Another New Year and I Have to Buy a Car

Today a new year begins.  I looked back at some of my posts from last year and it brought back a lot of good memories.  Although I had some bad times in 2011, overall, there was more good than bad.

This year my first challenge will be to purchase a car.  My car was totalled in the accident that I had on November 15th, so for the first time in almost 7 years, I'm without a vehicle.  Luckily, I don't have to rush my buying decision.  I live close enough to my job so that I can either walk or ride my bike.  I have a lot of friends who will take me to my doctor's appointments and my son will take me grocery shopping.

I know that in order to buy a car, I need to have a budget, I need to know the make and model of the cars that I'm interested in, I need to decide whether I want to buy a new car or a used car, and of course, I have to test drive the cars.  My old car was paid for, so I'm looking at the possibility of having a car payment - yikes!  It's a big decision, but I'm making my decision in steps.

Where, Oh Where Have I Been? This is Personal.

When I started my blog I had hopes of being just a bit more disciplined about writing.  So, ok, I haven't done the best job, but at least now I have a good excuse.  On November 15th, my car was struck by a garbage truck that ran the red light.  I remember hearing a horn, I remember looking to my left, and then I remember no more until my car came to a stop.  You know it's funny what you think about after you have an accident.  I literally crawled out of my car because I had to go to work and I was wondering why I hurt so much.  I looked around the inside of my car and was amazed at how much broken glass there was and surprised that both my air bags had deployed.  Who was that woman who called 911?  And thank you Eric for holding me and telling me that everything was going to be OK.  I always wondered what it was like to ride in an ambulance and it isn't fun at all.  I thought that having pneumonia or natural childbirth was the worst pain that I had ever experienced, but I have to put broken ribs in my top three.  The first few days in the hospital were the easiest and the worst - pain & sleep, pain & eat, pain.  Walking and breathing with a fiery knife in my side.  My poor car - my Nissan Sentra - I named her Ruth.  Totalled.  I never saw my car again.  My sister went and picked up my personal items and seeing the car made her cry.  A few more inches and I wouldn't have survived; such calm and peace knowing that dying is ok.  So here I am, what? 5 weeks later, and a few days away from Christmas, and my rib is healing, and my neck and back are aching, and I have a headache that won't go away and I survived.  And sometimes I can't sleep and I get nervous around large trucks, and I clench my teeth at the intersection where my accident occurred, and I cry, but the worst part are the dreams.  In my dreams, I hear the garbage truck's horn and I wake up shaking and crying because I know what's going to happen.  So pray for me as my mind and body continue to heal and thank God that he let me live.

55 Days and Counting

Soooooooooooo, I read today that Christmas is 55 days away - that's less than 2 months!  Holy cow, where did the year go?  I have stuff to buy, but more importantly I have stuff to make!  With the economy the way it is, I plan on making at least one gift for everyone on my gift list.  Plus, there are stockings to stuff!  OK, I know Christmas is not about presents or money, but gifts are a way of showing our friends and families how much we care about them and I believe that homemade gifts are extra special.

An "Amaizeing" Time

So today I took the day off from work and my sister and I drove up to Conner's Amaizing Acres in Hilliard, FL and went through their corn maze.  It was so much fun!  The maze had two sides and it took us about 20 minutes to get through each side.  We got turned around a couple of times, but we could see the roof of the barn from everywhere in the maze so there wasn't any reason to panic.  It was just a great way to spend a day off from work.

A Shout Out to "Mustard's Last Stand"

Last weekend on my way to Miami, my sister and I stopped at a little restaurant in Melbourne, FL called "Mustard's Last Stand".  I'd driven past it a few times whenever I went to visit my daughter and vowed that one day I would stop and eat there.

Let me tell you, it was great.  We aren't just talking hot dogs here - we're talking hot dog creations, a melding of flavors that leaves you licking your lips and wishing for a bigger stomach!  Oh yeh!  I am not kidding; I can't wait to go back.

My sister and I ordered the cowboy, a hot dog and bacon wrapped in a flour tortilla, deep fried, and topped with chili and cheese.  In my wildest dreams I never could imagine a hot dog tasting that good.  Add to that an order of chili cheese fries and my sister and I were in heaven.

Seriously, if you're ever in Melbourne, you've got to stop and try one of their hot dogs.  They're located on US 1 and they're worth the visit.  Check out their website at http://www.mustardsinc.com/.  You're gonna thank me!

What I've Done So Far

Well, so far this month has been great!  I can't believe that it's September 5th already, that Labor Day is over, and tomorrow I have to go back to work.  I am slowly making my way through my list of 50 and here's what I've done so far.

No. 4 on my list was to have a drink with my kids.

Here I am with my son Troy and his fiancee Nina.

I'm the cute chubby one in the middle with the strawberry margarita!

This is my daughter Amber and her fiancee Chris.

Notice that I am the only one without a tan!

No. 42 on my list was to eat birthday cake.  Now my actual birthday isn't for a couple of weeks, but Nina made me this delicious coconut cake and I just had to eat it.

No. 47 on my list was to go to Whole Foods.  For those of you who don't know what Whole Foods is, it's an organic grocery store.  I've always wanted to go there and just look around so this past Sunday, my two sisters, my daughter and I went there in the afternoon.  I ended up buying a chocolate bar with bacon in it.  The price was a little daunting, $7.49, but sometimes you have to splurge.  We all had a taste - and it tasted exactly like chocolate with bacon in it.  You could taste the chocolate but at the same time you could taste the bacon.  It wasn't bad, it was just different.  You should try it sometime.  The next time I go to Whole Foods, I'm going to try the chocolate bar with hot peppers.

Fifty Ways to Celebrate My Birthday

This month, I am going to turn 50 years old.  I don't feel like I'm going to turn 50.  When I look at myself in the mirror, I don't see someone one looks 50, but then I may be biased.  This is a big birthday for me.  And I want to celebrate it in a big way, so I decided that I want to do 50 fun things for my birthday.

1. Go camping
2. Go to the beach
3. Play in the rain
4. Have a drink with my kids
5. Eat a caramel apple from Kilwins
6. Lunch with Rita
7. Lunch with Don
8. Watch a scary movie
9. Eat Chinese food
10. Go someplace in Florida that I've never been
11. Go fishing
12. Stand on my head
13. Eat pepperoni pizza
14. Try tofu
15.  Try quinoa
16. Read a book on zombies
17. Lunch with Kathleen
18. Learn the Electric Slide
19. Make paper flowers
20. Try a new recipe
21. 44-oz diet pepsi
22. Take a picture everyday
23. Blow bubbles
24. Go to Pumpkin Hill Preserve
25. Finish Dead Space
26. Get Roger Staubach's autograph
27. Buy a new purse
28. Birthday lunch with Debbie
29. Amber's queso
30. Make an origami ?
31. Donate blood
32. George Bush's autograph
33. Cheer the Dallas Cowboys on to victory
34. Take my birthday off from work
35. Dinner with Amber & Chris
36. Dinner with Troy & Nina
37. Resident Evil Marathon (with popcorn)
38. Go hiking
39. New computer game
40. Wienie & Marshmallow roast
41. Go for a random drive
42. Eat birthday cake
43. Take a bubble bath
44. Peterbrooke chocolate
45. Complete a Sunday crossword puzzle
46. 50 hugs
47. Go to Whole Foods
48. Bake cookies in my car
49. Make a solar oven out of a cardboard box
50. Family photo