If I'm being honest

...I wouldn't hate this item from SkyMall. I love blankets. Sometimes I turn the heat down or the air up so I can sit on the couch under a blanket. In my family, the most popular blanket is the camo green army poncho liner that we all have. We had one at home growing up and used it make tents, capes, and all sorts of things. Now it's more for cuddling and signaling to the dog that he's allowed on the couch (Laura). But sometimes you get all covered on the couch and then have to free your arms to hold a book or the remote (unless you can master, as I have, the art of remote controlling from beneath the blanket), or you have to adjust and you lose the warm spot. With this blanket, all of those serious concerns are gone.

On a side note, do you really think picking this guy to advertise the blanket was the best choice?

Toast, anyone?

Skymall item #3 (and something that, if I'm being really honest, I would take if it were forced upon me, but then wish I didn't have because it's ridiculous): Deluxe Digital Countdown Toaster. I mean, come on people. It puts a picture on your toast, AND it lets you know when your toast is ready. Like, you know how there's all these t-shirt with smart, sassy little sayings. This is ten times better. It puts smart, sassy little sayings AND graphics on your toast.

Goodbye margarine and marmelade. Hello picture toast.

Up or off?

SkyMall item #2: a ladder/ramp for your dog to get on your bed. And here we've spent so much tiem and money trying to keep the dog off the bed.

While You're Traveling

When Wes and I were traveling over the holidays, I took advantage of my in-flight time to peruse the Sky Mall magazine. What I present to you now are 9 products that particularly caught my attention (difficult to do with the great variety represented in this catalogue). All are things I don't need (is there anything in that catalogue that anyone does need?), most are things I wouldn't want, but if I'm being really honest, some are things I would delight (at least for a few minutes or one visitor) to own.

First for your consideration is the pet autofeeder and oasis kit. Now, I've seen these things before. They just replace the going to the big bucket of food and kitchen sink to replace your dog's food and water. What really caught my attention here, though, was that this is supposed to "take care of your pets while you're traveling." Now I have to say -- we've left Lucy at least half a dozen times while traveling. Sometimes she's stayed at a boarder's, sometimes at a kennel, and at least twice she's stayed with a friend or family member. But never, ever, have I thought to just leave her home alone for a few days while Wes and I took a short trip. Never have we thought, "You know, Lucy's really shown herself ready for the responsiblity of staying home alone."

The only way I would ever buy an item like this is if it came with a autopoop-scooper and litter box so that Lucy could self-regulate the output as well as the intake.