I feel like I shouldn’t be doing Friday’s Letters this week. This week was chalk full of what great blog posts are made of and I don’t want to give it away. Then I realized that instead of giving anything away, I need to think of it this way: teasers!!!! Oh boy has this been an awesome week!
Dear Internet and 3G, We have a very unhealthy relationship. Apparently I cannot live without you. This is not good. I need to learn how to live off the grid. I vow to put my iphone away for 24 hours some day this week…..
Dear Lake Michigan cottage, You are still my favorite place in the entire world. I could break out in some “feels like home to me…” right about now. I’ll be sad to leave again. Once a year isn’t enough. P.S. Would you like me to paint your kitchen wall? Looks like you need it ;)
Dear Little Misher, I already miss you. We’ve never left you home alone this long and I hope you are doing okay. Take care of Mr. Baci. We’ll be home before you know it.
Dear Mr. Baci, I miss you, too. But let’s face it: you aren’t as dependent upon me as a cuddle partner every night. We both know you are doing just fine.
Dear Amazing VW Jetta TDI engine, You keep going with your bad self and we’ll keep loving you. 45 mpg from Annapolis to northern Michigan? Keep on rockin’….
Dear tiny little bat hanging out in mom’s toilet this morning, You literally scared me $h!t13$$!!! You don’t belong in the toilet…..
Dear Baldwin, Michigan, We will continue to stop at your one-light town for the world’s best ice cream. Drooling yet?
Dear Northern Michigan, You have unbelievable sunsets. They are therapeutic, really.
Dear Readers, Get excited!!!! I have an AMAZING line up of guest bloggers coming your way this week! I can’t wait to share them with you. :)
Peace out, girl scouts!
And, just like that, we’re nearly halfway done July. Thank goodness because with August comes some fabulous plans in this girls life.
Dear Volkswagen, We love you. We love our new Jetta, too. After researching around the clock, you, my dear friend, came out the winner. I’m sorry your dealership lost money on our car, but, then again, no. I’m not sorry. You’ll make a @(*$$ profit on another car this week. It’ll be ok.
Dear turbocharged direct injection, We love your speedy little diesel engine because you give us amazing gas mileage. You’re not too shabby of a ride, either. I don’t think we’ll ever buy gasoline engines again. Exhibit A:
(that’s an average rate of 50.6 miles per gallon, if you couldn’t tell)
Dear Weather, I knew you could do it! Way to go! Us humans prefer double digit temperatures.
Dear Independence Day, Sorry I’m a week late. Oops. Patriotism can be any day, right?
Dear Hubcap, I love you a lot this week. It’s been a week of the little things. Stir them all into a giant pot and you’ve got the best kind of love.
Dear kitchen, I’m baaaacckkk. Brand new car= eating at home more often. We honestly forgot how to do it.
Dear Baltimore, you make me laugh.
Dear Wimbledon, Why do you break my heart every year? You come back soon now, ya hear?
The week was consumed with dollar signs, APR rates, color combinations, mpg, creature comforts, safety ratings and cost-benefit analysis. After Alex’s piece-of-oh, never mind dropped its transmission in the middle lane of rt. 50 going 75 miles per hour on the hottest day of the year, he finally had to admit it- I was right.
My argument was that his car was a 1999 Mazda, it smelled like an old car, it looked like an old car, it ran like an old car. It did nothing more than get him from point A to point B. It sat in a garage for years untouched before given to him in college. I didn’t think you had to be a rocket scientist to know that a sitting a car for an extended period of time is a bad idea.
His argument was that it only had 101,000 miles on it. He’d only owned it for 8 years and he hadn’t needed to put too much money into repairs and maintenance. He didn’t like me bringing up the idea that we would need to replace his car in the near future.
My idea of near future was spring 2013. After we got our next tax return, after that credit card is paid off next month, after his student loans decreased by exorbitant amounts thanks to year 5 high needs special education, after we put some money into my 130,000 mile car (ahem, tires), after I get my measly raise this upcoming fall. The best laid plans of mice and men….
If only. So here we are making a big decision. THE big, “our first family car” decision. The crossings of gas mileage, safety, solid steering and torque, size, and of course, price. I’ve surrendered my GM bloodline to have an open mind to just what is our best choice.
For Alex, every car drives great in comparison to his piece-of-oh, never mind. I’m more particular. The Hyundai didn’t have tight enough steering, the Chevy had touchy brakes, and I refuse to try to accelerate in any hybrid. We agree on one car for comfort and drivability- The Volkswagen Jetta.
Now our living room looks like this:
(Yes, you see Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer in the background. I’m obsessed.)
Where is the breakeven point between an equally equipped Jetta SE with a TDI? The great, big, mpg diesel versus gasoline question. Days of research later, we have this. Gas savings (for us) will most likely amount to $40-$50 per month, making up for nearly all of the financing difference between the two cars. Break-even point is 7 years. The extra $15-$20 leftover after accounting for gas savings on a TDI can easily be argued for the super awesome trip computer, disc brakes and anti-theft wheel locks, right?
Oh, we laugh. This is ridiculous. We both over analyze every big decision we’ve had to make. You should’ve seen us talk ourselves into and out of the big decision to call ourselves boyfriend/girlfriend.
So the true reason this blog has not been updated in nearly a week surfaces. Car buying. Ten months too soon.
