Car issues, A Grammy Sprinkle, Catching Up with Friends, and A Recipe

When I left you last, I had just made some delicious mini cream horns and Dan, who had been in Ireland since the 2nd of January, was set to return home on the 12th.  Well, guess what?  He STILL isn't home yet! (Side note - several of you had never heard of cream horns and I was floored!!!!!)

Multiple issues with his program caused his trip to be extended, and extended, and extended one final time.  He was scheduled to arrive in Raleigh around 3:00 this afternoon but this morning his flight out of Dublin was cancelled and he got rebooked (thankfully) and will now be arriving in Raleigh around 9:00 tonight.  So, fingers crossed, he will be back home a little before midnight.  

There's a lot going on around here and at the same time, not much so let's see what I can find to update you all with. 

I am behind at work so I've been working extra to get caught up.  And honestly, since Dan's been gone, that's not a bad thing. 

I did not have to work last Saturday so I was able to have lunch with Jennifer.  It was great catching up with her and lunch was delicious too! We ate at Midtown Cafe and Dessertery.  Google informed me that it had been 9 years since I had been there. Isn't that funny?

Last Monday, I had lunch with another old friend from my Our Lady of Mercy days.  It was so great to catch up with Denise too. Denise was a parent at OLM but also served as the track coach and I was her trusty assistant.  Her son, who is a senior this year, will be attending Duke next year on a track scholarship!  How cool is that?

And then last Wednesday, I met with my Care Group, and we showered our sweet friend Kendra with a Grammy Sprinkle.  Her daughter is having a baby next month and we wanted to show the first Grandma in our group a little extra love.  Kim hosted and she had a Tea Party theme complete with tea party foods and a tea party themed game of Bingo. (Because no baby shower is complete without games!) Kim, being the ever thoughtful hostess and party planner extraordinaire, even had prizes. And all of the things we gifted Kendra with were things she could use at her home when baby visits.

It is so crazy to me that think that when we all joined MOPS (Mothers Of PreSchoolers) in 2006 we would still be meeting regularly all these years later and would be celebrating a GRAND BABY!!!!

I am so thankful for these 5 ladies and I could not imagine doing life without them. Collectively, we have been through A LOT together. 

In less exciting news, Dan and I have been in a battle with Hyundai - okay "battle" is probably too strong to use but that's what I'm going with.

We bought Sarah a 2020 Elantra in June of 2020.  It had 1000 miles on it and we got a very good deal.  However, this car has been plagued with problems.  Several months after buying it, Sarah started it one morning and four warning lights came on and it would not allow her to put the car in drive.  She waited for a few minutes and the warning lights turned off and she was able to drive.  

This issue contnued to happen randomly.  After multiple attempts to take it in and have it repaired, they finally thought they fixed it only for it to be fine for a couple of months and then boom - it happened again.  Meanwhile, the engine had to be replaced which thankfully this (and every other repair) was covered by Hyunda. The engine repair was done at a dealership near Sarah's school and while they had it, they also  tried to repair the warning light/not being able to drive issue.  They did the same repair the previous dealership had done and once again thought it was fixed only to have it happen AGAIN!

So, in November Dan and I went to the dealership to talk to the service manager and he basically told us (in not so many words) you probably have a lemon and gave us information on how to get it resolved with corporate.  

We called Hyundai and told them we wanted them to buy our car back from us and they opened a case.  However, a few days later we were told they couldn't do anything for us because they only buy back cars in a 3 year window and we had had the car for 3 and half years at this point.

Our next step was to contact the Better Business Bureau.  We've opened up a case with them. This involved submitted all of our records detailing times in the shop, issues with the car, etc.  Hyundai offered us $500 to which we said, "No thanks!"

Earlier this month, we sent them a Final Repair letter (which was the next step  according to the BBB and North Carolina's Lemon Law). They received the certified letter and have requested a Final Repair.  We are waiting to hear back from them on getting this scheduled.

I can't imagine that another repair will fix this issue but I would love it if that happened because I'm not sure what Hyundai will do after that.  If they don't fix this according to our liking, I believe the next step is arbitration. 

All this to say - DO NOT PURCHASE A HYUNDAI.  And if you have one, I'm sorry.  I hope it's behaving better than ours.  (Also please note - the paint on the hood is bubbling up and coming off. This is a known defect that happened on several years worth of Hyundai's and of course ours was one of them!)

On a happier note, my sweet Sarah has joined a sorority this semester!  Her college experience so far hasn't been what she wanted it to be so she decided to take matters into her own hands and jumped into Greek life!  She is now a Delta Zeta! Well, I guess technically she isn't a full DZ yet. That won't happen until the spring but she is so happy meeting new people and having a full social calendar.

Both kids are currently applying for internships for the summer.  I hope and pray they can each find the perfect one! Peter attending the NC State - Miami game last night and sent this picture:

Thankfully they won last night and ended a 3 game losing streak!

Last year, (also when Dan was traveling), I watched season one of Love of the Spectrum. Last week they released season 2 and I watched it.  I really enjoyed it. If you like the romance type shows, I highly recommend it.  But definitely start at season 1.  Season 2 brought back some old characters as well as some new ones.  

I also started watching this season of the Bachelor.  Desperate times call for desperate measures.  I tried to watch the Golden Bachelor but just couldn't get into it and I haven't watched for several seasons prior to that.  I'm getting burned out on real crime TV, though, and need something to watch when Dan is gone.   

Before I end this  "all over the place" post, I wanted to share with you my dinner for the last two nights.

Salmon and arugula salad!

I covered the salmon in Dijon mustard and a bunch of Citrus Garlic seasoning from Trader Joe's and popped it into the air fryer for 15 minutes at 400 degrees.  

And the salad is just arugula with shaved Parmesan cheese with a homemade vinaigrette dressing.

Greed Salad Dressing

• 1 cup EVOO
• 1 T. dried oregano
• 1 t. sea salt
• 1/2 t. pepper
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup of lemon juice (taste and adjust to your liking)
• 1 T. red wine vinegar
• 3 garlic cloves pressed

Add all ingredients into a mason jar and shake well and enjoy.

The Dijon serves to keeps the salmon moist.  I didn't really taste it when eating the salmon which is fine because sometimes Dijon can be over powering.  And the key to the simple arugula salad is the shaved Parmesan.  Get a block of Parm and use your vegetable peeler and get some nice strips of cheese on that salad.  The more the better and enjoy!

What have you all been enjoying on TV lately?  Do tell as Dan will probably only be home for a week or two before he's off again.