No TV, New Ride

I've been without television for two weeks now.

I know!

I can hardly believe it myself. But we just got tired of Direct TV going out every time the wind blows. So we just let it go. In the meantime, Larry has been looking at other options. He had a guy with Comcast on the phone forever the other night, and I thought the deal was done. But in the end, Larry got tired, and told the guy he'd call back later. Hasn't happened yet...

 So, we've had no TV. No local news. No morning shows. No Regis and Kelly in the morning (usually only background noise). No HGTV or TLC (like I need to see which house the rich people choose for their vacation home on "House Hunters International."). And no Real Housewives of NY/Atlanta/Orange County, etc. (So long Nene, Kim & her wig, Phaedra, Candy, and all the other housewives...)

The crazy thing is that I haven't really missed it. I have come to realize what a time waster TV is in my life. Work a little...take a break and watch TV. Wash clothes...turn on TV to fold laundry. And on it goes.

I came home from Girlfriend Weekend (the book/author extravaganza in Texas, in case you are reading this blog for the first time) with over 20 *FREE* books! In the past week, I've finished one Fannie Flagg book, read "Beguilded" by Deanne Gist, and have started Fannie Flagg's newest book. This morning, instead of stitting like a zombie in front of a home improvement show, I knitted a hat. A really cute hat. And that was before 10am!

Maybe it's a good thing we are without TV right now. That means that we have no cable bill. Which means that money can now go towards my new car note--the one I'll have to pay monthly for the next few years.

That's right!

***I got a new car! ***

My 2001 Impala, with nearly 200,000 miles on it, was dying an ugly death right before my eyes. We've poured $1500+ into it over the past six months, and was just getting worse by the day. When Larry had to run errands Monday, I suggested he take my car (I'm no dummy!). He came home in a car from the Watson Hyundai dealership in Canton (where he happened to be when the oil light came on in the Impala). After test driving a car a day for five days, we settled on a sporty 2011 Elantra Limited. (I must take a moment to testify how wonderful the folks at that dealership were to deal with. EASY and not pushy at all.)

You have to understand that I'm not big into cars. I just really want something that will get me where I want to go in a realiable and comfortable manner. (I keep thinking of those obnoxious car commercials that used to run a few years ago with the guy "singing," I Want a Car....I Want a Car I Can DRIIIIIIVEEEE!!!)

It had gotten to where I couldn't even drive the Impala out of town, which had me feeling a bit trapped. I like to know I can go when I'm ready!

Well, this little car is just as cute as can be, and it is fully loaded with all kinds of gadgets like Bluetooth so I can just push a button on my steering wheel to answer the phone, built-in XM radio, seat warmers, an iPod dock, etc. AND it gets great gas mileage, which is good, as Larry said he paid $2.99 for gas the other day.

Oh, and I got something else new. A job! With some of my regular writing gigs drying up (I used to write 4-6 articles for the Clarion-Ledger/Madison County Herald/NE Ledger a week, and now I'm down to two Faith articles a month for the Herald), I had to look for steady income. So I applied for/interviewed and got a job with the National Alliance for Mental Illness (again...I know!) as their special events coordinator. I'll be planning and coordinating the annual conference in April and a big fundraising walk in October, among other things. It's part-time, so I'll still have plenty of time to write, sell Scentsy (order online at http://www.susanmarquez.scentsy.com/!), sell cPRIME (order online at www.mycprime.com/smarquez!) and knit hats to sell. Sounds like alot, but I think I can do it all. Scentsy pays for Joe's tuition, and I want to sell enough cPRIME so that I can pay for Nicole to be in Pilates at least two days a week. The hat money is for me to go to Maine in May to write a book on Nicole's journey.

That Pilates thing is important...Nicole's therapy is winding down. Funding has been depleted and she's being cut loose by Quest (a division of Methodist Rehab). To maintain her current physical status, and to continue to improve, she's going to need to keep working out with Eclecius several times a week. Adding Pilates will help with her core body strength. None of that is covered by insurance at all...and we're looking at about $400-$500/month, so if I have to go without TV to help pay for it, I will.

Let me just give you all a bit of advice: stay off the roofs of buildings if you can...the cost of falling off of one is astronomical!

It will all work out...always has. We are thankful to have the "challenges" we have. We fully understand the alternative.

I'm asking a favor of all who read this. One is to post a comment below if you feel so moved...I sure like reading them! The other is to "follow" this blog. There is a difference between "subscribing" and "following." I'd love for you to do both, but when you follow it, I can get a better idea of who is reading it. And the more followers I have, the more excited I get and more motivated to write.

Blessings to all who read this!

Susan