Car News! Finally...

So Todd and I went to Drew Hyundai/Ford Collison & Repair shop to check up on the status of the car. Thank goodness there was no frame damage. The doors need to be repaired and the engine will undergo a complete turnaround to make sure everything is running properly. Our estimator told us that the total cost of the repairs would amount to aproximately $9k. Wow huh? So Jose (estimator guy) told us that our car should be ready by mid July but that is if all the parts come in on time. We will wait and see. In the meantime, Todd and I are driving a Jeep Liberty from Enterprise and let me tell you...IT SUCKS!!! Not only is it boxy on the outside, but it is boxy on the inside. It is a rear wheel drive (try saying that five times without getting your tongue twisted) and I'm not used to it. So everytime I brake, I look like an amatuer driver learning to brake for the first time. Plus it is a tight fit for all us Big and Tall people. LOL. Waiting for better times to come a rollin' in...

More Pictures of the Damaged Car

Above you can see how much our car had moved from the point of impact. * Note: The Hyundai had to be towed back into place nearer to the curb so this picture does not truly show how far the parked park had moved after the initial accident. (I'm just floored that our car moved this much with the emergency brake on in addition to the regular brakes)


Don't know if you can see it in the above/below picture, but if you notice, the passenger front wheel is directed straight while the front driver side tire is clearly angled toward the street. So that means the axle is either split/broken and the alignment is way off.

The Waiting Game...

Well, all of us at one point in their lives have had their car involved in an accident. We all know how long it takes for a claim to get processed before anything gets done. Todd and I are playing the waiting game right now...really sucks because everytime we come & go from our apartment, we see the damaged car sitting out on the street. Todd says that he gets depressed seeing it sit there because it is a reminder of what happened on Monday evening. Both of us are nervous as to what is going to be done to the car once a claims adjuster comes out to survey the damage to the car. Personally, I just hope that they consider the car totalled/salvaged. I dont feel comfortable driving that car even if it is fixed again, it will never drive the same. But on the same note, we are currently upside down on our loan by 2k. I hope that the lady's insurance will pay the car off entirely if the car is considered a total loss. If not then we are screwed up the butt. I keep kicking myself everytime because I had declined getting gap insurance. But I guess I really shouldn't speculate about things that haven't happened yet. My only hope right now is that the Hyundai gets towed away to Drew Hyundai and we dont have to see the car again. Just really depressed, and haven't been getting any sleep lately. Just venting here. I can only hope now for good news. Peace out!

When it Rains...

Sorry about not posting anything in a long time. Haven't had a lot of news lately to tell. But yesterday Todd and I were dealt a bad blow...but we will get to that later on in the post...

Since the last post, my mom had to go into emergency surgery. She had a blocked vein in her leg that ended up having to be completely removed from the inner leg to her heel. I have been having to take care of her during the weekend, and I must say it was very tiring emotionally and physically. But finally she is doing a little better. I visited her last night and she looked like she had a bit of color back in her cheeks. She also appeared to not be in so much pain. I found out last night that she will have to go back into surgery for the same thing on the other leg within a month. Whooopie! I also found out that my aunt will also have foot surgery in about two weeks. So I will have to two patients to take care of. Hooray for me!

Todd's dad is now carpooling with Todd and I. Makes sense since all of us work within half a mile of each other. With gas prices topping at almost $5 a gallon, carpooling is the best way to go right now. Our arrangement is that Todd and I are driving and in exchange, Todd's parents do our laundry for us. This arrangment works out perfectly since both of us consider our time precious since we have so little of it during the week. So every couple of days, Todd gives his parents our dirty laundry after coming home. Then Todd's dad will take it home and bring it the next day (clean of course. Tee hee) when he meets at our house the next morning to carpool.

So getting down to the nitty gritty...Yesterday Todd and I were not having the best day in general. When we got home, we parked and we realized that the manager was standing outside near our apartment door. Hmmmm...thats wierd we thought. Well I stayed in the car because Todd and I were going to go to Souplantation for dinner and Todd was going to give our dirty laundry to Todd's Dad. Well Todd came back to the car and mumbled something very quickly and then told me to go upstairs and get the laundry for his Dad. Well, I go and get the laundry and give it to his dad when Todd's dad Greg, tells me, "You realize that your car got struck by another car right?' I look out toward the street and realize that Todd's Hyundai Santa Fe that was parked on the street was struck by a vechicle on the passenger side of the car. How depressing. So we looked at the damage and it looks like the frame has been damaged and there is a lot of internal damage to the car. I will post a few pics of what the front damage looks like.

So we found out that one of the tenants from our apartment complex was trying to make a left turn out of the parking lot in our apartment complex. The Hyundai was parked across the street. Well anyhow, the lady was in the process of turning left when a car was flying up the street. The other car stopped in time, but the lady who hit us panicked and gunned it going straight. In order to avoid going into a ditch, she swerved and hit our car before resting in....the ditch that she tried to avoid. The pictures above just show the front damage to the car. There is so much internal damage to the car that it is not safe to drive it anymore. If it is getting fixed, it has to be towed away. Yeah its that bad. Todd and I are not sure what to do at this point but I will keep everyone posted with the latest details of what is happening with our claim. Talk to you later!

Camping Trip - Part Deux

This past weekend, Todd and I went camping again up in Mount Laguna. It was a lot nicer this time around and I will explain why. Our previous camping experience was a learning experience of what works and what doesn't. Todd and I got two good sleeping bags, a new hatchet, a 7 gallon water jug, two containers for washing and rinsing our dishes, a new Coleman (guarranteed not to leak) air mattress. Let me tell you what a difference it made! The mattress stayed inflated the whole night. Todd and I were surprised because every air mattress we ever had has always deflated by the next morning. Plus we had our sleeping bags. They kept us so nice and warm. The weather was not as bone-chilling cold as it was last weekend we went camping, nor was it windy. The water jug was a lifesaver. In addition to providing the water we needed to wash our dishes, it was also a great way to wash our hands after using the bathroom or to just wash our hands if they were soiled with dirt. Todd's new hatchet allowed him to chop the wood we needed for our camping trip in half the time it took last time we went camping.

Since Todd and I knew what to expect this time, we were better prepared in setting up camp, cooking food, and breaking down camp. Cooking outdoors is still something Todd and I will have to perfect with experience. Hashbrowns do not cook well in the outdoors, they never seem to brown. On the other hand, Todd was able to marinate two juicy steaks in Jack Daniels marinade of garlic and spices. It was served with instant potatoes, which by the way was a lifesaver since it was VERY easy to prepare. We also had garlic shrimp scampi pasta. Only took 30min to make from start to finish and it was very aromatic when we were cooking it.

Sleeping was another thing that I did again at this camping trip. It was so nice and relaxing. I did not get sunburnt again. I was smart and put sunscreen on when I got to the campsite but I forgot to put on OFF! mosquito repellant until Saturday evening. I didnt get eaten alive by the mosquitos. I just have two bites. One on my right knee which itches like crazy, and one on the left side of my forehead. So it looks like I am growing a horn on my head. LOL. At least today it is going down in inflammation.

Well peoples, thats it for today. I am back at work. It sucks coming from being so relaxed to being in the hustle and bustle of a rat race again. But that is life right now. Take care and stay classy!

Camping Experience - Highs and Lows

HIGHS
Wow! All I can say about this past weekend is just WOW! Went up to the campground at Laguna (near Julian). We had space 41 which was awesome because it was one of the more secluded sites in the campgrounds. There was no one to the left of us and the campsite to the right of us was at least 500-1000 feet away. There was plenty of shade since there were a lot of trees. Todd and I set up our camp between two trees that gave us constant shade throughout the entire day.

Friday it was windy and rather cold. You had to have your sweater or jacket on or else your teeth would be rattling. Friday was really spent on getting the campsite all set up with our gear since we did not get to the campsite until about 3:30 in the afternoon. Then by the time we had set up our camp it was about 5pm. We got hungry and broke out the pork ribs my mom made us. Boy were they yummy! They were already cooked but Todd wanted to reheat them over the grill and add some BBQ sauce. There was so much meat on the bone and the meat was cooked to where the meat fell away from the bone. YUMMERS!!! In addition to the pork ribs, we all got to sample two delicious salads that Chrissy got at the supermarket. The first salad was this taco salad. It had little tortilla chips, salsa as the dressing, and some mexican cheese. The second salad was this meditteranean salad. It had pine nuts, and sunflower seeds in it. The dressing was poppy seed. Chrissy added avocado to the salad and boy I tell you, I could eat that salad til the end of my days it was so delicious. Then as the evening progressed, the winds finally started to die down and it was then that it started getting really cold. We all wanted to set up a camp fire but since it was windy throughout the day, the forest ranger said we could not have open fires unless the winds went down and they gave the ok. Well much to our relief, the forest ranger came around and told us that we could have a small camp fire. We were so happy to have a campire going. It provided the much needed heat to take the chill off our bodies. The evening was spent sitting around that fire talking, roasting peanuts over the fire, and eating melted roasted marshmellows. Or as Chrissy would say, "I need a marshmellow chaser! For my Patron!" We all ended up going to bed early around 9pm. The winds had picked up and when I was laying in bed inside our tent, I couldn't help but wonder if we were going to be picked up with the howling winds. Since it was windy outside, it made for a very cold night. I was freezing and nothing I could do would get me warm. I finally had to ask my husband Todd to come into bed with me so we could share some body heat and more blankets. I finally fell asleep....

Saturday I woke up and nature was calling me. I have to tell you that pit toilets were a completely new experience for me. I want to call them a more dignified version of the port-a-potty. Well moving on...Todd made breakfast for Chrissy and I. It was a learning experience for Todd since he had never really cooked on it other than grilling meat on it. In the end, Todd made us a fabulous breakfast of fried eggs, hashbrowns and sausage patties. Just as we were finishing up breakfast, Ian & Lindsay came to the campground, so we helped them set up their stuff. Then around 11am, Chrissy's parents came up and they set up camp. It was so nice having everyone there. They were all very enjoyable to be around. We were all laughing at how close the squirrels got to us because they wanted peanuts. We saw a lot of blue jays and bluebirds. They often came within 5-6 feet of us before flying away. We also heard wild turkeys in the distance. Saturday was spent mostly sleeping the afternoon away and coming out at night to sit around the fire and count the beautifully bright stars scattered across the night sky. Saturday was a much better day since there was no wind and it was slightly warmer. When Todd and I went to bed that night, we both decided to sleep together on the bed so we would both be warm throughout the night. I slept a lot better that Saturday night.

Sunday. Woke up Sunday and Todd made these awesome Egg McMuffin breakfast sandwhiches. They were oh so yummy. Afterward, Todd and I decided to pack up our gear and load it in the car. We both wanted to go and take a shower since it would be the first time taking a shower since Friday morning. Let me tell you...The shower was awesome! I just felt little layers of dirt coming off. The water was nice and hot. So after our shower it was time to hit the road and go home. Well Todd, Chrissy and I stopped at Dudleys to get their bread. How can you not stop there and not get bread. It would be a sin to pass this place up. Well, we all got home safely but boy were we beat. Todd and I got into our apartment and just passed out on the bed for about an hour. In the meantime we plugged our cell phones in so they could charge up since they had died while up there.

LOWS
Well as soon as Todd and I woke up from our nap on Sunday, I started up my cell phone and noticed that I got a voicemail. Who it was, I didnt know. I figured that it was my mom calling us to see if we got up to the campsite safely. Well we had no phone reception up there so I didnt recieve the voicemail until I got back home. Well imagine my surprise when I checked my voicemail and my bank had left a message regarding my account. Apparently, there was unauthorized activity going on our VISA debit card that is connected to our checking account. Apparently, $250 had been approved and was a pending transaction on our checking account (thereby reducing our available balance by half). What caught the VISA fraud department's attention was that all the transactions occured on Friday in the evening, after we had gone on our camping trip. Then later on, they had to decline a sale for $3,500 for Mervyns. Needless to say, both Todd and I were shocked. Most of the transactions were done online or over the phone according to the phone representative. Well we had to shred our cards and deactivate them from the checking account. So now Todd and I have to wait two weeks to get our new cards and we have to wait until we get our money back from the bank. Bummer.

Concluding Thoughts
I have never been camping before this weekend, unless you count camping in the backyard. I have to say that camping was an exhilarating experience that I was happy to be a part of. Sure there were ups and downs, but overall its the wonderful experience of being a part of nature and absorbing all the beautiful aspects of it in its flora and fauna that really makes me feel blessed to be alive. Peace out everyone. Stay Classy.

CAMPING!!!!

Oh my goodness!!! I am so excited. I am finally getting over a really bad bout of bronchitis. I can breathe again. But most importantly, I am looking forward to going camping this weekend in Laguna. Todd and I have been looking forward to this for about two months and never thought it would ever come. Well here it is! The wonderful thing of camping is just vegging out on hearty comfort food and sleeping whenever you feel like it. For once, life is good and you don't have a care in the world when you are camping. Yep, really looking forward to it. I am going camping with best bud Chrissy and her cousin Ian and his wife Lindsay. That should prove to be a very fun and hilarious camping trip. I will have to post some pictures when we get back.