Not the part about the name, because I still think they could have come up with a better choice. What I take back is the part where I stated:

I’m not sure where it would fit into my life very honestly. I have the IPhone. I have a laptop and a desktop. After digging for a place where it would be useful, I came up with the kitchen as a recipe finder/reader. Prop it up on an easel and it’s just the right size for a counter top. No more destroyed pages in my cook books from flying ingredients.

What I know I won’t use it for is reading in general. The beach and a hot bath are the two places I do the majority of my reading. I don’t see water and sand being a friend to this thing. And snuggling up in bed with 10″? just seems painful, no matter what it is.  I like my….books….a little smaller and easier to handle.

Muah, muah, muah. Kiss, kiss, kiss. I love my iPad. And I am confessing…….I have snuggled up with it’s 10″ with no pain at all. I can watch A N Y show I want, with head phones and not bother the person in bed (less than 10″ and that’s all I’m saying) next to me.  I can read in bed in the dark and again, not keep anyone else awake because a light is on in the room.

I can sit at football/baseball/wrestling practices or WHATEVER and get some light work done, read a book, watch a movie or shop online.  I can make calls from it using VoIP apps.

I ended up purchasing the iPad 2 lowest priced model (16 GB and Wifi only) in black, and for anyone else wondering which to choose, here is why I went with this choice:

I have an iPhone and have had one for about 4 years. I have never used more than 4.5 GB of space on my iPhone. The bulk (2.2 GB) being music.

Black:

• Although white is nicer looking, things displayed on your iPad just look better with black. When you are viewing a movie or a book, the white is distracting and the screen seems smaller. Add to that the fact that my jelly donut loving son will be using it, non-dirt showing black just seemed like the better choice.

16GB iPad 2:

1. I have no intention of wanting to or needing to put music on my iPad. My iPhone is  always with me in the event I want to listen to music. (0 GB)
2. Cloud based storage and apps like (free) Dropbox allow you to store things on their server. You can access these things via wifi. I have not had to even use any of these services, but they are there for the using. (0 GB)
3. A movie is about 1.5 GB. I do not travel much, but when I do I can easily put 3 or 4 movies on there as needed and that would total 4.5 to 6GB. I can easily synch and change the movie selection at any time. (Subtotal 6 GB)
4. As for games, my lil “Words with Friends” doesn’t take up much space at all. I can let my son upload some of the higher volume games (apx 200 to 500 MB each) and that would only use 1 or 2 GB total.  (Up to 8GB)
5. Apps? I have a huge amount on my iPhone and  they only take up 1 GB.  (Up to 9 GB)
6. Books take up mere KBs. Enough said. (Now at 9.05 GB)
7. The same for documents (9.07 GB)
8. Photos, again I have a huge amount on my phone and they take up less than 1 GB. (10 GB)

Grand total of space I thought I would use 10 GB, which with a 16 GB iPad, leaves me 6 very free and flexible GB’s of storage. Nothing is permanent. I can add and remove apps, games, movies, books as freely and as often as I like. I now have the iPad for 2 months and with 2 movies, two books, several apps, photos and games only have used 4.26 GBs.

Wifi:

1. I borrowed my parent’s iPad for a few days and went about my normal routine.  There wasn’t one baseball or football field I was at where I couldn’t access the internet easily via a wifi hotspot. Even in a mall, I was able to access a wifi hotspot.
2. Should I ever reach a place where I am unable to link into a wifi hotspot, I can  easily upgrade my data plan directly through my iPhone and tether via Bluetooth  for  3G capability on my iPad. I am not stuck paying for an additional data plan for the entire month. When I am done needing the 3G connection, I can downgrade my data plan (again right through my iPhone) and only pay a pro-rated  data plan rate for the day as needed. Read: data at only 65 cents a day. In the two months of owning my iPad, I have never needed to do this.
3. If you are an Optimum Wifi customer,  you can use their wifi hotspot service for free.

If I commuted to work, or traveled a lot, I could see the need for 3G ability. But my office is my house and hitting a football field daily does not constitute commuting nor traveling.  The cost of an iPad 3G adds about $140 to the base price. A data plan adds about $20 for each month you use it. Truthfully, I’d rather spend that money on countless other things.

Here’s another thing to remember. You are not buying a house here. You’re not locked into it for the next 25 years. More than likely, if you are buying the iPad (and like it), you will probably upgrade it to a newer iPad in 2 to 4 years.

Amazon has the iPad 2 (16GB, WiFi, Black) for $499. You can also save $50 buying it refurbished there.

How’d this turn into an iPad buying guide?

Off to snuggle with my iPad……

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I have lusted after these shoes for a couple of years now.  This, to me is the ultimate “I am female and working it” shoe:

Christian Louboutin: Pigalle, Size 7 1/2…….. if anyone is interested.

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Let me say that I haven’t picked up a book to read in YEARS.  I’m not proud to admit this fact, in fact it’s pretty embarrassing. Especially when you’re trying to convince your own child that he needs to read each and every night. If reading blogs, FaceBook, Twitter or my emails counted however, I’d be in stellar shape. I used to go through books like they were water. End every night with some reading time in bed, but those days are long gone now.

I came across this book through the blog world, as the author is a popular blogger on a topic that I run a community for. Out of sheer boredom during 3 and 4 hour clips of being a spectator during wrestling tournaments, I broke down and went for it. Downloaded the Kindle app on my phone and Life From Scratch by Melissa Ford.

As a blogger (which I’m assuming you are if you’re here reading this post), READ IT! It’s fast reading, incredibly entertaining and completely relatable (according to WordPress, relatable is not a word). I’ll be honest and say that when I first started reading it, I thought it was a Julie & Julia knockoff, but once you get past the first page or two, you realize it’s way better.  I polished this book off in under two wrestling events. Translation: Two afternoons.

Completely off topic is the fact that my husband is away, yet again, during a snow storm. How this man manages to time his trips with every major snow event is astounding.  I’m ready to pack it up and move this family into some nice condo where clearing a driveway resembling a double diamond ski slope is NOT my problem. 

Off to shovel. Enjoy your day.

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DealTaker.com

They have sections for store coupons, grocery coupons, travel, freebies and free shipping.  Take advantage too of their forums, where members post some deals they’ve come across. A good one to visit is the forum for one time or secret online bargains.

Have any great sites like this you’d like to share?

Let me know!

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Each year, when it comes to Holiday cards, it’s my FULL intention to pick them out, order them and send them sometime shortly after Thanksgiving. Yet for the past 3 years, I’ve sent nothing out. Why? Because I’m the last minute, in the frying pan girl. Ooops.

This year I’m really going for it. I’m ordering my holiday cards NOW  in the hopes that I will actually send these cards sometime before the year changes to 2011. 

Thing is though, we are a multi-faith family here.  I’m Jewish and my husband is Catholic. When we send out cards it’s important that it be generic in wording….or acknowledge both of the season’s holidays.  While it’s not that hard to do, it usually leads to a somewhat boring card. Season’s greetings? Yawn.

So here is what I’ve narrowed it down to as far as Hanukkah/Christmas photo cards:

For a great selection of Christmas cards, visit Shutterfly.com.  You’ll also find a great selection of generic cards and Hanukah cards too!

Now…which do I pick, because this may be the one thing that has me doing the last minute thing again. Thoughts?

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GlassesUsa.com has asked me to participate in promoting an event they are running and I did not want to say NO to this one.

If you’re not aware of this, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  (Even my husband and son are aware of this since the NFL is also acknowledging it through the addition of pink accessories  that NFL players are wearing this month.)

The promotion they are running is this:

For every pair of glasses purchased, GlassesUSA.com will donate $1 to a breast cancer organization.

Before I agreed to post this entry, I looked through their website.  By using the Virtual Mirror feature, I was able to “try on”  a bunch of eyeglasses.  Being a wearer of eyeglasses and having worked for an optometrist prior to becoming a mom, I’ve spent a good deal of time trying on frames. I was pretty surprised at how accurate the Virtual Mirror feature was.  You really CAN try on frames this way and get a realistic idea of how they will look on you!

GlassesUSA.com has also given us a coupon to pass along to you for your next purchase of eyeglasses online.  The coupon code to use is:  *CancerAwareness* and gives you %15 off your next purchase!

Their return policy states that if you are not satisfied for any reason you may return your order for a refund…..No Matter What.  And this to me is comforting to know when you are buying prescription eyeglasses on line.

You can follow along on this promotion and promotions to come by following them on Facebook.

Happy savings!

I received a small fee for making this promotion known. No other compensation has been received. This post is based on my own honest and uninfluenced opinions and experiences.

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This treat was compliments of a Nordstrom’s gift card that had been burning a hole in my pocket since Christmas.  That gift card was for $200 and not $500 so I really could not buy every single product “Adrienne” used on me.  I bought the make up and passed on the skin creams.   Chanel, I love your makeup, but I have a rough time justifying $150+ on…..creams.

I came home from that makeover feeling like a new woman. It was a huge difference from the way I had been doing it these past few years.

As for the creams? Onto Walgreens I went.  Bought Loreal’s RevitaLift AM/PM Day Duo. 

I’ll say this. It worked well. I definitely saw a difference. But this isn’t a review of the product.

It’s a complaint.

• Monday night? Tossed and turned. Chalked it up to brain overload.
• Tuesday during the day? A strange tingly feeling all morning. Sleep was slow to come, too.
• Wednesday night? Tossed and turned until around 1Am when it hit me that the only thing new in my life that could was this anti-old person cream. I was feeling like I had drank a coffee with caffeine. Caffeine? Could there possibly be caffeine in that cream I had been piling on for days now?

First thing the next morning I looked it up.

PM Formula:Water, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Glycerin, Cyclohexasiloxane, Butyrospermum Parkii (She Butter) Butter, Poly C10 30 Alkyl Acrylate, Aluminum Starch Octenylsuccinate, Sucrose Stearate, Cera Alba (Beeswax), Stearic Acid, Triethanolamine, Dimethicone, Dimethiconol, Caffeine, Sodium Citrate, Sodium Hydroxide, Sodium Polyacrylate Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil (Sunflower Seed Oil), Silica, Vigna Aconitifoliz/Vigna Aconitifolia Seed Extract, Acetyl Trifluoromethylphenyl Valylglycine, Crithmum Maritimum Extract, Oxothazolidinecarboxylic Acid, Acrylates/C10 30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Retinyl Palmitate, Methylparaben, Chlorphenesin, Propylparaben.

Yep, I’m that sensitive to caffeine. I was also entirely strung out  from having slept only 4 hours 3 nights in a row and hungover from all the caffeine.

I don’t get it though. Who is the rocket scientist that felt caffeine would be perfect for a NIGHT CREME? Seriously???!!???

I’ve moved on now. I now own the wrinkle cream that comes complete with a vibrator. Now THAT is ingenious!

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Until this week.

It’s this incident that got me to   CHILL   out and wake up the humor in me:

I bought a dress for a Bat Mitzvah I was invited to. This dress has been hanging on the back of my bedroom door for two months because I can NOT find shoes for it. People have gone through their closets for me, they’ve gone shopping for me. I have scoured every website on the planet and have found nothing. (Nothing that is because I refuse to spend $225 for a shoe I will wear once.) You have no clue what a saga this dress/shoe thing has been for me.

Today, finally a friend of a friend overheard my (ridiculous) shoe problem. SHE had the perfect shoe. Completely, totally perfect. I looked at them and just KNEW they were perfect. Brought the shoes home. Put the shoes down on the floor of my bedroom, took the dress out of the garment bag and put it on. Bent down to get the shoes and one was gone.

And this is my favorite part. The part that still makes me laugh……..

The lost shoe? It was taken by a four legged thief who chewed up the heel.  Left it rendered unwearable. Unrepairable. The day before I need to wear it. (Which is tomorrow, by the way.)

Seriously? A two month mission for shoes should have been the first clue that I needed to lighten the F up.  Who CARES what I wear to this thing?

And FYI, I’m not a crappy friend. I was able to find the same (discontinued) shoe on EBay to replace my dog’s chew toy. New in box, It’s currently on it’s way to me and headed right into the friend of a friend’s closet….. 

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I can throw a killer Hanukah party and fill the eight nights with some great family traditions and stories, but when it comes to Christmas, I really have nothing to bring to the table.

What you may or may not know is that my son is adopted. It’s a really great story and I will write about that one in January. I bring it up now though because it explains the one Christmas tradition that I started 9 Christmases ago and still follow.

Christopher Radko and The Dave Thomas Foundation issue an annual Adoption Ornament. Christopher Radko ornaments are just so beautiful to me. Old fashioned, detailed glass in the tradition of pre-war glass decorations. In fact many of his ornaments are from original pre-war molds. Somewhere along the way I’ve even picked up a Radko Dreidel ornament. With each purhcase of the Adoption ornament, 10% goes back to the Dave Thomas Foundation.

If you’re not familiar with Christophre Radko, take a few minutes and read about the company’s history.

So this, the Adoption Ornament is the one tradtion I’ve been able to contribute to my husband’s holiday. lame though it may be. Our tree will now wear 10 of these beautiful ornaments.  And it’s one that I can pass down to my son in whatever way he chooses to use it.

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For one, people are so oblivious. They park their shopping carts in the center of the aisle while they mosey along, selecting which can of soup to buy. Clueless to the fact that SOMEONE (me) is waiting for them to wake up and notice they are clogging the aisle. That no one can possibly get past them until they move their cart to one side.

For two, the flower section. Why is that men when out to buy flowers, buy those prearranged $5.99 bunches of  scraggly flowers and pass right over the way nicer, more visually appealing $10.99 bunches? Do you know the ones I am referring to?

I saw a man today pick up one of those unidentifiable bunches, sniff it and walk away with it to express checkout. And I’m thinking to myself, there’s a woman out there who is going to be acceping these and have to pretend they are the lovliest flowers she has ever received. Does anyone even own a vase that makes these mini bouquets look nice? Have you ever noticed that men are the only ones who buy this prearranged masterpiece?

Please, don’t think I am an ingrate for making fun of these flowers. Yes, the thought counts for a lot, but the only thoughts that go into this bouget are  “these flowers are dirt cheap.” and  “at least I am bringing something.” I speak from experience on this one. My husband buys this $5.99 bunch all the time for me.  I don’t have the heart to tell him they’re not very pretty. And he doesn’t read my blog, so I’m doomed to receive them eternally.  However, I’m training my son differently. If you can’t name the flowers, or the flowers have glitter sprayed on the petals……pass on them.

And finally…checking out.  A word of advice to you. If you see me standing on line? Choose another lane. Because the one I am on never goes smoothly. Today’s fiasco was the lovely older couple in front of me who had numerous coupons. Bless them for having the patience to clip, organize and actually remember to bring them. However it was the final 20 percent off coupon that was the killer. The clerk had never seen one before. (I waited for 2 minutes while she  tried to make sense of the darn thing.)  the manage on duty had never seen one before either.  (I waited 5 minutes while she took the coupon to the office for verification.)  The outcome? The lovely couple would be able to use the coupon as long as they spent over $100, and this of course meant that they had to run back to a few aisles to add about $15 in merchandise.

While I would have loved to just get in another aisle, someone had  already unloading their cart  behind me and i was pretty stuck in checkout gridlock.

I’m not domestic. I’ve written many posts that should convince you of this. I am very thankful for a husband who actually enjoys food shopping.  I’ll stick to painting rooms, rewiring routers and  installing closet organizers.

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