Holly’s Happenings

It’s been a little while since I’ve talked about my WONDERFUL memory foam bed, so I thought I’d give you a few updates. As you know from this post, my new bed arrived safe and sound on February 5th. It just so happened that my daughter was home from school that day, so between she and I we were able to tear my old bed down and get my new one set up! Set up for my PacDown Plus mattress and foundation was actually very easy. The instructions for the foundation were simple and easy to follow and we were both laughing over how small the memory foam mattress was in it’s packaging compared to the actual size of it once it came out of it’s packaging!

I’m not going to tell you that going from a standard inner spring mattress to my Bed In A Box memory foam mattress was an easy adjustment. It took a few nights before my body finally adjusted to sleeping on this wonderful mattress. I will tell you, however, that the pain I normally feel in my back and hips when I wake up in the morning, diminished almost immediately from the first morning I woke up! And after almost 2 months of sleeping on my PacDown Plus memory foam mattress, I experience virtually none of the normal aches and pains that I have always had when I wake up in the mornings!

This wonderful bed has completely changed my life! No longer do I spend days dealing with severe back pain from the moment I wake up, nor do I wake up in the morning feeling tired. Instead I wake up pain free and rested! I may not always get the amount of hours of sleep that I should, but I’m now getting a much better quality of sleep than I EVER have before!

So my heartfelt thanks go out to BedInABox.com for allowing me to have such a wonderful product!

I’m so amazed about all of the amazing things you can purchase online and what amazes me even more is the fact that I can go to one site and find almost everything I need and/or want. That’s why buy.com rocks this country girls world! Buy.com offers one of the biggest selections of the top rated name brand items you can think of at the most amazing prices! Did you know that you could go to Buy.com right now and purchase a 4GB iPod Nano for only $140.49? What’s that you say? That’s exactly what you’ve been looking for and the price is better than every other one you’ve priced? Well then stop reading this and go find out exactly why buy.com rocks for yourself and grab that iPod before it’s gone!

While you’re there be sure to check out Ryan Seacrest’s Deal of the Day, see What’s Shakin’ with Howie Mandel and watch is own Buy.com videos, and be sure to take a peek at their weekly deals! They also let you know what their competetors prices are on the items you are searching for, and sometimes their competetor might be a little less expensive, but make sure you check and see if they also offer FREE shipping like Buy.com does. If they don’t, then get back to THE best Internet Superstore there is! Buy.com also offers first time buyers $10 off any purchase of $10 or more, how awesome of a deal is that? Say they offer something you want and/or need for $12, it’s yours for just $2 with that great deal!

While you’re checking things out, take a peek at the commercial I made telling why I think Buy.com ROCKS! It’s kind of corny, but I had a TON of fun making it, so if you enjoyed it please be sure to let me know. But whatever you do make sure you head over to Buy.com and let them ROCK YOUR WORLD!

Yes, I know that grammatically that title makes no sense. BUT, it did get your attention, didn’t it? If your answer was yes, then I achieved what I wanted to! And now that I have your attention, I can talk to you about something that is important as well as a cause that I feel is very much worthwhile!

If you could help kids learn important things about life by giving something that you no longer use, would you? There is an non profit company called Car Angel that you can donate boats, cars, motor cycles and even RV’s to. They, in turn, take the proceeds from your donations and use them to videos for children and teens that can teach them some of the values that you and I grew up with. You can also choose what specific charity you want to have the proceeds from your donation to benefit. Since they help many different types of people, you are sure to find a charity will suit your taste.

Car Angel has given away more than 2.4 million videos, free of charge, to individuals as well as churches and organizations. The one that I want to share with you is a documentary that shows exactly how drug addiction can change your life.

These past couple of weeks have been hectic! I’ve had one heck of a cold/sinus infection, then we had Christmas and on top of that my husband has been working the strangest hours ever! When you add all of that together it makes for some very short nights! And the bed that my husband and I currently have is the bed that we purchased shortly after we were married. I’m not complaining, I mean, I could be sleeping on a park bench in the cold, so I honestly don’t have it that bad. But this bed has definitely seen it’s better days!

When we moved in August of 2005 the guys that helped us move thought it would be a good idea to stand our top mattress up on the trailer we were using to move. It wouldn’t have been that bad of a thing, except for the fact that everything around it was short, so during the drive here, the wind and force from the movement of going down the road literally bent the mattress over, so we now have a top mattress that folds like a taco…LOL! Over the years the corners have worn and if you’re not careful when you walk past it and happen to bump up against the corners, the springs will leave a not so pretty cut on your leg that turns into an even less pretty scar.

We realize that it’s necessary to replace it ASAP, but we just can’t bring ourselves to spend the money, we always think of other places that it can be spent. We’ve even purchased new beds for both kids within the past couple of years, as we continue to sleep on our taco..LOL! I’ve seriously looked at memory foam mattress because I’ve heard that they are awesome for people like me who deal with chronic back pain. I made a little video about BedInABox.com, check it out and let me know what you think!

Yes, I know, that’s a phrase made popular by a frog, but in all honesty, it needs to be a phrase made popular by people as well! Our environment needs us to give it a hand by changing things that we do and how we do them! As consumers, we can make small changes in the products we use and the way that we do things that will greatly help our environment and the world around us. Simple things like reusing plastic water bottles by refilling them, rather than throwing them away. Did you know that by purchasing an on the tap water filter and refilling your water bottles you not only save money on the cost of purchasing more bottled water, but you also reduce the amount of trash that goes into landfills.

Companies like GreenAndMore.com are helping consumers educate themselves about the things that they can do to help our environment. They offer hundreds of top rated eco friendly green products on their website ranging from things like cleaning products and solar lighting to bedding and home decor. They also have a section of their website that gives consumers all kinds of information about things like recycling for businesses and consumers, energy efficiency, green building and renovation and many other topics about being earth friendly.

Besides giving consumers information and products that will help them live a greener life, GreenAndMore.com also lives their mission of being green by following green practices in the running of their company. They make sure that they use no plasticware, they use recycled office goods and they ship their products in cardboard boxes that are made from 100% recycled materials. They also support various environmental charities like Oceana and Healthy Child Healthy World.

Above and beyond the vast array of green products they offer, I think the part of their website I enjoy the most is their Green Learning Center. It is a wealth of information on everything that we need to do in order to lead green lives and is filled with the most top notch articles available from places like the EPA and US Dept. of Energy. And they are offering 10% off your purchase when you shop from their website. What could be better than going green AND saving money in the process?

As you know, there are a multitude of websites on the WWW that are geared towards women. Some offer health tips and information while others talk about parenting and other types of family situations. I, personally, would prefer a website that has as much of the information I need in one spot. But when you find a website that offers the information you want/need, and more, then you definitely have a website that is sure to be a hit among all women!

That’s why I enjoy visiting websites like Grapevine.com! This website is based on The Grapevine web series, which is a story about 4 friends, Gabby, Raqui, Liv and Shannon, who are viewed as role models for the women of my generation and a little younger. The four women spend much of their free time together and often hang out at their favorite spot, a Cafe/Boutique named The Grapevine.

The website is geared around the series, and the things that the women do together, as well as the clothes they wear, the recipes they share and the trips they take will all be made available through the website. Grapevine.com also allows it’s visitors to interact with each other and share their own thoughts about the latest webisode, as well as allowing them to contribute their own stories, recipes and tips with each other. There is a section of the site called Dear Gabby, where readers write to Gabby, asking for advice about things that are going on in their lives. The most recent Dear Gabby section talks about dealing with the family members that we only see once a year.

I’m glad that I found Grapevine.com, it’s a fun site filled with all of the things that today’s sophisticated women need to help them survive every day life. When you have the chance, go check it out for yourself, and be sure you check out the most recent webisode to see how Raqui deals with finding out that her son headed to Mexico to find his real father!

Or how would you like to win a brand new laptop to replace the one you’ve been using since the 1980’s?  I had heard a few people talk about bid4prizes.com, so I thought I’d head over and check it out. It’s Christmas time and if I have a chance at winning something that would make an awesome gift for the hubby or kids, or even myself, rather than having to pay for it, that would be a definite bonus! To me, the whole perception of a reverse auction seemed confusing at first. But after checking out their website and reading their FAQ page, I understood the idea behind how it happens much better!

The first, and most important, step is to sign up for an account! Once you have your account you can start playing for a chance to win some amazing prizes! There are several different ways of playing for prizes. The method that seems to be the most common are their text-based reverse auctions. What happens in these auctions is that the person with the lowest unique bid wins the prize that they are bidding on. For instance, my family is planning a trip to Florida sometime in March. One thing that would REALLY help would be if I were to win this $1,000 American Airlines Gift Card. Currently, the lowest unique bid on this is between 43753 and 43773, so if I wanted to bid on it I would simply bid a number that I thought would be lower than the current bid. If I am the lowest I’ll then need to keep an eye on the auction to make sure that I am the lowest unique bid and when/if it changes that I’m not, I’ll have to make sure I enter a new bid.  But the key isn’t just to be the lowest bid, because everyone could enter a bid of “1″, the key is to be the lowest unique bidder!  The best thing about bidding in the games is that if I do win the prize, it’s mine free! On top of that, they’ll ship the item that I have won, to my home, also for free!

Their website is very user friendly, which definitely helps in the playability of the games!  And they have some AWESOME prizes that you can play for.  For instance they have HDTV’s, Cash prizes that include cash and gift cards from some of your favorite retailers, laptop computers, iPods, Apple i-phones, and even tickets to a Broadway show in New York City!

So what are you waiting for?  Get over there and start bidding!

Yes, I’ll be the first to agree that the jolly old guy makes the Christmas holiday special as well as making kids scream with glee! But when it comes to finding great deals on my special holiday gifts, I’ve found a different source! So Santa, as much as I love you, I’ll take care of the gifts for my family and friends this year and give you a break for a change!

Other than my traditional day after Thanksgiving, wee hours of the morning shopping dash with my mom and sister, I’ve decided that I’m going to do my Christmas shopping online this year! And why wouldn’t I when CouponChief.com offers me the ability to shop at my favorite online retailers with some of the best discounts available?

For instance, one of the items that is at the top of my daughters “have to have” list is an iPod. With the help of CouponChief.com’s Apple Coupons I can get a heck of a deal on either shipping or a refurbished iPod. At the top of my son’s list is a new computer since his is currently on it’s last leg!! CouponChief.com gives me several options to save money on a new computer with coupons from HP and Dell.

So no matter what type of gift you plan on purchasing your that special person in your life, CouponChief.com is sure to have a great discount for it! I highly recommend that you check them out before you start your shopping, because as fun as it is to find that perfect gift, it’s even more fun to save some cash in the process!!!