The Next Step

There will be a lot of changes for Philip and I in the new year.  Philip calls it the next step for our family.  I like the sound of that.  It sounds really nice.  In reality, it's actually pretty terrifying to me.  

In the spring of 2012, Philip and I will be quitting our jobs and moving to Indiana.  This is because Philip wants to go back to school to be a pilot.  I support his decision 100%.  The easiest way for us to be able to make this happen is for us to move to Indiana and stay with my parents for a while.  

It's not what I thought I'd be doing at 26 years old, but it's what's best for us.  Hopefully financing will come through and Philip will be able to finish pilot school quickly.  Even after he's finished, it will likely take a few years for him to really get his foot in the door.  So, we will be making far less money than we are now.  Philip's solution?  He's encouraged me to go back to school.  

It's no secret that my college degree has gotten me absolutely nowhere.  I make the same amount of money that I would had I not gotten a degree.  There's not really any potential for me to make any more money unless I get a different degree.  

I understand that.  It's just terrifying to think about going back to school at this point.  I just thought I was done, you know?  Classes and papers and tests seem really scary after spending the past few years in office jobs.  

So what am I considering?  Nursing school.  I know it's supposed to be really hard, but that's not the scary part to me.  I'm good at sciences and have an excellent memory.  I'm even really good with people, so that part doesn't bother me.  Most people who know me would assume that it would be the needles that would keep me from nursing.  However, needles are mostly just bothersome to me, not other people.  I just don't want needles entering my body (which I have been working on in recent years -- I even had to have blood taken and didn't hyperventilate or have a panic attack just a few months ago) -- other people's bodies don't bother me so much!  Ha!  

I honestly think I would like nursing if I got into the right field.  The part that scares me is, what if I don't?  What if I spend thousands more dollars getting another degree that I don't like or won't use?  

Hopefully some of my credits will transfer so I can get a jump on it and not have to be in school for as long.  Ugh.  It's just scary.  

But, you all know me: always up for a challenge.  

The school thing isn't the only scary part about our "next step."  We are packing up and moving across the country again.  It's been less than 2 years since our last cross-country move.  And, I love Colorado.  It's so beautiful.  I love seeing the mountains every day on my drive into work.  And I love the weather.  I will certainly miss the lack of humidity come summertime.  It's just so nice.    

And I'll miss my job.  Philip has it a lot easier in that area.  He hates his job.  It's no big deal for him to put in his 2 weeks notice and say adios.  I actually like my job.  And, I don't want to leave them high and dry.  So, I will have to put in my notice soon so that I can find a replacement and train the person before we move.  And that all sounds depressing.  

This move will be more stressful because neither of us has a job lined up for when we arrive (last time Philip had a job to start when we got to Colorado).  And, now we both have car payments.  So we will both need to find jobs very quickly upon arriving in Indiana!

It's going to be interesting and terrifying all at the same time!  I like thinking about the positives.  We'll be with my family who I miss so much (and Philip does, too).  We'll be making steps towards our goal of starting a family.  Philip will be doing something that he wants to do rather than a job that he hates.  I'll get to learn new things.  We'll eventually be making a great living!  

It's all going to be wonderful in the end.  I'm just nervous about taking this giant leap!  Wish us luck!

Christmas 2011 is done!

And woweee it was a big one.  Philip and I are so spoiled.  We got movies and books and games and clothes and gadgets galore.  And, we had Skype dates with our families.  Unfortunately, Philip had to work Christmas night, but we still had a good dinner beforehand.  Again this year, it was just the 2 of us (and our four pups, of course!).  

Friday night, we opened presents with my family (it was the only time that worked with all of my sister and her bf's Christmas events).  Highlights: I got a Cricut (yayyyyyyyyyyy!) and Philip got some expensive Star Wars Legos that have been discontinued.  We had gotten my parents a laptop for Christmas (which they used to Skype with us) and we went in half with my parents on a tv for my sister and her boyfriend.  Everyone was super happy, I think!  :)

After we finished with my parents, we decided to keep on opening gifts.  Highlights: Philip got an iPad from me (several weeks ago) as well as a baseball autographed by Mariano Rivera and I got a Kindle Fire and new pearl earrings from him.  :)

Saturday we did a little shopping and picked up a case for his baseball.  Then on Sunday we opened gifts with his family.  Highlights: Philip got a new drill (he really needed one; our old one was terrible!) and I got new pots and pans.  :)  

Our movie collection is just insane at this point.  We've got something like 550 movies, over 100 tv shows, and I don't know how many documentaries.  Philip's video game collection grew quite a bit over the weekend, too!  

Yep, we are spoiled.  But, I think I'm okay with that.  ;)

Who Needs Luck?

I'm actually referring to Andrew Luck, the quarterback who will likely be the first round NFL draft pick.  The Colts have been absolutely atrocious this year without Peyton Manning.  It's still up in the air whether or not Manning will be able to play at all next year or ever again.  It's been said that he is healing well, but is he going to be the same quarterback even if he does play again?

I don't know.  What I do know is that I freakin' love Peyton Manning.  He's the best.  Had he not had to have these surgeries, there is no doubt in my mind that he would have shattered all records.  

But, it did happen.  And after all that he's done for the Colts, I think he deserves a chance.  My boss keeps telling me that the Colts just need to drop Manning and suck for Luck.  However, I am happy that we've won our last 2 games.  We're still at the bottom and will get the first round draft pick if we lose next week.  But, I don't care.  I always want my Colts to win.  

I'm going to hold out hope that we can hold on to Peyton Manning and that he will continue to be who he's always been!  Even the Colts owner is with me on this.  He has said that if Manning can play next year, he will definitely be with the Colts.  

"I think there is a lot of speculation about the draft pick and all those sorts of things, but I think what people have to realize is this: Is the likes of Peyton Manning to be seen again?  It is not coming, if ever, for a very, very long time. You’re not going to go in this draft or the next draft and get another Peyton Manning."

Damn straight.  I know a lot of people think we should go out and lose next week so that we can draft Luck, but I just want to go back to our Manning glory days!  Luck might be a good prospect, but I highly doubt that he will ever be a Peyton Manning.  

I'm still alive, mostly

I'm sorry I haven't blogged in forever.  I am still mostly alive.  I say mostly because I've had a cold for several weeks now.  It's really weird for me because normally I don't even get sick.  And when I do, it usually doesn't last long at all.  

This cold is a pain in the butt.  I start to feel better for a day or two and think I'm on the mend.  Then it comes back even worse!  It just won't be gone!  Now my ear sounds like there is a river running through it.  It's even painful at times.  I'm guessing this is an ear infection but I don't really know since I don't think I've ever had one (that I can remember).  And, my head is killing me!  And on top of that, my teeth hurt!  WTH?  I did a google search of my symptoms and it sounds like I have a sinus infection on top of my cold.  

It'd be better if I didn't still have this stupid cough.  Every time I cough, I feel like my head is going to explode.  I think I'm going to try to get a doctors appointment for later today so I can get some antibiotics and kick this infection in the butt.  I really want to get better before Christmas! 

My thoughts on OWS

I haven't said anything on here regarding OWS.  It's mostly because I wasn't really sure how to say it.  I don't agree with OWS 100%, but I definitely see where they're coming from.  Even if I didn't agree with them, I freakin' love protests.  It's just the most beautiful way of showing that the America I want to be a part of still exists.  Our first amendment rights to free speech still exist!  Sort of...

Anyway, I wanted to touch on what exactly I do like about OWS.  I understand them.  I worked at least 2 jobs and went to school full time for four years (at least 15 credit hours every semester).  I worked hard.  And I still came out of college with over $23,000 in student loan debt.  And then the opportunities to get good jobs was just pitiful.  I'm making the same amount of money as a college grad as I did before I had a degree.

The people of my generation were always told to go to college so that we could get a good job and not be flipping burgers for the rest of our lives.  So, off we went to college.  And then the only jobs available are flipping burgers or something else menial.  And then the older generations complain that my generation doesn't want to do anything to get our hands dirty.  Perhaps that's because we were always told that we shouldn't accept that.  We were told to go to college and everything would be peachy.  We'd have great jobs and great futures.  Well, that was a crock.  

I'd be able to have the job I have now without a degree.  I would still be in the same place that I am now but with far less debt.  And I'm in a better position than most of my fellow graduates.  It's depressing.

I worked hard.  I did it for myself, on my own.  And I am no better off than if I hadn't gone to college.  

I read this story a week or so ago.  It's a letter to the OWS protesters from a supposed Marine.  The marine says:

I am a former Marine.
I work two jobs.
I don’t have health insurance.
I worked 60-70 hours a week for 8 years to pay my way through college.
I haven’t had 4 consecutive days off in over 4 years.
But I don’t blame Wall Street.
Suck it up you whiners.
I am the 53%.
God bless the USA!

The writer applauds the marine's hard work and then says: 

I understand your pride in what you’ve accomplished, but I want to ask you something.

Do you really want the bar set this high?  Do you really want to live in a society where just getting by requires a person to hold down two jobs and work 60 to 70 hours a week?  Is that your idea of the American Dream?

And that, I think, is a big reason I support the OWS movement.  I put in my hard work, but it hasn't gotten me anywhere.  Where is my American Dream?  I don't expect anyone to give me a handout.  I just don't want the richest people to be able to continue to get richer while I spend money and work hard only to get nowhere.  

It's to the point where I pretty much decided (even before the OWS movement) that I won't be voting in 2012.  It doesn't matter if I vote Democrat or Republican.  They're all controlled by the rich lobbyists.  Politicians don't give a rat's @ss what I think once they're in office because I have no money to give them.  I'd like to step back to the previous letter once more because I think the writer makes an excellent point.  

Look kid, I don’t want you to “get by” working two jobs and 60 to 70 hours a week.  If you’re willing to put in that kind of effort, I want you to get rich.  I want you to have a comprehensive healthcare plan.  I want you vacationing in the Bahamas every couple of years, with your beautiful wife and healthy, happy kids.  I want you rewarded for your hard work, and I want your exceptional effort to reap exceptional rewards.  I want you to accumulate wealth and invest it in Wall Street.  And I want you to make more money from those investments.

I understand that a prosperous America needs people with money to invest, and I’ve got no problem with that.  All other things being equal, I want all the rich people to keep being rich.  And clever financiers who find ways to get more money into the hands of promising entrepreneurs should be rewarded for their contributions as well.

I think Wall Street has an important job to do, I just don’t think they’ve been doing it.  And I resent their sense of entitlement – their sense that they are special and deserve to be rewarded extravagantly even when they screw everything up.

I don't think it's fair that the taxpayers have to pay for bailouts while the people who got us in this mess are still raking in the big bucks.  

(Source)

I just want there to be consequences for f*cking up our nation.  I want my vote/voice to matter.  I want my hard work to mean something and get me somewhere.  So, yes, OWS may not be perfect and you may not agree with them wholeheartedly, but you should at least be pissed about the same things they are.  And even if you aren't, you should still support their rights to protest 100%.  Not to do so is just un-American.  Love the first amendment!

Thanksgiving & Black Friday

I can't believe that Thanksgiving is almost here.  Where did this year go??  It seems like not that long ago we were celebrating Christmas.  And now Christmas is almost here again.  

Anyway, I'm really excited for Thanksgiving.  Our friend Richard is coming to visit us again this year.  I'm cooking a huge feast for the three of us (it will be my first time eating turkey in several years!).  Philip always says that my turkey is the best he's ever tasted.  Let's hope it lives up to the hype.  ;)   

Anyway, after we eat, we'll probably nap for a little bit and then head out to do our Black Friday shopping.  I love Black Friday... because I love good deals!  We will start at Walmart, then go to Target, Best Buy, and Kohls.  And hopefully by the end of the morning, we will have most of our Christmas shopping done.  :)  We already have several people almost done!  I'm highly impressed with our planning this year!

When we finish shopping, we will likely come home and crash for a few hours.  Then we have plans to pick up our Christmas tree to decorate.  I found a pick and cut your own tree farm and I'm hoping that it's good.  

Saturday is still up in the air.  I don't know what we'll be doing.  Probably recuperating from the exhausting Thursday and Friday!  :)  And then Sunday morning, Richard heads back and Philip and I will relax and get ready for our work week.  Fun stuff!

DUI Commercial

I heard a completely ridiculous commercial on the radio this morning when I was on my way to work.  It was for a law firm.  It claimed, "A DUI could happen to anyone."  What kind of bullshit is that?  A DUI can only happen to someone who stupidly gets behind the wheel after drinking.  

The commercial went on to talk about how a DUI conviction could ruin your life, so you should use X lawyer to help get you off.  

What the crap??  First, let's tell you that the DUI you got isn't really a big deal because everyone drives drunk.  Then, let's tell you that we can get you off so that the DUI doesn't really have any repercussions.

What world is this?  Driving drunk is WRONG.  It doesn't happen to everyone.  And, there should be MAJOR repercussions for doing it.  Instead of that cop pulling you over, you could have killed innocent people.  The stakes should be high.  Drive drunk and you should have to pay a high price.  There should be a stigma.   Not just, "Oopsy, you made a tiny boo boo.  Let us fix that for you."  Grr... sometimes I hate the world for its stupidity.  

Support for Paterno

I'm sure by now that everyone has heard about the Penn State scandal.  Last night, hundreds of students and fans showed their support for Paterno by rallying outside his home.  

Am I the only person who finds this disturbing?  

He says that he did what he was supposed to do by reporting it to his superiors.  Who the hell hears of a 10 year old boy being raped and doesn't call the police??  Is this the kind of person we want shaping the youth of our nation?  How could he let the man he thinks is a pedophile and rapist continue to work with young boys?   Where are his morals?  

Now they're saying that he's going to be retiring at the end of the football season.  If I were a parent of a student (or even a student) at Penn State, I would be outraged.  How can you let someone with obvious moral flaws continue to work with and shape young people??  

It's okay, kids.  If you see someone raping a child, just pass the buck.  No need to actually do something to help save young boys.  Is that really the message that we want kids to get?  

And another thing, the guy who actually witnessed this was a 28 year old man.  He called his father to see what he should do.  His father told him to report it to Coach Paterno.  WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?!  Who sees a man RAPING a 10 year old boy and doesn't do anything about it?!?!  Surely I can't be the only person whose immediate reaction would be to beat the bloody hell out of the man and call the cops!  

What is this world coming to??

My favorite time of year...

I love fall.  I love the cooling temps and the beautiful foliage.  Most of all, I love Halloween.  It's my favorite holiday.  And that's saying something since I like to go all out for all holidays.

I love trick-or-treaters.  I love scary decorations.  I love candy.  I love parties.  I love everything about it.

Saturday night, Philip and I had a Halloween party.  Our house looked absolutely fantastic.  I wish I would have taken pictures of everything.  I'm still in awe of how awesome everything looked.  

Philip and I as the Joker and Harley Quinn.  Unfortunately, by this point in the night, I'd already lost my mask.  :(

Then, tonight, Philip had to work.  I was sick.  I can't tell you the last time that I was sick.  It's been forever ago.  I can't believe that this cold chose to pop up on my favorite day of the year.  

However, the neighbor kids gave up their night of trick-or-treating to help me set up the yard.  Then they helped me pass out candy and scared the older kids (my yard is the "scary yard" in the neighborhood).

The Harvester of Souls (Video)

A witch, a cauldron full of candy, and Little Luci (video).

Zombie Bait (video)

Giggles the Clown (video)

Philip and I made this ourselves after seeing this one and this one at Spirit. 

Creepy Crawly Zombie Girl (video)

Rosemary (video)

 

The kids drew chalk outlines around themselves in the driveway and then smeared fake blood all over them.  :)

Also an addition from the kiddos. 

Creepy girl hid underneath my car and crawled out at people while moaning.  We had the fog machine set up so she wasn't very visible until people were right next to her.  :)

Another shot of the prop Philip and I made.  :)

Haunted Hedges

Part of our cemetary.  I had another fog machine set up here to make it creepier.  :)

 So, despite being sick, I think I will still retain my title as "Halloween lady."  Thanks to the kiddos (and their mom) for the help in actually making this Halloween another success.  :)  

I'm guessing that my house will be egged when I wake up tomorrow since I sent several kids away.  Only kids in costumes get candy at my house!  However, over $60 worth of candy went out to the kids who showed up at my door in costume.  And we only believe in getting the good stuff!  Happy Halloween, everybody.  :)

My husband must hate me...

...because there are way too many clowns in my house for my comfort!  

I've allowed about a dozen clowns in our house, so it must be Halloween.  For those of you who don't know, I am terrified of clowns.  However, we're having a Halloween party on Saturday and there are a few other people coming who are afraid of clowns.  So, clowns are obviously a must-have.  And Philip keeps buying clown after clown for our house!

Philip and I have spent entirely too much money on Halloween this year, but our house is going to be the best house in the area (as if it wasn't already!).  I'm still known as "the Halloween lady" in my neighborhood because of our spectacular show last year.  :)

I still have a bunch of cooking and baking to do before tomorrow, but I'm super excited.

And now, for your viewing pleasure:

(Source)

This is the image that has haunted my dreams since I was a little girl.  I still won't walk near the damn sewer grates under the sidewalks.  

Happy Halloween, folks!  Be safe and enjoy!  :)

"How's Married Life?"

I seem to be getting this question a whole lot lately.  Honestly, it's exactly the same as engaged life... just without all that wedding planning in the way.  

Philip and I have lived together for almost our entire relationship.  We know each other inside and out.  There's no changing just because we said "I do."  

And then I get the, "So what now?" people.  When are we going to start a family?  Honestly, I've got baby fever bad.  We want kids.  Three of them.  However, we've still got a few years to go.  We've got some traveling to do first (a cruise next year and possibly another international trip the year after).  We know we won't be doing a lot of traveling once we have little ones, so we need to get that out of our system first!  

Also, we need to be more financially stable.  Philip and I actually do really well.  We are great at budgeting and make the best of what we've got.  However, when we have kids, I will be a stay at home mom.  That's $25-30k less a year.  So, we've got some preparing to do before we can afford kids.  

We need to buy a house.  Philip's credit won't allow that until 2013.  Besides that, we don't know where we will be living.  Philip is trying to find a supervisor job with Sysco.  We don't know where that will lead.  Hopefully a lot closer to my family (the Chicago job would have been nice, but that didn't pan out).  

So, Philip and I will be doing our normal thing for the next few years.  Just hanging out and enjoying the life we have together.  :)  I'm okay with that.  I'll just satisfy myself with drooling over baby clothes until we're actually ready.

(Source)

I mean, how stinkin' cute is that??  :D

I Milked A Cow!

Okay, so I've been gone almost a month with the wedding, honeymoon, and Indiana reception.  You'd probably think that I'd first blog about one of those things.  You'd be wrong.  ;)  I probably won't be doing a whole lot of blogging about the wedding and honeymoon here (I'm going to be posting all of that on my wedding blog instead).  If you'd like to read about those things, you should scoot on over to my other blog: http://taragettingmarried.blogspot.com. 

Anywho, back to what I want to blog about.  I MILKED A COW!  It was awesome.  For those of you who don't know, I love cows.  I spent my high school years dairy judging and I have spent lots of time visiting cows.  However, I've never had the opportunity to milk one (not for lack of want!).  

Well, my sister's boyfriend finally gave me the opportunity on Saturday night.  

I milked her using the milking machine and by hand.  Well, actually I milked one cow (Millie) using the machine, and one cow (Tugs) by hand.  :)  And then, for good measure, I bottle fed a week old calf!

And, of course, Philip thought it would be hilarious if I posed as one of the cows.  Since I was in such a good mood, I obliged.  ;)

And, there you have it.  I'm a happy camper!  If I lived closer, I'd definitely be milking the cows more often!  :)

Possible change of scenery...

Philip has been with Sysco for over 6 years. Lately, he's been wanting a change. Not a change of company but a change of position: a promotion.

He deserves it. He works hard and is very responsible. Only one problem: there aren't any available supervisor positions in Denver.

Philip and I discussed it and decided that we'd be willing to move if a supervisor position came available elsewhere in the U.S.  So, we began our search online. After a few days, we struck gold.

The Chicago Sysco is looking for a night warehouse supervisor. We sent in Philip's resume on Tuesday (I'm the resume queen). He was contacted for a phone interview on Thursday. That went well and then they wanted an in person interview. Philip drove to Indiana Sunday night (dropping off wedding stuff and the pups -- my parents are pup-sitting while we're on our honeymoon). Today, he has his interview in Chicago.

It looks like he has a pretty good chance. I'm keeping my fingers and toes crossed. And if all goes well, we will be moving back to the Midwest. It would be a lot of work and we'd struggle for a while, but it would be worth it. It is what Philip wants and deserves. And I'd definitely enjoy living closer to my family! Keep your fingers crossed for us.  :)

Noooooooooooooooooo!

It's a sad day.  Today, it was announced that Peyton Manning won't be starting with the Colts in their first game.  I've been in denial for weeks now; just hoping for the best.  It's a heartbreaking announcement.  Hopefully he'll be back on the field soon.  

In the mean time, at least my Yankees are doing fantastically well.  They've won the last 9 out of 10 games.  They're first in the AL and second overall (AL and NL) to only the Phillies.  We're playing a day game today against the Orioles and hopefully A.J. Burnett can hold it together to pull out a win today.  ** Fingers Crossed **   :)

Saggy Pants a Terrorist Threat?

I will admit, I do not like when guys wear saggy pants.  I don't want to see their underpants (or worse, their behinds).  However, I don't think that they are a threat to air safety.

If you haven't heard, Billie Joe Armstrong, Green Day front man, was kicked off a Southwest Airlines flight because of his saggy pants.  He reportedly asked, "Don't you have anything better to worry about?" or something of the sort.  I'm of a mind with Billie.  Seriously?  That's the biggest issue you have on this flight?  Then drop it.  I mean, the guy is going to be sitting the whole time so are you even going to see anything?  

After all, if he wants to look ridiculous, I think that's his problem.  It's not affecting the flight in any way!  I've certainly seen people wear worse than baggy pants on a plane.  I don't think the flight attendant has any right to say what people can or cannot wear (unless it's blatantly obscene -- which I have seen with no consequences.  I've seen a woman board a plane wearing a see-through shirt.  I think that's far more offensive than a pair of baggy pants.).  

I think the airline industry is all just a bunch of power hungry a-holes.  But, that's just my opinion.  ;)  

One for the record books...

Yesterday, the Yankees made history by being the only team to ever have THREE grand slams in one game.  One of those grand slams came from my favorite current player, Russell Martin.  :)  The other two came from Curtis Granderson and Robinson Cano.  

It was an absolutely amazing game.  Not only did it make history for the grand slams, but it didn't look like we'd even win the game in the beginning.  We were losing 1-7 in the third inning. But then Russell Martin got a home run to start the comeback -- so the game saw him get 2 home runs.  :)  He went 5 for 5 with 6 RBIs and a walk. 

R. Martin celebrating! :)  (Source)

Every Yankees starter got at least one run yesterday.  It was AMAZING.  Proof that all of you should be Yankees fans.  :)  

I'm an old woman...

I'm sorry I've been a bad blogger.  I've had a lot on my plate lately.  I'd say that I will get better, but I probably won't until after this wedding is done with!  

Anyway, onto the real reason for this blog.  Philip thinks I might be an old woman.  First off, the new birth control pill I started this month caused me to have serious hot flashes for a while.  That was not fun!  I had the a/c in my office as low as it would go.  I was told that you could hang meat in my office it was so cold.  However, I was still burning up!

Next up, Philip and I made our own cornhole boxes.  We're having a cookout this weekend and we're going to try them out.  Well, we worked together on the construction part, but the sewing of the bags was left to me.  So, I broke out the sewing machine and got to work... while watching Murder, She Wrote.  Philip is convinced he's marrying an old woman.  ;)  

I found Murder, She Wrote on Netflix last weekend and I just couldn't help watching it.  I only vaguely remembered it and I wanted to see if it was actually any good.  Well, turns out, it is fairly decent.  

However, I would never want to be friends with Jessica Fletcher.  Sooner or later, all of her friends and family are either murdered or accused of murder!  She was like the Jack Bauer of the 80s (how many times can Jack Bauer save the world or how many murders can Jessica Fletcher witness or be near or even solve!?).  

Anyway, I told Philip that he doesn't need to worry unless I decide I need to take up knitting. ;)  I just wish Netflix had Matlock available to watch instantly!  lol

Farewell to a Friend

I've been quiet on the subject of Sam since my last "Auto Update."  That's because she's gone.  I sold her to one of our neighbors.  He is a mechanic so I knew she'd be getting a good home.  

He's already fixed just about everything that was wrong with her (much easier to do when you can do it all for free yourself!).  The a/c is working, the windows are fixed, the gas gauge works, she got an alignment and new tires, her rotors are polished, and she's lookin' sharp.  

I am happy that she's got a good new home (with someone who loves her like I did), but I can't lie.  The night she left, I shed a few tears.  I know that I have an irrational attachment to inanimate objects (especially my car).  I can't help myself.  There are lots of good memories with that car.  Hopefully she will have many good years with her new owner as well.  :)

Movie Reviews

Saturday night, Philip and I went to the drive in.  We saw Cowboys & Aliens and Captain America.  I was really excited because I've wanted to see Cowboys & Aliens for a long time.  I didn't care that much about Captain America but everyone I've talked to has raved about it.  

My thoughts on Cowboys & Aliens: Meh.

My thoughts on Captain America: Meh.

They were both okay but they just weren't all that I had hoped for.  

** POSSIBLE SPOILERS **

Cowboys & Aliens is about cowboys fighting some aliens (coulda got that from the title, right?).  Those of you who know me know that I love a good alien flick.  I'm a sucker.  Well, the aliens in this movie looked funky.  They reminded me of the Locust from Gears of War (wow.  I spend too much time watching Philip play video games!).  And, the movie was cheesey.  It didn't flow very well.  I was unimpressed.  Besides, why are the aliens after the gold??  WTF do they care about gold?  The other alien lady says something about the gold is as rare to them as it is to us.  What kind of explanation is that?  I mean, if there were life on Mars, I doubt we'd start a war over some rare mineral on Mars just because we could.  It just doesn't make sense to me.  

Captain America is about, well, Captain America.  It's about how he got his start.  Honestly, it was pretty decent, but it was a little too cheesey for me.  To be fair, I'm not a Captain America fan.  I did hate that the Cap just got one tiny kiss from Peggy before he has to go off and save the world.  He has to crash in order to save the world.  Right before he crashes into the Arctic, he makes a date with Peggy.  He crashes and then is frozen for 70 years.  So, he missed the date and the love of his life is dead.  What a great, cheerful way to end a movie, guys.  

Oh, well.  They weren't terrible movies, but they certainly weren't fantastic.  And that's my 2¢ worth.  

The Pilot Adventure...

Monday, Philip and I worked out a budget to see how much we could afford to spend on a new Pilot for him.  We knew that we'd probably have to spend more than we wanted to because Philip has terrible credit (he was really dumb with his credit when he was young -- fortunately, the stupid stuff should just be on his credit for another year or two!).  

Well, he decided that he was going to go up to Honda of Greeley to see if they could offer him any more than what Planet Honda had offered him for his trade-in ($11,000).  The best that they could do was match Planet.  But they promised to work with him to try to get him a better deal.  The problem was, Planet Honda had already given us a quote for a sale Pilot that they had (several thousand off the MSRP).  Honda of Greeley couldn't match their price.  

However, they begged Philip to work with them to try to get the financing where he wanted it.  They threw in a maintenance package and a 100,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty for the Pilot and then we got down to business.  

They went back and forth with American Honda Finance for a few hours.  I didn't think they were going to be able to make it happen.  However, the manager said he called in a few favors and argued for Philip (he has only ever owned Hondas and he's never been late on a payment).  Somehow, he was able to get us 1.9% financing (just to give you an idea, I've got WAY better credit than Philip and I was still only able to get 7.1% financing at Planet Honda -- because I don't have any auto loans on my credit history).  The 1.9% financing is what they give people with absolutely superb credit.  Not us!

But, Philip was ecstatic!  I drove up after work to sign all of the paperwork.  We transferred all of the stuff out of Philip's car to the new Pilot and then said goodbye to her.  She was a good car.  :)

And now, without further ado, meet Philip's new 2011 Honda Pilot EX-L (her name is Scarlet):

She is Dark Cherry Pearl with Beige leather interior.  The seats all fold down flat and lock (which the dogs love!).  There are about 57 cup holders and electrical outlets.  It's got nooks and crannies everywhere.  It has three rows of seats:

(Source)

It's absolutely fantastic.  Philip's favorite feature is the back-up camera.  What can I say?  He's easily amused!  I am really happy for Philip.  He's getting exactly what he wants.  And, Scarlet is beautiful.  :)

So Much For That Plan

So, you might remember that last week I was saying we were waiting until December to buy Philip a new Honda Pilot so that we could get more for his trade-in (the Civic).  Well, Saturday (also known as the day from hell), we went to the brand new Ikea in Centennial (South Denver).  

After a bunch of hassle, we finally got what we came for (like I said, the day from hell).  Since we were in the area, I asked Philip if he wanted to stop by a different dealership to see if they would give him more for his trade-in than Planet Honda offered (and to see if he even liked the Honda Pilots).  

Philip immediately fell in love with the Pilot.  However, since we just went to Ikea, we had my CR-V instead of Philip's Civic.  They told us that they'd have to see the Civic first, but they were sure they could probably match or beat what Planet Honda offered us.  

So, we drove the hour back home to get his car and the hour back to Kuni Honda.  When we arrived, they told us that they'd called around to the auction companies in the area (they have to wholesale Philip's Civic because he was in an accident where the airbags went off) and the most they could get for it is $5,000 (Planet Honda had offered us $11,000 for it!).  The salesman told us to scoop up the offer from Planet immediately before they changed their mind about it!

I was irritated that we had driven all the way back to Denver for nothing, but I was determined to make the best of it.  We drove to the other side of Denver to go to Planet Honda.  We arrived at about 7:30, but they close at 7pm (on a Saturday! Really?) so we couldn't do anything that day.  We were really bummed.  We were hoping to get a good end of the month deal (it was July 30th).  

However, we refocused ourselves that night.  We knew we didn't want to keep paying on a car that wasn't worth what we owed on it.  So, I emailed Planet Honda and told them that we would be in on Wednesday to discuss buying a Pilot.  

To Be Continued...

The Great Cell Phone Misadventures of 2011: Part III

So, when I left off, the Best Buy guy had just fixed the phones so that we each had the right number and our phones were actually functional again.  I thought it would be smooth sailing from there, but I was wrong.  

The Samsung Nexus is nowhere near as awesome as the Best Buy guy had described.  Not only was it way slower than the Shift, but I couldn't get a bunch of the apps that I liked on the Shift.  And, it didn't have a clock on the desktop!  And, to top all that off, it didn't get service at work or at home.  And the service was spotty in between those places as well.  I couldn't call or text anyone.  I sent Philip a text one morning and he didn't get it until over 14 hours later.  I didn't receive calls or texts from people.  When I actually had service, it would take 2 or 3 tries to get the phone to dial out.  

In other words, the phone was a worthless piece of shit (pardon my French).  

I knew that this phone wasn't going to work, so I planned to take it back yesterday.  I was hoping the same salesperson was in that day so that I could chuck the phone directly at his private parts.  Unfortunately, he had the day off.  

So, I got to deal with a new guy.  I think he knew how close I was to going postal on him, so he gave no arguments and just got me a new phone and transferred everything over.  He actually looked slightly afraid of me.  I think that he could see the crazy look in my eyes.  

(Source)

So, about a half an hour later, I had a new phone.  With one problem, I had to drive all the way home (about an hour) to get the box for the Nexus and bring it all the way back to that Best Buy.  I completely spaced bringing the box for it.  I was pissed, but this one was nobody's fault but my own.  

However, yesterday was my birthday so I still wasn't pleased about having to drive all over the Denver Metro area just to get a frickin' functioning phone!   AHHHHHHHHH!  But, thankfully, my new HTC Evo 4G is working spectacularly.  

I told Philip that if I start to have problems with this one, I'm just going back to my old LG Rumor.  It may not be super awesome, but at least it works!