The last couple of weeks have been pretty interesting, as far as things go.  Most of it has been from car drama.  I will explain...

The belts in my car have been going out for some time now, so in October I purchased some new ones and enlisted my oldest brother, Bill, in changing them out.  I called him the day I bought them and asked him to let me know when that week he'd be available to help me.  Two months later...

What with it being so cold lately, and my using the heater in my car so much, I thought it was a pretty good idea to get the belts taken care of.  I finally called Bill again and scheduled some time on my day off to get it done.  We went to my grandparents house because they have a big shop to use. 

My day off rolled around, and it was COLD!!!  We embarked on the adventure at 2pm and it took us hours and HOURS!!!  The first belt took no time, came off like a charm.  The second one was the problem child.  It took at least three hours and buying a book at Napa Auto Parts with the appropriate diagram to get the [stupid] thing off.  Then we tried to put the new belt on and it was 2 inches too small, so we had to go to Checker where I originally purchased it and get it exchanged.  Then it took about an hour or so longer to get it back on.  Sigh!!  And the other belt, again, went on without a hitch.  It was dark, it was freezing, my hands, feet, and butt were numb, but the belts were on.  Finally!

So, Bill had me start her up to make sure everything was as it should be.  It was a very good thing that he did.  I turned the ignition over and suddenly there was all this smoke and Bill calling for me to turn it off.  Apparently, in all the rigamarole, my fuel line got broken!  There was this piece of plastic on top that snaps into the engine block that cracked.  Bill and I again hopped in his truck and went to Checker again...  And they didn't have it.  They told me I'd have to go to the dealership. 

So, Bill had to pull my car out of the shop and park it in my grandparent's driveway.  Luckily it's a nice big driveway - they used to have a farm - so there was plenty of room for it.  It was a good thing my sister, Sarah, had come over after work or I wouldn't have had a way to get home!

The next morning, I woke up at 5:45 to get ready for work and was feeling really gross.  I ended up throwing up.  Not fun.  So, I called in sick.  There was no way I was going to work if I was not feeling well and didn't have a way to get home.

Sarah and I ended up carpooling for the week, which was actually kind of nice.  My car finally got fixed almost a week after it got broken, which was a very happy thing.  And Sarah and I decided to continue to car pool to save gas, and to save Sarah's sanity since she hates driving in snow.

That's the other thing that happened!  It went from being bone-chillingly cold to snowing like crazy!  The roads were heinous.  Not fun. 

So on the Saturday when my car was broken Sarah had to take me to work in pretty nasty conditions.  The roads were covered in packed-down snow that had turned to ice, and there was a light layer of fresh snow on top with more snow falling.  Sarah was cautiously driving - going about 20 mph, if that.  We live on a foothill, so it can be pretty terrifying.  As we were going over a rise the car started to skid.  Sarah tried to steer out of it, but there was no hope.  She let the car take its course, and we went up over the rise and completely turned around.  As we were sliding backwards down the slope, we heard a crunch...

Sarah thought it was a fence.  I was afraid it was another car.  It was neither.  I hopped out of the car, ran behind, and what do you think I found?  A bank of mailboxes!!  There were six of them nailed down to a couple of two-by-fours.  I looked up the road, and I saw two metal pipes completely bent to the ground.  I hefted the mailboxes (and they were heavy!) and plopped them in the snow above where they would have gone.  Then I hopped in the car and we were off.  I even made it to work on time, with a minute to spare.  I found out later that it had broken out the tail light on the driver's side, which was quite easy to remedy.

Since that time all of the snow has melted off and the weather has gotten a lot warmer.  I'm talking maybe 40 degrees!  So no more bad roads.  I'm definitely ok with that, even if it does mean no snow for Christmas.  I still have to get to work!

That's all that I can think of to blog about.  I'll try to be better about keeping things up to date.  It will be so much easier now that I have the internet at home.  So, stay tuned!

Here are the rules: Bold the things you’ve done and post on your blog!

Started your own blog
Slept under the stars
Played in a band
Visited Hawaii
Watched a meteor shower
Given more than you can afford to charity
Been to Disneyland
Climbed a mountain
Held a praying mantis
Sang a solo
Bungee jumped
Visited Paris
Watched a lightning storm at sea
Taught yourself an art from scratch
Adopted a child
Had food poisoning
Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
Grown your own vegetables
Seen the Mona Lisa in France
Slept on an overnight train
Had a pillow fight
Hitch hiked
Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
Built a snow fort
Held a lamb
Gone skinny dipping
Run a Marathon
Ridden in a gondola in Venice
Seen a total eclipse
Watched a sunrise or sunset
Hit a home run
Been on a cruise
Seen Niagara Falls in person
Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
Seen an Amish community
Taught yourself a new language
Had enough money to be truly satisfied
Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
Gone rock climbing
Seen Michelangelo’s David
Sung karaoke
Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
Visited Africa
Walked on a beach by moonlight
Been transported in an ambulance
Had your portrait painted
Gone deep sea fishing
Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
Kissed in the rain
Played in the mud
Gone to a drive-in theater
Been in a movie
Visited the Great Wall of China
Started a business
Taken a martial arts class
Visited Russia
Served at a soup kitchen
Sold Girl Scout Cookies
Gone whale watching
Got flowers for no reason
Donated blood, platelets or plasma
Gone sky diving
Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
Bounced a check
Flown in a helicopter
Saved a favorite childhood toy
Visited the Lincoln Memorial
Eaten Caviar
Pieced a quilt
Stood in Times Square
Toured the Everglades
Been fired from a job
Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
Broken a bone
Been a passenger on a motorcycle
Seen the Grand Canyon in person
Published a book
Visited the Redwoods
Bought a brand new car
Walked in Jerusalem
Had your picture in the newspaper
Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
Visited the White House
Killed and prepared an animal for eating
Had chickenpox
Saved someone’s life
Sat on a jury
Met someone famous
Joined a book club
Got a tattoo
Had a baby
Seen the Alamo in person
Swam in the Great Salt Lake
Been involved in a law suit
Owned a cell phone

As per an ultimatum from my favorite cousin, I am writing on my blog.  It will be riveting, I'm sure

The most exciting thing that has happened in my life of late is...  I got the internet at home!!!  I'm so excited!!  You couldn't tell. 

Now, to some people this might not seem like much.  Especially in the scope of how things could be in life...  traveling the world, winning the lottery, meeting the man (or woman) of your dreams...  These are all remarkable things.  They are, sadly, nonexistant in my life.

My life right now consists of the following: wake up, go to work, have people yell at me in French and English about their Playstation, go home, watch tv or movies, go to bed, and repeat...

So, getting the internet at home was a major bonus.  I can go on Facebook anytime I want, I can update my blog at home instead of between calls at work, I can stream movies from Netflix, it's like life finally has a purpose, life is complete.

I can't think of anything else to write right now.  My mind is a blank.  But it is nice to know that I could write something at anytime, if I thought it.  So, look forward to that.  Me thinking and then writing about it.

Sorry this is so lame.  I'll work on it. :)

Until next time!