Cats and Coupons

No, not luggage for the cat to travel in. Not luggage to put the cat’s things in either. I’m talking luggage with cats on it. We don’t travel much, and when we do travel it usually isn’t for any length of time. We have a couple of duffel bags and carry on pieces, no Rimowa or anything like that. When we need more than that we borrow a couple of pieces from my parents. Earlier this year I wrote on this blog that I think people with unique looking luggage have an easier time keeping an eye on their luggage because it’s different and stands out. Today I was surfing and I found the coolest looking luggage. It’s luggage with cats on it! It’s called the Cat Tapesty luggage set. I don’t know anything about luggage and I couldn’t tell you how durable it is, but I like it! Do you own luggage? What’s yours look like?

On the way home from the track meet today we stopped at McDonalds because TJ was thirsty and a little hungry and it was almost 6pm. Today McDonalds was giving away a free Southern Chicken sandwich with the purchase of any medium or large drink. They’ve been promoting this special for a week. So, we pulled up and ordered. TJ wanted a chocolate shake and a double cheeseburger. I went to the window to pay. I asked her why the total was so high and she told me it was because you had to buy a drink to get the chicken sandwich for free. I told her I had bought a drink, the chocolate shake. She told me the chocolate shake wasn’t a drink. I pointed out thatn is was listed with the other drinks on the menu, came in different sizes and required a straw. She actually had to call another cashier to the window to get permission to give us the chicken sandwich for free. Am I crazy or something? Isn’t a chocolate shake a drink?

This one’s easy. Be careful before doing business with a friend. I was friends with someone until recently. Ellie was the type of woman that had different money making ideas and was frequently checking out one small business opportunity or another. I think mainly she was only interested in the idea of getting rich or famous. In the past, when I haven’t been swamped, I’ve done a couple of simple html websites for her and charged her a couple of bucks to cover the domain and hosting. When Ellie told me about her latest idea she said she wanted to get this big expensive website set up by this company and it would cost her several thousand dollars. I told her I was a bit concerned about her laying out money she didn’t have without knowing how successful her venture would be. I suggested she let me set up a simpler, smaller scale site for a fraction of the cost. I’d invested over twenty hours into that site when I told her we were almost finished. She told me she didn’t want to pay the amount I’d asked and that I should delete the site. Needless to say we’re no longer speaking. I wish I’d never done business with a friend.

Would you travel 300 miles to save some money? My family does. We found a dealership in New York where we’ve been buying all of our vehicles for several years now. They sell new and used cars, but none of us buy new cars anymore. They’re not worth it, but that’s a whole different post. All together my family has bought seven vehicles from them. They offer no haggle pricing, with a simple small amount over invoice. My Dad went up back with my brother and his wife earlier this week. For me, that’s crazy. Each time I’ve gone up we priced some cheap hotels and spent one night up there. We were more relaxed and had some fun. And, my Mom even gets to shop that way. When I bought my truck I saved about $8,000 than if I’d bought the same vehicle here. Well worth the travel, don’t you think?

It’s May. Nice weather has arrived. Summer approaches rapidly. I know of a lot of people that have been wondering where their tax refund is, and when they’re getting their economic stimulus rebate. If you’re also one of the people wondering, you can find the answer online. To check on the status of your federal tax refund, just click on the link on the IRS website (www.irs.gov) that says Where’s My Refund? You’ll be asked for the social security number, filing status and exact refund amount. After you enter those you should be given the status of your refund. There’s a page on the IRS site detailing dates that stimulus payments are being issued. Click on the link that says When Will You Get Your Stimulus Payment to get the latest mailing and electronic deposit dates.

Lately there’s been a bit of press about Britney Spears appearing on the network television show How I Met Your Mother. It’s been announced the Lindsay Lohan has signed to appear in Ugly Betty for six episodes. I wonder if the producers are trying to cash in on the free bad girl pr. Are they hoping to get a free ratings boost from viewers tuning in to see if the drug rehab grads are a wreck? I’ve not seen How I Met Your Mother, and I didn’t like the one episode of Ugly Betty that I saw. And I’m not interested enough to watch it either show just because Britney or Lindsay or on them.

Do you like to camp? Have you not gone camping but think you’d enjoy it? Want to save some money? Now’s your chance. KOA is holding Come Camp & Care With Us Weekend this weekend,  May 9-10. Campgrounds all over the country are participating, so there’s a good chance there’s one near you. All you have to do is pay to camp for the night of Friday May 9 and you’ll receive the night of Saturday May 10 for free.  To learn more about the non profit Care Camps, visit www.koacarecamps.com. To find the KOA nearest you participating in the free night giveaway visit http://koa.com/comecampwithus/list.htm.

I found out today that I have the opportunity to take part in another online Treasure Hunt sponsored by Jewel Elegance this week. I was in one of their online treasure hunts last month and had a lot of fun. Unfortunately, it looks like I won’t be able to join this one because it’s in the middle of the day and I’ll be at work. I heard there will be more online treasure hunts coming up, so it’s ok if I don’t get in on this one. I did learn something new just by receiving an invitation. Jewel Elegance carries military rings and other military jewelry, which is something I’m sure my brother in the Navy might be interested in. Go check out Jewel Elegance. They have lots of nice things. Don’t forget, Mother’s Day is almost here! Are you ready? If you still have shopping to do, be sure to use coupon code THTM10P801321 in order to receive 10% off a purchase at Jewelelegance.com. Happy shopping!

My middle youngest brother mentioned to me recently that he bought some fitness equipment, one of those all in one gyms they show on television. I must start by saying he isn’t out of shape, he’s underweight and you can see his ribs, so I don’t know what he was thinking when he got it. But I got to thinking that the shipping on those things must cost a small fortune. Why would you not find a comparable machine locally? I can’t see myself in a situation where I’d have something huge and heavy shipped. I always consider shipping costs when buying something over the internet. And, for all major purchases I almost always buy in person. Are there certain items you wouldn’t have shipped?

Shadow used to sleep in our bed until about six months ago. At that time he stopped sleeping there suddenly and wouldn’t even come up on the bed to sit and be pet. He began sleeping on chairs and the couch and even in the towel rack at that time. I am happy to be able to say that Shadow has returned to sleeping on our bed. If we’re awake he sits on top of my husband or myself and gets happy feet for a minute. Then he’ll either come around and curl up next to me or go to the foot of the bed and sleep in between our feet. I’ve missed him in there purring, so I’m glad he decided to come back.

Many companies sell products by mail. For many of them it makes a lot of sense and is safe. What I’m not sure of the safety of is buying certain health products by mail. I thought of this because in the last couple of weeks I have seen a number of places selling diet aids like Anoretix by mail. I could be wrong, but it seems like a product that can really help someone lose pounds within hours ought to be given under doctor’s supervision. Do you think it’s safe to sell anything by mail, or do you think some limits should be set?

I started reading Mom Reviews last year. Elizabeth asked me a while back if I’d take a look at her blog, so here we are. Elizabeth changed the theme of her blog this past week, so I think this a great time to do this review.

When Mom Reviews first loads you can’t help but notice the header. It contains family photos and it immediately brings color to the page and welcomes the visitor. The two column gray and white theme loaded quickly. The text the content appears in is a good size and color but it might be appear just a little sharper if a different font was used.

I am a big fan of navigation placed at the top of a blog rather than on the side. The sidebars on Mom Reviews are neat, but I would recommend a couple of minor changes. I’d suggest moving the tags and categories widgets up higher in the sidebar, above the blogroll. There’s a pretty big blogroll over there (that I’m not on, LOL) that I’m guessing she wants there because it isn’t on her blogrolls page. If the length gets too much she could put this into a scrollbox. 3 Boys Toys stands out a bit right now, if Elizabeth doesn’t have a button for it she could center it above the other buttons so it doesn’t stand out so much like it does when aligned to the left.

Elizabeth updates her blog daily, sometimes more than once. She often includes pictures, which will work well with this new white theme. The blog has an about page, and it actually tells the reader a lot about her. The writing style is personal and invites the visitor to read more. Elizabeth writes on a number of topics on Mom Reviews, the main ones being reviews, contests, saving money, family and home. Readers are invited to interact and share their thoughts through the comments section. Commenting requires no registration or login and Elizabeth often replies to comments that are left.

I highly recommend Mom Reviews. Yes, she frequently holds fantastic contests that I enter. But she also writes from a personal point of view that invites readers into her home and family, all while sharing her thoughts and opinions and interacting with her readers. One of the reasons she wanted a review was to be sure that her blog was appealing to readers, and I think it is. When you visit Mom Reviews, please tell her that valmg sent you.

Since my son turned twelve he’s been fighting off acne. He wants me to buy all kinds of acne solutions but I know that many of them don’t work, and that he can help fight acne naturally. He drinks lots of water, and rarely drinks soda and I think that’s a good thing. Spring is here and he’s running track, and I think exercise is good for the skin and body. I’ve seen a noticeable change just in the past two weeks or so since the nicer weather started arriving. But since he’s so interested in the products he sees on television, I decided to see what free skin care samples I can find. So far I’ve found Neutrogena. Do any of you know of any others?