Word of the Year Box

I just received my word of the year box for 2012 from the Queen of Arts and it is wonderful! For those of you who don't have one yet, you can get yours here. They are inexpensive enough that everyone can afford one.




PS Mine came with a special gift, and in gratitude I'm sending a special shout-out to The Queen--thank you Kim!


~Photo by Me, and this was the best I could do (imperfectly). Wish I could do justice to this pretty little box, but alas! the glare :(

Okay, Some More Household News

So this crew from One Hour Heating and Air-Conditioning is working with their sister company, Mr. Sparky to put in a furnace, air-conditioning system, and generator in our house. I've written about it here. There are some unusual things about this company that I wanted to blog about.

First of all, they don't charge by the hour, but by the job. And they break it down into parts so that you can choose what services you want just like a menu at a restaurant, based on how much you want and what you can afford. They have to come on time, or you get the job for free. And they must wear shoe booties in your house. My clean hardwood floors like that and so do I. They are very clean--they clean up after themselves and leave no damage or dirt behind. They must be professional and treat you with respect at all times--if they even swear you get either the job for free or several hundred dollars off. They're kind of quiet too...I mean, for contractor-type people doing repairs.

I like them.

They both have franchises all over, so if you're looking for someone good, check these companies out. Check out their rating with the Better Business Bureau too, as they are rated very highly here.

Alegria Shoes Nurture My Feet

Alegria Shoes have recently come into my life and changed it greatly. As many of you know, I have significant foot pain all the time. I bought my first pair of Alegria's a few weeks ago, and you wouldn't believe how comfortable they are. They have minimized my foot pain so that I can walk much farther. Plus, having to wear mostly orthopedic shoes, it's so nice to have shoes that are so pretty for a change--they call it "color therapy". For many years I've not been able to wear regular shoes and have settled for nice Dansko's that are too narrow and too tight (because my orthotics took up so much room). My Alegria's go with a lot and are practical, yet they are not plain and boring. Now that I know how great they are, I plan to venture out with future pairs into some of the more fun patterns.

I know that both Lori-Lyn (who likes Dansko's and is right now walking all over England) and Kelly Kikipotamus (who I likes Naots and others and is good to her feet) both like to wear sort of funky shoes like me, so I know you two will appreciate these especially. But everyone else too--consider them--this is a different kind of shoe company!

Alegria Shoes is a fairly new company that has had great success especially in the medical market (with doctors and nurses who are on their feet a lot) and--can you believe this--their average customer owns 8 to 11 pairs! I have 3 4 5 pairs so far. I had to force myself to be honest. Thank goodness LoveHubbie never reads my blog :) But what kind of shoe company has average customers owning so many shoes?

Alegria Shoes are mostly nicer shoes that you can comfortably walk in plus wear to almost anything nice. I wouldn't recommend them for hiking or activities like tennis or anything you'd do that was extremely aerobic or on uneven ground. They are great for office work, long walks in the city, long walks in the country that isn't hiking, formal occasions (at least I would wear them with a gown), and just around the house.

Alegrias accommodate a wide foot and are sized a bit large. They are roomy so that you can wiggle your toes in them. They are pretty expensive ($59.99 on sale to $100+ retail---but who pays that?), but a screaming deal for what you're getting. Good shoes aren't cheap. Their footbed molds to your foot, but can be removed and then does accommodate orthotics. They are quality through and through, every little detail.

You can get them from many places online, including Alegria Shoe Shop--they are currently having a sale on many closeouts for $59. There is a list of several online retailers here at their main web site under "Preferred Partners".  I always shop around. Order two pairs first if you're not sure what size you are, and return the one that doesn't fit (this is what I did as most online retailers offer free shipping and free returns). I am a 9.5W and fit a European 40 perfectly. I tried both a 39 and a 40 to be sure to get the correct size. Alegria's are also on ebay, but I have found the best deals at other places. You have to buy them new, because the footbed molds to your foot.

Here are some Alegria pictures (these are the shoes I have):

I adore my Alegria's!

Flip Videocamera On Sale At Amazon

The little Flip videocamera is on sale right now at Amazon for just over $100. The big one (one hour of recording time) is on sale for just a little more. If you know nothing about videorecording but want to make your own vlogs, what a terrific gift! It is super easy to use. Really.

Nice Gift Idea for Moleskine Lovers

Can someone please tell me how to pronounce "Moleskine"? Is it "sk-eye-n" or "sk-ee-n"? Thanks in advance!

Here is a great gift made by Leslie Herger of Comfortable Shoes Studio---a pen slip. This video is 2:32 long:



UPDATE: See Leslie's post here where she describes what she actually did---far more than painting---she carved the leather! And much more...Amazing!

Today I Got Two New Toys

Well, today was a red letter day. In preparation for NaNoWriMo (in which you write every day to complete a novel in a month) in November I ordered an Alphasmart Neo. I am unable to use laptop computers (the keyboards give me carpal tunnel) and the Alphasmart has a full size keyboard, which means I can write remotely. At last! Type remotely, that is...as in type quickly and do word counts, upload and download to a computer. In coffeeshops...outside...anywhere! Those of you with laptops may take this for granted, but I'm new to this so it opens a whole new world up to me.

The Neo is a sturdy word processor for people who want to do volume writing without a lot of editing; you're really supposed to do that on a regular computer where you can see the whole screen. It does autosaves of every word, is light like a calculator, and goes 700 hours on 3 AA batteries! If you purposely do not want to edit your writing and just produce---quickly and easily---and you don't want to spend a lot of money, the Neo is something you might enjoy.

I found out about it by reading Chris Baty's "No Plot? No Problem!: A Low-Stress, High-Velocity Guide to Writing a Novel in 30 Days" a book I highly recommend for NaNoWriMo participants.

I made a deal with LoveHubbie that if I complete NaNoWriMo, he'll pay for the Neo, but if I fail to complete it, I'll have to pay for the Neo. More support for me in actually doing this :) I love this deal.

Then..then...Amazon sent me an email offering me a free...as in totally FREE...Flip Camcorder in order to do video reviews for them. I thought it was a joke at first. At last those 1433 reviews (as of today) I've done on Amazon are starting to pay off :) I'm intrigued by all of the creative possibilities of doing video reviews.

Reviewing books, kitchen appliances, music, tea, movies, electronic items, bedding, and pretty much everything else I've ever bought on Amazon or elsewhere is my #3 hobby, behind reading and walking. So I'm so thrilled to have this opportunity. I've never had a video recorder or camcorder before, so it's pretty, pretty cool.



~Pictures by LoveHubbie Mark from Lahaina, Maui

Do You Love Screaming Deals?

Are you a bargain hunter? I am.

If you are, too, here are some resources to help:
1) Jungle Crazy: lists the best Amazon deals at 70% to 99% off, all in one place. This tip was found today by Paul Michael on Wise Bread.
2) Bizrate: enter the name of an item and compare prices from stores all over the Internet.
3) Air Fare Watchdog: has incredibly low air fares, many for last-minute travel.
4) Site 59: all last-minute air fares only, great for emergency flying situations.
5) Nordstrom Sale: cick on "Sale" and then on "Save 70 Percent" for Nordstrom deals.
6) Amazon.com: did you know that you can buy groceries at Amazon? Especially if you buy non-perishable goods in bulk, like tea for instance---you can save SO much money---even over 70%. Go there and enter in the name of anything at all---your favorite tea, tool, cleaning supply or beauty product, or even shoes (if you know for sure what size you wear in that brand). You'll save money, and usually have free shipping if your item is over $25. If you don't live in Washington state, you won't pay any sales tax, either. Save, save, save.

Have fun shopping!

~Picture by Brother Rick

Handmade Journals---An Affordable Luxury

Over the past couple of years, I've had several journals made by hand by Leslie Herger of Comfortable Shoes Studio in Massachusetts. I've never met or spoken to Leslie, but it is very easy to work with her over the Internet, doing everything from selecting the weight and color of the paper to the softness and color of leather for the journal. Doing this is a fun and affordable luxury, one that keeps giving me pleasure on a daily basis as I record my thoughts, hopes, and dreams. I love her journals.

I have a main journal that I worked extensively with Leslie in creating, plus an art journal that I bought from ebay that she'd already made up. (She also sells journals that she's already created, if you'd rather work that way.) Leslie's main site is here, and her bookbinding blog is here, but you can find her here on ebay, plus here on etsy. My gorgeous journal is described here. Look at one of here latest creations here.

~Picture by Leslie Herger