Black Friday shopping tips PLUS a Holiday Gift Guide

For some great holiday shopping tips, from budgeting to what to buy, you must check out Jennifer Melnick Carotas site the Gift Therapist.  What is a gift therapist?  Well, we can all use some type of therapy when it comes to gift giving as there are so many extremes, from spending more than we can afford on gifts to buying so manyy gifts that you’re not quite sure who you’re giving them all to.  Or some people become so stressed out with the gift giving process that they don’t even know where to start and there is little enjoyment found in it. This year go to the Gift Therapist site and learn what Giveology is all about. According to Jen, when asked what is her favorite sanity saver… “As an expert Giveologist, my mantra is “focus on the giving, rather than on the gift.” Forget about price-tags and obligatory spending! Give the best you can with what you’ve got and feel great about it. If you take the time to put together a meaningful gift that reflects your cherished relationship with that person, you will hit a home run every time…even if you only spent $10.”

Jen can help you with gift ideas – check out Advice and Tips, Sanity Savers, and Top 20 Gifts for 2008.  I want you to know that Strappys Decorative Bra Straps are Gift Therapist Approved and have received her approval seal.  She didn’t actually know about Strappys until she had put her top 20 together.  Had she known I have a feeling she would have had to expand her list to the Top 21 gifts as all the top 20 are really cool.  Check them out – they’re available online.

Do You Go Commando? Tired of Panty Lines?

If you do go commando you  tired of the panty lines already.  If you don’t you may have said, “Something needs to come between me and my Calvin Kleins, or perhaps Hudsons!” But here is a comfortable, sanitary, sexy way to go panty free…go Commandos Patches. They are a revolutionary, uniquely- shaped, disposable cotton patch that securely sticks in the curved crotch seam of your jeans or pants so you can go underwear free in cotton comfort and protection, the most important benefit of underwear.

Why, When, Where would you wear these?

If you hate VPL’s, Visible Panty Lines, or thongs, G-strings, wedgies, bulky panties,seek the comfort benefits of no panties but still want the cotton comfort and protection, these are for you.

What’s to lose but a little bulk and some panty lines.  I think you’ll like them!

Enter to win Christmas Gift Basket during National Game and Puzzle Week

Do you like websites where you can enter to win something? In honor of National Game and Puzzle Week, I’d like to mention a site that is offering a chance to win some cool gaming toys, a Nintendo DS Lite with 2 games, a Deluxe Anniversary Scrabble and a Cranium Family Edition. You have to go to JoJo’s Place to enter to win the Savvy Mom’s Christmas Gift Basket. The winner will be chosen on December 2.

National Game and Puzzle Week is November 23- November 29 so get out those games for fun family memories.

Interval Train to get RESULTS

Are you tired of chugging away on the treadmill or elliptical for 45 minutes to an hour?  Are you seeing the changes you want?   Reading your magazine while riding your stationary bike or climbing on the Stairmaster is probably not going to get you the fat loss results you want.  The smartest, most efficient way to work out  is to do interval training. Simply defined, interval training involves alternating short bursts of intense activity with intervals of lighter activity, which is called “active recovery.”  Interval training can be used with any activity. You’ve probably read in numerous magazines that on your daily walk(?-good idea!) you can play games with yourself by picking out houses or trees to walk “briskly” between.  In other words, pick landmarks to do interval training between.  These should be short bursts of activity, walking or jogging, that are strenuous enough that you are out of breath, about 1-4 minutes.  Then go back to active recovery pace until you bring your heart rate down again.  For swimming, do pyramids where each lap gets faster, then drop down to active recovery pace. On the treadmill or stairmaster, bump up the level each minute over a 3-4 minute period, then drop down to active recovery for a minute or two.

My absolute favorite Plan for interval training is from Body for Life: 12 Weeks to Mental and Physical Strength
Body for Life has a website with a complicated looking chart for interval training but it is very simple in reality.  Also, the idea behind this interval training plan is that you will only have to spend 20 minutes a day on your favorite piece of equipment at the gym.  Try it.  You’ll get that endorphin high AND you’ll save yourself 20 minutes.  If you’re not convinced that you can afford to shave 20-30 minutes off your cardio workout, then just implement this plan into your workout.  Congrats to you if you can keep this up for 60 minutes! You rock and you’re going to look and feel fabulous!

The 20 Minute Plan as I “see” it and use it:

First 2 minutes Very Easy , Level 5 you’re warming up

Minute 2  Bump up one notch of effort, Level 6

Minute 3  Bump up another notch of effort, Level 7

Minute 4 Bump it up again, Level 8

Minute 5 Bump it up AGAIN, Level 9 – you should be really working at this point but NOT to a 10

Minute 6 Drop back to Level 6 to recover for a minute

Minute 7:  Level 7

Minute 8:  Level 8

Minute 9:  Level 9

Minute 10:  Level 6

Minute 11:  Level 7

Minute 12:  Level 8

Minute 13:  Level 9

Minute 14:  Level 6

Minute 15:  Level 7

Minute 16:  Level 8

Minute 17:  Level 9

Minute 19:  Level 10!

Minute 20:  Cool down at level 5

If you try it and you love it let me know!

A New Christmas Tradition to start in 2008

This is a wonderful family tradition to start this December first.  In the spirit of the advent calendar and the count down to Christmas why not wrap all of your Christmas stories in gift paper and have your child open one a day.  The family can read a Christmas story every night for the countdown to Christmas.  Your tree will look great with wrapped gifts sitting under it and your kids will be excited to open a “gift” every day.   You may not even get the usual request, “Can I open just one BEFORE Christmas?”

I went through our book shelves and found 9 books of Christmas stories.  A quick trip to the used book store and  I was able to come up with 13 more. Just a couple left to find. My kids have to read for a half an hour every day as part of their “homework”.  This gives us a set of stories to read for the month of Christmas and a new family tradition that gets us in the Christmas spirit.

Do’s and Don’ts for Getting Glammed Up for Night

I just love the videos on It’s a Glam Thing.  Dimitri James from Skinn Cosmetics does a 3 part webisode about getting glam.  This is episode 2 and it will show you what to wear for a Glam Night Out.  He gives great tips on how not to add weight with sparkles and rhinestones.  Tells you what type of strappy sandals you should wear – based on your leg type.  But by far, the best part of the video is how to get “the “look”  – Evening gown style top with casual bottoms.  See for yourself.  You may just be able to use one of those old bridesmaids dresses after all!

How Many Holidays are there in November?

Most of us know that Thanksgiving is the 27th of this month.   But thanks to the Gift Therapist, Jennifer Melnick Carota, (her Ultimate Holiday Calendar under Advice) I have learned of so many more.  Here is the Holiday list for November.  Note that we are IN National Fig Week right now.  If you live in Georgia, you’re probably aware of Georgia Pecan Month.  But I have to say that the Holiday I am most looking forward to this week is National Men Make Dinner Day. Mark your calendars for this Thursday.  My husband makes THE BEST Grilled Chicken.

Nov. 1-7 National Fig Week
Nov. 1-30 National Georgia Pecan Month
Nov. 1-30 National Pomegranate Month
Nov. 1-30 National Roasting Month
Nov. 1-30 Peanut Butter Lovers’ Month
Nov. 6 National Men Make Dinner Day
Nov. 3 Sandwich Day
Nov. 4 Election Day
Nov. 8 Cook Something Bold and Pungent Day
Nov. 11 Veteran’s Day
Nov. 15 National Bundt Day
Nov. 17 Homemade Bread Day
Nov. 23 Cashew Day
Nov. 23-29 National Game and Puzzle Week
Nov. 27 Thanksgiving Day
Nov. 28 National Flossing Day

I also love how National Game and Puzzle Week falls into the Thanksgiving Holiday.  So get out your old 500 piece jigsaw puzzle that you’ve been meaning to get started on and finish it during that week.  I’m going to have to convince all the boys at our house that this does not mean Playstation and XBox!