Car buying tales - Ford Fiesta sales

I am going to list out my recent car buying adventure. I was told to try to get a) Ford Fiesta or a b) Honda Fit.

This first part will be about the Ford Fiesta.

A side note is that friends and family take me when they need a new car, since I enjoy the car buying process, and many times people hate it.

First tried to track down a loss leader car for this since it is new. These are the vehicles advertised in the weekend paper that they sell at a loss to get you in the door of the dealership, with the intent that you will upgrade the car or that they will be able to finance you at a higher rate. Either way this great deal car is to get you to the dealership where they can do their best to have you buy a more expensive car. Some of the snakiest dealerships use this tactic, so you have a lot of confidence and stick to your guns when buying one of these. If you can do that, you will get an amazing deal. My first two trucks - toyota and nissan - were loss leaders and both sold two and three years later for more than I paid new.

Since it was a Renton area Ford dealership with a nasty reputation that was holding the loss leader special the week I was looking, I ripped out the ad and took it to my local Ford dealerships in Kitsap. One of these dealerships was so low key, so calm and pleasant and straight-dealing that I would have bought the car in a heartbeat if I didn't feel I was overpaying. The problem with buying a car on a nice day in spring is that is car sales high season, with customers having their tax return money in hand. You want a different time of year for a better deal. Also, when trying to buy a gas miser car, do it when gas prices are lower. You want to aim to buy a car that is not 'in season'. A luxury vehicle when gas is expensive. A convertible on a rainy winter day. When buying a new car, I will pay about $500 more for no pressure. If I get pressure, I want a huge discount. The nice kitsap ford dealership could not get close to the $11499 loss leader price. They could do $13300.

I went to the other dealership. Had a nice salesman, with a crappy sales manager, that got in my personal space and told me I was wasting money by buying a car flatout. I needed to lease a car, that was a better return on my money. He was telling me that paying them thousands of dollars in car rent for two years on a car I will never own is better than car ownership. I am shortening what he said, he actually talked circles very rapidly and I tuned it out, since this is one of my least favorite sales techniques. Act like the customer is : your dumb daughter or wife, doesn't know anything and try to bully them.

Wrong on so many levels.

I worked a Fiesta for a couple of weeks, and could not get (what I consider) a deal at this point. The fleet lease Fiestas are coming back after use in June, then there will be deals again.

Went on to the Honda.

Pic: Ford Fiesta image courtesy www.treehugger.com

Horse Head X-ray

Had to take Bey the horse to the doctor today. He has been having a cough for a while, a snorky nose, and just feeling under the weather.

They drugged him, which is always hilarious seeing a thousand pound animal appear like he is drunk, or at least very very laid back, and then proceeded to take xrays of his head. Dang me for not thinking of taking pictures of this. It was pretty interesting. And, the garb we all wore for the radiation was intense --neck to knee coverage from awkward immobile giant gloves to neck wrap protection.

End result : we are awaiting the 'big x-ray doctor' at Pilchuck Animal Hospital to get back to us about possible strange things in Bey's head.

One thing that was funny was when I was looking over the doctors shoulder at an xray and asked : what are all those dark spaces? Her assistant Katie answered "all these horses have alot of blank space in their heads" ....and that was what I was seeing.

So all my energetic verbal negotiations when riding and philosophical talks with Bey obviously are going right over (or through) those vast caverns of emptiness in his head.

Baptist Church Visit

Yesterday I went to church with my great neighbors. It is a local baptist church, and reminded me of the church I went to growing up at times (Presbyterian.) I really worded that last sentence wrong, I was not growing up some of the time and not growing up the other part. You get the idea. Anyway, it was a bright clean church. And, yes, the baptists and presbyterians would say they are very different from each other, but the essence of the church was the same. The problem was what dawned on me halfway through the god talk. The pastor, a very nice man, who read well out of the bible, sounded like what I imagine George W. would from the pulpit. Literally I was sitting there one minute following along and then bam : this man kinda sounds like George W. I was not particularly fond of our previous president, so this was a hurdle.
My poor friend I saw afterwards had a trying time with me using her as a bible study sounding board. She is a bit more traditional than I, and has a hard time with me wanting to talk and question and hash things out. It is faith, it just is, you just believe, is her mantra. I had that with Santa and the tooth fairy. I need a bit more at this point in my life.
FYI - This post is a bit of a test, also, to see how google finds ads to run alongside a blog. (I am curious if the ads are tailored to topic....)

The Single Mom Next Door

I have lived in Kitsap Co. almost three years. I have several acquaintances that would step in to help during an emergency. Also, neighbors that can pick up my kids from school if something happens or take them to baseball practice when I get delayed at work. But I don't have that nearby friend to call to commiserate on shoes, grey hair, grass allergies, paranoia and motherhood (those don't all necessarily roll together....although could on a rough day.) I still have my main Seattle friends as talking buddies and that is most evident when my cell phone bill arrives. There is a life I have thrown myself into here, that I didn't fully comprehend when I left the bounds of my 25 years with the kids dad. That of an easily identifiable and non-threatening wife and mother in a house with a volvo and minivan. Oh yeah, yeah, I am so much more than that, but for simple discussion we will talk of outward appearances. There is no thought involved to understand the life I used to lead. Kids in soccer, dance, piano. Worked part-time in a non-profit, and husband worked main-line business.
Now I live without a husband in a farmhouse on property. With two children and not working. Tell me what these words mean to you: Single mother. Unemployed. Living alone.
If that was all you knew... what do you see in your minds eye? Would you want your children playing with mine? How about inviting me over for dinner? Would I hit on your husband? Hit on your wife? Do I have a constant stream of unreliable men in my life and bedroom? Are my kids being exposed to drug and alcohol abuse? Am I on welfare?

I feel I have to explain myself more now. I have to gently move conversations to guide understanding of what I am doing, who we are, why we are here. So gently I go. Not necessarily patiently, but gently. I am the same woman, sort of.

Ilness floating around in the hail

Not sure where our spring is. I have not even started the garden. And it is end of April. Is is warm where you are? It hailed today, Wilder was sick the beginning of the week, Rose is sick now, and I am really trying to stay healthy. One of the horses is sick, the vet is coming tomorrow. When I write all this down it seems like everyone has come down with something.

For the record: the dog and cat are fine.

Cranky post - Not your elected officials fault

Yesterday I had hay delivered. When the fellow was telling me how much my total was... he added : and $32... for the governor. Today, negotiating on a car, when I was trying to push them on price... the salesman said... well, that $1300 dollars is non-negotiable that goes to Christine. (*Christine Gregoire is our governor) I got politely cranky, and said... actually it does not go to Christine. It goes to our state. Which we are all a part of and includes the road and ferry I would drive this new car on. And also funds things that all our elected officials have decided, no matter what party they belong to and many that were decided long before Christine got into office.
Whether you voted for them or not, they represent all of us. And believe it or not, if you call their office they will not ask your party affiliation, they will help in whatever way they are able. This hatred of politicians is ridiculous. Do you really think they are so much different than yourself? What the hell happened to everyone's civility? So I don't agree with how .000021% of the federal budget (or my state budget, county budget etc) gets spent so I vilify the individuals we elected? And go all wackjob about it? Spewing hate of someone I have never met?
I know I am also reacting to the birth certificate issue with Obama. Good lord people, this is what you have the attention span to care about? Not any of those wars we have stumbled into, not our spiraling debt, but a birth certificate? Arghh.

Options and Identity

Pic totally unrelated to topic: Next to the Edmonds ferry dock is an odd little wetlands of sorts. It is riddled with the noxious weed purple loosestrife in the summer.

This is what it is. I get my identity from my job. When I was an executive director or manager that was it. When I am not working, I still get my identity from my job - my mom job. When I am looking for work, it is a constant see-saw between keeping myself child focused or career focused. I can go for the higher paying fully sustainable income... with the subsequent dinnertime meetings and overtime or the easier less hours job that would require ex-husband financial assistance while the kids are still in school.
I see it has been good for my kids to have a parent more accessible and home as I have been since November (when I quit my job of eight years.) It feels like a pull between screwing my retirement and present independence for their home life stability. I actually have no problem with that at this point, I signed up for this mom job. It is just stopping me from moving forward. I want off the ex-husband gravy train. I spent many years paying to have other people help raise my kids at a preschool or after school program. It did some good things when they were excellent loving people and taught us all positive discipline and alternative ways of bringing up kids, but it was also crappy when they were unhappy gals in dead-end jobs that weren't particularly fond of small people. I see-saw alot on this topic.

Signs of a Good Blog : 500 words or less

One of the business bloggers had a list of the top 10 things (or top 3 or 5... my mind is a bit fuzzy now) you need to do to create a successful blog. What I recall : use readable fonts and colors, not too contrast-y, don't use black as a background... and keep posts to 500 words or less.

That last one is a corker.

I am so sorry you all are not reading a successful blog right now. Because, besides my sometimes repetitive, grammar challenged funky non-linear thinking I can roll into..... I am long-winded. There are stories out there, and I just gotta type the whole damn thing. Every stinky little nuance. Sorry. Pic: What I will never have alot of from blogging.

Drive-in in the middle of nowhere

We discovered the strangest thing when we were checking out the kids school options two years ago. In between the two schools down an unidentified dirt road was a perfectly designed drive-in 50's style diner. Literally, you are walking from the middle school to the high school down a rough gravel road, and boom, there it was behind a locked fence. I just stood on the other side and said : huh. Weird place for a restaurant. In the middle of nowhere, with no advertising on the main road, and no apparent business. It was a mystery until this year, when I was at school early to pick up Wilder and they were having a school emergency drill outside. It looked like it was going to be a while, so I wandered down the path and found the diner again. This time the gate was unlocked, great! I walked down to look in the windows. An energetic man and calm woman gestured me in. Before I knew it, I was getting a tour of the building... which was 10,000 square feet. Way way bigger than it looks on the outside. He had memorabilia from the last 100+ years laying about... on tables, on shelves. The owner told me he rents it out for events. There was a dancing room, game room, room with classic cars, soda fountain, juke box and booths. It was a surreal experience. I went home and looked it up online: http://www.mygirldrivein.com/ and saw what it looks like all lit up in neon. The owner created a diner on a rural patch of land to hold his personal collection. It has never been a working restaurant, nor a public museum. I will say it again: huh.

How not to use Facebook. Or, Just another way I know I am getting older.

We recently attended the memorial service for a family acquaintance. On a friends facebook page it says something like "My friend lkdjlk, Rest in peace," and then attached a music video. Three people "liked" that. Oh god please when I die don't have people "liking" it on a facebook page. I realize those folks were rating the video, not the death (boy, I hope they were rating the video) it just seems a very impersonal way to express sorrow for a devastating family loss.

Where on Earth is Wally World

Pic: All Wallyworlds are in great seas of asphalt... this photo is taken on the hill above Walmart where the Home Despot, Petsmart, Big 5 and Office Max sit. Also, this terraced height is a great place to view fireworks.


When we still lived in Seattle, I would take the kids up to Port Townsend for the day. Port Townsend which was saved the wrecking ball and still retains its Victorian seaport downtown because for decades it was underpopulated, with no industry other than the pulp/paper mill and maritime. So, accordingly, why would development bother to tear down all the late 1800's structures if there was no money to be earned. The towns I see in the NW that still retain a beautiful historic downtown are the ones that had "no value" to construction investors during the hundred or so years following their original construction. Anywho off the soapbox...
We went up to Fort Worden, my fave park. While we were walking to the batteries, there was a fellow that pulled up and opened his trunk. He pulled out airplanes, as in the kind that make the buzz noise and fly around your head by radio control. I thought it a bit wierd (pedophile! luring my sweet children with his buzzing airborne thingies!) but calmed down enough to let the kids fly one of his planes. (This was when I was still a revved-up city gal, and pointless pursuits that took alot of time were suspect...now I realize they are a vital part of life and accept his 'grandfather' excuse for having the planes)
Flying the planes was a blast. I asked him : where do you get this sort of thing? Meaning the cheaper (19.95) easy to fly ones that could withstand Wilder divebombing them to the ground, vs. the lovely large $200 big planes, that could not. He answered : Wally World. I asked if there was one nearby, he said no, not in PT, but there was further on down the road.
When I got home I looked in the phone book for Wallyworld or Wally World. There was no such listing. I searched all of kitsap county for a hobby store starting with W. Went to the library to search local phone books since I lived in King County...did not find it. Could not figure out where this mysterious Wallyworld was, thought I got it wrong.
About a year ago, someone referenced Wally World as in : I need to get to Wally World. The context of the conversation was that they were going to WALMART. I had a huge Aha moment at that point, it was very refreshing. Now, I know you smart readers already had this figured out, but it took me 5 years. I remember asking a storekeep in Silverdale where Wallyworld was, and they literally turned their head sideways, like an attentive dog to a strange noise. Like I was trying to pull their leg. Yes, I can be clueless.

Bullying on the Baseball Field

Wilder is on the local little league team. Most of the other team kids are smaller/younger than him and he recently went and sang at their elementary school in choir. At the last game he had to endure razzing about how he 'sings like a girl.' And he was pissed. They also do 'cup checks' which he doesn't like (I'm not sure anyone would like that.) They fight, swear and push. He still is loving baseball, but beginning to dislike his teammates. I heard stories from Wilder's dad a long time ago about his experiences on the Little League team of bullying. He didn't play after one season because of it. I feel a mantle of mother bear coming over me, where I want to rise up and defend with very sharp words. But there is another side of me that realizes this is being a boy, at least in this community, and Wilder has to learn to handle it somehow. The loud, rude, bullish building a little boy facade of fearlessness that will turn into a man facade of fearlessness. Key word is facade, it will be covering little boys fears and rage. My job is to make sure Wilder is safe, and that he does not ever have to wear that facade as a man. Funny to say, since being female really I have no idea some of the issues he will face, but being his mom I know that I need to do my best. Raising these babies is not always easy. Sometimes it is a dance, and I don't always get the steps right. Rose sat down with me last night across the dining room table and we had one of those conversations you only have with a teenager. As in, what you are not saying is more important than what you are saying. THAT is a tough conversation to have, I am not always smart enough to keep track of exactly what we are saying vs. not saying.

The New Horse Fence!

Here is a pic of our new fence and gates. It is not quite done, I still need to run a 2" band of hot turbotape along the top. Note the horse that is actually located behind the fence, not leaning over the knee-high (former) field fence. I threw a before picture in there, too. Can you find it? I was teasing the fellows who built it that they built me a horse fortress. And compared to what was there before, it is.
I have 6"-8" treated round corner posts, 4" treated field posts, and 4' Red Brand non-climb horse fence that I could not find anywhere in my county except at Lowe's. Go figure. Total cost of materials was around $2000. Labor was another $1800. Much better than the $9,997.00 I was quoted and yes, horses are an expensive habit.

Pictures top to bottom: 1. Old fence and Strider. See that it is below his knee? Yes, I have placid horses. 2-4. New fence.

When your camera is taken over by an 11 year old

I went to my trusty Pentax to get some before and after photos of the (wicked old) and (lovely new) horse fence. What I found was about 200 photos of legos. Wilder mentioned he wanted to use my camera for some stop-action storylines of his sets - I just didn't think it would be such a prolific number. The blurriness could add action to the story... or... it is hard for him to hold a big camera, a bunch of lego dudes and then press the shutter button. He really needs to find his own camera again!

Fencing update 1

Last week I had a sweet couple with new sheep dismantle and take 400' of field fencing, posts and barbed wire.
Then Alex and his crew of one began digging fence post holes. I was thoroughly freaked out when they were digging near the marked buried electric wires. They were very patient with me, explaining why they were not concerned. They are all alive today, so I guess I can stop worrying. They dug 62 post holes, I can only imagine how they felt that evening. Today they are bracing corners, to prep for the big fence pull.
This is the part that stopped me from doing the fence myself. Physically pulling 120-310 lbs of 48" non-climb fencing taut between the posts. It takes some brawn. I have brawn, probably more temperamental brawn than actual muscle brawn, but this fence would have been the end of me.
Thank you Alex of 4seasons in Poulsbo.

Fencing options and craigslist

Good lord have I loved enough on Craigslist? Case in point. Bathroom: Bought a load (about 25 pieces) of Restoration Hardware fixtures for $180. Did my 'new' bathroom fully with them, and sold the extras back on craigslist for $215. Worked out that I got all my bathroom fixtures (retail value $1400) for free! Horse fencing: My first quote to replace the fence was $10K for 700 feet of fencing. Since that seemed like way too much money... I decided to do it myself. Went and picked up the fencing (five rolls of 120lb fencing) and then realized there is no way in hell I can lift these puppies and pull them tight. Got another fence quote - $9000. Still crazy overpriced. Next fence quote - $2000 with $1400 dismantle cost of the old fence. Called some different licensed fellows who quoted $150 to take the fence out. Posted the whole lot of old fencing on craigslist.... and have someone coming this morning who will take it all down and haul it away for free to reuse it to contain their sheep. The power of craigslist is great.
Curious? See the finished fence project here....

The season of driving

My son has started baseball season. Rose is doing piano and art, and finishing up drivers education. That means every flipping day except for Wednesdays.... I am in the car with one or two kids taking them somewhere in the 4:30- 7:30 range. It is not as bad as Seattle, since there is no traffic to sit in, and stoplights I can count on one hand. It is just a lot of driving. I want my car to last to 200,000 miles before it is replaced, so am keeping an eye on the accumulating miles.
This commuting blows the sit down dinner to hell. Unless we go out to dinner, and that plays havoc with Dave Ramsey's envelope budgeting system (since I am still working out the kinks within our monthly budget.) An upside is there is driving bonding/talking/sharing from the kids trapped in the car with me....

Veggies and Pressure Cooking

A couple weekends ago went to an extension office class on how to use a pressure cooker. I have always been a bit wary about these, thinking they were going to explode all over my kitchen sending carrots, beans or tomatoes to my ceiling... and taking my eye out. I thought I would get the how-to from the professionals.
The end results : I took home two jars of carrots, and the desire for a pressure cooker. I have a ceramic top stove, so need to get a stainless steel one. Supposedly you cannot can or pressure cook on a flat top stove. HA. You can do it all, although I do freak a bit about the weight I am putting on it. I also bought this stove last year with one 'superhot' element (my terminology, not the stove manufacturers marketing) that should be fiery enough to get the pressure up on the cooker.
Wondering what the nuclear rain that is falling in our state will do to the planting this year, but really, what option do we have?
Bought some seeds from a new company...Comstock, Ferre and Co., that I got a gorgeous catalog from at the Kitsap Small Farm Expo. I also decided I would buy for interesting names this year. First seeds : Lazy Wife beans. Next in line : Pink Girl, Black Sea Man, Shiny Boy. I will just like seeing the names at the end of the rows...
Couldn't find any Grumpy Lady Peas or Feisty Woman Peppers. Maybe next year.

Financial Peace according to Dave Ramsey

When I first started this blog (or more accurately, when Rose signed me up for a blog) I had no idea there was this whole bloggy world out there. In the beginning I spent a lot of time searching other blogs to see what was going on,what is this blogging. I think Rose mostly signed me up so she would not have to listen to all my stories.

There is a funny midwest gal - www.coalcreekfarm.com - that I found when following the links from a house restoration blog. On her site she had a corner about managing finances, how they were doing it. She talked of going to this financial peace university with her husband, and called the guy that did it Damn Ramsey. There is no Damn Ramsey when you google, but there is a Dave Ramsey. I visited the website, and got a couple cd's off of ebay of him talking. This month I signed up for one of his local classes (he is not there, they are usually facilitated by churches.)It is only the cost of the books for the class. I bought mine off ebay for 40, you can get them through the church or website for around $100. You go watch a video for an hour, then discuss for an hour. These classes are all over. It is a great thing for couples, and would have been helpful for Dennis and I at any point in our marriage. Budgets, retirement, debt, basic how to manage money presented in an empowering easy to digest entertaining manner. The energy is high, the people are kind, and boy, do people get in financial hot water. I am lucky that at this point we have no debt other than the house I am sitting in, but that was not always the case. I am taking the class so I don't ever live in debt again, especially since my income is going to take such a hit when the divorce papers are signed. Rose and I were talking about a Toyota Highlander commercial that she likes, and I do not. It is a young kid telling his ma, and his carpool ma, what a cool car the Highlander is, and how it fits him since he is cool. And their old minivan is not cool. It makes wanting something for how it looks legit in a kids eyes. I am trying to teach the kids want vs. need. It is a challenge.

Woodpecker alarm clock

There must be a load of insects on the north side of my house. About once a week I wake up to a woodpecker pounding his little head on my house right outside my window. It is really loud, and wakes me right up. Better than my alarm clock since I can't womp that bird on the head to turn it off for ten minutes. I have been working on getting Amanda dog to chase away woodpeckers, but I don't think she knows what I am saying. Being that she is not a typical dog and befriends fowl, felines and foes.