Live & Learn Thursday :: Things You Shouldn't Do When Buying A Car

You all know what time it is! Time for another Live & Learn Thursday link up! This week I will be sharing the lessons I learned when I tried to buy a new car.

This lesson begins about a year ago when we decided it was time to replace my car. There was nothing really wrong with my car, it was just old and our needs were changing. Joel and I needed something that would work well for our outdoor, adventure filled lifestyle, but could also be a good family car, should we make that decision in the future. So we did our research, saved our pennies, and last January we made the big purchase.

The bad news was that we would have to wait almost three months before the car was ready for us to drive it home. There wasn't a single vehicle in the entire country in the color I wanted, in the trim level I wanted, or with towing already installed. I was determined to get my car just the way I wanted it, so we didn't settle, we placed our order and waited for it to be built in a factory and shipped to our dealership.

Months went by and at times I had forgotten that we had even bought a new car. But then, one day, when Joel and I were out buying him a new pair of shoes, we got the call! The car had arrived and was ready for us to take it home! I told Joel to buy whatever shoes he wanted, get them all, who bleeping cares, we are out of here! We immediately got in the car and drove 90 minutes north of Seattle to the dealership where we bought the car. Hooray for neighboring counties with lower sales tax rates!

As we were driving north, Joel told me to get the paperwork we needed for the purchase of the car out of the glove box. I couldn't find it. I looked everywhere in the car, EVERYWHERE. Joel was trying to help me look, which caused him to drift lanes a bit, which made me yell at him. "Can you please try not to kill us! You are in enough trouble right now, don't make it worse!" After looking in every possible nook and cranny, I had to give into the reality that our paperwork was not in the car. I wasn't very happy.

It was about this time that Joel shared with me that we might not have enough money in our account to cover the check we were about to write. WHAT? We are 45 minutes from the dealership, and you are just now sharing this with me? Needless to say, I flipped out. Joel had a feeling the car might arrive soon, so that morning he had moved the money from one account and into another account. Sometimes it can take a day or two for the bank to move the funds and make them available to you, especially when funds are moved over a weekend. Are you kidding me? We have to walk into that dealership and tell them that not only are we missing paperwork but our check might bounce! I wasn't very happy at all.

Lucky for us, we have the most amazing brother-in-law ever. Chris drove from his house to our house, about a 40 minute drive for him, to look for our paperwork. Chris found it, took a picture of it, emailed it to us, we printed it out at the dealership and voilà - we had our paperwork. Phew! That was one bullet dodged.

Just when I thought things were looking up and I might actually drive this car home tonight, Joel did it again. We were filling out the mountains of additional paper work and I got to a question that I didn't know the answer to. And Joel didn't either. We panicked again.

So we tried everything to find the information we needed, discreetly of course. I didn't want to have to admit to the dealer that we had another problem. We tried everything to locate the information, websites and emails; nothing. Finally I remembered that Joel's paystubs were emailed to him, so he looked one up and we had the information! Bingo! Another bullet dodged!

Now all we had to do was explain to the dealer, he might not be able to cash our check for a few days. Super embarrassing. The dealer said not to worry, this happens all the time and he assured me that I was driving my new car home that night.

And I did.

I love my husband, dearly, but he will not be living this misadventure down for a long time.

::

So, please, take it from me and don't learn this lesson the hard and stressful way. Make sure you have all your ducks in a row before you arrive at the dealership when buying a car. You will look less like the mess known as Joel and Jess Odell!

 

Be sure to stop by Life As Always and see what other lessons are being shared today!

 

XOJO

 

P.S. Chris, we are still thinking of a way to repay you! You are the best!!

Live & Learn Thursday :: Who Am I?

You all know what time it is! Time for another Live & Learn Thursday link up! This week I will be sharing about the time I learned who I really am.

So the other afternoon as I was waiting for Joel to finish up something so we could go do something, I forget what exactly, I was entertaining myself by taking several of those silly quizzes online. You know the ones, which character are you from Saved By the Bell, which Ryan Gosling character should be your boyfriend, which TV workplace is right for you... oh the list goes on and on. Who makes these things up, anyway? And how does picking which picture of a tree do I like best determine which Disney character is my true love? But from time to time, something about my matched results kind of clicks and I think, hey that is me! Must be magic!

So, today I am sharing with you what I have learned about myself from these quizzes.

Up first, is Which Disney Sidekick Am I?

Well, I do agree with the first statement, I don't always have the best of luck, but I do try to stay positive about things. I don't really like hugs, so that second statement can be crossed out. I have been told numerous times how special I am, but it is usually said with strong sarcastic undertones. I do wish I had been paired with a sidekick that had more teeth. How can I be taken seriously as the part two of a dynamic duo if I just have one giant tooth in my mouth? It does seem fitting that my sidekick character has stick arms - family members will get that joke.

Up next, is What County Do I Belong In?

What! Chocolate skis?? Is that even a thing?? If it is, then I say the Swiss have things figured out and I am on my way! I do agree with most of these statements, I am highly organized, I try to be on time, I don't enjoy conflict, and like to ski. I guess this one makes sense, since I should be a snowman. I guess I can just use my snowman-stick-arms as poles when I am out skiing on my chocolate skis. I am going to look like a cup of hot chocolate, with my round marshmallow like snowman body and chocolate skis.

And finally, Which Disney Prince is my True Love?

This one is actually pretty close. Joel does have dark hair and brown eyes, but not that much hair. He also does not wear tiny purple hats, thank goodness. I will agree that Joel loves adventures and he must have a magic genie because when I want something, I usually get it. So far, he has only taken me on planes, but I can't wait for him to take me on a magic carpet ride, that will be fun! I am not really sure where he is keeping his pet monkey, but I sure hope he is cleaning up after it.

So there you have it, I should be a snowman living in Switzerland with my Arabian prince charming and his pet monkey. Without these quizzes I would have never learned that I am living life all wrong.

Be sure to stop by Life As Always and see what other lessons are being shared today!

XOJO

High Five for Friday!

We have finally made it to Friday, my friends! Has this week seemed twice as long to anyone else? 

I am linking up with Lauren Elizabeth to share with you five of my favorite things from this week!

 

1. I am getting back on track with my eating and this week I actually managed to bring my lunch from home. This taco salad was so good, I brought it again for my lunch today.  

2. I am starting to feel like I am back to normal after my skiing accident. I think this weekend I might try to get back into my training routine for my upcoming marathon and 200-mile bike ride. Fingers crossed!

 

3. Tonight I will check another item off my thirty-by-thirty list, when Joel and I go to my first NBA game. I am pretty darn excited for this! Go Trail Blazers!

 

4. I am really loving all the signs of Spring that are popping up everywhere. I am ready for a new season.

5. It's official. My mom, my aunt, my sister and I have purchased another year of season tickets to the Pacific Northwest Ballet. I love going to these shows and I'm so glad we are signed up for another year.

 

Not a bad week, right? I hope everyone else has had a good week. Now bring on the weekend!!

 

Check out the link up to see what everyone else has been up to!

 

XOJO

Live & Learn Thursday :: Brain Rest

You all know what time it is! Time for another Live & Learn Thursday link up! This week I will be sharing about the time I learned about brain rest.

I know that things have pretty much been a ghost town around here, but I have a good reason for it. I have been on brain rest for the last few weeks and have slowly been returning to normal life. You see, it all started 15 days ago when Joel and I decided to go night skiing. At the end of the night, seriously on our very last run, I fell. Not a gentle fall. No, it was a head-over-heels several times kind of fall. I totally wiped out and hit my head at least twice. I was wearing my helmet when it happened, thank goodness.

I fell about an hour after taking this picture.

I went home that night with a terrible headache and not much else. Pretty lucky considering my fall. Four days later I ended up in the Emergency Room with extreme neck pain, numbness in my limbs and a horrible headache. After a CT-scan and X-rays I learned that the spill gave me a concussion and a neck sprain. The treatment plan for my injuries was brain rest. I was not to go to work and I was not to use my brain. Um, what? Don't I need to use my brain to breathe? What the heck am I supposed to do all day? Let me tell you, brain rest is horrible.

The first day, I figured I would catch up on trash TV. Watching TV is mind-numbing activity right? So it would be perfect for me. So I watched all my guilty programs, all day from the couch while resting my brain and my neck. Then Joel came home from work and ruined everything. He walked into the living room where I was and he panicked.

Joel: "What are you doing watching TV?"
Me: "What do you mean, what am I doing, I'm on brain rest."
Joel: "The doctor specifically said no TV. You can't watch TV."
Me: "WHAT. No he didn't. I don't remember him saying anything about no TV."
Joel: "Oh my god. You are worse than we thought!"

So that was the end of my TV watching. For days I took turns napping in all the beds in our house, napping on the couch, texting with friends, and staring at the ceiling. Brain rest is the most boring thing I have ever done. It was awful. After a few days, Joel thought it would be okay if I read a book. So I download the next book club book to my kindle and enjoyed having something to do. But it was still really hard not to spend all day working from home, or cleaning my house, or working on blog posts, or doing anything other than napping!

But I am glad that I stuck with it because yesterday I had an appointment with a neurologist who told me that brain is wonderful and I shouldn't trade it in. There is some soreness and numbness but that just means the nerves in my neck are still healing up, but soon I will be back to normal.

So cheers to helmets and husbands - they saved my brain!

Be sure to wear your helmet and be careful out there - you don't want to find yourself on brain rest!

 

Be sure to stop by the link up and see what other lessons are being shared today!

 

XOJO