Half Ironmans Are Like Going Into Labor.

You may be wondering, "Jaquelin has never gone into labor (that's what you think), what's behind the title?" Or, "I'm a guy, I have no idea what going into labor is like...and also women rock and are better than men because they DO that....so I can't relate to that." Well, let me tell you, while talking about the half-ironman that I keep mentioning IS death, my mom compared it to going into labor. The ACTUAL experience is painful and you can't imagine WHY you're doing it, and then it's over and you love it and can't wait to do it again. Hm. Well, whatever, if you get that, great. If not, it's cool. I DID just try and explain the comparison between triathlons and having babies.

So the Mooseman Half-Ironman is what I've been preparing for since January, with my trusty friend/coach Dan Graovac (who is the founder of GForce Multisport, if you're ever looking for a great endurance race coach....). I put in a ton of time and effort and early mornings to get ready for this crazy event. And I was excited about it from day 1. Well anyway, Phebe, Ruby, and my parents all stayed in an AMAZING cabin on Newfound Lake and it was gorgeous and cute and I hope we go back.

Fast forward to Sunday morning. We got up at 4:45, documented the early hour with a picture, and were on our way. And being "on our way" to a triathlon is no party; it is BUSINESS. There are a TON of things needed for triathlons. From bike shoes and knee braces to Clif shots and a wetsuit...so many things. We always test each other sport by sport and list the things we need for each one. It's quite the process.

We got there, set up our spots, used the bathroom, documented some more, sunscreened, and okay fine, I try not to, but I get intimidated by the pros around me. The longer the course is, the more athletic and triathlonic the people are. Their bikes are the special bikes, their wheels are the thick ones that cost thousands of dollars, their helmets are funnier looking, their legs are tanner and calves more defined. And they are all skinny. Ugh. Skinny. Whatev. Please, the bike course was the hilliest course I've ever been on and my weight was DEFINITELY helpful when going downhill. All I'm saying is there's some sort of formula I learned in high school which I should still know but don't, and there's something about weight making one go faster. Just go with it.

So the swim is first. I joined the others in wave 4 with our show-everything wetsuits and cute matching red swim caps. THIS was the one sport that I felt was normal compared to my other triathlons. You can't make a swim hilly. I'm sure the Mooseman would do this if it were possible, because I've decided the director is mean, but she didn't. No actually I met her in a restaurant a couple of weeks ago and she seemed rather nice, kind. Can't imagine she would do this to me.

Anyway, there were times when other swimmers hit me and one swimmer did grab my ankle but I was never pulled under like the horror stories I heard. My coach once got a jellyfish in his mouth. Thankfully nothing like that happened. Well, it being in the lake and all. It was a smooth swim and I felt good coming out. Little did I know the death that awaited me and would take over my life for the next 6 hours. Muahahahahahhh....

So my transition was not pretty. They had people there with the sole job to help athletes get their wetsuits off quickly. I've always been successful doing this by myself, but everyone else was doing it so I fell for the peer pressure. I hopped around while looking for a free volunteer but they were all busy so after wasting a precious 12 seconds waiting, said "what the heck I'm better than this crazy 'help'" and went to do it myself. I'm pretty sure I showed my gut to all because my suit was all askew but whatever, all the skinnies were intimidated by it, I'm sure. I put on all my bike stuff and ran my bike to what I thought was the mounting station. As I began to get on, my sungless were all foggy and I felt lame. The crowd yelled that the mounting place was ahead so I had to sheepishly get off my bike and run further, meanwhile could not see. Yeah. Real smooth, Jaq. See, I think I look the part (well kind of, body size and the lack of all the "cool" triathlon gear aside) until I do something like that. THEN the secret is out. I only have a little smidgeon of an idea of what I'm doing. Ha.

So the bike. How do I explain it. I know I've said "death", and I guess that covers it. I wanted to stop about 5 minutes in. I've never felt that way. It was 2 loops of the same gruesome course. I decided to start practicing with the "small wheel" otherwise known to the pros as the "granny wheel" because it's a wussy wheel. It makes going up hills a little easier. Please. Don't misunderstand. I don't mean to say that the granny wheel makes it feel like I'm lying horizontal on the shores of a deserted island while somehow still being served Pina Coladas. It's not. But anyway, things went wrong right away, my chain got all messed up and I had to jump off to the side and fix it. After about 2 minutes of being panicky and using up mental energy, I got back on, switched gears again, and the chain messed up again. Ugh. Shampoo, rinse, and repeat. Same thing again, then I was on the bike for the rest of the time. There were uphills, there were downhills, there were good times ( just a few) and bad (all the rest). There were many tall and lanky and fit athletes with their defined calves and thick wheels and crazy looking helmets passing me constantly. Felt out of my league for sure. But whatever, I'm used to it.

I prided myself in never getting off my bike to walk up some of the more intense hills. ESPECIALLY because some of those walkers had the crazy helmets on! Man, if you want to wear those crazy helmets, you got to PROVE you can wear a crazy helmet. I'm just saying. So that was encouraging. So the downhills--since what goes up must come down--were intense. I reached speeds on my bike I've never reached before. There were a couple of times when I noticed 40 mph on my calculator, when I built up enough courage to do anything other than stare at the road and focus on how tightly I needed to hold on to the handle bars. Because I'm not a HUGE fan of going at death-defying speeds on something so very unsafe (seriously, one wrong move and I was dead) I put the brakes on every now and then. And THEN I freaked out because I smelled burnt rubber, from what I thought were my brake pads rubbing my tires. So I decided to brake less and be even more of a man. I put on the brakes less often and that's when I reached a million mph. When I was at these speeds, I literally said aloud, "Jesus I'm in your hands; Jesus I'm in your hands". Amazing how much more at peace I felt then. So shout out to Him, for holding tight to me. I mean, I could only hold my handlebars so tight myself....

So bike, bike, bike, hills, anger, fatigue, "OMG how much longer", oh right I only just completed the first loop I have another one, more hills, "Jesus I'm in your hands", lots of Clif shots and they are delicious like fruit snacks, hills, defined calves, self talk: "DO NOT get off and walk"...and then 56 miles were over and done with. Whew.

And then the run. The transition was much smoother and "cooler" because I had less to take off and put on. My dad always refers to one of his favorite witnessings, when he saw a guy go on his run with his helmet on. He realized later it was on and did his whole run while wearing his helmet. Obviously he'd be the safest of all in case something happened...like falling off his bike-..I mean his own 2 feet.

And okay, while the transition went well, the first few steps were a glimpse into how I'd feel for the next 13.1 miles. I kept thinking about how I recently told a friend that the run is my favorite part of the triathlon. I couldn't believe I had said that. In the moment, I hated it. I stopped and walked 12-15 times. I. Was. Exhausted. The course was down back, down back, so it was nice to see my sister 3-4 times as well as some fun kids from her Team in Training Vermont team. That, along with the excitement of a new Clif Shot (remember, the things that taste like fruit snacks, yet lucky for me, stand in as nutrition and electrolytes) every 10ish minutes kept me going...

I don't have much to say about the run other than how much I wanted to die. And how much I loved my Clif Shots. And ooh how when Phebe and I passed each other we slapped each other's butts. Probably the highlight of the run. Except for the finish. The finish was GRRRAND, because, well, I was finished. My parents and Ruby and coach and other athlete friends were there to see me in and the announcer dude announced my running in since there was no one around me. He said something about Jaquelin Hubbard from Beverly, MA, but all I heard was, "Jaquelin Hubbard go get yo water and medal and the prize of Cheetos and Oreos and ice cream with your next meal...without a care in the world". It was so good to be done.

I have officially defied death. There is thought and talk about a full ironman (aka defying death a second time...I might be like a cat). I don't even know. Omigosh.

So maybe you had a hard time with the title before reading my novel. Perhaps you have a better understanding? I don't know. Ask my mom. She's been through labor and she came up with the saying. She's your gal.

Ten Awesome Weekend Happenings

10. Ruby and Phebe were here from Friday afternoon to Monday morning. I could just stop the countdown from here, because, well, that's simply awesome, but it certainly makes for a boring post.

9. Sudbury Sprint Triathlon! Sunday morning. It was so good to be back! I love triathlons!

8. Stats-wise, in the triathlon, I'm psyched with my performance. I beat last year's time by about 4 1/2 minutes. I placed 4th in my age group, out of 74. Now, I was hoping for 1, obviously, because why wouldn't I? I got 1st place last year, but there were only 12 in my age group. The humongous jump from 12 to 74 in my age group is mystery enough. I'm going to smile and nod, and smile again, because I'm pleased that I placed 4th. I won't include the fact that initially the results said I had placed 3rd, and so we ended up staying 2 hours extra so that I'd be able to get my award at the award ceremony. Then I came to find out, when they announced someone else's name for 3rd, that they had since updated the results and someone beat me. So...I won't include that part.

7. I DID love, however, that although we did end up staying 2 hours extra for what turned out to be no reason, it was a beautiful 2 hours weather-wise and I soaked up some major sun. And ate post-food. And watched Ruby do her thing where she's cute for absolutely every second.

6. My friend Faith and I have been trying, for ages now, to get her nephew and my niece together. We plan on them getting married, and so we had to get them together ASAP. SOOOO she was with him this weekend, I was with the Rubes this weekend, all it did was make sense. We got some pictures of them. For the most part they look unsure of their aunts' intentions in all of the pictures, but we will continue to remind them that it's all for the best. They are going to be GREAT together.

5. My friend Amy was awesome and came with us to the triathlon to hang out with Rubes while Phebe and I did the triathlon. She was my hero, my sister's hero, and now she's besties with Rubes. Win win win! Ruby actually mentioned that she was going to swing by Claire's and buy a best friend necklace for the two of them to share. I guess, if I was honest, I'd say I'm a tad bit jealous.

4. P, R, and I went to the Burlington Mall on Saturday. I'd never been there, and was a little confused when their bathrooms were nicer than my home bathroom will ever be. Wait, isn't this a mall? Why are there plants and nice tiles in their bathrooms? Confused. BUT I did find two pairs of most EXCELLENT sandals at Payless. The last thing I should be doing right now is spending money on something like shoes. But, you know what they say, "when in Burlington, do what the Burlingtonians do..."

3. Red Box. Phebe and I hit that red box 3 times while she was here. She was here for 3 nights, we visited the Red Box 3 nights. Makes complete sense.

2. I bought Phebe a wine glass at Bed Bath and Beyond awhile back. Whenever she comes, she drinks wine, because, as she says herself, she's a wino. So it would be nice for her if she could pour that wine into a wine glass, right!? It's so awesome-but-ugly. It's lime green, orange, and yellow. There's a black P on the front. It came with a lime green ribbon tied to it. I can't think of anything else that would have made it more awesome. Phebe dared to use another glass the next night because the wine glass was dirty from the night before. I thought I was going to scream. Needless to say, I made her clean it and use it again.

1. I got to watch Ruby be Ruby. In the words of everyone and their moms, "they grow up so fast." Dagnabbit I can't take being far away from her. Every time I see her after we've been apart it's as if she has grown 5 inches, learned 104 more words, and has gained 37% more cuteness. Well, anyway, major quality time with Rubizzle.

Disbelief Giggles! *Giggle Giggle Giggle...*

I recently statused (because that's a verb) "Sometimes I get the disbelief giggles because of how blessed I am."

A couple of days ago I was cooling down from my run and walking on the sidewalk along the ocean. There. That's all I have to say, right? Wouldn't that cause one to disbelief giggle? I can move my body and get endorphins (endorFUNS, as we witty endurance athletes quip, bahaha). I get to walk along the ocean. Those, in and of themselves, are reasons to giggle. I take EVERY single thing I have for granted and don't think twice about them. But sometimes, like the other day, I am thoroughly overjoyed by everything I have. I think my wonderful friend said it best in one of her posts, something like, "my chest is bursting with yay." I LOVE that. My chest was bursting with yays.

I get nervous when statusing that I'm being obnoxious and that when people read them they might think, "well whoop-dee-doo, isn't she special." But then I remember it's my FB page and I can status what I want to status (and cry if I want to, cry if I want to)...

Anyway, I think that ultimately, no, I KNOW that ultimately, I am blessed beyond measure because of one particular facet. JESUS. He gives me joy that is not of this world. In other words, I can rejoice in good times, obviously, like the times I am cooling down along the shores of the Atlantic (and giggling). But more importantly, I rejoice in bad times. I know that this is not my home, but my eternal home is with Him in heaven. So when things are not ideal, like I don't get the job offer in Marblehead (years ago...it was the coolest let-down ever because I was reminded that it wasn't part of His plan so why would I want it?), or I don't have a "better half" when everyone around me has their better half AND another better half (as a math teacher, I understand that this does not equal a whole....just go with it being one-and-a-half...or...whatever) around and being cute, or on the way, or whatever.....I can respond by REJOICING because I know that it's fine. It's just not my time.

Anyway, I don't mean to get preachy, but there it is. Ultimately, I get disbelief giggles because I've got this relationship that trumps all other relationships I could have. It's with the God that created me and knows me inside and out. So cool.

But, on top of the "ultimately" reason, there are so many other reasons I rejoice and get disbelief giggles! Here is a brief spattering of them.

*The Hubbard clan.

*Friends...drama-less friends. I'm just saying...remember middle school and high school? Can you even call the majority of those "friendships?" What were those all about, anyway? Who is with me?

*My church! No explanation needed here. If you don't know what I'm talking about, I have gone on and on about it in past blogs.

*My apartment. I will forever be in honeymoon-mode here.

*My commute to work. Ten minutes, about 33% by the ocean. Seriously!?

*My CARRRR that is a BEAUT.

*My job and the people I work with (here's something that's not ideal that I can rejoice in....the pay!...).

*Variety puzzles.

*Triathlons! Endurance races! Endorfuns! Eeeeeeee!!!

*Music. Oh, music.

*Living vicariously through talented friends and friends with exciting news.

*One-on-one dates with friends.

*My hair straightener.

I'll stop there, with the last one. It might get ridiculous if I keep going after the hair straightener.

Anyway, I just dig life so much and am so thankful for everything that makes me rejoice...good and bad. I dare you to rejoice in the good (and the bad) things today!

New Wheels!

So I have new wheels. Which are all held on by tire axles and ball joints that are intact. Well, that's what I've been led to believe anyway, since it's a new car and those kinds of things are just expected....right?

You see, I'm a little cynical (I guess a nicer way to say this is cautious but whatev) about just what exactly makes my car safe. Fortunately, this is referring to my old car. The one about which my mechanic said, "I think you would have at least another year in this one." HA! Yeah right. But thanks anyway. That car has given me enough strife, and scares, and debt. Goodbye '99 Honda Accord. You were so good to me. And I am now so done with you.

I am the proud, and in debt, and in-awe owner of a brand-spankin' new (4-door....I can't even imagine only having 2-doors) Honda Civic. Atomic blue metallic, if you must know. At first I was a little blinded by how bright it was, since the cute little color square in the cute little book didn't really truly depict how bluey the blue really is.

So the outside is all cute but the real kicker? The aux connection inside so I can pump up my iPod jams. No longer will I have 2 cute little white speakers behind my head. They served me well while I had them, but I have no use for them anymore. Wow, if the old car and the old speakers had feelings, I'd be a real jerk. Anyway, I literally cried out of excitement when I first connected the iPod to the stereo. My wonderful father was in the passenger seat when it happened and we were laughing and crying and I can't imagine a more beautiful christening of the awesome iPod connection.

So I've had the car for almost 2 weeks now and it has NOT gotten old. The new car smell is starting to disappear and I actually don't think I mind. I thought that I loved the new car smell, and don't get me wrong, I do, but if I could switcheroo new tennis ball smell in there, I'd do it in a heartbeat. I'm pretty sure I like that smell better. Oh man, the first burst of tennis ball smell when you crack open of can of tennis balls? HEAVENLY. You'd think that alone would have inspired me to play tennis. But no. I'm actually quite bad at it. Plus, if I took up tennis I'd probably just stand there in a really cute stylish tennis skirt, hoarding all the tennis balls and smell them all. So, after further analysis, maybe it's just better that I took up basketball instead. Basketballs don't smell very good. They're just good for getting into the basket. But NEW SNEAKERS? Thank goodness I run. Also, they have running skirts. Of which I own at least 3, maybe 4. I can't remember...but I'll be bustin' them out soon! WEEEEeeeeee!!

I keep thinking about that night when I was headed back from bible study and the ball joint decided to just break, and in turn the tire axle broke. If I hadn't carpooled with those great ladies, I would have been on 95, by myself, going at least 30 miles an hour faster, probably in one of the middle lanes and probably surrounded by other cars going the same speed. I am so thankful that God wants me around for longer. I really like my life and the people in my life a lot:) I don't mean to be extreme, but I've been thinking a lot about the possible outcomes of that night!

I don't have a ton to say about the car, other than I love it, I'm thankful for it, and I'm thinking about names. I was thinking naming it after my car salesman since, although he was overly excited and in my face and uber enthusiastic, Jeffrita is a fun name. Frita for short? But then I think that's stupid, and I'm just not good at this name thing. Any help would be lovely:)

Things Are Funny At My House

My sister bought this space-agey, shimmery, crazy Under Armor coat (which totally goes against the meaning of Under Armor...why is Under Armor being so tricky all the time now?) and she wore it today. I kept referring to it has her trash bag because it LITERALLY looks like a trash bag, like the ones people might put on if they don't have a rain coat and they're desperate. So I told her it looked like a trash bag and she said my face is garbage and I should put it in her coat.

This morning was the 6-hour spinathon for Special Olympics Vermont and it started at 8, but my dad is the kind of guy who wants to get there really early, set up his bike, put on his socks, get the lay of the land, etc. So what time did we leave to get there (the place was 20 minutes away)? We left at 6:15. And I had to make and pack all my lean protein and healthy fat snacks so this means I had to get up at 5:30. Phebe asked who brought Debbie Downer along because I kept complaining about it being way to early to be leaving. It was a vicious cycle: I would make a complain-y joke about how it was a good thing we were at the place 4 hours early, and Phebe would call me a Debbie Downer, my dad would laugh. And repeat. Also, Phebe made fun of me mercilessly because I brought my own little cooler with cottage cheese, yogurt, fruit, and almonds because I wasn't sure if the food they offered would follow my cute little triathlon diet I'm on. Phebe dared me to cook and bring salmon so I could eat it while biking. Maybe next year.

This morning we were given bags with random things inside (common practice at races; the bag includes more non-useful things than useful....you know, pamphlets for races that are forever away, random lotion for callouses, stickers promoting some random sunglasses company you've never heard of, you get the point). One of the things was a tank top. Cute, right? WRONG. Races and competitions just decide to put athletes in this little "you workout so you must be tiny and cute" box. This pepto-bismol colored tank top was the size of Ruby. Of Ruby's pinky. I told the woman who gave it to me that if I put it on, stuff would stick out everywhere. She REALLY enjoyed that comment. Awesome.

Tonight our plan was to have salmon and potatoes (no potatoes for me, of course, Coach-ety) and cole slaw (no cole slaw for me because EW) but now it turns out we're (they're) just having potatoes for dinner. The oven/broiler isn't working. FAIL! That's okay. I ate about 18 teensy weensy shrimp with cocktail sauce (which by the way, I'm pretty sure I could just eat plain by the spoonful), pineapple--but not a whole one this time, like not to the point where I feel like my whole tongue is an open wound--and almonds. Awesome.

Another story about this morning--so at the spinathon, they have about 10 spin bikes up front where the instructors go and then all the participants face the instructors. Well there are only up to 5 instructors and sometimes they like for random participants to join them up there. I feel like they think we're 5 and really would just adore to be up there in front of everyone. Like remember when you were little and were at a magic show, and really hoped and prayed that the famous magician would choose YOU to volunteer? And he'd call you up and you'd wave you all your friends and giggle? Well I think the spin instructors need to understand that we're adults (mature or immature) and we don't feel that way anymore. So just leave us alone and let us spin in peace, NOT in front of everyone else. My father was victim to being asked to go up there. He was wearing a black shirt, black shorts, and he had a cross necklace (throat clearing I'm sorry, I mean chain...necklace is not a manly thing, huh) hanging in front of it all. Phebe told me he looked like a reverend. Father Buck. Reverend Buck. So good.

Not a long blog as usual, but I'm trying to embrace shorter blogs. Might make me blog that much more. Stay classy, San Diego.

Buying a Car. Who Woulda Thought?

Whew. This week, cars have taken over my life. And it all started Monday night.

Driving back from bible study, I was with 2 other girls and long story short, the ball joint randomly broke WHILST driving, which in turn made the tire axle just go ahead a BREAK, which in turn made the front right corner of the car make contact with the pavement, which in turn crated sparks, which in turn made loud, loud, loud, screeching noises, which in turn caused girls to scream....deep inhale....noise caused nice man to come out of his house and offer help, then go back into his house, which in turn caused his wife to come out and as though she were our mother, invite us in saying it's too cold and we can't be outside. She then told us she thought we were about 17 years old at first. No, actually, 26. But that's cool.

I'm confused at this point and think I skipped some things so will halt that paragraph. So not to bring in a cheesy crochet-that-gem-onto-a-pillow saying, but here goes. God's fingerprints were COVERING this situation. Reasons why:

*This is the first night in 3 weeks that I had started carpooling again with other gals. Before I had not been, and I am 100% grateful that I had company. I am not grateful that they had to go through it with me, but selfishly it was so good to be with others. I might have freaked out 67% more if I was by myself.

*This is the FIRST time in my, I don't know, 20 times, of going to bible study (lovingly known as CuGru, which comes from its actually "Community Group" name...be jealous....if you are, just come), that I took 97 rather than 95. These numbers only have a difference of 2, I know, so who cares? Well if you're a MA guy or gal, you know 95 is a busy busy bee highway, while 97 is a back road. Are you KIDDING ME!? This was no coincidence that we took 97 this night. I'm pretty sure I would have been in at least one of the middle lanes on 95, going about 30 mph faster, and would probably veer into another car, and possibly die. Extreme, I know, but God certainly wants us around longer. Again, his angels were hangin' out around us. Thankful.

*This little extravaganza happened right outside a VERY nice family's house. The man said he heard the whole thing from inside, and came out immediately. When he went back inside, his wife would not have that and came out, forcing us to stay warm in their house. So nice. A big shout out to Tom and Lisa from Wenham. Thank you note coming your way soon.

So anyway, that sets the scene. I know. Long blog. Strap yourselves in, people, I've only just begun.

So the actual event, fine, okay, didn't freak out too much because I can honestly say I felt at peace about it and was with girls and had the couple of the year invite us into their house.

The aftermath? Different story.

Many phone calls and freaking out later, here I am, FINALLY with a plan in place. But goodness gracious, people, why can't this whole buying-a-car thing be easier? As I told my friend, "why can't buying a car be as easy as buying a bunch of grapes?" We had been eating frozen grapes so that explains the random grapes idea.

So Tuesday was the day of overwhelmtion. Not a word, but I'm making it a word. It's my blog and I'll cry if I want to. WOW what a great segway. Cried while talking with my father as he told me all these things I had to do. I'll try to lay off all the "mature" comments, because if you read my blog ever, you know I have this thing about maturity. It's hard for me, and I'd like to just be there, but it is NOT my middle name. My middle name could be many other things; maturity is NOT one of them. In fact, I think Please Hold My Hand While I Do Anything That Resembles Being An Adult would be a good one. Yep. Perfect.

Call insurance, call mechanic, call a smart friend to help you, call the dealership, visit the dealership, call the RMV, forget living the rest of your life because you'll have no time for anything. Cancel your easy-money tutoring, and the plans you had with some high-class friends that continue to be cancelled for different reasons, and also all the workouts that you have to do for your triathlon? Cancel those, too. Get rides to and from school, focus on the children and not on the car situation, call me when you finish doing all these things, and relay all the information you have found. And in the meantime, try and keep the dishes in your sink to minimum and put your clothes away rather than on the floor. YEAH RIGHT. Come to my apt and you'll see how I've had no time for things. Confession: somehow through this all I've had time to watch the Bachelor and the After the Final Rose special. Priorities, people.

So my friend DeLuca, who is just plain good at life (how am I not like that?..) was my knight in shining armor. I called her Tuesday afternoon after I wiped the I'm-5-years-old tears away and 10 minutes later she had picked me up from work and we were en route to my apartment. She took out her computer, I drowned my sorrows in about 687 frozen grapes (have at it, acid...), then she did magic. She crunched numbers in search of a budget and how much I'd be able to pay per month. She, in my mind, was the Mary Poppins of Budget. She was literally all glittery and I think she had fairy wings and oh also an umbrella and a big bag. She said some things, numbers happened, a budget was made. In alike 3 minutes. If I was by myself? I'd look at a spread sheet like this and sob and eat another 319 frozen grapes and get nowhere. Dangit, me.

Then we got in the car and went to my mechanic to ask him if he wanted to buy my car (success! $200. Take it off my hands and give my $200. I'd love for it to be $2,000, but if I knew the ball joint just decided to break and the axle broke and sparks happened, I would give $200 too. But anyway, she was such a teacher and told me what I should say, then had me rehearse it to her. Such a teacher. Good job, her. It was so so helpful. Again, knight in shining armor.

Then we went to the dealership, I wasn't impressed, then went to another one. This is where we met Chad, the car salesman. He was pretty young, and hip, and we got along and he kept referring to his not being like other car salesmen and the whole time I was wondering if that was just one of his I'm Actually A Manipulative Salesmen ploys. It would be a good one. Anyway, I test drove a Honda Accord after he convinced me to lease, it was okay. The inside was not pretty, and really, that's what's important here. He showed me a Honda CRV and then we sat down and because Honda North is hoity-toity he offered a beverage. I just wanted to get OUTTA there. He talked about how seemingly great it would be to lease, and did some things on the computer, then told us another guy would come over to negotiate and try to get me to commit that day. DeLuca, because she is good at life, told me the plan of standing up as he came over to show some awesome we-don't-care-what-you-have-to-say body language. He came over, we stood up, and Chad, the I'm-Your-Friend-Although-I-Seem-Like-I-Could-Easily-Just-Be-Tricking-You, Sucker! guy whispered to us, "I liked the standing up move, that was good." It was then that I realized that yes, Chad was truly on our team. Thank you, Chad.

So I left convinced that leasing was the thing to do. Then my friends Sarah and Chris came over to pick up the guinea pigs I had been watching for them while they spent the weekend on a cruise around the Bahamas, no big deal. Setting the stage, she was a manager at Wells Fargo, and he is some salesman who does sales. No idea for what but what's important is he's a sales guy. He's good at convincing. After he told me reasons that I was an idiot for even considering it, I said, "okay you're right" then he said he wished his clients were as easy as me. THIS is why I'm not in that field. Could you imagine? I'd say yes right away. This is why I'm a teacher, where the only negotiation I experience is if a student can go to the bathroom during class if he goes and comes back quickly. So then Sarah used her wicked awesome knowledge to tell me that leasing was NOT a good idea. Gave me all these reasons, etc.

Whew. So at this point I'm not leasing. Still not leasing. Because the salesman that is Chris said it was stupid. And Sarah, who is my car expert, said NO. Okay.

I'm skipping parts of this now because YOU are a doll for reading this far and I should really wrap this up. You probably have kids to dress or ham sandwiches to eat or walks to take or songs to record.

My dad is being a stand-up guy and is co-signing with me (I'm a little bit more mature for the experience alone, but com'n. Getting a car with n0-co-signer? That's a little much, no?). I'm taking a personal day Monday and am getting a car in VT. The end.

Then I will be able to tutor, and drive to and from work, and re-schedule a dinner date with friends and not cancel, and I won't eat as many frozen grapes and all of that is so so good.

Also shout out to my sister for driving 3 hours here to pick me up and 3 hours to go back to VT. I have a 6-hour spin marathon this weekend and I don't know if you've heard, but the ball joint broke which in turn.....you know the rest.

Thanks for reading my novel. You are peachy.

I Appreciatcha!

I always have things to be thankful for. ALWAYS. ALWAYS. ALWAYS. This week is no different. I will share those things with you this instant.

*Ash Wednesday. Actually, more specifically the service I went to at SovG for Ash Wednesday last night. I have been a christian pretty much my whole life, but Ash Wednesday and Lent were never times that I observed. From a distance, it seemed like "Lent" was a time to give something up and nothing more. I observed that people usually gave up something food related. No chocolate? No ice cream? Oh man! Part of the reason I never did this was because I didn't really get it, part of it was because I had no motivation to take part in not eating ice cream for 46 days (and of course hope that I would lose weight in the meantime). I also knew instinctively that I certainly would not do this for the right reasons. I mean, I already said it, let's be honest, I would hope to lose a coupla pounds. But there's so much more behind Lent and I was able to learn more about it last night. AND, I just love it love it love it that I KNOW that I am at the right church. I totally agree with what "Pastor Mike" conveyed, and that is, why "subtract" something when you could "add" something? In other words, rather than give up something that is hard to give up (similar to New Year's Resolutions), do something in ADDITION to enjoying food or TV or whatever. Specifically, read one of the 4 gospels, plus Acts during the season on Lent. SO, I'm doin' it. Mark and Acts. Those are my jams for the next 46 days. And I would eat ice cream to celebrate ADDING instead of SUBTRACTING, but I have this triathlon thing controlling my life so I celebrate by eating too much pineapple instead! Whoop!

*GOOD GOOD friends. I have some friends that are just so good. The kind that, when they ask me how I'm doing, truly want to know HOW I'm doing. I am so thankful that I have that at my work. I have lunch dates with one specific friend sometimes and we eat in her classroom, and we talk about everything, but most importantly we involve God in our conversations. I don't have many friends my age I can genuinely talk to about God. I always leave this gal's room feeling refreshed and sometimes I forget that I'm at work. THAT is a gift.

*Salmon.

*My pen pal friend at work. I almost never see her during the day but I hear her next door during class. We drop notes in each other's tutorial spaces. It's pretty amusing. And that sometimes she walks out of the school door and yells with her hands in the air with pure excitement, "BAKE SALE!" as about 5 other faculty are walking her way. Oh man she's so awesome.

*My Cinderella helium ballon. Gotten for me from friend mentioned above, because it was my half-birthday and I randomly shared that in the last blog and I also randomly talked about getting myself a Cinderella helium balloon. .....I also would love a million dollars.... !?

*The guinea pigs sitting next to me (in their cage of course...I'm not man enough to take them out), because I think they're cute so far. I have them tonight through Tuesday night. And also their names are Barbara and Mini Pig. I thought it would be spelled Muinea Pig, but it's plain old boring Mini Pig. LAME.

*Humor. Jokes. Witty remarks. Seriously, people WHAT would we do without them!?!? I just love them to pieces.

*Good internet reception. This is actually something I DON'T have, therefore I have not skyped Phebe and Ruby in AGES and it feels like Ruby is probably about 14 now and I've missed it all. It's only been 1.5 weeks but it seems like a lifetime because I usually have skyped at least 4 times in that duration of time. It's okay. I'm hittin' the road Jaq a week from tomorrow. So...I appreciate it because I don't have it. Hm.

*Fruit. I am surprised I haven't turned INTO a mango. Or pineapple. Or cantaloupe. But what I DON'T appreciate? I was told I should eat less fruit and more vegetables because fruit has a lot of "sugar" and vegetables have a lot of "nutrients". Blah.

*My church. Have a mentioned that before? Seriously, folks, it was a long time coming. I have been searching for this place for years and years and years. I am not a huge fan of the oval stickers everyone has on their cars, and I'm not one to jump to the chance to put stickers on my car, but when I was given this sticker, I put it on without hesitation. I am this church's biggest fan.

*On Wednesday my tutorial student was reading a piece on corn and its importance. She read the key words and their definitions, then before reading it she goes, "Ready to get our corn on?" Like, "ready to get our game on?" Or something...I'm not sure...but I still think it's funny.

*My outside tutorial student told me that when she was reading Junie B. Jones (VOMIT I can't stand that series. Any series that encourages being a spoiled brat with attitude does not have my vote.) she read "announcement" without having to ask for help. She used the strategies we work on in tutorial outside of our sessions together! Her mom was so excited and she was so proud to tell me. THIS is what teaching is all about:)

I'm going to stop now because really, if I think about all the things I appreciate this week, I could go on and on and on. There's no reason you should be reading all that. This is just a tidbit.

I love life.