Recent Posts
Okay, when it comes to learning about cars in America I’m not exactly the smartest person in the world. I’m an eager learner, but I’m constantly left scratching my head. You see, I already have an “idea” about the manufacturing of cars and so on . . . so, when things change or are not what I expect, I’m baffled.
This is also true for foreign cars. I don’t know why, but I’ve been lead to firmly believe the following impression: foreign cars all look the same in other countries, and are designed differently only for American consumers. Who taught me this? I had no idea, but it’s annoying . . . I do know that.
To further prove myself wrong, I decided to surf around. I mean, seriously, it’s a little (okay, a lot) strange for me to think this way. I immediately came across a ton of sites in my favorite search engine (we all have one, right?), but one seemed to stand out more than the others – the vauxhall dealer. Have you ever been to a site, particularly blog (like mine!) where you think, “yes, this is it; this is exactly what I was looking for.”? Surf through, you’ll see what I mean.
Now, back to my original point about how foreign cars all look the same blah, blah, blah, and my ambition to prove myself wrong. Take this car, the vauxhall insignia, for example. This is a great looking car . . . nothing AT ALL like the boxy Dotson-y looking things I was envisioning rolling through Europe. What is wrong with me? Do I live under a rock? I must. That’s the only explanation I can come up with! Then there’s this one, the vauxhall corsa, that reminds me a lot of a VW . . . not of a dumpy, boxy, icky brownish gray generic un-named vehicle.
My conclusion? I’m a busy working mom who barely has time to think about her own vehicle, let alone the vehicles in other countries. I like my vehicle, though the seatbelts could be spaced further apart so I don’t have to spend so much time fighting with car seats. In other news: my vehicle served me quite well when I was in an ice-slush accident a week and a half ago. I managed to walk away with only a few dents on the door…. And no dents on me!
Our family seems to be growing in leaps and bounds and I have to say, in all honesty, a compact car just would not work for this family. We have two teens in the household now, as well as three children who are all still in car seats. As a result, there just is not enough room for us all to fit in anything smaller than a mini-van or SUV.
Should we look for used autos? Good question. In these tough economic times, new cars seem to be growing further and further out of reach. However, there are a number of financial institutions that are working out better deals for those who prefer new autos over used ones. Like me, for example, I like the older models of the Dodge Durango over the new ones. It’s just my taste. If there were new Durangos that looked like the older ones, then I would certainly buy one!
The best thing to do is use your best judgment, create a budget, and figure out what will work best for your family. In our case, we’re a family of seven. Most of the vehicles we can afford at the moment are for six passengers. Eventually, we would like to purchase an eight-passenger mini-van. Those are beyond our budget right now, which is fine because we rarely all need to leave the house all at once. Most often, my fiancé is at work when I need to carpool the kids all over the place. So, this works best for us right now.
I’m both fearful and looking forward to when the older kids get their licenses and can drive themselves wherever they need to go. That will cut down on my “taxi-mom-ness” and it may alleviate the need to purchase a bigger vehicle. These teens will, of course, be earning their own vehicles just like my fiancé and I had to when we were their age. We think that’s the best way to teach them how to appreciate what they have.
What are your thoughts on buying new autos versus buying used autos?
So, it seems things around here are getting really ... interesting ... when it comes to our children. I don't know what other word to use, really. I've got my nephew who would rather be angry at the world than really look his problems in the eye and solve them, I've got my oldest son who has resorted to physical stances to solve his problem, I've got my middle step-daughter who would rather be a follower than cause problems, and I've got my youngest who thrives on causing problems in order to get attention.
Needless to say, all of this culminated in the span of two weeks causing things to be...interesting...around here. My fiancé and I are often left scratching our heads wondering what's going to happen next.
What's more is I was surfing around the 'net looking for clues about how to better lead these children because, in my opinion, there's no such thing as too much information. I wondered if classes, like muay thai training, would benefit my nephew ... until I realized that he may use this type of training out of anger, rather than what it's intended for. Besides, do we really want to send him away for muay thai in Thailand ... now, that would be interesting! After scrutinizing the site, and realizing the muay thai camp is a good establishment, I decided to chalk this one up as an interesting coincidence and leave it at that.
I think I need to find a different word than "interesting" because, despite the truth of the matter, it doesn't seem a strong enough word for what goes on around here most of the time. That's part of what keeps us on our toes with this truly blended family, I suppose. It's also benefiting my writing career, to say the very least, because I'm constantly presented with material to research and write about. Not a wasted effort or moment in this household, that's for sure! No one will be going away to camp, but there "surf" will continue as I try to find new things to teach these children...and more things to write about!
Learn it, live it, write it!
After giving this some serious thought, I think I’m going to move on from this blog. Using orble.com was a fun experiment, but it didn’t provide the results I was hoping for. I’m happy to have participated in so many wonderful conversations, but that was really the only benefit to maintaining this blog.
[ Click here to read more ]
After giving this some serious thought, I think I’m going to move on from this blog. Using orble.com was a fun experiment, but it didn’t provide the results I was hoping for. I’m happy to have participated in so many wonderful conversations, but that was really the only benefit to maintaining this blog.
[ Click here to read more ]
Follow this prompt to help break or prevent writer’s block. Use your word processor, your blog, or handwrite this out. Remember that whatever works best for you will yield the best results.
[ Click here to read more ]
Follow this prompt to help break or prevent writer’s block. Use your word processor, your blog, or handwrite this out. Remember that whatever works best for you will yield the best results.
[ Click here to read more ]
Like it or not, keeping track of and following up on your child’s education is a full time job (or, as some like to say, a full time responsibility). You don’t need a degree in education, but you do need to possess organizational skills and follow-through with what you say you’re going to do.
[ Click here to read more ]
This week has been one never-ending to-do list of chores, appointments, errands, housework, sporting events, parenting, and career responsibilities . . . and . . . it’s only Wednesday. I’m eager for this weekend, but I’m not really sure why because it is full of more lists of things that have to be finished (primarily: homework with my nephew and finishing my book).
[ Click here to read more ]
When you’re setting up your query goals, do you choose:
· topics that interest you the most, or are things you have experience with
[ Click here to read more ]
|
|
|
Add Comments
Comments (1)
Read More
Comment by Jenn Hollowell
on Meal Planning Help