You showed me yours, so i'll show you mine... whether you want to see it or not

Since David posted his wish list, I figured I would post ours, just because.
so here it is.

I also figured I would be a self-important ass per usual and post my own gift giving guide as if there aren't enough out there already.


Vo0's Gift Guide

For the boys: The Dangerous Book for Boys. This book has everything a curious boy could ever want to know from paper airplane designs to stock cars to things involving fun scientific reactions. Having looked through it myself, I say it's good for "boys" of any age.


For the girlie girls:
Lush "Secret Santa" bath gift pack. Lush makes hand made bath products using as many natural and organic ingredients as possible. I have not personally bought anything from them, but I know a few people who are hooked on their products, including a guy who I would never suspect of liking froofy bath products over good old dial and suave.

For the Cunt who likes to cook:
I like you by Amy Sedaris. This is an honest to god guideline for hosting parties with real recipes, but it's odd and really funny by virture of the fact that Amy Sedaris wrote it. I thoroughly enjoyed looking through this one in the cushy chairs at the book store.

For the chocoholic:
See's Candies King Tut Truffle Assortment or custom mix. My mother-in-law has gotten me sees numerous times. I even finished off most of a box that my husband bought me for valentines about 10 days after I had started on weight watcher's.

For the Wino:
A wine from Castel Grisch Winery in Watkins Glen New York--yes, the Watkins Glen where they race the cars. On my wine tour, I came across many fabulous wines, but theirs stood out to me as being something almost anyone would like. I would recommend the Seneca Dream Red, which you can get in nifty seasonal packaging if you ask for the "winter's dream red." If your favorite Wino prefers white, I would definitely recommend the Seneca Dream White, which you can also get in nifty seasonal packaging by ordering the (you guessed it) "winter's dream white".

For foodies with unusual tastes:

• Sees pecan pie truffles. I haven't tried these personally, but they sound perfect for someone who doesn't like run of the mill candy.
• Dagoba Xocolatl. This dark chocolate bar with chilies added in is truly delicious and mindbogglingly different. Having tasted it I can tell you that this is for someone who appreciates very dark chocolate and is used to eating it in small doses. This is definitely not for the foodie who prefers to down a whole chocolate bar in one sitting.
• Huckleberry Cordials. These are exactly what the name implies--cordials with a huckleberry in the center instead of a cherry. In case you're wondering what a huckleberry is, it's a somewhat tart berry that grows in the mountains. I've tasted these chocolates and they're very good, as cordials go. I'm personally not a big fan of cordials, but I intentionally ate more on a few occasions.
• Huckleberry Vinaigrette. Again, exactly what the name implies. I haven't actually had this particular huckleberry vinaigrette, but I had other types in the restaurants in Idaho all the time and loved them. This was the only salad dressing I ordered in Idaho, assuming the restaurant had it.
• Huckleberry flavored coffee. I've never personally had it, but my dad made some that we had gotten as a part of a gift basket when he visited one time. It smelled incredible and Dad liked it.

For the young teen:
Stardust by Neil Gaiman--The graphic novel version with artwork by Charles Vess. This is a fairytale in the truest sense of the word, but it's not juvenile. Actually, adults who are into sci-fi/fantasy books would love this too. As a matter of fact, I got this for Christmas last year and it was one of my favorite presents. oh, I forgot to mention the artwork. There are gorgeous watercolors interwoven throughout the story text and they really bring the book to life.

For the Fragrance/Candle Lover:
Klassic Candles--spice cake flavor. Made in Alexandria, Alabama. The smell is warm and spicy and sweet and utterly divine. For a cooler scent try the midnight dream.

For the Geek:
DIY Drinking Strawz. Straws that you can put together yourself in any weird or wonderful configuration your mind can imagine. The set comes with 20 connectors and 16 straw pieces.

For the Gadget Lover:
USB Memory Watch. A watch that can hold top secret files? I'm so in!

For kids/families:
Matilda (DVD). It's hard not to love this movie regardless of age. It's geared toward kids and very child-appropriate, but the first time I saw this movie, I was like 18 and my husband and I routinely watch this when it comes on even though I'm 30 and he's 32 (well, almost).


Hopefully that has given those of you who are stuck some ideas. If you want ideas for someone who's not in the guide, email me or post it in comments, and I'll be glad to help.

2nd best birthday ever...

...Because my husband would kill me if I said that anything was better than the trip we took to Spokane on my birthday two years ago to see Henry Rollins.

I am currently in upstate new york with my mother and her family. We went on a wine tour in the Senaca lake area and stopped at like 7 vineyards. Some of them had some fabulous stuff that I really enjoyed. Most of you know how much I make faces at wine, and I ended up with four bottles of wine, some lovely chocolates and some jelly. If I drank wine more, I would probably would have ended up with a case or close to a case full of assorted wines.
My birthday isn't technically until Monday, but they made me spice cake cupcakes from great gram's recipe and served them on the limo bus. It's quite an experience to have a bus of 20 people all sing happy birthday to you. It's also quite an experience to be on a bus with 20 people you don't know and be too shy to say anything. It's fabulous when you realize that they have noticed you being quiet and shy and they're just letting you enjoy yourself as you. There were no forced social interactions, and no one seemed to care if I wanted to sit there and just listen to everyone else, but they listened to me talk when I actually felt like I had something to add.

And actually, I must give a huge kudos to my husband for my birthday present as it turned out be extraordinarily useful on the trip-- Lots of money. Every winery had a small fee for tasting, which I gleefully paid because I knew I had enough money. I even paid for a couple of extra tastings and bought 3 bottles of wine and some jelly, which my aunt is going to ship to me. OH--I also got some chocolate at one of the wineries. yum.

quick update

I have about a thousand things to do this morning, so this will actually be short, but I realized that I haven't updated since the beginning of June and it is now November.
I still work at a daycare. I'm full time now and I work with the older toddlers instead of the infants (thank god). The dog is still the dog and he tried to pick up a frog yesterday (maybe whitey will post more about that). I have been running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to make and buy things for Christmas, which kind of sucks, but is kind of cool since it means I will probably be done in two more paychecks. Chris actually seems to enjoy his job, which is a first in a long time.

The only big thing going on is that I am going to upstate New York to go on a wine tour with my family. I leave Friday, the tour is Saturday, we're having a baby shower for my cousin's wife on Sunday, and I come home Monday. The fun thing is that I didn't ahve to pay for a bit of it, as this is my birthday present from my mom (it's about $60/person and she used frequent flyer miles for my airline tickets). My birthday is monday and I am hoping to get lots of cool things, and lots of cake, but not nearly as much as I ate at David's birthday party (ouch).
So yeah, that's my story and i'm... you know the rest