From Escapin' to Explorin'

It's official. We sold my Escape. :o(

I bought that vehicle in 2004 brand new...right after I received my insurance money from my car accident. So many memories...so many adventures.

It was the vehicle Amy and I used to go to New Orleans. It was the vehicle Danyel, Jennifer Jones, and I used to go to New Orleans before Katrina hit. It was the vehicle that Amy, Jennifer, and I used to go to Sedona for Spring Break...the best ever! It was the vehicle that I drove cross country when I moved to Tacoma, WA from Oklahoma to start my life with Rob. It was my freedom. My chance to see the world...well, the US anyway. It was mine and no one else had any claim to it.

Back in early fall between August and October (don't really remember), it broke down on the way home from work. I made it 15 mins from home. I stopped at a stoplight and then went to turn right. As soon as I tried to accelerate it made the worse noise...like something was trapped and hitting my engine. Rob was out of town, so I ended up calling a guy friend from work. He met me at the corner and between several walks to and from the auto parts store, we discovered that a spark plug had come out...yeah, doesn't happen very often. We put it back in and used electrical tape to hold it in place until I got home. Once Rob made it home, he used plastic putty to secure it.

Well, in January it happened again! Of course, while coming home from work...this time in the ghetto. Well, that is where I work after all. It was Spark Plug #6. Last time #3. Basically, what was happening was the metal was failing and the spark plug was shooting out hitting the pistols. Since it was in the back, we had to have a mechanic deal with it. $600 later...it was fixed.

Then about 3 weeks ago the idol started revving up on its own while in park. That was Rob's last straw. He did not find it reliable anymore and I was beginning to worry myself. So his boss, knowing about our budget, offered to sell us his 2002 Ford Explorer for $1500. As hard as it was, I agreed to go through with it. Rob took the Escape to Car Max, who offered us $5000 for it. We sold it and bought the Explorer.

In turn, we put about $1500 into the Explorer for new tires, filters, belts, and so on. It's a nice vehicle and still in good shape, however, you can tell that someone was a bad smoker. Cigarette burns everywhere! Luckily, Rob cleaned it so well it doesn't have any smoke smell.

We put $4500 toward our debt and overall...I'm glad we did it. I know that I was too attached and God was letting me know. Plus, it was a great way to pay down some debt...which the Lord was also showing us. I'm going to miss that vehicle, but I still have the memories. I'll be one of those people reminiscing with friends with lines such as, "hey, remember that drive to Sedona in the Escape..."

Like Rob says...I'm no longer escaping life, I'm exploring it. I think he's probably right.

Sunshine Award

I received my first and probably only blog award from Chelsea at From Japan to Germany.

Friends are constant rays of sunshine in my life and she definitely was in that psych class...ugh!

Here are the rules for the award:

• Put the logo on your blog within your post. (check)
• Pass the award on to 12 other Bloggers. (Hmm...don't really know 12.)
• Link the nominees within your post.
• Let the nominees know they have received this award by commenting on their post.
• Share the love and link to the person from whom you received this award.

I hope you enjoy these blogs:

Positively Present

The Happiness Project

The Bold Life

It's All About Joy

Work Happy Now

From Japan to Germany

Our Everyday Blessings

Sorry...not 12, but these are the best and I read them daily. I only have 2 followers, but I know there are several more folks that read this sporadically. Take a few minutes and check these out.

"Satan trembles when he sees the weakest saint upon their knees."

-William Cowper-

Month Number 2, Here We Come

Wow, I can't believe it is already February! How exciting. January passed so quick, I hope I didn't miss anything. What a month is was too.

Rob's good friend and fellow AF EOD moved down here from Seattle. Rob's company was hiring and she needed a job. She's been staying with us since the 17th of January. We got her all set up with the Total Money Makeover and she should be out of debt by the end of this year!! She found a place about 5 miles from work and is getting settled in tonight. Yesterday, they found that the pipes cracked during the big snow storm that came in on Saturday morning.

Those last two were taken when I was starting my car to held off to work on Sunday. I had to work through the entire storm and it was less than fun! As you can see, Rob's truck was not moved the entire time. All the snow on mine is just from Saturday afternoon and evening. Quite a difference!

Anyway, we celebrated both Kristie (Jan. 23) and Rob's (Jan. 25) birthday with some friends of ours at Outback on Rob's B-day. Rob loves that place and it was nice to have everyone together.

He was in Vegas from the 19-23 and then he left again on the 26th for New Jersey. Kristie and I spent the time bonding. Lol.

I finished my application for UWM. Everything was due today. I'm very unsure of my chances. I did less than awesome on the MAT and right now, I'm just hoping that I get admitted on probation. I could live with that and definitely make up for it with my grades. All I need is a shot.

Overall, January passed with no real changes to our lives. I am looking forward to another month and am praying for a change in jobs.