When I received my 60G Video iPod for Christmas, I wondered how in the heck I was going to make the use of this gadget worth its cost price. Now I wonder why I waited so long to get an iPod. The use and fun in this tiny little box is limitless. My newest iPod thrill: my 21-day free trial to Podfitness. (more…)
The Thrill of the Hunt July 17, 2006
I walked into my aesthetician’s newly remodeled shop appropriately admiring her recent additions. “What great prints!” I said as I pointed to a three-piece mod collection of florals. “Ikea! 20 dollars,” she reported, enthusiastically. “Wow!” I responded, appreciating the thriftiness of her purchase. I continued to ooh and ah over the new paint, the nice set-up, and pointed out the new table runner over her shelving. “Target! $9.99!” her smile was brilliant with happiness as she reflected upon her shopping prowess.
I smiled to myself, thinking back on something that used to befuddle my husband in our new days of marriage. I would come home from a trip to Ross and show off my new Born shoes and announce, “Only $39.99!” He would give me a puzzled look and answer with an uncertain “hmm” or “OK.” It was clear he had no appreciation for bargain hunting. One day, after months of marriage, and months of “Only’s,” my husband looked back at me and my newly acquired designer shirt from the bargain bin and said, “You don’t have to tell me how much everything cost. It is OK for you to spend money.” He was genuinely puzzled. “Do you think I would be angry with you if you spent more?” (more…)
The Elimination Diet July 13, 2006
A couple of days ago, through the UK beauty, health, and fashion site www.handbag.com, I came across the writing of Dax Moy, a UK personal trainer. It sent me to his professional website, where I immediately fell for Moy’s hot English accent. Following my initial crush, I read up on Moy’s idea of detox program he calls his “elimination diet.” In this diet, one follows a strict regimen of fruit, vegetables, and organic meat. After a little over a week, then one can try to bring back wheat, sugar, alcohol, and caffeine products. Of course, the hope is that the unhealthy products will forever stay out–or at least will show up less often. I was particularly intrigued by Moy’s program because one can really begin to see the effects of food on one’s body during the reintroduction phase. During the past few years, I have dealt heavily with fatigue, and like all women my age I am putting on a little more weight than I’d like, but are these related? When I get a headache, is it what I ate? Or is it just a bad perfume? It can be difficult to pinpoint the aggravations that exist in one’s daily lifestyle. This diet is one way for me to stop, become conscious about my eating, and to evaluate each food’s effect on my body. I want my food to fuel me and energize me, not slow me down or send me to bed!
If you are interested in Moy’s elimination diet, you can sign up for his free ebooklet here. Beware, after you have a day or two to read over Moy’s stuff, he sends you a kick-ass email telling you to either get off his email subscription list or get your butt over to the grocery store and start eating right. I felt like I was at boot camp and Sergeant Moy was reading over my shoulder. (more…)
Get Rid Of Your Clutter July 12, 2006
Now that my closet and dresser have both been satisfactorily weeded, I am left with two large trash bags of clothing, shoes, and purses. Not to mention a half dozen miscellaneous items from the back of my closet and a boxful of books I am determined to part with to empty up some space on my bookshelves.
As far as the clothes are concerned, if I had a high-end item that I thought might be worth the time for the money, I would load it up on eBay to sell for a small profit, but I have found used clothing is difficult to sell on eBay for any worthwhile amount. When Seven Jeans are going for an average sell price of $24.99 new, why would anyone want to buy my dingy, no-name used trousers for $5.00? So, for items that would be best sold at a garage sale, yet a garage sale is nowhere on my horizon, I turn to my Freecycle group. Freecycle is an organization of people who list items that they either want to give away or are hoping to find for free. The groups are divided up by region. After cleaning out my closets, I had eleven items ready to give away–two of those items were the bags full of purses and clothing. I listed my items in the early morning and by 9:22 that night, four items had already been hauled away, and all but one remaining item was accounted for. It feels good to see my items avoid the trashcan and to know that I brought someone a little bit of a happy surprise to their day. I mean, afterall, the best shopping deal is the free deal. (more…)
Technorati Your Blog July 11, 2006
I’m looking to provide more exposure for Urbanity and apprently Technorati is one place to get it.
