My new ride

I have had my new Honda Element for 2 days now. I really, really, like it. It is fun to drive, but it is super comfortable. I love that it is so sporty, yet the interior feels very plush.

I have a full navigation system (I don't even know how to use is yet, but it's cool!), a removable cooler between the front seats, a leather wrapped steering wheel with controls for the radio on it, a back up camera (it doesn't work so well in the rain - trust me), and the rear seats flip up out of the way for full doggie access. I like that the doors open 90 degrees with the rear door opening toward the back of the car. I like the clam shell rear door. It opens with a short tailgate that the pups can easily jump on to get in the truck. And, I absolutely adore the color!!! It is so vibrant, so warm, and so me!! I have even personalized it already. Bill gave me two chrome features for the truck - a Georgia Bulldawg mascot and a silhouette of a dog. I also bought myself a sticker that says Peace, Love, and Running.

I just want to so for a ride now!!

What a Day!!

I have had busy days before today, but this one was pretty packed.

I got up at about 6:40 on this fine Saturday morning. Bill was already gone as he was participating in a triathlon across town. I was up to run a 5K for the Brain Center at a local hospital. I ran this race last year as well. A friend of mine at work is good friends with a brain tumor survivor, so I was able to join her team for the second year in a row. It is such a pleasure to be able to support someone that means so much to a friend. It was a good race, but it was hilly. I wasn't expecting all of the hills, and I hadn't been on a run for over a week. It was also much hotter than I thought it would be (we are supposed to reach 90 degrees, and it is only April!) Still, I finished close to a PR and had a good time. But, there was little time to rest as I needed to continue the day.

This afternoon was our Junior League's Home Roam home tour. We were able to tour 5 different homes in the area to check out their decor. Each home also had food in it donated by a local restaurant. The first home I went to is about the be listed on the market, so their was a fact sheet in the kitchen. The house will go for an asking price of $2.75 Million. It was unbelievable!! There was a pool in the backyard, a home theater, a pool hall, and the teenager's room had it's own study, full bathroom, and walk in closet. It was absolutely gorgeous. That house alone was worth the price of the tour. Still, I made my way through them all in about 2 hours.

I had a little down time at home with my hubby and pups before I was off to volunteer at the APS of Durham's annual gala event. I was the group leader for this event. We were charged with registering the guests and setting up their credit cards for the silent and live auctions. We were slammed busy for an hour and a half, then had a little bit of downtime. It is such a pleasure to work with a great organization like the APS. I really love working with people who care about animals. They were all so wonderful, and I have to give extra credit to the Junior League ladies who were there. Several of them also worked the Home Roam, so they had long days, too. All were professional and just great to work with. We helped out for about 3 1/2 hours when it was finally time to call it a night.

Now, I am home and will probably turn in soon. Between the home tour and the gala, I did get some wonderful news. My order for the Honda Element was completed. The car has been assigned to be and I should be getting it soon. I am so excited that I will have a brand new vehicle. The Mustang was turned over to its new owner yesterday, so I am in a rental car for now. I will be glad to have my own car. I hope it arrives soon!!

Sold!

We posted an ad in the paper and online. We listed it on Craig's List. And, now it's gone. My car sold yesterday.

Bill met with the buyers on Sunday to look at the car. They liked what they saw, but were going to look at one other car before making a decision. The decided to take my car yesterday. We didn't get full price, but we did get a really good price. My car will be gone on Friday.

So, now I need a new car. We are trying to order a new Honda, and are waiting to hear if the sale will go through. Until then, it looks like it will be rental car time for me.

I am a little sad that my Mustang will be gone. It is a good car, and I do enjoy driving it. I know it is not practical, and I know an SUV will be so much better for my family. I am excited about getting a new car, but I will be sad on Friday. Guess I will have to gun it one last time on the way to the drop off point.

Big Auto Changes

We put my car, a 2005 Ford Mustang, on sale this weekend. As much as I like the car, it is time for me to get something bigger. I need a vehicle that I can use to carry my two furry girls, and you just can't do that in a 2 door Mustang.



I think the car is well priced. I hope it will sell quickly. My next vehicle will be a Honda, but we have not picked a specific model. It will be an Element, a CR-V, or a Pilot. Input, anyone?

Our Annual Car Show

This past Saturday was our annual classic car show. Bill and I woke up at 5:10 am Saturday morning to head out to the lake where we have had the show for the past few years. It was a long, long day, but a gorgeous one weather wise.

We had to setup our registration table in the cold of the morning. Luckily, our food committee brought us sausage biscuits and coffee to take the chill off. By 8:00am, we were ready for the first cars. We were steadily busy for the first two hours. We seemed to get the cars in groups, but not too large a group that people had to wait forever. My job was to do the data entry of the registration info into the club spreadsheet. By 10:30 am, but shoulders were tired! We closed registration at about 12:15 pm. After making sure all was well with the data, Bill and I finally got to walk around a bit and see all of the beautiful cars in our show. We had 102 paid cars, plus about 36 club cars. It was great fun to see old favorites as well as the first timers to the show. I helped with the awards presentation , and before we knew it, it was time to wave goodbye to all of the participants. Bill and I went to The Sauce for a celebratory beer (or two) before heading home to an early night.

As you can imagine, we sat on the sofa for most of the day yesterday. We watched TV and movies, we napped and we read. It felt great to do nothing after our Saturday. I am already looking forward to this weekend where we have 3 days to enjoy ourselves!

Bill is Drivin' Fast!

Bill had fun in Charlotte over the weekend driving race car at The Richard Petty Driving Experience. After instruction, he was able to drive a race car around Lowe's Motor Speedway for 8 laps following an instructor. The cars on this track top out at the low 140 mph - Bill got his #55 car to just over 139 mph. He was quite pleased. I think it was a great experience for us both. I had never been to the speedway - it is huge!! We were in the center of the track, and the cars left from pit road. It was a vantage that few people get to enjoy. Bill says that next time I need to do the ride along program where I can ride passenger with a professional driver. Those cars get to about 160 mph. We now have a list of all the different locations for the experience - we may have to road trip to another race track. I am so glad he enjoyed his birthday present!

Fun with Ford

I drive a Ford car, and I have been having trouble with it. I took it to the dealership in late July and told them of a problem I have been having. They checked out the car, but could not find anything wrong. They said that I needed to have a data recorder installed on my car so that when the problem happens again, I can record what is going on with the engine. It seemed like a good idea to me. Well, apparently, they only have 1 data recorder and someone else was using it. So, I waited. I waited some more. Every time I called, it was still on someone else's car. After a month, I finally asked to speak to some one higher up than the technician who had been helping me.

Alas, I received the same information from the customer service manager. I would just have to wait. Well, I was tired of waiting. So, I wrote a little note to Ford Motor Company to complain about my service. Lo and behold, when you state that you are afraid to drive your Ford car, someone really does listen. I received a call today from a customer care representative at Ford and the dealership has found a data recorder. I can go in tomorrow to have it installed on my car. I guess going to the higher power really did work.