This is a test post to see if my blog is actually up and running. If this works I owe my friend more then I can ever re-pay. If it doesn’t work then….what ever…
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Wanna join me on a road trip?!?!?
Friday afternoon I was sitting in a pedicure chair next to The Artist and My Sissy. We were getting our toes all fancy and talking about the upcoming road trip the kids and I were going to be taking.
My Sissy said something like, “It would be so cool to go with you.” And since I had been thinking all week how to get her to come with us I said, “Why don’t you ride out there with us and fly back?”
From there it was a whirlwind of activity:
Checking flight costs.
Checking flight ‘miles’ costs.
Checking miles balances.
And talking to husbands, bosses¹, and The Hostess.
The rest my BFFs….well….we’re currently ON A ROAD TRIP TO L.A.!!!
The last road trip I took with My Sissy was a looooong time ago and it was from Minnesota to Indiana. I think My Sissy drove a couple hours that WHOLE trip, but she was a lot of fun – as always. I factored that into the idea of taking her on this road trip.
I decided to take her purely for the entertainment factor:
Who CAN'T love a gal who photo bombs her own self-timer picture!?!!??
And you have to love her for helping me Mother Freakin' Princess-ify a chain-link T-Rex! (Gotta thank The Brainiac and The Artist on this one too - they helped.)
Here’s the thing….not only has she been great fun to have around, but she’s actually DRIVEN THE CAR:
Most adorable little sister ever!
Obviously there’s a lot more to come, so stay tuned!
¹Okay, really she only talked to her boss – I’m doing that whole work from home mom thing so I don’t have a boss :)
As always, check out my Facebook page for more photos and inside scoops to the trip, and there’s always Twitter…wait….I freakin’ forgot to update Twitter at all…<note to self: update Twitter!>…and of course you can be one of the 144+ people to re-pin my Heart Tattoo Idea on Pinterest.
What you might have missed because you were busy drinking green beer and other shenanigans:
Well, it’s been a little longer then usual for me to put up a “What you might have missed…” post, but I promise to catch you up to speed quickly:
I almost started myself on fire with my hair-dryer, so I scrapped the rest of the day. Then the kids and I made our very first “Sh*t Blah Blah Blah Says” video¹.
I actually *did* post a Retro Friday blog about the first ever MFP Sleepover. (I should totally have another one of those.)
There was a post about my trichobezoarophobia confession.
We decided to keep Kiara/Tiara (The Artist’s Mom’s Dog). Tiara is sweet and lovable and there are times when I just shake my head and think, “How the hell did we end up with her dog?!?!²”
Here’s what happens when I leave my almost 17 year old at home for the day: Home Alone, The Artist Version
The Brainiac tried on some new hair styles.
I started playing obsessing over Draw Something.
Then I prepared for my upcoming road trip and found out that Nathan is against spontaneity AND cannibalism. This will FOR SURE ruin any chances he had to run for political office.
I’m trying to convince my kids that it would be cool if I made our cross-country trip “Traveling Red Dress” style, but while they seem to find my “uniqueness” charming at home…they don’t seem to be very supportive of it while driving across country. Don’t worry though, I still have a few more days to talk them into it ;)
OH….probably the most important thing you missed!?!?! (Because I hadn’t blogged about it yet.) The Brainiac and I had the pleasure of impersonating Lucky The Leprechaun on St. Patrick’s Day. I found out My Sissy and Her Hubby would be out for the evening, so we headed over to her place to turn things upside down. Needless to say, My Sissy might have been less-then-amused…
You should never piss off a Leprechaun...OR tease The MFP that her kids will be living with her until they are at least 25, because The MFP might decided revenge is a dish best served up-side-down :)
My Sissy might have been *slightly* amused....or intoxicated...or a little of each?
So, that pretty much sums it up. I’m off to do really important pre-road trip stuff like make play-lists, and try convince my kids I should wear something like this on our trip:
Do you have any idea how hard it is to take a full-length picture of yourself while in a dressing room?!?! It's freakin' hard!
I’m still looking for any and all of your road trip tips AND I’m in the process of devising a MFP Road Trip Game we can play together when I’m out and about – I’m guessing I will give out really cool cheesy prizes like the prize I just gave out to Food and Flicks over on The MFP Facebook page.
As always…you can be one of the 131+ people to re-pin my Heart Tattoo Idea over on Pinterest or tweet me on Twitter…I still think it would be cool if #TheMFP trended, even if it was for just a moment or two. (I have big dreams people, BIG DREAMS!) Of course, I would probably miss it because of how lame I am at Twitter.
¹Because some of you are probably lazy and don’t want to click the links I am posting our super cool video here. You’re welcome:
²Also, every time I talk about having her dog I want to say inappropriate things like: “I’ve got your bitch, bitch.” But one shouldn’t say things like that out loud….or put them on the internet…just sayin’.
People Against Cannibalism and Spontaneity.
Nathan read my blog last night. I guess he isn’t really a believer in spontaneity.
According to him my trip is destined to be a complete failure if I don’t have some sort of plan. He spent the night talking to me about getting lost in the desert without water and having to sacrifice myself, forcing the kids to turn into cannibals and eat their own mother in order to stay alive¹.
I was all, “It’s 2012 not 1972…I have a CELL PHONE!”
Because obviously having a cell phone, especially an iPHONE, pretty much means you’re unstoppable and you can do anything.
Nathan disagreed. He started talking about non-coverage areas and then he reminded me of the time I took the kids, and the dog, camping (by myself) a couple years ago and we got rained out…We were cold, wet, miserable, and I was without cell service. It was awful.
I kind of hate it when he uses The Voice of Reason.
I guess I’ll spend the rest of the day blogging about how unreasonable he is with his whole “you need to have a plan” thing planning my trip.
Look out L.A. I’ll be heading your way soon…
¹Those might not have been his exact words. I may have embellished the cannibalism part of the story just a little bit, but you get the idea – right? Also, if he ever runs for political office, his opponents will probably make signs that say something like this:
I am fairly certain his opponents will use Comic Sans because they would be irritating like that.
Across the country The MFP style.
In just over a week I’ll be heading out for a cross-country road trip.
I’ve got it pretty much figured out.
- I joined AAA. (Just in case I get a flat tire or run out of gas, and for discounts on hotel stays.)
- I sorta made a list of things to bring. (Clothes, bathroom stuff, iPhone, computer)
- I’m thinking about making a play-list or two specifically for the trip. (Because you know how irritating it is to try to get radio stations to come in, right?)
- I’m kinda thinking about my route.
- Oh, and I called my credit card company to tell them that I would be traveling. (I thought this was especially smart. How many people think about doing this!?!?)
(I guess a lot of people think about calling their credit card company to inform them of travel plans. There was a “press 8 to notify us of upcoming travel plans” option on the auto-menu.)
I pressed 8.
The Auto-Menu: International or Domestic?
Me: Domestic <thinking it would be cool to use a fake British accent and say “International Baby” like Austin Powers>
The Auto-Menu: Which state will you be heading to first?
Me: Iowa
The Auto-Menu: Which state will you be heading to next? If this concludes your trip say, “done”.
Me:
Me:
Me:
Me: <runs over to the computer to pull up a map and try to plan my route>
Auto-Menu: One moment, please, while I get you a representative.
Me: *sigh* <thinking: Oh, good. There is no way to explain to a computer that I don’t have my exact route planned out yet.>
Credit Card Person: Hello. My name is Credit Card Person. How can I be of assistance?
Me: Oh, hi! I’m taking a trip in just over a week-ish and I wanted to let you know that I would be using my credit card. I tried to use the Auto-Menu, but I don’t really have my trip planned out yet – so I wasn’t sure how explain this to the Auto-Menu.
Credit Card Person: Okay. I can help you. Will you be traveling internationally or domestically? When are you leaving? When will you be back? What state will you be traveling to first?
Me: Iowa
Credit Card Person: And which state will you be at next?
Me: Um. You see, I don’t really know. I’m not sure of my route yet. <thinking: Didn’t I just say this?> I might just go south a whole bunch and then cut west. Or maybe I’ll cut west sooner then later. I’m bringing my iPhone so I kinda thought I’d just figure it out as I go.
Credit Card Person: So you don’t know which state you’ll be in after Iowa?
Me: Not really. I mean I could pull up a map right now and maybe guess?
Credit Card Person: Um…
Me: I know that I’m ending up in California, so pretty much I’ll be in the states between Minnesota and California.
Credit Card Person: Um…
Me: I’m kinda spontaneous¹.
Credit Card Person: You know what? Let’s just authorize your card for all fifty states?
Me: <probably using just a bit too much enthusiasm> OH, THAT WOULD BE GREAT!
Credit Card Person: <probably thinking: “I’m glad we record all our calls. This one is a keeper.”>
So, yeah, my trip is all planned. I know when I’m leaving. I know where I’m ending up. I’m bringing my iPhone and my credit card is authorized in all fifty states!
Do you have any road trip tips? Leave them here or blog about it and leave a link to your blog in the comments!
¹I need to use the word spontaneous more. It sounds *way* better then unorganized and/or crazy.
