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One Gadget at a Time

October 28, 2010 By 9 Comments

Gadget Brownies

With Halloween a few days away, I know one little Christmas elf* who has already done her most important Christmas shopping of the year. My Aunt S gives to herself and our three families a gadget gift. No doubt she begins the search for the yearly ‘gadget’ early in the year. My theory is she chooses gadgets for preliminary trials in the first quarter of the year. She then researches them, getting into the ‘nitty-gritty of the gadget. Aunt S is specific in what she looks for: a gadget must fix, take care of, or eliminate a problem.

Aunt S gave us The Perfect Brownie Pan last year for the 2009 gadget gift: a clear-cut, out of the park, home run favorite. The main innovation of the Perfect Brownie Pan is the inclusion of a dividing grid. This grid cooks the brownies as separate brownies. When the brownies are done, the bottom of the pan pushes the brownies up. They are ready to serve: no more digging brownies out of the pan! The final bonus: all brownies are edge pieces.

What a great excuse we had last Christmas to make brownies. In fact, I may need to whip up a batch to make sure I have my skills intact (not to mention unearthing all three parts).

One year, we didn’t get a gadget gift. The annual gadget gift is not selected on a whim. Gadgets must meet rigorous gadget standards before they are considered. Ultimately, the gadgets enter the Aunt S Gadget Hall of Fame. Unfortunately, none of the gadgets that year made the cut. Aunt S chooses gadgets that solve a problem, not just take up space. She recognizes one of her nieces has her home full of antiques, American primitive folk art and quilts, leaving little space for non-problem solving gadgets.

A couple of years ago, we received an Ove Glove. The inventor of the Ove Glove took on the inventor of the oven mitt. Put two oven mitt babies on your hands and you are guaranteed to drop Aunt Gertie’s squash casserole. Although the glove is a bit large, the finger separations add a secure feeling never experienced with the flopping oven mitt. I’m calling the Ove Glove a home run.

We are getting a gadget gift this year.

I wonder what “problem” this gadget will solve.

Whatever it is, I bet we go to the World Series.

I love you, Aunt S.

Readers:  Tell Aunt S and me your favorite gadget. ;-)

* Theme’ for 2010 Charlie Christmas tree remains under consideration-

photo by dreamstine

Filed Under: My "reblonding" years Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

My Kindle, My BFF

September 8, 2010 By 5 Comments

I am one picky, southern, high maintenance, prima dona blonde. I want the best, I use the best. I cannot tolerate make-dos or second best. I will wait or do without.

Very few times in my life do I enthusiastically endorse a product. Why? Very few products hit the pinnacle of MY list. Kindle tops my list, without question.

I love my Kindle I have written posts about never leaving home without my Kindle. Do YOU have a Kindle?

Do not wait one more minute. Next thing you know you will be whining about Halloween costumes for the kids and GrandPa (I cannot believe he still dresses up).

Next I’ll hear the Paula Dean fan club shouting they need turkey money for Thanksgiving. Forget the turkey money. Just remain on red alert for the marketing team GIVING away free Butterball turkeys if you buy $10 every week for the following six weeks (and they call the geese golden?)

Second note: corral the kids up and head down to the Lion’s Club. Here they always give a free turkey at the annual pancake breakfast. You must, however, be proactive. You cannot wait until three days before Thanksgiving and expect a turkey to land on your table FOC.

Finally, I promise your Kindle will NOT interfere with your Christmas shopping, whether you shop onfoot, online or by phone. Your Kindle will provide you with a much needed diversion, and escape at night when you hear Dancing through the Snow, one more time. BK (Before Kindle) I used to remind my family to be careful with any unnecessary humming of Frosty the Snowman. I was not responsible for my actions.

I want you to enjoy cookie baking and hanging iciles in Grandpas hair, or his lack thereof.

So, as my dear friends at Nike put it, JUST DO IT. Take a deep breath, click on the big box (widget) to your right in the sidebar. This will whisk you way immediately to Kindle-land to read about, and get your Kindle! Do not wait- right now this model is sold out- expect to fill orders placed today in mid-September.

Yes, I do get a few bucks for the sale, but not even enough to host my site for a month! Law says affliates must disclose this info- and we know I do not want LT putting the cuffs on me.

Endorsements always remind me of my friend Chalene Johnson. She describes herself as the type of person who cannot wait to tell someone about a great product. We just love to share ;-) no affliate link

As many have heard, I may not always have my driver’s license with me, but I damn sure have my Kindle in my purse!

Kindle gives you freedom. You are not at the mercy of society’s idiosynchricies. What I mean is: if your spouse takes a detour by cousin Larryand Louise’s house on the way home, no problem. You perch yourself up on their couch with Aunt Minny’s afghan, and read. Decide to try a new book? Amazon will send you a sample of the book free.

Did you hear me? The sample with genuine content is free, not just the cover of the book or a goofy picture of the author.  I know you cannot wait to get your hands on one. Check the  Kindle button in the sidebar- I still cannot believe the deal on the price-- click on the hand and go buy yourself a Kindle. You will thank me, promise.

Oh, and no, this was not a solicited endorsement.

No threat of water torture,

Or threat of taking away Kindle purchases

Filed Under: High tech (for me) Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Doodle Jump meets a Grown-up

July 17, 2010 By 6 Comments

I love my doodle bug

I thought I had made it. I was fairly certain I would go to my grave without succumbing to the seemingly addictive nature of video games. I blame my addiction on Katie Couric. To know she is my age makes this admission even more painful.

Two weeks ago, as is our nightly habit, we watched as Katie wrapped up the CBS nightly news. She described a IPhone game that is sweeping the nation. The name in itself is fun to say, Doodle Jump. Flashes of this darling little creature bounced on LT’s flatscreen TV, bouncing up green ledges attempting to get to the top of ?

I cannot answer because I have not been there, but I sure have had fun trying to get there. For you pros reading, please leave me a comment and tell me what else is up there, pretty please.

Katie interviewed the creator as he described the nation’s craze with the little creature, sharing stories of marriage proposals and tons of fan mail. He even showed a common rookie mistake in playing the game: aggressive tilting side to side.

The story then splashed on different players, from the darling 9 year old giving us his exact highest score to the college freshman admitting, although somewhat embarassed, how addicting the game is.

As mentioned earlier, I have never played video games. I grew up before video games. Yes, we played tag, hide and go seek, hop scotch, those nerd games you see on Family Vacation movies.

LT and I do not have a Wii or a Xbox or 360 or a 240 (gotcha). We are just out of the video game loop. Not any more.

If I had to name a reason why this game has taken control of my life ;-), I believe it is because the little doodle bug is so cute. Besides the fact, I love saying doodle bug. Saying Doodle Bug reminds me of the kick I get out of saying Curly q ice cream cones.

After seeing the Doodle Bug, I was emotionally engaged. For you unmarketing types, this is just where the creators of Doodle Jump wanted me. I wanted my own Doodle Bug, NOW.

I went to the application site on my IPhone and searched for Doodle Bug. OMG this little fella is even more adorable up close and personal. Without a thought to the price tag of .99, I logged into ITunes and downloaded Doodle Jump. For the record, I am very selective about what I download and even more selective about what I spend money on.

No instructions come with Doodle Bug. I cannot tell you if this is the norm. Remember who you are talking to. This game is fun from the first second. I believe this is why so many have embraced it and have succumbed to its addictive nature.

One note, I did look up once and LT was standing in front of me with his Watch Commander look threatening me with life as a Doodle Bug if I did not turn off the sound Doodle Bug makes as he hops up. Thank goodness I was able to do that

As I zipped along with my score getting higher and higher, I told myself I may have found my true calling in life. I wondered what the “pros” scored. I was scoring near 16,000 which seemed on the professional level.

So, what do we do when we want information? We go to the Internet. I looked up Doodle Jump . Well, to make a long story short, I am fortunate to have a back up opportunity at stardom with my humor writing as the pros in doodle jumping are into the 400,000′s.

I look forward to the mindless pleasure it gives me.

Thank you Katie.

*note: I do not know if I heard Katie refer to the little guy as Doodle Bug, but that is what I call him. I feel certain, as with most things close to me, I will name him soon. Will keep you posted.

photos by Lima, Sky, Inc.

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