The husband and I car pooled today and I discovered the new love of my life: the 2+ lane.

Oh, HOV lane! Never leave me!

Even with the downtown detour to drop of the hubby at his temp job, I still made it to work ten minutes earlier than normal.

I will be loving every moment in the carpool lane for the next three weeks until my mister starts his full-time job on the other side of town. *weeps*

(You can buy a toll tag that will let you drive in the HOV lane any time you want, but it’s ’spensive. $3.50 a pop during rush hour. $7 a day is a wee bit rich for my blood.)

I know Cate wil love this… April 19th is National Hanging Out Day!  According to LaundryList.org, electric dryers use up to 10% of residential energy. So give your dryer (and your laundry!) the day off and hang it outside!

(P.S. If you’re short on space like us, I found this nifty travel clothesline from veteran travel guru Rick Steves for only $8. It attaches with rubber bands, and the braided design means you don’t even need clothespins for lighter items!)

A community over on Live Journal is hosting an event called 14 Valentines.

The idea is to highlight 14 women’s issues over the first 14 days of February with art and information of every kind.  Some of the submissions are fanfiction, as the main constituents of the community are from various online fandoms, but there are also links to real resources for various women’s issues, personal essays, original stories and poetry, art, book and music reviews, and much, much more.

Subjects so far have covered domestic violence, body image, women in the arts, and women in academia.  The art is amazing, the voices are real, and the topics are devestatingly important.

If you’re feeling a little down in the dumps today, you’re not alone. Researchers in England have declared today Blue Monday: the unhappiest day of the year.

Dr Cliff Arnall, a Cardiff University psychologist, devised the formula that shows today is the most depressing.

His equation takes into account six factors: weather, debt, time since Christmas, time since failing our new year’s resolutions, low motivational levels and the feeling of a need to take action.

Taken together they pinpoint today as ‘Blue Monday’.

I’m not sure I believe that there can be a single day of the year that is more prone to cause depression than any other, but if you’re feeling a little down in the dumps take steps to make yourself feel better. Make a list of things you are thankful for. Make a “Ta-Da!” list of things you’ve accomplished instead of a to-do list.

And, if you’re feeling a little blue about the resolutions you may or may not be keeping, why not try the 31 things in 31 days plan to accomplish a few little things instead of one big one; pick and choose from among their many good ideas. I especially like the idea of making a list of 10 or 15 “fun” resolutions that are easy to keep. It’s never too late!