WE HAVE A NEW CAR!

We bought a 1998 Subaru Forester, white (yes, I still hate white cars, but what are ya gonna do?!), manual, AWD, $3700, 98K miles... and yesterday I went for my first lesson in driving a stick shift...

Well, I didn't break the car. And I didn't break my marriage. A wonderfully accomplished day, if you ask me! I thought I did remarkably well considering that although I'm not a clutz and have never broken a bone, I don't really think of myself as all that coordinated a human being... I realize it's all timing and coordination, but I really think part of my biggest problem is not associating "downshifting" with increasing your speed going up a hill. Innately I feel you "give it more gas" in order to "give it more power." It just doesn't seem to work that way with a manual transmission. Of course, it could all be in the translation - maybe I just don't understand Jack's instructions/explanations... It could have been filmed for a movie - how cliche - I'm at a stop sign at a traffic light in the Meadowlands (near Medieval Times, for any of you who know the area) and although there's turn on red there, I'm behind the wheel of a car with a stick shift, so the automatic (pardon the pun!) "look three ways and proceed" just wasn't happenin'! I was in a mild panic 'cause there was a car behind me, but Jack told me to take my time and turn when I was ready. So I was talking myself through it when all of a sudden, Mr. Rude Driver in the silver sedan behind me blew his horn. Well, I stalled. Three times. And each time I stalled, it bucked, and I got flushed, and cranky, and sweaty... AND THEN, WHEN I FINALLY TURNED THE CORNER, HE WENT STRAIGHT AHEAD!!! Whoever you are - you suck!!!

But I'm sure with a little practice and a lot of praying, I'll be able to drive a manual transmission and Jack and I will still be the happy-newlywed-couple-even-after-7.5-years that we are today!
I worked hard this weekend, even though I believe with all my heart that weekends are for goofing off! When you work all week and are almost never home in the evenings, weekends just have to include some housecleaning and other boring chores. Although I didn't squeeze in any scrapbooking, here's my weekend in a nutshell:
Saturday 1/27 -
* up at 6:30am, in the car at 7:00am, en route to the DMV to register my white non-rental Forester, even though we found out the DMV opens at 8:00am on Saturday
* at Panera's for coffee and a bagel by 8:45am (thanks, DMV, for being so efficient and easy this time!!! For NJ residents, bet you never thought I'd ever write anything like that!!!) - Panera's is Jack's new favorite b'fast place (along with our local Atlanta Bread Company)
* home by 10:15am and back in the car at 11:10am to go to the lakehouse to check for frozen pipes - it was COLD this past Saturday - 0 degrees in the house according to our weather barometer thingee on the island and 23 degrees outside - we poured some more anti-freeze in the pipes, crossed our fingers, and left for Wal-mart
* 12:00noon - shopping at Wal-Mart - bought a pair of jeans that claims they will make me look thinner - we'll see
* home by around 4:30pm, ate dinner normal time, then showered and left to see Tommy's band, 50 Amp Fuse, play in between Alternative Groove sets at the Exchange on Main Street in Rockaway - their band is great, but I think their singer isn't as good as their musicians are - we had a great time, though!
* home at 1:15am - tuckered out
Sunday, 1/28 -
* 7:00am - up for Mass at 8:00am
* 8:00am - Mass
* 9:00am - breakfast at Atlanta Bread Company
* 10:30am - home with the TV on - took down Christmas tree (don't worry - it was a fake one!) - now that Mom's home and we had our belated Christmas dinner/party, the decorations (sans my Santa collection) can come down without tears! AND I WORKED MY A-S OFF (well, if only it was that easy!) - It's all down except for a candle in the main bathroom, a sled-and-only-three-tiny-reindeer in the stairway, and the clingy gel "Merry Christmas" words on the kitchen window - it all just has to get carried upstairs... Jack...
* 11:30pm - lights out, to bed

Tonight we're picking up Mrs. D. to take her to see KD in the hospital - apparently he suffered an infarction of some sort on Saturday morning - he's got a blockage. They're transferring him from St. Clare's in Dover to Morristown General (Memorial?) today so we're going to see him tonight - be well, KD! We worry about you! (See what happens after about a year of eating better, exercising, and cutting down substantially on his smoking?! To say nothing of his seeing a lady we have yet to meet...)

Okay - 'tis actually work time, so I'm off to be as productive as I was last week...