Our New Little SUV

So, we finally got a CAR! Wahoo!! And the gas gauge barely moves! I’m so freaking excited over this, y’all! You have NO idea. Ok, maybe some of you do. It’s a 2002 Ford Escape *twitch*. I know this is silly, but our family has been strictly Dodge and Chevrolet. When the economy went to crap though, my dad bought this old Honda (currently sidelined due to it needing some repairs), and recently he bought a small Nissan truck to commute to and from work. Both were less than $2,000 and saved a lot on gas. So that’s when our “brand straying” started. LOL! It’s nothing against Ford really, it’s just simply not been our preference. So, after the three weeks of searching for something decent, with low(ish) miles, dependable, and within our budget we came up REALLY short. I’m talking almost NOTHING. And what did come up either had way too many miles, was too small, or completely out of our budget.

This past Saturday, the guy offered to open up his place so I could come look at it. It’s not perfect, but it comes pretty damn close. No body damage, the interior has at most ONE stain that you hardly even notice, one of the small hub caps is missing, but other than that it’s pretty clean. And in all seriousness, I love it! It’s roomy, but still compact. Emery’s car seat fits and when she’s in it her feet don’t touch the back of the seat. It also has plenty of storage space in the back, and it’s so easy to handle. I think it’s perfect for us! The guy offered us a nice extended “warranty” that he didn’t even have to offer and we get free oil changes on him so long as we go through the local Ford-house! How great is that?

I’m so grateful for my parents. Without them, I wouldn’t have had this opportunity. I’d still be spending $200 a week on gas. I truly feel blessed to have the help that I do. And I know this is silly but the best part for me, is knowing that I have my OWN car now. I don’t have to ask anyone if I can use theirs. I can come and go as I please. We can now plan a trip without worrying if we’ll need to rent a car or borrow one. And it’s just a nice feeling. I never knew I’d be so happy and thankful for being able to get my own vehicle. 

Wordless Wednesday

Bummer

First, let me just say that I finally got to go see The Lion King in 3D! This past Saturday my husband suggested we have a date night. With class, work, and pretty much being broke we haven’t really gone out and done anything. So, we decided to go to a late showing of 50/50 after my mom got out of church. But, this mom wasn’t sure if she could make it to 12 am without falling asleep. That’s when I saw that the Lion King was still showing!! I thought I had missed it because they said it was only going to be in theaters for two weeks, but apparently they decided to keep it longer. So in we went. Can you believe us? We have a night to go out in order to have some adult time, and I pick a cartoon in 3D to go watch? LOL! It was awesome though. I loved it. It’d been awhile since we’d seen it, and it totally took me back. My husband said he really enjoyed it too. I was reminded of how much I love, love, love "The Lion King". Now, I’m pretty sure I’m going to get it in 3D, just so Emery can experience it when she gets a bit older.

After we left the theater we got some fast food and headed home. This is when we talked about maybe taking a trip out to California over my break between semesters. My vacation time at work starts in December, and classes don’t start up again until the end of January. Emery will still be ONE, so she can still fly for free. But when I looked at dates, the prices at the end of December had gone up, leaving us with January as our only option. I talked to my husband about the dates, and he said we needed to start saving money. So, I bought our tickets! Unfortunately, my excitement was short lived. My husband called me and told me that it was too fast, I shouldn’t have bought the tickets because it now looked like he might not get his vacation time till after February. I felt like someone had given me a shiny new toy and then took it away as they shoved me to the ground.

So, I had to cancel our flights. *insert lip quivering, teary eyed face here* Thankfully, Travelocity lets you cancel your tickets within 24 hours for free if you didn't buy the "insurance". I’m sooo bummed now though. I was already picturing getting to see our family, Kami’s new addition, and the beach. Yes, even though it would be freezing, I’d still take Emery to the beach. I want her to see it. I pictured getting to see our old friends, and at least one night of cooking out, beer, and a fire. I could almost taste the saltiness, and breathe in that deep amazing “mountain” air. I had already pictured my double double with animal style fries. *sigh* DAMN YOU, HUSBAND’S WORKPLACE!! I know I should be grateful he has a job. And I should be grateful to have saved up enough money to even think about going for a visit. But what’s the use if we can’t even go because of work?

I’m not going to lie, I’m a little devastated. I really hope that this changes and we can go. I really really want to go visit. I miss it so much. And I need a vacation! Hopefully they tell my husband he can go, and that he does get his vacation. Because there were only 5 tickets left at that price for those dates, and I really really want us to be able to get two of them!