How y’all been? Anything juicy going on in your end? I was only away for a week, but I felt like I was missing out on some good action :) And since I cheated and did a little work while I was away (Bad J. Money, bad!) I know for a fact some of y’all were movin’ and shakin’. So spill the beans, baby!
As for the vacation – it was DEFINITELY needed. And definitely fun, too ;) Every year at this point I feel like I’m in overdrive and if someone doesn’t stop me and give me a major reality check (*ahem* my mom), I’ll just work myself right into the deep end and totally forget to have a life. Like, one outside of the internets. Which, in reality IS my new life – you all understand and relate to me much better than any of my “real” friends at this point – but if I continue staring into the computer screen 16 hours a day I’m afraid something bad will start happening to my eyeballs. And no amount of money could get me new ones ;)
Speaking of money, wanna know the total amount we spent this week? $400! Not too shabby, huh? The Bank of Mom & Dad took care of the lodging and most food for the trip, but once we got there we had to spend a few hundys on play time and outlet shopping, of course ;) It’s not a vacation without it!
Here’s how our spending broke down:
- Food & Snacks: $150 — Most meals were covered by the ‘rents, but a few times we ventured off into the towns for some restaurant food and occasional date night dinners. Mix in TONS of drinks and snacks throughout beach and pool time (yes, more water bottles, sorry), and you’ve racked up a few Andrew Jacksons to boot.
- Outlet Shopping: $130 — We were in Delaware, queen of the outlets and no sales tax! :) It wouldn’t be right to skip over these in the least. I think I picked up about 8 pairs of boxers, 2 t-shirts, a dress shirt, a new bathing suit, and a fancy looking tie to rock at my next wedding. I haven’t added up all the retail prices yet (not that I’d ever buy them at those prices anyways), but I’d venture to say I got about $300 worth all for a little over $100. And I only made it to about 40% of the stores!
- Random Goodies: $120 — My favorite category ;) The one where all your little items here and there add up to a large amount! Haha… which you don’t hold yourself accountable for! ;) But seriously – we got some good stuff. Round-trip tickets to the Cape May-Lewes Ferry, sexy looking $10 bills, a bunch of arcade and boardwalk games, and then a little gas to get us from here to there. I’m probably missing some other fun stuff too, but those were definitely my faves.
Oh! And I also brought in some REVENUE! Yup, I went metal detecting for two whole nights and brought back a ton of goodies, haha… and by “ton” I mean “1/10th of minimum wage.” But it sure was entertaining!
- Day #1: 3 quarters, 3 dimes, 9 pennies, a fishing weight, G.I. Joe, some foil, and a matchbox car. All in an hour’s hard work ;) (that’s $1.14 in total for those who don’t feel like doing the math). But the funniest part here is that my nephew fell in love w/ the car and G. I. Joe, and actually the weight too, and he took them everywhere we went for the next 3 days! Haha… so really, that alone was worth the expedition to keep him busy.
- Day #2: A nickel and a monopoly house. These findings took 1 1/2 hours and almost drove me bonkers. You know when you’re just not feeling it? I should have quit after 15 mins and just called it a night… but then again, I only get to do it once a year :(
So there you have it. A typical J$ vacation. One week with the fam, and a looooot of down time to just sit back and contemplate life. It would have been a bit better w/out putting in some work here and there, but as it stands I currently have about 200 emails to sort through (no joke), which is a lot better than the 600 it would have been! At the end of the day though, I’d much rather come home to that than a pissed off boss at a company I could care less about :) If only I could fix my schedule and rid myself of Mr. Workaholic now…
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PS: More info on metal detecting:
— Metal Detecting is Cool, Damn it. @ Budgets Are Sexy
— Metal Detecting for Beginners: Patience and Profit @ Wisebread
(Photos by jmoneyyyyyy)
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That sounds like an awesome vacation! I’m so glad you had a good time and a much-needed break. I’ve been hearing all my friends brag about their family Nags Head beach vacations on Fbook. I’m happy I’ll be on MY vacation in less than two weeks–including a day trip to VA Beach! It snowed today in Auckland, so that should tell you what I’ve been dealing with over here! :) Happy catching up with the blogging!
Oh and I’m also intrigued by the metal detecting. I’ve kind of always wanted to do it, but I’m def. not brave (nor motivated enough on my vacation) to be ‘that person.’ How come I’ve never seen a girl do it? Great finds!
Metal detecting sounds like a lot of fun. I have never done it, but maybe someday.
@Sense – Cooool!! It’s too bad I don’t live close to VA beach or I’d come and say hi for an hour or two :) Would love to meet ya some time. And yeah – I’ve never seen a girl metal detect either come to think of it? You should change that :) Though, we did run into this one guy metal detector who said he lent these 2 teenage girls play around with it for an hour, and apparently they found an almost brand new iPod in the sand – and it still worked!! So me thinks you women would find all the treasures better than we can ;)
@cashflowmantra – You should! If you can find someone to lend you one for an hour or two, I think you’d really enjoy it.
Your vacation sounds AMAZING J! It’s crazy how a week away can help up feel so refreshed and ready to take on the world. I’m really lucky to have co-workers who understand when I need a break – because a couple of weeks ago they practically shoved me out the door to take a week long vacation to visit my family in Chicago. Unfortunately I ended up being sick for 3 of those days I was gone… but what better time to be sick than when you’re with your mom who’ll pamper you right? :)
And btw… I showed my youth group the Love Drop video so they could see you giving Felicity the cards they made… they are obsessed with your hair.
This sounds great and has gotten me even more excited about some upcoming time off I have. $400 for a week away is pretty good…having a lot of stuff covered really lets you enjoy what you spend on!
J$ – a bottled water article for you…http://motherjones.com/blue-marble/2011/08/bottled-waters-ethnic-gap
AND, I can’t wait to check out your metal detector articles! The manfriend wants one for his b-day in September. I have been trying to avoid this gift for 2 years now, but he’s asked yet again, so that’s what he’s getting. The articles you linked may already answer this question, but do you have a model you’d recommend because I know absolutely nothing about metal detectors. Thanks!
Sounds like a fun vacay! I have been begging my husband to take me any where over the last month. Only because I was working 11 hour days all so I could take two weeks off for surgery. The week before surgery I ended up working 99 hours straight! I figured making up the time before surgery would be way easier than after, but damn 99 hours sucked! Maybe I can get my surgeon to send me to a spa for the healing properties.
It sounds like you had a great vacation. :-) I can’t wait until we go on vacation. We’re planning a trip to Italy (Operation Italy) next fall, which will totally rock. I’ve never left the country so that will def. be interesting and spendy.
Welcome back, J. Money! Sounds like you had an awesome trip. I totally know what you mean about just falling into the habit of working, working, working and never stopping. Except for a few days at the cottage and a long weekend to visit my sister, I haven’t really taken a vacation in well over a year, and it’s starting to show! I think I’m getting stir crazy. Must go somewhere!
Welcome back and it seems like you had an awesome vacation. The metal detecting seems like fun, not a good side hustle but fun none the less. Seems your vacation was awesome though. I also doubt you could live without Mr. Workaholic.
J$ its good to see you made it back safe and had a good time! Sounds like a fun vacation! I havn’t been on a vaction in a while. I want to really bad, but i feel that i have too much work to do. Once i see that my hard work is paying off, ill reward myself. Hopefully i get there soon. Until then, ill just keep plucking away :)
@Emily – Awwww, well tell them I love ’em for it! And that they should give it a shot themselves – even if just for a weekend ;) It really is fun – if you can get away with it. I’m glad you got a chance to visit the family! It’s nice once you’re ON vacation, but kinda stressful leading up to it. I’m trying to keep my vacation mindset though and see if I can translate it into a daily schedule… so far, it’s not working ;)
@ShoeGal – Oh cool, have fun wherever you’re going! Is it wrong that I feel jealous? ;)
@Erin – YES! Totally get him one!!! :) It’s awesome. I don’t have a clue as to which detectors are better, or not, actually myself – but I CAN say that I’ve used cheap to medium quality ones (based on price, at least) and most of them work just fine and are similar. You def. don’t need a top of the line one to get going. I’d look for a used one in the $100 range. Maybe $50 as lowest, and $200 max depending on your budget. But either way, you don’t need a top of the line brand new one :) (and very interesting about that bottled water article – only skimmed it, but will go back to read later. Thanks!)
@LB – Jeez, and I thought I was bad! 99 hours is no joke, for real. Tell him to man up and take you somewhere! :) Even 1 night away at a bed and breakfast or something – those are the best.
@Jen @ Master the Art of Saving – Awesome! Yeah, you are gonna have a helluva good time – Italy rocks. And so do many places outside the U.S., so enjoy it all my friend!
@Melissa – Go go go!! Even if it’s just a road trip for 2-3 days somewhere close and relaxing :) I got your back!
@Rafiki – Haha, that may be true, but if I don’t get used to not having Mr. Workaholic around, I’m gonna have no time for myself anymore and eventually lose out in life. I’m sure I can find a happy medium though if I try hard enough :)
@Kody @ Financial Money Tips – Yup, I totally understand that feeling. As long as you don’t wait TOO long to take a break, I’m sure you’ll be fine :) Hard work def. needs rewarding though, so don’t forget! It sucks stopping work for a bit, but our bodies need it sometimes… and our minds. It’s amazing how much MORE work you can get done – especially creative work – once you get back from a vacay. You turn into a SUPER you! Haha… thanks for stopping by, my friend.
Welcome back, J$ and good to have you back (although the guest posts were good). I am on sort of vacation as well – though writing is being done and some othert stuff arranged. Apart from that I managed to get myself in hospital and have a needed surgery – went well and am recoverying at home (our other home on the Balkans). Still not entirely up to par but getting there. So, exciting but not in the right way may be!
*sigh* I haven’t been to the outlets in Delaware in more than 10 years! Which is kind of sad since I just live in NJ and it’s not even that far away. ;-)
Glad you had fun!!!
Welcome back! I find vacations are tougher and tougher because I actually like working on my online projects lol
How many times did Nate call you?
@Maria Nedeva – Glad to hear it went well!! And I hope you recover nicely and smoothly my friend :) Holler if you need anything!
@Stephanie – Hah! Next year I’ll have to call you then and force you to come with ;) We go there every year.
@Evan – Haha, SO. TRUE. And tougher to sneak work in when your family (and wife) is telling you to quit it :) Nate called me 13.2 times.