My New Ride

My lovely silver Pontiac Grand Am has slowly been kicking the bucket for awhile. So much so, in fact, that when I went to see how much I could get for it they came back with just five words: "Seven hundred and fifty dollars." Wow. I had two broken windows (electrical problems) that needed to be fixed and that alone would cost me at least $700, not to mention the fact that it was due for some tuneups, an oil change, and just a lot of TLC.

My car was a '99 and had close to 115,000 miles on it and boy did it live a very fulfilled and happy life on the road. But it was time to move on to something a little more safe, stable, gas efficient, and something I could enjoy driving for at least another ten years. So when my parents decided to head to the Toyota dealership in town (they, too, were looking for a car) I decided to tag along.

My dad ended up trading in his '95 caravan:
For an '05 Toyota Highlander that looks a little something like this (*note* this is not the actual car, I just found a picture of a similar one online):
That mini van took us on a countless number of trips around the country and it will be missed.

So, while my parents were buying their new ride, I was out in the lot looking at this beauty:
It's a 2008 Scion tC and I can't wait to drive it again. I'm sure I already mentioned this, but had I built this car from the ground up, not only would it have cost me at least $3,000 more, but I would have tweaked it to look just like this one. It's a used car - it has about 20,000 miles on it - but it's exactly what I wanted...minus the two-door factor. I love the color, tinted windows, alloy wheels (won't have to worry about those babies falling off while driving!), two working windows, TWO (!) sun roofs, an awesome radio, cruise control, and on and on and on.

Here, take a peak into the newest addition of my family:

Ok, now I know this is REALLY geeky (again, we can blame Kenny for this), but on Battlestar Galactica (only the coolest sci-fi show ever) the "bad guys" are called "Cylons." Now everytime I mention to someone what kind of car I drive - a Scion - I have to concentrate and make every effort to not say that I drive a Cylon. What's even funnier is that Scion also makes a car that people call "toasters" because of their boxy frame. On Battlestar, a cylon's nickname is a toaster. Get it?! Ah, I think it's hilarious.

A "toaster"

So even though I had to say adios to my loyal Grand Am, I'm pretty excited to start a new chapter in my life with this new (used) car.

Happy Belated Turkey Day

Last night I promised I'd post about Thanksgiving and my week in Georgia, so while my geeky boyfriend watches Star Trek, I'll get my type on.

I'm seriously shocked by how fast the time has flown by. I know it's cliche and all, but seriously; I can't believe that it's already 12:01 (est) on Saturday. I technically leave tomorrow and that makes me ridiculously sad.

Kenny and I spent the beginning of my time here shopping around and finding home decor to fill his house and make it a home. I think it's safe to say that he now has a workable and enjoyable kitchen. On another day we took a trip to Lowe's and picked out two shades of paint, one for the guest bedroom and the other for the guest bathroom. The next day we opened the cans and started covering the white walls with colorful paint.

Thanksgiving went off even better than expected. We woke up early on Thursday to start brining our turkey with a recipe Kenny found while watching the Food Network. The Good Eats Roast Turkey had to brine for 6 hours and then cook for another three(ish). While the bird was soaking up flavor, we cleaned the house and got to work on the other dishes we were providing: Kenny's homemade rolls (so. freaking. delicious! but I forgot to take a picture - just trust me about how good they are), my grandma's yummy green bean casserole (this is before it went in the oven, so just imagine the french onions all brown and crispy!):salad (manderan oranges, mushrooms, tomatoes, onions): mashed potatoes, gravy (from a recipe out of a magazine), and Sandra Lee's Sweet Biscuit Wreath that I made...all...on my own (with Kenny rooting me on from the sidelines):
We invited the Harr's over for dinner (they brought an addicting pumpkin butter, stuffing, sweet potatoes, chocolate meringue pie - yummy, a sister, a father-in-law, and two ridiculously cute kids) and they arrived just as we were taking the last parts of the meal out of the oven. Truth be told, the turkey took about an hour to cook longer than we expected, but by the time that bird came out of the oven we knew it was worth it.

Not only was this one of the juiciest turkeys I've ever seen, but instead of the flavor overpowering the meat it added to the richness of the turkey. Unfortunately, I made some gravy that I didn't think was that great and I poured it all over my meat. But on the bright side, there is plenty of meat leftover.




The whole meal was fantastic; I loved the company, the food, and even the cooking process and cleaning up after.

As surreal as it sounds, Kenny and I haven't fought or even argued this entire trip. Going back home is going to be hard. He'll be coming home for Christmas, but it's not the same. I'm planning on visiting again in February and I already can't wait. Tomorrow he and I are going to Callaway Gardens' Fantasy of Lights for our 2nd annual Thanksgiving weekend tradition (ha - we can now say it's an annual tradition!) and I can't wait.

Next up I'll have to post pictures of my new car...but that will come on a different day. Oh, and I hope you all like the new look of this blog. It's not a huge difference, but it's enough for me to notice and enjoy.

Big Bird

I had great plans to write a fantastic recap of the Thanksgiving Day festivities....but all I can think about right now is how much my head wants to be on a pillow.

In a nut shell (ugh...even thinking about nuts makes me feel fuller): This was one great day!

More to come sometime tomorrow when I can fit into my jeans again...

Big Girl Moment

Well, on Tuesday afternoon I pulled up my big girl panties (that one was for you, Jenna!) and became a new (slightly used) car owner. Yup. I bought the Scion tC and I'm loving every time I put the peddle to the metal.

Actually, I'm trying hard not to hit the gas so I can save on fuel, but other than that I'm enjoying my new purchase.

Before I bought the car Kenny asked me one very serious and important question: does this one have working windows? Oh yes it sure does! Not only that, but it doesn't have hubcaps, it came with alloy wheels, which means I don't need to worry about my hubcaps falling off ever again! (This was an ongoing problem; in fact, when I traded in my car there were five hubcaps all together and three of them were different...hmmm!).

Oh! And my car has not one, but TWO sun roofs! Even though I'm still a tad bit bummed it's a two door vehicle with a smaller trunk, Kenny assures me that I'll get used to it soon.

I love it! (pictures to come soon.)

A Disappointing Dunkin’ Date

Since I’ve decided to take the plunge and buy a new (slightly used) car, I’m going to have to put a halt on my spending habits. I’ll start brewing my own coffee at home, bringing my own lunch to work, and staying away from anything that says, “drive thru.” I consider myself pretty money savvy, and have been pretty excited that the spiraling downward economy hasn’t pinched my wallet…until now. Sure I’m going to get 30 miles per gallon compared to the 19 I’m getting with my car now, but does that really matter at the moment since I have to fully insure my car and pay a car payment each month? At least gas has dipped below two bucks here!

I think I’ll be okay, because in the long run this is way worth it. Who knows, my insurance may not even be too much. My Grand Am was considered a four-door sport’s car and the Sicion has all the stars you can get when it comes to safety, it’s not considered a sport’s car, and it’s a coup.

With all that being said, I woke up this morning and could tell it was going to be a coffee day. Unfortunately, Dunkin’ Donuts was out of my regular French Vanilla brew (GAH!) so I had to go with their Cinnamon flavor (bleh). So much for enjoying the last cupa joe that I’m gonna buy! Oh! And to top it off, kitchen at work is being remodeled, so I can’t make it to the microwave to heat up the lunch that I brought, which means I’m gonna have to go to one of those fast food places I mentioned above. Sheesh. I guess I’ll start cutting the spending starting tomorrow.

New Hot Wheels?!

My parents bought a car yesterday. Actually, they bought a Toyota Highlander. They love it and I like it a lot. They basically ran their '95 mini-van to the ground and getting a new car was WAY overdue.

Which brings me to my (almost) new car! I currently own a '99 Pontiac Grand Am that I LOVE, but it's slowly falling apart. Example: two of my windows do not work. Not only do they not work, but they fall down when I drive. ACK. Kelly Blue Book has it listed for practically NOTHING and every time I have to fix something on it (like a week or two ago when I had to get my horn wroking again I spent $100) I cringe.

I've been considering getting a new car for several months and was leaning towards a Honda Civic, but yesterday when I was at the dealership the salesgal (who happens to be a family friend and who is giving me her family discount - heck yeah!) showed me a Scion TC....and I fell in love.

I was/am still a teeny bit hesitent because it's a two door and I always swore I would never own a two door (heh, I also swore I'd never do a LDR or date someone in the military!), but the back seat is incredibly roomy, and the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I don't have people in my backseat as often as I did in high school or college; in fact, I can't remember the last time I had a friend in the back seat.

So, I'm taking my car in tomorrow to see how much I can get for it and talk finances. This is a huge step for me; it'll be my first real car. I feel like I'm really growing up.

Ok, so this is what I'm looking at: It's a 2008 Scion TC (link is to the actual car I'm looking at - please don't go and buy it from underneath me!). If I were to build this car from the bottom up I would pick every single thing feature that it has. I love the color, I love the fabric, I LOVE the sunroofs, the way it looks, everything!

Junk Food Meltdown

Ugh, I feel ashamed for all that I’ve put in my body in the past day (sigh…and this morning. You see, yesterday I found out that I’ve lost five pounds all together since I really made losing weight a goal. Hoo-freaking-ray! And last night my mom and dad told me I looked thinner, and I didn’t even tell them about my milestone earlier that morning.

Heh, here’s where the guilt rides in: I met Laura at Starbucks for an afternoon pick-me-up and I practically chugged a tall caramel apple cider (mind you, I did get it with sugar free caramel!), then after lunch – a slice of delicious pizza – I had a mini cupcake. I know what you’re thinking, “it was just a mini! Give yourself a break!” Well, I still felt bad. Then for dinner I had three slices of Little Caesar’s Pizza and a salad. Whew.

…and then there’s today…

For breakfast I had another two slices of pizza (my plan is to eat it all so it won’t be in the house anymore tempting me!! Good plan, eh?!). Then I desperately needed coffee, so I stopped at my Dunkin’ Donuts and got my regular cup ‘o Joe. But as I was standing there I saw the donuts calling my name, and I NEVER get donuts, I don’t even really like them, except for today. So I got a donut with sprinkles and chocolate, and now the donut’s sitting here in my desk in front of me saying, “Eat me! Eat me!” So you know what I’m going to do? I’m gonna eat it.

I realize all of this really isn’t too bad in the whole healthy-eating scheme of things, but I’ve really been trying to do well. I guess I’ll jump back on track after the yummy donut. Um…and after lunch because I’m going to Garduno’s with the folks.

Template

I need a new blogger template. I love the concept of this one, but the colors hurt my eyes! Maybe I'll get inspired sometime and work on the colors. Any suggestions?

And He's Off

Well, I had him home for 12 fantastic days, but now he's somewhere in the air flying the friendly skies on his way back to Georgia. It was great while he was here. I got to see him almost all of the 12 days - usually at night for dinner. He got to see my work, go to a work party, we went to three Halloween parties (!!) had dinner with both sets of parents and grandparents and then we had dinner with both parents together. Whew. It was a whirlwind.

And now I'm sad because he's gone. The thing is, Kenny will always miss out on different functions because of the military. Tonight my friends are having a party and tomorrow we're celebrating my great aunt's 95 birthday, but he'll be back in Warner Robins and not here. There will always be something he's missing.

I do feel bad though because I've been sick the last few days and haven't been able to see him as much. It started off on Wednesday just feeling like a cold was upon me. On Thursday I woke up and felt like I was gagging and chocking on something. The uvula in my mouth/throat was swollen and preventing me from swallowing; combine that with all the aches and pains I was feeling and the fever I had and I was definitely under the weather. I slept most of Thursday and hoped I'd feel better on Friday. Friday morning rolled around and I felt worse. My throat felt like it was on fire, so a trip to the doc was in order.

It turns out that the rapid throat culture says it's not strep, but the doctor still gave me an antibiotic, so I'm hoping it's going to kick in ASAP. My throat still feels like it's on fire though. And now i'm going to go take yet another nap.

Coffee Fix

I really wish my Dunkin Donuts had a drive through. It's not because I'm lazy, it's because I'm addicted to their coffee and on gloomy/rainy days—like today—getting out of my car seems silly. Ok. Maybe I am lazy. But I'm only lazy till I get my caffeine fix.

History Is in the Making

President Obama.

Really, that's all I have to say. If I hear "time for a change" one more time I may actually scream. I'm tired of this election and I think people need to move on with their lives. I had an eerily uncomfortable feeling while I was watching all of this and I honestly don't think the American people know what we're getting into. A country can only handle so much "change" at one time.

But, I will respect my president.

Happy History Changing Day

Seeing as how this is such an important day in the history of America, I figured I should do my duty and blog.

I honestly just can't wait for this election to be over. I get that it's historic and either way we're going to have a black man as a president or a woman as a vice president, but I'm just so over this election.

Personally, I don't like either candidate, but I had to go with the lesser of two evils for this one.

In other news - yup, there is actually other stuff going on besides this darn election - Kenny's been in town for a whole week and it's been nothing short of great!

We've done dinner with both sets of parents (yup, our parents met each other!), we've seen my friends, gone to parties, and have hung out just the two of use. It's been great and it's not even over yet. He's here till Saturday, so hopefully we'll get more time with just the two of us now. I think we're going out just the two of us tomorrow night.

I'm thinking about changing this template again, because I'm still not crazy about this one. We'll see.