The Kia Gets Some Love

Some of the best new things that I've done seem to be ideas that come from other people. One evening while having dinner with friends at Buffalo Wild Wings, we were discussing my new things and how I was running out of ideas. My friend Kyle Baareman, who just happens to be my awesome mechanic, suggested that I learn to change my own oil. Now, I'm known for being one of those people who like to figure things out and do them on my own before paying someone else to do it. However, I have never even considered working on a car.

So this actually turned out to be a great new thing for November. Over Thanksgiving break, we were blessed with a 55 degree day and I decided it was time. Honestly, the trip to Auto Zone was the worst part. First of all, it was Black Friday so it was crazy busy. Second, every person in there was male and actually knew what they were doing. I stood in the parts line for 10 minutes to ask what oil filter and oil I needed and gave up to figure it out myself. I used the big book-thing to look up the filter and found it with little trouble. There were so many different types of oil I basically just picked one and went to check out. 15 minutes later I got to the register and the guy at the counter was nice enough to tell me they had a deal going on with a different type of oil and I got a bunch of free stuff with it (oil pan, shop towels, some cleaner, and my very own funnel!). I was still crossing my fingers that I got the right filter.

When I got to Kyle's, I figured out that I did indeed get the right filter. However, I also got some over-priced oil. Kyle jacked the car up so that I could get under it and he pointed out the oil pan and plug and a few other things. All the while, I was thinking how dangerous this job seemed to be. It would really hurt if the car fell on me and everything was so hot I thought I was going to burn my nose on something. Kyle loosened the oil plug for me and I got the oil drained. He showed me where the filter was and I got that off and the new one on without much trouble. I put the plug back in and filled up the oil. After topping off some other fluids and checking the oil level I was good to go. I didn't even get any oil on my clothes!

Changing oil on a car is really not hard. But it does take some patience, some nerve, and some know-how to do it. I'm sure I'll try it again on my own just because I can. However, I think it's worth the extra $15 to have someone else do it. We'll see how long I last doing it myself. This was a fun one. Thanks Kyle!

The Pity Party Is Officially Over

Ok, so after messing up my knee and the aweful surgery, I must admit, I went into "poor me" mode. I was so annoyed at not being able to do the things I wanted to I gave up on my new things. September came and went and I was re-inspired at my brother in law's birthday party. Some friends started brainstorming new things for me to do that didn't involve using my knee, since I was still not very mobile. One of my favorites was to learn to make balloon animals.

So October's new thing became just that. It is truely amazing what you can learn to do on the internet. Google helped me get started with what I needed. I took a trip to Party City and dropped $15 on a balloon pump and some twisty balloons.

I found tips and patterns on the internet and the twisting began. Making balloon animals is not that difficult. The hardest part was getting used to the horrid noise the balloons make. Dulce did not appreciate my new hobby one bit. My first creation was a sword followed by a dog. After some practice, I also learned to make a flower, a pirate sword, a Christmas wreath, and a couple cool hats. A week or so into my new hobby, I realized it was starting to look like a carnival threw up in my house. I am looking forward to making some for the kidos at Christmas.

I skipped September so I have one new thing to make up, but I can't wait to finish off the year.