It’s almost that time of year for me…time to order new checks! We rarely use checks, so I only order a small box each time, but they’re still a necessary evil. Several of the small businesses I frequent around town don’t accept debit or credit cards, and I rarely carry cash. The school always wants payment in the form of a check for field trips and other things, and the piano teacher always wants cash or a check as well. We’ve been ordering checks through our credit union, which is convenient, since they deduct the payment right from my bank account…but they’re not very cheap.

VistaPrint is now offering discount checks at their website, and if the quality is anything like the business cards I ordered a few months ago, I know I’ll be impressed. Our credit union also offers ONE design, and as you can imagine, after using that design for the past two years - I’m sick of it! You can select from several different designs at VistaPrint, and even make suggestions to their team on new designs you’d like to see! Right now you can get 25 free checks with your order, just use this VistaPrint coupon code when you check out: BlogFreeChecks08

Promotional items are always a fun way to promote your business. My sister recently gave us some Devil Rays (St. Petersburg baseball team) SWAG she scored from a business contact, and we’ve been enjoying our loot. Last night I grabbed a plastic beer mug out of the freezer (the kind with water inside) and noticed that it had the Devil Rays logo on one side, and the logo of a local tire company on the other. My son has been using his Devil Rays baseball mitt at his baseball team practices. My husband wears his free Devil Rays hat when he mows the yard! It’s really neat that the Rays have been able to use items that tie into their business (hats, beer mugs, and mitts) so well.

Even if you’re not running a baseball team, trade show novelties can provide you with a way to promote your product, or get people to remember you. When I attended Blog Expo in Las Vegas, I got tons of freebies (can koozies, pins, pens, magnets) imprinted with website URL’s. I also got tons of business cards with website URL’s. Guess which URL’s I checked out first? The megaphone, hand clappers, shot glasses would be GREAT promo ideas for the next trade show I attend - hint hint! Gimmees.com has a ton of fun items like that, so you’re bound to find something that fits with your business.

A long time ago, in a far away land (well, far away from Florida, anyway!) a boy geek named Jerry was in love with a girl geek named Katie. The couple met as students at the University of Illinois, and it was true love from day one. Jerry heard about the “Will You Marry Me” contest that 1-800-Flowers.com was running and thought it would be the perfect way to ask the big question. Jerry created a special Valentine’s video for his geeky sweetie, and he won! Not only did he get the girl, but the happy couple will be enjoying a wedding and honeymoon at Sandals, a free engagement ring from Blue Nile, airfare from American Airlines, and a years worth of flowers from 1-800-Flowers.com! Check out the video and wish the couple well…

We can’t all be big winners in the game of life like Jerry, but you can snag a $10 off deal right now from 1-800-Flowers.com - consider it a consolation prize! Just enter coupon code YOUT when you check out at 1-800-Flowers.com!

I’m a voracious reader, and thanks to a few blog reviews I’ve done lately, I’ve been gifted with Amazon gift certificates. In exchange for reading a new book, I get a copy of said new book, and $20 to spend on whatever I want at Amazon.com - how can you beat that?

The neat thing about Amazon is that it isn’t just books. Where else on the web can you buy books, clothes, toys, linens, or electronics? A department store website perhaps, but you’ll find a limited selection, as compared to the thousands and thousands of items available at Amazon.com. Just this past Christmas, I used the site to find Cadbury’s Drinking Chocolate, which is typically only available in the U.K., for my 10 year old daughter. (She’s got expensive taste!) I also located a few hard to find Webkins for each of my children. I was able to do quite a bit of shopping at Amazon and had the ease of checking out just once.

Oh, and the book I bought this time was called Escape. It’s the story of a woman who escaped from a large polygamist group in Arizona, with her EIGHT children in tow. That prompted a long court battle in which she probably needed to consult not only a child support attorney (her husband ended up paying nothing!), but an appeals attorney when her first attorney agreed to a crappy visitation agreement! (The children were all hers, so no adoption attorney was required.)

Ah, the power of the internet. For you outdoor enthusiasts, when the weather isn’t nice enough to play outside, you can use the internet to plan for your next hiking of camping trip. Locate a campground online, or map out a new hiking trail. Shop for a sleeping bag, or even hiking boots! With a few clicks of the mouse you’ll find a huge variety of hiking books and hunting boots that you’d normally have to visit 3 or 4 stores to see. Instead of just picking your favorite pair of shoes from the few pairs offered at your local sporting goods store, you can have your pick from brands like Converse, Dickies, and Wolverine. Not to mention, you stay warm and dry!

Speaking of Christmas spending - if you’ve been whipping out your credit card without thinking about how you’re going to pay for it all, January might be a rude awakening for you. A lot of people go into debt each Christmas, and those people will need to know about credit card relief when the new year arrives. If you need advice on managing your debt, TheCreditExchange.com can offer you information on a variety of debt consolidation services and programs. The site isn’t a debt management company, but they do offer debt referral services. It’s an easy way to find out more without being hounded by one company or another.

TheCreditExchange.com screens and reviews all of the companies listed on their site, to ensure that you don’t end up being scammed or mislead by someone. Their referral service doesn’t cost a thing, either!

I’m amazed by the number of people who haven’t finished Christmas shopping yet. I had to run into the store earlier this weekend for something (not a gift!) and the lines were unbelievable. What’s even more amazing to me is that I’m still getting emails from various online retailers offering next day shipping, and guaranteeing that gifts will be here in time for December 25th. They’re really catering to procrastinators!

I know the day after Thanksgiving is called Black Friday because it’s traditionally the day when retailers begin to show a profit for the year. However, I’d love to see some figures on how much profit is turned THIS week, the week before Christmas, as opposed to the weeks following Thanksgiving. How much do the last minute shoppers spend? Does it turn into pure desperation, being willing to pay any price for the gifts your children asked for?

With being able to shop online, I don’t get this whole waiting til the last minute thing.

What geeky gifts are under your tree? I didn’t ask for much in the way of new technology this year. I don’t want an iPhone, I’m fine with our Playstation 2, and I already have an iPod. I would like a docking station for my iPod, but I didn’t put it on my list for Santa. Hmm…come to think of it, I didn’t ask for anything electric for Christmas this year. Do I need to turn in my membership to the girl geek club? There just comes a point where you’re content with the toys you already have…

I would like to ask Santa to return my pagerank…is that possible?

We’ve got a bit of construction going on in my office, and a lot of cubicles were shifted around. I’m not too happy with my new spot in the office, but I can’t complain, considering I’m there so little. At least it’s a new view, right? I’m not staring at the back of the same heads anymore. I didn’t have that much to pack up for my move. I don’t keep a lot at my desk. Other people had boxes and boxes of personal things - picture frames, lamps for their desks, and even area rugs!

Ok, ok, those were the folks in the private offices - area rugs are too big for our cubicles. But several people in the offices have them. One VP has a couch, an area rug, and a cappuccino machine! He’s made his office into a home away from home with personal touches, which include pictures of his family and art he selected. If you’ve got a space of your own at the office, rugs are a great way to make the space your own, especially if you can’t paint the walls.

And if you’ve got a home office, you can do anything you darn well please. My home office has a couch, a TV (I’m watching Will and Grace now!) and a huge desk with all of my favorite books on it.

Once again, my son came up with a massive Christmas list this year. One of the items he WON’T be getting is an iPod. For some reason I just don’t think my 8 year old needs one. Go figure! I’m the meanest mom ever, right? If he really wants to, he can borrow mine. With plenty of supervision! If you are buying an iPod for your child though, be sure to give them the tools to protect your investment. An ipod case makes a great stocking stuffer when you’re giving an iPod for Christmas. Or, if you don’t want to mess with a traditional bulky case, consider the invisibleSHIELD, which is a clear film designed to protect the screens of iPods and phones from scratches. The film is so tough, it’s virtually scratch proof, but it’s thin enough that it won’t hinder the use if your iPod or phone. You’ll still be able to view videos, use the touch screen, and do all of the other tasks you normally process on your iPod or phone. It’s virtually invisible…but offers complete protection.

Here’s the neat part - if you can’t find an invisibleSHIELD that fits your device, the company will custom cut one just for you!

For the 1st time in years, my oldest daughter won’t be getting everything on her Christmas list. She typically asks for clothes, books, new pajamas - all easy on the wallet items. This year, she added an especially high ticket item to her list for Santa Claus:

A laptop of my own, for my bedroom.

I broke the news to her as soon as I received the list that not only would Santa NOT be bringing her a new laptop, but if he did, she wouldn’t be taking the internet into her bedroom for added privacy.

At any rate, I know there are some of you out there who do need to buy such items this year, and you should never, ever, EVER pay full price. Why bother, when you can find all sorts of good sales and coupons at this time of year? Why just 2 years ago we Santa got our kids a new laptop plus a printer / scanner combo for around $400. If you don’t want to head out into the hustle and bustle of the mall, you can shop right from home. CouponJelly.com in particular is a new site hoping to earn your business this year by adding new coupons, discounts, and deals daily. You’ll find offers like this Dell Coupon and codes to get free shipping at stores across the internet. And of course, the site is completely free to use, because you shouldn’t ever have to pay to find the best deals online and off! The site also offers a blog and forums, where users can share up to the minute information on the great offers they’ve found. Because really, what good is a great deal if you can’t brag a bit about it?

Isn’t it amazing what the internet has done for all of us? It’s given people like me a way to meet new friends, be entertained, solve problems, and spend money - all from the comfort of my own home. When I think about how just a mere 10 years ago, I was forced to leave my home to order Christmas cards, or go out to playdates for us to meet new people - well gosh, I’m sure glad the good ole’ World Wide Web is here.

And the internet has also given a lot of us the platform to talk about the things we love the most, be it family, technology, or even shopping. I always longed for a place where I could talk to people about the great deals I found on the endcaps at Target, or how I got up at 5am one year to go shopping on Black Friday. Or how about just a place to find out about great products and shopping you didn’t know about previously? ShoppingAddicted.com is just the place - a place where you can read just a few entries and be inspired by the gift ideas presented, or learn why the PS3 is different from the PS2. The site features reviews on both products AND websites, and even where to find the best prices on featured products.

This shopping addict gives it 2 thumbs up!

Our neighbors have started putting up their holiday light displays, and some are pretty amazing. We’ve got one neighbor who is a little OCD about his lights, and everything is even, symmetrical, and laid out with a careful plan. We’ve got another neighbor who has 3 lit trees in his yard that are hooked up to music, and the lights on the trees go off and on and change color with the beat of the music. It’s pretty amazing! Our own light situation isn’t so great - in fact, out lights are painfully sad. They’ve fallen down off the roof twice already due to the rain and storms, and I’m sure we’ve broken a few bulbs. I’m ready to toss them all and start off fresh with the new LED holiday lights I’ve seen in the stores. They last longer, use less electricity, and they don’t get hot, so the house won’t burn down. LED lights are encased in a special expoxy plastic bulb that’s virtually indestructible, which is just what we need with the weather we’ve been having.

Until we get our lights hooked up (again), I’ll just enjoy everyone else’s. I’m definitely getting a lot of great ideas on how to take our holiday display to the next level.

I ordered business cards from Visit Print for the blog conference I’ll be at next week, and they came out fabulous. I didn’t think about it at the time, but I could have done more than just a business card. How about custom pens featuring my URL? or, your URL, if you’re footing the bill. I do love a free pen, and it makes it handy for remembering a website. Vista Print has great prices, as I found when I ordered my business cards, but I did come across a few deals you may be interested in for offline blog and website promotion:

Use coupon code “FreePen07” and you’ll receive one free custom promotional pen that you can customize, just pay shipping and handling. This is a great way to try before you buy!

Or, how about making a custom wall calender for your visitors? If you got really creative with the pictures, this would be a great contest prize. I know my friend Mr. Fab would be able to really run with the idea. If you’d like a free calendar, use code “FreeCalendar07” - again, you just pay shipping and handling.

Perhaps you want to send holiday cards to a few select people? Use coupon code “FreeHoliday” to receive 10 free custom holiday cards .

Sweet deals!

As you all know, I’ve been running a few contests here and there on my blogs. I’ve been buying prizes at the local big box chain in town, but I’m sure I’ve been over spending on things by not planning ahead. Buying at the last minute usually equals paying more money! I found a source online for discount MP3 players, as well as cell phone accessories and other discount electronics. I think you’ll definitely be seeing prizes in the future from this site. The more money I can save on prizes, the more prizes I can offer, and that’s what Michael Scott would call win-win-win!

I’m thinking my son would be most appreciative of the Sony PSP Value Pack there for just over $200. What a great Christmas gift! Or perhaps Santa will finally bring him the MP3 player he’s been begging for?

If you’re currently employed at a school, library, or even home schooling your child - listen up! www.CostCaptain.com is a Microsoft Authorized Education Reseller, and then can hook you up with authentic Microsoft software at big academic discounts. A friend of mine going to school for his MBA mentioned all of the great software he’s got access to at the university, and now I know why! They’ve got Microsoft Office 2007 from $129 (easily $180 if you buy it without the discount), and the Vista upgrade for $89. It’s a great deal for teachers, students, and even research labs.

When the holidays roll around each year, I have no trouble finding things to buy for my husband, or the kids. They’re easy! New clothes, new toys, a family vacation…

The grandparents, on the other hand, are a completely different story. Last year, I created a personalized photo calendar for each grandmother, and found a few other little odds and ends to give them. This year, I’m thinking about giving each Grandma a digital picture frame. You can’t hardly shop without seeing these things. They’re no longer just in high tech and gadget stores…even the drug stores are selling digital picture frames now! The difference between the prices and brands of course is in the ease of use. This particular frame allows you to choose from several different frame colors, so it looks less like a piece of electronic equipment, and more like part of your home’s decor. You don’t even need to hook this digital picture frame up to a computer to use it, either. Just pop your memory card into the back of the frame and upload pictures to the high resolution display.

The frame works with 7 different types of memory cards, and it plays MP3’s as well! I’d even love to have one at my desk at work. Instead of choosing just a few pictures to display, I can show off ALL my pictures and update them much quicker than what I currently have in my cube.

When we bought a new TV in 2005, it was the first my husband and I had purchased together, in all of our years together! Suffice to say, when it came to DLP versus Plasma, I was completely clueless. We spent a lot of time shuffling from store to store, looking at brands, looking at features, and listening to clerks tell us why one feature or brand was better than another. Of course, you never know if the guy at Circuit City really knows what he’s talking about, so it’s a good idea to seek out sites with electronics reviews so that you can become informed on the differences between lcd and plasma. Knowing a bit about TV’s before you buy can mean you avoid making a $2000 mistake. It would stink to spend that much, only to realize you don’t really like what you bought.

And, since HDTV is the next big thing (with all programming eventually going to high-def), this is a great time to read a few HDTV reviews and learn about how the technology works, before you purchase.

As for us, we have a DLP TV now, which involves a light bulb and hundreds of tiny mirrors. I don’t know how it works, I just know that it does!

If you were one of the suckers who plunked down $500 (or more!) for the iPhone recently, you need to protect your investment. Don’t buy your iPhone accessories and add-ons at the Apple store though…you’ve paid them enough money. PDOStore.com has the right gear to protect your iPhone (and iPod!) and you’ll save a ton of cash. They’ve got screen protectors (I don’t even have an iPhone and I want one of those!), cases, and chargers. Did you see the Belkin Sport Armband for the iPhone? That’s very cool…and it reminded me to look for something similar for my iPod. I’d love to be able to wear it on my arm while I’m walking!

Not a day goes by that I don’t pass someone on the road with one of those magnetic signs on their car advertising a business or website. I’m telling you, they work. I often find myself committing the details of the signs to memory, so that I can visit the website when I return home! Maybe I should get one with my URL? It would be great for blog traffic…of course, it would also enable the people I cut off to track me down. Regardless of whether I get one or not, if YOU need one, BuildASign.com has real estate signs, car magnets, custom banners, and even political signs. You can order online and design your own custom sign and save moolah!