Sometimes no news DOES mean news!

Well, friends, I haven't written in a while. Things have been a-hopping 'round here.

Since I last updated, two members of my household have visited the ER. On last Thursday, Hannah had a strange bump on her lower leg. It was seeping (ewwww) and was swollen. It was literally 4:53 PM when we saw it, so there was no time to get to the doctor. Miss had us take her to the ER (my mom and I were watching her at the time). Turns out she'd been bitten or something. She was fine - she puts Bacitracin and peroxide on it twice a day and takes an antibiotic. At her follow-up appointment on Monday, the doctor thought it was a fly bite that caused an allergic reaction.

Then on Friday, it was my turn to visit the ER. I was coming home from work on one of the (many) narrow country roads in the area around one of the schools I work in. I saw a larger truck, the "duely" type, coming the other way. I thought we would hit due to the size of the road and how close our vehicles would be. I moved over toward the right and my passenger side tires went into the soft shoulder. I got back on the road - didn't swerve, speed up, or anything to do so. Regardless, my car's tires, having had nothing to grip on the shoulder, found the cement and threw me into a fishtail. I slammed into the embankment on the opposite side of the road and spun around. My rear tires ended up resting in the ditch that my front bumper just hit. I ended up perpendicular to the road just on the other side of the hill that I had moved over on to avoid the truck. The problem was, no one coming over the hill would be able to see me. Some people that lived nearby came and blocked traffic until the statey came. For my trouble, I was cited with failure to control. Yippee.

So, you're wondering about my injuries. I have some bruises on my chest from my seatbelt, and I have second degree burns on my right hand from the airbag. Here's a PSA: airbags have gunpowder! That's what propels them forward - a small explosion of gunpowder. Thus, I have some burns on the palm of my hand, on my fingers, and the worst one is on my thumb. But they're healing and I'm not in pain. Just have a bulky dressing on my hand. And I'm right-handed (by the way, just committed two grammatical errors back-to-back: I started two sentences with a coordinating conjunctions, which is a big no-no).

My insurance company has been SUPER!!! I have Progressive - highly recommend them. I called in the claim on Saturday morning around 9:30, got a call back around 10:30 for the details, and then around 1:45 got another call that the car was totaled. He said he stopped writing the damage estimate around $9000. Yikes! Both airbags went off, the windshield shattered but stayed in its place, the metal under the front of the car was pushed up under the car, there was a dent in front of the driver's door, and the back passenger side tire was flat. It sounds like a lot, but it actually didn't look like it should be totaled. But hey, if that's what they want to do, that's okay.

So now what? Well, Progressive has a service called Total Loss Concierge. When you total a car, they help you secure financing for a new car, they work with a network of dealerships to help you get a new car, and they'll even have the car delivered to you.

I've decided I'm interested in a Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, Nissan Altima, Mazda 6, or an Acura. Of those, the dealership called tonight regarding a 2004 Nissan Altima. It has good safety ratings, and this particular car is fully loaded minus a moon roof. But it's got leather seats, a BOSE audio system, power everything, cruise control, and a 6 CD changer. It's gray, which is better than silver. I love the look of the back lights. Sharp! Oh, and it has 66,000 miles, but the dealer said they run for high mileage like Hondas and Toyotas, and they have good safety ratings. He said they are actually a bit higher end than Hondas and Toyotas and the only downside is that they are usually more costly. So, on Friday or Saturday, I'll be going to Streetsboro, which is about an hour away, to test drive the car and hopefully purchase it. And I got a simple interest loan, which means I can pay off the loan early, save myself money, AND not get an early payoff penalty. Woohoo!

In other news, I got a new phone. It's a Palm Treo vw, and it's great. I get internet access on my phone, which I love! :) My sister got one also. The calendar option is nice as well.

By the way, the Indians are playing the Red Sox this weekend. Go Tribe! :)