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Post by seltzer on Oct 10, 2021 13:07:16 GMT
Even 10% of 45K would be considered a McMansion. Just kidding, I know you said less than 10%. I know you don't live in a McMansion. I looked it up, the largest home in NJ is 24,000 square feet in Englewood. Indeed, 4,500 square feet would still be a large home. Excluding a detached two car garage mine is about half that. UpdateI'm going to do a couple sets of pushups this morning before wifey and I take dear son into NYC to catch a bus back home. After that we'll be heading to visit a wedding venue for dear daughter and her fiancée. No cooking for me last night because we went out to eat with my MIL at around 3:30. Have a great day!
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Post by seltzer on Oct 11, 2021 19:21:53 GMT
Mainly functional exercise today lugging some of my BIL's stuff that we're storing from our garage to our second floor, mainly into the room that is dear daughter's.
Have a great day!
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Post by seltzer on Oct 12, 2021 16:29:55 GMT
Three rounds this morning of:
Low planks Weighted glute bridges Flat bench Db presses Flat bench Bb skull crushers Single arm Db bench rows Db squat presses Standing Db curls Ab wheel rollouts
Dinner last night was cod pan seared in garlic butter with sides of string beans and homemade egg pasta. Since we are trying to reduce carbs at dinner I portioned the pasta I made in to four four ounce servings, meaning two ounces each for me and wifey, and froze three of them for future dinners. No cooking tonight because we're going out for wifey's b'day. Somehow, she's 33 again. :-)
Have a great day!
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Post by seltzer on Oct 13, 2021 15:35:48 GMT
I took a two mile walk this morning and will come up with an indoor activity for this afternoon.
Dinner last night was delicious and it was nice to see that the restaurant was filled. I'm not sure how much that had to do with so many restaurants not being open on Tuesdays, but regardless I was happy that the place was doing good business. I have nothing to compare it to because other than special occasions wifey and eat at home during the week.
Work is coming along in the house, but a lot of things are still not where they belong. That will change soon.
Have a great day!
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Post by shamie on Oct 14, 2021 14:15:01 GMT
I took a two mile walk this morning and will come up with an indoor activity for this afternoon. Dinner last night was delicious and it was nice to see that the restaurant was filled. I'm not sure how much that had to do with so many restaurants not being open on Tuesdays, but regardless I was happy that the place was doing good business. I have nothing to compare it to because other than special occasions wifey and eat at home during the week. Work is coming along in the house, but a lot of things are still not where they belong. That will change soon. Have a great day! Did you eat outside, or eating in a crowded restaurant doesn't bother you (covid)? Since I am vacinated, it wouldn't bother me, but I know a lot of people who are more careful than myself.
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Post by seltzer on Oct 14, 2021 14:56:02 GMT
I took a two mile walk this morning and will come up with an indoor activity for this afternoon. Dinner last night was delicious and it was nice to see that the restaurant was filled. I'm not sure how much that had to do with so many restaurants not being open on Tuesdays, but regardless I was happy that the place was doing good business. I have nothing to compare it to because other than special occasions wifey and eat at home during the week. Work is coming along in the house, but a lot of things are still not where they belong. That will change soon. Have a great day! Did you eat outside, or eating in a crowded restaurant doesn't bother you (covid)? Since I am vacinated, it wouldn't bother me, but I know a lot of people who are more careful than myself. Shamie, we ate inside. We're fully vaccinated, but am still a bit leery. Just like getting a flu shot doesn't ensure you won't get the flu, but I'm willing to be a bit more liberal than if I wasn't vaccinated. Like you, I also know people who are essentially prisoners in their homes. UpdateRenegade rows with push ups for the win! I'm still a bit sore from Tuesday's workout and right now my shoulders are not happy. In a good way. Dinner last night was spicy black beans and corn with chicken thrown into the mix. My contractor is working in the kitchen today so I don't think there will be any cooking tonight. Have a great day!
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Post by macdiver on Oct 15, 2021 18:09:32 GMT
Belated Happy Birthday to your wife.
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Post by seltzer on Oct 15, 2021 19:52:57 GMT
Belated Happy Birthday to your wife. Thanks Mac. Update
I took today as a rest day, but will be back at the gym at 8 AM tomorrow. Wifey and I took another wedding venue tour and really liked the place and we think it will also satisfy the vision that dear daughter has. Our plan is to have her and my future son in law, who will now be referred to as mfsil until they are married, visit the place when they come down at the end of the month. Today, as with the other places we've been in contact with we picked up a few nuggets of information and in the context of ridiculous prices this place was reasonable, if there is such a thing. The place I was in contact with yesterday was totally crazy. Here a few gems of information from that place and this is just for the five hour cocktail hour/reception and a thirty minute wedding ceremony: Price per person $425 Ceremony fee: $3500 Administrative fee: 23% of total bill Gratuity fee: minimum of 10% of total bill Throw in the sales tax, which I know the place has no control over, but still needs to be paid, and we're talking about $90,000 for 150 people and that's before the photographer, the band, flowers, rehearsal dinner, breakfast the following morning for our large contingent of out of town guests, and some other things like paying for suites so that dear daughter and her wedding party get prepared on premises. Guess where dear daughter will not be getting married. TGIF!
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Post by seltzer on Oct 16, 2021 13:32:03 GMT
It was a doozy of a workout this morning. Three rounds of:
Wall squats with Db curls Walkouts with a push up Heavy ropes Mountain climbers on sliders Db goblet squats Renegade rows Bicycle Kb swings Ab wheel rollouts
We're leaving early tomorrow morning to spend five days in Nashville. Dear daughter's fiancée's parents are renewing their wedding vows and asked us to celebrate with them. I will try to be active every day, but most likely won't post here until we return.
Have a great day!
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Post by macdiver on Oct 16, 2021 16:39:12 GMT
$425 a person is insane. I have had the privilege of eating at some really nice restaurants including 2 Michelin star rated restaurants where we did the Chefs tasting menu with wine pairing and it wasn't that expensive. Grant you the 2 star place was in Spain where things were cheaper than the New York City area but still I have never had wedding food that comes close to the quality of a regular good restaurant.
Just trying to wrap my head around that price point. People must pay it or they would not be in business.
Have a great trip.
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Post by seltzer on Oct 16, 2021 17:07:07 GMT
$425 a person is insane. I have had the privilege of eating at some really nice restaurants including 2 Michelin star rated restaurants where we did the Chefs tasting menu with wine pairing and it wasn't that expensive. Grant you the 2 star place was in Spain where things were cheaper than the New York City area but still I have never had wedding food that comes close to the quality of a regular good restaurant. Just trying to wrap my head around that price point. People must pay it or they would not be in business. Have a great trip. Mac, I totally agree; it's an insane amount of money even before all the mandatory "extras" and while the place must be getting people to pay that amount it is not getting a penny from the Seltzer household. Fortunately we didn't waste our time visiting; it was one of the few places I've looked at that was willing to send a price sheet via e-mail. All decisions should be so easy. :-) Thanks about the trip. UpdateI'm about 95% packed and hope to be out of my driveway before 6 AM. No cooking tonight because we're going to friends for a BBQ.
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Post by shamie on Oct 17, 2021 13:14:29 GMT
Did they consider a destination wedding. That way everyone gets a nice vacation, and you weed out 75-80 % of the guests who won't attend, yet those people still send wedding gifts.
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Post by phillydude on Oct 17, 2021 15:56:42 GMT
It was one of the few places I've looked at that was willing to send a price sheet via e-mail.
We send out an e-mail with the average price for 150 guests (assuming a typical menu and a portion of the rooming costs paid by the bride/groom/parents) and that scares away many of the people who have more vision for their wedding than money to pay for it, so I understand why they send out the price sheet... as the old adage goes, if you have to ask you can't afford it. If you add in the accommodations and the cost of the rentals required (I assume the venue you mentioned includes things like tables and chairs, place settings, linens, etc - which we do not include) I'd bet that (when averaged out over the total number of guests) our price comes in between $350 and $400 per head (not including the extras you discussed, such as entertainment, florals, photo/video, etc). As for the administrative fees, 23% seems excessive, but if it is a venue where all they do is weddings (and do 20-30 per year), it may reflect the actual overhead.
We have been completely booked for 2022 weddings (we do a maximum of six per year) for over three months now, and in that time frame I have turned away over fifty couples who were interested in touring the venue. I assume that probably has something to do with their pricing structure as well... limited inventory and high demand means that you can command a higher price. Add in the "snob appeal" of being an elite venue and while you may not be willing to pay the price, someone else will be glad to get it.
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Post by seltzer on Oct 22, 2021 16:32:10 GMT
Did they consider a destination wedding. That way everyone gets a nice vacation, and you weed out 75-80 % of the guests who won't attend, yet those people still send wedding gifts. Good idea, but one of their priorities is to have family and friends attend so they want to celebrate locally.
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Post by seltzer on Oct 22, 2021 17:03:31 GMT
It was one of the few places I've looked at that was willing to send a price sheet via e-mail.We send out an e-mail with the average price for 150 guests (assuming a typical menu and a portion of the rooming costs paid by the bride/groom/parents) and that scares away many of the people who have more vision for their wedding than money to pay for it, so I understand why they send out the price sheet... as the old adage goes, if you have to ask you can't afford it. If you add in the accommodations and the cost of the rentals required (I assume the venue you mentioned includes things like tables and chairs, place settings, linens, etc - which we do not include) I'd bet that (when averaged out over the total number of guests) our price comes in between $350 and $400 per head (not including the extras you discussed, such as entertainment, florals, photo/video, etc). As for the administrative fees, 23% seems excessive, but if it is a venue where all they do is weddings (and do 20-30 per year), it may reflect the actual overhead. We have been completely booked for 2022 weddings (we do a maximum of six per year) for over three months now, and in that time frame I have turned away over fifty couples who were interested in touring the venue. I assume that probably has something to do with their pricing structure as well... limited inventory and high demand means that you can command a higher price. Add in the "snob appeal" of being an elite venue and while you may not be willing to pay the price, someone else will be glad to get it. The place I mentioned and the current front runner include tables, chairs, etc. as well as a wedding planner. I agree with you about the pricing structure. Dear daughter and MFSIL are coming here next weekend and we'll take a tour of a couple of venues. UpdateWe came home last night from a truly fun trip to Nashville. Although we've met MFSIL's parents and brother numerous times, this was the first time we spent a sustained period with them and it was a blast. They're good people. Some food choices were out of our control so while doing the best I could my diet was meh even though I mitigated damage with solid portion control on the items that were really artery clogging. As one would surmise, alcohol consumption was higher than normal; nothing crazy, but more in the realm of a Bloody Mary on a Monday morning type of thing. I only hit the well equipped hotel gym once, my bad, so my main exercise was walking; three in our party had step trackers and they all agreed we walked about eight miles per day. The internal work on the house is almost done and what's left will not affect our party on Sunday. The yet to be done outside work won't affect anything either; obviously I'd like to get that finished soon. Dear son showed up around 11 last night and we stayed up until midnight chatting. He's leaving after work today to visit some college friends, will return Sunday, work from here for the week, and go home with dear daughter and MFSIL on Halloween. TGIF!
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