Possible Trip Map

Even though our road trip isn't for another month, I thought I'd put up this map to show where we're planning to go.


View Larger Map

First stop will be the George Eastman Museum in Rochester, NY.

From there we'll head down to Binghamton, and if all goes according to plan, the lovely and talented Fran will meet us for a lemonade and I can give her her book. I hope too that she brings her fellow lovely and talented stepdaughter.

We'll say our teary goodbyes and continue to Princeton, NJ. Our friend Bob is turning 60 so we're going to hang out for the weekend.

When we finish there, we will head over to St. Louis, MO. We lived there for a couple of years and have some wonderful friends that have to meet Alexander.

The drive is about 1500kms/925mi and I figure we should break it up and not do it all in one go. First we might have a chance to meet with Blanche, so she can also get her book.

Then we can stop at Lancaster, PA. We'll buy a quilt and a buggy.

Continuing on, should we go to Gettysburg?

Driving through Ohio and another bloggy is on the horizon. If Flannery and Doc want their book(s) maybe we'll meet up in Cambridge, OH. Or wherever you say, Flan...but I am driving the hell down here just to see you, so maybe you'd like to make a bit of effort, m'kay? Just saying.

We'll end up in St. Louis and stay there a couple of days. When we leave we'll head home via Detroit and the Henry Ford museum.

Please feel free to offer suggestions for stops along the way.

Hand Delivered

To save on mailing costs, I'm going to drive down and bring some lucky ducks their books IN PERSON.

Renting a car and making my lovely husband take time off work is much easier than giving a bloated-with-humidity paperback to my mum to send to youse bloggies. And, yes, I am making her pay for the postage.

Here's who I'm hoping to slobber on in person:

• Beth in Washington, DC
  
• Blanche
• Flannery
• Fran
• Gifted Typist

Okay, now I must take a nap, all this blogging has made me sleepy.

You Won!

And the winner is.......







Wait, before I tell you who is getting a prize, let me just say that I'm mad at Coaster Punchman for this:

Why do I have a feeling that everyone who enters will win a book?

Shut up ruining my surprises all the time!

So, yes, if you posted, you win a moldy tattered book from me.

And the winners, in no particular order, are:

• Gizmorox from My Head is a Box Filled With Nothing
• Flannery Alden from Prone to Whimsy
• Amy from Mish Mash
• Beth Corbin from Yikes
• Barbara Bruederlin from Bad Tempered Zombie
• Bluez from Lame Stuff
  
• Coaster Punchman from Coaster Punchman's World
• Beth from A Cup of Coffey
• Donny Mountjoy from Ribbed For Your Pleasure
• Captain Karen from Voyages of the HMS Swiftsure
• Elizabeth McQuern from Bella Rossa
• Gifted Typist from Gifted Typist
• Lori Cameron from Short and Snappy
• Melanie from Mellow Like Jello
• Dr. Monkey von Muckerstein from Monkey Muck
• Cormac Brown from Cormac Writes
• Creepy from The Church of Lost Souls
• Wendi Aarons from Wendi Aarons
• Fran from Fran I Am
• Eebie from Modern Day Hobo

Let me say that I loved your little stories. You guys are the best!

As soon as you receive your book you must post about your undying love for me and how awesome I am.

`

Enter To Win!

I'm sponsoring a Giveaway here in Espanyaland.

Here's what you could win:

a book

I will select it from my bookshelf, at random, and send it to you in the mail.

How do I enter?
You have to leave a comment telling me something interesting. Here are some suggestions but you are not limited to these:

• how you met and chose your spouse/partner
• how you picked your kid's/pet's name
• how you got the job you're in

You know, that sort of thing.

Who can enter?
Anyone. You could be living in the US, Australia, Scotland, Bangladesh, England, wherever, it doesn't matter. You also don't need a blog but if you have one and you win, just do a post on the book you receive.

What do I win?
A book that was owned and loved by me. It can be, but is not limited to, fiction or non-fiction, paperback or hardcover, poetry, reference, in a language other than English. No porn though. Go get your fix somewhere else. (not that there's anything wrong with it)

Why are you doing this?
I need to unload the book(s) I'm ready to admit I'm never going to read to make room for new ones (that I probably won't read either).

What if I don't like the book you sent me?
Suck it up, loser.

What's the deadline?
Contest closes on July 20, 2008. Winner will be announced via this blog and email.


Sound good? Start commenting, creeps!
-

I'm Awesome

The lovely and talented Flannery Alden from Prone to Whimsy has seen fit to give me an award.

I'm humbled and crushed by her love especially since I think I should be doing more writing and visiting with all my bloggies. Instead I'm slithering away from the computer and just ignoring everyone.

If the stars align properly next month, I will have the pleasure of meeting Flan and her gang and crushing them with my love in person!

Now, I'm supposed to award this to some more people, but I may as well just put my whole blogroll here. If I picked one person over another there would be hurt feelings, phone calls back and forth, threats of breaking up, ice cream and cookie binging...Thanks for the pressure, Flan!

Instead, I give you all the weird looking award. Enjoy!
-

Trip Confirmed

Wassupbishes,

Since gas prices are so high we decided that instead of sitting in our backyard watching Alexander play in his new little pool, it would be better if we rented a Hummer and drove 3500 kms/2200 miles. The environment can suck it. What did the environment ever do for me?!

Here's our route:

• Toronto to Rochester - to visit the George Eastman House
• Rochester to Binghamton - to visit with the lovely Fran I Am (well, I'm not sure where we're meeting, but this is as good a place as any...)
• Binghamton to Princeton - Bob turns 60!
• Princeton to St. Louis - visit with our friends (we used to live there)
• St. Louis to Dearborn - Henry Ford museum
• Dearborn to Toronto

We've only booked one hotel so far, the one in Princeton. Other than that, we plan to just drive around and stay wherever.

We'll be driving through New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Michigan, with a toe dipped into Missouri, and plan to be away about two weeks.

If anyone knows of some must-sees along I-70/US Route 40, please share.
-

Happy Cana-duh Day!

Work Out

I try to hit the gym a couple of times a week. I actually enjoy going for a few reasons.

• I like doing the step or weightlifting classes. On my own, I would work out for about three minutes and then be in the whirlpool slurping Bailey's on ice until I turned into a prune.


• They have great babysitting facilities, the gals love my baby and my baby loves them. They slobber and kiss Alexander like he was their own son, it's really nice. And it's only five bucks a visit.


• The instructors are almost fantastic, with one in particular that I like to follow around to the different gyms she teaches at. Sally is so wonderful that I sing her praises to anyone who will listen, including sending e-mails to her managers and the corporate office.

Yesterday was the last day of a promotion Sally was offering. Come to her Pump (weightlifting) class three times in the alloted time span and be eligible for a two months paid on your membership.

Yeah, that's right! I WON!!!

I was selected and picked and chosen and I WON!

Although no matter how many times I lift weights my arms are still soggy macaroni, barely capable of combing my hair, let alone lifting my 23 pound butterball babby.
=

New Trips Planned

So far this summer we're just hanging around.

Except for a very-anticipated trip to Halifax in August to visit with the lovely and talented, Gifted Typist. That is going to be so fantastic!

And just this morning we received an invitation for our friend Bob's 60th birthday, also in August, in New Jersey, and we're probably going to go. Whooo, road trip! Bah, the only reason I get excited about road trips is because then I can buy more crap than usual at Target and Carters.

I'm putting this out there so if anyone is interested in meeting up along our route, that would be neat and weird. FranYouAre, I'm thinking of you...

Happy Birthday Alexander

Rowbear and I made it through this first year, and so did Alexander. I think we're all pretty happy with the family setup right now.


I'm not responsible for the following cuteness overload...

Scroll down if you dare...

Alexander hanging around

Alexander modeling his new sneakers,
generously given to him by his Montreal cousins.
Take that, Run DMC!

=

Like a Bad Boyfriend

=
Yesterday was Alexander's first birthday - already! I'll do a separate post on that, with pictures and crap, but today I will write about an old friend.

Once upon a time, I went to work in an office and there was a girl there that I clicked with instantly. Let's call her...Britney.

She was beautiful, smart, and funny. Right away we started blab blabbing and hanging out and crushing each other with our love. I liked my job and enjoyed going in to work every day.

Britney was having problems with her boyfriend who was a complete zero. She was worth so much more - aren't they always? and they never see it? Finally, she made the decision to break up with him, and Rowbear allowed me to offer her our spare room for a short while.

She lived with us for a couple of months, and it was fine. It could have been better, but it could have been worse. She moved out to an apartment nearby.

We still worked together, our desks beside each other. But then she started getting odd. She got bitchy and snarky on me, in front of our colleagues. She'd stop talking to me, then act like nothing happened. It was hot and cold. I was never invited to her new home.

She was like a bad boyfriend.

Then the company was sold, and I was one of the first to go as I'd been there the least amount of time. I was very sad that this period of my life was over as it was a great place to work with some excellent people.

Britney and I kept in sporadic contact, usually at her behest. We'd IM for a bit and then nothing for a while.

When Rowbear and I decided to try and have a baby, she was one of the first people I told, and her excitement and thrilledness made me happy. When she loved me, I felt fabulous. And when she'd drop me, as she would do periodically, I felt crushed and abandoned and confused.

She was like a bad boyfriend.

The day after I did a pregnancy test, and told the father-to-be, the grandmother-to-be, the aunties-to-be, I told Britney. I saw her in person, she hugged me, gave me a beautiful card.

And then I didn't see her until a couple of days before I gave birth. She'd been busy with a boyfriend or whatever, and that was okay. It was hard but I can't force someone to love me.

We went out for ice cream and she patted my gigantic beach ball belly, "I can't believe the size of you! You're going to have a baby!" It was so sweet.

I had the baby, I sent her a picture of Alexander on my cell phone. She was one of my first people I talked to after having him.

She came over for a visit at home, appropriately loved my son, and we made plans to meet on the upcoming Sunday.

That Sunday morning, I left her a message on her home phone, on her cell phone and an email. I didn't hear from her that day. Or the next.

Or ever again.

She was like a bad boyfriend.

One of the Four Agreements is, Don't Take Anything Personally. In my brain, I know that and understand it. But in my heart, I feel rejected and like a nerd. I know my bad boyfriend has issues and complications and isn't trying to hurt me on purpose, but it still hurts.

Every once in a while, I'll dream about her. We'll be chatting and laughing and I'll tell her that I miss her. I wake up sad.

Sometimes I think about how I'll react if I see her again. Will I be, ohmygod, I missed you, or will I freeze her? Will she freeze me?

I was broken up with, but I never found out why, so I had to mourn without understanding. I'm not alone in this, you can google tons of articles and books about it. I tried to figure out why I felt hurt and needy with this relationship, but since it's been over now for over a year, I don't think about it very much any more. I don't blame her though.

This afternoon, I was walking in a downtown food court, pushing a sleeping Alexander in his stroller, and I saw my boyfriend. She looked at me, smiled and said, "Hey!"

I said hey back, and kept walking.

=

San Francisco and Las Vegas Info Needed

I have a friend who is driving to San Francisco and Las Vegas, from Vancouver. It's a family of five, with three boys, ages 11.5, 10, and 7.5.

They're looking for a place to stay that is plain and clean, hopefully with a kitchen and reasonably priced.

Any ideas?

Carrots Egg Coffee

I received this in an email today and thought it was fabulous. You can google it for sources.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up, She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose. Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil, without saying a word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, “Tell me what you see.”

“Carrots, eggs, and coffee,” she replied.

Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked her daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hardboiled egg. Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, “What does it mean, mother?”

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water.

Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

“Which are you?” she asked her daughter. “When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?”

Think of this: Which am I?

Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?

Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor.

If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity?

Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I like to think I'm a coffee bean.
-

What Dale Forced Me To Do

First, he made me do a stupid blog, and now he's making me put my list of books on the Shelfari.

I'm slowly adding the small bits of books I have, and I've added the damn widget.

My next list will be of the ones I want to unload. Your mission will be to pick out which book you want and then I'll send it to you. Maybe we'll trade.

That's it...make your own list of books you want to trade.

He Goes Upstairs

My New Favourite Site

ManBabies.com!

Craigslist Village

You heard of that new thing Craigslist?

I finally signed up yesterday to unload some art and writing magazines that I'd been hanging on to, with the idea that I'll take up painting and writing again...Please, let's get real...ain't gonna happen.

Within fifteen seconds of posting I get an email from a lady asking if she can pick up the magazines.

I look at her email address and see she works for the same company as a friend of Rowbear's.

People can say that Toronto is a big city, what do we have like 5 or 6 million? It's a village, I tell ya. Toronto is smaaall.

Bed Head Update

I'm still having trouble sleeping without getting my hair tangled up into a nasty tumbleweed.

I've tried this thing...a bit of towel with a button

And this thing...a spandex skull cap

I know, I look like a lunatic.

I can live with that.
-

My 'Friends'

One day last winter I met up with two friends for lunch.

They didn't know each other before but as soon as they met they were all over each other.

Since then, I've been trying to arrange another lunch because I'm crazy about them both.

They keep bailing on me, with the I'm so busy I quit eating I'm covering for Berniece bullshit.

Today I get a phone call from one half of this dismal duo.

"I'm out here having a smoke and guess who I run into? That's right, Trixie! I'm just calling to tell you that we've been meeting secretly and having lunches EVERY. DAY. And we're laughing at you for trying to make us go for lunch, we're FULL from lunch. In fact, we just want Alexander to come for lunch, so if you would be so kind as to drop him off..."




I'm taking my baby and going home.
-

Viva Las Vegas

A couple of weeks ago we went to Las Vegas for Rowbear's nerd convention. On our way down we stopped in San Diego to visit with that gigantic cat, Bob.

~~~~

This was our third time in Las Vegas, and the longest! The two times before we only came for a weekend because we're not gamblers (seriously, not even a penny slot) but we like the Cirque du Soleil shows, and this time we stayed for a week.

While we were here we saw Ka, Le Rêve and Spamalot. They were all good, with Le Rêve being one of The.Best.Shows.We've.Ever.Seen. We've seen a lot of shows, okay, maybe not as many as Dale, but a lot...and this was spectacular.

We had to hire a babysitter for the nights we went out, so I called a recommended service and I'm telling you, next time I'm bringing my own nanny. The first lady that came was a total lunatic, telling us her entire life story, Dutch growing up in Africa, her first husband died, then her second husband is at home making dinner for her, but look, her golf swing...her golf swing is it!

Jebus, you thought I talked a lot?! Shaddap lady! When we came back to the room, she wouldn't stop talking for HALF AN HOUR! Get out awreddy, I want to be with my baby. I told her my mother was coming in for the next couple of days so we wouldn't need her after all. Okay, it wasn't true, although I did call my mum, begging her to come, but she's all, "Uh, I have a cold? I did some gardening and got some weird infection on my arm? I can't find a flight?" Foine.

The next babysitter that came was also weird. She told us she likes to pray a lot. And apparently there is a lot of sin in Las Vegas. Why would you live here if it doesn't fit with your lifestyle choices? I know I've heard some statistic that says there are the most churches per capita or something here, but still.

When we came back at the end of the night, she told us she wasn't available for the next night. We were dumped! She broke up with us and THE WONDER BABY! When I talked to the lady from the service the next day it turned out that Alexander had cried for a few minutes and psychositter took it personally and her feelings were hurt.

She said that! Her feelings were hurt. WTF, people?

The last night, Louise came over. We loved her instantly. She brought a one-eared giraffe for Alexander that he immediately clutched to his body, taking a quick nip of that one ear. She took Alexander in her arms and we knew we wouldn't be thinking any more about them while we went out and everything would be fine.

When we came back she was watching tv quietly, with Alexander sleeping in the crib next to her. I told her that I wished we'd had her from the beginning. If we come back next year, I'll request her.

Let's see...what else did I do while Rowbear was nerding it up? Well, Alexander and I drove around to Costco and Target, a couple of outlet malls. We went to the pool one day. The hotel has four or five pools, one of which is like only a foot deep. It was perfect for the baby to splash around in. And then it was time to come home.

We have no trips until August, when we go out to Nova Scotia, to visit with the lovely and talented, Gifted Typist.
-