One of those days...weeks....years????

So, I'm just going to call it like it is. 2007 has been an "off" year for me. Among ALL of my sicknesses, deaths in the family, sickness among family members etc. etc. I am ready to lay this year to rest.

Today has already been an interesting day. (it's 9am) I have to say, what I am about to share with you is probably one of the DUMBEST things I have EVER done. With that said.....let me tell you about my LOVELY boots I just bought. Macy's has GREAT shoe sales and I happened to be at the mall when the sale was going on. I have been looking for a while so when I saw these boots I was very happy..they were just what I wanted. I tried them on....well, right foot only and KNEW they were perfect. The next day I wore them to a party. When I put the left one on, it felt VERY tight and I thought to myself...."I know my left foot is not THAT much bigger/wider than my right" and thought it was so strange that it hurt so badly after about 3 hours of wearing the left boot. I wore them to work on Monday and by the end of the day could not believe that the boot did not stretch one bit and that my left foot was killing me. So this morning I go to put my boots on again (yes...I will endure PAIN for fashion) and I realized that my left boot was very stiff - unlike my right one. I stuck my hand in my boot and this is what I pulled out.


CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? I mean, how dumb can I be AND how the (insert your own swear word) did I NOT REALIZE it was in my boot. I mean REALLY.....
So, I pulled it out, put my boot on and it was Heaven. No pain, not even a little discomfort...imagine that.


So, after that little epiphany, I get in my car to drive to work. Those of you that know me, know that I listen to music (sometimes rather loudly) in my car. At this particular moment, I was listening to Michael Jackson's BILLIE JEAN and I noticed an odd beat in the song. I then realized that it actually wasn't coming from my iPod - it was my car. So I turned off my music to see if I could hear it better. BOY HOWDY - it sounded like I had a flat - but my car was not shaking, and my steering was fine. I've had enough flats to know what they feel like. Nevertheless, I pulled over and got out to inspect my tire. I was almost expecting to see a dead animal stuck in the wheel or something. Lucky me, no dead animal and I could not see anything wrong....so, I got back in my car and continued on my way to work. Well, the noise seemed to be getting louder and people in their cars were looking at me so I called work and spoke to my friend Carlos. I even stuck my phone out of my window so he could hear the noise. He heard it and said maybe something had come loose. We just couldn't figure it out.

I called my mechanic and he said I could come in around 11am. I drive an Audi and they are expensive to fix and you have to go to a certified mechanic. Anyway, I have a mechanic that I really like. So, I came home and came inside to clean my house etc (it's what I do when I have a day off) I ran back out to my car to get a bottle of water and decided to look at my tire one more time to see if I could find anything. Lo and behold....look what I saw.


That thing is so big no wonder it sounded like I had a dead animal in my wheel. So, I called my mechanic and told him there was a STAKE in my wheel and he could kill dracula with it. He laughed his arabic laugh and told me that he would order a tire and he could have it by 2pm. So, alas, everything will be alright and I'll be back on the road tomorrow. With the way this year has gone though, I'd be afraid...very afraid.