Happy Spring! (because that title sounds less ostentatious than Look at My Shiny New Car!)

It's kind of a gloomy dark Monday here, but thanks to my fab Safeway floral department, I've got some gorgeous blooms to admire in celebration of the arrival of spring.  They are almost pretty enough to inspire me to plant bulbs this fall. Then I remember that dirt is involved, and probably sweat.  And isn't buying flowers just as good as growing them? Uh-huh. That's what I thought.

While spring and flowers are nice and all, my big news today is that I bought a car this weekend.  And when I say I bought a car, I mean just that.  All by myself, no husband, no kids...just me. We've been trying for several months now to replace my car with something a little newer (doing our part to stimulate the economy, people!) but car shopping with two kids in tow is a lot like a bikini wax - painful, lots of screaming, and generally no fun for anyone involved.

So on Saturday, I left Mike and my brother-in-law, Ryan, in charge of the kiddos, tuned the television to the NCAA basketball tourney, and made sure the frig was stocked with plenty of beer and juice boxes.  And I headed out to the car dealer, with my negotiating skills honed and Mike yelling something about "budget."

A mere three hours later, with a few phone calls to Mike for moral support, I returned with a new (to me) car. She's a sweet little ride that I've already christened Georgia.  And I love her.  In a completely obsessive, shallow way.  And while it's no secret I am easily distracted by shiny objects, it wasn't just the shimmering exterior that convinced me to buy her.  She's also under full warranty coverage until 2012.  Go me!

So now that I am strapped with a car payment once again, I better get down to working on those billable hours. Right after I go stare at my sparkly new car one more time. Happy Monday folks!