Julia Birth-Mas

Welcome back to Jan and Dave's Julia Paige's Blog! It's nearing the happiest time of the year: JP's Birthday/Christmas! Some of our dear loved ones have asked about ideas for Julia this year, so we thought we'd throw some ideas up here on the blog. And since she is growing so quickly, there are a few things we will need very soon! But in terms of toys, she doesn't need much, especially since we are still trying to sell our house, and have to keep things uncluttered.

Here are some things that we've been thinking Julia would like or need.

Clothes-- Juls is wearing a size 24 months or 2T right now and size 6.5-7 for shoes. I'm going to look at some thrift shops for these things, so if I get them, I'll take them off here so you'll know we're all set.

• A winter coat and snow pants (3T so they last longer?) we bought her a coat and snow pants... Due to the early blizzard!
• Winter Hat and mittens
• Sneakers
• And maybe... a fancier, cute pea coat type coat?
• Sweaters
• Long Sleeved shirts

Artsy Stuff-- Juls loves to "color" more than anything else!

• Play-doh (we have accessories, but need the dough, ours is nasty)
• Crayons

Toys

• Mega Bloks-- We have a set already, and they are this type, so more like this so they are compatible. (Also doesn't have to be this set, just to show you)
• Choo Choos- Juls has a wooden train set, but I think she'd love some cool accessories to go with it, to make better and bigger tracks! I'm pretty sure that all of the wooden trains are compatible, some of ours are from Ikea and some are Melissa and Doug (Again doesn't have to be this set)
• DJ Lance Rock beanie baby
• Curious George doll
• Dress up clothes/accessories
• Dr. Kit (after a visit to the do last week, she's been pretending to give us exams)

Bath Toys-- Juls loves tubby time. I think she'd really dig some new fun things to do in there! She has sensitive skin though, so we can't use bubble bath or things like that.

• Bath Crayons
• A Sprayer- I think she'd have fun with this!
• Tub Stickers or Tub Soup!

Books

• Julia loves "My No No No Day" by Rebecca Patterson. She would like other books in the series, look at this list here!
• Llama Llama books by Anna Dewdney, like this one

Boring things :) So Juls probably wouldn't ask for these things, but they'd make things easier!

• Toilet Seat for on top of the potty
• A sturdy step stool for washing hands
• Faucet Extender
• Big girl panties- Pretty soon we'll start potty training hopefully!

Thank you so much! Sheesh, this is a big list! These are just thoughts and suggestions, if you have other ideas thats ok! We love you!

Jan and Dave

See you Next Year!

Well, this Christmas was great, once again! Thank you so much for our beautiful gifts! Even better than presents though, was spending time with our wonderful families. We love you! Check back in the spring for garden updates, and then....after Thanksgiving 2011, we'll be back telling you about all the cool stuff we love!

They Put The Internet On Books Now?!?

Penny Arcade is a comic strip about video games that gets uploaded to the Interwebs three times a week, and can be read there for free. But I would totally pay real moneys to have the strips collected in book form. Why would I be so stupid? Well, Jan got me their first volume for my birthday this year, and I loved reading it. It's annotated, and hearing the authors talk about their writing process is just unbelievably fascinating. Plus it's a fun stroll down memory lane for me, revisiting the state of the video game industry as it was ten years ago, when the strip began.

The picture is of the book that Jan got me. I would like to have any other book than this one. Barnes and Noble totally carries them, sometimes even in physical stores.

Read my Shirt

I ran across these shirts and they are adorable! I'd love to wear them to school and impress all my little friends. They are sorta expensive, for a t-shirt...maybe you can find them cheaper elsewhere?
They can be found at this website: http://search.80stees.com/?category=Childrens+Books&i=1&q=Junk+Food&u1=q&u2=category and I wear a size Large.

Is That A Joystick In Your Pocket, Or...?

Look at this freakin' thing! Isn't it cute? It's a keychain shaped like a tiny joystick, with a special surprise... it actually contains 5 classic Sega Genesis games that can be played when connected to a tv!
http://www.buy.com/prod/official-sega-arcade-nano-vf2-plug-n-play-keychain-featuring-virtua/q/loc/108/218054716.html

Sew Cool

Hi! As I was mending a hem on some pants this evening, it struck me that I'd love to have a real, grown-up sewing kit. (Simple simple! Not for a sewing machine or anything!) We have a great little sewing kit that Gram made us during college out of a margarine container. :) Its come in very handy over the years! But I'm starting to run low on thread, and it made me think it might be nice to have a kit with different colored threads and needles. Nothin' fancy...we don't sew very much, but when we do, it would be great to have a sweet kit!

They're not gift cards, they're "cards" that are "gifts"!

Do you know how much it costs to make and sell a video game? Millions. Seriously, millions. But, if you don't have to put it in a box and ship it to stores, its a lot easier to get your ideas out to the public. That's why there are so many brilliant, imaginative and innovative games that you can only buy as a digital download. I wish, I wish so hard that you could give me these games wrapped up in a box. But you can't. But I still want them! These cards are the key. Buy them anywhere. Seriously. I think they sell these at gas stations now.

Pop-this-Up into my Christmas Stocking

I love the Robert Sabuda pop-up books that you gave me last year! (Wizard of Oz and Alice and Wonderland). I'd like to continue growing my pop-up collection. Here are a couple I'd like to own:
Beauty and the Beast
Peter Pan
The Night Before Christmas
Also, remember if you shop at Borders on Dec 4 or 5, you will get a $15 gift certificate that you can donate to my school. Just sayin...its like two gifts in one.
Thanks!

Homer: "I'll never drink another beer again." Vendor: "Beer Here!" Homer: "I'll take ten!"

This is Tactical Nuclear Penguin, and was, earlier this year, the strongest beer ever brewed, until it got caught up in an arms race with a rival brewery. I'd love to try it, but it's stupidly expensive (it works out to almost $120 after shipping from the U.K.). Fortunately, we make a ton of great craft beers right here in New York State.

My favorites are from Brewery Ommegang in Cooperstown, and they have a couple great-looking seasonal limited editions this year, but I'm game to try any craft beer (bonus eco-points if it's local!). I'm not a huge fan of light, thin beers, like pilsners and pale ales, but if it's thick (wheat ale, stout) or malty (porter, nut brown), then Bob's Your Uncle, I'll take it!

Ooh! Sparkly!

I LOVE these earrings on Etsy. They are a little pricey, so maybe you could find a similar pair elsewhere? How pretty are these?!
http://www.etsy.com/listing/62013143/sparkly-white-zircon-dangle-earrings?ref=tre-4cf28c6ed3176d9192028afe-2

Cans!

I'd love a pair of good-quality studio headphones. Since I've been recording music, first I used earbuds (which let a lot of sound bleed through), and then I tried some industrial government-issue headphones I found at the Salvation Army (wonderfully soundproof, but very poor sound quality). I've read that these are great headphones for the price, but I'm open to suggestions:
http://www.buy.com/prod/audio-technica-ath-m40fs-precision-studiophone-headphone-audio/q/sellerid/16176172/loc/101/203325391.html

"Hands-off" the Hair!

For my birthday this year, Dave gave me some awesome curly hair products that I love! The products are called "Deva Curl" and are only available at salons. Anywho, I'd love to have their special diffuser. It looks like a hand and is supposed to work really well. Here's a link: http://www.overstock.com/Health-Beauty/DevaCurl-Diffuser-Kit/4845063/product.html?cid=123620&fp=F&mr:trackingCode=7B21CA3B-52C1-DF11-98FF-0019B9C043EB&mr:referralID=NA

Stoner Food

So yeah, I bake things now (It's me, Dave). Been trying out some different breads and pizza doughs lately. I hear that crust gets a lot crispier when you use a pizza or baking stone. The thicker the better!

K-Cup (No....that is NOT my bra size!)

The thing with the Keurig Machine is... you always need more K-Cups. Thanks Jackie for it...we love and use it practically every day! (but those K-cups are expensive) :)

Our favorites are:
Green Mountain Wild Mountain Blueberry
Green Mountain Nantucket Blend
Green Mountain Caramel Vanilla Cream

We are also open to trying new flavors! Sometimes they have cool variety packs with deliciousness. PS- we haven't tried Green Mountain Mocha Nut Fudge, but it sounds good, doesn't it?

Do these pants make my glass look big?

You know how sometimes you go to a restaurant and they give you a wine glass and you go "Whoa, that is a huge wine glass!"? Well, I love those big bubble glasses! Dave actually got me one from Ikea (just one glass), and it broke, 'cause it was from Ikea. D'oh! I'd love to have 2 or maybe even 4, so I'm not the only one with a huge glass! :)

Body Butter

You know me (Jan)...I love body butter and can't get enough of the stuff!! I love the kind from Body Shop, but I know they have it lots of places. If you know of some lovely body butters, I'd love to try them. Thanks!
http://www.thebodyshop-usa.com/body-butter

Lock and Love

This one's a Dave choice, but Jan will use them too. Do you know about Lock and Love? They are really called "Lock and Lock" but Jan calls it "Lock and Love." They are plastic storage containers with clamp-on lids. What could be better? I'll tell you what could be better. Glass storage containers with clamp-on lids. Microwave and dishwasher friendly.

http://lifehacker.com/5685412/snapware-glasslock-might-be-the-last-food-containers-you-need-to-buy

Christmas 2010

It's Christmas time again peeps. We know how much you've missed the blog, since we stopped reporting on our garden. But don't worry! We're back to tell you about all kinds of stuff. Stuff so cool, you should want it too!

Merry Christmas!!!

Random Pics

Here are some random pics. Come visit us for the live version!

Teepee

We also made a teepee from bamboo poles to cover the septic tank cover. We planted the Italian flat beans and moon flowers so eventually, hopefully, the plants will grow up the poles and cover the ugliness.