Ho Ho Ho

okay - so I have been having a heck of a time finding stuff for hubby for Yule ... every time I find something I think he could use I get "don't need it", "don't like it", or "don't have room for it" ... it drives me nuts.

He has been working on cars a lot lately - between the college kid's goof-ups and his friends wanting to save money by doing it themselves - so I was looking at tools ... but he pointed out that he has a whole garage of tools and if he needs something we've got enough mechanics in the family he can borrow it.

He likes to do woodworking - but he just doesn't have the time or place except for when the weather is warm enough so he can open the shop door .... so that's shot down...

He likes to go camping with the scouts, so i was looking at some really nice camping gear ... but he says he won't go again until my son gets the dr's okay after the operation... so that's on hold -- plus he figures he can get it cheaper with his membership to Cabela's than I could online.

Well thanks to Barnes & Noble online (since he refuses to take me to any of their stores ... we hardly ever get out for under $100, more so if the kids are there) I think I have gotten him the PERFECT gifts.

He has been getting sent on a LOT of business trips lately ... Phoenix, Utah, Mankato, Rochester ... then there are the possible trips to SanFran, Canada (BC, I think), some on the East coast ... packing up is quite the trick for him sometimes ... so BN.com has stuff that will help...

I got him a small kit that has just about every plug used for electornics that hook up to a USB port ... that should help cut down on the number of cords he has to take.

there was also a device charger that captures a charge from his computer's USB port (or the ones they say are on airplanes) and then he can hook it up to his phone so no more dropped calls or rushed calls ... and it will charge the device! his ipod, his phone, his myVu, his shaver probably ... it looked like it had an adapter for just about anything. this will be great for the cabin too!

and a book light -- not just any book light though. We have had really bad luck with those ones that clip onto the book - either they don't work, or they are a pain to flip a page, or they cast too purple or blue of a light, worst was the one that actually damaged the book! I found one that covers the page with an acrylic shield and the light beams thru the shield only illuminating the page and controlling any ambient light - so he can read on the plane without bothering the person next to him, he can read during lights-out, he can wake up in the middle of the night here at home and read without bothering me - right now he won't do that because he doesn't want to turn on his little light to read.

The light even came with a nice bag to protect it from bangs & scrathes - that is really my concern, that it might get scrathed up and then be tough to use.

But the best thing I found - is something I know he has been wanting for a while, and even more so after watching "Live Free or Die Hard" and that is a rubber, rollup-able keyboard! They had one for under $30 - so I snatched it. I looked at some online reveiws of it and they all seemed really good, the worst I found said "and for $25 you can't go wrong" ... I hope he likes it.

So now that just leaves the 13yr old ... and the brother & his girl friend who just bought a new town-house (that will make it easier) ... the son is the tough one ... he wants an iPod & a cell phone & a DSi ... neither of which I think a 13yr old should have, at that age I think they should 'earn' those otherwise they get trashed and they have no real meaning for them because mom & dad can just buy another - but if they earn it, it is worth so much more to them.

He says he wants all the legos in the world too -- but have you seen the price for those lately??? I remember when legos were the cheap gifts to get for kids - now you get a kit that makes one item in about 15-20 pcs for $10! its horrid!

back to the drawing board ... and I will have to check in with BN.com every day to see what their daily offer is ... today it was a wooden stackable pull train for my hubbies great-nephew for $8 ... he is somewhere between 2-3yrs old, so its probably too easy for him ... but we also found out that they are going to have another child so if the older one won't use it, the younger one eventually will.