Even factoring 11K in property taxes (not too big comparing to other towns), we could own this and pay exactly the same monthly payment as we do for our junior 4 (that means 1.5 bedroom) apartment in Bronx.

https://www.halstead.com/sale/31-greensburgh-court/house/11177429

However, the commute would be a killer. When they say 2 hours, it is never actually 2 hours(that's each way), it is the most optimistic estimate that could ideally be achieved when all variables fall into place perfectly. So with current jobs it is not an option. If we had jobs where we would only have to go in 3 days a week or less, this could be a contender.

I have co-workers that commute 4-5 hours per day because they want to live in a house. Can't think it is a great idea when you have children though. I would never see my son, and wouldn't be home even to pick him up from the longest after school program.

It is nice to fantasize for few minutes about having that much space!

So our family was going to go on vacation for 28 days to Scotland and Iceland. I booked the tickets to Scotland, and from Iceland already.

Now, I have to go on a business trip that is supposed to start 5 days prior to our planned end of vacation. I guess sometimes planing in advance is not best. This business trip would be good for me and I do need to go. There is no question about that.

Our vacation tickets are, of course, non refundable. And now any other tickets in August are twice as much. There are a lot of issues to work out.

I wish I could just change all our tickets and just leave 5 days earlier, but I won't be allowed to, I'm pretty sure. I do not want to just lose the money for all 3 tickets. I will probably just have to buy my ticket ($500) and lose the money on the ticket I already bought, and miss out on 5 days of Iceland, leaving my husband and son there by themselves.

Also, my DH will need to take an important exam right after coming back, and will need to study for a weekend right after vacation and also to grade his student's finals. So we would need to make sure that my mom takes our son for the two weekends I will be away working. However, I don't yet want to ask her - because she will worry herself sick. She is just a "worrier" and imagines worst possible scenarios, so she will naturally ask where I am going and than will watch the news and drive herself crazy.

My friends got the tickets to the Daily Show taping. They also stood in line from 9 am, to be sure to get the secondary ticket at 2:30. I showed up at 2:00 to claim it, only having to take half a day from work.

It was awesome. In the pre-show, when he talked to the audience, I realized he is really smart, even though he does play a character on TV. And he is also very able to think on his feet and be funny unscripted.

We were not allowed to take pictures after John Stewart came out. I treated the group to lunch at a nice Thai place to thank them for standing in line for the tickets.


Camping was gorgeous. Falling asleep and waking up looking at the giant trees above us was a rare treat.










I had camping fever afterwards - I was really itching to buy up half the REI store to have our own equipment (this time our friend brought everything and set everything up for us, including food). He is a hard core camper and did Appalachian trail for 8 weeks straight.) DH suggested I cool off first, which was a good idea. I was not in a rational state of mind after that awesome experience. I may still buy some things, but slower, and "as needed". Maybe on REI's semi-annual sale when we have a coupon...