A Word About My Reviews

With all the fuss currently going on about reviews, I thought I should put this out there. When I say I like something and I’m talking about it here. I’m talking about things that I have either personally purchased or received as a gift (as in birthday or Christmas or anniversary gift) from a well-meaning family member or friend. I do not have the following to interest PR people and if I did, well, I would disclose what I had received and from whom with the review that I did. Because, to quote many people, that’s how I roll.

You might note the blogging with integrity badge on my blog now. I think I always have, but it’s a good idea to just put it out there. I’ve signed the pledge. I agree, totally, with what it says, and I think it’s appropriate to have on the blog. If I’m going to change the way I do something, I’ll say so because I am honest and I want people to know where I’m coming from with this stuff.

At this time, I don’t do giveaways because, frankly, the logistics of that enterprise overwhelm me. I’m perfectly happy being a small-time blogger who just talks about things that I love because I love them.

Oh, and speaking of things I love? I LOVE my car/truck/whatever the heck you want to call it. My son refers to it as the “big car.”

Not too long after Katie was born, we had to take Sam to the vet for her senior wellness exam. After strapping children into car seats, we realized there wasn’t actually a spot for Sam in the truck. She ended up riding there and back in the footwell under/beside my feet. She let us all know that this was not an acceptable arrangement and she did not believe she would be back in that truck again until we did something about the accommodations (imagine a combination snarl-growl, with a slight flounce and then two days unable to move because her arthritic parts hurt so much).

I began hunting in earnest. I’m specifically anti-minivan, so that cut a number of contenders right out. We also understood that we needed space not only to accommodate two dogs, but also, potentially, one set of older parents (his), plus the two car seats. I was also opposed to driving something that looked like a bus.

As you can imagine, this limited our choices — A LOT.

We settled on a Saturn Outlook. I rented one from one of our local rental places, and drove it for the weekend. I determined that it was the right vehicle. We started looking. Not two weeks later, we found one.

Having driven it for a bit now, I’m convinced that it’s the right vehicle. Two weeks ago we had to take both dogs to the vet at the same time. Logistically, this is a bit of a nightmare, but it worked out just fine.

I know there are risks to the whole GM product situation, but I’m convinced that there will be parts if we need them and I’m married to a car guy. It’ll be all right and I’m a happy woman with plenty of room to transport my kids and my dogs without destruction to any of them.