August 27th, 2018 at 02:51 pm
This weekend we went across the country for a friend's wedding. We went with couple of friends and their parents. I am very fortunate that the parents (my doctor, lol!) paid for the hotel rooms and we just pitched in a bit of money. They were also so sweet and paid for most all of everyone's food and gas all weekend. They said it was their treat. We would have not been able to go otherwise....
It was sort of a strange wedding. For one they have only been together a couple months. We've (including the groom's immediate family) only met her once for like 2 hours. One of the groom's sister met her for the first time at rehearsal dinner actually. The venue was in the middle of nowhere but counted as a "resort." The rooms were $250 a NIGHT. I almost choked when I heard that. You would think it would be the best hotel ever but the rooms were pretty standard rooms that you would find at any cheap hotel. There was not even a microwave in the room. All the amenities cost of course so we mostly sat around and chatted with old friends or played games.
The hotel had 3 restaurants and the standard dinner plate price was $30, breakfast was $20.
I expected the wedding to be very lavish because of the venue but it was actually one of the most odd/simple weddings I have been to.
The couple are very conservative and the long sermon was about women submitting and being gentle. It was very stern and sounded more like a business transaction than a celebration. No one hardly smiled. The bride wore a very simple dress that looks like it was off the rack from the mall. All of them wore flowered crowns and bare feet.
The reception was equally odd. The wedding started at 5 and then the dinner was around 6:30. (waited for pictures) The food was buffet style and you got a brownie with your meal. There was no cake! There were no decorations. Just white tablecloths and a couple tea lights on each table. Everyone was served water only. They had one pitcher of unsweet tea and lemonade way in the back but no one ever announced where it was or to go get some.
The entire thing seemed very rushed. As you finished your plate someone would come in the scoop it up asap. By 8pm they made everyone get up and the workers cleared all tables and put everything away.
No music, no dancing, etc. The couple left at 8pm sharp. We barely had anytime to enjoy dinner or friends before we were shooed out.
The entire thing just really had no joy or personalization. But for the wedding being so odd we did have a good time sitting around afterwards and catching up. Overall I'm glad we went and it was fun to "play rich" for a couple days.
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August 23rd, 2018 at 03:14 pm
I am happy to announce that husband has accepted a job offer.
He won't start for a few weeks yet, but this change should very positively affect our life. The pay is even better than expected. Not only does he get a 25% salary increase, he will get at least another $1 raise after his probationary period.
But most of all we will have access to very affordable and good health insurance. Worrying about getting insurance when I am kicked off mine next year was a huge stressing point for me. Now I feel secure that my expensive medicines and healthcare needs will be taken care of.
We have to decide if we want the HRA or HSA plan. We are leaning towards the HSA just so I can roll it over and save it up for the future.
The only downside to the new job is that husband may have to work nights for a while until a daytime position opens up. But hopefully it is only temporary.
We will also have to cancel our planned trip to Yellowstone next year since his vacation time won't kick in for 12 months.
Overall we are both excited and a little nervous but the thought of being much more comfortable financially sounds almost too good to be true. I am expecting a $400 a month increase after taxes and tithes, with good raises and growth in the future.
Until the end of the year we will use the extra money to "catch up." We have taxes, home and car insurance, and the fence repair all due in the next month or so.
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August 13th, 2018 at 06:29 pm
Husband passed the first phone interview. Now he has an in person interview tomorrow evening. I would appreciate any prayers and good thoughts.
Starting pay is $3 an hour more than he is making now plus room for advancement. The biggest plus though is insurance! I need affordable health insurance badly, so this could be an answer to our prayers.
Trying not to get my hopes up too much in case it doesn't work out, but it's hard not to imagine the positive impact this would make on our life...
Hopefully we will know something soon.
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August 8th, 2018 at 07:11 pm
Husband has been wanting a new used car for a while and we have saved for years but unfortunately it seems like his car fund is the first thing to get raided every time something comes up. We finally decided that he will make some repairs to his old car and continue to drive it as long as possible and hold off on a new car for now.
Since we are hoping to get a couple more years out of it we went ahead and did some minor repairs we have been putting off. Thankfully husband and his dad can do most repairs and so far we have only had a $50 charge from the mechanic and about $100 in materials, which is amazing. Father in law frequents junk yards and always finds the best sales online.
They have replaced the breaks, a wheel bearing, some old rusted tie rods, tracking bar, new door, spark plugs, and the fuel filter. Also going to get new headlights.
I paid the first installment of property taxes for the first time.
We have started working on the house again and just have a few more minor things until we are on to optional and fun projects only.
Husband has applied for another job. Fingers crossed.
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