Who isn’t on the lookout for unique gift ideas? Nearly everyone I know could quite simply be categorized in the “has everything” column. What can I give most of these people that won’t either be a duplicate or just get stuffed in a closet a week after Christmas?

One cool idea is a photo pillow. There are also blankets, shower curtains and pillowcases that can be personalized with a photo. I have been contemplating for years getting my step-mother one of the Photo Blankets with a picture of her grand-daughter on it. I’d seen them in one of the card stores at the mall a few years back. They were super expensive, though. Fotobed.com has the same product for about half the price.

If you’re thinking of a Christmas gift, you’ll want to get your order in now. You can upload your image tonight and the product will be shipped in two to four weeks – just in time for Christmas morning under the tree. Plus, if you order a second of any item, you get the duplicate for 50% off.

Thanksgiving is a mere 4 days away. Less than that, if you count the fact that it is almost Monday anyway. And what do most people put on their Thanksgiving tables? Yes, a lovely turkey. Well, that and pumpkin pie, dressing, gravey, yams, and a host of other items. It’s making my hungry just to think about it.

You still have plenty of time to make these cute Thanksgiving Turkey Hair Clippies. The step by step instructions were donated by Michelle Cooper and can be found on the Girly Things website.

If you are anything like me, you shop on Amazon a lot. I’ve been using the site since it just offered books, and over the years I have watched them add just about anything under the sun via their own marketplace and 3rd party sellers. I recently bought some bar stools via Amazon, because the price the 3rd party seller was offering through Amazon was cheaper than on their own site.

Plus, a lot of survey and reward programs online pay in Amazon gift certificates, so I usually have a balance to spend.

If you know where to look, you can usually find a coupon code to use for most any Amazon purchase. There are also special sales and discounts – again, if you know where to look on their site. You can even find ways to buy Amazon gift certificates at a discount.

Coupon Codes
Amazon used to make it easy to find great coupon codes, but lately I have found myself spending an hour sifting though various sites looking for codes that have not yet expired. As precious as time is, I finally figured out it was not worth my effort. Thankfully, Deal Locker thinks it is worth their effort. They maintain a very handy Amazon coupon code list that is absolutely worth bookmarking.

Discounts
There are discounts all over the Amazon site every day. Locating the discounts that work for you often turns into a game of hide and seek. Here is an Amazon discount search tool that actually allows you to sift results by category or even by the amount of the discount. Want to know every item on the site that is discounted 90% or more? Just put in those parameters and off you go! I did a search for Toys and Games discounted 90%-99% and came up with a huge list.

Amazon Certificates
What could be a better way of saving money than to get your hands on discount Amazon gift certificates? Believe it or not, they are out there. Find the sellers who are offering ceortifcates for less than their original value and you’ll get more bang for your buck when you go to check out at Amazon.

Up until recently, bloggers seem to have been able to get off the hook when it comes to issues of defamation. Blogging has been an unmoderated outlet for people express opinions and it often gets snarky, mean, and utterly raw. What started as basically an online dairy has evolved into not just a place to vent, as you would with a notebook you keep in your bedside drawer, but also a place where the blogger knows others will possibly see their thoughts and opinions.

Now, we see people trying to fight against the voice of bloggers using the legal system. Here in Florida, The New School of Orlando, a private school, is suing Sonjia McSween, claiming defamation. They say that a blog she wrote about her daughter’s experience at the school was critical to the point of going over the line.

The school wants McSween to stop publishing posts about the school and to pay damages. McSween says she simply wanted to share her experiences with others. The school accuses her of reporting fabricated information.

It’s a question about how freedom of speech applies to blogs. Blogs are a soapbox for the author. How far can we go and to what extent can others control what we say?

I’ve already experienced a lock of freedom of speech when two blogs I had on sub domains of Rainbow of Words were pulled offline. The owner did not like my content, and despite a lack of a TOS that outlined her actions, she exerted strong arm tactics to censor me.

There have been countless incidents of bloggers losing their jobs when someone at their company comes across their blog. And now, a school claiming defamation of interference with their business. This goes beyond public relations and becomes an issue of information control.

I think bloggers should use tact and wisdom when writing. I think we should do our very best to speak only the truth and not to perpetuate unfounded rumors and lies. But, I think a blogger’s opinion is their own. A fact is not an opinion. I am sure that the New School of Orlando is teaching even their kindergarteners that language arts lesson. Now, it needs to be put into practice.

Many of my readers may be aware that when I arrived back into town from my grandmother’s September 1 funeral, I was greeted by an almost impossible to comprehend message from the owner of the Rainbow of Words blog host telling me my accounts had been suspended. Apparently she did not agree with the statements I had made in one of my postings.

That two-week suspension turned out to be permanent, as the owner never once responded to me and has yet to allow me access to my blogs – blogs I had been writing in for close to a year.

Anyway, what it taught me is that if you love to blog, you need to have your own hosting account. I had already set this blog up months before and had intended to migrate my other two blogs onto their own domains on this hosting account. I’d been fearful about starting over in the race for Page Rank, but as we all know now – Google Page Rank is as close to worthless in the world of online marketing as it has ever been.

If you do not have your OWN hosting account now, get one. If you are using a free blog host somewhere or piggy-backing on a friend’s account, or any other situation where you do not have full and complete access to the files and the determination of your own Terms of Service, then you need to look into blog hosting accounts pronto.

While I personally recommend Wordpress hosting, there are also other blogging platforms that are just as well-liked and easy to navigate. Movable Type is one of the other popular blogging software packages. Several big hosting companies are able to offer accounts that cost close to nothing on a monthly basis. The benefits are many: control over your blog’s content, the ability to upload files and install plugins, sub domains, matching e-mail addresses, and more. AQHost is one provider, for example, that offers free instant installation of the blogging software and video tutorials to walk you through getting started. Since customer service is a MUST when considering a blog host, this is key information.

I wanted to give a quick mention about my e-mail group for hair bow makers. We have over 1000 members, many of who are active. Since the focus is the free exchange of information for crafting and, in particular, making hair bows we keep spammy auction listings off the group postings and make a point of just talking about ideas and techniques. If you have any question at all about making hair bows, you will absolutely find your answer from another member on the list.

Check us out: Girly Things Group