Family Photo

I think if I ever get a good one, I might blow it up to poster size and hang it up in my house somewhere.  Try as I might, I’ve never gotten a really good one yet.  This year, I barely even tried capturing it, the perfect family photo.  Just getting Owen himself to look into the camera is hard enough.  Getting all four of us to look, Colin included, into the camera is nearly an impossible task.  Let’s say that once in awhile, luck prevails and it actually happens.  Then what are the chances that all four of us are smiling?  Not much.  So, there we have it,

Mazda5

Buying a new car is usually a long drawn out process for me.  For my Subaru, the Forester was in its first year of existence, at the forefront of the mini-SUV revolution, so it wasn’t easy to find one.  I ended up reserving one that was on a ship from Japan, so after deciding exactly what vehicle and price I wanted, it still took several months before I had my new car.  It was a similar story with the MINI Cooper, where I designed the exact specifications online, ordered the car, and then waited several months for it to be manufactured and shipped to my dealer.  So, when I went shopping for a Mazda5 this past Saturday, I

Car Trouble

I sometimes pick somewhat arbitrary numbers for how long I want to keep something before replacing it.  For example, with computers, it’s five years, though in reality, I replaced my Powerbook at 4 years.  With cars, the number I have in mind is 15 years.  My Subaru Forester is at 11 years right now, so I’d like to stick with it for at least a few more years.  The last year or two, I have been fantasizing about a third row of seating, but I’ve managed to stick with the Subaru.  It helped that I wanted to delay any big purchases until

0 for 10

It’s the end of the year, when I like to make a new list of new year’s resolutions, so I reviewed my resolutions for the current year and discovered utter failure.  Zero out of ten resolutions succeeded.  I never expect to accomplish all the items on my list, but to accomplish none of them is something new.  I guess I just didn’t have much resolve in 2009.  I feel like I should just take the whole list and try again, but that would probably set me up for failure again.  Let’s face it, I’m just not going to be able to

Christmas Shopping

I used to dread buying Christmas gifts.  I’d roam the malls aimlessly, hoping to find that hidden gem of a gift, only to return home with gift cards more often than not.  Before I could even get to the stores, of course, I would have to do battle for a parking space.  I am not good at finding a parking space in a crowded lot.  I just don’t like having to tail someone while they’re walking to their car, or sit at the end of a row, trying to reserve the entire row for the next open spot.  Usually, I just drive around until