Monthly Archives: August 2009

Everyone’s looking for a way to earn money during this recession which really does seem to be never ending.  There’s tons of ways to earn money online from blogging to freelance writing to online surveys.  The problem is that most of these programs themselves cost money to set up or join so instead of making money, you end up spending it!

Companies really do sponsor tons of paid online surveys to gain information about their products, services and customer bases.  The trick is to find these surveys without giving your money to a website claiming to offer access to the surveys.  Check out myopinionnow.  It’s a website that is free to join and gives you access to online surveys for free — no catch!

They also don’t spam you.  I can guarantee this as I’ve been a member there for a couple of months now.  They only send you email when they have a survey available that you qualify to complete.  They will send a maximum of two links per month for surveys for you to complete.  The surveys completed give you different point amounts.  The points can be exchanged for a huge variety of prizes and cash!

Another cool thing about this site is that they do product testing sometimes.  This means that you may qualify to have free products delivered to you in exchange for filling out a questionnaire about the product after you’ve tried it!  That way you don’t even have to save up your points to qualify for free merchandise.

They have a great referral program to help you add points up more quickly.  So, let’s recap…It’s free, you can get cash, gifts and free products to try.  What’s there to loose??  It’s definitely not going to hurt anything if you want to join now.   You might just find that you’re able to get a couple more Christmas presents than you were foreseeing in your budget!  You’ll also have the satisfaction of knowing that manufacturer’s are actually hearing (and caring) what your opinions are on their products and services.  These kind of surveys are one of the few ways to bring about change to a range of industries.

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It’s truly amazing the range of products that are now working towards become more environmentally friendly.  A great example of this is these bamboo tights used for horseback riding.  That’s right, you can even get eco-friendly equestrian apparel!  They’re available in a range of colours and sizes for kids and adults.  It turns out that even horse back riders have discovered the joy of wearing bamboo.  It’s perfect for this kind of activity because of it’s natural anti-microbial properties, strength and comfort.  Bamboo fabric just gets softer and softer every time that you wash it.  I’ve got a set of sheets that feels absolutely silky after multiple washings!  It’s also great at helping regulating body temperature and wicking away moisture.  You can feel great wearing it for those reasons as well as for the sustainability of the bamboo that it is made of.  It’s biodegradable, consumes more carbon monoxide, releases more oxygen and doesn’t require the use of pesiticides or fertilizers to grow up to a foot a day or sometimes even more!  Bamboo textiles are definitely something I’d recommend to anyone.

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Online shopping has provided the ultimate competition for retailers.  You can buy nearly anything online.  I take that back, you CAN buy ANYthing online!  If you look, you can find everything from Ferrari parts to Chanel purses to computer parts to handmade bath products to gardening products and everything in between.

The great thing with all of this information and availability is that you can get things at better prices just by comparasion shopping.  Another good thing is that this has enabled many more people to tackle do it yourself projects than ever before.  The information and parts that you need to fix your Ferrari, for example, are all available online.  I can’t even begin to imagine what a mechanic would charge you to change the oil in your Ferrari.  I’m sure the price is absolutely insane, even to those who are fortunate enough to be able to own a Ferrari (and insure it! lol).  However, with the right parts being available and information galore, anyone could get the job done within an hour or so.  Over time maybe you could save enough money on your car repairs to buy a hybrid vehicle as your day to day car!

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Could there be anything greener than an organic nursing top?  Yeah, um, I don’t think so!  This is exactly what us breastfeeding moms have been looking for — a sustainably produced shirt that fits properly, looks great and keeps us covered when feeding babes in public!  These tops are designed with the post-natal, nursing mom’s body in mind.  They are larger in the bust (because the buyers are) and are wider across the hips for exactly the same reason.  They’re long enough to cover the tummy that may not be exactly back to it’s pre-baby self and they’re made of 8% spandex to ensure that they’re comfy and stretchy to boot.

The shirt is made by Momzelle and it’s available in a variety of designs, styles and colours.  They have tee-shirts, long sleeves, turtle necks, v-necks, tank tops and round crew neck tops so there is definitely something for every style and season available.  These shirts keep the tummy and back covered while providing your baby with the best nutrition available.  Even the shiest mom should feel more comfortable feeding the little one in public with this shirt on because you can’t even tell that the wearer is nursing!  It really does cover that much.

Another great thing about this company is the amount of information available on it’s site to breastfeeding Moms.  It is definitely a learned skill to breastfeed not something that just spontaneously occurs naturally unlike common thought on the issue.  It takes patience, dedication and conviction to establish a good nursing routine and any product that offers more information, beauty and support to this habit is a great one.  There is absolutely nothing better you can do for your little one than breast feed.

I again heard of this product through Organicgirl’s giveaway blog.  Her latest contest involves receiving one of these shirts as the prize.  Wish me luck!!  I’m not nursing any little ones at the moment but am currently trying to conceive again.  I’d love to try this shirt out, especially because it’s made of 92% organic cotton!

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Many ailments are linked with deficiencies in certain vitamins.  For example, depression can be aggravated by not having enough Vitamin D in your system.  That is not to say that people with depression will be completely “cured” by taking Vitamin D supplements or by spending more time in the sun.  However, they do show marked improvement when the deficiency is resolved over people who do not have additional Vitamin D in their systems when suffering from depression.

Some people believe that if you eat a healthy diet that you do not have to take any vitamin supplements at all.  However, it would be nearly impossible to eat everything required to get 100% of your recommended intake for the various vitamins that your body needs to function correctly and stay within your recommended caloric intake.  Even if you could, some conditions still require additional supplementation.  Pregnancy, for example, absolutely requires prenatal vitamins such as Folic Acid to ensure that your child does not suffer from serious and fatal birth defects.

Maintaining a health weight may just be one of those conditions that requires supplementation.  Some people, including physicians and pharmacists, recommend taking weight loss supplements to help you lose the extra weight that you may be carrying.  Obesity has been linked to many conditions such as heart disease and diabetes that can severly effect and shorten your lifespan.  If some vitamin supplements can help people to get to their goal weight, then any risks would probably be far outweighed by the benefits.  It’s important to track your vitamin intake though to ensure that you are not being over dosed in one particular area that may lead to side effects.  Sometimes there can be too much of a good thing!

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Obesity has become an epidemic in the Western world.  People are trying desperately to lose weight while fast food outlets keep making their portions larger.  Everyone seems to be looking for an easy way out of this health crisis — diet pills that work.  The truth is that most of these so called “diet pills” are at best a scam and at worst a danger to your health.  Before taking any medication, ensure that you know exactly what it is you are taking.  Make sure that the medications that you use do not effect each other or have any serious side effects that you need to look out for.  Talk to your pharmacist.  Talk to your doctor.  Research things online yourself so that you have a wide base of knowledge to use before using any product to help you lose those extra pounds.  Some of them do actually help but you need to keep your eyes open for those that don’t so that you don’t lose money or suffer any negative consequences while trying to lose that spare tire.  Be aware and good luck!

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Check out these adorable pendants made from Scrabble tiles and artistic creativity!  This is an awesome example of upcycling at it’s finest — taking something of no value (old scrabble tile) and creating something beautiful and valuable out of it (gorgeous pendants).  Hoodoo Designs makes them in a range of styles from sexy to funky to cutesy.  They are available in a ton of designs that would satisfy everyone’s eye — all the way from Grandma to your princess loving daughter.  Christine Taylor, the owner and artisian of Hoodoo Designs, will even customize these according to your tastes!

One thing I really like about these pendants is that they retain the feel of their original purpose.  In fact, on the opposite side of the pendant’s design, you can see the original letter the scrabble tile once was!  To me, upcycled jewellery is all about retaining the look of it’s original purpose.  It’s great to re-use things but it’s even greater if people actually notice that you’re re-using things and are encouraged to go a little green-er themselves!

Check out Hoodoo Designs for all your design needs because she’s definitely got it all.  Based out of Airdrie, Alberta Canada, she does custom scrapbooking designs, wedding invitations, awesome jewellery, gorgeous bobby pin designs that I’ve really got to remember to order and much, much more.  She’s definitely got the eye for how to lay things out to make them as beautiful and appealing as possible!  Check out the Hoodoo Designs page on Facebook to keep tabs on all the latest styles and designs.  Super cute and affordable!

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This has to be one of the coolest designs of kid’s furniture that I’ve seen in a long, long time.  It isn’t environmentally friendly in it’s materials used — polyurethane foam is pretty much the opposite of green.  What I mean by saying that it’s eco-friendly in a “different” way is it’s versatility of use.  This sytem can go from being an awesome fort, a worktable and bench, a lounge chair to rest on, a ramp to race your cars on and even packs up tight for storing and shipping!  This piece would definitely get used in a variety of ways for many, many years.  It would eliminate the need for a variety of other pieces of toys, climbing equipment, chairs, tables and furniture.  In that sense, it’s eco-friendly.

I absolutely love the design of it and think kids in a huge age range would love it too!  It meets the safety standards of both the USA and Canada so the hassles of having it shipped across the border are averted.  They’ve got alot of ingeniously designed furniture at the site this is available at — eRoomService.  Another piece that I love for it’s ingenuity and versatility is a crib, dresser and bench combo that can be converted into a huge range of furniture that would last a kid throughout all the various ages and stages.  They wouldn’t really need another piece of furniture until they went to college!!  Definitely worth checking out this site for modern pieces for every room of the home with versatility and adaptability in mind.

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What a cute and clever way to repurpose that old pair of overalls sitting in your closet!  Remember when people used to actually wear these out of the house to do something besides gardening??  I must admit that I probably have a couple of pairs of them still in the very back dark recesses of my closet.  They used to be cool…what can I say!

I love how this Etsy seller, mborghorst, has pulled out these relics and made them cute and cool all over again just by adding some polka dotted fabric!  The best repurposed items are the simplest and still retain the original look.  One look at this apron will reveal it’s original life.

This retired teacher sells these aprons and a variety of other cute and useful products on her Etsy site.  Another interesting item she sells is those ugly reusable bags that you always get at musical festivals and conferences.  She covers the logo and pretties them up so that people would actually use them!  My fav by far though is definitely this apron.  At only $10, you can choose between the back or front of the overalls when you order them from her.  I think these would make some very cute Christmas gifts this year!  Yes, I’m already doing my Christmas shopping.  It’s all about planning ahead!  Happy hump day all.

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It’s a big scary world out there for a mom of a teenage boy who seems to spend half his day online playing games, chatting with friends and who knows what else.  I try to monitor his online activities by doing all the things experts recommend — having the computer in a “public” area of the house as opposed to his bedroom, talking to him about what is appropriate and what is not to reveal to people he “meets” online and spending a ton of time telling him to get off of the computer!  However, the reality is that kids his age are plugged in to new technology and new modes of communication.

We have blockers on the computer to prevent him from accessing certain sites or keywords but I know they’re not fool proof.  He’s been hooked on computers since he was a baby and knows far more about them than I probably ever will.  The only sure way that you can know what they are doing online is by having Parental Control Software.  I would never use this software to invade his privacy but only to ensure his safety.

With this type of software, you can see which programs they are running, what sites they are visiting and even check their activities on Facebook and MySpace.  Many teens can quickly spiral out of control as they search to find themselves.  It’s a tough few years when society expects you to make a slew of decisions, act responsibly and grow up when your brain is still in the process of forming and you are seeking to distance yourself from your parents and family.  You might think your child is behaving relatively well until you see their posted pictures on Facebook which sometimes may involve underage drinking and who knows what.  It’s a scary world out there and it’s our job as their parents to make sure that the kids are safe as they journey into adulthood.  They make easy prey for the people in the world who seek to damage them.  I haven’t yet gotten any such software on my home computer but I am definitely thinking about it.

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