The reasons....

Well, were do I start. It seems like 2 years ago things started falling apart for me. My grandmother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer (I took care of her for a month until she died, it was so quick which was a blessing - I see this now), my boyfriend at the time cheated on me the entire month - we broke up shortly after I returned home from Oklahoma, I tried dating again, met someone dated them for a while - this ended up being a really BAD relationship, work had its drama, friends betrayed me, it has been a true struggle. I am finally in a place where I feel I am able to trust people again and make a relationship work. This is why I have started the blog and promise I will be a better blogger as we go along! I want to keep track of all the new and exciting things I am doing to make my life feel more fulfilled and meaningful.

1st 50 of 30 - Tiguan

Found from google search

I complete my first 50 before 30! I bought a car! I have never been so excited. Buying a car is not an easy thing especially when you have a specific car in mind. I used to have a VW Passat and I had loved it. I wanted something SUV like but with good gas mileage. The Tiguan does just that it has all of the updates - no more tapes, I have satellite radio now, an amazing almost full top sunroof. My cars color is white gold and it is beautiful. I got it from the Tyson's corner Volkswagen dealership, Stohlman and I have to say what a fabulous experience I had. Nora was my salesperson and he was amazing. I called to confirm the vehicle was still for sale. When we arrived he called us by name, took me for a test drive, and walked me through the entire vehicle. He was understanding to my needs and extremely helpful. We spent about 4 hours at the dealership which wasn't bad at all. I got an extended warranty and am extremely happy with my purchase.

Now about the car. Things I love -

- When you turn the car to the right or the left, extra lights come on to help you see in that direction and once you turn the stirring wheel back to "straight" they dim down. LOVE this.

- The sunroof is amazing it pretty much fits the entire car and I have a mesh cover which I thought would be extremely cold but lets in some natural light which I like a lot.

- IPOD dock. This is amazing, now I have to say I am coming from a car that still had a cassette tape so my car was not technologically savvy. I love the bluetooth, hands-free, and music choices.

- Sate-light radio! I am on my free trial and I am already in love. I still have my morning radio show 99.5 which I cannot give up but on my afternoon commute I am listening to Satelight.

- TRUNK! It is ALWAYS covered. It has a cover that goes up and down as you open and shut it if that makes sense. It is nice not having to worry about putting a "cover" over stuff that you keep in the trunk.

If you are on the fence about Volkswagen, omg - just do it. They are great cars. I had my previous car for 130,000 miles and my parents are using it still because they bought a motor home and want something small to tote around with them. It will probably last 250,000 miles. Gotta love German engineering. I know I sound like a commercial but I swear I received NO compensation for this review.

If you have questions, let me know. Until next time...

Welcome to Mandy's Mission!

I am so excited to be posting my first of many posts about my life in Washington DC. As you can read on my about me page, I woke up one day and realized that I have control over my life and where I am going. My work life is amazing, I'm very happy in the education world, but my personal life has needed some redecorating. I ended an 8 year relationship last year after my grandmother died because I realized I wanted someone who would commit and a family of my own. I'll share more of my last months with my grandmother when I'm ready to share with everyone - I have never done that before!

I am an avid blog reader. I get a million emails a day to read the blog posts. I absolutely LOVE that feature, so I don't miss a beat of my favorite blogs. I am going to make a page of all the blogs I enjoy. I cannot wait to get to know the people behind those blogs further.

So what am I going to post about?

• Life experiences - my 50 before 30 list - so many things to do in the next 3 years!
• Places I visit
• My job
• Book Reviews
• Product Reviews

Until next time.....