Take Me Out!

There is a certain sense of zen that arises when stepping out on the dirt of the diamond. It is a peaceful excitement that arises. It is a ritual. It is home.

The gloves are oiled, and the bats are inspected. The season is ready to go. It is a game so simple, that somehow involves extreme strategies.

In this author’s opinion, the best baseball to watch is not the major leagues. Sure it’s great to see the game played to that level of perfection, but the cost of taking the family out to an MLB game has gotten out of control.

Where to go? Find a AAA team! The quality of play is great, and the tickets are quite affordable. Plus in the minor’s it is all about fun. You are surrounded by people who love baseball, not people there to close a business deal. This is where I find the best experience.

Want something a bit different? Go swing by a local T-Ball game! That’s right, T-Ball. This is just pure fun. No where else can you see 15 errors on a single play occur, all while the right fielder is “relieving” themselves on the field. It is pure Americana.

Go buy those peanuts and cracker jacks, and get out to the park!

Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll

The drool never goes away. High school was all about the crappy metal band my buddies and I founded. College was blasting heavy metal over the radio air waves, playing in more crappy metal bands, and even some concert promotions.

That’s why when I came across the BC Rich Warlock, the drool came back. I’d long forgotten about that guitar till I saw it. The memories flooded back. The aggressive body, the shred of pick ups, and even the action on the keyboard is quite good for a guitar at that price point. This was a guitar I’d always wanted.

I believe it scared the wife. Not due to the fierceness of the sound nor the take no prisoners appearance, it was the hair. The fear of suddenly having a husband who will strive to grow their hair back out, which wouldn’t be so bad if there wasn’t a blinding bald spot in the back…..

If you need me, I’ll be out back blasting Pantera.

We Buy Dirt

We buy dirt. Ever think about that? That always strikes me as odd, up to 10 bucks for the good stuff. Why do we do that? For the beauty of our yards. We provide love and

care into the yards, especially vegetable gardens.

This year we’re giving a vegetable garden a go. Before just running out and throwing some plants in the ground, be sure to put some thought into the garden. Where should it go? Is there enough sun? Is that a water line by it, or can the hose reach the area alright?

What about contamination? A raised garden is more than likely the way to go. We have lived in areas where lead paints were used, so a raised garden in those areas was a must. And guess what? They engineer dirt for that!

That’s right you can show up and get special dirt for raised gardens, dirt for in ground gardens, and fill dirt. I like to think fill dirt is nothing more than them selling my dirt right back to me.

None the less the story is simple, put some thought in to your garden. Then go buy dirt!

 

Pre-Black Friday

Is it just us, or does it seem like there are more and more pre-black friday sales than ever before?

These are great in that it help us cross items off our friends and family’s StandardGift list, but just seems to be overkill. Black Friday was always a fun day of hyper competitive shopping, but that seems to be getting eliminated. Pretty soon it will end up like New Years Day college football, a sad shadow of the greatness it once was.

Online or In store?

For those of us that vividly remember the 20th century, the shopping landscape sure is quite different. If the stores were out, you were just out of luck. Sure there was mail order, but that was slow, if you weren’t organized, that was not going to be a viable option.

Getting towards the back half of the 90s things started to changed. The dot com bubble began to swell, and even after the burst, many companies like Amazon continued on. It was like using the mail order catalog, but so much easier. Better pictures, better description, options to read reviews and get questions answers quickly. Then you could place your order and Santa’s sack could land right on your doorstep, pre-wrapped for a few extra dollars even.

There is no arguing of the convenience. But what happens when the convenience fails? There’s been several years now that companies like Amazon broke the shipping grid. Packages delayed, and for all us last minute shoppers, the prime option was not going to provide salvation.

So what about the stores? There are still crowds, but finding items becomes hard. Stores are constantly “cutting inventory” to reduce cost. This seems incredibly wrong to me, since people leave without buying. The pricing is usually competitive, so this tells me they do not know their customers and do not know how to properly stock their stores.

This writer though still prefers the stores. I love doing my shopping on Christmas Eve. I find enjoyment in the crowds, the panic in the air, the pressure. I can get away with this as the family has been using StandardGift for the majority of the 21st century. I have a list of ideas for all. I can load the list at checkout to see if anyone has marked it off as purchased, keeping it a coordinate effort and cutting down on the duplicates. Take the empowerment and give yourself the edge this Black Friday and Christmas Eve

Navigate the Madness

        That great time of year is almost upon us. The shopping madness. While we baste our turkeys we are all trying to devise our shopping strategy. What am I getting for them? What if someone else gets it first? Oh man, I had a great idea, but this store is sold out, hope I don’t forget while checking the other store!

This is the kind of madness that StandardGift can help tame. Share the list across family and friends. They can mark off items, without spoiling the surprise! Find that great gift that’s not on the list? Go ahead and add it to their list, the list owner will never see it. There is also an idea pad, so if the timing is wrong, but you don’t want to forget, add it there!

Don’t go walking into Black Friday Weekend blind! Get everyone to sign up now for the always free StandardGift!!

Nutcracker

StandardGift is proud to be advertising in Ballet Forte’s program! Sneak preview of the Ad below, but more importantly, check out https://www.balletforte.org

From their site:

The BalletForte Guild is a 501(c)(3), non-profit organization of dedicated volunteers who donate their time and expertise towards various fund raising events, which in turn, provide social and financial support for BalletForte, the premier, pre-professional ballet company of Fort Bend County.

If you are in or traveling to the Houston, Texas area, be sure to check them out!

Geoffrey, we miss you!

One of the greatest things as a kid was getting the Toys “R” Us catalog and writing a letter to Santa. Just reading the catalog was hours of fun and enjoyment!
But alas, all things must come to an end. Though there is the rumor of the “R” going phoenix and rising from the ashes. Signs of a resurrection are popping up in the form of Geoffrey’s Toy Box at Kroger, but the magic is just not there. Amazon has announced a catalog, hopefully we’ll be on the recipient list as the curiosity does exist to read it, the hopes of it being the same are low.

Enough with the doom and gloom though! The fun of writing to Santa is still alive and well! To help Santa’s elves out, StandardGift is the always free wish list manager to help collaborate with all the elves out there! The question is now, where are you going to find your inspiration!