Some cool stuff (and a sneak peek at my birthday present!)

I'm not sure how smart it is that we bought Mal a second sandbox at a time where we are coming close to breaking heat records, but... we did. And he loves it.

The first day we got it.

The next morning.

Later that same day, and gosh, it was hot.

He played with it today, too. I think he might have missed Sunday, maybe? But that's the only day so far.

It was on sale, and when we've had a couple of kids over, the first sandbox has gotten pretty claustrophobic, so we'd planned to "expand," anyway. It's a hit!

James has this week off, and planned it at the last minute, so we don't have any plans. We're just enjoying time together. Today, for instance, we had his oil changed... which is apparently a "deal" with the Fiat 500s, as some places don't carry the oil and/or air filters, so we had to do some coordination.

Saturday, I asked James what he'd want to eat this week, and he smiled at the first thing that came into his mind. "I was thinking, 'Something Mediterranean, you know, like with artichoke hearts and pineapple.' Why did I think of that combination?" Well, of course I Googled it, and the internets did not disappoint me. Tonight, I made this Robert Irvine dish for dinner. Just know that that picture is NOT of this dish. I'm not sure how it ended up on there. But this was a fabulous summer pasta! It tastes bright and light, and we both recommend it. Mal does not. He preferred mac and cheese and a doughnut. D is asleep and hasn't tried it.

We got a phone call today, informing us about the IRRRL associated with VA loans, which basically says that as long as you've made at least 6 payments on your mortgage, you can refinance at a lower rate. Our lender (not the original one, the one that bought it) is "absorbing" (read: bumping the interest up a little above baseline) the costs, so all we have to do is pay our escrow for the month's payment we'll "skip" as the new loan goes into effect.

Some neat things about the new loan:

1) It is a 29.5 year term. We were told we could do 30 years, but we plan to pay it off sooner, anyway, and didn't want to tack on an extra half year.
2) It is about .4% lower than our old loan, and the interest rate has held firm, so I'm guessing the only reason we can do it is that our credit scores no longer come into play (if you're new, there's this whole thing about not using credit, paying a card off each month, etc. that really counts against you).
3) Our monthly payments will only be $62 less a month, but even with that, $20 more per payment will go to principal than before. Also, that's $744 a year. If we kept the loan for 30 years (again, not our plan), it would save us almost $22,000! Yikes! INTEREST!
4) The "extra" in-our-pocket money from the skipped month's payment is going to purchase my very own birthday present from James!

Okay, so here's what it is...



Squee!!

I've had a ZTE Zmax for just over 2 years and I like it a lot. I can't update the OS, though, without rooting it (trying to accomplish that lately, but unsuccessfully), and so can't run some apps I'd like to utilize. Also, it's just a little too big. I love the "big" for watching videos, but I can't take a picture with one hand. I can't text with one hand. And I have a tablet now, rather than a bulky laptop, so video-watching on the fly is much easier now.

One cool thing about this new phone is that it's Daydream-ready, so if I ever want to do some VR, it can handle it.

But I LOVE the idea of Dolby stereo speakers! I like to listen to the radio, to podcasts, etc. and most phones just sound tinny. I'm excited to hear this one!

I had more stuff, but it will have to wait It's July 4 already, and I need to get some sleep! Happy holiday, friends!