I’ve taken to drinking. Not the hard core stuff, mind you. I’m not that kind of drinker. I don’t have the stomach or the fortitude for it – at all.

No, I’m back on carbonated beverages.

I’d put down the Pepsi and picked up the water bottle many months ago in an effort to cut down on my sugar intake. Sugar turns to fat, you know, and I sure don’t need any help in that area.

I had a roommate in college who immigrated from up north down to Alabama in her middle school years. I always thought the whole “pop” versus “coke” thing was too funny. To this day, she still doesn’t have it right. We’ve quit correcting her.

Anyway, things have been just fine here at the paper. We’re all adjusting nicely to the transition. Today, as you read this, I’ll be showing my girls the town, visiting the schools and getting a look at our new home – all while driving my brother’s muddy, four-wheel drive, gas guzzling Jeep.

Hence, my reason for drinking.

On Friday, my car – my paid for, great gas mileage getting auto – bit the dust. Motor locked up on it. Why? Because it had no oil in it. Now, I’m a smart girl. I know you have to get the oil changed every 5,000 miles. I even have a sticker on the windshield telling me the appropriate date. What I didn’t account for was the crack in the oil pan when, on my first night driving home from the office to Andalusia, I took the cutoff on Snowden and didn’t realize there was a humongeous dip in the road.

It didn’t sound right after that, and I had every intention of getting it to the mechanic. I didn’t, so I knew it was my fault when it quit Friday morning on U.S. Hwy. 29 about 10 miles outside of civilization. Thankfully, a friend from Andalusia recognized me and stopped. She gave me a ride to the office, and I began the search for a mechanic.

Shaun Cooper over at R&R on Old Castleberry Road was kind enough to take a look at it when the wrecker drug it up to the shop. He doesn’t do engine work, but his diagnosis was all it took for me to pick up the plastic bottle again. Then, when I got the estimate to have it fixed from another mechanic, I decided to have a double.

However, since then, I’ve gotten things straightened out, and all assure me we will be back on the road by the weekend – thank goodness. It’s time for me to put the bottle down.