Thursday Thirteen #151

THIRTEEN POPULAR TOYS FOR CHRISTMAS 2011

These are among the top picks for kids, according to the gift gurus at Gifts.com. I like thinking of all the happy faces when it's discovered Santa left these under trees all around the country ...

1) Disney Tigger  (Eco Plush). The wonderful thing about Tiggers is Tiggers are wonderful things -- and this one is made with recycled fibers and eco-friendly dyes.


2) Fisher Price Topzy Tumblers. It's bright and sturdy and it makes a bit of noise and, oh, hell, I don't know how to describe this. If you have a baby in your life and want to learn more about it, click on the link.


3) Go, Car, Go! A little Euro-styled coupe (in red, green or blue) with a curved roof that doubles as a handle. So kids can grab it, push, it roll it, etc. Even better, it has googly eyes that make it look really friendly.

4) Fisher-Price Rockstar Mickey Mouse. How cute is this! Mickey rocks out with a six-string guitar. His head bobs and he does the splits.


5) Paint a Wooden People Family. Plain wooden dolls come with paint and colored pencils and felt and glue so kids can make their own unique doll family.


6) My Keepon Interactive Robot. This little yellow bird dances to music and responds to touch. (I want one.)

7) LEGO Ninjago Fire Temple. "Battle for control of the four Spinjitzu weapons has begun. Sensei Wu, Kai, Zane and Nya need help to keep Lord Garmadon and his evil skeleton army from taking the ultimate Spinjitzu weapon - the Dragon Sword of Fire." I have no idea what any of that means. But then, I'm not a 10-year-old boy.

8) Barbie "I Can Be an Architect." I'm old school. I like Barbie at Christmas. And this Barbie comes with a hard hat and a blueprint tube and a little model house.


9) Spynet Stealth Video Glasses. High-tech glasses with a video camera on the bridge of the nose. So you can record people without their knowing it. (Tee hee.)


10) Inflatable Flying Shark. With a remote control! So you can make your shark do your bidding from up to 40 feet away!

11) Orbeez Perfume Magic. A kit to help you make your own perfume.


12) NERF Vortex Nitron. A kind of a friendly assault weapon.

13) Buckycubes. 125 little cubes made of really powerful magnets so you can build any cool design you want.

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I Want Wednesday

I want a little more Christmas spirit! To that end, I bought another book for the shelter for abused/homeless children. Today's is Awkward Aardvark. Look at that big, round aardvark butt. How can it not bring a smile to your face? According to Amazon: "Aardvark's snoring keeps the other animals awake night after night. Something has got to be done! Mongoose calls on the others for help, but it is not until the termites get involved that the problem is solved. This is the story of how Awkward Aardvark came to sleep during the day and eat termites at night."

Everything still feels a little low energy, though. No one around me feels into it yet. I passed out my gifties to my coworkers today and got hugs and kisses, but eh. Maybe tomorrow everyone will be more in the swing of things!

Boone, IA! Who knew?

I got my oldest friend's daughter a gift subscription to Glamour, and they screwed it up. Oh, well. Shit happens. So I'm sending them a copy of my canceled check along with a strongly worded request that they get their glamorous act together. Where did I send this letter?

Boone, IA! Who knew that was the Glamour capital of the nation?

Well, why shouldn't it be? After all, it is the county seat of DesMoines Township. According to the 2010 census, Boone boasted 12,660 people. Though none is Cheryl Tiegs. While a fresh-faced Glamour covergirl more than 40 years ago, there was no residency requirement.

The BEST way to start the day

Normally, waking up like this would leave me grumpy. After all, I crashed on the sofa (which always annoys me) and was awakened by how freaking HOT it is in here.*

But  instead I'm way happy. Why? Because my cat Charlotte gave me a huge yawn, opening her mouth as wide as the old MGM lion. This allowed me an unobstructed view of her tongue and THE LUMP IS COMPLETELY GONE! The vet was right! My little girl is fine!

I'm so relieved.

*It's December and I have the window open and the fan going. One of the joys of living on the top floor in winter, as heat rises.