Summer Has Begun...

I am now a week into my "vacation." Whew! What a week!

After checking out of my classroom last Friday I went to Claim Jumper with a few of my school peeps. After only being there a short while I got a phone call that the brickwork I was having done to my house was finished.

One thing down!

Next, I focused on getting a new car. My 1999 white Honda CR-V has given me 10 good years and I really love that car, but it was time. I still need to get the body damage repaired from April's blow out and then I'll sell it private party. Meanwhile, it was time to start shopping around. What did I want? Another white Honda CR-V! Hey, if it ain'y broke...

This past Wednesday I gave my mom a perm, helped babysit my nephew for about 2 hours, and then we went car shopping. My mom had heard that Costco, of all places, had a program to help people buy new cars, so we went there first to find out more. We were given a pamphlet of dealerships in the area that they worked with, and, supposedly, gave extra discounts to Costco members.

Honda of Pasadena was the closest dealership that works with Costco, so we made an appointment to go there in the afternoon. We also stopped at a dealership closer to Costco to do some comparing. The salesman at this one (Goudy Honda in Alhambra, CA) was very nice, low-pressure, let me take a test drive, and showed us all the features. Honestly, he deserved the sale if he could give me the best price. It was also at Goudy that I saw a CR-V with a roof rack and spoiler....it sure was pretty!

Next we went to Honda of Pasadena, which is where I ended up buying my car. The girl that helped us there was much less impressive. Maybe she thought that since we were doing the shopping through the Costco program it was a done deal? I don't know. But she was apathetic from the get-go. It was only until we started comparing again with Goudy Honda that she got more eager and tried harder to get the sale. Ultimately, I saved $600 with the special pricing for Costco members.

So, I have a new 2009 white Honda CR-V EX! I love it. It is so comfortable. It also has a keyless entry and a sunroof, which I've never had before. It also came with a 6-CD changer and an input jack for the MP3 player. That and a plug to charge that or a cell phone are on the center console, with another plug at the bottom of the dash.

I'm still getting used to the dashboard and having so much computerized information, but, after 3 days it is feeling more and more like my car. This morning I had to take it back to the dealer to have the roof rack and spoiler installed, which took about 3 hours. Now it looks beautiful AND cool. Here are some pictures off the Honda site. I'll post pictures of mine after I can wash it, but I have to wait 2 days until I can because of the things that were added this morning.