Social Life

It amazes me how Todd and I can have NOTHING planned for the next 8 weeks to having nearly every weekend Todd has off jam-packed within a 12 hour time-frame. 

The only thing we had planned for the next few months was our vacation the first weekend in May.  Now, all of a sudden, we have a birthday party to go to April 9^th, I am going out of town to visit my mom for the weekend of the 16^th, we are going away the weekend of May 6^th for a 4 day weekend and now the weekend of May 20^th for a 4-day weekend. 

It seems like when the weather turns, there is so much to do, and not enough weekends to do it in!

Saving Money on Vacations

When Squiggy was extremely sick, I told Todd that we needed to get away when the pigster was better, just the two of us.  We didn’t expect Squiggy would pass on us after three weeks of trying to nurse him back to health.

We tend to go away in May every year for our anniversary.  May is the time when we are completely sick of Ohio weather, and need to go someplace and forget about everything we are dealing with.

I wanted to go do something with Todd this month, and we may, but we are not able to make a long journey due to our schedules at work and meetings I have to attend.  I may take a Friday or Monday off that Todd has off, and we may go to Amish Country where we got married in 2007. 

At this point, we are looking for an extended weekend vacation.  I was thinking about someplace warmer than NorthEast Ohio, but not too far away so that we don’t have to spend the week.  Todd and I really enjoy forests, rocks, and scenery.  I noticed that there was the Monongahela National Forest within 4 hours driving distance from where we live in Elkins, WV.

I then went to my go-to place to look for affordable cabins in the area. We have stayed at two different cabins from this website and had nothing but great experiences.  One was on top of a mountain in Gatlinburg, TN.  The other was a week in Lancaster, PA in a cottage that a Mennonite family owned, right in the middle of Amish country.  I smile just thinking about the horse and buggy that went by daily, the fresh milk, eggs, yogurt and granola and the cows that would look through the windows from across the street. We want to go there again, we had such a great time (and we generally have a rule that we don’t want to go anywhere twice; we want to experience NEW things together.)

Since Squiggy has passed, Todd has latched on to Lana. I’m not saying that he didn’t love Lana before, but he is really attached to her now. He wants to take her everywhere with us all of a sudden whereas before, he wanted her to stay with Squiggy. After all, we got her to be Squiggy’s companion.  That being said, he wants to take Lana with us on vacation.

We had a pig-sitter for when we went away when we had Squiggy.  My mom gave us Squiggy within months of marriage, so everyplace we went, we had to schedule the sitter.  It wasn’t cheap either.  We had her come twice a day to feed and play with Squiggy.  She loved Squiggy, and Squiggy loved her.* 

Now that we have a mobile animal we can take with us, I started looking at cabins that are pet-friendly.  I found one that is on 46 acres of secluded woods, has a fenced in back yard AND has a large crate for when we are out of the cabin.  How perfect is that?  The price of the cabin is not bad either, $111/night after tax.  The cabin has 3 bedrooms, a large porch, a hot tub, grill, all utensils, bedding, etc.  We need to arrive with clothes and Lana.

I’m not sure why I started looking at cabins instead of hotels, but let me tell you, even though we are paying just a LITTLE BIT more per night for the cabin, we have the cabin all to ourselves.  We have all the amenities that we would have at home (plus a hot tub which is a treat for us.)  We don’t have to pack as many clothes because we can wash them in the washer and dryer at the facility.  We prepare our meals at the cabin, saving us money!  If we go out to eat, it is usually for lunch, which is at a lower rate. And now, with taking Lana, we are saving $13/day on the cost of a kennel.  Also, on a trip like this, we will most likely do a lot of hiking (with Lana,) which means we may be having a sandwich for lunch at a park.  Many of the activities are free, including museums and trails.  Not to mention historical towns (I love old towns and antique stores!) 

There is ONE frivolous thing I am looking into doing while on this trip, and that is a train ride.  When Todd and I were on our honeymoon, we went on a train ride through the Yukon Territory while we were in Alaska.  We had a blast, and every trip we go on, it seems we go on some sort of train ride.  We may do so in the Monongahela National Forest, or we may just cheap out and skip the ride this time around.  We’ll see. ((Side Note: I asked Todd about the train and he said he'd prefer to save the money and just hike on trails.))

All I know is that it is always fun to experience new things, take in the sights, and enjoy our time together. 

What do you do to save on vacations?

*It may sound as if Squiggy was a pain, he wasn’t.  He just wasn’t mobile.  If we had to pay a sitter triple every time we went away, I would…just to have him back again.  

Australia

As you know, we’ve been thinking about where we want to go for our 5 year anniversary in May 2012.  I have been part of a frugal message board for many years now, and one of my friends from the board is from Australia.  Apparently, she and her husband married in May as well, and they were thinking about a nice vacation away.  It was mentioned that we could possibly go see them in Australia in 2012 with free accommodations at their house, and then another year, they could come to the States. 

I was originally really excited about the idea, until I saw how much flights are!  They would be approximately $1600/person, and we’d lose 2 days off the bat between travel and time changes.  If we were to leave on a Thursday, we wouldn’t get there until Sunday morning their time.  They are 16 hours AHEAD of us.  I never noticed this, but from Cleveland, OH to Syndey, Australia is nearly 10,000 miles away!

My mom and Doc went to Australia and they weren’t really impressed.  I would hate to spend that type of money on flights and not be impressed.

So, the offer is out there from my friend and her husband. Todd is going to research to see what we could do there and what there is to see.  But then we may have to figure out how to nicely say that we do not want to take them up on their offer.

However, it is great having friends in other countries to be able to have the opportunity to go on a trip like this.  I may see if Todd would like to go to cross it off of “the list of places to go” in our lifetime.

Alaska

When Todd and I got married in 2007, we honeymooned in Alaska.  We took an Alaskan cruise to Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway and Victoria.  The trip was incredible!  Early May was the PERFECT temperature and it was an amazing trip.  The thought process behind Alaska was that “it’s a once in a lifetime trip.”

In the colder months, we like to talk about vacations.  We have been going back and forth as to where we’d like to go for our 5 year anniversary in May 2012.  There had been talk of France, Switzerland, Italy and Ireland.  While watching Sarah Palin’s show on TV, it made us miss Alaska and all of the scenery. 

While we were in Alaska, Todd had a rough time because of the 4 hour time difference.  He gets up anywhere between 3:30AM and 5:30 AM.  In Alaska, that was 11:30PM-1:30AM.  We’d be sleeping by 6:00 their time. That was Todd’s one big complaint about Alaska.  It wouldn’t have been a problem, but a lot of the activities on the ship were from 7-10 at night, and we missed a lot of them because I was passed out in the room (I was also motion sick for the first 3 days and the Dramamine was knocking me out!)

While in Alaska, Todd mentioned he’d like to stay in each town for a few days and experience all there is in those towns (Juneau, Anchorage & Skagway.)

The issue with going to France/Italy or Ireland is that the flights are about $1400/person round trip. A flight from Cleveland to Seattle, to Juneau, then to Anchorage and then back home would be $850/person! That is over 2 weeks. That is almost half the price!

We do much better when we go on our own versus with a group of people.  I think we could have a blast in Alaska together.  Of course, we’d probably want to rent a car so we could drive all over, and we’d probably rent out a house/cottage for the week as we usually do so that we can do our own laundry and cook our own meals.

We went to a rainforest (yes, in Alaska!) while on our honeymoon, and I will NEVER forget the trees that were bear scratching posts.  The bald eagles and hand-carved totem poles were so cool! Alaska is where I found out that I love salmon.  And the whale watching was breath-taking.  Oh, not to mention the train ride up the Yukon Territory.  We would do that again in an INSTANT!

We like to go to new places, but we absolutely loved Alaska.  There is only one thing I don’t like about Alaska, and that are the bears! But I’d just have to get over it, eh?

**After writing this, Todd found another destination he may want to go that is in the same time zone as we are in.  Peru!  Oh my goodness. The possibilities are endless, it seems. 

What Am I Going To Do With Myself?

For the next two weeks of the Holidays, I have 4 day weekends.  Todd is working at least one of those 4 days each weekend. 

I have off Christmas Eve - Eve (the 23^rd,) Christmas Eve, Christmas Day & the day after Christmas.  Todd has off Christmas Eve-Eve with me, but I have a feeling that I will be preparing for company.  I plan on playing with the “granimals” (as we call Lana & Squiggy now-a-days,) helping Todd out with cleaning up the rest of the house as needed (we are already ahead of the game with this!) and then a little bit of cooking.  I am going to prepare the artisan bread dough for rolls, the blueberry coffee cake and hash-browns  for brunch on Christmas Eve and peel the potatoes to have ready to cook for mashed potatoes for lunner (late lunch – early dinner) on Christmas Eve. Oh, and the apple crisp. 

Even though that sounds like a lot of work, I should be done with the preparing for Christmas Eve within an hour or two.  And the animals, they will be around with me. 

For the New Year, I am taking the 30^th off using my last vacation day of the year.  Todd will be working that day.  Then we have the 31^st through the 2^nd off together.  We will have company the evening of New Years Eve staying the night.  But I have the 30^th all to myself. 

So…I am contemplating what to do on my days of relaxation.  I really don’t want to plop my butt in front of the TV and get sucked into it all day.  The same goes with the internet.  I tend to get “carried away” in the many blog sites I enjoy reading.  This may be a great opportunity to get started on my Christmas 2011 gifts (cross stitch) and possibly start reading a book from my Book List. 

What do you enjoy doing on your “relaxation days?”

I have no hobbies.  Well, that’s not true.  My hobbies are eating and wine.  Both of which I enjoy doing with my husband. 

Travel

Todd and I have been talking about taking a cruise in December of 2011.  Yes, we plan THAT far in advance.  We have been talking about this for months now.  However, the more I think about it, the more I don’t want to go. 

After flying to Florida, I feel like flying is a waste of time and money.  They pretty much take up a whole day, especially if you can’t get a flight straight-through.  Even though we won our trip for free, the flights were $305/person!  Yikes!

So, back to that cruise from Miami to Belize, Cozumel, Roatan, etc.  The price for the cruise was $550/person for a room with a balcony.  That includes meals, water/tea, some entertainment on the ship and NO excursions on the island.  When we were originally talking about it, we were so excited…”What a great deal!”  No…it’s really not if you think about it.

  $1200 for room and board

+$600 in flights

+$400 in excursions

          One very expensive week!

I may be becoming a tight-wad.  In the past, I wouldn’t have thought twice.  I would have chalked it up to “a once in a lifetime experience!”  But now…I see it as my take-home income for a month!

I am so glad that we didn’t book the trip a few months ago.

Todd read somewhere that the best places to visit for couples are places they’ve never been.  But Todd speaks quite fondly of the places he lived and visited while in the Navy, and I’d love to experience them with him.  There are some places I’ve been in the past that I’d love to take Todd to experience with me (Macinac Island, MI & Put-In-Bay, OH which would be a day-trip for us.)  Do you know how many mini-vacations we can take next year for the price of that one week cruise?!? At least 2-3! Maybe even more if we go camping with my dad in 2011!     

So, I think we will trade in our passports this year and do several fun trips throughout the Spring and Summer as we did this year.  I love doing “mini vacations” of 3-4 days because I don’t burn through my 3 weeks all at once as I do with 7-8 day vacations.  Some of the best trips with Todd have been those mini vacations and the “fly by the seat of your pants” excursions we did.  One was a buffalo reserve in either Michigan or Indiana where we got into the back of a truck and rode with the buffalos.  One came right up to us in the back of the truck, it was amazing.  And the smell of the concord grapes in Erie, PA this October is unforgettable.  We had such a great time…and that could easily be a day trip for us again next year.

Great experiences together…that’s what life is all about (in my opinion.)

The Most Expensive "Free Trip" Ever

Todd joked that our trip to Florida last week was “the most expensive free trip ever.”  He was right.  I bet we spent a good $300 while on our trip.  I wish we wouldn’t have spent that much money, but we had a great time.

We have been working so hard on getting debts paid off that he hadn’t gone on any extravagant vacations.  This vacation wasn’t really extravagant, but it was at a nice hotel, and we went to a great football game and tail gate party before hand.  It wasn’t really our type of vacation, though.  There wasn’t much to do in Ft. Lauderdale but sit on the beach and watch the waves, and go to the Boardwalk.  We like to sight-see and experience a city when we go away.  Ft. Lauderdale has none of that.

But, it was nice to get away, meet some new people (professionally and personally,) and get away from the cold! 

Bus

To save money, Todd and I took the local bus in Florida to the airport our last day in Ft. Lauderdale.  By doing so, we saved over $20, and we met a handful of incredible people.  I am not the type of person who is outgoing and can talk to anyone.  If I don’t know someone, I clam up and mind my own business – and I want them to mind their own business.  Todd, on the other hand, will talk to anybody.

While we were on the bus, we talked to several different people.  We got their life stories, and they got ours.  It was a blast talking to several different people at different times on our “bus tour.” 

One gentleman came down to visit his father over 5 years ago, and ended up staying in Florida.  He talked about how he hates living paycheck to paycheck, but he loves it down there in Florida.  It is VERY expensive there.  Restaurants are over-priced, heck, even the WalMart was overpriced compared to Ohio!  A 2-litre of pop was over $2 there. 

Another gentleman we met had his car in the shop, which is why he was riding the bus.  He pays $1700/month in rent for his apartment on the beach.  Todd and I looked at each other with large eyes.  We pay 1/6^th of that for our MORTGAGE.  But the gentleman insisted that it was a good price for an apartment on the beach.

Another woman (with no teeth, mind you,) was talking about how she works with the homeless.  She was telling us stories about the people she works with.  It was quite inspiring.

Each of these people, I would never have said “hello” to if passing on the street.  To be honest, I judged them a little too harshly upon first glance.  I think that if Todd and I were to live in Ft. Lauderdale, we’d be friends with each and every one of these people.  They were so nice, so generous, and just left a smile on my face.  When each of them got off of the bus, they would wave to us and wish us well on our “journey” back home.

The world is made up of some truly incredible people…if only we would take the initiative and time to let them tell their story.  Oh, and in my case, if only I can do better not to judge.  I judged them before I even knew them without even realizing it.

Four Seasons

While we were in Florida last week, it was a little different.  You couldn’t really tell that Christmas was coming.  Everything was green and bright, flowers blooming, palm trees waving in the wind.  The temperatures were in the 70’s.  Comfortable, but not too hot.  It was mentioned in a conversation how there really are no seasons in Florida.  That is one thing I would definitely miss if we were to ever move to Florida.

I enjoy all of the seasons.  I love the snow for the Holidays, the new bulbs emerging from the ground in April, the beautiful green leaves and the heat in the Summer, and then the fall colors in October and November. 

I don’t like being cold, but I like being outside and seeing all of the “white stuff” on the ground.  I especially used to love skiing.  I would love to do it again; however, it’s a bit out of our price range right now.

I also don’t like being too hot.  So, can you tell I’m REALLY easy to please? J  I think that’s why I need all four seasons.  I get a little bit of everything every year, and I love it.

More Photos of Vacatioin

 Pathway to the ocean.

 Waterway by the hotel.

 The "Broadwalk."  No, I didnt spell it wrong.

 People sailing.

 Cool trees in a park at "Young Circle."

Sunset on airplane ride home (12/06/2010)

Pictures of Hotel Room

Woress Wednesday: Vacation Edition

Saturday, December 4th 6:30 AM

Todd woke me up so we can go to the beach and watch the sun rise.  This is what we captured.

We Are In Hollywood, FL

We made it to Hollywood, FL very late last night.  After nearly a full day of traveling, we got to the hotel around 9:30 and we were hungry.  We decided to go scope things out around the hotel.  We found the WalMart, a Burger King, and a great Cuban restaurant.  Neither Todd nor I had ever had Cuban.  Our waitress was great, giving us meals that were traditional Cuban meals.  We had plantains (spelling?), yuka, rice and beans.  The food was GREAT!

The hotel is absolutely beautiful.  However, we have had more problems here than we have EVER had at the $70/night hotels we've been to.  There is NO WiFi!  We are plugged into the ethernet right now, and it's just inconvenient.  Every room was supposed to have a hairdryer - ours didnt.  The "plush robes," that were listed online...you get one.  So we BOTh cant wear robes down to the pool and hot tub.  It's just things like this that are a bit irritating. 

I feel completely out of place in this hotel and uncomfortable.  People walk around in business attire and Todd and I wear our jeans and shirts.  I feel very on edge here.  All of this just goes to show that we are NOT "high-class" people.  I really AM more happy in the cheap, more "lived in" hotels. 

Right now, Todd is making breakfast.  Everything here is expensive.  We spent nearly $15 on breakfast foods here.  Bagels, egg beaters, ham, cheese and OJ.  We have enough for each of us to have one ham,egg & cheese bagel a day until departure.  The cheapest thing here is REAL OJ!  Florida, OJ! :-)  That was less than $2.  Everything else was nearly $3 or more.  Oy!

Todd woke up in the middle of the night and thirsty.  There is only ONE vending machine on the 6th floor.  $2 for a drink.  SO...we went to Seven11 this morning on our walk and bought 2 - 2 litres for $3.

I was out cold last night.  We didnt get back to the hotel until 11:30 after eating the Cuban food and going to WalMart.  He woke me up at 6:30 and asked if I wanted to go to the beach to watch the sun rise.  I threw on some clothes and we went walking.  It was really nice.  I love the ocean and the beach. 

It's 7:45 and the sun is shining, and the palm trees are gorgeous.  We have to meet with the professionals this morning in the lobby at 10.  We had a hair dryer delivered to the room because ours was missing, and I am still exhausted from everything.  I think we're going to relax a bit before our meeting this morning, and then we are going to be out and about all day seeing what Hollywood, FL has to offer.

Again, I'm so glad we got this trip for free...because we wouldnt be able to enjoy it on our own on our budget.  There is just no way.

Pictures to come at a later date!

Carry-On

So, I told you that I was surprised that I got everything into the backpack.  Well, this is what fit into that tiny backpack.

We are so ready to go!  Only a few more days left!

We're Packed and Ready to Go!

This morning, Todd and I were up early.  I neglected to pack my bag for Florida this weekend, so I decided to do it this morning.  I had a pile on the dresser that needed to be folded and put into the backpack. I was looking at the clothing and the backpack, and I was getting a little nervous.  How in the world would it all fit?  Well, low and behold, it fit!!! WITH ROOM TO SPARE!  And it is so light.  It’s great!  I was dancing around the bedroom with excitement…and I was (and still am) proud of myself for going “bare bones” on this trip.

All of the paperwork is printed for the parking deck, the itinerary, our passports are in my bag, and I have printed brochures of the local trolley schedule and maps in Florida.  The weather looks like it will be nice (upper 70’s) the whole time we are there.

The only thing left is to write out my “Squig-structions,” (Squiggy Instructions) which have now turned out to be “farm-structions” since getting all these additional animals.  Our neighbor is going to feed the “granimals” as we call them.  We have a pig-sitter that we love, but she lives a few minutes down the road.  The neighbor works construction, so he is up early and home early…not to mention work is getting slow for him right about now with the weather.  Plus, he’s known all the animals since we got them as a piglet/puppy/kitten.  We met them because Squiggy ran away and we always found them in their yard eating the birdseed off of the ground from their birdhouses. Squiggy is the only reason we know as many neighbors as we do! 

Prepareing for our Trip

 As you can imagine, Todd and I are getting more and more excited for our trip to Florida.  I have received an itinerary from the wholesaler that we won this trip through, and it is making the trip even more real.  We were informed that each room has a furnished balcony with a water view!  Not to mention plush robes are provided and a microwave and fridge in our room! 

I am still working on the parking situation for Cleveland Hopkins Airport.  I am torn as to who to choose for parking the car for nearly 4 days.

Todd and I will both have a carry-on to help save money.  Otherwise, we would have to pay $25 per bag we check.  When we went on our honeymoon in 2007, the airline lost our luggage. Luckily it was on the way HOME! We don’t want that to happen on this trip, nor do we want to pay to check a bag.  Todd is planning on taking a leather duffel bag on this trip and I am planning on taking our backpack. 

We have several rolling carry-ons, but they are not very convenient, in my opinion.  Plus, we like to take our backpack when we travel anyways, so this will cut down on what we take.  I like taking a backpack on our daily excursions because we can put snacks, camera, our Garmin and any souveneirs we pick up along the way…on our back!  I am not taking my purse at all. 

I have decided that I am going to K-I-S-S on this trip.  I am going to be packing the following in my backpack for the trip: 2 pairs of shorts, 3 shirts, 1 pair of PJ’s, 3 pairs of panties, 1 extra bra (yes, I wear my bras more than once between washes), 2 pairs of socks, slip on shoes, toiletries (shampoo, conditioner, toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, hairspray and deodorant rock), iPod and camera.  When we get to the hotel, I will put everything in the dresser drawer, and we’ll have an empty backpack for our daily excursions.  I am not taking my laptop on this trip (Todd is bringing his NetBook) nor am I taking any books.  A lot of times, we pack so much into a day, we don’t have time to read!  By the time we get back to the hotel, I am exhausted and go to bed.  If I DO have time to read, I put some books on my iPod in case I want to read on the plane or at the beach.  If I want to check my emails, I have my iPod, or if I want to write a blog, I have the iPod or NetBook. 

When I mentioned to Todd that the rooms have a fridge and microwave, I was thinking we’d go pick up some snacks at the local Walmart (2 miles away from the hotel.)  I was thinking a nice bottle of wine, some popcorn, apples, granola bars and poptarts (breakfast is not provided at the hotel from what I understand.)  Todd brought up an even better idea.  He is talking about ordering a few large portions of Chinese or Mexican take-out and taking it to the hotel for mini-meals when we are there.  It would be a lot less expensive to eat at the hotel than to eat at all of these nice restaurants.  We will also bring my Kleen Canteen so we can fill it up with water and not have to pay for $1+ pop.  Another thing to put in the backpack on our excursions!

When we travel, we like to eat a continental breakfast at the hotel (usually for free!) and then we pay for a late lunch/early dinner.  This normally holds us over until the next morning.  That will change on this trip.  I am thinking poptarts or oatmeal will be eaten in the morning before we head out of the hotel, then we’ll have our snacks as needed and then eat a 1:00 lunch or so.  Maybe a snack/mini-meal when we get back to the hotel.

Do you have any other suggestions for us to help save money on this trip?

Travel

As I mentioned in a Wordless Wednesday a few weeks back, I was informed that I can go on a trip that the company won to Florida.  Originally, my Manager (the President of the company) wanted to go with me (can you say, awkward?), but luckily, he agreed to let Todd go with me. 

So, we have been getting ready.

Even though most of the expenses are paid, we are going to be out of pocket a little bit.  They are providing $100 in “spending money” to cover these types of expenses.  That being said, we are trying to minimize our costs as much as possible.

Our flights are free to us (that was over $300/person after taxes!) but we have to pay for parking at the airport and a shuttle to the hotel from Ft. Lauderdale (about $25.)  It would be $55 to park at Cleveland Hopkins airport; however, I found a Park ‘n Fly that would be $23 AND we get a free car wash.  My little car desperately needs it!

When we get to Ft. Lauderdale, we found an adorable old-time trolley that will pick us up at the hotel and take us to several different stops to sight-see.  It is $1/person per ride.  Not bad.  A lot cheaper than renting a car.  Plus, the 6-mile boardwalk is across the street from our hotel.  I cant wait to spend evenings with Todd on the boardwalk or sitting on the beach watching the waves.

We pretty much have Saturday as a “free day” to do what we want.  Also, our flights aren’t leaving until later on Monday, so we have most of the morning and early afternoon to frolic around and do as we please. 

Sunday, we will be picked up by a bus to go to the stadium for a tail-gate party before the actual football game.  Todd is really excited about this.  However, this is where I will be meeting a lot of the people I have talked to over the past 3 years.  For me, it is more professional than a big football game.

Todd and I love to travel.  When we go someplace, we want to see all there is to see.  We are not the type that likes to go to the same place over and over again.  We enjoy new experiences and making new memories everywhere we go.  We are going to maximize our stay in Hollywood, FL as much as we can…on someone else’s dime.  Well, that’s not true.  I will receive a 1099 at the end of the year and we will pay taxes on the trip.  But I would much rather pay $500 for a 4-day trip than $2,000, which is what it is probably going to cost the company for this trip!  I am so lucky to have a husband who likes to do the same things as I do!  I couldn’t imagine being in a relationship with someone who doesn’t like to travel or sight-see.  We are definitely those dorky “touristy” type people! Camera around my neck, map in my hands, and walking shoes on! 

Wordless Wednesday

Hollywood, FL

I found out yesterday that the company I work for won a contest.  My boss (the President of the company) asked if I wanted to go on a 4-day get-a-way with Todd to Miami, FL to this hotel (all expenses paid!) and then to the Dolphis/Browns game on Sunday.  I am so excited!!! We leave 1 month from today!! (Dec 3rd!)