Alas, the long car search has finally ended...

So about 2 months ago we started entertaining the idea of getting a new car. If we ever wanted to have another kid we'd have to get a new car seeing as children must be in booster seats til they're 35 and we couldn't fit 3 across in our Charger. Not to mention it had been about 10 months since our last car switcharoo and in my time, that's LONG.

So we began our search. Our list included:

Honda Odyssey






Honda Pilot








Toyota Highlander









Toyota Highlander Hybrid





Toyota Sequoia








Toyota Sienna




Volvo XC90








Land Rover LR3







Nissan Armada








Nissan Pathfinder








Acura MDX








Mazda 5







Dodge Durango







We researched blue book, safety, crash test ratings, JD Power & Assoc., reliability, resale value, etc. and were quite surprised by many things we found. For example, we had always thought that the Volvo was the safest car out there. Both my oldest brother and my youngest brother rolled & ran into a tree (respectively) and escaped unscathed. Apparently that is no longer the case.

We looked into the Mazda 5 (the mini minivan) just to find out that it had less space than any of the SUVs we looked at and in my opinion, should no longer be allowed to carry the title of "minivan." I mean, if I'm going to drive a minivan, I'd like it to have the features that a minivan should, like lots of seating, lots of cargo space. Poor Mazda 5 was like the ugly stepsister.... but affordable. I'll give it that much.

I also realized that nearly all used minivans come thrashed inside. I was excited about the prospect of a 2006 Honda Odyssey under $20k with Nav & DVD, early on in our search, only to find out that the previous owners children and dog had exploded inside.

I think the reason we've had such a high turnover rate in cars is because we've always settled. We've never really gotten the car that we want with the features that we want and merely purchased based on our budget alone. So when we finally compiled a list of MUST haves in our new vehicle we came up with the following:

AWD
Seating for 7-8
Rear DVD
Leather
High resale value
Reliable
Safe
Gets at least 20mpg on the highway
Less than 60k miles on the engine
Around $20k

So little by little, vehicles were getting ruled out. The Highlander Hybrid was out of our budget, the Nissan Armada, Toyota Sequioa, & Land Rover got horrible gas mileage. The Durango had a terrible resale value, the Volvo had awful ratings (safety & reliablity), couldn't find a Sienna or Odyssey with AWD in our price range. So it came down to the Acura MDX & Honda Pilot.

Seeing as the Acura MDX is basically a luxury Honda Pilot. it didn't really matter which way we went as long as we got the features and the price we wanted. After looking at the brand spanking new Honda Pilot and doing the math, we realized a 2006 would suit us just fine. After a couple of failed attempts at negotiating during previous weekends, we headed up to Portland sans kids on Saturday. We initially went to look at a 2006 Acura MDX with Nav, DVD, leather and only 45k miles for $21k: a sweet deal. Too bad as soon as we got there there was another family with 2 kids in the process of financing it. Awe snap. I gave them dirty looks as we left.

So off to the Honda dealership. This particular Pilot was a 2006 EXL with the rear entertainment package. It drove great, had 55k miles on it, Honda certified... and after a LONG day of negotiating and 2 months of research, we drove home with our new car!

HOWEVER, last night we decided to try and figure out the DVD system and ended up getting completely locked out of our car because it thought we were trying to steal it. I about freaked out. Fortunately, Tony called the dealership this morning and we got "unlocked" and we are going to get our DVD player fixed tomorrow morning. Goodtimes.

Despite last nights craptasticness, we are officially done car shopping! Thank you to everyone who shared their thoughts and opinions on cars with me! It was very enlightening... I think we'll have this one for a while... This is the first time I've ever wanted to "pimp my car." I want new rims, running boards, tinted glass... I know... I'm ridiculous. But if you know me, and the way I work (Example A: when Tony & I got married I refused to use any of our wedding gifts in our apartment because it was only temporary. We could only use them once we bought a house. Example B: I didn't want to paint, redo our floors or tile our countertops in our house until I knew we'd be staying there a while.) then you'd know that if I want to improve on something then it's something I really want to keep.

Why did my 3 year old have to go and get smart on me?

So the other day Tony was disciplining Spencer for something, can't really remember what, it happens so often these days...

As per usual Spencer keeps asking the same question, "Why?"

Finally Tony responds with, "Because I'm in charge."

Spencer sits there for a moment and then very sweetly says, "I think it's about time I be in charge now."

I'll admit it, I am a 13 year old girl, but a 13 year old girl with dreams!

I don't read. No really, I literally abhor reading. In the 4th grade I got glasses for reading and I have since sworn reading off so I wouldn't have to wear my glasses. Purple frames with purple lenses, you would have stopped reading too if you had to wear such a hideous attempt at fashion in the 80's. Since then, I sort of read in high school (cliff notes), rarely read in college and I have read only 7 books for pleasure in my entire lifetime. Four of those 7 were the 4 books of the Twilight Series...

I am in love with Edward Cullen. I know, I'm not 13 and it's probably pretty pathetic that a 27 year old woman will admit to such things. But I cannot stop thinking about those books! It's like they put some sort of drug in between the pages. I started reading Twilight only because a friend of mine lent it to me to read on the 5 hour flight to Hawaii. Within 2 days I was finished and needed more. I downloaded the rest of the series onto my iPhone and finished it all within 2 weeks. Let me re-emphasize... I DON'T READ. It's that good.

So last night I was checking out the trailer for New Moon, book 2 of the series, and got so completely giddy, I invited myself over to one of my girlfriend's houses to re-watch Twilight. The second time around was just as good as the first, aside from one minor detail... Kristen Stewart ruined the main character.

I say this in the nicest way possible, but she did an awful job. I cannot believe someone actually thought that she would do this role any justice.

I am not one to criticize people who have talents that I do not possess. I'd never say anything about fencing or football, or marketing, etc... I am no good at such things, and therefore usually keep my mouth shut. As for acting, not to toot my own horn, but I have been acting since I was 3, and I have a hard time when I know I can do better than some people who actually get paid to act.

With that in mind, I have made it a goal of mine to somehow get cast in the 3rd movie of the Twilight series: Eclipse. I heard that they start filming in the Portland area in August. Please please please, if you have any information as to the when and where or casting fill me in! Seeing as Portland is an hour and a half away, I am gonna need all the inside help I can. If Kristen Stewart can do it, why can't I?