The Good and the Bad

Last weekend was crazy!

On Friday, I went to get my hair cut and pulled into the parking spot and heard a loud crack.  It didn't sound good.  This is what I saw:

Yeah, not good!  Unfortunately the sound and look was all too familiar, and I knew that the ball joint was broken.  The same thing happened last year, but on the opposite side!  So I called the tow truck and had the car towed to a local mechanic.  The mechanic couldn't fix it until Monday, so I went the weekend without my car.  I did get it back on Monday, all fixed, and for almost $50 less than the quote he gave us!

Then on Saturday, I ran my second 5k.  The weather wasn't the greatest, but at least it didn't rain the whole time.  There was one hill right before the race was done that was a killer, but I survived!  I beat my previous time (31:51) and finished the race in 30:33!!!  I was proud of myself for running in the time I did, but I was disappointed that I walked 3 times (just short amounts but still....)  I had side aches really bad, but I need to figure out how to work through them and keep running!

Then I rushed home so Mike and I could look at a new vehicle (we've been looking since we got our tax return back...time to replace the Stratus!)  We had a little trouble finding the dealership so we called and were told he just sold the vehicle we were hoping to test drive!  So much for that!

Sunday was relatively quiet.  Church, then lunch at my parent's house.  Then I froze my butt off (quite literally!  metal benches are cold!) watching Mike practice with his work softball team.  We went home and had a nice relaxing evening together.

All together, a pretty good weekend.  Then I woke up Monday morning and saw this:

Gotta love this Michigan weather!

We have another busy week coming up; between work, car hunting, youth group, baking, Good Friday, Easter....gonna be another crazy one!!!  How is your week going?

Beautiful day!

It's so beautiful out today, after I got home from class, I thought I'd take advantage of the weather before it cools down this weekend. So I decided to wash and wax my car....if you're gonna do it, you might as well do it all. My car wasn't terribly dirty because I haven't been driving on many dirt roads, but it still needed to be washed. I put on shorts and a cut off t-shirt, cuz I figured I might as well take advantage of the sun while I'm out :) Anyway, it took me just over 30 minutes to wash it all to my satisfaction. Then I dried it off. And sprayed some foam stuff on the tires to make them nice and shiny. Then I put some Rain-X on the windows...this stuff is amazing! Then I started on the wax. It took over an hour to do my whole car, because I do it section by section. My arm is sore from making circular motions all over my car, but it was worth it!!! But let me tell you....my car is looking good!

Cheri suggested that I put up some pictures, so I ran outside and here they are...



Nice and clean!!!!!











Check out those shiny tires!!!!








I love my car...especially when it's behaving itself and nice and clean!

Not what I need right now!!!

It started about 2 months ago. I got into my car one day to leave school, and it wouldn't start. A lovely red light came on "Theft System" it said. So I called my dad, and took the bus home. After doing some research online, I found out that this system could be overridden by putting the key in the ignition and leaving it in the start position for 10 minutes. This way, the system could be recoded and the car would recognize they key. So I went back downtown, and it started right away. Go figure. Assuming the problem was fixed I continued to drive my car. The same thing happened again about 5 days later. So I did the key thing, and it was fixed. It happened maybe 2 or 3 more times. Then on Wednesday, I was getting ready to go to Alecia's and it happened again. This time my car didn't start after 10 minutes. I tried again and again. After 50 minutes, it still didn't start. When my dad got home, he tried it, and after 10 minutes it started. Grrrr... On Friday I was headed to school to coach Science Olympiad. On the way, I stopped to get a steamer. When I went back out to my car, the stupid light came back on and the car wouldn't start. After 50 minutes of frustration, my friend came and picked me up. Thank goodness for cell phones!! I went to try it again before I left for the weekend, no luck. So my mom tried it Friday and Saturday, as it sat in the Beans to Brew parking lot. Nothing. On Sunday, my dad talked to someone at church who happened to know how to hotwire my car! So they drove it down to the garage, where it sat until today. Then this morning I got a call saying that there are parts in the steering column that are broken. Just peachy. Sounds kind of dangerous doesn't it? So when my dad gets home, he will go get a used on from some auto parts store for only $60. Not too bad, and then hopefully they can fix it. But for now...I'm stuck at home. Thankfully I didn't have school or work today! I guess that's giving me time to "revamp" my room. Haha.

4:02PM UPDATE: Just found out that the steering column I need is still in the other car, so I can't get it until tomorrow afternoon. So until then, I am without transportation. Hopefully they can fix it tomorrow, and I'll be back on the road Wednesday!