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The past month felt like a whirlwind. We were settled in with Mom only to get Chris home because his Dad died. After the trip back home to go to the services and spend a day with family, he was headed back to work. It was a fast trip for him, but at least he got to come home!
After a short stop for the kids and I to see my Dad and brothers (and of course, the cute nephews!) we came back home. We did a quilt shop hop (stopping at 22 shops – out of 57, we didn’t even stop at half of them!) that was really fun. The kids did pretty good too considering we took them to all the stores with us! Actually it was a ton of fun because not only did Mom and I each get a packet that contained pieces for a quilt block, but the kids each got to pick a piece of four inch fabric. Their fabric is all random stuff, which they don’t mind, and we’ll probably end up making doll blankets or something with.
We went to all those stores and I bet we spent less then $400 total (together I mean). I only spent cash and had money left after four days of shopping! For the first three days we matches fabrics to the projects we were already working on, then the last one (three shops on that last day) we got fabric for our stashes. OH! And I found Navy girl (okay it’s really military girl I know) fabric that I was looking for forever! I need to get a picture of it.
This week is a busy one – Alice is taking a Pioneer Crafts Class at the local community college, it is three days long and already after one day she brought home strawberry jam, butter, a cornhusk doll, and learned to finger crochet. There is a kids craft show at the library at the end of July that I am going to sign her up for. It’s only kids selling things and anything you sell can’t be more then $4. Perfect for her and Jake!
My nephew is taking a camp from the Boys and Girls club so that leaves Jake and I do wander around and find stuff to do. Yesterday it was the library, lunch and a quick shopping trip – today we are doing the library for a longer amount of time, lunch and then who knows. I have found a few more things for the kids to do – and am also amazed at how expensive some camps are. No way am I paying $165 per kid to go to a day camp from 9-3 and still have to take them lunch!
What brand and model do you have? Brother Innovis NX-450
How long have you had it? since December 2008
How much does that machine cost (approximately)? Mine cost approximately $700 from a Singer Sewing Center, I didn’t look anywhere else to compare prices. The price included a year warranty through the store as well as a free cleaning within a year of purchase.
What types of things do you sew (i.e. quilting, clothing, handbags, home dec projects, etc.)? So far I have sewn quilt tops as well at machine quilted a few quilts and I’ve made a couple of purses. I’m working on mainly blankets and quilts for a family event so that’ll be what I make for the next few months.
How much do you sew? How much wear and tear does the machine get? I sew at least every other day. There will be times when I sew every day and then times when I don’t sew at all (during our vacation). I did use it just about every day for three months getting the secret quilt projects ready. Since we were moving I wanted to take advantage of the free cleaning from the store I purchased it from, who said since I only had it for a few months it wasn’t necessary. However, the needle threader quit working so I had them look at that and do the cleaning. It was an easy fix (which I didn’t pay for) and they also did the cleaning. I do notice when something happens with the thread you need to take the bobbin out and put it back in, and since I do so much sewing I do change the needle fairly often.
Do you like/love/hate your machine? Are you ambivalent? Passionate? Does she have a name? I really like my machine! I’m sure I will love it once I use more of the functions. I have used some of the decorative stitches when I do the edge of the quilt (just decorative on the binding) but I really haven’t done a lot of them. I really want to use more of the stitches just because they are so cute! I also have a couple of styles of the alphabet available and want to use them for something. Maybe the signing of a quilt! Definitely passionate about it! And no, no name yet.
What features does your machine have that work well for you? I do love the needle threader as well as the cutting function – okay the cutting function is awesome! The machine just in general works really well. I also love how quiet it is.
Is there anything that drives you nuts about your machine? It can be annoying when I am starting sewing something and the beginning edge of that fabric is pulled down into the – whatever that area is called that the needle goes into. But it doesn’t happen too often.
Do you have a great story to share about your machine (i.e., Found it under the Christmas tree? Dropped it on the kitchen floor? Sewed your fingernail to your zipper?, Got it from your Great Grandma?, etc.!)? We want to hear it! When I got this machine I walked into the store and looked at three models before picking this one. It was our anniversary and we were heading off to dinner! I needed a new machine desperately because I had so many projects I was working on. I didn’t take too long to buy this and despite not having done any research beforehand, I am very happy with it. It took me maybe 15 minutes to pick it out and purchase, we got to the store right before it was closing that evening.
Would you recommend the machine to others? Why? I would! I think this is a great machine because it is about mid-level as far as pricing. I think you do need to spend a little more so you will get a machine that will last. I had my previous two machines for a very short amount of time before they broke.
What factors do you think are important to consider when looking for a new machine? Functions – if you use a certain thing over and over or are used to having it, your new machine would need this function as well. The price of course. How heavy it is can be a deciding factor for some people.
Do you have a dream machine? At this point, I don’t. I am happy with my machine!
We started out in southern Texas and left the minute Chris was allowed to. Okay maybe three minutes after.
After our quick stop in San Antonio turned into a two day event, we had to change plans. What was to be San Antonio – Albuquerque – Las Vegas – San Diego – San Francisco – Seattle turned into kicking Las Vegas out of the lineup. Which was disappointing because we had planned on meeting friends for a day or two.
We didn’t spend very long in any place until we got to San Diego – where we spent a very busy week – and then another week in San Francisco. We stopped in Oregon to have a fantastic dinner with friends and then made it to Seattle the next night, where we had another awesome dinner.
Considering Chris has been in the military for over ten years, the few places we’ve lived and the handful plus of times we’ve moved you’d think we’ve been on vacation before. But we just never had the time! We had to meet our stuff (HHG or household goods for those not in the military) or we only had a matter of days to report somewhere, and a vacation just never made the list.
So this time we did. We stopped at more then a dozen places along the way and while I thought we did such a great job at not spending a lot of money, looking back I can see other ways to save. I’ll be sharing my tips as I share our adventures.
Technorati Tags: vacation tips, travel
I finally bought Chris’ plane ticket.
I should have bought it last week when it was a bit cheaper! As it is, the countdown has started. He’ll be leaving soon and then a new countdown will begin – of course the new one won’t really have a purpose. We don’t know what happens next – how long he’ll be gone or if we’ll be able to live together soon.
I have so much to share! The typical vacation season is almost here and I have so many tips for people traveling to San Diego!
For now we are just about settled in. We’ve unpacked most of what we have here with us and will need to get more from the storage units. With luck we’ll be down to one unit by the time Chris leaves. I don’t need a lot but we packed the pantry and my fabric and that didn’t make it to the house.
I’ve missed reading blogs and finding out what my online friends have been up to. It’s been a long month.
I got up at 3:45AM because that’s when Chris’ alarm clock went off. Yay for middle of the night waking. Only not really.
Today is the last day in southern TX! I can’t say TX because we aren’t going that far away tonight and who knows if we’ll leave early enough tomorrow to actually get out of the state. It has been fantastic living in a hotel. No cable bill, no electric bill, no internet bill (and yay, the internet is fairly fast!), and sure we are eating out a lot but we also have a fridge so have veggies to snack on to keep me sane. Oh and the best plus about being away from the stress ball that was military housing – clear skin! Seriously folks, if you live in an environment that crazy (I know I haven’t said much about it, but I will) moving away is awesome for your skin!
We are planning a crazy awesome vacation. Chris is getting a huge amount of leave – which you can look at a couple of different ways. I decided to be positive and happy about the fact that we get to take this crazy amount of leave now despite all the years of never getting to take leave in the past. I guess it all worked out? Yeah.
First stop, San Antonio. If you know where we are, you are laughing because we are a mere couple of hours away from SA. That’s okay, at least we are getting started and will be on the move! We leave tonight after Chris gets off work. On Thurday the plan is to do a walking tour of the Missions and maybe a Riverwalk boat ride and then leave, heading for New Mexico. We have much more planned along the way and I’ll share pictures as we go.
For now, I’m going to attempt to go back to sleep for a couple of hours.
Living in a hotel room makes me realize how much trash tv there is! Oh how I miss my DVR.
- Rock of Love Bus – Seriously? I didn’t realize this was time number 3 as I don’t watch the show. I like that they are showing the preview of him saying he’s tired of this and that’s why he has a ring. I’ve only seen two (maybe three) episodes of this but I hope he picks Mindy. I felt bad for the girl who ended up being the third girl, I can’t remember her name. She was sort of crying and saying she loved him and he dumped her on tv but she hoped they could be friends and hang out. Weird.
- For the Love of Ray J – Um, okay. Well I’m not sure who I hope he picks. The girls seem nice enough but damn catty to each other. Why would you want a woman who is that rude! That’s crazy to me. You can’t say oh it’s a game when the outcome is supposed to be a relationship. Sure it’s tv and whatever relationship comes out of it probably isn’t going to last, but at least try to be real, just a little. And if they are that catty and rude even off the show, dang. Actually I hope he picks Cocktail, real name Joanna.
- I Love Money 2 – Okay this show is hilarious. I never watched the Flavor of Love shows or whatever else the rest of the cast came from, but putting them all together to fight for money does get good laughs. The lady who only ever wears a bikini and loves the pretty boy – funny! It’s funny watching it because you know what is being said and you know what is going to happen, but in the moment the people don’t. There are a lot of people left so I can’t say who I want to win.
I think the Rock of Love Bus finale is tonight, but the others have a bit to go. I’m sure I’ll catch who won on a rerun!
Tricare is the health insurance we have in the military and so far, in the seven plus years we’ve been married I have had few (as in maybe one) issue with them. I had a great doctor when pregnant with Alice and after she was born, another great doctor with Jake and after he was born. We had an immediate transfer to a specialist when our issues with George first came up and fantastic doctors after that. I’ve had a doctor here or there who didn’t fit with me, which I either complained about (in one case) or didn’t go see again (in the other case).
But this. This is crazy! And it’s not a doctor complaint, but really more like a process complaint.
Chris got a referral for equipment he needs and gave me a phone number to call so they would get our updated address. Since we moved out of housing we do have a forwarding address and so while we will eventually get our mail, that won’t happen for a few weeks. I called the number he gave me three times and left messages, all I wanted to do was verify they got the new address.
I got a call back this morning and the woman I spoke with apologized because she was away due to an emergency – which I completely understand, but why wouldn’t the system offer you a way to get a secretary or someone else in that case?
She was able to give me a copy of his referral and even stayed after the office closed in order to give it to me. I had a couple of other errands to run and figured the medical equipment office would be open until 5 so I could still call them this afternoon.
Then I call the number and it was disconnected. I thought I dialed wrong, but nope, it was disconnected. A call to Google 411 found me the same answer. Okay fine, I’ll drive over quickly and talk to them in person. Except the address on the paperwork was for a local car dealership.
So what do we have – no phone number and no office. Luckily for me, I have a Blackberry. I did a search for the company name and the town – nothing. Then I did a search for the name and neighboring town since that one is bigger and found an office. I called and talked to someone. I was under the impression that we just needed the piece of paper and we could walk into the office, pick up what we needed and walk right out.
Yeah, right. Chris needs an appointment on a day when a clinician can see him. And it will need to be about an hour long appointment. Put that together with 16 hour days and us wanting to leave right when leave starts and you have a frustrated me!
Now I have to make another call at 8AM on Monday, hope that office will fax paperwork quickly, then the medical supply office has to fax something else to the dr after the first office faxes. Then once that is done I have to hope the dr will sign the paper quickly so Chris can get an appointment as soon as possible. He said maybe he’ll be able to take an hour and a half off to get to the dr Tuesday – but he can only go on Tuesday if the paperwork is all complete.
Why did they (medical in this case) make it seem like we just take that paper in and we could walk right out?
And the wrong number and address?! That is just unacceptable. I am going to call on Monday and let them know, maybe they just have the wrong info in the system. Whatever the case is, I knew it needed to be done so I made the calls I had to. I know Chris doesn’t have the patience to deal with figuring it all out. I can’t imagine that others would either.
This is the worst experience we’ve had – which really isn’t anything that bad to have to deal with in the grand scheme of things. And I am so glad she called me back today – if we didn’t get a chance to take care of it until we were gone from TX we would have had to start about half way over.
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