At first, about a week ago, when we decided that we need to get another car, I thought, WOW that was SO easy! I did some research online with the different dealerships in the area, talked to a few salesman, did a little haggling and wah-la! new car. BUT NO! That is not how the story ended.

It turns out that if you want a Honda with 5 Speed Manual, you have to BEG and PLEAD and CALL BACK and CALL BACK. Then you have to wait a few more days. THEN you have bail on those dealerships and CALL TWO MORE.

That is what it took to get this car.

Christy had wanted the dark grey (Polished Metal). She said "This is my first NEW car, so I was hoping to get the exact one I wanted." After I thought about it - since we were going to go with our second color choice - because the first two guys we talked to could NEVER EVER seem to get the car they said they could - black - I thought, YES, YOU ARE RIGHT, we ARE going to get you the color you want.

So I called two other dealerships which I should have done in the first place, and FOUND THE CAR. They even matched my price from the previous dealership. Not only did we find the exact car, we found the best dealership and salesguy ever. Scott B from Mile High Honda.

He was no pressure, no smack. He had what he said he had. He delivered when he said he would deliver. As it turns out, this WAS the easiest car purchase I have ever had. It helps when you have OUTSTANDING CREDIT ( thanks wifey) and have already decided on the price + tax before you get there at 8:45am.

If you are in the market for new or used Honda or Acura, I highly recommend calling Scott Barr at Mile High Honda.

Oh and here is a pic from last week's rain.

We had some serious hail yesterday. Probably the worst hail I have ever seen. It was jawbreaker/birds egg-sized. We have to call the insurance company to have our roof inspected and it looks like Fall in our neighborhood, as all the trees were shredded. Our garden is toast as well...poor Christy - with all her hard work.

This is from Saturday. I added a rock walkway 2/3 of the way around the garden to add definition and finally OWN the location. We have moved the garden boxes twice since moving to this house so I had to make a final decision. THEN the hail came.

This po' boy ain't getting any younger so he needs to nap longer. I mean, he needs to nap in between naps more frequently. Gibson is now almost nine years old. I cannot believe it. But he is hanging in there. He is grumpier, and more testy, but can still hang with the young dogs running in the backyard. Heck, he can even still play a mean game of I'll Eat the Garden Veggies Before You Can Run Out Of The House And Yell At Me.

Christy has re-planted the broccoli, kale, and eggplant three times now. Someone is going to be banned from the yard in the next week or so.

Wow, it has happened again. I have had numerous Tweeters and Facebookers respond to me saying how every time they see Danny Gokey on American Idol, they think of me. This is awesome for a few reasons. ONE: I have NEVER watched American Idol. TWO: The responders are all women - who think of me. THREE: You might recall my stories of being mistaken on many occasions as thelead singer of the Barenaked Ladies. Well, I am honored too, because usually when someone says "hey, i met someone or know someone or saw someone that looks like you..." that person usually is stocky, overweight and what i consider unattractive. But being compared to Danny Gokey, well, I am pleasantly honored.

Hadley is a whopping 16 months old today. Don't you just love those teeth? Believe me, there are many more where those came from too. She has at least 12 teeth now, but probably more but we can't get in there to check without losing a fingertip. She has a vocabulary of - well - A LOT of words, and I will make a list and post later. Now if she could just figure out how to rake the yard, we will be all set for Spring!

The signs of spring are in the air...and in our backyard. This lovely 2-year old Pussy Willow has started to bud. I planted her two years ago from a sale at Home Depot for $1.50. I also got an Austrian Pine for like a buck. They both are doing well, but the Willow is doing much better in mature growth. I cannot wait to see how she turns out.

One. We took our big "Economic Relief" Concessions here at work. Yep, that's right. I am now working for $7,200.00 LESS per year - 5 days of unpaid vacation- and 5 furlough days. LOVELY. Talk about stepping back in time. I am not really criticizing the actions, I know that something needs to be done to offset these hard times, but it still hurts, and I am sure that Comcast and Xcel do not care - they will still want the same amount of money each month.

Secondly: In light of all the recent shootings/suicides:

FOR YOU PSYCHOPATHS THAT HAVE NO RESPECT FOR LIFE...and feel you were "wronged" by society, employers, parents, friends, etc...well, we have all been wronged. You are not alone. But we chose to think positive and not act selfishly.

Take yourself, NOT anyone else. Leave our kids and families OUT OF YOUR path of destruction.
You are selfish and need help. Thank you.