My mother-in-law is retired now, and she spends most of her days doing what she loves best: hiking and bird-watching. Although she lives just a few minutes away from us, we rarely see her because she’s almost always going on outings with her bird-watching group.

I think it’s fantastic that she’s so active and has found a couple of outdoor activities that she really loves. Plus, her hobbies make her very easy to shop for on gift-giving occasions. For example, with Mother’s Day coming up, instead of getting her the usual flowers-and-candy combo, my husband and I are thinking of buying her a nice pair of bird binoculars to replace her current set.

I don’t know anything about birding, so I went to the Eagle Optics website to see what kind of binoculars would be best for this activity. I was able to find a bunch of helpful information on the Eagle Optics buying guide, and now know that I should consider such features as magnification, waterproofing, and eye relief. Moreover, I was able to learn which kind of bird binoculars would be best for viewing different species in different types of terrain.

While I was on the Eagle Optics page, I noticed that they offer the convenience of Google Checkout and also provide free financing on any orders over $200. I actually prefer Google Checkout to other methods, so this is good news for me. And of course free financing is an awesome way to stretch my shopping dollars even further!

In the end, we’re probably going to go with a nice mid-size product like the Eagle Optics Ranger SRT. This particular pair has the magnification power and rugged construction that bird-watchers need in their binoculars, while still being comfortable and easy to handle. I think my mother-in-law will love her gift!

I’m going to go see Spider-Man 3 with my husband today, so I thought I’d post a little something about Japanese movie theaters. Unlike in the United States, moviegoers in Japan are allowed to bring in outside food and drinks — even though the theater has its own concession stand! So it’s not uncommon to see people eating full meals right there in the theater. I mean, I’m talking about trays of sushi and stuff like that!

So what do I bring in? Usually I just go with a bag of chips and a Coke, but I sometimes like to bring McDonald’s food as well. There’s a McDonald’s right outside the theater I go to, so it’s easy to grab some McNuggets and fries before seeing the show. Cool, huh?!