Announcing...Mabel!

In the chaos of moving, I forgot to tell you all (whomever you may be) that we found an opportunity to sell my great Civic to a good friend. At which point, we needed a car for me.

Kyle really put in an extraordinary amount of time and effort, and after just one week of searching and test driving, we purchased this beauty:

2006 Buick LaCrosse CXL: 95,000 miles

Some of you know, I must name my cars. I always have. First, Leslie & I shared Xena Warrior Princess, a lovely hunter green Chevy S10 extended cab truck. She was followed by She-Ra (of He-Man fame), another Chevy S10 extended cab, but a tan/silvery color (so not my favorite). In college, I found myself driving a maroon Chevy Tracker, which I named Athena, you know, the goddess of wisdom and war. My last vehicle, the Honda Civic EX, was a very special car to me. I got her practically brand new and put nearly 125,000 miles on her myself. I dubbed her Sophia Bellona, another goddess' name, Sophia being the goddess of wisdom and Bellona being that of war (see a theme?).

As I tossed around names for this beauty, Kyle decided she must have a "stately old lady" name. And I agreed, as most of the names I'd been drawn to were popular in the 18th or 19th century.

After a few days of driving around in her luxurious leather heated seats, riding softer than I ever had before (look at the above list--I'm used to truck suspensions, or the Civic, which was sporty and thus not super smooth. Being in this car is like floating down the road--we both love it. Hello, new vacation car!), I decided on a combination of several great name options.

And so, after trying various names on her for size, she has become:

Mabel Louise Frigg

It just rolls off the tongue.

We mostly call her Mabel, but Mabel Louise is too wonderful to pass up. And Frigg, well, she was a Norse goddess of, well, many things. The first web site I saw proclaimed she was the goddess of "Home Maintenance," which made me laugh. I had to have it. Since then, I have seen references to her as the goddess of marriage, love, fertility, childbirth, and various other domestic arts. "Frigg" apparently means love or beloved one. 

At any rate, this car is beloved by us and she seems to be related to domestic things, which may inspire us to take good care of our new home!

I've been driving her now for a month and I could not be more pleased. Seems crazy that we added a "new" car to our expenses this year, but it was necessary for my chronic back pain to get rid of the Civic. God orchestrated it perfectly for us and we are incredibly thankful for how easy the transactions of buying and selling ended up. 

The Latest with the Wilsons

We moved!

Even better, we own a home!

And we're in love with it: the front yard, the back yard, the shed, the deck, the garage, the laundry room, the kitchen with its beautiful cabinets and island and dishwasher!!!, the second bathroom, the walk-in closet, the jet tub, and the extra bedroom we acquired, not to mention the many windows that actually open to let in fresh air and sunlight all through the house. Most of all, the fireplace. 3-sided and visible from living, dining, and kitchen areas (which is really just one big open space).

With the fantastic help of my parents, sister, a guy from church, a neighbor, and Sara W., we were able to get the kitchen unpacked and functional in one day, and the rest of the house was fairly put together, though strewn in boxes. We have continued unpacking, having systems checked out by professionals, and purchasing the little things that I suspect homeowners are used to doing (but we haven't a clue about). Walking in from the garage every day after work has been awesome. To finally be home.

We are so grateful for God's provision.

I wonder how long it'll take before we no longer feel like we're staying in a vacation home! Any ideas?

Best of all, Quincy loves it too! He wouldn't leave our bathroom for a full day, but when he got brave enough to venture into the living room, he found so much space in which he can run around at top speed, play with his plastic milk jug rings, and a lot more counter space to explore (and be scolded for doing so continuously). A few nights ago, he discovered the tops of the washer/dryer--they are very high, and subsequently, he discovered the top of the cabinets just above the washer/dryer--a perfect corner space where heat from the dryer rises while he sleeps very soundly (despite the constant train traffic on the nearby tracks). He also loved the open windows on Wednesday--blew his mind! (and ours)

Reading as of Late

As you might expect for a person who is in grad school for literature, I read a lot. But this semester, I'm reading for fun while I'm reading for school. How often does that happen? For me, not often.

I just finished another amazing novel. I want to read it to my nieces, but I don't know if they will get scared by it or not.

I have loved Neil Gaiman since roughly 2006 or 2007 when my mom and I took a road trip to AZ, where I was going to live for the summer. We gathered a slew of books on CD for the car ride and headed out. One of our favorites was Coraline by Gaiman. We loved it so much we would sit in the car when we reached our hotel to finish the chapter, wishing we had a way to take the CD in and listen as we rested prostrate on the beds. After being in a car for 10+ hours, this is a miraculous occurrence, to stay in the car for a second longer than needed. But we loved it. We both wanted to listen to it again after we finished it, but we were done road-tripping at that point.

Fast forward many years and a plethora of grad classes later and I haven't gotten back to Gaiman, though I smile every time I hear about Coraline, book or film. Graveyard is a similarly awesome book; a must-read and phenomenal.

I have also read, up to this point, the following other books:

 While Looking for Alaska was very deep and moving, it is not for everyone. There is a lot of adolescent delinquency in it, and while I believe the ultimate message is one of redemption and hope, conservative readers will not make it through to find the phenomenal ending.

True Diary is another well-written and surprising YA novel. Although Alaska was Green's debut novel, Sherman Alexie has been around for quite some time and has established a firm reputation. There is so much tragedy in this novel and yet, similar to each book listed above, there is much to gain, as well. Hope and redemption are necessities and are well-woven centralities in the life of young Junior.

One book of the four so far covered in my course has been terrible, and thus I'm not mentioning it here. I was sad to read it, as my course is Award-Winning Young Adult Fiction of the 21st century. How did it win an award? Well, it was a minor award and the book is lame. Enough said.

I'm excited to move on to the final two novels and to have time to explore the common themes in today's young adult fiction. This is my favorite grad class ever--and it just so happens to be the last one ever. A fabulous combination!

Because sometimes, you just need some hilarity in your life...

I wouldn't say that we're obsessed with our cat, but most of the pictures on both Kyle's and my phone are of Quincy. He's so funny.

What I love about cats are their quirky personalities; you never how they will respond, when they will go running by and busting through the closed-but-not-latched bathroom door, or when they will curl up and give you the best purring heating blanket of fur on your lap.

We have always wanted to capture what Quincy does when we turn the faucet on at the bathroom sink, but this video of other cats and their water-play will have to suffice for now.

Enjoy! (You don't need sound to enjoy this.)

Hey, Sisters...

Remember this?

Pretty in Pink!

Family

Although this is several months old and it was not from a happy event, here is a photo of my siblings and me.

I like us.

Life Lesson #1348: Things They Never Tell You

Sometimes it seems as though the world chooses to omit details about growing up that would have been very useful to know years ago or, in the very least, before a situation hits you smack in the face.

My first example stems from my early post-college days, when I walked into a dermatologist's office extremely self-conscious and upset with my skin. The doctor examines my face and says to me: "It is common for women in their early twenties to develop acne, even those who never had it in adolescence."

Really?? How did I not know this? How is this not something that is shared in the annual period / sex talks in school from the 4th grade up? How was I completely unprepared to face terrible acne at 23 without knowing that it is a common occurrence.

I'll admit to you that I doubted his nonchalance, yet I have met fellow sufferers since that time who show me there is some truth to his statement. (Though I deplore that at age 30 I am still dealing with this issue. Come on. Don't we deserve a break at some stage of life?) Awesome. Thanks, Life. Thanks for that one.

The second example I have for you today is related to physical appearance but not at all in the same way. It is yet another decision or a situation where you are forced to ask yourself, How did I not learn about this before now?!

My question is this: How do I break up with my hairdresser?

Now, truthfully, this "hairdresser" could be any personal service provider like a massage therapist, eyebrow waxer or what have you. This is an especially tricky issue when you live in a small town where everyone knows everyone and your personal service provider knows what car you drive and which days you drive to that gas station or restaurant and which you don't.

This has totally happened to me once before with a masseuse; I had been seeing her for a while, but was not highly impressed. One day when I had to squeeze in an appointment with someone else in her building, I found a much better masseuse and I immediately faced the dilemma--how do I switch without being a jerk? It has nothing to do with you as a person, it's just...someone else can meet my needs better. No one had prepared me for how to address this kind of a situation!

This year, I'm faced with another difficult decision of wanting to change hairdressers, but not wanting to hurt feelings. I've been going to the same girl for five years and I feel bad ditching her, but want to give someone else a try.

Life has handed me a card I wasn't anticipating; I've been able to ease the letdown of my departure by playing the "we're moving" card. Part of me feels terrible even though I have a legitimate excuse, but the other half is relieved for the "valid" reason. I'm torn even as I process this tonight: Isn't my desire to find a new hair trimmer enough of a valid reason? Should I feel guilty about attempting to find someone else who can meet my needs or standards in a way more conducive with my ideals?

These are simply two examples of many more that I've come across as an adult, each of which has left me wondering why didn't you tell me? You being Life, Parents, Older cousins who met those milestones first, or Any friend who could have (and should have) alerted me to these facts of life before they hit me square in the face and left me grasping for words.