Bling vs. New Driveway

[Sparkster]

To quote you "So last week I''m carrying the baby in her carrier to the car (our garage is detached) and I trip on a rogue piece of concrete that sticks up a few inches out of my nasty old gravel driveway. Fortunately I only roll my ankle & am able to stay standing (cat like reflexes!! )."

You tripped while carrying your baby. Even if you are not worried about your own safety, the fact that your baby came out of this unscathed is the most important thing. So - new bling for yourself or fix the paving so you don''t have another accident where your baby could be hurt. Seems like a no brainer to me.

But, as a woman, I do understand the power of Bling!

 

[Miranda]

Oh Diver, you have no idea how your thread hits home for me! We have this house that DH adores with his enitre soul. Don''t get me wrong, I really like it, too. I just wanted something a bit smaller and less expensive in the long run. Since it was new construction we had to pay for all of the interior upgrades and put in a yard. Of course you really need a new plasma TV and surround sound in a new house

...See where I''m going with this? DH has gone over-budget on EVERYTHING...By tens of thousands of dollars. He''s like a maniac! Everything for the house is for ''us'' whether the kids and I want it or not, ya know. Anyway, enough of my whining...I could totally go to town right now as I am feeling a smidge irritable.

I think your concrete bid is fantastic being that my small back patios will cost $6,000

. Concrete prices are rising all the time (faster than jewelry/diamond prices) so the sooner you get it done the better. How''s that for practical? There will be lots of time to buy jewelry and you will love your new concrete drive. I''d hate for you or the kids to get hurt.

 

[divergrrl]

Oh Sparkster......i already decided on the driveway many posts ago (hell, I decided as i was rolling my ankle when it happened--why else woud i set the baby down, and call dh standing there all peeved off asking how much it would cost?)

I''m a "do the right thing" girl to the core....its just frustrating to always have life trump fun & frivolity.

 

[gailrmv]

Maybe you can do the driveway now and the bling will show up at Christmas time?
Also, maybe you can tell your other close family members that you are saving for a specific piece of jewelry and see if they want to put money towards that in lieu of whatever else they would have given you? Don't know if that is "cool" in your family... I'm debating trying that this year with mine!

ETA The driveway price sounds pretty reasonable... we got estimates for a small patio and for a plain one would be $1500 (way smaller than a driveway, and square) and pressed concrete started around $4K. We are putting that off til next year at least!

 

[Sparkster]

Date: 11/15/2007 9:05:44 PM
Author: divergrrl
Oh Sparkster......i already decided on the driveway many posts ago (hell, I decided as i was rolling my ankle when it happened--why else woud i set the baby down, and call dh standing there all peeved off asking how much it would cost?)

I''m a ''do the right thing'' girl to the core....its just frustrating to always have life trump fun & frivolity.

sorry divergrrl. I''m one of those people who start a reply and then get distracted, continue on with it, get distracted and then by the time I actually submit it, it can be ages from when I first started it, and in the meantime, so much has happened since I started.. I hope I didn''t offend by what I said. I actually understand where you''re coming from, hence my comment about the power of bling!

 

[door knob solitaire]

The reasonable price has me concerned. A driveway should be a different and stronger PSI that all the other work he has done...and it should be no thinner than 4 inches for cars only. Preferably 6 inches thick to prepare for all vehicle usage. I just don''t know how they can give you a decent durable long lasting driveway for 1500 clams. We just had one done the gravel bed cost us more than $1500. Of course we are talking larger...but you have got to know what you are buying/getting when you are installing a driveway. There is too many places the guy can scrimp...and you will suffer in the long run.

Funny thing, we had masons do some repair on a rock walll...needed a load of sand...the sand was $15...the quarry was 1 mile away...guess how much we had to pay for it? $90. Fuel prices bit them hard. And ofcourse...stung me too!

Do your homework. Then ask informed questions and make specific requests...see if your knowledge changes the quote. Learn the terms and materials used...if you don''t, the first Heavy duty truck that uses your driveway as a turn around will leave his mark, and you will be back tripping over cracked concrete.

Here is a start on your latest studies

DKS

ps...one fun thing...is you can engrave in this new present...and do it much larger than say 5 mm!!!

 

[divergrrl]

Good news...

I GET BOTH!!! yippee! DH is a sweetie pie if there ever was one. (We also found out we get a tax kicker check next week...so now I don''t feel guilty...free money!) He told me to go to my jeweler (ABC in Portland) and pick out a few things to be surprised with. I think all I want is this:

http://www.abcjewelry.net/rings/rings_color2.htm#

or this:

http://www.abcjewelry.net/rings/rings_color2.htm#

I think these are good prices. ABC is not a maul jeweler, they are tucked away in an old building downtown....cameras & locked doors -- in our "diamond" district if you will. They made my w-ring in my avatar.

And.....

DH agreed to let me get a stamped concrete driveway so it looks cottage-y....so now my budget has skyrocketed, but we aren''t moving, so this is a long term residence for us. Now I just have to pick out a design and interview contractors...SCORE!

I''m so excited.

 

[chrono]

I''m so happy for you Diver!!! A new SAFE driveway for the family AND new bling too.

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

All good things come to those who wait.....congrats!!

cheers--Sharon

 

[Rhea]

Oh yay! That''s very exciting. Will you share photos of both the driveway and the rocks when they''re done? I have no idea what kind of driveway you''re talking about - the cottage thing.

 

[rainydaze]

YAY!!! that should make for some fun outdoor shots!

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 12/3/2007 3:54:06 PM
Author: divergrrl
Good news...

I GET BOTH!!! yippee! DH is a sweetie pie if there ever was one. (We also found out we get a tax kicker check next week...so now I don''t feel guilty...free money!) He told me to go to my jeweler (ABC in Portland) and pick out a few things to be surprised with. I think all I want is this:

http://www.abcjewelry.net/rings/rings_color2.htm#

or this:

http://www.abcjewelry.net/rings/rings_color2.htm#

Diver, YAYYYYYYY!!!!! I am so excited for you! Which rings are you considering? I wanna see. hehee

 

[movie zombie]

Date: 12/3/2007 3:59:49 PM
Author: canuk-gal
HI:

All good things come to those who wait.....congrats!!

cheers--Sharon

my thoughts exactly!

movie zombie

 

[snlee]

Yay! How exciting! I want to see which rings you are considering too.