I'm Special & I've Got the Helmet to Prove It

This weekend, I took the scooter for a ride. It was hotter than hell outside, but I still enjoyed it.

I wish I could drive this everywhere, but where would Cheyenne go? Side Car?!?


Panic Attack! 
Yesterday, I cleaned the patio and thought it would be nice to listen to some music, so I set my phone down, which happen to be in direct sunlight in 99 degree weather. About 15 minutes later, I noticed my music stopped playing. I grabbed my phone and saw this alert and I almost cried. I ran and put my phone in the fridge and then the freezer. I thought about leaving it in the freezer for a few minutes, but then I was afraid I might forget about it, so I just placed the phone on the counter top and walked away. It took at least 20 minutes for it cool down and work properly again. Whew, I feel like I dodged a bullet. I've had my fair share of iPhones, but I'm not ready for a new one.

Street Legal!

Insurance: Check
Registration: Check

Inspection: Check
80 miles to the gallon: CHECK! 

I've had this scooter for a few years, but it's been forever since I drove it. During pregnancy, I stopped and it's been sitting in the garage ever since. Every so often Trey will ask me, "You want to sell the scooter?" NOOOOO!

Last year, we decided not to pay to update insurance and everything else. So, the last few days, we've been busy getting this baby street legal and now she's ready! SHE? I guess my scooter is a female. Does she have a name? IDK. Vino. 

I'm going to enjoy riding this spring. Wow, my hair looks frizzy and that furry hood doesn't seem to be helping. 

Soooo shiny and pretty....

There is plenty of room for you to hop on too. Actually, my upper body is not that strong, so I may not be able to hold both of us up...Just wait until I complete P90X and then you can hop on and I can take you for a ride. 

Spending the Day at Home

I gave Harley a haircut and Corky a trim. I did such a good job that when Trey got home from work he asked, "How much did that cost me?"
You wouldn't believe how fast their hair grows. It's hard work grooming them, especially Harley, but I appreciate the savings.

Other than grooming my pets, I've been a prisoner in my home. I had to wait for the plumber and security system guy to come over. And of course they never tell you a definite time. So, I was stuck here all morning and afternoon. Luckily, I didn't have anywhere to go or any thing to do outside the house.

Earlier, I wanted to ride the scooter to the library, but I've made the decision to give the scooter a break, until after Cheyenne is born. I came to that decision after I told Trey, people who ride and don't wear helmets are stupid and then I thought wait... a minute I'm 5 months pregnant and I'm riding...maybe that's stupid too.

Last Night:
I was laying in bed rubbing lotion on my belly and I started yelling at Trey, "Get over here she's kicking." I've felt her kick and move a lot, but I've been wanting him to experience it. He told me to make her stop because he had just jumped in the shower. Like I can command her kicks. After he got out he layed his hand on me and not only could he feel Cheyenne kick, he could see his hand move! It was amazing!

Motor Vehicles

I got a flat tire Thursday evening. I woke up Friday morning, and looked at my car and noticed a semi flat tire.

Friday, I had a lot of errands to run, so I went all over this side of Ft. Worth on my scooter. My speedometer clocked at 25 miles at the end of the day.

Mid-morning I made my way to the Yamaha dealership and had them inspect my bike. While I was waiting, I chatted with the salesman about the high demand of motorcycles, due to gas prices. He said they sold out of the Vino model a long time ago and they don't have any 250cc motorcycles in stock....period.


Speaking of 250's, Trey is selling his Virago bike. I don't think he'll have any problems getting rid of it. We posted his bike online Thursday evening and 3 hours later we got a response from a prospective buyer. He was serious about the bike, so serious he wanted to meet us that night to take a look at it. Since then, we've had several phone calls and emails. We'll see how it goes.

Well, that's all for now. I have family coming in to town right now.

Snapshot at 3 Months

From Pregnancy

Yesterday, I asked my doc, “So, since I’m 3 months along, this is the time I should start showing, huh?” He got a good laugh out of my question and assumption. He replied, “No, you’ll start to show around 5 months, not 3. It may feel like you're showing in your lower stomach, but yeah, 5 months is when you really start to show.”

I guess he’s right. According to last month’s weigh-in, I only gained 1 pound in 4 weeks. That’s crazy because it feels like I’ve gained 5. What is it going to feel like when I really start to gain? I’m not sure if I believe that scale because when I look in the mirror and see this picture, it looks like I have a belly and it sure does look like more than 1 pound.

Well, other than taking pregnancy pictures, I had a chance to regain my workout confidence. I successfully ran 2 miles yesterday. The whole time I had my eyes glued to the ground looking for my damn earring, which I didn’t locate.

After my workout, Trey and I jumped on the scooter to fill her up at the gas pump. Too bad our SUV doesn’t get 80 miles to the gallon like the scooter. We also had a chance to stop at a snow cone shop before heading home. Nothing says summer like scooters and snow cones.

Pregnant Woman Driving a Scooter on the Interstate

It's old news, but gas is getting out of control. To cut down on driving, I'm commuting one less day a week to work. Well, it's either that or being the pregnant woman driving down the interstate on a scooter.

So, today is my day off and I'm enjoying it. I had time this morning to pick up the house and make a nice breakfast that is getting a little easier to eat.

Well, I don't plan on staying indoors all day long, but I will definitely stay on my side of town when I do get out...because

What's the point of commuting one less day a week to work--if I drive all over town on my day off, right?

The Summer Without My Scooter

Scooter withdrawals don’t even begin to describe how I feel not having my shiny friend. With the move and our current living situation, Trey and I have made the wise decision to keep his motorcycle and my scooter in storage. Trey jokingly said we can bring my scooter to Fort Worth, the only catch is--- I have to drive it from Abilene to here. He’s crazy and he knows it.

Last week, as we were driving I saw a vintage scooter shop. As Trey passed it I yelled, “STOP AND TURN AROUND!” When I was browsing through the aisles of shiny bikes, I began to regret leaving mine behind. There really isn’t anything I can do to make it better except look forward to spring. Maybe by then we’ll have a place to store our bikes. The funny thing about the whole situation is we recently paid the note off on both bikes…so now we really own them and we can’t even drive ‘em. The next note to be paid is the Element. I’m really excited about that one because by end of this year we’ll own it too! Hooray for financial peace!

Harley's Ain't Got Nothing On This

Okay, my husband has a motorcycle so I don't know why he wanted us to ride the scooter over to his parents house, last night. Everytime we get on the scooter together I get a mental picture of the guys from dumb and dumber and I can't stop laughing. So there I am laughing and I see two guys beside their Harley's, hanging outside of a tattoo shop. I told Trey, "Honk the horn!" So he honks it and it goes, "BEEP, BEEP!" The Harley guys looked at us and started laughing. Gosh, I love acting stupid.

So, the whole reason for getting out of the house was to see Trey's parents. It was really nice because they've been going out of town every weekend and it was nice to just sit down and talk with them. We talked about the upcoming holidays and where we were going to have Thanksgiving. It looks like I'm hosting Turkey Day.

Scooting About Town

Rolling over a thousand miles the scooter is going strong. When I first got it the sticker claimed it got 75 miles to the gallon, but when I started riding it, I was only getting 70. I read online and found many owners claiming it took their scooters a while before they were getting 75 miles to the gallon and some of them even said they were getting 80. Now that I've broken the engine-in, I'm now getting 80 miles to the gallon too.

I ride it to and from work and it gets me from point a to point b. I would say I fill-up at least once a week and last time I was on empty I paid about $2.70. That's it! Can you believe it? Sometimes I feel silly, but then I think to myself "You don't look retarded, you look smart (and cute)." I get a lot of smiles and waves, especially from old men. I'm not too flattered, because most of the time it creeps me out.

It was super scary when I first started driving it. It's not like anything I was familiar with. You have to get a motorcycle license, which means taking a written and driving test. I don't know how to drive a motorcycle, but I have a license, if I wanted to. Maybe I'll get Trey to teach me on his motorcycle. One day. Now that I've been driving the scooter for a few months I'm not scared of driving anymore. Okay that's not entirely true, I do get scared when I see gravel. A month ago I feel off of the bike when I stopped at a stop sign. It was no big deal. The bike fell to its side and I hopped off before I fell on the street. Now when I see gravel I slow down, but not abruptly. I also stay away from highways and busy areas.

P.S. I always wear a helmet. I've almost been hit twice by crazy drivers. Everyone who rides tells me you have to look out for the other person.

Near Death Experience!!! (Oh the Drama)

Yesterday, I made my way home on my scooter, taking the normal route. I was counting the number of churches I pasted while driving down a one-way street. Good thing I had church on my mind because I almost died! This gas-guzzler SUV pulled out in my one-way lane driving right for me, head-on. I hit the brakes and the mad woman behind the wheel continued to drive towards me. I couldn't switch lanes because several cars were on my right. The mad woman obviously needed something to grab her attention since she wasn't stopping, so sitting there waiting for the hit, I threw my arms up in the air and yelled, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" This got her attention and she hit the brakes and backed-up. You know I really wanted to get off my scooter and walk over to her vehicle and give her a lesson in driving, but I'm not perfect by any means. Can you imagine the girl who ran the red light, last year (that would be me), giving the mad woman a lesson in driving. Give grace, where grace is needed.

This morning I was thinking what would Trey do without me, if something happened...Well, he would go on an all cereal diet that's for sure, he would fall asleep on the couch every night, and he would convert our guest bedroom to an all Dallas Cowboys room. Good thing I'm not going anywhere.

1,000 Miles Later

Can you believe I've put 1,000 miles on my little scooter? I think it's time for a tune-up. With teaching a class this summer and working on numerous video projects I haven't had a chance to ride it as much as I would like. I have to haul equipment and it's really hard to attach a light kit to my back.

P.S. I just posted this picture because I thought it was too cute.

One Good Reason to Wear a Helmet

Gas prices are high and expected to rise this summer. Trey and I have been parking our car and he's been riding his bike and I've been riding my scooter. This morning I was driving to school and this guy pulled out right in front of me and slammed on his brakes when he realized I had the right-of-way. After he hit his brakes, and I safely passed his car I told myself out loud, "That's why I wear a helmet."

Changing subjects: Trey listens to talk radio and he recently subscribed to the Glenn Beck Program. He introduced me to the program and I am very impressed. It's SNL meets political-radio-sarcasm. Saturday I had to work and Trey brought me breakfast and we sat on the couch and laughed till we cried listening to sound bites. The show is amazing! One of the tracks we downloaded was the remake of Aerosmith’s "Janie's Got a Gun" to "Dick Cheney's Got a Gun." In the background you could hear a shotgun going off.

Street Legal

I'm officially legal! I went down to the DPS to take the written and driving exam to legally drive my scooter. I read the 50 page book and spent over an hour at the DPS. Trey and I have spent the weekend riding all over town on the vino. We went to a few open houses just because, and we were disgusted and amazed at some of the houses we saw. We came back at the end of the day and decided we are very fortuned to have found such a great house for the right price. Other than scooter news, it's safe to say that spring break is here. I will be flying out of DFW Wednesday on my way to Washington DC. So if you don't hear from me for a while that is why. I'll be attending the National Broadcasting Society National Convention. Hope everyone has a safe and fun Spring Break.

Screaming Under Bridges

This Picture is for all my LA friends. Yesterday, Trey and I cruised the Abilene streets in our scooter. We had a blast! I was wearing this funky helment with a bright neon green and orange reflective vest. I'm sure when Trey looked at me he thought wow, I've been married to this crazy looking girl for 2 years. Poor guy...No it was truly fun. We went to get snow combs and we rode under bridges screaming and honking the horn. What a great way to spend an anniversary.

Scary-Cat

So, I've been driving my scoot around the parking lot near our house. The first day we got it all I could think was, "what have I done, this little scooter is scary," but now after riding it around several times, I've adjusted to it. You may think I'm a baby, but the fastest I've gone is right under 40 mph. I'm telling you it's scary, especially when you hit bumps. I had an awesome weekend. I went to the black history show (which was interesting), I also went to the Philharmonic and spent some time with friends Sunday at church and went out to lunch with them. This week is gonna be super busy. I have two appointments tomorrow, a huge research paper I need to start, an exam I need to study for, and reading I have to do. Not to mention work and everything else between. My goodness I should really do something right now. Bye.

Squealing With Happiness

As expected, the weekend I purchase my scooter it happens to be the coldest weekend of winter. Well, today Trey and I signed the papers and they'll be delivering the bike to our house this afternoon. I have to get my motorcycle license to drive it "legally", but that won't stop me from getting comfortable with it. I already plan to drive it around the neighborhood as soon as I can, even though the windshield feels like 35 degrees. I was so stoked because I had never seen the bike in person. I had only seen pictures, so I was hoping I would like it. When I finally saw the bike I was going to purchase I started squealing with happiness. It's adorable. I should be able to reach speeds of 55-60 MPH on it, so I shouldn't have any problems keeping up with the traffic in town. It's highly recommended not to drive the vino on the highway so don't count on seeing me there, besides I'd be too scared of blowing away.

Beep, Beep

I haven't mention this in my blog, but ever since I got back to Abilene, I've been wanting a scooter. Our Honda Element gets great milage, but I want something that's super economical. To my understanding the scooter I want gets 75 MPG. I think our Element gets 24 in the city...Wow, that's a huge difference. The last 2 months Trey and I looked all over town. We didn't find anything we liked. I knew what kind of scooter I wanted: the vintage yamaha 125, 2006 model. Everywhere we went they had these funky bikes that looked all futuristic, but this yamaha I want looks really great. We talked to a sales rep at Max's and Trey gave him our number so if they got one in, we'd be the first people he'd call. Well, today the sales rep called us and it looks like I'll be crusing in a silver moped. The bike comes in tomorrow, but we're going to go to the shop tonight to talk with the sales guy. So, that's great news!

As far as my exam goes...I think I did okay. It wasn't as hard as I made it, but at least I was prepared. Now that it's over I feel like I can breathe. This weekend I think I'm going to be helping out with the Black History show. Not exactly how I want to spend my weekend, but it will have to do.