I will say it right now, unless the men in your lives have very specific hobbies that they LOVE (i.e. golf) men are quite difficult to buy for.  Much more so than they claim to be, anyway.  One can only receive so many ties, after all.  Even if they are nice ones.

So here is a little guide to help you out a bit.

Buffalo Nickel Tails Side Hand Painted Cuff Links

I’ll admit it, I’m a sucker for cuff links.  When I was a little girl, I remember going through my parents’ jewelry cases and seeing cuff links and having no idea what they were for.  These are real Buffalo Nickels and are a nice departure from your boring old black/silver combination.

James Perse Lounge Long Sleeve Crew

My husband used to be the kind of guy who never wanted to spend more than five bucks on a shirt.  I kid you not.  So on a daily basis for almost twenty years, my eyes have been assaulted with the most ugly, godawful shirts you could ever have the misfortune of seeing.  But about six months ago in a sudden moment of clarity, he decided that life was too short to wear crappy shirts all the time.  He felt he deserved a little luxury, a little comfort, even when relaxing at home.  And indeed, shouldn’t that be when you feel the most comfortable?

Incase Monochrome Soft Touch Slider Case-4G

What would be more appreciated than a wonderful case for his beloved iPhone?

Pioneer AVIC-Z130BT 7″ In-Dash Navigation AV Receiver with iPod/iPhone Control, Bluetooth, Pandora

Make him the envy of everyone in the neighborhood with this uber cool navigation system from Pioneer.  It has everything he could ever want, and maybe some things he never even knew he wanted.  Until this came along.

Roku 2 XS 1080p Streaming Player

This little device will allow him to watch almost everything he wants on television, including Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Instant, Pandora, sports, plus more.  Enough, in fact, to keep his butt glued to the couch so that you can have some time to do some more online shopping without any pesky questions being asked.

Logitech Harmony 650 Remote Control

Sick of having five different remote controls for everything? Then this top-rated baby is the solution.  Even better is that he will be so enthralled with this gift, he won’t realize it isn’t just for him, technically.  You know, like when he buys you a  KitchenAid stand mixer.  Sure, you love it, but you won’t be the only one eating the results.

Logitech Ultimate Ears 700 Noise-Isolating Earphones

Does he do a lot of traveling?  Work in a noisy environment? Or does he just have some really annoying neighbors?  His ears will thank you forever.

How to Be A Gentleman

Do you have a certain younger male relative who constantly mistakes family gatherings for frat parties? Then this short, quick, and to the point handy dandy guide is just for him. Gently given advice, but sometimes greatly needed.

Kiehl’s Ultimate Man Body Scrub Soap

Does he want to be the ultimate man?  Of course he does! Then get him this soap!

I often bring my son along because he enjoys going, and also because he is forever optimistically thinking I will buy him a cookie or an Icee or something from the food counter.

Him: I need some new toothpaste.
Me: Ok, go pick whichever one you want.
Him: (putting a tube in cart) Ok, I’m taking this one.
Him: No, wait a minute… (goes back to shelf)
Him: I don’t care if it has Disney Princesses on it, I want the Bubblegum flavor.

Now, should I be proud that my nine year old doesn’t care if his toothpaste has the decidedly uncool (for him) Princesses on it, or that in order to get the Bubblegum flavor, you have to get the Princesses?

Me: We need a hand soap refill, choose one for us. I’ll let you decide which scent you like best.
Him: (coming back to cart in record amount of time) Got it.
Me: Oh, what scent did you choose?
Him: I dunno what scent it was, I just picked the pink one. Things that are pink almost always smell good.

Now, should I be concerned about his generalizations about the color pink, or that the scent he actually chose was pink  grapefruit, and was the nastiest, most godawful-smelling soap I have ever used in my life?

And does anybody blame me for not taking him to Target with me last night?

My apologies for last week’s lack of CDF, it was just a hectic kind of week, ya know?  And really, I should just get used to it because it’s not like it’s going to slow down until after New Year’s.

So, our bright-eyed Hrithik Roshan gets elevated into the CDF Hall of Fame and I get to introduce two all new competitors to the game.

Both lads have their children coming fairly late in life.  They are both respected actors, and they both have fantastic accents.

Our first dad will forever be on my good list for his work in The Usual Suspects.

The second has been in quite a few films I have enjoyed, including The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain and Sense and Sensibility, to name a couple.

VERSUS

Well, the “eyes” certainly have it (sorry!) as Hrithik Roshan pulls out an upset over Sean Bean. Dude, I can’t blame you, those eyes are simply mesmerizing!

Today’s contender comes to you courtesy of Dr. Nic, a huge Buffalo Bills fan.  She describes him thusly:

…the smartest QB in the NFL.  He is a Harvard graduate, a father of three, and has led the Buffalo Bills to a 3-0 start to the season.

Impressive indeed! Now just remember that I’m posting his team photo, so he HAS to look all mean and tough-like.

VERSUS

But that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy this Baby Godfather meme, right?

source

Buzzfeed has a current article with pictures of 50 kids “cooler than you’ll ever be.”

I beg to differ, although some of them certainly are.  Here are the highlights.  Although it must be said there is a distinct lack of girls on the original list.

As I mentioned before, I have been purchasing some reading material for the Munchkin related to the, ah, upcoming changes he will be experiencing in the next few years.

Along with the other book, I also purchased The Boy’s Body Book.  I skimmed through it briefly before purchasing, and when I was able to sit and read the entire thing, I was pleasantly surprised.

It encompasses not only things like the changes that puberty will be visiting upon him, but also addresses things like needing to take a shower, brushing your teeth, and wearing clean clothes.  There are sections about how to do well in school, tips on how to make new friends, and all sorts of other bonus material.

In short, it is everything I tell him, but written in a book form by someone else.  And thus for some reason, it bears a bit more weight than just being “my opinion.”  Because every eight year old knows that Mom has no clue what she is talking about and just likes to hear herself speak.

This morning before we left the house, I instructed my nine-years-old-in-three-months son to go brush his teeth.  This has long been a source of conflict between us, as for some unknown reason, he dislikes brushing his teeth.  Usually it is a big fight, and even though I always win, it just makes everyone frustrated.  So when he began complaining and asking why he had to brush his teeth, I told him that his book did a great job explaining why he needed to brush, and to go ahead and do it.  That stopped him in his tracks.  He acknowledged that the book did indeed explain very well why he needed to brush his teeth, and he promptly went and did so without another word.

Dude.

I would have paid EVEN MORE for that book if I’d known it would make my life THAT easy.

It seems that 40% of you operate the same way that I do by buying a select few books and borrowing the rest.  I simply do not have enough room to own that many books, and I probably would not want to keep every book I read for forever, either.  But a comparitively large number of you, 36% exclusively buy your books, and kudos to you for finding a place to put them all!  16% do an equal amount of borrowing and buying, and 8% exclusively borrow.  Hey, as long as people are actually still reading books, I’m all for it.

I’ve ignored the proposed legal bans on circumcision long enough, and so today I”m going to find out your opinion.