A New Car

After months of research and consideration, Dylan and I sold our old Jetta and bought a new car last Sunday. The old car was ten years old (120k miles) and though reasonably reliable, it was starting to have some problems pop up now and then. With the "baby years" here, we realized that it was time to upgrade to something with a little more space, and something that would not require any expensive maintenance for at least a few (hopefully five or more!) years.

We kept our options for a new car completely open at first and went from mini-van to SUV to station wagon, finally deciding that we would like the smallest car we could reasonably get away with. Everyone says you need lots of extra space with kids, and that is definitely true, but at the same time, we strongly feel that you can make your life as big as that space you have available. Plus our parents did great with small cars (sedans for the Vaughn family and small wagons for the Graham family) in the 80's and we seemed to fit ok, even with all that soccer gear.

After a few weeks of test driving small station wagons, we zeroed in on the Jetta SportWagen, delighting in the fact that they offer a diesel version (named Green Car of the Year) that gets 40-45 mpg on the freeway. We even get a government tax credit for purchasing this vehicle! We thought we had the car purchase all figured out after driving the automatic version, but then we spent a weekend at Lake Tahoe driving our friend Kevin's stick shift Mazda 3. I learned to drive on a stick shift back in the mid-90's and drove one for the first five years of my driving career. After my ten plus year hiatus, I have to say that I'm in love if it's at all possible to be in love with a style of driving. We were sold (literally!) after the test drive, and purchased the car the next day. The Bird Rock roundabouts that used to be a back and forth of gas / brake / gas / brake, are now a delightful dance between second and third gear, no brakes involved. And navigating traffic on the freeway, more of a fun game and less of a grind. After five days of car ownership, involving lots of driving (three round trips downtown, lots of driving around town and a trip to Target), we have not even used 1/4 of a tank of diesel fuel.

We love our new car!

A Trio of Dinners

Broiled Tofu with Corn & Black Bean Salad (fresh CSA corn, tomatoes, red peppers, red onion, avocado, dressed with lime chili vinaigrette):


Bagels with Smoked Salmon & Pan Fried Summer Squash:


Local Yellowtail over Roasted Broccolini, Carrots, Tomatoes, Garlic & Cilantro:

He Waves

We Have a Wagon Pusher!

Tahoe

Just home from a wonderful trip to Lake Tahoe with Dylan's college buddies and families. Seventeen adults and eight kids in an eight bedroom house for three nights - it was so much fun! The four level house was tucked in the woods up a hill with a big deck, and great kitchen/family room area for hanging out. Pool table and air hockey were in the downstairs living room. We spent time relaxing in the house while babies ate and slept on their different schedules, and groups of people headed out at appropriate times for beach excursions and walks. There was also plenty of time for us all to play with the kids - so fun! After kids went to sleep, we all enjoyed dinner, adult time, and even karaoke and the hot tub. The guys went out to the casinos on Friday night for boys night out, while the ladies stayed in gabbing and drinking wine on the couch. I found myself completely in love with the actual lake, and wish I could have stayed forever swimming in the clear, cold water and looking at the snow-capped mountains in the distance. On the drive back to SF airport yesterday, Kevin taught Connor to use crayons at a diner in Plasterville. A totally awesome trip in every way!

BBQ Chicken Tacos

I realized yesterday that we had a bunch of stuff on hand that would taste really good with the bbq chicken I was planning on for dinner (cheddar cheese, black beans, cilantro, sour cream, red onion). I decided that all we were missing was corn tortillas, and with that final ingredient we would be able to make some killer bbq chicken tacos. After a quick trip to Albertson's for the tortillas, we were ready to go. We sauteed the onions and placed them on top of the shredded Irish cheddar on the corn tortilla. Cilantro was generously sprinkled over that, then came sour cream, black beans, and chunks of spicy bbq chicken that we'd made in the broiler. Served next to a bowl of stir fried summer squash from the CSA and a frosty glass of Sculpin IPA, this was a delicious summery meal. Dylan was pretty excited about it after two hours on the bike, and Connor and his friend Charlie enjoyed the leftovers for lunch today.

Pork Chops with Collard Greens & Roasted Carrots

Every Tuesday night Dylan cooks me dinner. I take a late spin class and get home about 8:15 to him chopping and preheating and mixing in the kitchen. I hop in the shower, and then when I come out there is something like this ready to eat:


I definitely feel spoiled on Tuesdays, and it is something I look forward to all day. I love to cook but there is something really fun about eating a nice meal that you weren't at all involved in preparing. Sort of like going out to a restaurant, only I'm having trouble thinking of a restaurant where I could eat this well.