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Have you ever wondered how people who own small businesses like gift shops or internet-based shops, or even people who make a living doing auctions find all their merchandise at wholesale prices?

It’s really not that hard to figure out if you look around. One of my daughter’s godmothers owns a beachwear and general clothing store in one of the coastal tourist town near here. She gets sunglasses, jewelry, clothing, purses, shoes and other wholesale products from a number of suppliers. She also makes trips to Miami several times a year to buy in the wholesale district.

You can even find good suppliers of wholesale merchandise online. Companies like DollarDays offers amazingly low prices for those who can buy in bulk. They have a surprising selection and some of the prices are just amazing. They carry everything from major brands of cosmetics and name brand food items, to electronics and clothing. They even sell store fixtures.

I’m not entirely sure how it happened, but this week we accumulated three additional WebKinz. My daughter already had the Lil Unicorn, which she named Rose Petal. Then, Tuesday she got the Pink Poodle and named her Princess Sparkle. (Her cousin got a new WebKinz that day as well, because we got one free with the store promo.)

So, this evening I took her up to a local store to enter a drawing to spin the Wheel of Wow (her name was not drawn) and they were still having the promo, so we walked out with a lil Pink Poodle (which I named Lily) for me and a White Yorkie (which we think looks more like a Maltese) that Gigi named Echo, after our late Maltese.

So, now Gigi has three pets on her account and I opened my own account so I can send her mail and gifts. I have a WebKinz account. That still sounds odd to my ear. I suppose I will just do my best to accumulate as many things as I can and send most of them to my daughter as gifts. Plus, she likes getting mail and right now she is only getting it from her cousin, so I will have to add to the post.

There is nothing like shopping online: no crowds, no rude sales people, no navigating the parking lot, and no wondering if I will find a better price if I just get in the car and burn a little gas looking at another store. I love that I can find the best price by comparison shopping across the net, as well as often finding sites that don’t charge tax or shipping.

I was at the mall tonight, which is what reminded me of the fact that I loathe shopping in stores. I was with my daughter as she attended some of the WebKinz Extravaganza events and she said she knew I spent most of my money on her and that she thought I should go ahead and buy myself some cute dresses. Thanks for the permission, my darling girl!

I suppose I may as well get my gear on for spring. The OhSoChicBoutique is having a Spring Event and if you use the coupon code SpringFling while you are shopping on their website, you’ll get 15% off your order as well as free shipping. I love free shipping. I cannot say that enough.

They have a couple of flouncy blouses I like called the Flaunt It! and the Bonita. When I think spring, I think flouncy. I also like the Guilty As Charged! dress, but sadly it is sold out. I have to keep my eyes open to see if they restock.

Riding on the coattails of the High School Musical phenomenon is the upcoming “High School Musical: Summer Sessions” reality TV show. The show is to be hosted by Nick Lachey and will air on ABC at 8 p.m. Sundays and Mondays for three weeks beginning July 20 and then at 8 p.m. Mondays through mid-September.

And, if you are an aspiring actor between the ages of 16 to 22, you can audition in Orlando, Florida on May 7 at Champion Stadium in Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex.

Although the prize involved in the competition has not been completely clear to the public yet, I am assuming it could very well involve a role in the next High School Musical film. I base that on the quote, “one talented newcomer will receive the opportunity of a lifetime, becoming a part of ‘High School Musical’ history.”

Download your application for the High School Musical Audition.

Generally, I’m a bath person. That is to say that out of the two different types of bathers in this world (those who prefer showers and those who prefer baths), I am one of those who prefers the bath.

But, who has time? As much as I would love to have a calming soak every night; that is a luxury that went out the window with motherhood. I just don’t have enough time to myself, especially as a single mother; to be sitting is a bathtub while my daughter has the run of the house. And, I don’t feel comfortable doing it after she goes to bed, because her “kid sense” perks up and she usually awakes and comes to crash my party.

So, now I am a shower girl. I can get clean a lot faster that way. I had no idea, though, that I would spend my showers in mortal combat with the shower curtain. If my daughter is not sneaking n the bathroom to push the curtain around to stare at me, then there is that creepy bathroom craft that keeps the curtain whipping around my legs as I try to shave or wash my hair.

What’s up with that? Is there some sort of lay of physics I never learned in high school that dictates that a shower curtain has the law of nature on its side and the given ability to shrink your shower space?

Of course, I could buy a curved shower rod to increase the space, but I’m really just not up to drilling holes in the tile to install the fool thing. I did, however, find a product called the ShowerBow. It attaches easily to your existing shower rod and works to create a little more space in the knee and shoulder regions of the shower stall. Plus, it keeps your curtain from blowing in on you. Rather ingenious, but then then I always have believed that some of the best things in life are simple.

Economically, there is at least one advantage to living in Florida. We do not have a state income tax. We do, however, have outrageous property taxes in most counties, as well as a system that is not adequately protesting homeowners from the criminal homeowner’s insurances prices.

Our state sales tax is currently 6%, but nearly every county in the state tacks on at least another penny to cover things like roads and bloated county government salaries. I pay 7% where I live.

You don’t get anything for free. That is a universal truth. With so many people complaining about the cost of property taxes, the state government is offering to make some changes that would cut 25 - 40 percent (or more) off a typical tax bill.
But, at a price!

On November 4, when elections occur, we will have to vote on whether or not to add another cent to the base state sales tax. That would mean 7 cents on most purchases, excluding food, drugs and some other products. Only then would the Legislature eliminate a portion of local property tax.

Since all of the counties in the Tampa Bay area already tack on that extra penny, that means sales tax around here would move to 8 cents on the dollar.

Even with what would look like an extra burden on residents, the proposed change would actually cut a lot of money from schools in the state. The bill would take $7.9 billion from local school budgets statewide, but the extra penny would only give back $3.9 billion.

As distasteful as this increase initially sounds to me, I do see it as a valid way to make some of the illegal individuals working and living in Florida pay a little more tax. It’s a small ray of sunshine.

Speaking of heirlooms, I was going through some of the jewelry that my late step-father gave to me before he died and I found his pocket watch. It had been handed down for generations. On the front there is a train engine.

My daughter was only 7-months-old when my step-dad died, so she really never knew him. My nephew, on the other hand, was very close to his “Pap Pap” and they used to spend hours putting together the train sets my step-dad collected.

So, I felt like it would be very special to set aside the pocket watch for my nephew. His birthday is not until August, so I have time to have it cleaned and tuned up so that it is in top shape – although it still keep amazing time.

You know, I feel like some of the most special gifts are not new items, but heirlooms that are passed down from generation to generation, full of stories and rich is history.

My daughter is only five, but she already tries to emulate everything I do – the good and the bad. It keeps me honest! I want to be the very best role model for my precious little girl.

Gigi is enamored of my clothes, my shoes, and my make-up. She can spend an hour sitting quietly on her bed with my jewelry box, going through all of the jewelry I have collected over the years. Her eyes sparkle when she asks if one day all of that jewelry will one day belong to her.

Choosing an heirloom to pass down for generations can be as simple as a perfect string of pearls. I got my princess length, white freshwater pearls from Pearl Paradise. I was stunned by the quality and the luminous, simple elegance of the strands. Plus, their prices are surprisingly low.

It was big news in Florida today, as news agencies waited to see what the sentencing phase in the Wesley Snipes case would bring. In the end, a federal judge in Ocala, Florida sentenced Snipes this afternoon to three years in federal prison. That is the maximum sentence he could have received and many people believe he is being used to show an example.

Snipes must also serve one year of probation and he is still expected pay for back taxes after a civil trial.

Eddie Ray Kahn, Snipes’ tax consultant, was convicted of conspiracy and filing a false tax return and received a maximum 10-year prison sentence. Douglas Rosile, the accountant who prepared a fraudulent tax return for Snipes, received 54 months.

I’ve never been great at maintaining my cars. I don’t live near my dad, I’m not longer married, and my brother-in-law is too busy – so I end up doing my best to try and do it on my own. I have no problem with keeping my cars clean and tidy. I keep them washed and polished and covered with car wax. I clean the leather inside and the carpets. I could keep a website like Lane’s Professional Car Products in business indefinitely.

I was driving two weeks ago with my daughter, one of my fiends and three of my friend’s children in my van out to pick Strawberries. She commented on how well I kept my car and that she wished she had the motivation to keep her car running so well. I looked at her from the corner of my eyes. “Listen to this,” I said. I allowed the car to decelerate to about 25 and everything LURCHED.

“Something is wrong with my transmission,” I said. “My car LOOKS good, but I can’t seem to remember to get the thing into the shop to have that looked at before the whole thing falls apart. Do you STLL wish you took car of your cars the way I take car of mine?”

I grinned at her.

I really do need to remember to call the mechanic in the morning.

Here in Florida, we have a selection of over 100 specialty license plates. Nearly every cause seems to be represented and for just a small additional fee, drivers can show the world what they stand behind ideologically.

The University plates are popular, as are the ones for education and “Choose Life”. Now, Florida Legislature is considering a specialty plate that includes a Christian cross, a stained-glass window and the words “I Believe.”

If it gets approved, Florida will be the first state to have a license plate featuring a religious symbol (that is not part of a college logo).

There are other new license plate designs under consideration as well. One is an “In God We Trust” (also the official motto of both the United States and the state of Florida) plate that would benefit the children of soldiers and law enforcement officers whose parents have died.

It’s hilarious to watch some of the locals duke it out in discussion forums on this issue. So many people cry “separation of church and state,” but they fail to understand that that said separation is only generally implied in our Constitution. The actual phrase was “building a wall of separation between church and state” and was only was written by Thomas Jefferson in a January 1, 1802 letter to the Danbury Baptist Association. It is a concept and an idea, but not law exactly.

Yes, I think outlet malls rock and that is saying a lot, since I don’t generally like malls.

When I lived in Martinsburg, WV after college (a long, long time ago), there were two huge outlet malls in town. My favorite was called the Blue Ridge Outlets and they had been put together by a local developer (who also bought the old City Hall downtown and renovated it into his personal home!!!) and were housed in these old textile factory buildings that were about the coolest thing I had ever seen. They had all kinds of original exposed brick and ductwork, but also lots of new and lush hardwood and glass. They were amazing. Sadly, they are no longer open. I have heard the buildings now house the Blue Ridge Community and Technical College. I would love to see that.

I am still a fan out outlet stores, though. I just don’t always know where to find them. I’ve found a very cool guide: the eFactoryOutlets website. It’s an online guide to premium outlet stores, outlet malls, and factory stores in America. I just clicked on Florida on their locator map and got a full page of results. I had all but forgotten that the Prime Outlets at Ellenton aren’t too far from here. I just e-mailed my sister about setting up a trip for this weekend.

Yay for me!

By now, most of you have heard about the group of teens who filmed themselves beating 16-year-old Victoria Lindsay back on March 30. They had intended to put the video on sites like YouTube and MySpace in order to create a viral video frenzy of the incident.

Also by now, most of you have heard that the brainiacs got caught and are facing serious charges that could lead to life in jail.

So, now news is emerging about what, other than the mysterious “trash talking” that has been referenced already, may have sparked the beating. It turns out that earlier that same day; Lindsay and Mercades Nichols had bickered over a hairbrush and razor that Lindsay borrowed from Nichols without permission. Nichols supposedly followed the argument up by sending Lindsay threaten text messages.

A hairbrush and a razor? Seriously? There is petty and then there is small-minded and selfish.

Holy cow.

I definitely went through a comic book stage in high school and college. I have not bought more than a dozen new comic books in the last ten years, but I used to buy them all the time. I recently found a box of some of my old favorites: Bob Burden’s The Flaming Carrot, some old Elf Quest (I loved Cutter), and even a signed Elric. There are a lot of little gems in there, like Wolverine vs. someone (I would have to look to remember), some very old Shadow commix, and various comics from the Dave Sim Cerebus storyline (R.I.P).

Ut! I think I even still have some mind Flaming Carrot trading cards.

I have no idea if I will just continue to hold onto the comics or give them away, or maybe even try and sell them. I have no idea how much they are worth, so a good Comic Price Guide is in order. In the past, I have found the guides you buy in bookstores to be rather disappointing, because they are outdated almost before they come off the press. So, comics.iTaggit.com site is particular encouraging. It is free to sign up and you can use their dynamic tools or even get other members to help you with pricing.

Hmmm, maybe I will actually sell some of these comics.

A good number of Americans are beginning to horde food, cut out drives to anywhere except school and work, and cut out non-essential expenses like using the air conditioner before it hits 90 degrees outside.

In the meantime, clowns like Tom Cruise and his zombie wife Katie Homles are spending $100,000 for 24 guests to attend the 2nd birthday party for their daughter, Suri.

Let’s take a look at some of the expenses, shall we?

I’m no communist, but I can still see how a society with such unbalanced financial tiers is just beyond insane. When I think about the money that Cruise is being paid for simply mucking around in a movie, I get sick to my stomach. He is not, by any stretch, the best actor of our generation. He is not even a celebrity that appeals to very may people anymore. And yet, he continues to make a mockery of American life by tossing around this kind of money when people who live in the same town as him are cutting their prescription pills in half.

What a tool.