Product Love: Dentemp OS

I had no idea that there even was such a thing as over the counter temporary dental repair. It's too bad we didn't have this (or know about it) back several years ago when my sister lost one of her fillings. I remember she was in major pain and tears as she waited until the dentist could fit her in to repair the problem. I've never lost a filling myself, but I can imagine that it sucks.

If it ever does happen to me (and the chances are about to increase -- my last visit to the dentist revealed no fewer than six (!) cavities that need filled; that's what I get for not going to a dentist during my entire twenties), at least I'll know about Dentemp OS, first aid dental repair goo that can both temporarily replace lost fillings and cement loose caps. It's mess-free, FDA-tested and approved, and fast--you can safely eat in as little as thirty minutes after applying it. With my dentist being an hour away from my home, closed on Fridays and hard to get into the rest of the week, I'm glad to know that there's an easy drug store solution that can buy me time if I ever need to have my fillings repaired.

Saying goodbye to Summer--I'm SO OVER IT

*Sponsored Post*

With summer winding down (what? Labor Day? You mean it's September already? When did that happen?!), now is a good time to take advantage of summer clearance sales and stockpile goodies for next year. I pray to God that Husband and I will have moved into our own place by next summer, so it really is tempting to stock up on stuff like Wind Chimes with which to christen the big back porch that our new home is sure to have. Man, I can see it now. Lazy summer nights on the porch, watching the fireflies and sipping a cold one while Husband stokes the grill, the tinkling chimes lulling me into peaceful relaxation... that's the life, folks.

Of course, by now I've about had my fill of summer and am SO VERY READY for the most wonderful time of the year: October! Yay! 'Tis the season for Halloween Decorations! Man, I love fall. It really can't get here soon enough for me.

Alzheimer's Association's Memory Walk

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Several years ago, at a family gathering, one of my favorite aunts, after her sister had basically dismissed me as a spinster with no hope of ever getting married, clasped my hand and told me that she believed that God had someone extraordinary that he was saving for me. After I became engaged to my husband, I couldn't wait for him to meet this aunt so I could remind her of what she told me and tell her that she was right. The chance finally came at a family reunion a couple of years ago. I led my fiancé over to my aunt and asked her if she remembered what she said to me.

She didn't. I'm not sure she even remembered me.

It was the beginning of her battle with Alzheimer's. Since then she's had to be put in a special home, and most days she hardly knows her own children.

Apparently, Memory Walk is an annual awareness- and fund-raising event that's been put on annually by the Alzheimer's Association since 1989, but this is the first year that I've heard of it. Now that I have, I want to spread the word. I'm not able to walk, but I'd love to sponsor a participant. Unfortunately, there's not a local event in my state, but if you're walking, leave a comment to let me know, and I'll sign up to sponsor you. I can only afford to sponsor one walker, so this is offer is first-come, first-serve.

If you'd like to walk in the event, just follow any of the links in this post to the web site to find a local event and sign up. It's also simple to sign up to be a Team Captain--all you need is at least nine people to be on your team. You can form family teams, community teams, or even corporate teams with your co-workers. Team Captains need to sign up early so that they'll have plenty of time to build their teams and prepare them for the event, so if that's something that's on your heart, don't waste any time getting started.

UPDATE: My Little Tribe is hosting a contest to help raise money for her Memory Walk team. The rules:

1 entry for every 5.00 you donate to sponsor Team Martin. (Use this page to directly sponsor Team Martin. OR paypal carla AT mylittletribe DOT com, if you prefer not to use a credit card, and I will add it to the sponsor totals and send the check.)

Additional entries can be earned by:

1 entry for linking to My Little Tribe and blogging about this contest.

1 entry for signing up to walk in your local Memory Walk.

If I don't get any takers for sponsorship by September 6th (my next payday), I'll be signing up to sponsor that team.

Build A Sign!

Paid post alert!

Hey, awesome! When Husband opens his restaurant we can advertise it with custom Car Magnets! But really, these magnetic signs are a lot less expensive than I expected when I first clicked over. This would be an ideal way to spread the word if I ever get one of my wannabe entrepreneurial ideas out of the infancy stage and off the ground. Heck, for that price it might be worth it just to have one printed up with my URL. I wonder what kind of studies have been done about offline web site advertising? That might be something I should check into...

Restaurant dreams

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My foodie husband has a dream of someday opening up a restaurant. Yesterday he even went so far as to research suppliers and wholesale food costs. I'd just be thrilled if we had a kitchen where he could put his would-be gourmet tendencies to use feeding me, but he's convinced that he'd like to get into the business side of it, eventually. He's got some pretty good ideas, and I do believe he could pull it off as long as he fully understands what he's getting into and has his financing in place. I just bookmarked a site that can help with that last part, at least: Advanced Restaurant Finance looks like a pretty good bet, providing supplemental restaurant financing without requiring need of a business partner and allowing would-be restaurateurs to retain full control of their business decisions. That sounds like Husband's cup o' tea. I'm filing this link away in the "Big Dreams" file for future reference.

Rate your day!

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One feature I enjoyed about my old LiveJournal account was the mood icons, and I kind of miss having them here. Now you can get a blog widget that comes close--I Rate My Day is sort of a cross between LJ mood icons and Twitter, where you can tell the world what kind of day you're having and why. People can comment on your day, too. Social mood icons. What will they think of next?

While you're there, be sure to check out the contest for a free Microsoft Zune!

Crocs are... cute? Really?

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I've always turned my nose up at Crocs because, well, they're ugly. I don't care how comfortable they are, I just can't handle that much pure fug on my feet, and besides, they're not allowed at my office, anyway. Except, I just checked out some of their new styles, and, well, these are pretty cute. Cute enough to be tempting. I'm pretty sure they'd pass muster with the dress code, and as much running around as I tend to do on a daily basis, cute, comfortable, affordable shoes are pretty much my new Holy Grail. These are a decent price to begin with, and with these ShoeBuy coupon codes, it looks like I can get them for a steal (aren't online coupon sites the best thing ever?).

I already blew my fun money budget for this week helping to line J.K. Rowling's heavy pockets, but just you wait, Crocs Sassari - Chocolate/Gold. Next payday, you will be mine.

Download IDrive for IBackup

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If you use IBackup for extra storage, then you'll probably be interested in IDrive, a free (for members) download that effectively turns your web storage into a network drive on your computer, giving you drag and drop capability right on your desktop. Increased productivity yay!

If you don't even know what IBackup is, it's an Online Storage site that can be used to back up your hard drive, provide extra storage to free up some space on your computer (providing a nice, safe place for all those digital photos of your cat you still need to write captions for), and even provides file sharing and collaboration capabilities, with plans starting at $9.95 a month.

I wish I'd known I could take advantage of this a year ago before my computer died. Then I'd still have access to all of the unfinished Buffy fic, LiveJournal icons, MP3s, and the TOTALLY NOT PIRATED copy of Photoshop that are lost in limbo on my dead hard drive. I thought I was safe backing up to CDs, but I had to learn the hard way that CDs have a tendency to get scratched and become corrupted. That's not something I'd ever have to worry about here. At least I'll know for my next computer, right?

Freeze It!

This is a sponsored post, but that doesn't make it any less true. My love for this product is a pure love.

My mom has a fun tendency to get hung up on one product that is her magical cure-all for everything. For my entire adolescence, it was Alkaseltzer Plus, for all things reasonable and otherwise.

"Mom, I have a cold."

"Take some Alkaseltzer Plus!"

"Mom, I stubbed my toe!"

"Take some Alkaseltzer Plus!"

"Mom, my date stood me up!"

"Take some Alkaseltzer Plus!"

So after years and years of that sort of thing, you can bet I was glad when she found a new favorite cure-all, even if I'm the one who found it first, by doing something as simple as throwing my back out. After my chiropractor sent me home with a handful of Biofreeze samples, my mom tried some on one of her many aches and pains, and a new catch-phrase was born:

"Mom, I'm hungry."

"Put some Biofreeze on it!"

For once, I had to agree with her enthusiasm, if not necessarily her application. Biofreeze is good stuff. It's crack for the chronic back pain set, making you feel tingly and warm and taking the pain away. Trouble is, it's about as convenient to get a hold of as crack, too, and also about as expensive.

This explains why I'm actually glad, in retrospect, that I woke up one morning last month with the mother of all neck cricks. I was all out of Biofreeze, and in a panic, I called my mom. "Mom! I have the mother of all neck cricks!"

"Put Biofreeze on it!"

"I can't! I'm out!"

"Well then, I don't know what to tell ya."



*whimper*

I popped some painkillers, trudged to work and suffered through the morning, unable to turn my head. By lunchtime, I'd had enough, so I packed my stiff, sorry self into the car and headed to Wal-Mart to find something that could possibly fill the void left by my beloved Biofreeze.

I scanned the shelves. I started to lose hope. And then, there it was.

Freeze It.

What's that? I asked myself. The packaging sure looked a lot like my favorite brand of crack. I picked it up and examined it more closely:

"Compare to the active ingredients in Biofreeze(r)!"

Could it honestly be? An affordable equivalent right there in the Wal-Mart pharmacy? One that I didn't have to make a special trip to the chiropractor's office or take out a small loan to purchase? This was simply too good to be true.

And then I tried the stuff.



Did it work as well as its snooty, high-maintenance twin?



Yes. Yes it did. And it stole my heart. I was so overcome with gratitude and adoration that I even caught myself making out with it.


Because that's the stuff, baby.

Of course, I had to tell my mom about this stuff; and now we have a new catch phrase:

"Mom, my toast is burnt!"

"Freeze It!"

Freeze It, indeed.

Jim who now?

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I think I'm about the only person left in Western civilization who has never seen an (American) episode of The Office. There are good reasons for this, primary of which is that several years ago, I came to the conclusion that I was watching far too much television (yes, believe it or not, I used to watch way, way more than I do now. Hush.), and that I could probably live without any more sitcoms in my life. So I gave up half-hour comedies and never looked back. The other reason is that I had seen the BBC version and, though I didn't get hooked on it, thought it was pretty high-larious, and, well, Hollywood doesn't have a very successful record of trying to Americanize British sitcoms, so I naturally assumed that the American version would suck.

According to almost every person I know, I assumed wrong.

So now Target has The Office Season One for $19.99, and I guess that leaves me without any excuses not to start catching up to the bandwagon. While I'm at it, I might as well finally get myself a copy of Angel Season 5 for $27.99. That's not the best price I've seen it for, but with one of these Target coupons, I can get $5 off. Oh, wait--I'm a few dollars short of the $50 requirement. Oh noes! How will I ever make up the difference? You know now much I can't stand shopping at Target! [/sarcasm] But seriously, somehow I don't think that will be a problem.

And then I'll finally be able to get to the bottom of all this Jim and Pam business.

This post is sponsored by Coupon Chief, the first place I always look for coupon codes.

Hire yourself out with PayPerPost Direct

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PayPerPost is at it again, rolling out yet more upgrades and somehow becoming even more awesome. Their latest feature is PayPerPost Direct, a new program that cuts out the middleman by letting advertisers hire bloggers directly to write blog ads. So if they're hiring you directly, do you really need to go through PayPerPost for that? Of course you don't need to in the strictest sense, but when you consider ease-of-use, the security of having an arbitrator to ensure that you get paid (or, if you're an advertiser, to ensure that you get what you pay for) and the fact that PayPerPost only charges a 10% fee (unbelievably low compared to the 50% and up charged by competitors such as ReviewMe), it begins to look like a pretty sweet deal.

So how does it work? Bloggers in the network simply place a badge on their blog advertising their availability. If an advertiser surfs across such a blog and sees what they like, they can just click on the badge to sign up and hire that blogger to advertise their site. It doesn't get much easier.

The other improvement this rollout brings that's got me all excited is the ability to reserve an opportunity for six hours. Six hours!!! This should make it much easier to nab quality opportunities that have actual relevance to this blog and to you, dear readers.

PayPerPost just keeps making it easier to make a good bit of extra income for just a little bit of extra work. Have you signed up yet? Why not? You can use any of the links in this post to head over there and sign up today, or if you feel like helping a girl out, you can also click the affiliate badge over on the side bar to send a little kickback my way.

Looking for higher yields?

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It's not quite been three months since I opened what might very well be the first of multiple high yield savings accounts. Since starting mine with a mere $25, I've been amazed at how much it's grown in such a short amount of time. Just getting past that first obstacle of starting a savings account seemed to make it a lot easier to find money to put in it. Now I'm considering switching to an account with an even higher yield, or possibly opening a second account and using separate accounts for separate funds. eMoneyCentral is making it a little easier to decide by allowing me to compare my current bank side by side with pretty much every other high-yield e-savings bank out there. What I really like about this site is that in addition to simply providing facts about each bank, they also allow users to comment and discuss their personal experience. This kind of commentary can be much more informative than bank-provided stats, and goes a long way to clue potential customers into exactly what kind of service they can expect. It's already gotten me to think twice about a certain bank I was considering switching to. That's a pretty handy tool right there.

Battle of the Blogvertisers!

I've got a new article up at Associated Content: Making Money From Your Personal Blog: PayPerPost Vs. LoudLaunch, comparing the two blogvertisers and what they each have to offer.

In other news, today I'm feeling decidedly bleah.

What price pet health?

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I've been considering buying pet insurance for a while now, especially for Fizzgigg. As he gets older there are more and more occasions when I have to decide whether something is serious enough to warrant taking him to the vet, because we can't really afford it. I just received a free online quote, and the senior care coverage is a little high, but it would cover the tummy problems he's prone to having if they come up again (for the moment we appear to have them licked). Regular coverage is more affordable, and just having that would have saved me over fifty bucks when the cat accidentally clawed his eye last year.

I also see that they offer a ten percent discount for three or more pets, so we could get regular coverage for the cats and end up saving money for all three. Knowing our cats, having accident coverage on them wouldn't be the worst idea in the world.

This is something I'll have to mull over and see whether we can really work it into the budget. But it's definitely something I would like to be able to do. I mean, just look at the little guy. Of course I want to do everything I can to ensure he lasts as long as possible.

Win a Date With Tad Hamilton....'s One-time Co-star!

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All right, boys: fire up those video cameras, polish off your best pick-up lines, and get ready to Seduce a Celebrity. If the audience likes your video the best, you could win a date with one Mirelly Taylor, an up-and-coming actress who's recently been featured on the likes of Las Vegas, Numb3rs, and the Matthew Perry vehicle, Serving Sara. So what's the catch? It's all for a new online reality show on GoFish that will feature a different celebrity each round putting in a plea for what they're looking for in a date. Then it's up to willing lotharios and lothariettes to upload their video responses, with the winners to be selected by audience vote.

If you think that's intimidating, just check out some of the competition:



Hee. Be sure to check out the other video entries. It just gets more embarrassing (and hilarious) from there.

And don't worry. If Mirelly's not your thing, upcoming "prizes" include Emmy Award Winning Producer Scott Sternberg, and The Bachelor's Andrew Firestone. This is, of course, a chance for much hilarity to ensue, and ensue it does. Check out the rest of the competition as well as other free videos at GoFish.com

Do uTango?

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From the "Looks Too Good to Be True" Files: you can earn cash rewards and even eventually fund your retirement simply by doing all of your regular online shopping. Yeahbuhwhat?! It seems the utango rewards program gives online shoppers the opportunity to sign up for free and earn rewards for logging into uTango and shopping their affiliate merchants, which include the likes of Target, Starbucks, and Barnes & Noble, places I shop all the time. Apparently, if I start shopping at them via uTango, I can start earning $200 per year, and if I stick with it over a lifetime, my loyalty could earn me up to a cool million in retirement funds!

This is awesome. Not only can I make free money just by buying books, CDs, ground coffee, clothes, jewelry, adorable inexpesive pre-fab furniture, housewares, home decor, and about anything else I normally shop for online, but I can also research and book my travel through the utango rewards program and earn even more. Pretty much everything I ever do online, commerce-wise, is included in this program, so there's not a single reason I can think of not to sign up. And did I mention the part where it's free? Wow. Double this with your credit card's rewards incentive program and you could really rack up the extra cash. Now that's what I'm talkin' about.

Free Postage Offer from Stamps.com and Coupon Chief

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Postage rates are going up again on Monday. Postage increases are always a pain in the hinder; I'm rushing to mail everything I can this weekend and use up the stamps I've got, so that I won't have to mess around with buying any three-cent stamps. Snail mail is getting expensive, too, and with the USPS's customer non-service and track rate at losing packages, pretty soon we're going to run out of reasons to send things via regular mail instead of something more reliable like FedEx or UPS. In the mean time, though, here at least is a chance to catch a break on postage: My favorite coupon site is listing a Stamps.com coupon for $25 in free postage when you sign up for their 4-week free trial. As if that's not a cool enough freebie, you also get a free digital scale. You know how much I love bargains, especially when they involve freebies. I'm all over this offer.

Still :heart: PayPerPost

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You might have noticed that I'm back at trying to make money blogging. I got a little burned out for a while there, and I had a heart to heart with myself to determine whether I would rather be a "pro blogger" or a writer with a blog. I'd rather be the latter. However, a couple of discouraging pay periods have convinced me that pro-blogging in moderation is better than no pro-blogging at all.

I've signed up with a few of PayPerPost's competitors to help ameliorate the dry spells when it's difficult to beat the competition to decent opportunities, which has given me an opportunity to compare and contrast (I'm even working on a comparison article for Associated Content as I type this; well, not RIGHT as I type this, because I only have the ten fingers. But you know what I mean). It's given me new appreciation for PayPerPost. Although their success can mean more competition which makes it more difficult to grab great opportunities, their lower-end opps still pay better than most of their competition. They've also built a thriving community of "Posties" who love to help each other in advancing their blogs and improving their blogging skills. And having been at this for almost a year now, they've got most of the bugs worked out and have streamlined the entire system. Best yet, they've proven that they care about the Posties as much as they care about advertisers. As much as I have to admit being frustrated by some of the changes they've made since I first signed up, I still think they're the best in the biz, and I'm still pretty impressed by them as a company.

So you should still expect to see the occasional sponsored post here on this ol' blog o' mine, although I promise only to accept opportunities that I can write honestly about, and that I think are either useful or of interest to at least some of you out there. It's not about to become all ad-blogging all the time, so no worries on that front. Because I still would rather be, simply, a writer with a blog.

Bug

Matt wants to see that bug movie with Ashley Judd, the one they're advertising as "from the makers of The Exorcist. He might have to find a buddy to go see it with him, because just the trailer makes my skin crawl. This looks like one that could leave me with nightmares.

I think the posters look pretty benign, though, especially this one (left). I guess it sets a dark mood, but unless you find Ashley Judd's face disturbing (you'll have to insert your own joke there, folks; I've sworn off mean comments, even for comedy's sake), I don't think it quite conveys the creepiness of the movie. The other poster, though (right), I think does a better job. I don't know why, but I have a more visceral reaction to that one. Maybe because it reminds me a little of the posters for Silence of the Lambs that show Jodi Foster with a death's head moth covering her mouth. At any rate, I think it does a better job of saying "Hey! This movie is creepy and disturbing and will probably give you nightmares! Good times!" At any rate, they've got me convinced I might not be able to handle the bug movie, although if my husband insists, at least I'll have the satisfaction of knowing he'll be kept awake by my nightmares, too.

eBay meets The Price Is Right

This seems to be a unique concept for a contest: Bid4prizes lets you place bids for prizes that are up for grabs, with the twist that the lowest unique bid is the winner. They have some pretty great prizes, including sports cars, giant plasma TVs, iPhones, vacation giveaways and up to a million in cash, with one grand prize given away daily. They have a paid, ad-free membership that allows you to bid from your cell via text messaging, but they also have a free membership that lets you bid on the web site in exchange for putting up with ads. I'd think if you have a cell plan that makes you pay for text messaging, the latter would be preferable anyway.

Best Little Townhouse In Texas

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When I told Matt I've never drank Shiner Bock beer, he decided that needed to be corrected, so this weekend he picked us up a twelve-pack. Last night we cracked it open, and as we sipped our beer we tried to recount all of the movies we've watched recently that were either set or filmed in Austin, Texas. A Scanner Darkly and Sin City were the first to come to mind, and, of course, Grindhouse, which if I recall correctly actually featured an appearance by the beer in question.

Matt and I have never been to Austin, but we both want to go there. We actually considered attending this years SxSW festival, but those tickets are still too rich for our blood. One way or another, though, I'm sure we'll make it down there before too much longer, where we can see if it's as comfortable and laid back a city as we expect it to be. We've even discussed the possibility of moving there eventually, if it feels like a good fit. From what I can tell, it's got the hip, urban feel we crave, it's a good place to be a creative type, and it's only a day's drive to get from there back home to our extended families. I could even see us settling into one of these awesome Austin Condos in a few years, especially if kids never enter the picture. As much as we'd both like to eventually own a house, I could also totally be happy with a condo, what with the whole "no yard work" factor.

It's probably jumping the gun a bit to start planning our future life in Austin, but even so, it's definitely on our domestic "must visit" list. As for moving it to our "been there" list, just give us another year or two.

Phone Envy

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My husband and I are still, overall, pretty happy with the free cell phones we picked to go with the new plan we signed up for last year. They're not the sleekest phones on the block, but they do everything we need them to, and we've had too much fun with the built in cameras. Still, that doesn't stop us from the occasional bout of cell phone envy. This free BlackBerry Pearl, for one, really makes me want to consider canceling our current T-Mobile account and signing up for a new contract. Hmm. I wonder, if we do some shopping around, if we could negotiate a couple of BlackBerries into our current plan? Might be worth checking out, especially since we recently realized that the phone numbers they gave us are routed outside of our actual calling area and are long-distance from the landlines of pretty much everybody we know. Not cool, T-Mobile. Not cool at all.

T-Mobile's free BlackBerry offer isn't the only hot free phone offer going. Motorola's giving away a RAZr with their plans, and from Cingular you can get a free Sony Ericsson Walkman phone. This one has both a camera AND an MP3 player, as well as a built-in radio, all of which definitely ignites my phone envy. It even comes with an eMusic coupon good for 50 songs, AND the phone can double as a modem for your laptop. Want! The RAZr's not bad either, with its Verison VCast package which would be a nice compromise to my pesky "no high-speed internet at home" problem and let me catch up on my favorite TV shows. Sure, the picture is wee, but better a wee Battlestar Galactica than NO Battlestar Galactica.

Yes, I definitely think it might be time to rethink our current plan (I'm pretty sure we didn't sign a contract, so it's doable) and check out other options.

Outpatient brain surgery. Yes, really.

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Every now and then I come across an opportunity to write a sponsored post for a product or information site that carries personal meaning for me. This is one of those opportunities. As many of you who've been longtime readers of this blog know, I married a cancer survivor. Even though my husband had bone cancer that started in his leg, eventually it spread to his brain, and the treatments he underwent were invasive, traumatic, and they took a huge toll on his body. They worked--he's been in remission for over ten years, and was actually cancer-free when I met him--but even after all this time we're still dealing with aftereffects. That's why I'm happy to point you to this site about a relatively unknown brain tumor treatment that is both non-invasive and limits the amount of radiation exposure on the body. The Gamma Knife is a form of radiosurgery that targets intense radiation right at the tumor, without exposing the rest of the body, and can remove brain tumors without any cutting or drilling. This method didn't exist when my husband could have used it, but if you or someone you know is facing treatment for a brain tumor, I would urge you to gather as much information as you can on this form of treatment and discuss it with your doctors.

Is there such a thing as Shopper's Elbow?

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On the list of doctors I need to get myself around to seeing, I should probably add some some sort of joint pain specialist for my elbow. I don't know what I've done to it, but it's been hurting pretty steadily for about a month now. I'd suspect tennis elbow, except that I've never played tennis in my life, other than hitting balls around with my older sister one summer when I was about fourteen, and I kind of doubt this is a delayed injury from that. I do reckon, though, that it's some kind of strain or workout related injury, which I seem ever so much more prone to since I've gotten older. According to Gustafson Ortho's patient education page, it looks like the best thing I can do is just keep using it and keep building up strength in and around my joint. And maybe take some more painkillers in the meantime.

Useful stuff: Dentist locator

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Prior to seven months ago, I hadn't been to a dentist since I was in my teens. That many years without professional cleaning left me with some stains on my teeth that simply wouldn't do for my wedding, so I finally broke down and found myself a dentist. I had pretty simple criteria--they had to be near my workplace so that I could get it done on my lunch hour. I lucked out and spotted a dentist's office right around the corner, and I've been pretty happy with them. The technician is an extremely sweet and personable lady, and she not only got rid of my stains and gave me a bright smile worthy of wedding pictures, but she also walked me through all of my teeth whitening options, and what their procedure entailed. She did it without any sales pressure, too, and ultimately we agreed that over-the-counter methods work for me for now, but if I ever decide to go the professional route in the future, at least now I know what to expect.

It's not always so easy to find the right dentist. If I had known about this dentist directory, I probably could have found my dentist without even having to leave my office. As it was, all I had on mine once I spotted his sign was a name, and I still had to track down his contact information. EveryDentist.com would have simpled things up so much.

Have you voted yet?

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It's time for the first annual Blogger's Choice Awards! PayPerPost is sponsoring these blog awards, in which bloggers get to vote for the best among them (and nominate themselves to gain a little publicity, while they're at it). Awards will be given out in categories, which include fun titles such as "Hottest Mommy Blogger," "Hottest Daddy Blogger," and "Most Obnoxious Blogger," as well as standards such as "Best Business Blogger," "Best Entertainment Blogger" and "Best Celebrity Blogger," in which it pains me to see that Ross the Intern and Rosie O'Donnell are beating out both Neil Gaiman and Wil Wheaton for the top spot. That's just wrong, people.

Also sorely lacking is some Whedonverse love, which I just corrected by nominating Whedonesque, JaneEspenson.com, and Nathan Fillion's Myspace blog. If you want to tip the scales in their favor, then head on over to sign up and vote. You have to register with the awards site to cast your vote(s), but you do NOT have to be a registered PayPerPost member. Can you think of any blogs that deserve to win? You can also sign up to nominate your favorites. Heck, while you're at it nominate yourself! There's plenty of bloggy love to go around.

Winners will be announced at the first annual PayPerPost PostieCon, June 2nd in Orlando, Florida. You have until midnight on May 22nd to make your nominations and cast your votes.

(And yes, you can vote more than once.)

The lowdown on Debt Consolidation Lowdown

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Debt Consolidation Lowdown - Debt consolidation can be a shortcut to financial freedom, but if not handled properly it can easily become just another chain around your neck. There are a lot of so-called "debt counselors" out there who aren't much more than glorified loan sharks who prey upon the desperate. That's why I was a little wary when first checking out this loan consolidation blog. Diving right into the archives only served to deepen my suspicion: there's nothing to identify the blogger (or bloggers), and posts were as narrowly focused as the title of the blog and contained contradictory information. Two identical posts about the perils of debt consolidation were followed up a week later with a post declaring consolidation to be the best way to tackle your debt. I smelled a front, and expected all of the links to take me straight to the web site of one of the aforementioned debt counselor-sharks, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that the links led to independent articles containing useful information. Scanning the rest of the blog, it's easy to see that the anonymous blogger(s) just needed a while to gain their stride. Current posts are informative and well-written, and the blog's scope has expanded beyond consolidation topics to include all kinds of financial matters. It's proven to be a good resource that I'll most likely be adding to the blogroll over at my own finance blog.

Sunglasses killer to sunglasses seller?

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If you're paying attention, then you already know that I'm a fan of inexpensive replicas of designer sunglasses, what with my penchant for getting sunglasses lost or broken. I love sunglasses, period, and it's great to get that fashionista look without having to invest a lot of money in something that probably won't last me very long. I'm sure a lot of people feel the same way, enough so to make selling them a fairly lucrative business venture. Wholesale Sunglasses are now easier than ever to come by, thanks to CTSWholesalers, who just launched a new web site devoted to hooking up entrepreneurs with all of the supplies needed to launch just such a business. Below is a press release detailing what they're all about, with contact info for anyone interested in pursuing such an endeavor:

CTSWholesalers Launch Website for Wholesale Sunglass Buyers

CTS Wholesale Sunglasses today launched a web site dedicated to helping sunglass retailers who sell designer replica sunglasses.

CTS Wholesale Sunglasses today announced the launch of their new site at online sunglass store for selling at high traffic areas.

The retail sunglass industry has high operating margins and the dealers can make a nice profit buying the sunglasses in wholesale and then selling these at retail counters or stalls in malls and fairs. "Sunglasses that typically cost $15 a dozen can be easily sold for about $8 per pair, earning a very high profit per sale," reported Kirk Bachelder while announcing the site.

Our sunglasses do not carry any brand names and are 100% safe for the dealers to sell
The site contains information about a large variety of replica sunglass designs that are inspired by leading brands. "We do not sell fake sunglasses and do not recommend that the retailers sell them", cautioned Kirk. "Our sunglasses do not carry any brand names and are 100% safe for the dealers to sell," he added.

The site will also carry special offers like a starter pack with an assorted collection of 36 pairs of latest and popular designs and a rack to hold 24 pairs, at a low $99. A newbie retailer can test the waters and explore the market with this low investment package before jumping in with larger stocks.

The helpful customer service and blazing fast shipping ensures that the dealers get their shipments before the time most of the other wholesalers have even dispatched the goods.

The retail sunglass industry is very popular with entrepreneurs because of the high margins. People prefer to buy cheap 'compare to' or replica sunglasses that look like the eyewear from the leading brands but cost much lesser. They do not feel the pinch if these sunglasses are lost or broken. They can also try different looks easily to match the season and the mood.

About CTS Wholesalers:
CTS Wholesalers offers tips and guidance to the sunglass retailers about the best ways to maximize the profits in marketing their wares at the malls, stores, exhibitions and flea markets. Visit the site at www.CTSwholesalers.com.

Contact Information:
Kirk Bachelder - Member
CTS Wholesalers
3525 Brady Ct. N.E.
Salem, OR 97303

Phone: 503.364.3486
Fax: 503.589.4121

Of course, if you're just looking to shop for sunglasses instead of selling them, they have a ton of cute styles available at their online wholesale sunglasses shop, for prices even a sunglasses killer like me would be happy to pay. Right now I've got my eye on these faux Versace sunglasses for $28.00, if I can only decide between the pink or the brown.