Ive been doing most of my Christmas shopping online and I’ve placed 5 or 6 different Amazon books orders. Most of the items I’ve purchased online have came from Buy.com, eBay, Amazon and DeepDiscount. I’ve spent about half as much as my friends have spent, only because a lot of them refuse to order anything online using their credit cards, because they think it’s “unsafe” to order anything online and use your credit card. I’ve been ordering items online once or twice a week for the last 6 years and haven’t really ever had a bad experience.

Now that I finally invested in one of the Plasma mounts I found on sale, I’m staying home and watching a lot more TV. Just last month I paid close to two hundred dollars for a nice plasma wall mount that was very sturdy and I thought it was cool that it swiveled, tilted and even pan. I can’t say it was easy to set up but judging from the end result, it was all worth it.

No matter how many pairs of shoes I get and whatever brands they are, I always seem to go back to my Clarks shoes. Clark’s are classic shoes; I remember my dad wearing them to work and taking good care of them too. I always tell people that Clark’s are for the man of distinction. I have had four pairs of these shoes for years and they are still going strong. I still get compliments about them too. It’s really comfortable to wear and keeps my feet dry all year round. Gotta love my Clark’s.

After cooking a strong scented food for dinner, where the scent often lingers afterward, I usually burn a candle in the kitchen. That usually eliminates the odor afterward if it is a strong one such as cooked cabbage, liver or other sometimes unpleasant one. The candle only burns for a short period of time before the smell is gone. I also keep a candle burning, even if I haven’t cooked, just for the delightful scents you can buy them in. It is very soothing sometimes, depending on the scent of the candle that you burn.

Everyone keeps asking my niece what she wants for her birthday. She is very hard to buy for and please, being at the age of 17. She keeps telling everyone that she would love to have gift cards to some of her favorite stores. That way she can pick out whatever she sees in the store that she likes, or wants, and purchase it with the gift cards. Everyone that we’ve talked to in our family has decided to give her gift cards and we will do the same. That way whatever she gets will be something she really wants and it’s the easiest gift to purchase, too.

Every weekend I try and go to one of the local swap meets. They hold them in an old drive in movie theater and they’re always packed with vendors and customers. I’ve found a ton of great buys there over the years. A few months ago I found a few unlocked cell phones and turned around and sold them at work for sixty bucks each. Hopefully I can make it out there this weekend.

My girlfriend gets pretty nervous driving long distances by herself and going out at night with her girlfriends. I’ve been trying to get her to get a CCW permit to carry a handgun, but she doesn’t really feel comfortable around guns and she doesn’t think she would be able to use it if the time came. I’ve been showing her several different self defense products and she has been interested in a few of them. I think she’ll end up carrying a nice taser and some sort of mace-like spray.

My girlfriend has been trying to get me to put up some new lighting in our dining room over the table where we eat most of the time. I went out today and looked at some nice chandeliers and I think I’ve found a couple that she would absolutely love. I don’t want to just take it upon myself to pick the chandelier out without getting her opinion, though. Hopefully she will like the ones I show her.

A local car accessories store just closed down and they had a huge going out of business sale. I picked up a few car covers and a big bag full of hand buffers, car wax, tire shine, armorall and various other accessories. They didn’t even advertise the sale as far as I know. I just went in to pick up some tire shine and saw everything was $50 to 80% off and went crazy with the credit card.

I have been having a lot of parties this Summer. We always grill outside on our back patio. That is where most of our lawn furniture is, so it makes it so much nicer. I usually take my cushions inside in the Winter. Unfortunately, I left them in last Winter. I can really tell a big difference this Summer in the shape of them and wear. I should always use patio furniture covers on them whenever I don’t bring them inside. I sure wished I would’ve used them last Winter.