"First Car" Story for Carla's Link-Up

My wonderful and talented IRL friend Carla from This Messy Heart is hosting her first link-up, and it's about first car stories! Y'all, if you have a driver's license, you should join this link-up. It's like Victoria's guest post about shaving - we all have embarrassing awesome stories to share!

My first car was a beautiful white 1993 Toyota Camry. My parents bought him from a friend so that I could have a car {instead of the family van or monstrous truck} to learn to drive. I thought he was perfect.

His nickname was "The Duck" because his horn was dying and when the alarm system went off {which happened more frequently than you might think}, he would bellow, "HONK HONK HONK QUACK QUACK QUACK" until the ignition was turned. #WhyIWasn'tCoolInHighSchool

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He had leather seats and a sunroof and a funny little habit of flashing the Reverse gear light when I hit the brakes. He also had a cd player, which made him perfect for road trips, but Dad didn't think the stereo system should be the reason for a road trip, and because of The Duck's age, I wasn't allowed to take him on long distance trips.

He was a great car in which to learn to drive, and one of my favorite memories of him is at a driving workshop. My sister Jayna had just finished driver's ed, and my dad signed the both of us up for a 3 hour Emergency Driving Situations class. One of the exercises was to learn to trust the car's brakes, which meant we gunned it down the "runway" and then slam on the brakes once we reached a certain point. Twas great fun.

Because I already had my license, Jayna got to ride with me during this exercise {we all know it's because Dad wanted to drive this exercise!}. As I pulled up into position and waited for the signal to accelerate, the instructor leaned into my window and said, "Are you ready? Oh, you've got a 6 cylinder! You're ready." The Duck revved his engine in response... ok, I might have done that. But it was a team effort.

I blazed down that runway, enjoying all 6 cylinders of The Duck's engine. Although all four tires were on the ground, it certainly didn't feel that way.

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The Duck faithfully sped me around that training lot, and faithfully took me to high school, my retail job, a babysitting job, and countless visits to friends' houses. 

The Duck was with me when someone changed lanes into us. He went to the shop and I went to physical therapy, and we were both a bit stiffer after that.

The Duck was there when someone made a left turn into us. He went back to the shop and I continued physical therapy, and I hoped the invisible target was removed from our backs.

When I came home from Berea on breaks, I looked forward to driving The Duck around, even though I had to wrestle the keys from my sisters. And then one break, I came home and The Duck wasn't there. He had gone to a new home, because he was getting too old.

While I missed him, I chose to be grateful that I only had great experiences with him and didn't have to watch him slow down. In my mind, he is still the rip-roaring-est car I've ever had the pleasure of driving.

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Roomie Adventures

As I mentioned last week, my college roomie came for a visit! It's hard to believe we met 4 years ago... only God could have placed a gal from Seattle and a gal from Missouri in the same dorm room in Kentucky!

For our adventures, we had fantastic weather {again, thank you for your prayers} and, as promised, here are some pictures. Let's start with a "then and now" pic, shall we?

Orientation Weekend, 2010

visiting the beach, 2014

So now that you've got photographical proof that this visit transpired, let me describe to you what went down.

Thursday was a scorching {for this northwesterner} 85*, and it was glorious! Catherine and I took the bus to downtown Seattle and played the tourist card for all it was worth. Pike Place Market, the waterfront, the original Starbucks, the Space Needle, Ivar's, Dick's Drive-In, the works! We also missed like 4 busses because apparently May Day = Protest Businesses Day in Seattle and so the busses were all slow, full, and completely off-schedule. Oh well. It makes for a more memorable experience!

Friday, we woke up mid-morning and got on the eastbound road. We spent a little time in Leavenworth, touring The Hat Shop...

and then we met my friend Dahlia for some gelato.

overheard at the gelato shop: "Congrats, dude, you're an international drug dealer! Come work for us!"

We went back to Dahlia's house and took a walk up the mountains - glorious! Then, because we are responsible adults, we headed home so we would be over the pass before dark. Quite successful!

Saturday started off with a fantastic brunch, if I do say so myself. I made French toast and bacon and Samara made mimosas and fruit salad. Scrumptious!

We had several fabulous views of Mt. Rainier: ain't he just studly!?

After brunch, Catherine and I packed the car and journeyed southwest-ward towards the beach. Pacific Ocean, here we come! Catherine blogged about the ocean in this beautiful post. We spent the night in a cute little inn...several funny stories came out of that night. 

For dinner, we walked over to this dive bar that got really great reviews, but apparently they had stopped serving food last summer. No bueno. So we went next door to the Mexican restaurant: success!  

The inn had an indoor swimming pool, so we grabbed our suits and headed that direction. I don't remember what my expectations were, but they were probably bigger than the pool. It went from 4 feet deep to 5 feet deep, so that was something. There was one jet...we took turns. Oh, and there was no real filter on the pool, which kinda grossed me out. Showers were had post-swim, for sure!

Sunday was really chill and relaxing. We went to the jetty at the end of the beach, we went shopping, we got coffee {practically implied}, and then we headed home. We may or may not have indulged in Dick's Drive In again on the way home, but since they're only in Seattle, we had to make up for lost time on Catherine's behalf. See how well I justified that?!

Monday was Catherine's final day in the Pacific Northwest, and we spent it at Target, Walmart, and on the couch watching Doctor Who {finished the first season and watched David Tennant's first Christmas special!}. Since it was Cinco de Mayo, we met my family for dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant. So yummy! We hung out at my parents' house for a couple hours and introduced Catherine to "Miranda" - such fun! Then it was time to go to the airport, concluding this awesome roomie adventure. 

Catherine, thank you so much for visiting! It was a pleasure to host you and drive all over the state with you. Please come back!

Finish This: Week Twelve

Linking up with Becky at The Java Mama, Lisa at Coastlined, Jen at The Arizona Russums, and Nicole at Three 31.

I know it's a little weird, but  I'd rather have ice cream than cake. For family birthday celebrations, I often ask for just ice cream. If I'm going to indulge in treats, I'd rather have something I really enjoy.
My friend Rebecca just told me that she could eat cake all day, every day, so I think we balance each other out. Our friendship is a good thing for the world. :)

When stopped at a stoplight, I look and see if any other drivers are dancing in their cars. Hehe! I also make sure that the car behind me is actually stopping, because my preference would be to NOT be rear-ended again.

My guilty pleasure is the television show "Suits." Crack popcorn. Mojitos. The game "quelf." Anything written by Kristen Heitzmann. Staying up way too late reading anything, really. Raw cookie dough. French toast. Going out with friends after another event. Taylor Swift. Coloring my hair.

My favorite way to unwind is with hard cider and either a good book or an episode of "Miranda," preferably post-shower and in pajamas. So wonderful!

There ya go! Add your post to the link-up or answer the questions in the comments. See ya next week!

Wind, IKEA, and Bookshelves

This weekend was really full and really great. I had two babysitting jobs scheduled, but both of them were cancelled due to family issues and power outages, so Friday night consisted of a nap and Doctor Who. That's the best way to start the weekend, in my opinion.

Saturday was IKEA day! Samara and I planned on going pretty close to opening time, and we did ok on this front. Car inspections sometimes take longer than planned, so no big. We were on the road at 11 AM, and that's when the real adventure started.

The wind had been blowing strongly all morning {a lovely sound to wake up to whilst still snuggled under blankets}, and so driving was pretty exciting by itself. There were leaves dancing all over the road - as Samara put it, "the artist in me is delighted, but the driving part of me is terrified!" So true!

Once we were on the freeway, the wind wasn't that bad; or rather, we couldn't feel the wind as much. But we were not the only ones on the road. There is construction in the left lane of the freeway, and the giant round traffic not-cones-more-like-barrels were left in between the lane and the concrete barrier. Well, in between is a generous expression. Some of them were actually on the yellow line. As we continued on our merry way, one of these traffic barrels was blown into our lane, directly in front of us! I swerved, but keep in mind we were going 60 mph and there was a car in the lane next to us. Right next to us.

Mercifully, the barrel stopped moving and I was able to avoid hitting it, the car next to us, or being hit by the car behind us. Phew! Our heart rates were definitely elevated. Samara called DOT to report the road hazard and I continued to drive carefully. Thankfully, the construction zone ended shortly after that incident so we didn't have any repeat occurrences.

We made it to IKEA and headed inside, joining the herds of couples, families, and friends winding their way through the store. Everything was wonderful until we came to the very end: the boxes of furniture. Samara was purchasing another bookshelf for her room and wanted one of the shelves to become a drawer. This is a simple process: buy the bookshelf and buy a drawer to go inside it. Assemble at home like a boss. Done.

However, the process of finding said bookshelf and drawer proved to be quite challenging.

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After locating the bookshelf, we went in search of the drawer accessory...and found the front of the drawer. Um, what? Non comprendo. So then we went in search of an associate. He found us a much smaller box that claimed to contain the rest of the drawer. Now, I know geometry and I didn't always cooperate in high school, but I do know that if something is going to fill the same space as something else, the box will probably be close to the same size. But this was not the case. Confusion abounded, including in the mind of the associate assisting us. 

After more venturing between the aisle and the computer and the associate's phone, Samara decided that a drawer is not worth all this trouble, so we headed to check-out. 5 hours later {almost} we exited the parking garage. 

It was after 1pm and lunch was on the forefront of our minds. Taco Del Mar struck our fancy, so we hopped off the freeway and up the hill to the closest one. Or so we thought. 

I don't know if you guys have heard Miley Cyrus's song "Wreaking Ball" but it describes our TDM saga quite well. We found the restaurant after much anticipation...and then we saw the darkened windows, the locked door, the deceitful operating hours that claimed to be open at that moment, and the realization hit us like a wreaking ball. TDM was closed without explanation, rhyme, or reason. 

Sadly, hangrily, defeated we got back on the freeway and made our way to the trusty, open TDM near home. Mexican food has never tasted so good!

Bellies full, we went home to assemble the bookshelf. I think a good summary of that experience is this: two of my blisters have popped already. Yep. {Side note: if anyone has a normal-sized screwdriver, Samara and I are in the market.}

After the cussing bookshelf was assembled, my sis came over and we finished Season Two of Sherlock. Augh, Reichenbach!!! Moving on, because January 19th is coming!

All in all, it was a good weekend. Full of goals that were accomplished, although not in the way we envisioned. We were not injured on the freeway; we didn't injure anyone {fellow shoppers or inadequate associate} at IKEA, and the Taco Del Mar near our house has gone up several notches on the "best things that have ever happened to us" list. 

Happy Monday, yo. 

What a Weekend!

Does it seem like Monday is Recover-From-The-Weekend Day? I need it! Thank God for Mondays.

Let's recap this weekend, because it was super fun! :)

First of all, Sister P and I watched Warm Bodies. Oh my gracious. This has just become one of my favorites! I think it hits this generation's sense of humor right on, and it's a sweet story. I might have to do a post dedicated to this film, or at least its soundtrack. :)

Secondly, I got another babysitting job! I had an interview with the lady Saturday morning, and now I'm scheduled for Friday night :) Her kids are cute, which is always a plus.

Thirdly, I went over the mountains to visit my friend Dahlia, whom you've met before. It was her birthday last month and her older brother's birthday this month, so they had a combined party! It was so fun! She has lots of extended family, many of whom joined the celebration. It was so good to meet the people that I've heard about!
I got to spend the night, which made Saturday really relaxing {since I didn't have to drive home the same day} and meant that Dahlia and I stayed up WAY too late!! Haha, when will we learn that we are too old to do that?!

Fourthly, graduation party! My house sister during MC's graduated from high school, which is simply craaaazy and awesome! Mom and I picked up Sister E and headed to the party, and it was super fun. Got to catch up with some friends and talk nerdy with Ashley...we are united in our love for British shows :)

Fifthly, we watched Warm Bodies again. We had to let E see it! :) So funny.

And now it's Tuesday and I'm celebrating by renewing my First Aid certification! Woot. Totes being sarcastic with the woot part, btdubs. In case you didn't pick that up. Or in case renewing your First Aid skills is super high on your list of fun things to do.

Anyways, hope your weekend was grand, folks!

Tuesday’s Travels

Alright, just to bring everyone up to speed- the office I work at most days of the week is in the Big City {relative to its surroundings, I must note}. One day of the week, however, I venture on a 50-mile journey to the office that is affectionately known as “the Farm.” It really is a farm, and a home, and offices to like 3 different companies. Tuesday is usually the day I go to the Farm, hence the title, Tuesday’s Travels.
So today I drove myself out there {usually my boss and I carpool} and while on this lovely little trip, I started to think about all the funny and wonderful and odd things that occur along the way.
For instance, at least once each direction, I smell money. And by this, I mean that I smell cow poo. told you it was wonderful.
Something else that’s wonderful is that I found a station that is playing Christmas music already!!!! AND it doesn’t get static-y way out on the Farm! Have to say, I can’t stand a radio with static. So this is a double blessing.
Another wonderful thing is the view. Now, y’all know that I love my mountains, and the Midwest isn’t exactly known for its mountainous terrain, but these sunrises and sunsets out here are pretty magnificent. I’m biased and think that the only thing that could make it better is a snow-capped mountain nearby, but for a flat-ish countryside, the view is spectacular. If you follow me on insta.gram, you saw the pic I shared this evening, although the picture looks kinda yellow-ish and the sky was really a glorious pink-purple. Alas, technology.
Finally, what is better at the end of a long trip and a long day at the Farm? Grandpa’s waffles. Oh yes. With peanut butter. and strawberries. mmmmhmmm.
on that happy note, I bid you goodnight. it’s ok to dream about waffles. Grandpa doesn’t mind.