It is not a secret, if you are a fan of the New York Metropolitans this has been most likely one of the worst baseball seasons you have ever seen. I assure you, it is even worse if you are a season ticket holder like I am. So when your favorite sports team, be it baseball, football or basketball, has tossed away any chance of playing significant interesting games there is only one thing to look forward to ... promotional products! Personally, I have one promotional giveaway day that is my favorite. I appreciate tradition, and through the thick and thin of Mets seasons there has been one thing the organization has always gotten right

 

I have awful luck with cars. 

Based on the frequency that I talk about my car, you'd think I was a guy with a souped up ride. But no, I'm just Jenn with my silly promotional keychains attached to a worn in key that opens the door of my '93 wagon. If you've followed any of my blogs you know that I refer to my wagon as a spaceship and that I survived some kind of miracle when my back tire blew out and sent me spinning in Maine on the 95. If you read my last blog, you'll know I went to Montauk...what I left out was that my brakes started to go on the way there. I had to pull the e-brake when I was behind a crazy nice car in fear of being beat up by a furious rich Hamptonite.

To take care of the problem, I dropped my wheels off at my mechanic on Sunday. I locked my custom keychains in the glove box and told the guy the keypad code over the phone Monday morning. Turn to yesterday after work - I went to pick up the car but they hadn't even touched it. The guy didn't understand that when I said my personalized keychains were in the glove box and gave him the keypad pin two times, that he had to punch that code in to get in the car. So I got my promotional keychain out myself and gave him the keys.

                                     

Flip back to this morning - maybe some of you saw me walking down Frost street? I took my father's car to work and right as I turned on to Frost St. it decided to lock up. The wheel wouldn't turn and the battery and oil lights came on. (This is the same car that I ran out of gas on Sunrise Highway with last month.) I managed to get it into that tile place and almost into a spot. I immediately wrote a note, "Car broke down. Be back later," and left my number. I didn't want to be late so I started walking. Thats when I realized my hands felt a bit light, the keys! I looked down to my hand and they were there, phew. But I wasn't used to the bare set of keys my father uses since I have a bunch of custom keychains. I called my dad and when I was almost to work he said, "Get back in and put it in drive then park the drive again. It does that sometimes. Just shuts off, eeeeeh every eeeeh once in a while." So of there I went, back down Frost St. to give it a go. I slipped the personalized keychain less key into the ignition and badaboom, it worked!

Flip forward to my lunch break when I called the mechanic. "So what's wrong with it?" I asked. "Ahhhh la caparate sebarlo ca lembosa," he told me. (Or some variation of that.) He kept repeating it but his accent was so thick and I had no idea what he was saying. I managed to hear "$95." And that works for me. So, yay everyone. I'll have my promotional keychains and spaceship wagon back tomorrow...and maybe then I'll know what he actually fixed on it.

So I recently began my exercise routine once again after about 4 months and I must say I am not that tired even though it has been about 4 months. Since I just restarted yesterday I didn't want to over exert myself so I started small by running half a mile then walking half a mile. To aid in my quest for a better physique I purchased a new set of running shoes I think the ones from 5 years ago finally caught up to me along with a Transparent BPA Free Cascade Bottle to keep myself hydrated at all times. The great thing about this bottle is that it is BPA free includes sipper, strainer lid insert and a wide mouth opening to allow for ice cubes. I have dropped it a few times and I must say it is extremely durable and not to mention it is dishwasher safe, stain and odor resistant. I personally would recommend this item to anyone looking to promote their company's branding, granted if you need something a little bit bigger than 20oz then check out our other Custom BPA Free Bottles.

 

 

Besides the obvious promotional pen and notebook, what is your most frequently used desk accessory? Well for me, it is my stapler, followed by my wonderful, colorful adhesive notepads. Maybe because I am an organization freak and need everything to be perfectly "in-order", the stapler has become my best friend in desktop accessory world. And of course, the adhesive pads and adhesive cubes - they are great as little reminders that you can post everywhere, or even perfect for color coding and organizing documents.Don't think of it as just stapling and posting- think of it as being prepared and organzied and on-top of things. I cannot think of anything more appreciated and necessary in the office than organization. So next time you are thinking of a nice office gift to give out to employees or customers, I would highly recommend the 2-in-1 stapler - it is a stand up stapler and a flag dispenser in one. 

 

 

This weekend was a sick sandwich, stuffed with scrumptious Montauk meat. I left work Thursday with all intentions of spend time out in Montauk with a best friend and her family, but instead I was confined to my bed with a ton of healthcare promotional items due to one big jerk of a cold. I woke up Friday and decided that being sick in Montauk was better then being sick in Freeport. I headed out early and enjoyed the company of good people and glorious weather. Though the forecast said thunderstorms, we didn't even get a drop. However, from our ocean front hotel room, we could see the sea rising, and feared we'd placed ourselves on the edge of the earth.

The waves grew higher and higher, and yes, Hurricane Bill's furry surrounded us. As we lounged on the beach and built sand castles, we watched the beach slowly but constantly deplete. Police officers on 4X4s drove by with megaphones announcing that, "Due to Hurricane Bill, the beach will continue to be lost and swimming is highly unadvised." Posters were hung in the snack shop and on hotel doors to warn everyone of the impending danger.
           
To avoid the danger of the sea, my friends and I decided to find some earthly danger. We walked down the shoreline towards "The End," looked up at the plunging cliffs, and began our ascent. Barefoot and sun-burnt, we climbed the rolling rock cliffs on all fours. As we neared the top, it was harder to get a grip because the sweat on our bodies was making the clay we were climbing very slick. After moments of silence we all reached the top and took a deep breath. The view was absolutely amazing and we were now safe from any crashing waves.

In front of us was an endless sea and behind us was a field of grass, trees, and wild flowers surrounding an old military fort. We enjoyed being a part of two beautiful paradises, until one friend bluntly uttered, "Soooo, how exactly are we getting down?" We hadn't quite thought that far ahead. But after scoping out a few different cliff paths, we settled on one and proceeded to do the crab-walk the entire way down. Immediately upon reaching the sand, me and another friend decided we needed to challenge those waves.

As the rest of our group stood behind us wading on the edge of the shore, we dove into the waves, just as furious as Hurricane Bill was. We were tossed under, thrown around and almost turned into fish because of the many mouthfuls of salt water we swallowed. But we continued to stand tall with feet planted firmly in the sand and our fists raised up in the air (until the next wave came and knocked us down.) After about ten minutes a cop called for us to come out of the water, stating, "Surfers only!" Due to our lack of any promotional outdoor items, let alone an actual board, we pulled our way out of Hurricane Bill's grip and settled for the still pool water.

About an hour later I realized my sickness was still lingering and I needed to tend to it. I drove home Saturday and spent every hour since in bed with a roll of toilet paper and a bag of lozenges. While I wasn't able to pimp my weekend the way I'd usually like, I was happy to spend some time in Montauk under the sun, in the sea and surrounded by good ones. Then again, after 24 hours plus in bed, I'm extremely happy to be here under these florescent lights, in this cubicle and surrounded by you good ones too.

 Every year department stores start decorating and selling Christmas earlier and earlier. I know it's August, but before you know it it will be the holiday season. Time flies especially when you are planning a wedding, (by the time I get back from the honeymoon it will be Halloween) and I can't wait to celebrate the holidays as a Mrs. This means I need to start looking at fun winter/seasonal recipes! Motivators offers a fantastic Holidays at Home Cookbook for me to learn new recipes. This is a great promotional item to give as gift, or use as a fundraiser with a custom imprint on the front! And for anyone who is NOT ready to start their holiday cooking, Motivators also offers a ton of other cookbooks to custom imprint.

Back to school time and what classroom would be complete without a ruler? We have all sizes, colors and materials available.  These are the perfect back to school gift for every student that comes back to school.  when you are back to school shopping you go for the crazy pencils, fancy erasers and the to be the envy of all your classmates you try and get the raddest trapper keeper oranganizer but no one every goes for the rulers.  One of my favorite rulers we have is the Presidential Plastic Flexible Ruler.  I recieved this ruler when I was in school, many years ago.  lets just say there was more than one president on the ruller but less than forty four. 

Those of you that know me are very aware I do not like doing this and it takes something big to prompt me to do it on my own. Well something did shock me yesterday, actually two things. The first thing was they got my order 100% RIGHT at the drive thru at Taco Bell!

 

The 2nd thing was the crude attempt at giving out promotional products. After I got my food from the person at the window I pulled forward and checked to make sure everything was in the bag (standard practice as we all know). The first thing I noticed was 1 Starlight Mint and a 1 Custom Imprinted Alcohol Wet Wipe Packette (both minus the custom imprinted part). I was like WOW what a great idea and awful mistake all in one! For just pennies more they could have imprinted these items and really WOW'ed their customers. Way to miss the boat Taco Bell. To the decision makers at Taco Bell you really need to " Call Me Now" so we can get your imprint on those items!

 

To fight increasing unemployment rates in California, the city of Palo Alto has joined with the Stanford Blood Center for a cool and proactive promotion. As the recession continues, many in the nearby Silicon Valley have had trouble finding jobs. That's why this promotion is directed at the unemployed.

                     

The Stanford Blood Center has selected two career experts and recruiters from Stanford University and Stanford hospital to run a career counseling and networking event next Tuesday. A ticket will be given to all unemployed individuals who donate blood this week in hopes that they'll attend the promising event. This is a great incentive to participate in a worthy cause. At the same time, many people who wouldn't normally give blood will want to because of the free ticket to the show.

Though Blood Donor awareness month isn't until January, many promotional products  can be used to create a stir about blood drives all year round. This is a great promotion that will hopefully reduce the number of those unemployed in the Palo Alto area.
                         

Some previous blood donation promotions that didn't go so well include:Vampire Day: Bring three friends and get a free bag of blood!

How-To Day: Bring you're own needle and we'll teach you how to extract your own blood! Bring a friend for double the fun.

Druggie Day: Drug addicts have blood too! Invite your Narc friends to come on down and join in on some needle diving. Sharing of needles is welcomed.

Oh what a horror. Stick to a safe, smart and fun promotion and keep all of our awareness events promotional items in mind.

We've been having some car issues lately. Normally that would mean the brakes are acting up or a fan belt is squeaking, but that's not what I'm referring to. There's nothing wrong with the functionality of the car; the issue is the location. Our apartment building doesn't have enough garage space for every resident, so we're forced to park on the street.

There are confusing parking signs on the road. Some places it's fine to park, some places it's not. There are restrictions when school is in session, but those dates are never posted. In July, we parked directly next to a sign that said 'No Parking 7am - 5pm School Days'. Note that I said July. We received a parking ticket. At 4:50am. School ended in June. 4:50am is before 7am. The confusing signs must have gotten the police officer! Maybe he thought it read 'Parking ONLY 7am - 5pm School Days'. Needless to say, I will be fighting this ticket in the coming weeks. Was there any way for custom auto accessories to help me here? I doubt it. What would happen is this sign was around?

 

Issue #2 arose the other day. We parked on the street and there was a driveway a few feet behind the car. No room for another car back there. We come out the next morning and sure enough, there is a car parked there. Touching our bumper. Somewhat blocking the driveway. It didn't look like there was any damage, so I drove away (frustrated, of course). Later in the day we notice the scratches in the bumper. It must have happened when I turned the car on. There's some movement there. Could THIS have been prevented by logo auto accessories, like a promotional bumper sticker? Again, probably not.

Solution? Move to a building with garage parking for all residents!