Keeping Things Safe

From time to time on my blog, I will do reviews of websites I've been asked to look at, sort of like a survey where I share the results with people. I receive compensation for doing these reviews, but they don't tell me what I have to say, or even that I have to say nice things. All the opinions contained herein are entirely my own.

I save a lot of money on groceries and other items is by shopping for deals online. It's a great way to find sales and bulk discounts, but you do have to be careful. The great majority of shopping sites are trustworthy and do their best to protect your sensitive information, but if we've seen anything this past year, it's that even the biggest companies are vulnerable to determined hackers. It's important to shop safe, but it's also a good idea to take other steps to protect against identity theft.

One way to protect yourself against identity theft is by using the services of a company like Identity Hawk. Identity Hawk offers comprehensive services for identity theft protection, starting with a risk analysis so you can tell whether you're doing all the right things to protect yourself. They'll monitor your personal information and look for suspicious patterns that might indicate identity theft, and keep you appraised of any changes in your credit score. If the worst happens and your identity is compromised, they'll cover your losses and help you to recover your identity. It's a nice service that can give you a lot of peace of mind. Most of what they do is stuff you can do on your own, if you have plenty of time and a decent knowledge of what to look for, but if you're very busy or don't know much about identity theft, it's nice to have someone looking out for you.

Staying Safe When Shopping Online

From time to time on my blog, I will do reviews of websites I've been asked to look at, sort of like a survey where I share the results with people. I receive compensation for doing these reviews, but they don't tell me what I have to say, or even that I have to say nice things. All the opinions contained herein are entirely my own.

If you've been following my blog for awhile, or talked to me about couponing and finding bargains, you probably already know that I do a lot of shopping online. There are so many sales you can get by shopping online, not only on things like books and music, but on all sorts of stuff. I went online to book our rental car reservation for M's trip this weekend, and saved quite a bit of money. I buy almost all of Robert's baby snacks online, not to mention his diapers! Social bargain sites like Groupon and DealPulp are a good way to get big deals on local stores and restaurants.

The problem, of course, is how do you keep your information secure when you're shopping? Identity theft is a major problem all over the world these days, and you see it all the time on the news. I know some people who won't shop online at all because of it. I can understand the concern, but I think they're missing the point. Plenty of identity theft is decidedly low tech, from a waitress copying your info when she takes your credit card in a restaurant, to someone digging through your trash to find a credit card statement. Not shopping online isn't going to keep you safe. In fact, if you're careful, shopping online is every bit as safe as going to the store, and maybe even safer!

The first thing you need to keep in mind when shopping online is to make sure you're shopping in the right place. Be especially careful if you get a link by email. You wouldn't accept a ride from someone to take you shopping at Tarjet, and you should make sure that the links you follow are going where you expect. When you are shopping, always check the address bar on your browser to make sure you're at the site you want to be at. Just as importantly, when it comes time to check out, make sure that the page you'll be submitting your credit card on is an "HTTPS" site, rather than simply "HTTP." You can tell by looking for those letters at the front of the address, plus your browser will almost certainly have a padlock icon somewhere to indicate that the site you're on is secure. Never enter personal information on an unsecured web page!

If you are very worried about shopping online, you can get started by shopping only at the very biggest of online retailers. My favorite online retailer right now is Amazon.com, partially because they've had ridiculously fabulous coupons for mommies lately, but mostly because they are extremely reliable. Typically, the bigger the company is, the more reliance you can place on them when shopping online. That doesn't mean you won't find awesome deals at smaller stores, but you can easily get your feet wet at bigger stores, just to get used to online shopping. Many smaller stores also accept Paypal, where you can enter credit card information with Paypal and then have them pay the vendor without ever giving the vendor your card information. When you  shop online, use a credit card and never a debit card. Credit cards offer far more protection against fraud, and if you pay it off in full each month, you won't be dinged by extra interest charges.

Despite taking every precaution, online and off, identity theft sometimes happens. Thieves are just very determined. You can act preemptively by signing up for an identity theft protection service, if that will give you more peace of mind. These services monitor your credit for you to report on any changes that may occur, and some also offer insurance in case of identity theft, to cover any costs associated with recovering your personal information. Services such as IdentityHawk offer this protection for a monthly fee after a short free trial period. They can be valuable, especially if you've lost an especially vital piece of data like a social security card, just to make sure you know as soon as possible if anything happens. They can also advise you in case anything does happen, and guide you through the steps you need to take in order to recover your credit.

For most people, though, you should check first with your credit card to see what protection they offer. Most credit cards do not hold customers liable for any fraudulent charges made anyway. As long as you're sure of that, and you're monitoring your credit reports three times a year anyway, you probably don't need a lot of extra protection. Use your common sense and good credit habits, and be careful of your personal information online and off, and you can bargain shop with peace of mind.

Guest Post: DIY Cubby Wall for My Craft Room

Guest post written by Shannon Woods

One of my favorite hobbies is crafting and I've actually converted our guest bedroom into our craft room. But that basically meant that I had a desk with a sewing machine on top of it, along with some plastic containers that have all my stuff in it. That really isn't a great organizational thing though. I was at first afraid of doing anything because once we start our own family, we're going to change that room into a nursery.

I went online to try and find some ideas for organizational stuff that would also work in a nursery too. When I went online to get some ideas, I came across some information about Sacramento Clear internet packages and after I looked through it some, I came across some information about and decided to change over our home internet service by ordering one of the packages.

The best idea that I found was a DIY cubby wall that my husband told me he could put together. So we're going to start working on putting that together for the guest bedroom.

Beds, Baths, and Blustery Days

From time to time on my blog, I will do reviews of websites I've been asked to look at, sort of like a survey where I share the results with people. I receive compensation for doing these reviews, but they don't tell me what I have to say, or even that I have to say nice things. All the opinions contained herein are entirely my own.


I just can't believe that a mere two days ago it was sixty degrees here in Kentucky! Today it's back in the thirties, and we woke up to freezing rain. Ugh. It's a perfect day to stay inside, work on a few projects, and of course, shop on the internet! One of my favorite pastimes! In a happy coincidence, I was just asked to review a website called BedBathStore, which is exactly my cup of tea. I love beds, and baths, and I really love the clever little gizmos and space-savers and thing-holders that stores like this sell. The site itself has a nice clean layout and is easy to navigate, which always makes me want to poke around more. The free shipping ceiling is pretty high, $89, but the president's day sale going on now make it a bit better. I dove right in!


My first stop was at the party food and beverage machines section of the site. Now these are way too big and expensive for me to have, at least while we're still in our little bitty apartment, but I love these things. They have a cotton candy cart for sale, for pity's sake! Too awesome. Popcorn carts, hot dog carts, plus countertop versions of those as well. The selection was great. Unfortunately, although there was space for product reviews on each product, every one I looked at in this section was empty. These are luxury items, though, so maybe not as many people have bought them yet. The other big issue was definitely the price There were no deals to be had here. I looked a couple of the products, namely the popcorn cart and the tabletop nostalgia popper, up on Google, and found substantially better prices both on Amazon and at Kohl's. That was a bit disappointing for me, since I'm always out for a bargain. 


For my next foray into the site, I decided I'd look at something I've already shopped for and bought, to see how it stacks up. I found the Premium Solid Insulated Thermal Blackout Curtain Panel Pair, a set of insulated blackout curtains that are quite similar to the ones we bought for Robert's room this summer. (Take it from this mommy, blackout curtains in the nursery are worth their substantial weight in gold.) The price here was a lot more in line with what I paid for my curtains at the department store, and they come in a wider variety of colors as well. Still no reviews in the reviews section, but it was an overall more appealing offering. I've been thinking about getting blackout curtains for the other bedroom too, so I'll keep that one in mind. 


It occurred to me that by now I have not looked at any products that are technically for either bed or bath, so for my last dip in the pool, I decided to look at bedrest pillows, those big firm pillows with the arms that you use to prop yourself up for study or TV. BedBathStore did not have spectacular prices, though they didn't seem outrageous, but their main strength was in the wide variety of styles! They have eleven different kinds of pillows (all basically the same shape) but in different fabrics, colors, and patterns. Every single one had its own picture, which I really liked. Sometimes you can be browsing a store and look at different colors on an item, and you can tell that the second color was simply photoshopped on. These were genuine pictures showing the variety, and I appreciated that. Someone looking to match their bedroom would have an easy time if they looked here. 


Overall, I think BedBathStore is a decent shopping site, with things to recommend it despite the fact that it's not a mecca for bargain hunters. Sometimes finding just the right style or color for something in your house is more important than saving a couple bucks, and the selection here was always good. Just make sure you always remember to shop around! 


Oh, and because I never got around to actually doing anything bath-related, here is an oldie, but a goodie: 

Dreams of Vacation

Man, it's cold and gross out. We're lucky here, because we didn't get the Snowpocalypse descending upon our heads, but February 1 is still not a pretty day in our corner of the world. I remember how it was last year, this first week of being alone with Robert after all the grandparents had gone home, when the world was covered with snow and M was gone all day at school. It's an easy time of year to get depressed! This year is a little better. Instead of snow we have rain, and instead of a wailing bundle of newborn, I've got my guy throwing lettuce and peapods off his high chair and demanding more pretzels instead (we are working on the food thing). Still it's hard not to imagine heading off someplace warm for awhile, maybe a visit to Santa Cruz or a vacation in Jamaica. Warm weather and beaches, shopping and tourism. Yes please!

Of course, that's not too likely to happen for awhile yet. I got our taxes filed, and we're getting a pretty decent return, but it's pretty much all allocated already. Since we're getting even less income this summer than last, I need to put more money into our summer emergency fund, and I'm going to get all crazy and put some money into our teeny-tiny IRAs as well. With anything left, we're going to get super-indulgent and hit the dentist! Woo! This doesn't leave a lot of money for other things, especially not trips. But I've been looking into other ways to beat the winter blues. The sun may not shine, and it's too wet to play outside, but I can still take care of myself. Today I'm having a big salad for lunch, and this afternoon, Robert and I are going to try and get some exercise, even if it's just perambulating up and down the halls. Eating well and exercising are two good ways to perk yourself up in winter, and heck, they're good for any time of year. I figure I can't really go wrong.

Another option I've been thinking about is maybe getting a sun lamp. I have a friend whose seasonal affective disorder was improved by simulated sunlight, so it might be worth a shot. Plus, I have extreme amounts of hate for our only lamp, which is old and has two non-working sockets and doesn't have a secure fitting shade anymore. Really, replacing that old thing with anything that doesn't drop its shade when I bump it would be a lift to my mood! And of course, I've got my guys, who are usually good for a mood lift (when they aren't the ones driving me crazy!) One of these years we'll take a winter vacation somewhere warm, but for now, I think we're all right.

Guest Post: Country Fairs

Thanks for the post from Darrick Moreno

Going to the Country Fair in town is great fun for the entire family. It's a time for us to join together and have some real good old-fashion fun. Going to the Country Fair with my family reminds me of when I was growing up in a smaller town. The entire town looked forward to the Country Fair. It was the major event of the entire year.

I just love the cotton candy at the fairs and introduced my kids to cotton candy. I also enjoy the fresh popcorn. I was surprised to see at the last Country Fair that popcorn is now in several very delightful and spicy flavors. One treat that can't be beat is the hot fried pork rinds. The family that makes the product were recently featured on national television!

We also like to go on a few of the rides. I personally stick to the safer, more sane rides. You will not see me on the roller coaster or other wild rides! After a long day at the Country Fair I am glad to return home because I plan to watch the satellite TV we got after looking at this Direct TV comparison.

Sticky Situation

From time to time on my blog, I will do reviews of websites I've been asked to look at, sort of like a survey where I share the results with people. I receive compensation for doing these reviews, but they don't tell me what I have to say, or even that I have to say nice things. All the opinions contained herein are entirely my own.


Today I went to look at a site called Datagraphicsinc.com. This was an interesting site, because it's not really something I ever actually thought about before. Datagraphicsinc.com makes custom labels, nameplates and die cuts for commercial and industrial uses. It seems like half the things I buy have some label or sticker on them, be it a safety label, a product sticker, or an inspection sticker, but I never really stopped to wonder where they came from. Apparently these aren't done in-house by the companies involved, they come from companies specifically set up to make stickers. Which makes a lot of sense, now that I stop to think about it. 


The biggest part of the site seems to be devoted to custom labels. They don't do labels for home use, but if you need a few thousand labels for whatever commercial or industrial reason, you're all set! And yes, the temptation is strong to order a few thousand entirely silly labels to stick on everything, so maybe it's a good thing that I'm pretty much broke right now. You can supply your own art and get them to make it look however you want, which is kind of neat. I have seen sites that do that before, but never for such large quantities. 


They also do name plates, bar codes, die cuts, and other identification-related stuff. You can't actually buy anything off their website, because they only do customized work, but I think it's very convenient that they have an info box right on their site that can be used to get a quote. I would much rather do that than have to use a telephone. All in all, I think I'll keep them in mind in case I ever come up with a product that needs labels! 

Guest Post: Bobby LaBonte

Thanks to Roman May

My son Spencer was three at the time, while we were watching the Michigan race in I think 1995. Vroom vroom, he use to say while we tuned our satalite tv. to the now weekend ritual. "Bobby BaBonte", he would say, as the Winston cup champions would glide around the oval. I think "Bobby Babonte" was one of his first words, either way; this is why I've become a Bobby fan. The green number 18, at the time, was pretty much the only car my son could pull out of the crowd. Bobby won that day, and the excitement of race day with dad just gets me every time.

His uncle Alex pulled down a number 18 car from his collection at the bar and handed it to my son. His eyes lit up, and set him of on his "Bobby Babonte" Chant. To this day I get a chuckle from knowing that the name on the matchbox car was Dale Jared, not Bobby. Bobby is just a year older than I, and I hope to see him come out of his racing career strong. I thank him for those Michigan racesmy son and I shared. Now 15 years later it's still a memory we cherish.

My Son Loves to Watch Nickelodeon Junior

This was written by guest blogger Ericka Clarey

Ever since the day I brought my son home from the hospital, I have tried to make sure he gets to watch or listen to educational information. He listened to the TV when he was too young to watch and now that he has gotten older, he loves to watch Nickelodeon Junior. With Nick Junior being a channel designed just for young children, it has taught him a lot. He now knows all of his colors, shapes, numbers, and even some of his alphabet. There are a few other channels he loves to watch but overall he watches Nick Junior the most. 

He loves to watch and sing along with the Backyardigans and Diego. I am really glad we are able to watch educational television on satalite TV. By being able to watch these shows, I feel like he will be better prepared for school when he gets old enough. Since he is not in preschool, i know he is at least learning something. The most amazing moments as a parent are when your precious angel is growing and learning. He gets so excited when he gets to watch TV and he does not realize that he is learning so much.

Brought to you by your friends at http://www.bestchoicetv.com

Shopping for Father's Day

This is a guest post by Yavorn

Father’s Day is quickly approaching and it’s time to start shopping for the perfect gift. I always plan ahead for Mother's Day and then Father's Day catches me completely by surprise. So far this year, all I have is a card.

My father is the type of guy who doesn’t like a lot of things. He doesn't need new clothes or like knick-knacks for the house. He has simple taste and what he does want, he just buys for himself. It’s hard to find things that he would like at the mall; so this year, I’ll be using my satelite internet to shop online.

Shopping from home has come a long way and there are tons of options to make it quick and easy. Amazon.com is a great resource for online shopping. They carry everything from electronics to DVDs to tools. At Amazon.com or Borders.com, you can pre-order a book or movie that’s due out in the next couple weeks and it will arrive immediately after it is released.

Every man loves two kinds of cooking: breakfast and barbecue. You can shop online for great accessories for both. High-tech griddles for inside to make perfect pancakes and eggs or accessories for the backyard to make sure your dad has the best barbecue on the block.

Brought to you by your friends at http://www.satelliteinternetdeal.com/

Musicality

From time to time on my blog, I will do reviews of websites I've been asked to look at, sort of like a survey where I share the results with people. I receive compensation for doing these reviews, but they don't tell me what I have to say, or even that I have to say nice things. All the opinions contained herein are entirely my own.

Today's review is kind of an interesting site, it's a site for a course to learn to play piano. I'm not a terribly musical person myself, but I think it would be kind of fun to learn how to play. Back way long time ago my sister Allie took lessons and had a bunch of music books. I knew how to read music, so I looked up what each key was, and learned how to pick out a treble line by poking the keys one at a time. I was terrible at it, but it was kind of fun. As far as I can tell, Beginnerpianocourse.com operates on a much more sophisticated version of the same principal. You learn the keys one at a time, then how to pick out a treble line, then how to add some chords. I've read that it's kind of like the "fake book" method of learning piano, but I don't know enough to be sure. I know that fake books are easier than regular piano, so I do like that. =) 


Seeing as how I am not a piano player, I went for more information to sites where people who do play piano hang out. If I really wanted to learn to play piano, I'd definitely check out knowledgeable reviews before buying any program. The author of the course, for all that she sounds a little like she's reading English phonetically, has apparently written a number of piano-learning programs, and is pretty good. The folks whose reviews I read suggest that someone with a little basic information on playing piano will get more out of the course, but that it's pretty good. I personally have no time whatsoever for the piano or any other new hobbies, but maybe someday. I have to impress upon Robert the importance of music, after all! 

My Children Learn

Big shout out to Marissa Chaney for the guest post!


I love going online with my Hughes internet service with my children and visiting different websites that are aimed at teaching children. Some websites I find very beneficial are those designed for coloring. A child can click a key and color a part of a picture. When the color goes into the image, the name of the color is displayed. This is great for helping children associate a color with the name of the color.

These websites are also designed to learn counting and numbers. A child clicks the key and a number pops up. The numerical form shows, the spelling, as well as an object to match the number. My favorite is for the number three; it says three, 3, and shows three little kittens. My children also find these kittens very cute and cuddly looking, but now they all want three kittens! Having three children and three kittens just seems like too much work for me right now!


For my older child, she logs onto the website and is able to learn to read. The website we use shows a little book that changes pages when you click a key on the keyboard. The pages are relatively simple, and easy to learn. She can already read six of the books we have gone through!
Online, using satellite internet you can find websites that are perfect for the learning level of any child. I plan to use these even when my children are attending school. Not only do they have fun, they also learn. I am so grateful to my local hughesnet New York provider for allowing my children and I to learn so much from the internet.


Brought to you by http://www.satellitestarinternet.com

Dreams of Homeownership

From time to time on my blog, I will do reviews of websites I've been asked to look at, sort of like a survey where I share the results with people. I receive compensation for doing these reviews, but they don't tell me what I have to say, or even that I have to say nice things. All the opinions contained herein are entirely my own.


Back right after Robert was born, I had a catastrophic hard drive failure on my computer. I was lucky, both in that most of the files were recoverable and that the computer was still in warranty, but I did lose all my links. One that I lost and just found again is called "Lovely Listing", which is a site devoted to bizarre pictures from real estate ads. It's a hilarious site, but invariably when I read enough of it in one sitting, I start looking at the real estate ads myself, and thinking about houses. Sometimes I think it might be nice to buy an actual house, where the mortgage payments would be lower than our rent and we'd actually be building equity in something. Then I think about not wanting to live in Kentucky forever, and having to do my own repairs, and it seems less promising, but it's still a nice thought.


One good reason to buy a house would be to get a lawn. I would love to have a lawn with a swingset and a big garden, and some fruit trees. Of course, to have a lawn, you have to mow the lawn, and to mow the lawn, you need a lawn mower. A company I've been looking at lately for lawn mowers is Mountfield Lawnmowers. Mountfield is a British-based lawnmower company that's a subsidiary of Textron, so you could have a lawnmower that's made by a company owned by the same company that owns Bell Helicopter and Cessna Aircraft, with a motor that's made by the same company that made my car, Honda. That's like a corporate synergy Yahtzee right there. 


Mountfield mowers are mostly push-mowers, which is not the type I'm used to, not with the giant lawn I grew up with. There are all different kinds though, mulching mowers, scarifiers, rotary motors, and all sorts of things I've never even heard of. Mountfield petrol lawnmowers are nice and all (and I think it's awesome that they call it petrol, because I am a nerd), but I'm more interested in their electric mowers. I remember the old gas push mower we had, and it was so stinky and nasty. That's been about twenty years now though, so I imagine the technology has come quite a ways. They're all a very cheerful red color that seems very appropriate for lawncare equipment, but I've got to admit that with the prices all in pounds, I have little idea of what they cost. I think when it's my turn to have a lawn and get a mower, I will probably buy a brand that is more easily accessible, but I certainly like the look and sound of these mowers. 

Here in my Car, I Feel Safest of All

From time to time on my blog, I will do reviews of websites I've been asked to look at, sort of like a survey where I share the results with people. I receive compensation for doing these reviews, but they don't tell me what I have to say, or even that I have to say nice things. All the opinions contained herein are entirely my own.


I talked a little bit last month about my car and its air conditioning problems. Not having an air conditioner can seem like a minor thing, and it sort of is, but it can be pretty bad when the humidity gets high. When M and I went out this week on a humid and rainy day, all of us being in the car fogged up the windshield really badly, and without the dehumidifying properties of the air conditioning, the defrost didn't do squat. Rather than persist in wiping vainly at the windshield with paper towels, I eventually turned the heat on full blast (the heat works when it is not too cold out), and we baked ourselves dry. It was a miserable and rather dangerous experience. 


With that in mind, I opened up Repairpal.com today, the auto repair website I mentioned awhile back. I'm miserably busy with the Census job and everything else right now, but something needs to be done. We have a little money saved up now, though most of it has to go to keeping us alive through the lean summer months, so I figured it's time to go get those auto shop reviews. While I was there, I decided to take advantage of the articles they have on different problems cars can have, trying to figure out exactly what is wrong with my air conditioning.  I don't have a lot of savvy with cars, I admit that right off. Last time my check-engine light went off, M and I sat in the movie theatre parking lot for half an hour, petrified about whether the car was safe to drive or if we should tow it somewhere. (It turned out to be a loose gas cap, an idiosyncrasy I'm not terribly fond of in the Civic.) 


From the sound of it, it might be the evaporator that I'm having trouble with, rather than the compressor or the condenser. We're not leaking any fluid that anyone's been able to tell, and the article about air conditioning evaporators  suggests that layman-level diagnostics include a failure of dehumidification and a funky smell when you use the heat or AC. The strangest thing about the climate control problems we've been having has definitely been the weird smell that always presages the AC pooping out, but I didn't know it meant anything! If it's just the evaporator that's the problem, Repairpal suggests that it should be between 450 and 750 dollars to fix. That's a lot better than the 1600 dollar original quote, assuming that's all that's wrong with it. Just for the heck of it, I ran a couple of searches for Chicago auto repair  and Asheville auto repair, being as how we're often near those metropolitan areas, and it's nice to know whether we're getting a good deal, living where we do. Turns out Cincinnati is the cheapest, but not by much. I'll take it anyway! 


Monday is generally not a great day for me to go out and work anyway, so I think I'll probably call up some shops and get some estimates. Now that my internet research has given me the grounding I need, I feel like I'm not just going to be groping in the dark when I talk to mechanics, and that's always reassuring. 

Internet Coupon Site

From time to time on my blog, I will do reviews of websites I've been asked to look at, sort of like a survey where I share the results with people. I receive compensation for doing these reviews, but they don't tell me what I have to say, or even that I have to say nice things. All the opinions contained herein are entirely my own.

Today I went to look at a site called http://www.couponchief.com. Couponchief is a wiki-style aggregator for internet coupons. Basically what this means is that if you want to shop at a particular online store, you can go to this site and check to see if they've recorded any coupons or promotion codes that are active for that particular site. These coupons are usually for things like free shipping over a certain amount, a sale on a particular item, or dollars off a purchase of a certain size. Conversely, if you have a promotion code for a store that's not exclusive to just you, you can add it to the site so others can use it. Sites like this can really help save some time and money, but a lot depends on the quality of the input. The way sites like this get their information on coupons is generally through feedback from users, so the coupons are only as good as the people who've put them in. And, of course, most coupons and promotion codes expire, so a good aggregator site will go through from time to time and clear out the chaff. 

My philosophy is that you can't tell how good a site is without actually trying to use it, so I spent some time looking up coupon codes for stores that I like to shop at online. CouponChief is not a site for offline coupons, by the way, you don't print them out and take them to the store. It is almost strictly for online shopping. I started by looking up Amazon.com coupons because I've spent a lot of time on that website this week, what with buying the milk supplements and such. As luck would have it, the first coupon on offer is for Lipton Tea-to-Go, colloquially called "tea tubes" around here, which is one of our main sources of caffeine. Normally I try and wait till it goes down to 2.00 a box, but I haven't been able to get any on sale in awhile. Using the code from CouponChief did take me two tries, because it was only for select brands and I had to guess which ones, but between the coupon and Amazon's own "subscribe and save" discount, I got 32.00 worth of tea for 20 dollars with free shipping. That comes out to 1.60 a box, a price I've never seen in a store. Nice! Score one for the coupon website. =) 

I also tried looking at Officemax.com coupons, since I've got some OfficeMax rewards to spend this quarter, after buying the printer last quarter. You can find some pretty good deals online, and a coupon makes it even better. This time, though, I tried several of the coupon codes on offer, but none of them actually worked. Sometimes that happens, a code reaches its maximum number of uses, or the expiration date hits. The site gives you a button to select if the code doesn't work, however I didn't see my feedback appear when I pressed the button. I don't know if there's a time delay, or if it sends up a flag for someone from the site to look at. Anyway, no coupons for OfficeMax today. 

Overall, I'd say CouponChief is one I'm going to keep in the bookmarks folder for when I'm shopping online. I like its clean format and ease of use, you just put your store in the search bar and it takes you there. I'm a little underwhelmed by its options for feedback, and the fact that it doesn't give much indication of whether or not a coupon is working for most people. Still, if you're going to be shopping online anyway, there's no reason not to check this site out and see if you might be able to get a better deal on something you were planning on buying. Just remember not to get your heart set on having a coupon work until you've tested it in your shopping cart. 

In conclusion, in honor of my purchase of tea tubes and in consideration for the fact that I did not post a brand new picture yesterday, here is Robert making the face Mommy does before she has her caffeine. 

Looking at Hair

Today's review is brought to you by my friends at Totalbeauty.com. All opinions expressed within are entirely my own. 


Robert has reached a new milestone, the milestone of reliable hair-grabbing. He thinks it's hilarious, actually. One of the surest ways to get him to laugh is if I'm looming over him, kissing his tummy, and he can get hold of a double-handful of Mommy's hair. It's funny now, mostly because he hasn't got a huge amount of arm strength going for him, but I know where this road leads. It may be time to get a new haircut. I really like the way the color we put in is working out, so I'm feeling pretty bold, hairwise. I visited Totalbeauty.com to get ideas for new hairstyles and maybe see what's fashionable lately. I don't exactly keep up, but now that I'm back on the job hunt, it would be nice to look current.

This place has tons of articles about beauty and fashion tips, and lots and lots about hair. I got a little lost navigating at first, because it's a very celebrity-centric sort of site, full of articles about how to get so-and-so's look. It would be tremendously useful if I were a little more plugged in, but most of the time, I have only the vaguest idea of what so-and-so looks like. There were some good general articles though, like about the best hairstyles for your face shape and  best shampoo to protect color-treated hair. (My current shampoo, John Frieda Brilliant Brunette , made the list, and I'm glad because I think it's great.) I think I got some tips for a good summer cut, maybe something to obscure the center part in my hair, and take a little weight off the sides. I have a very round face, and getting the sides sleeker is more slimming, apparently.

It's kind of a cool site, and if you ever wanted to figure out how a celebrity managed to get a certain look for hair and makeup, it's definitely the right place to go. The layout's a little bit cluttery, and if you're looking for something specific, it can be hard to navigate. It kind of reminds me of a women's checkout-aisle magazine in website form, for good or ill. You can get tons of advice on how to get a new look, and gossip about Kate Gosslin's new hair extensions, all in one website. I'll probably keep this one in my bookmarks for awhile, and some day when the baby isn't feeling quite so demanding, rustle myself up a new summer look.

Oh, and just for reference, here's me now, or as of a few weeks ago, anyway. Check out my new brown hair!

Baby Shopping Aggregator

From time to time on my blog, I will do reviews of websites I've been asked to look at, sort of like a survey where I share the results with people. I receive compensation for doing these reviews, but they don't tell me what I have to say, or even that I have to say nice things. All the opinions contained herein are entirely my own.

Today I looked at a baby shopping aggregator called Become.com. Well, actually it's a shopping aggregator for a lot of things, but they have a fairly substantial baby section as well. If you're not familiar with the concept of a shopping aggregator, it's a website where you can enter whatever it is you're shopping for and it will look at different websites to see what's available and how much it costs. Ideally, the aggregator directs you to the lowest priced item available and you can buy it directly from the retailer's website.

The best way to test one of these websites is to run some actual searches on it, so that's what I did. First off, I ran a general search for baby tunnels. I think it's a crying shame that the Baby Einstein tunnel we got for Robert has been discontinued, but there are other tunnels out there. This site returned a good variety from a bunch of different websites, though it leaned very heavily towards Babies R Us and seemed to ignore sites like Amazon and Target. I learned about products I'd never heard of, and that I might not have found just looking at one site. So that was a positive.

The next search I ran was for a specific baby item, the Winkel I was talking about last night. It's currently enjoying Most Favored Toy status around here, and I've been told by experienced parents that anything especially beloved should be backed up in case of loss or disaster. It found the Winkel right away, both the original version and the alternate-color version, so that was good. What I did notice, though, was that it didn't give me a list of places that carry the Winkel, just one hit for each type, and a price tag of 13.95. I prefer my aggregators to be able to show me a list of places that carry an item, and the price plus shipping from each site. Just for reference, I ran a quick Google search and turned up three prices lower than that for the Winkel at other stores. So I'm not sure I would use it for actual shopping, at least not on its own.

Overall, I think this baby aggregator could be a valuable research tool when you're not quite sure what you're looking for. It's really nice to be able to look at a lot of different sites without having to navigate all over the place, and to compare different varieties and brands of things. For individual items, though, I think it should just be a starting point, and I would probably look at other websites as well. That's alway good advice, if you want a good bargain, you've got to shop around a little.

A Note on Car Repair

One thing I'm trying out with my blog when I'm not posting pictures of Robert is writing reviews for various web services. I get compensated for these reviews, but they do not tell me what to write, or even that I have to say nice things in order to be compensated. All my opinions here are my own.


Today I checked out a website called RepairPal. Car repair has been a subject kind of near and dear to my heart since Robert was born, since I've been worrying about what we're supposed to do about our heat and air conditioning. The AC in our car works until the temperature goes up to about 85, then it completely fails. This makes the car very, very hot, which can't be good for a very small person. I had it into the dealership last year to get it looked at, but they said it would cost 1600 dollars, when we bought the car for six grand. Ouch! There has to be a better way, but I'm not at all familiar with car repair places around here.

RepairPal offers a directory of auto shops, along with estimates of what a specific repair is going to look like in your area. I started out with a list of San Diego auto repair places, but it was easy to put in the information I wanted to find out about my car and my city. I put in that I wanted to know about an AC Compressor replacement on my 2001 Honda Civic, and it gave me an estimate of 600-1100 dollars (hey!) and a list of possible repair shops in my area. Needless to say, I'm going to be doing a little calling around when I scrape up the money for some car repair. They also have helpful articles like what to do if your check engine light comes on. I like that, as I know nothing whatsoever about cars, and am more likely to be baffled than concerned by any car problem that arises.

The site also has a section for reviews and ratings of cars, along with lists of recalls and safety bulletins for your vehicles. So if you're car shopping and looking at, say, 1999 Ford F-150, you can enter that, and read up on what people have said about theirs, and what kind of repair problems it might have. This is a nice feature, but I was kind of confused by the Recalls section. I looked up my Honda again, because we just got it called in for a recall on the driver's-side airbag, but I didn't find that recall listed. There were a lot of safety bulletins about the air bags though, and it might have been included in one of those.

Overall, I think it's a neat site, and I'm going to bookmark it to look at again next time I need repairs on the car. If nothing else, I will feel a lot better going into a repair shop after reading a description of my problem and getting even a broad estimate on what it should cost to fix it. It has a nice clean interface, and it doesn't cost anything to use, which is a vital point for me. I like it.

Oh and here, to round out this essay, is a picture of our car, Buddy Lumpkins, on the way home from the hospital with Robert. I had to clip it from a video file, as we do not actually take many pictures of the car. Go figure!