Teach a man to fish

One of the hardest things about being single is not having a man to help when it comes to certain things around the house or the car.  I have been living in the states for three and a half years now after my divorce and up until this past September, I haven't had a man around to do any of these little things.  This is not the post where I tell you I have met someone, this is a little bit different than that.  

I am a very independent woman and have learned how to do a lot of things myself when it comes to stuff around the house.  I can put up shelves, fix broken doors, etc. around the house but one place that I have not been able to do any work is my car.  In reality, I am scared to death of my car!!  If I brake something on my car while trying to fix it, it can cost me hundreds, if not thousands to get it fixed.  That is a mistake I can not afford to make!

There is a place that I have taken my cars for any minor things that need to be done since moving back and these guys are very reasonable.  The only thing that bothers me is the fact that they are about half an hour away and I hate sitting in their waiting room due to not being able to leave while they are doing the work on my car.  Due to that, I have taken my car to Merchant Auto which is about a seven minute walk from my house.  My Step Dad took my car there to get spark plugs replaced and the transmission fluid changed when he was here in 2013 and I take it there for new tires and an oil change.

Well, after having one too many experiences with this place trying to over charge me or them straight up lying to me about services that need to be done (like telling me my transmission fluid needs to be changed three months after they changed it), I have decided I am not going back there.

The front light went out in my car and I reluctantly called Merchant because in all honesty, I had no idea where to go to get a new light bulb.  The guy told me the light bulb would cost me $20 plus installation.  I was okay with that but asked how much installation was going to cost.  He told me that after tax, my total would be $72.  So, in other words, they were charging me $50 to install the light bulb in my car.  I told him no thank you, I would just buy the bulb and call it a day.

The guy then proceeded to tell me that they do not have them in stock but I could buy the bulb through them and pick it up at NAPA.  I realized that I had seen a NAPA just a few miles from the house so I decided to go there myself to buy the bulb.  When I got there, the men working were so nice to me. I told them I wanted to get two light bulbs because my Step Dad told me to change both at the same time and the guys said they agreed and do the same with their vehicles.  The guy ringing me up told me the total after tax was $27.  I said to him that I needed two bulbs and he said, yes ma'am, that is the price for two bulbs.  I told him that Merchant had told me their price was $20 for each bulb and that I could pick it up from them and the guy laughed and told me each bulb was $13.

Funny how you realize that these auto places are crooks (I a referring to Merchant, not NAPA) and will do anything to make a few bucks.  I was so annoyed knowing that if I would have agreed to the price that Merchant quoted, I would have paid almost three times the amount for the light bulbs!!

My brother in law is living just down the street from me and he said he would change the light bulbs for me (what a great thing to have him here and he is always so willing to do things like this for me). There was only one catch to him changing the bulbs for me, I had to do it with him and learn how to do it myself.  You know how that saying goes, feed a man a fish, he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, he will eat for his whole life.  Well, BIL taught me to fish that day!!

Here we are starting the process!  I had to take pictures to document the whole thing (so I had proof that I actually did some work on the car!!!).  

TADA!!!!  Who knew changing light bulbs only takes a few minutes and is so easy, even this girly girl could do it!?!?!  See my Icelandic flag :)

More proof that I was responsible for changing the light bulbs.  I did the right side while my BIL did the left side.  He walked me through the first one and I did the second one all by my lonesome!!

Getting your hands dirty sure is a moment of pride! Knowing you saved yourself $50 is another moment of pride.  But, knowing you can save yourself $50 every time the light bulb goes out for the rest of your life, that's priceless!

Do you know how to work on your car?  If so, how did you get started?

Kitchen Aid Red

I have been watching a series on Netflix over Christmas break called Hart of Dixie and I am loving it!  I decided to use the day to watch my show on my laptop while cleaning the kitchen cabinets.  I wanted to bring in the new year in a clean way and started with the kitchen.

Here is my laptop on a chair with my Molly girl in the background.  Isn't she the cutest thing ever?  She keeps wanting to go outside to pee but all she really does is go outside and then asks to come back in within a few minutes thinking she is going to get a treat.....I got so tired of letting her out on Thursday that I stopped giving her treats after she got her 5th errrrr 10th treat of the day.

Okay, so back to my kitchen cabinets....

My cabinets were a hot mess and needed to be cleaned and organized.

As you can see by the pictures above, hot mess!!!  And then, in the picture below, cleaned and organized....the best way to be (I am OCD when it comes to my silverware drawer, it needs to be perfect at all times with the correct size spoons, forks, etc in the correct slot). 

I started with my refrigerator and forgot to take a before picture, let me just say that this refrigerator was horrible before I cleaned it.  Everything was all over the place and there was a ton of stuff that needed to be thrown out after having a bunch of guests over in December.  Now, my fridge is nice and clean and, you guessed it, organized.

Here is the cabinet from up top. As you can see, all cleaned up.

My messy cabinets before.

My messy cabinets after.

There is a neighborhood squirrel who comes up on to my patio and knocks on the glass.

He has been knocking on my window for awhile and it wasn't until recently that I found out the next door neighbor has been feeding him peanuts.  Makes sense, he is coming to my house to beg for some yummy food.  So, knowing this, I decided to give him some almonds and now he is a regular and even though he doesn't allow me to come too close, he isn't very scared either.

I was crouched on the floor taking these pictures and he wasn't scared at all.  The only thing between us was the glass and he didn't freak out.

Isn't he adorable?  We really like him and don't mind him knocking on the patio glass.

One last picture of a clean and organized kitchen cabinet before I go.  

Do you do something to bring in the New Year?  I know some people who believe that you shouldn't have any dirty laundry when bringing in the New Year.  I like to make sure my sheets are clean, but then again, I like clean sheets all the time.

Just in case you were wondering why I named the post Kitchen Aid Red.....my whole kitchen has the Kitchen Aid Red color throughout.  I really love it and can't get enough of it!  The kitchen is the only place in the house that has that color whereas the rest of the house is all light colors with some turquoise, pink, olive green, and browns.

Hope you are all having a great weekend!

Pondering

Its been almost two years since I posted last...I think it's time I come out of hiding!

We have been living in Virginia Beach for two and a half years and are really enjoying life.  I am finishing my last semester of school on May 8, 2015 and will be graduating with my Bachelors in Business Administration.  These last three and a half years have been hard with school and the boys and life and etc etc etc but they have been worth every minute. 

My boys are no longer babies. Tyrique is going to be 18 years old in February and has moved out all the way to my sisters house (which is only about 50 steps away but more on that later).  Tyrique has also grown into a very tall young man, he is 6'4" and well over 200 lbs.  He is almost a foot taller than me!!!  He is gorgeous and wants to join the military in the next year or so but wants to get a little bit of college under his belt before joining the Navy.

Markus is 14 and will turn 15 in May.  He is in the ninth grade and wants to be a Pediatric Surgeon when he grows up.  He is very determined in life and has been busy planning his future and trying to decide what colleges he wants to go to when he graduates from high school.  He is such a sweet and gentle child and is always willing to do anything for anyone.  

Kobe is no longer the pacifier baby you seen in the picture on the left of this blog.  He is a little over seven years old and in the second grade.  He loves sports and WWE is his favorite thing in the whole wide world.  Kobe is quiet and loud all in one.  He is very much like an only child due to being so much younger than his older brothers.  Kobe can play quietly for hours with his toys or he can wrestle with his cousin and big brothers.

Our little Silky Terrier Molly is going to be four years old in March and is the sweetest little doggy.  She loves kids (which is not common for little dogs), loves to lay close to her mamma, plays with her toys (she has a toy box of her own that is stuffed with all kinds of doggy toys), and loves to go for bike rides with Kobe and I.  Molly is all of 5.5 lbs and has gorgeous hair and the sweetest disposition.

My social life has been pretty active since moving to VA Beach and I love it.  I will tell you guys more about me and what I have been up to in another blog post.  I just kind of wanted to give a little update and test the waters in regards to blogging again.  I really missed blogging and even closed this blog for awhile due to my divorce and moving on with life.  This blog is my life though and I want to be able to continue blogging despite a divorce or changes in my life.

Here's to a New Year and a fresh start on blogging about our life again.