Domestic Geek

Since I've been kind of out of the loop the last few weeks due to the surgery, I was excited when a fellow Ravelry member informed us of Amazon's new Universal Wish List feature.

Rather than try to explain, I'll just post the blurb from Amazon's site:

Adding Items to Your Wish List from Other Websites

Sometimes you'll find things you want to add to your Wish List when you aren't browsing the Amazon.com website. That's OK, you can still add those items to your Amazon.com Wish List with the Universal Wish List Button!

The Universal Wish List Button is a browser button that will let you add items to your Wish List even if they aren't listed on the Amazon.com website. Click here to get the button!

To get the button, all you need to do is click on the image for the button and drag it to your browser's tool bar as instructed. It should only take a few seconds for the button be added and appear in your browser's tool bar.

Once you see the button, it's available for you to use immediately. When you're browsing a website and you see something you want, just click the "Add to Wish List" button in your tool bar. You'll see a confirmation screen, and the item will be added to your Amazon.com Wish List.

Check it out in action at my Amazon Wish List. As my circle of friends rely heavily on our Amazon Wish Lists for gift-giving occasions, it's so cool that we can now include other items we want that are not available through Amazon itself. It's well-timed as not only is Christmas going to be here before we know it, but my birthday is a little over a month away as well.

The only problem I have had with it so far is not being able to link the right picture of a t-shirt I want. That's not Amazon's fault, it was just the way this particular site was pulling in the product images from their database. It would be cool if you could add your own picture. Still, not a deal breaker for the whole feature in any way.

So why would Amazon add this feature? I'm guessing the answer is twofold. First, they can gather data about what people are wanting that they do not currently offer. Second, even if they do lose some sales to other sites, a person still has to go to Amazon to view your list and may ultimately purchase something else anyway. Just my thoughts. Still, a very cool feature!

I was perusing the Techie Diva site and found a geeky accessory that I absolutely must have! It's the Cyber Snipa Dog Tag. I don't usually wear jewelry or such, but I think I'd wear these. One of the tags houses a flash drive (I'm always finding myself in a spot where I wish I had a flash drive on me) and the other sports some tools and an LED flashlight. Definitely something a geek such as myself should own.

Marcus just alerted me to an article on ArsTechnica that CompUSA will sell or close its remaining stores after the holiday season. I have mixed feelings about it as I've always had a love/hate relationship with that particular retailer.

It is part of Marcus' and my ritual, though, to browse through the aisles of Comp at least every other weekend. It's just a quick jaunt up the street if we need an ink cartridge or something. The next closest computer retailer is Microcenter, but it's just a bit too far of a drive to just window shop. It's looking like the majority of our computer shopping in the future will take place online if it can't be purchased at The Apple Store.

They're saying that consumers will be able to find "attractive holiday bargains" as they begin to sell off the assets. I guess we'll see.

I checked out the weather forecast before bed last night. I knew a cold front was coming in and we'd be nowhere near yesterday's mid-60 temps, but I opened my door to leave for work this morning to snow! The weathercasters on the radio were, "Oops, we totally didn't see that coming." No shit, Sherlock. Of course, it also happens to be the same day I left my phone at work the day previously, so I couldn't even call to say I'd be late. Since nobody expecting it nor was ready for it, the streets were yucky. Sheer ice in some spots. As per typical Colorado, it warmed up enough that the drive was absolutely no problem for Marcus a couple of hours later.

Every year I try to find an ornament that signifies something special that happened the previous year. I haven't been able to do it due to finances the last couple of years, but I hit the Hallmark store today to see what I could get for this year. I didn't find squat. I was thinking something to do with knitting since I finally learned how. No dice. Nothing really signified a full time with benefits job. Other than that, no major milestones happened this year. Well, except for having to put our beloved Skippy down, but who wants an ornament to remember that?

I have noticed a lot of ornaments from various manufacturers out for A Christmas Story this year. I thought maybe it was a 25th anniversary thing or something, but according to IMDB, the movie came out in 1983.

I've been slowly trying to get DomesticGeek.com configured so that it can go live on December 1. It sucks when you've got your blog home set up the way you like it and can't remember every step and configuration you made to get it to the point you are now on a new server on an updated version of your CMS. Marcus got me EE 1.6 a while back and I installed it over there, figuring I'd be up and running there soon. Ha! All those little tweaks I made here and there over the years are now a necessary part of my blog operation and I can't remember what I did or how I got there. I'm documenting everything from here on out.

Man, it's only a little after 8 and I'm pooped. Dad and I got our shopping done. It was a bit of a pain, though. We headed out at 7:30 am and thought the store would be empty. The King Soopers over in Green Valley Ranch is the one at which he likes to do our feast shopping. The place was full of shoppers. Also, either people on their night crew called in or their truck got in late, because there was merchandise all over the place that needed to be put on the shelves. They were out of Honeysuckle White turkeys, so we left turkeyless. Dad had to open up a carton on a cart to get me some cream cheese for the cheesecake. The bake aisle was so jammed up that you couldn't even get a cart down it. I went out later and after hitting a couple of King Soopers and not finding a turkey, gave in and went to a Safeway. It still wasn't as big as I'd liked (I usually cook a bird upwards of 25 lbs to get the most leftovers possible), but it was a HW and was 20 lbs. I'll deal.

We got part of the Christmas lights up, but there were two sets that are toast. I'll have to pick up a couple of strings at Hobby Lobby this week so I can finish up.

I haven't started my table runner yet. I can't find the fabric I know I have that was to be the background color or the fabric I was going to use for the backing. I think I might know where they are, but I'm too pooped to look tonight. I also found out the blade in my rotary cutter is super dull. While I'm at Hobby Lobby, I'll have to get a replacement blade.

Since I can barely keep my eyes open, I'm off to bed. It's going to be a busy week and I'm not going to skimp on sleep and risk getting sick.

A little bit ago I was getting myself ready to go to bed since I'm exhausted and I need to get up early to go Thanksgiving shopping with Dad in the morning. It dawned on me that I hadn't made my shopping list yet. D'oh! Fortunately, since I have a Standing Shopping List, it didn't take too long to get it ready, but that could've been a big problem come tomorrow morning if I hadn't gotten it printed out.

With all of the OT I've been putting in this last week and a half, I figured out this afternoon that it's totaled almost a whole extra week's salary. Cool. I decided that because of that it was ok to splurge on the cutest scarecrow decoration I saw at Hobby Lobby today. They had just marked down all their fall decorations to 80% off today, so this item that was priced at $99.99 only cost me $20. It is three stuffed scarecrows with a wheelbarrow. It is absolutely adorable! I'll take a picture tomorrow to share when I have better light. When I got to the register with it, the clerk scolded me for buying it and even joked that she refused to allow me to purchase it. I guess she wanted it and had hidden it behind others so that she could get it after her shift. Well, it was out in the open when I saw it, so someone else must've been looking at it as well.

I just watched a program that I tape every Saturday on PBS called Knit and Crochet Today. There's a style called Tunisian Crochet that I'm interested in trying. Note to self to find out more about it. It takes a special hook and stitches stay on the hook in one pass much like knitting. The pattern the stitches make is more sturdy than crochet, much like knitting.

I've had a little storage dilemma in my craft room for quite a while. I got this cool cardboard storage thing when I worked at the auto parts store. I like having individual bins for paint brushes, crochet hooks, the heat gun, etc. The problem is this thing is huge! It's also cardboard, so it is beginning to wear out. A small annoyance I have with it is the drawers are wide open and have no lids, therefore I always have to dust the contents before I can use them. It's a huge pain. I've been looking for something to replace it, yet nothing is quite right. I think I came across something today that will allow me to retire it.

There's a company called Neat Containers that sells an innovative clear plastic storage container system. The containers themselves come in a variety of sizes. What makes these special is the way they stack. They allow you to remove each individual "pod" from the stack like a drawer without having to move those above the one you need. Since they are clear, you can see the contents easily and not have to dig through several boxes or drawers looking for where you stashed something. Each pod has a lid, so items stored can stay contained and free of dust. These would be awesome for storing shoes, sweaters, accessories...all those things that are a pain to store and get to easily. We could definitely use some in our closet to store Marcus' many hats.

The smaller NeoPOD is the size that would be great for my craft room, though. They're affordable, too. These are now on my want list for after we get this house moved.

I wrote almost a year ago that I wished that the Tootsie Roll company would put out packages of only Vanilla Tootsie Rolls.


Well, a voice mail on my phone from my friend Nina (Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!) alerted me to the fact that I have gotten my wish! Target is carrying limited edition bags of Vanilla Tootsie Rolls for only $1.99 each! I picked up two today and will probably grab a couple more later this week. I'm going to be good and ration them, though. Don't want too much of a good thing.

Edit: I just found that you can get the Vanilla Tootsie Rolls at Amazon.com for $2.99 a bag if you want some and can't get them near you.