Will The Trip Even Happen?!

I am so frustrated with Expedia right now. We booked our trip through them since they were the cheapest on the day we booked.

D filled in the forms, we triple checked the CC number, the names, e-mails, etc. All good. Then we talked about it before he pressed "next." Obviously our session timed out. And instead of pressing start over he pressed back and refilled out the form. We double and triple checked everything again and pressed next right away but since he didn't start over it didn't work. So he presses start over and fills in everything for the third time and decides to not double check (mistake!) and presses "next" and it all went through. The next day I receive a confirmation e-mail and notice my first name is spelled wrong.

He added an extra letter in the middle, grrrr. It also says at the top of this e-mail that the names must match what it says on the passport identically. So I call expedia thinking this is going to be a quick call to get the name changed.

For so long they said I am not in the system. I was on hold a lot for this process too. They asked me if I was sure I booked with them! Yes, first line of the e-mail says "Thank you for booking with Expedia." So they had me forward the e-mail and said they would get back to me within 5 hours. Well 6 hours roll by and nothing.

So I call again. This time they were much better and actually found D and I in the system. They said yep sure easy enough to do, they changed my name and I would receive it within 72 hours. Nice.

72 hours pass and still nothing. So I call AGAIN. I tell them the problem again and ask them to send the e-tickets with the right name. Apparently I called after 4:30 and the documents department was closed so I would have to call again the next day. So I do, at 9am, they said sure and I will receive it shortly. I came home yesterday and saw that I received new e-tickets. I open the document and see that my name is STILL spelled wrong!!!

So I call AGAIN (how many times now?) and the girl was very nice and somewhat sympathetic. She said that she would be able to fix the problem and that I would receive the new e-tickets with the correct name within 24 hours. 24 hours will be around 6pm. I think I'm going to call by 4 today if I still have not received them though.

Grrr, the flight is at 6am in one week. I hope all of this gets sorted out quickly! I am beginning to get very frustrated. I don't think I would book with them again.

It's Official....

We're going on a trip! To the Dominican!

The price was right at $700, plus $331 in taxes. FOR TWO WEEKS. We leave on Dec 29th and come back on Jan 12th. Includes flight, all-inclusive 4-star resort, pick-up and drop-off at airport, a bunch of water activities, 2 a-la-carte dinners per week, and a special new years gala dinner.

I am super excited!! For some reason a little nervous as well, maybe that's just excitement? LOL. 12 more days to pass through! Including Christmas in there.

I now need to figure out where to draw a little extra money for spending.

Also D does not have a camera OR luggage. So I was thinking maybe I'll get him one or the other for Christmas. We'll see though, it's a big spend month. SO glad I saved up for Christmas this year lol!

Today is the last day of school for the kiddies, and I'm working the morning. I'm off to school now, they are going to be super excited...will be an interesting morning!

Christmas Shopping is NEARLY DONE!!! Potential Vacation??

I had two days off last week because one was a snow day, and the other job was just cancelled without me knowing the reason. Instead of wallowing about cancelled jobs (which I did do for a bit) I decided to go Christmas shopping. I spent a lot of money but am pretty much done.

I had a few things saved up too so that lessened the blow. I also transferred the $800 I had saved up into my bank account and have already paid off my credit card for this month!!

For my family, I made them all STOCKINGS!! We haven't done stockings the past couple of years and they are a fun part so I decided to bring them back. I won't receive one, but that's okay.

Anyway what did I get? I got my cousin (best friend) a new board game, and some puzzle glue. I got my brothers each razors, Christmas beer, deoderant, candy, soap and a $20 beer store GC. For my dad I got him soap, Christmas beer, a bingo dauber, mouthwash, $50 to Canadian Tire, $100 to Home Depot. For my mom I got her Olay lotions, a bingo dauber, hairspray and $50 to her hair salon, brown socks, $50 to Walmart, kitchen tongs, $50 for Mark's Work Wearhouse. I'm probably forgetting things. I also want to get them each a scratch lottery ticket because those are fun too.

I got my roommates each a book, some candy, and am going to make them a Christmas/Holiday pillowcase. I got the one a kitchen tool, and the other one lotions from a country she recently visited. I have not bought D anything. However we were talking tonight and he asked me if I had any money saved up to go on a vacation. I told him I did and he said maybe we could do that over this Christmas break.

I think that would be pretty cool! We looked into some places. Some look awesome but just far too expensive, like Asia and Europe. So we focused a little more on the Caribbean islands. We may or may not actually do anything but I'll let you know! I think it would be fun and neither of us has been on a vacation in a while. It also just snowed here another foot so it would be nice to not have to wear winter boots everywhere for a change!

Where To Buy Euros??

I have a feeling I've asked this before but I can't find the answer. Maybe I just searched for it myself and forget the answer.

Anyway, the EURO dropped to a new low. The lowest it has been in four years. I like this because I am heading to Europe in a little over 6 weeks. Where is the best place to purchase EUROs? Is it here in Canada at a bank? Or at one of those currency things you see at malls? Or should I just wait and do it when I actually get to Europe??

I seem to think the last option was the most economical. However, who knows what the EURO will be worth in 6 more weeks. Any suggestions???

In other news, I've added more money to my funds! I added $200 to the Family Loan, I also added $250 to TFSA, $140 to Christmas/Gift Fund, and $100 to Travel Fund. The travel fund is just $50 short of meeting my revised goal ($1000). I should be able to complete that by the end of June right before we leave. Off to update status bars!!

I'm Going on Vacation!!!

This Saturday my BF's family invited me to HOLLAND!!!! For THREE WEEKS in July!!

Of course I couldn't pass up an opportunity like this. It will truly be amazing. There are 8 people going. Flights are paid for by airmiles WOW (taxes are not). I'm not sure what exactly I will need to cover. Insurance, some food expenses, etc. BF's brother's girlfriend is also coming, so it will be nice to not be the only "outsider."

What does all this mean financially? I need to start saving up majorly. I have started a small travel fund that was going to be used for a long weekend vacation to the states in the fall, but if we are going to Holland I think I can forget about that mini-vacation. This also means that I will have three weeks that I cannot work. This somewhat stresses me out. It will all work out I'm sure, I'm going on vacation!!!