My birthday present

Mr. X's out of town. When he called me on Saturday and asked if I had a good day, I teased him, telling him that I went shopping and couldn't find any shoes or sweaters that I liked, but I found and bought a very expensive birthday present.

"uh, oh," he laughed, "you bought a car? No, No. I got it, you signed for a house."

"Uh man! You just ruined my joke." I groaned, "I got snow tires."

When Mr. X shared this story with a co-worker, the co-worker didn't think it was funny at all, "Dude, my wife left me penniless at age 44." Ouch.

My Favorite: Lock De-Icer

photo: Bell Automotive

When we bought our car last year Mr. X excitedly grabbed the key-fob (i.e. clicker, keyless entry, etc.) from the manager, claiming it as his own and leaving me with a standard key. It probably was sensible since I have a sneeky feeling that Sarah+clicker=locksmith; I'm much safer practicing VW's idiot-proof locking method.

Well, Mr. X's exultant claim didn't bother me...until this fall, when struggling out the door with work bag, seminary bag, garment bag, purse and Mr. X's work bag, I found the locks frozen and my key completely useless. Some mornings I could grab Mr. X's key off his bookshelf, other mornings I found myself fishing through his pockets as he brushed his teeth, ate his oatmeal or tied his shoes.

After a week of this ridiculousness, I picked up a bottle (er, two) of lock de-icer and have been smiling ever since.

Since you asked...

We took the car in to the shop yesterday to have the check engine light looked at. There were a slew of error codes which we assume were triggered from the emergency stop we made for the dog. One of the codes was for the charcoal canister in the gas tank. The repair was covered under our warranty so we were able to get out the door for $84.50...sounds awfully close to $85. I don't think it's a coincidence. Looks like the dog got hers.