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Category: Living the Life

Dee's Geek-Friendly Holiday Gift Guide

Everybody all over the internet is posting their own version of holiday gift guides and I’m feeling left out. I have great ideas this year for gifts, but unfortunately am limited in funds. Plus, most of my family and friends are not as geeky as me and wouldn’t appreciate some of the great things I’ve found. So, if you are searching for gift ideas for that somewhat geeky, sorta crafty, gadget-loving person in your life maybe one of these items will jump out at you. Or, you know, if you are shopping for somebody like me, any of these would be fantastic gift ideas. Best of all, none of them are super expensive.

photokeychain1.jpgFirst up is the digital photo keychain. This particular model is made by Coby, but a quick online search will turn up lots of other options. It would be a great gift for new parents, grandparents, or even kids who like to show off their photos to their friends. The screen quality isn’t the best, but good enough to show off photos of the new baby or grandkids. Along the same line is the credit card size photo album which can easily be carried around in a wallet or purse.

eyefi.jpgSince we’re talking about digital photos, let’s move on to the next item, the Eye-Fi Wireless SD Memory Card. I’ve been drooling over this since I first found out about it. Stick this little SD card into any digital camera that uses SD memory and you can transfer your photos instantly. No more searching for lost cords or card readers. With this little device you no longer need them. There is also a CF card adapter available if you need it.

butter.jpgFor those not-so-technical girls on your list, you can’t go wrong with some nice smelling lotions and/or body wash. I suggest Victoria’s Secret Ultra-Softening Body Butter. It is light and non-greasy and feels so good going on. Plus, it doesn’t irritate the skin (unless you are allergic, I suppose) and it smells fabulous. Coming from someone with extremely sensitive, dry skin, that is saying a lot. I highly recommend the “Love Spell” scent as I haven’t met a person yet who doesn’t just love it.

chiller.jpgI’m not sure where I originally saw the link, but I bookmarked it and have been waiting for just the right time to buy this one. I think it would be a great gift for anyone who spends a lot of time sitting at their computer. This USB Drink Chiller and Warmer can keep your coffee hot and your soda cold. All it takes is a little flip of a switch. It is powered by USB, making it just as portable as your laptop. Everyone has seen the coffee warmers, but I love that this one does both. I’m not a fan of coffee, but occasionally have a cup of hot chocolate on a cold snowy day. I would use it mostly to keep my water or soda cold as I usually find myself drinking it warm every afternoon. The CoolIT USB Beverage Chiller is another option for those who just want their drinks cold.

stone.jpgFor the music lover in your life, I have a couple of suggestions. First off is the Creative Zen Stone MP3 player. This tiny little 1GB player easily fits in the palm of your hand, is half the price of an iPod Shuffle, and doesn’t limit you to using iTunes for transferring your music. There is also a 2GB version for those that may want to carry more music with them. Of course, if you are gifting and MP3 player, why not include a gift card for iTunes, or a gift membership to Rhapsody or eMusic so they can fill that thing up?

itzbeen.jpgAre any of your friends taking part in the recent baby boom? It seems half of the women I know are just about to pop out new babies and the Itzbeen Baby Care Timer would be a great gift for them. I can’t imagine a more useful tool for new parents. It keeps track of how long it has been since the baby’s last feeding, diaper change, and time awake/asleep, plus has an extra timer for whatever miscellaneous item you may want to track. There is also a nursing reminder switch to help you keep track of which side the baby has last fed from. It is hard to remember much of anything during those first few sleep deprived months and I really wish I would have had one of these when my son was born. It would also be handy to pass off to a baby-sitter or grandparents if you can ever manage to let your little one out of your site.

I want to mention one last thing before I finish this list off and that is Etsy. If you are buying for anyone with a bit of a crafty flair, you should definitely check it out. Most Etsy items are handmade and some of the most creative I’ve seen. There are so many fun things over there I can’t even narrow it down, but I’m pretty sure you can find something for anybody over there.

I’m going to end it here because it has taken me long enough to write all this out and do all the linking.  Hopefully this list at least gives you some fun ideas to work with.  Now, go shop!

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One More Day

Only one more day of posting for NaBloPoMo.  When this all started I wasn’t sure that I could keep up, but I managed and it really hasn’t been too bad.  There have only been a couple of times when I have struggled to come up with something to say.  It is almost easier to write every day because it keeps me from trying to do long catch-up posts after several days.

The best part of NaBloPoMo has been all of the new blogs I’ve discovered and all of the new commenters that have been by my site.  It is nice to see some new names around here.  Plus, I seem to have lost several people when I changed my feed address so it is nice to be getting a little more traffic.

The worst part of NaBloPoMo is typing out NaBloPoMo (kidding!).  Honestly, the worst part is that I didn’t keep up with my 30 days of thanks posts.  I was all excited about it but eventually started feeling like it was just a little too forced.  I prefer to write about whatever happens to be on my mind at any given moment rather than writing out planned posts.  I am truly thankful for many, many things, including all of the wonderful friends I have met online but writing about it just wasn’t me.  I guess I’ll know better next time around.

The absolute hardest part of NaBloPoMo has been keeping up with all of the blogs I like to read.  With most of my friends participating as well, it has been even more difficult than usual to keep up with my feed reader.  I’m hoping December will bring a little bit of a lull so I can rest and maybe do something besides stare at my computer screen.

Tomorrow, for the very last day of NaBloPoMo, I have put together a different type of post.  I have gathered up some of my favorite wishlist items and put together my very first holiday gift guide.  I think there are some great gift ideas on there so make sure to come check it out!

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Building Traditions

Tree Time!

After trying for several days now, I finally found time tonight to get the Christmas tree up and decorated. I was really hoping that Zach would get excited about helping this year and I was not disappointed. He handed Hubby and I branches as we put the tree together (yes, fake tree). He watched excitedly as I wrapped the tree in lights and garland. Then he helped hang the decorations on the branches. The only problem was that he wanted to hang all of the decorations on the exact same branch. I had to do a little bit of rearranging when he was finished, but it was totally worth it to watch him enjoy this small part of our family’s Christmas tradition.

When the tree was finished we decided it was time for a little snack so we finished the night up with this:

Celebrating a Job Well Done


It was so good it may very well become a new holiday tradition.

I’m really excited to celebrate Christmas with Zach this year.  I can’t wait to read him the Christmas story and teach him the true meaning of Christmas.  He may not really understand it quite yet, but I still want to introduce it to him.  I’m anxious to teach him the songs that I have sung since I was a young child.  I can’t wait for him to experience the true spirit of Christmas, celebrating with family and friends.  But the best part is building new traditions that my own little family will carry on for years to come.

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Weekend Getaway

Hubby and I are headed off today for a little weekend getaway.  For his birthday back in September, I bought him some football tickets and a night at a hotel in St. Louis so we could have a little time without the very needy and cranky toddler around.  With another baby coming, I knew it would be a while before we would have a chance to get away again for a while.

We don’t have big plans other than the game.  We’ll probably do a little shopping, maybe some sight seeing, relax, and get a much needed night of uninterrupted sleep.  Tomorrow we’ll get up, go to the Rams game, and head back home.

While we’re away, Zach and the dogs get to hang out at Grandma’s house.  I’m sure they’ll have lots of fun over there.  I just hope Zach lets Grandma get some sleep!

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Something To Be Thankful For

We got a call early this morning from my father-in-law letting us know that my little niece was born early this morning.  Apparently she was breech so my sister-in-law ended up having to have a c-section.  Both mom and baby are doing great.  Little Mikayla weighed in at 9 pounds, 9 ounces and is 18 inches long.  Apparently we just aren’t going to have any small babies on that side of the family.  We’re still anxiously awaiting pictures of the baby, but letting them all get a little sleep before we bug them too much. 

As my little girl kicks around in my tummy, I can think of nothing to be more thankful for this Thanksgiving than new life.  Each baby that comes into this world is such an amazing miracle.  I have anothe niece due next month and I can’t wait to meet her as well.  Our family has been truly blessed this year.

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Turkey Day Eve

The day before Thanksgiving is just as busy, if not more busy, than the actual day.  First of all, there is work.  Completing a week’s worth of work in three days instead of five can get a little stressful, especially when you are an expert procrastinator like me.  I put off things that should have probably been done on Monday thinking I had plenty of time.  Then I was told today that I need to be available for two different meetings Wednesday morning which will likely take up most of the time before lunch.  I had hopes of being able to leave a little early to run some errands and start getting ready for Thanksgiving day.  Now it doesn’t look as if that will happen.

I am very much looking forward to Thanksgiving day.  We plan to spend the day at my mom’s house watching the parade, enjoying a little football, and of course doing some cooking.   If I’m really lucky, I might even get to take a nap or do a little bit of knitting.  At some point in the day, my brother, sister, and their families will join us and we’ll have our traditional Thanksgiving dinner together.  I can’t wait for the food.  I’m not sure I’ve ever been so excited about eating.  As I told a friend over IM today, I’ve been working on stretching my stomach out for the last few days so I’ll have plenty of room.

I’ll be posting at some point tomorrow to fulfill my NaBloPoMo requirement, but to all of you celebrating Thanksgiving on Thursday, I hope you have a wonderfully relaxing day with your family and friends.  I’m very thankful that you are all around, because this blog wouldn’t be nearly as much fun without you.

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I believe that today is also the due date for my first little niece.   Somewhere over in Hawaii, my brother-in-law and sister-in-law are anxiously awaiting the arrival of their first child.  I am anxiously awaiting pictures since I won’t be able to be there to meet here when she arrives.  I just hope the wait isn’t too much longer.  A healthy delivery would certainly be something to be thankful for tomorrow!

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