Driving around in my automobile

My BIG automobile. For those of you that don't know, Dave and I have had the privilege of taking our five month car into the body shop this week since someone was kind enough to whack it while it was parked. Fortunately, they left a note, so it is a fairly painless process once I stopped freaking out that the warranty would be voided. While little Hyundai is getting fixed Mizz and I get to cruise around Portland in a Chevy Trailblazer which, I have to admit, is really fun. It is definitely more TRUCK than car and that appeals to my sense of machismo. I was pretty struck by how influential both the brand and type of vehicle influence my mood and behavior. My first thought while backing the beast up was that I either needed to drive to Costco and fill it up with giant everything or drive straight up the side of Mt Hood. Since I have thrown in the towel on potty training for awhile (until I get a better indicator that Mizz is ready), we headed to Costco and spent $400 on diapers and a few other items. OK, I exaggerate. In fact, we were quite reasonable and exited with exactly what we came for diapers, batteries, crackers, and milk, the staples of Mizz's cultured life. So I didn't exactly did justice to the sheer potential of that HUGE trunk space. But now I can understand the allure of the big behemoths and perhaps why Americans feel the need to buy so much stuff. While I could feel righteous in my little Corolla, I certainly never felt powerful. .