Category Archives: Movies

Expenses, Hiking, Mortgage, Movies

Friday Thoughts – Thanksgiving 2016

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And We Were Thankful

Yesterday was Thanksgiving in the US.  Today, I’m not going to spend a lot of time writing but I wanted to take a minute to talk about some of the things for which I am thankful.  Today, we’re going to continue the tradition of not participating in Black Friday and #OptOutside.

wp-1480083509556.jpgFor Family

My brother was able to fly in from Kansas again this year to spend the extended weekend and celebrate.  After dinner yesterday, my wife took the children over to a neighbor’s house for an evening playdate and wine time.

Uncle P and I were able to resurrect and old Thanksgiving tradition and hit an evening movie.  Dr. Strange was everything I had expected.  Marvel Studios nailed it again.

I am Thankful.

 For Yhprum’s Law

Sometimes things work out better than expected.  As I mentioned previously, we have some repairs that need to be done to the house.  It’s going to be expensive (~$10k).  We decided that the best way to fund this operation was through an equity line since I will be able to pay it off in Feb.

As part of the application for the loan, an appraisal was done on the house.  Based on the increase in value, I realized that my LTV had now dropped below 80%.  I immediately called the credit union and requested a cancellation of PMI!  Seven months early!  Balance has been restored.

I am Thankful.

For the Trail

Today, we’re going to get out and go hiking.  I’m still not sure where we’ll go.  We have to take a look at the trails we like and the Air Quality Index for the area.  Even if we just end up at the local city park, it will be worth it to be outdoors for a bit.

It looks like the weather will be beautiful today.

I am Thankful.

Get Outside!

I hope everyone has a rewarding day if you have the day off.  Get out and enjoy nature if you can.  What kind of places do you enjoy?

Cheers!

-cb3

Expenses, Movies

The Force was Strong

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Pricey Gratification

Last night, I took the family to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens.  I’m not going to go into any details about the film, but I will say that it was everything that I had hoped it would be.  We plan to see it again soon… for a couple of reasons.

This is the first time that the kids have had to stand in line prior to going in the theater.  We arrived about an hour early but the line wasn’t too bad.  We managed to get the seats we like.  I did relay to them that I remembered standing in line for Empire Strikes Back when I was around my daughters age and what a special memory it was.  She didn’t seem impressed, but I hope they’ll look back on it fondly.

It’s a good thing that I tucked away a little of the money from the RSU sale for a special occasion.  We bought tickets for a Regal RPX showing and, my goodness, there was a little sticker shock.  For two adults and two children, the cost of seats plus the Fandango fee was ~$68.  Whoa!  That’s almost twice what we pay for a conventional showing.  If it had been any other film, I’d say it wasn’t worth the up-charge.

Throw in snacks and beverages (oh, they server beer and wine here now too) and we hit over $100 for the evening.  Next time, we’ll be a bit more restrained and I think it will just be the two of us for a date night.

Intensity

As far as the film goes (no spoilers here), it was a little more intense than the original three.  My eight year old daughter is a bit sensitive and I think there were a couple of sequences that we kinda of rough for her.  She handled it well, however, and we talked about it when we got home.

Out four year old boy, on the other hand, was a champ.  He was a bit obsessed with the TIE fighters getting shot down as I don’t think he realized they were the bad guys (Admittedly, he has a strange affinity for Darth Vader, so maybe he’s on the Dark Side).

All in all, everyone had a good time and we thank J.J. Abrams for providing exactly what the Star Wars universe needed.

May the Force be with You

-cb3