Another reason not to drive distracted

There are numerous reasons not to drive distracted. Most importantly is not to kill yourself or others. It would be unfair to your family to go and get 'urself kilt by participating in an activity that could wait. And imagine how you'd feel if killed someone else doing something stupid? Really, only damage and destruction can result in distracted driving. With that said, I must admit that I take part in this. However, since I have become keenly aware of it, I have started making the conscious effort not to do anything other than drive. I still talk on the cell phone while I drive, but I think I'm going to take the Oprah challenge and stop. As women, we pretty much do anything Oprah says anyway, right? What I have stopped doing is putting on my makeup when I drive. I didn't do it while the kids were in the car. Of course, why did I think it was ok to make my kids safer by being a better driver but no one else's? Great logic. I justified the makeup application by never taking my eyes off the road. I was like those that say "I drive better when I'm drunk. I pay more attention." I could rummage through my cosmetics bag and find everything I needed by touch. I could curl my eyelashes and apply mascara without wavering my view from the road. I had become quite the makeup artist on my drive to work. And, on top of that, I saved about a whole 10 minutes by doing it in the car and not at home. I'd like to say that my guilt about being an unsafe driver prompted me to stop. I'd like to say that as a responsible Texas driver, I stopped to become a better defensive driver. But, of course, that was not the case. I had to stop because my blush application started to look a little wild. Too many times at work I'd attend meetings and check my makeup once I got upstairs into the locker only to find that I looked like a drag queen. My blush was so dark (and usually only on one side) that I looked like I was on my way to Charlie's for a show. Some days I had evenly dark blush on each side and I looked like Kim Kardashian had applied it for me. Some days it looked like someone punched me in the cheekbones. Other times, the apples of my cheeks glowed like Shirley Temple's. I wonder what my coworkers thought when they saw me. Amanda looks like a Mary Kay nightmare. Amanda's getting her crazy on. So, Texas, your world is a safer place now that I will apply makeup at home.

The Bestest Cookies

I made these for my mom's birthday today. They rival "Mike the Cookie Man" from work. They are so good that I can't even stand it.

Mrs. Field's Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 Cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

1½ Cups light brown sugar
¼ Cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2¾ Cups all-purpose flour
1 Cup rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1½ Cups chopped dried cranberries
1 Cup chopped walnuts
¾ Cup white chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, sugars, eggs and vanilla with an electric mixer on high speed.
3. In another bowl, mix together the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
4. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet stuff until blended. Stir in cranberries, walnuts and white chocolate.
5. Spoon ¼ Cup portions 2 inches apart onto a non-stick surface (parchment paper, Silpat or Release foil) on a baking sheet. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes or until edges of cookies are just beginning to brown. I check them after 13 minutes to see if they are a little brown. Cookies will still be soft in the center and not look done, but take them out JUST as the edges brown a little. Allow cookies to sit for at least 5 minutes before removing and placing on cooling rack.