Vintage Limo Monologues #13

Driving a limo has sparked the philosopher in me. I'm already on #13 of things that this limo has caused me to contemplate on. One thing I was thinking about the past few weeks was how we judge others. I attended a gathering of kids speaking where one speaker was talking about the topic of conservation. He asked for a volunteer from the audience and started asking them questions in order to assess their carbon footprint and illustrate the things that we need to consider when considering our impact on the earth. At a certain point everyone in the audience seemed to be competing to see who had the best carbon footprint. Judging ran amok:

"Ha! I have a fuel efficient car. Our car is better than yours."
"All of the light bulbs in our home are energy efficient and yours are not!"
"Well we don't even use central air! Our carbon footprint is going to be one of the smallest and better!"

On one hand this made me smile. It is wonderful that conservation has become so "hip" that everyone wants to be "cool" and have a small carbon footprint! What leaps and bounds we have made for earth awareness in the past ten years! WOW!

The part that made me sad was the part where everyone was judging each other.

However, it is interesting how judging people on appearances and what you know about them never seems to turn out well. If you only have part of the information how can you judge?

One interesting example is with the limo. In reality most people who know me know that I hardly drive and don't really use the car that much so I don't engage in a lot of energy conservation talks with people about the limo.

However, imagine that someone who didn't know me was comparing me owning a limo to the person who owned the 2008 energy efficient car? Wouldn't you assume that their carbon footprint was less?

However, what I learned at the speech that night was interesting. The person who owned the energy efficient car drove so many miles with their car they actually used three times as much gas as I did each year. This brought their carbon footprint up higher in this category. Others used up to five or eight times as much fuel as I did each year. I think I was actually the lowest in the fuel usage category!

This is a small example, but it came to mind because it is such a concrete one. Sometimes it is hard to find concrete examples, but we all experience being judged in so many ways. A few weeks ago I had someone try to tell me I was not making good use of my time because they read my Facebook posts and felt I should have been answering their e-mail instead of doing the other things I posted about. Obviously that is an extreme example. There is no possible way anyone could make an assessment about time based on a few Facebook posts LOL!

Being a long time member of the nursing mama/attachment parenting/natural parenting community I've heard many comments about other mothers - "That is horrible that she is bottle feeding!" or "Why does she send her child to daycare?" among others. However, in reality it is impossible to judge another person's choices based on a few things one knows about them.

This post is a reminder for me and for all of my friends - let's make a pact to think twice next time we catch ourselves saying "Now why are they doing THAT?" In the past few years I've taken some time to look beneath the surface of some of these questions I've had about people and have learned some amazing things about people! So many people I might have dismissed in my youth, I find myself friends with as an adult because I took time to look beneath the surface and found beautiful things.

101 Uses for a Vintage Limo #27: Feild Trip

Ah yes...I see the irony in this...we used the limo as transport to an overnight at the Springbrook nature preserve center (Read the post about conservation and the limo for more info on that). I transported five children (my son included) to the Springbrook nature preserve. I supplied the back of the limo with snacks and beverages while they provided me with directions using their map reading skills. Thank goodness their skills were good! Two of the other cars got lost going there. I joked that we were spared getting lost because God didn't want us wasting any more fuel driving that limo. This was our only out of town trip this year and we are still coming in way under the average American's fuel usage. Note: only own a limo if you walk and bike most places and you work from home!

101 Uses for a Vintage Limo #26: Famous Ballerina Transport

After two years my little ballerina is still convinced that riding in a limo makes her famous. Don't you just love the way children see life? So of course when she had her final ballet performance this year we made it special by driving and arriving in style and having a little photo shoot as well.

101 Uses for a Vintage Limo #25: Lunch with the Principal

I recently donated a limo ride to a local school auction for a very unique idea - lunch with the principal! That sounds fun! This is a copy of the thank you note they sent.

101 Uses for a Vintage Limo #24: Treating Your Sister Like Royalty

When your sister lives overseas and goes to school far far away it is fun to treat her like royalty when she visits for the summer. We had fun showing Mosi the new limo last summer. Sunii even opened the door for her when we went shopping and around town with the car. She thought it was great!

101 Uses for a Vintage Limo #23: A First Date

Ok, I can't say much about this without embarrassing all parties involved. So I will just say - that when a boy has his first "date" - even if it is with his friend who happens to be a girl and two of her friends - going to the theater in a limo is a really cool way to mark that occassion. Especially if it was Valentine's Day:)

101 Uses for a Vintage Limo #22: Travel Around the World

Two weeks ago we visited four grocers in Des Moines as a unit in "cultural studies and local awareness". We stopped at the Arabic market and purchased amazing pita bread, we shopped at the Mexican market and sampled some quesadillas, we stopped at the Oriental market and purchased sushi rice, we stopped at the Indian store and purchased some food. We then came home and cooked all day! It was quite an adventure. And of course we drove everywhere in the limo :)

101 Uses for a Vintage Limo #21: Pajama Party

My daughter had her 10th birthday party last night. We spent an afternoon playing creative games, making our own snack-kebabs, identifying our fingerprints, playing BINGO, and eating a homemade cake. After the main party a few girls stayed the night but just as everyone got ready for bed and in their pajamas someone had the idea - "hey - why don't we go to a movie"?

Usually I don't go to movies at 9:30 at night because they end so late it makes it impossible to function for our lives the next day. However, since this was a sleepover and I figured the girls would not sleep much anyway, I agreed. The next request was, "Can we take the limo?"

It was loads of fun to fill up the limo with giggling girls in pajamas with their stuffed bunnies and bears. I even wore my pajama top and bunny slippers (see picture) to join in the fun. On the way to the theater the girls giggled and laughed the entire way until it was time to drop them off at the entrance to the theater. Upon disembarking from the limo I could hear them all yell, "we are famous!"

I am sure some people were amused to see 5 girls in pajamas climb out of a vintage white limo yelling, "we are famous".

I am not sure when we had the most stares, though. Was it when we disembarked from the limo or was it when we entered the movie theater lobby dressed in our pajamas on a Saturday night when everyone else was "dressed to the nines" with their dates!

101 Uses for a Vintage Limo #20: Chinchilla Transport

Chinchillas that are movie-stars on CHINCHILLA YOUTUBE can't just ride in any ole car! They need to take the limo. Now if this reminds you of that scene from Alvin and the Chipmunks - just remember - these chinchillas just LIKE music...they don't sing :)

101 Uses for a Vintage Limo #19: Holiday Gift

In December a friend purchased a limo ride to the holiday lights for her family and I also took a friend of mine and her son on a ride through the holiday lights as a gift (although I think she ended up paying for the $9.00 entrance fee since I didn't have cash that evening - LOL). It is such a fun way to see the lights! We were lucky enough to go on an evening when there had just been an ice storm, so the reflection of the lights in the ice made it extra amazing. And there were not many people there visiting that evening so we stopped a took a lot of photos!

101 Uses for a Vintage Limo #18: Holiday Party

In Des Moines we have a great tradition - local businesses donate light displays in a large park, people pay to drive through and see the displays and all the money goes to charity. It is a win-win-win situation :) It was no surprise, then, that my friend and owner of The Fair World Gallery (http://www.fairworldgallery.com/) , Christine, opted for a limo ride to see the holiday lights. She's always thinking about how she can help the community - even when she is hosting a party for her team at the gallery! I am not sure who had more fun though - them or me? I prepared for the evening by polishing my leather (AKA very well loved) jacket and limo driver hat. When Sofi asked where I was going I said, "to play dress up".

I vacuumed and cleaned the limo, decorated it with holiday flowers, a nutcracker and some wire-wrapped stars from India and sprayed real essential oils of pine and cloves into the interior to add a more festive mood. Harp music was playing in the CD player and mini-candy canes were in a stocking hangin near the seats. Of all the "101 Uses" I have - so far this is my favorite one.

The Vintage Limo Monologues #12: A Local Point of View

I've been having fun lately seeing how much I can do WITHOUT the car. I know a lot of other people who have done the same. It is strange to be writing a BLOG about a limo and one of the topics is NOT driving it...but, then, that is the entire point of the BLOG...to share what happens.

I have been thinking about my experiences the past few weeks trying NOT to drive. What I have noticed is that I tend to stay closer to home and shop at the local shops in Windsor Heights. I have seen more of my neighbors and so have the kids. I have noticed more around my neighborhood because I am around here more often. All in all, I have focused locally.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could all do this even just once a week? By focusing locally we would be eating fruits and vegetables grown near where we live and this would be healthier for us. If we focused on what was around us we would have a tighter and more enjoyable neighborhood community and people would not be as lonely. If we focused on those things around us then we might realize our immediate or extended family and friends need help or need time and we can give it to them. That would reduce the need for International charities. If everyone just spent one day a week focusing on what is around them the world would be a better place!

101 Uses for a Vintage LIMO #17: Helping Abused Children

I recently donated a limo ride to the Mentor Iowa auction and am really looking forward to giving some of the children rides as well! Thank you for contacting me Melissa! If you would like to do any volunteer work for this wonderful organization please visit their website at:

Mentor Iowa

101 Uses for a Vintage LIMO #16: Unicorn Transport

I recently found out that the unicorns I "breed" (and sell on ETSY at:

The Dream Angels ETSY) like to ride in limos. This unicorn in the picture also likes to go to fancy shows and dress up. I suppose I should not be surprised. My favorite place to knit is in my little wicker chair nook with the sunlight streaming in. However, I find that when I am driving someone around in the LIMO and I have to wait, that knitting is a perfect thing to pass the time! It helps pay for the gas too :)

101 Uses for a Vintage LIMO #15: Sophisticated Picnic

What picnic does not feel more sophisticated when there is a limo in the background? LOL!

The Vintage Limo Monologues #11: Environmental Awareness

Although the limo uses more gas than my old car, I am finding that I actually use less gas than I used to. Ironically, owning a less efficient car has made me more environmentally aware. My last car was somewhat fuel efficient so I didn't think about gas that much. I put it in the car, drove where I wanted to and didn't do much towards conserving fuel. The lazy part of me figured since I didn't commute to work and back every day I was already doing my part.

However, now that I have a car that gets only 15 mpg I often ponder...is it really worth going across town to shop? Why don't we just walk instead of driving to the store? I don't really need to go to the grocery store more than once a week...sometimes the car will sit in the driveway for days!

My awareness of how much I actually used to drive and how much fuel I was using has become more pronounced. I have learned that I don't need to drive to as many places, and that I don't really need to drive much at all! I wonder how many other people are going through this same process as gas prices rise? Are more people taking the bus to save money? Are people taking fewer trips and working from home more? If this is the result of rising gas prices then perhaps it has all been "worth it" in some ways. At least once person (me) on this planet has greatly reduced their driving time and that is great for the environment. How many others have done the same?

The Vintage Limo Monologues #10: Fear & Familiarity

Today I changed a tire! I want to shout it from the rooftops! I changed a tire! A tire! I took a jack and I pumped up the car and I took of the nuts and I actually CHANGED A TIRE!!!!! Well, my 11-year-old son helped...but WE CHANGED THE TIRE!

How can a woman who's graduated from Northwestern University, travelled the world alone more than once, shot photos at gunpoint, learned Arabic, did photo shoots in 130 degree weather when 3-months pregnant, finish in the state finals as a long distance runner, run the Drake relays in High School, survive an earthquake in Cairo, etc...etc...how can I find it exciting that I changed a tire?

For the simple reason that I am 39 years-old, I have never done it before and I have always been scared to try. This fear has caused me to call out for help in the pouring rain and wait for an hour for someone else to come change the tire for me. It has cost me hundreds of dollars in towing fees because I coulnd't change the tire in my own driveway or on the side of the road and it has caused me the frustration of feeling helpless.

But why was changing a tire so hard for me and these other things were easier? After today I think I have an idea why. For me, travel was easier than changing a tire because I had read many books about it and had dreamed of it for years. I had watched many movies about people travelling. It was challenging and a bit scary the first time, but it was easier to make that jump since I had already built the bridge of familiarity. \

Reflecting on what suddenly made me able to change a tire, I realize it was the same basic principle. In the past I have been in situations where the tire needed to be changed right away. I was on the side of the road, I was late to an appointment or I needed to get somewhere. THIS TIME the car was in the driveway, I had already gone shopping for the week and I didn't really need it. I didn't feel like dealing with it right away and paying all that money for someone to tow it (and Steve is out of town for another week) so I let it sit. A day went by and I let it sit. I thought about it for a while and thought about what my options were. I thought of some friends who might be able to help but they were all busy. Another day went by. I looked out the window and saw the tire again. Steve called one of his friends to help me but he was at a funeral. So I let it sit. I told myself that Monday morning I would have someone tow it but Monday morning came and I didn't feel like dealing with it. So I let it sit. I thought about different options again. I wondered if someone was going to come and help. Nobody came. So I let it sit.

But then, suddenly at 3pm today I looked at the car and I said to myself - why not try? The simple fact that the flat tire had become FAMILIAR to me gave me the courage to venture into something new. So I told the kids that I was going to change the tire and Sunii said "really??? Can I help?" Having a CHEERING SQUAD also helps! But it turns out that he was also very helpful. He remembered the motto for loosening the nuts that I had forgotten (Righty tighty - lefty loosey) and he gave me the idea of an angle on the nuts that finally worked (they were on their TIGHT!). And it was HIM that loosened that 5th nut - the last one that I didn't think I was going to be able to do.

It makes me reflect on how hard we push our kids to do new things. Sometimes we don't understand why a child can't just clean their room, learn that math concept or finish reading a book. We wonder what is the big deal about trying a new food, why do they have to sit there at the table for an hour instead of taking a taste of it? we get so frustrated with their apprehension about new things...but as adults we all have that same apprehension. Think of the one thing you have never done and ask yourself...what am I scared of?

Why are we sometimes scared of new people? Do we find the person frightening? No. We find the fact that they are unfamiliar frightening to us.

As humans there is sometimes an inherent fear of new and unfamiliar things - it does not matter if these things are difficult or easy, what matters most to us is that we have never done it before and that it is entirely unfamiliar to us.

I think of all the times that the kids finally tried that new food after seeing me eat it about ten times....and now I understand more clearly. Making something familiar can help us try new things.

I hope this post can inspire you to try something new today or to be more patient with a child you are teaching to do something new :) Try easing into the new thing and letting it become familiar to you or the child and see what happens. Perhaps it will work for you too! I have to admit I never thought I would EVER change a tire.

The Vintage Limo Monologues #9: Spa Day

Limo has a spa day today - got oil changed, new filters a new gasket and a nice car wash with wax and everything! The secret to owning a vintage car is maintence, maintence, maintence...

Hey, come to think of it that is the secret to owning a vintage body too...I wish all I needed was an oil change and a new gasket! Whew! And why was it so easy to spend all that money on a spa day for the LIMO but I think twice about doing it for me?

Hmmm...thinking twice here...yes! I deserve it too!

101 Uses for a Vintage LIMO #14: BALL TRANSPORT

Usage #14....To transport things that are too large for a car or a van, but too delicate for a truck.

Now, suppose you have this big bouncy exercise ball that was blown up so much that it cannot fit in your car or van? And you need to move it? You can't rent a U-haul just for one ball! So once again - another great use for a vintage limo.

My kids thoughts on the matter:

"Mom, why do we have a big yellow ball in the back of the LIMO????"

101 Uses for a Vintage LIMO #13: MOVING VAN

Usage # 13....to help a friend move boxes. Hey - I know the tradition is to find a friend with a truck to help you move from one abode to another. But the new trend is to ask a friend with a LIMO. Trucks are SOOOOOO yesterday!

Yah, right. Anyway....a friend of mine needed to move about 30 boxes to her new storage closet so we both got some exercise by going up and down three flights, driving the boxes to the new apartment and then going up and down three flights again. But there is just something about doing all that with the LIMO that makes it seem...somehow...fun! Or at least funNY to a lot of people who were watching us :)

Enjoy the pictures....