Cool Travel Accessories

In my travels, I've found a few accessories that make my travel a heck of a lot easier. Today I'm going to share a few of the things I always take along when I'm on the road. Note that this isn't an all-inclusive list. I have a few more, but these are the top items.

iPod

I love, love, love my iPod. I have a 32Gig iPod that's about five years old, and I guard it with my life. One day, I'm sure I'll drop it and my heart will break (since the iPod has outlasted the backup drive I kept all my music on, and what's on the iPod isn't fully backed up), but then I'll upgrade to a bigger, better, and super-improved iPod.

My iPod rocks because it's small and can carry so much entertainment in just one little package. I've got music, TV shows, movies, and books on CD, all on this little device, and I could easily travel with just the iPod and stay fairly well entertained on a trip.

Flight charger

I love my in-flight charger. I can charge up my laptop, Bose headphones, iPod, mobile phone, all while I'm on the plane. It pretty much rocks, especially if I've got a lot of work to do and a limited battery life, or worse, haven't had time to charge up my headphones before the flight.

Bose headphones

My Bose headphones rock like nothing else. They're a little bulkier than I'd like, but they're amazing and I'm totally addicted to them. The headphones filter out all of that noise the airplane makes and reduces the annoying sounds of other passengers, making it much easier to relax, enjoy the in-flight entertainment (or your own), get work done, or just take a nap.

Subnotebook/Netbook

I admit it - I was one of the first early adopters of the Asus EEEpc. I have one of the first 200 to enter the US and as a result, it's crummy. Don't get me wrong - it's great for watching movies from my hard drive or iPod or getting some writing done while I'm flying, and it's actually really useful for Skype - the webcam's pretty decent - but overall, my particular v1 EEEpc leaves a lot to be desired. Personally, I'm dying for an operating system I understand, since Linux isn't my particular forte. I understand that in later versions of the EEE, they added Windows, which I'll be experimenting with this weekend as I play around with my stepmom's later version EEE. 

I recently killed my EEE by deleting what turned out to be a pretty important file while attempting to set up a hamster-cam for Abe and Willa. I'll probably take it in for repair, but only so I can sell the thing and replace it with a subnotebook I like better. The greatest thing about a little computer is that they're so lightweight, you hardly even know they're in your backpack!

Sleep mask
I'm a big fan of a great sleep mask. Not the cheap, cheesy ones they give you when you fly business class, but a real sleep mask that actually does some good. I'm a fan of the 100% light-blocking sleep mask. I have one that's a gorgeous embroidered red Chinese dragon fabric and it is absolute heaven on a long flight. With the sleep mask and my Bose headphones, I can actually get a fairly nice rest, even in coach.


These are my top favorites and must-haves for travel, but I have a few more as well. Look for upcoming posts with more cool travel accessories as well as a post on which item speople tell you to take when you travel that you rarely need.

Secret City Tours

Maybe you're a fan of the double-decker bus tours. Maybe you like traipsing around a city with someone carrying a brightly-colored umbrella. Or maybe you just can't get enough of the amphibious Duck Boats. As for me, I'm a fan of the Secret City Tour.

You won't find it in your guidebook and it doesn't appear in Google. The Secret City Tour, in fact, is simply a tour you can take just by asking your cab driver. Most cabbies are trained to conduct these tours and though they're rarely publicly advertised, all you really have to do is ask. You'll get a private tour that you can tailor to your own interests and curiosities, and you can ask all the questions you want. Most cabbies have a standard price for their tours, so you're not paying for time or miles, but rather for the tour.

The Awesome Power of Music

Music has been a part of my life for as long as I've been alive. My mother was a pianist and let us plonk around on the piano from a very early age. She loved to settle my sister and me on the piano bench, one on either side of her, and she'd play the piano and we'd sing Disney theme songs and Christmas carols.

My dad was a "jack of all instruments," loving the thrill of picking up something new. He liked the standards - guitar, violin, trombone- but favored the more unique, folksy sound of instruments like the zither, ukelele, and dulcimer. 

When instruments weren't being played and experimented with, the record player was always active, especially during dinnertime. So music was a strong part of my childhood, but became even more personal to me when I turned six and started learning to play violin (I played until I was a sophomore in college, but that's a story for another day).

Regardless of what role music has played in my life, though, there's always been one constant - the way I use music as a kind of therapeutic device. Music has a great deal of power. One can become energized or depressed, joyful or morose...all by listening to music. 

In recent years, I've formalized my therapeutic music, via my iTunes playlists. I have "Bring Me Up" playlists for when I'm feeling blue, "Time For Bed" playlists for when I need to relax for sleep, and "Energize Me" playlists for when I'm heading into a speaking engagement. 

Basing my theory of music therapy on my work in neuro-linguistic programming, I've always used a "pace and lead" method of building a playlist - start the first song where my mood is, and gradually bring my mood up through music. 

For example, if I'm feeling angry, I don't start with a happy song; I start with Motley Crue and work my way through Bon Jovi, and gradually work my way toward lighter and happier songs until I've achieved a gentle peace. If I'm feeling blue, I've created playlists based on why I'm feeling blue - any of these might start with Sarah MacLaughlin, Rufus Wainwright, Kelly Clarkson, Jimmy Wayne, Sister Hazel, or Bonnie McKee, but it's usually more about the tempo and the feel of the music than the lyrics. 

And for a romantic evening with Leo, as we're cooking dinner and dancing round the kitchen, you'd be likely to hear Andrea Bocelli, Ben Folds, Chris Rice, John Mayer, Kate Bush, Marva Wright, Lizz Wright, Me'Shell Ndegeocello, or Josh Kelley. Heck, I even have playlists for power walking, precisely calibrated by metronome, for the exact pace that I like to walk, including a warm-up and cool-down.

Of course, music is highly subjective stuff. I highly doubt, for example, that most people get quite as upbeat and optimistic as I do when I hear my personal theme song, "MMMBop," by Hansen. People think I'm joking about that, but I'm not. Whenever I hear that song, I just feel happy. And I think everyone should have a personal theme song that makes them happy when they hear it.

Just A Carry-On For Me, Thanks.

Did you know that you can travel for a week or two with just a carry-on? The biggest mistake I see travelers make is taking too much stuff along. Most people overpack, because they're terrified to leave something behind (and for a truly genius comic commentary on "stuff," check out George Carlin's "A Place for My Stuff"). But don't you know that no matter where you go, it's most likely that you can find what you need there?

Now, don't get me wrong - I'm pretty particular about a couple of things. I need my laptop on most journeys, though on many excursions, I can make do with an Eee PC. I'm dependent on my skin care and makeup regimens and my choice of shampoo and conditioner. But if I get to my destination and I don't have my toothbrush or toothpaste, it's no big deal to find replacements.

This knowledge was reinforced when Leo and I took the kids to Spain this past Christmas and British Airways lost our bags for virtually the entire trip. I quickly discovered that while I prefer my own deodorant and toothpaste (and even clothes), I can certainly make do with substitutions when the situation calls for it.

These days, my favorite way to travel is with a carry-on bag only. The Spain trip was an anomaly, and here's how that happened: Leo and I spent a lot of time during our courtship traveling back and forth across oceans and continents to see each other. But since we married in 2008, we haven't spent a whole lot of time traveling, so we got out of practice a little bit. As a result, we ended up overpacking for Spain. Still, even if we hadn't overpacked, it's likely we would've checked at least one bag, because in addition to our own stuff, we had Christmas presents for the kids.

After the lost baggage fiasco (which is still being resolved, seven months later, but there is hope on the horizon, as British Airways has just asked for my bank account information so they can wire my reimbursement finally), Leo and I agreed that whenever possible in the future, we'll travel light and stick to carry-ons when we can.

Generally speaking, carry-on only is a pretty nice way to travel and you get really good at taking only what you really need. Plus, you don't have to schlep heavy suitcases around, and that really rocks.

I've traveled around the States and to Montevideo and London using just a carry-on and it's so liberating, you can't even believe it. The trick is knowing what to take and how to pack. My first best tip is to make sure you have a great carry-on suitcase. Mine is a Briggs & Riley expandable bag, and I absolutely love it. Briggs & Riley is on the pricey side, but the quality is impeccable. OTOH, Kohl's regularly has amazing deals on Samsonite and you can pick up a really decent, durable bag for under $100.

Next, I have a little Baggallini fold-up tote bag that fits easily into my suitcase. It provides one more bag, so I can buy cool stuff in interesting places, and check a bag only when I'm going home - when I don't mind waiting a little while for my stuff.

Finally, I carry a backpack. Mine is a black and pink plaid backpack made by Roxy, which I actually bought at The Apple Store several years ago. I'm sure I could find something more sophisticated, but it's quirky and I like it. It has a side-access pocket designed with extra padding for a laptop, and it's super-easy to take the laptop out for security, though the extra padding makes the backpack a bit warm to wear sometimes. It has an outside pocket on each side, one that holds change and the other a bottle of water, and another outside pocket on the front that is good for storing stuff I need quick access to. There's a nice interior pocket with an organizer and a large interior pocket where I can fit file folders, books, notepads, and a change of clothes. Plus, it now has the "sentimental attachment" feature, acquired after I repaired one of the straps with heavy-duty nylon thread at a department store in Newcastle.

So that's what I carry on the plane with me. As for what goes inside...well, that's a subject for another day. Until then, travel light!

Kaiten Sushi - What is it and where can you get it?

If you've never experienced kaiten sushi, I highly recommend it, even if you're not a huge sushi fan. Kaiten sushi is also known as "conveyor belt sushi, " and is more of a serving style than it is a type of sushi. The chef makes a one- or two-person portion and sets the plate on a conveyor belt. Guests sit at a bar and the conveyor belt moves in front of them. It's a lot like a buffet, but instead of you moving down the buffet line, it moves in front of you. If you like something, you snag the plate before it passes you by. And if you need help, all you have to do is push a button on your counter and your server magically appears. It's so different from your average dining experience, I think everyone should try it at least once.

Kaiten sushi is a lot of fun. I can be a bit indecisive with all those beautiful dishes in front of me, so I often wait until it's just about gone before I decide I want it, so Leo gets a kick out of seeing me scramble. Plus, it's really easy to share dishes and try new things. 

Some sushi aficionados think kaiten sushi is low-grade and less-than-fresh (I've had that experience at Yo Sushi! in England, both at Heathrow airport and in Newcastle), but I honestly think if you find a good kaiten restaurant, the sushi is quite fresh and delicious. Our favorite so far is Sartori Robotai in London, which I'll be reviewing soon.

One of the Best Things About Costco

This year, Leo and I didn't plant nearly as large a garden as we'd planned. I was low on time and Leo had a hand injury, so neither of us got our gardens planted the way we'd planned. Instead, we're relying on farmer's markets and Costco to provide us with our produce this year.

I can't help myself. I love Costco with a deep and abiding passion. In fact, we buy almost everything there - groceries, allergy medicine, cat food, electronics, tires...the list goes on. And one of the best things about Costco is their produce.   

Right now, Costco is teeming with ripe cantaloupe, mangos, kiwis, avocados, grapes, bananas, tomatoes...it's gorgeous. And not long ago, while visiting my sister and brother-in-law, we discovered a new arrival - fresh figs, which are apparently present only for a couple of weeks each summer. Later this summer, we'll enter blueberry season, and when they're in season, Costco's blueberries are sheer heaven.

My first choice is a local farmer's market, but when their prices are a bit too steep for my taste, or they don't have what I'm looking for, Costco can't be beat - the prices are amazing and the quality is surprisingly top-notch.

Laundry, Urban Homesteading Style

Urban homesteading is all about living as sustainably as possible in an urban (or in our case, kind of suburban-y) area. So how do you do laundry in a sustainable way?  Well, you won't find me standing outside with a washboard, that's for sure!

Use cold water.
I wash everything in cold. I've done that for years, but I didn't start out doing it because it was eco-friendly. I did it because our washer is a Bosch, and they tend to have exceptionally high spin cycles, and the slowest one is the delicates cycle, which happens to be cold. The good, eco-friendly thing about washing in cold water is that I don't use the energy to heat the water.

Use a drying rack.
When Leo and I were dating, I noticed that he used a drying rack like the one pictured at right. I used it for my stuff a few times and fell in love. Sure, things dry a little stiff, but your clothes last way longer, and you save all the energy a dryer would use. And when your stuff is dry, you just give everything a quick shake before hanging them up in the closet. These days, I use the dryer for towels and emergencies, mostly.

Avoid phosphates in your detergent.
Phosphates apparently do something yucky to marine life, so buy phosphate-free detergent. It's not hard to find.


When it's time to replace your machines, buy Energy-Star.
I don't know if you can buy an appliance that isn't Energy-Star-compliant anymore, actually. But either way, you want Energy-Star. They're much more energy-efficient. And I can't recall the details of why, but I think front-loaders are more efficient as well. We have the Bosch Axxis Series and I've never regretted the purchase.

But remember - don't replace your appliances until you need to. My next-door neighbor called me the other day when her washer went out...after she'd been using it for twenty-five years.

B Vitamins and Stress

A few months ago, I was getting a massage and my massage therapist mentioned the tension she was finding in my body. I said, "Yeah, I've been under a lot of stress lately." She suggested I try a Stress B-Complex vitamin. I was apprehensive - could a solution to my feeling of overwhelm and anxiety be that simple? But I figured, "Hey, it's better than Xanax at this point," so I gave it a whirl. I bought Nature Made Stress B-Complex and started taking it the very next day.

Much to my surprise, just a few days later, I was feeling so much better. The tension and stress I had been experiencing was so much more manageable, and I do attribute it to the increase in B-vitamins. I think my body just needed more than I was giving it.

Since that day, I've taken this vitamin every day without fail. But a couple of weeks ago, I ran out and I really noticed a difference. Will this work for everyone? I don't know - I'm not a doctor and you should check with yours first before trying anything you read about in a blog anyway. All I can tell you is that it worked for me. :)

How I Chose My Skin Care Regimen

I've long been known to my friends as a bit of a "beauty guru." Long before Sephora had a presence in virtually all major (and most minor) cities, I was a Sephora addict, trying hundreds of products of all shapes, sizes, scents, and prices.

Over the last couple of years, my enthusiasm for skin care and makeup had waned. I settled into a  comfortable regimen of products that I liked, and as my business grew, I didn't have as much time to devote to fun stuff like product testing. Then, last fall, I decided I wanted to update my routine, and turned to Burt's Bees for help. I transformed my entire beauty care over to Burt's Bees, skin care and hair care, without doing much research...and within a couple of months, I was miserable. 

Now, let me say upfront that I like Burt's Bees as a company. I like what they stand for and I like their story. But their products did not work for me. My skin was dry, my hair was dry, and I couldn't figure out why.

That's when I started researching and rediscovered Paula Begoun and Beautipedia. Paula's the author of a great book called, Don't Go to the Cosmetics Counter Without Me, and has meticulously researched most of the ingredients in skin care products so she can analyze the true efficacy of each product. After the success of her book, Paula developed her own skin care line, Paula's Choice, which is...well, it's okay, in my opinion, and launched Beautipedia, which is a membership site where you can access many of her reviews.

After using Beautipedia, I discovered why my skin and hair were so dry - Burt's Bees products have a lot of drying ingredients! I dug a little further and read through reviews and eventually, came up with a skin care regimen that included products from Neutrogena, Olay, and Kiss My Face, and have been using that ever since. 

As a self-confessed cosmetics snob, I'm actually shocked to say that I love these drugstore products and they're working miracles for me in ways that expensive brands like Creme de la Mer, Boscia, and Kinerase never did. 

So, if you're unsatisfied with your beauty regimen and you need real help choosing new stuff, I highly recommend Paula's book and  Beautipedia as the best places to start. You can't honestly rely on Sephora salespeople or the makeup counter people at the department store- all they can do is repeat the marketing rhetoric they've learned in their "training" by various skin care lines. But Paula (via her book and web site) understands the ingredients and knows what they really do, so you can compare the promises the skin care lines come up with for marketing purposes alongside the truth and see what might work best for you. Best of luck!

Hey, What About that Kick-Ass $14 Compost Bin?

In the very first post in this blog, I commented that I wanted to write about just about anything, including the kick-ass compost bin that my husband and I made for $14. If you've ever shopped for a compost bin, you know you can buy all kinds of fancy-schmancy composters, most of them well over $80. Some of them roll, some of them have a handle so you can rotate them, and some come with special worms. Turns out you don't need any of that stuff. So instead, make this super-easy, super-cheap compost bin and save that $66+ and have a nice dinner out.

You need:
A drill
1 large garbage can, 32 gallon or bigger
(My favorite one of ours is this Rubbermaid Animal Stopper that cost $20 at Walmart and came with a built-in latch system - don't buy this at the link I provided. There's no reason it should cost this much! I just wanted you to know what it looked like. You can also buy a $10 garbage can and a $3-4 bungee cord hook thingie and have the same thing. We have two of these and they work just dandy.)

Instructions:
Drill 1/4" holes around the sides of the can. If you're going to leave your compost bin on a driveway or concrete, that's pretty much it. If you're going to put your compost bin on actual ground, also drill holes around the bottom of the can. Leo probably drilled 20-30 holes in the bottom. This allows the worms to come up from the ground and noodle around in your compost, which helps it break down faster. Now fill your can with compost. That's pretty much it. No mixing or turning needed. Could it possibly be easier?

Tip: We layer our compost. We keep a closed bag of leaves from autumn sitting next to the bin and when we put food scraps in the bin, we cover it with some leaves. That cuts down on flies and other undesirables, and also keeps the compost well-balanced.

We filled up three of these things last summer and fall. Then, over the winter, we let them sit. When we opened them up this spring, we discovered the bins now had half of the volume we put in there last year, and we had some really nice, rich compost for our gardens this year.

We learned about this strategy from The Urban Homestead, a book that helped us get started in urban homesteading. Beware, though: if you read this book, you may be inclined to order yourselves some chickens. They're quite persuasive.

In Support of Mastication

Chewing. Seems like there's not much to learn about it, right? Wrong. I've been reading a few nutrition books lately and it turns out that there's a lot more to chewing than you might think.

According to what I'm reading, if you drink a lot of liquids when you're eating, you're not chewing enough. If you burp or have bloating, you're probably not chewing enough. And chewing your food thoroughly is absolutely essential to good digestion and even assimilation of important nutrients.

In becoming more mindful of my dining habits, I've discovered two things: 1) I am rarely fully present when I'm eating. I eat while having conversations, reading, working, watching TV, but I hardly ever just...eat. 2) I don't chew my food nearly enough. In fact, recently, I've been stressed out and that's resulted in me pretty much inhaling my food.

As I become more aware and present, I find that I not only chew more, improving my digestion, but I also  enjoy my food more. It's certainly a step in the right direction.

Learning Foreign Languages

People in foreign lands appreciate it if you learn a little of their language. Even if they speak English, even if you muck it up, they like that you respected their culture enough to try.

I took French in grade school, high school, and college, yet when I traveled to Paris, I realized how much I had forgotten. Still, I knew enough to try and the French seemed to really appreciate how much effort I made. Our concierge gave me a mini language lesson every morning, and I have many treasured memories of trying to make myself understood. In particular, I remember a clerk trying to help me purchase a wine tasting kit. He didn't know enough English to really help me, and I didn't know enough French to ask the questions I wanted to ask. Through a hilarious combination of broken French, broken English, and terrible mime, we muddled through.

In a similar circumstance in a Montevideo restaurant, I asked Leo to allow me to try out my Spanish. Once I successfully asked where the restroom was, I realized I didn't know enough Spanish to understand the waiter's response. Luckily, Leo came to my rescue and pointed me in the right direction. These days, I know a lot more of those key words like "right" and "left."

Those are exactly the kind of travel experiences I want to have, and they're the kind  of moments that show you a ton about other people and cultures and make for interesting dinner conversation later.

Best way to learn a foreign language? Start with the basics - get a CD like Pimsleur (the library will have the more complete, expensive version) or Rosetta Stone, and start learning.

You can also check your local library. Ours has a Language Lab where you can learn all kinds of languages using their software and headsets, and you can even access the software from home. It's really cool!

The BBC has online language courses, too. You can learn French, Spanish, German, Greek, Chinese, Italian, Portuguese, and more.

There's also The Language Learning Library, where you can learn French, Spanish, German, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, Chinese, and Russian.

And it's always nice to have a friend who speaks the language to help you improve your skills. There are lots of subtleties, jokes, and phrases I would never know about if Leo didn't help me from time to time.

You don't have to learn the entire language. But knowing a few key phrases can be really nice. I know passable French, some Spanish, and a tiny bit of several other languages. My husband is a native Spanish speaker, and also speaks Italian and English. It's really helpful to know other languages when you're traveling, but it's also just...nice.

That's Just How I Roll.

Last week, for the last time, I converted Marriott Rewards Points into frequent flier miles. It was a bittersweet moment. The transfer was the last, as my beloved American Airlines has severed its ties to Marriott, but what a way to go out, since this particular transfer yielded a pretty snazzy result - it put me at having achieved over 1 million frequent flier miles with American Airlines since I joined six years ago. Not only is that just kinda cool, but it also means that AA is thanking me for my loyalty by giving me Lifetime Gold status. That means that as long as I live and as long as AA is in business, I'll be able to book the exit row, get occasional upgrades, and just generally be a happy traveler. At this stage of my traveling game, I'm just spoiled enough to be bothered that it's not Lifetime Platinum status, but that's what I get if I make 2 million miles, and you can bet I'm already thinking about how I'm going to achieve that goal.

Flying is one of my greatest passions. There's something so exciting about getting on the plane- it's the potential of the place I'm going....the dream of what I'm about to see, hear, taste, smell, experience. I once read an article in a travel magazine...I wish I could remember where I read it. The author talked about how, when we plan a trip, we think about our packing process, we think about our arrival at our destination, but we never think about what's in between. For example, if you plan a trip to Hawaii, in your mind, you're packing your bags and then you're just...there. You've got a lei around your neck and a Mai Tai in your hand. But what we forget is that in between those two moments, you're getting your bags in the car, you're driving to the airport, parking and taking the shuttle, checking in, taking off your shoes for security, waiting for the flight, sitting on the plane, maybe changing planes, getting off the plane, waiting for your bag while looking at posters of people on the vacation you're waiting to go on when you leave the airport, taking a cab to the hotel, checking into the hotel, dropping off your bags...and then, finally, blessedly, you've got a lei around your neck and a Mai Tai in your hand.

You know what? I love the entire process, from start to finish. I love shopping for the tickets and planning the routing. I love choosing the hotel and learning about our destination. I love learning about the culture and some of the language of the country I'm visiting. I love the entire trip, from getting on the plane to taking the cab to the hotel. I love it all.

But...there are a few reasons why I love it so much, and the biggest one is that I've learned how to travel well. If I had to sit in the plane in a regular seat from Chicago to London, for example, I would probably hate flying. Having the seat in front of you so close to your nose that you can't even breathe properly is not the best way to travel. And sitting in the airport, with the chaos and the uncomfortable chairs and the crowds and the noise is also not the most pleasant experience.

Some might say I'm a travel snob. Perhaps that's true. But after several years and over one million miles, I'm okay with that label. The key to traveling well is cutting down on things that tire you out on the journey. Here are a few things I've learned:

1. On a plane, the best seat in economy class is in the exit row. You get more leg room, no seat in front of your nose, and heck, you also know that you aren't leaving your safety in the hands of someone else, in case of emergency (which is great for control freaks like me!) Unfortunately, the only way to book the exit row on most airlines is to be a member of their frequent flier program and have elite status. In most cases, the best way to do that is to get your butt in the seat and fly. But if you want to get lifetime status with an airline like I did, they usually base that on the number of miles you've accrued since you joined their program. And you can do that any way you want. I paid for a ton of my house remodeling with a debit card that earned miles. Most airlines also have an online shopping portal, dining programs where you register a card with them and get miles when you dine at participating restaurants, and you can do special offers where you get miles for getting a certain credit card. I even get miles every time I do an internet search!
2. Noise-canceling headphones are a brilliant investment if you fly a lot. They're priced exactly right, though frankly, they're worth their weight in gold. They cut down on the airplane noise, and make your flight so much more pleasant. I use the Bose Q2 and not only can I use them when I travel, but I also use them when I cut the grass. :D I wish they took up a little less space, but the earbud ones don't work as well for me.
3. In the airport, the best place to relax between flights is the airline's VIP lounge. Unfortunately, that usually costs a bundle, so it only makes sense if you fly a lot. If you don't fly frequently, you can usually get a day pass. You'll get better food, cleaner bathrooms, quieter space, and free Wifi, and probably free drinks as well. 
4. If you want to really relax when you get to your destination, and you're not renting a car, skip the cab and hire a car. It's way more expensive to hire a car service, and I've only done it a handful of times. But what I can tell you is that you won't even touch your bag, maybe not even to get it off the conveyor belt, you'll be given a newspaper and a bottle of water, the driver will drive like a normal person, not a crazed cabbie, and the car will be clean, and probably will have leather seats. They're nice. Not the most economical choice, but certainly a pleasant one.

There are plenty more, but this is longer than I expected, so I'll hold off on the rest for now, but expect to see more travel tips on the way.

In the meantime, here are a few of my favorite travel web sites:
FlyerTalk.com
SeatGuru.com
AmericanAirlines.com

We Have A Mouse

Yesterday, Leo called me downstairs and asked me to bring one of the cats. Mystified, I picked up our cat, Scooter, and went to investigate. Leo was standing, immobile, in the doorway to our kitchen.

"Put Scooter down right here," he said, "There's a mouse."

I peeked around the corner and there, sitting upright on the floor next to our cat food bowl, was the cutest little fat brown mouse I've ever seen. Without thinking, I put Scooter down. He didn't see the mouse right away, but we nudged him in until he took notice. Unfortunately, Scooter's years indoors have apparently led him to forget his feral ways, so he really didn't know what to do with the mouse, who escaped unharmed, running behind the stove (and ostensibly, into the subfloor or the basement).

After I had a chance to ponder the situation (and how adorable the mouse was), I told Leo we needed to go to the store for a trap. We left Scooter to monitor the situation and went to the hardware store, where we found an entire wall of aggressive-looking pest control products, most of which said, "Kills Mice! Guaranteed!" After searching through the murderous lot, we finally found one kind of humane trap (similar to the one pictured at left), and as it was our only option, we bought three, brought them home, baited them with peanut butter, and settled in to wait.

So far, there's been no action in the traps. I don't know if the mouse got what he came for and decided not to return or if he's just not a fan of peanut butter. Either way, we haven't seen any movement whatsoever...but I'm hopeful.

In the meantime, I've apparently impressed Leo with my non-squealing reaction to the mouse. Of course, the mouse was stationary and wasn't running around, but still...I'm pretty brave when dealing with 4-legged creatures. Any more than that and I really don't react too well.