I would rather horse shop anyday

So I sold my truck last Monday. And now I can go purchase a new vehicle!!!

Easy as pie right?

HA!!

Finding the right vehicle, with the right price, with the right mileage, with the right options, with the right owner history, with the right maintenance record, with the right 4x4 option, with the right deal is IMPOSSIBLE

At least it feels like it after today! AUUUGGGHHH Can I have one of those big blow up punching bag things to take out all my frustrations upon??

I've also learned that there are two types of car salesman. There are of course the blood thirsty, money driven, sell sell sell work you into a corner and make you live outside of your means sales men that give the entire industry the bad rep. They want to shove whatever vehicle you are even remotely interested in down your throat, make you buy it at a ridiculous price, or even if they can bring down the price, they are still gonna make you buy it... ooooor walk you over to a vehicle you know you can't afford, and try and talk you into buying it. In short, they are not looking out for the needs of their customer, instead they just want the sale.

The other type of car sales man is a rare breed. They are friendly, courteous, knowledgeable, and genuinely want to make you feel welcome. They listen to your needs and wants, and will go out of their way to find the right vehicle for you. And, if they don't have that vehicle, they will be honest and say so. We ran into one person like that today, and I soooo wish I could have bought a car from him, right off the bat I felt comfortable around him, didn't feel like he was going to try and offer us something outside our means. Great chap, he was actually english in nationality (though I would've pegged him as a kiwi at first), we could all learn to take a lesson in hospitality and customer service from them.

Overall, we just didn't seem to have one streak of luck all day. The first vehicle was immaculate, perfect, everything I could've wanted. But it was overpriced by an easy $1500 and the dealer wouldn't budge from his price. Ok, see ya! I was very bummed about that. Next one was very worn and smelled like puke..... pass. The next ones were sold by the time we got there, and the last two, the one was perfect in everything, price, model, options, etc. expect that it had a rear valve gasket or something that needed replacing as it was a little leaky (leave it to my husband to be super picky about leaky oil seals), it's a $30 part... but $300 in labor to get it done. It wasn't enough for the dealer to warrant getting it done, but enough that my husband would fuss over it. So we passed, the other vehicle was awesome as well, expect it didn't have a factory tow package, and while we could mount a hitch, it wouldn't have the correct suspension or wiring. Granted all we are towing is a fishing boat, but still, it's nice to have that extra suspension for when we pack up and move out for a camping trip!

So... that's that. Ugh

Another week without a vehicle, and school starts on monday. This will be fun. Hope it doesn't rain cuz dear hubby will be going everywhere on his motorcycle until further notice as we cannot go look at vehicles again until Thursday at the earliest.

Gah, this is seriously gonna give me a hemoroid or something from all this stress.

So yep, would much rather be horse shopping right about now.

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Coming up for a breath of air!

Oh my, crazy crazy life it is here.

Sold my pickup truck, so hustling now to try and find a new vehicle. Think I've found "the one" and will go look at it, depending on it's mechanical soundness we may come home with it. I'm trying hard NOT to have a huge loan on a new vehicle to pay off.

Cuz I wants to still have monies for ponies.

I'm trying my darnest hardest right now to talk Brent into leasing a horse. I've found a mare that I want to trial on lease for a couple months. She's a 1/4 Dutch warmblood (Rampal granddaughter) and 3/4 Thoroughbred. She's super cute, super adorable, a good look in her eye, and a gorgeous sooty bay. Owner has had a family crisis and is selling her horses dirt cheap, needs to get rid of the expense soon of this mare, and is open to just about anything.

So we'll see! Another plus is that I got the promotion at work I was hoping really really REALLY badly for. It's not a huge pay increase, but it's decent, it'll make the paychecks a little bigger, hurray!

The last piece of the puzzle is going to be board for said mare. My boarding barn I found is has filled the open spot (that used to be my spot) so they are full, poooop. So, I'm gonna see if maybe, by some small chance, I could possibly keep a horse over at the private place where I clean stalls. I think they'd be ok with it, we shall see. I'm crossing my fingers!!

Oh yeah, in the mean time, school is starting soon, gotta buy books. Uuuuuggggh

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I thought of a great blog topic last night

And now I can't remember it!!

I haven't been posting much, partly due to the fact I don't have my own horse at the moment :( partly due to how dang busy I've been, and partly due to my lack of motivation to write LOL

My project ponies are coming along great. Magic, the QH mare is doing fantastic, she's got those turns on the forehand just about down pat, as well as reinback. Working on confirming the turns on the haunches now. Then we get to tackle the leg yeild, and eventually the sidepass.

The last two are going to be rather tricky, she just doesn't GET the fact that yes, she can indeed go sideways aaaannnd go forward at the same time. She mostly just takes inside leg pressure as "go faster!!!" sooo... we are having to re-wire that button big time, and it's going to be a slow process. I'm riding her twice a week right now, and even with that, she's really been picking up on things fairly quickly. I enjoy working with her, she's super sensitive and responsive. She really needs improvement in rhythm big time in the trot and canter. She's rather out of shape and unbalanced, but it's coming along :)

The other mare, Baby, the 21 year old TB, finally got shoes on, and she feels sooooo much better! Poor girl was just footsore from the rockhard ground we get in the summertime. I just love riding her, she's SO solid in her training, just needs a lot of suppling and fitness work, she is so stiff in her neck and hindend. I almost wonder if a chiro would help her.

In the meantime, I'm hunting for in utero foals for sale :D Pending signing a couple car titles tonight, I will no longer have my little pickup, so our car issue is resolved, and if we aren't going to be buying a house for another year... maaaaybe I can talk my hubby into letting my buy my dream baby! *crossses fingers hard*

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