FOUND ON

En-Hoy
( Enjoy, pronounced with a spanish accent)

Explanation:

Cook it like rice: Throw in the rice with the water and bring to a boil then simmer

Cook it like pasta: Bring the water to a boil then throw in pasta and simmer.

You see chicken is boiled like rice. You throw it in with the water and bring to a boil. Mind you, I don’t always cook chicken like this but it’s great for when I need shredded chicken.

and that’s it folks. That’s how I organize a few things in my head.

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(some look different because I threw them into illustrator after I scanned them in)

So are you OVER or  UNDER?

I’ve asked around and it’s weird to have to start considering things of this nature. What’s my current predicament? A new car. (ugh, still)

When my car search began back in September, I eliminated 2-door cars from the list. I thought they were impractical and with a potential of kids in the next 5 years ( !!!ahhhhwtf?!!?!ahhh!!) it seemed irresponsible. THEN last, Thursday, my friend Brett and I stumbled upon the FIAT dealership. OH-EM-GEE!! They are THE cutest little cars I’ve seen. They are designed so well and and get exceptional gas mileage. I started to convince myself that “we” ( M and I ) would have the fusion as a four door if we needed it, but I could totally make it work with the Fiat.

I also told test-drove the 2011 Elantra which was an amazing ride. Not just compared to the awful 2010 catastrophe but on its own it was berry niice.

I took all weekend to think about it and decided on the Elantra. I did feel a little silly thinking about the ease of getting kids in and out of the rear seat but to be honest, car searching/shopping/haggling/purchasing is just awful. It’s intense. It makes me loose sleep. It’s just such a large purchase. I do NOT want to be doing this again in a few years.

Well. Just be I had made a decision on a car, didn’t mean that it was mine. Although I had fallen in love with it, I wasn’t convinced on the price. They had already told me a final price on Friday but I wasn’t just going to take their word for it. I would need them to come down and they would do it if they wanted it to sell.

So great! I negotiated over the phone and they accepted my price. Wonderful! But oh yeah, now I’ve got to pay for it. Sigh, this is my least favorite part. As a first time buyer, I do not have any large loans on my credit history. I thought that since carmax had approved me for a loan and I had already BOUGHT A CAR, that other financial institutions would see it as no problem to lend to me as well. Not-so-much…Some banks are stricter than others and insist on a co-signer. So some lucky people have folks that wouldn’t think twice about co-signing. When I look at my dad, I do not immediately think he’s there to help with that sort of thing. He could very well be but I’m just not 100% sure. He’s always wanted me to be independent and I would love to get my first loan sans co-signer. It would just make me happier.

As it stands right now, Fiat may/may not approve me without a co-signer. If they don’t, I guess we’ll see if my dad is that kind of helper.  :)

I’m also an avid pinner on Pinterest and browsing through the pins and my blogs, young mom’s can’t get enough of this look for baby photo backdrops and scrapbooking. Sure, sometimes it’s cute and appropriate but when I saw this slideshow i said E-NOUGH already.

CHECK IT:

BUT BUT BUT

i kinda like this

So. Are you IN or are you OUT?

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COTD

When I’m preparing cereal for breakfast on the weekends. I have to make sure M is ready for his bowl. As soon as I pour the milk a countdown has begun to get him the cereal before it gets too soggy.

As a long-time cereal consumer, there are some cereals that I actually prefer a little soggy. Quaker Oatmeal Squares are AMAZING when they have absorbed a bunch of milk in their oatmeal bellies.

It cracked me up when I saw that there are products for those who detest cereal that has lingered more than five minutes milk.

Geek Gems

Eat Me Crunchy

I’m right in the middle of the madness and I thought that maybe someone could benefit from what I’ve learned. Let’s start with the basics. (I’ll leave negotiating to another day.)

I found a car that I liked at Carmax and they make things super easy for you. I test drove a 2010 Hyundai Elantra because after doing research I liked that it got great gas mileage, I loved the look of the dashboard and it was a great price for how many miles it had.

What’s easy about Carmax is that the sticker price on the car is no-haggle. I believe they have reasonable prices so I don’t feel like I’m being cheated. One thing you do have to consider is interest. It really all depends on you. If your credit is great, you will get a lower interest rate. IT took about 20 seconds to run my credit and in my case, I was able to snag 6.4% interest rate at 60 months. I could have chosen the longer term to lower my monthly payments but that’s just more money in the long run and I could easily afford the shorter term. When I was in the salesperson’s office, she showed me an easy to read chart comparing the terms and monthly payments.

Since I didn’t already have insurance, I had to purchase insurance from a place of my choice in the middle of the car purchase. I’m assuming if you already have it, you just transfer the coverage over to your new car. One thing I had recently learned is that if you have to finance a car, you have to get full coverage on that car. It makes sense, I just didn’t know.

Once the insurance was purchased and I turned over the policy number over to Carmax, I signed some forms and the car was mine! I didn’t have to pay anything on signing day for the car and my first payment wasn’t due for about a month and a half. All seem too good to be true?…kind of.

Milo (the beau) took me for a celebratory lunch at Mr.Chen’s and you wouldn’t believe the fortune I received. I literally screamed in the parking lot.

How crazy is that? This my friends, is why I don’t believe in coincidence.

Anyhoo…so we drove all the way down to Helena to drop off the car I had been driving. When M and I drove home and road on the terrible interstate we realized that the Elantra wasn’t a very smooth ride. It seemed that for every bump the little car went over, the Elantra shook two extra times. I could feel it in my spine and sternum, the car was shaking me! M and I looked at each other and were surprised at worried about what it meant.

Is it just the terrible construction on the road?
Do I try to get used to it and deal?
Do I take the car back? Can you return cars?

After driving around some more and sleeping on it, I returned the Elantra the next day. I was genuinely sad to let it go. I signed a few papers and in 12 minutes I was back in my old car looking for another new car.

I may go back to Carmax if they have another car I like or I may brave the dealerships and see what they can do for me. Wish me luck!

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Cereal of the Day

running on cereal: (2) Yes, I still have a bowl of cereal for breakfast (bfast) eh-ver-y morning. No it doesn’t have much protein or fiber, and while most of the time it is combined with fruit & Quick, it’s better than not having anything at all. There is a childlike quality to having Berry Berry Kix in the morning and that is part of the charm. At 24 years old, if I can be allowed to form a mantra of sorts it would be to live as young as you feel. No I don’t feel eight years old, but as long as my desires do not impose on my health or those of others (haha,) I’m going to do as I please. Allowing yourself to freak out at the realization of your actual age and what you thought you’d have accomplished by now is something I refuse to do.

I’m hoping that you and I can use this space to share what keeps us young and what can help us transition into the next phase of our lives (if that even exists.)