Tuesday, August 30, 2011

RIP Jeep. Welcome to the Family Toyota

So... I know I have been a little quiet these past few weeks. It's not that I haven't wanted to write; in fact all I really would prefer to do right now is to write.  Writing would help me process so much of what is going on in this crazy brain of mine.    A LOT has happened since I've turned 29, but I'll ease you into it slowly.

Thank you all for the warm wishes on turning 29.  It was a good birthday.  Very good birthday!  My birthday girl's night out was a success.  (as you can see from this post)  Then my husband got his sister to take the boys over night the next day and we had a great evening together.

My husband and I are huge movie buffs so we did a double feature and saw "Planet of the Apes" and then saw "The Help" right after that.  Both movies were amazing.  Believe it or not, I think Planet of the Apes was my favorite.  It was such a phenomenal movie.  Cried a bunch and CAN NOT wait to see what they do with the next one.  The Help was pretty awesome too.  My BFF came with us to that one.  I was so excited she could come out with us.  I cried a lot in that movie as well, and really would recommend both those movies to anyone.  Jesse and I then went out to get a bite to eat and then went back home to a quiet house.  It was a fantastic week to say the least. 

However my birthday DAY was uneventful besides the visit from my Bestie and SIL with some pretty flowers and a really yummy chocolate cake.  Oh yea.... and the call from my father saying that he had just gotten into a car accident with my car.

Thankfully he was not hurt and in no way was I mad at all that it happened.  Accidents happen, right?!  He was so upset with himself, I felt more bad for him then my car because he thought he had ruined my birthday.  Far from it!  He was safe, no one was hurt... a car is a car, it can be fixed or replaced.

When he got home all you could see was damage to my back passenger side door.  It really didn't look terrible.  The worst I thought it would be was replacing both doors.

After a week of not knowing what was happening with my car and getting no answers, the place supposedly fixing my car finally called me to tell me that they were up to $7500 of damages and the insurance company was going to call it a loss.  This was a shot out of left field.  Didn't expect that to be the case at all.  I learned a lot of lessons that week.  1.  Don't have a $1000 deductible.  2. ALWAYS have car rental on your policy because it SUCKS being stuck at home with no car.  3.  Losing and finding a replacement car in a matter of weeks takes a lot of time and hard work.  I can feel the stress building up in my back.   

Thankfully a few months back Jesse and I threw around the option of trading in my Jeep for a minivan, so I had already done a lot of research on minivans and I knew what I wanted.  I just needed to find the best deal for our pocket.  We got some money back from the insurance company (more than I expected to get) and my parents paid for the deductible so we could put a good amount down.  After all the searching and looking I found a great deal on a 2004 Toyota Sienna. Everything I wanted!  Perfect for a growing family.

I have to say that I'm pretty darn proud of myself  ~ Last week my husband was SWAMPED with work.  Crazier than normal with work issues so most of the time I was on my own to find us a car.  I did all the work, even test drove cars all by myself.  When I found the one we wanted, I even negotiated by myself and get this.... I got him to come down $2000!!!!  I learned a lot through this process.  I learned I am smarter and tougher than I look.  I knew what I was talking about when I went in there and most of the car guys were impressed with the questions I asked.  I didn't just find a pretty car and say "I want this."  I looked at a lot of cars, a lot of deals and I feel that I got a great one.

And on Saturday, we finally had a car!  We bought the best car for our family and I'm thrilled that I put so much work into finding it.  It makes driving it that much better, knowing all the hard work I put into getting it.  To some a car is just a car, but for me it's something more.  I plan on having this car for a long time. It's the car I will take my kids to school in and pick them up in.  It's the car we will take many memorable family vacations in.  This car is something that will keep my family safe when driving... and I feel safe in it.
What do you think?!

So that is where I have been for the past two weeks.  I have hardly had time to even process all of this, but wanted to let you all know where I have been.  Forgive me for being so behind.  I even missed blog posts two of my friends wrote about me on my birthday and didn't see them until a week later.  FAIL! I will make some time today to catch up on all your blogs.  Miss reading all of them and excited to have a little more time in my day now.  Hope you all have been doing well!  


19 comments:

Mrs. Mama said...

yaya new car!!!! love it! :)

Leah said...

The new van looks awesome! Good for you for doing so much work to find it. I happen to be a terrible negotiator unfortunately.

Lauren said...

Look at you go girl!!! :) Proud of you!!! Enjoy the new car!!

Katie @ Loves of Life said...

So happy for you that you got the minivan you wanted. Don't you love how moms always end up wanting minivans no matter HOW many times they swear they don't? ha. I love it. I'll probably end up with one one day too. I just know it.

Its beautiful!

Oh, and did Ian get a new carseat?

The Life of Susan said...

love the new van! it's so beautiful!!! can't wait to ride in it! haha

way to go on doing all that work lyr. so empowering! yay!!!

Etosia (e-tasha) said...

Wow you go girl! Dealing with those car salesman is not an easy thing to do! And I love your new ride!

Megan Ashley said...

Glad everything worked out, and YAY for the new car. Love it

Lauren said...

ughh..bummer about the accident, but I'm glad you found yourself a new-to-you car!

Michelle said...

The new van looks awesome! I will be upgrading to a Honda Odyssey sometime in the next year or so. Did you buy from a private party or dealer? I feel like dealers are so expensive I am probably going to go the private party route.

Christina said...

very nice. great job!

Noe said...

You Did Great! I'm such a Toyota fan too, I just got a 2004 Allex two months ago. and I am as happy as I can be with it too :)
Happy Belated B-day! and Txs for the movie recommendations {even though they will only get here in a few weeks }

Melissa said...

Congrats on the new car and great deal!

Sarah D said...

Glad your FIL is safe and great van!

Unknown said...

love the new car! nice work too :)

Moments and Impressions said...

Go Lyr!! Love those vans. Seriously though - doesn't look like over $7000 in damages WOW.

Trina said...

I'm missing your posts my friend! But I know how life gets. I'm glad you dad didn't get hurt and good for you on talking the guy down $2,000! That is a huge accomplishment!

I'm a bit jealous of the minivan :)

Laura @ My Thoughts-Uninterrupted said...

Congrats on the new van! I can imagine the stress of having to do it so quickly since we just did this ourselves but I'm sure you feel waaaaay better now that you are rocking out your new vehicle!

Sare said...

DUDE! I just had a similar experience! I'm so with you on the rental thing too - it saved me!!! Glad you found something you like!!!

melifaif said...

Well damn. {sorry} I am in the same predicament...well kinda. I wrecked my car. But I am still searching for my new car. Still. It's been five weeks. I am lucky my mom loaned me her car....wish me luck on finding one this week!!!!