Fat Patricia

Many people name their cars. I could never settle on what I wanted to name mine. Until I watched Pitch Perfect and Rebel Wilson's character admitted that she was in fact NOT Fat Amy, but Fat Patricia. I loved it. And so it became the name of my 2012 Nissan Altima. 

Fat Patricia was purchased in March of 2012 with only 3,000 miles on her. On April 19th this year, we passed the 100,000 mile mark, a momentous occasion. 

I wasn't paying attention, so I completely missed the turnover on my way back from Kansas City that weekend, but caught it 3 miles later.

I bought the car knowing how many miles I would be traveling for work. And at that time I was having a few problems with my 2003 Altima with 165,000 miles on her, so I thought it would be good to upgrade. 

She got better MPG, had an AUX plug so I could finally listen to music from my iPod, and she smelled brand new. The BEST part of the upgrade was that you didn't need a key for anything, including starting up the car. As long as the key fob is on my person or in my bag, I can touch a button on the handle and let myself into the car, or touch a button on the trunk and pop it open, and touch the "start" button inside the car to turn it on. No more searching through my giant work bag or my purse digging around for my keys. 

In three years I have only had to replace the battery once, buy one new set of tires, replace one air filter and get regular oil changes and tire rotations. 

Fat Patricia has taken us to Phoenix, Los Angeles, Denver and back home on a whirlwind trip for my Grandpa's 90th birthday and to see other friends and family. She has taken us to South Carolina (and will do so again in a couple of days). She has brought back many loads of flat packed furniture from IKEA in Minnesota. She has been to Chicago, Kansas City and Omaha for work trips. She has seen the whole of this great state of Iowa MANY times over.  

I'm hoping for a few more years, and another 100,000 miles (so I can get her loan paid off!) before she starts falling to pieces. She has a couple of dings on the outside, and is covered in dog hair on the inside, but otherwise looks as beautiful as the day I first took her home. 

April Fool

The first thing I think about on April 1st when I wake up is, "I wonder what Angela (our neighbor) did this year." This year she glued change to my driveway, put a For Sale By Owner sign in her yard with Eric's phone number on it, and there's a fake body laying in my back yard. It's supposed to be a drunk passed out college kid, but there are no beer cans around him. I was going to take a picture but the neighbor kids just ran over and snatched up all his body parts and took him back home. Oh, and the For Sale sign got moved to our yard sometime this afternoon while I was gone. I haven't heard if Eric received any phone calls about it yet. I'm just happy Angela didn't check my car that I left outside overnight and forgot to lock. Phew! Although.. I haven't thoroughly looked through it. Crap!

The second thing I think about is how much fun I had on this day in 2011 when Eric and I threw our best party to date (sorry all you Toxic Waste fans... it was a really great party) and our friends and family helped us create and celebrate our Academy Awards wedding. The red carpet, awards ceremony, and movie we created have made one of the most fantastic memories of my adult life. 

And then I start to get a little sad. I think about all the people in our wedding party. And I think about my Matron of Honor, Jes, who took the time to look through lyrics of our favorite bands to create her speech, she took the time to make the cheesecakes we had in lieu of wedding cake, and by losing Eric's wedding ring in her dress and not knowing it was there until she got back to her hotel, she created one of the most memorable moments in the wedding. And then I wonder how someone who seemed to love me so much can possibly now treat me like I don't exist. And I am being literal. I see her at Tyler's school and she looks through me or around me but never at me, and does not acknowledge my presence at all. I still don't know what exactly happened between us. I have my theories, but I will never know. I wish her well, but I miss her friendship, her wit and her ability to make me laugh until I cried. We were single mothers together, neighbors, then roommates, each jobless at some point, each dating fools, and each finding love. April 1st is the day I miss her the most.

The gals: Kimberly, Jes, me, Jennifer, Arren & Dana

The guys: Cory, Jed, Aaron, Woody, Justin, Luke and Eric

I am so very happy to have experienced what I think is the most fun and unconventional wedding ever. I am happy to be married to a guy that simultaneously infuriates me and makes me laugh. We have our tough moments, but he is truly my partner in crime. I think we are a very creative team. I love bouncing ideas off him or giving him some ideas of my own to make something of his even better. And, of course, I LOVE hosting parties with him. 

There are people in my life now that I wish I had known 4 years ago, because I would have loved to have shared that day with them. And there are people that were there that we no longer talk to. It amazes me sometimes how fast things can change. 

Regardless of my emotional roller coaster, I look forward to this day every year. Happy Anniversary, Eric. "You wreck my life! You go away!"