Downshifting

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A few months after Jenny started staying home with Brenden and I was still working nights, we realized something: we could live comfortably with only one car. I take it to work while she and Brenden (we hope!) are sleeping. I come home in the morning to sleep, and Jenny has access to the car during the day. After thinking and praying about the situation for a while, we sold Jenny’s CR-V yesterday to CarMax. I must admit I was a little sad, which is silly, but I guess that happens when you name your cars. We kept the Fit since it’s newer and gets much better gas mileage. Selling the SUV will lead to occasional inconvenience but should work fine the vast majority of the time. It will save us a bit of money each year in registration and insurance. We also have some exciting plans for the proceeds.

The CarMax experience was pleasant. All the people treated me well. Step One was a free appraisal, which took 30-45 minutes. They gave me a written offer good for 7 days. Step Two was accepting their offer and transferring the title, which took about the same amount of time. My only disappointment was that they didn’t pay me nearly as much as I’d hoped for the car. I guess that’s the price we pay for the ability to walk into a store and sell a car on the spot. We probably could have gotten more on eBay, Craiglist, or a SWA bulletin board. But we wanted to get the job done quickly, and CarMax made that possible.

Update: I just checked the sale prices for used CR-Vs on the CarMax website. They got a really, really good deal. Don’t ever sell to CarMax unless you’re really, really in a hurry.

Stories of Christmas

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Jenny and I are celebrating our personal Christmastime on Saturday. Based largely on a recommendation from our cultured friends Chris and Demona, we bought tickets to see Stories of Christmas, a concert at the Meyerson by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. It’s been a long time since I went to a choir concert, and I’m REALLY excited because this one is supposed to be outstanding, one of the best in the country. The show runs through this weekend if you’d like to get tickets. Jenny’s parents plan to watch Brenden since he’s too little to join us. Afterward we’ll pick him up and then go have a nice dinner somewhere as a family.

Random facts about me, Jenny

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Andy always gets to do the fun random facts post, so I thought I’d use a few quiet moments to do my own:

1. I am pretty low maintenance most of the time, but I’m high maintenance when it comes to food. I’m extremely picky.
2. I have a weird attraction to kid’s movies, especially the Muppets.
3. We’ve started watching our niece Reagan two days a week. This seems to take more juggling and coordination than all of my Project Specialist events combined. But I love putting them both on a blanket on the floor and watching them stare at each other!
4. Somewhere along the line my cat, Jedda, got the nickname “shebba” – I don’t know what it means but that’s what I call her now.
5. I’m really not brand loyal to anything but Kraft mac and cheese and Strawberry Pop Tarts.
6. I haven’t worn heels in years. I’d probably fall over if I put a pair on.
7. Some of my favorite websites:
www.thepioneerwoman.com
www.cuteoverload.com
www.televisionwithoutpity.com
www.icanhascheezburger.com
www.pandora.com
8. I love video games, but I can’t play them well. At all. It’s sad. So I settle for watching Andy play very well and win. However, I do ok at Guitar Hero and Rock Band.
9. I have a very good sense of direction. My sister once called me her personal GPS system.
10. I don’t get upset or stressed easily, but I freak if I’m put in an unfamiliar big city and my internal GPS doesn’t work. That’s one of the few things that makes me crazy.
11. I’m one of those freaky people who actually enjoys shopping on Black Friday.
12. I hate hate HATE the phone. The only two people I’ll talk to for more than a few minutes is my mom and sister, because I don’t get to see them as often as I’d like. I think I get that from my dad – he hands the phone over to my mom the minute he answers it.
13. I have no sense of style. I can’t put a good outfit together unless I involve friends and family. Right now, that’s not a bad thing, since it would have spit up all over it anyway.
14. I’m having a really hard time remembering the words to nursery rhymes, so I’ve been singing Christmas songs to Brenden before his naps. That might be weird after Christmas.
15. Since we started CARES, I’ve tried out more new recipes and cooked more big meals than I’ve ever done before. Our poor residents have become my recipe guinea pigs.

A New Way to Watch TV

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As part of our Less is More effort to spend less, give more, and save more, we recently made the difficult decision to cancel our cable TV. We enjoyed having cable, especially after not having it for so many years in the apartment and house, but decided it was a luxury we should give up to achieve our financial goals for next year.

However, all is not lost in TV Land. Our uber-techie friend Joel told us about a site called Hulu.com that lets you watch a huge variety of TV shows through the internet for free. I tried it tonight and watched part of this week’s Simpsons episode. It’s like watching Tivo only better in a way – I don’t have to remember to set up the recording ahead of time. I assume they pay for the service through the commercials that run during the shows, just like watching live TV. If I can figure out how to do it, I might be able to watch shows on the “real” TV through Hulu.

Random Facts for December 2008

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Here is the December edition of Random Facts About Me:

  1. At an Italian restaurant, I order lasagna. At a Mexican restaurant, I order enchiladas. That’s just the way it is.
  2. In elementary school I ate cold grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch. Don’t ask.
  3. I still wear a pair of brown Doc Martens boots that I got as a freshman or sophomore in high school. I hate spending money on clothes, especially when the ones I have still work. By work I generally mean cover some part of my body without looking terrible. Jenny says I have to get new boots because the right one has a hole in the toe.
  4. I get emotionally attached to my cars. Possibly because I name them. When one leaves the family, it makes me sad, even though I know that’s silly.
  5. Although I can do it, public speaking stresses me out. I hate being the center of attention.
  6. Except for chipping off a tiny piece of my left big toe, I have never broken a bone.
  7. The older I get, the worse my memory gets. I now blame it on Brenden since he can’t defend himself. Ditto for my time management skills. I used to pride myself on always showing up on time to things. Now I’m doing well just to remember to show up.
  8. When I’m mad at someone, I practice yelling at them in my head, or even out loud if I’m alone. Rarely do I get the chance to actually say all the things I’ve practiced. Sometimes that’s a good thing. Sometimes not.
  9. I would probably get Lasik on my right eye if someone else picked up the tab. (I take PayPal if you’re interested!)
  10. When I get to heaven, I want to ask God for the details on how he created the universe. Are the 6 days in Genesis literal days or figurative periods of time? Is the earth thousands or billions of years old? Did the different plants and animals appear instantly at his word or evolve gradually over time?

Thoughts?

35 Years

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Today is my parents’ 35th wedding anniversary. Sadly, these days many marriages never last that long, but theirs has. Congratulations! Lisa, Phillip, and Jenny cooked them a fabulous meal at Lisa’s house Sunday night to celebrate. I should have asked them how closely their lives today match what they had expected back when they got married. 35 years sounds like such a long time until I realize it’s only about 5 years longer than I’ve been alive. =) Jenny and I are both blessed to have parents who are still together, which is probably a bit rare these days, and we’re very thankful for that.

Jenny and I are set to reach 6 years in January. It’s hard to imagine what our lives will be like in 29 years when we’ll be approaching the 35 year mark (Lord willing). Brenden could be through with school, married, maybe even with a child by then. So could his brother/sister, assuming he gets one someday. I’ll be 59. Jenny will be 61. It boggles the mind.