My car is broken. And it may be out to get me.

And I am not happy about it. I drive a very cute vanilla ice cream colored PT Cruiser and have been having a bit of trouble with it over heating recently. I've had it in the shop only to learn that they could find nothing wrong with it and the darn thing. It wouldn't overheat for the mechanic once. Over a 4 day period. With the mechanic running it ragged trying to force it to react badly. Nope. Nothing. So, I take the car back home with me and have nothing go wrong for almost 2 weeks. Then, yesterday, the car decided it was mad at me again and started to run hot. Out of the blue. So, after all male family members looked at the engine and concluded that things were not good. Somehow, my car had been hiding a vicious leak of antifreeze. I was told that I could "probably" make it home. (Home is a 40 minute drive away across barren farm fields with no one to help me once I'm broken down on the side of the road but a serial killer truck driver). "Really? Do you really think it's ok for me to drive home?" I ask. "Well, you will probably make it. It may break down. Your engine may burst into flames or fall out all together. But, just be careful," was the reassurance that I received. So, I buckled the kids in the backseat and off we went. Sweat beads formed across my forehead before we reached the end of the driveway. My fingerprints are now permanently embedded into the steering wheel. But, thankfully, I made it home. Whew!

So, this morning, the PT Cruiser went back into the shop. And this time it didn't hide it's illness. Nope. It has major problems. The mechanic called to inform me that the water pump needs to be replaced. $$ And the timing belt. $$$ And the entire engine must be dismantled to reach these parts, so 9 hours of labor $$$$$$$$$. At this point I was feeling woozy and had to lie down. Damn cars. I'm going shopping for a horse tomorrow. I'm not kidding.

After I received the news that I would soon be facing financial annihilation, I decided that taking the day off of work was probably not a good idea. So, I had to hop into our jalopy. (FYI, B and I work opposite shifts, and use the fuel efficient car for commuting, while our SUV or jalopy, as I like to call it, sits idle unless we have a major snowstorm requiring the use of 4WD at the rate of 2 miles per gallon) So, the jalopy has been facing it's own set of challenges lately, mostly in the form of recurring flat tires. It is currently operating on 3 regular tires and 1 spare. I had to drive 40 minutes to work like this. Going 50 mph in a 60 mph zone. With a giant semi approximately 3 cm from my rear bumper and what I think might have been his middle finger waving at me. I smiled and returned the greeting.

So, at the end of the day, I have learned that cars suck, and horses rule. I'm currently shopping on eBay for a new set of riding pants and a saddle. Which look do you think is more me?