Chevy Equinox Experience

Time for some car talk! A few weeks ago I had the chance to test drive a 2013 Chevy Equinox AWD LTZ (retail value: $36,385) for a week. This blog has given me quite a few awesome opportunities, but this was far and away the coolest (so far!). When I was approached by GM's marketing company I was given the choice of a few different vehicles; a couple different sedans, the Equinox and the GMC Acadia.

I've been obsessed with the Chevy Equinox for years and was thrilled to find it was available the week I had requested. When I bought my car in 2009 I test drove the 2010 model and desperately wanted to buy it. At the time it was out of my price range and I went with a similar model from Saturn.

Here's some information about the car.

• Fuel economy: 17 MPG city/24 MPG highway (19 MPG combined)
• 301 Horsepower 
• Towing capacity: 3,500 pounds
• 6 standard airbags
• Front headroom: 39.8 inches, Rear headroom: 39.2 inches
• Front legroom: 41.2 inches, Rear legroom: 37.2 inches
• Max cargo room: 63.7 cubic feet
• Color touch screen radio with optional navigation
• Available rear-vision camera
• Optional Forward Collision Alert and Lane Departure Warning

The LTZ is the highest trim model and the car came with all the bells and whistles which were fun to play around with. It was fun listening to Sirius radio for the week and we used the navigation system more than once.

PROS

There was a lot I loved about the car. Here are some of the main features that really stood out to me.

Seats

The car had leather seats, something I'm usually indifferent about. But these were so comfortable! I felt like I just sunk into it each time. The bucket seats in the front are fully adjustable in a billion different directions so you can find the perfect position. 

The coolest thing about the driver's seat is the memory presets. You can save up to 2 different settings so you can have the perfect driving chair every time.

Backup Camera
I'd never driven a car with a backup camera before. In the Equinox it comes on automatically when the car is put in reverse. It is so helpful! We tested the limits by having Ant stand behind the car while I backed up. It gave me a stern warning when I was getting too close and started blaring an alarm when I was just about to hit him.

Backseat Room
In my car, Harry's car seat barely fits in the back. The passenger side seat is pushed so far forward Ant's head nearly hits the visor when he sits there. In the Equinox, we had room to spare with the passenger seat in a comfortable position. Ant installed the car seat and said using the Equinox's LATCH system much easier than in our car... the bars stuck out further or something like that.

Overall Driveability
I could go on and on about what I loved about the Equinox. But I'll just leave my last point as driveability. I thought the Equinox handled extremely well. The LTZ model even warns you when you get too close to the car in front of you and an alarm sounds if it thinks you're going to crash (it's a very sensitive system and went off twice while I was driving, even though we weren't in any danger).

The pickup was nice in the SUV and even though it was bigger than what I'm used to driving, I was able to maneuver it very well. Cabin noise was nearly non-existent and the pedals were very responsive.

CONS

Trunk Space
The only flaw I could find with the car was that the trunk is surprisingly small. In my car both of our strollers fit side to side in the trunk easily. Our umbrella stroller would only fit at an angle in the Equinox. Before we went grocery shopping we removed the stroller since we weren't sure how all our bags would fit. You can see it was kind of a tight squeeze!

Harry photo bomb!

Overall I really loved our experience with the Equinox. I'd drive it again in a second! We drove the SUV every day and added 250 miles to the odometer throughout the week. The last night I had it I was able to take it out myself and had a so much fun driving it around town. I was able to roll the windows down, blast the speakers and take full advantage of the satellite radio stations. I almost felt like I was back in high school cruising around with my friends. It was awesome!

If you're in the market for a new car and are considering a mid-sized SUV, go give the Equinox a test drive. It was an absolute joy to drive and many thanks are owed to GM and their marketing company for loaning it to us. I should mention that we are not currently looking to buy a new car, but when it comes time to replace mine we'll most certainly consider the Equinox again.

Disclaimer: In exchange for this blog post I was given the Chevorlet Equinox free to drive for a week. I was not otherwise compensated. All opinions are 100% my own.

The Worst Day

Yesterday was terrible. It started when we woke up and just snowballed from there. Yuck! Harry leaked through his diaper and we all were sleeping in a nice big puddle at one point. Gross. Then soon after breakfast he had a diaper blowout. Hands down his worst one ever. It was everywhere. Double gross.

Things went from bad to worse when we got to Harry's doctor for his 18 month check up. But first, lemme breakdown his current stats:

• Weight: 24lbs 1oz: 25th percentile
• Height: 34.25 inches: just over 90th percentile
• Head circumference: 49.5 centimeters: 90th percentile

First off, they were running way behind so we were in the waiting room for over a half hour. There were a few other babies that Harry had fun playing with, though. When we finally got into the exam room the nurse performed a hearing test. You might recall Harry failed the test in his left ear at his last appointment. We figured it had been a fluke and were surprised to find he failed again yesterday. The doctor gave us a couple of options and we decided to do an ear wash to get rid of any impacted earwax that could be causing  him to fail- I've never had the impression that he doesn't hear well. 

I do not recommend an ear wash on an 18 month old. It was awful! The nurse said Harry was the youngest patient she's ever given one to. We had to wrap him up burrito-style in a towel to keep from flailing around and he just screamed the whole time. She got a lot out of his ear so it was worth it in the end. We'll retest again at his next appointment in 6 months (they didn't want to do it after the wash because the water in his ear could affect the results). 

On top of that traumatizing experience, Harry had three shots in the leg and a blood draw in his arm. Talk about painful! But as I said, he doesn't have to go back until after his birthday. 

Then of course my favorite show, The Office, had the series finale last night. I thought it was great, and a very fitting end to the story. Of course I cried my eyes out all night. I don't think I'll be able to watch it again for a while. 

But now I'm really looking to the return of Arrested Development next week! Ant got me hooked on it college and I'm excited to see what those crazy Bluth's are up to now. And today is Friday, best day of the week. It'll be a good weekend, I can tell :).

An Ode to The Office: Goodbye Dunder Mifflin

You guys are going to think this post is nuts. But, I'm writing it anyways :).

If you haven't already guessed, my favorite TV show of all time is The Office. The series finale is tonight. After 9 seasons the show is sadly coming to an end. The show's quality has wavered the past couple years (I 'like to pretend the Robert California thing never happened), and it's definitely the right time to bow out.

That doesn't stop me from being sad about it though. I've watched the first five seasons on DVD at least 20 times and have gone through every episode on Netflix 2-3 times this year alone. If' I'm in a rut The Office is a guaranteed way to get me smiling again.

The show debuted in spring of 2005 when I was in college. At the time I had no interest in it. When I was home on winter break I caught the first Christmas episode. The one where Michael buys the iPod for Secret Santa. To this day that's one of my very favorite episodes. The only other episode I think I saw while in school was The Negotiation; the one where Michael wears a woman's suit to work.

It wasn't until I graduated that my love affair with the show really started. I wasn't working and applying for job after job gets tiring after a while. So, for motivation I turned on The Office. I found a bunch of episodes on YouTube and a few more on a Japanese website. After the first few episodes I was hooked. I couldn't stop watching. And haven't since!

I've gotten in to TV shows before, but not on this level. Like, I feel like I know the characters. Which I totally understand equates to an unhealthy obsession. Even though the show is a sitcom, I've cried while watching more times than I care to admit (oh, who am I kidding... Jim asking Pam out for the first time, Jam's subsequent wedding and birth of Cece, Michael's proposal to Holly and of course when Pam meets Michael at the airport before he moves to Colorado).

Anyways... I am having a hard time knowing that my favorite coworkers won't be back entertaining us on Thursday nights in the fall. I have my box of Kleenex ready and waiting for 7pm to roll around tonight. And what makes it even worse is even though the past couple seasons haven't been as good, the last two episodes have been ahhhmazing. I'm mad they didn't slack off and write crappy ones- because then it'd be so much easier to say goodbye. Damn you writers and your wonderfulness.

So, thank you The Office. Thank you...

• For Jim's pranks. My personal favorite is the future faxes. I stole that little gem and pranked a few of my former coworkers with that one once, ha!
• For "that's what she said." I know the joke isn't a Michael Scott original, but I'm pretty sure he's the first person I heard say it.
• For confirming that mixed berries is the best kind of yogurt.
• For showing us the evil that is Human Resources.
• For warning millions about the dangers of cooking bacon in a Foreman grill.
• For teaching me how to do an "air five."
• For throwing the most epic office parties ever.
• For telling us identity theft is not a joke. Millions of families suffer every year.
• For creating the most perfect love story TV has ever seen.

But most of all, thank you for all the laughs, tears and moments that warmed my heart. Thursdays won't be the same without you.

Some Dunder Mifflin tributes from around the web:

Cast of "The Office" Gives an Emotional Farewell (BuzzFeed)

Best Dundies Ever- Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 (TV Line)

Jim's Best Pranks (E! News)

10 Things You Didn't Know About The Office (TV Guide)

Question of the day:

• If you watch The Office, what's your favorite episode?

I have a hard time picking just one. It's probably a tie between Christmas Party, The Injury and Office Olympics. All from season 2, which can almost do no wrong in my book!