Cats And Coupons

Do you have to go to traffic court? Do yourself a favor and ask lots of questions before giving a retainer. Unless you personally know a lawyer or have experience with one, you may not know what to do if you find yourself looking for one. My brother hired one for traffic court and spent a lot of money to accomplish what he himself could have done for free. Instead of asking about minimum and maximum penalties and pleading to lesser pleas, my brother hired himself the first lawyer whose name he heard. He didn’t need a truck accident lawyer as he hadn’t had an accident but he did need someone who was worth the money they charged, which she was not. And if you want to save even more money, don’t break the driving laws and you won’t need a lawyer at all.

Some people feel that buying additional warranties aren’t worth it. I have found that it’s worth buying an additional warranty on any expensive purchase. We have bought one for every vehicle we’ve bought from a dealership since we married, and used every one. I follow the example my parents set for me. Buy the warranty if it’ll save you more than it will cost you to spend to replace the product and buy the warranty if it”ll be cheaper to buy it than hire a repairman. Most recently my parents flat panel tv in the den started having problems. The repairman came out to the house and said that he couldn’t repair it there and it’d need to be replaced so he took it right off of the tv wall mount and off to the shop. Soon after the tv was replaced with a brand new one, so it paid to have that warranty. Do you purchase additional warranties on expensive purchases? Have you ever had to use it? Have you ever wished you’d bought one after the fact?

I originally was going to get my hubby an ipod for Christmas, because he travels 90 minutes to work in each direction every day. Each morning he goes through his cd collection and picks out a half dozen or so to bring with him. I thought it would be neat to give him one of the larger ipods so he could put all of his music on there and not have to go through his cds every day. I ended up not getting him an ipod because I wasn’t sure he’d like it.

Last night my hubby asked me how much an ipod costs. I asked why and told him about the different models of ipods and their prices. He seemed interested. So last night I decided I think I’m going to get him one for Valentine’s Day. I started surfing today looking for a deal and stopped on the Coupon Chief website. Coupon Chief is a site that has all kinds of coupons and coupon codes, for just about anything you can think of. I was pleased to find out that Coupon Chief has a whole section of Apple coupons. While I was on the site I had to check out the Best Buy coupons too, because I can always find something in there that he or my son wants. I love finding coupons for online shopping!

Going back a couple of years we had to replace our old metal swing set. It had rusted and was falling apart. My oldest son wanted something big enough that his friends could play on. We wanted something that would last a while and be affordable. So off we went to look at and price swing sets. We looked locally and everything we wanted or liked was out of our price range. Unwilling to give up, I decided to search online to see who else in our area carried them. I had never considered buying one online. I was so surprised to find out that some really big manufacturers sell their wood swing sets online for mush less than you can buy them elsewhere. And they’ll ship them to you on a freight truck. We saved about $400 on the swing set and it’s still standing and in excellent shape. So, if you are considering getting a swing set I recommend doing a little surfing online. You might find what you’re looking for at a really nice price.

I worry about the safety of my children all of the time. My older son says I’m overprotective and sometimes smotherly. My youngest has Down Syndrome so I always worry about him. He doesn’t have an extensive vocabulary so I often worry about what would happen to him if he got separated from us. I have decided that a viable solution for our situation might be to get him a medical id bracelet or something of that nature. Something that I could put contact info and some basic info on. Have any of you ever been in or know of someone that has been in a similar situation? I welcome constructive suggestions on this topic, please feel free to leave a comment if you’ve got one.

We went on our first and only cruise in December of 2006, it was a Disney cruise. It was wonderful and we really loved it. We all want to take another cruise, possibly in 2009. We’re interested in caribbean cruises and having never been, I’m wondering what everyone recommends. I’m pretty sure we’ll travel around the same time of year next time, for a couple of reasons. The weather at the end of November and beginning of December is still warm for us New Jersey folks. Hurricane season is officially over. And, prices are much cheaper because there’s less crowds at that time of year. So, please comment me with any recommendations you have – locale, cruise line, anything pertinent. I welcome the input.

Well, Christmas is over and the new year is under way. We took the tree down this past weekend as well as the decorations. All I have left to do tonight is take the wreath and the sleigh bells off of the front door. And then there’s the gifts. I need a place to put them. I also need to clean again, and get find good spots for the exercise equipment. See, my youngest got Thomas the Tank train sets that are currently up in two different rooms. The one in the living room is right in front of the picture window where we put the exercise bike. That train can’t stay up full time out here. I’m actually looking for a train table with drawers or bins underneath that everything could be stored in. I’m thinking we can put the new smart cycle next to my exercise bike so that my younger son and I can “ride” together.

For Christmas all of the guys (my father, husband, son and all brothers) each received a new Xmod radio controlled car. They all already had at least one but since they like racing them so much my Mom got them all another. One of my brothers loves playing with his so much that he has even put together a track at his house. Sometimes they like to add stuff to them and dress them up, so now I have to keep my eyes open for a Dodge Charger accessory or two as I think that’s the one my son got.

I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas, full of family, love, warmth, joy and kindness. I also want to express my thanks to all of my blogging buddies and my blog visitors. I hope we can share each others company for a long time to come.

Merry Christmas!

Recently we have been discussing our next major family vacation. We know we will be going to Walt Disney World again, probably in 2009. We all want to do another cruise, but when we do that will depend on if we decide to try and do a family trip with my parents and/or a brother. We’re also considering other locations, and one that both my hubby and myself are interested in is New Orleans.

My husband has never been to New Orleans. I traveled to New Orleans with my parents and one brother when I was a teenager. I was amazed by everything I saw there. It’s been a very long time, and I’m a lot older now, so to make sure that some places are still there and some tours still exist we’d be best off going through a place like Trusted Tours and Attractions. When my family was there we walked the French Quarter, saw Jackson Square and the St Louis Cathedral, toured the Garden District and visited the Audubon Zoo. The place I remember most vividly is Cafe du Monde on Riverwalk. That was the first time I had cafe au lait and beignets. They were so good I can still remember the smell and taste. If you’re ever in New Orleans you must stop there.

We’re not going to be able to travel to New Orleans for a while but in the meantime we’re signed up for the Trusted Travel eNewsletter. Everyone who signs up for the eNewsletter is entered into the contest for an iPod Nano, which ends 12/31/07. I have to go make some coffee now, thanks to my little trip down memory lane.

Sponsored by Trusted Tours.