[New Year’s Resolutions] 67 SciFi Books

I've been in a rut when it comes to reading lately. Most of the authors I like have either passed away, have few books in print, or publish new stories infrequently. And with most new books priced at $8.99 or more, I'm wary of unfamiliar authors with a blah synopsis on the back cover. So I've decided to tackle the 67 books I haven't read on the Sci-Fi Top 100 Books list.

There's a fair number of authors on the list that I haven't gotten around to reading, so hopefully I'll find something to get me out of the rut.

Birthday/Christmas Wishlist

I am notoriously bad about nothing being able to actually answer the question "So what do you want for your birthday/Christmas?" with something besides "uhhh, let me get back to you on that".

Last year, when I was on my epic cross country road trip, I stopped to do a cache in Dateland, Arizona. To my dismay, I discovered Dateland was a very busy place and there was just no way to attempt the cache while I was there. Since I already had a souvenir for Paul from my earlier stop in Algodones, Mexico that morning, I decided to get some dates for Clayton. I picked out one of every kind we hadn't tried before, and walked out with about 6lbs of dates. While I was in line to check out, I heard a couple of people raving about the date milkshakes. I was dubious, but they were actually pretty good.

I ran across a link to Dateland and discovered they had an online store. So if you'd like to give me something besides the usual book off my wishlist, I like the milkshake mix and Halawi dates.

Surviving a Road Trip with your Toddler - The Gear

Paul reading a brochure about Tennessee

Having the right gear available makes a road trip much easier, especially when dealing with the whims of a toddler. Here's a list of a few things that I make sure I have before I hit the road with Paul.

• The quick change bag - I keep diapers, wipes, a couple of extra sets of clothes, and a few plastic grocery bags in the back of my car. Accidents happen and it's nice to not have to unpack the car enough to dig through your luggage for a spare set of clothes.
• Disposable Cups - These make great travel cups. While Paul is getting better at drinking out of a regular cup, he's not ready to handle one in the car. The disposable cups are easy to rinse out in the hotel, and they are also reusable.
• Foldable Toilet Training Seat - I've been to rest areas in 34 states and have yet to run across a family restroom or a childsize toilet. It fits in your day bag, is easy to wipe down, and you don't have to fool with any complicated moves in a tiny stall so your toddler can relieve themselves. Having this has made rest area stops so much easier.
• Kid's Atlas- Although I use my GPSr and Delorme Street Atlas for navigation, I occasionally break out my map books. Paul likes having his own map, even though he can't read. He will occasionally "read" to me about a state or give me directions from his atlas. If you don't want to get a kid's atlas, brochures from the rest areas also work well.
• Travel Size Magna Doodle - This is pretty good at helping Paul quietly entertain himself, with the bonus of not finding melted crayons in my car.
• Music - It's best to have a selection of albums. We rotate back and forth between kid's music and my music. Paul likes Little People Disco, Wee Sing in the Car, and Deep Forest for naptime music. We also have an audio book of kid's stories that he really likes. If you have a hard time finding one, you can record yourself reading the stories and burn it to cd or make an mp3 of it.
• Snack Food - I like to keep a couple of boxes of non chocolately granola bars stashed in the passenger seat. They tend to stay in one piece while they're being eaten and it's just enough to stave off a hunger related tantrum when you're not able to stop for a meal. I also try to keep an apple or two, raisins, and some carrot sticks in the mini cooler to round out fast food meals. The koolaid single serving packets are also great for toddlers who want something besides water, but haven't mastered the juice box.

Surviving a Road Trip with your Toddler - The Basics

Paul at the Louisiana Welcome Center on I20

People always thought I'm a little crazy for embarking on a solo 3k mile round trip with a toddler and a puppy several times a year, especially since we don't have plans for a DVD player. Road trip season is coming up, so I thought I'd write up how I survive road trips with a toddler. It is possible with a little work, and if you remember a few things:

• Incentives - If Paul is good between gas stops, he gets a dollar to spend as he wishes at the gas station. He prefers getting post cards and key chains. You could also substitute books off the dollar rack or some other trinket.
• Minimize how many times they have to get in their car seat while maximizing the time they can spend out of it. When Paul was little, he didn't fight about getting in his car seat, no matter how many times we were in and out of the car in an hour. But now, it works best if we merge a few short breaks into one long break. Picnicking at rest areas or a park works well for us, since I can sit down and eat while Paul burns some energy off. I usually take these when I do my two hour safety break.
• Stop before your toddler has a chance to fall asleep for the night. I learned this one the hard way. If I didn't stop until midnight, Paul had a 4-5 hour nap, and kept me up all night. It is much easier to take our last long break an hour before we stop for the night, since Paul will usually fall asleep easily.
• Try to avoid rush hour in metro areas. It's bad enough being stuck in rush hour at home with a cranky toddler, but it's far worse when you get stuck in an unfamiliar area and don't know an alternate route when traffic comes to a standstill.
• If it looks like you're going to be stuck in traffic for awhile, it's less frustrating to stop for an early meal or gas station stop than to deal with traffic and a bored toddler.
• Point out interesting things along the road. When we cross state lines, I make a point of pointing out the "Welcome to [State]" and saying "Yahoo Mountain Dew! We're in [State]!!". I also point out the bigger river crossings and the bridges. If there is an option to take a tunnel, I take it, because Paul gets a big kick out of it. I also try to point out any landmarks we might pass.

Tomorrow, I will post my list of essential gear that I use for keeping my sanity on those long stretches of interstate where the only scenery is "Next Exit - 34 miles".

Christmas To-Do List

Christmas really snuck up on me this year and I haven't even really started my Christmas baking or wrapping presents. But I am making progress on toy assembly at least. How's everyone else's list going?

Read more »