finally I can say something!

Holy crow, finally I can say something about this because OH MY WORD, what started as a pipe dream (ed. note: not actually achieved by pipe) is now a reality:

This lady and I are driving across Canada (well, skipping parts but not because we didn't want to go there, we wanted to go EVERYWHERE but because that pesky thing called reality got in the way and dictated that we must break it up.) And we will be blogging all the live long way over at the Summer Road Trip 09 site like a marauding duo of bloggers (don't worry, we leave most things intact).

Actually regarding leaving things intact as we whirlwind through provinces, I cannot promise that our cohorts won't make some kind of lasting impact where ever we go.

Oh wait, did I mention we were both bringing the kids? My husband swears he will be crying into his pillow at night from loneliness but I think he will get over it fairly quickly, like "two beers in peace" quick, or "I just finished two books in four days" quick, or "no one is demanding PBandJ while surfing the net" quick.

Anyhow, if you want to follow what is going on and / or you are in Canada and want to join in on our meet-ups, I will be posting regularly over at the Road Trip '09 site (I haz videoz there todayz) plus here (but not as regularly because I'm lazy like that yo' AND because internet on the road is apparently harder to find than hitch-hikers that look like Brad Pitt AND not Brad from Kalifornia but Thelma and Louise).

So yeah... if I don't go insane in the next two weeks, I guess I'm stronger than I thought. Oh I know what you are thinking "isn't she ALREADY insane?" - well yes I am and don't mind if I do!

free just makes it even better

Pssssssst my American friends... wanna know how to get something lovely (hint: Estée Lauder) for free? Check out my review blog today for details.

contagious illusions of grandeur

When I worked at the Infectious Disease clinic (which was less infectious than it sounds), the head honcho doctor dude told me the two most filthy places we come in contact with on a regular basis are pop cans and envelopes. He told me this while leaning up against the front of my desk watching me lick a stack of 100 envelopes while drinking an icy cold pop in front of large oscillating fan. Dude was probably making my desk that much more infectious by leaning on it but he signed the cheques so I kept my mouth shut. This doctor always laughed when he talked so it was hard to get mad at him when he was handing you a death sentence via envelope glue.

Now it turns out I think of that dude each and every time I lick an envelope (hard habit to break). BUT his warning was not ignored: I do use straws for drinking from cans so the lesson wasn't completely lost. And boy oh boy, do people look at you strange when you order a can of Stella with a straw -- don't ask me if I want a glass to pour it in people, I'M NO SISSY and I don't know where that glass has been.

Anyhow, I'm not here today - IT'S JUST AN ILLUSION AND I'M THE ILLUSIONIST.

Actually I'm licking envelopes to send out stacks of real snail mail (I didn't even know the post office still existed). Seriously, when the dental claims people told me to "mail" in my claim, it took a lot of explaining on their part to help me understand they actually wanted something from me that I could not just click and point to them. LUDDITES I screamed into her ear (odds that my claim will be rejected: 98.7%).

So I'm over at Anissa Mayhew's today sharing one of the few travel stories I actually remember that doesn't involve jail time.

I'm also over at MamaPop marvelling at the fact that Elisabeth Hasselbeck has supposedly written a book (heavy emphasis on "supposedly")