Cha-Ching!!!

Long weekends are big for shopping, at least in the States where stores have this crazy idea that if they STAY OPEN PEOPLE WILL BUY THINGS AND THEY MIGHT MAKE SOME MONEY! Phew!!  Anyway, it's not actually a big shopping day for all of us because some of us already spent our money (and the grocery money) on junk. :)  So, while I am not shopping this weekend, I thought I would share some of my recent shopping fixations.  I'm not a permanent power-shopper, but every now and then I feel a surge!  Sometimes I end up with a hot little purchase in my hands and other times, well, I'm just dreaming!  But here is my list of cool sh-tuff! :) Cha-Ching!



1.  Laptop Bags for the Ladies:  You wouldn't believe the cool laptop bags they have for girls!  I spent weeks looking and went through two types before landing a Swissgear bag that is "stylish as well as commodius."  It's not extremely "cha-cha" or anything, but I'm pleased!  I've packed it and unpacked it twice already and the weekend is still young!  If you're shopping for girly-bags there are some amazing choices at:  http://www.squidoo.com/laptopbag  




2.  Bobbi Brown Makeup:  They don't have this in Canada that I know of, so every time I tell someone about it they think it's Bobby Brown the singer.  This can't be good marketing. :)  Anyway, the Lord sent me a free makeup "hookup" a couple of years back so I got to try a lot of it for free.  It's FABULOUS!!  My favorite is the Kohl eyeliner palette.   www.bobbibrown.com  



3.  Matt and Nat Bags, Purses and Wallets:  They're in Montreal and they have some lofty, earth-loving, vegan principle, but none of it matters because I LOVE THEM!!  www.mattandnat.com




4.  Maui Jim Sunglasses:  One of my rare purchases for the year.  They're red!  They're beautiful.  Did I say they're red?  :)  I am pretty sure people are checkin' me out all the time now!! :)  They also have some great polarization technology and rare earth components that I don't understand, but I feel it baby!!! :)   www.mauijim.com



5.  The Body Shop Makeup:  Shimmer!! I love shimmer.  It makes me feel shimmery!  I love their shimmer cubes and shimmer palettes.  I have never said the word "shimmer" so much and it makes me feel extremely, and uncharacteristicly girly!  Shimmer, Shimmer, Shimmer!
www.thebodyshop.com



6.  Lia Sophia Jewelry:  You can only get it in the states through direct sales representatives.  My sister needs to come here and do a party!!  Until then, they have some on ebay in Canada.  Very funky!  www.liasophia.com



7.  Fat Lady Fashion:  So, I get asked all the time by the big and beautifuls in my life where I shop.  This is a complement, but I'm afraid that I'm not extremely exciting and mostly shop at the obvious:  Addition-Elle, Penningtons, Reitmans (they do not impress me lately and I hate the fact that my section is in the back....where's the plus-sized Rosa Parks???), Cotton Ginny (although I find all of their clothes feel like pajamas :), and when I'm in the States, Old Navy and Lane Bryant Ooooooh, Laaaane Bryyaaaaant!  The store that started it all!  Before them it was strangely shaped stuff from discount box stores and Bertha's Tent and Awning.

8. Melaleuca:  The Wellness Cult:  So, everyone who knows me knows about this stuff.  
No, I don't sell it! :)  But the cult (company) is from Idaho and they sell natural, healthy, 
non-toxic products.... everything from cleaning products to makeup to vitamins and health products, etc.  When women in Idaho got tired of selling Avon and Tupperware they started selling Melaleuca!  Most of it contains Melaleuca Oil (tea tree oil from Australia) that is sold as a Panacea by the Melaleuca Cult...cures everything under the sun.   www.melaleuca.com


9.  Local Specialty Foods:  We have local mustard!  Mrs. McGarrigle's Mustard is made in Merrickville, Ont.  They have more mustard varieties than God ever intended.  I love the Chipotle Lime and Red Wine and Garlic.  Our local meat shop also sells amazing sauces from Stonewall Kitchen (They're in Maine).  As for "back home", my sister brought me bottled FRY SAUCE!  If you're not from Idaho/Utah (or a few other western states) you have never heard of fry sauce, but it's sacred (bow your heads).  My brown corduroys used to make that zip, zip, zip sound and almost catch on fire running into the Artic Circle for some burgers, fries and FRY SAUCE!!  If you're interested you can read about it at:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fry_sauce



10.  Crazy, luxury priced luggage:  So, this is CRAZY!!  I saw it on some follow-the-rich-you'll-never-have-this-stuff show.  The luggage is like $20,000ish and the attache cases are $3,000ish.  It IS German engineering though, and that's gotta be worth something!  www.henk.com 

On The Road With a Nasal-Bone Mutant

"When we get these thruways across the whole country… it will be possible to drive from New York to California without seeing a single thing. ..." Or, so said John Steinbeck in his book, "Travels With Charley." I, then, (if he were not comfortably interred in California) would invite Mr. Steinbeck to satiate his desire for on-the-road observations by accompanying me on my daily commute.

My life began with a commute. My mother went into labor on a Sunday morning while my father was entrenched in his four-egg omelette and Bugs Bunny. He asked if it was possible for her (or really, for I) to wait until Bugs was over to leave for the hospital, which was 45 minutes away. Undoubtedly, her actual response didn't make it into my baby book, but the jest of it was, "No sweetheart, I hate to interrupt your breakfast and Sunday cartoons, but it would be most prudent to leave now because my contractions are increasingly close and I would be exceedingly grateful to deliver your child in the comfort of a hospital rather than in the pickup truck on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation along Interstate-86." So began my life, and for its duration the places I need to go on a daily basis have never gotten any closer to where I sleep at night. In fact, for the first two years here (when I couldn't yet work in Canada), I drove an hour and a half each way to New York State every day. These commutes have not been entirely enjoyable, but they've provided some interesting observations. I thought I’d share one.

Kari's Life:  Enter The Nose Picker. I do not mean the people-who-pick-their-nose-in-the-car-because-they-envision-themselves-in-a-bubble-of-invisibility. There are plenty of those out there, but I'm referring to THE Nose Picker of all nose pickers in the orange Nova. I first encountered him just after exiting onto Highway 416 from the Queensway. It was with light traffic at 6:00 a.m. that I changed lanes to pass the Nova. The driver was a shaggy looking man, but that was not alarming. What WAS alarming is that it only took a half-glance to destroy my life-long fallacy that human nasal bones are designed in such a way to make it impossible for your entire finger to fit inside the thing.  Nose Picker’s pinky was completely buried in his right nostril and he was twisting it to boot! I thought at first that perhaps he had lost his little finger in the war and just does this to freak out people who are passing him on the Highway. But with the slimy withdrawl it was confirmed that he was not a disabled veteran, but some nasal-bone mutant. I didn’t observe where he deposited the yield from his dig, but I did notice that he had to shake his head like wet dog a couple of times to put himself right again. I was still perplexed forty minutes later as I sat in line to cross the border when I saw the orange hood of the Nova slide up behind me. I stared despite myself as he got out of the car, turned sideways, placed his thumb and forefinger on the bridge of his nose and blew with all his might! Then, in a move no novice should attempt, he leaned forward ever so slightly, slid his grip down his nose, seized the dangling string of snot and flung it to the ground in one musical-conductor-like flip of his wrist! He then got back in his car, did the wet dog shake again and honked at me to move ahead. I moved ahead, but have never really been able to move on......not really.

I still commute to work about 45 minutes each way, every day. I rarely pick my nose.