Introducing Newt

So.

Ripley had to go in for service last week.  Nothing big.  Just an oil change and coolant flush, but while I was there I might as well take a test drive in the 2014 Soul, right?

I drove the exclaim model and it was meh-okay, nothing spectacular.  But I told Jay he should drive one just to try it out, so the next day we went to a different dealership and tried out another Soul.  It was meh-okay.  I did love the panoramic sunroof, though.  Holy cow!  All the benefits of a convertible without the annoyances.

Neither one of us were bowled over with the upper-end Souls.  The poor salesman was disappointed, but we hadn't driven anything that we loved more than Ripley.  I mean,  we're talking about my Rip.  She's pretty much the shit, you know?

After a quick conference with the GM, our salesman came back and asked if we wanted to drive a base model.  Hell, test driving doesn't cost anything and we were already there, so we just shrugged and said, "sure".

What a blast!  The base model was so much more our style.  Turns out that our top-of-the-line 2010 Soul exclaim translated to a base model 2014.  Pretty much everything we had in Ripley comes standard in the base model.  We drove the automatic and were luke-warm about it, so they offered to bring in a manual transmission for us.

The next day, Saturday, we returned to the dealership.  Still not with any intention of trading in Ripley, but it was something to do on a Saturday afternoon.

The manual transmission with the new engine sucks donkey balls.  Jay drove the car first and complained about the transmission being "boggy", but from the passenger seat it didn't feel so bad.  We switched places for the drive back to the dealership and "boggy" isn't quite the right word for the accelerator dropping out from under your foot after each gear change.  I can't explain it well, but it was bad juju.  I'd shift, give it some gas and for just about half a second it was like the gas pedal disappeared until the engine decided to catch up.

When we got back to the dealership, we told the salesman that was the worst transmission we'd ever driven and encouraged him to take it out on the highway.  Seriously, something is effing wrong with how the transmission and the GDI (gasoline direct injection) engine work together.  Jay and I thought it was just that Soul, but in talking to Deejo, we realized that's just how it goes in the new GDI Kias.  Sucked.

We wandered the lot a bit, looking at other cars, but went back to the Souls.  The salesman pointed out a base-plus model in Alien II (the new green) and we took it for a spin.

Loved it.

Loved.

It.

We decided to see what they'd give us in trade on Ripley.  The trade was fair and we started the paperwork.  Monday evening, after he got home from work, Jay took Rip to the dealership and picked up Newt.

Newt had 27 miles on her when Jay picked her up.  We're still in the "getting to know you" stage, and there are things I really love about her (helllloooooo, back up camera), but I'm not going to lie, I miss Rip.  We had 88,500+ miles together and did lots of fun work to her.  After 88K miles, you know your car.  I was incredibly lonely driving home last night without Ripley's light-up speakers.  When we brought Ripley home, I thought the speakers were fun, but a gimmick.  However, having Rip "talk" or "sing" to me on the way home from work kept me company.


I also have a case of the guilts.  For the first time in my life, I've bought a big-ticket item because I wanted it.  For someone who was raised, and who raised her own kids, based on necessity, I have a little (okay, a fair bit) of guilt over spending that much money on a want, not a need.

But Newt sure is pretty and she smells good and I'm certain I'll be over the guilt in no time. :)

Note: Credit goes to Daddy Hawk for suggesting the name "Newt" when I bought Ripley.  Some members of my family thought "Newt" was too wimpy, so I went with Ripley.  This time, though, since Newt's color is Alien II, I can overrule the naysayers.  And she is a bit brighter and "cuter" than Ripley was.

Dang it!

Today, as we were getting ready to go out on our trail ride Washoe let his Wonder Idiot side take control and was being a jerk for Digger.

I was at the mounting block, with my back turned to them when I heard a dull thump.  Thumps are never a good thing, but it wasn't the whump that comes from someone hitting the ground, so I didn't think much of it until I turned around and saw this:

Washoe, in full Idiot mode, was giving Digger a hard time and as Digger was trying to get him under control, Washoe the Wonder Idiot hit Ripley with his shoulder.  It wasn't a hard hit, but 900# against a lightweight car like Ripley... well, it's not a surprise that Ripley was the one who sustained the damage.

The first words out of my mouth were, "Jay's going to kill me."

Ripley might be my car, but she's Jay's baby.  As you know, he's done some really cool things with her and he can spot a scratch at twenty paces.  There was no way on Earth that he wasn't going to notice this big ol' honkin' dent.

After dinner, I was still stressed out about the dent, so I made Monster go out to see if he could pop the dent out.  Monster took one look at it and said, "Jay's going to be so pissed."  Pretty much verbatim what Ashinator said.

After explaining the seriousness of the situation to the rest of the family who has not lived with Jay, popping out the dent became a family affair.

Bill

Monster

Deejo

Luckily, Bill had some specialized "pound out the dent" tools and we were able to get most of the dent out.  Of course we weren't able to get all of it out, but it is much less noticeable than it was before.

Jay's not a happy camper that his baby has her third dent (I thought this was only her second dent, but apparently there's a miniscule one on the door crease).  He muttered something about Washoe going to the glue factory (I was going to take Washoe to the Purina factory, myself).

If I'm lucky, I'll not have to sleep on the couch tonight.

Home Again

I love working at Horse Master.  Love it, love it, love it.  Really.  I always learn so much and have such a great time, but it's nice to come home.

However, my coming home plans didn't go exactly as planned.  The night before I was to come home, it was my turn to drive to the wrap party, so I hopped in Ripley and turned the key.  She cranked and cranked, but wouldn't turn over.  I tried a couple of times before I gave up and someone else drove to the wrap party.  When we got back, I gave her another try.  Even tried jumping her (which was absolutely not the problem) so that when I called Kia support I could honestly tell them that it wasn't the battery.

I called Kia, assured them that it was not the battery (see?  I knew they'd ask), and set up a tow for the next morning.  Thank God towing is included in our warranty, because I can't even imagine what the bill was for a tow from Salida to Colorado Springs (112 miles).  I was also supposed to drop Steve and Jackie (cameraman and key grip) off at the airport on my way home.  Well, that wasn't going to happen.  Luckily, one of my housemates for the week lives in Parker, near Denver, so she volunteered to drive them out to DIA. (Thanks, Susie!)

Ripley's first ambulance ride

The very first thing the tow truck driver did when he got to the house to pick up Ripley was check the battery.  You know, just in case I have no freaking clue what I was talking about when I said the battery was fine.  I can't really hold it against him or the people at Kia, because I bet there are a whole lot of people out there who haven't got a clue as to how their car engine works.

I sat in the tow truck and read for most of the trip to Colorado Springs - I can't tell you how thankful I was to have Eloise with me, since I finished one book and was able to immediately start another during the drive.

At the dealership, for the first time, I was not asked if it was the battery.  Whew.  I might have lost my shit at that point.  It took a couple of hours, a couple hundred pages of reading, and what seemed like a million years of the game show network, before Ripley was up and running again.  Turns out it was a disconnected hose; a very small one, about 2 to 3 inches, that connected to the cold air intake.  They replaced the hose and clamp and sent me on my way.

I had planned on being home no later than 2:00 pm on Friday, but I rolled in about 5:30 instead.  I was hot, tired and just a little cranky.

RCC fixed my mood by taking me to the movies, where it was nice and cool.  We went to see Rock of Ages.  Has anyone else seen it?  It was so much fun!  Tom Cruise is maybe not my favorite person on the planet, but he's a hell of an actor.  We had seen the previews for it a couple of weeks ago and decided to go see it simply because of the music.  Going to see it was a good choice, made even better by the fact that we'd put it off long enough to see it at the $3.00 theater.

Have I mentioned that it's good to be home?

Ripley's Parade Debut

Today was the 4th of July Parade up in Allenspark.  Last year, Ripley had a front row seat to watch it, but this year, Nebalee's kids thought it would be fun to put her in the parade and blast Party Rock Anthem (the song from the commercial).  Since Ripley's rally stripe is finally complete, and we've gotten her new wheels and tires, we said, "sure, let's put Ripley in the parade!"

Fire truck

Truck pulling the band

Some damned funny looking horses

More funny looking horses

Another band

The livery's crew

Us!

RIPLEY!

Tractor

Old fire truck

Fire chief's crazy truck

I kinda think Ripley liked being in the parade instead of on the side-lines like she was last year.

If You Can't Say Something Nice...

...don't say anything at all.

Which is why I've been so quiet lately and why you've been inundated with Ripley stuff.

What do you write about when you can't write about what's going on in your life?  My job description has changed and I'm having a hard time adjusting.  Can't really write about it - though I'd love to - because I don't know who (if anybody) from work reads my blog.

My kids (well, two of them) are adults and dealing with adult things.  Can't write about what they're going through because it's their "stuff" to deal with.

That leaves me with Ripley and pseudo-running.  So, because y'all are riveted by RCC's beautification of Rip, here are a couple of pictures of her newest additions.

Black is the new chrome apparently,
so the chrome had to go.

A couple layers of Plasti-Dip,
let it dry and...

...no more chrome.
(Sorry for the lousy pic, the phone washed out the green)

 A long time ago, before RCC and I met, the kids and I dreamed about owning a ranch (still do) and I told them I'd name it after them - The 3 Heathens. We even drew up a "brand". RCC had the brand made as a badge, painted it alien green and added it to Ripley.

The kids' 3 Heathens brand

Digger has the brand tattooed on his forearm and I'm fixing to have it tattooed on my shoulder blade.  Ashinator is trying to figure out how to incorporate the brand into her family tree tattoo on her forearm.  Some families have family shields, apparently, we have a family tattoo.

The running thing is still going.  I started week four of Ease into 5K, which called for a four minute run and a six minute run.  I managed the four minute, but the six minute was too much mentally.  I have no doubt that my body can run for six minutes straight, but - wow - I'm having a hard time being mentally tough enough to gut it through.  I've got to get through it or I'll never progress.  The Bolder Boulder is coming up, which RCC and I will be doing, but we'll be walking it.  I do want to be able to do the Run For Your Lives Zombie obstacle course in July for my birthday, so I really have to get through this training program.  I'm open to suggestions if anyone has any...

The Bionic Cowgirl and I are going to see a Julie Goodnight clinic tomorrow as a fundraiser for the Colorado Therapeutic Riding Center; it's Mom's combo birthday/Mother's Day gift and of course the weather's supposed to be crappy, but we need the moisture, so I'll keep the whining to a minimum.  It'll be good to watch Julie at a clinic.  Though I'm part of her Colorado crew, the focus is on making the TV show work when we're filming.  I learn a ton at each shoot, but everyone is always multi-tasking, so it's not focused learning.  I've sat in on several of her lectures at the Rocky Mountain Horse Expo and loved every second, so I'm anticipating an amazing day with Mom tomorrow. One of these days, I'm going to participate in one of Julie's riding clinics, I swear.  It's one thing to learn from the ground, but I'd love to ride in one of her clinics.

Ripley...

...she might be my car, but she's RCC's baby. 

RCC has always been a gearhead and has done cool things with his vehicles.  Like building Tinkerbell...

Tink is on the left, The Bitch on the right
The Bitch is a full-sized Dodge Ram and Tink dwarfs her

Tinkerbell started life as a Chevy step-side thingamabob; she ended up an incredible rock crawler (hence the name RockCrawlingChef).  The Bitch has been modified, though her mods are mostly to the engine and not visible.

Lil Blue BoX, his Jeep, got well loved, too...

Water crossing at Onion Creek Trail in Moab

He sold Lil Blue BoX and parted out Tinkerbell and then was left with idle hands.  And while the saying, "idle hands are the Devil's workshop" doesn't necessarily apply, it does mean that his little gearhead hands have to be kept busy on a car project, which just happens to be Ripley.

He's become friends with one of the salesmen at the Kia dealership and often takes Rip over as soon as he's finished a project on her.  Because of the modifications done to Ripley and RCC showing them off at the dealership, she's pretty widely recongized there.  She had to go in for her annual physical and while RCC was there with her, he met the owner of the dealership, who told him to bring her back on Saturday to get her picture taken with Hamstar, the hamster from the commercials.

What commercial, you ask?  The Party Rock commercial...



We were assured Hamstar would look just like the one in the commercial, so we made plans to stop by the dealership after our Steel Challenge match, on our way to get Rip's "new" rally stripe.

Well, he looked more like a bear with a pig's snout than Hamstar,
but it was still pretty cool :)

Sadly, we didn't get to see Hamstar do any shuff-ff-ffling, but then I don't know how the dancers in the commercial pulled it off - with costumes that big, every move had to have been completely over-exagerated.

We ran off to my friend Stein's house, and after a couple hours of BSing, the boys got to work on Ripley's rally stripe while Wife Stein and I hung out and drank Strongbow.  After a while, we decided to check in on the boys and see how they were coming.

Initial placement

Getting started

Removing bubbles

Hood is done!

Wife Stein checking on hubby's work

Laying the roof stripe

Manly men doing manly things

Tailgate stripe

Ripley's mostly done with her new rally stripe.  There are a few "problem areas" that we (by we, I mean the manley men)  need more time for: the area under/around the spoiler; the small spot between the windshield and the sunroom; and the two inches on the front and back bumpers.  Stein, RCC, and Mez would have finished them last night had we not run out of warmth and daylight.

I pretty much love her sporty new rally stripe!  It's the one modification I've been dying to get and we've had the stripe in the closet for soooooo long, I was beginning to think it would never happen.

Next up, RCC has designed and ordered me some body decals that will declare Ripley a "1911 edition" Kia Soul.  You know those body decals will call for more entries into her baby book.

RCC's Favorite Hobby...

...is, of course, buying things for Ripley.  He loves to buy that girl presents and recently came up with a present of his own design for her.  An engine cover.  Serves absolutely no purpose at all except to look cool.  But, boy does it look cool.

By day:
the backer plate is Alien green to match her body color.

By night:
the cut-out is backlit with green LED lights.

He also installed new silicone heat-dissipating radiator hoses, which are supposed to do something good for her.  He told me, I pretended to listen.

His second favorite hobby is to take pictures of Ripley, and because of that, she's been featured in the Soul Hamsters' calendar.  I love this picture he took of Ripley - it looks like she's winking at him.

Look at her headlight - the starburst looks like she's winking.  In kind of an inanimate, Disney sort of way.

In two weeks, she has her appointment to get her rally stripe (we've only waited about eleven months for our schedules to mesh with Stein's <--- not only is he great at helping me with my guns, but he can lay vinyl, too).

RCC also has new shoes on order for her.  Flashy wheels and tires.  Which will be great.  Pretty soon, I'll look like a middle-aged GunDiva rollin' in her kids' car.

You know, it dawned on me - my kids' baby books aren't as thorough as the documentation I've got on this blog for my Ripley.  Sorry kids, I really do love you.  There just weren't any blogs around when you were little.  That's what you get for being born before the digital age. *smooches*

RCC's At It Again

Ripley got another present from RCC.  It's been a while since she's gotten any presents.

This morning RCC hopped out of bed and started working.  When he told me his plan to paint the interior trim I was a bit hesitant, but so far everything he's planned for Ripley has worked out beautifully.

Before trim painting.
(The gear shift boot cover was the first thing RCC bought Ripley)

Alien green, just like her body color

Re-installed,
I can't get over how great it looks.

The paint even has the same flecks as the body paint.

I love this trim!

RCC has a new console cover on order from the lady who made the gear shift boot and then we'll begin modifying the console to be able to holster my 1911.  I like the idea of being able to have my gun with me, in the car, easily accessible, yet concealed.  Plenty of updates coming up!

My Present to Ripley

RCC's been buying Ripley presents ever since he joined the SoulHamsters.  She's been the recipient of a strut tower brace to improve handling in the mountains; a new cold air intake to improve gas mileage; a bug deflector; a new grill; new eyeballs (pics soon); the coolest 3rd brake light ever...the list keeps growing.

While in Las Vegas for Deans' Training, I made a stop in my favorite store on the Strip to get a little something for Ripley myself...

I thought it was time for her to let out her inner ParrotHead.  She seems to like it. 

At least she didn't ask for a giant fin :)

Road Trip 7/16/2011

The day before my birthday, RCC and I got a wild hair and decided to load up in Ripley for a road trip.  It was a good choice, as I finally got to see a moose.  Nebalee had told us that the Poudre River was running high and that we needed to see it before it receded.  That was our excuse, but once we got on the road, we decided to just keep going all the way to Walden, down to Grand Lake, and across Trail Ridge Road.  It took us six hours, but just for you here it is in 5:56.

A Whole Lotta Fun

Or, one of my ideas of fun.

Our family refers to the drive up to the Lodge as "going up the hill" (not to be confused with "going out on the mountain", which means going for a ride).  I'm not sure where that came from, but for the more than thirteen years our parents have owned the Lodge, it's always been "going up the hill".  The phrase is deceptive as there is a 3,145 foot gain in elevation from Lyons to Allenspark in a mere 17 miles (or 16 depending on which road sign you're reading).  Now, Mrs Mom and Mr Mrs Mom have been with me during one of my more sedate runs up the hill, but the fact is I *love* driving the canyon.  Even in my old Honda Accords (there have been a lot of them), we made good time running up the hill.  I've had sports cars pull out of my way when I'm running the canyon.

Ripley does a great job of going up and down the hill and has done an even better job now that she's got her strut tower brace.  RCC videotaped our run up the hill on Saturday as one of his entries to the monthly video contest held by SoulHamsters.  Since I had such a good time driving it, I thought I'd share it with you.  From Hall Ranch, just outside of Lyons, to Allenspark our average speed was 65mph (around the curves), with our low being 55 when I mis-timed a downshift and lost momentum and our high being just over 70.

Ripley Gets More Presents

The surprises just keep coming in from RCC.

First was the absolutely kick-ass 3rd brake light...

Then, a week later, a custom-made gear shift boot...

And then, yesterday while I was at the 9HealthFair, he installed an SSD Strut Tower Brace...

Now, you may or may not know that I'm kind of a car girl.  Not a true gear-head, though I married one.  More of the breed of car girl that truly enjoys driving - really driving - and understands basic mechanical stuff.  I've always had an appreciation for classic American Muscle (totally Mom's fault, BTW).  And by appreciation, I mean they make me all hot and bothered.  What I would give for an old school GTO. *sigh*

Anyway, Ripley is not even close to being American Muscle.  Heck, she's not even close to being Korean Muscle (is there such a thing?).  But she is a blast to drive and I've been known to run the canyon to the Lodge at, oh, I don't know, thirty over or so.  While I enjoy the hell out of running the canyon, Monster has complained more than once about the amount of body roll on the curves.  Apparently, going up the canyon at 70 mph or so around the curves isn't as much fun for my passengers as it is for me.

The SSD Strut Tower Brace has tightened up the steering and significantly reduced the sway.  Ripley hugs those curves now like she was made for it.  As much as I loved running the canyon before, I can't believe how much more I enjoy it now.  In fact, I had such a good time test-running the curves around Horsetooth that RCC and I made an impromtu trip to the Lodge last night.

I'm still on a driver's high from the run up and down the canyon.