But Who's Counting?

Only 142 days, 14 hours, and 48 minutes until it's Christmas!

HO! HO! HO!

I'm actually pretty set for the boys ... thanks, Target Summer Toy Clearance Sale!!

But, I think I found one of the BEST ideas for gifts I have seen in a long time for people over the age of three. I'm sure I blogged, Facebooked, or Twittered about it before, but I had to post it again.

It's called "Rent Mother Nature".

The concept is simple: The company sets up a lease agreement between you and local farmers of various food products. You are then guaranteed a minimum yield of the product you choose.

The farmers send you pictures and progress reports of how your particular rental is doing.

You can rent a Pistachio tree for nuts, a coffee tree for beans, a beehive for honey, a lobster trap for fresh lobsters, and even a berry patch for jars of homemade jam!

I have so many friends and family that are at that point in their lives where they just don't need any more stuff. I thought this was a fun and different idea that also helps support local farmers and growers.

I might even lease a Vermont cow for the boys ... I think they would get a kick out of knowing that they "own" a cow (plus we get three wheels of cheddar or brie). Then maybe when they get older, we could go to Vermont and visit our cow.

I guess we could always simply adopt the boys an animal from the Cincinnati Zoo. That's a hard decision for me -- I interned at the Cincinnati Zoo as an undergrad and came away with mixed emotions about zoos.

I became very, very attached to Alex, my baby Fennic Fox ... Penny, my Potto ... Mama, my Slender Loris ... and Scooter, my Aye-Aye.

But THAT is a story for another day.