Nearly a year.....

I have been on sabbatical from my BLOG - I seem to have abandoned it for Facebook and never came back. I miss my BLOG and the journaling I did. I think I will make a comeback and start journaling again in a good way (ya, MARTHA style).

So much has happened in nearly a year of my LOA. Lots of good, bad and ugly but I am still alive and back and ready to play. I needed a break I guess.

I am currently looking to replace my 1999 Odyssey van - it is on its way out of this old world - getting ready to go home to Jesus. It has been a good car with lots of fond memories in its interior - the trip with the fam to Las Vegas and driving back to SLC at 3:00 a.m. comes to mind....ME being the driver with a full van of loved ones and me trying to stay awake driving in the dark with my dad piloting me in the passenger seat, telling me all of his tricks of the trade as he was a long haul truck driver.....helping me keep my eyes opened and alert. The same trip I spent sleeping in the van while Angelo who was about 3 was hopping from seat to seat as Vegietales blared on the CD player....the rest of the fam in the casino playing slots while I slept in the safety of my air conditioned van with a 3 year old child jumping, jumping, jumping - oh I don't remember so much that day while I was trying to sleep.

Another great, memorable trip was just the 3 of us pulling the tent trailer on a trip up through Washington and down the Washington Coast to the Oregon Coast and the memories made on that trip. So much fun. Geeze I hate giving the old girl up - I feel like I am betraying her!

I was considering a more compact vehicle but those Odyssey's sure have a luxury feel to them - I like that comfort. I also don't want another van but I do - I have my parents I need to consider when we go places all together. I battle with myself over buying with the thought of enough room for them, I would save gas and upkeep with a smaller more compact vehicle but then that puts them out in the cold for upcoming trips.

Time will tell how this plays out.....