So many fun things, so little time…and I still have some rad hikes that I have yet to share with y’all! In the meantime, there are a lot of little happenings that are swirling around in my world, and I thought I’d take a quick sec to fill you in. Let’s catch-up!
Currently: Where I Am Going This Weekend
We’re headed back to Steamboat! Will and I were up there a few weeks ago for his corporate retreat, but this trip has an entirely different purpose: Heidi, my friend of RunAroundAroo fame, is attempting her first 100-miler! She is running the Run, Rabbit, Run 100 and it began TODAY at 8am. Obviously, it’s the work week so we won’t be up there for the beginning of her race, but we’ll make it up this afternoon…..because Will and I are crewing!
Running with Heidi on Monday of this week
Technically, I am also pacing her too, but it’s for a small, 4-mile section from miles 41-45. All runners are required pacers during this leg because it’s on roads through Steamboat. Those ever-smart race directors decided that runners tackling 100 milers were likely deluded so they wanted to make sure they didn’t accidentally play in traffic too!
After the small pacing section, it’s back to crewing for the Will-Heather duo. I’ve never crewed a race before but I lived in Steamboat, so I’m familiar with the area which will help a ton. Plus, I’ve known Heidi for awhile so I’m pretty comfortable in knowing when to give her a hug and shove her on her running way. If all goes well, she will have her first 100 miler under her belt by 8pm on Saturday!
If you want to follow along with the race this weekend, I will likely be posting to Twitter using the hashtag #runabler. Heidi came up with that one, so I’m just doing as she tells me!
Currently: My Recent Vacation
Our personal beach on the North Shore
Y’all, Hawaii was fantastic and I still can’t believe my little sister is married! After the bachelorette shenanigans of the first weekend, I headed up to the North Shore where my family had rented a beach house. I’m not much for the chaos of Honolulu, but the North Shore rocks a language I can definitely understand. I spent the week exploring trails, sea kayaking in search of turtles and relaxing in the sun with a couple drinks. It was gloriously needed and reminded me of how rarely I just *sit*!
Our beach house
Will flew in on Thursday and we headed to the Leeward side of the island to the wedding venue. My sis and her fiance had chosen the JW Marriott Ihilani Ko Olina Resort for the big day, so Will and I got a (very expensive!} room for the remainder of the weekend. The hotel was gorgeous and somehow my Maid of Honor status got us upgraded to an ocean view room. Needless to say, Will and I weren’t going to argue! We loved sitting on our balcony and watching the sunset.
The wedding ceremony was beautiful and I honestly have never seen Melissa look more radiant! Her dress was one of the most gorgeous I’ve ever seen and her face was simply glowing with happiness.
Melissa and Sang (PC: Jessie Hockett)
My beautiful little sister
Naturally, I pulled the big sis card and couldn’t stop crying the entire damn day! I did manage to pull it together for my speech at the reception, quenching my terror of speaking in front of 250 people. I saw her face covered in tears when I finished, so I knew I did my job!
Bridal Party Gone Out-Of-Control
Currently: Our Big Purchase
I got a new car!
It took some convincing but Will finally persuaded me that it was time to bid a fond farewell to my beloved Nissan Pathfinder. It was a 2000 with 160k miles and quite honestly, both a tank and a gas guzzler. I was lucky to average 15 mpg which was brutal on the wallet. However, I was sentimentally attached to that car and have many vivid memories with the Green Beast. I finally agreed to trade it in when I realized I needed both rotors and tires before winter hit. That was more money than the car was worth!
Having said that, you can imagine my surprise when I learned that I wasn’t allowed to get rid of it! You see, when I went to find my title to trade it in for my new car, I realized I had never received one in 2010 when I paid it off. You would think that I would have noticed this sooner, but nope….not the way my brain works!
Anyway, I assumed it was a mistake and went to the DMV to get a replacement title issued. Lo and behold, the lady behind the counter told me I couldn’t get a title because there was A LIEN ON MY CAR!
{Insert all the swear words as I about lost it at the DMV}
She told me that CitiFinancial Auto was showing that I hadn’t paid of my loan, which is also considered a lien. I did some digging and long story short, my car and I were involved in this massive, nationwide ordeal!
In a nutshell: my original car loan was through CitiFinancial. In August, 2010, they went out of business and Santander bought the company. I paid off my car in October, 2010, so the last two months of my payments were made to Santander. However, CitiFinancial kept all their accounts “open” when they shut their doors, presumably so they could look a bit better on paper. This meant that my record with CitiFinancial was “frozen” with me owing them two months of payments. Santander wouldn’t issue me a title until that was cleared, even though I had the email confirmation stating that my account was paid in full and the title would be released to me. Of course, CitiFinancial went out of business years ago, so there was no way of contacting them via phone or email….believe me, I tried!
After days of calling and emailing, I finally learned that there was a company that would release the lien for me if I paid them. I was beyond irate since the loan had been paid off years ago, but since I couldn’t get anyone on the phone to release it the proper way, I acquiesced. Yup, I had to pay some random company to release a bullshit lien that didn’t belong on my account!
This was all happening in the 48 hours leading up to my Hawaii trip, so stress was at an all-time high. Regardless, it was finally solved and I was able to pick up my new beauty: a Subaru Outback!
My new car!
It’s a 2010 so it’s only new-to-me, but I already love the thing. I’m averaging 29-30 mpg which is a huge life upgrade, and it’s the same forest green as my old Pathfinder. Like Will said, it’s like my Green Beast reincarnated!
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Happy Friday! What’s currently going on in your life?