Xootr Mg – Click for Info!

*When I moved to New Hampshire, where I attended high school, I had to learn a whole new set of vocabulary that I will share with you so that you can understand the lingo in this post:

• gay – Not happy not homosexual – these definitions were only reserved for English or health class…gay meant stupid, ridiculous or absurd. Often used when one was speaking of another’s parent. “Are you kidding me? She [the mother] won’t let you go out on Friday? That is so gay…”
• wicked – very or cool – depending on usage. “Wicked gay” would be “really stupid” but “Wicked!” would be “Cool!”
• pisser (pronounced piss-ah) – cool. Often used in conjunction with “wicked.” If something is “wicked pisser (piss-ah)” it is considered pretty damn awesome, unless of course it was said with a lot of sarcasm…then it really sucked.
• Not! – Said after something else untrue was said in a believable tone, then “Not!” is said quite emphatically (and annoyingly) to nullify what was said previously. i.e. “Mary loooves Michael. Not!” This means Mary does not love Michael.
• Tons – Ton is not backwards but I guess it didn’t sound right in the singular so if got pluralized. Tons is used very similarly as “Not!” but is said more sarcastically (but just as annoyingly) within the sentence instead of after a sentence. i.e. “I would tons ride a Razor.”

In fact, this is a wicked pisser scooter, if I ever saw one! Seriously.

All NH lingo and kidding aside – I like this scooter so much, I want one! If I had the extra money I would buy myself a netbook (they are just so cute and portable…what’s not to love?!?) and a Xootr (portable, would get me to my destination faster, in the long run I would probably save money {the MBTA isn’t a mere 75 cents anymore!}, very eco-friendly and sleek – again, what’s not to love?!?). Plus my dog would love, love, love running by my side while I’m xooting along. (Ha! New vocab!!! Xooting is like scooting only way cooler…)

Things I love about this scooter!

• Sure, it isn’t the least expensive scooter out there but if you check out their website and see the materials that go into the making of this, you are getting a quality scooter. One for an adult that weighs a bit more than your average ten year old and will want to ride it more than one week before it collects dust in the basement or garage. This is something that you are going to buy because you imagine commuting to work, the train, my (er…your) boyfriend’s house, etc. A great way to get some variety as far as exercise goes.
• It looks sleek. Sure, looks aren’t everything but really, an adult on a scooter could be pretty redonkulous looking if it looked like they were riding some kiddie scooter.
• It looks safer, if used properly! Because the wheels are bigger I imagine not getting a front wheel lodged in some hole and flipping over the front. Because of the quality materials I imagine feeling like I have something solid under me instead of something rickety.
• Check out the Amazon reviews! Not just for the item but also for the customer service. The customers are long time owners and actually use them, so it would seem they have a really good sense of how the product holds up and, since they are putting these scooters through their paces with lots of use, they also have a fair idea of what it is like to get replacement parts after wear and tear. When all is said and done, the Xootr guys seem to really stand behind their product which says a lot! In this day and age, great customer service is such a beautiful thing and, although one would like to expect it, we all know it is unfortunately rare. Kudos to Xootr for getting high marks for the product and customer service.
• It looks stable enough that I could even ride it! Let’s just say, I am a disaster when it comes to balancing on moving objects…sometimes even my own two feet, but in particular roller skates, roller blades, ice skates…you get the picture. Honestly, I bought a pair of roller skates last year and while I eagerly anticipated their arrival I told my boyfriend what a hard time I was probably going to have and he just thought I was being dramatic or something…until he saw me. Then he banned me from even trying them further until I had safety equipment. This was not meant to be mean or controlling but because he was genuinely (and rightly so) worried about my safety. Think of the scene with Bambi on ice and that is pretty much what I look like.
• Love the wide base! If you fast forward through this review to about minute:second/6:40, you’ll see the hosts riding the Xootr and will be amazed at how far it goes off of one push. It glides! Well, here is where that wide base comes in handy…if you don’t have to kick all the time you can put both feet on the base and just ride. How fun would that be? Wicked fun!



Okay, I could go on and on about this baby. I’m in love! Trust me, I have a good eye for these things and I do my research…if you are going to spend some money on a scooter – for your dad (*ahem* Father’s Day is coming up), sports lover, active loved one, your favorite commuter, a great way to exercise with the whole family or surprise your sweetie with his and hers scooters so that you can have fun side-by-side this summer, spend the little bit extra and get something quality like the Xootr. No matter who you think would love this gift, it doesn’t seem like you’ll be disappointed with either the product or the customer service. And really, when you give a gift like this, you want it to be a quality gift and very usable for a long time to come.


Don’t forget safety equipment – it would be sweet to round out this gift with some safety gear for your recipient as well. Helmet, knee pads, elbow pads and the like. Make the gift even more personal it by getting safety equipment in their favorite colors if you can.


The Xootr is only available on Amazon or the Xootr website.

Happy gifting!

]]> http://www.thegiftdetective.com/blog/archives/1758/feed 0 http://www.thegiftdetective.com/blog/archives/1630 http://www.thegiftdetective.com/blog/archives/1630#comments Tue, 12 May 2009 09:12:01 +0000 The Gift Detective http://thegiftdetective.com/blog/?p=1630 What an excellent way to engage children and teach them something about science and life at the same time!  I think that the butterfly garden on its own is a fantastic gift – if you read the reviews people are just so consistently happy and both the children and adults love the experience of watching this amazing life transformation. If you are giving this to young kids, getting the book can really add to the experience – the book is geared toward kids between 4 to 8 years of age and is a really wonderful way to explain to them how the butterfly garden will work. Who do you give this to?  Of course you can give this gift to kids or a classroom to enjoy but don’t limit yourself to young ones!  Do you have a friend going through a transition in life?  An unexpected change in career, newly ...read more]]> What an excellent way to engage children and teach them something about science and life at the same time!  I think that the butterfly garden on its own is a fantastic gift – if you read the reviews people are just so consistently happy and both the children and adults love the experience of watching this amazing life transformation. If you are giving this to young kids, getting the book can really add to the experience – the book is geared toward kids between 4 to 8 years of age and is a really wonderful way to explain to them how the butterfly garden will work.

Who do you give this to?  Of course you can give this gift to kids or a classroom to enjoy but don’t limit yourself to young ones!  Do you have a friend going through a transition in life?  An unexpected change in career, newly divorced or diagnosed with illness?  Although these life changes can be challenging and hurt they can also help us grow and transform ourselves – this is a wonderful way to support a friend through tough times and remind them that they can come out of this stronger and more beautiful than when they began. The metamorphosis from caterpillar to butterfly is a wonderful and positive analogy for our loved ones that are facing new challenges.


You could also give this to someone as a celebration of change!  Newly engaged, married, pregnant, graduating from high school or college?  Celebrate your loved ones transformation in this metaphorical way! 


This also just makes a nice, simple Spring or Summer gift for a birthday or just because present to both children or adults since you can let the butterflies go after you have raised them.


If you give this gift to an adult or a couple, make sure to accompany the gift with an appropriate card that offers an explanation as to why you chose such a unique gift as a representation of the life changes that they are embarking upon.  Be prepared to bring tears of joy to their eyes when they realize what a wonderful and supportive friend they have!


Men: This is a really unique way to let the love of your life know how your love for her has grown and changed. You could use this gift as a very unique way to propose! What better way to embody the idea of love that has grown and the changes we experience from an initial spark to the desire to make a lifetime commitment? There are so many way to make this work – you could put an engagement ring in the container as the caterpillars make their cocoons, you could put it in the butterfly pavilion prior to looking at it together or you could even plan to intercept the package of caterpillars (you have to send away for them) and replace it with a ring… there are, of course, more ways to do this but I’m sure you get the idea. At whatever stage you choose to propose, synchronize it to how you want to explain your feelings for her and the changes that you went through as an individual and/or as a couple that lead you to the desire to change your life forever.


Happy gifting or proposing!
]]> http://www.thegiftdetective.com/blog/archives/1630/feed 1 http://www.thegiftdetective.com/blog/archives/1300 http://www.thegiftdetective.com/blog/archives/1300#comments Sat, 18 Apr 2009 08:32:20 +0000 The Gift Detective http://thegiftdetective.com/blog/?p=1300 We all try to make a positive difference – we recycle more, turn off the water and lights when not in use, support organic and local farming by changing where or the way we shop, use less chemicals for cleaning, etc. Well, you can also buy “green” gifts. Gifts that are recycled, organic, eco-friendly, from the rainforest and/or solar powered.

Artwork by Matthew Gauvin - www.matthewgauvin.com

I found a great site to help you find “green” gifts that are worth giving. At the Rainforest Site Store, not only are their gifts “green,” when you make a purchase you are also helping to preserve land through the efforts of The Nature Conservancy, Rainforest Conservation ...read more]]> We all try to make a positive difference – we recycle more, turn off the water and lights when not in use, support organic and local farming by changing where or the way we shop, use less chemicals for cleaning, etc. Well, you can also buy “green” gifts. Gifts that are recycled, organic, eco-friendly, from the rainforest and/or solar powered.



Artwork by Matthew Gauvin - www.matthewgauvin.com


I found a great site to help you find “green” gifts that are worth giving. At the Rainforest Site Store, not only are their gifts “green,” when you make a purchase you are also helping to preserve land through the efforts of The Nature Conservancy, Rainforest Conservation Fund, World Land Trust-US, and Rainforest2Reef. These organizations are currently preserving valuable rainforest land in areas like Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, Paraguay and other locations worldwide.


When you are looking at different gifts, the Rainforest Site Store posts how much square footage of land they are able to preserve with each specific gift purchase. For instance, for each of these colorful hammocks sold, made out of recycled cotton in Salvador, they are able to preserve 2,290 square feet of land! So, each time you find a great present on this site, you are really giving two gifts in one.


I think a hammock, especially one that is as affordable as this one ($39.95), makes a really great gift for a lot of people. They come in three different colors, so that you can give this to a man or a woman. This would make a really wonderful present for Mother’s or Father’s Day, both of which will be here before you know it! Another person this would be a great gift for is the friend who needs to have a little oasis of their own – a hammock is a present that will encourage them to take that time out for themselves so that, when life feels too hectic, they have a place to reflect and relax. A hammock also makes a nice housewarming present for those friends of yours that just made that big move and finally have a yard of their own or, to the kind friend who hosts all those backyard, summer BBQs – this would make a different and nice host/ess gift!


This is a present that is only good for the person who has space for it! Sounds like a no-brainer, right? You’d be surprised. I received a hammock as a gift when I lived in a small apartment with no yard. I’m not kidding! So, please, be thoughtful and give this only to someone who will actually be able to use it.


To enhance this gift, make sure to give them the tools that they will need to hang it properly or a stand for it. Really want to go all out? If you really want to make this a personalized gift that has more impact, package this with other presents like a great summer read, some sunscreen, mosquito repellent, etc. Although little additions like this won’t cost you that much more, it is what helps make this really thoughtful and personalized. This transforms a present that is already really nice into something that is great!


Please visit the Rainforest Site Store and peruse their sections for other wonderful “green” gifts.


Happy gifting!
]]> http://www.thegiftdetective.com/blog/archives/1300/feed 0 http://www.thegiftdetective.com/blog/archives/1121 http://www.thegiftdetective.com/blog/archives/1121#comments Fri, 10 Apr 2009 10:47:51 +0000 The Gift Detective http://thegiftdetective.com/blog/?p=1121 This is such an easy idea and you can personalize it in so many ways. Really. Your imagination is the limit here. All you really need is a deck of cards, a magic marker (unless you decide to use your printer), a hole punch and a way to hold the cards together (like pretty ribbon or one or more binder rings). You can add embellishments with magazine pictures, adhesive gems, stickers, construction paper, things you print from your computer, etc. If you add paper embellishments you may need to add a glue stick to your list. You can get these supplies at many retailers (Target, CVS, Walgreens, etc.) but they may be less expensive to purchase at a craft store. Here ...read more]]> This is such an easy idea and you can personalize it in so many ways. Really. Your imagination is the limit here. All you really need is a deck of cards, a magic marker (unless you decide to use your printer), a hole punch and a way to hold the cards together (like pretty ribbon or one or more binder rings). You can add embellishments with magazine pictures, adhesive gems, stickers, construction paper, things you print from your computer, etc. If you add paper embellishments you may need to add a glue stick to your list. You can get these supplies at many retailers (Target, CVS, Walgreens, etc.) but they may be less expensive to purchase at a craft store.

Here is what you do – you think of 52 reasons that you love, like or appreciate the person you want to give this to. Write them down on a blank sheet of paper (or to make it even easier type up your list on the computer so that you can edit and reorder them easily) and organize them into the order that you want to present them in. Then write them on the cards. Sooooo easy! Or, like I mentioned above, you could print them out or write them on construction paper and glue them on. You can of course get much fancier than that, still quite inexpensively and I will include a lot of links at the end of the post that will show you examples of finished products that people have made to provide you with some inspiration and more guidance. These can turn into mini works of art if you want to put some time and effort into this project.


Who can you give this to?
• Your Love – The obvious person is the love in your life, and that is a really great option. It doesn’t have to be Valentine’s Day to express your love. You could give them to this anytime (and what a surprise that would be!) but it would be especially nice on a birthday or anniversary as well.
• A parent – You could also give this to your mother for Mother’s Day or your father for Father’s Day. All you need to do is change the reasons to reflect all the things you love and appreciate about them.
• Your best friend – How often do you let your best friend know how much they mean to you? This would be a great way to commemorate your years of friendship.
• A teacher – This would be a fantastic gift from the class! Just have the students write out the reasons that they appreciate him or her and, if they are young, help them put it together.
• A graduate – This could be 52 reasons you are proud of them, 52 pieces of advice for the future or 52 tips for college, etc.
• A grandparent, godparent, close relative – This would be similar to the one for a parent, just personalized slightly differently.
• A child – Yes, children are supposed to show appreciation for their parents but as a parent, guardian or influential person for someone young, it is nice to share how they have had a positive influence on your life and all the reasons you care for them, beyond just being their mother (or father, grandparent, etc). It is a great way to inject them with some self-esteem and to show them that you love them for (52!) very specific reasons.
• A sibling – Sure, you fought as kids, maybe you still do. But you love your brother or sister and would do anything for them. Well, give them 52 reasons that, despite all the times they broke your toys or got more attention, you wouldn’t want anyone else to take their place.
• An employee – You have an executive assistant that manages your life instead of just your calendar? You have a small business and a loyal employee that has been with you since before you could afford to pay them a decent salary and seen you through thick and thin? Show them exactly how much you appreciate them! Yes, this is a very personalized gift and would only be appropriate for the best of the best but you are a smart boss and you did hire the best, didn’t you? This would be a powerful present to show your administrative professional how much you appreciate them on Administrative Professionals’ Day.



So, you get the idea – who is special in your life? There are lots more examples I could give – great for a baby shower, get well sentiments, a wedding gift, etc. You could just as easily make a “52 Reasons I Love You” book as you could a “52 Reasons to Love Getting Older.” You can be funny, sweet, sentimental, sarcastic…this is anything you desire it to be!


Just because a gift is inexpensive doesn’t mean that it can’t be powerful, touching and meaningful. All for approximately $8.00! And you can’t get more personalized than something you made yourself…


Here are the links with pictures for inspiration: http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=227507.0, http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=292316.0, http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=291797.0, http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=294214.0, http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=292561.0, http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=292332.0 There are plenty more examples on the Craftster website, just keep looking if you need more ideas.


Happy gifting!

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