Car & Vacation

As if right on cue, my car decided it is going to have some issues.  Totally OK with it, because I suppose we all need some fine tuning every so often and afterall my car will be 10 years old this year!

T and I finalized our vacation plans.  We had been kicking around some ideas after we saw the last minute availability of inventory of my timeshare.  But with a last minute change of plans, MS and his son will not be going with us.  I am still struggling somewhat with the decision to not have them go, but I know that it is for the best. 

MS's son not only broke his collar bone a few weeks back after getting slammed into a locker by "a friend" and is in a sling, but he was suspended from school for five days for bringing a pocket knife to school.  MS and I definitely have different parenting skills.  When I first met him, after our second date I decided we shouldn't go out again as MS has his son full time.  No other parent involvement.  Zero. Zilch. Nada.  I just don't do full time parenting, especially of someone elses child.  So after the latest incident and not seeing MS very often, 10 days of road tripping and a vacation didn't seem like a good idea.

So T and I will be heading about 11.5 hours south, hopefully warmer.  Somewhere we went four years ago that for the first time in a decade they saw snowflakes during April.  Hopefully we won't have that experience this time!

With MS not going on vacation, that means that I am driving my car.  I considered a rental, but knew regardless the latest thunking noise needed to be assessed.  Good thing I took it in.  Another tie rod replacement and both arm bushings.  Could have been MUCH worse. 

So looking forward to a repaired car and another vacation adventure with just T and me!

Nothings & Neon

Where to begin?  It seems like a lifetime ago since I posted last, and it was less than a week ago, well exactly a week ago.  How quickly things change.  How quickly perspectives change.  I maintain that life happens for a reason and I am so particularly blessed. 

While I was raised Catholic and I believe in God, I wouldn't say that I am a "believer" per se.  Or maybe I should say that I am a "believer" but not a "preacher".  I pray.  I give thanks.  I ask for guidance and assistance and help with the path that is chosen for me.  I am afterall, a realist.

There is much that I want to post.  So many words and emotions that are circling through my mind.  So many thoughts.  So many reservations.  And in all of that, so many tears.  Tears, that as they fill my eyes, I'm not ready for them to flow, again.  Not yet.  Not now.

So on a lighter note...I was so very excited to get my car back!  It is amazing how much I truly missed it and have grown to love the stability and comfort of my little Nascar Neon...now new and improved.  And oh so pretty =)

10/30/2010: 9 years & counting

Sunshine & Smiles & Summary....

I am sitting in my house, somewhat cold and avoiding a likely cold shower.  I turned off the furnace yesterday as I was too lazy to reset the settings.  It was just easier.  Fortunately though, the gas was shutoff by the gas company for the work in the neighborhood, so wouldn't have mattered anyway.  The house is 63 degrees, so nothing too terrible, not as bad as the cold shower.  The pilots will be relit by the gas company later today.

The City Assessor came by and visited for a matter of 3.5 minutes, literally.  He looked at the 3/4 bath for about two minutes and then looked at the egress window and recreation room.  He said, "This is considered recreational space due to the ceiling.  It is not living space."  And then, he left.  So, my taxes shouldn't be too affected.

My car is officially done, a day early!  I have been driving a Toyota Yaris and for purposes of brevity (I know, really? ME?), I will never buy one!  I'm looking forward to picking up MY car today!  On a side note, JN confirmed that this paycheck has our longevity pay - so extra bonus for replacing my hood, no additional out of pocket expense!

I went to the ENT (Ear/Nose/Throat) doctor the other day.  Long story short - I felt dumb and was told I have "crusties".  So I don't have some crazy malady but I was given a saline wash and a steroid to use.  I did fill the prescriptions and they sit on my counter.  I'm having a hard time accepting that I will have to stick something other than my finger up my nose.  I realize they aren't doing me any good in their boxes on the counter, but this is going to take me time to take this leap!  Until then, the side affects of the deviated septum: crusties, pain/irritation, sore throat (due to mouth breathing at night) and irritated ears will prevail. 

While at the ENT, he inquired about my thyroid.  He was the specialist I saw years ago to follow up with my nodule/goiter.  I hadn't been called back for a recheck since 8/2008.  So in about an hour, I will have a follow up ultrasound to see that everything is maintaining.

I took yesterday off as surprisingly, I have been working a lot of late hours.  I have even made seven tie blankets for foster kids and plan on making one daily until I just can't tie anymore (a project at work that all the fleece was purchased - they just need people to make them!  So I have been literally "tying one on!)!  I spent the day with MS.  We had a great time and I really enjoy his company!  I left him to meet JN for drinks and appetizers.  I haven't seen her in a while and while I wasn't looking forward to leaving MS, I had a great time catching up with JN.  She asked if MS and I were "Just hanging out or dating."  I'm declining any other options to hang out with anyone else because I only want to date MS, but that didn't really answer the question.

Then there at dinner, MS texted me, "Miss me yet? Lol, just wanted to make you smile :)"  I accidentally hit reply without sending anything.  So I sent the following, "Oops sorry about no comment.  I was rendered speechless =) I do miss you!"

And his response, that in this morning makes me shudder with happiness instead of shivering with chills in the coolness of my house...

"Miss you too, can't stop thinking about you.  I am falling for you BIG TIME, prob already fallen just don't want to admit is yet :) " 

Sigh...Can't wait to see him again...and what a fantastic feeling!

How to Embrace Ghettoesque....

This morning as T was getting ready for school, I reminded him that I would be chauffeuring him to school.  Due to the car accident yesterday and the inability to open the passenger front door, he will have to sit in the back seat.

T grumbled.  He is so embarrassed that he has to sit in the backseat.  I told him it will only last the weekend and he almost begged that we have absolutely nowhere to go this weekend.  I told him we might have the movies, shopping and a haunted house.  He sighed heavily.

This was the continued conversation that ensued after pulling down the driveway:

Me:  "Think of it this way: How cool is it that you get chauffeured around?"

T:  "I feel like such a little kid!  Drrr...."

Me:  "Just think of it as a Nascar Neon Limo!"

T:  "Right Mom (eyes rolling).  This Neon is so not big enough to be a Limo!"

Me: "Think about how cool you are that you no longer want to be seen sitting in the front seat next your Mom!  Now if only we can find the remote to the radio, you can change the channel from the backseat!"

T:  "So Mom?  Where is the off button to silence you?"

Me:  "Adolescence My son.  It was when you turned 13.  You no longer hear me.  What?"

T:  (laughing) "What?  Yeah, that's a good one mom.  Yeah, THAT'S FUNNY!"

Happy Friday! 

Dumb...

Do you ever have one of those times where you do or say something that you immediately regret? Well, I do that often, so let me rephrase the question...

Have you ever asked for something and immediately wondered why you did such a thing?

Friday after I left work I went to Blockbuster and returned a movie. When I walked out to my car I noticed my front passenger tire was flat. Well beyond low, but enough air that I could go the mile to a local tire repair and seek assistance. When I got there, the sign said open, but he was really closed. He was nice enough to throw air into my tire and thought it would get me to where I needed to go.

Of course it seems like I'm always having tire issues. I am. About a year ago I had purchased two new tires from Discount Tire. In January I had my tires rotated and balanced in order to drive to Colorado, which I didn't. So to find a month later, a flat tire, sigh. The other two tires, I had purchased from Belle Tire. I wasn't sure which tire was flat, but gathered it was likely a Belle tire. Each tire has a warranty of sorts. Seeing that the recent tires were from Discount, after talking to both associates, I went to Discount.

While I think it is clearly the "Discount Way", the tire was irreparable. Imagine that. Better yet, it was recommended that for a great deal of $237 I should replace both tires. While I still had time to go to Belle to get my limited tread refund, I decided I was there and it would be better to have four tires from the same store. The catch, they only had one tire in stock. So I paid for my tires and left with one.

I returned back on Tuesday for my other tire. Here's my point of the blog...for some crazy reason I decided it would be best to have a full size tire as a spare instead of my donut. So I asked the associate if I could have the tire if the tread wasn't too bad.

Immediately after doing so I thought, "What the f!@# did I do that for? What am I going to do with a tire without a tube or a rim?" Clearly at this point I couldn't tell the kid, "Hey you know what? Nevermind, you can keep the tire." Because really, what in the world am I going to do with this tire? It won't fit in my trunk since that only holds a donut. I also now have full replacement tires through Discount for the life of the tires and I have emergency road side assistance through my insurance.

But I didn't want him to think I was really dumb for changing my mind and I secretly hoped that the tread would be bad or that he would forget to put it in my trunk. Of course neither happened and when I opened the trunk half an hour later to put in my groceries, there in a nice white garbage bag was my tire.

I really should learn to keep my mouth shut!

Magnificent Monday

Have you ever had one of those days that when you thought that the worst was inevitable only to find out that you couldn't be more wrong?

My Monday was magnificent. It turns out that my car issues were not transmission related, torque converter related or anything of the like. An "old fashioned tune up" of spark plugs and wires did the trick! My car runs fabulous and my pocket book (in my mind) is far heavier than I imagined dreading the cost of the car repair upwards in the thousands, in reality was less than $140. Cha ching!

In scheduling my mortgage payment for April, I decided to do some research into refinancing. There are definitely days when I will sell my house, home and soul for the right price, seriously and I suppose yesterday was one of those days! My current mortgage rate is 6.375% and I last refinanced in 2002, leaving 23 years 6 months on the 30 year fixed mortgage with a balance equivalent to 20 years 4 months. I decided I would look into a refinance to a 15 year fixed rate. I was more than ecstatic to here what my credit score was and that I could refinance at a fixed rate of 4.375%, only raising my monthly rate by a mere $30 per month after rolling in the points and closing costs. Done Deal!

JC and I met after work and ventured out to roller blade. Neither of us had been on blades in two years and with my clumsibility I had some reservation, especially right before leaving for vacation to San Francisco. Fortunately, we both fared well without incident and managed to blade about 9 miles! It was great getting outside and enjoying the 60 degree weather, the sun, exercise and each other. Does it get any better?

Then after a fabulous dinner and some quick shopping, we stopped back at my house for a few minutes. JC looked at my electric fireplace and disconnected a box from the back (which the cord plugged into) - related to the remote control access and the fireplace turned on immediately with heat! Fabulous!

Magnificent Monday...

Luck of Three's

If bad luck (if it weren't for bad luck, I might have no luck at all) comes in threes, I surely hope I have all three.

I've been having some issues with my car lately. It seems a little rough in starting and then in automatically shifting gears, as if it is having issues in over drive. But trust me, I'm no mechanic. JC even asked if I had put in fluids. Fluids? What are those? Seriously, I do not believe that my car's issues are related to fluids or lack thereof.

On Friday as I was pulling into the office a light began to flash on the dash. I looked it up and it was the Malfunction Indicator Light. Go figure. I knew that! I could completely tell that my car was malfunctioning, why was what I didn't know! The shop couldn't get it in until Monday, so I drove with caution. Actually, the car did fine as long as I didn't try to drive over 50mph, at which point the indicator light began flashing consistently until the speed lowered.

Saturday night while jumping rope on T's new Wii Outdoor Challenge game, the t.v. screen began to vertically waver. We all thought maybe we were delusional or it was the game. Sunday, the t.v. picture decided to just shut off while the t.v. remained silent but on. In turning the t.v. off and then on, it would occasionally stay on for a few minutes, once even for a few hours before shutting off again.

Last night we went to the basement to watch t.v. rather than deal with the plagued t.v. upstairs. I went to turn on the electric fireplace to warm the basement to find that it didn't turn on. I checked the outlet, the extension cord, the direct cord - nothing. No heat, no color, no nothing. JC's comment online, "Did you turn it on?" Trust me, had he been there, I'm not sure what I would have said or done to him. Thank God for hiding behind a computer screen!

So I'm hoping that there is my power of three. Especially in a few days since I leave for San Francisco for a mini vacation! If those are the worst three things, I'll take it. While I would prefer not to have any of the issues, it could certainly be worse, much worse. Then again, I haven't heard from the shop what is exactly wrong with my car and what the financial damage would be! Then in just over two weeks, it's time for Spring Break.

Good thing I had a tax refund this year!

Light Bulb

So how many men and/or mechanics does it take to change a light bulb?

My 11-year old son noticed that the trunk light was remaining on, after all of the work done on my car - two new belts, new battery, oil change and tire seal replacement...

$250.00 later to learn that the trunk light switch was remaining on and draining the battery. At least they fixed that for free!

Car Battery

While the temperatures have fallen below zero and we are in line for breaking a record for snow accumulation in a season here in Michigan, my car refuses to start. The temperatures may or may not be causing havoc on my battery. The half dozen guys in the shop just aren't sure.

Seriously, when it comes to mechanical things, especially cars, I'm pretty incompetent. I take it in for the routine oil changes and the ever so often flat tires, but beyond that, if it ain't broke, don't fix it!

Yesterday morning I was greeted with a dim dome light and knew immediately that the car wouldn't start. Despite earlier in the afternoon the day before that my trunk wouldn't close as the latch was engaged, I thought the car was fine. I did manage to drive home from the grocery warehouse without anything flying out of the open trunk. When I arrived home, I managed within two minutes and a screw driver, to fix the latch and all was good. Until the following morning when I heard that unfamiliar, "click...click...click..." DEAD.

My son and I walked next door and he was able to get a ride with the neighbors to school. I then went back to my car, put it in reverse and on my phone, proceeded to push it backwards out of my garage. I actually did pretty well, considering, but ended up at a standstill when I couldn't push the front tires into the snow. My girlfriend came over and I was able to use my new birthday present - jumper cables - and jumped the car. I even took it over to AutoZone and had the battery tested and was told it was FINE.

At what point is "FINE" ever "FINE"? Obviously not when someone tells you how they are or how a car part is functioning.

Actually the car was fine...until this morning when it was DEAD AGAIN. I've also had this ongoing issue with my screeching belt which new guy even sprayed some lube on for me, which made it instantly worse. So much for lube...must be a man belt. New guy said he would look at my car tonight, but I can't wait that long. Besides, he has his own things to tend to, not to be bothered with all of my issues. Although, I'm sure that it would make him feel needed, something I really should work on in my relationships...which is another post.

I took my car into the shop this morning (after my issues with Susie GPS - she seemed to be hungover or too cold to function appropriately this morning. After turning her off several times, she began to work correctly - so yeah, she's so not a man GPS!) and advised of the battery and my squealing belt. After a good half hour, I asked if they could give me a status as my friend was there to give me a ride to work.

"The belts are squealing like a PIG. The battery is FINE. It's never been tuned up...EVER. We really don't know, YET."

I left there full of knowledge. Knowing nothing that I didn't know before I walked in to the shop! I also asked for an oil change since I just hit 3000 miles and I know that I've had my car tuned more than once, but I'm just a dumb brood and clearly I know when to keep my mouth shut. Sometimes.

The latest update call was that the belts are squealing. They think that maybe the alternator belt is bad and is draining the alternator and battery. They think. That's where they will start and then go from there.

Crap shoot. Darts. Pool. Car Repair....Hit some, Miss some...Weather Forecasting...At what point have we become OK with guessing and hoping for the best and when it's wrong, we accept that it's OK?

Car Woes & Appreciation

Things happen for a reason. Whether the "Earth Moves Under My Feet" or that women's intuition, or that gut instinct or just because, things DO happen for a reason.

Take for instance my recent purchase of a tire gauge this past Monday. I have no idea how to USE a tire gauge, but I felt it imperative that I buy one (and why not on a Meijer 15% sale day to boot?). Tonight, my tire gauge came in handy! I left my mom and step-dad's house a little before 8:30p.m., which is 150+ miles and approximately 2.5 hours. T was all showered and dressed in his pj's to sleep en route.

I stopped at a gas station about 15 miles away to fill up before getting on the highway. A very nice man at the pump next to me pointed out that my tire was "low". Now that was a complete understatement! Low is how I felt all day as I laid low enjoying napping and watching football. Low is my investment in my 401k (Ok, that is beyond low). Low is...well, you get my point. My tire was almost FLAT! Maybe the nice gentleman didn't want to overwhelm me, maybe in the dark he thought that my hair was blond, maybe he really did think it was low. Regardless, there I was on a Sunday night in the middle of nowhere, two hours from home and .5 hour from my parents with a flat tire. Sigh...

I give appreciation to this man and his ever patient and loving wife (I'm assuming she was - since she never once glared at he or I, nor did she beep the horn impatiently). He and I pondered my options. He even verified that my spare (aka donut) had air! He also drove his car over to the air pump and assisted me as I filled the tire with air. He had a tire gauge and when I said I didn't know how to use it, he tested the tire pressure for me. I then proceeded to grab my new one out of the car, opened it up and he used mine too. Of course there was about a 4# difference between the two gauges, but at least I knew what mine read when I ventured back on the road. The man was more than pleasant and we talked about how far I had to go and he asked where I lived and inquired about my son.

I didn't drive over 70mph the entire way home. I even stopped three times to check the tire pressure and added air once. I have since mastered the use of my tire gauge!

It is wonderful to know that there are still good people willing to lend a helping hand. To the nameless man and his patient wife at the Speedway on a Sunday night, Thank You!

New car?

I can't tell you how many articles I've been reading about money management and purchasing of new and used cars. I've never been a fan of my current car, not from day one. And that, was seven years ago. Maybe it's the story of my life...living with things far too long although not being happy, but not doing anything to make a change. It isn't like my choices and commitments have been horrific for clearly that would lead me to change, but not ultimately the most rewarding.

As for my car, selling it early on just wasn't an option. We all know how much a car depreciates after you drive it off the lot. So I either had to take a loss or suck it up and drive on. And drive on I did. There isn't anything wrong with my car and like a lot of things, with time and age it has gotten better. I don't hate my car or resent my car, I just don't love it or even really like it. It's a car. Bottomline, it gets me where I need to go. No love lost.

My car has everything I need or want. It runs. It averages about 30 miles to the gallon, so I really don't have any chief complaints. It has been good to me for my commute for the past 10 months. I've managed to add 800-1000 miles every week, outside of my two vacations, during that time and still I just turned 90,000 miles. My initial thought was that I would drive the car for work, save the mileage reimbursement and then purchase a new car.

Now that my commute is abruptly over, I'm faced with thinking about a car. Do I really want or need a new car? I definitely don't need a new car. I definitely don't want a car payment. With gas prices the way they are, I could actually sell my car for a decent amount, but the real question is...Do I really want or need a new car?

If I didn't have to worry about increasing insurance rates and car payments, having a new car would be nice. Although I would likely go with some sort of SUV instead of a car, which I really don't need and I don't need the decreased gas mileage either. So for now, I'll stick with what I have and let my car and possible future mechanical difficulties dictate when I need a new car.