Sister knows best

Yep. That's right. John Deere Mom was closest with her $650 guess.
Are you ready for this?
I spent $738 on GASOLINE! In ONE MONTH! And I don't drive an 18 wheeler!! Do you know how much fun stuff I could buy for that!! That's like 7 really great Target trips. Or at least a couple really nice purses. Ugh!!
Here is another fun car story that happened during this month of constant driving. I got my oil changed in mid-June. Then one day, driving here in the Fort, my car started beeping at me. My screen said "Oil change recommended." What? I just had my oil changed. So I dug through all the crap in my console and found the note from the dealership- Oil changed 6/13/2008 4, 176 miles. Next oil change 9/13/2008 or 7, 176 miles. Sure enough, in under a month, I put on over 3,000 miles. Sheesh. I guess that explains the $738.

So speaking of all my driving, let me give you a little run down of the cars of my life.

The first one, you all probably saw on my sisters site, the super sweet Oldsmobile Cutless Calais.

After dad and I pulverized a deer in that car, and did about as much damage to the car as the deer, I got a "new" car, a 1986 Honda Accord.

Kinda like this...

I loooooved this car. It took me through high school, college, and into the real world. It persevered through one deer mishap, one rear-ending, and 200,000 miles. I put butterfly stickers in the corners of the windshield, a pink fuzzy steering wheel cover, and a lei on the rear view mirror. However, it did have the minor problem of a leaky sunroof, which would result in a bucket of water gushing on top of my head in the early mornings. Yeah, my baby had to go.

So after lots of soul and dealership searching, I found the car of my dreams. And since I had a real job at this point, I could afford a real car. So I got a 2002 Explorer Sport Trac.

As much as I loved my Honda, I loved this one more. It was cute and tough. It was great for tailgating. I could haul stuff, and still have my backseat full of junk (although I think the purpose is to have a backseat full of people.) My headlights came on automatically, I had a sunroof, and a fun little back window. The steering wheel was perfectly positioned for total knee driving, leaving my hands free for important things like talking on my cell phone, and jotting down notes. Everything a girl needs. This little beauty packed on the miles like a champ. It took me back and forth from South Carolina. It moved me from my apartment to Joe's house. Perfect.

Until one fateful December day. I was going to babysit for these monkeys.

Then the weather folks said there was going to be a winter storm, so I cancelled.

Then it was 5:00 and not doing squat. And it was like 40 degrees.

So I called up the sis and again offered my services.

I got down there no problem and got to babysit for the hooligans. Then Ang and Farm Guy came home, and it was still like 38 degrees and not doing anything. So I decided I could make it home. And I got to about 10 miles from Indy, and it started raining. Then kind of sleeting. And the temperature was dropping, 38, 37, 36, 35, 34, 33.

I was driving very cautiously on the interstate and someone came up behind me in the fast lane. I got over, but on my way, hit a patch of ice on an overpass, careened over to the right, then spun all the way back across the 4 lanes of traffic, then hit the median wall head on, then stopped facing the wrong way on the interstate. Holy crapola. And this is what remained of my baby.

This was the view from the police car after they came to save me. Woah. Super scary. The airbags went off, it was all smoky (and very stinky), but I was okay.

Here's another shot, from the car graveyard.

My poor baby. So I was in the market for a new car. And as much as I loved the sport trac, I thought it would be silly to get a car the exact same as my old one. So I looked an looked and decided I really liked the Honda CR-V.

It was zippy and more sensible than a big truck. So I got one. Brand new. It was very nice. And I liked it a lot, for about a day. Then I pretty much hated the site of it. I felt really awful in it- it felt very wrong. And get this- it's headlights didn't turn on automatically. Seriously. That's really what split us up.

So, I wound up whining and moaning so much about my stupid CR-V that Joe was finally like, why don't you look at a new Sport Trac. OKAY!

Barely three months after I purchased my brand new CR-V, I was in the Ford Dealer getting a brand new Sport Trac. With headlights that come on automatically. And I love it.

Here she is.