Brief Summary

I keep getting behind on here, so I’ll need to be brief. Then hopefully this weekend I can catch up with photos!

1) Skyler had a blast last Friday with Heather and her 1-year-old, Braden. Heather said Braden would make noises at Skyler and she would just crack up at him. And I knew Skyler had fun because that evening, she was the craziest, happiest I think we’ve ever seen her. She had all kinds of new words and sounds, and had the most energy. It was like she had such a great day and didn’t want it to end! Thanks again, Heather!

2) We also started at daycare this week. She hasn’t cried yet, and seems just fine when Darlene takes her from me in the mornings. Darlene said she and the 6 1/2 month old boy play very well together, and that Skyler flirts with a 14 month old boy, Caiden. She said Caiden is the only one who’s earned a smile from Skyler yet, and for him, that’s all she has all day!

3) She’s still got bottle feeding issues. We got more Zantac from her doctor, but she’s still just so inconsistent with what she eats. Now and then, she’ll suck the whole thing down in no time at all, but the other times, it’s work to get her to drink 2 ounces. She’s not fussy at all, just seems to have a pure lack of interest. I’ve done some asking around and reading on the Internet, and it’s possible she’s working on teeth. You can actually see her 2 bottom middle teeth right under her gums now. She’s also had some yucky diapers this week, which I’ve heard is also a sign of teething. I’ve even read that some babies will just wean themselves from a bottle at a younger age and are better off using a sippy cup. That would be fine if Skyler would drink out of a sippy cup! But that’s a no-go as well. So we’ll see. I’m going to weigh her again next week to make sure she’s still gaining weight and then decide if a trip to the doctor is necessary based on that.

4) Skyler’s mobility is still very primitive. When on her belly, she’ll tuck her knees and then push forward, but not bother to push up from her upper body, much like an inchworm. Then she’ll roll over, push off from her back side, roll back over, and do it again. Amazingly, it works – she can get all the way from one end of the couch to the other that way, but it sure seems like crawling would be easier! I’ve tried holding her mid-section up while putting her on her hands and knees and showing her the crawling motion, but she insists on nose-diving her face into the couch and doing the inch worm thing. Meanwhile, she blows slobbery zerberts face-down on the couch cushions and laughs. It makes for a soggy place to sit. I guess as long as she’s having fun, our little workouts are good for both of us!

5) And lastly, my hypermiling experiment was a success! My gas light went on 50 miles later than it usually does, and after everything averaged out, I got 3 more miles to the gallon than I used to! If I fill up twice a month, and get 50 extra miles each tank, that adds up to almost 1200 extra miles I can go per year, without having to spend any more on gas!

Gas prices, road rage, and hypermiling

I get geekier and geekier every day I think. Usually it’s Internet related geeky, but today, it’s about science and economics!

I, like many other people these days, am horribly upset by the continuously rising gas prices. I heard a radio personality say today that Missouri has the cheapest gas in America, with a low price of $3.82, and that one station in Western Kansas was up to $4.19. I then recalled a trip I took to Colorado in 2004, when I was worried about the $2.07 per gallon that I had to pay out in the plains of Western Kansas. Oh, but now, wouldn’t that be a dream?

In my commutes to and from work, I’ve been getting overly concerned with what vehicles the people around me are driving. Is it really necessary for that single, twenty-something, young professional woman to be driving a Hummer? Does that “tough guy” really need an F-250 when he doesn’t ever haul anything but a$$? Meanwhile, I’m driving my sensible 4-door family sedan that gets very reasonable gas mileage, and gas prices continue to increase because demand is increasing, and I’m wondering – what gives, people?!?!

But after reading some information about something so simple yet ingenious called hypermiling, I realized that as is usually the case, change could be found within me. The main aspect of hypermiling that I’ve started putting into play is learning to shift to neutral and coast more, brake less, thus making the most of the gas you’ve already burned.

The website linked above explains it much better, but it’s really just simple physics. It’s about using the energy you’ve already spent to get you as far as possible; not cancelling it out by burning it up with your brakes, and taking advantage of momentum in the right places, but not wasting it in the wrong ones. So, hit the gas on your way up a hill, but shift to neutral and let it ride as you coast down the hill and on up the next one. I discovered a hilly road on my way to my parent’s house that is probably around two miles long, and I only I had to hit the gas pedal once on the first incline, and the rest was smooth saling in neutral gear, and I never fell below the speed limit. Another thing is if you see a red or yellow light ahead, there is most likely no need to use any more gas to get there (unless it’s uphill and you can’t make it without gas). Any gas you use to get to the stoplight faster goes to complete waste, because then you sit and use gas while going nowhere!

Gosh, it all seems like common sense, and I don’t understand why I haven’t driven like this before. Why don’t they teach this stuff in driver’s ed?

I filled my tank yesterday morning and then I started using some of these driving techniques, so I’m going to continue to use them as much as possible through this whole tank. I’m really hoping to see that I got a lot more miles out of the tank than usual. I’ll be sure to report back here with the results when my experiment is finished!

In the meantime, I hope other people will try this. It’s simple, costs nothing – and may even make you money if you can make your gas take you farther. And it’s just something every individual can do to help decrease the demand for gasoline!