My car still isn't inspected

After I decided that I wasn't going anywhere for my vacation, I decided not to get my car inspected. I decided not to take the car in during my vacation so I would have it in case I decided to do any running around. Turns out that really wasn't necessary as I only ventured out a few times. I could have had the car done and back and still had several days to do running around.

I do have to still get it done but I'm going to put it off for another week or so. The inspection expired in July so it's not like I have to rush because I'm already late. I've thought about putting it off until October so the inspection matches the registration but I thought that would be pushing it.

To be perfectly honest, I'm just not ready to part with the several hundred dollars that I know it's going to cost me. Cars can be expensive!

I need moer hotel points

The program that I'm in had another sale on points. I was about half-way there to getting more points. I was surprised that they offered the points for as long as they did. Unfortunately, I was not able to save enough points to get another stack added to my account.

I really want to go on a nice vacation in the next couple of years and I want my air miles and hotel points to pay for the vast majority of it. Since I'm a beach goer it's not that expensive for my vacations anyway. And I'm sure most people would say that it's not a good use of points, but it works for me.

Now I just need to get to saving!

I got some hotel points

Yay!! It was earlier than expected and I didn't have enough points in my account to get as many hotel points as I wanted but I did add almost 3k points to my hotel loyalty account.

According to the previous schedule, the points should not have been available until after January. However, I kept looking just to make certain. Sure enough the points were available last week. I jumped up and logged in to get them before they sold out.

There are still points available but I don't have enough points to turn in for more points. By the time I gather enough points, I'm sure they'll be all gone. That's ok though, right now I have enough points for almost 2 days. If I get a deal on the stay, I can stay anywhere from 3 to 6 days. As most of my vacations are only 4 nights, this works for me.

Now it's time to start stockpiling again so I can take full advantage the next time.

Well I have a chance to get more hotel points

I was looking through one of the websites that I go to looking for information on hotel deals when I saw a contest. It's for the main hotel chain that I belong to which is a good thing. You can win 50k points which is 1-2 nights unless you get the severely discounted room and then it's between 5k-12.5k. Not bad. But combined with what I have, it's almost enough points to get me a free stay (5 days or 4 nights).

I love this program because the points never expire. For me that's a good thing since I don't travel a lot. I can save up and take my dream vacation. Right now I have one pegged for 2014 but I don't want to get into it until I get more concrete plans.

But it's definitely exciting to start saving towards that goal.

I need more hotel points

I belong to several frequent flier programs, even though I don't fly a lot. However most programs allow you to accumulate points and as long as there is some activity over the previous 18-24 months your account will stay active.

The problem is that I don't have any points in my hotel loyalty accounts. I have one hotel chain that I have points in. However, the points expire every 24 months and they don't have any hotels anywhere I want to go. I'm still in my beach phase where all I want to do is go chill at a beach resort. This particular chain only has 4 or 5 islands. The problem is that none of the hotels are one the beach. On one island the hotels are in the middle of the city nowhere near a beach. That's not a deal breaker because the last hotel I stayed at was basically across the street from the beach and that's no big deal.

I really wish I could afford to travel more.

I was really trying to go back on vacation

I had hoped that the hotel/casino that I stayed at would have offered me a deal to come back. They're a pretty cheap resort in the first place so I wasn't expecting a free night but I was hoping for a $15-20 off discount per night. Sadly, I haven't received any offers and I don't think I'll be receiving any.

It's been almost 3 weeks since I've been back so I should have received an offer by now. Since I haven't received one, I can only assume that I won't be getting one. In reality, it's probably a good thing that I haven't gotten a discount. I would have booked another trip so fast my own head would have spun.

Oh well, I guess there's always next year.

My vacation was awesome

And expensive. I booked a fairly low priced trip but all of the "extras" really started to add up. I had to buy new clothes, because I don't wear dresses and capri pants regularly. I also had to buy beach supplies like lotions, travel sized sundries etc. Then I had to pay for luggage fees, parking etc. After a while, those numbers started to add up.

I did not get the all-inclusive meal plan so I spent quite a bit of money buying food. It costs the same as any big city so I wasn't too surprised. The next time I will go for the all-inclusive hotel. It won't save too much money but I do like the idea of paying for everything in advance. Then I would just need a few bucks for incidentals, souvenirs etc.

However I had a great time and I would gladly do it all again. As a matter of fact, I hope to do it again next year.

2 weeks to relaxation

I've been so busy lately that I haven't had a chance to really relax. Even when I've had days off, I've been stressed about how much we've had to do at work. Well work is slowing down, which means we're almost at a normal pace instead of a break neck pace. But more importantly, it's vacation time for me.

I have to finish this week and then I have next week, then it's vacation time. I took my normal week and then the Monday afterward so I have 10 glorious days off. I want to get as much done as I can in the next 2 weeks so that while I'm on vacation, I don't have to worry about getting anything done or stressing.

I want this to be a totally relaxing time.

I'm going to start squirreling away vacation money

I had some vacation money but I added a good portion of it to my housing fund. I also sent my brother and my niece some money so my vacation stash is pretty short.

One of my plans for the new year is to start sending small amounts of money to my various accounts. One of those accounts is for stuff for my house, another is a savings account for my niece and now I'm going to add to my vacation money. I guess that I'll only have enough to go away once every two years which is not bad.

Especially when you consider that I haven't been on a vacation in about 4 years.

Those MegaBus cheap rates are the real deal

I have to admit I had my doubts about the availability of those really cheap rates. Until I talked to a friend of mine and she said that she had booked several tickets to go to DC, Cleveland and Toronto. She didn't pay more than $50 for all of the trips combined, and that was for multiple people. She told me that the trick is to book as soon as you think you may be travelling before all of the seats sell out.

I need to get to booking a trip for myself soon. Since money is tight again this year, that's the only way I'll be able to get out of town for the time being. Now to figure out where to go.

I'm getting travel fever

I haven't really been on a vacation in several years and I'm itching to go. To make matters worse, I've been reading a bunch of travel blogs getting ideas about where to go. Unfortunately, I don't have the money to go on a real vacation. I may have to consider going to visit family and calling it a trip.

I'm going to start saving now for next year because I miss my yearly vacations.

I may hit up MegaBus soon

MegaBus travels out of Pittsburgh and it goes to some really neat places. I can go to places in Ohio, New York or even 3 different cities in Canada. At this very moment Canada would prove to be a problem since my passport has expired, but I plan on taking care of that within the next month or two.

I figure if I can get a cheap bus trip, I can stay at a budget hotel and have a short getaway which I desperately need right now. It's not the beach vacation that I really want but anywhere is better than where I'm at right now.

I still don't know what I'm doing for vacation

And it officially started today. I'm supposed to go visit my mom but I'm not sure what day I'm going or if I'm actually going at all. One of my friends gave me a short-cut to try but I don't know if I really want to take that drive at all.

I really should have planned ahead because I wanted to go away for a week. Of course I waited until the last minute and now I'm unable to actually go away. I don't have the money like I did a few years ago where I was able to make spur of the moment decisions.

I'm not getting stuck again next year, I've already started looking at travel arrangements. I will be on a beach somewhere in 2011.

The concert is not a go

I don't have anyone to go with and I don't want to go by myself. Especially since I would have to go out of town. I have no problem travelling by myself but a concert is different. I have gone out of town and gone to a baseball game by myself but that wasn't the reason I went to that city. It just happened to be the way things worked out.

I'm kinda hoping someone changes their mind soon. If I don't plan the trip I won't go. I don't want to go to either of those cities last minute.

They're finally getting married

I can't believe it. My two friends who have been dating forever have finally decided to get married. And they're doing it in style I might add. They were going to go to Vegas but vetoed the idea. They decided to do one of those destination weddings to the Mayan Riviera. Ohh la la. Sounds like fun to me.

The picked the El Dorado Royale Resort and it sounds like heaven. They have air conditioning and ceiling fans which is perfect for me. They also have a artificial river that I can float on and when I'm ready to have a drink they have a swim up bar. Add to that the gourmet all-inclusive meals and beach side aerobics and what more can you ask for? I'm not even the one getting married and it sounds like a blast.

I better start planning now because I wouldn't miss this for the world.

I am so ready for a vacation

My job is so stressful right now. Between all of the problems that I'm having with my job search and wondering who is going to potentially get laid off, I'm not having a good time right now. I would love to take one of the cheap vacations that I've seen advertised lately.

There are some great deals going on right now. Especially if you're looking to go to the Riviera Maya. You can get a great all inclusive vacations at several distinct hotels. The best part is that each hotel offers something different. There are adult only resorts, family friendly resorts and if you're particularly adventurous there's a naturalist resort.

I don't know what I'm looking for right now. I wouldn't be opposed to staying at a family friendly resort or a adults only retreat. I'm not so sure about the naturalist resort though. I think that would stress me out even more. And right now, the only thing I want to do is relax.

It's vacation time

I thought it would never get here. I'm not going anywhere though, at least not this year. I haven't had a family vacation in about 3 years but I hope to change that next year. I would love to go to the Mexican Riviera because it seems so beautiful.

They have one resort that's adults only which is perfect for me. There are 42 swim up suites which is awesome. The artificial river leads to the main pool and a swim up bar. All you have to do is step out of your room and you're good to go. There is one catch however, it's a nudist resort. If it's just 2 people that shouldn't be a problem. It actually seems like a lot of fun once you lose the jitters.

I'm going to look more into the Hidden Beach Resort Au Natural Club. It sounds like a blast and it's a definite possibility for next year.

I'm thinking of travelling for a football game

It's crazy that I waited until the middle of winter to decide that I want to visit other places. My team doesn't play some of the teams that I want to see but it doesn't make me want to visit any less.

I have several places that I want to see. San Diego, maybe Dallas and Denver. It's crazy to think about going to Denver in the middle of the winter. Besides checking out some of the great Denver Restaurants that are out there, I can check out their multiple sports teams. They have all 4 major sports even though this is the baseball off-season. I could kill two birds with one stone and check out both a football and basketball game.

That's a major factor in whatever city I choose to live in. Denver is also one of the most health conscious cities in the country. Their citizens are known for both their inner and outer beauty. And the best part is that they have a bunch of fashion houses and boutiques to shop to enhance that beauty. That is so up my alley.

I guess I need to start planning.

Winning a trip is right up my alley

I love to travel but it gets very expensive. So when I saw this opportunity I was super excited. I always enter to win trips whenever I see them. Alas it's for Canadian residents only. So if you live in Canada enter to Win a trip to Atlanta Georgia. You also need 500 Coke coins to enter. It's to celebrate John Pemberton who is the inventor of Coca Cola. Can you believe he created Coke way back in 1886?

I have pretty good luck entering to win trips. I've won 2 even though I had to give 1 up because of school. I would definitely enter this contest if I was eligible. I never thought I'd be jealous that I didn't live in Canada before!

Flying will be so uncomfortable

I'm a little overweight and this weight is so hard to get off. I've been watching what I eat and exercising like crazy. I think we all know that the weight doesn't come off as fast as it goes on. I've considered weight loss surgery if this weight doesn't come off soon. Those airline seats are made for a smaller size so I know I'll be squeezed in.

Not good.