Friday, June 11, 2010

Putting my words in my mouth and dessert ideas!

Happy Friday bloggies!

Oh thank heavens its Friday! I had quite the adventure last night and I thought I'd share it with you all. It has to do with buying a car...so ya, you can probably see where this is going. Anyways, here's my story.

So, yesterday Ry went to look at a car from Craigslist that looked pretty good. As I was working, I was not able to go look at it with him. He is very good with cars and so I had full faith that he would detect problems, if there were any. Okay, so I get a call from him saying that the car looked good but the guys he was going to get it from looked a little sketchy. Light bulb #1. I should have taken this apprehension and told him not to go through with it. Yet, I was getting pretty desperate for a car so my danger! danger! radar was not functioning optimally at this point. He bought the car and did all the paperwork which the guy already had on hand. Light bulb #2. Usually people don't carry the paperwork to transfer cars with them, you usually have to go to an insurance place. Luckily my mom had just come into town and so I had a car to go meet him at this place (over an hour away). We arrive and Ry is driving the car in front of me and I notice that when he punches the gas there is blue smoke. Light bulb #3. We get to the shady car dealership and Ry tells me the guys wouldn't let him take it out of the parking lot for the test drive so he didn't see the blue smoke. In case you didn't know, Blue smoke = burning oil/engine is crappy and may die on you. To make things worse, right before we met up with Ry, he got a ticket for talking on his cell phone while he was pulling into a parking lot. Ya, it wasn't his night I tell you. PS in BC they just made it illegal to have any electronic device in your hands while behind the wheel. So, we go back to the shady guys running this questionable car dealership and ask them for our money back because its burning oil yadda yadda. Well, his options were A) leave the car there and once they sell it he would give us the money back. Can anyone smell a scam brewing? B) pay for his "fees" and get the hell out. We chose option B and chucked down that night as a complete write-off. I was so disappointed and angry that Ry didn't do more investigating into the car and that those shady guys were such a**holes. I guess I felt let down because I was still car-less and we wasted so much time. On the way back I rode with my mom and I was just spewing out negative words left and right. I was so pent up but I really should have said this or remembered what I just wrote about on the blog HOURS earlier. Yet, I let my emotions take over. Once I got back to our place I had forgiven Ry (he felt SOO bad) but I was still grumpy. I should have been thankful we at least got some of our money back and that we made it there and back safely. Like Nelly said in the comments yesterday, "things happen for a reason." We could have bought the car and maybe it wouldn't have even made it home and we would have been out all of our money! There is always something worse that could happen and I need to realize that. Can I blame it partly on my upcoming visit from aunt flo? 1% maybe..not enough to justify it!

So, there you have it.. My Thursday night! The lesson of this whole story?

  1. Trust your instincts! If you have just the slightest flutter of doubt..walk away!
  2. Really be sure that something you want to buy, be it a car or anything used for that matter, is in good shape and they have receipts to back up their claims of repairs, upgrades, etc!
  3. Don't buy from a guy who seems to have a bodyguard and has two phones! I can laugh about this now..lol!
  4. Take it for a test run, drive etc and look at EVERY nook and cranny to make sure things aren't falling apart or burning oil, in our case.

So, I'm still on the hunt for my new "betsy" lol! We found a few to look at locally so hopefully by this weekend I'll have some wheels. I really wish that I could get around with a bike or bus but my work is in the boonies and I already had to take a cab to a place where I could catch the bus and the cab ride alone cost me $10. So, $12.50 to get home everyday is ridiculous. Wish me luck and send me good car vibes:)

Onto something much more exciting and happy..I'm having my sister-in-law and her boyfriend over for dinner tonight and I want to make a quick and easy dessert for them. I won't have much time after work to prepare something extravagant. I could search the blogosphere but I thought I could go straight to the source..you guys!! (plus I'm pretty tired and don't have the energy:( Let me know of your favorite, quick desserts that would be loved by non-vegans. Think meat and potatoes kind of guy!

Thank you in advance:)

I hope you all have a wonderful Friday and weekend. It's supposed to get sunny and HOT here finally so I'm so excited to catch some rays. Mom is going to come over tomorrow to help me plant some more flowers and veggies so that will be fun!

LOTS OF LOVE

10 comments:

kelli said...

oh my goodness, what a nightmare! thanks for sharing, as your story may help someone down the line. trust your intuition!=)

a raw dessert i've served that two meat eaters loved was chocolate avocado pudding. (but don't tell it's avocado until after they have had a few spoon fulls.) some have refused to try it and missed out on its creamy deliciousness because they were horrified someone put avocado in a dessert! who cares if it tastes good?!=)

it's not the simplest dessert but it's so yummy!

i posted the recipe here.

enjoy the sun and your company (excited to see what you make!) and you know you will attract "betsy" when it's time!=)

Anonymous said...

Oh wow, what a nightmare! I'm so sorry you had such an ordeal. At least you're able to laugh about it now, and see that things could have been worse. That whole situation sounds very sketchy, but at least you guys know for next time that you can't trust everyone. It's great that you are such kind and trusting people but car salesman are especially infamous for being shady characters. Or is that just me buying into stereotypes? I feel bad now. My point was, remain calm and go get your new car (from a reputable place) and everything will be just fine. We all have those moments when we break down a little, so don't worry about it! Everything is going to work out for the best.

I am not very good with desserts...I don't make them often, and when I do they are very simple. The furthest I have gone is a few of Meghan's recipes (which are awesome, as you know) and Averie's recipes (also amazing). Nelly is also a raw dessert QUEEN so hopefully she has some good answers for you.

I hope you have a great time love!

Anonymous said...

Hey Melissa! I hope your car situation works out soon -- bummer about the sketchy Craigslister and the rest of the deal. I can't believe some people would want to scam others on purpose...to me that's just irresponsible. Glad you had the good sense to see through it, though. Way to trust your instincts, Melissa!

As for dessert--I just made this INCREDIBLE and EASY dessert for a party dinner tonight! It was AWESOME but I'm not sure if it's for a meat and potatoes kind of guy... I'll tell you what it was though, anyway:

-1 can of grass jelly
-1 cup of coconut milk
-Juice of one lemon
-Honey
-Fruit cocktail

That's it. It was seriously, seriously SO easy and SO tasty. The perfect summer treat--not to mention pretty darn good for you too! Otherwise...try a rhubarb crisp? Does that take long? Or make my AHA! chocolate mint bread already with your out of control mint!!

HiHoRosie said...

Ugh, how awful! What a horrible experience but glad it's over and not a worse situation. Definitely sending you good car vibes!

I love desserts but follow someone else's recipe or tips. One I love making though is chocolate pudding (made with avocado) that I got from the Daily Raw Cafe blog.

HiHoRosie said...

oh ha ha! I just noticed kelli's comment. It's true what she said though non-vegan people love it and don't realize it's made with avo. :)

bitt said...

How awful! I am sorry you still don't have a car. I hate buying cars and feel like I was scammed buying the one I have. One of the reasons I want to keep it as long as I can and get my money's worth! Hope you get a good deal on something. Yes, trust your instincts for sure.

Quick desserts would be the chocomole mentioned above for sure. Coconut oil chocolate is easy too. Anything chocolate...lol. Some kind of date-nut bar/balls. A fruit cobbler. Oh gosh the list goes on and on!

Nikki said...

I'm glad you got through the car situation without more damage. The whole thing sounds sketchy. I hope you find your perfect car soon!

We all have those days when the negativity is overwhelming and you have to just vent it all out! The important part is recognizing what is going on, then being able to move on. Sounds like you did a great job handling such a challenging situation.

Desserts? Hmmm, Heather Pace's Ice Cream Cake is quick and easy to put together, just needs some freezer time, and it's delicious. Not sure if you have her ebook? But I think meat & veggie eaters would enjoy it.

Averie @ Averie Cooks said...

girl. what a nightmare. I love your 1-4 take away message. So true! thanks for the lovely bday wishes and great comment as usual! xoxo

Nelly said...

why am i missing so many blogs???

i had no idea you wrote this...sorry!!!

wowsa girl what a crazy story. can't believe people are so dishonest!!! i don't get it. it's so strange, but these past few weeks i just can't seem to get over how horrible humans are...sneaky and dishonest and mean!!! i am definitely sending you good car vibes!!! i hope you find your betsy!!!

i hope you had a lovely time with your sis and her boyfriend...can't wait to read all about it...hope you and your momma had fun!!!

<3

evergreen said...

Hey sweetie! I hope you are feeling better after your car troubles. That is a shame the car dealer was not honest.

I'm sure you enjoyed your dinner with company, and time with your mom though:)