So, it seems most of my pet peaves have to do with driving.

We all have a few pet peaves, its normal to have them. I've been thinking lately and I'd say more than half of mine are driving related. Mostly revolving around reckless, dangerous, or selfish driving. You know the people I'm talking about.

 The people who pass you on the right after you have just passed a semi, because they cant wait for you to get over in the right hand lane at a safe distance.

The people who dodge in and out between cars so they can get caught at the same train crossing as you, just 3 cars ahead.

The people who speed 90 mph down a country road so they don't have to drive the speed limit on the highway where there might be *gasp* a law enforcement agent.

The people who do not turn on their lights with their wipers, despite that it is the law and their grey car is the same color as the pavement and the sky, rendering them practically invisible.

The people who cut you off, making you slam on your brakes hoping the guy behind you does not rear end you, only to see that person dropping off their children at school with yours.

The people who cut across the parking lot, and are pissed off to find you driving down the aisle like you are supposed to, because you are in their way.

Or better yet the people going the wrong way down an aisle or in the entrance or exit who try to squeeze past you when there is barely room for one vehicle, and are equally pissed off to find you in their way.

It boils down to this, my life and the life of my children is worth more than the 5 seconds these people will gain getting to their destination. Isn't yours? I'm appalled that they don't think so, and frightened to be sharing the road with most of them. 

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Paper or plastic??

In the passed couple of months, I have seen the same news video 3 or 4 times. It sums up the paper vs. plastic debate pretty well. Paper while seeming to be the better choice uses more resources to make and ship, and takes up more room in the landfill. While plastic takes up to 1000 years to decompose, it takes less resources to make and ship and it is 100% recyclable, if one bothers to recycle them.  I would share the story with you, if i could find it. The story ends with a golly gee sort of "it looks like neither one is better, you have to decide for yourself" And that ending really ticked me off.

Since December, I have begun to amass alternatives, a few canvas bags and plenty of reusables. What ever was at the check out for $1. It started with a trip to the grocery store with out my car (you may remember the sad tail of the broken car for almost a month) I hitched a ride to the store from the kid's school, and I figured the walk back with a gallon of milk would be no big deal. After sitting in the cafe and sipping coffee and solving sudoku for a couple hours, I commenced my shopping. Besides the gallon of milk I decided I might as well pick up a few other items, a couple cans of soup, 5 lbs of carrots, and various assorted other things piled into my cart, until I thought i was really nearing what I could carry. At this point I went back to produce and picked up a $4 canvas bag that I had eyed on numerous previous visits, but had not spent the money on. I think that bag was about 25 lbs sans milk when I left the store, to walk the 1/2 mile back to school.

 That was all it took, however, to get me into using reusable bags. One canvas bag that I bought in kind of desperation.  I had been using that bag for a couple months, plus I had added quite a few of the dollar bags to my collection when I first saw that news story, and I sat on the couch waiting for them to say buy reusable bags, but they never did, I was shocked, and quite annoyed. I still am.

At any rate, while looking for that news story I stumbled upon this interactive bit HERE

And I figure I should share the link to my favorite non-canvas bags bringyourbag.

And my best tip for reusing your reusable bags? Empty them right away and put them back in the car. And if you can afford it get a few extras so you can forget one or two at home and still have some in the car.

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New Chicks

Last spring, I told my husband he could not buy any chickens until he built them a house to live in. He came home with five little fuzzy black chicks anyway. And after some looking on the internet, we discovered that we had FOUR black Sex-Link Roosters and one hen. Seeing as how we want eggs and not meat, we promptly returned two of the males for the last two hen chicks at the farm store. That gave us three girls and two roos. The ideal ration is ten or twelve girls to one roo. This makes a happy roo and girls who don't get an overabundance of attention.

Ack!!! :P

I hate being drawn into an argument.  Especially in a comment on someone else's blog. Sorry to the owner.

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If we knew each others secrets what comfort would we find.

That was the final quote on tonight's episode of Criminal Minds. What truth that one small sentence speaks. In our efforts to be normal, or to be perceived as such how many of us hide the very same things as everyone around us? Those things that make  us feel out of place or strange, but are also the same things that when found in another make us soul mates and kindred spirits. Or maybe it isn't an effort to be or appear normal after all, maybe it is only the fear of rejection and ridicule.  It starts when we are so young, that need to be like everyone else, to be liked by everyone else. And even after we are adults and we feel we should be past it, it's their. I have built some wildly strong friendships based on those little secrets.  A college friend and I built a relationship on the simple fact that be both showed up at school to foal-watch* with a car packed full of things to do,  cd players, decks of cards, books, magazines, snacks, (you name it we had it) AND dressed unintentionally alike.  We both left our bevy of stuff in our cars until we saw what the other person had with them. A life long friendship started with something so small. Just a tiny odd secret we shared. I have a couple of friends who are also Moms, friendships that also started with by revealing what we felt where our inadequacies as mothers are, and we had them in common.  Such small simple secrets, and sharing them gave us comfort by revealing that we aren't alone.

If we knew each others secrets what comfort would we find. We would find that we are all keeping them, and they are all similar, and none of us are normal and it is ok. Really it is OK.

*Foal watch consisted of sleeping in the classroom at school and checking on the pregnant mare every hour while waiting for her to give birth.

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