7 Quick Takes Friday

Thanks to Jen for hosting.

1. Our $8K tax credit finally arrived! Woohoo! We were so happy the day it came then we went out to Red Lobster and had appetizers, entrees, dessert and wine.

2. The first thing we bought was a new dining room table to replace the rickety card table we've been using since we moved to AZ. It'll be delivered on August 2 and we can't WAIT. We realized, during the purchasing process, that it's the first piece of brand-new furniture we've ever purchased together -- all our other furniture has been secondhand or bought for us by a family member.

3. We're still looking at LCD TVs as well, but we haven't made a decision yet. There are a lot of choices!! I think we'll go with a 42", or maybe a 46" if we can find a good deal.

4. We may end up buying a new car (!) as our Ford Escort is slowly but surely dying. It has no air conditioning (estimate to fix is $500, which is about the car's value), the fuel tank has a leak and the windshield wiper fluid spayers have stopped working. We're thinking we may have to chalk it up as a loss and get something else. Since the summer heat started I've been taking the van to work, but I want to get a smaller, fuel efficient car to take to work every day -- driving the van is so wasteful (and expensive) when I'm the only one in it, especially given that I drive about 90 miles every day. I've been taking the Ford the last few days because the van needs a new battery (it's getting it today), and boy it's been HOT. If it was just the faulty A/C I could probably grin and bear it, but combined with the fuel tank issue and the windshield wiper fluid problem... it probably makes more sense safety-wise to get a new(er) vehicle.

5. Speaking of work, my immediate boss resigned to take a position at another company, so I've gotten a promotion of sorts. I've taken over four of his projects as well as his old office. One of my other co-workers is taking over the other half of his projects (and she has her own office now, too). It's weird, but good, to have my own little room after having cubicles for so long! I'm hoping that along with my new responsibilites will come more money, but I haven't heard anything about that yet. We'll see. In the meantime I'm just trying to juggle everything successfully!

6. In family news, Elanor starts KINDERGARTEN on August 9! I've met her new principal; a very nice lady. We'll meet her new teacher on August 5 and we'll probably get her school supplies the following weekend. She saw a picture of a Disney princess backpack in a Target flyer and it's all she's been able to talk about.

7. We're taking a quick weekend trip to Flagstaff, AZ this weekend to return my friend Rose's cat, whom we've been watching, to her. Should be fun -- beautiful area this time of year.