To any Gentlemen reading please accept my apologies as this is mostly a women’s issue. You all can open another window and browse. Unless you think by reading this you might find some insight into your wife or girlfriend. If so do read on…More…

My rant today (time to change HRT patch) is about women’s clothing that is labeled One Size Fits All and the fact men’s clothing doesn’t seem to be labeled as such. Also, have you noticed men seem to have less of a size issue than women…there are men’s clothing stores named Big and Tall? But I don’t think a Short and Fat shop for women would fly….we have names like Lane Bryant. Our larger sized clothing is called Plus sizes giving the illusion we are getting something extra…a bonus. Women like free stuff! A gift with purchase….the only gift we are getting is enough fabric to cover our…you know. Assets….

Now back to this One Size Fits All ah garbage…what lunatic came up with that concept? If you say ALL you are implying more than most, right? That EVERYTHING will be included in this ALL. Someone didn’t do their homework to find out the majority of women in the US are size 14 and up. And the average size 14 women couldn’t get the One Size Fits All top to cover their “part” let alone their “all”. I find this upsetting…misleading and well…mean! How many of you ladies out there have picked up a top that is One Size Fits All …you hold it up and think…ok, that will fit. You take it back into the fitting room…undress and try to wiggle it down over your head…getting it caught on your earring…half way down…arms up like you are having a Halleluiah moment knowing your only way out is to cry out for help for a saleslady to save you from this humiliating situation to ask you, “Do you need a bigger size?” You thank her for untangling you and try to block out of your memory the fact you really should have NOT warned your old bra but at the time you did not plan on flashing the entire Ladies department in Target and whisper, “Ah no it was a One Size Fits All.” She tries to make you feel better with, “They run small.” And you say, “I run big…”

Ok…It is hard enough for a woman to shop for clothing what with all ALL the departments…Juniors, Misses, Women…Men have one department…Men’s Clothing. You, men, need a new shirt you go into Men’s Clothing and pick it out by small, medium or large if casual or neck size if dress….short sleeve or long. Simple…non- complicated. A woman has to know if she is a Jr. large, misses’ medium or women’s small as any one size is completely different in each department. And then that wonderful One Size Fits All thrown in there to really make a women’s body image crash and burn. We also need to stress about and take into consideration monthly bloating, tucked in or not tucked in when worn, the message being sent (sexy or business), not to mention all the styles…we are talking racks and racks full of shirts!

Maybe the One Size Fits All just got me started as I really have issues with the whole of women’s clothing in general. All this came about because I made the stupid decision to shop for a new semi-dressy modest dress to take to New York with me. A little background sharing here for a moment…I use to be a size 10-12 about a year ago…but due to many issues (one being I eat) I am now a size…well not 10-12. Ok…so in the world of Women’s clothing I start off with a disability…I am NOT an anorexic which seems to be the model being used for ALL sizing and designs today. (Again talking women’s clothing only as in the men’s department there are racks of football jerseys labeled up to size XXXXXL that a family of 6 could use as a tent) So I (with my 16-year-old daughter in tow) stop in a few shops to browse and see what they have…here is where I felt like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman (when she was still dressed like the hooker) when the salesladies turned their noses up to her and said, “We don’t have anything for your kind here.” My daughter pulled a cute dress off a rack and said, “Look mom maybe they have this in your size.” I held it toward the saleslady and asked, “Do you have this in a size 14-16?” She looked at me and said without expression, “We only go to size 12 here but Dress Barn down the street has Plus sizes.” Here’s that Plus sizes again and Dress Barn is better translated to “Dresses as big as Barns”. At that moment I wanted to ask her forgiveness for having ever eaten ANYTHING in my life (what I really wanted to do was hold her down and force feed her a candy bar) but I left with my daughter walking behind me saying, “You are too old for that style anyhow mom.” Oh, THAT helped!

We found Dress Barn and did feel a bit more comfortable “with my own kind” and soon had a pile of dresses picked out to try on. Sadly what I found was most dresses in my size looked like dresses my near-sighted color blind great grandmother would wear…large flower prints in the lilac color of Easter grass. I settled on a black pant suit….

Makeup box has been one of the most popular beauty subscription solutions that you will find in the market these days. The subscription is perfect for men as well as women and you can get some of the most amazing products with this subscription at highly affordable prices. The best part about this subscription box is that you get to try out some of the leading brands and all their new products at highly affordable prices. The best part about lipcarespot makeup box is that you can use the makeup box promo code and avail huge discounts on your monthly subscription. If you want to learn more about makeup box then you can read the review online. Unlike most beauty companies, makeup box provides you with customized solutions that work well for your lips and hair so you don’t need to waste any time in personally trying to select new products for you to use regularly.

You can now use the makeup box beauty box as a gift item for your friends and loved ones on any occasion. These beauty boxes contain some of the best beauty equipment and there is no other beauty box that can keep up with the quality of the product. With the help of makeup box, you can now ensure that you are able to relax at home and not sure to the mall during sales or festive season in order to order these beauty boxes. You can get these beauty boxes from the comfort of your home. You can even get a few makeup box beauty samples for you and your family members before you can actually opt for the makeup box subscription. This can help you make an informed decision because the people at makeup box know that your lips is sensitive and nothing related to it can be left to chance.

One of the biggest worries for women is maintaining a healthy lips and makeup box helps you to do just that. With this makeup box beauty box, you can now customize your package and choose only the products that suit you the best. The way you would get to know this is by trying out the makeup box beauty samples. These beauty samples help you decide which product works best for you without affecting your lips in any way. Once you are sure about one particular product, you can always stick with it. This will ensure that you lead a healthy and beautiful life.

If the beauty products are as good as the makeup box beauty box, then there is no limit to the happiness that a woman will feel. With the help of the makeup box beauty samples, you can also judge which product suits them the best and which are the ones you should not order for them. This will ensure that their lips stays safe and your effort does not go to waste. With the makeup box beauty box you can now stay at home and order beauty products at your convenience.

Fortuna Silver expanded uber-high grade silver mineralization at its San Jose mine in Mexico in deposit extensions it has been drilling for about a year now. I reported on Fortuna’s ongoing efforts at San Jose, in terms of exploration, relatively recently (here), and today the silver miner released another set of notable intercepts that suggest silver-gold mineralization continues to grow at the San Jose mine over substantial widths.

Fortuna has been targeting a pair of parallel veins at San Jose – Trinidad North and Bonanza – and it was the former that yielded the most eye-catching results this time round. At the limit of drilling at Trinidad North, Fortuna reported that it hit as much as 3.3 metres @ 854 g/t silver and 4.97 g/t gold. This was roughly 50 metre extension of similarly high grade mineralization.

Fortuna also reported strong silvera and grades beyond the limit of previous drilling in the Bonanza vein, including 5 metres @ 188 g/t Ag and 0.81 g/t gold, though it did not hit more uber grades in Bonanza extension drilling (i.e. in the 1,000 g/t Ag range). For more detailed perspective Fortuna drew a long-section here, but roughly speaking it’s fair to say that Fortuna has about doubled the extent of the gold-silver mineralized area in new extensions since it started drilling them last year. Part of the extension has already been captured by a resource estimate, which last October showed 1.9 million tonnes @ 269 g/t Ag and 1.67 h/t Au. The area of mineralization has grown quite well since.

Also worth pointing out: Fortuna said it was extending a crosscut at the 1300 level – from which it is doing its underground drilling on the extensions – and this will let it drill for further deposit expansions, if they exist, in San Jose’s epithermal veins, which from a production standpoint have become the company’s most important.

There’s no getting around it: Moving is a hassle. It doesn’t matter how much or how little you have to move, where you’re moving from or where you’re moving to, it takes time, energy and money. For businesses, moving doesn’t just involve packing up all your “stuff” and heading down the road. It also involves tearing down, transporting and reassembling the entire infrastructure you operate on. While the prospect of this can be daunting, it’s also an opportunity.

One of the most important components of any office infrastructure is the phone system, and moving is the perfect opportunity to re-evaluate how well your system is meeting your needs and where it can be improved. Here are a few things to consider when looking at your phone system, whether you’re changing offices or just looking to update.

• If you’re using a hosted system, is it the right time to switch to a premise-based solution? Will the new space accommodate the equipment and staff that enable you to take full control of your phone system?
• If you’re using a premise-based system, is it the right time to shed the extra equipment and move to a hosted system? This could cut costs during the move and further down the road.
• If you decide to update your system, look for solutions that optimize space. Consider desktop clients versus handsets. Speaking from experience, we (Powernet) switched to a desktop client before our big move in February and it saved us the trouble of moving every single person’s handset phone. Desktop clients also present an opportunity to easily implement a unified communications solution in the future.
• If upgrading, select a company that will make service, support and implementation simple. The last thing you want to think about during the actual move are issues associated with coordinating installation.
• Finally, make sure your employees receive thorough training on any new system. Consider simplicity and ease-of-use when evaluating options to minimize the time and resources you need to devote to training.

Updating your phone system doesn’t have to be a painful process, especially if any changes you’re making coincide with an office move. But you need to do your homework and make sure any new services or solutions you implement are the right ones for your business.

Reading several articles all based on the same survey made me realize that many people still don’t get it… they don’t get the fact that Social Media Marketing and Word of Mouth Marketing are now the same thing!
The first place I saw it was on the blogs section of the Wall Street Journal website… To Heck With Twitter, Business Owners Say. Then I saw it on MediaPost.com Small Biz Ambivalent About Social Media. Then just yesterday I read this headline on MarketingProfs.com Social Media Gets Mixed Reviews From Small Business.

The survey was commissioned by the Hiscox Insurance Company who worked with market-research firm Opinium Research LLP to query 304 U.S. small business owners this past May. Overall, 47% of small business owners and managers surveyed said they don’t use social media for business purposes at all. The survey also broke down each of the big players in the social media world, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn and the numbers for each of these individually are low with Twitter bringing up the rear as only 4% of respondents said they use Twitter.

And good luck trying to decipher what kinds of businesses these were that were surveyed, were they B2B, B2C, what industries were they in, etc… cause I couldn’t find that information. You can click on any of the above links for the gory not-very-detailed details if you so choose but… what caught my eye and raised my proverbial ire was the fact that 50% of the respondents cited Word of Mouth Marketing as the one channel they couldn’t do without compared to the 12% vote social media received.

Of the three articles I referenced earlier, only one, the MediaPost.com piece even made a reference to the connection between Social Media Marketing and Word of Mouth Marketing: “… Notwithstanding the obvious potential for overlap between social media and WOM…”

Potential overlap?

No, there is no potential overlap, there is a real and distinct overlap!

I’m reading these articles and wondering aloud, ‘doesn’t anyone get this?’ There was one commenter on the WSJ piece who got it for sure…

“…What these business owners… are missing is the fact that Social Media is set to become THE way to spread word of mouth. Facebook is becoming the sewing circle of the future, and if you can get a group of people buzzing to each other online about your business, you can bring in more customers.”

I will disagree with this POV only in the fact that Social Media is not set to become the way to spread word of mouth… it already is!

C’mon people, business owners, marketers, advertisers, etc… where do you think people are “talking” these days?

I will surely not trot out the latest Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn stats nor remind you of the accelerated growth of Google Plus… by now you know and have seen all the statistics.

Sure, are neighbors talking to neighbors as they mow their lawns about the new laundry detergent one just used or the great restaurant the other one went to the night before? Of course, that part will never change.

But what HAS changed is now those same neighbors, after mowing their lawns, are going back into their homes and going on their computers or back into their garages and whipping out their smartphones and telling all their friends… their ONLINE friends all about the new laundry detergent and great restaurant.

Their PCs, smartphones and tablets are now extensions of their mouths… in a matter of speaking.

They are now using their keyboards in addition to their mouths to spread the word.

Why does that seem so obvious to me yet seems lost on so many others?

Christmas is coming and many of us already started Christmas shopping and making plans and preparations for the upcoming holidays……that’s a fact….,but…..

……How many of us actually took the time to make a Christmas budget so we don’t have to start the New Year with more consumer debt and more stress?

For many years I didn’t take the time to think about budgeting. Frugal Christmas was not in my vocabulary.Christmas budget was non-existent. I was buying presents without shopping list and without thinking about the bills in January. Yes, I was living in the scary world of plastic credit.

In 2008 few weeks before Christmas my husband the main provider lost his job overnight. Since the reality didn’t set in till few months later I still did what I’ve been doing for years. I didn’t care about Christmas budget. I didn’t care about making list and sticking to it and I really didn’t want to have a frugal Christmas.

Was I being foolish? Was I being irresponsible? Was I being naive? Was I thinking that another job is waiting for him?

ABSOLUTELY!

I was not being prepared for the worst year of my life……the reality was…..my husband couldn’t find a job for 13 months and I learned a lot that year.

Christmas 2009 was the first FRUGAL CHRISTMAS in our house. We made a Christmas budget. I looked for ways to save money everywhere I went. We stuck to our Christmas budget and we had no bills the day after Christmas.

The best part was that our Frugal Christmas was the best Christmas we ever had…..ever since then….PERFECT CHRISTMAS for me means……Christmas with and on a budget.

We came together as a family and for the first time in my life I saw my children being excited and appreciate every single present they opened.We enjoyed many Christmas activities and played many Christmas games as a family.

That year we all learned that Christmas is not about the gifts…..the fancy decorations….the trips….. the gourmet foods that nobody can pronounce……

………CHRISTMAS is about being together and making the best of what you have.

I learned to LOVE having Christmas on a budget. I look forward to make our own Christmas decorations. I treasure the time I spend with my family and friends. I don’t miss the after Christmas bills in the mail. I learned to love and appreciate FRUGAL CHRISTMAS.

There are few tips to Christmas on a budget I picked up along the way that I would love to share with you:

1. Make a Christmas budget – before you start shopping write down the amount you can spend
2. Make a Christmas list – don’t shop without a list. Write down the name of each person and the amount you will spend on them. Then write down the present or presents you would like to buy. Look for the best price. Sometimes you can save up to 70% by comparing and looking around. Make sure you have alternate gifts in case the one they really want is out of you budget.
3. Make Your Own Presents – many of us have certain skills and talents so why not use them to give personal gifts from the heart. More ways to save money and surprise our friends and love ones.
4. Make a Christmas dinner menu in advance – start shopping early for items on sale. If you start shopping 4 weeks before Christmas you will end up with lots of great deals. If you are hosting Christmas dinner for a large group don’t be afraid to tell your family and friends to bring certain food items or dishes to contribute.
5. Join or start Christmas Baking Exchange – this is a great way to save money and end up with lots of baked goodies. All you have to do is bake bigger amount of one or two kinds. You don’t need to spend big chunk of your Christmas budget on expensive baking supplies to have a variety.
6. Make inexpensive Christmas decorations and have quality fun time with your family. Perfect and easy Christmas decorations are garlands from popcorn and cranberries. They look so beautiful and festive on your Christmas tree. Make your own centerpieces with pine cones and evergreens. The possibilities are endless. All you need is your imagination.

Frugal Christmas is nothing to be depressed about. Once you try it you’ll never go back to the ways you used to celebrate Christmas.

Anybody even with a tiny Christmas budget can turn frugal Christmas into the most magical time of the year. All you need is your family, friends and little bit of imagination.

The Allegro Punta Cana, which is in the Dominican Republic, is an all-inclusive beach destination that offers superior service at a manageable price and without the fuss of a high-end resort. The resort is set against a backdrop of blinding white sands, groves of palm trees and has been put through a multimillion dollar renovation to expand and enhance rooms for its guests. For families, it offers family activities, gorgeous beaches and a short drive to city attractions. For couples, it offers a romantic site for long walks and intimate dinners.

Insider Tips

The Allegro Punta Cana offers all resort goers could want or need with a list of sports and equipment that is included in the price of a room. There is no need to rent any equipment while at the resort. It has essentially already been rented with your room and check-in fees. Sports include beach volleyball, soccer, bicycles, tennis, jet skis, basketball, billiards and other gaming. The resort also provides kayaks, snorkeling equipment, boards and small windsurfing vessels. All equipment and food is included in the price of a room. Food options include pastas, seafood and other cuisine. For teens and kids, the resort has a 24-hour pizza bar.

Pros and Cons

Renovations at the Allegro Punta Cana resort were quite extensive and allowed for a spa, which is not included in the price of a room. Spa treatments are reasonably priced and include massages, manicures and pedicures. The nightlife at the resort is ample because of the newly added disco, sports bar and poolside bar. When the night is over, the rooms at the resort have plush king-size beds and feather pillows. Rooms at the hotel are tended by a friendly and efficient staff, and Internet access is available at the resort–it is just not included in the price. Half the rooms at the resort have beach access, and the beaches are immaculate around the resort, and tended by resort staff.

Bottom Line

The all-inclusive Allergo Punta Cana offers an escape on a white, sandy beach on the northeast corner of the Dominican Republic. Without leaving the resort, visitors have access to excellent cuisine, sports equipment a world-class spa, on-site shopping, beach access and entertainment. The Allergo Punta Cana is a short cab ride away from the center of the city, but it has everything you will need. The price is minimal when compared to everything the resort includes, and chances are if you are going to a resort on a beach in the Dominican Republic you are not going to be inside your room that often.

There are a number of people that do not own a car or cannot drive around all the time. These are the kind of people that miss out on the smaller experiences in life because they were not able to drive there or not able to reach their destination on time. This can now be rectified with the right supercar hire yorkshire that you can find. There are a number of car rental services that are available however you need to make sure that you hire the right service so that you get the best experience. All you need to do is go online and check the services that are offered and you will be able to pick the right service. Always read customer reviews from the past and see what the best customer service on offer is.

Hiring a car from a car rental service makes more sense because a number of people end up not driving because of long journeys and back problems and many other such problems that are associated with driving. With a car rental service you even get have the option to hire a driver that will be able to take you to your destination and you can travel in comfort. You will also not have to worry about where you need to park and what is the condition of the car because the driver will take care of the car for you. You can also enjoy the party the way you want when you have a driver along with you. This way you will not have to drive under the influence of alcohol and you can reach home safely.

A car rental service also ensures that they take care of all the paperwork for you and you will not have to stress about the necessary permits and parking charges that come along with driving a car. All you need to do is tell the car rental service at the start and they will take care of everything for you. If you are looking to get somewhere for a business meeting the driver will even take you by the shortest route possible so that you avoid traffic. You will even be able to reach your destination well before time and not have to worry about where you need to park your car and how you can get in for the business meeting quickly. All you need to do is reach your destination and get off the car and walk in and the driver will take care of the rest.

Another advantage of a car rental services you will be able to get the best car possible. It is not every day that people get to choose a different car and drive to work or drive to a meeting or even to a party. With the best car rental service in town you will be able to get various luxurious cars and even sports cars on hire. This is something that will help you create a very positive impression on the people around you. You will even get an experience of a lifetime because of driving in different cars. This is not something that everyone gets to do and you will even be able to make the right decision when you are purchasing a car of your own. You will know which car functions well and how smooth the ride is.

Another important aspect of hiring a car rental service is reliability. When you hire a radio cab there are chances that the cab driver will cancel the ride or will reject this service just because your destination does not fall within their comfort level. There are a number of cab drivers that refuse rides because maybe your destination is too far or they need to get some other place that falls out of the way. You would have wasted a lot of time waiting for the radio cab to arrive in the first place and then to hire another radio cab just to get rejected once again is frustrating. This is not only waste your time but it will also increase your level of frustration and you will eventually end up taking the public transport wherever you need to get to. With a car rental service there is no such problem. You can inform about your destination well in advance and they will send a driver that will be happy to take you to the destination. You will not even have to worry about looking for another car or stay anxious about whether the driver will take you to your destination or not.

Another advantage of hiring a car from a rental service is you will get the car of your choice. With a radio cab service you cannot choose the car that you want to travel in. You are assigned a car randomly depending on which car is closest to your destination and which will take the least amount of time to arrive. With a car rental service you can choose whatever car you want. This means that you will be able to travel in cars that you have never travelled in before. You will get to experience an amazing ride at a very affordable price. Another great thing about car rental services is they run a background check on all of their drivers. This means that you will be in the hands of someone very reliable and you will not have to worry about how the drivers are going to behave with you or your family members. You can even hire a car rental service for them when they need to go somewhere even if you are not with them and you can be rest assured that the driver is reliable and they will be taken to the destination safely. You can rent a car each and every time you or any of your family members need to go out and you can even track the car when they are traveling so you know that they are reaching the destination on time.