to suv or not to suv? that was the question.

so. we bought an suv today. and i can hear all of my hippie friends (love you, by the way) voicing their immense dismay. selling out and purchasing a gas guzzling miniature apartment on wheels, ready to tear down the road and crush environmentally conscious drivers who choose to trot along in the honda prius, saving the world one mpg at a time. and i was that person! pulling up to someone in the bright yellow hummer h3, which gets approximately 3 mpg, and chortling snarkily to myself, hoping in that dark, murky, evil place in my soul that this person, in their quest to drive the biggest machine ever created, is unable to pay their rent because they are paying several hundred dollars in gas per week. thinking this way made me feel so much better about driving a car that has a smaller engine than most chainsaws. yes, oh readers of saturday, a-pants very regularly smirked when pulling up along side an suv and told herself that she would never get one.

until i moved to new mexico. it would have been nearly impossible for m and i to live a happy and peaceful existence in nm without having a higher clearance, bigger car that could take on these mountainous roads. firstly, for all of you who are not privy to the land of enchantment, new mexico apparently does not find it necessary to fully pave all of its roads. kind of a major oversight, dont you think? i'll work on writing a letter, i can see it now... "dear new mexico, have you considered paving your roads? that could make things better. just sayin, love andie". secondly, m (affectionately known in some circles as "mountain cagg", and he has attained that nickname for a reason), loves hiking mountains almost as much as i love cheese (and don't even get me started how much i am in love with cheese... this blog will morph into a novel in no time), and most of the roads that we need to use to get to the trailheads are unpaved "roads", with small boulders and giant gaping holes that could swallow most compact cars in a single gulp. so m and i would bump down these roads in the maxima, scraping the undercarriage against the dusty road while moderately sized rock formations gleefully punched holes in all the most vital parts of the car. oy! it was painful. add to that the fact that both of our cars are ten years old plus, and wayyyy up in there in miles, and there we were, purchasing an suv.

that being said, it's awesome! i am totally in love with my new suv, and henceforth promise to make up for my little environment-bashing road warrior. maybe i'll plant more trees, i could clean up some lakes, slash the tires of every hummer in a fifty mile radius, who knows... i'll think of something.

i also had no idea that i was engaged to one of the most skillful negotiators i have ever met. m wheeled and dealed like the true new yorker that he is. we had this great conversation in the car where he was coaching me what to say during the negotiation time. my head was spinning, my anxiety was peaking and i just kept thinking that i might mess it up. so i said nothing. the entire time. not a word. i mean, i spoke to the salesman and answered his questions, but when it came to negotiations about money, it was all m's game. and he did fabulously. very very proud. and like the true trouper that he is, he stoically said a goodbye to his trusty maxima.

we took our new friend (who remains nameless, i'll have to come up with a good name for him) up to the mountains this afternoon, did a lovely hike and then had dinner on our salesman (no, i'm serious, he told us that if we bought a car from him, he would buy us dinner.. and he did).fantastic day for a-pants and mountain cagg. just fantastic.

oh by the way! happy one month anniversary to "adventures of andie pants". yes, i have kept this literary masterpiece (ha!) up for an entire month. in honor of its one month of existence, i have decided to switch up the graphics a bit. so enjoy the new scenery. i am discovering great joy and pleasure in writing and feel a sense of peace after each entry is made. i would also like to thank those of you who take the time out of your day to read my expressive and sometimes rambling words. i truly appreciate it. and if the universe moves you, comments are always welcome.

be thankful,
andie.