I have a website that offers free hair bow instructions. I also have an associated mailing list with about 1500 people on it, most of them small business owners. One of the tips that you hear over and over when it comes to displaying and selling your finished hair bows is that you should attach the bows to an attractively designed and printed postcard that will also serve as an advertisement for your company.

Not only will the postcard hold the hair bow and allow for attractive display, but you can also make sure your business name, address, website and phone number are on the card so that customers know who to contact for future hair bow orders. You might even put a little line on the post card asking the customer to pass the postcard along to a friend.

Although some people make their own bow cards, most bow makers agree that Vista Print is a great choice when it comes to having cheap postcards printed. Not only do they deliver professional looking results time after time, they often offer coupons that allow you to order free product. For example, use coupon code “BlogPostcards100” and you will get 100 free postcards.

I’ve ordered from Vista Print several times myself and have always been satisfied with both the print quality and the delivery time. Go ahead and choose a slower shipping method to save money, because generally the company gets their products out into the mail quickly anyway.

My mom has been sick lately. In fact, she just got out of the hospital Wednesday. Food has not held much appeal to her. I made a pot of soup that seemed to tickle her taste buds and yesterday she said she was in the mood for oatmeal cookies. So, I got out my favorite recipe for cookies that contains oatmeal and I will be baking them tomorrow.

3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup regular sugar
1 cup shortening or butter
2 eggs

1 1/2 cups flour
2 cups oatmeal
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup shelled sunflower seeds

Combine first set of ingredients, set aside. Combine second set of ingredients. Add sets together and add:

1 teaspoon hot water
1 teaspoon vanilla

Drop onto greased cookie sheets with teaspoon. Bake 8 to 10 minutes at 375º.

Prescription drug prices can prohibitively high. Even with a prescription plan on my health insurance, I find that some of the newer medications are still too expensive for me to buy. I don’t have a co-pay, as much as I have to pay a percentage and with some medications I am still looking at hundreds of dollars for a 30 day supply.

I have gone back to my family doctor on more than one occasion to talk about alternative medications that may be less expensive. I hate that cost has to become part of my healthcare routine, but it is necessary. When my dermotologist prescribed Benzaclin, I thought I was going to have a heart attack when I called to see what my payment was going to be via my insurance company.

I think that is why so many people are turning to the internet to buy medications – especially some of the more popular prescriptions. You hear about people all of the time who buy Viagra online And while I am absolutely not against people who pursue online venues for Viagra, weight loss pills, birth control, flu medications, and other popular medicines, I do always feel compelled to warn people to use caution. Buy from a reliable source, someone who is not offering generics or knock-offs.

Edrugstore.md is one of handful of online retailers that only sells brand name medications. I think this is a needed market online. We need to have more retailers dedicated to only dispensing the best. And because companies that do most of the their business online are able to cut overhead costs, the prices they can offer are generally cheaper.

One of the more odd side effects of all of the foreclosures we are seeing in the area is how some communities are seeing their cable bills go up in price every single month.

One Gibsonton, Florida woman reports her cable TV bill has gone up 44% so far.

Why?

Some communities with homeowners associations were able to negotiate discount cable packages for their members. The problem is when home owners start going into foreclosure and stop paying their homeowners association becomes unable to pay the full fixed payment they agreed to pay the cable company.

Some community associations are finding themselves in the red, because the fees they pay monthly to the cable company makes up close to half their monthly association bills. The cable company charges late fees and sometimes increases the bill. The homeowners are feeling the pinch.

Banks are supposed to pay association fees on homes they receive through foreclosure. It turns out that actually getting them to pay can mean a lot of paperwork – which means increased legal fees.

I was just sitting here at the library and got into a conversation with some women who just started substitute teaching in the local public school system. Now, I am certified to teach, but I just have not been able to get off my duff and get the confidence to start looking for a position. In all actuality, I would rather work from home as long as possible, so that I can spend more time with my daughter. Health insurance is an issue, though, I only have so much time before I would have to find an individual plan and that can be super expensive.

One of the ladies who is already subbing said there is available health insurance for subs. I had not heard about that before, so now I think I will call the district offices and look into that little detail. It could be a great short-term solution for me.

I always get a little discouraged when I have to make a big trip to the supermarket. While I want to focus on weight loss in my lifestyle, I also love to cook and I get so amazingly inspired when I food shop. I look around and start thinking about all of the dishes I can prepare – ones that I love and ones I have wanted to try. I end up buying food to make things that are far too rich for any proper weight loss diet.

I just really enjoy cooking. I f I actually thought I could make money doing it and could survive the lifestyle, I would become a chef. I enjoy exploring flavors and combinations. I like to push things to edge and find new recipes that comes form the depths of my subconscious. I like to put a wonderful meal on the table and look around at all of the people who are eating with relish. I love food. I love cooking, and I love the social aspects of meal sharing.

*Sigh*

When it was all guns firing in the real estate market in Pasco County, Florida a couple o years ago, you could not even get on a waiting list to contract a house for a good 18 months. Then, you had to hope that enthusiastic developers had not upped =prices out of your range so that you would not lose your deposit when you had to back out. It was one hot market.

Unfortunately, it was filled with buyers from out of town and those hoping to flip properties for a quick profit. Now that the market is taking a nosedive, the same communities that were selling homes faster than hotcakes are now full of rental properties and homes going into foreclosure.

And because of that, crime is on the rise, as are drug dealing, gang graffiti and poorly maintained properties.

Companies like Lenar are admitting now that they sold as many as five homes to a single investor. Some were lucky enough to resell quickly at a profit, while others are holding homes they can no longer afford, contributing to the downfall of the area.