Guess what time it is? Oh, forget it, I’m horrible at keeping secrets…I’ll go ahead and tell you!

It’s time for BP Giveaway #3 and this week two winners will be chosen, so that makes this Giveaway #4 too!

Once again, the BP Commute Crew wants you to commute better with the chance to win a $40 BP gift card. That BP Commute Crew is one, nice group of people!

I have learned so much during this campaign and have really enjoyed sharing the tips I picked up at “Gas Class”. These four are my favorite, because they are things that I can do, personally, to improve my car’s performance.

* Don’t leave your car idling at school pick up. Shutting off your engine will save gas and the environment.

*All grades of BP gasoline with Invigorate® help your car get a few more miles per tank when compared to low-detergency, low-quality gasoline (I saw the difference with my own eyes). When used continuously, it helps clean and protect critical engine parts from harmful deposits, so you’ll go a little farther between fill-ups.

* Plug your destination into your GPS before you leave the house so that if you encounter traffic, you can automatically be redirected to another route.

* Choose the scenic route! This will allow you to practice more fuel-saving techniques versus contributing to bumper-to-bumper, stop-and-go traffic.

Just tell me which one of these tips you are most likely to use and I will enter you in the drawing for one of TWO $40 gift cards. You can earn extra entries by tweeting about this giveaway, then leave your tweet link in a comment on this post. Contest ends Wednesday, August 17th at 5pm Eastern.

Two winners will be chosen at random. Make sure to leave a valid email address, so I can contact you if you win.

Good luck and happy commuting!

UPDATE – 8/17/2011  CONGRATS TO SUEBOB AND KAREN T!

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I have been really busy lately. Like, so busy that I don’t call my friends, or my dad, or even the dentist when I have a toothache so wicked that I want to knock out my molar with a sledgehammer.

That busy.

My mom has been a huge help to me. For the last few weeks, she has taken one, or both, of my kids to her house almost every day. She usually picks up my son in the morning while my tween daughter hides in her room, then she drops him back off in the early evening. Even though the BlogHer Conference is over, I am still catching up, so he went over there again yesterday.

When she dropped him off after dinner, she told me that they had just had an interesting conversation. Although my mom knows my son is famous for making inappropriate comments, she asked him, “Do you think I’m pretty?”

My filterless boy replied, “Half and half. You’re half not-pretty because you’re old.”

“What about the other half?”, my mom questioned.

And, he proved his ability to manipulate when he said, “The other half is pretty because I love you.”

I have never seen anyone give a simultaneous insult and compliment quite so well.

For the record, today is my mom’s 77th birthday, so feel free to tell her how awesome she is for putting up with me for all of these years. You can do that now, BECAUSE SHE JUST GOT INTERNET…which is really like MY birthday present, because I don’t have to print my blog posts anymore.

Please, don’t tell her she is half-awesome. You can leave that to my kid.

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Whew.

The last five weeks have been quite a blur. That tends to happen when your employer runs an enormous conference and you are assigned the Twitter account of their 30,000+ followers. People had questions, I found the answers. Lots and lots of them.

So, I apologize for one of the longest bloggy breaks since the swine flu/pulmonary embolism scare of 2009, but I’ve had to be on my toes elsewhere. Literally. I have blisters to prove it.

But, I will happily wear my battle wounds…because that elsewhere of which I speak? Was the fabulous San Diego.

I had never been to San Diego before, but I had heard plenty of people talk about it and out of all of those people, I’ve never heard a disparaging word. My mom used to live there and has told me of its beauty for years. Everyone said that I would love it, that the weather is ideal, the sky is always blue and that the scenery is lovely.

I still wasn’t prepared to be so, incredibly, swept off my feet. Let’s just say that if I didn’t have a family, I wouldn’t have come home.

The temperature and humidity were such that you could walk around during the day wearing a bathing suit or jeans, and be comfortable either way. I never saw a cloud in the sky, the water was gorgeous, the streets are pleasantly walkable and the people are so nice. How could they not be, what with all of that sunshine, margaritas and delicious Mexican food?

And, oh boy did I eat that food. Lots of it. Fish tacos, steak tacos, beans, the sushi to end all sushi and a piece of creme brulee cheesecake. See how someone went and invented something made out of my two favorite desserts? They were practically begging me to eat it.

I sat on the wide beach and laughed with friends at the Hotel Del Coronado, walked along the Embarcadero Marina, and sipped drinks around a firepit.

I did a lot of deep breathing every time I went outside and on the last morning those breaths turned to sighs. It broke my heart to leave. There is so much more to tell you about my trip, but for now…I’m still reeling from the perfection of this city.

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If you have ever lived in Columbus, you know how hard it is to merge onto 23 North off of Interstate 270. It’s a nightmare. I used to work one block north of the merge.

Traffic would back up all the way along the ramp and, sometimes, would carry all the way onto 315. There wasn’t much room to deviate from that route either. It’s just about the only place in town that doesn’t offer a different choice of roads, but even with alternates, not many people think about changing their route.

According to a survey commissioned by BP Products North America Inc, Columbus commuters are creatures of habit, with eighty-six percent agreeing that they have a very specific commute route that they adhere to on a daily basis. Even if there is construction, we tend to stick to the same roads and that causes traffic jams.

Trust me; that traffic can make people grumpy. Just ask my former co-workers. Three out five Columbus commuters agree that a bad commute can impact their mood for the rest of the day. I was one of them.

Craig Sinclair, traffic reporter with Clear Channel Radio Network in Columbus recently shared some tips on how to “Commute Better” by avoiding congestion and maximizing your time on the road:

* Try to leave 15 minutes earlier or later than usual to avoid rush hour. A 15 minute change in drive-time can make a difference in Columbus. When you leave early enough for your destination, you won’t feel as pressured to put the pedal to the metal and you’ll be able to employ gentle driving techniques.

* Listen to the traffic report before your commute. Don’t wait until you’re sitting in traffic to tune-in. You’ll save yourself, and others, time.

* Research alternate routes along the way to your destination which are easily accessible from main roads to combat traffic hold-ups.
Visit a one-stop shop for all your commuting needs to avoid multiple-stops – from fuel to beverages like your morning java fix. Recent changes at your local BP station will make your stops at BP more enjoyable.

*All grades of BP gasoline with Invigorate® help your car get a few more miles per tank when compared to low-detergency, low-quality gasoline (I saw the difference with my own eyes). When used continuously, it helps clean and protect critical engine parts from harmful deposits, so you’ll go a little farther between fill-ups.

* Plug your destination into your GPS before you leave the driveway. If you do encounter congestion you can allow the GPS to re-direct you.

* Drive in the center lane, when possible. On multi-lane highways, the center lane offers the most flexibility—speeding drivers can pass on the left and merging/exiting traffic is on the right. At least, that’s how it’s supposed to work!

* Run errands on Sunday morning versus before or after work. Sunday morning drive times take about half the time it takes to navigate from one side of the city to the other during the work week. If Sunday morning is not conducive to errands, set aside some time to plan them into your schedule for the following week so you can make stops at your convenience when you’re on-the-go. Also, for parent’s on-the-go, consider working on your to-do list in the evening when the kids are in bed with your spouse at home. You can get more done quickly and it isn’t as hot out.

* Avoid being a “taxi” for your kids and go to a coffee shop or a nearby local park while your kids’ participate in after school programs so you can avoid going back and forth. Or, make phone calls and set up appointments while sitting in the car waiting for your kids to be done with activities.

* Drive with other commuters. This helps cut your weekly fuel costs in half and save wear on your car. When time and schedule allows, embrace and cruise with the traffic. Flowing with freeway traffic when possible can decrease wind resistance, but only if you’re staying within a reasonable speed of 65 mph or less.

* In heavy traffic, go easy on the pedal. Driving stress can translate into tenseness that has your foot pushing harder on the pedal than is necessary.

All of these tips are thanks to BP and their Commute Better Crew. Have you seen them? They’ve been out and about in different Columbus locations handing out free commuter essentials.

And, guess what? BP wants me to hand out ANOTHER free gas card! Leave a comment on this post before Monday, August 8th at noon Eastern to be entered to win a $40 BP gas card.

For an additional entry, you can tweet about this post or share it on Facebook, then come back here and leave the link in a separate comment.

Good luck and happy commuting!

*Update* Congrats to the winner, Colleen!

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