5 Years A Few Days Later

On the 24th Sara and I celebrated our Fifth Year Wedding Anniversary!  Five years!  Our families came together to celebrate Thanksgiving, that year, and 2 days later Sara and I were wed in a small ceremony with 50 of our closest friends and family.

So here we are today.  A family of 3 with a baby approaching 1 year, and very little money.  As much as I would've liked to take Sara out and wine and dine her to celebrate.  Unfortunately, it was not in the cards.  Instead we ordered Italian carry out and opened a bottle of wine that we purchased in San Francisco on our honeymoon.  We put the baby to sleep,  I ran out to pick up the food, and came home to snuggle on the couch with my sweetheart.  Not a bad way to spend the evening.

One of these days I'll be able to shower her with riches, and celebrate our anniversary in style.  For now we'll have to be happy just spending the evening today, and reminiscing on the time we've spent together.  Once again, not a bad way to spend an evening.

Thankfuller?

This year it was a low-key celebration down at my Dad's house.  The family ate dinner and watched the Skins' game.  I was not feeling well, and got worse as the day progressed.  Add on to that the fact that I ate entirely too much and , suddenly, I was uncomfortable, and cranky.   I think maybe Sara and I built up the holiday so much in our head, because it was the baby's 1st, that there's no way it was going to live up to expectations.  That's okay.  Evie Sue's 1st Thanksgiving and she sat at the table and enjoyed smoked turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, and more.
Missed you Mom.   

3 > 1

Today we watched the niece and nephew!  We played some video games, conducted science experiments, goofed off some, visited the library and tested each others' limits.  3 children is much more work than 1.  That probably seems pretty obvious but my math skills were always kinda lacking.

Hard To Say Goodbye

Since last I wrote a Presidential Election has occurred and I have seen another of my scripts come to life in a live theatrical production.

Right now, however, I want to talk cars.  In particular family cars.  My family's cars.  Today Sara and I turned in the old CRV.  This car, originally from my Mom, has served us well since moving to Maryland.  It has almost 273,000 miles on it.  The drivers side door doesn't work, nor does that window.  The fuel gauge warning light hasn't worked for years and I can't remember the last time that the check engine light wasn't constantly flashing in the corner of my vision.  It rumbled when idling, and stalled often but it was a good car.

I drove that CRV around the Baltimore/Washington Beltway in morning and afternoon rush hour traffic for 4 years, and my Mom wrestled with the same type of commute for years before that even.  I've climbed in and out of the passenger side door since last January, maybe when the driver's door stopped opening completely.  For months before that I would unroll the back window, reach around and open the driver's door from the outside.  I have many fond & frustrating memories of the car. 

Earlier this year, when I took the promotion and was, once more given a 40+ mile commute I knew the CRV would not be the car to rely on.  Unfortunately, there was no money at the time for a permanent replacement.  We've been borrowing my Father's 2nd car now for months as we explore our options, and try to find a new car while getting rid of the old one.  Originally I was going to junk her.  I'm glad I didn't.  Carmax gave us 6 times what the junk yard was offering.  (Still not a major financial gain but better than I anticipated.)

So here we are now.  The CRV is gone. I'm driving the Kia Rio 5.  We still are in need of a 2nd car; preferably, a reliable, and affordable one.  I'm commuting up to Towson 5 times a week.  Dad has been unbelievably patient and giving with the loan of his 2nd car, and the Holidays are upon us.  It's hard to believe it's that time of year again. 

Here is the CRV right before we drove it to the dealer.  In the background you can see Sara waiting for me to say goodbye to the old car.

In other news, Obama won the election.  The system is still flawed.  My One Act Play: Brock was produced, and directed by a friend, as part of an evening of One Act Plays at a local high school.  I saw it opening night and was happy to see another script brought to life.  The evening I saw the show had some technical difficulties, and pacing issues but I'm confident that everything worked itself out in the later performances.  I noticed some script issues, as well, and plan to revise some.  Oh, and the baby is almost 11 months!  Time flies...