Unexpected Purchase

For a while now my car has been making some rather interesting noises, and every now and then it'll do something new and fun to make me wonder if it's actually going to go after the light turns green at a stop light. There have been a few times lately where I haven't felt all that safe in it. One example, pulled over on the shoulder of I-195 in Richmond last Friday following the school buses to Maymont Park in Richmond for a field trip. The bus drivers (all 3!) decided when they got in to Richmond that they think (they did!!) might have missed their exit and had no idea where to go. For some odd reason, they didn't want to follow the chick with the GPS (me!) to the park. Perhaps they thought I was some kind of bandit or serial something or another...who knows. So would should have taken an hour to get there, took almost 3. Ultimately, they did end up following the chick with the GPS which is what they should have done to start out with. Wait...no....they actually should have taken themselves a map and studied it before they even left, so 3 bus loads of 1st graders weren't sitting on the shoulder of a busy interstate for an hour. Anyway, all the while my car was making it pretty clear to me that it wasn't happy about making that trip. Ordinarily, this wouldn't be such a big deal, except that Mike was in Chicago on a business trip. It was due for it's yearly inspection so I took it on Tuesday. I didn't think it would pass based on the things I've observed lately. I was right. They stuck a big, fat, embarrassing REJECTED sticker on the front and peeled off my old inspection sticker. They also gave me a print out of what it needed to pass inspection as well as a list of what it would need to fix it's issues and the cost. There's no kind of way I was willing to spend well over $3,000.00 to fix it. There gets to be a point where when something like that will cost you that much money to fix it, it only makes sense to give it up and get something new. Later that day, we bought this-


I love it, I do! We traded the 2003 Santa Fe in for a 2009. We looked at other SUV's, but I love the Santa Fe's so much more than the others. Plus, we got a big fat owner loyalty rebate. This one is larger and much roomier than our old one. Lots more bells and whistles that thrill everyone to no end. As for me...love the cd and radio controls on the steering wheel. Very safety minded they are. I'm sure you can see the very light colored upholstery in the pic. I did not pick that...Mike did. That's like the last color I'd ever pick with kids...ever. So I bought the 7 year "you can bleed on me, puke on me, spill red juice or coffee one me, rip a hole in me, do whatever the heck ya want to me" fabric protection and replacement. I don't usually buy things like that but thought it was needed. I actually felt a little uneasy about buying it with that light upholstery until I found out they offered that. We travel a lot with the animals.

Speaking of Chicago, Mike and I are going for a few days in July. I'm SO excited about that! His mom is flying in to watch the kids. I love Mike's job. I do.

Mike's business travels = Jennifer cashing in his Hilton Honors points and frequent flyer miles.

We're staying at the Hilton Palmer House in Chicago and we're using all of his points to pay for it. Mike's job rocks....and so does that hotel...lol. You know, I didn't pick out the hotel...he did. I'm impressed.

I'm off to have a lunch with a friend!