From Mini to minivan

I bought my first Mini Cooper in January of 2003. It was bright blue with white racing stripes. It was also the first new car I had ever owned. I was relatively newly divorced, it was just me and the dog and the cat, and I wanted a car that was very "me". I loved that car. I also but an obscene amount of miles on it driving all over Virginia.

By the summer of 2004, I was feeling a little crowded in that car. And I got a good deal on an X5, so I traded it in. As much as I was looking forward to more space, I mourned that little go cart that I had picked out all by myself. I made my Dad take pictures of it with me and my pets.

I went through a few leases at BMW and when the most recent one was expiring, I wasn't sure what I wanted to replace it. So I decided to go back to the car I'd originally loved and just add a little space. In May of 2008, I got a Mini Cooper Clubman.

And by the end of that year, we decided to have a kid. By the end of 2009 we were completely outgrowing the Mini.

It became either a two-seater or a driver and baby carrier kind of car. The suspension was not so friendly to my recovering body. And we could no longer drive it with the three of us. By April of 2010, I was done.

So I bought a Toyota Sienna minivan. I still was stuck with the Mini until November, but we weren't going to survive in that car until then. In the 7 months since I bought the Sienna, we've put almost 10,000 miles on it. It is officially my favorite car ever.

I loaned the Mini to my mother over the summer because the air conditioning was broken on her car. She got lots of comments as the white-haired lady downtown in this sporty little car. When I went to borrow it back for a rare road trip without baby, I found I couldn't put the seat back because she had stuffed so much junk in the back seat. But that little car did well for her all the same and I was happy it was getting some use since I had to keep paying lease payments on it.

I'm pleased to say we're back to being a two car family now. I returned the Mini Clubman on Monday (after a panic of thinking we'd lost one of the comfort access keys and would have to pay $300 to replace it). As I drove it that last little bit back to the dealership, I didn't have any regrets. The first time I gave up my Mini I was sad. But this time, I was just happy to be rid of the payment and insurance costs.

I have a new love. My Sienna is the best! The suspension is smooth, the turning radius is amazing, the doors open with a push button. I can crawl in the back to nurse Ian, we can nap in the way back at SCA events. We can put all our camping equipment in it for the weekend. We can put two families in it to drive to Williamsburg.

It doesn't have leather seats or GPS built in but I don't miss those. I do sort of miss the rain sensing wipers on the Mini but that was about it. The Mini salesman wanted to talk to me about the new four door Countryman that's coming out soon. I was curious about it, but really, I'm happy with my new "me".

Recap of Living Out Loud volume 22: Name your vice

Holy crap, do you know your vices! We had 13 entries this month! We've got a lot of reading to do, so let's get started: Erin's A Vice for All Saints Day I have done all these as well! After the baby, my hygiene levels shifted to a new "norm".

Rachel's Nasty! I used to chew on my cuticles ruthlessly until I got acrylic nails. Just after having Ian I managed to chew one into a horrible infection. That. Was Nasty.

Grace's Name your vice Grace really went all out and covered all the biggies! I think I've been guilty of all of these at one time or another too.

SuziCate's For Bad Or Worse Ooh, that "always" thing would get to me. Though Rich has a few things like that and we joke about them now. And Rich is also the World's Worst Passenger, but it just means I always get to play on my phone because he alwayswants to drive. See? Totally turned a bad into a good.

Peg's Don't Rock the Boat My mother has always said that if it weren't for deadlines she wouldn't get anything done and I'm not much better. So yeah, I get that. And rocking the boat? Oof, I feel that way too sometimes.

Jen's There, I've got it all sorted! This was neat to read because as first I was all "hey, you're just cheating!" but I can see how the little things are still vices but the big ones have shown a lot of progress. Go you!

Megan's Oh, I have a vice This is funny because I never knew this drink existed before Megan. And while I like it, I don't worship it like she does. But I do like to spoil myself with the occasional $4 beverage. Cheaper than beer.

Deb's Name Your Vice Oh, I totally do the same thing! I'm a very judgmental driver!

Candice's Cleaning Product Aromatherapy This stands out as the most unique vice. I can't say that I've felt the same way about this, but I'm sure there are other things I do that are equally weird. But taking one to bed? That's awesome!

Iseulte's My (not so secret) Vice As a diabetic, you'd think I would be all about this, but it has never appealed to me. But I know plenty of others who share your passion. That's fascinating about the bloating, though.

Ruth's Collecting Voices Rich and I just had a conversation the other day about eating out. But you took it to a much more global level.

Donal's My Vice This vice came as no surprise to me but I appreciated the honesty. The brevity of it was not lost on me either.

And my own Try before you buy

This was a fun topic to write about and a very fun topic to read about, so I hope you take the time to peruse all the entries. There were so many that grabbed my attention!

I felt more connected to so many of you to know I'm not the only one who goes days without washing my face or says things I shouldn't.

I had several favorites. Grace got points for going all out and covering the seven big sins. Jen gets props for tricking me into thinking she was going to tell me all her vices are gone. Candice made me laugh in a way that I couldn't necessarily commiserate with her but I have a sensitive sniffer so it's only a matter of time before I fall into this trap. Ruth taught me something about commercialism I'd never thought of.

But this month, I pick Peg as our winner. She covered some of the basics like diet, exercise and procrastinating. Things we can all relate to. But then she confessed some things about herself that might be hard to admit. Things I've seen myself and other friends do too but not share with others.

So thank you for rocking the boat this month, Peg. I'm super proud of you.

Peg will receive our customary $25 Amazon gift certificate as her prize. I can't express enough, though, how pleased I am at all the participants and I'm so happy you play along, whether in print or in your own heads.

I'm happy if these themes just get you to ponder them during your commute but I'm even more stoked if you write something for us all. Go you!

And since it's NaBloPoMo this month, I'll have plenty of opportunities to write up the theme for this month. So stay tuned!

Try before you buy

I asked Rich if this counted as a vice and he said, "yes, because it absolutely infuriates me." I am the reason they make those horrible clamshell plastic packages. I'm the reason they invented shrink wrap. I'm the reason they use zip ties to keep zippers closed. Before I buy most things, if there is no display item, I open the box to test out its contents in the store.

The first time I did this around Rich he acted like I was stuffing the item under my shirt and trying to walk out with it.

"That's not yours yet. You didn't buy that!"

"And I'm not going to if it's crap. I'll put it all back together and buy this one if I like it. But I need to test it first."

I also sample produce in the grocery store before buying. I mean, I don't peel a banana and dig in, but I'll test a grape before putting a whole bunch of possibly bitter ones in my basket.

My ex-aunt-in-law Cindy used to push her thumb into the fish package to smell it before buying it. She justified it by saying that if it smelled ok she'd buy that one but if it smelled funny, no one should be buying it. I don't puncture meat packages but a green bean or two missing won't upset the grocery economy.

I saw a woman in New York City wearing a fancy dress with the price tag still attached. Her friend stopped her before crossing the street to tuck it back in. So I don't return expensive clothes after wearing them and sweating all over them in crowded bars. I'm just a focus group of one, testing products in the aisle before checking out.

When I win the lottery, I'm going to open a boutique where you can shop for bags and try out all your crap in it before buying it. We'll have bag consultants and a little table to sit at and practice finding a home for your wallet and phone. Then there will be less tissue paper littering the purse aisle from people like me camping out in the floor with three different bags.

You don't buy a car without test driving it first. I just think the same applies to camera bags and cuisinarts.