Wednesday, August 31, 2005

Auto Legalization Week

Freak, MAN!  I’ve been pulled over TWICE for the same thing!!! Those who have been in my car while driving would probably think I have two tickets for speeding…but they’re NOT.  I was barely going 10 the first time, and 10 under the speed limit (whatever the limit was—HA!).  Any ideas?  Ok, they pulled me over because I had license plate covers over my plates, and the tint was too dark for Virginia standards!!!  I had the stupid tint done more than FIVE years ago…back in Seattle!  And the plate covers—I can’t remove them because, well, long story…while I was in Arizona last Fall, Beverly got the registration stickers in the mail, and had to put them on the plates.  Well, the screws were so rusted over that she couldn’t get them off to take the cover off and stick the sticker on the plate…soooo she put it on the cover where it would go if the plate could come off!  So, now, the cops keep telling me to take the plates off, but I can’t until I get my new stickers for 06/07!!!  First time they pulled me over not even 100 feet outside our house; second time we were pulled over while I was picking up Beverly and Evan from the airport!  

So this week has been “auto legalization week.”  I’m sick of having to roll down all my windows when I see a cop pass by, hoping they won’t look, etc etc etc.  The first lady that pulled me over wasn’t very nice although she only gave me a verbal warning because “she ran out of paper warnings and didn’t want to give me a ticket”—which she could have done because I had left my license and registration at home!!  Come on, I was only going to church!  It also seems that Sunday is the day they like to enforce this law!  The second guy was a lot nicer, and just politely told me what needed to be done.  He gave me a paper warning this time, so now I’ve been trying to legalize my car so I don’t feel so paranoid!!!

To add to the car drama, the brakes were at 2/32 if anyone knows what that means.  Ourisman Toyota in Fairfax, even though they said in their advertisement “Appointments Recommended but not necessary”,  their service guy said, “oh, we have openings NEXT Tuesday or Wednesday”…YEAH Right.  The brakes are soo squeaky it’s embarrassing.  The car’s a 98 but it might as well have been the Yugo Le Car.  There was a Midas nearby, and since I brought my car there back in Utah to get the brakes done, I thought I might as well try and see if they have time.  Anyone who has gone to Midas to get their brakes done…KEEP GOING THERE!!  Even though I still had to pay for the remachining of the rotors, the brake pads were free because they have a lifetime warranty for the life of your car!! So even for normal wear and tear, they will replace for free!  Of course, they get you on the rotors, but any place will!  Two and a half hours later I was on my way, no thanks to the dealer!  Sheesh, why don’t they just say “Set an appointment!”

This evening I finally used a little (a lot) of elbow grease, cooking oil, and pliers, to take off the rusted screws on the back of the car.  Our plan of attack is, since these cops seem to look at the back more often, I’m taking the front plate, which has the 05 sticker on the plate, and putting that on the back, and then put the back one, which has the 04 sticker now, to the front.  Didn’t mention before, but fortunately (!!!), our registration renewal is up this month—September!!!  So as soon as I do my emissions test and state inspection, we’ll be on our way!

Oh yeah, and to conform to the state inspection, I also had to change back the corner lights to manufacturer standard (the ones I have now are clear, they don’t have the little orange thingie), and had to change the headlight bulbs to manufacturer standard (instead of cool blue whatever whatever).  So much work!!

As with the tint thing, I called one company on Monday and they said they’re open all week, just bring it in in the morning and they’ll have it done in about hour and a half.  I finally find the place Tuesday morning, and they have a note on their door saying “closed Tuesday August 30, will be open Wednesday…ARGH!!!! So I try another place close by because I always have a Plan B.  The place says it opens at 10am, so I sat around until 10:30 or so, and still nobody came!  Hmm..won’t go there!  These tinting places all seem a little shady…hahahah get it?  But really, they do seem kinda odd.  Even the one I went to in Seattle.  Hole in the wall, but did a really great job.  Let me know if you want to know where to go.  Or ask David, he told me to go there (

So here’s checklist of items for “auto legalization week”:
Brakes – Check
Corner Lights – Check
Headlights – Check
License plate covers removed – Check
Tint removal and replacement –
Emissions –
State Inspection –
Remove standard engine –
Install Hemi – (no, Evan can’t say it yet)
Install 30 inch rims –
Lower car –
Install pimped out car seat for Evan –
Fuzzy Dice –

Saturday, August 27, 2005

Bluetooth Evan


Evan talked to me on the phone the other day…with Bev’s Bluetooth headset!  He’s a techno-geek already!  That’s my boy!

Monday, August 22, 2005

Wedding Bells!!!

Alexis and David were married on the 16th of August! What a beautiful wedding, beautiful couple, beautiful reception!

u-Dock

See Brian's Photo Lab for more!

Back by Popular Demand: EVAN the Emperor! (Thanks Brian!)

We found a nice tuxedo from Build-a-Bear Workshop since nobody makes tuxedos or suits for infants...Evan was walking around with a hole in the back of his pants for a tail :) The tux shirt was a little short for the ever-growing Evan, so we bought a red onesie from Old Navy as an undershirt/cummerbund. What a knockout!





More at Ofoto!

What the Pho?


Darn it! Someone beat me to it! Actually I was thinking of opening the Pho King...hope you didn't just read that outloud!
I wonder if it's any good. It's in Bellevue WA if anyone's been let me know how it is!

Sunday, August 07, 2005

Blue Steel!

"I gradiduated from the Derek Zoolander Center for Kids Who Can't Read Good and Want to Do Other Things Good Too, where they teach you that there's more to life than being really, really good looking!"

Yes, Evan really did make this face on his own. Hairstyle provided by his aunt Juliana. Mom must have been watching Zoolander while he was still in utero.

Wednesday, August 03, 2005

Happy 1-Month Day to Evan!!!




















Well, we didn't have any red eggs or sticky rice, but we celebrated with a nice German Choco Cake and Spumoni Ice Cream!! Well, Evan got a little taste of the cake. Us parents enjoyed it a little more than he did...All Evan wanted to do was go back to sleep anyway! Lucy did not eat any of it...although she is doing a lot better eating her own food on her own...woohoO!






































This pic is posted a little late... Beverly's 25th birthday on July 17th. With Evan around things get put on the back burner.