Sunday, June 12, 2011

Onward and Upward

Hi people.

Change is a-comin'. Can you feel it?

I want to keep this as short and sweet as possible. Celebrating is the plan here, not dwelling.

After a lot of deliberation, and hemming and hawing, I've decided to shut down Planned Spontaneity. 

For a while now it just hasn't felt right.

In the beginning, more than three years ago, this was a place for me to keep family and friends updated on what was going on in my life. Then the accident happened and this was a place I came to collect my thoughts, express how I was feeling and heal.

Now, I just don't know where to take it and I feel like it's served it's purpose and run it's course. I need to move on, literally and figuratively. These past two years are never going to disappear and I don't want that, but I do need to fully step into my new life.

Andy and I have some big plans for our future, so it's time for something new.

Out with the old blog, and in with the new one.

What? You didn't think I was giving up blogging all together, did you?

Haha. Fooled you!

I've already started blogging at my new internet home. Also, now I'm a dot com, so my url is a whole lot easier to remember (and spell). The new blog is called Average Joanna. It's still a work in progress, so be patient with me while I attempt to pretty the place up.

Head on over and see what's new. I'm looking forward to seeing you there.

Thank you for taking this journey with me. Your support has meant the world to me and I'm certain I would have come through this differently without it.

Hugs and Love,
Joanna

Friday, June 3, 2011

I've got a feelin'. Woohoo.

Yeah, so that Black Eyed Peas song is old and tired, but I couldn't help it.

A long time ago I wrote a post about my old Jeep and how I knew it was getting tired and worn down and would need to be replaced. I wrote this post before the accident, obviously, but now I can't find it. In said post, I talked a lot about how I shop for cars. I shop based on how I feel about a particular vehicle & in this mysterious post I embedded a video from a Gilmore Girls episode where Lorelei has to shop for a new car and she can't find one because none of them "feel" right. Exchange the name "Lorelei" for "Joanna" in that scenario and you've just gone car shopping with me.

For two years now I've need a car of my own. When the accident happened we owned three cars already; my Jeep, The Hulk, and Magnum the truck. With two cars left and no room in the budget for a car payment we decided it was in our best interest to just keep the two cars we had left and make it work. When the time was right (read: when we settled with the insurance company) we would get a new car.

The past two years I've spent a lot of time researching and looking and wishing a dreaming. Honestly, if I had what I wanted, I'd have my old Jeep back. I loved that thing and I would have driven it until the wheels fell off.

Alas, that was not to be. Accepting the inevitable, I whittled down my choices and this past week we went shopping. A couple of days ago I made a purchase.

Before I show you what I got, I have to tell you just how far this "feeling" thing goes with me. Last Thursday we test drove a car that was, for all intents and purposes, identical to the car I ended up purchasing. The test car was really nice and would have probably served me well for years to come, but it just didn't feel right. I felt like I was driving something that belonged to someone else. So I worked with the dealership and we found one that looked just right on paper. It came in on Tuesday and you guys, this is my car. It feels like it was made for me. It's perfect.

So, here it is. The replacement for my other perfect car.


 It's a 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee. I love it.

Along with that car, we made another, smaller purchase. The Hulk has certainly seen better days and Magnum the truck has been having more and more break downs. It became clear to us a while ago that Andy was going to need a new car too.

The dealership just happened to have something on the lot that met all of Andy's criteria, so we got a new toy for him too.



It's a 2005 Grand Cherokee.

Some my say buying two cars at once is overkill. You know what I say to those people? When you live through the same hell we have for the last to years, then you can pass judgment on what we do.We deserve this.

If I could go back and choose my path, I would gladly give it all back. I'd give back all the pain and heartache and frustration if I could have my old Jeep and my old life. Andy feels exactly the same way.

While these new cars don't erase everything that has happened, they certainly don't hurt.

Happy weekend! I'm certainly going to enjoy mine!

P.S. For those of you wondering why the hell we bought two Jeeps. We've always owned two, with the exception of the last two years. Since we started dating, we've each had a Jeep. These two are numbers 4 and 5 between us. We're Jeep people. It's just what we like.