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All the Cars I’ve Loved Before
My days are boring. So I thought I would share somethings that aren’t so current, but still fun to post about.
Today it’s my history with cars.
I bought my first car when I was 15. I am an October baby, so I had the grand plan of working all summer before my 16th birthday and saving for a car. Only problem with that plan? No one hires 15 year olds back them except one place. McDonald’s. McDonald’s it was! I would open almost everyday all summer long, then I would have softball practice &/or games later in the day. It was a long summer, but I saved every single penny from every single paycheck. And at the end of the summer, when my sophomore year of high school started, I quit my job and bought a car. A cute, little blue Chevy Chevette. I can’t remember what year it was, but it looked a lot like this one.
Vinyl seats and all! It was a good, safe car, except it was slow. Like turtle crawl up every hill. It didn’t matter how fast I was going, by the time I got to the top of any hill, I would be lucky to be going 20 MPH. I was the first one of my friends to drive, so I had the privilege of picking up a few friends on the way to school. They could hear my car coming a few blocks away, chugging her little way along. She quickly received the nickname of Possy, acronym for Piece of Sh*t. Classy lady!
The next summer brought another car. This time a Renault Fuego. What? You’ve never heard of Renault cars? I hadn’t either. It was apparently a French car.
Mine was black and it was zippy! Fun car, except it would overheat and a fountain of green fluid would gush out from under the hood. Good times.
My senior year of high school and I wanted a new car. This time I went big! I bought a 5-year old Chevy Camaro!
Mine was a beautiful greenish, blue color and not an Iroc-Z. Loved that car! The problem with it? It was horrible in rain and snow. It was slide if there was just a bit of moisture in the air. After almost sliding off a bridge that winter, I knew it was time to trade it in.
Freshman year of college. The Camaro was traded for a Honda Prelude.
Mine was red. I adored that car! So much so I kept it a few years.
After a few years, I wanted a bit of a bigger car. A Chevy Beretta fit the bill.
Mine was a color called Sandstone. It was a light beige color that didn’t show dirt. Loved that! I kept that car for a few years until I was married and pregnant with my first daughter. It was then decided we needed a four-door car for convenience.
We bought a one year old Mercury Mystique. Actually, the ex-husband picked it out. I didn’t really have a preference other than wanting four doors.
Red on the inside and the out. It was a good car for our needs. Sadly, I was T-boned in a wreck that resulting in totaling it.
Our replacement car was a 2 year old Honda Accord.
Ours was a dark green and I had picked it out all by myself. Loved it. And then we became pregnant with our second child and needed a bit more room.
I got to pick out my dream car at that time!
I again went with the light beige color I loved. Seven seats were prefect for our growing family! It served us well for a few years, but then it was time to downsize a bit and find something a bit more fuel friendly. I sold it to my friend’s mom nine years ago and she still has it!
Next up was a dark blue Dodge Stratus.
I actually really liked this car and wish I had kept it. But I traded it in five years ago for my current car.
Are you car maker loyal? I am not, obviously.
- Chevy = 3
- Renault = 1
- Honda = 2
- Mercury = 1
- Dodge = 2
Do you keep cars very long? I didn’t use to, but I have had my current car for five years. Before that I averaged a new-to-me car every couple of years.
Do you buy cars new? I tend to buy newer (1-2 years old), used cars. I have never bought a brand new car.
What was your first car?
What car is on your want list right now? I am really considering a four-door hatchback, such as a Mini Countryman.
What Blogs Should I Stalk?
Surgery
I spent five hours in the emergency room this morning. My ankle swelling had not gone down, I still could not put any pressure on it and every movement in the leg hurt.
X-rays showed a lateral break that snapped off the end of my fibula. Apparently when my ankle rolled, the ligaments stretched and pulled the bone apart. The specialist has scheduled me for surgery this Friday. I will have either a metal plate or wire and screws installed to repair the bone. Right now I’m rocking a half cast.
Please excuse my toenails and their dire need for a pedicure.
I am to stay off of my foot and keep it elevated until the surgery and at least a week after. I’m told we are looking at about 12 weeks of recovery.
I was able to get a refund for my race this weekend. And I need to see if I can do the same for my race next month.
And now I am enjoying the fuzzy feel of my new painkillers.
Tell me something to make me smile!
Broken
Ankle and spirit.
Snow & Toes
Yesterday someone surprised me and offered to go for a run with me. I promptly passed out from the shock. When I recovered, I was more than pleased to accept OMG Becky’s offer.
You have to understand OMG Becky pretty much hates running. Think she has only gone with me a couple of times ever. And the last few times she went on one of my runs, she rode her bike.
Today’s high was in the low 30′s. Brrr! OMG Becky didn’t really have anything of her own to wear. So she got the privilege of wearing my running clothes. Such a joy to listen to her complain about how big everything was on her. Um, yeah. We are not exactly the same size.
And she also stated that she looked like a dork. Wait a minute little missy! That remark is a little hard not to take personally when you are wearing my clothes from head to toe. Teenagers!
Oh, and I was not allowed to take her picture on this outing either. So here is a picture of the pretty trail. ;-)
Can someone please tell me why the gravel trail is covered in snow while the woods around it seem to be snow free?
I am sure there is a simple answer, but it is beyond me. I just don’t understand! And it kind of makes my head hurt to ponder it too much.
I got to wear the new tech touch gloves I got for Christmas!
And the little tech touch finger tips actually work! Yay!
We did an easy run/walk combo, starting on Day 1 of the Couch 2 5K program. I am hoping if I ease her into it, she will want to keep going with me! A mom can dream, right?
In other exciting news, I made a discovery this week about my toes. I need to know if this is normal. Don’t worry, my feet are freshly pedicured for your viewing pleasure.
I discovered I can bend my toe down and then forward. Please see the second toe from the top as an example.
So then I tried it with my other toes. And they do the same thing!
Is this normal? Are my toes weird? I tried to do this with my fingers and cannot. So I need my BFFs here to help me out with this one.
As you can see, you have important science questions today!
Can you do this with your toes or is there something wrong with my toes?
Why is that trail covered in snow?
Christmas Eve Kicks
I hope you are enjoying the holiday season!
Christmas Eve was another gray day. The snow from Thursday is still hanging around. Yuck.
It looked like it could snow again at any minute. The sky had started spitting a little something when I came out from work a couple of hours later. I ran a few errands (last minute shopping!) for my mom, grabbed lunch for myself and my girls and then back home to get ready. My parents host Christmas Eve every year for our immediate family.
Fifteen of us met at church later in the afternoon for a candlelight service and then it was back home for dinner and a couple more guests. My mom was a bit concerned we wouldn’t have enough dessert. And then a little Christmas miracle happened!…
Desserts just started appearing. Seriously, three of those plates of cookies showed up in a matter of an hour from various neighbors. Perfect holiday cheer timing! We also had chocolate pie, s’more pie and M&M cookies. And my cheeseball made another appearance. Oh so good! It counts as an appetizer and a dessert. At least for me! Oh and breakfast, but that’s another sad, but true story.
And then the main attraction… gifts!
My mom passed them all out. Then we took turns opening them. Hoppy was not too keen on waiting for her turn. She decided to help her mom and me open ours. Guy was super excited about getting a new green, Nerf football. Because he doesn’t have enough balls already. Yeah right.
One of the funniest moments of the night was when Guy’s mom opened this Bath & Body Works Scentportable holder for her car. She was a bit confused about what it was. She thought it was a hair accessory. Her husband thought it was a pendant or necklace.
Wrong. We were all giggling with them. I asked her for a picture of however she decided to wear it! I’ll be sure to share with you. ;-)
My girls and I like to get fun shirts for my dad. And anything green. It’s his favorite color. This year we found a couple of goodies for him.
Green shirt says “I’ve got mad ninja skills.” So funny! And an “Mmmmm bacon!” pig shirt. The man likes his bacon. He has a container just for bacon in the refrigerator. It’s ridiculous.
It seemed this was the year of the shoes. My brother, dad, Guy, and I all got new shoes. I have to say mine are the best!
Can you guess which ones are mine?!!
I have to say my oldest nephew (center picture, red shirt) was eyeing my shoes big time! He LOVES shoes as much as I do, especially sporty shoes. He didn’t care too much about my brother’s or Guy’s dress shoes. Or my dad’s casual shoes. But as soon as he saw my bright shoes, he lit up. I told him to stay away because I had no plans of sharing. He knows a good thing when he sees it! Now that I think of it, I don’t have a blog nickname for him yet. I think it will be Kicks!
But don’t feel bad for him. He was pretty siked to discover he had the biggest gift under the tree. I had told him at church he had the biggest gift, but then my brother told him I might be lying. I tried to defend myself saying I wouldn’t lie. At least not in church. But then I hit him while saying it so I may have lost come credibility Don’t you wish you could sit by us?
He was cracking me up shaking his package all around trying to figure out what was in it while waiting for his turn to open a package. Good thing it wasn’t breakable! It was car mats, by the way. He worked really hard to earn money to buy his first car recently!
And then it was time for one of my favorite parts of Christmas Eve… group photo of the grandkids present! For whatever reason (sugar high!), we had a really hard time getting them all to look at the camera and smile at the same time. We tried multiple times, with multiple cameras. It was a no go. Holiday fail.
The silly pictures turned out pretty good. So that’s what you get to see. I am sure the kids will all hate love me now for posting this!
Their picture with Grandma and Grandpa turned out much better. Except for Guy. Not sure what he was doing with his mouth. Mocking Grandpa I think.
And the me with the parentals and siblings.
We clean up pretty nicely annually. And yes, I intentionally cut myself partially out of this picture. I had a tragic, deep side part going on that day that went unnoticed until this picture. It was bad. Like comb-over bad. So all photos from that day will be cropped like this, if I can help it.
After everyone left, it was time for Sassy’s favorite part…
Leaving cookies (and chocolate covered pretzels and banana bread!) out for Santa and reading ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.
The perfect ending to another wonderful, traditional Christmas Eve! I am so happy to be able to be back in the Midwest and to spend the holidays with my family.
What was your favorite part about your Christmas Eve?
I Stand
No power of Hell, no scheme of man
Could ever pluck me from His hand
Til He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I stand
These words from the song In Christ Alone by Natalie Grant resonated in me today at church. I haven’t posted the last two days because after the tragedy in Connecticut, my happenings seem smaller and a lot less important. And they are in the bigger picture. The things I would have posted would have been self-centered and minuscule.
Friday will be a day we all remember as a nation. A horrible thing that will forever linger over our heads. Forever remind us that there is evil in this world. It has shaken our foundation. It brought to the forefront that we as parents, educators and neighbors have little control over the world we send our children into every single day. How do we move on from here? How do we let them go out that door tomorrow?
We do it knowing the people we entrust our children to love them as much as we do. We do it knowing they will try just as hard as we would to protect them from such tragedies. There are numerous stories emerging now talking about the heroes on Friday that saved the lives of many other innocent children. Those stories give me hope, strength and a renewed belief that good will forever conquer evil.
And tonight, like the past two nights and many nights to come, I pray for the families of the victims lost. I wish them peace and comfort.
My Christmas List
OMG Becky has been bugging me for my Christmas list. My what? I don’t have a Christmas list. I seriously couldn’t think of anything I really wanted or needed. Other than a new laptop, but I’m pretty sure that is out of her budget. So for the last few days I have been racking my brain for something she could afford on her non-existent (because she’s saving for a car) budget. I finally thought of a few things yesterday while I was on a walk, dreaming of running again.
Yurbuds Inspire Female In-Ear Headphones. $29.99 at Target.
I have heard so many great reviews on these! Love this aqua (but wouldn’t cry if I received them in pink, green or purple). Target carries all those colors, but Yurbuds are available at other stores, too.
C9 by Champion® Women’s Cold Weather Running Tight. $27.99 at Target.
I have a black pair of these already. Love them! No color preference. (See, I can be easy to get along with occasionally!)
C9 by Champion® Women’s Running Knee Tight. $24.99 at Target.
I have a black pair of these. Love them, too! I would prefer the blue or coral this time, but would settle for black.
C9 by Champion® Solid Knit Hat. $11.99 at Target.
I want the blue. It also comes in several other colors. The black would be okay, too. I don’t really like hats much. But I know I need to be prepared for the horrible, winter weather that is about to occur here.
C9 by Champion® Basic Hat with Pop Color. $11.99 at Target.
This hat features a ponytail hole that might come in handy. Since I, you know, have hair. Plus it’s a lighter option than the lined, knit hat above. It’s nice to have options, people!
SmartWool Light Mini Socks. $14.95-$16.95 at various stores.
I have two pairs of these socks. I originally bought them for hiking, but also wear them for running when I wear my tights. The tights have a zipper at the bottom, back of the leg. It tends to rub my ankle raw. So I now wear these socks with my tights to prevent that. Works like a charm! I don’t care about color of these. Just the length (mini). I have never paid full price for them. Both pairs were bought on clearance for under $10.00 each at an outdoor store (one brick & mortar, one online).
Goodness! Anyone else noticing a trend here? Seems to be the year of bright blue and Target for me. Both completely unintentional, but it is what it is. Should make it easy for OMG Becky to find, right?!
Any must-have items for runners I should consider including?
What is on your Christmas list?
Staycation
Last week one of my best friend’s called with a brilliant idea. Let’s book a hotel room with a pool for a night. Have dinner out, let the kids swim and us gals could visit. Told you, brilliant.
We got rooms at Aloft Hotel. It’s a hip, Starwood hotel, according to their website. It was definitely the most modern hotel I have ever stayed at.
Our room was simple, but very sleek.
Our room overlooked an ice skating rink surrounded by fire pits. Pretty cool!
Too bad it has been in the sixties the past few days. The ice was melting fast!
The kids had a blast swimming. BFF and I made ourselves comfortable in the white egg/couch/thing. It was like a sauna in there! My hair was not happy.
We quickly realized it was an infinity pool. Every splash in the pool sent water rushing our way.
I probably should have worn flip flops instead of boots. Duh. I did bring a swimsuit and cover-up. I have no idea what I thought I was going to wear on my feet to the pool.
Sassy forgot her pool shoes, too. No doubt about it, she is my child!
The kids loved the elevator floor! It was some sort of colored gel material that moved and changed colors as you stepped on it. Fun!
After hanging at the pool for a couple of hours, dinner and more time visiting in BFF’s room across the hall, it was time for bed. Her daughter wanted to room with us. Fine by me! The girls had fun watching people ice skate below.
And then bed. And that’ s when the silliness began.
Giggles galore! Finally at midnight, it was lights out. I think they were both asleep within five minutes.
We slept in until 9:00 AM and then walked to Panera for breakfast. We looked like mama duck and her babies all in a row.
I mentioned this to BFF, who responded by quacking and flapping her arms like wings. The kids all thought she was nuts. She is a little bit. She has to be. After all, she is my friend.
After breakfast, we hit the pool for a bit more fun before checking out. This time, BFF and I got smart. We stayed in the gym overlooking the pool. We had to instruct the kids to keep the windows defogged for us. Sauna city.
I had gotten ready for the day before breakfast so I didn’t really want to get my sweat on. But I did get a nice, slow walk in on the dreadmill.
It was a great, relaxing start to our weekend. Sassy and I can’t wait to do it again. Next time, we might even be able to talk OMG Becky into going with us. She didn’t want to go hang out with “little kids.” Blah. Whatever. She missed out.
How did you start off your weekend?
What is the hippest hotel you have ever stayed at?
Do you ever stay at a local hotel just for fun?
