parnelli belle 2?

After months of being car-less I have new wheels and couldn’t be more excited about it! Being on medical leave gave me the luxury of being able to take my time. Which sounded great first. But it wasn’t really helping me find anything new within my price range and preferences. Basically, no matter how I sliced it I was coming up about $3000 short of where I needed to be if I was going to get the comfortable, reliable, back friendly vehicle I was looking for. And I did not want to take out a bank loan.

I just kept praying…

I had filed a claim with Aflac following my car accident hoping for some extra car fundage. But that only produced a few hundred dollars. Knowing that I also have hospital, surgeon, and anesthesiologist bills and doctor visit co-pays I knew I had to leave a little something in my bank accounts.

I just kept praying…

Then one day the mail came, my mom opened an envelope, and we all heard her say, “HOLY COW!” An insurance policy my parents previously held had been shut-down and they were sent a refund check. It was for way more than they had expected. Mom double checked everything and the amount was, indeed, correct.

Now, if there is any doubt of how caring and generous my parents are here is but another example. My dad’s response upon learning of this refund was not, “Let’s book a cruise!” or “That’s a lot of book money to spend with my best friends, Barnes and Noble!” Instead it was, “I have been praying for Jennifer to have some more car money. “ Wow. How blessed am I?

And how awesome is God?

So I borrowed a good portion of this refund money from them. With that extra (loaned) cash I was able to buy a really wonderful, very very comfortable, reliable, snazzy, and super back friendly 2002 Honda CRV that I just love love love. Each time I get behind the wheel I am grateful, thankful, appreciative, blessed, and oh so comfy.My last car, my beloved Honda Civic, was named Parnelli Belle. That name was part family lore and part Indy 500 trivia. This new “Mojave Mist Metallic” Honda has yet to be named. The only car driven in the Indy 500 of a similar color was Danny Sullivan’s old Miller High Life car from the 1980’s. He may be from Louisville, but I didn’t really have in mind calling my new Honda “Danny”. One day a moniker will come to me, I'm sure. But I’m also entertaining suggestions…I cannot say enough good things about Grant McCullum at Gary Force Honda here in Bowling Green. From the moment I met him I wanted to do business with him. He was caring and straight forward. There is a reason he is one of the top sales persons at Gary Force. It turns out we’re neighbors and he lives around the corner from us. After we shook on the deal and all breathed a sigh of relief that we’d reached an amount we could both live with my mom got a little emotional. It was then that we let Grant in on some of the things I had been through in the last several months. I recapped from my accident to the back surgery to the drop foot and the fractured ankle. I began to get a little teary eyed and my voice cracked a bit. Then I looked at Grant and saw that his eyes were filled with tears. And I could not be more grateful that I was buying my new vehicle from him. If you are ever in the market for a new/used car please go see Grant.

the discipline of writing something down is the first step toward making it happen. - lee iacocca

If I’m honest I am still very sore.
If I’m honest I’ll tell you that my neck hurts.
If I’m honest I’ll tell you that my chest hurts.
If I’m honest I’ll tell you that my back hurts.
And it’s not like it needed any more helping in being messed up.
If I’m honest I’ll tell you that I’m really groggy right now from a half of a Flexiril that I took last night.
And if I’m honest I will admit to the American public that I am currently driving one of my least favorite cars on the road.

Thankfully The Other Driver’s insurance is covering a rental for me. I went to pick it up the other day & the gentleman at Enterprise walked me out to the parking lot. There were several cars lined up in a row. I was wondering which one I’d end up in and was hoping for the Dodge Caliber in the middle and not the dinky Ford on the end. But Enterprise Guy walked me over to…

A PT Cruiser.

No kidding.
I said: Wow, a big one??
He said: They requested a mid-class.
It is the color of vanilla pudding. The tag on the key ring even says, “Chrysler. PT Cruiser. Vanilla.”

But on the positive side, there are a few things about the Vanilla ZZ Top Mobile that I am enjoying.

• It has an auxiliary jack that I can plug my iPod into.
• This morning I discovered that it has Sirrus radio. I realized this when I was scanning through channels and landed on a DJ who was dropping the f bomb like John McCain drops “My Friends…”.
• It tells you approximately how many miles you have in your gas tank. “289 miles until empty”
• It’s pretty comfortable.
• It’s drives pretty smoothly.
• I have owned 5-speeds since I was 18. They get much better gas mileage. And I like the control of a manual transmission. So, it’s a little weird for me driving an automatic when going up hills or trying to pass. But it’s nice while idling in traffic.

This reminds me, Lee Iacocca and I share a birthday. I guess the joke is on me. Vanilla pudding for everyone!

this used to be a headlight

Thank you so much to everyone who has sent emails and texts or left comments or made a phone call. And thank you for your prayers. I am doing alright. I am still sore. But the muscle relaxants and pain medication have helped ease that – even though they leave me a little groggy. I was able to make it through church this morning without having to get up. Nevertheless, I was glad to know that I could get up to sit in the Cup of Hope (coffee café), where our services are simulcast and there are comfy chairs, if I had needed to. I'm afraid I was pretty shifty through most of the sermon. Yesterday I discovered some new bruises on my chest and ribcage. But the seatbelt burn had begun to fade.Tomorrow I will be tele-commuting. I’ll also talk to the other driver’s insurance company and I am really hoping they will cover a rental car. Although, I’m not exactly looking forward to driving and may have to start out leaving my neighborhood by a different way until I’m used to being back on the horse.Just a few of snapshots of Parnelli Belle. You can now see parts of the car that I don't think you're supposed to be able to see from the outside (see above). Also, the right side is pretty beat up and smashed against the front wheel. And the hood is bowed up on both sides and smashed up on the passenger's side. I have this car for several years...but I love her like she were nearly new. I am so not looking to trade her in for a younger model. Here's hoping she's fixable...

where's the reset button

Today.

Well, today was, um, interesting?

I left for work and before I had even made it out of my neighborhood the front of my car became intimately acquainted with the front of a minivan. The other driver was stopped at a stop sign (at a two way stop…cross traffic does not stop…Jennifer had the right-of-way intersection.) but began proceeding across the street because, evidently, Hondas are so hard to see in the daylight. Especially when you’re gawking at yard sale wares across the street and are not, I don’t know, paying attention to on-coming traffic. I had no where to go. I was able to turn to the left a little which, I believe, probably saved us from more damage or possible physical injury. I am very grateful that no one was seriously hurt.

I am okay, but very sore. The seatbelt sure did do its job in restraining me. But also cut across my chest and knocked the wind out of me. My mom took me to the ER where they took lots of pictures – I think about 15 X-rays - to make sure nothing was cracked or…whatever. My sternum is tender, I have a “burn” from the seatbelt, and my neck, shoulders, and back are sore. The wonderful ER doctor (who, thank You God, had a great sense of humor) advised me to take a couple of days off work and take it easy for the rest of week. He also said I will be even more sore tomorrow and sent me home with a couple of prescriptions. Everyone at the hospital was so nice and caring and I really appreciated that. After the nurse took my blood pressure, pulse, and temperature one last time another woman came into the room to finish discharging me. She began going over my information and said, “Oh, I went to high school with you.” Turns out she was a sophomore when I was a senior. I love being back in Bowling Green. After being gone from the city where I went to high school for 15 years it’s nice to be back and have those hometown experiences. Especially after a long morning in the emergency room.

Honestly, I don’t know how those Indy Car drivers crash into walls at 200 mph, say, “that’s really going to hurt tomorrow”, and get back in the car and do it all again. I was going 30 – 35 mph and I am no hurry to get back behind the wheel at this point. And speaking of Indy Car drivers…

When I thought the day couldn’t be any more crappy I learn this news, Castroneves faces federal tax evasions charges, and I just wanted to cry or throw-up or both. I half expected to watch the vice presidential debates tonight and see Sarah Palin rip off her wig and mask, ala Scooby Doo ending, and really be Dan Quayle in disguise. Or I thought I might turn on the evening news and learn that Amy Grant had been arrested for killing puppies. Or that the Colonel’s “11 Herbs and Spices” include asbestos and kitty litter.

Tomorrow I think I’ll just stay in bed.