Gene & Andrea’s 2010 Best of Skymall Guide

.Reading time 6 minutes.

Yesterday we happened upon the lovely Skymall magazine while we were flying home from a trip to Mississippi.   There were so many great,great gift ideas in that magazine, but we did the dirty work for you and narrowed it down to the top 10 gifts that you can still buy this holiday season.  Yes, these gifts are available for purchase.  That means you pay real money in exchange for this merchandise.  We’ve added notes, suggestions, and links, (click on the name and you will be directed to the proper website)  If you have any of those “hard to buy for” people,on your Christmas list,  I’m sure there is something in here that will be just the ticket.

 

 

1.  Move over Snuggie, you are so 2008.  Introducing the Siamese Slanket!
This puppy would be great for date nights, or even a father-son hunting trip.

 

2.  Do you ever feel like you aren’t spending enough on a gift for a loved one?  Uh-huh, I know the feeling.  Like, you just need to spend a couple more bucks to not come across like a total cheapskate, but to drop another $20 is just too much. These Scrunchie Wraps will be your best friend.  A great way to nudge up the value of your gift.  It also looks like it would add some nice pizazz.

 

 

3. Is your son/boyfriend/husband the one who was always picked last on the team?  An underachiever? This would be a way to help him live out his unfulfilled dreams.  These Nascar Personalized Calendars put his name on the back of the jacket, in every action-packed scene from January to December. Some dreams weren’t meant to happen, but at least you can pretend they did.

  

  

 

 

4.  The next two gifts are for the musically inclined friend or family member.  This EZ chord devise takes away the difficult finger moves and replaces them with four buttons. As the package says-YOU even You can play your favorite songs instantly.  What’s not to love?

 

 5.  Along the same lines, here is  a Roll-up Piano.  I’m thinking about getting this for Elena.  Not only could she practice her piano at home; we could take it along on road trips, trips to the grocery store, trips to the library, trips to the park, you name it.  It seems like it would be a fool-proof way to get her daily piano practice completed.

 

 


6. A gift for the one with a green thumb? Try these shrub guards.  They are inexpensive,and I know I would sleep better at night if I tucked in all my shrubery.

 

 

 
7.  Here’sa gift for the pranster.  A remote controlled tarantula.  Gene summed it up well:  ‘This could be a real hoot”.  The only thing that could make it  funnier?? Set it loose….inside the SIAMESE SLANKET!!!

 

 

 

8.  Can’t get a handle on the bed bugs?  Especially since the epedemic in NYC bed bugs have been taking over.  If you are tired of the battle, these Bed Bug Proof Cover Sets will be a real blessing.  Simply cover those nasty boogers up, and PRESTO sleep comfortably again.

 

 

 
 9.  If you are looking for a nice piece to add some sty-el to your home, I would say your search has ended.  This Lampshade Lady screams KLASSY!  Folks, there was another statue I was on the fence about, its name was “Peeing boy of Brussels” and it doubled as a fountain.  But I had to cast my vote for the lampshade lady since i try to keep things family friendly here.

 

 
 10.   What says “I love you” more than the inflatable Skyrest?  So simple and ingenius for all your travel needs.  Simply store it in your carry-on luggage.  Dig it out during the flight.  Inflate.  Take a snooze. Wrestle with it as you are served pretzels and soda.  Deflate.  Accidentally elbow the stranger on your left four times when it doesn’t deflate properly. Stow under the seat in front of you.  Repeat as needed.

 

Happy Shopping!  It was our pleasure,
Gene & Andrea

At the Ball Park

.Reading time 4 minutes.

Last month we spent the evening at a Lancaster Barnstormers game.  We had tickets that allowed us to sit on the bank behind left field.(for $0.00)   We settled down with some of our friends, right next to a couple of Amish families with several 8-12 year old boys.

Anyway, we had a good time, there were activities for the kids, and there was going to be fireworks after the game.  Anyway, the game kept getting longer and longer, and the Amish kids next to us kept getting noisier and noisier.

The jumbotron would flash a phrase like: Cheer and Go Wild.  And those Amish pre-adolescent boys would do just that.  They would roll down the hill, YELL and cheer and shake their bowl haircuts like I have never seen before.

To me, it seemed like everybody on the bank was watching these families out of the corners of their eyes, while we cheered in a more mannerly fashion.  The game drug on, and the neighboring Amish boys got even louder.  Their parents seemed oblivious to how raucously their sons were behaving.  I even noticed one of the Amish moms was cheering along, almost as loudly as the “boo – vah”.

Yeah, it got a bit annoying, I had been looking forward to a relaxing evening with the family, but I ended up getting annoyed at my neighbors.  I was also a little bit embarrassed for them.  Like this is your chance, the one evening that you are off the farm, time to break down the stereotypes about backwards Amish people and yet, you re-enforce them when your kids act like a bunch of wild mongooses. (Do I know how mongooses act? No I don’t)

So on the way home Gene and I were talking about these families.  I was questioning whether or not the parents realized how uncivilized their kids appeared.  Then Gene per usual, made me realize another side to the story.

He said, “I wonder what I’m going to do when my kids are that age and totally embarrass me in public”.

It really wasn’t a question of whether or not they will embarrass us.  If history is any indicator we have a plethora of embarrassments coming our way.  Gene is a strong person in that when his kids do something inappropriate and out of place, he owns them.  As in, he OWNS his kids.  He doesn’t get embarrassed and then try to save face.  He never chastises them in public.  He hates when parents berate their kids in front of other people.

And no, I never saw any of those Amish parents try to rein-in their kids all evening long.  That is what I see myself doing, if I at all feel like I’m being judged.  I do want to become more like that Amish mom and cheer wildly with my kids even if some stuffy up-tight people think they’re too cool to do the same.  Good grief, it was just a ball game.