You turned 9 and a half this week, during the time which was supposed to be your last week of 3rd grade.
It was sad yesterday as I drove to your school to pick up all your belongings from your teachers. The closest thing to closure you had for finishing 3rd grade was some Zoom calls with your class.
The tragedy is that, as I predicted last fall, 3rd grade would be your favorite by far. It is unfortunate it had to be cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
But we still have each other and we still have our health. And we continue to still make life fun!
It is true that I am of a dying breed. Not only am I of the minority of drivers who can drive a manual transmission, but I am of the shrinking group of people who actually still owns a stick shift vehicle and drives it it as my main vehicle everyday.
In 2020, only 1 out of 8 new vehicles on the car lot even have the option to be sold with a manual transmission. Not only are vehicles with automatic transmissions more efficient on fuel, but they are also less expensive. It used to be the other way around!
It only makes sense that for the few of us who can still drive a manual, and who still do so daily, we are a unique group of people. We actually like the fact it’s not easy, even if it’s all muscle memory to us at this point.
I drive a 2010 Jeep Wrangler, which I have now owned for a year. One of the reasons I was able to snatch it up was because I didn’t flinch when I saw that it had a manual transmission.
Granted, I had never owned a vehicle with a stick shift before, but I had driven my dad’s old 1988 Ford Ranger during college a bit; while making money mowing lawns- as well as driving it when my own car was having issues.
A year into driving a manual transmission every day, it feels wrong when I do drive my wife’s car, with its automatic transmission. I always instinctively press my left foot down on the floor when I start the car.
So it only makes sense that with my $150 Amazon shopping spree for my recent 39th birthday, I chose this 6 Speed Manual Transmission T-shirt.
If you would like to order one like it, just click this link.
I also ordered the same thing for the spare tire cover on my Jeep. I will do another blog post and video on that once it arrives!
This week, I found the water bottle I was looking for, to use not only during my weight lifting work outs each morning, but also for the rest of the day, as my goal is to drink a minimum of one whole gallon of water.
I keep seeing this random, no name water bottle featured all over Amazon when I was looking for one to order. I figured for half the price of the more rugged-looking ones I actually wanted, I would be willing to pay the $15 bucks to settle for a product that would still serve the same purpose.
Fortunately, it turns out that I have been able to been this 2.2 liter water bottle to use at the gym, and at home, I am can confirm I am very pleased with the results.
(I fill this bottle up twice and drink the whole thing in a day, and it’s a little over one gallon.)
Feel free to watch the video review I made, above.
If you decide you would like to buy the same water bottle as me, just click this link so you can buy it for the best price on Amazon like I did.
You have been interested in the strawberry plant that Nonna started growing this year. You knew that once the green strawberries turned red, they would be ready to eat.
I just happened to with you as you walked by and said, “Nonna, look, it’s a red strawberry!”
After wiping the dirt off of it with her shirt, she handed it to you to eat.
I didn’t believe that you would actually even try it. I was wrong…
Three quick bites later, the strawberry was gone. That is the freshest fruit you have ever eaten!
Once it became official that the school year was ending early due to COVID-19, and that you would therefore have the longest summer break of your life, I decided it was to pull out a 19 year-old game system.
I am referring to the Nintendo Gamecube- and the game, Animal Crossing.
Yes, there is a brand-new version of the game out right now on Nintendo Switch.
But it is the 2001 version that I have introduced to you.
Interesting enough, your cousin Calla always happens to own the same game at her house.
So the two of you have been able to compare each other’s unique worlds, since every version of the game is different from the next.
Animal Crossing is a good way to pass the time in a fun and constructive way!
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