New Social Etiquette: Part 2 - Emoticons

Maybe when you first saw this ;-) or this :-( little guy in one of your emails you thought, that's cute. Or maybe you asked yourself, is that appropriate to add to the end of a business email? Now quite colorful and animated, emoticons have grown more acceptable but should definitely be used with caution. For example, while the classic smiley face is ok, a kissy face is certainly not. And you may think it funny to add a wink to the end of a slightly humorous email, but be sure to leave out the emoticon sticking out its tongue since we're no longer in grade school. Also, consider the fact that the tone of email is always open to interpretation (over a voice on the phone) so forget about using angry or indifferent faces as a client or vendor may think this is how you feel towards them.

Book Your Next Vacation Using this Website.

I have a little time off in early January and was thinking about where to go for a spontaneous vacation. Los Angeles comes to mind (shopping during those great January sales) so I was looking online for Hotel Reservations. While on hotelreservations.com I clicked on the other tabs for flights, cars, vacation rentals and vacation packages and find the prices are so great, why not go to Sante Fe and stay in a spa? But then again I've never been to New Orleans and this site has a ton of hotels in the French Quarter that are such a deal that now I can't decide. Plus, if you click on the 'Vacation Rentals' tab they have a very easy-to-use map and my cursor just lead me to Bangkok, Thailand. More tempting choices and great deals - I think I'm just going to have to take a longer vacation.



this post sponsored by: hotelreservations.com

Show-off Kitchen Knives

If you’re looking to impress your foodie friends this holiday season do it a beautiful set of knives displayed on a magnetic bar. Start with just a few Global knives like: the 8” chef’s knife, 7” veggie knife and a Santoku. These look great and better yet are some of the sharpest cutting tools around. I bought my mother a single knife for mother’s day and it was the 7” vegetable knife. She loves it and as she says its’ museum quality. It makes all of her other knives look shabby. And this one is terrific for small hands because they are made to be both lightweight and ergonomic.

The First Annual Family Christmas Paintball Party

I can usually predict with a fair degree of accuracy what is going to happen at our family Christmas gathering so I've decided to mix it up a little this year. Watching uncle Joe drink too much followed by mom and grandma fighting over how to cook the holiday ham isn't my idea of a good time, so my plan is to send everyone out into the backyard for the first annual family paintball feud. We have almost an acre so there should be plenty of places to hide from the opposing teams. I'm setting everyone up with paintball masks, tactical vests, and a spyder vs2 paintball marker. The safety gear is a must when playing paintball and using a high performance paintball gun gives you better chance of hitting your target. Plus I want everyone to have fun, to diffuse all that tension and for everyone to agree that this will be a new annual family tradition.

This post is sponsored by: pntball.com

Steak Gift Boxes

There's always someone on your list that's extra hard to buy for during the holidays. For me it's always my dad. It seems like he has everything he wants and doesn't seem to want anything he doesn't have. But it's the holidays and I want to get him something nice for Christmas. I know he loves steak and usually the only option he has to purchase any is through the big chain grocery store in his town. So I was excited to run across MyButcher.com. These guys ship fresh (never frozen) USDA prime beef. I read through some of the customer reviews and decided to try it out. So this year dad is getting a box of premium Black Angus cuts (filet mignon, ribeye, etc) that I selected myself. Here's more information about ordering steaks online.

If You Want Me, I'll be in My Massage Chair

I've tried out different massage chairs in stores and at friend's houses but have never been impressed enough to get one myself, that is until I saw this one. The Human Touch HT 7450 Zero Gravity Massage Chair is the Cadillac of massage chairs. Not only can you adjust the speed and intensity of the percussion, rolling, kneading and compression techniques, but adjustments can also be made to their location for a more customized massage. The chair itself lets you adjust the headrest, backrest and footrest and it reclines so you can get into a neutral position with your legs above your heart. Plus there's a heating option for your lower back area. Did I mention this chair also does calf and foot massages?

This post is sponsored by: humantouch.com

Gas For 33 Cents a Gallon?

It's late, you've worked a long day at the gas station and the last thing you do before leaving is to change the price on the pump to $3.29 a gallon - whoops - but the decimal is in the wrong place. That's what happened at a gas station in Wisconsin. The employee went home without noticing the mistake and the word got out fast. People came from miles around, lining up for hours, filling up anything that held gas. A couple of hours and nearly 600 gallons of gas later, the owner of the station discovered the error. Needless to say he let the patrons know how disappointed he was by their dishonesty.

Seconds? No thanks, I'm full.

I know how hard it is to lose those extra pounds (I still have my holiday weight from a couple of years back) but I'm only talking about a few pounds. What if you wanted (or needed) to lose 60 pounds or more? You're probably thinking - where do I start? If you do fall into the category of obese, and are determined to lose the weight but could use a little help, you should consider a lap-band ventura. Basically, an adjustable gastric band is wrapped around the upper part of your stomach, creating a much smaller pouch, making you feel 'full' while eating less. The great part about this (compared to the more drastic gastric bypass surgery) is that it's reversible. And because the laparoscopic procedure used to attach the band is done so with only small incisions (and cameras) it is much less invasive than regular surgery. It can actually be performed on an outpatient basis.



This post is sponsored by JourneyLite

All I want for Christmas is the Metrokane Rabbit Corkscrew

Holiday shopping - is it that time of year again? After viewing newsclips of people stampeding into stores on black Friday I decided to stay at home and shop online. Besides, what can't you find on Amazon, they have everything. I just came across the Metrokane Rabbit Corkscrew with Foilcutter. It looks cool, opens any bottle in 3 seconds while promising not to leave any bits of cork behind in the wine bottle. You've probably been to a friend's house for dinner to find their archaic excuse for a wine opener either broke the cork in half or pushed it into the bottle. Hint, hint, they'd probably love this gift.