Hormones

Pregnancy hormones are raging in my body right now. Even though I don't always feel pregnant, my body makes sure to remind me at the most inopportune times.

On Monday, our last day in Indy, we went shopping at a little boutique called Lucky Lou. We'd been meaning to go the whole time we were there, and we just couldn't coordinate it. We just so happened to pick the coldest wettest day that we were there.

We were all planning on meeting at the shop -- girls were going to shop and the boys were going to hang out next door at Starbucks. But, as we pulled into the parking lot my sister called to say that they were running behind. Since we had a couple extra minutes, Colonel, Christine and I went over to get a hot drink from Starbucks. I ordered my standard Decaf Grande Nonfat Peppermint Latte, picked up my drink and headed next door to shop. Once we got in the store, I was hot, so I set my drink down on a bench to take off my coat. Then I reached down to pick up my cup again...and the whole stinkin' thing spilled all over the place! I had only taken one sip out of it, so it was FULL!

I was SO embarrassed! I told the lady what I did and then I made sure she heard me say that I was blaming it on being pregnant. She wouldn't let me help her clean it up...so I felt obligated to buy something from her shop. Luckily there were some cute things -- the shop was full of maternity t-shirts and baby gifts and diaper bags and cards and books and all kinds of things. Colonel was a good sport and carried around my purse and coat so I wouldn't spill anything else. He also acted like he was shopping since it was almost 30 minutes until the rest of our party got there.

I was still so frazzled when we finally left the store that as I tried to pull out of my parking spot, I put the car in first gear instead of reverse. I'm lucky I didn't punch the gas pedal or else we would have ended up back inside the shop where I had just spilled my drink!

A couple hours later we headed over to eat lunch with everyone before we had to start saying goodbye. As soon as our appetizer showed up and I unwrapped my silverware, I dropped my fork on the floor. And there was no way I could reach down in our cramped booth to pick it up. Thankfully, Dad asked our server for another one and didn't point out that it was because his daughter was clumsy.

After all that excitement, I just wanted to go back to Sis's house and veg on the couch with the baby for a bit before we left. I couldn't even muster up enough energy to do my nails, so Sis had to take my nail polish off for me!



Since we've been home, I've been doing pretty well. No major mishaps. But, I've noticed that I'm feeling dizzy more frequently, and I had my first bout of heartburn after lunch yesterday. I hope that's not a trend that's beginning!

Here's one more picture from our trip...Sis, Captain, and me...

Preggo Update

Yesterday was my 18 week appointment with my doctor. I'm almost halfway done with this pregnancy! And I still have to remind myself at times that I'm even pregnant.

I'm wearing maternity clothes all the time now, at least my pants. I can still get by with a few of my sweatshirts and t-shirts, but there's no way I'm getting my butt and belly into my regular jeans anymore.

While I was in Indy over Turkey Day, my mom, sis and buddy Christine (oh, and little Captain) all went shopping for maternity clothes for me. It was quite humorous, and I'm sure that anyone in the shop who heard us was laughing hysterically. We were all 4.5 (including Captain) in the dressing room where Mom and Sis kept running in and out bringing in more and more clothes for me to try on. And I discarded more and more of them saying that I looked fat, or they were ugly, or whatever else I could complain about.

We were finally able to figure out a style that would look decent on me (I have been excited about buying and wearing maternity clothes for long before I ever got pregnant, but my mistake was looking at my ultra skinny pregnant friends and thinking that I would look remotely like them when I was pregnant myself), and I left the store with several shirts, and a bra in a size bigger than I have ever purchased before. Then we went back to sister's house where I raided her closet, sure that I would be able to take most of her maternity clothes home with me. But, no, the shirts that she wore at 24 weeks pregnant are already too small for me...oh well...my closet is filling up with things that I CAN wear, so I guess that's all that matters.

We had 2 questions for the doctor yesterday. Colonel wanted to ask (AGAIN) if it was ok for me to go to the shooting range with him. I had asked my doctor last month, and she said it was fine - the noise would not bother the baby, but Colonel didn't believe me and wanted to ask again. She AGAIN said that it would be fine.

The second question had to do with walnuts...yes, walnuts. I am now allergic to walnuts! On Thanksgiving, I was eating my favorite strawberry jello salad that my mom has made FOR YEARS, and Sis was also eating it. She had developed an allergy to walnuts over the summer while she was pregnant, too. So, while we're eating, she starts to say her tongue feels funny, and we realize that she still has the allergy. About that time I notice that my tongue is burning and feels like it's all torn up (like I ate too much salt or citric acid or something). Mom makes me stick out my tongue and it's covered in white spots, and looks scary! Well, the doctor confirmed that it's probably the same allergy...and now that Christmas is coming up and all of my favorite holiday treats have walnuts in them, I can't eat them! Shell - I think I'm going to make your mom's toffee with almonds this year instead of walnuts, because I can't just NOT have it -- that's not an option!

Oh, there was one more thing we found out at our appointment yesterday...

It's Official...

My SIL, Jayme, and I are bonafide, no-nonsense, full fledged sisters now.

We had our first big disagreement and argument - some flaring emotions were present also - and it's now behind us, we've moved on, and we're still SISTERS!

Not that we haven't disagreed before in the last 7+ years we've been in the same family, but those were little tiny things - like what should we eat and where should we meet, and silly stuff like that. We both felt strongly about something more important this time.

But, it's over now...and Jayme, I love you even more because we were able to work through that together!

Food, Football and Fun

We're still here in Indiana, having a grand 'ol time. We've stuffed ourselves with tons of food -- we just had our Thanksgiving dinner today. We planned on cooking the turkey yesterday, but we ended up seeing the sights since we spent all day Thursday in the house after we got off the plane.



We had to try out the burger place that Sister said was just like In N Out...or as close as you could get. Even though we'd only eaten a few hours before, I had to try a burger, fries and a shake. The burger was awesome and so was my peppermint shake....very close to In N Out. But, the fries were a little thicker and not as crunchy...but not bad for Indiana.



We had turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing and sweet potatoes (I don't touch either of those!), jello salad (which made my tongue get all tingling and grow spots -- mom thinks I've become allergic to pineapple or nuts during pregnancy which sucks because I love both!), rolls, green bean casserole, and cranberry sauce. There was pumpkin and apple pie for those who like that -- not me...I'm not a big fan of pie.

After dinner, the boys retired to the drawing room, er...I mean, the deck and the fire pit for a leisurely smoke.



It was kinda cold outside, so Captain enjoyed his from inside the house.



If we're not eating, we're watching football...but, we're eating if we're watching football...so I guess we have just been eating! Or holding the baby...or trying to eat while we hold the baby. The kid has not been out of our hands for more than about 15 minutes at a time. We're all soaking up all the time we can get because we know he'll be so much bigger the next time we see him...which may not be until my own baby has arrived.

Aunt Sally and Captain


Mema and Captain


Mommy and Captain


Uncle Colonel and Captain


We had a little family photo time also, but most of the photos are on my BIL's camera, so I'll have to get those later. Here's one Colonel and I took with my camera.


We took some SUPER cute pictures of Captain...but Sis will probably use those for a birth announcement, so I'll have to wait and post those later on. Let's just say that the whole family got in on the "photo shoot", holding backdrops and lights and offering their opinions...it was hilarious! Cute photos still to come.

I have to go now. I just got handed the baby, and he's more fun to play with than the laptop!

He's confused...

It seems that I'm the only one who likes the nickname Mud for my new nephew. And even though this is my blog, and I can call him whatever I want, I've caved and deciedd to call him something else. My sister said that I could use his real name, but that's not as much fun to me, so from here on out (until I change my mind again), I will call my new nephew...Captain.

This name is suggested by my hubby, who I have always called B in my blog, but with our own Little Major coming and Captain arriving as my nephew -- it's time to rename my hubby...B is kinda boring (even though I sometimes call him that in real life now)...but with all these military names, let's change B's name to Colonel. From here on out (with some reminders for those of you - like me - who will forget) my husband will be known as Colornel. (By the way, he's jumping up and down that he's finally gotten his way and I've started to call him Colonel.)

Anyway, enough of this name talk...let's get on to the cutey cute pictures of Captain.

These first 3 let you know how confused the poor kid is already. His parents are die hard Chiefs fans, he has a step-aunt who is a Packers fan, and he now lives in Colts country...so here are the outfits that he has worn in the past couple days.



Here's my dad holding the pretend Packers fan:

One more tag...

Shell tagged me for the 7 things about yourself MEME, so here goes...

1. As I sit here in the airport, VERY early for my flight, I realize that I HATE to be late. I'm almost scared of being late, I guess, so a lot of times I'm ultra early. And I spend a lot of time thinking about what time I should leave and what route I should take to get there to make sure I'm on time. A little anal? Yeah, but you can always count on me to be on time! Plus, I didn't know how busy the airport would be on Thanksgiving morning, and I didn't want to feel rushed, and I didn't want to wait in line (I may hate waiting in line even more than being late!).

2. I used to be very shy in high school. Oh, I had a lot of friends, and I wasn't shy after I got familiar with someone, but I NEVER would have gone up and started a conversation with a stranger. I started to come out of it in college, when I was the only female in the engineering program at my junior college, and I got a lot of attention (SO different from high school). I made a complete break from being shy when I transferred to my university and worked in the bookstore with professors and publishers and other students...and it's SO over now...not a shy bone in my body (well, maybe just one).

3. I always said that if I was going to have kids, I had to be pregnant by the time I was 30 (see that planner instinct coming out again?). Well, obviously I wasn't since I'm 33 and pregnant with my first. I guess I thought 30 was the cutoff age, but things are moving along well now. =)

4. Continuing down the pregnancy path...I'm PETRIFIED of giving birth. I thought I'd made some progress and then my sister had Mud last weekend, and I heard a lot of the details (I'm sure not all, though). I'm glad I have 5 months to try to forget what I heard because I know everyone's experience is different. Please don't think this is an invitation to hear all of your birthing stories...I am convinced that ignorance is bliss!

5. I LOVE to travel. I love the anticipation of a trip, and the way the details all come together...and I usually build it up in my mind so much that I'm disappointed on the actual trip. B says I need to learn how to just relax and enjoy myself once I get there and not try to do everything...he's right, and I'm working on it. Maybe I can start on this trip by just relaxing at my sister's...I hope so!

6. I played the clarinet for 9 years growing up. I started on the flute because that was the cool instrument to play, but I stunk at it! So, I switched to clarinet. I was better at that, but not very dedicated, so I didn't practice much. I played in the high school marching band (which was fun while we lived in TX and sucked in CA), but I couldn't march and play at the same time. I had to concentrate on my marching too much! See, even though B doesn't agree...it's not just a piece of cake to play in the marching band. I quit after my junior year because I wanted to go to the football games my senior year in NORMAL clothes. I still have my clarinet, but I haven't played it in years.

7. Hmm, one more thing...ok, here's a silly one. My favorite food is pizza...I could literally eat pizza for every meal and probably not get sick of it for a while. BUT, it has to be GREAT pizza...and I haven't found that in Kansas yet. The best I've had is Me N Eds, Round Table, Klondikes...mmm...my mouth is starting to water. The sauce has to be spicy and not runny, the toppings have to be fresh (except for canned mushrooms, I LOVE canned mushrooms on pizza), and the crust has to be crunchy, but not dry. Oooh, how I miss good pizza!


Have a great Thanksgiving, everyone! Enjoy your families and eat some good food, watch some good football, and take some good naps!

I've been tagged...

twice...for the same MEME, so I guess it's time I particpated. Work has been crazy busy this week (going in at 6am is getting old), and we're trying to get ready for our trip to visit Mud and his family (my new nephew), and tonight we are heading to have dinner with the in-laws since we'll miss them for Thanksgiving.

So, I am supposed to come up with words to describe me that begin with the first letters of my middle name:

A - Affable (according to my handy dandy thesauras, this is another word for friendly)
N - Nerd (I am a nerd...I'm very particular about things, I LOVE the shows that tell you how things are made and how they're put together, and I am an engineer, y'know)
N - Narrow minded (at times I can be...I tend to see things my way first, and it's sometimes hard to see it from another perspective)
E - Energetic (until it comes to housework!)

Now I have to tag 4 people (for 4 letters in my middle name), and ask them to play along, so I'll tag:

Terry
Shell
Jana
Suez

Let me know when you guys post your answers!

16 Hours Later...

my new nephew is finally here!

After 16 hours of labor - 4 at home and 12 at the hospital, an epidural, a little oxygen, a little pitosin, and a lot of pushing...he was born at 3:58pm EST. He weighed 7 lb 2 oz and was 21 inches long. Mama, Daddy, and baby are doing great!



And after all our fretting and worrying, God once again showed us that things happen in his PERFECT timing and for our good. Mom and Dad got a chance to see Indy with Sister and BIL, and they even got all the Thanksgiving shopping out of the way.

Mud (as I will affectionately call my new nephew) showed up with plenty of time for everyone to get settled back at home before my brother, B and I show up on Thursday. And, we'll get to spend 5 days with the entire family. All our fretting for nothing...Praise God for answered prayers!

Sister's at the hospital!

My sister is FINALLY in labor and at the hospital. My mom called me at 4:30am sister's time and said that sister had left for the hospital an hour before.

When she checked in, she was dilated to a 4, but not much else has happened since then. Mom and Dad just got to the hospital, and they've promised to update me as things (hopefully) progress.

BUT WAIT, there's more! My Buddy, Paulette, had her baby yesterday...a little boy. She has 2 girls, and we were hoping this one would be a boy...and he's here, and he's gorgeous!

And hopefully another little boy will soon join him here in the real world...

It's Friday...and so far it sucks!

Got up at 5am today to be at work by 6am (this will be my schedule from now til Thanksgiving). Stopped by Panera to get bagels for all the other sorry asses who had be at work early like me. Panera doesn't open til 6am...I was there at 5:40...thus, no bagels for breakfast.

Work sucks (what's new)...our new production line we installed is not working right and our idiot director of operations is insisting that we do "whatever it takes" to get it working and running by Monday. Translation -- we all need to work all weekend. Truth -- I WILL NOT be working this weekend...I'm hosting a bazaar in my neighborhood...it's all me, and we're expecting tons of people, so no way to cancel.

My company sucks (what's new)...the industry we produce product for is down, sales are down, our plant made GIANT improvements in efficiencies due to the efforts of my department...but because our sales are down (we don't sell the product, the sales group does), we will get NO bonus this year. Still haven't found out my annual increase that takes effect in 10 days, but I'm not holding my breath.

Oh, one more thing about my sucky company -- since sales are down, they are keeping the plant down for 3 additional days in the new year. That means that you either use 3 days of your 2008 vacation (which would be 30% of my total allowance for the year), or you come in and do special projects (which means you do nasty ass grunt work) for those 3 days.

There's no change in my sister's progress (what's new)...with the way things are going, that kid won't show up til I leave to come back home and I won't get to spend any time with my nephew until I have a child of my own to worry about.

Thank you very much...and have a nice day.

Just Like Amanda

A couple months ago when I was on the West Coast for my Buddy Weekend, all of us girls had to pile into one vehicle and head to dinner. There was only one vehicle that would hold all of us. It was Amanda's Honda Pilot. And she told us all about why she loved her car so much as we drove to the local fish joint by the ocean. In fact, she loves it so much that she plans on getting another one when her lease expires.

So, when I started considering a Honda Pilot, I asked Amanda to tell me again why she loved it so much. She was excited to gush for a bit. =)

So, last night, I decided to become a little bit more like my Buddy. After three hours at the dealership while I waited for them to put new tires on my new car, change the oil, and make it all pretty for me...oh, and wait for their internet service to come back up so we could complete the deal, I called Amanda to tell her what I was doing....becoming just like her.

I drove away in the new beast (it's MUCH bigger than the Saab), and I left the Saab behind. I'm a little sad -- what will happen to my baby now? Will they try to sell her? Will they tear her apart for parts? I don't know...but while I waiting at the dealership, she sat outside with the top down and lots of people stopped to look at her. I hope she goes to another loving soul and not to the junk yard.

I'm enjoying the Pilot so far. It's easy to drive, and only a little more difficult to park than the Saab. We took it to KC with us this weekend, and it was very comfortable to travel in. My only complaint is that since it's black, it gets dirty very easy. It was totally cleaned and detailed for me last Friday, and it's already covered in dust! I'm hoping most of that is from our trip to KC. The gas mileage isn't as great as the Saab, but it's not horrible, either. We got over 20 mpg on our drive north and back.

I would post a picture, but I need to wash it again before I take a picture, so you'll all have to hold on!

7 Years - No Itching!

B and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary on Sunday, November 11 (aka Veteran's Day). All day long I kept asking him if he remembered what he was doing exactly 7 years before. Of course, he had no clue. In the morning, he said he was sleeping. In the mid-morning, he said that he was sleeping. In the afternoon, when we were saying our vows 7 years ago, he didn't have a clue. That's ok though...he's mine now!




We thought it would be a good idea to head to Kansas City to celebrate our anniversary, Veteran's Day, and watch our Chiefs play (an annual tradition in our family). We got up really early on Sunday morning and piled into the car for the 3+ hour drive to KC. We wanted to get there in time to do a little tailgating with our $6 grill we picked up at Wal Mart. After an easy drive to within a mile of the stadium, we hit a HUGE traffic jam trying to get INTO the stadium parking lot. By the time we found our parking spot, we had about an hour to cook our hotdogs and enjoy the windy coolness of the day. Too bad our charcoal wouldn't light! After several attempts with the lighter, we packed it all back into the car and headed inside to eat $7 hotdogs (ours would have been better!) and get ready for the start of the game.

The stadium was pretty full, but there were too many blue jerseys in my opinion (stinkin' Denver Donkeys!). The Chiefs did an awesome job honoring veterans. They presented an award to a vet of WWII who had been shot down. Everyone was on their feet clapping and cheering for this guy for about 5 minutes. After the National Anthem, we got a treat as a stealth bomber flew over the stadium.



I love taking pictures of Arrowhead when it's full, and all you see is RED. It's awesome. We are the loudest stadium in the NFL, you know! And even though we ended up losing the game, AND we were surrounded by Donkey fans, we still enjoyed our afternoon.





At halftime, a huge American flag was brought out on the field, and as it blew gently in the breeze, the screen showed pictures of fallen heroes in the war on Iraq. I had a big lump in my throat, and at the end of the presentation I turned to B and told him thanks for serving our country. I'm so proud of him!



Although B accused me of being a redneck hillbilly for injuring my shoulder by pounding on the seat in front of me (hey, it's my JOB to help out our team when I'm in the stadium -- you have to make NOISE to distract the other team when they're getting ready to start their play), the real hillbilly was sitting a few rows in front of us.



We hit our favorite BBQ joint for dinner Sunday night and stuffed ourselves silly. I had the best night's sleep I've had in a while that night as we slept in our rinky dink motel with a crappy bed...BUT, the room was dark, there were no dogs jumping on and off the bed, and NO alarm clocks. And I only had to get up to pee 2 times!

The next morning, we met my brother who was driving from LA to Wisconsin. He had flown out to meet my parents in LA because they gave him a car. A car that used to be my sister's, a car that we have all driven and loved, a car that Dad had REFUSED to get rid of, and a car that B and I have recently named "The Death Trap"...a 1989 Honda CRX. I hope it's a good car for my brother...he needs something reliable.



After my brother drove off towards WI, B and I hit a couple hobby shops so he could look for train stuff, and then we headed home. A football game lost, yummy BBQ in our tummies (and in the ice chest for leftovers later), and another anniversary celebrated...it was a good trip!

Not good news

I try not to be selfish, but it comes naturally to me. I think it does to most of us, and we have to consciously work to be self-LESS. And here I am being selfish again, but in this case, I think my sister just might benefit from my selfishness, too.

Her due date is tomorrow. 40 weeks of pregnancy will end tomorrow...but that kid is holding out in making his appearance (the family stubborness may already be apparent...watch out!). And with Thanksgiving being next week and her doctor leaving town for the entire week, she can’t be induced until November 26. And that is THE day that B and I leave to come back home, and it’s the day AFTER my brother will have to leave, and it’s the day BEFORE my parents will have to come home. So, you can see, this is just not acceptable to us. We want to be able to hold and play and love on this new baby before we have to come home.

Sister is already doing (almost) everything that’s been suggested to get labor going. She’s going on long walks, eating spicy food, drinking lots of water, getting busy with her hubby (at least I told her to do this). I told her to try a glass of wine, but she doesn’t like wine and doesn’t want to add any kind of risk at all.

At this point, it’s all up to God. And God...we need your help! Mom and Dad get there at the end of this week, and Mom really wants to be there for the birth, so maybe we’ll only have to wait til then. But, I hope it’s not much longer than that.

Pray for my sister and her new baby, please! Above everything, we want a healthy baby boy to be born to a healthy Sister...but it sure would be nice if we all got to spend some time with the entire new family on this trip!

It's my sister's fault

I did not sleep well last night...for the 3rd night in a row! I blame it on my sister because as she nears the end of her pregnancy, she's not sleeping well either, and it's obviously affecting my sleep as well...even though she's 12 hours away.

I was exhausted last night after not having slept well the previous 2 nights and after spending 3 hours in a car dealership earlier in the evening (more on that later), so I was SURE that I would sleep well. I woke up my usual 3-4 times to pee, and JUST LIKE the 2 nights before, I couldn't go back to sleep when I got back to bed.

FINALLY, I fell asleep...only to find myself in the middle of another wacky dream. This time I was on a solo-overnight-shopping trip, and my sister called to ask to meet me for dinner (since it's a dream, it doesn't matter that she lives 12 HOURS AWAY). I said okay, and then got busy and was late to meet her. When I walked into the restaurant, there were all my Buddies, ALL of them! And my sister. It was so good to see everyone, and we had fun chatting and hanging out. Then I noticed that my sister had NO belly, but she was still supposed to be pregnant. She was wearing some VERY revealing clothes, and there was definitely no belly and she had this cute little toned butt (sorry for telling so much, Janer). I asked her what was up, and she just said she was "hiding" her belly. For some reason, that explanation was acceptable to me. Soon after that, we all dispersed, and I woke up.

And then I heard it...beep...in the middle of the night, 3am, I heard a cell phone beeping that there was a missed call. I had finally gotten sleepy and comfortable, so I laid there for a couple minutes to make sure I heard the beep for real. There is was again. I jumped out of bed because I was SURE that Sister had called to tell me she was going to the hospital or that my nephew had arrived (she started having contractions yesterday!). But when I looked at my phone, there were no missed calls. But, I had heard that beep. So, I checked B's phone. It was his that was going off.

His buddy had called about 20 minutes after we went to bed last night. This guy is kinda weird. He's the one we went shooting with a couple weeks ago. Ever since he and B got back in touch, this guy calls ALL THE TIME. And if B doesn't answer his phone, he calls again, and again, and again. I shouldn't be so hard on him - he's a nice guy, kinda strange, but nice, and single - so he's glad to be back in touch with hubby. Since B missed the call last night, this guy called back at 6am this morning. I was irritated at first, but he was supposed to pick up B at 6:30am for them to get breakfast and head to the conceal and carry class together, but B's buddy got called in to work, so he was calling to cancel.

Of course, by then I was wide awake and there was no chance at any more sleep this morning, so as B climbed BACK into bed, I got up, and here I am blogging and trying to get my day started. I'm going to the gym this morning and then shopping at a craft fair with my MIL this afternoon. Then tomorrow we head out to KC to celebrate our 7th anniversary (and Veterans Day) and watch the Chiefs tromp all over the Broncos. Go Chiefs!

By the way, Happy Birthday to all the Marines out there...today is the USMC birthday!

Halloween

I'm a little late with the Halloween post, but I kinda forgot about it. We had a very uneventful Halloween after last year.

I bought candy, but I hadn't quite decided if I would turn on the porch light and hand it out. We didn't have any company over this year, I was exhausted, and B didn't want to get kicked again (see last year's post). But, we gave in, turned on the lights, opened the storm door, and passed out a little sugar. B even dressed up in his standard Halloween garb.




And we handed out candy for...20 minutes. That's all I could take. Our neighbors stopped by so we could see their cute costumes, we saw a couple other kids, and then B gave up and went downstairs. I kept the door open and the lights on for a few more minutes, but then I got tired of fighting the dogs to get to the door and jumping up every 5 minutes to hand out candy to kids who were being DRIVEN around the neighborhood -- that usually means that they don't even live in my neighborhood!

So, about 7:20 pm on Halloween, I turned off all the lights upstairs and retreated to the comfort of my basement where I finished watching Kid Nation in peace...oh yeah, and I munched on the 5 pounds of leftover candy!

No word yet

I haven't heard from the guy who came to look at my car on Sunday. I hope it's jus because he didn't have time to make all the calls he wanted to yesterday, and not that he's changed his mind. My friend who sent him the info on the car is going to call his wife and snoop around today...see if they are still interested.

And, wouldn't you know it? The Pilot that we drove last week has been sold! Figures! The good thing is that they have received another '04 Pilot that I like even better (from the pictures and features). Of course, it costs a bit more, is newer, has more miles...and because they just got it in, I won't get as much of a discount. Of course, if my car sells, then I can play around with the price a little more.

I didn't mean to start a car war with my last post...and I hope Terri isn't offended by all the US car bashing that went on. (Of course, I STILL maintain that my hondas are almost American...they are built in the U.S., you know!) It's funny how attached and loyal we get to our vehicles. They are a BIG investment, and if you find a brand that works for you, why not go back?

I have been swayed from my brand loyalty on 2 occasions...once when I bought my Camaro and another time when I bought the Saab. Both are technically GM vehicles, although, the Saab has not behaved like a GM -- it's actually held up very well! =) The Camaro, on the other hand, went back to GM as a LEMON. But, I did have fun flying around California with the T-Tops off for a year or so.

Oh well, I'm heavily leaning toward the Pilot now. I love that it has a 3rd row of seats that fold flat, and the reliability of Honda can't be ignored. Plus, I can get a lot of features in a used car for the price. I just can't justify buying a new car when it will lose so much value as soon as I drive it off the lot. I'll keep you posted!

What the heck happened??

It was a sad sad weekend for football in our family...EVERY single team that I rooted for this weekend LOST...and they all lost in the ending minutes and seconds of the game. How does that happen??

The Crimson Tide gave it up to LSU yesterday, setting the stage for the rest of the weekend. It was a close game, peppered with many many fouls and penalties (mostly due to playing dirty) on the part of LSU. Those stinkin' cajuns thought they had some sort of beef with Alabama since their coach got smart and left them and headed to UA, by way of the NFL. Whatever. You can read more about the emotions of this game at my sister's post on the game...don't worry -- she didn't go into labor.

There has been lots of hype about the Packers going to Kansas City this weekend. Brett Farve had never beat the Chiefs, and as much as everyone in KC wants to beat Brett, there is an awe that he brings to football, and people just wanted to see him. Of course, we still expected our boys to send those Packers crying back to Green Bay. Unfortunately, it was not to be. It was a great game, very close...until the end. I started to get excited during the 3rd quarter that we might actually kick some Packer butt...and then our QB threw an interception...at the WORST possible time! The only consolation is that pretty much everyone else in our division lost today, too.

Next week KC plays the Broncos, and B and I wll be there cheering on our team and celebrating our 7th anniversary. We better win next week!!

So, if those 2 losses weren't bad enough...the Colts had to go and lose also. Now, I'm not a bandwagoner. I didn't cheer for the Colts just because they won the Superbowl last year. I like Tony Dungy - what a great guy! I'm reading his book right now, and so far it's awesome. Plus, Sis just moved to Indy, so we have to have a bit of loyalty to their home team - as long as they're not playing KC. Anyway, the undefeated Colts played the undefeated Patriots...and they lost. Another CLOSE game...until the end. So now the Patriots are undefeated and the Colts aren't. Bummer...

BUT, there was some good news in the midst of all this. In between the Chiefs loss and the start of the Colts game, I FINALLY got a call on my car. A friend had forwarded on my ad to a friend of hers, and he called this afternoon looking to buy a car for his kid who's going to college. The guy really liked the car for his kid, and he even knew cars. He said I have a leak in my exhaust system and that the muffler needs to be replaced (I've never had a problem, but whatever). But, even with that, he said the car was in great shape for its age (it is!), and he just wanted to check with his insurance company and find out how much a new muffler would be, and then he thought we'd have a deal. I won't pay for the new muffler, but this guy understands that. I have the car listed for $1600 below blue book, so I think he can take care of that. So, my car may be almost sold. I'm excited and sad at the same time. I love getting new cars, but I know I will miss the Saab. B told me to drive all day tomorrow with the top down since it might be my last time...I almost cried...and B laughed at me. I'm sure he would be crying if he had to say goodbye to his hummer!

I'll let you know how the car deal goes...looks like I need to figure out what I'm going to get now. Oh, we kinda ruled out the Murano, and now we're thinking about a Honda Pilot.