Window Shopper

At this time of year, when the kids have gone back to school and the sales are booming with end of summer clearances, it’s time to get out the checkbook and proceed to the nearest place where they stock garden equipment, furniture and accessories. Let’s say some of that equipment, furniture or accessories could use replacing. It’s been used all summer but it’s getting a little ragged and sometimes doesn’t work right. This is an excellent time to shop for garden tools and equipment to get ready for next year’s fantastic garden.

Of course, in some parts of the country, like where we live, summer is still with us. People are still tending the gardens. Harvest hasn’t happened yet. They have time to replace stuff at sale prices for this year’s use too. Have you checked the hoses to see if they need replacing? How about those Garden Hose Reels that hold them? You don’t have one? Now you need to get that too. And the ideal time is when new hose is bought. At Online Discount Mart, they really have the stuff you need for the garden. This is discount time! Get that hot sale item now. If you don’t, next year it will be full price.

Recently, I started looking for a microwave. Ours is a bit old. We have had it for 10 years now. It’s really been working great. However, the paint on the inside is chipping off so I thought that might be a problem. We wanted to see what was out there that’s affordable and to my surprise, the machine we spent almost $200 on would cost us a little over $100 today. Yet, I found one that I really like the look of for less than that!

This baby is 1100 watts. Ours is 1000 watts. This microwave is 1 cu. ft. Ours is 1.5 cu. ft. Hmm, I would be giving up some room inside. But, it’s really affordable at the lowest price of $71. Add shipping and it’s still under $100. The machine is a Sharp R-306LK. But the specs did not mention power levels.
Okay, not bad but I really want one that’s at least the same size as mine since we do a lot of microwave stuff that fits into a casserole dish. So, the next one I researched was the
GE JES1142SJ Stainless Steel. Once again, it’s 1100 watts. The cu. ft. is 1.1. Getting better. It’s lowest price is $76 and has 10 power levels, turntable (that’s one thing I will NOT live without. I have it now.)

On to the next one. This one is a bit more expensive but that’s a relative term. Panasonic NN-H264 has a lowest price of $100. But that’s not bad considering what it has. 1200 watts. I’m already impressed. 10 power levels. 12 inch turntable (which looks to be standard in most microwaves). But it’s a 2.2 cu. ft. BIG! So far, this is the best purchase for me.

Okay, I looked at Polaroid SCM1101C (POLAROID??? I thought all they did was cameras). This one is affordable at $72 for the low. It has 1000 watts and 1.1 cu. ft. 10 power levels. That 10 power thing is getting common too. But no turntable, no cigar. This one is out.

Then I checked out Daewoo KOR-860A. The price was right at $66 but it didn’t have a turntable. The capacity is 1350 watts but no power levels were reported. And it had bad reviews. According to what I read, the warranty is not worth it. The person had the oven for about 12 months when it died. The company has not honored it’s warranty at all. This is a no.

Well, from what I have researched, if I had to pick today without looking any farther, it would be the Panasonic NN-H264. It has what I want and it’s affordable. Wish those prices were around when I bought the other one! Ah well.

From the Window Shopper. Happy Shopping!

I just love to look for coupons and discounts. Especially if the coupons or discounts are for things I am REALLY needing. For instance, we are about to retile a bedroom in our home. We needed to find a place that had all the products we needed to do this job since my husband and I have not done this before. We ended up checking out discounts at Home Depot, of course. There’s a video that tells you a little bit about the place and how to order. First thing, they don’t have coupons but they do have offers and discounts that are fantastic. I saw FREE SHIPPING on selected items and amounts too.

Next I went to another store that has great discounts. I saw a 50% off and “buy one, get one” on their page. They have a couple of 25% off on their products at the Family Christian Stores. I have been to a couple of those stores. The place is usually pretty big and has a lot of good books and items such as that fantastic T-shirt you might have been looking for everywhere. So, if you’re wanting to buy something for that special someone or you need a gift for a family member, go get those discounts and shop at Family Christian Stores. They are well worth it.

For a while now, I have wanted a laptop. Due to my situation and ours at home, a laptop would change the way I could do things and give me a shot to do much more. But what type of laptop do I need? Of course, I would love to have the biggest, best one on the market but that is truly unrealistic for me. I decided to shop for one for the future.

First one I looked at was the Dell XPS M1710. Not a bad machine. Some say it’s the best made. That I can believe because of it’s awesome price tag. If you are in the bucks, this is the baby for you. But $2,464.00 is a little steep for me at the moment. Still, it does have some impressive goodies. Spec: Microsoft Windows XP Media Center, 2 GB DDR II SDRAM, 8.7 lbs, 17 in screen, Intel Core Duo T2600 (2.16 GHz) This baby is for the hardcore game person. That’s not me.

Then, I took a look at the Toshiba Satellite P105-S921. Hmmm, not as good, of course. But certainly trying harder for my dollar. Much cheaper to own. Spec: Microsoft Windows XP Professional, 1 GB DDR II SDRAM, 7.1 lbs, 17 in TFT active matrix, Intel Core Duo (1.83 GHz) This one sounds pretty good, actually, but the reviews were mixed. Some really liked it but others gave it a low grade. The bad things are the sound is weak, very small touch pads and mouse, display could be higher resolution. Hmm, not sounding too good there. But the price is affordable. Not really if it does not meet with the things I want.

Sony VAIO SZ was a really good laptop to consider….until you checked out the price. OUCH!! Worse than Dell. Sigh. When it’s that expensive, $2,949.99, it had better be close to perfection. It is not. The speakers aren’t all that. There is a multiformat card reader that it should have for that price, but it doesn’t have one. Pass.

With the Dell Inspiron 1520, the reviews are all over the place. This one is a love/hate thing. Not much in the middle. This one is affordable at almost $900. Thing is, with Dell, the minute you want any extras, the price goes UP, UP, UP. By the time you have what you really want, it will cost you a bundle. Dell simply isn’t what I was looking for in affordable laptops.

So, maybe next time I’m looking around for a laptop, I’ll find my ideal machine. Affordable with some class to it.

For now, it’s Happy Shopping!!!

I found this contest that you have to write about one of three things: My Blog, a review of your own blog (that could get interesting all by itself!), a funny true parenting story..you get to be the goofy parent! or the worst job you ever had. And if you put the cackles in, you get bonus points.

Now, you have to have at least 50 words (I can do that) and a link to her blog with the anchor text of “The reality of a brat”. Be sure to spell it right, grammar is important and so is the laugh factor!! Can I laugh here? Is that appropriate? No? All right. When you get that finished, send it on to The Reality Of A Brat page and put her in the comments section. The deadline is September 10, 2007.

Now, I picked the worst job I ever had. Thing is, you ain’t gonna believe it if I do tell ya. I was going to say to make a long story short but I can’t. This takes a few paragraphs, at least. And I promise you that it’s true. Got paid 50 bucks for it. In those days, that was pretty good.

When I was young and extremely foolish (as if it’s different from now!), I traveled around with a carnival selling tickets to rides and trying to get everybody’s money on the games. Nope, not the worst job. Just wait. When the season ended, I was stuck because I wasn’t one of the regulars. I was sort of a “roadie”, you might say. I ended up in Titusville, Florida, broke and looking for anything to do. This guy comes up to me and says…”Hey, girl, you want a job? I need somebody right away. You look like you need work.”

Okay, that didn’t sound good. I LOOKED like I needed work??? Apparently, the pages of Glamour didn’t show my style that year. In fact, I probably reeked. He did look like he swallowed a persimmon, kinda red faced, a sort of out of breath thing. I digress. The guy did seem to be legitimate although I have no freaking idea how I would have known that. Says to me, “Follow me. I can give you a job that pays enough for you to eat tonight and have a place to stay.” Hey, that works for me. Beware of strangers bearing gifts.

I get in my car and we go to one of these tourist attractions that has all sorts of stuff to do like watch the stage being robbed……ten times a day. I’m thinking here that I get to be part of that show!! ALL RIGHT!!! The guy takes me to another area. An amazingly horrible stink begins to hit the nose. ACK!! No WAY!!!! I ain’t that blasted hungry. Guy looks at me and says “You agreed to do this job. You are NOT going to back out now!!” “Uh, yes sir.”

He hands me a shovel about the size of Cleveland and says “get to work”. So, I start shoveling elephant poop for the rest of the day. I was right. I wasn’t that hungry.

We live in a retirement community where many, many older folks live and love it. Personally, I am starting to BE one of those older folks. I simply do not think of myself that way. In my head, the age is still in the teens or twenties. Of course, to be realistic, if I were actually out in the workforce, I would be looking at retirement in about 5 years, if they didn’t up the retirement age on me. Whew! I know. That certainly dates me, don’t you think?

Since we do live in a retirement village, as you can guess, we see just a lot of retired folks enjoying the amenities around here…well, you know, like swimming in the lakes, a really good diner near here, bingo (when they aren’t being stupid and closing them down for gambling violations.), hunting and, of course, golf.

I did not realize just how many folks, especially retired people, loved golf. To me, it’s sort of a boring game. Hit the ball…tear after it, get out another club, hit the ball, tear after it, clomp the ball into a little bitty hole in the ground. Seems silly to me. But the folks around here take it seriously, I’m telling you. Why, I have seen a couple that have a golf cart, drive it on the street together, obviously headed for the golf course. In my imagination, I can see golf cart parts flying everywhere because…well, you know why. It just gives me the shudders. But then, they go by every day and don’t look any the worse for wear.

That statement comes from what I like to call “a dry well”. That’s me. I want to give all sorts of tips and deals that can help you save money on lots of things. I’ve given you tips on groceries, insurance, discounts on theme parks, saving money around the house. I even gave you some tips on keeping the pets comfy during the hot months. Sigh. But today, my tips are not with me. I cannot think of a single thing to write about concerning tips and money saving. Isn’t that sad?

I do love to put up those videos of the music from the 60s for the boomers since I am one of them. Those songs meant something to me. I grew up with groups like Herman’s Hermits, the Beatles, Elvis, Jan and Dean, Beach Boys, The Rondells, Jefferson Airplane, Jackson Five, The Osmonds and so many more. I fell asleep to all the top hits. I knew the top 20 list every week and I could tell you what was on that list and what it’s previous week’s standing was. Whew! Now, I get blessed smply remembering the groups and singers from then.

Tell you what. Tell me what you like and I can try to find it and post it here. How about that? So far, I have posted one from the Kingston Trio and Herman’s Hermits.

I love to shop. DUH! That’s what this blog is mostly about anyway. So, when I can find a great coupon or fantastic deal, I’m on it if I am really wanting that item. One of the sites that always catches my eye is CouponChief! Love the place. They have some awesome discount deals and online coupons available. What ya looking for today? Well, for me, it’s cooking stuff. I love to find new cooking gadgets as long as they are affordable. I think Cooking.com takes care of that problem.

How about printer ink? I have a lot of trouble finding AFFORDABLE ink cartridges, don’t you? We bought a printer from a discount store but when we needed cartridges, I might just as well have thrown the printer away and started over. We cannot afford to do that!! So, I started looking for places that had affordable ink cartridges. MyInks has such a deal and reputation. I have bought from them. They do what they say. The coupons and deals they have are great!! I might need to buy some more ink tanks.

I always check out Bestbuy for coupons and they didn’t let me down at all. They have some awesome stuff on sale. 20% of a digital camera, free shipping after some purchases, $100 off of a laundry pair. That’s just a couple of things. This place has too much to talk about here. Go check them out!

For a few years now, I had been counting on eBay to help me with almost anything I wanted to buy cheaply and fast. When I joined, it was a lot less bulky, fees were low and you could buy things for much less than you can find them at discount stores. Seller fees were so low that for things being sold under $10, the listing fee was about 30 cents. So, sellers could give a really great deal on products and services. That was then.

Now, eBay has decided to drive off the little sellers and, with greed in mind, grab the money of the larger sellers who, for whatever reason, are not leaving like so many others are. eBay seems to be loaded with power sellers that think their product is made of gold. They appear to believe that I am interested in their product but if I’m not, somebody else will be. A good many of the sellers could care less about the customer. All they want to do is get your money. Eventually, they send out the product you bought…maybe. eBay no longer supports the customer by making the seller return the money. It now supports the power seller who could care less if they get bad feedback or not. Their feedback numbers are high enough that the percentage will outweigh any bad feedback given.

So, since eBay is no longer a good place to buy things, for the most part anyway, I decided to find a new place to shop for lower priced items. Found it too. Well, actually, I knew about it and had bought from the place before but I had not really decided that it replaced eBay until now. This should not be a shocker for you if I tell you that I went to Amazon.com to buy my latest purchase. Most things that I buy online now come from Amazon if not from a couple of other sites, book clubs, mostly. By the way, it was a successful purchase, very cheap, shipped out right away with really low charges. And the charges for shipping AND for the item was WAY, WAY, WAY lower than eBay sellers. How do I know? I went there first. Bada bing.

We still get those survey calls once in a while. Actually, our phone number is on the do not call list but I did sign up for a couple of surveys a year or so ago and I’m thinking that these calls are from that. You know, I do not mind those market research calls because they ask your opinion on a number of products. I like that. It makes me have a voice that I would not ordinarily have about those products and services, some that I really like. Others, not so much.

The ones that I really don’t want to hear on the phone are the political ones that always seem to happen at supper time. And, frankly, it does not matter what time we have supper, we still get those calls. I think their timing stinks but then I used to be a telemarketer and the company I worked for did all the contacting. All we did was sit there waiting for the call to connect. Then we talked to the person who answered and went down the list of questions to ask them or give them info about whatever event was coming up.