Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Happy 1/2 birthday, Lucy!


So, I've had Lucy the Lexus for six months.



Those pics above are on the day I purchased her. That was the same day Whitney Houston died. It was COLD and windy that day. And we were in the parking lot waiting for the salesman to put the dealer tag on.

And my sister Kentucky said "I'ma get it started for you, Lisa!"

She clapped her hands and stomped her feet.

And I did the... *church jog*church jog*church spin*church jog*church spin*CHURCH SHOUT*

GLORY!!!!!

All out in the middle of the parking lot! I know the salesman was like "What the...?"

Whatever. Woulda bust some olympic style cartwheels if I could that day. I'd just purchased my dream car. Debt free. Well, I threw it on a credit card, and paid for it 2 days later. Good enough! No car note!

My sister suggested I run her out to Texas and back at top speed to make sure she wasn't a lemon. Nerp. That is some craziness. A good idea, though. But a no go.

So...

Lucy is 6 months old!

And, in celebration, I have some more pictures of Lucy.

*Blog fam rolls eyes* "Oh LadyLee, must we suffer through more Lucy pictures!?"

Yas! Yas'm! Yas you will! It's like a child! You will suffer through pictures, mayne!

LOL

Anyway, I've only had this car washed once. I suppose I should be having it washed and waxed every two weeks, but uh, that's not in my budget. I do the dirty finger test: slide my finger across the hood and examine my finger for grime. If there is grime? It's time to get it washed.

So here are pictures of Lucy getting a bath, i.e., at the carwash.

Lucy going through the washer!
Lucy getting vacuumed out!
Lucy getting buffed and waxed!
And then we came home. I parked Lucy in the garage!

You can't tell there, but Lucy was squeaky clean!

There's another garage picture.


(Look at Pam in the background over in the driveway! LOL. She needs some new hubcaps. You know it's bad, that when I see a car like Pam... it flashes through my mind to follow the car and steal the hubcaps. O_o. Not gonna do that, though. I still drive Pam. I put 100 miles on her the other weekend when I decided to go explore a little city in the far west suburbs. She is still as reliable as ever!)

Lucy hasn't been washed since that day, and that was around Memorial Day. Lucy doesn't appear to be dirty. She will get a quick wash and vacuum around Labor day.

You may think I am always talking about Lucy.

Yes I am. This has been my favorite car since 1999. I like the 2nd generation Lexus. I don't like the newer cars for the most part because they all look alike to me.  And it is stupid for me to have a $500 car note when I only drive around 5000 miles a year. So it was nice to get the car I wanted waaaaaay back then.

And not having to pay $40,000 for it.

And it is also important because it is an item on a vision board I made as an assignment for my journal writing group.


I was making it thinking "This is so stupid. Why am I doing this?" But I remember being determined to complete the little project so I would have something to bring to the next meeting.

A month or so ago, I remembered making the vision board and that I had a picture of my dream car on it. So I dug around in my closet and found the rolled up wrinkled vision board.

And there was that car on there.


And that meant much to me. For so many years I've been hollering "Pam is my spare car!" People laughed, and I laughed too. Lucy was my main car. The problem was that I hadn't purchased it yet. BUT it was on the vision board.

I learned an important lesson from this: Make a vision board!

That one above is 4 years old. And I've done a ton of things that were tacked up on that board. I've finished the manuscripts I had listed. I've traveled. I've made some progress on my vision statement, even maturing in some parts of it.

Time to make another one. My goal is to have one together by the end of the year.

I was talking to my sister about a vehicle I wanted for my 44th birthday. (Yes, I NEED for her to be thinking about it. She negotiated Lucy for me. You can't beat talking folks down by 40%. So she needs to think about this NOW.)

That ride already has a name: Frank. I saw at least 5 of them today! And I hollered "Hey Frank!" LoL

That's some 18 months away. And Frank is cheaper than Lucy. And Frank is gonna be tacked up on a vision board. Yes sir.

So that is important, to have a vision of some sort. Now I don't have it together like many of you, with your 3 year and 5 year plans. I just don't think like that. But I can tack a few things on a board, write out some desires, etc. I truly can.

And I most definitely will.

I remember some of the vision boards of some of the ladies of the group that day. The range of desires was a broad spectrum... one young lady had been having trouble conceiving so her board contained a baby. Someone else wanted their dream job. Another wanted to own their own home. Others wanted peace of mind. And it was GREAT to see over the years all of these ladies get what they want. I tell you, there is NOTHING like holding a baby in your hands that has been dreamed of and prayed for. I make sure they let me hold that child. The baby was thought of and hoped for before it even existed. And to hold the warm breathing manifestation in my arms... Wow.

Now if that ain't vision, I don't know what is.

Back to Lucy...

I had trouble with Lucy for a couple of months. No, not mechanical trouble (this car drives GREAT), but emotional and mental trouble. And I hate to admit that. Trouble as in, I felt guilty about buying her.    She wasn't expensive, but I could've use that money to help someone else. Trust me, I have gone waaaay over and beyond this year already when it comes to helping folk. I have truly shocked myself. Yet I can stand here and definitively say that I am not a selfish person. And man oh man, that makes me happy and at peace with myself in that regard. But I could have done so much more if I hadn't bought the car, and I felt guilty behind that. I prayed about it (whined about my feelings, really) and the answer was "You always thinking of others, yet you rarely do anything for yourself. So BE QUIET." Very odd answer. But I accept that. And now I can say I truly enjoy the car...without the guilt.

People will always need help. And people will be just fine.

Lucy will be going in the shop soon, because I have NO idea when the timing belt, water pump and all that stuff was changed. No idea. I called a place that specializes only in Lexuses, and got an very good estimate and they asked how in the world did I find a lexus that old with such low miles (most have about 250,000-300,000 miles by now)? I told them I knew it was a good deal, and it drives GREAT. Hopefully she drives the same when she comes out. I just need a baseline for scheduled preventive maintenance.

So Happy half birthday, Lucy. Yes, you are 13 years old, but you have been in my charge for only 6 months.

So you are 6 months old to me. I am very thankful for you.

So glad I bought you!

(I am really going long with these posts, ain't I? LOL. You will be alright, with your ADD self. You better comment often if you want to better your chances for that 7th Bloggaversary $77 gift card! See post for details!)

12 comments:

  1. Lee, I know how you feel about the guilt thing...I'm like that as well.
    Enjoy Lucy, you've worked hard for her and you help others. You deserve to reward yourself.
    I can't believe your car looks just like the picture...WOW!

    ReplyDelete
  2. So we're doing 6-month birthdays now? LOL Good for you! I wish I had someone to negotiate deals for me. I'm looking to get a convertible next summer. I think I'll be working on my new vision board when my birthday comes around. Now that the Princess has departed, my life really looks different and so does my vision!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous10:55:00 AM

    Vision board??? hmmmm....I gotta do one :) I agree with Ali the car on your vision board looks exactly like the car you bought.Off to do a vision board now....

    Nikki

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous1:43:00 PM

    Happy Six Months to Lucy, and I need to get busy on my vision board.

    Stacie

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous4:04:00 PM

    HAPPY 1/2 BIRTHDAY LUCY....I celebrate my half birthday 2....June 22.... having a birthday 3 days before Christmas really STINKS..enough about me...

    I don't really wash my car(Vanessa) often...not one of my favorite things to do...

    I have only made a vision board once...during my divorce...now that I think about it...most things on it came to fruition...GOTTA MAKE A NEW ONE...

    DEE in san diego

    ReplyDelete
  6. That's what I need a negotiator. LOL!
    You deserve Lucy!

    ReplyDelete
  7. @all... Look at ya'll... trying to win some doggone COOKIES! LOL

    @ali... the whole guilt thing. Girl, me and you gotta sit and talk about that. Sigh.

    I was taken aback when I saw the car on the picture was basically the same as the car I bought. I honestly forgot about it.

    @Chele... "6 months" was a good timeframe for me to properly assess my feelings about the whole thing, Ma...

    Yes, Kentucky is a BEAST when it comes to cars. She does her research!

    @Nikki and Stacie and Dee... Yes, I think it is a good idea to do a vision board. Even if it is on a 8x11 piece of paper. It at least allow you to get your dreams in front of your eyes.

    @Remnants... Yes, my sister is the BOMB. Back in 2009, she found the car she wanted... a 2004 model, with, get this, only 13,000 miles on it. She went to the dealership to take a look at it, and they were hiding it from people! LOL! She got that car!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I love that you call her Lucy and had all those photos of her as if you are watching her grow. Cute!

    ReplyDelete
  9. *blows cobwebs off of my laptop* Happy half born day to you Lucy! I do half born days too! LOL. Ok, I wanna know what kinda car is Frank?

    ReplyDelete
  10. I haven't done a vision board this year. I need to get on it because the last vision I did almost everything came to fruition.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Happy Birthday Lucy .. I wanna know is Frank an suv .. Are you about to but some big rims on Frank and take it down to U shine I shine ???

    ReplyDelete
  12. Happy 6 months Lucy!!!

    YES ENJOY HER!!!!!!!!!!

    ReplyDelete

Slap the *crickets* out the way, kindly step up to the mike, and SAY something!!