I know this is really late but I thought I would try to catch up....So for our first Christmas together I was really wanted to make it special for Billy. A couple months before Billy was going on and on about wanting to buy a TV. He kept saying that prices were going down and that it was a good time to buy. I on the other hand really didn't want to spend a whole lot of money on something that we didn't need. We had a perfectly good working TV.
Until one day this is what we saw....
(still waiting on opportunity to take pic...will be updating soon)
Billy researched the problem and figured out the only way to fix it was by hitting it. So every time our "not-working-so-good-TV" had just a line going across the screen we were to hit it. It was quite annoying when you were watching something you would have to get up off the couch to hit the TV and then sit back down. This started happening about a month before Christmas.
Even though I was putting some money back for a TV I still wasn't sure if I was going to get him one for Christmas until we started having problems and I was getting frustrated with it. So I researched and researched for the best TV at the best price. I would even ask Billy what he wanted for Christmas and he would always say a Panasonic, Plasma, Flat Panel, 42" 720p or 1080p TV. My reply would be, "That is a big item to purchase and I would rather purchase that as a couple and make that decision together. I just don't feel comfortable buying something that expensive without your opinion," even though he would constantly tell me exactly what he wanted.
So while searching I found exactly what he wanted on a website from hhgreg except it was a 50" instead of a 42". I didn't think that getting a bigger TV would be a problem. :) It was even a better deal to get the bigger TV. So when I went into the store I saw it but the price was not what it had on the website. After talking with a gentleman, he was able to knock off $200. I was so proud of myself. I first said I would take it and then called my in-laws to ask if they would keep it for me because there was no way I could find it at our one bedroom apartment. He would see it for sure. Of course they said yes. I later came over and wrapped it while Billy was at work. I thought for sure he would find out that I was sneaking around but he didn't.
Up until Christmas I would constantly ask Billy what he wanted and he would reply back with a TV and I would say I didn't feel comfortable buying it. So this went back and forth. Christmas morning I had a decoy gift that I had him open at the Keown's in South Carolina. He was some what excited about it but I could tell there was some disappointment in his face. So I constantly apologized for not getting what he really wanted.
Billy had to work the day after Christmas so we left South Carolina Christmas evening. Before we left, Billy's parents asked us to stop and check on the pets because they would not be returning home until a couple days later. (Billy didn't know that I asked ahead of time for them to ask us to do this.) So when we got back to Raleigh, Billy went to check on the dogs and I went to the spare room downstairs and called to Billy, "Hey what is this in here?" Billy came into the room and found this.
He was so surprised. I was almost crying and I think he was too. He had no idea, but as soon as he saw it he knew what it was. It wasn't until he opened it that he found out that it was bigger than he had ask for. Check out his reaction.
Now the beast of a TV sits in our living room and the other TV is in our bedroom where we still have to get up and hit it once in a while.
As of today, we adopted a new member to our family, a 2006 Nissan Murano. We are still l
ooking for a name for him or her. We did not get to bring her today. We are going back tomorrow to fill out paper work and then we will get to bring her home.
As by my last post, we were researching Santa Fe's and Muranos. I came to the realization that if I got a Santa Fe I would be happy but only because of the price versus a Murano. So after making a trip to Smithfield (about 45 minutes away) to see a Santa Fe, I realized what I really want was a Murano. So I really worked hard to find a black Murano. There was one that I really liked but when I checked it out on the owners website it was already sold. So I saw another one in Smithfield and asked Billy to go look at it
with me. I had already test driven Muranos and I knew how they felt. So we really went to go see how the Murano looked.
When we got there I really liked it. We test drove it and then it came time to talk price. I am so proud of Billy and I. We were really nervous about talking price with the guy. Before we went in to talk with him, Billy and I talked about what we wanted to pay for it. I said no more 15, 500. The car was listed for 16, 988. His first offer was about 15,700 before the extra fees and he asked us what we were looking at. I said 14.5 to 15. So he looked at what he could do. He called the owner of the shop and came up with 15.9 before 
the extra fees. I suggested to Billy that we wait and talk about it. The sales guy said hold on and see what he could do. I suggested 15, 7 AFTER fees, which would be about 14.9 before. He suggested 16 after fees which would be 15.2 before fees, but he had to call the owner again to see if that was ok. The owner came back and said that is fine. We said yes and the car was ours. The place actually had already closed so we decided to come back tomorrow and finish up the paperwork.
So Billy and I have come to the realization that we will need a four door car in the future. (Not any time soon though.) So while both of us are working we are looking into getting a new car. Here are some of the choices we are looking at:
First one up, Nissan Murano
:
This is the pricer of the two. So we are looking the 2005/2006 models to get. I really like this one. I especially like it in black. We will probably get cloth seats because this brings down the cost on the vehicle. It is actually what is called a crossover. A crossover as definied by Wikipedia is, "a marketing term for a vehicle that derives from a car platform while borrowing features from a traditional Sport Utility Vehicle. (SUV)." Nissian Murano actually uses the Nissan Altima's car platform. So it is not necessarily a SUV.
Here are some stats we are looking for in a Nissian Murano:
Mileage 40,000-50,000
Body Style Sport Utility
Exterior Color Black
Engine v6, 3.5L
Transmission Continuously Variable Automatic
Gas Mileage 17 city/23 highway/19 combined
Next up, Hyundai Santa Fe:
The Santa Fe is a little cheaper vehicle than the Murano so we are looking at getting maybe a 2007 or 2008. I like the Santa Fe but it is definitely a vehicle that is more basic. It is also a crossover. I would like to get this car in black as well. This vehicle is not as popular as the Murano so finding the right color has been a challenge for us. Billy has told me to branch out and look at other colors, which is what we are going to have to do . Here are some stats we are looking for in a Hyundai Santa Fe.
Mileage 20,000-40,000
Body Style Sport Utility
Exterior Color Black
Engine v6, 3.3L
Transmission Automatic
Gas Mileage 17 city/24 highway/20 combined
There is no rush on our end. We are just looking for now. But if we find something for a good deal we will get it.
fireworks on the third and on the fourth.
