COOL

Saw 2 18-wheelers carrying these military-issue Hummers. There were 6 Hummers total. It was really cool to see them so close!

Saturn

Mike got a wild hair over the weekend and decided to start fixing up the Saturn. This happens twice a year: Spring and Fall. I actually quite like it. :D

Well, we went and purchased a brand new auto-tensioner for my car so it won't squeal every time it starts up. Oh it sounds so good now! Almost brand new!

Mike pulled the car apart and went to work on cleaning that sucker from top to bottom. He pulled out all the seats, vacuumed everything, and used the steam cleaner on the upholstery and the carpets. He shined up the vinyl, and took the car to the carwash. Aside from a few sunbleached spots, the car looks practically brand new!

Of course, there are still some issues with it. It is missing the passenger side mirror (courtesy of an ice ball 5 years ago), the wiring to the cooling fan is messed up, and the parking break is getting iffy, but it is a 13 year old car, with around 120,000 miles on it. I figure it's doing pretty good. Last year I got a new radiator (the stock one had a crack in it) and the year before I got a new muffler (the stock one was leaking). I figure if it takes things around 11 years to go bad, I still have plenty of miles on this baby! The only downside to this gem is that there are only 2 seats in the back, the headlights make a really loud noise when you put them down, and my spare doesn't fit in the spare tire well so I have limited trunk space.

Riding in Cars with animals

Mike got a new phone. Finally. He has needed one for a while, but has been waiting for the "perfect" phone to come along. He thought he had found it in the Samsung I-760. But then it got pulled. Not quite sure why, but it was no longer available. Then the Blackberry Storm presented itself. I told Mike I wanted it, and he said I couldn't have a new phone until I had gone for 1 year without breaking mine (This means I will be getting a new phone next September instead of this month). Then he went and ordered himself the Storm! PUNK!

Anyway, it finally came. He has been like a kid on Christmas Eve waiting for Santa. Seriously. Every day it was "Is my phone here yet?" Now that it is here, he is so excited to get to use it. He decided that because it is all touch screen, with no keyboard or anything else, just a few simple buttons and a touchscreen, that he needed to buy an Invisible Shield thing-a-ma-jig. I guess they are scratch proof with a lifetime warranty or something like that.

We went to the mall to get one. While we waited for them to apply the Invisible Shield we walked around the mall. Marsh wanted to ride the kiddie rides but we only had a quarter, so we just let him sit in one instead. This was his favorite one, because it had animals in it. He kept hugging the lion sitting next to him.

You tell me: Does he look content or what? You can kind of see that he is a little pale. I think this was the starting of his not feeling good, because today he is still not doing so well. I'm hoping this is just a weekend long thing, and that he'll be back to his normal, chipper, hyper self by tomorrow.

What the ....?

Tonight we, Marsh and I, went to McDonald's for dinner. Mike was driving home from Moab, which was taking forever, and Marsh wanted "Spite! Chichen! Fry!" (Sprite, chicken, fries) for dinner. I got out a box of Mac n Cheese, which usually gets him going with "CHEE! CHEE!" but he kept crying and screaming for "SPITE! CHICHEN! FRY!" So I loaded him up in the car and we headed for McDonald's.

We have several free movie rentals from RedBox that we need to use, so I decided to rent Prince Caspian, the new one. I parked the car, got out and locked the doors so no one could steal Marsh out of it while my back was turned. There wasn't anyone else at the movie stand, so I hurried and rented my movie and rushed back to the car. It was freezing outside!

When I got to the car, can you guess what I saw? Marsh sound asleep in the backseat? Nope. Marsh turning his carseat lights on and off? Nope.

Marsh sitting in the driver's seat pretending he was driving the car? YEP!

Somehow he had unbuckled his seatbelt (which he does quite frequently), and managed to climb over the parking break without disengaging it (it doesn't hold very well if you bump it. It has issues), and was sitting ever so nicely in my seat pretending to drive the car. He even had one hand on the gear shifter! SO CUTE! I wish I had my camera, because it was the funniest thing, and he had the biggest smile on his face.

Elephant Man

Sunday, in honor of Mike's birthday, we went to the zoo. It was fun. Except that Marshy wouldn't let us put his jacket on. He fought us so hard that we decided we wanted to keep our stomachs and shins and let him have his way. We discovered that we are bigger wusses than he is! We were so cold that we ran into the monkey house, where we spent a lot of time because the monkey came right up to the window! (below)

He was so cute, and followed us across the room. When we turned to look at him, he'd act all shy and hid in the other corner, and then slowly creep back over when we weren't looking. It was funny.

After the monkeys, we went to the elephants. Big mistake. We should have saved it for last! Marsh just loves the elephants, and shouted "Phant! Phant!" the whole time. Then, when we got too cold to stand there watching them eat, we turned to go into the ape house. Marsh got so mad. He cried and cried for the "phants". He wanted nothing to do with the apes. So we went back outside into the cold to see the elephants again.

Then we decided to go to the other monkey house. Again, Marsh cried and cried, and wanted nothing to do with the Mandrill and the Lemurs. We thought maybe the bears would cheer him up, so we walked over in their direction, being quite far away from the elephants at this point. He didn't like the bears. We ran down to the giraffes, knowing they would be inside, and it would be warm and hoping he would like the giraffes.

Unfortunately, they have a large sign posted on the door saying "Please no screaming or loud noises". Well, that counted us out. So we ran up to the Asian Highlands to look at the cats. Marsh didn't want to look at the cats. He wanted the "phants" and was still yelling for us to go back. "PHANT! PHANT! PHANT!" People were looking at us strangely. Probably because sometimes phant sounds not quite right.

We went into the reptile house to get warm. Marsh hated it. We did get to see the porcupines trying to get it on. That was quite comical. Then, they realized the Meerkats, who shared their pen, were asleep and went over to wake them up. We hurried through the reptile house and rushed back over to the elephants one last time before we left the zoo.

Marsh was so happy! He sat there in awe, goosebumps and all, watching the elephants eat their hay. He was so sad when we went to the car, but luckily he has a stuffed elephant, and it was waiting for him.

Marsh had Goodnight Moon in the car, and there is an elephant in the pictures, and he can point it out to you and tell you what it is and what noise it makes. He did this most of the way to my parents' house, where we were eating lunch. He is my sweet little "Elephant Man". :)

Sewing

Have you ever felt so busy or stressed that even things you usually do to unwind stress you out? Yeah? That's how I've been feeling lately. Especially today. Maybe it's just because things that should be simple and fast are turning out to be taking forever. Or maybe I'm just making too big a deal out of it.

I had to bring work home with me today. It wasn't a big deal....just seaming the backing on a quilt. Once I got down to it, it only took me a few minutes to seam and press it. I think part of the problem is my sewing environment. I don't have a ton of room.

This picture is from when we first moved in. As you can see, the counter at the end by the dishwasher is not much larger than a laundry basket. That is where my sewing machine lives.

Why? you ask. Well, because I don't have an actual kitchen table yet. Right now we are using a card table. Mike's parents gave us a table, but since we don't have a truck we haven't been able to haul it up here yet. Oh I can't wait until I have a table to sew on... er.... set and eat dinner at.

Right now the card table is covered with my cutting mat, a scrap bag, and various random bits of fabric. There are also about 10 projects sitting on the table and 3 of the chairs waiting to be started, finished, or both! So, this means we eat dinner on the couch in front of the coffee table, about 6 feet away. Which is fine with us. But occasionally we would like to be able to use the table. ha ha! I rhymed!

Anyway, I think that because I'm sewing on the counter my enjoyment for sewing is decreased. I have been working on this cute little backpack/diaper bag for Marshy, in the cutest fabrics (they are dinosaurs!) but I have to force myself to sew it. It's not that I'm not excited to see the end product. I am super excited. This is something I designed, I figured out how to do (with Lola's help on the whole zippered pocket thing. That was really hard for me for some reason. Thanks Lola!) and I am determined to finish it....someday. Hopefully soon.

Tonight I forced myself to get something done on it. I had most of the pieces cut out and made, and ready to be put together. I didn't have the center piece for the main zipper though. Oh that was a hard bugger! I finally got it figured out, and put together. Then I went to sew the center to the front, and I found out that my center piece was too long. Oh well, I can fix that. All I had to do was cut it off even at the bottom, and it only ended up being about 2 inches too long anyway. Then I went to sew the back to the center, and realized I still needed to hook the strap adjuster to the bottom straps, and baste the straps onto the back of the bag, and the hook strap to the top of the bag and.....well, I lost all motivation.

I love sewing! Why am I feeling so unmotivated?! Is it like when you get into a scrapbooking groove and then get burned out? But how can this be? I haven't sewn at home for at least a week!! *sigh* I really hope I get my sewing groove back. My machine has even been nice to me! I think she knows she needs to make up for all the crap my Gammill is giving me at work.

Oh! And I haven't named either of my three machines yet. Any suggestions? These are the ones I have:

Singer HD110- She is PERFECT! I love her. She is my favorite. She does everything I could ever ask for...except a buttonhole stitch, but I forgive her for that.Janome Harmony 2049 - she is EVIL. Her tension doesn't work, ever, and she is more of a pain than anything.
Gammill Classic Plus - I swear she is the devil incarnate right now! No matter what I do, I can't get her to totally cooperate with me. I guess she is almost 10....which in machine years makes it what? a teenager? Great! Maybe she's just going through her rebellious teen years, and she'll settle down soon.
Anyway, so there are my three machines. They all need names. Please help me! I am so bad at naming inanimate objects. My old car was Vader, because the license plate was VDR. My car that I currently drive is Baby, because I'm always saying "You can do it Baby! You can make it up that hill! Keep going!" But, if I were to call it something else it would be Mraz....like Jason Mraz, because the license plate is MRZ. Yeah, I know, I'm so creative! HELP ME!! Okay, done begging for help now. I guess I'd better get back to work on my projects. Ugh!

I Did IT!

I designed and made a purse today. I know! I'm so proud of myself! I needed a new purse, badly, and I didn't want to buy one, so I made it....out of 3 fat quarters.
I really liked the patterns in the fabrics, and the colors. I wanted to do a stripe on the outside out of the bag with the lining fabric, but I totally forgot before I started to sew it together.

I also did this quilt for Shasta at Gracie Lou's today. Go here for a close up of the blocks and the borders quilting. I did flowers in the blocks and the borders. It turned out really cute.
I also got all of my awesome marketing products. I ordered them last week, and supposedly it was going to take 2 weeks to get them, but they came today. Super fast shipping, apparently! Anyway, I went to put my cute car door magnets on my car, after paying for a car wash, and they didn't stick. Hmmm....wonder why? Couldn't possibly be because Saturn doors aren't metal!!! They're fiberglass. Yeah, totally forgot about that when I ordered them. I guess I should've ordered the window cling, after all. Maybe next time. I was so looking forward to being a driving advertisement, though. I'll figure something out. Maybe Mike will give in and let me stick them on is car! haha, like that will ever happen!

A Day in the Car

I feel like I have spent most of this day in my car! I hate driving! It always makes me so tired! I honestly don't know how Mike can do it all the time.

First, I had to go to the bank. If I want to go through the drive-thru (which I do, because I hate having to get out and go inside Macey's or Wal-Mart just to make a deposit) then I have to drive clear up to Orem. So, we drove up to Orem. Then we drove back down to Salem to work. Well, by the time we got down there it was almost time for lunch. I missed breakfast so I was starving! I dropped Marshy off and then ran down to Payson to get lunch at Subway.

Then I started working on this quilt (below).

I got it put onto the quilt table and had it almost finished when I realized I didn't have enough thread! UGH! I was going to go up to Salt Lake tomorrow, and we were going to stop at my supplier to get some thread. But the quilt needs to be bound by tomorrow night, so I had to go up tonight. So, at 3 PM Marshy and I hopped in the car and started driving up to Salt Lake. He fell asleep right before we got to the 9000 South exit. We were stuck in awful traffic (they're doing construction all over 9000 South) so I had time to snap this photo with my camera phone:
I think it's so cute! He had such a grumpy look on his face! What cutie! I love him!

Anyway, we finally got to the quilt store. I ran in really quick, grabbed the thread I needed and then we started back home. I got back to Salem at about 5 PM, hurried and finished the quilt, and then at 6 PM headed home. Of course, I got stuck in the awful traffic due to all of the construction! First they have all of the lane shifts in between Benjamin and Spanish Fork, and then they have all the shoulder work going on in Springville. I hate having to slow down to 55, then speed up to 65, then slow down to 55 then speed back up. Besides, they don't even monitor the construction zones, so people go speeding by doing 75, or ride your bumper because you are going the posted speed limit and then flip you off as they speed past you.

Fortunately I don't have to drive when we go places this weekend. It will be a nice break after today.

Tires and Quilts

Today I got new tires. I got a really great deal at Discount Tire, because it was their grand opening in our area. It's amazing how well my car drives now. I didn't realize how bad the old tires really were, until today. Now they are all balanced and perfect and brand new. YAY!

Also, I finished one of my 5 quilts today. I had to wait for 40 minutes so I took a couple of the smaller quilts with me to work on. I finished one of them and started on the other while we waited. As I type this ost, Blogger seems to be having issues, so you can find the pictures here. I wanted to post at least one of the pictures in this post, but seeing as how it can't even save my post, I think I'll play it safe and just link ya'all over to it. I'm going to try to sell it on Etsy in my Etsy store. I'm not sure if I'll sell the pattern or not. I have to think about that one.

Rant

If you are going to drive on the freeway, then you had better know how to MERGE. First of all: the whole point of getting on the freeway is so you can go FREEWAY SPEEDS. When merging, merge at FREEWAY SPEEDS. Don't merge at 35 or 25 or even 15 MPH. Also, don't merge at 65 andf then hit your BRAKES because you don't think you can merge! This only confuses and pisses off the person you are merging in front of. Do not slow down to 35 or 25 or even 15 MPH once you have merged onto the freeway. This is just ridiculous! Also, don't expect the person behind you to drive AROUND you just because you are waving them to do this. This is illegal as there should only be one car per lane. Not one car half in the lane half on the shoulder and another car passing it in the lane. Again, ILLEGAL! If you follow these rules, then you should be able to successfully merge onto the freeway withut causing any accidents or making any0ne extremely angry. Especially ME. If you can't follow simple rules of merging onto the freeway, then you shouldn't be driving on the freeway anyway! Next time, take the frontage road or another route.

For those who are interested....

.....in what a car looks like when it starts after treating the engine with Miracle Mystery Oil, I was going to post a video, but I can't get it to upload. BOO! So I'll just tell you about it. It smelled vile, and was really smoky. Keep in mind that we started the car at 9 AM this morning, too, just as some of the neighbors were leaving for church. Oh so fun! I shot three minutes of footage (not even the whole thing, it took quite a while for all the smoke to come out of the car). Then we went for a quick drive to get the rest of it out. I think we freaked a couple of early morning drivers out when smoke started pouring out of the tailpipe. Oh well. We also had to get the oil changed to finish the cleaning out of the engine. Now it runs perfectly. I'm so happy!

Although, I did find out that two of my tires have essentially no tread, and the third is almost there. I just replaced a tire a few months ago. What the heck?! Seriously, can't my car stay fixed for more than two minutes?!

Adventures in Car Care

This morning my "check engine" light came on. UGH! Can't my dumb car stay fixed for, oh, I don't know, long enough for me to pay off what I spent on the last fix?? I took it over to Checker to find out what the code was, and it turns out it was my "camshaft position sensor" which Checker doesn't even sell. "You'll have to call Saturn about that, I guess" was all the girl at Checker could tell me.

Now, I've had this code come up before. About a year ago, actually. And I called Saturn, and all they told me was "Oh, uh yeah they didn't start making that part until the 2000 LS-series, so I don't know why you're getting that code. Sorry." Yeah, a lot of help. Well, I figured I might as well call them again to see if maybe someone there knew what it meant. This is what I found out:

"Yeah, they didn't make that part for your car, so it really means it's your coil pack, and that runs about $387 or so." HAHAHAHA! Like I am going to pay $400 plus labor to the DEALER! Right....I about had a heartattack right then and there. Mike looked up some info about it on the internet and found a much cheaper solution. On one of the Saturn forums, they give several suggestions as to what the problem could be, and what solutions there are. We started with the cheapest one.

I ran over to Checker and purchased new spark plugs, the gapping tool, new spark plug wires, and this really cool stuff called Marvelous Mystery Oil. According to the forums, if you add 1/4 cup of the Mystery Oil stuff to the spark plug holes (sans spark plugs of course) it cleans out all the crap in there. You can also add it to your gas tank and it will help your motor and engine and fuel economy and stuff. So, we decided to try it out. We went outside, in the dark, and took the wires off of the spark plugs. We started with cylinder 4, and what did we find? That the core to the wire, you know, the part that connects to the spark plug, had totally come out and was stuck on top of the spark plug!
Above, the 4 old spark plugs, and the core to the spark plug wire thingy. Below, the spark plug wire thingy (new one, not old one).
The Mystery Oil stuff has to sit in the car for 8-12 hours, so we might not make it to 9 AM church tomorrow. We'll see. Also, supposedly when you turn the car on smoke will just billow out of the car. That will really make our neighbors happy in the morning! We're pretty sure that this will fix the problem. YAY! So there Mr. Saturn guy! You can't sucker us into shelling out $400! . . . . yet.

No wonder it was shaking!!

So, lately my car has been shaking a lot. Last night it was so bad on our way home that we honestly thought the car was going to fall apart. Mike and I couldn't figure out what the problem was. We thought maybe the transmission fluid was all gone, and it was a tranny problem. Then we thought maybe it was an engine knock that had somehow developed. Then Mike thought that maybe it was the engine mount.

He got online and did some research. Turns out that some other guy on the forum he was reading had a '94, and they were telling him that he was long overdue for changing his engine mount. Apparently if you can stick a Bic pen in betweeen the rubber and the mount, then it is overdue for changing it. We went out to check ours, and we could fit 2 1/2 Bic pens in it!! We ran over to Checker, bought the mount, and drove over to Mike's parents' to switch it out. Here are some pictures of the mounts.

This is the one we took out of my car. Now, you tell me if you think we were well overdue??
Can you see the part in the middle that Mike is holding with the blue paper towel? Well, that was all broken and loose, and was almost to the point of coming out! No wonder my car was so noisy! My engine was rocking all over the place!!
This is the brand spanking new one all installed in the car. Yay! No gap!! I wanted to take a picture to show how bad the old one was, but Mike didn't tell me he was ready to work on it until after he had it installed. He came downstairs and told me to go check it out. I asked him if he fixed it, and he said it was okay, but that I should go find out. I went out and turned the car on, and I couldn't even tell it was on! I had to turn the AC down just to make sure that I had actually turned the car on!! It sounds like a brand new car now! I'm so happy!! YAY!!

I go to the professionals for THIS??

I got my oil changed about 9 days ago, at a local Jiffy Lube. I have never had a problem with Jiffy Lube. I used to go to Wal-mart, but they put the wrong kind of oil in once, and they cost the same as Jiffy Lube, so I switched. Plus, Jiffy Lube supposedly vacuums your carpets.....I have yet to have my carpets vacuumed, but they claim they do it.

Anyway, the other night Mike and I saw a commercial for KFC's new sauceless spicy chicken wings. They come in a bucket of 20 for $9.99. We decided to get some, so while Mike stayed home and tried to get Marshy to sleep, I ran out to get some chicken.

My car has been making some weird noises....noises like it makes when it's low on oil. So, while I waited for them to make my wings, I popped the hood to check the oil. This is what I saw:

Yes, that is where you put the oil in. Yes there is no cap. Want to know where the cap was? So did I. Fortunately, I found it. This is where I found it:
Yes, it is wedged down between one of the belts and the engine. Not really a good place for your oil cap to be. Now, the first thing that came to mind was "Oh no they didn't!" Then, I recalled my visit......

{flashback about 9 days ago, it was a very slow day at the Jiffy Lube as I was their only customer}

tech: now, your oil wasn't registering on your dipstick, so we recommend the engine flush. It's $50.

me: Sorry, didn't budget for that this month.

tech gives me the "you don't take good care of your car" stare. I hate that stare!

me: But I'll try to budget for it next time?

tech: Ok. Also, it looks like you need a radiator flush. It's $50.

me: Well, I just had my radiator replaced a few months ago, so they did that for me.

tech: We could tell. Everything looks good up there.

me: {then why were you trying to sell me a flush??? Grrr!}

tech: Also, you need a new air filter, $14, and a new pcv valve, $7.

me: I replaced my pcv valve last winter, and my husband will take care of the air filter.

tech: {gives me the stare again.} The air filter is really dirty, but ....I guess we won't worry about those then. {Again gives me the stare}

Well....$45 later, an oil change and a new license plate light bulb later (which I later found out would've only cost me like $2 at the parts store) I was ready to go. They gave me my receipt and I drove off.

{flash forward to the other day}

I decided to review my receipt. First of all, they said they gave me a new sticker. I checked....I still have the same sticker that says my oil change was due in January or when I reached 105,000 miles. Well, I just reached the mileage, so I went in. But now I don't have a new reminder sticker, so how am I supposed to remember when I need to go in?

Secondly, the receipt said I was 1/2 quart low when I got there. If I was a 1/2 quart low then I would have registered on the dip stick. So, if I was registering, why did they tell me I didn't? And why did the try to sell me the flush? Probably because they wanted all of my money!!

Thirdly, they said they had performed a quality inspection on the vehicle. If they performed a quality inspection, then doncha think they would've found the missing oil cap?? I'm thinking that even though it was a slow day, and they got me in and out within 10 minutes, they weren't doing a good enough job if they missed something major like that!

Unfortunately, I'm going to have to make a call. I'm not usually one to actually call. I usually just complain for a day or so and then forget about it. But this was bad. Putting the cap back on is the simplest of tasks, and yet they failed to do it. Plus, I am now low on oil. This shouldn't happen after only 9 days....And I know I don't have an oil leak. Hopefully they will learn from their errors and this won't happen to anyone else.

New Tires!!

One of my tires on my car has been having issues. I think it has a slow leak because I'll fill it up with air and like a week later it is low again! Today it looked like it was almost flat. I went to 6 different gas stations trying to find a place that had air. Not just any air. Free air. There used to be a time when air was free. Now-a-days they charge up to $1.00 for air. How ridiculous is that?

Anyway, I had resigned myself to just go get a new tire. I was almost sure it had had it and needed to be replaced. I went to Wal-mart, and they told me that only 1 of my tires needed to be replaced. And it wasn't even the tire I was having issues with! So, I had a flat repair done on that tire, and replaced my other tire. I also found out that I have really big wheels, which means I need bigger tires, which means that instead of buying $30 tires, I had to buy a $60 tire. Oh well. It is shiny and new and beautiful. And, now I don't have to worry about that tire not having traction anymore! YAY!!

The lesson learned here: make them check the tires and tell you which ones ABSOLUTELY need to be replaced before purchasing tires, since apparently tires are MEGA expensive.

Pictures of the Wait....as promised

So, I finally found the camera cord and am able to get all of my fun pictures off of the camera and onto my blog! The following are pictures of our wait at the airport on Tuesday night, when Grandpa and Grandma came home from their mission.

Marshy only wanted Angel. This is a new developement. I think he is still mad at me for the whole stairs incident. I don't blame him. I'd be mad at me too, cuz I was standing right there. Anyway, he always wants Angel to hold him. It is like she is Grandma #3. I guess it makes sense, kind of, since he sees her more than he has seen his other two grandmas. What I don't get is why he doesn't think Lola or Diana are Grandmas #4 and #5. Odd that, isn't it?
Marshy eating some chips, I think. As you can tell by his picture, his face is almost completely back to normal. Just a little green and yellow around his eye, and a slight scab where he scraped his forehead and cheek. All-in-all, not too bad looking.
You might be wondering why Marshy is wearing a back-pack. That is his "leash". It is a monkey. He loves it. Not so much the "Mom is keeping me from going where I want to go" part, though. Mostly just the monkey. And the plastic buckles. That is his new favorite toy in the car. Of course, he can only hook them together, not pull them apart, so as soon as he gets one done he starts crying "MoMMY! MOMMY!" until I turn around and unbuckle it. I've gotten quite good at doing this one-handed, without looking, while driving on the freeway in my manual Saturn SC-2 2-door sports coupe. Yes, so fun.

As you can see, Marshy had quite the grand time at the airport with Angel. He didn't much care for all of the screaming "HELLO!" or the crying, or the getting smushed in hugs. But he got over it as soon as he saw the luggage carousel. Which of course he tried many a time to climb up on. And why not? It looks like it would be a fun ride!

Dumb. Stupid. Trains.

Mike's car alarm has been going off rather frequently as of late. Last night a train drove by, and then a car alarm sounded. It was going for a good 30 seconds before I said, "Honey, are you sure that isn't your car?"
Mike: Yes, that doesn't sound like my alarm.
I walked to the window and looked out. What do you think I found? HIS CAR ALARM WAS GOING OFF! Hmmm....someone needs to familiarize himself with his alarm again, methinks.

I ran downstairs, barefoot and keyless, to see what was going on. Mike was frantically trying to find his keys so we could get it to shut off. About 3 minutes later....or maybe 5... we finally got it to stop. Everything was still there, and looked untouched. Mike thinks the train triggered the alarm, since had someone been trying doors in the parking lot, we probably would've heard some choice curse words (our window was open) when the alarm started going off.

Well, tonight it happened again. I again ran downstairs, keys in hand to check it out. Again, it happened right after a train drove by. This really is getting annoying. I can't imagine what the neighbors would have done had we not been there. I'm sure it would have been awful (especially after the other day when I accidentally forgot to turn off the timer on the stove and 4 hours later when we got home it was still going off). After looking at all of the many different scenarios as to the cause of the alarm trigger, we have decided that it is in fact the train. Not just any train, either, but a particularly heavy train that has to go very SLOWLY past the complex, and it's wheels grate and squeak and squeal on the tracks. It's awful. Stupid trains. Stupid sensitive car alarms. STUPID.

Ebay!

No, no, no. I didn't go to ebay live this year....well, it's not until later, but it's in Chicago and I can't afford flights let alone hotel and food. Plus, what is there to do in Chicago besides go to the convention? No ebay live for me this year! These pictures are from 2006. Ebay Live in Las Vegas BABY!

You might be asking why I chose to post pictures from so long ago. You see, it is because I have been spending EVERY WAKING HOUR listing things on ebay in preparation for Mother's Day, Memorial Day, Father's Day, and Independence Day. Yes. Many holiDAYS. Ugh! But, listing does have its advantages. It reminds me of all of the fun that two pregnant women and a man had in Vegas BABY!


My head in a cardboard cutout. Not quite sure why they had these, but yeah....That's me. You can't really tell, but it is. I like this picture because the cardboard hides my fatness. Yes, I was pregnant, but I was still fat and therefore did not photograph well when there was no cardboard person to hide my body.
This happy lad is Mike. Again, what's with the cardboard cutout people?

And this is Ninja Lola! Hiy-ya! She will ninja chop you in half she will!

Aaah....so many memories. Not all of them good. Actually, most of them not good. It isn't fun going to a convention when you are pregnant and still have severe morning sickness and have to barf up your breakfast in a public restroom....while other women ask "Are you okay sweetie?" or "Do we need to get someone for you?" or "Do you need any help?" (that was my personal fave....yes, I would like some help getting rid of my breakfast! Thanks for asking!)

Or eating lunch at Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville........and ending up running down the hall to your hotel room, door key in hand, yelling something that I won't write here (due to choice wordage used) back at your roomie Lola and your husband Mike.

I think my favorite memory of the whole trip though was Mike initially finding out, after we had reserved the hotel room and bought the convention tickets, that he would be attending with two Preggo's. HAHAHAHAHA!

Ooh! Or squishing Lola into the back seat of the Saturn that doesn't lock into place all the way, with all of our luggage (it's a 2-door car, by the way). Sorry Lola! I still feel bad about that! But at least I am short and you had some legroom behind my chair! :)

Anyway, just thought I would reminisce a little about past ebay experiences.....while I curse my current ones. Well, off to do more listing! Lots to do, not a whole lotta time to do it in! Check out my ebay store if you don't believe me. No! I'm serious! Go there NOW! hehehe:)

MOTHER'S DAY IS MAY 11TH!

Chilton is my HERO

So I love that my car runs, and I don't have to make monthly payments on it. I hate that my car seems to constantly have issues. The following is why I love Chilton and their wonderful guides.

Today, I had the car in the driveway idling for maybe half an hour. When I came out and started to back up there was a puddle of antifreeze underneath. Great!

Recap: Early March my car started leaking antifreeze. The problem? Cracked Radiator. $300 later, it still is leaking. The problem? Tech forgot to check lower hose clamp. Next day, still leaking. The problem? Tech forgot to check upper hose clamp. The solution, Autoshop probably hates me because I kept calling and taking the car in, but they finally replaced all the clamps and everything was fine as of the 9th, I believe.

I haven't had any problems with the car really. One day, the air wouldn't turn on, and the engine got hot really quick and my service {wrench} light came on, but when I turned the car off and started it back up everything was back to normal, including the engine temperature. WEIRD!

Well, today I took my car back to Autoshop. They looked at it for a good long while. Probably close to an hour. They told me they *think* it is the Engine Coolant Temperature Sensor. But, it could also possibly be any of the wiring, or the car's Powertrain Control Module. But don't worry! It's rarely the PCM! They tell me. Great. My luck, it'll be the PCM.

Fortunately, I own a Chilton guide. It is the best thing ever. It tells me exactly how to check the part, and how to replace it if I need to. Also, I love Checker Auto Parts. They are great. I type in the year, make, and model of my car, the part I want and PRESTO! They give me a list with prices. $18.99...not too shabby. A lot better than the $80 I was quoted at the shop. $80!! What the HECK?! They sure are charging a crap-load for labor.

Hopefully it will be this little $18.99 part and I can replace it (with my husband's help. Or is it the other way around? hehe) and be done and back on the road!