It’s really phenomenal how your outtake on life changes after being something semi-traumatic.

I say semi because it could have been much worse.

Some people have commented about how positive I’ve been through the whole experience. But after the initial feeling of gratitude, I went through the so many other emotions the week following:

• guilt that it was my fault or that I could have done something differently
• confusion – on survival and why?
• concern – for Rob’s healing
• worry – about finances and how insurance would handle getting a new car
• more guilt because the day before we got into a huge argument which we finally worked through just hours before the accident
• pressure – to find a new car right away

But the worst were the what-ifs.

What if it hadn’t turned out the way it had? What if our dogs had been with us in the car? What if the accident caused injury to someone else?

What if, once we had “landed”, Rob had been extremely hurt – or even, dare I say it – dead? My life would be completely different right now. I’d be feeling more guilt and my life would be forever changed. I wouldn’t be the same person.

Not that I am now.

I would not have been as calm as I had been that day. I would have been a complete wreck.

I had a full day of emotion over this, with a lot of crying. Rob had his own emotions, too, which he wouldn’t share with me at the time. That upset me, too. The emotions were running high… Not to mention that I kept replaying the accident over and over in my mind – with possible alternative scenarios.

When I went back to work that Tuesday, I started getting weird headaches (not extreme, just not like ones I’d ever had before) and then I’d get nauseous about half-way through my day. I had a bit of back pain, too {but nothing like I had before my back surgery!}. By Thursday, I tried to make an appointment with my doctor, but instead went into Urgent Care. After some coordination and memory tests, it was determined that I was just shaken up pretty badly and that staring at a screen all day was not helping anything.

We also had a vacation planned the following week. I had no intention in canceling it. In fact, the doctor agreed that it was perfect timing! We could relax and not concentrate on anything for while.

Just heal.

And I truly believe our trip to Arizona was the best thing we could have ever done to recover from such an ordeal.

But in the meantime, I finally convinced Rob to stop sending me links to potential replacement vehicles. I felt too much pressure and stress to get a vehicle right away. We could wait until we learned how the insurance was going to work and look at cars when we got back from vacation

Then something changed.

I can’t say exactly what it was, but I officially became ready to at least look at vehicles. I knew what the insurance company was offering me. (Not enough, but they were paying for our medical bills – thank you, car insurance!)

We considered looking at the last model made of the Mitzubishi Endeavor (2011) SUV. Rob has the 2004 version and we love it. But did we need two Mitzies? My commute is only 5 minutes to work each day.

As mentioned in my last post, we found another Hyundai Elantra online – two years newer, with 5,000 less miles and $1000 less than what I owed on Sharkie. It was at a Mercedez dealership in Minnetonka. It wouldn’t hurt to take a look, would it?

Our salesperson let us take it out for a test drive without even taking our information! {Apparently he was working with several clients at once.} I thought I’d be nervous driving the Hyundai so soon after the accident, but I wasn’t. The features were exactly the same inside. It felt normal, natural to drive this car! While not the pretty silver that Sharkie was, the 2013 Hyundai had a couple of other features that Sharkie did not – like heated seats!

And there you have it, less than a week after the accident, I had a new car:

But on this February Saturday morning, the dealership’s financing system went down! 

“Here,” our salesman said as he handed me the keys, “Take your new vehicle out and get some lunch!” By this time he’d had my driver’s license; but nothing had been signed yet. “I’ll call you when it’s back up and we can get you on your way.”

This was our perfect opportunity to try out Bacio, a restaurant that fellow blogger Kat has recommended as one of her favorites. We don’t get over to this side of town very often. Why not now? I checked their website – open for brunch!

{In the photo of above, my new-to-me Hyundai is actually parked at Bacio!}

Rob had a local brew, while I settled for a Virgin Mary. This would be my first time driving on the freeway since the accident; so I was still a bit nervous. No need to add alcohol to the system! As you can see, we sat at the bar at this beautiful establishment. It wasn’t very busy, so we had a lot of time to chat with the dog-loving bartender!

Upon the initial inspection of the menu, something about it felt vaguely familiar. Then it dawned on me – listed was the exact same Heirloom Grain Salad that I love at Vivo in Apple Valley. Bacio is a sister restaurant! {Although the prices are a bit higher. It is Minnetonka, after all.} 

I decided to go try something else though. I was craving shrimp. My ultimate decision was the Rocket Salad with apples, arugula, spinach, lavender vinaigrette, spiced pecans and local blue cheese. I added some spectacular grilled shrimp!

I sure got my greens in that day! While the salad was very good, it was nothing compared to my beloved Heirloom Grain Salad. The shrimp were the stars of the show on this one. And with the shrimp, this ended up being a $20 salad.

Not-usually-a-fan-of-brunch-Rob was swooning over his choice:

One thing we loved about dining at Bacio during the daytime was the sunlight coming through the skylight near the arches. Just beautiful. Everything felt right that day. Now all we had to do was last two more days at work before a week-long vacation in sunny Arizona! {More to come on that!}

As an update, we both are doing much better, both mentally and physically. Rob’s stitches are out and his back and wrist are healing. He is just frustrated that his wrist is not at 100% so that he can begin weight lifting again. However, he has agreed to return to his trainer duties so that I could get back to my weight lifting routine. And let me tell you, after being off for month, the first time was quite challenging!

How do you go about shopping for a new-to-you vehicle?

Cheers~
Carrie