Sport Trac

We traded in the big SUV for a smaller, mid-sized SUV truck. The Expedition Eddie Bauer was great, though after a flat tire this past weekend, and with a pump that was supporting the air suspension basically on its last legs, I figured I'd try to get a trade before I would have to pay for costly repairs.

Instead, I got this smaller sized truck, with about similar miles on it, but two years newer ('04 compared to '02).

As promised, here are some pics, Dad.


I think though we gave up a lot in the Eddie Bauer this Sport Trac is much more useful for our family's current needs - especially when we move to Blue Ridge in the Georgia mountains.

Big Car

Since my last blog entry, I sold my '03 VW GTI 1.8T for a much larger upgrade. It was getting too much to handle getting in and out of the back of that sporty 2-door with Ethan in his car seat, and with some critical things going wrong with the car, and with warranty soon to run out, I could not have sold my car sooner (well I could, but it was timely nonetheless). And I probably got the most car (in this case, truck) I could get for my money in this '02 Ford Expedition Eddie Bauer (5.4L V8 engine) which seats up to 8 people (when the foldable third row seating is being used).


I just got it insured and later today, Kelly and I will register the vehicle under our names through the DMV. However, many great memories were had with the GTI, and thanks Dad, it was the best PhD gift I could have ever received.


The truck/SUV will be perfect when we move to Blue Ridge in the north Georgia mountains this coming summer.

Washed Out Weekend

Well a crummy weekend comes to an end. And the only day that Kelly had off in the past 10 days, and for the next two weeks, was not time well spent.

This morning was ok. I had eggs, bacon and a pork bun for breakfast, and my usual coffee. There was nothing usual about the bacon though. In fact, it surprised me that we had any in the freezer at all.

But my day just seemed to go downhill after that. We all pilled into my tiny VW GTI and made our way to CarMax in Raleigh. I am trying to sell my car since it is smaller than what our current needs require. It is a 2 door sport car, and getting a baby car seat in and out of the back is quite hard.

But it is only three years old, sparingly used, still under warranty, and the "market value" that I've been told for my car is way less than I would ever care to sell it for.

What to do?

We saw two much larger vehicles at CarMax: (1) Ford Explorer and (2) Ford Expedition. I was hoping to make a direct trade (i.e. no money out of pocket, just what I can get for my car) and since we are moving to a more mountainous region come July, and the fact that I use my current small car to transport many items to accommodate my many "projects" (DIY, gardening, etc..) I was thinking an SUV would be what our new found situation will need. (and domestic SUVs - well Fords - seem to be the most affordable if I am looking at purchasing one no older than 2000).


But our trip to CarMax did not end well, and this, unfortunately, got me so grouchy and thinking so negatively I quite literally shut myself away from everyone for about three hours (maybe four).

And it is not that I even care for an Explorer versus an Expedition. I just feel one way or another I am going to lose a lot by trading in my current car, and at the very least, I want to get the "most car" I can in a trade.

So that was my crummy day. (the watered-down version of course).

But it got me thinking of a poem I memorized in high school or that I wrote (??) in high school. It goes:

to think a thought,
one single thought,
to think it through,
and then...
to savour each and every word,
like the last days of a dying friend.
to treat it as an ocean breeze,
caught on the burning sand,
like a ship-wrecked soul,
aboard a plank,
when morning brings the land,
now it's here,
then it's gone,
then it's back again.
as fragile as a child's forgotten paper boat,
caught in the summer's rain.

Back to counting down the days until your next day off, Honey...

One Of Those Days/Nights

Today was Kelly's last day off. She returns to work tomorrow, and, naturally, she'll be 'on call' (which means we won't see her until Friday afternoon).

So, this morning Kelly baked some cinamon rolls for breakfast. We kept to the house for a little while until we decided to go out for lunch. Meanwhile, Kelly was preparing all her things for a long shift, overnight in the hospital, making sure she has everything she needs in her duffle bag for tomorrow. The sisters debated over Korean or Japanese for lunch, and we ended up going to Shiki Sushi only because it was open, and its proximity to the house is really second to none.

Nothing fancy was ordered. Just good sushi. And Ethan was very behaved, but did need a feed around the time our food arrived, so everyone got their fill.

Back at home, we had dessert - left over apple crumble and vanilla ice cream - and I also made fruit smoothies. We usually have a huge bag of frozen cut fruit that we buy from Sam's Club that is just perfect for smoothies. I usually make them with milk, but this evening, I decided to make them with cherry limeade (like lemonade) that we had in our fridge. It was OK. A very cold drink option for a brisk December evening. :-D

We watched a couple episodes of Season One of Grey's Anatomy (Adeline is hooked on this show - as are Kelly and I, I suppose). Mom and I bathed Ethan (sorry Viet, very untimely call! I will call you back soon) and Kelly fed him, before Kelly retired for the evening.

Going to bed before 9pm is not uncommon for Kelly when she's on a rough rotation at work. And actually, we are down to one car, since my GTI is at the dealership being looked at after a good friend spotted a few too many oil spots under my car. There were other things I wanted looked at anyways, like the sunroof would automatically decide to open and close at random, and the rear driver-side seat would not fold down properly. I got a call this evening saying it will be another couple of days. So, I will drive Kelly early to the hospital tomorrow and pick her up on Friday. Adeline also heads back to Sydney tomorrow.

Will be a quiet house with just Ethan, mum and I. (and so I'll probably call you then V).