I feel like such a baby

[Aliceacc]

Last night my husband brought up the idea of skipping a family vacation this year.

We're talking about redoing our 50 year old kitchen. And the pool needs a new liner. And we're talking Disney in 2014--for us that's a big expense.

So I know it's a fiscally responsible suggestion. But I'm just so disappointed.

Silly, huh?? Six of my friends lost their homes in Sandy, and I'm moping over the possible loss of a trip to Williamsburg or somewhere.

I'll snap out of it and do the responsible thing. But for now, at the computer alone, I've got to admit how very disappointed I am at the prospect.

 

[cornflake]

Turn your disappointment into anticipation and plan some stuff for you to do at home - besides renovating.

You were thinking of Williamsburg, plan a whole colonial 'trip.' Say for some weekend in summer, you'll all take a trip back in time - get your kids to start researching, you can do outfits, menus, games to play (since there'll be no television to watch back then), books to read, chores to do, stuff like candle making or whatever, etc.

Or research the area and find every weird, dinky attraction, museum, historical house you never visit or didn't know was there that you can spend the day at for very little $$. There's a lot of Hudson Valley stuff - the Rockefeller estate is cool, Tarrytown and Washington Irving, I think there's a Hudson River School museum, etc.

If you plan well I bet you can get a lot more time and fun for a lot less money than if you actually went someplace.

 

[worm761]

OP, I feel your pain. We are not going back to Disney until 2014. The only "vacation" we have planned is to go to NY to visit DH's family as a surprise for his niece's sweet 16. The issue is his mother and it will not be a fun visit to say the least so not really a vacation.

I plan to buy passes to the zoo and do some fun stuff around town.

 

[HM]

I'd hate not having a trip planned, but you will LOVE having a new kitchen. We redid ours in our former house and just walking in there after the redo made me happy. There is nothing like having all new flooring, cabinets, lighting, countertops, and wall colors. Enjoy planning your remodel.

 

[apnep]

Last night my husband brought up the idea of skipping a family vacation this year.

We're talking about redoing our 50 year old kitchen. And the pool needs a new liner. And we're talking Disney in 2014--for us that's a big expense.

So I know it's a fiscally responsible suggestion. But I'm just so disappointed.

Silly, huh?? .

OK, virtual slap. Uh, yea!! Look at the bright side. You will be getting a new kitchen!! And fixing your pool! Those are things you can enjoy EVERY day!! Take a mini vacay around your city and experience something you've never done before if you really must "get away." We skipped our vacation this year to get our master bath worked on, and I'd MUCH rather have that all year than one or two weeks somewhere else. Buck up! Look forward to fixing up your kitchen! 2014 will be here before you know it!

 

[v.t.]

I know exactly how you feel. I am planning a trip to yellowstone/estes park for this summer, but am sad while doing it. The last 2 years we have had to cancel both disney trips due to DS's medical problems. I thought DH would let me have both, but nope. So even though we are excited about the other trip, I still want Disney.

 

[irishsharon]

It's ok to have a pity party sometimes. I was planning a Disney trip for this May but we just did siding and windows this summer and dh wants to get an above ground pool with our tax refund this year. Yes I know the pool will be a whole summer of fun instead of one week but....I so would love to bring my boys to disney, its hard when their cousins are going again this year,we knew we would do with less so I could stay home but sometimes its hard

 

[bjscheel]

Hey I am there with you. I know it seems petty, or silly, or a "first world problem", but we are in the middle of deciding some similar questions.

DH had tossed out the idea of adding on a downstairs bedroom and I always said I didn't want to spend the money. Well, then I read a thread on the Disboards about doing that and I started thinking seriously about it. Then DH came up with a good idea we could do with the girls rooms upstairs if our bedroom was downstairs- turn the small bedroom into walk in closets for the girls- and now of course they really want to do it.

We just traded vans Saturday so now we have a van payment again (but the braces are recently paid off, and the pickup and tractor will be paid off VERY soon, so in the next couple months we will have less debt payments than before).

Before the addition came up, we had been tossing around a DL/San Diego trip for June 2013.

Now the question. Should we do a van and a trip and an addition all right now or does one need to wait? The van is a done deal. We have gotten used to a vacation every year and DH would love to continue that. But, DD14 is in 8th grade, and if we don't do the addition and walk-in closet reno soon, she won't get to enjoy it for long before she leaves for college. (Though in that respect we also have a limited number of family vacations before she is out on her own too.)

So, in my mind I'm thinking California may have to wait another year. But it will be hard to wait that long.

I've gone ahead and applied for the HELOC. Maybe by spring we will have an idea on cost and payments, but by then it's getting kind of late to plan a June trip if we decide we can swing it. DH will do most of the work himself so the addition won't be as expensive as it could be.

Anyway, we did our kitchen completely over in 2011. Our cupboards could very well have been 50 years old too and they were homemade. It is very nice to have done. You will be glad you did it.

 

[jennilouwho]

We need sprinklers in our yard, so we decided we'd skip a vacation this year to get those and then save for Disneyworld in 2014. We haven't been there since 2007. The kids are excited to work on saving for it. I'm also excited to have a backyard not full of hard brown grass... I think sometimes it's worth skipping a week or 2 of vacation to make an improvement on a house where you actually live. Enjoy your new kitchen!

 

[skip323]

I know it's not the same but, when we can't do a "real" vacation, I find some thing or place nearby that we have not seen or done before. A few years ago it was 2 nights in St. Louis with several activities that were free... It ended up being one of my girls' favorite trips! One year I found out about some fantastic waterfalls in KY so we went there. A couple of times we've gone to a state park or a really cool place like we have a couple of exotic animal rescue sites nearby. To be honest, my kids love those little trips & quirky little spots just as much! To them it is just something new!

 

[HippieChickadee]

NOOOOO Retro is back! 50+ year old kitchen would ROCK!

 

[Aliceacc]

OK, pity party over.

We'll do a "staycation"-- though a LOT of the places where we would have played tourist have been washed away in Hurricane Sandy... Freeport's Nautical Mile, the boardwalk at Jones Beach, a day in the Hamptons, not sure about the Aquarium in Riverhead or in NYC. But we'll find a way to make it work.

We'll visit my brother in law upstate, and hit the Museum of Natural History (and maybe the American Girl Store) in NYC.

Funny how a chat with someone who has lost a home kind of puts your perspective back in place.

 

[iluvmickey2008]

I would love to go this year, but not in the cards. I am going to book the trip and make payments though. I did have a Disney Fund set up - it was over $800 (painless saving - change, extra cash, refunds, etc.), all the money that would have just slipped through my fingers, but I banked it instead and it really does add up! But our car troubles wiped it out along with my separate emergency fund. But that is ok. I can save again!!

2014 will be here before you know it!!

 

[Aliceacc]

The other thing that occurred to me at school today was that we may not be able to get contractors who have time to fit us in. Contractors are incredibly busy around here these days, and time and materials are both kind of tight. I'm thinking that if this IS something we want to happen this summer, we really should be talking to someone over Christmas vacation.