Taxes -- finally a good thing!

Knitting has definitely taken a back seat for awhile. I've been extremely busy booking a vacation and making cards for Easter! Other than knitting, the only other thing that was put in the backburner was the taxes. I normally wait until around the 10th of April to do them. I try to put off the inevitable of finding out what ridiculous amount of money I owe both the feds & the state government. Well....for some reason I started my taxes early & low & behold...we are getting back THOUSANDS of dollars! I was shocked, but then remembered that our mortgage payment adjusted last year & we were paying an extra 3% in interest! Well, instead of doing the smart thing like put it in savings, along came my guilty pleasure instinct...... I booked a vacation.


On September 23rd we leave California on a red-eye flight through New York to arrive on the 24th in beautiful Puerto Rico. There we will taxi to the pier to board the RCCL Adventure of the Seas. Our destinations on that 7-day cruise include Aruba, Curacao, St. Maarten, St. Thomas & then back to Puerto Rico (San Juan). When we arrive back in San Juan on October 1st, we're not flying back to California, we're stopping off in Orlando to spend 6 days at Walt Disney World. Part of the reason we're extending our vacation is because our 3rd anniversary is on October 4th. The other reason, is that I took DH to WDW last year for his 50th birthday & all he has talked since then is "when are we going back to WDW?" Well baby, you got your wish!!

Since mom is a TA, she has saved us a little bit of money on the trip, but....since she is my mom, it's not like my trip is her priority, so I've been trying to be patient getting everything booked. As it stands now, airfare is completely paid for (flying Jet Blue for the first time), the travel insurance is paid for (I opted for the "cancel for any reason" policy) & the deposit on the cruise is paid. Our hotel at WDW (Port Orleans French Quarter) is on hold, but I'd really like to get that finalized, just as soon as my mother returns the urgent message I told my father to give her. Of course she isn't calling me back because my nephew, her 2-month old grandson, is visiting overnight & I'm sure that's her priority right now. (Do I sound jealous or just frustrated that my entire trip isn't finalized because of her?)


Yesterday & today I worked on Easter cards. I only made 12 of them so it should've taken a lot less time than it did, but I wanted to make a variety pack...and I did. Unfortunately, I didn't make enough to keep any, but at least I have photos of them all.