Madness. Sheer madness. So much much has happened and there is so much to write about but I'll use the Coles Notes version so you don't fall asleep!! Plus, it's my birthday so all is good!
In conclusion to my 'Baby Drama' story, my Baby is here with her Mama! Although it wasn't without a hitch. The exporting from the States was fine and importing was ok, too BUT she failed her Provincial inspection and needed work done. Canadian Tire wanted an absurd amount of money for minimal work and I said NO WAY! So that took a day of running around, getting new tires, getting her belt fixed and then insuring her. Luckily, no tears were shed in the process. Now, she's as happy as can be hanging out in my garage. Yay!
On another note, I've been traveling to and fro in our beautiful country. I was in Toronto, Ontario last week for a really cool event. Chevrolet launched their new compact car called the Cruze and, you know what? It's pretty awesome. It drives really nicely, has quite a nice interior and has 10 standard airbags (the most in its class) plus the styling isn't too bad, either.
For those who live in the Vancouver area, you can find my stuff in newspaper form. I write a column (or two, or three) for the Shifting Gears section of The Voice. It can be found here in Surrey and is all in English. Also, the www.shiftinggears.ca website is almost fully operational so you can check out my stuff there. And as soon as we have a spot on air, I'll be on TV again. Woot woot.
Otherwise, I'm off to Toronto again tomorrow. I'm heading there for an Autumn Adventure and checking out the 2011 Honda Odyssey. Can't wait. Although I'm not at the 'minivan' stage of my life just yet, it looks pretty ballin' in person and am curious to see how it compares with the 2010 model which I drove earlier this year!
Oh, and just in case you were wondering what the 'glam shots' on my post were, I'll tell you. Last week when I was in Ontario, I hooked up with an amazing photographer named Lee Anne Havens. She has a company called Flower Child Photography and I just happened to meet her at my friend Natalie's wedding earlier this year in Utah. I'm a huge fan of her work and wanted to do a shoot with her, car-related, of course, as I needed some new shots for the website I'm working on. Those are just a few images from many and I love them all! She is a genius with the camera and I was so stoked to work with her.
We had quite the adventure. But then again, when isn't it an adventure with me?! We shot some pics at the coolest locations. One location was at this elderly man's home/property called Ted Elmer. He has a personal collection of vintage cars which he is auctioning off on October 16th and we just happened to coax him into letting us use his location for the shoot. His son, Ray, who we initially talked to wanted some bikini shots of me with the cars, but that's not really my style!!! Can't blame the guy for trying. I did get a good laugh out of it.
There were about 10-15 vehicles on his property which I just died over. There was even a Dodge fire truck, in very good condition, that only had 5,000 miles on it. I was in automotive heaven.
We then shot at a garage. Al, a friend of Lee Anne's owned the joint and I had way too much fun with the hydraulic lift, power tools and the 'sexy lady' calendar that was on the wall. I can't wait to see those shots. Again, I was not in 'sexy lady' attire so don't get your hopes up. I wore my "I heart cars" t-shirt, which is now probably my favourite shirt in my closet.
My lovely companion in these photos is the 2010 Infiniti M37S sedan. She's a real beauty. I love how smoothly she drives and I felt so glamorous behind the wheel. PLUS, she had a navigation system that I would not have been able to live without, especially since I have no clue where anything in Toronto/Ontario is. I was really sad to drop her off before I went home but all good things must come to an end. Props (and thanks!) to Mark James at Infiniti for arranging this sweet ride for me.
Anyhoo, will keep you updated on all my car madness. Trust me, there's lots. But I love every minute of it and can't get enough :)
XOXO
TCG
