My typical everyday routine is making myself a cup of coffee, I am useless withouth it. (I'm sure most of you would agree!) With a 3 year old in the house, mornings tend to be very busy, so I'm always on the go and I use styrofoam/paper cups with a lid as a one time deal and throw them away. Shame on me! This is such a bad habit and wastes valuable resources, through this whole time I could have purchased a promotional ceramic mug and reuse it without throwing out 365 paper cups within one year. The cafe ceramic mug is a perfect substitute and looks similar to the plastic cup that I have been throwing out daily. As of this moment, I vow to do better for mother earth!

Last night, I went to visit a friend of the families, who has been staying at the Long Island Jewish Hospital in Manhasset. A 50 year old man had a level 4 stroke while at work about 10 months ago and has been a vegetable since. The many attempts have been made and there is no sign of recovery which is very very sad. Knowing someone for many years and seeing them like this broke my heart, I cannot imagine how his family must feel. Listening to the wife speak about what the doctors have been saying and how strong she was doing so, really made me look at life from a different perspective. This poor woman was told that her partner would only live about a month. She has been by his side since and 10 months have went by and even though there is no sign of recovery she has hope. Life is so tricky, as you have no idea what the next minute holds.

Making a big purchase can be stressful.  So many questions cross my mind:  Do I really need this?  Can I even afford this?  Will I regret this tomorrow?  But last weekend I made an investment that I know was well worth it.  I bought a new (used) car!

That's my beautiful 2010 Dodge Avenger, and I'm pretty obsessed with it.  It's got the rugged look of the powerful Dodge Charger but the fuel efficiency of a coupe.  And now that I've driven back and forth from work a few times, I can confidently say that buying this vehicle was the best decision I've ever made.

I dragged my parents with me to the dealership when I made the big purchase.  They were happy to tag along -- I actually think they were a bit nervous that a sleazy car salesman might rip me off otherwise.  But we were happily surprised when the employees at Enterprise Car Sales were honest, kind and truly dedicated to helping me find a car I'd love.  I felt no pressure to make a decision; it was a relaxing and enjoyable.

Up until last weekend, I'd been driving a beat-up 2001 Nissan Altima that squeaked louder than I'd like to admit, stalled at red lights, and had a huge dent on its passenger side.  Needless to say, when I took the Avenger for a test drive, the contrast was shocking; I instantly fell in love.  I left and immediately went to my credit union to apply for a loan.

After I'd settled everything with the bank, Geico, etc., it was time to pick up my new wheels!  The salesman took the license plates off my awful Altima, inserted them into promotional license plate frames, and switched them over to my shiny new car.  I was ecstatic!

I thought I'd get at least a little sentimental about giving up my Nissan.  After all, over the last four years I'd taken it to college and on road trips, I'd laughed and cried in it, and I'd even eaten and slept inside of it.  But I'm so happy with my new purchase that I don't think I'll ever look back!

     So I don't know about all my followers out there, but this past weekend I was out at the old watering hole with a few friends. Now when I was at the fine establishment, I went up to the bar, unsure of what of what beer I wanted. I looked around at my fellow patrons to see what they were having. After careful observation, I decided on a Dos Equis, paid the bartender, and went back to my table.

     Did you miss it? So did I, at first. But the marketing was so subtle; I didn't even notice what caused me to make my decision.

     As I am walking back to my table, enjoying my ice cold, refreshing lager, I couldn't help by wonder what caused me to make my decision. Then it hit me...THE GLASSES! As I was deciding what beer to get, I was checking what other people at the bar were drinking. Now, I didn't ask anyone what they were drinking, but then again. I didn't have to. Everyone who was drinking from glasses, was drinking from logo beer glasses. When I scanned the bar to see what others were drinking, whether I knew it or not, I was being bombarded with logos from various beer companies. All that information can easily sway you to choose one beverage or another. Plus, the person drinking the beverage will constantly be staring at the logo while they drink it, virtually engraining the image in their head. This is very clever way to promote ones brand and should be used by anyone looking to make it in the beverage industry.

Hello Folks. It's that time for another Apple update. In my previous post I mentioned I was awaiting for my iPad2. Let me tell you, since day 1 of owning it, I have not once touched my laptop. It's almost like my laptop became obsolete. Why bother getting up when I can just lay in bed and web browse via iPad2. In March, the iPad3 is going to be released. Of course it will have enahanced features such as a higher resolution screen, and a faster processor. There is speculation that it will have Apple's first quad-core processor and more internal memory. You can bet all the Apple fan boys will flock the minute it's available in retail stores. With the increased demand for tablets, Motivators has some great electronic gift sets. One of my personal favorites is the tablet keyboard stand which will enhance your tablet experience.

In my twenty two years I have lived in the same house, with my parents, and tomorrow is my last day!  My parents have finally sold their house after trying for the last couple of years.  And over the last twenty two years it is apparent that we have collected a LOT of stuff.  I have been helping them pack and move day and night.  Through my job and over the years, I have accumulated a lot of Promotional Tote Bags, and they have come in handy.  I can throw everything in the totes; they hold more than the regular plastic bags and are much sturdier. I usually keep a stack in my car for grocery shopping, and now they are re-purposed for moving!  I am exhausted and cannot wait to be done moving!

When I studied abroad in the spring of 2008, I made friends from all over the world.  I had the privilege of meeting great people from Australia, Mexico, Canada, England and more.  And one of the harsh realities about coming home was no longer being able to do the simple things with my new buddies, like go to the movies, make dinner, and even watch TV.

But one new app allows comrades who many not be in the same place at the same time to watch and discuss MTV content together.  The mobile TV application, dubbed MTV Under The Thumb, was debuted at MTV's trade show tent at the Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona, Spain, and is already garnering lots of attention. 

Mashable reports that through downloading the app, users get access to on-demand content.  It also offers "a social twist:" friends can co-view MTV's content and chat within the app at the same time.  Furthermore, they can share their favorite television programs on Facebook and "pair their mobile device with a web browser on a computer, which turns the device into a remote control or a second screen."

Some of MTV's most popular TV shows are already available on the app including Teen Mom and Jersey Shore.  Other sections like celebrity gossip and "What's Hot" are also sure to appeal to the app's intended audience -- "notoriously distracted Millennials."

While MTV Under The Thumb can be downloaded on iOS and Android in many countries across Europe, it's not expected to make it to the US anytime soon.  Would you use the application if introduced in America?

Ladies and Gentlemen, it's just about baseball season. Not quite there yet officially, but spring training has begun.  It is a wonderful time for baseball fans of all teams. That is because spring training is a fresh slate and means everyone can have hope. Remember, the World Champion St Louis Cardinals were 10 games back at one point last season and rallied back to win it all.

Yes, all fans can have hope....except for maybe the Mets fan. For the Mets fan it has been a very long offseason. The Mets have lost a face of their franchise and one of the best players in baseball, they didn't do much else to make up for that either. All of this, while every team in their division have stocked up on big time baseball weapons. You don't have to be a big time baseball expert to have the Mets tagged for last in the NL East.

So with all of the team in camp, and certainly hearing the doom and gloom from the media around them, one of the team's owners Jeff Wilpon, swooped in to try to save the day. He chose to do it with customized t-shirts.

The logo you see there is the logo from the classic cartoon called "Underdog". The idea was for the team to embrace the "Underdog" theme and to show everyone not to count them out. In about 29 other Major League baseball camps, this would be a non-story. Unfortunatly, this is Mets camp, and everything is a controversy or news story.

Fans complained about ownership calling the team an "Underdog" saying that they should have higher expectations of the team they built, and there were rumors that certain players didn't like the statement the shirt was wearing. This all lead to a press conference by the manager....about the customized t-shirts.

Terry Collins, Mets manager said "he is embracing the notion of team being ‘underdogs,’ and says if any player has an issue with the shirt they are missing the point. Collins said he has a certain set of expectations for the way this game is supposed to be played."

In all likelyhood, this will be a dead story by the end of the week if not by the end of the day. It does go to show you though the power a statement on a t-shirt can make.

I am not the most up to date when it comes to technology. One would think that I would be more into gadgets as my husband has an iPad (which i use to play WWF and Scramble), an iPod Touch, a Droid, and happens to be an IT manager. Truth of the matter is, I hate having to even navigate the TV (HD1? HD2? Blu-ray? Netflix?) and/or any electronic device in general. It is just something I am not interested in. I would much rather cook, read, or go shopping. But I have come to realize that I need to step it up. I need to learn these things so I am not left in the dust. So finally... I got the iPhone. My Blackberry was good to me, but it was time. As an early birthday present Bill gave me his upgrade, and paid for my new phone (sweetheart I know). Being that we have all the other i-devices, using the iPhone is a breeze! It is so nice to have a good camera on hand along with all of the apps. I love it. I think this has sparked my interest in electronics again! Now all I need is my custom iPhone case that comes in the next 2 days!

My wife and I had an opportunity for a date night.  ohhh.. aahhhh.. but these "date nights " don't come too often.  We were able to make it to an outdoor sports expo in town and we snuck out for a bite to eat and some drinks after. The event was awesome.  All the big supplies were there.  All the lastest gear was displayed from bicycles to new advancements in climbing gear.   If you could think of it, it was there and then some. They had demostrations on the rock wall and they had some kids on bikes doing tricks and one booth had a controtionist, which was pretty wild.  It had been a while since my wife had been to an expo and she was overwelmed by the size and creatvity of the trade show tents.  Commonly heard throught out the event was ".. WOW !!! lets go check out that booth.. ".  Some of the tents were more impressive than the gear they were showing.  There was an inflatable tent that looked like a spider, another looked like it was a section of the blacksmith shop and my favorite looked like a tiki hut. They were handing out desert island stress relievers.   The only thing they were missing the pina coladas and the ocean breeze.