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September 2009
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August 2009 Archives
However, it's more evident than ever than resorts are pulling out all the stops to encourage people to travel. An Aruban hotel has a brand new concept-- something it likes to call "conception credit". According to USA Today, "The Westin Resort on Aruba is offering twosomes a $300 "conception credit" toward their next stay if they conceive a child while staying Sept.1-Dec. 19. Those trying for pregnancy (and others) can book a $399 daily package for two, including drinks, meals, lodging and tax. Reserve before Sept. 30 and get a $100 resort credit toward spa treatments and more. Information: 877-782-0149 or the Westin's web site. (Ask for rate plan CLASSIC.)" Apparently all you need to do to verify your child was likely conceived while on vacation there, is a doctor's note.
The Federal Trade Commission says from now on those companies will have to have written permission to call you or they can be fined up to $16,000 per call. For years the only way to prevent those calls was to add your phone number to the Do Not Call list. You can file a complaint against a company that violates those rules here. Or you can call 877-FTC-HELP. There are a few places that are exempt from the new rules including debt collectors and those providing information like flight cancellations and delivery notices. Politicians, charities, banks, insurers, phone companies, surveys and healthcare messages like prescription notifications are also exempt. Organized chaos. That's pretty much the way I look at my desk. Most days I'm so busy I don't have time to clean it before I leave work. I do manage to keep my stories and research materials in separate labeled folders and even have a really good system down on my computer. All of my files and blog entries are kept according to the story and the date. Too bad my desk looks like this. According to the National Association of Professional Organizers (never knew there was such a group), "People waste at least an hour a day searching for lost items or working in unproductive ways." Yet there's plenty of other research that shows a messy desk is the sign of a productive worker. I tend to like these studies better. In fact, one study of more than 240 presidents, CEOs and COOs found those top executives tend to be more creative and less organized. Don't you love how I justify a messy desk? My husband is super organized. He works from home and always has such a clean work space. I'm envious. But here's the deal, that messy desk can get you something free. Austin Centre Executive Suites wants to reward those with messy business or home offices. The building owners are searching for the messiest office in Austin. If yours is selected you can win two free months' rent in the newly remodeled building in downtown Austin. If you need some inspiration take a look at this: Send in your pictures here. Now, I'm feeling inspired--time to clean my desk.
Free Movies Food Deals • Restaurant.com is having its best sale of the month right now. Save 80 percent on the already low gift certificate prices by using the code TASTE through August 31st. That means the $25 gift certificates which cost $10 normally will only cost you $2 through the end of the month. Remember there may be some restrictions to using the certificates, like spending a certain amount or not using the money on drinks. Back-to-School • PBS is having a customer appreciation week so it's offering 25 percent off the items they sell online. There are some really great educational materials to be found on here. Just use the code THANKS25 through August 31st to get the savings. • If you're looking for some new music for your iPod or your MP3 player you may want to check out Amazon.com. You'll find 50 different albums selling for $5 each. The deals are only good through August. • Remember Apple is offering a pretty good deal. You buy a MAC and can get an iPod touch free. Students, teachers and parents buying computers for their children can take advantage of this deal through September 8th. You essentially buy both and get a rebate, so keep that in mind when you shop. Travel Deals Freebies • Wal-Mart is teaming up with Hallmark and if you sign up you can get a free greeting card. There's nothing like getting a card when you least expect it and I've taken advantage of this deal before. The card was a good one that I sent to a loved one. You do have to provide your e-mail and mailing address. • If your child likes Hannah Montana you can take advantage of this freebie. It's the "Everything I Want" song from the movie by Steve Rushton and for a limited time Amazon.com is offering a free MP3 music download. • This will add a little romantic entertainment to your summer. Barnes and Noble is helping celebrate Harlequin's 60th Birthday by offering 16 free eBook downloads.
According to the Associated Press, as many as 25 percent of shoppers are ditching at least one item. "In the recession of the early 1990s, it was 15 to 20 percent. In good times, it's more like 10 percent," researchers found. I have to say I've often done this. I won't drop items at the counter, but I do sometimes, okay oftentimes, walk around the store with something in my basket and think, 'Do I really need this or is this something I can live without?' More times than I care to count, I walk back to the aisle where I picked it up and put it back down, deciding instead to save my money for something I really want or need. I consider this to be a thoughtful shopping habit. It drives my husband crazy. Are you guilty of this? Share your thoughts below.
Tonight the Consumer Product Safety Commission is warning all schools and cities to inspect the outdoor steel stadium light poles manufactured by Whitco Co. LP, of Fort Worth, Texas. The agency says nine poles installed from about 2000 to 2006 fell. Two of those incidents happened right here in Central Texas. And the government says the majority of the others happened in Texas, although the poles have been installed in other states. They can be found at recreational parks and fields, schools and outdoor stadiums. The poles weigh up to 4 tons and that's the danger. The light pole that fell in Hays County punctured a hole in the roof of the gym. Luckily no one has been injured. However, the government is seriously concerned and said, "Visual examination with the naked eye or with a magnifier will not sufficiently determine the extent of fracturing or cracking. If any of these conditions are found, immediately have the affected poles repaired or replaced by a qualified professional. Only a certified inspector can tell if the poles are safe." Nearly 50 Whitco Co. LP poles have developed fractures or cracks next to the weld that joins the pole to its base plate. Whitco Co. LP is no longer in business. If you have information or questions regarding this warning, contact CPSC's Hotline at (800) 638-2772 anytime or send e-mail. You've got until Monday to take advantage of the Cash for Clunkers program, but may get a chance to take advantage of another round of rebates this fall--this time by replacing your old appliances. Part of the stimulus package Congress approved earlier this year included $300 million for the Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate program. By buying a new energy efficient appliance you could get a rebate worth between $50 to $200. Here's a list of the appliance categories that will qualify: The program is expected to take effect sometime in November. Remember Austin Energy currently offers rebates if you buy certain energy efficient appliances and in some cases you may be able to take advantage of both discounts. Austin Water Utility stopped a free toilet giveaway program this summer after it gave away thousands of free toilets. You can also learn about other energy efficient rebates including weatherizing your home here. Parents are being warned to make sure they don't have a recalled bassinet after two more children die. A Texas six month old and a two month old girl from Georgia both suffocated. One of the girls became trapped between the exposed bars; the other became trapped in a pocket of fabric that was not properly secured. The Simplicity 3-in-1 and 4-in-1 convertible bassinets were originally recalled in August 2008 after two other children died. This picture shows you what can happen: All of the bassinets manufactured before May 18, 2008 have been recalled. This includes some sold under the Graco brand, some with a Winnie the Pooh motif, as well as other bassinets.They were sold at retailers nationwide at places like Bed, Bath and Beyond, Target, Big Lots, KMart, Toys 'R Us and USA Baby. Look for the model numbers on these stickers. These latest deaths happened in September 2008 and the Texas baby died in January 2009. The CPSC says it just learned of the incidents and so wants to warn parents the recalled bassinets may still be in their homes, daycares or churches. The agency is now investigating. Remember you can always sign up to receive recall e-mail alerts here.
However, the company feared it might become a challenge for people to find seats. The company had said the deal was only good while supplies last or until August 21st, so it's really only ending a few days early. If you were able to get a pass, let me know how easy it is for you to get on flights.
Fun Sales • South Austin People.com or SO.A.p. is having a great sale on soap. Buy three get one free on most bars right now. This is all natural soap--petroleum free, dye free. You may also want to check out some of the unique gifts you can give if you're getting married too. Thanks to Colleen for the tip! • On top of tax free weekend, locally owned Adalante is shaving 30 to 50 percent off certain clothing. This is one of my favorite stores to find unique pieces. Check it out at 1206 W. 38th Street. • Those of you who want to sport your school spirit may want to check out the fun collegiate footwear on sale at Simple Shoes. You can find Texas flip flops for around $10. The clearance sale is limited to a few schools, but worth checking out to see if your campus is represented. • Wal-Mart and Nestle have teamed up to offer a free calendar with a year's worth of coupons. You can get yours free by going here. They will ask for your address and your feedback on what you look for when doing your back to school shopping. This is only for a limited time and one per family. • Red Envelop is one of those great online sites that has all kinds of unique gifts--even a diaper dude bag that fathers likely won't mind carrying. It's having a big summer sale right now too. • My mother and sister-in-law love the Vera Bradley bags, so thought I'd let you know about a huge back to school sale. You can save up to 75 percent on some of the signature collections. The great thing about these bags is you can wash them. • Walgreens is having seven days of deals and today it is offering free photo clings. All you have to do is enter the code BEES when you checkout. These normally cost $10 and they are pretty cool they stick on almost any surface. You will have to pay for shipping. • Here's a sweet deal-- Godiva is having a big summer sale. Save as much as 60 percent on some of their signature box collections. The company has these sales twice a year Travel Deals • Continental is having a sale to Las Vegas. You can fly round trip for as little as $258 from Houston, as little as $158 from Dallas. You have to purchase your tickets by Friday, August 21st. Food Deals • This week's savings at Restaurant.com are not as good as last week, but use the promo code PALATE and save 70 percent on gift certificates. You must buy them by Monday, August 24th. Through that time the $25 gift certificates that normally cost $10 can be purchased for $3. If you haven't checked out the offerings here in a while, it's worth another check. They've added lots of new restaurants lately.
Yet according to USA Today that's good news for families, because more restaurants are offering freebies. IHOP just started a back to school promotion where kids eat free for the next four weeks (through September 13th). You must eat out between 4pm and 10pm and you'll get one free Kid's meal with each adult entrée purchase. Kids must be 12 and under. Kids 12 and under eat free on weekends in August at Fazolis. The company has also started up a web site called Free Spaghetti.com which features ever changing deals and discounts for frequent visitors. Remember you can always visit Kids Meal Deals.com to find out which of restaurants let kids eat free.
This is all part of a new campaign to challenge Austinites to buy local. The AIBA says if 10 percent of Austinites shifted their shopping from chain stores to locally owned businesses "it would add $244 million dollars to the local economy and create 2,855 new jobs." You can learn more here and on the ABIA's facebook page. Remember you can buy a Go Local Austin card for $10 and save money at all of these local businesses. It's a great way to save money throughout the year. You can get 2 for 1 admission at the Museum of Art and 10 percent discounts at dozens of locally owned businesses a year after the date you purchase the card.
Here's how it works--you buy a new home and if after five years you choose to sell your home and your value has decreased, Taylor Morrison will refund your down payment up to 10 percent of the original purchase price. This is a limited time offer, although the company hasn't said how long it will last. Taylor Morrison builds homes in Austin and Houston and five other states including California and Florida.
Today Only Deal Food Deals • A pint for a pint. The Blood Center of Central Texas is hosting a promotion through August 16th. If you donate a pint of blood you can get a pint of your choice of 14 flavors of Blue Bell Ice Cream. To find a location go here. • Austin Music Café is having another great promotion. Friday and Saturday (August 14th and 15th) you can get a FREE Frappe iced coffee. You must have the coupon which you can print out from the website. Tony says it's the owners way of helping people beat the heat. • Kenichi known for its Asian cuisine and sushi has a new summer menu with 50 items that cost $5 or less. The deals are not offered Saturday but can be had all night Sunday, Monday and Tuesday as well as from 4:30p.m. to 7p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Thanks Rachel! Travel Deal
Great site to check out Wii may have a problem. The Consumer Product Safety Commission is warning Wii users their rechargeable battery packs may overheat. So it's recalling 200,000 Wii 4 dock recharge stations. The CPSC says there have been six cases of these battery packs overheating and in two cases players suffered minor burns to their hand.
These two pictures show you how to find those labels.
Target, Toys 'R Us and Best Buy sold these from January of last year to July of this year. If you have these you should stop using them and call 1-888-344-4702 between 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. CT Monday-Friday or visit this website.
However, the agency reported 247,000 people still lost their jobs in July, meaning 14.5 million people are still out of work. From May through July the average monthly job loss was about 331,000, half of what it was for November through April. That puts July's unemployment rate at 9.4 percent. It's important to point out though that those numbers don't take into account the long-term unemployed--those people who no longer qualify for unemployment benefits but have still not found full time jobs. In fact the BLS says those numbers "rose by 584,000 over the month to 5 million." That means "1 in 3 unemployed persons were jobless for 27 weeks or more". More than two dozen companies in Austin are actively hiring. They'll be at a job fair Thursday, August 13th from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Doubletree Hotel, 6505 IH-35N. Admission and parking are free. Here are some of the companies attending: AAA-Texas, The San Antonio Police Department, DDiamond Healthcare, Cybertex, Texas Department of Public Safety, CarMax, Travis County, Harden Healthcare, Jasper Conrtractor, Physicians Mutual, Corrections Corporation of America, Flexi Compras, Sears, H&R Block, Sun Communities, Timberline Schools, Dollar General, CommUnity Care Inc., and Aflac. You can find more information here or call 512-693-4750.
The original language was tucked into a defense-funding bill. Originally the proposal "sought $200 million to buy four passenger jets, including two that are currently being leased by the Air Force, to replace a fleet of older planes. Before leaving town for the August break, House lawmakers doubled the aircraft order to eight, at a total cost of $550 million," reported the Wall Street Journal. However, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday that the plan to upgrade the fleet of government jets is being criticized by leaders in the Pentagon, who say "it doesn't need half of the new jets." And even some Senators are speaking out against the proposal. A recent analysis by the Wall Street Journal found, "Taxpayer-funded travel for Congress is booming. Legislators and aides reported spending about $13 million on overseas trips last year... a nearly 10-fold jump since 1995." Lawmakers have been critical of CEOs and how they travel, so is this fair? What do you think of the plan to replace these jets? Add your thoughts below. How much is your lawmaker traveling? It's always interesting reading what trips lawmakers take. You can check your own lawmakers travel expenditures here.
Kolcraft added several more models to this recall which was originally issued in 2007 after a 10 month old child died. Here are two pictures of the models involved:
The play yards were sold under different names including Kolcraft, Carter's, Sesame Street, Jeep, Contours, Care Bear and Eric Carle Play Yards. According to the CPSC the play yard's side rail can fail to latch properly and when a child pushes against the rail it can unlatch unexpectedly. There have been 347 reports of this happening with 21 children being injured. The play yards were sold at: Babies R Us, Wal-Mart, Kmart, Sears, Target and other stores nationwide and Internet retailers from January 2000 through January 2009 for between $50 and $160. You can go here to find all of the model numbers being recalled. If you bought one you should stop using it immediately and call 1-866-594-4208 or visit the company's web site.
That limited the number of shops that offer custom products and triggered a trend toward big box stores with cheaper products that were mass produced. But there are a growing number of retailers bringing back customization even on a small scale. By adding custom items they can charge more for certain products and allows companies not to compete solely on price. There are lots of different retailers offering lots of different types of custom products. Here are a few of the ones I thought you'd find most interesting. Seen something you think is worth sharing? Add it below. Apparel, books, stamps and toys Food
If you've ever wondered how easily distracted you can become you should try this. The New York Times put together this online game which measures your distraction. It's super difficult and made me reinforced why I should just concentrate on driving when I'm behind the wheel. How did you do? Eighty percent of drivers say they talk and drive. Some studies suggest simply talking on your cell phone is a distraction. One study found people who talk on a cell phone are four times more likely to be involved in a crash. Do you think talking is just as dangerous?
Remember I'm always looking for local deals to feature so send me e-mail if you spot one. Food Deals I haven't tried the burgers, but one of our photographers here, John Fisher, swears they're among the best he's ever had. I can tell you the fries are sinfully good. They fry them up with parmesan cheese. (Thanks to Matt for letting me know about this.) • Julia, who runs a great website that highlights lots of great things for Austin families called Little Austinite.com, sent me an e-mail telling me IKEA is offering free kids meals through August 16th. I checked and the deal is good for kids 12 and under and only during weekdays, but there is no requirement that you purchase an adult meal. Thanks Julia. • McCormick and Schmick's wants to bring back dinner and a movie. So if you're longing for a date night--here's the deal: the restaurant has a promotion called Reel to Reel. It started last Friday and allows you to buy any dinner entrée and add a movie ticket for just $5. There are two locations here in Austin and several others across the country. Just by doing this you get a chance to win tickets to the Sundance Film Festival. (Thanks Kim for the heads up on this.) • T.G.I.Friday's is having a promotion where you get $5 off for every buddy you bring. So bring two friends and save $10 off the table's bill. Bring three friends and you'll save $15. You can even send the coupon to your phone so you don't have to print it off. Freebies • Nylon magazine is at it again. It's offering 22 free music downloads on iTunes through the month of August. • Become an Oprah.com member and download Colum McCallum's new book called "Let the Great World Spin" free. This is good today only. It ends at 10:59 p.m. EST. • Buy a 20 ounce beverage at Borders books and get a 12 ounce beverage free. The coupon is good through August 10th. Deals • Best Buy is having an amazing DVD sale. You'll find some titles selling for $9 others for as little as $4. Travel Deals
It's called Drive a Clean Machine and started as a way to get old cars off the road and cleaner cars on the road. You can get as much as a $3,500 voucher. The program is run by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and is very different than the federal program. You can use that money toward a more fuel efficient used car. There are more requirements on how the cars will be destroyed and you must meet certain income requirements. I asked if it's possible to combine both the federal Cash for Clunkers program and this one and double your money and a spokesperson told me, "Yes, but a dealer would have to agree to help with all the paperwork." Since the program started (the end of 2007), the Texas program has given money to 20,000 Texans. Help with repairs
The products include the following: The FDA says "analyses of several samples of over-the counter topical antimicrobial skin sanitizer and hand protectant products revealed high levels of various bacteria, including some associated with unsanitary conditions. Some of these bacteria can cause opportunistic infections of the skin and underlying tissues. Such infections may need medical or surgical attention, and may result in permanent damage. FDA finds the inspection results particularly concerning because the products are promoted as antimicrobial agents that claim to treat open wounds, damaged skin, and protect against various infectious diseases." If you bought any of these products the FDA recommends you throw them away. |
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Terri Gruca anchors KVUE's 6 and 10pm newscasts. She brings you the latest consumer news and tells you where to find the best deals.
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