100 months to turn the money situation round

elantan

well i went to the outlet mall to buy them ... things had changed ...

i had seen them at universal for $180 polarized ( we have used our universal tickets up so would have to pay $50 to get into the park each .... not worth it) ... however these ones were exactly the same but $260 ... i didnt buy them ... i stood in the shop wearing them and thinking ... right how many night shift overtimes is this costing me ? it's just not worth it ... i will get new ones when i get home ... i do wear my glasses alot ( in winter as well) so i can justify spending a wee bit more on glasses ... and i want total protection ... but i think the thing i think with these ones ... is purely you are paying for the name ... i dont need a name i need a pair of glasses that fit my eyes and face and fully protect me ...

Buffythedebtslayer

its the whole big picture thinking that gets me. In France when I was at Euro Disney I spent LOADs on "stuff" because it had EuroDisney on it and I hadn't been on Holiday in years.......etc etc lame justification after lame justification and I still have some of it in bags........mind you if you are the kind of person that can keep glasses for 7 years!! then maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

You do sound like you are having fun tho, Enjoy xxxxxxxx

elantan

i tend to keep most things for years buffy ... i am wearing a hat here that i bought to come here the first time so the hat is over 14 years old ... i like to get value for my money lol ... i know what you mean about giving yourself excuses ... i have caught myself doing so many times so far this holiday ... thankfully i have caught myself every time ... it has saved us a fortune i reckon ... even to the point of going to the park after 6pm so that we only pay $3 parking lol ... not buying anything at the parks ... taking water with us etc ... it hasnt in anyway had any effect on our enjoyment ... but it means we will be coming back with some money ... which i like the sound of especially now that son may have a house of his own

elantan

well son got the house ... he offered £4k less than the asking price ... but they settled on £2k so he is very happy .... we are nearly home ... this is our last day and i will be honest with you ... i am ready to come home now ( have been for a wee while) this time being here i have had a totally different experience from before ... i have seen it through different eyes

so when we get back home we now have to re-jig the figures ( it seems that we are having to do this fairly often just now) life is exciting

se999

Hi El, Nice catching up with what you've been up to. Congratulations to your son on getting the house, it's the scottish system isn't it, so presumably everyone is fully committed, hope it goes smoothly.

OH lost a pair of prescription sunglasses, I carry a copy of the prescription with us when travelling, so we followed the mse article links and ordered some replacements online, and they were brilliant - under £70 for delivery to our hotel in europe, and they're polarised etc too. So maybe something to investigate if you need glasses for driving etc too.

Hope your trip back goes smoothly, and you're both refreshed and happy.

Hope the adjustment to son moving out goes smoothly too, we're going through major adjustments with our 2 at the moment, just clicked how major the impact will be, but I assume yours at least is moving fairly locally.

Anyway good luck with the financial rejigging, we're on catchup on that at the moment too, not even got month end figures for April yet, normally we'd have them the evening of the last day of the month - but travelling does get in the way.

Hope the jetlag doesn't hit you too hard.

elantan

hey see ... great to hear from you ...

i use the glasses for driving mainly because the sun is so low in winter ... it's bizzare .. i can be driving in summer no probs ( not always) but alot during the winter i need my glasses

son has moved out before ... he just moved back last september ... i am glad he did as he was starting to unravel ... he needed that stability a loving family home can bring ... but he is ready to flex his wings again ... and we are ready to help him on his way ... i am quite excited about it tbh ... he's already talking about chickens and growing veg ( he must be my child lol) ... he is moving locally .. well about 30 mins drive away but local enough ... i can understand your concerns though... i think mine would be the same if it was another country

i am looking forward to having just mr el and myself again ... after the last twenty or so months i need some quiet and relaxation

jetlag ... well that is gonna be an issue but in a different way i think ... i come back and head almost directly into work ... i work nights so it will help in that sense .. but then when i finish my run of shifts i am under no illusion ... it's gonna be hard

am wishing i was home now ... the build up to going to airports etc is just tiresome ... i got up at 7 am here as i really dont wanna sleep in ... our flight isnt till 6.45pm ... but we have to vacate the villa shortly ... so we have a day of floating around trying to find things to do ( i am sure we will manage) then get to the airport drop the car off and start the whole process of trying to get on a flight ....

catch you all when i am back on terra firma

gilligansyle

Sounds like you have had a lovely time. Glad your son got the house. I wouldn't have bought the sunglasses, but then again I think 20 quid is expensive!

elantan

well were back home after our little detour .... arrived home at 1.30pm yesterday ...went straight to bed and slept till 12pm today .... shattered.com didnt have a look in ... it was worth it though we now have another holiday to plan for my 40th .... because our flight was full the airline asked several people if they would take a little detour ... arrive at gatwick and then catch the next flight to glasgow ..... for our inconveniance we get a return flight to anywhere in the world that they fly to ( as long as it isnt Sidney or have any connecting flights) .... it's my 40th next year ... and truth to tell although i desperately wanted to go somewhere i had accepted that we couldnt afford it .... now though i just need to find somewhere that is cheapish to stay at etc ... flights are already paid

elantan

so i came back to a house that is a midden ... mail everywhere ( i think it will take me a month to find stuff) my garden is over run .... i have tonnes of radishes which will need picked tatties that need covered up and jk that is thinking it's xmas and growing like there is no tomorrow ...

i go back to work tonight so this week all i am concentrating on is catching up with sleep .... work ... and sorting the tatties and radishes

i still have to sort the visa bill out for florida and the money rejig has to be done as well ... will try and do them at work if i can

tonight we are going to see son's new house ... i am quite looking forward to it

will nosey on to other diaries now..edited to add ... just tried that but i dont have the energy to concentrate just yet ... sorry will try and catch up soon ....

redsquirrel80

Hi El - what a brilliant opportunity with the flight! And great news on son's house