2011 Ch 5 ~ Finally Picked One

Also during the time we were working on the arena I was car shopping. I was very close to just settling on a Honda Accord, but couldn't find quite was I was looking for available at a price I wanted to pay. And I still wasn't thrilled with that choice. I've had 2 other Honda Accords, a '91 and a '00, both coupes and I loved them both, but for whatever reason, I just couldn't get excited about them this time around.

Then I started looking at the Acura's. Man, those are some cute cars! So I started doing some serious shopping for an Acura. We took a break from the arena one day to run out because they had significantly dropped the price on one that was exactly what I wanted. Of course, by the time we got there, it was sold. *sigh* We stopped at another Acura dealership that was close by and they had a few options, though most were a little more expensive then I really wanted. One, a charcoal TSX with fairly low miles was a decent price so we went to take it for a test drive, but apparently there was someone trying to buy it already. Figures. The sales guy took us over to a different one that was just a few grand more, but had WAY lower miles and was a newer model that they had made some pretty good changes on. I was in love. It was pearl white with beige leather interior, wood grain dash, nav, every option, 18k miles. It was GORGEOUS! The sales guy went in to get the keys so we could drive it, but the jackass gentleman inside had changed his mind and wanted that one instead. We had other obligations that day and could not wait around for him to make up his mind so I just took it as a sign and we left. I was a bit bummed. But after sleeping on it realized it was for the best. It really was more then I should have been spending. I really was trying to be practical, a word that isn't generally in my vocabulary.

Anyways, long story short(ish), another TSX caught my eye at a dealership a little ways north. They actually had several options that were what I wanted and mostly in my price range. We got there and test drove the one that I had my eye on, but it was a bit rough. The interior had some scratches and dents and broken pieces (stuff that drives me a bit nutty) and the exterior had not been well cared for. I decided it just wasn't floating my boat for being barely in my price range. I looked at a couple other cars that were on my list and one didn't have all the options I really wanted and it had black interior instead of the light interior, but they had dropped the price significantly on it so I had to take a peek. Boy was it clean. The miles were a bit higher then I wanted at 100k, but it's an Acura. My first Honda had over 210k miles on it when I finally got rid of it. The exterior of it was very nearly perfect and the interior had one tiny little scratch on the arm rest, the seats looked like they had hardly been sat in, every thing was clean, it smelled good, even the metal plates in the door jams still had the factory plastic covers on, by far the nicest and cleanest car we had looked at. It was a very basic TSX, but still had plenty of bells and whistles and I was able to check off all of my "must haves" and most of my really, really wants.

We took it for a drive and it even ran better then the other TSX's I had driven. It was a nice car! Of course, comparing it to the TL's (V-6's, vs 4 cyl TSX) or other cars on the lot that were my favorite colors or had other options that I really wanted, it was hard to really appreciate the little silver TSX. But I just told myself that I would be perfectly happy with it once I got it by itself and wasn't comparing it to everything I COULD have. And I was right. I love that little TSX! And the best part...out the door, we came in right AT our "wishful thinking, but never going to stick to it" budget. Man, I felt so practical!



So I finally picked a car! And found a good one and bought it! Wow! That's only been 3-4 years in the making! lol

This car also marks the first time in my life I've had a sedan. Which I guess is appropriate since I'm now 30 and all. ;)

What a weekend!

Wow. I'm exhausted. I think it's going to take me the entire week to recover from my weekend! Once again, I'm feeling every one of my 27 years and realizing that I just can't party like I used to. It's sad. We didn't even party like we used to, not at all, but I'm still totally beat. I guess we also used to be able to sleep in til noon after staying out late, but I suppose that's another fun part of getting old...you just can't sleep in any more! Not that we had much of a choice this weekend since it was a winter series weekend.

Our weekend included a bon fire party (well, really a small, totally reasonable recreational fire, since "bon fires" are not legal), the reining show, cleaning paddocks and putting down new hogs fuel for the ponies, clipping horses, washing dirty horse tails, working the butt head (Mister) on the ground, a bachelor party (the boyfriend), a movie night with mom and meeting two of the most adorable corgi puppies on the planet (me, while waiting out the bach party as the boyfriends DD), numbering cows for sorting (the boyfriend, while I tried in vain to sleep in), sorting and drill practice. I also managed to squeeze in some laundry and kitchen cleaning, but no picture loading or blogging for me! Whew, just typing all that makes me want to take a nap. It was a busy weekend.

It was also a totally gorgeous and sunny 60 degrees during the day this weekend and I tried to soak up every bit of it that I could.

Anyways, on to my usual winter series updates. Unfortunately it was a pretty unspectacular weekend. Well, except for the boyfriends absolutely beautiful reining pattern! I wish I could have video'd it for him, as well as his first one of the series. It's amazing to see how much he's improved! I somehow, miraculously, managed to stay on my pattern, though I'm pretty sure it was only because Midori knows it and was on auto-pilot. I had no control. It was all I could do to get her to slow down enough to change leads. She was a naughty, naughty pony. The boyfriend ended up getting 3rd out of 8 riders and I got 4th. There was a rather large gap in the scores between us, but that was the way the placings fell. So now there is one show left and the points for the buckle are pretty darn close. The next show is going to be a nail biter and I'm probably going to fold under pressure. Pressure at horse shows doesn't usually work in my favor. Should be interesting.

Sorting didn't go so hot either. The boyfriend and I got a no time on our run. I did get 6 cows on a couple of my runs, but so far that is where I'm topping out. Midori seemed to be having fun though so that was good. It wasn't a bad day, but the late night Saturday was taking it's toll on us. Neither of us placed with any of our runs so we didn't win any money and it was an expensive day. Still mostly fun, but expensive.

After sorting I had to stick around for drill practice too. The sorting ended up going late so drill practice got started really late and went even later. It was a pretty fun practice though and Midori and I found our second wind. She was tired enough from the weekend that she behaved herself, which was fabulous, but still had plenty of go left to haul ass on the outside of a crack.

I was totally beat by the time I got home. I think Midori has earned a day or two off, I'm sure she's pretty sore too! My butt just wasn't ready for an almost straight 7 hours in the saddle yesterday. And while the majority of it was spent sitting around waiting for our turn sorting, plenty of it was spent riding hard. I started the day off sore from Saturday too since I had ridden hard for quite a while after our no control pattern.

All in all it was a good weekend. The weather was fabulous and I won't ever complain about a weekend spent with my pony. I'm just exhausted and looking forward to some quality time with the couch and my bed this week.

High School

Wow. I just received the first email about my 10 year high school reunion. I can't believe it's been that long already. But at the same time it seems like a completely different life. A more carefree, fun life where friends and Friday night football games, a part time job and a boyfriend were my life, though probably not in that order. When my biggest concern was finals. At the time, that was a big deal. Ha! Makes me miss that life. Almost.

I was a teenager and not particularly proud of some things that I did, though I do laugh about them now. It's annoying to look back and realize that mom really did know best, so many times, when I refused to believe that. Oh well, you live and you learn. I know I wasn't a horrible kid, I didn't get into too much trouble, but I think I was a pretty typical teenager, attitude and all.

Up until I got that email I really had no intention of going to the reunion. I didn't hate high school, just wasn't a big fan of it looking back. I had no desire to see all of those people again. None. And it's not because I got fat or became an alcoholic or am still working at the lame job I had in high school or any other reason that I'd be embarrassed to show them what I've become. On the contrary, I'm pretty proud of my life right now. I just really had no desire to socialize with all those people that I didn't socialize with back then.

To explain that, I suppose I need to tell you (well, those of you who don't know me that well) that I'm shy. Really shy. Generally. Once you're my friend, I'll talk your ear off, but if I don't know you and don't have a good reason to talk to you, I probably won't. It's nothing personal, just me. I joke that I'm anti-social. It's funny cuz it's sorta true.

Apparently, this gives people the impression that I'm a snob, which is apparently what a lot of people thought of me in high school. I was totally floored when someone pointed this out to me. I did not understand how people could think I was a snob! And then I started thinking about the people that I thought were snobs. I think some of them really are snobs of the highest order, but some of them, I realized, were probably just shy, like me.

Because of all of this, I was really surprised when I got the email and started looking thru the list of names from my class and realized that I want to go to the reunion. Ok, maybe saying I want to go isn't exactly accurate, but I wouldn't mind going. We'll see if it actually happens. I'm still trying to swallow the fact that it's already time for my 10 year high school reunion. One more thing to add to the list of things making me feel old lately!

Oh my

As if I haven't been having enough issues lately, now my eye balls have to join in on the "Let's make her feel really old" party that everything else in my life seems to be having.

I know, relatively speaking, I'm still pretty young. But 30 is now looming on the horizon and I gotta tell you, it kinda scares the poo outta me. I don't want to be 30! I like 27 just fine. It's been treating me pretty good. I liked 25 even better. It seems like a good age. I realized that as of January 1st I'm officially closer to 30 then I am to 25. I don't like that.

Soon, the boyfriend will be able to return all the crap I've given him since he turned 30. He's now 31. For his 30th birthday I got him a card that said something along the lines of, You're 30 years old! on the outside and then when you opened it up it had a big face with a tongue that stuck out as it opened and the inside said And I'm not! hehe That was a great card! He can't exactly get something like that for me when I turn 30, but I'll still be 30.

It seems like I've been contemplating my age and the fact that I'm truly an adult a lot lately. Not just an adult, but seemingly a mature, responsible adult with a full time job, furball kids, a significant other and my very own home. I'm still not exactly sure when it all happened.

This latest round of contemplation was brought on by my sudden realization that maybe the reason for my headaches, exhaustion and difficulty with my computer screen at work is my eyes. My eyes have never failed me before. I've always had perfect vision. Never needed glasses or contacts. But lately, especially after all of my recent reading marathons in not so great light, my eyes just haven't been the same. A couple days ago, after much fretting over what the heck was wrong with me, it suddenly occurred to me that I should have my eyes checked. Sure enough, I need reading glasses.

Now, I know nothing about vision problems, since I've never had them, so maybe it's really nothing and I just got the prescription to make me feel better (sort of like a placebo), but I am getting reading glasses. My mom's reaction was pretty much the same as mine...but you're only 27! How can you need reading glasses already? My parents didn't get their reading glasses until they were in their 40's! Reading glasses just seem like something that is only for old people. When I hear reading glasses I picture the little half glasses on the tip of some wrinkly old cotton ball's nose looking over the early bird menu at Denny's. So you see where my complex about this is coming from.

When I really think about it though, I know the majority of my friends have glasses. They have always had them though. Atleast as long as I can remember. I'm not worried about wearing glasses, I'm actually kind of looking forward to being able to sport glasses, I've always wanted to. Kind of like straight haired girls always want curly hair and the curly haired girls always want straight hair. But it's not an "old age" thing for them. Mine is an old age thing. Or atleast that's what I'm classifying it as. I know 27 is hardly old, but it just seems to be adding to the pile of things that are making me feel old lately. Is it too early to be having a mid-life crisis? hehe