that new car smell

I bought a new car a week ago yesterday and I am *loving* it.

A couple of Fridays back it was pouring down rain as I was headed out of the office so I scrambled to get in to my car as quickly as possible. When I sat down and turned to put my umbrella on the passenger side floorboard, I noticed a puddle of water. Yes, a puddle. I stared... blinked... shit. I got back out in the rain and went to my trunk to grab an old beach towel out. (Luckily I keep one in there to wipe off dirty puppy paws) After soaking up what I could I headed for home thinking 'I am so over these little problems'. I've had leak issues before, they're not fun but when your car is 10 years old you have to expect certain things.

The next day I decided to go test drive some cars. My brother works at a Nissan dealership so I was mainly looking into one of those models. I liked the Rogue but had purposely put off driving anything new until now because I knew the temptation would be too great. When I drove it it just fit. It felt so comfortable... and quiet too. It was all over from there but I wanted a black one. They did have one that had just come in the the lot and still had the plastic on it. My brother hadn't even done the inspection on it yet. I told the sales guy that as long as everything checked out ok on it, that was the one I was taking home. And I did.

So I'll say it again, I am loving my new car. :)

go Calvin... it's your Derby!

I won. I won. I won.

I bet the Derby winner! Woohoo!

I told you I always bet on my favorite jockey and he came through for me. He also won the Oaks race too which is pretty rare. Granted I only made a $2 bet but that's because I had some other long shots picked as well. Mine That Bird was a 50-1 odds for the race and he came out of nowhere to win. Here's the 'fastest two minutes' in sports.

Looking back I wish I would have wagered more than just a couple of dollars but oh well, the victory is still just as sweet.

By the way, Calvin Borel also won the Oaks race (day before Derby) He's one of few jockeys to win both Oaks and Derby in the same year. You can also watch the Oaks race where Rachel Alexandra blows away the other horses.

and they're off... the countdown begins

It's a big weekend here in Louisville... Derby Weekend! Yes, it's that time again. Horse races, gambling, big hats, mint juleps, and celebrities. The mint juleps I could do without *yuck* but the rest is pretty exciting. Today is The Kentucky Oaks and has a pink theme this year in support of breast cancer awareness. A lot of people take off work today to go to the track for Oaks and schools are out today as well. Although they don't actually get off for the race, they call it some sort of 'developmental day' - yeah whatever.
Tomorrow is the big day though and I have my horse picked out. It's a long shot but I'm going with West Side Bernie. Papaw's name was Bernie so it only seems right that I go with that horse. My other pick is Mine That Bird. The jockey I always bet on, Calvin Borel is riding him and I also like the name because Papaw was a bird watcher. Kind of unrelated but another cool thing I found is that there is a Derby Barbie. I don't remember even seeing one before so I guess that means this event is moving on up to the big time!

I hadn't planned on going to Churchill tomorrow but the closer the race gets the more excited I'm getting. I may have to head over there after all. The last time I went was with Russ a couple of years ago. His company supplies workers for some of the different areas and he gets an all access pass so he can check up on them throughout the day. He got me a pass too and we went walking through Millionaires Row and the Turf Club. While he was looking for employees, I was looking for celebrities. I saw quite a few, mostly sports guys, but it was still pretty neat.