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October 14, 2010

Sweet RIDE Chevy ~ An introduction to the Relevant 2010 Road Warrior

That's NOT my driveway. I wish.

However... the vehicle there - shown in silver - REALLY DOES look that good. The one they brought me has this magnificent pearl white metallic coat ("White Diamond Tricoat"). Oh, my dear it is fabulous looking. Looks better than the photo above when you see it in person, actually - and it makes my driveway look pretty nice (even without the picture perfect mountain range and foaming white-capped waves).

I love it that when the nice GM fleet guys DROVE ALL THE WAY FROM DALLAS to deliver my vehicle, they showed up at 9am and I was still in my sweat pants... without make-up... eating breakfast after frantically cleaning the house so they could come in and drink coffee. I mean, what else besides a cup of coffee is enough to thank someone for dropping off a fully loaded, brand new Chevy so you can drive it for two weeks FOR FREE?

Guess what? They didn't come in. They have no idea how sparkly my house was (which only lasted about 30 minutes). So much for putting the house before your own hygiene. Mental note taken! I'm sure they were wondering why the GM Texas PR lady picked a frumpy, unkempt, pregnant housewife to get a two week lease with their prize 2011 crossover. In fact, I find myself wondering that sometimes, too.

But hey - frump or no frump, we all gotta get around town, right?

Some in more style than others apparently... just look at that dash. Zing! Gorgeous. No wood-grain needed.

My #sweetRIDEChevy (twitter hashtag) for the Relevant 2011 'field trip' is the all-new 2011 Chevy Traverse LTZ. LTZ as in Loaded/Totallyawesome/Zoooom! Talk about torque! I double dog dare you to click over to the Traverse landing page and check out their 48 second tour of the vehicle. The one on the Chevy site is the best, but I couldn't figure out how to share it in here.

This YouTube from a Houston Chevy dealer is not bad, though...

I get to spend two sweet weeks with this lover-boy. I'm so glad that it is a bit smaller than my Expedition because if it were any more perfect, I'd be stuck in another car note by the end of this month.

Some of the things I adore about this vehicle just in the 24 hours we've had it (we haven't even taken the trip yet - so I'm sure you'll be hearing more as we go)...

- ONSTAR (We get to leave the TomTom behind! The less stuff for the console the better - my Expedition has a HUGE console and this vehicle's is pretty small... although the glove box is bigger for sure)

- smooth ride (I forgot how much smoother a car/crossover rides than a truck)

- safety (side, front, and head curtain air bags)

- third row seat (although with all our luggage we won't be taking advantage of more than 1/3 of it and we'll have to leave the BIG stroller at home)

- rearview camera system (very handy! mine just has the 'beep-beep-beep' rear sensors and it is finally dying after 7 years)

- power rear lift gate (*SWOON* It opens by itself and closes by itself)

- leather seats (mine has them, too - and they are a necessity with kids!)

- heated and cooled front seats (not sure what to do with myself)

- auto on/off front airbag sensor

- bluetooth for hands-free cell phone talking

- Bose audio system (oh, yeah.)

- USB ports and an actual 115 volt power outlet. Like for your laptop power cord, people. Be still my heart!

- clean and shiny + new car smell (been a long time since my vehicle smelled that good and I'm not sure it was EVER this clean)

- Possibly better gas mileage. I'll be doing a little math on the trip to see how much better it is than my vehicle.

So far the only negative I see is that it is smaller than our SUV as far as packing luggage goes. If you'll remember, I'm a bit of a pack-o-haulic. I'll be squeezing a cooler, box of food, suitcases, bags, electronics, a stroller, pillows, blankets, purses - and possibly the kitchen sink - somewhere in this vehicle in the next few days. We'll be lucky to have all our family members INSIDE the vehicle and not strapped to the roof rails.

For a family with less than 4 kids, this vehicle is a dream come true... especially if they are smart and FLY when they take long, 3550+ mile trips that require insane amounts of food and luggage. I still haven't found my clue... and I'm a tad on the crazy side... so I'm counting on Traverse to teach me to be a LIGHTER packer and a more organized 'fitter-inner'. I'm sure we'll figure out how to get all the stuff we need in there somehow. You watch!

More on the #sweetRIDEChevy to follow. Follow along!

Thank you to my trip 'sponsor'/helper/friend...

@ GMTexas

My Previous Relevant Posts:
Random Relevant Gratitude
Getting All the Way to Relevant
The Relevant 2010 Family Field Trip of the Year
Really Expensive Rambling Road to Relevant
Some Crazy Good Things (about Chevy's offer to lease us the vehicle)

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November 05, 2010

Chevy Bloopers

These are some of the hilarious out-takes from our three weeks with the Traverse that just needed to be shared. While the car may be near to perfect - the drivers and passengers certainly weren't. In case you haven't been following along, Chevy loaned us a new vehicle to drive across the country for a family vacation / homeschool DC field trip / blog conference. The poor vehicle got here with 3,000 or so miles and I'm pretty sure it had over 9,000 when we gave it back. Hey - but now we know just how far Pennsylvania is from Texas; and that's important when teaching geography, right?

First off, up top we have the bug splatter. They said we didn't have to wash it before they picked it up. We took them seriously.

And then there's the tell-tale sign that we are true TEXAS drivers... the oil-change needed light is on. We Texas drivers like to rack up the miles. And now you know where all those discounted cars have been when you buy a new car on a lot that has 8 or 9 thousand miles already on it but seems to have just been released from the factory. Yep - blogging homeschool families driving half way across the USA. You heard it here first.

Then there's the 'hang the $1,800.00 camera and $600+ dollar lens out the window while you are going through a forest with mountain-tunnels' trick. Maybe not so bad for the car, but certainly not smart, right?

Here we have passenger #5 making a break for the steep drop-off along the edge of the tallest peak East of the Mississippi. Granted, we outnumbered him 3 to 1, so it is likely we would have caught him before he went careening over the escarpment... however, family holidays are full of these little 'cliffhanger' moments, aren't they?

The stress of driving long distances - with kids - is made one-hundred times worse by the amount of JUNK you have to pack in the back of the vehicle. It seems that every time you want to get out and 'grab something really quick' it is buried deeper than China. It also helps to have about 10% visibility out of your rear-view mirror. [Shhhh! Don't tell Chevy.]

These last two shots are just the kids goofing off. It was our last day with the "Precious"... or so we called the Traverse... and they wanted to show how much they loved it before we had to give it back. I'm not sure what emotion they are trying to express here - but who does understand 11 and 13 year olds. Really?

For a more polished and respectful review of the 'Sweet Ride Chevy' adventure - you'll have to browse my previous Chevy posts. Every now and then, we like to let it all hang out over here (including arms, heads, and expensive photographic equipment) - even in a moving vehicle.

*Want to read more about Relevant and our trip to DC for the kids along the way? Follow along in my sidebar under the Relevant section!

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August 17, 2010

The Relevant 2010 Family Field Trip of the Year

*post updated on 9/2/10...

Well, it's ~~two months~~ less than 7 weeks from the Relevant 2010 Conference in Pennsylvania and my time is running short to save the funds so that our family can go. I thought I would give you a little update on the saga - because I have trimmed and trimmed away on my budget and I think I've got it as low as I can go.

Thankfully, a full $1200-1500 dollars was cut when GM Texas offered to give us a FREE Chevy lease for the trip! We also found out that a good blog friend (who also is an author over at the Homeschool Post) actually lives 25 minutes from the conference hotel! That will save us an additional $300 or so in hotel fees if we stay in her house (even though she keeps telling me it is really tiny). Sleeping bags are worth saving $300 and getting to travel to PA and stop over in DC with the family. Right, Beth?

So.... Here are the nitty gritty trip details:

*FIVE people - (husband, pregnant mama, tweeny boy and girl, crazy Viking toddler)

*10 days

*Driving from Austin to Harrisburg, PA by way of DC and back again (26 hours one way/1645 miles - so we are stopping over here and there on the way up and back at hotels and maybe at a friend's house?)

*Thankfully, I already have a Relevant ticket. Some of you had asked, so I just wanted to make it clear that all I'm saving for is gas/food/hotel at this point. The ticket and business cards are already bought and the lease vehicle is free! THANK YOU GM/CHEVY!

*We'll be traveling through Little Rock, Memphis, Nashville, Knoxville, and a plethora of small cities in VA on the way to DC. Somewhere near the George Washington National Forest I'll be spending the night before we get to DC. Hopefully I can find some good hotel rates along the way because our hotel budget is very slim.

*We're hoping to spend a bit touring DC and maybe even a night there with friends or at a hotel so we have enough time to show the kids around. This part of the trip we have not gotten planned because we have never been there and don't really know anyone well that lives in the area. I'm assuming we'll be in a hotel two nights near there (one the day we arrive, one the day we sight-see). I have heard that you need at least 3 days to tour DC, but we'll be spending one full day and a tiny bit of the first night and the departing morning. I guess that makes 2 full days? I have no idea how to cram DC in to that space of time, but I'm hoping you have some suggestions on what is the most important to see and do - and tips to make it smooth and easy! Keep them coming, please!

*The conference starts Thursday and ends Saturday, and thankfully, my friend Beth will be going with me (leaving the men and children to goof off at her house and sight-see around her town).

Here's the Money Breakdown:
Gasoline: 1,200 (using AAA gas trip calculator for a Chevy Suburban - not sure if that's what I'll be in yet)
Hotel: 500 (some nights we are staying with friends along the way)
Food: 550 (for 10 days, includes 180 for groceries and eating out some meals, my meals at conf. covered)

DC Sight-Seeing: 150 (misc. and transportation fees, I hear most of the museums are free)

So... do you think it is impossible to raise $2050 dollars in the next 60 days? Every tiny penny counts. Seems pretty difficult, but I'm trusting that God will pull us through. I can't wait to see how He will work it out.

UPDATE: As of 9/2/10, we are only needing 1155$. We've added another two sponsors - soon to appear on my sidebar and at the bottom of this post, and I've added all the ad money I've made from my blogging and whatever extra we've had come in from affiliate sales (not much, but every penny counts). A few generous friends have made donations to the pot, too (THANKS!). I keep a ticker on my sidebar all the time updating the fund-raising we have done and have left to do - so if you aren't checking back here, you can see it easily up on my sidebar under my box ads. I'll make another updated Relevant Post in mid-September to update our status even further.

Thank you to my Sponsors for Relevant:

@ GMTexas

Indiana Wesleyan University

The Old Schoolhouse Magazine

A Woman Inspired Conference

Join Pix-O-Sphere Now! - Family Friendly Photo Community

Pix-O-Sphere - The Family Friendly Photo Community

The HomeSpun Life

The Cutest Chaos

My Home Sweet Home

Interested in helping me get to DC and Hershey? Want to 'sponsor' a cup of Starbucks or a few of the 3,290 miles on our long journey? You can click my donate button on the sidebar and drop some coins in the tip can...

Are you a sponsor that is looking for a blogger to partner with to get your business more press on the web? You can email me and request a sponsorship kit so I can share with you the packages I have set aside for those who wish to advertise here on my blog to promote their products and websites.

My Previous Relevant Posts:
Really Expensive Rambling Road to Relevant
Some Crazy Good Things (about Chevy's offer to lease us the vehicle)

October 12, 2010

Random Relevant Gratitude

Going... going... going... not quite gone yet - but close!

I've been having a hard time finding time to blog. Well, to blog at THIS blog, that is. Nominations for the Homeschool Blog Awards are beginning this Friday and it is my job as the site's owner and the scheduling manager for the authors to recruit all the prizes for the winners.

I have spent more time on email since August doing that and PR/fundraising for Relevant than I have ever spent on email in my life. It has nearly fried every synapse in my already misfiring brain. When I actually DO leave for Relevant next week... er... this week, really... I might not be able to hold coherent conversation with anyone for quite some time.

Good thing that I don't have to SPEAK at Relevant. Heaven forbid!

I'm so blessed to be able to work with so many really wonderful homeschool vendors and sponsors... and am honored to be able to review cool products and represent homeschoolers and their opinions. Sometimes I scratch my head and wonder why God chose me to have these perks. I mean, are you really reading this blog? Hello out there? I'm just an average scatterbrained, eccentric, quirky homeschool mom... with issues.

Anyway, I'll enjoy the season while it lasts... because after crazy baby #4 arrives on the scene, I'm certain the three brain cells I have left are going to pack their bags and move to a less lonely and deserted place where they can actually work for a living.

Until then...

I want to thank my Relevant sponsors for making this trip possible for me
- for the miles that my family will drive together
- for the memories we will make
- for the friends I'll get to hug...
- and the amazing things I'll be able to learn.

I hope that I can bless the people who shared their money, prayers and encouragement with me in the past few months... and that I can continue to be REAL, and INTENTIONAL in everything I aspire to do - not just blogging.

Most of all, I want to thank God for the miracle of over 2,000$ to get ALL the way to Relevant. I'm only $350 short of my goal at this point and we are forging ahead, trusting that those last few dollars will appear as magically as the Chevy lease and the other funds did.

What an amazing thing that we're REALLY going to Relevant!

To Him be the Glory,

Check my little red car out!!!

How You can Help
Are you interested in helping me get to DC and Hershey? Want to 'sponsor' a cup of Starbucks or a few of the 3,400 miles on our long journey? You can click my donate button and drop some coins in the tip can...

Are you a sponsor that is looking for a blogger to partner with to get your business more press on the web? You can email me and request a sponsorship kit so I can share with you the packages I have set aside for those who wish to advertise here on my blog to promote their products and websites.

I can't wait to see the little ticker car reach it's destination ... so that we can all hop in our shiny Chevy and head out on the road!

Thank you to my Sponsors for Relevant:

@ GMTexas

Indiana Wesleyan University

Illusionism.TV