I Could Have Gotten Stranded On The Freeway

I can't really complain too much because things could have been a lot worse yesterday. My car broke down, but thankfully, I was at Noelle's when it happened. Thankfully we're a couple of strong, independent women and we can jump a car. Too bad my car was parked in between two unknown cars and it was facing away from the roadway. Sadly, with all the "safety features" my car cannot be shifted out of park unless the car is turned on. Good thing my brother told me about the quick release button hidden in the gear shifter. Unfortunately, I think I broke the cover for it.

Noelle pulled her car around and we realized the jumper cables wouldn't reach. I got the car out of "Park" and Noelle pushed me. We did a 3-point turn without a running engine OR power steering. Of all the people that walked by and looked at us, one guy was finally nice enough to offer to help her push me back into the parking space after he heard her grunting! She's a champ, I tell ya! And now she has a sore back!

Whoever decided it would be a good idea to put a cover over the battery on a Saturn and screw it down is an effing idiot. We had to unscrew the cover from her battery to be able to jump my car. Thankfully we got it started, and then my brother came up to follow me home. Nothing like risking breaking down on the freeway and being stranded all alone. Anyway, once I got home I turned the car off and tried starting it again... and nothing. Because of that, my brother figured the problem was with the alternator. Great... effing great!

I jumped my car this morning and drove it down to the dealership (where my dad works) and gave it to Brent, our trusty mechanic. After about an hour, I got good news. It was just the battery. Not the alternator! Woo hoo! I can deal with $100 bucks! $300 would have been pushing it... I need money for my upcoming trips! So, now my car is fixed, the oil has been changed, it has a brand new battery, an almost full tank of gas, and I'm gonna get it washed later! I hope it stays happy for at least a little longer until I can afford to buy a new one!

PSL No More

So, remember how I spilled an entire effing Venti Pumpkin Spice Latte (PSL) in my car? Yeah, it makes me cry, too. Well, I caved in and took it to the car wash. Not the drive through, DIY car wash, but the one where I ended up paying $40 to have the inside and outside cleaned and the upholstery and floor mats on the driver's side of the car shampooed. Yeah, $40. I probably could have taken it to the guys my dad uses and spent twice that amount and had the whole car done, but I'm broke as it is, and I'll do that in the Spring or something. At least the interior of my car is no longer orange. And there is no threat of it smelling like sour milk. I would gag, and then hurl, and then I'd have myself a whole other problem on top of the PSL fiasco!

Anyone willing?

Is there anyone out there willing to detail my car because you love me so much? Yeah, I didn't think so. Any suggestions regarding how to get Pumpkin Spice Latte out of beige car upholstery? Let me just point out that the whole driver's side of my car is splattered orange. It's on my door, it's on my window, on my driver's side mirror, on the seat, on the carpet, on the seat belt, on the dash, and it even ended up in my hair. I have no idea what to do except to spend the money to have it professionally cleaned. Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!

Torrey, Utah - It's Part of Capitol Reef

It seems like just about everyone I've mentioned Torrey to has asked me what or where the hell it is. So here is the short answer... it's a little town in central/southern Utah that borders Capitol Reef National Park. I'm talking small town as in everything closes at either 7 or 9 PM. EVERYTHING. There is one grocery store, maybe three restaurants, and a few churches scattered about. Rose, Noelle and I decided to go down over the weekend just for a change of scenery. Rose's family owns a "cabin" in Torrey. It's not so much a cabin as it is a second home. Three bedrooms, two baths, full kitchen, dishwasher, clothes washer and dryer, full deck and a hot tub. Not to mention a phone line, TV and computer that is hooked up to high-speed internet. These first five pictures are the view from the house looking west, southwest, northwest, and east. The other angles weren't that fantastic.
We piled into Noelle's car around 4:45 on Friday afternoon ... Noelle drove, I got shotgun, and Rose and Charlie got in the back (Charlie is Noelle's pooch). We drove from SLC to Payson where we stopped to grab coffee at Starbucks. Yes, there's a Starbucks in Payson. From there we drove to Scipio where we stopped for a drink and some gas and then headed east toward Salina. About an hour and a half of the drive (from just past Scipio to Torrey) was done in the dark, so we had to be on the lookout for deer. We saw quite a few grazing and at one point there was a herd running toward the road. Luckily, we didn't have any run-ins with the furry ones. As we were driving along I was playing DJ with Noelle's iPod and a song came on that Noelle didn't recognize. She asked who it was, so I decided to give her a hint... I told her it was Justin Timberlake and "Yo Mamma." She thought and thought and finally asked who the hell "Yo Mamma" was after she recognized Madonna. I started cracking up because she thought I was serious when I said "Yo Mamma." You know, Yo Mamma/Madonna, it all sounds the same anyway!
Once we got to town, we decided to stop and either get dinner, or get the groceries to make it at the house. We also needed mixers for our vodka. Well, let's be real here... the mixers were our first priority, dinner was second. The general store was open until 9:00 and we made it just in time. However, we should have stopped at one of the grocery stores in one of the bigger towns because the prices were astronomical and there was very little to choose from.
After the mixers were safely in our possession we headed to the "cabin." It's always fun to see what something or someone looks like after you've heard stories and formed a picture of your interpretation in your mind. Strangely, even though the house wasn't exactly how I'd pictured it, it was pretty close. We got the car unpacked and got settled in. Noelle was gracious enough to make us dinner, and we enjoyed spaghetti bolognese (not Bolganeese), aka spaghetti with meat sauce and garlic bread. I know I'm forgetting something here, but I'm not sure what... so if it comes to me, I'll let you know.
The rest of the night we just hung around the house, listened to music, chatted and looked at pictures on my laptop. We attempted drinking heavily, but I don't think any of us had more than one cocktail that night. Oh, and I have to back track a bit... when we got to the house, the first item on the agenda was to turn on the hot tub. It takes something like six hours to heat up, so we thought we'd get it brewing in case we were up at 3 AM and wanted to take a dip. Around 1 AM we were all pretty tired and decided to go to bed. We each got our own rooms, and Miss Rose was gracious enough to give me the one with the "prettier" view so I could wake up to it in the morning. Isn't she fab?I slept pretty good that night... I even got the bed with the Scotty Dog blanket on it! I felt pretty cool. Anyway, Charlie came upstairs in the morning to check on his Aunt Rosie and Aunt Erica, jumped in bed with each of us to make sure we were still there and in good condition, and then went back downstairs with his mommy. I think Rose and I each fell back asleep for another hour and a half or so and then got up around 10:30 or so. The three of us decided we were hungry and thought we'd throw some clothes on, doll ourselves up to look presentable and go grab some food. Sure enough, we got to the restaurant around 11:15 or 11:30 and they were serving lunch, so we decided to head to the new coffee shop at the end of town and check it out. The coffee there was really good, and their chais are even better. They've got great, home made pastries along with home made chocolate delights! As Rachael Ray says ~Yummo! After coffee we decided to drive in and check out the park. All the pictures after the first five are from Capitol Reef National Park. Some are from the main road, and others are from a fun little drive we took on a turnoff from the main road. It was tons of fun. We drove around for about three hours, I think. We pulled over at least 30 times to take pictures. We also took pictures while the car was moving. Noelle didn't always feel the need to stop for photography! And after all that, she thinks I'm gonna let her borrow my camera. Yeah, right!This is Rose and Noelle having a lovely moment on the little trail. I think this was right before Rose flashed me. I turned on the video camera and told her to do something, so she flashed me. Nice, I know. Then she proceeded to say a few fairly naughty things, and ended with saying, "Hi Mom!" Oh well, I have it on video and can and will use it against her... not sure when, but I have my ammunition if I ever need it.We decided to take a picture of this so we can change it to say "Nipple Rock Rapture Center." We'd only have to switch the R and the N and find an extra P... it will work eventually. Then the sign is going to be placed in front of the little shack in the picture you see below. We originally named it the "Fornication Shack," but then came up with the "Punany Palace." Tell me, which name do you prefer?Now, there's a reason we had to come up with names for the shack. Apparently on one of her recent trips to the house, Rose was informed by her mother that, "There will be no fornicating in the house!" And if anyone knows Rose's mother, they know she's serious. So we have been on the lookout for places to fornicate (outside the house, of course) should the need arise. We thought it was a good idea.... be prepared like a Girl Scout, you know?We thought this rock was kinda cool... it looks like an opened snake's mouth. Almost looks like the drinking fountain at the zoo...Here's another precious moment of the girls. Rose is leaning because we told her to. She was having issues, but then, she's always having issues, so why was Saturday any different? HahahaHere's me as the Great Cornholio... that's not really what I was going for, but it worked because it was freakin' freezing and the wind was blowing sand in my face. Yes, I'm a dork... I am able and willing to admit to it. This picture above was taken for the benefit of Odum. We named it "Tit Rock."I think this is the ony picture of the three of us that turned out semi-decent. Aren't we cute. We almost froze our asses off but we had so much fun driving around and seeing everything. I even had fun getting left behind while Noelle and Rose drove off without me. I even flashed them and they wouldn't come back for me... I had to catch up to them. Rude!This above picture is that of "Penis Rock" as we named it. It looks like a wang. Boys, what do you think? The shaft up the middle and the head balancing on the top... totally looks like a wang. This is a really cool picture to see how much of the terrain was formed at an angle. Kinda crazy.
Alright... I'm ending this post here because I took an Ambien and need to get in bed. And I want to post this damn thing even though the story isn't done. I will finish the second half of the story tomorrow... the second half will get much better, I promise!

Sitting... Waiting...

I brought my car into get serviced this morning at 10:45, or somewhere around there. It is now, 2:14, and I'm still here waiting... waiting... waiting... Granted, I brought my laptop with me so I could work while I waited, but seriously? Four hours? Ok, my dad just came in and told me it's done. Oil change... check. New brake pads... check. New battery for keyless remote, even though that's not really what the problem is... check! I'm out!