Buy American

This came in an email today:

One light Bulb at a Time

A physics teacher in high school, once told the students that while one grasshopper on the railroad tracks wouldn't slow a train very much, a billion of them would. With that thought in mind, read the following, obviously written by a good American.

I was in Lowes the other day for some reason and just for the heck of it I was looking at the hose attachments. They were all made in China . The next day I was in Ace Hardware and just for the heck of it I checked the hose attachments there. They were made in USA . Start looking.

In our current economic situation, every little thing we buy or do affects someone else - even their job. Let's do this!

My grandson likes Hershey's candy. I noticed, though, that it is marked made in Mexico now. I do not buy it any more. My favorite toothpaste Colgate is made in Mexico now. I have switched to Crest. You have to read the labels on everything.

This past weekend I was at Kroger. I needed 60 W light bulbs and Bounce dryer sheets. I was in the light bulb aisle, and right next to the GE brand I normally buy was an off brand labeled, "Everyday Value. " I picked up both types of bulbs and compared the stats - they were the same except for the price.. The GE bulbs were more money than the Everyday Value brand but the thing that surprised me the most was the fact that GE was made in MEXICO and the Everyday Value brand was made in - get ready... the USA in a company in Cleveland , Ohio

So throw out the myth that you cannot find products you use every day that are made right here.

So on to another aisle - Bounce Dryer Sheets . . . yep, you guessed it, Bounce cost more money and is made in Canada . The Everyday Value brand was less money and MADE IN THE USA ! I did laundry yesterday and the dryer sheets performed just like the Bounce Free I have been using for years and at almost half the price!

My challenge to you is to start reading the labels when you shop for everyday things and see what you can find that is made in the USA - the job you save may be your own or your neighbors!

If you accept the challenge, pass this on to others in your address book so we can all start buying American, one light bulb at a time! Stop buying from overseas companies!

(We should have awakened a decade ago .. . . . . . )

. . Please help our fellow Americans keep their jobs and create more jobs here in the USA !

Keep your Slap Chop, Go Cuisinart. My review

The ads for the Slap Chop device are compelling. Slap, slap, slap...chop, chop, chop. I was intrigued. Until I read the online reviews. The majority were really negative. "Flimsy" "Hard to clean" "Doesn't cut well" "Won't do tomatoes"

Those stopped me in my tracks.

Cruising the aisles at my local Bed, Bath & Beyond yesterday I saw it on the shelf. But right next to it sat a Cuisinart brand Food Chopper. I bought two. One for me; one for my sister-in-law. I know the name Cuisinart. I know the quality of their products. I didn't have to be sold.

Plus, it was $14.99 (less my BB&B 20% coupon!) vs. the Slap Chop price of $19.99.

I got it home and used it in preparing dinner. It's great. And it cleans up well.

Don't be fooled by yet another infomercial. Get the real deal.

How to shop for electronics...camcorders, tvs etc

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2008/11/18/technology/personaltechspecial/20081118-pogue-o-matic.html .

Gotta love David Pogue... he thinks of everything. It's a little old but a good article.

Endless Love for Endless Shoes

Nordstrom's - watch out. I've found a new shoe love. www.endless.com Amazon.com sent me an email announcing their new affiliation. Put shoes in the email message and I've opened it faster than you can say Donald J Pliner.

They carry Pliner. And Anne Klein Flex. And Crocs And Kenneth Cole and BCBG and Sketchers and a few dozen other brands.

Here's the "kicker" They ship free overnight and there are free returns.

FREE SHIPPING AND FREE RETURN SHIPPING? YES. And unlike Zappos.com which is full retail prices, these are good prices with lots of sale stuff too.

SALE PRICE, FREE SHIPPING, FREE RETURNS.

Ah - I feel an Imelda Marcos moment (or month or year) coming on.

My tootsies are going to be very happy. And I don't have to spend time and gas to get my shoes on. Did I say FREE SHIPPING??????

Ped Egg for your feet- big zero

I saw one of those Ped Eggs on sale at CVS this week. For under $10 I thought I'd give it a try for in between pedicure time .

SAVE YOUR MONEY. The PedEgg does not work. The time it takes scrapes off the dead skin on your heels with this little gadget which is essentially a mini-cheese grater in a plastic egg is longer than the time spent getting a professional pedicure. And I don't even have really rough feet. And when I turned it over to try my other foot, the dead skin (yuck) came out through the holes.

Spend $1 on a course nail file. Put your foot over a waste paper basket. File. You will get the job done in a fraction of the time and it will be a far better result. Peddeggs- rotten eggs.

To shop or not to shop

It's five o'clock on Christmas. It's really quiet as everhyone is exhausted from all the tumult from the last few weeks. I just read the paper and face a huge dilemma. To shop or not to shop - that is the question. Macys is having a sale that starts at 7am with a coupon good from 7 until 1pm. Bloomingdales has sweaters on sale that would be perfect for my friend's January birthday. And Sears has a some wonderful jeans the kids wear on sale.

IF I get to the store when it opens I have a fair shot at a decent parking spot. I'm not into walking long distances at mall parking lots these days. After that poor woman and her 7-year old were murdered in Boca Raton outside Sears, there is something to be said for Valet Parking - even in the light of day.

I'm off from work all week. I could be productive and buy new sheets, some bras (buy 2 get 1 free) and pick up some holiday wrapping for next year.

Or I could sleep in and pay retail.

those little grey hairs make me nuts

I have grey hair. Only a tiny bit - in front of my ears, a few at my hairline. I color my hair myself (have been since I'm 27 to give my natural color a boost).

A few years ago I discovered these little crayons that you can color those greys. They're very oily and yucky. Then I tried the mascara type wands that you brush over the grey. A bit better....I use an eyebrow brush to blend it in.

Then, I found JUST FOR MEN, the hair color guys use to color their beards and moustaches. Not the one-application box, but the one with the two little tubes that you squirt a bit of color out and a bit of developer and blend with a little plastic spatula and apply to your greys. IT'S NOT JUST FOR MEN.....Ladies, this is THE best stuff to use in between the touch-ups at home or the salon.

Clairol makes some kind of root touch-up which is crazy because it's just one application. A box of this Just for Men is good for about ten touch ups... I guess it depends on how much you need.

Bed Bath & Beyond vs Linens & Things - no contest

The Bed Bath & Beyond and Linens n Things are on opposite corners in my town, as they are in many communities. Linens and Things makes a big show of advertised specials, but they are no competition for BB&B.

For one thing, Bed Bath always has lots of friendly and knowledgeable employees on the selling floor who when asked for the location of an item, will walk you there to make sure you find it. Just locating help in LNT is a chore.

I was in both stores today, having been given a $20 gift card for LNT I figured I'd go pick up some overpriced Braun Oral B toothbrush replacement heads. With a coupon (which you can use only two) I'd get what I needed and pick up something else to use up the card. It was a challenge finding something useful for under $10. I finally picked out a new clothes hamper for the kids.

Then I went across the street to Bed Bath & Beyond. Coupons in hand (you can use up to six and they can be expired - something LNT doesn't permit), I purchased a new vacuum cleaner. 20% off meant a $30 saving. My son got the retractable iPod ear buds he was looking for (also 20% off with coupon). My biggest delight was the new health & beauty aids section that was introduced about three months ago. I can't believe I hadn't been in the store since before it's debut! Great variety of everyday items ranging from soap and toothpaste to drugstore type cosmetics and hair color. And super low prices made even better with, yes, coupons! My L'Oreal mascara was about $5.69, less 20%. It's normally around 8 or 9 bucks at CVS or Wal-mart. My hair color was about 8.50.... I usually spend 9.99 at the drugstores. And yes, with my coupon, a bargain.

I didn't ask if they accept manufacturer's coupons too, but if so, they'd nearly be paying me to take the stuff out of the store.

I have $1.25 left on that Linens N Things gift card. I doubt I'll ever go in there again to use it.

I'm a sucker for discount codes and coupons

I love a good bargain and give me a coupon code any day of the week and I'm
on your website like white on rice.

How some of the big retailers on line can offer such measly discounts is beyond me. So I thought I'd do a little comparison shopping.

Some friends are going to Alaska and British Columbia this summer, so for their anniversary I decided I'd buy a couple of tourbooks.

I thought I'd look at the following three titles:

Frommer's Alaska 2007 List Price:$19.99
The Lonely Planet $21.99
Alaska for Dummies $19.99 (I love those "Dummies" books - always right to the point and comprehensive).

I went to Barnes and Noble's website first. I was already on the AAA website getting free (for us as members) tourbooks and I noticed that AAA members get an additional 5% discount if you go to BN.com from the AAA site. The Barnes & Noble average discount was a measly 10%. Even adding the 5% AAA discount and the free shipping, this was simply NO BARGAIN.

I went to good ol' Amazon.com next. The average discount was 30% plus free shipping for
orders over $25. And no sales tax. Good deal.

Next, I Googled "Borders." It turns out, Borders Books & Music sells through Amazon.com, however, you can get on their email list and have coupons delivered to your email box periodically. There is one for 20% right on the website. Some of the ones they send are 30% but have a short window of use - like just a specific three or four days.

I wound up ordering through Amazon.com because the party is a week away and
I know I'll have the books in time. Had I been in a crunch, I'd have used
the Borders coupon and went to the local bricks and mortar store and bought
them there (and paid the sales tax).

FYI - If you don't need the most current edition, try Half.com They are affiliated with eBay and you can get some great deals. I've bought books listed as "good" or "very good" and they looked nearly perfect.

IKEA is coming!

Sometime this summer, supposedly, IKEA is due to open in the already overly congested Sunrise area near the Sawgrass mall. I've already got my friends with SUVs targeted to take me.

I am so excited. I love IKEA. I buy their smaller stuff when visiting the in-laws up north and pack it in an extra suitcase brought just for that purpose. The kids need new desks for their rooms and I need a new table in the family room. Oh, and some meatballs for lunch.

The furniture isn't as durable as Ethan Allen or Thomasville, but it's not disposable either. If you buy it with the knowledge it's only good for five or ten years, it's worth it. Lots of goodies like throw rugs, CD organizers and laundry sorters are incredibly priced. And there is NOTHING in the world like their cool little organizing drawers and shelves. The same ones that cost three times the price at Pottery barn.

Years ago, their beds and picture frames came in European sizes so you'd have to buy special sheets and the posters from US museums wouldn't fit. I hope they've adjusted this stuff for the US market. I'm not planning on buying any beds or posters.

I happened to be crusing their website looking at the lamps. I have to buy two lamps, one for my daughter's room and one for my desk. I'm very disappointed with the selection. A number of years ago I changed almost all the light bulbs in the house to CFL (compact Fluorescents). The Ikea selection still require a lot of a halogen, which are hot and not energy efficient... neither of which are appealing to a house in Florida with kids who never remember to turn off the lights. So I think I'll just go to Target or Wal-Mart for the lamps.