The Discovery Store sent me this puzzle for free to test out and write about here. I gave it to my son, a puzzle maniac, to check out. A friend of mine astutely observed, after spotting the animal puzzle online, that it was unclear whether the puzzle would be rather difficult or too easy. (Our sons are in the 3 year old range). It’s not too easy after all.

It is nicely challenging although perhaps frustrating for a non-puzzler. The wooden pieces are unforgiving and need to be joined as they’re held in line with one another. Also, the Xerus has to slide in from under the Whale even though it is super tempting to drop it in from above. My son is about three and did not get overly frustrated; it is designed for age 5+ according to the site. He got the hang of it and does it almost every day. He likes to play with the animals, too, and builds a cage with his blocks for them. Today, he placed the Zebra on his Plan Toys forklift.

One downside, the Alligator’s nose broke almost immediately, as did the Flamingo’s legs and a chip off the Bear. Another friend of mine explained that natural wood will break along the grain. And so it did. The puzzle feels good and chunky and I’m very glad we have it. It’s a nice precursor to Christmas. I do believe that toys made of wood or wool are great textures for children, as opposed to big pieces of plastic.

The gift is also packaged beautifully and makes a great first impression. The names of the animals are listed alongside a picture of the completed puzzle, which is key. It’s big fun and I only wish the pieces didn’t break. I have successfully glued them with Elmer’s wood glue though.

Another obvious downside is the price. I did experience sticker shock when I saw the $40.00 price tag. Now I’m more disappointed that a number of the puzzle pieces broke but still loving it. Happy Holidays!

Okay, perhaps the title overstates the truth but there could have been such a scenario. It’s not my job to come up with every permutation of possible life saving qualities of a grocery delivery service. I used to feel that the refrigerated truck idling on our block for what felt like hours and unconscionable amounts of packaging undercut their life-saving qualities, but in the words of Sarah Palin, the cause of global warming does not matter.

When that Fresh Direct truck would pull up to their door, my friend’s daughter, at a young 14 months or so, would point to it and say, “dinner.” And dinner it was. For in that truck lay the fixings for many meals, including some delicious pre-made creations like samosas and (half-frozen) parbaked bread, for those who like to “cook,” that is, who like to heat something up.

Fresh Direct is breaking out some new features for the wee ones like baby puree recipes, which brilliantly list all of the ingredients below the recipe for you to buy. There is also a “New Parent Survival Kit” which would seem a whole lot cheesier if it didn’t include beer.

Whew! I now have two $50 Fresh Direct gift certificates* on my hands, one for me and one for some lucky winner. Submit a comment to this post, content unimportant, by midnight on 10/14/08, and I will pick a winner at random and post it on 10/15/08. The winner will receive an email that includes the coupon code for the gift certificate, which must be used by 10/30/08.

*Web orders only (are there any other kind?). Limited-time offer. May not be combined with any other offer. All standard customer terms and conditions apply. Offer is non-transferable. Void where prohibited.

Here are a couple of other offers:

Promotion code for Free Delivery for current customers:
Free delivery on your next two orders
Customer needs to enter the code each time
Promo code: MOMBLOG
Starts: 9/16/08
Expires: 10/30/08

Coupon code for new customers:
25% off first two orders
Customer needs to enter the code each time
Promo code: MOMBLOG25
Starts: 9/16/08
Expires: 11/30/08

Now, why do I feel so dirty??

Well, when it comes to conspicuous consumption in our bling bling American Way way, I just say “no!” More is definitely not better, considering the state of our landfills and the garbage strewn streets of NYC. I even harbor the wish that our building would start composting in the courtyard. For a 14 unit building, we sure do produce our share of, er, crapola. But I digress.

Yet our President insists that we can maintain the “we can have it all,” nay, we deserve it all, lifestyle, as if gas guzzling SUV’s and mini-vans were our birthright. In the words of Austin Powers, “Yay, capitalism.” In such a case, I cringe. Until…

Imagine my moral dilemma when I raced into the Radio Shack today in midtown, on 44th and 6th. I was looking to buy some blank DVD’s, “the smallest pack you got,” I called out to the young man in the store. As he briskly put down his Sunkist, he informed me of their sale. 50 DVD’s for 13 dollars, or else it’s 10 for $10. I was in over my head and quickly dialed my husband.

He crunched the numbers and reviewed his math. “We have to buy the 50,” he quipped. Chagrined, I gently reminded him of our consumer culture, telling us to buy 50 of something we don’t need. Additionally, I was concerned about our limited storage space and also about how I don’t actually know how to burn a DVD. *sigh* “I guess we could give them away,” I suggested. I wasn’t about to mention the possibility of reselling them in front of the RS employee. (Yay, capitalism, indeed!) “Stocking stuffers,” Matt replied excitedly. And the deed was done.

It’s a slippery slope and I’d say we jumped into that sled with all four feet. Look out below!