Domestic Geek

If you're looking for a unique gift for someone, especially with the holidays quickly approaching, how about an Alpaca Direct Teddy Bear? These stuffed bears, handmade by Peruvian artisans, are crafted from 100% Alpaca fur and thus are hypoallergenic as well as incredibly soft and cuddly. Available in 12", 16" and 19" sizes, one of these bears is bound to be perfect for the kid (or kid at heart) on your list. There is free shipping on orders over $50 and there is gift wrapping available, too.

I would love to have one of these for my stuffed bear collection. I'm kind of partial to the multi-colored one pictured to the right.

I've been out looking the past three days for replacement cannisters for my kitchen counter. Why is it that I can't find what I want? I want a simple set, preferably square, not metal, two of them large enough to hold a whole bag of flour and sugar. I'm not asking much, but apparently this style is not popular right now. I'm been to the Container Store, WalMart, Target, Linens 'N' Things, Bed Bath and Beyond. I've even looked on Amazon and Overstock. My next stop is a cooking store out in Littleton sometime next week. If they don't have any, I don't know where else to go. I've even started looking at plastic storage containers that I could put up in the shelves, but I'm not finding anything quite right, either. Grrr.

While wiping down my kitchen counter this evening, I came to the sad realization that I need to purchase new flour/sugar/tea cannisters. They are made of metal and the bottoms have become rusty and are now staining my counters. I've had the same set since my first college apartment, so that must mean I got them in 1986 maybe? I think 21 years for a $20 set of cannisters was a pretty good run. I guess I need to stop at Linens 'N' Things or a similar store sometime soon and procure new ones, preferably glass or ceramic. It's time.

For the record, I love that product CLR. Took the rust stains right out.

I hate ironing.

With a passion.

Have I mentioned that I hate ironing?

OK, to be fair, it's not so much the act of ironing itself as having to do it on an antiquated Ironng Board. I hate my board because it's a pain to set up and take down, the cover gets dirty and dusty since I use it so infrequently, it's too tall for my short frame so it hurts my back (the other setting it has is way too low), once it's up it becomes a collecting spot for everything. There is also no good way to store it. I have one of those plastic hangers on the back of a closet door, but if I open the door too fast, the board comes crashing down. I also have one of those compact ones on the closet door of my craft room so that I can iron fabric when I sew, but it's ugly and unsightly, not to mention totally awkward to use.

I try my best not to buy garments that need ironing but invariably I always end up with a shirt that I love that is made from a fabric that is not wrinkle free. I tend to leave clothes in the dryer too long and need to quickly iron out the wrinkles before work. It's just a fact of life that I have to iron. This is the 21st century, why can't somebody design a board that doesn't get in the way when not in use, but is full sized and easy to use? Oh, wait — somebody did!

The folks at Better Lifestyle Products have the coolest ironing board I have ever seen. It is a full sized board that sets up and folds away in seconds, has a paintable cover so that it blends in with the surrounding decor, can be installed at any height and can be used in the smallest of spaces. There's a nifty video of the board in action on the site. It becomes a complete ironing center complete with clothes rack and iron holder. This is so neat — I want one!

Back when I was a music student in college in the late '80s, I was introduced to the most fabulous piece of music software called Finale®. Many of the graduate composition students wrote their scores with it. When I was student teaching, my mentor also had it and used it to write practice drills for her students. It was the top of the line music notation program back then and I'm happy to see that they are still the premier software package available for musicians, composers and music educators today.

It truly is an amazing tool and easy to use. It now includes a lot of sound libraries and you can import music clips, as well. It certainly has come a long was since its early midi playback.

I see that the company that produces it, MakeMusic, Inc., also has a piece of software called SmartMusic®. It's a music practice program, even providing accompaniments for the popular Rubank series. I wish that had been available back when I was studying music. Perhaps I would have taken it more seriously and better a better musician through its use. There's a wonderful tour on their website describing how this program works.

So if you're a professional musician or a student, go check out MakeMusic's site and see these and the other wonderful computer software titles they produce. There are free demos available for download. It's making me want to get back into music again.

Note to self: Remember this site (Swim Suits for All) for possible swim suits for Vegas trip. Lots of good looking plus sized suits including a link by Delta Burke.

Since I was dreaming about my ultimate entertainment room yesterday, I was really dreaming big. I do want to have a bar there and I'll need some bar stools. I came across a neat discount Bar Stool and chair site called Quality Bar Stools. I am so totally blown away by all the choices that are available. I guess the first thing I need to do is decide what overall look the room will have. They have retro soda fountain style stools to contemporary stools and numerous choices in between. I'm leaning towards some made of wood. There was a cool feature where you could build you own stool — you choose the base, the height, the wood finish, the seat style and the back. You can even order cushions.

They have some really neat metal bar stools that I'd love to get for an outside gathering area. I always thought it would be really cool to have one of those decks that have a bar-type counter that you could sit at and eat your breakfast. There is a stool with a wolf scene in the back that would be perfect!

They offer free shipping in the Continental United Stated if your order totals over $500 and they ship via UPS and FedEx. Make sure you stop by if you're looking for commercial or residential bar stools.

Video gaming has long been a source of entertainment in this household. Actually, a lot longer than Marcus' and my relationship. My very first video game experience was playing a neighbor's Atari Pong console back in the '70s. One of our first couples gaming experiences was playing mini-golf and Leisure Suit Larry on his old Amiga machine. We used to challenge each other by playing Super Mario World on our SNES nightly to unwind after work. Marcus games weekly online with his friends playing Call of Duty. Heck, we even have a full-size Playstation store demonstration unit in our living room. It should be no surprise then that we want to get a WII. We played with Mike and Nina one evening over at their apartment and that is the most awesome gaming console ever!

When we finally get one, I found an online store where I can get WII video games called Game Quest Direct. They boast the largest selection of new and rare video games on the 'net. If you're looking for discontinued titles (such as Resident Evil 2 for Nintendo Game Cube or Mortal Kombat Trilogy for PS), this is the place to check first. I'm seeing a couple of cool titles that I'd like to get for our old Playstation.

Game Quest Direct offers weekly price slash coupons on their main page, so check often to see if the game you want is on sale. In addition, there are $10 off Halo 3 preorder specials in the following video.