Every child deserves a great summer

For over a hundred years, every summer the Fresh Air Fund has given free summer vacations to over 1 million children from low income communities in New York City. Here's a video of testimony from one such child:




Sometimes the children enjoy a two week stay at a volunteer host family or they stay at one of the Fresh Air Fund Camps. The Fresh Air Fund is a not-for-profit organization and operates on donations. You can donate any amount online now which will go a long way toward helping meet their needs.

If you live in the New York area or close enough and would like to help raise funds you can participate in the world class NYC Half-Marathon. To participate you can register for the Fresh Air Fund half-marathon here.

Here's a sampling of the activities that these children enjoy: Playing in the backyard, laughing in the sunshine, catching fireflies, riding bicycles, learning to swim, running barefoot through the grass, gazing at the stars on moonlit nights, building sandcastles, making new friends.

Here's a less than 4 minute video giving an example of one family and a child they hosted:


Host families are usually from the suburbs or small towns. The size, ethnicity and backgrounds vary but have one thing in common - the desire to give city children a unique summer experience by opening their hearts and homes for two weeks. If you'd like to become a host for a Fresh Air Fund child click here for further details.

For more information about the Fresh Air Fund and all what they do and to find out other ways you might be able to assist click here. Every child deserves to have a fun summer vacation.

Windows 7 TuneUp Suite

Windows 7 TuneUp suite is your all-purpose tool for better PC maintenance and security. Plus, it protects your computer from system crashes, repairs and maintains your PC health, removes unneeded Internet clutter, regains valuable disk space, cleans your registry and tweak windows to perform better.

The suite contains:

Registry cleaner

Registry Defragmenter

Junk Files Cleaner

Duplicate Files Finder

Disk Space Analyzer

Smart Uninstaller

Service Manager

Startup Manager

History Cleaner

It's interesting that they have a Duplicate Files Finder because when I am going through my files and cleaning up I have to manually search for duplicate files.  Time consuming for sure.  This is an excellent suite to own. Click Windows 7 TuneUp for detailed information.

The John Hardy Jewelry Collection

Jewelry is a wonderful gift to give someone. My hubby has bought me a number of pieces over the 8 years we've been married. My tastes in jewelry are varied and depend on my mood. It also depends on the occasion. Some occasions call for simple jewelry and others call for a more fancy, elegant type of jewelry.

I've found the John Hardy Jewelry collection to be a one of a kind collection. I don't currently own any of the pieces but if I were to be given the choice, I would love to have these:

With matching cufflinks for my husband:

There are pieces for children as well.  If I had a little girl I think that these would look lovely on her:

Or this:

But since it's boys that I have these would look great on them I think:

The John Hardy collection is made by John Hardy and his wife Cynthia.  Here is a bit of background taken from the site about them:

In the 1980s Hardy fell in love with his business partner Cynthia, who became his wife and muse. Together the couple created an international luxury brand of designer jewelry.
In 1997, John and Cynthia acquired a hectare of land at the edge of some rice fields not far from their home in central Bali, for a workshop for their rapidly expanding business. The Hardys were concerned about converting food-producing land, so the design studio and workshop campus is also an organic farm, complete with livestock—cows, goats, poultry, rabbits—and fish ponds. The paths are paved with river stones and lined with tall sugar cane. Heirloom Bali rice grows in paddy fields outside the glass walls of the design center. The food grown here is used to provide the employees (over 700 people) with a healthy lunch. The buildings a low-impact structures built of natural local materials such as bamboo, thatch, adobe, and river stones.

There are many other pieces that caught my eye but thought I'd share some with you.

Giving the Gift of Choice

Ever wanted to give a gift to someone who has everything? Ever wanted to gift someone and don't know what they would like? I have a wonderful solution. I'd like to introduce you to a gift giving program that my hubby and I endorse. It's called the Ribbon Program. Many others including my hubby and I have used this program to take the headache out of gift giving on all occasions - birthdays, christmas, weddings, graduations, baby showers, just because, employee incentives, any occasion you can think of.

There are two options with this gift giving program.


Option #1 - You purchase what is known as a gift card ensemble which includes an album with the entire selection of gifts for the price you chose and a gift card and have it shipped to the person free of charge. The person then selects the gift they want from that album either using the album or online. If they choose the non-online option they mail out their selection on a postage paid card(without knowing how much you spent of course). The gift is then shipped to the person free of charge.

Option #2 - You purchase a gift card and the person goes online and makes their selection from the gift collection stated on their card. The gift is shipped to them free of charge.







That way you know that you are giving the gift of choice. No worries about whether they will like it. No worries about getting them something they already have. They choose the gift themselves. You set the price, they choose the gift. Each gift card or gift album comes attractively gift-wrapped. My hubby and I have also used it to purchase personal items. We love the FREE SHIPPING!

There are 12 Specialty Gift Collections ranging in price from $30 to $400 and 9 General Gift Collections which range in price from $30 to $1000. Examples of the Specialty Gift Collections would include jewelry, spa items, things for expectant moms, guy gear, Omaha steaks(yes food too), Gourmet Gear, Sony brand items, wedding gifts and more.

To learn more about this program go to Ribbon Gift Of Choice and click on the various links. To purchase you would have to sign up as our customer but it is FREE to sign up. That would give me a way to get in touch with you to make sure you are satisfied and to answer any questions you may have.

For more information on any particular gift collection, click on the item and you will be ushered to a page which will give further details and a link where you can view all the items within that particular collection.

The gifts are shipped FREE directly to you or the recipient. Most gifts arrive in approximately two weeks and can be delivered to addresses in the USA, including Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

A physical address and contact telephone number are required for delivery. If you do not have a physical shipping address and need to ship to a PO box all you have to do is contact Customer Support.

If for any reason you or the recipient are not satisfied with your gift selection, it may be returned within 6 months for an exchange. A replacement will be sent out as soon as the returned item is received.

This program is fabulous! I do make commissions on the sales but I only recommend items that I know will be of benefit to others. It's one of the ways I share blessings with others and bless my family also.

There is also the option of signing up to become an endorser of the program as well and this requires a fee. If you're looking for a way to make extra money throughout the year this is an option that you can look at. The possibilities with this program are only limited by your imagination! Every day people and companies are looking for gifts to give. Whether it be an employer who wants to reward his employees or a company who wants to thank their loyal customers or a wife who wants to bless her husband or a father who wants to give something to his son or his own father. Gift giving is not likely to stop anytime soon so the opportunity is there for making extra income. Click HERE to be taken to my Ribbon Gift of Choice site.

Ovation Credit Report Repair

The solution to bad credit can be found by using the services of Ovation Credit Repair. To fix credit Professional Credit Report Repair is available through Ovation. Ovation has been offering credit repair services since 2004 and has been an accredited member of the Better Business Bureau since then.  It was founded by attorneys and is managed by attorneys.  The cases are looked at by a staff attorney and you are given a personal case advisor who will work with you one on one.

In less than three minutes Ovation will help you start the process.  They offer a discount to any two persons who seek the services they offer.  Each person will have their own account but you get the advantage of a discounted price.    There are two programs to choose from. The Essentials program and the Essentials Plus.

The Essentials program offers:

• the ability to get information on your case 24 hours a day online
• the ability to cancel at anytime
• unlimited disputes to Credit Bureaus
• and more

Essentials Plus program gives you everything The Essentials program offers plus:

• recommendation letters
• letters of validation to creditors
• letters of goodwill to creditors
  

Help with credit repair is just a click away with Ovation.  Ovation offers a free consultation with a professional case analyst to look over each particular credit situation. 

31 Days to Build A Better Blog & The Problogger Community

I've recently been reading 31 Days to Build A Better Blog by Darren Rowse. He is a professional blogger and looked up, admired, sought after and quoted for tips, helps and advice on successful blogging for a number of years.

His blog is filled with post after post after post of valuable information on just about all aspects of blogging. From monetization, to handling comments, to generating traffic, to how to handle spammers, to adsense and trackbacks, social media and template suggestions. Just name it and I think Darren has blogged about it. He shares his failures and his triumphs and challenges readers to do something better with their blog.

Recently, as recently as last month Darren opened up a forum where other bloggers can collaborate, learn from each other and help each other build their blogs. I've registered to be part of the forum and so far it's been a blessing. Not long after I signed up I started a thread under the critique section asking others to critique my blog and offer suggestions. I received valuable feedback which I immediately implemented along with Erica Mueller's advice (who is also part of the community) and I like the changes. I can feel the difference.

As a bonus for becoming a member of the problogger forum I got his 31 Days to Build A Better Blog ebook at half price.  In my estimation this forum is a place to go for anyone who wants to build and grow a better blog whether as a hobby or as a business. I've seen collaboration within the forum between bloggers from all kinds of niches. Go to Problogger Community to get more information about the forum and sign up. It is worth it.

I will post some of what I'm learning from time to time but it would be better if you got your own copy of the ebook by clicking any of the name links or banners in this post.

Wedding Favors

Some time ago I was going through a box decluttering some stuff and came across some wedding favors from weddings of my friends. They instantly brought back the memories of that wonderful day and being a part of it. Wedding favors do that. 

Did you know that there are some people who go to weddings just for the wedding favors? Granted wedding favors are a wonderful memento of the special occasion but to make that your most compelling reason? I don't know. Although if I knew someone who gave out wedding favors like these...

 

...I might become one of 'them'. What's not to love? Just think about it. Wedding favors make the wedding ceremony extra special. I've been to quite a few weddings and the favors helped me remember that special day. Life is made up of memories right?

I don't have any daughters yet but there will come the day when I can help plan the wedding of my sons. No mother in law thoughts here please. It will totally be her special day but of course I'll be making suggestions.  Wedding favors can be simple or unique.  They are a heartfelt way to say thanks.  They come in all shapes, sizes, themes. I mean there are edible favors, themed favors, plantable favors, gold favors, spring favors, winter favors, porcelain favors, crystal favors, silver favors, coaster favors, personalized favors, cinderella favors - a girl can go crazy having to choose so yours truly will be there to help sort through and keep her from going crazy.

I think that's enough for now. Going back to the past and entering the future - I've travelled a life in just this post. Back to the present.

Offers.com

Many of us are looking to save time and save money. We would love to be able to have information on the latest deals and money saving offers at our fingertips without having to spend precious hours searching the web. There is a place where this information can be found. Offers.com.

What offers.com does is sort through promotions and money saving deals online and organize them by categories and stores. Offers.com has over 7500 different offers available from over 1500 stores for the budget smart person. They have travel, service, As Seen on Tv and retail store offers.

The home page is easy to navigate giving you at a glance the different sections where you can find the offers that are right for you and your pocketbook. Each section also has a drop down menu giving you information that is further tailored to what you're looking for.

What Kind of Offers are we talking about here?
Well, there are discount coupons and coupon codes. There are also Free Shipping Offers, Free trial offers, free offers and clearance offers.

What kinds of products and services can I find offers for?
There are 150 categories to choose from, ranging from Baby to Video & Computer Games. Categories like Computers & Networking, Health & Beauty, Jewlery and accessories, Kitchenware and Appliances are a sample of the 150 categories available.

What are the different stores that they have offers for?
There are over 1500 stores to choose from. Target, Walmart, Dell, Nickelodeon and Home Depot are among the many stores they carry offers for.

How do I get the offers?
There are several ways to get the offers. You can subscribe to their RSS feed, follow them on Twitter, sign up for their newsletter or become their fan on Facebook. In addition to those, there is even a Firefox add on that you can download so that you can be notified when the online store you’re browsing has promotions, coupon codes, discounts, or other special offers available on Offers.com.

What else can you tell me about offers.com?
You can sign up for your own personal My Offers Locker to get alerts and updates when offers are changed or added or for quick access to the offers you are interested in. Coupons and discounts are automatically updated for the offers you select and add to your locker. You can sort the offers you have in your locker by expiration date and you can also choose to receive them via email or have them only appear in your locker.

Michelle Obama and Toy Watch

The First Lady Michelle Obama is a well discussed topic in many circles around the world. Many admire her fashion sense and seek to emulate her example. She is a history maker being the first African American First Lady. It is well known that the general trend with all public figures is that whatever they are seen wearing, eating or drinking will most likely be a fashion hit.

First Lady Michelle Obama was seen on The Tonight Show wearing J. Crew and from what I read it sparked a shopping frenzy at their stores. Based on the trend that the majority likes to emulate public figures, the toy watch that First Lady Michelle Obama was seen wearing recently while out and about is most likely going to be a fashion hit this fall and Christmas.

The First Lady's fashion choices according to NBC in their article are wildly popular, wearable and exciting(article entitled - We're Loving: Michelle Obama's Toywatch).

AOL Beauty & Style in an article entitled - Michelle Obama on Jay Leno in J. Crew - Get The Look! wrote that in response to a question by Jay Leno, the First Lady pointed out that her outfit was J. Crew and explained that she buys lots of her outfits online, because it's so convenient.

I don't make it a habit to follow celebrities and what they wear, eat or drink but from time to time I do look at an item out of curiosity. This was one of those times when my curiosity was awakened so I went and took a look at the toy watch site. Apparently the watch is made from plastic, has a large face and is light. It is a chronograph wristwatch made by an Italian designer Marco Mavilla.

The toy watch comes in a variety of colors. Colors like mother of pearl,


stainless steel white dial with white nylon strap,
hot pink,

and atomic orange

are among those that are sold. Also available are jelly face and jelly strap options in a variety of colors.


There are so many designs available that just about any style preference might be found. I saw watches with skeleton designs, tattoo designs and zebra designs to name a few. This zebra design looked good

but my favorites were the rose design,

the hibiscus design,

and the crystal design.

Computer Drivers

Do you know what Computer Drivers are? Well up until today I had a vague idea but after some research found out. Computer Drivers are the programs that control the computer. Basically each computer has its own set of commands that only the driver for it knows. If your driver is outdated then your computer will not function to its maximum.

The same goes for any other electronic device. USBs have USB Drivers. Sound cards have Sound Drivers. Windows XP has Windows XP Drivers. And so on. Driver Access has more than one million drivers in their database and offers a free download of their Driver Scan to see which drivers you may need updated.

According to their site, updating your drivers with Driver Access will not take more than 5 minutes. Now that's fast! Webcam Drivers, Video Drivers, Logitech Drivers and more are all available.

ZSecurity Anti-Virus

Virus protection is very important in this internet driven society we live. With inadequate or no computer protection, we run the risk of our computers suffering grave damage.

ZSecurity offers an anti virus software that is user friendly. Right on the site they offer the opportunity to scan your computer to check to see if it has been infected with a virus at no cost to you, in other words FREE. Also FREE on the site is the ability to scan your computer for software programs that may be outdated, updated antivirus software & a firewall to protect yourself against hackers.

ZSecurity promises to protect your computer from a number of things including trojan horses, malware, content that is not suitable for children and more. They offer a 30 day money back guarantee as well.

Tutor Vista

Do you have math students who need Calculus help? Tutorvista.com offers online tutoring for K-12 and college.

Don't know what limits, derivatives, infinite series and integrals or differential equations and definite integers are? There is no need to know it all as a parent when there is a Calculus tutor available to you.

Tutor Vista offers Precalculus help for those who need it. Whether it be Trigonometry, Polynomial Functions, Matrices, Complex Numbers, Binomial Theorem or Rational functions, Precalculus need not be frightening at all.

Free precalculus help and Free calculus help is available to set your mind at ease with Tutor Vista's free demo for first time users. Now that's great. No need to worry about whether it is going to be worth your investment. Take advantage of their free demo and see whether it meets your needs.

Satellite TV

Direct TV seems to be the way to go if one wants to be able to choose what you want to watch instead of being at the mercy of whatever may be shown by other TV companies. This Satellite TV Providers promise the channels you want at great rates.

Direct TV Satellite is available for many areas throughout the United States. To find the best rate for you and to Order Direct TV visit DIRECT SAT TV a Direct TV Dealer. At the time of this post the site has a promotion giving 5 months free upon fulfilling certain requirements.

While browsing through the site I also noticed that they have Direct TV for Business, NFL Sunday Tickets, special offers, family packages starting at under $30(at time of this post) and more.

Gold

Gold is a trading commodity that many people are looking into as a form of investment. Are you looking for information about the acquisition of gold coins and gold bullion? Visit goldcoinsgain.com for a wealth of information at your fingertips.

Whether you are experienced in this area or a total newbie, their site is a tremendous resource. Information on Gold IRA transfers and How to put gold in an IRA? as well as answers to questions like - How can I own gold in my IRA? is available.

They offer a Free Gold Guide as well as articles about gold in the news. Need to know about the history of gold coins? Scroll to the bottom of the home page and you'll find the information there. Have any of your friends mentioned about wanting to know more about gold IRA transfer? Point them to this post and the links provided.

Direct TV

Moving and need help in figuring out your options for tv viewing? Visit Mytvoptions.com for help in finding the tv provider with Direct TV that is right for you.

Whether you neeed Direct TV in California or Direct TV in New York you can find the information their site. Just type in the zip code you are looking for and the information is right there.

If you're moving to Texas you can find Direct Tv in Texas. Moving to Florida you can find Direct TV in Florida too.

Mytvoptions.com gives you rates for Directv based on what you choose as most important to you, whether sport channels, local channels, premium movie channels and more. Moving can be a very stressful time, so having the research done for you is a plus and will relieve you of one more thing on your to-do list.