And miles to go before I sleep...

I got a new car recently. I love it! It's a Kia Sorrento. It has all kinds of cool features. My favorite is the built in bluetooth, so I can talk on the phone without holding it or wearing something in my ear. The main reason I got it was because my old car, my beloved Ford Explorer a.k.a. Beau, just didn't get good enough gas mileage. On a good day, he was eking out 15 mpg. Back in Utah it didn't really matter because I worked 2 blocks away from home, went to church 1 mile away from home, and the kids rode buses to school. Now, however, everything is far, far away. So I had to say goodbye to my Beau, and get my new car, which hasn't been named yet. She can do 24 mpg if I'm careful.

I've had her about a month, and I am shocked by the amount of miles she's racked up already. As of yesterday, 1890. In one month! Holy cow! I knew I was driving a lot, but that's a little ridiculous. So I sat down and figured out my mileage.

Here's my current driving schedule.
In the morning David drives Jordan to early morning seminary, 17 miles round trip. I don't actually drive that, but David usually takes my car.

In the morning I drop Kallai, then Taliah off at school, then drive to work, 19 miles one way.
After work, I drive home, 16 miles one way.
When the kids get out of school, I pick up Kallai, then Jordan, then return home, 21 miles round trip.

That's 73 miles per day, and that's not counting driving to Young Mens on Wednesday, or any shopping trips or things like that.

So now the question I am asking myself is, "Can I cut back?" I must be able to cut back. So here's my first bright idea. I just won't go home after work. I will go to the library, the store, do errands, visit friends, etc. until my kids get out of school. That will save me 18 miles per day and 360 miles per month. So it looks like I will be spending some extra time at the library. You may hear a lot more from me on my blog in the near future, as I will have a great deal of uninterrupted computer time. Maybe I will start doing genealogy or something. I guess we'll see.