My New Car!!!

My beautiful new car is FINALLY here!!!  I have been waiting for this little beauty since August.  And now...the wait is over!  It was worth the wait though, and I couldn't be more appreciative of it.  We played with the idea of getting a new car over the summer and it just kind of all fell into place back in August.  Well...except for having to wait for 5 months for the car to come in!  The car talk sort of put us between a rock and a hard place.  My Camry was going to be 4 years old this May...but it had almost 90,000 miles on it.  Which, I know, is only just starting to get it broken in...those cars run forever!  But, we knew that the more miles it had on it, the less we would get for trade-in no matter how new it was or how good of shape it was in.  People are suspicious when you have a newer car with so many miles.  Unfortunately, I drive about 120 miles everyday, so all my cars are going to be high mile.  Well, it just so happened that my Mimi's Cadillac was starting to go on the fritz.  I think it was a late 90's model, but she kept it in phenomenal shape.  However, the AC had gone out, there was an oil leak, one of the air compressors that filled up an air bag had gone out and made a terrible racket, and the transmission was starting to leak.  The plan was for us to sell her my Camry when my new car came in.  But, when the transmission started to leak, we knew we had to do something sooner.  She may be 89, but she still likes to go and do things and to be able to get up and go when she wants, and she was afraid to drive her car.  She wouldn't hardly even go downtown, which is like 2 miles from her house, in her Cadillac.  So, we called West Texas Ford in Anson, who we were buying my new car from, to tell them that we had to do something about a car because we needed to sell my Mimi my Camry ASAP.  Let me tell you, the people at West Texas For in Anson are gold.  They lent me a loaner car from the middle of October until my new Fusion came in on January 7th.  So, for 2.5 months, they let me drive one of their cars for free and were always calling us whenever they found anything out about why my car was taking so long to come in.  Come to find out, Ford had a manufacturing issue with one of the features that we had added on my car.  One of the options was to add the adaptive cruise control, which we did, but Ford put out too many Titanium models before the manufacturer that was developing the adaptive cruise control had made enough to put on each of those vehicles.  So, we just had to play the waiting game while the manufacturer finally caught up with the demand of this gorgeous new model that was coming out for 2013.

I have to say, I am SO happy with my new Fusion!  I am also so very pleased with the people at West Texas Ford in Anson.  They have treated us like royalty and I would recommend them to anyone looking to buy a new or used car.  Cody bought his truck from there and they have been nothing but amazing to him and to us since last September when he bought his Lariot.  I honestly can't say enough good things about them, their customer service, or their knowledge about the amazing product they sell.  I also can't say enough good things about this new car.  The 2013 Fusion is unlike any other car Ford has ever put out.  It literally has every single feature that you could possible imagine and the price was incredibly reasonable.  I had been looking at the Lexus IS for years and swore that would be the next car that I got.  I have to say, I am so glad that I didn't.  I think that Lexus makes amazing and beautiful cars, don't get me wrong.  But, I wouldn't have had any of the safety...or just really cool...features on the IS that I do on my Fusion for the same price.  I think the IS starts off at like $34,000 and by the time I had added all the features that my Fusion has, it was like $45,000!  We walked out the door, TT&L, with all the features that you could possibly add on the Titanium Fusion, for a little over the base price of the standard IS.  Now, I don't know about you, but I'll take that any day!  Here's the break down on my car:

2013 Fusion Titanium FWD
White Platinum (Sparkly White...yes please!!!)
Black Leather
Sun Roof
Spoiler
Universal Garage Door Opener
Reverse Sensing System
19" Spoke Dark Stainless Aluminum Rims
Driver Assist Package
Voice Activated Navigation
Blind Spot Information System
Intelligent Access with Push Button Start (all I have to do is have the "key" in my purse and I can unlock all the doors, trunk, and start my car)
Rear View Camera
Lane Departure Warning with Lane Keep Assist and Driver Monitoring
Heated Seats
Dual Zone Automatic Temperature Control
Active Park Assist
Adaptive Cruise Control
SYNC with the MyFord Touch
Sirius Satellite Radio
Sony Platinum Sound System

Most of these features came with the car, and a few we added.  The ones we added were the adaptive cruise control, sun roof, 19" rims, white platinum paint, driver assist, park assist, and voice activated navigation system.  I know a lot of this sounds a little excessive.  But, I am literally on the road every single day (except weekends) for 120 miles.  Like...I got this car 6 weeks ago and it had 15 miles on it.  Today, it has almost 2,200...sad day!  Anyways, any added safety feature was worth it's weight in gold to us, especially since we will (hopefully) have kids soon.  I seriously don't hardly have to take my hands off the wheel to do anything in that car.  I can push a button, say a command, and the car does what I tell it to.  Make a phone call - check, change the radio station - check, change the climate - check, turn on the heated seats - check, find a location - check.  And, the bright lights and wind shield wipers come on all by themselves.  If the brights need to be on, they came on and same for the windshield wipers.  That was a lifesaver for the first few days I had it.  We picked the car up on a Monday night and Tuesday, on my way to work, it started raining and I was freaking out because I didn't know which lever controlled the windshield wipers.  As soon as the windshield was getting to where I almost couldn't see out of it, the windshield wipers came on and I didn't have to worry about taking my hands off the wheel when the roads were slick to control them.  I think my favorite feature, when I'm driving to and from work, is the adaptive cruise control.  I have it set to stay 2 seconds behind someone that is going slower than me and my car literally slows down to stay a safe distance behind them and I don't have to take it off cruise.  When I have a chance to go around them, I get in the other lane, and my car picks back up to the speed I have it set at and just keeps on going.  It's wonderful to not have to worry about getting too close behind...it makes driving everyday a lot easier!  I also really like the lane departure warning with the lane keep assist and driver monitoring.  I don't use this much really, but I've turned it on a few times when I've been coming home late and am really tired.  I've never, ever felt like I was going to fall asleep on my way home.  But I do tend to "road walk" a lot.  Even when I'm not the least bit tired I do that.  So, when I first got my car I turned it on to see what it would do exactly if I went outside of my lane while driving.  I set the feature to alert and aid me when I got out of my lane.  Let me say...it works like a charm!  I merged over to the left side of my lane (because there is no oncoming traffic on that side!) and a light started blinking on top of my dash and making beeping sounds at me while the steering wheel on my car slowly merged my car back into the middle of my lane.  WHAT?!?!?  It's like the car drives itself!  It's pretty cool. 

But...what I love most is that I feel so safe when I'm driving it.   Because of all the safety features that we added on to it, I can literally drive and never have to take my hands off the wheel or my eyes off the road to do anything.  Like I said earlier, I can change the radio, make a phone call, change the climate in the car, turn on the heated seats, and find a location all by pushing a button on my steering wheel and speaking the command I want to do.  And...since the windshield wipers and bright lights come on by themselves...that's one other thing I don't have to worry about!  It drives so smooth and it really feels like you're driving on a cloud...or on air.  It also has 3 different driver seat settings.  Mine is setting 1 and Cody's is setting 2.  We both have it set to how we are most comfortable driving, even the side mirrors.  When he drives it, all he has to do is push the number 2 and the seat and mirrors adjust to how he has it set.  And the same goes for me when I drive it after he's driven it.  I just push 1 and everything goes back to how I like it set.  It's super comfy and quiet too. If anyone is in the market for a new car...I would highly recommend the new, 2013 Ford Fusion and going to West Texas Ford in Anson to do so...or get any other car for that matter!  There are 3 different models you can choose from...the S, SE, and Titanium.  It's a great price for a great car...and they look AWESOME!!!  I am SO pleased and SO happy with this car!!!

Here are some pics of my sweet new ride!!!

Passing the Principal's Certification Test...

Most of you know that I graduated with my Master's degree in Education (M.Ed.) last May.  Even though I graduated, I still had one more thing to finish before I was officially done with the program.  That one thing was...to pass my Principal's certification test.  Anyone that is a teacher knows how hard the TExES exams are.  They are designed to get your critical thinking skills working in overdrive and ensure that you are knowledgeable about the subject are you are going to be teaching as well as how to make certain that every teacher knows about the pedagogy and professional responsibilities that a teacher must have to teach and adhere to the NCLB act.  The Principal's test is no different in the aspect of testing your knowledge on how to run a safe school and effective school environment where all students are given an opportunity to learn and the learning community is constantly growing and becoming better for all stakeholders.  It also requires you to do some serious critical thinking!  Most of the questions on these tests allow you to knock two answers completely out of the running, but the other two could both be right.  You just have to take a step back and think "perfect school scenario" and pick the answer that resembles that aspect.  There are also some where only one answer is the obvious choice...those are my favorite!  And...there are some where you go...these could all be right!  Anyways, these tests are NOT easy nor are they cheap.  At $120 a pop...you pray that you pass on the first time so that you simply don't have to pay the fee again...never mind the studying!  When I was studying for and taking my content are test (Business Education 6-12) it took me three times to pass it!  And when I finally did...I still had to take my PPR EC-12.  That one took me two times to pass.  So...do the math on that...it cost me $600 in tests before I was fully certified!  I did not want to take the Principal's test more than one time...but I also didn't want to put pressure on myself when I went in to take the test. 

So...on January 11th, I walked into the testing center after 2 years of a Master's program preparing me for this and hours of extra studying to ensure that I had done everything possible to pass this test.  I had also taken 2 practice tests and 2 mini practice tests so that I could be as prepared as possible.  My test started at 9:00 am and I walked out of the testing center 2.5 hours later.  You have 5 hours to complete the test...so I finished early...which could be good or bad!  I felt good about it...but I didn't want to jinx myself...plus you just really never know how the test goes.  So, I really didn't say much about it to my family and friends after I was done.  The results take between 3-10 business days to come in...so it was just a waiting game after I submitted my test.  I got an email on Tuesday, January 15th from TExES saying that my test scores were in.  Needles to say...I was SO nervous.  My whole body was shaking!  I immediately called Cody to tell him my results were in, forwarded the email to him, and gave him my log-in information so that he could check my scores for me.  Call me superstitious...but the other 2 times I've passed these exams...he's been the one to check my scores.  So, I wanted him to do it this time and not take any chances!  When he got into my account and checked my scores, he texted me right away.  And...I PASSED!!!!!!  I made a 250...you have to make a 240 or higher to pass.  There were 120 questions and I only missed 21 out of the 120 questions!  I have never been more relieved...in shock...but relieved!  Now, I am a certified Principal!  I'm excited to see what the future holds for me in my career and am excited for the opportunity to be a Principal someday!!!

Let the Games Begin!

Yep...I did it.  I signed up for the CrossFit Open!

Call me crazy...but I'm pumped about competing in the Open!  I have no idea if I will even make it out of the Open and advance to Regionals.  Honestly, I really don't think I will.  There are some amazing women out there who are phenomenal athletes and have been competing in the Games for a few years now.  But, I'm going to go into the Open and do my best...and if I make it to Regionals...then I will be beyond excited and shocked!  I plan on pushing myself harder than I ever have before and doing every single WOD RXd, even if I don't finish.  There will be a total of 5 WODs in 5 weeks.  So...from March 6th-April 7th I will be competing in the Open and trying to get my best times, highest number of reps and rounds, and max weight if there is a ladder type WOD.  You do 1 WOD per week, and you can do the WOD more than once if you feel like you can do better at it than you did the first time.  All you do is send in the video that is your best.  You have until Sunday at 5:00 pm of every to get your video turned in to the database.  What's going to be fun is that Cody, Brent, and Cameron are also going to compete in the Open from our box!  So we will have 4 athletes from CrossFit 325 competing in the Open!!!  Since there are two other boxes in Abilene, Crossfit Benedictus and CrossFit Abilene, we are going to rotate doing the WODs at each gym.  I'm not sure how many athletes from the other two boxes are going to compete, but I'm sure they will have several athletes as well.  It's going to be a blast and I'm looking forward to competing with other amazing athletes and pushing myself beyond what I ever thought my body could do!  I love CrossFit!!!

Here are some pics Jeremy took of me this morning during our WOD.  We did the main site WOD today:

3 RFT (Rounds for Time)

30 Pull-Ups
30 Dead lifts 155/135 lbs
30 Box Jumps 24/20  inch box

I did 135 lbs for dead lifts for the first round then dropped to 115 lbs the last two rounds.  I probably could have done 135 lbs the whole time...but my legs have been really sore and locked up this week from some other WODs we've done.  So, I decided to drop down in my weight.  It was one of those days that I kinda wished I wouldn't have lightened my weight, I could have done the 135 lbs the whole time.  I hate it when I do that!  I did use the 20 inch box and my time was 19:09.  And here is one more pic...it's the one I used for my athlete profile for the Open!  March 6th...here I come!!!