More Auto Adventure

The post about car buying was the most viewed post of the year. No comments or even clicks on the buttons so I can only assume people do like good news or a tale that ends well.

This post is all about the new news, which I think is just as good a story, warts and all.

Over the holiday break the car people were calling me again. I had been back to the office multiple times tweaking the paper work because of errors and problems.

I knew I was a financial risk. Single mom, no job, not perfect credit, low down payment. Still I was going for a very affordable deal. Once I left the shop in a vehicle and was prepared to make the payments as agreed I thought it was a done deal.

Silly me. lol The final calls said the bank was refusing the deal. Between the debt ratio and the low income numbers they are not interested even at a very serious interest rate.

I tried not to panic. 

I did not want to get a co signer. 

I called my mother. 

She suggested her old mechanic might have a deal. She is big on that guy. He is a nice, honest and very capable mechanic. I guess she has dealt with some jerks.

Auto Man Dave is located in south Sacramento and I was out of a car for a year. Besides that, car repair is not something I have ever had a budget for. Having a mechanic with a shop seems like a luxury. Hahaha

I drove out to see him but he directed me to a guy who works close by selling a 20 year old car… It looked it...

From there on the 'find a new car journey' I went to some tow yards. This fancy dealership car thing was just so far out of my league. I am trying to finance a life here and a formal education. UGH one more lasting bill was daunting.

Finally I returned the calls from the Fiat store. When can we undo this deal and how, were the questions on the table. I was resigning myself to finding a street deal fast or retaking the bus for a few more weeks.

Suddenly there was a new option. 

A cash deal on another vehicle on the lot that I had not seen. 

A cash deal AFTER Christmas and after a financing deal just hurts.

Breathe breathe

The good news is it is actually a better, by being more manageable, deal. So I dropped by the dealership in a 2006 GTI. I drove home in a manual PT Cruiser that is four years older. This car is roomier and cuter but in the same color family. 

POUT I had just bought a delightfully fun purple and black zebra stripe fuzzy steering wheel cover for the icy mornings we are calling winter this year.

It does not fit the new cars steering wheel.

Thankfully I have two spare options.

A Random Morning

One of the things I bought over the holiday was a new digital clock radio ~&~ cd player for my room.

This was hard to find because Ipod docks are all the rage. Never the less I even got it on sale at Rite Aid. The market is about $30-40. We picked up one at Fry’s one night a few weeks later but it does not have the digital for radio that my daughter wants.

Anyway it took a while for me to set mine up. I also bought a new bed and a host of other things so I have been distracted. I set the alarm for yesterday and just busted out of here because I had a class at 8am.

I thought I had set the radio station…maybe I set the a.m. as I wanted but somehow switched to f.m. and that would explain it… lol

You know how it is. You have things set up a certain way, the way you expect. Something new gets added to the mix or something old gets replaced and you have to find a new groove.

No harm no foul, sometimes it is even fun. Such is this day. I woke up around 8am. The cat and I said hello. I started bustling about and turned on the radio. Usually I am listening to a.m. talk. My daughter is the one who enjoys the f.m. drive time antics. I think she peeps out 107.9 or Rob Arnie & Dawn.

My dial is set for now at 969. It seems I have spent most of the morning in the bathroom between my shower, washing, drying and flat ironing the hair. The only time I spent in my room listening to the radio was as I was outfit planning. 

Ugh checked the weather and saw the fog. Not what a gal who has to flat iron her hair wants to see even on a lazy Friday morning that is unscheduled.

I need to get the car washed by 1pm... so I am hoping the fog burns off.

All that about my life to share what peeked my interest today on the mornings radio show.

Apparently Guy Fiery is teamed up against Rachel Ray to host a celebrity cooking show. Celebrity Cook Off  Did anyone watch? What did you think? I feel so out of the loop. I like the Food Network and cooking but I have been watching more Bravo lately. hahahaah 

I need to set my cable to record that and the Bachelor. I think I already missed a night of the latter. I was out for dinner Sunday night and busy skating Wednesday night. My year is filling up with activity and I love it. There are friends old and new that I need to see or new people I need to make into friends and visit.

Words for Living

As a mom I wanted to set a good example for my daughter. I decided not to swear around her and I never wanted to swear at her.

It would be a few more years before I was really ready to give up more completely on having a potty mouth.

Course language has just pervaded the common conversation. It used to sound so dirty now it just sounds grow up. Oh how a mighty language has been humbled. As a young teen I remember a certain note pad friends and I were passing around where I had put together clinical phrases that profane but not the off limits words we still knew better than to repeat in front of adults. 

Now modern music can be audio porn. Been Dancing in the dark with a Poker Face lately? Along with that more of the words we used to not say in polite company trend as chorus and lyrics.

My new word hero is Ron from Lizard Lick Towing. He can get you tongue tied without you ever opening your mouth. It is hard to catch all the things he will say.

A few years ago I had a mom friend. She was married with a school aged son from a previous marriage or relationship. We used to talk and get together during the day, online and on nights and weekends. It was one of those friendships that just took off running from day one.

One afternoon my friend began to wind down our fun saying she had to return home. She said it like a prisoner at the end of a furlow. A dark cloud hung over her word. I paused and looked at her.

I had no idea she was beginning to out grow her marriage because she had married immaturely.

What I thought was that she was being over dramatic. Instead we chattered on. Some words she said they just are a certain way. It depends on how you say them or why. Some deserve to be called honorary four letter words we decided.

You know like Monday morning when you want to sleep in but you have to get up and got to work in the rain.

A day when you are low on gas and you need cash.

She rattled me off a list of things that could regularly get on her nerves: I cannot cook, I do not bake. (Her husband worked full time, she did not. He also prepared all the meals)

One day she called me. I need a four letter word for family she said. We thought for a minute: Clan.

Hahahahahaha

Sometimes it is nice to have a fun silly idea to take the edge off the difficulties of everyday life.

Random 2012

I think a word for the year 2012 is going to be random. I like my life a little random. We cannot plan or schedule all the success and entertainment we want and need in our lives.

I like my schedule open with free time filled by things that just pop up.

The phone rings and you talk for hours.

A surprise text starts a conversation and lets you know someone it thinking about you.

Something hilarious happens and you just roll with laughter.

Time with pets or babies

Time alone

Comfort food

Television…

An impromptu outing, movie or meal

A 4 course meal from scratch

Ordering out

Friends stop by

An afternoon nap

A time of uninterrupted musical enjoyment

A windfall

Restoration

A new friend

This bright sunny no rain no cloud California winter

MeetUp

Coffee

Chocolate

Ice Cream

Fruit

Fresh bread

If your life is a little too planned, boring, scheduled… take a moment and do something random just for yourself.

It is liberating and can produce joy or at least allows you to breathe a little easier.

Are You A Ginger?

I thankfully do not watch South Park. Is that where this idea that red headed people otherwise known as Gingers are all evil comes from in recent times?

I know there is that “red headed step child” cliché people throw around from time to time. I guess in some historical and more superstitious times and places red hair was thought to be a curse and bad sign etc.

I am of the modern Hollywood era where novelty is in. Plus I just like beauty. Long before there were twinkly vampires pale was in, in my book.

It does not hurt that my first high school boyfriend was a blue eyed freckle faced flaming Ginger! Oh he was yummy and thought the same of me. What a hot mess we could have been. Hahahahah

As it was we were two of the most social kids in school and one of my friends commented that as a couple we knew everyone. This was not hard to do in a school that ran about 500 kids but never the less.

I still have known some very dear red headed friends.I still have a few on my Facebook and others I remember fondly from high school.

 

Hahahahah I love color and variety. I remember reading Anne of Green Gables and wishing I could have something as exciting as red hair while she all the while wanted to be raven haired like her dear Diana.

I heard this term Ginger through a random YouTube video…some angry teen boy ranting and raving his way through life and perhaps to fame playing up the struggles and triumphs of the rarest human hair color on earth. 

I will not confess to how much Conan Obrian I have or have not watched in the past decade or so. All I can say is that is for Coco to know and you to perhaps someday find out.

My daughter before the holiday or around it sometime dyed her hair red and almost immediately realized it was not a great color for her. It did not look bad. It just did not have the pop of the black against her pale skin. 

She left the house Thursday or Friday night and I picked her up after church on Sunday. The top and front two thirds of her hair are jet black. The back and bottom are pale blonde white or strawberry light pink boxy red.

She was saying she wanted to go PINK but girls night with dye packets got the best of them. Her hands were pink her neck was purple the sides of her face were gray. I wondered if the dog and the bathroom had survived the adventure unscathed. She said she thinks so….

No ranting phone calls yet. I hold on to hope.

My mother dyes or used to dye her hair a shade of red. I will stick to loving it on other people. My goal is tan to gold if I can get there before going all gray.

Ginger snap cookies and biting spiced coffee hurray!

Dr Mom Already This Year

My daughter came home sick from all her NYE festivities. Some stomach bug was plaguing the house she stayed at. Oh joy right?

She ended up with something more cold and flu related.

Things seemed fine until they were not fine and then as the evening wore on she began to feel worse.

So here it is Monday morning and I am at home instead of delivering a presentation in my early morning class.

I did not really want to do that anyway but still.

It is not the getting up in front of people that I dislike. It is more the subject matter in this case.

Still these are low moments in a mom or families life when a child is ill. Ironically she is actually sleeping well and if I had gone to school she would not have missed me.

I could have been home before 11am and she can sleep til noon. It just did not seem good to take any chances. She is so ill she might not really have the strength to navigate the stairs and the kitchen.I did put a water bottle by her bed side. It is moments like this when I just cannot imagine if I had to work full time. How single mothers do it will always be a mystery to me.

My first job after she was born my boss got mad at me because I had childcare issues. It confirmed that work could not come first because I did not need that type of stress and aggravation.

Mothering has to come first. Even if all I do is putter around the house making tea and offering moral support.

We have some natural immune boosters to give if she feels up to taking them. I am hoping this will pass quickly. I cannot have a repeat of last year.

Last year I got incredibly sick on NYE and missed the first week of classes in the New Year. That was a nightmare because it was a miserable way to start the year but also because I was taking 24 units!

It is in crisis like this that I usually remember we have misplaced the thermometer. Ugh bad mom. lol

When I get up off this couch it is at least a reminder to spray down the touchy surfaces in the house. Whatever this is my daughter brought home we do not need to share.

It is also just a good idea to do every so often. Between that and hand washing as soon as we come in from going out and about many ills are warded off.

NYE 2011

All my life I have been home on New Years Eve. I do not even remember going to church on a New Years day growing up. Maybe we did and it just seemed like another weekend.

This year I had no kid at home and I wanted to go out somewhere. I do not drink nor did I want to hang out with a bunch of crazy drunks so there was that to be concerned about.

No party invites or sleep over requests were received in the vicinity in time although my best friend from high school said I was welcomed to crash at her place in MI. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Just when I thought I might just watch the ball drop on tv as usual I heard there would be fire works in old Sacramento twice for the night.

I decided to head out and take a peak. In times past when fire works were done at Cal Expo there were neighborhood streets to be on and enjoy them from. Going downtown was going to be all together a different experience.

I tried to avoid the traffic and almost succeeded. If I had just gotten over before I realized the lines were sticking…

There was an early or east coast display at 9pm. I was on the freeway at the J street exit as that was going on. I had come around from the north area heading west. My plan was to get maybe to Ikea but the traffic caught me.

Still the mood was light and festive. We sat and sat but the cab in front of me was rocking with young people who would lean out to yell Happy New year. Suddenly the car next to me jumped and leaned with a loud noise. I thought it blew a tire. Nope hydraulics baby!!!

An Escalade on the other side of me began Jerking. lol Good times. Behind me a guy was having a dance off by himself in a seat. Thankfully he was in the front but not the driver of that car. A white car with blazing Christmas lights went past.

I saw a woman putting on her make up in another passenger front seat. I knew people were going to parties as well as trying to get home. Slipping away from there I headed out to the drive in thinking to pass the time until our midnight.

Arriving there I found nothing interesting that I wanted to see playing. I had snacks, the radio even some knitting with me so I would not get bored. I headed back to the old Sacramento area. I parked in over flow parking by the River Cats stadium and waiting.

The hours passed quickly. I stumbled upon a new radio show that I had never heard of before. Lady Brain…interesting. I enjoyed the festivities of the year passing and left the parking lot before the fire works display was over to avoid repeat traffic issues.

I was home in bed by 1am. Happy New Year!