My Favorite Things

I'm not a gear person, I'm not a gadget person.

I carry a Smartphone because my husband works for Palm and it makes me proud to hold up my phone and say, "My husband made this." My diaper bag is the messenger bag I got with my pledge to KQED.

I would like to take this opportunity to single out my two favorite things:

1. My Barnes and Noble E-Reader, my beloved Nook. I've always been a reader and I've been reading so much more since my Christmas present arrived. The best part, the VERY best part, is that I can read library books for FREE. That's right, library books. Despite the state of the California economy, our local libraries are still increasing their electronic book selection. I have cards to THREE different libraries and am in seventh heaven.

Its funny, when I first heard about e-readers I rejected the idea completely. I was truly in love with paper books, couldn't imagine replacing them with some electronic gizmo. The Nook's e-ink really feels pretty darn close to paper. Its not like reading on a computer screen, which I still reject. After reading the article "Is Google making us stupid?" I'm further convinced that single use e-readers are the way to go.

2. My Ergo carrier. I got this when Anthony was about 8 months old and weighed a ton. I used it constantly in the beginning, he lived in it at my college reunion, I carried him through airport security in it when he was almost two, and I still occasionally use it at the Farmer's market. Yes, I can carry a 3o pound kid around, for short periods at least. Anthony loves it too! When he was a baby and needed to nap while traveling, I'd put the sleeping hood up as I felt his arms and legs go limp and he'd take a nice cozy nap.

I remember last summer we'd be at the market and I knew he'd found something he wanted to taste when I could see his little arm out with the grabby fingers gesticulating madly at some tasty morsel.