RIP Mustang 1999-2014

Ok-so we all know the thing I love more than my hubby is my wedding ring, right?  Well-my hubby has something he loves more than me.... his Mustang.

We he have had a 1999 35th Anniversary edition Mustang.  We bought it from his cousin, Daniel, a couple of months before he married a little gal named Alicia in 2002.  (Perhaps you've heard of 'em?)   And this car is was NICE.  Interior is was nice, body is was nice, ability to cut my head off with the seat belt from B-rad whipping it around nice.

In 2006 it was stolen from our garage.  YES IT WAS.  Our home was broken into for the first time & they drove it right out of our garage.  We were distraught, heart broken, mad & frustrated...until 4 days later we got a call - they found our B-rad's car in a lake.  UHM...

The thieves left it running, tried to light some receipts in the glove box on fire w/ the cigarette lighter & pushed it into Wyandotte Lake.  Some kids doing an FFA project saw it & called the police because they thought someone may be in it.  

Lucky for us, it did not catch fire, it did not go too deep into the lake & we paid a hefty $200 fee to have it towed back home.  It had quite a bit of damage to it.  The interior was soaked in water & sludge.  It smelled disgusting.  

This was B-rad's baby - how could we not fix it?  I mean - we got it back after some crazy circumstances.  It was our duty to fix her back up.  B-rad got the interior from my brothers 2000 Mustang that he had made into a drag car.  Soon after that, the transmission went out.  He realized that the thieves drove it pretty hard themselves & had destroyed the gears.  He loaded it up & took it to a guy we went to school with to fix the transmission.  (That cost another pretty penny.  I think in the $500-$700 range.) 

 After that, voila - we were back in business.  

This car has been a roller coaster ride.  It runs then it doesn't run - it's 15 years old after all - but he always makes the repairs to get it going again when he gets time.   Lately it was in top notch shape, he just bought new tires & rims for it & installed all his stereo speaker stuff to make his ears bleed it boom.  And about 3 weeks ago - this is how it looked:  

 (for the record - I hate the black rims...but no one cares what I think...)

So our nephew, Brady, had prom this past weekend.  He had asked if he could take the car to prom.  B-rad's answer was yes.  He's driven it before - even down the drag strip.  

We had no problem letting him take it.

I got a call from B-rad Friday night around 10:00pm.

B-rad:  "Is Brady there?"

Me:  "Brady?  Uhm, no.  WHY?"

B-rad:  "He wrecked my car."

Me:  "OH NO.  What happened?  Is Brady ok?"

B-rad:  "He jumped a curb & ripped off the bumper.  From the grill down is destroyed.  It blew both of the air bags."

Me:  "OH NO (I have serious conversational abilities.) Is Brady alright?  Did he hit anybody else?"

B-rad:  "Yes, he's fine.  He didn't hit anybody.  Just the curb."

Of course details were sketchy at that point & I was wondering how hitting a curb was as bad as B-rad's voice sounded????

Around 11pm B-rad & Brian went to Corydon to get the car because the policeman said he shouldn't drive it home.   After they got it home they could assess the damage a bit better.   My 'girl' understanding is that he pulled out of a parking lot & got on it pretty hard & dumped the clutch (whatever THAT means) & lost control.  He tried to correct it, but it shot him across the road, down into a ditch then back up an embankment where there was a concrete 'wall' surrounding a business.  It wasn't like a curb you think of on a sidewalk or the parking curb thingies.  I think it was maybe a couple of feet tall.  He hit that & when he stopped - both air bags blew.

The left front side took the initial impact.  

The bumper got ripped off . There are scrapes all along it.  

Everything underneath is bent back.  The frame is also bent.  When B-rad saw that - he knew that was the kiss of death... Apparently a bent frame is bad, bad, bad.  

So now we're left with what to do.   B-rad's talked to a couple of buddies & they think they MAY be able to fix the frame.  If it can't be fixed - the car is totaled (because of the bent frame).  The engine & interior are still good, so B-rad may be able to piece it out ...or...wait for it - put some of it on the 2000 Mustang of Butterflies we bought & have had in our garage for 2 years.  (B-rad hasn't had time to re-build it & we've I'VE discussed selling it.   Brady screwed that one up for me.  Hmph.)  We only had liability on our insurance so this won't be covered.  

This time of year B-rad has nothing to do but think all day while he's planting corn so he's taking advantage of it by playing out all the scenarios in his head of what he wants to do.   I know that if it can be fixed - we will fix it.  No question.  It's a sentimental thing & ya'll know I don't really do sentimental.  But I know B-rad loves this car.   It may surprise you to know that I love the car too.  I get mad at B-rad because I think he messes with it too much (it has a roll cage in it & he talks about putting seats in it w/ 5 point harnesses like Nascar or something) & that irritates me.  I think it looks fast (I know it actually IS fast...) & the body is in GREAT shape for being 15 years old.   Yes, we expect Brady to help pay for the repairs.  B-rad did mention to me (along w/ all his other contingency plans) that he also thought maybe it was time to close this chapter on our lives & move on.   Yea - I don't know if I'm ready for all that.  B-rad has had Mustangs since 1995-which is one year after we started dating.   And I know if we get rid of it - at some point he'll just want another one.  I'm onto his game... 
For now I'll hope the frame can be fixed.... 

Now - what EVERYONE wants to know:  Are we mad at Brady or How mad at Brady are we?  

We're not mad at Brady at all.   YES we're super bummed about the car.  It sucks quite frankly.  But, when we gave a 17 year old boy kid keys to a sports car-we knew that he would probably drive it a bit crazy.  Hell, B-rad's 37 & he drives it crazy.   Of course Brady is beating himself up about it & Brian & Lora are really upset.  I get that - if I borrowed someones car & wrecked it I would be horrified.   Brian asked B-rad, "Why would you let him drive your car?"  B-rad said, "Why WOULDN'T I let him drive it?  We don't have kids - he's the closest thing to a kid I have."  

Brady was SO upset about it.  I tried to tell him we weren't mad & it was going to be ok & I was glad he wasn't hurt.  He told B-rad he would sell his truck to pay him back & B-rad said, "No - you're not selling your truck - we'll get this worked out."  

I saw Lora the next day to take pictures for prom & she cried & said she was sorry.  I said, "Are you kidding me with this crying?  This is nothing to cry about.  It's just a car!  Brady is ok & that's what matters."   Honestly I was afraid Brian may kill him.  I had to tell him not to be too hard on him too.  Lora also said Brady came home the night of the accident & cried & cried.  

Ya'll....that breaks my heart more than the wrecked car...

Summer concert series - Brantley Gilbert

Our first (yes, I said first) concert of the summer was Brantley Gilbert at the Yum Center last Friday night.  I don't really know this guy or his songs - but when I heard 'suite' & 'free' I said - sign us up!  

A guy that helps us on the farm is engaged to a young lady that is a manager at one of the First Savings Bank branches.  They would like to get some of our farm business (meaning they want us to put some of our money in their bank.)  She had access to their suite(!) for the concert & invited us to come.   

The view...

She had invited the boys & their wives, but my sister in law couldn't go so Brady came with us in her place.    Brian was going to meet us there after he got off work so B-rad & I picked up Brady & we went to dinner.  I probably didn't say 10 words (I KNOW...)  because those 2 were blabbing about boring farm stuff, boring heavy machinery stuff, boring fast car stuff, & boring 'lets discuss how to make our car radios loud enough to make our ears bleed' stuff.

They are like 2 peas in a pod.  Sometimes it's scary...  I guess I should be thankful our nephew doesn't completely hate being seen in public with us...

Please notice Brady leaning OVER the protective glass in the suite.  And if you look closely behind the bill of his hat...you can see his Uncle B-rad leaned OVER the protective glass too...

  And I was all like, "Hey B-rad - do you know how broke we would be if I could have these seats for every concert?"  

I mean - what's NOT to love?  

The chairs are nice, big, leather seats with cup holders & teeny tiny tables between them.

Some guy kept coming in to check on us to see if 'we needed anything'.  If we did need it - he got it for us...

This suite thing might be THE way to go...

Segregation is alive & well when it comes to having suite tickets.  Not just anyone can go to that area.  They looked at our tickets at like 4 different checkpoints.  Your own kitchen, PLUS the restroom was RIGHT.OUTSIDE.THE.DOOR.  You know what that mean, ladies - no long line for the bathroom.  SCORE.

And we did what any self respecting, country living, farmer being, never been in a suite before kinda people would do.  We looked through all the cabinets.  Yes, we did....

 Then we came across this fun menu.  And by fun I mean ridiculous.  The numbers listed here are the important part - what they are for is insignificant.  It wasn't lobster - I assure you...  In the spirit of full disclosure - I think these are for larger quantities - not just like a single serving but STILL.  $110 for chicken tenders?  We saw a Papa John's cheese pizza listed for $27.

All the suite stuff aside - there was a concert going on.   Brantley Gilbert is classified as country/country rock.  Sometimes I felt like I was at a country concert & a minute later I felt like I was at an AC/DC concert.  Ya'll now I'm a self-appointed concert connoisseur now so I'm always looking for cool things that are different or special at each concert.  

What I liked was that the 2 opening acts (Eric Paslay & Thomas Rhett) & Brantley were song writers before they got their own deal.  They each sang a song they had written for other artists.  Eric Paslay wrote Jake Owen's 'Barefoot Blue Jean Night', Thomas Rhett wrote Lee Brice's 'Parking Lot Party' & Brantley Gilbert wrote Jason Aldean's, 'Dirt Road Anthem' & 'My Kinda Party'.  (If you are not a country fan - I apologize for you not understand what any of those songs are...)

What I didn't like - no freakin' giant screens to show the artist.  UHM, what?  Who doesn't have giant screens in the Yum Center?  

Here's what I decided about the whole suite situation - you know - in case you ever have the chance to buy yourself a suite or something.  I feel it's my civic duty to keep ya'll informed w/ Jaime Mac's pros & cons.  I'm a giver, people.

Pros:  Nice, large, leather chairs.  Your own bathroom.  Your own guy saying, "Do you need anything?".   You are segregated from other concert goers. 

Cons:   Everything is hella expensive.  You are segregated from other concert goers.

Ok so segregation is listed twice... It's a double edged sword, people.  It was really nice to be in your own little area, but by the end of the night I missed being in the crowd & that energy & dancing & singing at the top of my lungs.  I almost felt on display.  Not that anyone was looking at me, but when you're in the crowd you know no one cares or is paying attention to you.  

That being said, it may not be as bad if you shared the suite w/ people you know.   We were there with strangers & I didn't feel comfortable acting a dancing/singing fool in front of them... 

SOO the moral of the story is - if you can go in with 11 of your closest, most funnest friends & get hooked up with one of these suite thingies - I highly recommend it!  

Operation kitchen cabinet clean-out

We all know I don't cook, (Ok, that's a lie - I DO cook...but I hate it.  Like with every fiber of my body HATE it.) so it became amusing astonishing to me that I had so much stuff to cook with.  I mean, really - how does a gal that hates to cook have so much cooking STUFF?!   Plastic bowls, Pyrex containers, baking sheets, cutting boards - you name it.  We had gotten a lot of things when we were married that I never EVER used.  They were just stuffed in the cabinet.  I struggle with feeling bad about throwing something away that we were given as a gift.  However - after 15 years I decided I was over feeling bad & no one would remember what they got us anyway.   If you see something you gave us - thank you SO much for sharing our special day & for the thoughtful gift!  

Anybody else tend to kinda 'stuff' things into a space until the doors won't close anymore & stuff is stacked on top of other stuff it's full?  No?  Just me then?  Mmmm kay... And I'm fine with that - until I'm not.  It's like a switch goes off in my brain.  You know how it is when you're cleaning & you find something you forgot about & you're all like, "Oh wow!  I forgot about this!  I will TOTALLY use this!  (Even though you SOOO won't!) I try to not do that anymore.  When I do these 'spring cleaning' tasks my motto is this:

"If I haven't used it, seen it, worn it or knew it existed for a YEAR - it's garbage."

Learn it, people - it will change your life.

 And I do love me some 'before & after' pictures so don't worry your pretty little heads about that.  They're coming...

I spent Saturday afternoon on "operation kitchen cabinet clean-out".  I had a plastic container to put things in that I may need from time to time, but not on a daily or weekly basis to put in the basement on the shelves.   (Cupcake pan, deviled egg container, ice bucket - stuff like that.)

I drug everything out (this is just one section below) & onto the floor. 

Notice how Sonny is kinda there & in the middle of it all - yet not really helping me?  Hmph, cats...

 I found three, count 'em THREE loaf pans.  I have never made a loaf of any kind in any of these.  NEVER.  I pitched them all.  

(Notice the Pampered Chef one still had the directions & scraper in it?)  

When all was said & done - I filled up 4 of the large trash bags with kitchen 'stuff'.  

Again- Sonny doesn't care a bit about all the progress I made... 

 Before:

(I had TWO George Foreman grills.  My mother in law gave me one a LONG time ago.  When Shauna bought herself a new one she gave me her older one because it was newer than mine.  Make sense?  {Both shoved/stacked into the cabinet.   Why throw one away when there was clearly room for another one?! Duh...} And the baking sheets - I had cheap ones, then got Pampered Chef ones.  Instead of throwing the cheap ones away - I just piled the Pampered Chef ones on TOP.  I mean - you just never know when I would've needed to bake 40 dozen cookies at the same time using 5 baking sheets... Madness, I tell ya.)

After:  

(I kept 4 cutting boards.  No way do I need 4 cutting boards.  However, they're all a little different that's how I justified that. One is itty bitty, one is medium sized w/ a liquid catching 'ditch' on it, one is a bit larger w/ no ditch & the biggest one is a nice Pampered Chef one with measuring cups on the end AND a liquid catching ditch.  Sad things is - I threw 3 away.  Who the hell needs 7 cutting boards?)

Before:

After:

 Before: 

 (That's a deep fryer thingie on the bottom right.  I haven't touched that in maybe 7 years?  It made the house smell horrible.  There was still oil in it...it was kinda like the consistency of rubber.  Lovely...)

After:

 Best part is I still have some empty space to fill up in case I have to add to my culinary collection of tools.   But until then - all the doors close & everything... 

"Operation kitchen cabinet clean-out" = success.

In which I bore you about my driveway

 It's no secret this winter has been rough.  Our driveway is a multiple layered cluster f*** when it comes to snow & ice.  It's got a sharp curve near the garage so you can't get any speed up before you have to go around it.  It's on the north side of a hill which means it gets NO sunlight. (& I only know that because B-rad went on a Facebook rant about it.)

 It also has a gradual incline that gets pretty steep at the very end so it's hard to get out unless you have 4 wheel drive or a large car...

Which I do not.  I have a little, light car that lets me get around 30 mpg - but does NOT allow me to get out of the driveway.  

  I've always had 4 wheel drive suv's until I got my Cruze last year.  Last year wasn't too bad with snow so I really had no trouble.  But this year - when I tell you there was fighting & thrashing & gnawing of teeth for me to get B-rad to get the tractor & grade the snow off our driveway-I am not being dramatic.  It was bad, people.

Me: "We have hundreds of thousand of dollars of f***ing equipment at the barn but NOOOOO none of it can help me??  Really??"

B-rad:  "The John Deere is in Washington County!" (It is a tractor that has a cab on it.  Do you think I cared if he froze to death whilst grading?  Nope...)

B-rad:  "The 2590 has an oil leak."  (Do you think I cared if he froze to death to go over to the barn to fix said oil leak? Nope.)

B-rad:  "The 260 is too big for the blade."  

So you get the picture - it was always something.

  

When I was on vacation in December, I had a doctors appointment one day but couldn't get out of the driveway.  Luckily our nephew, Brady, was off school & he came & got me & let me drive his car.  (Side note - I am a car snob.  Full fledged.  His car is like a 1992 Ford contour.  He's a 17 year old kid so you can imagine what the inside looked like.  It has no power ANYTHING & isn't in the best shape.   I couldn't get the driver door open.  I said, "Brady - the door is locked."   He said, "Oh.  No - you have to 'push & pull up against' the driver side door to get it open."  Seriously? [& while I am eternally grateful he let me drive it- you know I'm gonna bitch about it.   CAR SNOB.] 

 B-rad delegated the first driveway clean off to poor Brady.  He's such a good kid - but don't worry - he got paid... (Notice he is NOT in a tractor w/ a cab...No one was worried about him freezing to death.  But in the spirit of full disclosure - I could be heard yelling from inside my toasty warm house, "BRADY - IF YOU GET COLD, COME IN & WARM UP!  I DON'T WANT YOU TO FREEZE TO DEATH."  

Do you think I would've told B-rad that?   I'll let everyone answer silently to themselves...)

Not only did the driveway get screwed up, but the yard did too.  On one of my attempts to get out of the driveway - I got stuck.  I tell ya - it's a helpless feeling.  When B-rad came home to pull it out HE got stuck in the yard.  It wasn't pretty people...he was ma-ad.

There were several times when we had over-night snows that B-rad couldn't clean it off before he left for work. (He had to leave for work then at an un-Godly hour - like 4:30am or something.  & while I am a LOT of things - forcing him against his will asking him super nicely to clean the driveway before he left for work was an uber bitch move that even I wasn't willing to pull.)  I was a good little soldier & tried to get out each & every time...  And when I couldn't, lucky for B-rad me, our sister in law not only lives 2 minutes from us & passes the house every morning on her way to work, but we also work at the same place. Super convenient for her to stop on the road, let me trek my happy ass up the driveway through the snow &amp frigid cold; & hop into her car. 

(You may be wondering - 'ok, princess - why don't you park your car on the side of the road & walk to it so you can get out?'  That's a GREAT question!  I TOTALLY wanted to do that, but B-rad wouldn't allow it.  Our house is built on ground that kind of 'falls away' so our house is like below road level.  It's hard to explain, but leaving my car half on the road & half in our yard isn't a good option.  The ground slopes too much & is very steep... & I still wouldn't have been able to get out...)

Because of the multiple scrapings, we have like no gravel left.  Our driveway is a horrible muddy mess.  (See the ruts in the yard?)

And because of all the melting & rain it's all soft & squishy so when B-rad drives his big ass truck in, it does this...

I even spotted a place on the deck supports where the wood was splintered.  B-rad & his buddy, Brian, were shooting their bows one day & I was like, "what happened there?"  Brian was the one who said, "I bet it was a tractor tire - it looks right at that level."  

B-rad immediately penned that one on Brady.  

Magically one day a HUGE pile of gravel appeared in the field next to the house.  And I was all like, "Oh wow, my hubby is THE best!  He got new gravel for the driveway!"

Then another day a dozer appeared.  And I thought, "Huh.  I've never seen him put gravel on the driveway with a dozer??..."  And guess what?  It didn't happen that day either.  The HUGE pile of gravel was to fill sink holes in the field.  WHAT.EVER.

(UHM, I said I was gonna bore you about my driveway in the TITLE.  I can't help you read the whole thing & hoped thought there may be more to it than that.  Nope, just boring driveway stuff.)  

Brothers are from the devil

 The only times we see Butterfly & Rhonda are when we're at our parents for birthdays or holidays. We don't ever get a chance to really 'talk' to them though.  One of these days I'm gonna video what happens at my parents house when we're all together.  Mine & Rhonda's birthdays are coming up next.  It's just something you have to see - it can't be explained...

Usually I try to talk to Rhonda & B-rad talks to Butterfly & my parents interrupt incessantly.  I wanted to be able to sit down & have an actual conversation with them & a few(!) weeks ago, we were able to met up w/ them to have dinner on the river. 

We had discussed our aging parents & how they tend to have a lot of 'stuff' laying around the house.  The house is VERY old (over 100 years), it has one bathroom (OH THE HUMANITY.  We grew up in that house!) & the bedrooms upstairs (where Jer & I 'lived') were built into the attic so it's not like it's going to be a real 'gem' for anyone to want to buy when they're gone.  So Butterfly suggested that 'when they're gone- we should just light a match to it & let it go.'  Which I was fine with.  (Don't judge...)

Like I said, it was a few weeks ago & last Friday my parents were DELIGHTED to tell me "Jer is coming home this weekend!"  (He lives in Louisville with Rhonda & tries to make it his lifes mission to not doesn't come 'home' very often.)  Of course, this irritated me (because they see me everyday, but WHO CARES?) & I made some flippant comment (or exact quote), "Oh goody!  The prodigal son is coming home!"  And then I might have clapped my hands.

Maybe.

When I got there today for lunch, she asked me about a couple of things in the house, 

Mom: "Jaime - what will you do w/ that cabinet behind you when I die?"   (It's a china cabinet thing her dad built.)

Me: "Uhm, well, uh - I don't really have anyplace for it.  I would probably ask some of the family if they wanted it.  If they didn't I'd put it in storage someplace."

Mom:  (taking wooden eggs she very detailed HAND PAINTED out of a decorative basket on the table) "What about these eggs?  Do you want one of these eggs I painted? "

Jaime:  "UHM, noooooo."

{In true 'my brother is a punk & I should have had my head examined for wanting to have dinner with him' - he told our mother we were going to BURN DOWN HER HOUSE.  Bastard...}

Mom: "WELLLLL - Jeremy was here this weekend  & he told me that you two sat down & talked about it & you've decided that when we die you're going to strike a match & let the place burn."

Jaime: "Oh, yea - we did say that..."

And then I sent him a text... & if you think he was apologetic or had remorse... you would be wrong.  (of course, I meant 'when she dies' not does.)  

And see- this is how he does me.  He drops the bomb & I'm left to deal with the nuclear fall-out while he's way the hell over in Louisville.

Obviously he is the smarter sibling... :)