to celebrate our nieces 1st birthday.
4. I received a decent bonus this year for last calendar year, which allowed us to payoff a mixture of residual Italy expenses, Christmas, and some house stuff.
5. Our kitchen is nearly finished which will mean that Adam will have a very happy wife that may not complain as much about the shape our house is in!!!
6. Our House Church (the small group we are a part of) has grown the last few months with some new faces which has allowed us to have some new friendships and for the group dynamics to be influenced by these new personalities and experiences, which is always fun to see how God works.
7. This coming weekend we get to celebrate the wedding of two of our bestfriends, Adam is actually a bestman and I am a Matron of Honor, we are super happy to be apart of this celebration.
The Bad:
1. On January 31st a crazy storm blew through and made a big mess at our house. We lost several trees and even had some fall on my car and the house. We still have some residual mess to get cleaned up once we have a few nice days.
2. At the end of February I was leaving my dentist appointment when my driver's side window fell completely down in the door, mind you it was probably 10 degrees and I was driving with no window at least 5 to 10 miles, brrrrrr. My window got scratched in the fall and so I had to get a new window and plus get it fixed. A dealership visit is never cheap, but I did find out that since the issue was caused by a build up of ice on my window it was covered under my comp coverage, thank goodness for insurance. My deductible is fairly low so we only had to dish out about 1/2 of the cost.
3. Last week on my way to work I hit a pothole, I mean crater, and totally messed up my tire. Not only did I get a flat, that has now been fixed, but we are still hearing a sound when I drive the car in the wheel somewhere.
.................................................Do you see a trend here???? Yeah we are planning to trade my car in this fall, that was decided before all this occurred, for a more family friendly vehicle. We love the Honda Pilot, but the thought of filling an SUV with $4/gallon gas makes me shudder. Yes I know it is a Honda, but still its an SUV, I wonder if I can get Adam to look at the Toyota Highlander Hybrid.
The Ugly:
I think the thing this year that has been "ugliest" is watching one of our very dear friends go through having breast cancer. She is basically our age with a great husband and an infant. In January she had a mastectomy and is now going through Chemo. She just finished her 2nd round and was hospitalized b/c her WBC got so low and she caught something, so her fever spiked above where it is supposed to be and she has to stay until they feel comfortable with the WBC. I can't imagine what it is like in a time when they want to be playing with their baby girl, watching her discover new things, being active as a family, and just learn how to be parents. They are amazing as they try to keep life as normal as they can, but it just seems like if something is going to happen it will happen to our dear friend. They have an awesome faith in God and that has been their strength. The "good" that has come out of this is just to see how people respond when someone they care about is in need. This friend has touched so many peoples lives that those wanting to help, give encouragement, and pray for her has been a huge number of people. One can only hope that they are loved like our friend is!
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6 comments:
Wow, the Toyota Highlander Hybrid. You must have gotten a big bonus; those start at $37,8k! That still only gets you to 24mpg. I would keep an open mind and read my copy of Consumer Report New Car Edition I just got.
No not that big of bonus. I just don't want to fill up a big old SUV tank with gas that is crazy expensive. I'm used to my 13 gallon tank and getting around 28mpg even with almost all city driving. We haven't really even began looking but I knew that Toyota did have the hybrid, I don't think Adam likes the Highlander anyways.
This was a busy year for you :) I hope you have better car luck this year. Can't wait to see your new kitchen all finished!
Oooh, get a crossover...that's what we'll be doing whenever the Element is paid off this year - I can't wait because that means I'll finally get a good car! They're family friendly but getter mileage than the SUV's and there are lots to choose from now!
Whatever you do, buy used so that someone else eats the depreciation... and if you want mileage, go with the Honda Insight. If you want mileage and practical, try the Toyota Prius. SUVs and even crossovers are over-rated, in my opinion. Show the world that you can have more with less! :-)
I'm hearing you on the Jetta issues!
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