Pet Peeves: The Traffic Edition

Firstly, I do not profess to be a perfect driver but I am damn close ha ha!

Four way stops: 

People... if you get there first, you get to go first. It really isn't a difficult concept. If I get to the four way stop and you are already there, I should not have to sit there and wait for you to proceed. I won't wait forever for you. If you're going to take your sweet time, I will start to go after an appropriate time has elapsed because, let's face it, I'm not getting younger and I have places to go - which explains why I am in my vehicle on the road.  If you really want to annoy me, you will choose that particular moment in time to remember you are at the four way stop and then proceed. NO... you lost your chance. It's MY turn!!  The other thing, if I get there first, I get to go first. Just because you are in a hurry and need to get somewhere does not trump the rules of the road. It's a stop sign, a four way stop sign. Wait your freaking turn!!

Yield Signs:

Yes, indeed, you do have to at the very least slow down at these upside-down triangle signs and make sure no one is coming. Go figure.

School Zones:

SLOW DOWN!  There is nothing in this world that satisfies me more than to see the lights on a police car light up and pull someone over in a school zone for speeding.  That said, I must admit that I received my one and only speeding ticket for speeding in a school zone. I was slowing down, but not quick enough. It was photo radar and I could have fought the ticket as the time stamp was wrong, but I didn't. There is absolutely no excuse for speeding in a school zone.

If you come speeding up behind me in a school zone, prepare to be pissed off.  I will continue to drive my reduced speed for a few blocks past the school zone just because you annoyed the crap out of me for speeding in a school zone. No matter where you need to go, no matter how late you are, it does not justify speeding through a school zone or a playground zone.  Kids are scatterbrains. They are supposed to look both ways, they are supposed to use crosswalks. The fact of the matter is ... most of the time they don't.  You won't get to where you are going any faster if you, at the very least, get pulled over for a speeding ticket, or at the very worst, hit a child. Is it really worth it to save a few minutes??

Fog Lights:

We live in the city. It is never so dark here that anyone needs the extra light from their fog lights at night, let alone during the day. Seriously... most of these huge trucks that drive around have their stupid fog lights on and it's like facing a vehicle driving with their brights on. I get it... you have that fancy extra switch you can turn on, on your dash.  Guess what? I have one too - it doesn't mean I have to flick it on.  If you really need the extra light to see to drive in the city, you need more than just extra light, you need a vision test.

Signal Lights:

For crying out loud - use them! While I have had a few premonitions in my lifetime, I'm not psychic. I don't know where you plan to go, which lane you plan to use, what parking lot you plan to swerve in to, what parking space you plan to turn in to and so on...  The turn signal isn't a sledgehammer. You could even use your pinky finger to turn it on if you wanted. Just use it!!  Now, on the other hand, you should always anticipate every single move I plan to make!!

Speed Limits:

If I am driving the speed limit  - don't ride my freaking bumper!! Chances are, I'm driving a bit over the speed limit but I didn't like paying the one speeding ticket I did get so I don't ever want to get another one. I don't plan to speed up just because you're riding my ass.  In fact, if you keep doing it and pissing me off, I'm going to slow down. Yes, I get frustrated by people NOT driving the speed limit ... they drive me insane. However, I only drive under the speed limit when you're riding my bumper and I want to annoy you as much as you are me.  Keep your appropriate distance.

Of course it is worth its own paragraph too... although I just mentioned it... driving too slow is as dangerous as driving too fast.  For crying out loud - drive the speed limit! There is something to be said for cautious driving and then there is the spot where the line is crossed into just plain stupidity.  I posted on Facebook a while back about the old man who was going so slow in the parking lot at the grocery store that he stalled his car going over a speed bump.  TOO SLOW.

Kids in car seats:

I can't believe I even have to mention this but when I see a small child standing in the front seat of a moving vehicle... GAH... really???

Ok... I'll get off my soapbox and look for some anti-bitchy pills now, or some chocolate!

Gravy thou art my nemesis!

Another Thanksgiving down, the dishwasher is humming, my pants are uncomfortably tight and yet again the gravy has bombed!

I don't know what it is about the fine art of gravy-making that escapes me, but it does. I have tried everyone's tips and tricks to no avail. I can make an alfredo sauce like nobody's business but ask me to make a gravy and there is absolutely no hope! Tonight's gravy would not thicken no matter what I did. I finally had to stop adding thickeners, otherwise it would have just tasted like paste.

Oh well, nobody starved. The turkey turned out so tasty, despite waking up this morning and it still being frozen solid. All the side dishes turned out great. Roger did a smash up job on the mashed potatoes. In spite of the gravy fiasco, we did end up with a rather delicious turkey "sauce" ha ha!

The most important thing was I got to be with my family. I could have been eating peanut butter sandwiches and I would have been just as happy. I'm very thankful for Roger, Katy and Zac... oh and Theo too! :)

Getting Started

Anybody that reads this will know that I ramble, a lot. I tried to think of a topic to blog on and realized there was no possible way that I could stick to one subject. I then realized I needed to stick to what I knew, which was a whole lot about nothing! Therefore, what you will find from here on out is a bunch of entries that are not particularly relevant to anything, not particularly relevant to each other and, most likely, not relevant to you. However, they will be relevant to me!

I warn you now, there may be cursing, whining, bitching and moaning ahead.  Grammar will most likely be flawed. I have a horrible habit of ending sentences with prepositions. I have no expectations that anyone will be reading, so it's all good!

That's all for now :)