Fond memories...

So I've been thinking about cars a bit lately. Maybe it's because I had a minor fender-bender this past weekend, maybe it's because I've been doing some recent Facebooking and reminiscing about all things glory days. As I cogitate on that, I realize that nothing puts me back in the day more than thinking about my first car. I mean, think about it -- the people that graced the seats, the places that car has been, the sheer number of hours logged in that thing....it's kind of staggering really.

So, my first car story begins as a sixteenth birthday present. My father had his own ideas about the kind of car that his daughter should have. Basically, it needed to run. And be reliable enough for him to trust it with precious cargo on the backroads of rural South Dakota. That's it and no other considerations made. The good news is that my dad usually does things with flair, even when he doesn't mean to. So a quick trip down to the used car lot and he sets his sights on my new ride.

It was a mint condition 1978 black Chevy Nova with red interior. The car was owned by a little old lady who was on the verge of losing her license when she originally got the car and hadn't driven it since for years. She decided to sell and basically took it in with clear instructions to the dealer: "no one is gonna buy a piece of crap car from me, so make sure everything works". I love tenacious elderly folk. New plugs, new wires, new tubes, new tires....freshly detailed and the for sale sign was out on the dash.

Along comes my dad. $1200 and a full tank of gas later, he drove it into the driveway and called me outside to present me with the keys on a keyring he had picked out himself -- a pink "J". He had even hung a pair of red fuzzy dice from the rearview mirror. See? Flair. Gotta love the B-O-B.

And I loved that car. My friends dubbed it the "Mighty Nova" -- not because of the V8 engine it sported, but because we basically put it through hell. Miles of backroads, ditches, cornfields, mud, snow, you name it. And it never let us down. It always got us home. Pile in a couple of crazy teenagers with nothing better to do on a summer Friday night but roll down the windows, turn up some tunes and drive. Looking back now, it really didn't get much better than that.

I will always have a soft spot in my heart for that car. Even now, whenever I see one, I give in to my undeniable urge to slow down so I can let my gaze linger.

October is my favorite month...

Why, you ask? Because of Halloween! I heart Halloween. Seriously. I'm crazy for this holiday. Every year for the last 5 years, Jason and I have thrown an annual party to celebrate the horror. This year's theme is the Greatful Dead. We're hookin' up the Rock Band and Karaoke to throw down with some rock legends. For those about to rock, we salute you!

Smarty...

Powergaming. By definition it's someone who works the system to better the outcome for themselves. I think I've powergamed blogging. Bear with me. I've just covered 2 months worth of stuff in 2 posts. Perhaps I've been going about this all wrong. Rather than scrambling for material to post on a fairly regular basis, I can just save it all up and give you more to read on a once-per-month basis. I can give you something more to look forward to if I post entries that way. Yep, it's all about you.

October...

One of my favorite months of the year! Anyone who knows me knows why, but that deserves it's own post, so I'll save it. What did we do in October? Another busy month:

a) Alicia and Adam had their wedding reception on the 4th in Illinois so we trekked down to our old stomping grounds. We actually took the long way around so that we could stop at Johnnie's for the best Italian beef and Vienna hot dogs this side of Italy. Jason was prepared a brought a cooler. He bought 10 beefs and ate them over the weekend....slowly so he could savor every minute.
b) Speaking of hot dogs, we managed to work in an expedition with our friend Kiki to The Wienery in Minnepolis to try out their claim to fame. This place was featured on the Food Network show "Dumps, Drive-ins and Dives" and touted a fine Chicago style dog. Unfortunately, the place doesn't live up to that, but they sure did belong on that show. In fact, we decided that a roadtrip was in our future to find our versions of that show...with decidedly more expletives in the title.
c) Jackie's bachelorette party morphed into a spa day with the bridesmaids. So instead of whoopin' it up and getting all crazy-like, we relaxed and pampered ourselves with manicures, pedicures and massages. Oh and wine.
d) Jackie and Ryan got married on the 18th up in Brainerd. We took a couple days off for the festivities. The wedding colors were red, orange, lime green and chocolate brown. Fun for fall.

That pretty well brings us up to date.

September...

What even happened in September? In an attempt to catch people up, I figured I'd provide a brief run-down of last month:

a) There was a fire sale on new homes so Jackie and Ryan bought in and we were up north helping them move the same weekend as Dave and Noah were moving into their new house.
b) Dave and Noah had a killer housewarming party the week after they moved. Crazy.
c) We went to see the Little House on the Prairie play at the Guthrie Theater with some other fans from work. Half Pint took the stage and played Ma. Admittedly, she's not the best singer but just seeing her in person was glorious.
d) We celebrated our 6-year wedding anniversary up at the cabin with Breanna and Rick (they were celebrating 5 years). Good food, good drinks, good bonfire, good people, good times.
e) My mom visited us twice this month, just for fun.
f) Our little buddy Liam (Alicia and Adam's son) turned 2 years old!
g) Our friend Kiki had a birthday too!
h) My cousin Mike had a birthday too!
i) Noah had a birthday too!
j) And I had a birthday too! Lots of great people were born this month, as you can clearly see.

That wraps up September. One word comes to mind. Busy.

Back to the blog grind...

Wow. No words can express how I have failed anyone waiting with baited breath for my blog posts for the last 2 months. But now, I'm pleased to announce that your patience will be rewarded. Yes, I have a host of entries to share and they're coming soon. Stay tuned!

Blog lag alert...

OMG. I haven't blog in over a month. To anyone who cares, my apologies. That's it. Just wanted to touch base to say that, yes, I've been busy. And no, that doesn't mean that this is any less important. And yes, I'm still committed. C-ya on the flip side!