Moving Weekend and New Used Car

Busy, busy week. 

So I literally drove my new convertible off of a huge block of ice to go on a test drive. I also almost put the car sideways on the way out of the parking lot. The sales guy had gone back inside and didn't witness that. I bought the car at Park Place Lexus in Grapevine. Swanky place. I was in and out in a couple of hours. My sales person helped transfer all my junk from one car to the other and even programmed my garage door opener for the new car.

Bye bye Z4, Hello Camaro.

The car was a little more than I wanted to spend, but Nicky negotiated it right down to what I did want to spend. So anyway, I traded one white convertible for another white convertible. My old car looks brown in the picture, but that is from Icemageddon. 

So Friday I ran to McKinney so Hayley could drop off her car at Nissan to see why the check engine light was on. We eat some wings and go back to Frisco. About 10 minutes later, he car is ready, so back to McKinney. Ugh.

Zena going for ride in old car

Then, Saturday its off to Austin to take my big dog, Zena, to live with my ex-husband and son. She is a vicious breed and not allowed at most places and she needs plenty of room. I miss her so much already. So I did round trip. 3.5 hours to get there and 4.5 to get home.

I got stuck in traffic on the way back on 1-35 for an hour in Lorena, Texas. I literally got out of my car on the interstate to stretch my legs and take a short walk. Lots of guys were jumping the median for pee breaks and a few ran into a bar on the side of the interstate....peeing or drinking??? Anyway, I was able to read my new car manual, program my blue tooth, set up hands-free calling, play on Facebook, and Words with Friends...or in my case Words with Strangers, until the wreck was cleared. I almost gnawed my arm off as I was starving, and I was tempted to jump the median too as I was drinking bottled water on the drive.

So Sunday, another big day, Hayley moved to Dallas. We used Wrightway Movers and they did an excellent job. She pretty much moved all the furniture from my house to her new 3rd floor apartment. It only took 2 hours. Wow. She is so excited and her place looks really cute.

I still have so many odds and ends at my house. Every day this week, I'm going over to get another car load. I've had my new car since Thursday and have already racked up almost 1000 miles. This must stop. 

So next up, hire a handy man and maids to clean up the Frisco house so I can put it up for lease soon. If were to lie down right now, I'd probably wake up on Wednesday.

Empty Nest and Craps

It's official. Hayley moves out this Sunday. So her first act of living alone...she wants to put up Xmas lights in her apartment. I'm like well....maybe you should turn on electricity and Internet, get some food and supplies... and then think about the Xmas lights. Oh, she also informed me that she is going to fill the freezer with Pizzas and Ben and Jerrys. I told her it was a good thing she is moving to a 3rd-floor walkup. 

Nick and I braved the ice and went to the Gaylord for a Xmas party Friday night. There was an 18 wheeler 2 feet from my window that was going over the cobbletsone ice (new term I learned from the media). It was bouncing and rocking like crazy. I thought it was going to turn over and squish us. 

Not sure why it took us 4 shots to figure out where the camera was. The machine was very fast.....as fast as a knife fight in a phone booth.

Nick had never played craps, so how to teach him? Take our fake $4K to the table and start placing bets and making him roll. Trial by fire, but it worked out well. Nick had some awesome rolls.  I chalk it up to him being a craps virgin. He also made some mighty fine bets. He was so good that the dealer kept telling him to pick up his winnings quicker. True statement. We ended up with $15K after a late night losing streak. Did I mention the stickman tossed not one, but two chips right down the front of my dress? Very talented man. But then again, he also hit me in the eye one time too.  All in all a very fun night. The Gaylord is beautiful, but we were having too much fun to take pictures.

I hope everyone had a safe Icemageddon. I lost a rather large Chinese Empress tree in my backyard, but we were all safe and that's what counts.

Frisco Storm Damage

My Entire Life is Changing Quickly and Don't Put Milk in the Keurig

Hayley is serious about moving out. She even cleaned up her room. She came out with many garbage bags and said she could see her couch in her room again. I'm like "You have a couch in there?" 

The first apartment we checked out was a dive and it was completely 'upgraded'. Well, upgraded obviously means different things to different people. I'm thinking granite counter tops, stainless steel appliances, and hardwoods. Upgraded at this complex meant laminate floors, black appliances, granite-looking formica, and lots of people sitting outside smoking and screaming at others on their cell phones. 

Hayley looked at several more this week. For $450, you live in a neighborhood with drug dealers, gunshots, and lots of car break-ins (according to the reviews). For $600, you live in a moderately better area. I told her I'd gladly contribute $150 a month for a better chance of her staying alive. I guess sushi and manicures are out for a while....well like 12 months.

Before

With recent life changes, I've decided that I need a larger car so that I can transport two golf bags AND luggage so that Nick and I can go on golf trips. Nick's car is large enough, but its not a convertible. Oh and it doesn't help that BMW wants $600 to replace and reprogram a battery. That seems a little excessive to me. Time to go back to American-made while I'm helping Hayley through school.

Hayley is horrified that I would trade-in my car. This coming from the girl who claims she doesn't even like my car. 

Hopefully After

Unfortunately, finding a convertible in Texas is very hard to do. Well, at least, when you are picky about the color, the mileage, and the price. I may be a Longhorn, but I don't want to drive an orange car. 

And while I'm changing everything else in my life, time to put my house up for lease. Don't need to pay for a house in the Frisco Independent School District anymore. I talked to my realtor today and she said the leasing business is really good right now. 

Exciting and different times ahead!!!

So all my Texas friends, time to go buy out the grocery stores. Looks like the possibility of ice. I will be stopping by Beverage World on my way home. Hayley bought several packages of Ramen last night. We can survive a few days. Unfortunately, I cannot use the Keurig to make hot apple cider since Bimbo burned milk in it trying to make hot chocolate and never cleaned it out. The smell is horrible. We ran about 20 cups through it with vinegar and dishwashing soap. My $100 Keurig is now sitting in the garage airing out. I'm not sure it is salvgeable.

I'm going to be 48 with a new student loan????

So Hayley is going to start school in Dallas towards the end of January. We have gone back and forth on what is going on in both of our lives. First, she was trying to find a roommate, but other kids seem flaky. Then, she wanted to get her own apartment, but have me stay over so she wouldn't be alone. NOW, she has decided she wants a one-bedroom and I'm not even allowed to come over. Come to think of it, my family never did visit my first roach infested apartment off of South Cooper.
 
She has also decided to move sooner rather than later. I asked why and I got a surprising answer. She has decided she is tired of her boyfriend and she'd just like to move away and not tell him where she lives. Wow....but okay. I admire her spunk. I didn't see this coming since she spends a lot of time with him.

I am 48 years old and I'm going to have a student loan. Seriously. Hayley's school costs $20K. We get $0K in grants. Nice. And now because kids are so bad about paying back student loans, the government gives out Parent PLUS loans that are nontransferrable. She will borrow $10k and I'll take a loan out for whatever is left that I don't pay upfront. Urgh.

So my car battery struggles to turnover when it is cold outside. It is fine as long as the weather is good. It is 6 years old, so I thought I'd be proactive and go ahead and replace it before I'm stranded in cold weather somewhere. Well, the battery isn't TOO expensive, BUT, BMW say the battery has to be reprogrammed with the car. It will be more than $600. So tonight, I'm going to look at apartments for Hayley AND an American car for me. Nick is out of town, but he still took time to call and talk to the used car manager at the dealership for me. Love that.

Oh and my 22-year old son would like to know if any of my single hot friends are available to date him. So if any of my 50-year old friends are interested in a much younger and broke boyfriend, please let me know.

When I told my daughter what he said, she laughed and said he should know I don't have any friends. Love my spawn.