Freebiez: Slurpee Day

Back after a long absence... Sometimes life catches up with you!

7-Eleven is hosting its seventh annual Slurpee Day. Until they run out of special 7.11-ounce birthday cups, participating 7-Eleven stores will give away Slurpees!

Yum. I'm on my way for Dr Pepper Slurpee, baby!

Here are some interesting tidbits about Slurpees:

• In the 1950s, Omar Knedlick created a new frozen beverage when his soda fountain broke and he froze and then served his sodas. He built machines using new automobile air conditioning technology. 7-Eleven bought three of these machines and started selling "Slushes" in 1965. Two years before Bob Stanford, a 7-Eleven agency director, changed the name to Slurpee.
• 7-Eleven owns every genuine Slurpee machine except one. That one is privately owned.
  
• Slurpees are always served at 2 degrees Celsius (28 degrees Fahrenhait).
• Slurpees are only carbonated in the United States.
  
• Canadians purchase 30,000,000 Slurpees per year.
  
• Winnipeg is considered the Slurpee capital of the world. 7-Eleven stores in Manitoba sell an average of 8,330. Compare that to the rest of Canada at 5,990.
• Most Slurpee flavours are kosher "parve" and halal (except Diet Pepsi and Piña Colada).
• Slurpees are gluten free.
• In 2004, Slurpee created an edible straw!

Product Lust: Bonne Bell Lip Smackers Jell-o

It's un-PC, but I love Lip Smackers by Bonne Bell. I don't care if they are petroleum-based and don't stay on my lips long enough to moisturize. The flavours are tasty and they make my lips have a sheen without being shiny. I dare say I'd take the mighty Dr Pepper Lip Smackers even over my beloved MAC Lipglass.

I just found out they offer Jell-O flavours. Holy crap, that's awesome! Must have, especially Lime! After all, who doesn't love Jell-O? That bouncy. shiny, tasty stuff.

As kids we played with it constantly, and didn't get in trouble, which made it better. It was sort of the point! It was an inexpensive treat when times were tough, and we could stuff ourselves full without Mom worrying about us overeating.

We made homemade Jell-O with extra gelatin mixed in to make Knox Blox at sleepovers. We bounced them off walls, each other, and the basement floor. Don't worry, we didn't eat those ones!

My first cooking experience was with Jell-O. It had heating, mixing, timing and serving, so it was cooking to me. I made layered Jell-O with fruit for a tea party. What can I say, I was ambitious. I was going to be the Julia Childs of Jell-O!

The first recipe was an unmitigated failure. The first layer hardened too much. Some of the fruit juice from the canned fruit cocktail dropped in the pan, which made the second layer too watery, so it didn't harden enough. The result was like trying to eat spaghetti sauce off a waterbed.

Still, I never lost my taste for it. I even liked to lick the Jell-O powder like homemade Lik-M-Aid (remember those?) while I read late at night in my bed. So bring on the Lip Smackers!

Okay, dude... YUM.

I am a coffee junkies but need to moderate my intake. I don't seem to feel more alert from caffeine, but I do get giddy and talkreallyreallyfast when I have too much. My limit seems to be one cup of joe or one can of Dr. Pepper a day (BOO!). If I take more than that, well... it's just bad.

Lucky for me that the coffee houses have decaf when I need a warm, creamy buzz. That way, I'm getting a creamy sugar rush without the jitters! But it also makes me a little obsessive about the smell of coffee. Since I can't drink much of it, I love candles and bath products that remind me of it.

Philosophy The Coffee House ($30) is great for those of us who need a caffeine fix but need to show restraint. The scents are rich, and these really lather up nicely. The Egg Nog and the Cafe au Lait are really nice, but the Caramel Mocha Latte is to die for. The scent wraps itself around you like a fuzzy blanket, and you smell edible all day.

Too good!