Bad Smells And Gas

About a year ago Mike traveled to a family funeral where he inherited a slew of things: a beautiful chest that now sits fittingly in our living room, hundreds of family mementos, some small odds and ends and a heaping, over-sized deep freeze. A deep freeze that rested in the dining room of our old house until the day we moved. A deep freeze—if you go back and read that first post, you'll see—that I was always slightly against. Sure, all that extra space is great if you are Jon and Kate Gosselin* and you are trying to feed eight growing children but all that space for a family of three (when one of those family members has FUR and only eats people food when her dad isn't home) only leads to a deep freeze filled with a lot of frozen meals and far too much frozen ground turkey.

And what do you think all that food smells like when the outlet goes kaput and the deep freeze hasn't been, you know, FREEZING for three days?

Well let's just say I (THANKFULLY) don't know because my (really wonderful) husband was the one who stumbled upon the smell yesterday, and he cleaned out the deep freeze and deposited of all the rancid, rotting food before I got home. And, really, of all the things Mike has ever done for me—from that one time atop the Empire State Building to all the peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches he makes for me to sending me flowers from Molly on Mother's Day to going out to the store at midnight because we're out of bottled water and the filtered water in our fridge just WON'T DO—cleaning that deep freeze when I wasn't home was the sweetest, most thoughtful thing he has ever done.

And even though the deep freeze (that we will no longer own or ever put food in come Thursday) was in the garage, I still had to light a whole mess of vanilla candles in my kitchen last night. 

::

So, the year is half over. Look at that. Really, how did that happen? Tell me, what's been your favorite part of 2008 so far? Other than the obvious: all those fun, rising gas prices! Which, let me just say, I drive a Saturn. Even though when I first got it, it only took TWELVE DOLLARS to fill the tank and it now—eight years later—takes more than $40 it's still a relatively reasonable car to drive around town. I fill up about once a week and that totals $160 a month—which is still less than my electricity bill was in May—but it could be worse, I know. Of all the car owners who want to throw themselves into traffic on a daily basis, I'm probably not near the top of the list. But still—STILL—gas prices are all I can think of when I'm in the car. I find myself looking at EVERY PASSING STATION to see which gas is the cheapest. "$3.86!? Holy cow! I have to remember this place even though it's completely out of the way for me to drive six days of the week, but I'll save nearly EIGHT CENTS A GALLON from the station I filled up at last week." That's just insane reasoning on my part, I know, but I can't help it.

We are going to be buying a new car soon, though, since my car officially gave notice last week that it's NEAR DEATH and the thought of pouring money into a SATURN just doesn't seem wise. I mean the total value of the car is less than the total value of my shoes.

So if you own a car you just love—one you couldn't imagine living life without, insane gas prices and all!—please let me know. We have a short list but my only rigid requirement is that the car be black, so I could easily be swayed on various other things such as the make and model.

Oh, and I won't be buying another Saturn. If that helps you like me more.

::

*So, yes, I watch "Jon & Kate Plus Eight" (Alexis is my favorite), but you know what other helluva-lot-of-children show I stumbled upon yesterday? "Kids By The Dozen." This particular couple has fourteen kids and—are you ready for this?—THIRTEEN OF THEM ARE BOYS. The only girl came along as the eleventh child. That is TEN STRAIGHT BOYS. I just ... I couldn't believe that. If the family was just a tad more interesting (lovely family but dull as dirt), I'd tune in to watch more often because OH MY HOLY HELL that is a lot of boys.

Comments

[Rhi]

$70! to fill my tank! I drive a Saab, with a huge gas tank and it's a V-6. I'm currently in the market for a bicycle. Seriously.

[slynnro]

I love my car but if you are looking more budget friendly, I used to have a Toyota solara which I also LOVED. Toyotas are great cars. I love the new Camrys and aaron is thinking about getting a Camry hybrid next year.

[Julia]

We have a 2007 Toyota Camry Sports edition and we love it. Gets about 30 miles a gallon and looks pretty snazzilicious. :)

[Kristen]

Sadly, I watch Jon and Kate plus 8 too. (What was with that "music video" last night?) That family with 14 kids kind of made me want to gouge out my eye, what with all their wholesomeness.
I drive a civic, which is a great car, but nothing fancy. Although, in Oregon gas is averaging 4.29, so my very fuel efficient car is over $50 to fill up, once a week!

[Paige]

(I just stumbled across your blog recently...I hope you don't mind that I added you to my Google Reader!)

I drive an automatic Chevy Cobalt and I'm extremely partial to it. It's not especially fancy or exciting, but I get just over 30 mpg and it's fun to drive.

My boyfriend drives a manual (older) Honda Civic, and he gets around 40 mpg...So there's that too.

[She Likes Purple]

Paige: Of course I don't mind! But how totally sweet of you to say that!

[moo]

well, I have a toyota camry and LOVE IT. But! It has a big tank and it takes me about $60 to fill it up. BUT! I only have to do that about every two weeks or so because the gas mileage is so good.

Seriously. Toyota. Camry.

[Steph Corwin]

I drive a Prius and aside from other people's prejudices against them and their drivers, it is a wonderful car. I average 48mpg and it has great accessories with it. I'm a big fan.

[Sarah]

When I first started driving my car (a volkswagen bug) it cost me somewhere around $20 to fill her up. Now it costs $50! Honestly, going to the gas station depresses me.
Oh and I love Alexis too! The girls got spunk!

[Trysha]

I watch Jon and Kate and it makes me want more children. Really. I'm pregnant and almost sad that it's NOT twins. (shhhhh...dont' tell my husband) My favorite is Hannah.

I drive a 2005 Mazda Tribute and I love it. It's a 4 cyl, standard and I get good gas milage. I do try to drive as little as I can, so last month I only filled up twice for a monthly total of $110.

My husband got into an accident we replaced his jeep with a Kia Spectra and damn if I tried to not like the car but it's so good on gas. He commutes for school and sometimes for work and it's really been an economical car for us.

Linked and following you from...several blogs actually. :)

[Kitty]

Wow! That totally shows the difference between Mike and Todd. Not too long before Todd and I got together, he had a dorm fridge that got all moldy and gross when it got unplugged and nobody noticed for a few days...or weeks...or months. Instead of cleaning it or throwing it away, he DUCT TAPED THE THING CLOSED SO THE SMELL COULDN'T GET OUT. Oh, and then refused to throw it away and instead moved it to my house, where he finally persuaded me to clean it so we could have soda upstairs by our computer rooms, instead of having to go downstairs to the kitchen. *rolls eyes* Even better, I found out about a year later that the fridge hadn't been Todd's in the first place. It belonged to a room mate who decided to throw it away instead of cleaning it. Todd took it, instead, and when the friend saw that it was clean and working, he demanded that he get it back. Yeah. Some friend.

As for cars, as absurd as it sounds, I adore my Buick. It's comfy, reliable, reasonably cheap to fix, has plenty of get up and go, and the gas mileage isn't too bad, considering. (We get about 18-24 mpg in the city and 27-32 on the freeway).

[Katie]

Jon and Kate Plus 8 is the one show that I never miss during the week. I love their kids, but I think it also helps that they share the same names with us :) Oh, and Alexis (Sass!) is my favorite too! Love her little alligator she carries around.

[She Likes Purple]

Katie: There's just something about a little four-year-old girl whose favorite animal is an alligator. HOW FREAKING CUTE IS THAT? I could totally do without Mady. There. I said it.

[anne]

I went through about 4 Hondas and they are great cars. Great gas milage. You can drive them to the ground too.

[Pickles & Dimes]

Ugh. That freezer story is grossing me out. Irk.

I don't have any car recommendations for you, as I drive a 1996 Chevy Cav with 167,000 miles on it and a tendency to blow out the driver's side window motor with alarming frequency. But I am with you on the Saturn. Jason has one and it is a LEMON.

[Heather B.]

Out of the blue one day, my brother turns and asks if I watch John & Kate plus Eight. I kind of just stared at him and said that I've seen it once or twice but I'm not a regular watcher. He suddenly exclaims that he "LOOOOOVES" the show. This is a 22 year old man who sits around with a beer watching a show about a couple with eight kids.

Anyway, since then I've watched a marathon of the show and last night made my brother shut the hell up so I could watch in peace.

[Sarah Marie]

Hi!
That was SO sweet of your hubby- now I gotta go check out the Empire State building post and see what he was up to there! Btw, I love your blog so much - I always look forward to reading what you've got to say. And the reviews of each age of your life are pretty dang genius.

I have a 2003 Corolla and I love it but how could I not adore it after driving a 1989 Volvo station wagon?! Although I did love that Volvo for other reasons. Anyways, good luck with your hunt for your black car! (Jealous- I got a white Corolla because I wanted my new-ish car ASAP and made a quick decision but I def want a black one for my next car!)

[Gaby]

I just came across your blog recently, and I've loved coming back for new posts, just thought you should know.

On cars...we have a Chevy Blazer that gets craptacular mileage, and we have a Subaru Forester (manual) that gets pretty good mileage (around 27 mpg in town). Of course, I kind of hate that car because it is manual, and even though I swore I'd learn how to drive it, it has so far triumphed against me...grumble. BUT! That's not relevant to your car search!

Oh, and Mady? I'm so with you on that one! The thing is, I think that she's a mini-Kate, which is why the attitude is allowed to continue unabated, but for the sake of others, they might want to reign it in before she reaches puberty. And if the other girls grow up to be like her? Yikes. I kind of love their little Joel (I think it's the glasses that slay me).

[Ally]

Toyota all the way! I luurve them! I also love Subaru. I myself am trying to get a Yaris as my next car (from my current Olds Alero, which I spend $450-$500 a month on gas - yes that's not a typo...). I am a little worried about SPACE in a Yaris with a kid, but I think I'm just gonna have to Make. It. Work.

I can never remember which kid is which despite the fact that I watch the show a lot - I think Aiden's glasses are adorable though. The 2 older ones, however, have got to go. Yes, I totally understand how hard it must be to have 6 younger siblings who are the Stars of Show - but after a certain age, whining and carrying on like that will just result in being sold to the circus. For reals.

[Someone Being Me]

I am watching Jon and Kate plus 8 right now on the DVR. I drive a Jeep Grand Cherokee that I love but does not get the best gas mileage.

[Lane]

Jennie,

I am in love with the new Honda Accords. I think they are beautiful. But if Honda's are not your style, I just got a Lexus IS250 and love it so far. I haven't had any problems yet ... but then again I shouldn't have any problems only having it for a month.

p.s. I negotiate automobile deals for our expats daily so don't overpay those crazy car salesmen and if you need some help getting a good deal, fell free to give me a holla!

Happy car shopping!

Lane

[Kristie]

That stinks (no pun intended) about the deep freeze. That's great that you didn't have to mess with it, though.

As for cars, I'm no help. Considering I drive a sports car. Stupid gas prices.

[Kate]

You are a great writer - I've linked to you in my blog's sidebar because I enjoy your thoughts/stories/snippets of life. Getting on... I too had a Saturn for about 9 years. I got it the May that I graduated from high school and it treated me really well. But now, at the point of life I'm at, I need something bigger and (hopefully) more family friendly. My little coupe just wasn't cutting it, and we were at a crossroads too about the work that was looming ahead to keep her going. So I now drive a Chevy Trailblazer. Which, I do love driving but is really in no way cost efficient. I'm in CA, so I pretty much close me eyes at the gas station and pull the trigger on the pump because I HAVE to get the gas anyways... its about $85 once a week. My husband is seriously considering a motorcycle to commute to work on. Fantastic.
BTW, Alexis is my favorite tup too- that big grin of hers is awesome. And she gets a crapload of flack, but I really like Kate too... she is looks remarkably well for what she has been through and what she deals with on a day to day basis. That lady has got it together! OK, I'll stop babbling on your post now.

[Jennie]

I got a Subaru Forester about 4 months ago and I love it. The back is perfect because it has a rubber mat for easy cleanup of dog hair after Olive rides in the back. Molly would love it, too! I drive a mixture of highway/city and get 24-26 mpg. Pretty darn good for something considered an SUV.

Your post title is classic. Definitely caught my attention!

[She Likes Purple]

Kate: My husband rides a motorcycle. Besides the constant worrying, it really is a gas saver. Although he has to get premium gas, but that hardly matters.

[Jen]

I'm a Honda girl myself! My first car was an Accord and now I drive a Civic and I love it. Good gas mileage too.
I LOVE J&K Plus 8! The hour-long episodes are the best. My coworker recently saw the entire family at Sesame Place and said that the kids were incredibly well behaved, in spite of the 99 degree weather that day.

[Sharon]

Ugh. Gas is hellish. Here in BC, we just had a freaking "carbon tax" added to the price of our gas, so it's gone up 2.5 cents today. Happy freaking Canada Day! LOL. Don't even get me started on how pissed off I am about all of this. Right now we're paying around $1.50+ per litre in BC - the highest of all of Canada.

I drive a 2000 Pontiac Sunfire, and it's excellent on gas, but if the busses actually ran in my little suburb, I'd totally be taking transit instead. Sadly I'm forced to drive, but I'm hopefully starting up a carpool with some co-workers. It's just ridiculous how expensive things are getting these days.

I keep hearing about that Jon & Kate show, but I don't get that channel. Maybe I'll look it up online...

[jean]

Get yourself a Prius. I got mine 7 months ago and I'm only sorry I didn't get it sooner. My father and nephew have one as well. I've got the red, my father got the light green and my nephew got the black one. I get 44mpg around town and 55mpg on highways.

[Angella]

We have a Honda Odyssey and a Toyota 4Runner. Both are good on gas, but bigger than you need (for the time being). Either make is a good bet :)

[Sarah in LA]

I have a Jetta, and I love it. It's a manual so it gets better gas mileage than an auto. Unfortunately I really don't like the new Jetta body style though - looks like a Toyota Corolla to me.

I JUST watched that Jon & Kate show for the first time last night. That Kate person talks just like Ellen Degeneres. She needs to stop harping on her husband - she was really rude to him in the episode I saw. "Can you stop breathing so loud please?!?!?"

Uh, OK....

[La Petite Belle]

I don't watch John & Kate plus 8, mostly because I did watch it once and Kate is always super mean to John. Have you noticed that? She always gives him these looks. LOL

[slynnro]

It's ALDERGATOR people.

And Mady. Cannot stand. But she is so pretty.

My favorite is Colin.

[Kristabella]

That had to be a nasty job, cleaning out that freezer. My favorite thing about 2008? Hmmm, hard to think now with the whole being laid off thing, but I'm going to say being mentioned by name in Jen Lancaster's book. And my goal for the 2nd half of the year? GET OUT MORE.

[Vanessa]

Hmm, cars. We have an Audi A3 which is a small station wagon and get 26-28 MPG in town. It's black and a wonderfully fun car to drive. We also have a Toyota Corolla (silver) that mostly sits in the garage but it gets 35 MPG in city. The Corolla is larger than the Audi so we mostly take it to IKEA and that's it. Sad, I know!

[Loralee]

I totally watch Jon and Kate. I can't help it. How can you not? Leah is my favorite.

And? How sweet is your husband to clean that up for you?!

[Vanessa]

Sorry to double dip, but I agree. Kate is really mean to Jon and she should be careful because I'd hate to think what might happen to her if he left and she had all those kids to deal with by herself! They are cute kids though.

[She Likes Purple]

Slynnro: The way Colin always cleans up the chairs! He's my favorite boy. Joel's glazed over look irritates me.

Everyone else: Yep, Kate doesn't sugarcoat it, does she? But I think after watching just about every episode she's got as many good qualities as nerve-grating ones. But maybe I'm just being too generous with the benefit of the doubt.

[Sondra]

Okay, so I thought I would delurk here since I really do love my car and it doesn't look like anyone has mentioned it yet.

I drive an emerald green Pontiac G6 V6 and it is the best car I've ever owned. Sporty enough to be fun but it also gets around 27-28 mpg in the city and 36+ on the highway. Which is even better than what the window sticker told me it would do, so I am very pleased.

Happy car shopping!

[houndrat]

Sorry--I don't have any car advice. Ours are actually beyond death, but somehow we manage to crank them up in the morning.

Jon and Kate is actually pretty respectable, compared to, say, Gossip Girl (yes, that was a tiny little whisper).

I wish Buffy the Vampire Slayer was still on...sigh....

[Stephanie]

moving right by the cars... to jon and kate.

1) don't want kids. somehow, love this show.

2) aldergators. cutest thing. in. the. world.

3) hannah. favourite.

4) mady. SO with you, jennie! what a freakin' stuck-up, self-centered brat. that child needs some discipline, man.

5) uh, while we're at it - so does kate!! jesus. the way she talks to jon, and in front of the kids ("don't listen to daddy. he's stupid." OMFG), is brutal.

6) somehow... still love this show.

[K]

I drive a blue 2007 manual, 4-door Hyundai Accent. I actually traded in my 1999 Hyundai Accent to get it. It gets great gas mileage but I admit, I don't drive much anymore. It is about a mile to the train station from my apartment and I take the train to work. I've had the car since Sept 2007 and it only has about 6000 miles on it so far. I fill up about once a month.
I also like J&K + 8. It's amusing because my boyfriend likes it also. He actually started watching it before I did. Kate does have meanish tendencies but I do like her. She means well but is just overly controlling. At least she realizes that she has quirks in her personality.

[Rachel]

I can't believe that this year is half way over either...It blows my mind how quickly the past six months have flown by.

[Robert Mass]

I wish I could comment on the J&K+8, but I've never seen it. Heard good things, though.

As far as cars go, my recommendation is a truck. My 1999 Ford Diesel may get 12.3 mpg and have a 40 gallon tank at $4.79 a gallon, but damn, it's big!

Oh sorry, those are the reasons why I traded it in! Seriously though, I am in love with my Toyota Tacoma. I got the 4-door, which has as much interior space as a Camry, and the sport package, so it drives like one, too. It's as easy to park as any car I've ever driven. I do only get about 21.5 average mpg, but think about how much more stuff you could carry home from Target! (not to mention how much easier it would be to haul away a smeely deep freeze)

[Erin]

John and Kate + 8 is my DVR weakness. I finally had to set it to only record new episodes because it was taking over the cable box! I agree that Mady is painfully annoying/jealous and Alexis and her hard plastic aldergator are freakin adorable. As for Kate...I cut her some slack because I'm sure I'd say some less than savory things if I spent all my time trying to maintain order with 6 4-year-olds under foot. All in all, they do a good job and don't apologize for their family dynamic.

As for cars, I have an '03 Honda Accord and I LOVE it! They're sportier and speedier than the camry with a big back seat and they handle fabulously, though the breaks are sensitive and take some getting used to. A second suggestion is the Toyota - any of 'em. My husband works for Toyota and until we got my Honda, we were both driving 93/94 Toyotas with almost 500,000 miles between the two of us. His truck is still kicking and my car is as well, but we sold it to a mechanic friend because I figured it may peter out on me one day and I didn't want it to be on me. Most of the people B works with at the Toyota dealership drive Toyotas too...and it's not cuz they get a great deal on em!

There's my $.02. Long winded much? Sheesh!

[ali]

filling up my tank makes me cry. actual tears. seriously.

[Sabrina]

I will delurk a little bit here to put in my two cents!!!

Cars: I have an 06 Pontiac G6, 4 cyl and I love it... It gets about 30mpg and it's very sporty and fun to drive.

JK+8: I love this show!! Kate definately could be a little nicer, but I know I can be a little evil to my husband sometimes because my two kids get under my skin with the screaming and fighting, so I cant even imagine how she feels with all of her little ones. So, I will cut her some slack!!!

Oh and "Aldergator" = So cute I want to squeeze her!!!

[ie]

I had an extra refrigerator in an outside building and I have NO idea how long it had been out before I went in there and almost keeled over dead, which I might as well have, since everything in that shed smelled like the grossest, deadest, rottenest stuff you can ever imagine.

I have no lovely husband to clean it up, so I had a friend help me, and while I tried semi-successfully not to throw up as I emptied out the freezer compartment, he was telling me that during WWII he had a job clearing out dead bodies (in Italy) and that's what this smell reminded him of. AAACKKK!

Ok, now that I've grossed you out, I kind of have a push me/pull you with J&K+8. I like it because...well, there are parts I adore. The aldergator, the glasses on that little face, the description of how the kids' personalities are developing. No likey too much the fact that both of the parents snipe at each other in front of the children, and I think she's a bit of a control freak. But with 8 kids, you would have to be in control. And presumably he knew what he was getting into before they married. Then, when I'm all on his side, he goes and does something to deliberately piss her off, so hmmm, 12 much?

I really enjoy my '02 Altima (the one with the great ass end) and it gets decent mileage. Good luck on the car looking/buying!

[She Likes Purple]

ie: We are big fans of Nissan. The Altima and the Rogue are on our short list.

[Miranda]

Where oh where to start first??

We got a Nissan Versa SL January of last year. Luckily good gas mileage was a requirement of my husband's (Gas is an average of about $4.65 in my area...on a good day.) when we were shopping around. I love the Versa because it's a "small" car with a very large interior. My 6'3" step father loves riding around in it and we figure there will be plenty of room for kids and all the gear they require someday. The Rogue came out after the Versa, or else I would have had to AT LEAST check that out.

J&K+8: I get what everyone has said about Kate, but Jon can be just as bad. Sometimes he says things to her, especially about her appearance, that make me want to just deck him. The thing about the show, for me, though, is how much that family freakin loves each other. They may get snippy but they are great parents doing an amazing job with EIGHT children! Just love them. Oh, and Hannah is my favorite.
And Mady?....oh dear lord, MADY....

[Natalie]

I think you should get a honda or a toyota. Very dependable! Honda civics might be difficult to find right now. They say that they are just flying off the lot while SUVs are not being produced anymore.