I do a lot of shopping online.  I don’t like fight traffic and crowds at stores, so online shopping suits me just fine.  However, I don’t like the amount of time that can be sucked out of my day when trying to comparison shop, especially when I’m trying to find the best deal.

If I know exactly the item I want and where to get it, I can be done within minutes.  Unfortunately, that’s not typically the case.  For example, I know I want to purchase some new luggage for my husband.  I don’t know what brand, although I have a few top contenders, and I never know who has the best deal.  Seriously, everyone from department stores to warehouse clubs sell luggage, so I need help to save time and money.

Thankfully, I was just introduced to  dealnews, an online service that does all the time consuming legwork for me.  They find the best deals and put the information into one neat, concise website.  Plus, if you’re looking for a particular item, you can set up an email alert.  dealnews will send you an email as soon as the deal is available, even if you are looking for a specific deal at a specific store.  That’s pretty cool in my opinion.

So anyway, I visited dealnews and in their search box, I simply typed “luggage”and in a flash, I had several deals to choose from.  I chose the American Tourister deal and I really like that it tells you exactly what retailer is selling it at the “deal” price and even gives a couple of options that may be at a similar price.  I was thrilled with the result so took a screen shot to share with you what I saw, and by the way, this was listed under clothing deals.

Try out dealnews if you’re in the market for some online shopping and come back and let me know what you were shopping for and if you found their site to be useful.

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As I get older, I’ve come to learn that some things in life just can’t be helped.  This is definitely true when it comes to having to take prescription medications.  I was diagnosed a few years ago with high cholesterol.  My doctor and I worked together to try other way ways to bring my bad cholesterol down through diet, natural supplements and exercise.  While it did reduce that bad number by a small amount, it wasn’t enough.  My doctor determined that I have hereditary high cholesterol and the only way to manage it is by doing all the things I all ready mentioned, plus take a daily medication.

I take my little pill every day and I think the worst part is knowing how much I have to pay every month for that little bottle of pills.  I have prescription coverage in my health insurance and I am still paying around $600 a year just for that one medication.  I can’t imagine having to cover the entire expense with no insurance.  If I couldn’t afford that medication I would be at a much higher risk of heart attack or even heart failure.  That’s pretty scary.

I think it’s wonderful that Walgreens is offering a special discount for its Walgreens Prescription Savings Club.  An annual family membership is only $35 a year and it covers everyone in your immediate family, including your spouse and even dependents up to age 22.  Amazingly, it even covers prescription medications for your pets!  I don’t know any health insurance that does that!  Oh, and if you’re still single, you can get an individual membership for only $20 year.

Benefits of membership include savings on brand name and generic medicines, discounts on flue shots, nebulizers and diabetic supplies.  You also earn bonuses whenever you purchase Walgreens brand products or Walgreens photofinishing services.

I know many people that can benefit from this program and I’m glad to know Walgreens is reaching out to help.  We can all support Walgreens in their effort by “liking” Walgreens on Facebook and following Walgreens on Twitter.

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Have you ever walked into you own home and notice that it didn’t smell so very nice?  What about when the trash has been forgotten and it has become pretty smelly?  Or what about after you’ve cooked a lovely dinner of fish and broccoli, now those are some odors that take time to dissipate!

I try very hard to keep the trash bin free of smelly items, but sometimes, it’s difficult, particularly with kitchen trash.  I do find it helpful to utilize home scents, whether it’s candles, mists or even diffusers.  Honestly, I prefer the new Glade® Expressions™ oil diffuser because it’s so easy to use and the fragrance is long lasting, in fact, it can last up to 30 days and doesn’t even require electricity like many other brands do.

I also like to use the new Glade® Expressions™ fragrance mist which is also long lasting and designed to fit in with any room decor. The mist is refillable which helps the environment while making your home smell pretty!

Both products come with a satisfaction guarantee , if you don’t like it, just fill out form at http://bit.ly/xMScbO send in the UPC and the receipt and you’ll get your money back.  Both products also currently have an available coupon at http://bit.ly/zus6F5 to save $1.50 when purchasing at Walmart, so it’s a great opportunity to take advantage of Walmart’s low pricing and to try out either or both of these great products.  The most difficult thing you’ll have to do is decide on the fragrance:

Pineapple & Mangosteen

Cotton & Italian Mandarin (only available in Fragrance Mist form)

Fuji Apple & Cardamom

Spice Lavender & Juniper Berry

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Have you ever planted flower bulbs?  I have and they have the best payoff of anything I’ve ever planted!  Our previous home up north had a small tree in the front yard outlined by brick and bark mulch at the bottom.  It was so incredibly boring, so I planted a circle of daffodils and a larger circle of tulips around the base of the tree.  Every spring, sometimes while there was still snow on the ground, I would find them growing up out of the ground and before I knew it, breaking into beautiful yellow and red flowers.  It was like an annual gift I had given to myself!

I haven’t yet planted any bulbs here in Texas for a couple of reasons.  Obviously, the weather here is quite different and I haven’t been too sure about what types of bulbs are best to plant here.  Also, we have a gazillion squirrels and rabbits here and I don’t want them stealing my bulbs!

Good news!  I learned to visit www.digdropdone.com to learn more and to use their Garden Guru tool to find what bulbs are right for planting in my area.  It’s super easy to use, just choose your country, then your area, pick the type of bulb and then check the planting guide  that shows how to plant your bulbs.  This is a screenshot of my personalized planting guide if I choose to plant hyacinths.

If you’ve never planted bulbs, its super simple.  Seriously, it’s digging a small hole, dropping in the bulb and covering the hole up with dirt.  Done!  You can visit www.digdropdone.com to learn more information and watch videos for great ideas using bulbs. I personally enjoyed Marcy’s idea for growing bulbs in pots as her sons science project, great idea!  Although, Evelyn reminded me that daffodils are pretty animal tolerant, in other words, they’re not tasty to critters.

Bulbs make great gifts too.  My mom was given an amaryllis bulb ijn a pot several years ago and every year, that amaryllis blooms beautifully for all of us to enjoy.

If the ease of planting bulbs isn’t enough to entice you, how about a contest at Curbside Chaos that is paying $5,000 for a yard makeover! Just like bulb planting, it’s easy to enter, just submit a photo of your yard! The lucky winner will get the yard makeover plus a visit from Taniya Nayak (@TaniyaNayak on Twitter)who will provide the winner with tips for updating their yard along with ways to incorporate bulbs into the landscaping.

Plus, because the contest is an effort to educate people on the beauty of bulbs, for every share on Twitter, “Bulbs. Dig, Drop, Done.” will donate $1.00 to Rebuilding Together – the nation’s leading nonprofit, working to preserve affordable homeownership and revitalize communities.

If you think you’ve never seen a flower that came from a bulb, think again.  Just look up at my blog header, those are tulips, my favorite flower.  Yes, tulips come from bulbs!

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Merry Christmas Animations provided by MySpaceGraphicsandAnimations.net

To all my friends, family and loyal blog viewers, I want to wish you all the very best for today and everyday. May the Lord be with you and comfort you when you are in need and may you find strength in his love.

Merry Christmas!

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I am not good when it comes to any type of dieting.  I am fortunate that I’ve never been way over weight, but I know I could stand to lose a few pounds.  At this time of year it’s difficult to keep from adding pounds with all the great treats everyone is busy making.  Just the other day I was given a box of homemade chocolate pretzels.  It took all my will power to not down the entire box before I even got home!

To help me keep the excess pounds off so that I don’t look like a blimp in January, I try to eat healthy, low calorie meals that allow me to have a few extra calories worth of treats.  I think that’s why I really like the Slim-Fast 3•2•1 Plan, it pretty much allows me to follow my own plan without sacrificing taste, allowing me to feel satisfied, not hungry, throughout the day.

The Slim-Fast 3•2•1 is easy to follow and it’s flexible.  Each day I can have 3 snacks like fruit, veggies or even the Slim-Fast 100 calorie snack bar which is specifically designed to help curb those in between meal cravings for sweets.  Also, I can either drink 2 Slim-Fast shakes or eat 2 meal bars each day.  I like drinking the creamy milk chocolate shake for breakfast and the other one as a late lunch.  They keep me full while providing balanced nutrition until I cook dinner in the evening.  The shakes come in other flavors too including French vanilla, rich chocolate royale, cuppuccino delight, and strawberries n’ cream.

Finally, as part of the Slim-Fast  3•2•1 plan, I try to fix a balanced 500 calorie meal for dinner.  I’ve also learned that it helps to remember that half my dinner plate should be vegetables, 1/4 should be protein (meat) and the other 1/4 should be whole grains. 

I also like Slim-Fast because it’s available where I normally do my grocery shopping so I don’t have to make an extra trip to another store just to get it.  Heck, it’s even available at Amazon.com.  If you can’t locate it, check the pharmacy section of your grocer and don’t forget to “like” them at http://facebook.com/slimfast

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That’s right, I’m almost done with my to do list and ready to sit back and simply enjoy the holiday.  I finished my shift this morning and am now sitting here organizing my grocery shopping list and coupons, getting ready to head out the door to get the supplies for Christmas day dinner.  It’s just the 3 of us, so we keep it pretty simple.  We enjoy a spiral sliced ham, some scalloped potatoes and a vegetable or two.  We never ate our asparagus at Thanksgiving, so I think I will try to buy more today, that would go nicely with ham.

I got a few gifts wrapped yesterday and need to go get some gift bags and/or shirt boxes in order to wrap the remaining gifts.  Found out through my daughter that my husband did actually buy me a gift (a rather expensive one at that) even though he said he agreed we wouldn’t exchange with each other this year.  So, I went out and got him something yesterday.  It’s not the gift I really truly want to give him, but I can’t afford that one right now, so went with a plan B, I just hope he’s not disappointed.  Anyway, it’s wrapped and ready to go under the tree.  We don’t put gifts under the tree until the night before Christmas, a tradition started when our daughter was born.

So, I’m off to the grocery, wish me luck and I am hoping it’s not too crazy and crowded! 

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Have you ever attended or hosted a PartyLite party?  I think I’ve only been to one, and that was years ago.  Why haven’t I gone again?  I don’t know anyone who’s hosted a party!  I would certainly go if I did because I really do like their candles and home accessories.  I would probably host a party myself, but since moving here, I don’t really know that many people, so it would be a pretty tiny party!  I think I will just have to check out ordering from them online.

But, if you’re interested in hosting a party, it’s a great way to earn alot of free products.  Simply invite your friends and neighbors over, serve a light snack and something to drink and next thing you know, your decorating you could be decorating your home with products from the PartyLite Simple Pleasures Holiday Sweepstakes catalog.  Or, since the holidays are actually almost gone (can you believe it?!), you can now order from the new PartyLite Winter/Spring 2012 Catalog which just came out on December 16.

Be sure to visit and “Like” the PartyLite Facebook page so you’ll always know about special monthly offers for both hosts and guests.  We just missed entering the Simple Pleasures Holiday Sweepstakes that ended on 12/15, but I’m sure they’ll soon have something new and exciting happening at PartyLite!

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My daughter and I have spent the day online shopping for cell phones.  My husband has a cell phone which is a smart phone, that is issued to him by his employer.  Lately though, he seems to think that he needs to have his own personal cell phone.  Truthfully, I think he sees my daughter and I playing around on our phones all the time and he wishes he could do the same.  He’s hesitant to do more than text or make business calls on his current phone since the monthly bill is paid for through work.  So, we started shopping around.  I think he’s crazy to even consider carrying around 2 phones, but hey, he’s so difficult to gift shop for, if he wants a phone, he might just get one!

One phone we came across that would be perfect for him is the LG DoublePlay™.  It’s perfect for texting because it has a full slide out QWERTY keyboard as well as SWYPE.  The keyboard is larger than the one on his current phone so I think he would find it easier to use and reduced the amount of time it takes him to actually send a text.  He doesn’t text nearly as much as I think he would if he could handle the keyboard better with his stubby little fingers!  Honestly, he probably spend a couple of hours a day total texting right now, but I think that would increase.  The phone is Android based, something we are very used to in our household.

The LG DoublePlay™ which is available exclusively at T-Mobile, has dual screens, the primary screen is 3.5″ and the 2nd screen is 2″.  They can operate independently or simultaneously, a very cool feature that would allow him to surf the web at the same time he is attempting to send a text.  That’s something he can’t do at all right now.  In fact, he rarely visits social networking sites because he can’t do that on his current phone.  I know the time he spends doing that right now would certainly increase!  In addition, the phone as a 5 megapixel camera and takes HD video.  I think he would like the addition of the video feature.

So, what do you think?  Do you spend a lot of time texting or visiting social networks on your cell phone?  Let me know, I’m curious!  Would the LG DoublePlay™ change the way you currently use your cell phone for texting or social networking?

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So, here’s my list of things I accomplished today:

• work (yes, I had a 1 1/2 hour shift this morning for my job!)
• shower (it’s nice working from home so I can shower AFTER I work! LOL)
• wash my bed sheets
• clean the dishes
• clean of the kitchen island (buried under mountains of junk mail, coupons, Christmas presents brought home from work/school, cell phone chargers, etc)
• scrub down all the counter tops, including the freshly cleared island!
• vacuum family room
• do a load of laundry
• sweep and mop the kitchen and hallway floors
• make my bed with my freshly cleaned sheets
• write 2 paid ops

So now it’s just after 5 and I feel a sense of accomplishment.  I now need to go unload the freshly run dishwasher so I can reload it with all the dishes that were a result of my husband cooking dinner while I was doing all of the above!  When I get done with that I plan to spend some time dropping EC and maybe some last minute online holiday shopping.

Hoping everyone had a wonderful weekend!

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