and there is so much more to the stories....

All I can say is, "wow." So much has happened since last week; I don't even know where to begin.

What I couldn't mention before, but can now, is that we surprised my dad for Fathers' Day and his birthday! Mom was participating in the Strawberry Festival in Mattituck (Long Island) and it was the perfect cover. Greg and Paulette hosted a whole lot of family for the weekend--talk about a full house!! Phil, Shane, Phil's buddy JC and I all drove to NY on Friday, arriving mid-afternoon. Friday night my Aunt Bess, Aunt Myra, dad's childhood friend Linda and her husband (all from out of state!) and my godparents, Dr & Mrs Vaccariello, all came over to celebrate. It was a fabulous weekend, and I am pretty certain that it is the first time all of my brothers and I have been in the same STATE in....roughly ten years.

not a touchy-feely group, eh?

Due to the Friday departure, I took all of Wednesday and Thursday cleaning up what I could of the mess and hours worth of phone calls. It's a good thing I just got an 'unlimited' plan, because I used more minutes in one day that I do in a whole month!

Anyhoo, in an attempt to make my crazy long story only moderate in length: AWESOME weekend in NY (wish they were closer!), car is totaled, trees are gone, haven't picked out a snazzy new shed quite yet.

now my flower circle looks to be in an odd spot

I found out my car was totaled right when we arrived in Southold. SO I spent the whole weekend worrying about what to do, while also realizing there was nothing I could do until I was back in VA. The trick here is that if my car was being repaired, I get my rental for about 3 weeks, BUT since it was totaled: only until Monday (I was in NY), but the insurance guy extended it until Friday for me. Still a little pressure, though, to quick find a new car I can afford.

I am back to work bright and early on Tuesday. As soon as I get home I am car shopping like crazy online and trying to find financing. I secure a loan for an '08 Corolla at CarMax, then discover I can get a better rate buying new from Toyota. After work Wednesday I drive my tush over the mountain to Harrisonburg (recommended dealer, and prices are better there than in C'ville). No dealer will trade them a gray Corolla for one of the tan ones. I hem and haw, they drop my monthly payments by $20/month, and I drive home in my 2009 Corolla LE in Desert Sand Mica (read: tan).

I LOVE my new car. It is fabulous, payments roughly the same as I would have paid for the '08, and it is exactly as I want it--except for color, but it was my second choice!

LOVE my car!!

Aaaannnnnd, today was the first day in over a week where I could just go home and do NOTHING if I so desired. AMEN!!! Plus I finally got to ride my bike again. :)