Duran Duran Rocked!!!

Okay, so last Tuesday night I finally went to see Duran Duran in concert.  Let me say this...TOTALLY WORTH THE WAIT!  

No lie, this was quite possibly the greatest show I had ever seen.  And believe me, for guys who have been doing this for 30 years and well in to their 50's, this show just could not have been any better.

No, wait.  I'm lying.  The opening act was some weird chick.  I had never heard of her but it was her and a glorified Karaoke machine on the stage that CLEARLY no one bothered to do a sound check on.  It was the loudest, most offensive noise I had ever heard.  All I kept thinking was that if this lone person is THIS loud, how much worse is the band going to be.

Luckily it was just her and her annoying box because when the FIVE PIECE band came on, with an additional saxophonist and backup vocalist, the sound was amazing.

Here's a cool observation about going to a concert as an older adult:  the crowds are nicer and much more well organized.  Now granted, the DPAC is not a huge venue (approx. 3,000 seats) but we never felt crowded or that we were caught up in the throngs of people.  Honestly, from the parking of the car to leaving after a wildly impressive show, everything was really well organized.

Our seats were good and next time I will invest in spending a little more and getting as close to the stage as possible because they really interacted with the crowd down front.  They played all of their classics and some of the new stuff and played a solid two hours.  GREAT, GREAT night.  I was extra blessed because my girlfriend Krista was just as huge of a fan as I am and so we were extra giddy and silly and just had an amazing night.

Getting up for work the next day, however, was no easy task.  As I told my bosses as I dragged myself to my desk, I wasn't so much Hungry Like the Wolf as I was tired like the dog.

Thank you, Duran Duran, for making the 30 year wait to see you well worth it.  Rock on!

When the only child grows up...

When I was growing up, I only knew one friend who was an only child.  We spent a lot of time together; I practically lived in her house over the summer.  She was a little self-centered and selfish, kind of mean at times but for the most part, I didn't overly concern myself with those traits because she was my friend.

As an adult when you know someone who grew up as an only child, those traits are BLAZINGLY obvious to the point of being painful.

Case in point, we (Frank and I) are friends with a couple where the husband is an only child.  The man dominates every conversation, he'll cut off whatever is being talked about for the sake of being heard.  He is loud, offensive and basically, when he does not get his way he will go in to a major pout and then threaten to leave.  

A pouting, whining 50 year old man is not something anyone should have to see and really, he should be ashamed of himself.  He is married and he and his wife have only one child.  

She is the devil.

She is the reason that I refuse to go their home anymore.  She is the reason I do not invite them to my home anymore.  At age 6 I have watched her have her parents jumping through hoops at midnight because she wants something to eat, drink, etc. or because she wants to watch TV RIGHTNOW!  And these idiots do it!

I understand that clearly this type of child-rearing is all this guy knows; he was a spoiled brat so obviously, his child is going to be one, too.  I can only imagine what it's like in that house for his poor wife when these two want something at the same time!

There's another adult only child in my life and while I love this person to pieces, I have to limit the time I spend with her otherwise I get mean.  I've reacted badly to some of her behavior and while I know I was justified, the pouting that went on and the snit that followed were just ridiculous.

How do you make someone who grew up as the center of attention everywhere they went and who was taught that they are the only people in the world that matters see that as an adult, it's not all about them?  These people make lousy friends, neighbors, co-workers - you name it!  And yet I seem to be surrounded by them.

Makes for a pretty miserable day sometimes...

Love It or List It?

This show on HGTV has become one of my new favorites.  Each episode features a family/house where the spouse's are divided on whether or not they are going to stay in the house or sell it.  It's actually pretty funny hearing what divides people on this decision and why some people want to actually STAY in a house that clearly isn't working for their family.

The "hosts" of the show are a riot.  Hillary is an interior designer and it is her job to do the make-over on the house using the budged that the couple provides and actually give them all of the must-haves that the spouse who wants to sell gives them - thus making them "love" the house again.

David is a realtor whose job is to find the couple a new home with all of the must haves that the spouse who doesn't want to sell gives him and make it work in the budget that the couple gives them.

You would not believe the issues that come up each week.  It's a little predictable.  Inevitably, Hillary is going to dig in to a very ambitious home renovation (walls will be knocked down, rooms will be stripped down to the studs) and then BAM! Something happens that stalls the entire project and some of those must-haves will get crossed off of the list due to no money in the budget.

Then there's the new house hunt.  David will look in the "wrong" area and the couple won't consider it or the spouse who doesn't want to sell will be so obnoxious about knit-picking every aspect of the houses they're shown that you want to smack them.

Predictable and yet I can't turn away!  Monday night, 9 p.m. on HGTV.  If nothing else, you'll probably relate the these couples and try and figure out in the end if you'll love it or list it!

The Flour Baby

So Michael's taking a class this semester called Exploring Career Decisions and they do all kinds of things in it and not all of them are about career's.  They are doing the Red Cross babysitting course and they are learning about responsibility by making a flour baby.

Yes, a flour baby.

We are transforming a five pound bag of flour in to a baby.  I had to buy a sleeper, some material and poly-filler (?) to make it's head and fill out its body.  This was NOT an inexpensive project.  Besides those objects we needed safety pins, rubber bands, a Sharpee, masking tape...I mean, all of this for a baby that he's going to carry around for a week.

Seriously, couldn't I just buy a doll?  

I'll post pictures when it's complete.  

It was either this or carrying around an egg for a week.  He felt safer with the five pound bag of flour dressed as a faceless baby.  Go figure.

I'm not ashamed to ask for my money back...

So on Saturday Frank and I were trying to decide what we wanted for lunch.  Michael was out and it was just the two of us and we decided that we really wanted some sandwiches.  

I make FANTASTIC sandwiches.  

It comes from growing up int he deli business.

So I send him to Harris Teeter to get some Boars Head rare roast beef, some fresh Kaiser rolls and some provolone.  I write it all down including the instructions that the roast beef be sliced THIN.  I'm a freak about that.  For some reason, stores down here feel the need to slice their meat in slabs.

I do NOT enjoy that.

He goes to the store, comes back and I head to the kitchen to create sandwich masterpieces.  The first issue?  NOT sliced thin.  I commented on this to him and he was like "It IS thin!  The guy gave me a slice to taste."  Okay, fine.  Clearly we have different ideas on what is thin and what's not.  Fine.  I make his sandwich - and it was beautiful - and bring it out and present it to him.  

It just continued down hill from there.

I go back to make MY sandwich and I go in to the roast beef and it's really NOT rare and after taking off of the second slice, it was all fat!  It was disgusting.  I was beyond pissed.  So I told Frank that I would pick through and get what I could but then I am going back to the Teeter and complaining and getting my money back.  He thought I was crazy.

I am.

But 2 hours later I stood at the customer service desk with my bag o beef and got DOUBLE my money back!  At $13 a pound, that was a wonderful surprise.  I'm not going to lie, I did feel a little petty when she handed me that money back but then I did a major food shopping (NOT in the deli department!) and more than made up for returning the beef.

I don't do stuff like this often but I believe in getting what you pay for and if you let places get away with overcharging you for something that isn't edible, their service will never improve.

I'll get down from my soap box now.

Wish I was Here...

What Makes a Good Marriage

Today Frank and I celebrate 21 years of marriage.  We've been together a total of 23 years and I can honestly say that we are still in love after all this time.  

Marriage is hard work.  There have been many, many fights, many tears and many times that I just thought it was too hard.  But when emotions simmer down and you take some time to truly think about what's important, you realize that having someone to love who loves you for who you are - no matter how big of a brat you are being - well, that's just about the greatest thing in the world.

I know that I probably say it every year on our anniversary and so I will say it again; God did not bless me with great wealth or a successful dream career  but He blessed me with a great marriage to a man who makes me laugh and smile every day and who gave me two amazing children.

That makes me a truly blessed woman.

Thank you, Frank, for an amazing 21 years of marriage.  You are my greatest love, my knight in shining armor and I don't know where I'd be without all of the love and laughter you have brought in to my life.  Thank you for loving me unconditionally and helping me realize that no matter what other people may think of me, that I am okay.  Your acceptance of me means more that you will ever know; I never knew such a relationship could exist.  I love you and I am excited to face many more anniversaries with you!

Foot Danger at the Mall

No, not foot danger for everyone, just for me.  Honestly, if something is going to happen to me, it's going to happen to my foot first.  And you know what's weird about that?  I don't have obnoxiously big feet!  Seriously, I'm a size 8; fairly average, and yet, things happen to my feet all the time.

Back when Nick was a baby, boiling water spilled while I was draining pasta.  Where?  My foot.  Fell on the ice as a teen, broke my ankle.  Don't even get me started on why Frank is no longer allowed to push the shopping cart while we're food shopping!

So we go to the mall and we get out of the car and we're walking across the parking lot and Frank steps on my heel (ouch!) and I walk right out of my flip flop and almost fall on my face.  So I yell, I scream, I remind him that my feet are NOT ginormous as I slip my foot back in to the shoe and I think, okay, we're good.

An hour later I am in Bath & Body Works and I've got a 16 oz. bottle of Coke in my purse that I hadn't finished from lunch.  Not paying too much attention to it, I bend over to look at some yummy smelling sugar scrubs and BAM!  Coke bottle falls out of my purse, cap first and lands on the top of my foot.  It was about 3/4 of the way full.  I refrained from crying out but within a minute I have a large lump that is quickly turning purple.

Lovely.

So here I sit, back at home, ice pack on my foot.  

This is just ONE of the reasons I don't go to the mall more often...

Croup at age 12...who knew?

Michael had a friend sleep over last Friday night.  They ate, they played video games, they went to bed some time after midnight but slept until almost 11 the next morning. Saturday night, he slept at the friend's house; same scenario.

When we got him home late Sunday afternoon, something was up.  Frank and I sat down to watch "Barefoot in the Park", a GREAT movie from 1967 starring Jane Fonda and Robert Redford.  It was something that no 12 year old would willingly watch.

He did.

Midway through the movie I noticed he was sniffling and looked a little glassy eyed.  We figured it was just the weekend, the sleepovers and allergies.  No big deal.  I had him showered and to bed early.  Monday morning he woke up looking a little worse and sneezing a whole lot more.  So I kept him home.  He had a slight fever on top of it all and by Monday night the sneezing and runny nose were better but now he had a cough.

Kept him home Tuesday, fever persisted and so I called the doctor.  Took him in and found out he has croup!  What in the world???  I mean, it didn't SOUND like croup!  Parents, if you've ever had a baby with croup, you know that horrible sound.  This wasn't it.  The doctor explained to me that because his airways are larger than that of a baby, the cough isn't so heinous sounding but essentially, he has croup.

Delsym, Mucinex, steam...it's a virus.  There isn't a whole heck of a lot you can do for it.  He's coughing still, I kept him home Wednesday but I sent him back to school Thursday because really, the fever was gone Wednesday morning but it was too late to send him to school and he hadn't been fever free for 24 hours.

So really, early childhood illnesses don't only come around in early childhood.  In a million years I never would have guessed that he had croup.  

Now I know better...

Amtrak

So I'm taking Michael on this trip to Disney in September.  A super FAST trip to Disney.  I had won a free night at a Disney resort hotel and it was going to expire and so I had to use it or lose it.  Um...hello?  USING IT!

I start making plans and things got a little complicated and I had to completely change the way I do my Disney vacations to make this happen and make it happen within a budget.  

One of the biggest obstacles I was facing was the cost of airfare.  For the two of us to fly it was going to be a little over $500.  That was HUGE.  I mean, the cost of the hotel of the one night I have to pay for, food for three days and our park passes was going to be $700 so really, the cost of the airfare was killing me.  

People suggested driving but it was just going to be the two of us and that is 10 hours of driving each way with me being the only driver and it would take 2 full days and potentially additional nights at a hotel to be safe.  

And then there was Amtrak.

Did you know that kids travel at half price??  We have an Amtrak station less than 30 minutes from our house and it goes right to Orlando!  I went on line and looked at schedules and pricing and round trip for the two of us is only $180!  Who knew??

We will leave on a Saturday night around 9:15 pm and arrive in Orlando at 10:30 Sunday morning.  I opted to not get the sleeping car because that was an additional $250 and really, I think it's going to be an adventure!  I did a lot of research, asked tons of questions on my Disney boards from people who've traveled Amtrak to Disney before and basically all the reviews were positive. 

Coming home we leave Orlando at 7:30 at night and arrive home at 8:30 the next morning.  We're sleeping most of the trip away and we've saved a bundle!  I'm excited for the adventure and although I am definitely like the princess and the pea when it comes to my sleeping arrangements, for the opportunity to have this trip with Michael I think I can make the sacrifice.

Stay tuned!

Carolina Music Awards

So we had our big moment of walking the red carpet at the Carolina Music Awards back on the 15th.  

It was a little disappointing.  

Okay, so first, it was like 98 degrees out.  I looked fabulous in my black dress and my big, rock-star hair and after walking from the car to the pavilion, well, let's just say there was a BIG difference.  

The red carpet was more like 2 red mats.  The staging/photographing/interview area was chaotic and disorganized.  We took it all in stride and were determined to just go and have fun.  As a rock band, okay, so as the wife of said rock band's drummer, I was happy to just sit back and watch my husband shine.

An hour in the heat, and hour in a very cramped auditorium for an event that really should have been billed as a "hip hop" event, our category for best new rock band came up.  Eight nominees for the North Carolina/South Carolina territory and the winner was...

NOT Motrendus.

I'm not going to lie to you, we were that rude group of people that got up and left after that.  We went out for sushi, had a lot of laughs and now can officially say that we experienced and awards show.  

But didn't we look good?

Shhh...It's a Secret!

I am like the world's WORST person at keeping a secret.  I have been ever since I was a little girl.  Ask my dad; he's got TONS of stories to back that statement up.  

Anyway, I had originally been planning a trip to Disney with my sister but things kept getting put off and there were a couple of disagreements scheduling conflicts so I have decided to take the money that I was going to spend on a completely (worthwhile) selfish getaway and spend it on a mother/son getaway.

As the younger child, Michael had to spend most of his formative years in the shadow of his older brother.  Nick is like a force of nature; he is vibrant and personable and pretty much commands attention when he's in the room.  For years I would watch as Michael simply faded in to the background while Nick held the floor.  So as a way of doing something that is just for him, I am taking Michael away for 3 days in September, just the two of us. Where to?

Disney.

Seriously, was there any doubt?

I earned a free night through some freelance writing that I did for a Disney travel blog and I needed to use it before it expired.  So we are going to take the Amtrak train down to Orlando (it's an overnight trip) and then spend three days/two nights at one of Disney's moderate resorts and then take the overnight trip back on the train.

Do you know how much more cost effective it is to take the train??  When I was pricing flights, no matter how hard I tried, it was going to cost a little over $500 for the both of us round trip.  And that wasn't including the "extras" that the airlines are charging for these days.  For $180 we are both traveling round trip on Amtrak.  And really, what boy doesn't love a train??

Now my plan is to NOT tell him that we are doing this but to go on planning the trip as if I were going with my sister.  This way if he hears me talking about it, he won't think anything of it.  Then, the night before we leave, while I'm packing, I hand him a suitcase and surprise him with the fact that he's the one going!  I may find a more creative way of doing it, like a treasure hunt or giving him a puzzle of some sort to figure out where the final piece is the fact that he's going on this trip.

How cool am I???  This is a great time for us to spend together, one on one, where he is the sole focus of the trip.  I am really hoping that it's going to be a wonderful experience for us both.

That's Mr. 12-Year Old To You...

I seem to remember when Nick was growing up that I was ANXIOUS for him to do so.  I wanted him to grow up, I wanted him to get bigger and more mature.  I rejoiced when he passed me in height (sort of) and we all got a kick out of him getting facial hair and what not.  He was my first born, the oldest and these were the things that we wanted for him.

So not the case with the baby.

Michael is 12 going on 30.  All of a sudden I have a hard time telling the difference between him and Frank on the phone, he's almost as tall as me but his hands and feet are huge.  His new sneakers for school are a size 11!  We went shopping the other day and there were were in the Super Target happily walking toward the boys department when he stopped and reminded me of how "big" he is getting and how he could probably now shop in the men's department.

Um...I don't think so.  

After much "discussion" we did compromise and got the majority of his stuff in the boys department, I did cave and buy a few "men's" items.  How did this happen?  WHY is this happening?  He's got hair under his arms!  He's getting acne, I mean...this is not right.  I'm not ready for this!  He has to stop.  I want my little snuggly bean back.  

I am not handling this well...  I mean, I know this is what is supposed to happen but I want my baby to stay my baby for a little bit longer.  He still holds my hand (when we're home and no one's looking) and he still says "I love you" (when there's no one around and in a hushed tone) but it's hard to look in to those big blue eyes and accept that he really and truly is becoming a man.

What I wouldn't give to have one more day with him as a four year old who I could just take in my arms and cuddle...

Seriously, Dude, it's over...

So I took the advice of a friend and decided to do my car shopping on-line.  I literally had a dozen dealerships vying for my business and each of them willing to work some sort of deal.  Only one came close to getting me exactly what I wanted.  Unfortunately, because we do not use credit (which seems like a good idea, but clearly is not), our credit score is not desirable to the financial department.

I talked to this guy yesterday both by phone and via email and when he gave me the final number (after getting my credit info back), I told him I needed to think about it.  He called me today and left me a message and then immediately emailed me to see if I've made my decision.  Well, I had.  We're not going to do it.  The monthly payment he offered is only $30 more than what I wanted but the more we talked about it, the more we decided that we needed to wait.  I emailed the salesman back and thanked him and explained the situation and told him when we were ready, we'd be in touch.

I have been getting emails damn near every 30 minutes from this guy.

First it was: 

I wanted to shoot you over a email seeing how you are doing. I'm sure you are extremely busy at work if your day is going like mine. Let me know how to move forward. The Elantra is fueled up and ready for delivery.

Thanks again

To which I replied:   

Thanks for getting back w/me.  I couldn't grab the phone when you called earlier.  I want to thank you for all that you did for us to try and get the car but we are going to wait.  I know it's only $30 more a month but we decided to try and do what we can on our credit before committing to anything.

 

Thank you again for all of your hard work and honesty.

 

have a great day!

 

Nice, right?

 

He comes back with: 

Let me ask you this. I'm not even sure that I can do it but if I can get you close to $180 a month will you consider it? It's a stretch but I'll go see what I can do. 

 

Seriously...couldn't he just let me bow out graciously?

 

So I responded (because I can't seem to leave a question out there dangling):

 

Really, I thank you for all that you did but one of the reasons we've lived w/o credit is so that we stay within our means.  At the 163 we were going to be ok, I don't want to go anywhere above or beyond that b/c there's still insurance and whatnot to deal with.

 

It just wasn't meant to be for right now.

 

Thanks, again!

 

And we're done...

 

Not...

I have one last chance here. You think you could put an extra $500 with the $2,000 that you are already putting down now? I've spoke with Hyundai Credit and the Hyundai sales manager and I think with an extra $500 we can put this together. If you can't do the $500 let me know what you can do and I'll see about the amount too. I'm here for another 45 mins so just let me know when you can.

Thanks

 

Now I'm mad...

Thank you, but it's not going to happen right now.

You can feel my wrath, right?  He didn't...

Correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't you looking to lease an Elantra for $169 a month? With the extra $500 I can get you there. If you gave me the $2,000 now and needed to wait an extra week before giving me the other $500 that would be fine. I'm trying to assist you here not worry you. I have the car here, the color is what you wanted and we can get this done for you today. What has happened? Where did I go wrong?

 

At this point, I wouldn't lease from this guy if someone gave me all of the money to do it because he's whiny, needy and clingy!  My FINAL message to him: 

 

You did not go wrong.  We do not have another $500 to put down - not just right now, not next week or this month or next.  If I could do it, I would.  You have been very helpful but now I am feeling slightly harassed.  You've seen our credit score, I've explained to you our situation and I know, for me and my family, this is not the right choice to make at the present time.

Thank you.

 

Let's hope that I am done here because this is just too much for my afternoon... 

Disappointment...

So at the end of this week I will be at my job for a full year!  I cannot even believe it!  In that year I went from being a part-time employee to a full-time one and I have learned so much.  I love just about every one that I work with (there are a couple of exceptions) and for the most part I am just beyond thankful to have found such a place to work.

Until today.

I am bumming so hard right now that I have spent a large part of the night crying.  When I was hired, part of my employment required me to work at least one Saturday a month.  This was not a big deal because originally there were four of us in the rotation and really, once a month isn't a big deal and when I was working part-time, those extra hours came in handy.  

Then, when things were really bad for us and we were struggling so much financially, I took two sometimes three Saturday's a month and no one seemed to mind that at all.  Those extra hours really helped out a lot during those scary months.

Well now, fast forward to the present and when I got my promotion, one of the first things I said to one of my bosses was that I wanted off of the Saturday rotation because that would have me in the office six days a week.  NO ONE in the office does six days a week.  

NO...ONE.

Well, it couldn't happen right away because there wasn't enough coverage and so to compensate me (or rather, to shut me up a bit) it was decided that on the weeks that I work a Saturday, I could leave early on the Wednesday.  It all sounds good but really, it's not.  Frank isn't home, Michael isn't home and so I'm still missing family time and then, on the flip side, there's not enough time to truly enjoy no one being home because 90 minutes after I get home, Michael is getting off the bus.  It's a sucky situation.  

So I sat down with the other two people on the Saturday rotation (because the fourth person was lucky enough to be able to opt out of them) and I still got stuck with more Saturdays than I wanted because the other two are slackers.  I was livid.  These two are young and while one is married, neither have children.  I was working THREE jobs and still got stuck doing the damn Saturdays but I was assured that this would be temporary.

At the end of June, it will be three months.  So today I sat down with my office manager and told her that after June, I'm off the Saturdays.  She understood, I thanked her and I felt really, really good.

That lasted all of three hours.

I was then told that what I wanted was not an option and we will all sit down with the calendar again and work out the next couple of months.  I was devastated.  I mean, these other two slackers sit on their lazy asses and say "Oh, I can't" and when I say it, I'm told I have to??  That is beyond crazy and unfair and you know what?  I HATE saying something is unfair because I sound like an 8 year old!

In the year I've been there I've worked any and all extra hours they've asked for, I've covered on people's vacations I help anyone that needs help and now that I am asking for the help, I'm told no?

The warm fuzzies are now officially gone...

The Week the Music Died...

Although I am a huge 80's music fan (see the previous post), I still loved a lot of the music of the 70's in its disco hayday.  I danced like everyone else to the Saturday Night Fever Soundtrack and to pretty much all-things Donna Summer.  Within the last week, the world has seen the loss of Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees and the great Donna Summer.

While a lot of today's music is so different from what these great artists performed, it makes me sad because their music was that of my childhood.  Neither was, in my opinion, old, and both succumbed to cancer.  It just goes to show that it doesn't matter how famous you are or how much money you make, none of us are immortal - only their music will live on forever.

So to these two great artists I say thank you.  Thank you for the wonderful music and memories you have given me and thank you for being the kind of artists that we were proud to listen to and can still put on our iPod's today to enjoy - even with the kids in the car (most of the time!).

Rest in Peace in Rock N Roll Heaven... 

Duran Duran...

So in my constant need to keep a good part of me in the 80's, I was THRILLED when I learned that Duran Duran was coming to North Carolina this summer.  I put out a blanket email to a bunch of my friends asking "Who wants to go???" and got several yes responses.  By the time tickets went on sale?  Not so much.

So I purchased two tickets and now NO ONE wants to go with me!!!  Everyone has plans, can't afford it, blah, blah, blah but now I don't know what to do!  Frank was like "Don't look at me" and honestly, in all fairness, he SHOULD go with me!  Remember when I had to go and see "Zappa Plays Zappa"?  I mean, seriously?  Did I enjoy that?  Um, no.  As a musician, he should WANT to go with me just to hear music!  But will he?  No.

Nick won't go.

Michael won't go - and really going with a 12 year old would not be a fun time.  I could traumatize him with my big hair and dance moves while singing "Hungry Like the Wolf"!

My buddy Cathleen said she WOULD go, but then finished that statement with "While wearing ear plugs".  See, I listen when you speak, Cathleen!  And I won't torture you with this concert!

I have three months to find someone to come and be ridiculous with me.  Who knew having a girls night listening to 5 hot british guys sing would be so damn difficult???

Looking for a car...

Can you believe that six months ago I was fearing we were going to be homeless and now I am car shopping???  Crazy, right?  Actually, we are looking to lease a car.  Frank's job requires him to commute quite a distance every day and he no longer needs the big cargo style van because he no longer has to cart all of his tools and equipment.  That thing is a HUGE gas guzzler.  

We're not prepared to buy a car but we figure we can lease one.  With the lease we have to put less money down than if we were buying and we can find a brand new car that will fit in our budget.  The main problem?  Me.  I don't want a compact car.  I like my SUV.  I like sitting up higher (probably because I'm so short) and I just like the looks of it.  For the monthly amount that we want to spend, we have a wide variety of compact cars to choose from.  Whoopee!  

Frank will take my SUV because we aren't limited on miles that way; with the lease you can only use a certain amount of miles before you get charged for them.  Bummer.  The reality is that it would be better for HIM to drive the compact because of the fuel economy but with the amount of mileage he'll need to use, it's not practical for us.  Plus, with him being on assorted construction sites, I fear something happening to the car.

So I am searching lease deals.  I am going to hit the Kia dealership this weekend and see what kind of magic they can come up with for me.  After that it's the Ford dealer and then the Hyundai.  If I can keep payments at $169 a month or under, I will feel like I won the lottery.  Plus, our days of sharing cars will be over!  Since right now Frank still has the work van, he tends to take my car whenever he has something other than work to do - like play with the band - and then I am left stranded because I can't drive the van.

My fingers are crossed that I can find something good, fast...