This, That, and The Other Thing

This:

Want to win a DVD player? Anne Bradshaw is having an outrageous contest on her blog, and you can enter it too. Here are the rules, and the specs on the machine:

Anyone want to win a brand new, still-in-box, RjTECH UNO-02DVD compact slim DVD player? And since it's the Christmas season when it's nice to give more, SHIPPING by Priority Mail is FREE in Continental USA.

Closing date--DECEMBER 18th 2007.

Full DVD function
DVD format compatibility: DVD/DVD-R/DVD-RW/VCD/SVCD/CD/CD-R/CD-RW/JPEG
Audio Outputs: 2.1 CH RCA/Coaxial
Video Outputs: Video/S-Video/YCbCr
Multi-TV System NTSC/PAL
Dimensions: 10 x 9 x 1.5 inches ; 4 pounds
Two simple rules:

1) Post information about the contest on your blog with a link back to Anne's.
2) Leave ONE comment back at Anne's post telling her you've completed #1.

Winner will be chosen by random number generator on Tuesday December 18th, and announced the same day.

Spread the word about this nifty give-away.

And a Merry Christmas to one and all!

Now, for That:

Thursday was my baby's birthday. Well, he's not so much a baby anymore -- he's three now, but he's still my baby. You know how that is. We had a fun evening and he seemed to like his presents a lot -- especially his Viewmaster. But what's not to love about a Viewmaster?

And the Other Thing:

My in-laws were here last week and brought Christmas gifts. They hadn't been able to find what they wanted for my daughter, so they took us shopping. We still couldn't find just the right thing, so they left me some money and the assignment to find her a pretty dress. I took my mom with us and off we went the other night, to the University Mall. After wandering into several stores and finding a broad selection of really hoochie dresses in her size, and I'm cringing to think of eleven-year-olds running around in some of those dresses, we found the Jo Lene store and a lovely red dress. It's cut in a sheath style, but with puffed sleeves and a modest neckline. She tried it on and looked like a princess. I also found her a red crystal necklace to go with it.

I'm so glad we found this particular dress. Everything at the mall either looked way too little girl, or way too woman of the world. I wanted something that showed, yes, she's eleven and so she should have something a little more grown-up, and this dress really fit the bill. The problem is, she's wearing the largest size this store carries, and so in the future, when she grows up a size, we're out of luck.

Then, on the way home from the mall, we stopped in at Toys R Us. My son had asked for a stuffed cat for Christmas, which just melted my heart because he's growing up so fast, and the thought that he still wanted a stuffed animal made me realize that he's still my little boy for five more minutes. Believe it or not, none of the toy stores I'd been to had one. So, anyway, we went into Toys R Us and my daughter discovered an Amazing Allyson Doll. Now, the thing to understand here is that she's been asking for one for years, but those things are over $100. Ah, but they had one marked down to $29.99. I became La Bandita de Navidad* and snatched that bad boy up. I told my daughter I already had her Christmas presents, and if she didn't mind if I put a couple of them up until her birthday, I'd get her the doll now. She thought that was a perfectly fine idea.

Oh, and yes, I did find the perfect cat at Toys R Us.

*The Christmas Bandit