I'd been looking ...

. . . but it was time to stop and finally commit.

I had to, so I did.

Ol' Blue is gone. I patted her dashboard one final time quietly telling her, "Thank you," for somehow, once again getting me to my destination. I patted her hood in farewell. And then, I abandoned her whatever fate 13-year-old vehicles with no Blue Book value all face.

I'd wanted a Ford Sport Trac. It had everything I needed: A steering wheel and a back seat for the dogs to ride on PLUS the luxury I'd never experienced before of having a place, in back, designed for toting stuff like 400 pounds of horse feed. Or bales of hay if I really had to in a pinch.

But, it was not to be.

Even with the 2006 models starting to hit dealerships, AND the rebates AND Ford's Family and Friends's pricing (which has now been extended to September 6) I was close. But figuring taxes, tags and such . . . I still didn't have enough.

And yes. Yes, I'd saved. I'd put money away for a new vehicle because . . . because I frickin' hate car payments.

I was this close! But then reality set in. The super sales would be ending and I had to have a car NOW!

Online (Thank you, Al Gore!) I spotted a vehicle I hadn'd noticed before.

And after walking away from Ol' Blue that final time, I drove one home Monday night.

I was instantly comfortable behind the wheel during the test drive. It's me. It's so me. Not that I knew what all of the buttons and widgets were. Heck, even though I'd been shown, I kept having to figure out what button to push on the black thingie to get into the darned thing.

I drove it Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

And I haven't seen it since until tonight.

"Mom, I hate to ask you but my truck's acting up. Could I borrow your car while it's in the shop?"

For the record, the images shown do not actually reflect my specific vehicle. The Ford Focus Wagon shown is the correct vehicle but it's the wrong color. It's "Arizona Beige" like the Sport Trac.

Also for the record, Da Kid said it's a "surprisingly perky little devil" for a 4 cylinder and handles so well and smoothly that used to the feel of his truck . . .

"I almost had a heart attack when I glanced at the speedometer and realized I was hitting 80."

He thought was driving at 45 m.p.h. and backed it down, way down, as soon he realized he wasn't.