By Lisa, Saturday, July 28, 2018

Well I bought a new car last weekend.  I have been thinking about a new car for about a year now.  I HATE buying a car. I love the part where I bring the car home but the actual process of sitting down and going back and forth with the salesman trying to get a good deal makes me nauseous.  There is so much involved with the incentives and rebates etc. I am always thinking I probably didn’t get the best deal I could have.

I decided this time was going to be different. For one thing I don’t have a day or two to go to a dealership and test drive different cars and then sit in an office trying to make a deal. So here are five things I did to make it less painful:

1. I started researching the kind of car I wanted.  I did this a few months ago. I know that not everyone will have the luxury of taking this much  time to look but I have discovered in my older age when you rush in with such a big decision there is more room for errors.

2.  Once I narrowed my decision to two different models I decided to do some research on those.  I was interested in the INFINITY QX 50 and the Nissan Rogue or Murano.  I checked out these cars to get a price range and think about the different features.

The QX 50

 

 

The Murano

3. If you are a woman and  you want to look at cars without any pressure take another woman with you.  This is a sad truth, maybe it’s a southern thing, but without your husband, or boyfriend a lot of salesman don’t take you seriously. I guess they think you won’t make a decision without your spouse or significant other.  I found this true especially with the older salesmen.

 

4. Try to make it fun. My sister and I would visit car lots while we were out shopping to kind of break it up. We did this over a few different days. This way it didn’t really seem like there was a lot of pressure.  Also I am not beyond going up to a stranger, driving a car I might be interested in, and asking them how they like it.  This can be very helpful.

5. When you decide on the dealership you want to use, pick a salesman and exchange numbers so that you can text information to them along with questions you might have. The salesman, Warren, and I had many texts while he gathered information about my trade-in and just how much I was willing to spend.

After driving several cars I decided on the Nissan.  The fact that the Infinity was out of my price range, unless I wanted to lease, helped determine that.  I picked the Nissan Rogue SL AWD

 

I liked the size of the  Rogue Sport but it rode a little rough.

 

I also liked the Murano but it was a little larger than the Rogue and I was wanting to go down a little in size.

 

My husband wanted to drive the car so we went up on Saturday.  Since I had already picked the car I wanted Warren had it ready for us when we arrived.  We drove the car and Mark liked it very much. This is probably what makes them not take you seriously unless you have your husband with you Ha Ha.   We went back to the dealership and had the paperwork, extended warranty, getting us familiar with the car etc. all done in less than two hours and we were free to go about our day.

I know it may seem like this took even more time than ever but it really did take the stress out of my car buying experience.  If possible I will always approach buying a car the same way.

Happy Hunting.

Love your day your way

Caught this sweet butterfly in action yesterday

 

 

By Lisa, Tuesday,  July 17,2018

How are you? Happy Tuesday!!!! I promised to share some of my favorite things I am enjoying lately.  Some of these you may have already tried. These are just a few things I am loving lately.  Keep in mind if you have sensitive skin these products might not be for you.  I am lucky and have been able to use just about anything on my skin without having a reaction to it.

1. This pure clay cleanser from L’Oréal is great!! It will make your skin feel wonderful. This is available for several different skin types  I got this at Walmart it is about $6.00 you can also get it at Target.  

2. Shea Sugar Scrub is an all over body scrub it will make your body feel smooth as silk.  I especially love the Tropical Mango scent.  It makes your whole shower experience refreshing.  I got this at Walmart it is available at Target and several other places.  This is about $6-$7 depending on where you get it.  

3. Big Sexy Powder Play will give your hair both volume and lift.  This comes in a small container only 0.53 oz. but a little goes a long way.  Just sprinkle a small bit of this powder on top of your head like around your hair part and lift it with your fingers.  It will give your hair so much volume and texture, again only a small amount.  You can find this at most hair salons and again at Target ( you can tell where I love to shop) it is about $8.00 – $10.00 depending on where you get it.

 

4. The Brow Stylist Definer is my favorite of all of these items  it is by L’Oreal. This stylist is long and thin with a thin brush on one end and a brow liner on the other. This is about $7.00 and I have found it at Walmart and Target.  It is the easiest tool to use and I think I may buy several to stock up.

 

5. This apricot facial scrub I use all the time,  it makes my face feel so smooth and really makes applying your makeup so easy.  You can find this just about anywhere cosmetics are sold  it is very inexpensive at only about $3.00-$4.00.  There is also one for sensitive skin.

6. I love this App. This app is called one second every day it allows you to record one second out of your day for an entire month. It puts it all together for you and it makes a little movie of your month. Every month.  It is so much fun and so easy to use.  You can get it at the App Store and there is a charge. $4.99. But it’s totally worth it. You can share it with up to 4 or 5 people on your plan.  I will show you my movie at the end of the month. I am having so much fun with it.

7.  The last thing I have to show you is this vacuum cleaner I bought a couple of months ago.  It is the dyson ball animal 2. It is made especially for picking up pet hair. We had another dyson for about 14 years, we actually still have it, it has just stopped picking up dirt and pet hair as well as it used to.  This dyson ball swiveles and gets into incredibly tight spots.  It is unbelievable how much dirt and pet hair you can pick up with it. It is $499.00 and we got ours at Home Depot. If it lasts as long as the other it will totally be worth it.  Isn’t it cute?

 

8. Oh wait I almost forgot this delicious new drink from Starbucks,  The Mango Dragonfruit Refresher.  Only 100 calories per grande.  It is so yummy!!!!

 

I hope you will be able to try some of these if you haven’t already.  Let me know what you think.

Love your day your way!!

By Lisa, Sunday July 15, 2018

     No this is not my Harley but more about it in a minute

Here I go Again, I don’t know why I have that Whitesnake song in my head but I do.  Shows you how old I am. Ha

Hello, Hello, Hello how are you?  I don’t know where you live but here in the south it has been HOT!!!! Every day in the 90’s and then add in the humidity and it is almost unbearable.

I have had the best weekend and I just want to share some things that have been going on.  I had a long weekend off from work starting with Friday. I had an appointment with my Scruffy dog to get his eyes checked at UT Vet Hospital in Knoxville. The Doctor was so happy with Scruffy, his eyes are doing great and best of all. He can see!!! This has just opened up a new world to him he is so curious now about everything. He has also gotten a lot braver and rushes to the door barking when someone comes in. He never did that before.  Of course I guess it was hard to bark at what you couldn’t see.

Anway I am so happy. He is also out of the cone collar for most of the time.

Y’all I stepped out of my comfort zone a little Friday night and went to a Biker Rally with my friend Lorie and her husband Paul. They have a camper at the site where the Rally is held every year, and Paul is part of the crew that does the Rally.  I could never be accused of being anything like a biker chick but turns out it doesn’t matter I was welcomed just the same.  I had a great time. The money raised helps support charities so it’s all for a good cause. Several bands played and there were many food vendors.  One of the bikers told me I was dressed a little fancy for a biker rally. I told him it was my first one I’ll know next time. Lol.

                  I saw some  gorgeous bikes

I had so much fun and saw some amazing bikes, mostly Harleys. I didn’t get to ride one but Paul (Lorie’s husband)  has promised me a ride soon.

I also got busy and finished knitting three scarves ( remember I told you I couldn’t knit just one at a time).  The good thing about working on more than one at a time is you get finished with three almost at the same time. See, there is a method to my madness.

 

I do love to knit scarves they’re fun and you can take them anywhere with you. I always keep one going in the car.  I am also trying to knit enough scarves by Christmas, both men’s and women’s, to have enough to give all the patients at our local kidney dialysis clinic. I feel for those people and know that Mark and I are so fortunate that he didn’t have to spend one day on dialysis before he got his kidney transplant. If you missed that story you can check out parts 1 and 2 here and here  I would love to just do a little something special for those having to travel to the dialysis clinic several times a week. Especially in the winter when it is so cold.

 

We have a few blackberries on our property.  A very few. Every year I try to catch them when they ripen and make a cobbler.  Every year I wait too late and someone, I guess one of our neighbors, comes along and gets them.  I am not sure who does this.  The blackberries are close to the end of our driveway and people probably assume they are free for the taking.  I noticed last Wednesday that there were a few, probably enough for a cobbler.  I went back yesterday to get them and they were gone!!!   Do you think that stopped me from having my cobbler?  noooooooo.

 

Don’t judge me.  It was delicious.

And now more about that Whitesnake song I think it says a lot about me right now.  Life is for living it is too short not to enjoy and do the things you want.  An’ I ain’t wasting no more time.

I don’t know where I’m going
But, I sure know where I’ve been
Hanging on the promises
In songs of yesterday
An’ I’ve made up my mind,
I ain’t wasting no more time
Here I go again
Here I go again.

You know you’re singing it in your head now, if you’re old enough to know that song lol.

Join me on Tuesday I will be sharing some of my new favorite things.

Love your day your way