Move done…

After 3 days of non-stop packing and unpacking, we are finally moved into our Irvine home. We were debating on whether to hire a moving company or not. In the end, we decided to do the move on our own with the help from some of our family and friends. Hiring a moving company would of cost us around $400. Doing it ourselves, just cost the rental fee for the truck which was around $160 (counting the cost for insurance and gas). Anna found a great deal with Penske. It was a 2 day rental with unlimited miles for $105.

We loaded up the truck on Saturday with the help from my cousin. This took the most amount of time because we had to spend time thinking how to arrange things in the truck to maximize the space. I drove down there Sunday morning to unload the truck with the help of my friend. We also went to pick up the new sofa.

Now that everything is done, I feel like lighting up a Padron. We are almost done with the move. We just have some unpacking to do.

Furniture shopping for the new pad

One thing we have been doing a lot is shopping for new furniture for the home. My wife just came back from a trip to Ikea and got several items for our living room. We needed some shelving there for photo frames and storage. We also just purchased an ottoman from Target and sofa from Living Spaces.

One thing I have been looking at is Link To Copy: office furniture for my home office. The main thing I need is a desk. I want something not too big and more on the compact side. I currently have my eye on a desk from Target and Ikea. Both of these are priced around the $100 range.

Vacation deals

With our Orlando vacation next month, we were not really able to find any great deals on it because of the summer travel season. Usually around the June-August timeframe, these are the peak family travel months because kids are out of school. The popular summer destination like Orlando, Los Angeles, and Hawaii can charge normal rates without really having to worry about attracting customers.

For me the best time to travel is around the February to April timeframe. The weather is warming up and the kids are still in school. Hotels and Airlines offer deals to pick up business. You can also get great deal on honeymoon travel packages then.

Netbook shopping

My wife’s birthday is next month, and one thing I am looking at getting her this year is a netbook. With netbooks you can a compact way to browse the web. You do not have to carry around a bulky laptop or the inflexibility of a desktop. Most of these are light and easy to carry around the house or to your local coffee shop.

The one drawback with a netbook is that it does not offer you the power of a conventional laptop. Most of these do not have the memory space or speed as a laptop. Price wise, they are cheaper. You can usually find one in the $200-300 range. With a laptop you are looking at spending at least $700-1000.

Very tired

After working for non-stop the last 3 days, I have been able to fall asleep without any problems. I for sure do not have to worry about taking any sleep aids from www.supplementcritic.com/sleep-aids/. Once my head hits the pillow, I am out. We enjoyed our first night at the new house this past Sunday after the move.

Last night we stayed back at our old house because Brandon still has school in the Torrance area. We also had some stuff to move back to Irvine. Anna was able to take another car load back. I even loaded up my 2 seater with boxes.

Making your home energy efficient

With our new home my wife was very energy efficient in updating in. Our first update was the windows. We replaced all the windows with double pane panels. This helps keep out noise, and most importantly the cold during winter months and heat during summertime.

The second thing was we added solar tubes to the bathroom. These let in bright sunlight during the daytime, so we do not have to turn on the lights when we go in the bathroom. We have no windows in there, so lights are a necessity.

The best part is that they are offering at $1500 federal tax credit on all these items. You get 30% back on your tax return, up to $1500. So if there are any energy auditing folks out there, you can take a look at our house.

Poor customer service at restuarants

This past weekend we went to a Thai food restaurant we visit on a regular basis. It was around noon time we went. When we got there the restaurant was semi-full, and we were able to get a seat right away. But there was only one waitress helping out the entire restaurant. We got frustrated because we were not being served, so we started looking for the exit signs. She was actually taking care of the take-out orders before us, and we arrived before them.

Sometimes I really do not understand restaurants. During busy lunch crowds, they should at least have more than one waiter or waitress. Customers are priority number one, and you have to take care of them. We ended up just walking out and going to another restaurant. They just lost a return customer.

Stress and hair loss

Another result of stress is hair loss. My wife has been reminding me daily of my thinning hair. Some has to do with stress, but I think a majority has to do with heredity. My father was nearly bald by the time he turned 35, and I turn 37 next month. I still have a decent amount of hair, but my hairline has been receding. I am tempted to look into hair loss prevention shampoos. I can also check out sites like whatcauseshairloss.org to help me out.