I know you all will be sooooooo happy to know that this will be a short entry today. Yippeee...I know.

Anyway, I wanted to let you know that I called the little man (computer) at MINI today (1-866-ASK-MINI) and he told me that my car is in the PAINT SHOP!! Estimated finish date is TOMORROW!! Yahoooooooo! I am so excited. I can't believe it.

Another cool thing is that our friend from Australia, Andrew, is coming to visit like next weekend or the weekend after. That'll be such a treat.
Ok...off to make lasagna! Yum!

It's Monday!!! It has been probably the BEST Monday in a looooooooong time.
So the whole reason I started this blog was so I could keep track of where my BEAUTIFUL MINI COOPER is. For the past week now it has been "Scheduled for Production." What the heck does that mean?? I was hoping for some more detail but it looks like it ain't gonna happen. There is some good news though...
Why don't I start at the beginning of my love affair with the Mini...
It all started in 2003 when I saw The Italian Job. When I saw Charlize Theron whip that little red classic Mini into that tight spot, I heard angels sing and said, "I will have that car."
I wasn't a big fan of the new ones. I LOVED the classic one. It was so darn cute! I just knew I would have the red with the white top and mirrors. Maybe I'd throw in a little Union Jack somewhere (roof?). Here is an example:



I really never thought I would EVER have the pleasure of driving this car, let alone owning it, until one pleasant evening at a friend's house. Her dad had just bought a British Racing Green Mini Cooper and they had it for the weekend. Much to my dismay, she asked if I would like to drive it! I nearly passed out at the chance to drive this beautiful car. I took around the corners easily, afraid to mess anything up. It was one dreamy drive!
After that night I would dream about the different colors I would want. I spent hour upon hour building different combinations of this fantastic little car. Always I thought there was no possible way this little nugget would be mine.
As my 1993 Plastic Dark Blue Saturn started to give us trouble (transmission, brakes, A/C or lack thereof, etc.) I knew the time would be soon to trade it in (get $2 for it) and get a new car. I was looking at Hondas mostly (EXL Accord, manual transmission) and others caught my attention (Camry XLE). However, none of them seemed right. I have always wanted a 2-door car. I am not sure what my obsession was (is) with them, but I wanted one. Also, I have a manual transmission and I wasn't looking to give it up. The above cars are hardly ever built with manuals and so that was a huge turn off. Well, the transmission was changed, brakes were changed, A/C was changed (and then went out again) and there didn't seem to be any reason besides the obvious to get a new car.
Fast forward to 2005...the time has come. The Saturn is ready. Car heaven is ready to take my disgusting 13 year old car. Poor Brent has to drive it in every weather condition. Well, we keep discussing when we'll trade it in. It keeps getting pushed back further and further. We have to get married; we have to go on my dream honeymoon; we have to get grass for the house; we have to pay off the honeymoon; we have to pay off the two credit cards...blah blah blah.
It is now 2006. The tax money has come back and fortunately (or unfortunately for Brent) we have met all of the criteria!!!!!!!!!! I AM GETTING A NEW CAR!!! There is no discussion of what I am getting. I already know! I am getting a 2005 Mini Cooper! It's used and cute as a bug in a rug! Searching, searching, searching...FOUND ONE!! Wait, we aren't ready yet. And it's in San Antonio. But it is SO perfect! I even got Amy and Corey (BFF and husband) to go drive it to make sure it was ok. PERFECTO! Someone else wanted it and so we had to give it up. I am not even sure it got bought. That was all I needed to know before Brent said, "We'll order you one. It's only a little bit more expensive (because of the high residual value) and you'll get what you want with no miles on it and lots of warranty." YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! Can you believe he said that?? I don't think he thought I would hold him to it. But, boys and girls, I did.
We'll get into that tomorrow. It's time to go for a walk.

Ohhhhhh boy....what a week. So Monday was ok. Nothing really happened. Then came Tuesday. It was the start of what would be the worst week possibly of my life.

Brent (my adorable husband) calls me Tuesday morning and says, "Um, I got in a wreck with your car." I was like WHAT??? Well, it turned out to be a fender bender with a little damage but obviously more than there was BEFORE the wreck! Brent was fine, the car was running but what frustrated me the most was that in a matter of WEEKS we were trading that car in and getting the MINI! The guy at the dealership said they would probably give us $750 for my car. Well that was when the outside body of the car was decent looking. Now the hood is buckled, there is a circle where the trailer hitch hit and there's a HOLE in the bumper! Come on...it's a Saturn. The plastic car, remember?

So, I got over that and called Brent to make sure he knew I was not mad at him. When I called him he said his mom had called and his Aunt Mary had died. I was pretty upset. She was only 46 years old and had been fighting cancer (and winning!) until December when she found out she had stomach cancer. She was such a wonderful lady! And poor Uncle Paul. He is 53 and has now lost his wife and soul mate. They had no kids. Just each other.

Thursday was the wake and Friday was the funeral. We left work early to go to Thibodaux. The wake was fine; I was upset a little at first, but I held it together pretty well. Well, Friday came and we had to go to the funeral. That had to be the saddest funeral I have ever attended. There was not a dry eye in the church. Aunt Mary and Uncle Paul are so loved by so many people and we are going to miss her immensely!

This weekend turned out to be pretty good. It was gorgeous outside and we got some stuff done that needed it. My mom decided to come up with my grandmother and my great great aunt and we had a great day. We cooked and talked and ate and watched our wedding video (always the best treat!). They left around 6:30pm and Brent and I went for a nice walk.

It is now 9:30 and time to go to bed. We've had a good end to a bad week.