Shop Wiki

I am an avid shopper. I love deals and sales and am always looking for that next big clearance event. One of my favorite things to do is to shop online. It is quick, easy and I can shop in my pajamas. (Which is a huge thing to me. :D)
I like to shop around, making sure the price is the best possible price available. I like to use search engines, but its hard, because the only stores that show up are the ones that buy advertisement spots. So I am left searching through hundreds of sites looking for the product. Well, I came across an awesome website for online shopping. Not only does this site allow you to search through all stores on the Internet, but it is super user friendly and has very advanced search options.
Just the other day, I was looking for a photo viewer for my daughter. I wanted something that she could use and abuse, but also something that was nice. I searched and searched, and couldn't find anything. I came across a shopping search engine called ShopWiki.com. I typed in digital photo viewer, and then chose a color (My daughter is a fan of yellow). The very first product was exactly what I was looking for. It was a SpongeBob Square Pants photo viewer for kids. I was so excited. It was a perfect fit for my daughter. I searched a little bit more and found that I could find it cheapest at a certain store.
The search engine is very user friendly. You can narrow your search by color, price, and brand. I would highly recommend the ShopWiki.com search engine!

Christmas

My favorite things about Christmas:

1. Christmas music. I love hearing all of the festive songs on the radio. (In moderation.)
2. Christmas lights.. but only if they are done properly. They have to be straight across the roof. Not saggy. No one likes saggy lights.
3. Christmas movies... The Santa Clause is my favorite.
4. The smell of Christmas! I love going into the stores and smelling (if its not too strong) the smell of the cinnamon pine cones. And the smell of fresh baked cookies and fudge.
5. I love the excitement that comes with knowing Christmas is near. The happiness that people show.
6. I love how giving people are. I love watching the services' that people show this time of year.
7. I love Christmas eve. I love drinking hot cocoa and listening to my grandfathers voice on a tape about a neighbor boy. We recorded the story right before he died. I love having that bit of my grandpa here with us. {I will post the story here soon.}

And here is the things that I DON'T like about this time of the year...

1. The Christmas Story. That freaky movie scares me to death. I hate hate hate it. Seriously. It is part of a recurring nightmare.
2. How commercialized Christmas has become. Come on people. We are celebrating Christs' birth, not Barbies 100th anniversary Christmas edition doll.
3. I hate those florescent colored fake trees. Seriously? Are you kidding me? Who wants a bright ___ (insert color here) tree that is instantly an eye sore? Well, obviously someone, cause they are selling like crazy this year.
What do you like about Christmas? What don't you like about it? Leave a comment and tell me what you think!

Islam is the Light

When you buy your children toys, I am sure you aren't too worried about the type of message that the toy can bring. Especially if the toy is something as innocent as a baby doll. Well, I have never worried about what the underlying message could be in the toys I buy Gracie.
For her birthday, we bought her a Mattel's Little Mommy Cuddle 'n Coo doll. This cute doll giggles, says "mama", moves and babbles and is even motion activated. She has had it for a couple of weeks now, and plays with it all the time. My sister called me the other day and asked what type of doll Gracie got for her birthday. I told her and she asked me to listen to the doll when it is 'babbling'. She wouldn't tell me what it said, just that it was something that a baby shouldn't say. We listened and the first time caught the word 'Light'. The next time my grandma said, Islam? Islam is the light?!? Well, sure enough, this innocent looking baby says some serious propaganda.
Here is a video that I found on youtube. This is exactly what her baby sounds and looks like. See if you can figure out where it says it....


So I called the company. I was outraged. They assure me that it doesn't say this and that “The sound is compressed into an inexpensive speaker, so sounds may be imprecise... they also claim that the doll’s only scripted word is “Mama.” They blame the doll’s cheap speakers for distorting the soundtrack. And they also blame the power of suggestion - in that people are being told what to listen for.

You decide. Is this some strange propaganda or is it one serious misunderstanding?

The curse of the overflowing bathroom

I have no idea how many times I have walking into a public restroom, humming some old Beatles song, and unexpectedly come upon some sort of overflowing disaster. Not only is it disgusting, but to me, having to go out and find some manager to let them know that their bathroom 'needs attention' isn't the most fun. My biggest problem is trying to make it clear that it wasn't me... That I just happened to walk in on the sewer flood. Why does it bother me? I have no idea. I shouldn't care what some 17 year old fast food manager thinks, should I? Well, I do.
But, fear no more! The amazing people at Wal*Mart have come up with yet another awesome invention....I took this picture with my cell phone at my local Wal*Mart. (You should have seen the look on the other customers faces as I whipped out my cell phone to take this picture... you would have thought they had seen some alien walking around in a cow suite...)
The concept is simple, but if you don't understand, let me explain. If you walk into the bathroom upon some feces covered floor (of if you were the one to do it) all you have to do is flip up the switch and walk away. No seeking out a manager and trying to descretly tell them about the mess (while still trying to explain that it wasn't you!). Hooray for Wal*Mart. What would I do without them?
Do you have any fun public restroom stories? Please share! Us here at Now What Do You Think About That? are always ready to hear some bathroom dramas. It makes us feel better!

Gift Cards

Lately there has been many e-mails and news circulating about the dangers of buying gift cards. If you haven't heard about this, you will soon enough. The e-mails are stating that retailers are not accepting gift cards and that the stores are going out of business. They even quote a list of retailers that are not accepting gift cards. So, us here at Now What Do You Think About That? decided to look into this e-mail circulation.
The one thing that we found is that the list is completely overstated and untrue!

Gift cards are definitely the preferred gift for the holidays. Why is this? Because gift cards are versatile, easy to use, easy to spend, and easy to give.

There was a study done recently by Blackhawk Network (which is the largest third party distributor of gift cards and creator of Gift Card Mall™ ) and they found the following:

• 70% feel that gift cards are a great gift since the recipient can get what he/she wants.
  
• 66% think that by purchasing a gift card, they are assured their money is not wasted on a gift that someone will not like or use.
  
• 54% feel that they would rather give a gift card than cash.
  
• 58% of consumers still plan on buying gift cards this holiday – especially women (62%.)

So? Can't figure out what to get the person on your list? That person who either has everything, or returns all of the gifts that they receive? A gift card ensures that they get what they want, when they want it and in the right size! Head on over to Gift Card Mall ™ and get your shopping done early this year!