The Fountain By The Gift Shop!

I was recently reminded of the time my kids walked into a hospital which had a lovely fountain in front.  And just to the right of the fountain was the gift shop.  The fountain had money in it, and the shop had candy.  My kids immediately thought... "what a fabulous arrangement!"  I watched the flabbergast faces of people observing my kids diving for coins in hopes of gathering enough change to quickly make a dash to the gift shop!  I think we can apply this same principle to the internet.

I think there is an unlimited amount of income to be had via internet sales.  The websites are endless.  The options of what you can purchase are endless.  And all this means, the possibilities of selling something via the internet are endless.

To make selling even easier... you can use a billing system like chargify.  This company acts as an intermediary between the website your selling from and the payment gateway.  You can create subscription plans.  With a billing system each transaction will be for the correct amount and properly processed with your payment gateway.

And your billing system would safely store your customer's cardholder data.  You would never need to worry about managing this sensitive billing information.

So I say... sell!  Sell you stuff on the internet... and then... buy!  It seems like the perfect system for the shopaholic.  Earn your shopping money.  It is the perfect plan.  It's a fountain by the gift shop!

This is a sponsored post for Chargify, however, all the points and views are my own.

The Search Is Over

My daughter and I will be going to California in January so there is the need to find a bathing suit.  In Utah, in the winter, this is not an easy task.  To further complicate the matter is that we are searching for a modest swim suit.

Modest and swim suit are rarely used in the same sentence.  Trust me, when I say, they are few and far between.  I have five daughters, and it seems we are on the constant hunt for modest swimwear.  Honestly, the swim wear on the market today absolutely could not be used for swimming!  I am certain, that private parts meant to remain private would become a swim wear malfunction.

And the other qualification makes it an even harder find.  It must be cute, stylish, and current.  Too often, we find a modest swim suit but it looks as though you are on the swim team.

One day, we came across a gold mine.  Modest, cute, and fun, downeast swimwear is wonderful!  They have tankinis, with bottoms that cover all parts the tankini bottom is supposed to cover.  There are one piece swimsuits that look more like you should be sunbathing in Hawaii rather than diving from a spring board.

Ruffles.  Colors.  Patterns.  And all at a reasonable price.  The search is over.

This is a sponsored post for Downeast, however, all the points and views are my own.

Seven Years

Most people do not like the dentist and I am most definitely one of them.  To be fair, my dentist is a very kind and sweet man.  I do like him.  It is the dentistry I do not care for, and because of this dislike, I avoid going at all costs.  Recently, I did concede and make an appointment.  It had been in seven years.

I had a pain in the back left side of my bottom molars.  I could live with it until it started to hurt whenever I ate candy.  Those of you who know me, know that this would not be acceptable.  When I called for my appointment, the receptionist suggested teeth cleaning in salt lake, afterall it had been seven years, and then the dentist could take a look at what the problem may be.  I conceded.

And even though it had been seven years, the look and touch of that curved pokey metal tool is something you don't forget.  This is why I don't go to the dentist.  I hate to get my teeth cleaned.  I've had a lot of medical type tortures in my life and still, still, dental work ranks the worst.  He said my teeth looked great.  No cavities.  The problem was probably just a sensitive tooth and to use a special toothpaste.

I said "Great.  See you in another seven years."

This is a sponsored post for Genesis Dental, however, all the points and views are my own.

The Balancing Act

The holidays are a hard time of year to eat healthy.  It feels good when I eat the right things, but how do you resist the endless supply of Halloween candy, or the delicious whipped cream on a slice of pumpkin pie, or fresh baked Christmas cookies and warm fudge.  OK... I've gotten caught up in the yummy goodness of the holidays.  And this is when I go to my give and take, or what you could call my balancing act.

If I eat a plate ten mini candy bars, then I must also eat an orange for example.  The delicious taste of chocolate and caramel can be made more healthy with the juicy, Vitamin C enriched orange.  I have used this method for years and it has served me well, but lately I find I would like to balance my craving for sugar with even less healthy additions.  I eat a piece of pie with whipped cream, and some ice cream, and have a glass of milk.  Sure the milk is my balance and it is skim milk, but the scales tip heavily to my pie, whipped cream, and ice cream.  Not exactly an even scale.

I've learned there are special phytonutrients which are like super vitamins found in fruits and vegetables that overlap and compliment one another giving antioxidant effects and immune system support.  The phytonutrients health benefits include protection to your health which is always a bonus for me.

So perhaps I drink a small cup of these phytonutrient rich juices, then this would open up to me pie, cookies, and candy... and the scale would still balance?

This is a sponsored post for Xango, however, all the points and views are my own.

Face to Face

My daughter has the use of a cell phone down to an art form.  Please don't misunderstand.  She is extremely polite and courteous when it comes to her cell phone usage which makes me very happy, but it is her use of the features her cell phone offers that make me smile.  She is like a dedicated server with unmetered hosting: She uses her line at any time and pushes as much information to contacts as possible.

She is completely dedicated to keeping in constant touch with anyone and everyone who reaches out to her via her cell phone.  No one is ignored.  This is good, because if I was ever trying to get a hold of her and she ignored me, her dedicated server would kick her out of the cell phone world.

As far as the unlimited forms of communication on her cell phone, she can use them at anytime and with unlimited frequency.  She not only can text, but she can text with her eyes shut.  She can send me five rather lengthy texts in the time it takes me to create one short, brief text for her.  Then there is the obvious phone calling.  And now there is something similar to what I call a walkie talkie.  I can't remember what it is called, but all of a sudden, I will hear her best friend say "You there?" and their conversation takes place with the push of a button.

Technology is insane and the way we communicate is even more insane.  I"m afraid that the future will bring a generation who won't know what to say when they come face to face with each other.

This is a sponsored post for Hivelocity, however, all the points and views are my own.

Serving Papers

The other night we were watching a television show where the main guys pretended to be in a fight.  Neither one of them were the fighting kind, in fact, kind of wimpy, and they wanted to appear tough to their girlfriends.  They faked the battle wounds by actually hitting each other, which was hilarious in and of itself, but the best part was when they were "served" legal papers by the guys they supposedly beat up.  The fake fighters were being sued for a fight they faked!

The reason behind the fake fight was a discrepancy over who was allowed to sit at a particular booth in their favorite bar.  As the two victorious fighters were bragging and showing off wounds to their girlfriends, two other men were sitting at the booth.  The girls immediately pointed out that the booth was being occupied and asked if there would be another fight.  The guys reluctantly went over to the booth, acting as if they were they were the toughest guys on the planet.  The two men sitting at the booth, used the fake fighters names when addressing them.  Feeling like they were world renowned and obviously legendary fighters since these two men knew them, they proudly announced that they were in fact the proud men who pummeled two unsuspecting customers.  This is when they announced "You've been served." and gave them the court documents.

It's tricks like this that are often necessary in serving papers.  Companies such as ABC Legal can make life easy for you, as they know all the ins and outs of serving someone.

This is a sponsored post for ABC Legal, however, all the points and views are my own.

Southern Candy

It's been over a year since I was in New Orleans and I find myself still dreaming of the candy.  They make a praline in the south that is to die for... and I can't get it out of my head.  I need more.

I spent an unthinkable amount of money on candy during my five day stay last year.  In my defense, the candy making shop was literally next door to my hotel.  And I mean, right next door.  In the morning, you could smell the candy cooking.  And trust me when I say, once you've had a warm, freshly made, praline, you will never forget it.  And you will need more.

Then when we would come back to the hotel during the day to drop off packages and get ready to go to dinner.  Naturally, we would need more candy.  And then after dinner, what to have for dessert?  Yes, you guessed it.

It is good I do not live in the south because I would seriously be in need of bankruptcy lawyers in new orleans.  I wonder how many people file for bankruptcy due to an unhealthy amount of candy purchases?

And I need more.

This is a sponsored post for Kirkpatrick and Associates, however, all the points and views are my own.