I have a new love of my life. No disrespect to Scott, but I swear I could marry this thing. Scott's mom Pat gave us a Roomba for Christmas and it has already changed our lives. Mostly we wanted it for the family room, where Comet spends his time. Pet hair needs to be vacuumed a lot. Roomba can be scheduled to vacuum, or you can simply push the button and off it goes. It takes about an hour or so, and at the end it finds it's docking station so that it can recharge itself for the next go-round. So in the family room I've scheduled it for every other day at the same time. However, since Ry and Si seem to be building some kind of super-railroad project in the family room right now, I decided to move it to our bedroom today. Wow. Not only did it find every corner, go from area rug to hardwood floor and back with no problem, it even went into the bathroom and went between toilet and vanity, under clawfoot tub, into all corners, and even tried to climb the toilet (must have thought it was really dirty). At first Ry, Si and I layed on our stomachs watching it go under the bed, the chair, the table, etc., then after awhile it was just me.....it's oddly mesmirizing to watch this robotized thing zoom round and round and back and forth and just when you think it's not going to pick up that piece of lint, zoop....there it goes.....back to get it (zoop is officially copyrighted by me now....don't even try to steal it). And there is some wierd high you get from cleaning out the lint filter and brushes.....all that dust and hair and yuckiness.....there it is....gone from your floor! This is as life-changing as TIVO. Run, don't walk, right out and get yourself one.

I know that I will be fully ostracized for even admitting that I crossed the threshold into a Walmart, but you'll be happy to know that karma took care of my lapse in judgement by serving me up a nasty dose of the reality of being in this corporate behemoth. There were certain personages on my holiday gift list who wanted a gift certificate to said monolith. And while I could refuse to do so and try to figure out another gift, frankly, I don't have the energy to do so. So off I went.....to the newest (and closest, at 20 miles away) Walmart in the area. As usual, I had drinken too much coffee, and I needed to use the powder room. This is where the story cannot continue....my stomach is too weak and you'll appreciate my restraint. However, I must say that there is something terribly wrong when the bathroom at the Walmart is more disgusting than the bathroom at the Sather Gate Garage, which is 1/2 block from Telegraph Ave. - THE Telegraph Ave., of the homeless, the hippie, the downtrodden, the eclectic, far-left, and, scariest of all, (audible shriek) CAL students! I had driven directly to this parking garage from the evil empire, and yet again, nature called. (And yeah, I know, I should see someone about that). As I entered the bathroom, a custodial worker gently reached his hand to the door to hold it open a moment to ask....."is it clean enough?" I thought I misheard....."excuse me?" said I. "The bathroom...is it clean enough?" Uh, well, let me look around....."yes, it seems to be." "Okay." - and off he went. Huh?

Enough latrine fodder. Have you people heard of Mr. Mopps toy store in Berkeley, and if so, why haven't you told me about it before? Imagine that perfect grocery store that blends the best of Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, and the occasional run to Lucky's. (That's sort of Berkeley Bowl, but in my dream world I can go there without having to fight with a bunch of grumpy customers who run into me with their shopping carts). Mr. Mopps is the perfect toy store - sort of a Back to Basics combined with Hearthsong combined with Imaginarium before being sucked up by Toys R Us, thrown in with a smidge of Target selections. And the prices are extremely reasonable as well. You can find stocking stuffers as well as main gifts all right here. Oops.....I didn't check out if they have any electronic selections - but y'all know how I feel about that anyway.

And finally, if you're so inclined, there's a new entry to check out at Ry and Si.

There is nothing better than free money. Lest you go through your seemingly-junk mail too quickly, be sure to look at those return addresses. If it says "U.S. District Court Settlement Administrator" on the return, open that little puppy up right away. I did that tonight and found that I was 3 clicks away from $25, and so was Scott! It seems there was a class action suit against credit cards charging too much for foreign exchange rates made on purchases in foreign countries between 1996 and 2006. If I wanted to try to itemize for those 10 years, perhaps I would be due more, however, I find my time more valuable than the extra nickel or two I may glean from that beleaguered process. Regardless, $50 is a nice little amount of moola to come in the mail (and timely considering I just dropped off that 1st of 2 property tax payments.....ouch).

This reminded me of one of my all-time favorite websites - the California State Controller’s site, where you can search for unclaimed money due to yourself or anyone else you can think of. It's a great way to get in touch with old friends....just find out if they're due money, then e-mail to let them know. Maybe they'll cut you in. It is so addictive you'll find yourself glued to the keyboard trying to remember all the people you ever knew......I think it's the manual precursor to social networking sites.

While I'm sharing free money tips, be sure to check out the CoinStar machine in your local supermarket. Normally they charge an outrageous fee to count your coins and give you cash....but during the holidays there is an abundance of retailers who are dying for you to convert your change to giftcards and are willing to absorb that fee. So if you shop at Amazon or Borders or Starbucks or Home Depot, etc. - take your change in and cash out.