First & Last

Now there is no way that I could go through the whole year without blogging at least once, right? There's no time better than the last day of the year. Or something.

So, hi!

I always wanted to get back into this whole 'blogging' thing, but then it started to feel like a job, so I stopped (I wasn't getting paid after all). I was forcing myself to post, and search for content, when I didn't want to blog at all. So I just started ignoring the whole blog completely. I still read blogs, but even a few months ago I stopped doing that. 

Anyway, for multiple reasons, I'm back!

2013 was a huge year for me, us. C and I. I mean WE GOT MARRIED. Remember the wedding I didn't think would happen? Happened. And we wouldn't change a thing. Ok, maybe we would, because he started planning our vow renewal on our wedding night, but still. We made the memories. 

That was the biggest, and BEST! moment of 2013. 

Sure, there were other things that happened, like I ran my first 5k in May. I still haven't ran an 'official' one. But I know I can do it. In July I ran a 10K. Then it got to hot and I didn't try that one again. But the point is, I did it, and I know I can and will do it again.

When I left this little blog last December, I had just stopped Weight Watchers. Well, I did what I wanted until April, gained 15 pounds, and started it back up again. I hit my lowest weight on my wedding day. The holidays are always going to be a struggle for me, but I'm getting myself back together, and I'm getting rid of these last 20 pounds in 2014.

Speaking of 2014...this may be the year that we become Californians. I mean, C has an interview in two weeks. So, that could really be happening. We are ecstatic! So, here's to blogging a bit more regularly (especially if he gets the job) in 2014!

It's Good To Be Back

I forgot to mention that we finally gave in and got the internet. And by we I mean C. He's super picky about that kind of stuff (speed and all kinds of crap I don't understand) and he finally got tired of me bitching about not being able to use the laptop we just spent way too much money on. 

So we got the interwebz and it's decent. Better than what we had (nothing) at least. So that's what all of this random catch up posting is about here recently. A lot of these recipes (photos) and things I posted on Instagram a while back but I'm just now getting around to posting the actual recipe. 

I do hate a good catch up post.

You guys! Christmas is just days away. That means? I get to see my dad and brothers who are coming! And almost better than that?! 

11 days off of work, PAID. 

Yes please. 

Also, this Friday, C and I are going to his work Christmas party. He failed to tell me that it's like a dance type thing (WTH C, I DON'T DANCE). But to make it up to me, we're staying at a fancy schmancy hotel downtown for the night. 

Bow chicka bow wow. 

Just kidding, but I do get to wear my awesome dress that I wore to E's wedding back in September, again.

So that's exciting. 

Now just let me get through this week...

I've Got Nothin'

Literally. I've got nothin'. No internet, no cable, no good books to read, and nothing to blog about. I'm currently at the library mooching off the internet. I had a million different blog topics in my head the other night, and now when I have the chance to finally execute? 

Nothing.

So here's just another lame photo update of what's been going on around here.

These are tasty. And 4 pp. 

We can finally recycle, and guess who is the only one doing it? Me. So I put this little reminder on the trash can last week. I think it's working. See also-the earthy crunchy Montessori school I work at is completely rubbing off on me. Next thing you know I'll be teaching the boys all about compost.

First bubble bath in the new place was pretty sweet.

My brother asked me to bake banana bread last weekend. So I did. And I also ate more than I'd planned, even though it tasted way too sweet. Funny how tastes change when your diet changes. Also, funny story...I'm embarrassed to admit that my baking mojo has left the building. I mixed everything, put it in the pan, threw it in the oven to bake, and then while I was cleaning up I realized I'd forgotten to add in the vanilla! So 5 minutes into the bake time, I pulled it out and added vanilla, all the while crossing my fingers that the bread wouldn't stick to the pan (it didn't!) since I had to kind of move it around. See the Pam for Baking in that photo? I can't live without it. Works wonders. 

At 26 years old, I finally feel like an adult. Mostly because our washer and dryer were delivered last week. We're getting crazy y'all.

I can't wait to decorate our front porch for fall/winter, but I could hardly get rid of our beautiful geraniums that we've somehow managed to keep alive for over 6 months. (That's no small feat during a Texas summer). Regardless, our front porch is currently confused. Is it spring? Or fall? 

And then this happened. I love this man. I should note that I woke up to a peeled orange waiting for me in the fridge the next morning-he even got rid of most of the white stringy things (bleh!). 

What I'm Loving Right Now

A post of photos...

This yogurt is really good. And it's 4 pp!

Our new living room curtains.

Empty hangers, which means purged closets! No more 'fat' clothes!

Watering our yard. I sound like such an old person.

Honeycrisp apples that are finally in grocery stores down here. 

These photos that are hanging on our fridge right now.

:)

Hai!

I'm at a washateria. Ew. I mean, okay we need clean clothes and all. And this place isn't grody or anything (free wifi!), but I can count on one hand finger how many times I've been to one. 

We moved into our new place on the 15th. 

I love it.

Except for the washer and dryer part. We bought a set literally the day we moved in. Of course it couldn't be delivered until this coming Thursday. That means nearly two weeks without having a way to wash anything. Hence, why we had to come to a washateria. 

So that's annoying.

Actually, there are quiet a few things that are annoying about our new place. Like? The fact that it's so new that no one provides internet or cable to the area yet. And the fact that we couldn't pick up our mailbox key on the day we were told because it hadn't been made yet, because? Wait for it...the place is too new.

So I don't have internet...for who knows how long. 

I don't mind though. I love shiny new things. Like my kitchen.

It's so cute. And way bigger than one I've ever had before? I have to show you guys the pantry. For real. I have empty shelves in there. Unheard of!

Maybe I'll show a house tour sometime. I've got better photos on my big camera. Of course.

For now though, I just wanted to pop in and tell ya that I'm still alive!

House-Part 2

You can read part 1 here.

I made C call about another place nearby on Friday evening, before we backed out of the first place we were considering. I knew in the back of my mind how things would end-

a) the landlord would back out, and we'd be left hanging.

b) I just knew I wanted to back out/move on.

So I won. We got out of the situation before it got any uglier than it did and we backed out of house number 1. 

I felt such a sense of relief. I was way excited to look at house (duplex) number 2 on Saturday. 

You guys. This place? It's adorable. It's not as large as the first house (that's okay with me!) and it's only one story (even better news). The best part though? It's brand spanking new. As in, they haven't even put the finishing touches on it. We looked at it on Saturday and they were in the process of hanging up wood blinds, and mirrors in the bathroom. 

I love shiny new things. 

We submitted the application yesterday, now we are just waiting to hear back. The new! realtor told C that she would have us in by the middle of the month. She seemed to 'approve' us before we even turned in the paperwork. 

So I'm trying not to get my hopes up. Surely since we'd already been approved for a house (which had a higher rent) then we'll be approved for this one.

A few things I love about the new place-

1. It's on a quiet cul d sac. We'll only have one neighbor that shares a wall with us. The master bedroom/kitchen walls. The garages separate the two living rooms. That should help with the surround sound issue (we've had issues with neighbors in the past with loud TV's). Ahem. 

2. The kitchen. It's cute. See?

3. Brand new everything. No one has ever sat on the toilet seats, or parked in the garage. I love that. I'm weird.

4. NO CARPET. Tile throughout the entire place. Jaycie is not going to know what hit her when she doesn't have any carpet to mess with. 

5. Lower rent, no second story to air condition in the summer ($$), and the back yard is a great size!

Please say a quick prayer that this thing works out for us. If not, we don't have a plan C!

House-Part 1

You guys. I just opened the computer for the first time in a week. Last week was the most hellacious week in...a long time. 

Let me start with Labor Day. The neighbors below us? They were acting like total jerks. Confronting C for stomping on the floor (ok, so maybe he did when the noise was unbearable late one night), when the main issue is the fact we can hear them yelling at their kids 24/7 and their surround sound? I think they watch Jurassic Park every morning around 6 am. 

Seriously.

So I got serious about looking for a place to live. We jumped in the car, and met with a realtor about a house in Georgetown. All the while, my brother was complaining, 'We go through this once a month, this looking at houses thing.' And he was right. But this time? I was done. And when the neighbor confronted C about our noise? That was the last straw for him.

Labor Day. Monday. We met with a realtor, and saw the house. It was very clean, and lots of space (1500 sq ft !), but the neighborhood was kind of run down. Honestly? I was looking past that because I just wanted to get out of our current situation. I should have seen the first red flag about the realtor when she just stood in the kitchen the whole time and we showed ourselves the place. We were upstairs looking around and she was downstairs on her cell, checking messages. Okay, whatever. She was working, but every time we had a question (what was the pet deposit? etc) she didn't know, and would have to call someone and ask. That was annoying. 

Regardless we went for it, filled out an application that same day (we're renting because C is planning on transferring to CA within the next couple of years for work) and met her with the app fee and all of the paperwork. 

We found out on Wednesday that we were approved for the house. I was excited, but in the back of my mind I was nervous. The place was large (not enough furniture to even fill it), and the neighborhood kept bothering me, but I figured I had two men to protect me at night so it would all work out.

The moment we were approved, she wanted us to meet her with the $3,000 deposits and give us the keys. I was not ready for that. I mean, I know that we needed to pay to move forward and secure the place but I wasn't expecting it all to move so fast. I guess I still wasn't 'hooked'. 

Regardless, it was going to take us a couple of days to round up that kind of cash (just a few days before we were still planning on staying in our current place anyway) so we didn't have it on Wednesday. We told her we had paid our full month's rent for September at our current place, so we weren't looking to move until the middle of the month. She kept sending C texts asking when we could meet her because she needed the money, and telling us the landlord was getting annoyed because we hadn't paid up. It was just...odd. And we felt rushed.

So Friday night, we backed out. It just didn't feel right. I can't believe we backed out of it, knowing we don't have anywhere to go if we don't find a place by October 1st when our lease is up. As soon as C told her we weren't going to do it, she started sending very unprofessional texts. Which made me feel such a sense of relief that a) she didn't make any money off of us, and b) that we didn't didn't get stuck with a jerk for a landlord.

Everything happens for a reason. I say that so much and it drives C crazy. But for real. We didn't have the funds right!that!second! for a reason. It forced us to think about the situation without jumping in with two feet. 

Thank God. 

So Friday we called another realtor to show us another place in Georgetown...

Part 2 tomorrow, this is getting too long!

That Time Our Apartment Almost Burned Down

Yesterday we almost lost everything. 

Let me back up a bit-

We went to the grocery store yesterday morning after breakfast. When we came home I went to wash my hands, because ew! gross! grocery! store! germs! when I noticed there was no hot water. No big deal, C looked at the hot water heater, determined it wasn't on (?) and flipped the breaker to get it going again. (For the record, the apartments we live in are about as old as we are, and every time something stops working ((most recently the AC)) we're told to, 'Just flip the breaker! Then it'll work.' Of course it never does.) Regardless. The hot water heater starts working again and we continue on with our lives for the next hour or so.

C and T had been planning on going over to my aunt's house to swim yesterday afternoon. I wanted to stay home and catch up on my DVR/maybe take a nap/finish 38 loads of laundry. So, that's what I did.

Right about the time the boys were getting ready to leave, my brother noticed a smell. It smelled like burning rubber. I had just started my 12th (kidding, sort of) load of laundry so I was bitching that the dryer was probably on it's last leg. But no, the smell wasn't coming from there. So C walked over to the closet that our hot water heater is in and starts unscrewing things, looking for the source of the smell, because it was definitely getting stronger. 

All of a sudden C runs down the hall to flip the breaker again (to turn the hot water heater off). Yeah, our hot water heater was basically on fire. Burning through wires, and all. 

OMG. 

If the boys would have left to go swimming 3 minutes sooner I would have either a) Decided to forgo my Teen Mom marathon I was about to partake in and go for the nap instead or b) Noticed the smell, and freaked out about what to do about it, because I don't even know what the water heater looks like, regardless of how to unscrew things to figure out that that was where the issue was!

I could have been asleep. 

We could have lost everything. 

I can't imagine how things could have ended differently had they left before they actually did. 

We haven't had hot water since then, and of course it's a holiday weekend so the maintenance guy is nowhere to be found. So that's been fun. 

I told C that maybe we should look into getting renter's insurance again. We've had it before, but not at this current apartment. 

Not having hot water for a few days is a small price to pay for keeping our apartment standing. 

About That...

So the house hunting thing? Yeah. We're signing another six month lease this week, just like I knew we would. 

Everything was just so expensive. And what we could afford, was in a shady part of town (no thanks) or the same size as what we have currently. What's the point right now then? The place we are in now is fine. 

At least I keep telling myself that. We finally got rid of the window busting, door slamming neighbor.  Please don't ask me who is living there now. It's almost just as bad. Almost. Regardless, we're staying. 

A little longer at least.

And anyway, I just cleaned all of the baseboards, so I that warrants another 6 months here. Right?

Weekend Suckage

Honestly? Could the weekend have been any more lame? I mean really.

I'll preface this post by saying we didn't even clean house on Sunday. We always clean the house on  Sunday. I can think of maybe three times in the two years we've lived here that we haven't cleaned. This is a big deal people. Our house isn't dirty...but we have a cat. A super hairy cat who lays around everywhere. And everywhere she lays? Hair. Lots of it. So it gets grody in here...fast. Regardless, I had to give one chore up this weekend in order to fit everything else in, and that was it. 

Ugh. 

I was in a mood all weekend. Because of a lot of things I don't want to talk about. Thankfully, I got some 'me' time on Saturday night while the boys went to a baseball game. Lord knows I didn't want to sit through that torture. So, a bubble bath, pedicure, and HGTV re-runs? That's exactly what I did.

Oh, did I mention that I FELL DOWN OUR STAIRS on Saturday. Dude. I don't know how it happened. I was nearly all the way down them (only 4 or so steps to go) and I guess my foot slipped. I don't remember any of it except C, (who was behind T, who was behind me) yelling 'OH, SHIT'. And then I was trying to straighten myself up at the bottom of the stairs. Maybe I blacked out? I have no idea, I don't remember the fall, but my left hip and butt hurt. Still.

Then on Sunday I had to go into work. That was lame, and totally not worth the gas to just stand there for an hour and a half in the HEAT for our 'Summer Social'. None of my students/parents even showed up. Hell, no one really showed up, except for the teachers. 

The bright side of that was that C took my car in for an oil change, and also a wash and gas fill up while I was gone. I drove his car to work. I'm not sure why he's so good to me when I'm in one of my bitchy moods. 

Wait, where was I going with all of this?

Negative/Positive

I'm extremely tired of not being able to watch my own TV. Mainly because there's always baseball on it these days. 

More time to focus on other things.

I'm not sleeping well which is making my patience at work verrrrrry limited.

I get to snuggle babies for six hours each day, then send them home with their parents. 

Spending hours on a Friday night meal planning/coupon clipping makes me grumpy.

It's done for the whole week and no one ever asks, 'What's for dinner.' Plus? Easy to track.

Speaking of tracking...where in the heck did all of my 'favorites' in my WW app go? Tracking these days is a nightmare. 

Financially being able to join/commit to WW/seeing results.

It's too hot outside to even walk.

Fall is coming.

Meeting sweet baby J today and feeling sad that I/we don't have one.

Feeling blessed that his momma asked me to take photos of him in all of his newborn-ness.

Did I mention work has been stressful lately? For real.

I get to work with E a few times over the next week or so!

Sweating my butt off on the elliptical and getting foot cramps.

Catching a glimpse of myself in the mirror today and thinking, 'Wow, those are my legs?!' makes it totally worth it.

Being too tired to have dinner on the table when C gets home from work. 

He happily starts dinner, and does the dishes. Lucky me.

Overtime, Moving & The Eviction.

C has been working his ass of the last few weeks. Mountain Lion was released last week so he can work all of the OT he wants. Which means...$$$. Small price to pay for not seeing him much. 

Maybe we can pay some things off! 

Lots of napping last weekend.

About the moving situation...

Yeah, we're not. We just can't justify doubling our rent for the same amount of space we already have...even if it does make our commute shorter. So, we'll sign another six month lease, which will also help us pay off some more bills. It won't be too bad because...

The noisydoorslamming neighbor? Yeah, she's being evicted as we speak. For so many more reasons than just the slamming of the front door. 

That's her front window. I'm assuming it's from how hard she closes her door. I can't wait until I don't have to listen to her and her boyfriend's arguments at 5 am. I might actually need to start using my alarm clock again...

House Hunting Is LAME.

C and I go through this every 6 months or so. A month before our lease is up (we only ever sign 6 month leases) we start looking for a house...closer into Austin. Mostly because that's where we both work and the commute sucks. We've been in our current place for two years now. 

We're only interested in renting mostly because we I have no urge to own a house yet. Also because there's a strong chance we'll end up moving to California for C's job soon. So what's the point? Anyway.

We can never find anything within our budget. He's pickier than I am. And the neighborhoods that we can afford? I would never live in. So when something pops up in our Realtor app that looks super cute and the price is right? 

I jump on it.

So we drove into Austin on Sunday to go check out the area, to decide if we want to meet the listing agent and move forward with the whole thing. 

Long story short, I'm glad we decided to drive by before we met up with the listing agent because? I would not have gotten out of my car in that neighborhood. OMG. So scary. I was bummed because the photos online were SO. CUTE. 

I guess that explains the great price. 

Meh.

So we're back to square one. There is another house just a little further north of Austin, but still closer to our jobs than we are now, but it's going to be hard to work with the listing agent on that one because she "Doesn't work after 7pm or on Sundays." Must be nice to have her job.

I really hope we get to at least see it so I'll stop thinking about it. I have got to get out of this apartment and away from our LOUD neighbor who SLAMS the damn door every hour of the day. Honestly. Who in the hell goes in and out of their apartment 293,529 times a day? I am jolted awake at 3 am by the sound of that door. And her mouth. And her music. I'm so done with her. 

I can't take it. 

I want a yard. And a kitchen with more than four cabinets. And a shorter commute. 

House hunting is lame. Especially considering it usually results in nothing for us except for another signature on a six month lease at the same place we are now.

I'm So Pretty

That's my blog talking...of course.


Seriously though. Take a look around. There's lots of new things to see! Thanks to Jenn over at Wrangling Chaos for making Our Own Ordinary awesome!


I'm pretty excited that my recipes are all there, under that tab that says 'Recipes' up on the nav bar. Awesomeness I know. And the font/colors of the text on the sidebar? So me. I have buttons now, you can find me easier than ever on Pinterest, Twitter and FB. It all just turned out perfectly.


Did I mention that she was so easy to work with? Even when it took me days (literally) to answer an e-mail from her it was cool. And when I had to ask her 82 times what exactly a nav bar was and how it worked and why I should want one? She basically drew me pictures. 


Could I say 'awesome' any more times than I already have?


And no, she doesn't know I'm posting this, or anything about her (Hi Jenn!). This is all me. 


Honest.


Now go pretty up my blog some more (pfft...if that's even possible) and leave some comments. 

Today

Today makes my head hurt. Okay, maybe it really hurts because I stayed up way late last night watching movies when I should have been sleeping.

But still.

I've been on the phone with our insurance company all day today. You see, some Impatient Idiot decided to try and run me off the road (in a parking lot no less) on Friday. Trying to get all of that taken care of is a pain.

Not much damage was done to my car, but I still want it fixed, and the Impatient Idiot wouldn't give me her name/insurance info. 

So that's been fun.

And we weren't home all weekend (we were house/dog (cutest/best dog ever might I add and I'm NOT a dog person)/cat/fish sitting) so I've been playing catch up all day. I may have called out of work today because I don't feel good. Honestly. I need 42 hours in a day here recently.


Meet Bucky. The sweetie I was telling you about?

Now Jess is e-mailing me trying to figure out how I want this/that done (she's trying to make my blog awesome) and I can't e-mail her back fast enough (for me) because?

I DON'T KNOW WHAT I WANT.  

I feel inept at trying to explain things about stuff I barely know anything about. That's why I have Chris. But he's at work (in a meeting). So I don't have him to bounce ideas off/HELP me decide how to answer the questions that she has so I can e-mail her back. 

I'm a nightmare. Honestly. You should see me today. Thank goodness it's Monday (workout day) and I can get rid of some of this frustration on the elliptical. 

Not frustration at anyone, just at myself. For not being fast enough, smart enough, thin enough, or GOOD enough. Today. 

Tomorrow better watch out. 

We're Doing This Wrong

My brother, T, moved in with us last weekend. He'll be 18 on Thursday. On the drive up to get him, C and I were talking about how to do certain things-bank account, car buying, credit card. You know. And it occurred to us- we are doing this completely backwards. 


We get the kid when we are supposed to be getting rid of the kid. Not that we are trying to "raise" him or anything. I mean, I'm only 8 years older than him-that'd be...weird. We are just here to help him get on his feet. 


The point is, we're supposed to be having a baby, but we aren't. So we have a teenager living in our house. It's...different. All of the things we were used to doing while we lived alone we have to do differently. 


 Like closing the door when I shower. That's the most annoying thing I've noticed. I can't stand a steamy bathroom. Moving on. C seems to be handling the change well, they've always gotten along great. Plus, T came with an Xbox. That's a win for him. And while I'm working out at the Rec Center they play basketball together. Another win. 


 Wait, what am I getting out of this?

Open Letter(s)

Dear Jaycie-

Do you see that green blanket on the floor in the corner of the bedroom? That soft green blanket that we used to couldn't keep you off of? That's yours. I'm giving it to you. Forever. You can sleep there. There. Not on the end of the bed by our feet where you think you should be able to sleep. Not at the end of the bed. You're shedding like crazy. We can't keep you brushed, I'm tired of sleeping in cat hair. Please, reacquaint yourself with the soft green blanket. 

Love,

Your Owner Who Has To Lint Roll The Bed Every Night.

Dear White Blood Cell Count-

Why are you so high? Why am I having to go through countless tests to figure you out? Is it my thyroid? Or something more?  Why are you trying to stress me out? You know how busy I am already, I certainly don't have time to figure you out right now. Fix yourself.

Honestly?

Ashley

Dear Boobs-

Why won't you SHRINK?! For real, I've lost inches (INCHES!) in my waist and hips, but y'all? Y'all are some stubborn bags of fat. I mean, I'm glad I have you and you're there for good reasons and blah, blah, blah...but check yourself. I'm done with being two sizes bigger on the top than on the bottom. You make shopping nearly impossible.

Sincerely,

A Disgruntled Shopper

I Suck At This

I can't keep on a blogging schedule. Apparently I can't make time to do it. I mean I can, I just love sleep way more than blogging right now.

A few things.

The weight loss thing. I'm still at it. If you follow me on Instagram (althompson1) you already know I got this-

It took me three weeks to lose the first 5.2 pounds. It's working! Slowly but surely. 

Pray. My grandma is scaring the youknowwhat out of me these days. She's got a lump on the side of her neck. Hoping it was an infection, the Dr. put her on antibiotics, but they didn't touch it. More Dr. visits/testing to come. Ugh.

We're planning a trip up to see my brothers. We leave in 10 days! I can't wait. My brother is graduating from high school. He's making me feel old. 

C is also taking me on a trip for my birthday this year. More on that later.

I still hate my job. Let me rephrase that-I love my job. I hate the people. And no, I don't care if the internet knows. Boom.

I'm almost finished with Fifty Shades Darker, only one more book to go. What in the hell am I doing with all of my free time that I don't have time to blog OR finish a book within two days? 

C's two year appointments are coming up this next week. Praying for continued health! 

I haven't baked since I started WW and I'm about to die. So? I have a craving for this and that's exactly what I'm making this weekend to take to a birthday party. This way, I can eat a piece and give the rest away. If it sat in my house, I'd eat the whole thing.

Is it the weekend yet?

I've had a headache basically since Wednesday. It mostly bothers me when I stand up. My blood pressure is a bit low (for me) but other than that nothing has changed. Headaches make me nervous.

That's all for now...

A List

So much has been happening since I last posted. It's been nearly a month. What?!

Let me break it down for you.

I haven't had many photo shoots lately. I had a few booked but then they had to cancel at the last minute. That was lame.

I got my Pirelli's.

I bought Fifty Shades of Grey. That might be some of the reason for my lack of posting. I've been stuck in those trashy entertaining books.

I joined Weight Watchers. Things are slow and go right now but we'll see what happens. I'm in the middle of my second week right now.

Chris is currently outside on our patio trying to talk life back into watering our flowers that are all dying from the heat. 

We worked out for the first time today since March 12th. Slackers, I know. And we didn't do our usual 3 miles. It was too damn hot. A mile and a half had to do.

I haven't baked anything in a while. I miss it. I know if I bake it, I'll eat it. So I don't do it. 

We're counting down the days until our mini vacation at the end of the month to watch my little brother graduate from high school.

I feel like more has been happening but I can't think right now!

Pimp My Ride

Does anyone else remember that super tacky show on MTV? I do. They did crazy stuff to beat up cars and made them look...dumb?

So I need new tires. Four of them. Anyone priced tires lately? We have! A few times in fact. And a couple of months back we were told $550 would have us covered. Okay, we can do that. That's not for the "good", or even "best" option, but the "better." The option in the middle. That's what my grandpa always taught me to go with. 

Or something.

Until we got to the tire place Saturday to pay and schedule an appointment to drop my car off, yeah that. We talked to a different guy (who was actually more customer friendly) and he talked me Chris into the "best" option. You know, the most expensive "best" option. I get it. I do. I drive into Austin 5 days a week for work and that's 45ish miles round trip. So my car is driven a lot. 

When the guy told us that there would only be about a $100 difference (plus $100 more for insurance/other things I need/want which the first guy never told us about!) in the price for the "better" tires and the "best" tires, guess who jumped on that. I'll give you a hint, it wasn't me! C was like,  "Let's go with the Pirelli's." What?! What in the hell is a Pirelli and why am I about to spend $750 instead of the $550 that I budgeted for?!

I don't know what a Pirelli is. The only place I'd ever even heard the word was on that MTV show years ago. So you know what they make me think of- stupid looking cars. 

These tires better make me feel like I'm driving on clouds. Or they better have little gold flakes in them. Or they better pay ME to drive them.

OMG.

And if C says one more time, "I want Pirelli's for my car!" I will lose my shit.