Sweet Happenings

Compare Prices Using One Shopping Search Engine

2009-05-19T22:04:00.000-07:00

When I need to purchase something, which is about once a week, I turn to the one shopping search engine site, Shopwiki and look through all the stores listed to find the best possible prices. In recent months, a Cricut machine and an Xbox 360 were just a few of the items that I found using this site. Shopwiki gives you a complete comprehensive list of all stores found on the internet.

Last spring, we remodeled our bedroom and searched the internet for Home furnishings and Decor.We love the buying guides on shopwiki and found out what the differences were between down and cotton comforters. I didn't realize that there are so many types of pillows available from contour, therapeutic,herbal, buckwheat to your typical down,cotton,wool and foam pillows. Beds also come in a variety of styles from wood, metal to futons and 4 poster. The amount of choices are mind boggling!

The Jessica McClintock Table Lamp for $89.00 and the Architect Adjustable Desk Lamp for $120.00 for my art studio were just a couple of items that we found on shopwiki
that we liked. For our wood floors, we found a home accessory, chenille throw rug compliments of Shopwiki. Furnishing a house has never been made easier!

Dean Graziosi

2009-04-02T20:21:00.000-07:00

There has never been a better time in history than now to buy a house. As I was asking my husband, should we be looking for a retirement home? We have a son in college, another one that will be there in 4 years and we are not sure about the stability of my husband's job.

It's nice to be able to go to a forum on Dean Graziosi.com where expert realtors give your average person advice on how to buy properties or sell them, how to get financing, what are the market trends and etc. Even those that don't have the cash or credit are given tips on how they can still secure properties.

Honestly,I had not heard of Dean Graziosi, multi-millionaire who is the best selling author of the book, "Be a Real Estate Millionaire" or read his blog or his bio until now and I did watch the interview on WGN TV and I have to say he does give sound advice for people who are having trouble paying their mortgages by modifying their loans with the help of the government and their lender.

His blog posts cover a wide range of real estate topics from inexpensive repairs for rental properties, explanation of short sales, foreclosure basics and much more. He seems to know his stuff.

Zappos- The Best in Customer Service

2009-04-02T07:56:00.000-07:00

My dad used to say, you shouldn't have to tip extra in a restaurant because someone gives you exceptional service, that should be the standard for all businesses. Unfortunately, it's not. More often we, the customer are given the short end of the stick. We usually have to hunt out help because not enough people are available to wait on us. If we have a question, many times the help cannot answer it or they give us the wrong advice resulting in the wrong product being purchased. I have experienced this at least twice in the last few months.

Watching Oprah,60 minutes, and recently, Celebrity Apprentice, I heard about a company that prides itself on superior customer service. They sell many different items from clothing, electronics to housewares. They sell many different brands but their customer service is their brand!

The CEO makes sure each employee goes through comprehensive training where they have to spend time in all areas of the company including the warehouses where Zappos products are so they will know how the company works and be better equipped to help and answer questions that the customer might have. The CEO also offers money, like a couple thousand to trainees to leave the company if they felt that they did not have that commitment to Zappos.

After hearing all of this, I felt compelled to buy from them and I was not disappointed. I bought my son an Xbox 360 for Christmas and I was very pleased with the price and free shipping. Also Zappos offered free shipping to return it within a year, if I was not satisfied with the product. I have never heard of such a policy!

Anyway, I am getting ready to climb Mt.Adams and I was looking for a pair of hiking shoes. I think I know where I am going to get them.

Oasis Advanced Wellness

2009-03-28T13:29:00.000-07:00

Alternative health care is really upon us now and it is becoming more popular every day. My personal experience with my own health has made me realize that our western health care treatments, as it exists today, is broken. So many people are walking around with chronic conditions and there really is not much out there in the way of conventional medicine that can help them.

I'm also tired of my doctor telling me there is nothing wrong with me. My hair has been falling out for 3 years now and I am being told that I just have to live with it. It is very frustrating.

I came across Oasis Advanced Wellness.com and they are into the whole body approach with specialization in hormone health for women,relieving stress and increasing energy. Their philosophy is about healing the body naturally, which everyone has the ability to do. Their products are safe, non-toxic and cutting edge.

Some of their products include Intramax, which is an organic microcomplex nutrient with fulvic acid that can help improve health and disease problems, Poly MVA is a powerful antioxidant dietary supplement that can heal cell damage. Also they sell an organic all natural sunscreen that is biodegradable and is the only high spf that is safe for a baby to use.

I really do like the non-toxic aspect of the oasis products. There are so many items on the market that are approved to be used on our skin, our hair and in our bodies and they are loaded with chemicals that are known to be harmful to man. I just don't get it!

But aside from that, I do believe that western medicine has to quit treating the mind body spirit as separate entities. Everything is connected and should be treated in that manner. Progress has been made toward combining Eastern and Western medicines but I think more has to be done.

(As with any product, one should do their own research and come to their own conclusions about the efficacy and safety of those products that they are interested in using.)

Boston Luxury Real Estate

2009-03-28T11:49:00.000-07:00

Even though there has been a great downturn in the economy, Boston continues to have one of the best real estate markets in the country.

If you are searching for real estate in Boston, Bushari Group Real Estate can help. Their field of concentration is in the Boston Luxury Real Estate Market and they give a great home buying or selling experience. Whether you are into Boston condos or Boston luxury lofts, they have the expertise to find the right fit for you.

Covering the Boston area, Cambridge and Newton areas, Bushari has several listings in
rental properties to office buildings and penthouses to lofts. They offer a free report to keep their customers updated on the latest developments in the Boston real estate market.

As a former Captain in the Special Unit Forces in the Israeli Defense Army,Elad Bushari brings many negotiating and problem solving skills to the table. His specialized military training has resulted in satisfied clients with extremely high praise for his passion, professionalism and pursuit of giving the ultimate customer service.

The Look of Stainless Steel

2009-03-22T10:52:00.001-07:00

If you are into metal, especially stainless steel, there is a store that specializes only in stainless steel products. The products are polished and ultra modern in appearance and the great thing is the metal does not stain, corrode or rust.

Whether you are into stainless steel bird feeders and baths or the flat and sleek stainless steel cheese slicer , the Stainless Steel Store has outdoor, indoor,kitchen, home and office products to suit your needs.

The highly functional and beautiful Blomus stainless steel mailboxes and newpaper holders have a futuristic design much in keeping with the 21st century. The unusually shaped Blomus snack forks would definitely be a good conversation piece at the next dinner party.

My favorite products are the tealight holder set(the variation in the column candle holders gives a spectacular look as a centerpiece on my table), the 4 in one mounted picture frame and the metal perforated magnetic boards. They are very unusual and would be great assets to my eclectically designed home.

Exercise Equipment

2009-03-16T19:02:00.000-07:00

Fitness has become so important in my life. As I get older I have found that exercise and health are one of my top priorities. Now that I am getting ready to climb a mountain, I have had to reevaluate my lifestyle. I am eating leaner and healthier and working out every day about 45 minutes to an hour. I make sure I am doing a lot of core exercises as well as biking, aerobics, and boxing too.

I have an extra bedroom that my husband and I are thinking of converting to a gym. I recently was on Smoothfitness.com checking out all their great sports equipment. I was particularly interested in their stationary bikes. They have some great sales going and customer reviews are positive with customers saying that Smoothfitness bikes are comparable if not better than the bikes used in fitness centers. They also sell treadmills,elliptical and agile machines too.

Right now I have my mountain bike on a trainer. It's not giving me the toned and well defined muscles that I desire. Perhaps I should look into the combination machines that Smoothfitness has. It sure would be nice to equip my gym with some of this great fitness technology and accessories from Smoothfitness.com.

Local.com

2009-02-22T17:02:00.000-08:00

I know that when I am getting ready to travel, I like to do a local search of restaurants, hotels, and different businesses in the area, online. I usually have to look up each category individually or go to the chamber of commerce for that city and look at what's available there.

Local.com is a really neat site that combines the best of local yellow pages, yelp.com, citysearch and superages.com. It is nice to be able to go to one site,plug in the city and find local restaurants, movie theaters,coffee shops, grocery stores, animal hospitals and more.

There are even reviews of different businesses like hotels and eating places. I see the weather and temp for a particular location is also given! Surprisingly there are driving directions and websites if available. I love anything that makes life easier and this search engine certainly does that!

The Importance of Mailboxes

2009-02-12T13:17:00.000-08:00

Identity theft is a real concern in this day and age. It's very scary. Our area has been repeatedly the victims of mail theft. I was just talking to one of the detectives that lives in the neighborhood and she said that it was quickly becoming the number one crime. Also the laws to keep these people off the streets are not very strict and so these people will be back out there, reoffending again.

It was because of that conversation, I decided that we needed to update our mailbox. Specifically to a locked mail box. Most of the mailboxes in the area are not locked. Since we live in a rural community, the houses are usually not close to where the mail boxes are located. This makes it an easy target for people to steal mail.

Since we have gotten our locked box which can hold up to 10 days of mail, I can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that my mail is safe and that I don't have to rush down to get it , the minute it arrives. That gives me great peace of mind.

Great Shopping Search Engine

2009-02-12T12:38:00.000-08:00

Since I found out about shopwiki.com last year, I have used it several times since to shop for products that I was interested in buying. Over Christmas, I used this shopping search engine to price Nintendo Wii and all the Wii accessories for my husband.

I also used shopwiki for information on scrapbooking and then searched for Cricut Expressions diecut machine which I ended up purchasing from a business that was listed on there. They offered the lowest price plus free shipping. For my son, I was looking for an Xbox 360 and did another search on shopwiki and found a great price at Zappos with again free shipping.

It is so convenient to go to one place and have it pull up all the different stores.Another thing I like about the site is that it has gift guides for all occasions, men, women, kids, pets, and for certain budgets.

Shopwiki.com is a comprehensive tool that allows one to shop more efficiently and get the best information and prices on thousands of items. It has certainly made my online shopping experience a whole lot easier.

RV Parks

2009-02-04T19:05:00.000-08:00

Camping out used to be something we did every year with the boys, when they were younger but now that they are grown, we haven't done it for awhile and sleeping on the hard ground doesn't have the same appeal that it used to have.

One of my friends got an RV recently and she was telling me how great it was. They had taken it up to the mountains and she said it was convenient to be able to sleep and cook in it plus she had a little baby and she couldn't see herself roughing it in the tent.

This gave me the idea that we should travel across the country and stay in one of the NC RV Parks. I have relatives that live in North Carolina that I haven't seen in years.

I think the Sycamore Lodge would be a good place to meet. It's a private rv park in nc and it has free camping for 3 days and two nights. It has a ton of amenities like minature golf, game room, swimming pool and a ball field. It looks like it's one of the nicer rv parks in North Carolina. That would be a neat vacation.

New Card Maker

2009-02-04T18:48:00.000-08:00

I was seeing these infomercials on the Cricut Expressions machine and I couldn't stop marveling at all the things it could do. I decided to invest in one and I have not been disappointed. I do some scrapbooking but what I really wanted to use the machine for was designing cards. I am looking to incorporate my watercolor cards with the diecut lettering and forms of the Cricut Expressions. Even without combining watercolors, the cricut cards I have made so far are pretty and quick to design. I think I have started to make back my investment just by making my own personal cards to give to people. I usually spend about $20 to $30 dollars per month on birthday, anniversary, christmas, and other types of cards. Now I can make them at a fraction of the cost. The Cricut with all its accessories are not cheap but I haven't found anything out there that is comparable to it. It would cost a lot more to buy all the tools that one would need to do the job that the Cricut does. It's a fantastic innovation and I, for one, will be using my Cricut a lot!

Protein Shakes

2009-01-31T10:40:00.000-08:00

I am getting a little tired of trying to maintain my weight. If I don't eat just a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast, one yogurt at lunch and half a plate of chicken/fish,veggie,fruit for dinner, I gain. It must be the hormone imbalances that I have been hearing about. I exercise at least 45 minutes a day to boot! One day I had one brownie and when I went to get on the scale, I had gained 2 lbs. It's unbelievable!

I am seriously thinking of going to protein shakes like the natural whey isolate protein ones. It is the best concentrated form of amino acids available and athletes use it to build and repair lean muscle tissue. I have been reading the success stories too about how people were able to regain their energy and health doing this regimen.

By gaining lean muscle, one loses body fat so mixing up one of the many choices like natural protein powder shakes can be a great weight loss tool plus it's a replacement for a balanced meal or snack. It looks like I am going to need some extra help and this may be what the diet ordered.

Concert

2009-01-31T10:34:00.000-08:00

I broke down and bought tickets to the Leann Rimes concert. It should be fun and I know my son will enjoy watching her band since he's taken up the guitar. I do enjoy her music and we don't get a lot of well known acts coming to town so I thought it would be great to go see her. In these times with all the bad news, it would be nice to hear some uplifting music.

Web Design and Web Hosting

2009-01-27T11:12:00.000-08:00

I am seriously looking into learning web design although that would mean that I would have to invest in a web design program like Dreamweaver. Right now I am reseaching if this will even be feasible for me to learn and also if my computer can handle a program of this nature. With an exploding internet, I think there will always be a demand for web designers and web hosting.

Sites like webhostingrating.com have web hosting articles and a web hosting directory to choose from. They also have a top ten list to help you in selecting the best web host for your needs.

I will continue to look at and study different dreamweaver design tutorials and web host tutorials to learn and much as I can about the business and whether or not this is the best option for me.

Lighting Up the Dark

2009-01-27T10:50:00.000-08:00

Since my son bought his tv, our family room has become very crowded. We had to to take out some of our lamps to make room for this 46 inch flat screen wonder. Lighting has always been a problem in the family room as it never had an overhead light. When we remodeled the kitchen 10 years ago and opened it to the family room, we should have installed lights then when we were rewiring the kitchen area but of course that didn't even cross our minds at the time.

I'd like to get a nice halogen floor lamp that would light up an entire room. Also I don't think having too much light will ever be a problem so getting some extra table lamps and desk lamps would also be great.

There are so many types of lamps from traditional to contemporary to choose from.It just makes my head spin but that is the great thing about living in this country, we have the ability to make choices and that is something to be grateful for.

Wii Rules

2009-01-27T10:24:00.000-08:00

We finally broke down and got a Wii this past year. Actually, my husband decided to spend his Christmas money on it after I bought him Wii fit for his birthday. Since getting the console, my family has been playing it every night. I have played it some and it has been fun, but since I have plenty of other things to do, I can't be on it constantly. My favorite games on fit are the skiing and the yoga. I've gotten glimpses into the other games but just haven't been able to really play them. My husband, with all his enthusiasm, almost took out part of the ceiling as he went up to do an overhead smash in tennis. Thankfully, the ceiling is still intact as well as the Wii controller.
I just heard on the news that they were doing Wii bowling tournaments in assisted care centers. I think that is a neat idea and my friend who has a Wii too wants us all to do a Wii party. Should be a good time.

First Trade

2009-01-23T14:37:00.000-08:00

The stock market has been behaving crazy these past few months and I have gotten to the point where I was not paying too close attention to it, otherwise, I could have given myself a heart attack for sure. We pulled out of stocks in time before the market really headed south but now the question is, when do we get back in?

Stock tracking can be done online and it's so convenient to have those numbers easily accessible. This site called First Trade, performs multiple functions in one spot, kind of like one stop shopping. It is an online broker, does online trading, has tax information, a community forum to ask questions and offers many different investment choices.

In this day and age, one needs all the help they can get in stock trading and retirement investments in such a crazy volatile climate.

Acne Treatment That Absolutely Works

2009-01-23T11:23:00.000-08:00

It has been a couple of months or more and the results of Dan's acne regimen is that it does indeed work. My youngest son has only a couple of pimples on his face, nothing like it was a few weeks ago. My oldest son, who had a more severe breakout, is also improving although he still has the remnants of the acne from before so his face doesn't look as clear but he is getting a lot fewer new pimple breakouts. Check out this simple but amazing treatment on acne.org. This is not a paid advertisement in any way, shape, or form.

Healthy Vegetable Cooking

2009-01-22T18:09:00.000-08:00

With my son's digestive problems, it can be challenging to find dishes that he can have. For example, we went to have dinner at a friend's house and she wanted me to bring a vegetable dish. I wanted to make a casserole but all of my recipes included cheese or sour cream and cream of mushroom soup. I had a heck of a time trying to find a dish that I could bring. My son cannot have any dairy so that was the reason for my difficulty. I ended up bringing cooked carrots in a sweet orange sauce.

Phytolife.com promotes healthy eating and has some recipes that look simple and healthy to make. Phytonutrients come from plants and are important in increasing our immunity and providing antioxidents for the body. Vegetables have been given a bad rap but perhaps through sites like Phytolife.com, we can see how essential they are to our existence.

Making all these rich sauces is probably not the best way to cook and with phytolife.com I am learning that less is better and fresh is the healthier way to go.

It's a New Year!

2009-01-22T08:06:00.000-08:00

It has been a very long time since I have posted and I apologize for that. I had been busy with activities concerning the holidays but now that they are over, it is time to refocus. I started guitar lessons back in December. I have been wanting to do them since I was in high school. Call it my bucket list of things to do before I go but it is now 34 years later and I am finally getting around to it.

I also resumed studying Spanish and am teaching myself web design. My computer whiz kid has serious doubts as to whether I have the capability to progress in the latter. I'm not sure myself but I think it is good to learn new challenging things.

A crazy idea that popped into my head was that I wanted to climb a mountain and bike an island. I don't live too far from these things so I think it is highly doable. Although I have been exercising quite regularly, I am going to have to step up my training if I hope to be in shape by summer.

This new year brings a shift in perspective and attitude that I did not have before and it has made me realize that life is really what you make it and not the other way around.

Healthy Fellow

2008-12-15T17:02:00.000-08:00

Since my youngest son became mysteriously ill last year, I have done a lot of research on diet and healthy eating. We had to totally overhaul our diet so that my son could eat without getting violently sick. He is much better now but I have to look at every package to make sure there is no msg in it, dairy, and at one time gluten too. It made me very aware of how unhealthy much of our food is. I try not to get processed food items because they are loaded with artificial ingredients and I make most of my things from scratch.

Healthfellow.com is a health blog that has some very good articles on natural supplements and benefits to eating cranberries and flax. I am a true believer in the natural supplements as they have contributed to my son's continuing recovery. I did a lot of reading about which supplements by certain companies were the best as all supplements are not equal.

I have found diet to be key to a healthy life and it really does pay to eat right!

Little Bit of Savings Here and There

2008-12-15T16:31:00.000-08:00

This week I was able to use $6.25 in coupons at Safeway. That plus the club card savings totaled $41.51. I ended up not using 2 or 3 coupons as I couldn't find the exact size item that the coupons required.

I now go over the Sunday paper with a fine tooth comb searching out all coupon flyers and fast food flyers too. We have used Arby coupons several times as well as Burger King. I even found a $4.00 coupon to the Olive Garden, one of our favorite places, which we used a few weeks ago.

Another thing I do besides selling my own art products online, are surveys and paid to blog sites too. I usually get anywhere from $2 to $10 at a time. I made over $500.00 this past year. Definitely cannot get rich on that but a little bit here and there certainly adds up. I'm still learning the ropes and hope to be able to improve my savings next year.

This time of year, we usually go skiing for a day somewhere. I just happened to look at the cost of staying at the lodge. If we go before Christmas, we can stay for $99.00 a night. That sounds like a lot but ordinarily the cost is more like $180 per night. Also a lift ticket for 1/2 day on Sunday is $20.00 and usually it is $55.00. I thought that was a pretty good deal so we will be taking advantage of it. Unfortunately all prices will go back up over Christmas week so we definitely won't be skiing then.

There are some really good deals out there if you have the time to look for them!

Nikon Binoculars and Riflescopes

2008-11-29T21:56:00.000-08:00

I have some friends that are hunters and Nikon Progear,Nikon Sport Optics and Nikonhunting.com are offering a black Friday promotion -the Nikon Ultimate Hunter's Package Promo. It includes:

ProStaff 3-9x40 Riflescope with BDC Reticle
ProStaff Laser Rangefinder
Silent Technology Rangefinder Case
Mastering a Long-range shot with BDC DVD
$50 NikonProGear Gift Card

This package will save $144.00!

Also more savings will be offered for a limited time including $20.00 off Nikon Action Extreme ATB 10x50 Binoculars and the gift card promotion will include a variety of Nikon binoculars and riflescopes.

I will be sure to tell my hunter friends of the great deals to be found at Nikon Progear, Nikon Sport Optics and Nikon Hunting.com

Progress on the Acne Problem

2008-11-29T21:46:00.000-08:00

It has been a few weeks and I can tell that Dan's acne regimen (on acne.org) is working for my younger son. His acne is better,though not totally cleared up but definitely a step in the right direction. His older brother ran out of the acne treatment a week ago at college so his results are not quite as good. I got on his case about it and then went out and bought him more of the acne treatment. You cannot apply it here and there, skip a few days and then expect it to work. Updates to follow.