Impulse Buying

My first car was a 1989 Plymouth Acclaim. It was black with limited edition maroon interior. That car took Liz, Bob, Scott...I mean Elder Wait...and myself on an unforgettable trip to California.

My second car was a 1999 Mercury Cougar. I worked at a car dealership and drove this car off the showroom floor. I made double and triple payments on this thing then traded it in. This vehicle was also the beginning of a few really bad car decisions on my part.

Car #3 was another brand new car, a 2001 Dodge Stratus R/T. I loved this car, but yes, it was a mistake as well.

Both of the cars I just mentioned, were not even thought about. I just went to work one day and bought myself two new cars. Man, I could just kick myself.

Then one day, I said to myself, "Self, you may want to go camping some day and this vehicle just won't do." I went to work that day and made yet another mistake. I traded in that Stratus for a 1999 Ford Explorer Sport. Do you know what the "sport" means? It means two door. Yes, a two door SUV.

I never took it camping.

At this point in my life, I wanted to buy my friend's Honda Civic. The first time I rode in her car, I told her if she's ever going to sell that car, I want to buy it. I tried for months to sell the aforementioned Explorer, but no one wanted a 2 door. It eventually sold and I was so happy to have that Honda.

I would like to point out that I haven't owned a four door car since the Acclaim I had in 1997.

It was a red 1991 Honda Civic hatchback. I've had that car for over 3 years, watched the odometer hit 200,000 miles, I've driven the heck out of that thing. In fact, it's the vehicle I drove to work today.

But I'm not driving it home today.

Today I bought a 1996 Nissan Maxima. This thing is loaded. Heated leather seats, a sunroof, cruise control, a cup holder, A/C, not to mention it only has 105,000 miles on it. I paid $1500. Yes, it has 4 doors.

If I could go back in time, I would've driven that Acclaim for the last ten years and saved all that money. I could've had a lot of great shoes.

Just kidding about the shoes.

Hi.

Look for a new post from me in the next few days!

Christmas week in Review.

I baked a lot this week. Guess how many pounds of butter I used this week in my holiday baking.

Give up?

Nine pounds. Yes nine. I think I used 15 pounds of sugar as well.

We had the Lubbers Family Christmas party a little early this year, it was on the Monday before Christmas instead of the actual holiday. My aunt sang O Holy Night, it the highlight of the whole evening.

Christmas Eve Eve was great. My husband went to a neighbor's house to fix her door and to show her gratitude she gave my husband a DVD. The real kicker is that it was a movie she rented at redbox the day before so when she gave it to him she said it just had be returned by 9pm that night. Not only did he fix her door, but we were able to return her movie as well. I've never met this neighbor but she has a sign in her yard that says "Hippies Stop Here".

I lost my cell phone this week. I kept thinking it would turn up, but it never has. I ordered a new phone today from Verizon, I really wanted to get myself something nifty, but decided I didn't deserve it because I lost the first one.

Christmas Eve...can anyone say Prime Rib? Katie really cooked up a great piece of meat and I had prime rib and horseradish dreams, way better than visions of sugar plums if you ask me. And Shannon, I really do want that Fudge recipe. I made sure I was the first one out of bed Christmas morning so I could eat the last few pieces you were kind enough to send me home with.

My mom gave in to my begging and slept at our house Christmas Eve. After sleeping in until 9, we got up opened presents and then had Belgian Waffles for breakfast. Then we were Tooele Bound. (Ryan forgot his phone, mine is lost, and my mom's won't hold a charge.) As we walked through the door at Ry's bros house, they were walking out the door to go to his in-laws. If we wanted to see them, then we had to go there too. My mom was a real super trooper and held her own in grunt at my in-law's in-law's house. Then my mom and I headed back to SLC to buy movie tickets and save seats while Ry and his little brother went to visit one of their BFF's.

Then the storm hit.

That's when I realized how attached I am to my phone. I couldn't call the guys and tell them to bag the movie because the storm was here and we should probably just go home. Anyhoo, they arrived safely and we watched Yes Man then journeyed home. We only saw one slide off on our way home.

That's it. I didn't take any pictures.

I also made a turkey for the heck of it.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

I apologize.

Sorry about the week of going private and not notifying anyone. It was totally lame of me. I have a million excuses but none that matter. I will resume blogging as usual.

Breaking Bad Habits

I have a really bad habit.

No, I'm not talking about biting my nails. But, yes I still do that.

I'm talking about buying Christmas presents for people then returning them because I second guess myself or think of something better or something else catches my eye. I have done this every single year. I'll even take the wrapped present out from under the tree, unwrap it, and re-wrap the new gift.

This year will be different. I'm all done shopping. Yes, finished. And I'm going to be shipping everything off this weekend (if time allows, I'll also be making my gingerbread house on Saturday and as many of you know, those take all.day.long.)

I just lied, I'm not all done shopping, I still need to come up with an idea for my mom. I've always had the easiest time picking something out for her, I don't know why this year is so different. Maybe it's because she's living in Utah now and I want to get her something really special to let her know how happy it makes me to have her around.

At least I have plenty of time to find something. And if I buy something then find something I like better, I can always return the first gift.