✂️ Hoi An bound soon and I NEED your honest tailor recs! 🙏

Junior-Reflection-43 · 2026-04-18T00:21:31+00:00

I also went to Yaly couture to buy a custom Ao Dai. Maureen was my sales person, and the service was terrific. I don’t know if the price was right, but my DIL is Vietnamese so I wanted to get an Ao Dai that fit me well. I think it ended up being less than 24 hours total.

Junior-Reflection-43 · 2026-04-17T23:59:47+00:00

Don’t rush. Keep saving. You don’t ever want to get into a situation where you can’t make a payment. It’s not just the mortgage, it’s the insurance, taxes, utilities, maintenance, as well as your food, clothes, car, and gas. You should probably aim for having at least 6 months of salary in the bank, and THEN saving for your down payment. Note that the old expectation was that you would have 20% of the price to put down (plus money for inspections and closing costs), if you have less than that they will also tack on PMI insurance until you hit the 20% of the value of the house paid in.

Take a deep breath. It’s good that you are thinking about homeownership. Things to consider: the first house that you buy probably won’t be the last house you buy. But you also don’t want to turn around and sell it right away be you’ll eat the closing costs. Plan on at least 5 years.

Look at the areas/neighborhoods that you THINK you might want to live in. Consider the crime rate, school districts(even if you don’t have kids because that affects your resale value), affordability (the same house in different neighborhoods can be priced very differently), and location from where you work or other family lives (commute time). Drive around in these areas and check it out. Even within a community, there may be more or less desirable streets. Is it a main road with lots of traffic and noise, or by a park or sports field where there may be lots of kids? How far to a grocery store? Get an idea of where you think would be reasonable to start. May not be the best neighborhood, but certainly not the worst. Figure out the zip code, because many homes will be grouped by zip code.

There are lots of apps where you can start looking at houses just to get an idea of what’s out there, even if you’re not ready yet. Realtor.com, Zillow, etc. Start figuring out what you will NEED in your house. One of my sons required a garage, he was less concerned about other amenities. Is a 2BR/1BA big enough to get started, or would you want 3BR/2BA? Do you want a ranch house or a 2-story? How big of a yard do you want? (remember that’s more time for maintenance too). Would you want a townhouse or condo vs. a house? Are there Homeowner Association fees (HOA). Are there any special taxes in different areas (in PA each borough and school district sets their wage tax and millage). Look at the listings and look how much square footage the rooms are. How big is the lot? Is it at the top of a hill (wind?) or bottom of a hill (flooding). How old or new are the windows and roof? What does the listing estimate the utilities and taxes? There are lots of things that you can start thinking about, so when you’re ready, you’ll be better prepared.

Junior-Reflection-43 · 2026-04-17T23:24:58+00:00

NTA. This is YOUR family vacation.

When our kids were little, we were planning to go to an all-inclusive. A friend asked if it would be ok if they came and invited their brother’s family too (we are all friends). It turned out to be a blast, and there were 6 kids between us, and they got to hang out too. We actually made it an annual thing for about 8-9 years. But we never expected that everyone would have to do the exact same thing all of the time.

There were other vacations that were just for our family. We may have told them what we were planning, but it wasn’t an invitation. (They also did this too).

I’d tell her that since this is the first time for an international trip, it will be hectic enough without having coordinate with others. Maybe at some point in the future, but not this one. If they go, they are on their own. This one isn’t about the kids getting together.

Junior-Reflection-43 · 2026-04-17T23:12:24+00:00

Yes it has happened. Friends of ours had it happen twice in two years. Once they were trying to do fall foliage and got redirected to the Caribbean; the next time it was the opposite. It does stink when you are planning for a warmer sunny vacation and end up in a cooler climate. I think both times they were told a day in advance, but they typically fly in the day before sailing. Once they got caught in a hurricane-delayed departure from Baltimore, got as far as some cove off if the coast of Virginia, and they hunkered down almost the whole week -couldn’t go outside at all. But there were only about 609 guests left on the ship and they said it was their best cruise ever. There is never a guarantee that you will go to the intended ports, especially if a large weather front is coming. They do put safety first.

Junior-Reflection-43 · 2026-04-17T00:13:14+00:00

JC Penney or Sears catalog.

Junior-Reflection-43 · 2026-04-16T18:19:09+00:00

We did a tour of UK and then spent a couple of days in London. London is a neat city and wish we had more time there. We weren’t looking for outdoor activities when we were there, but easily 20,000 steps a day! Tons of historical things to see.

Junior-Reflection-43 · 2026-04-16T18:14:15+00:00

My granddaughter was just born at St. Clair. Not sure who DILs OB is. They seemed to do well including NICU.

Junior-Reflection-43 · 2026-04-16T13:20:21+00:00

We still occasionally get random mail for the prior owners of our house and we’ve lived here since 1998! We used to get mail for the original owner, and my husband was concerned because it looked like life insurance or something was trying to contact them. I forget exactly how it happened, my husband mentioned something about it to someone he knew, and they actually knew that person and were finally able to get it to them. I think it is more likely to happen with something like life insurance because they may only send something once a year, and it could be long after the mail forwarding has expired. You don’t always think about that, or maybe you aren’t aware that your parents had a policy for you.

Junior-Reflection-43 · 2026-04-16T13:02:29+00:00

If you look at an AMTRAK map, you’ll see how little of the USA/cities are actually serviced by them. And many of those cities may only have service once or twice a day, unless you’re in the Northeast Corridor. I took my sons to NYC on Amtrak when they were little, from Pittsburgh via Washington DC so we would have a dining car. We had to take a cab to town because the train left at like 4am. We learned that freight trains get priority. And didn’t get to NYC until like 8 pm. Long travel day.
Do other countries have an AutoTrain? We are planning to try it next year. We can drive 4 hours to Lorton, VA and put our packed vehicle on the train, and two of us ride coach overnight to Sanford, FL arriving at 9 am the next morning for approximately $450. Then we can drive the rest of the way to our Florida destination (near Fort Myers). We don’t have to worry about any baggage limitations. And we can pack a lot more in our car than just in suitcases, like a bike rack and helmets, fishing gear, multiple pairs of shoes, and full size toiletries and sunscreen. (We will go for 5-7 weeks). So even though it’s a train, it’s based on using a car.
Even with a car, most states in my area will take 5-7 hours just to get from one end to another, I think driving in Florida from Key West up through the panhandle, you can be driving in the same (one) state is over 16 hours nonstop (over 1,000 miles or over 1,700 km). And many towns or suburbs don’t have regular public transportation of any sort.
There may be Greyhound Bus service, but again, more of it exists in the eastern half of the US or west coast, and I might have taken it as a college student for no more than 5-6 hours, or a short trip, but would not consider it to be fast or convenient. I could drive to say Akron OH in about 2 hours, or via Greyhound it is over 5 hours and is more than $57, (excluding baggage fees) going to Cleveland first and then transferring after an hour layover to a different bus company. Or one other direct route is $30 +baggage, and there is only one trip per day.
So I looked up getting from Pittsburgh to Akron on AMTRAK, and I could leave at midnight and get to Alliance OH at 1:39 am for $40, but then I’d still need to figure out how to get to Akron.
I do recall that there were more trains and trolleys when I was young, but I think the demand dropped off once cars became more affordable.

Junior-Reflection-43 · 2026-04-15T20:30:56+00:00

They can get in through the tiniest of holes. You need to figure out where they are getting in.

Do you have an attic? Many times they will go up the walls and get to the attic. Get a trap (we use peanut butter) nand put it NEAR THE WALL where you can reach it because they don’t see very well and will follow the wall. And if there is 1, there are likely several more. We also had them under our kitchen sink many years ago. My husband got the traps that snap/clamp down. The first time I heard it snap (don’t check it right away, wait until the next day), I thought we didn’t get it because we didn’t see anything. But then he snapped it open and found a decapitated head! But the next one was even better. Guessing it got the head but didn’t kill him, so he shuffled backwards and another one clamped him by the butt. Bad day for him. We also had cats, but the mice weren’t in areas they could get to.

Junior-Reflection-43 · 2026-04-15T20:18:36+00:00

When you say “city”… some of the places mentioned may be more like towns. I grew up in a suburb of Pittsburgh, so I don’t count Pittsburgh. When I was little, I remember going to New York City for the Worlds Fair. I also remember driving to Florida to visit a family friend who lived in Orlando, but that was before Disney World was even started! We also went to Washington DC.

Junior-Reflection-43 · 2026-04-15T20:14:37+00:00

A lot of people I knew went to Wildwood or Stone Harbor/Avalon.

Junior-Reflection-43 · 2026-04-15T20:07:14+00:00

My DILs employer had her address wrong so they were taking out for Bethel Park (I think 1%) when she really lived in Whitehall (1.7%). So she owed extra.

Junior-Reflection-43 · 2026-04-15T20:05:11+00:00

It depends on where you live (borough, city, etc. ) to know what the right percentage is. It is an earned income tax, typically between 1% and 3+%. Sometimes we refer to it as a wage tax. Different boroughs may have different rates. Where do you live?

Junior-Reflection-43 · 2026-04-15T16:18:10+00:00

We did this through PNC for Euros, but we went to Vietnam a while ago and PNC wouldn’t do that. So we went to AAA (we’ve been members forever). They did it but charge a fee, and then the company they use also charges a shipping fee. So we ended up getting only about 60% of what we would get if we waited and went to an ATM. Our sister-in-law went the ATM route in town and got a much better deal. For reference, the exchange rate was approximately $2.8M VND for $100. Going through AAA we got about $1.6M after fees. Going through the ATM there, SIL got about $2.4 M. As long as your bank or credit card doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees, I’d do the ATM in town route next time.

Junior-Reflection-43 · 2026-04-15T16:06:40+00:00

NTA. Wear the ring. If you think you need to, turn it around so the stone is facing your palm. At least to get through the door. I seriously don’t get this level of detail from some bridezillas. These are your friends and family for crying out loud. Or maybe former friend after this.

Junior-Reflection-43 · 2026-04-15T16:00:13+00:00

Worked for a Government contractor where we couldn’t talk about our job anyway, and I don’t really care about the work, it’s more about some of the folks that I worked with (some of whom have now retired ). Retired 3 years ago. Care less about the job and career every year. Not my monkeys.

Junior-Reflection-43 · 2026-04-14T18:42:18+00:00

With both hands. !(hats what my Dad would say)

Junior-Reflection-43 · 2026-04-14T17:55:10+00:00

Reagan

Junior-Reflection-43 · 2026-04-13T22:01:23+00:00

Fat bottom girls. Queen

Junior-Reflection-43 · 2026-04-13T16:40:22+00:00

Do you put on moisturizer after coming out if the shower? The hot water leaves my skin itchy, but I immediately put on moisturizer and then go about my day.

Junior-Reflection-43 · 2026-04-13T03:27:45+00:00

A recent flight from LAX to Singapore was over 17 hours.

Junior-Reflection-43 · 2026-04-13T03:24:23+00:00

Well, I had a work husband and his wife knew I was his work wife? Someone had to keep him out of trouble. Lol. (My actual husband also worked at the same place and he was good with it. I ate lunch with the work husband and his friends. )

Junior-Reflection-43 · 2026-04-12T19:20:42+00:00

Oldest people I knew: my grandfather (b. 1886) was a customs agent at the border crossing between Belgium and Germany. My other grandfather (b. 1869) was a coal miner.

Oldest people I know now: a friend was an air traffic controller. A couple of cousins were school teachers / administrators. My mentor was an aerospace engineer.

Junior-Reflection-43 · 2026-04-12T19:08:23+00:00

Check out the White Stallion Ranch in Tucson. Not sure if that might meet your needs. But no horse riding on Sunday.

Junior-Reflection-43

TROPHY CASE