Thursday, July 15, 2010

marathons, minivans, and Jelly Bellys.

  My husband is frugal. My husband is THE BOSS when it comes to money in our household.  My husband seems to know when to wait to purchase and when to buy.  I, on the other hand will justify any purchase into a need and not a want.  Hence the reason that ultimately he is the boss when it comes to money.
Don't get me wrong I get a say but not the FINAL say or we would be broke.

  I have a big family.  There are six of us and we are not small people.  The youngest of the four male spawn are still small only because of their age.  We have been driving ford Festivas for ages now.  They are THE BEST cars ever.  My blue girl gets 42 mpg.  Why is it that I can drive a 42 mpg car with four children in it* and yet it seems to be so hard for car manufacturers to get the mpg to a reasonable number....I digress.
                          
My hubby was the one that chose this brand of car as our preferred mode of transport and I have been in love with them ever since.  I even warmed up to the mismatched panel colors from having to replace with parts cars**.  Or even the deer guard that saved my life I am sure at least half a dozen times when we were driving bundle hauling paper routes in rural Kansas when my older two spawn were littles.  I hit a total of 11 deer in the "Crasher"***. The man can pick a good car. Unconventional, much like my barefoot running suites us.

Hubby, my love, my partner in crime, my better half, calls me today and says "I bought a minivan and am waiting to get insurance on it so I won't be home until tomorrow".  SSSAAAHHHWWEEEEETTTT!  We have been wanting one for a while but the moment had just not presented itself.  You see I am the impulsive one. I can jump into and try just about anything. He actually thinks before jumping. We want to travel and camp and actually all ride together when we go places but needed to be patient. I am not good at that whole patience thing.
                                    (Don't get me wrong, he is a fun guy even if he is the boss!)
 On a side note, one of my biggest accomplishments with running has been that I have stuck with it and keep improving. I jumped in and just kept on going even when it gets hard. Did I mention it was his idea to go barefoot?  He actually thinks before jumping.

He is in Salina Kansas, where we have a house and family and was to be back sometime this morning.  I was antsy to have him back so I could go run. He had other ideas like buying us a frakkin minivan!! Kovas you are not alone!! We should have a virtual race to celebrate! ****
As the epiphany has passed and I can look back on this morning and take the sting out of the universe slapping me and yelling, "CHILL THE EFF OUT GIRLIE, SEE, THINGS ALL WORK OUT".  I am no longer antsy and restless and thinking only of myself , just thankful that I am with the person in this world who makes me want to be a better person and in turn take care of him and our babies.

 You might be thinking that I deserve to run and that its hard to be a single parent and am justified in being frustrated that he is not here to help ease the burden...... I have a treadmill.  I also now have a killer book on CD that a lovely friend loaned me so I really have no excuse. Besides the man just bought me a new minivan and had to take care of some things out of town so I need to turn down the emotional volume a few notches.

  So to add to the spending spree, I officially spent the $81 big fat bones and signed up for the Des Moines Marathon in October!  I only waited until the day before the fee hike to sign up!  See more maturity on my part.

To add to the sweetness of my day, I had contacted Jelly Belly to get some samples and had not heard back so just assumed the answer was no.  Today however I received a box with two samples of each of the following.
Sport Beans, Honey Beans, Mixed Flavors, and Cocktail Classics.  I must say that I think Jelly Beans would make great running fuel. I drink nuun for my electrolytes and I could eat Jelly Beans for my carbs.  I was so surprised that I loved the Cocktail flavors. I usually hate the candy that is supposed to mimic the flavor of mixed drinks but these on the other hand rocked my socks! Makes me want to pick up drinking just for the Mojitos!
           See, this is what happens when I argue with my hunky highlander husband about money!

Have a sweet day my friends!

*reminds me of Harry Dresden's blue beetle in The Dresden Files books :)
**The hubby has to drive his festiva since they are not like the TARDIS and that much bigger inside than they appear.
*** Was once told that our car looked like we hit a fence and took it with us.
**** Kovas just celebrated the birth of his 4th child and took the minivan plunge!  You are going to rock that minivan Kovas.....just use protection!!

18 comments:

Emz said...

I could not possibly adore you any more.

I love the ford Festiva comments. I love the goggles. I love the railish/rack thing on the front of the car.

I love $81 sign up fees not $100 sign up fees.

And
I might love JB's just a little too. My fav: buttered popcorn.

Genesis said...

youre too funny.

i love when companies just end up sending you something and never reply to your email...always nice to have a surprise waiting on your doorstep, totally unexpected.

youll have to share pics of the the new van

mommaof3ontherun said...

I have to try the nuun....money is tight so I have to be very particular about what I buy these days. I am curious now though!

zephyr said...

so sweet, your relationship. i have always loved the ford festiva. we currently have a toyota corolla, and will soon be giving up the great gas mileage for a third row, there's no getting around it. hope you are all enjoying your time together.

RICK'S RUNNING said...

Good move signing up for the Marathon,
your get more miles for your Dollar :]
And barefooting must save you guys a fortune in not buying mucho pairs of running shoes each year!

Barefoot Tyler said...

a buddy of mine had the energy jelly bellies. they were the lemon lime ones. they were saltyish and delicious. perfect after about mile 8. definitely give you the push to get past 10 on a crummy day.

funderson said...

What a man. Seriously, coolest family ever. I can't believe you don't already have a minivan! We used to have a VW bus and loved dragging just one kid around in it. Congrats on the new purch.

Unknown said...

Jelly beans are my favorite snack. I miss not being at school because my VP always has a stash in his office to share:)

Congrats on the van. My husband is in the market for one (we're not agreeing on this, can you tell?) and I'm being Mrs. Thrifty. Next year, I keep telling him, next year.

So, will you marathon barefoot?

sea legs girl said...

Hard to call a day a bad day after you receive a package of jelly beans for free! Maybe I'll have to write and beg!

That is great about the Des Moines Marathon. Of course my question is whether or not it is barefootable.

Anonymous said...

"See, this is what happens when I argue with my hunky highlander husband about money!" - You get hair extensions and a blonde dye job?

Anonymous said...

That is awesome your car was able to take on deer like that! I know other cars that were not so lucky.

Love Jelly Bellys! Haven't tried the cocktail flavors, though.

Ryan said...

These people are nuts. I commend you for the fact that you referenced Dresden, the Tardis, AND said Frakkin, all in one blog post.

Middle Name Marie said...

congrats on the van!

I love Jelly Bellys too, but not on the run! I love the margarita flavor!

Rad Runner said...

I nEEd those jelly beAns!

Janice said...

Jelly Belly sport beans are my favourite fuel. Yum!

Mel -Tall Mom on the Run said...

I grew up with a station wagon with 3 different shades, it was FAB!!

Hugs!

Shellyrm ~ just a country runner said...

Congrats on the minivan! you will love it! My hubbs is the implusive one. I ground him.

Did you see the article about the guy building small houses? Like 89 sq feet houses. I completely though of you. I know if I didn't have my family I would live in that house, okay one like it because that dude doesn't have room in his 89 sq foot house for me and him. ;-)

The Boring Runner said...

uggg. I don't miss the deer. I've been in cars who have hit 3 of them. Blah. I needed one of those things on the front like you!

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