Joan Thinks About Everything

'Scuse me while I Kindle Fire

2012-01-17T13:40:00.001-08:00

When I was in the market for a new tablet type device, I overlooked the Kindle Fire many times thinking I didn't deserve it, or that I wasn't worthy of it. I'm not as much of a reader as I would like, and when I do, I like the feel of turning the pages of a book.

I finally decided to take a closer look to compare it to the other devices out there, and if it would fulfill my needs. It certainly does meet the minimum expectations of a tablet I would use, but for some reason I was still reluctant. I think it was because of the Kindle's past reputation of being an eReader. Why would I buy something that was primarily a reader when all I wanted from it was its web browsing capabilities? Would I be wasting my money by paying for technology I didn't need?

After some feedback from "real" users, i.e. people I knew who'd give me honest feedback, I decided that the Kindle Fire was right for me. I liked the overall size (not too big, not too small), and its web browsing speed. It may not have a million apps like another device who shall not be named, but it has what I need, so I can't complain.

I've had my Kindle Fire for several days now and I like it more and more every day. But I didn't anticipate how much I would appreciate it until I started my online classes again. My reading assignments are online in PDF form, and I can send these files to my Kindle. This frees up the laptop so Hubby doesn't have to wait his turn for the computer. The Kindle handles these huge PDF files with ease and it's very friendly as far as maneuvering around each file making it easier to read. In other words, I'm not spending half my time jumping around each page losing my place. I don't always move around smoothly when reading docs in the Adobe reader. So I guess the Kindle knows what they're doing when it comes to reading material!

I have 2 devices for the (low) price of 1. I have a fun toy to troll around on Facebook, and I also have a convenient storage device for school material. I am very pleased with this decision.

Future Reflections

2012-01-09T11:13:00.000-08:00

At 33 weeks pregnant it's about time to start thinking about my approach to raising a child. I'm in a special category in that we live in modern times but I was brought up in an old fashioned way. I'm as eco-friendly as the next guy but I wouldn't go as far as saying I'm granola crunchy.

I don't plan on checking tags and ingredient lists to make sure the products are organic and I won't make a big stink if something wasn't made out of 100% sustainable materials. But I will be careful not to expose my family to irritants and potential health threats. I want to wash my kid's clothes in the same detergent as my clothes so she will be accustomed to her surroundings.

A strong immune system is very important to me. A certain level of exposure to every day environmental materials will help our child develop a tolerance. I don't want her to be too sensitive to common things we can't avoid in the atmosphere. And I don't want to look like an over-protective mom, even though deep down inside I probably am.

If she wants to take a sip of water from the hose, I'll let her. I did that for many years and I came out fine, for the most part.

SECT Savings Alert! Big Y

2011-11-13T13:51:00.000-08:00

Big Y has a few cool things going on this week. First off, there are 3 Double Dollar coupons in its flier, so clip those out before you head over there. Chances are you have a few $1 coupons that you can use there.

Driscoll's strawberries are B1G1 for the 1lb package, so for $4.99 you will get 2 pounds of delicious strawberries!

Bailey's creamer is 2/$5, and the Sunday's paper had a $1 off 2 coupon. With the Double Dollar coupon, each one will be a mere $1.50!

Select DiGiorno pizzas are $3.98 with a silver coin

Some GM cereals are 2/$5, there are plenty of GM coupons out there.

Pillsbury AP flour is $1.99. I don't know of any coupons out there but this price is much better than the prices of the other flours. The smaller package of King Arthur flour is $2.50 and there's a 55c coupon in the paper today, so if you don't go through a lot of flour, you can pick up a small package for under $2. P.S. the King Arthur coupon cannot be doubled.

Bell's Stuffing Mix is 2/$5. I have coupons for these but I'm not sure if it's the best deal, so do some math before you grab it.

The No Yolk Egg Noodles are a good deal. The packages are on sale for $1.69 and I had 2 40c coupons, so I got 80c off each package. Very good deal.

Pyrex is 33% off too, and I had a $1 coupon that I doubled. I picked up a 6 cup container with a lid for $2.82, regular price was $7.19. P.S. I looooove Pyrex containers!

Solo paper plates and bowls are on sale for $2.50. I had a $1/2 coupon and used a Dollar Double coupon so I got 2 packages for $1.50 each. Regular price $3.79 each.

Big Y whipped cream (their version of Cool Whip) is on sale for $1. If you plan to have pie at Thanksgiving, you might want to pick this up.

Happy Shopping!

SECT Savings Alert! NEW

2011-11-08T12:45:00.000-08:00

Hello Savers! I would like to start a new weekly feature to help my fellow Southeastern Connecticut couponers save time and money. Each week when I get the weekly grocery circulars, I will review them and list all the popular items on sale for about $2 or less so you can compare them to your coupon stash to see what you can get for really cheap or maybe even free!

Please feel free to comment to add anything I missed.

I will do Big Y first since their sale starts on Thursday, then Stop & Shop (their sale starts on Friday), and then before Sunday I will do ShopRite.

Time permitting I will squeeze in Walgreens and CVS.

Here's a sample from this week's ShopRite sale:

Perdue Poultry (fresh) - 40% off, .69/lb and up

Kleenex Tissues (68-184ct box) - $1.11

Select General Mills Cereal - $2.49
*there are Honey Nut Cheerios and Chex coupons out there

Colgate Total Advance Toothpaste - $1.49

ShopRite cream cheese - .87

Pictsweet Deluxe Vegetables - .99

Green Giant Vegetables (can) - .59

Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup - .77

Campbell's Greavy (can) - 3/$1 (must buy 3)

Ocean Spray Cranberry Sauce - .99

Heinz Homestyle Gravy - .99

Whonu? cookies - $1.99

Hefty One Zip Bags - $1.99

Betty Crocker Potatoes (box) - $1.33

Better Crocker Potatoes (pouch) - .77

Colonna Bread Crumbs - .99

Swanson Broth - .59

Pillsbury Cake Mix - .79

Pillsbury Brownie Classics - .99

Duncan Hines Fudge Brownie Mix - $1.35

Duncan Hines Frosting - $1.79

Knorr Gravy Mix - .99

Rachael Ray beef or chicken stock - $1.99
*$1 coupons were in last Sunday's paper

International Delight Creamers (16oz) - $1.24

La Yogurt - 10/$4.40 (even without a coupon this is a great deal)

Red or Golden Delicious Apples - .99/lb

If you think this will be helpful to you, please give me feedback! Suggestions are always welcome.

Thanks, and happy couponing!

Couponers: Savers or Wasters?

2011-09-19T14:55:00.000-07:00

As I was swimming in my plethora of coupons last night I started wondering. If someone has stockpiled lots of products at little to no cost, does that person have a tendency to use more product at a faster rate than those who have paid full price? And does that behavior contribute to more post-consumer waste?

Before I succumbed to the couponing craze, I used my dish soap, laundry detergent, shampoo and lotion very sparingly. I used enough to get the job done, but I used the minimum necessary. This allowed me to get many uses from one bottle, and it lasted for many weeks. Now that I have 6 bottles of dish soap, and can easily get more for about 80 cents a bottle, I find myself lathering up my sponges more often and very generously. Just because I didn't pay a lot for that soap, is that still considered wasteful?

There are 2 categories of waste that I would like to cover. The example I have just told you about is the first category. Using more product than is necessary because I'm ahead of the game financially. It goes against the habits I've developed ever since I started living on my own at the age of 18. Sadly, it wasn't too difficult to break those habits because I knew I had more "stuff" tucked away in the basement.

The other category is post-consumer waste. If you use more, you will have more to throw out. Hopefully you are recycling what you can, but for those who don't, or use products with packaging that can't be recycled, is that going to fill up the dumps at a faster rate? Think about how many more pieces of paper towels you'd use to clean up that spill if you bought the paper towels at 25 cents per roll. The landfill's predicament most likely won't affect you financially, but the idea of it makes me nervous enough to think about my daily behavior. Maybe I'm too paranoid about its affects on the environment, but I can't help thinking there's something wrong with creating more garbage than the average person usually creates. Just because most of your garbage is capable of breaking down naturally, like paper towels, it is likely that it won't break down right away because it is packed down with other garbage and is unable to start the decomposition process.

I have every intention to continue saving money, I don't have much of a choice right now. But I still wonder if I need to be aware of the rate that I use these products.

Nature vs. Nurture - The debate continues

2011-09-17T08:46:00.000-07:00

As my unborn child grows inside me, I constantly think about his or her future and what kind of person this kid will turn out to be. I'm sure I'm not alone in worrying about the way I raise this child to make sure the kid will be the best human being possible. Will I go wrong somewhere? Am I disciplining correctly? Am I being too strict? Am I not strict enough? How will my actions affect this child?

Having these doubts have filled my mind with the ongoing question about nature versus nurture when it comes to how this child will turn out. Is my kid going to be a nerd? There, I've said it. I know this is going to cause some controversy, but I can't keep it bottled up any longer. I wonder if there is a level of destiny involved or if my own behavior will shape my child's future.

You might ask, "Why should I worry?" That's a fair question. There are more important things to worry about in this world. As a first time Mommy I can be a little paranoid. I want my child to be confident. I don't want him or her to get picked on. I want him or her to have the courage to speak up when something needs to be said.

So what can I do? I guess I can be a good, strong role model and be a positive influence. I was going to do that anyway, by the way. But is there more I can do? Or is it all out of my control? I fear that my kid will have to wear glasses because I had terrible eyesight. Both Justin and I are pretty knowledgeable with computers. We like Star Wars and Legos. Neither of us like being out in the sun too long and we have no idea what the latest fashion trends are. We play video games and Justin plays cards (not the kind of card games you'd find at a casino). Neither of us are in great shape physically because we don't participate in any sports. I could go on but I'm starting to form a clear vision about myself and it's getting embarrassing.

Now that you know a little about us, where do you stand? If we share our interests (and disinterests) with our kid, do we have a future nerd on our hands? Or is it possible that he or she will break out of the mold and be cool? I'm looking forward to finding out. Either way it won't really matter, this is my baby and I'm going to love however he or she turns out. What a wonderful journey motherhood will be!

Confession time

2011-01-18T09:15:00.000-08:00

I have a confession to make. Actually I have a lot of confessions to make, but I am going to share one with you today.

I am an internet junkie. I'm sure you're thinking you're an internet junkie too, since you love surfing the net and reading blogs and playing games, but I am addicted to owning domains.

I currently own a website for my small home based business, which is normal for anyone with a business. However, when I think of a cool combination of words like "Happy Lucky Cute" I immediately type it into the URL bar to see if it's taken. If it's not taken, and I can think of something clever to post on it, I will register it.

I have also registered catchy websites with the intent of helping people. The website www.CraftFairConnection.com was created to help people who sell crafts or products at local arts and crafts fairs. I saw the need when I was doing my own searches for upcoming events and all I found was old, outdated, and unconfirmed information. I thought I would save people time and effort by doing the legwork and posting events I was sure existed.

I'm not sure how to describe this hobby. It's fun for me because I like technology, I enjoy the research, and I like the idea of helping people. It's not that expensive when compared to other hobbies, and a lot of the services are free from the hosting company.

I have been able to curb my urge to register domains left and right, but the temptations are strong. My focus is now on the content rather than the collection. That should keep me busy for a while!

Random Tip of the Day: Don't get mad, don't get even. Get over it. That's better than revenge!

Has it been over a year?

2011-01-17T12:53:00.000-08:00

Wow, I can't believe 2010 came and went and I didn't post a single entry. Let's start fresh in 2011 but first let's do some catching up.

2010 consisted of a surgery and recovery,the birth of my nephew, months of wedding planning, a wedding, and a honeymoon. Along with a full time job I wasn't left with a lot of time to blog. Now that I have been laid off and working at my own pace on my business, I can make sure I spend a few minutes to type a few words.

Just as the name of the blog states, I think and talk about anything and everything that happens in my life or the world around me. Hopefully you'll find my commentaries interesting and humorous enough to come back.

Right now there's snow on the ground and it's cold. That's normal in New England but even though I've lived here all my life, I'm still going to complain. I like snow, I think it's pretty, but only when there's an inch or two on the ground, not 2 feet. We don't have a driveway yet so shoveling is a major pain. We are currently saving up for our next home improvement project, a driveway made from recycled materials. If anyone knows of a Connecticut company that offers this, please let me know.

The cold I can deal with. That's what coats, gloves, and sweaters are for. I just get a little crabby when the temperature drops and I'm in my house and I suddenly freeze. When you pay for your heat you tend to get a little miserly when you get the urge to turn up the heat. So I put on the layers. Not exactly comfy when you're curling up on the couch, but it keeps me warm.

Today's random tip: Always keep an open mind, except when it's raining. Your brain will get all wet.

Whatever happened to adequate service?

2009-04-28T16:01:00.000-07:00

My Horrible Experience at Pizza Hut

I'll start off by saying that I wasn't expecting the same service as a 5 star restaurant. But I was expecting decent service. Let me tell you my story while it's fresh in my mind.

We walked into the Pizza Hut in Groton this afternoon and saw 4 people behind the counter. We received no acknowledgement or eye contact. After waiting we were told to take a seat wherever we wanted and they would get to us.

We sat ourselves and waited. And waited. And waited. Finally we were given our menus and our drink order was taken. I thought I would try the highly publicized pasta, while the guys had pizza. Our server wasn't sure if there was any pasta left but she would check. I said I'd have the Meaty Marinara if they had it, but if not I'll have some of the pizza.

Fortunately (later I realized it was unfortunately) they had the pasta but it would come out a few minutes after the pizza. I said fine. We got our sodas and waited. And waited. And waited some more. The pizza finally came out and while the guys were nearly finished eating it, I was asked if I wanted my dish now, or have it packaged to go. I said I would like it now. I guess there was a misunderstanding as to the definition of the word 'now', because I waited for quite a while before the pasta came out.

First off, it wasn't the Meaty Marinara with rotini. It was lasagna. And that's not all. It was served in a round metal container that looked like a frozen dinner. Who serves lasagna in a round container? The cheese was very dark, and the food filled the container about half way up. The dish was mostly sauce, with thin bits of the lasagna pasta floating in the sauce. How disappointing. It didn't look anything like the pictures you saw in the commercial or the menu. Needless to say it was hardly appetizing. Luckily I ate half a slice of pizza earlier to keep me from passing out before my meal got to me.

Take a moment to visit the Pizza Hut website to look at the delicious pasta photos. Then look at what I was served.

We all thought the delivery guy ran to the store after I placed my order and picked up a Lean Cuisine. This is laughable!

And the experience doesn't end there. On the bill, we were overcharged for this atrocity, and she inadvertently added Cinnastix to our bill, which was ordered by the family next to us. No wonder they left so quickly. They wanted to make sure she didn't find out that they got free Cinnastix!

I know I can't blame our server for the horrible pasta and its presentation. But she can take responsibility for the lack of attention, acknowledgement, timeliness, and the incorrect bill. At the end of this I was so disgusted I didn't have the strength to confront her or the management. I just wanted to leave.

A dinner consisting of a pizza and a plate of pasta should have taken an hour to prepare and eat. We were there for 2 hours! We spent more time waiting than eating.

Lesson learned? Call ahead, order take out, and check your food before you leave.

P.S. I will say something nice. The pizza came out correctly. However, it was a Pepperoni Lovers pizza and there wasn't a lot of pepperoni on it.

10 Things, in no particular order

2009-04-21T14:40:00.000-07:00

I love lists. So I'm going to start some of my own. Today's topic:

10 things on my To Do list that I always forget to do...

1. Laundry - I do it eventually, but never right after I put it on my list.

2. Bank deposit - I do all my banking electronically and I get direct deposit for my payroll, so I don't think about stopping at a bank machine while I'm out and about. By no means am I so well off that I don't need the money. I rarely get paper checks. Only after I get home and get comfy on the couch do I remember to do that errand.

3. Pick up cat food - No, my cat never starves. That's what the back up canned cat food is for. When I only have 1 or 2 things to pick up at the grocery store, I have a hard time remembering to stop at a store on the way home from work.

4. Sew buttons - I have a few sweaters that are really nice except for the fact that the buttons were sewn on very poorly by the manufacturer. It's easy enough to sew them back on, but I just can't seem to get around to doing it. I know what you're thinking. If you have time to stop and type a list, you can sew a few buttons. Right now I prefer to blog because it's a bit more enjoyable.

5. Return borrowed DVDs - I borrow DVDs from my sister and unless she asks me over and over, I always forget to bring them back to her. I'm very lucky that we love the same shows and movies!

6. Clean out my car - If I'm not in my car, I won't remember. Every time I get into my car, I think "Oh, I was going to tidy up yesterday when I got home from work." But when I pull into my driveway, I make a beeline to my front door and I don't see my car again until morning. It's a vicious cycle.

7. Use my coupons - You'd think that in this economy I'd try to save as much as I can. I put my coupons in my wallet so that they're handy when I do my grocery shopping but I forget that they're in there. I see them when I clean out all the receipts and by that time they've expired.

8. Sell and donate stuff I don't use - There are things in my possession that could be put to better use by someone else. I never make the time to collect these things and I feel terrible about it. There are many organizations that make it easy to do this, so what's my excuse?

9. Read more - I have so many books that I want to read but the TV and internet is so distracting! I wish I had the will power to ignore the temptation and focus on quality literature.

10. Learn more - I've wanted to learn to play drums and the saxophone. I want to learn some new languages. I want to juggle. There's just not enough time in the day.

The Power of Networking Websites

2009-04-07T20:02:00.000-07:00

There is much to say about networking websites that this probably won't be the only time I'll discuss topic. In this post I want to talk about the effect on business that sites like Facebook, Twitter, and blogging has had.

Years ago, word of mouth was a true test of business success. When a product sells well with little or no advertising, that can only mean that existing customers are loyal and new customers are jumping on the bandwagon.

These days, technology holds more power than a multi-million marketing budget. Customers have a voice stronger than ever imaginable. We communicate with contacts all over the world just by typing a few words on a personal home page. Not only do your list of friends see this, people browsing through random pages will see it too. Those of us with a personal page on multiple sites will reach even more people.

From my own experience, by far the business benefiting the most is the movie industry. It's so easy (and fun) to become an instant film critic by posting a quick comment about the movie you just saw. And you don't even have to wait until you get home to your computer, you can update your page from your cell phone.

Now, more than ever, it is crucial for all industries to provide quality product delivered by quality sales staff. Poor customer service will prevent a product from making it into the hands of the consumer. So even if it's the best widget ever made, a rude salesperson will prevent a business from spreading their message.

Businesses know this, they've done research and conducted studies to prove it. What does that mean for you as a consumer? You have more leverage than ever. Every transaction you go through deserves to be shared with the public. Only the public can determine if a business has passed the test. And you will also be doing your fellow consumers a favor. With our tight budgets these days, we can't afford to waste our money on worthless products and services.

Going to the Movies

2009-04-02T20:26:00.001-07:00

Tonight I saw The Haunting in Connecticut. Don't worry, no spoilers here. All I'll say about the movie is that they did a very good job with the suspense, and it was nice and scary. I would highly recommend it.

My topic tonight is actually a question. Why would someone willing go to see a movie to get scared out of their skin? And to top that off, pay a lot of money to do so? I think those questions are as boggling as to why people eat jalepeno peppers knowing it will burn their mouth and make them feel uncomfortable. I don't know the answer to the jalapeno stuff, mainly because I find no enjoyment in that, even though I like hot, spicy food.

I can, however, answer the movie question based on my experiences. This may go back to the day I fell in love with roller coasters. I was on an old wooden roller coaster and the restraints weren't all that elaborate. We went up, up, up, and when we finally went down, the force and speed of the coaster forced me up off the seat. (I was also much lighter back then.) When I got lifted off the seat the lap bar caught me right at my knee caps. In the few seconds that this happened I realized that I almost flew out of the car and died, yet immediately thought since I didn't die, it was the most exciting thing that ever happened to me. The rush of it all...the speed, the brush with death, the energy of all the riders...turned me into a coaster freak.

So back to the scary movies. I think the reason I can sit through them is because I know I'm safe because it's happening all on the screen. I feel suspense because I put myself in the character's shoes and I know something insane is about to happen. It helps if the enemy is creepy looking or mangled and gory. I also feed off the intense emotion of the other viewers in the theater. The high level of entertainment value can justify the ticket costs. Once in a while, I try to help by offering advice to the actors on the screen. But they never listen!

Going Green, By Necessity

2009-03-31T20:32:00.000-07:00

No matter what your line of work is, chances are you have to deal with paperwork. In an office environment we rely on hard copies to cover ourselves in case we are questioned. Printed instructions can also be easily referenced when tacked on the cubicle wall. But with today's economy, it is important to find ways to save on supplies. The side benefit with cutting costs is that we have gotten a little greener, though we should have been doing this all along.

WHAT WE'VE DONE

Our office has had a paper recycling program for as long as I've been there. I was very pleased to be part of an organization that looked for ways to cut down on waste by recycling. But they went one step further. Not only did they find a company to take the paper from our offices, they found a company who will pay for our paper so that they can recycle it and turn it into other paper products. Not only did we save trees, we've also generated revenue.

But before our office paper makes it to the recycling bin, it gets a lot of mileage. Unwanted copies that are printed on one side are used as scrap paper, or used again to print on the other side. I've found that 99.9% of the documents that I have to print are used internally. Therefore, if I print a current document on a sheet with an old document on the other side, I don't have to worry too much about appearances because the person on the receiving end understands what we're trying to do, the document is informal and for informational purposes anyway. Yes, I offer to email the document first, but some people need the hard copy to really grasp the point.

Multi-page documents are now printed 2 sided. This has saved a ton of paper. Be careful and make sure your document looks the way you want. If it doesn't, these sheets won't get a second chance in the scrap paper pile. They'll have to skip that step and go directly into the recycle bin.

Check the print quality on your printer. You may want to consider printing in draft mode to save on ink or toner. We all know how much those cartridges cost! And see if your vendor will recycle your used cartridges. Even if you don't get any credit for returning the cartridges, it's still a great opportunity to cut down on waste.

Color printing is vital for those of us who use graphs and photos. For a work in progress, we print in black and white and email the document so the recipient gets the full impact. Wait until the document is a final product before splurging.

I have one suggestion that is not for everyone depending on your eyesight. Depending on how much text is on each page, I have printed 2 to 4 pages on one side of a sheet, and then printed double sided. In other words, I took an 8 page document and used 2 sheets of paper to print it. Not many people will appreciate this level of frugality because the print gets smaller, but if I need to print something for myself, this is a great option.

TO PRINT OR NOT TO PRINT?

Earlier I mentioned the convenience of using printouts at your desk for easy access. Before you send that new policy to the printer, ask yourself a few questions.

1. How often will I be referencing this information? Will I look at this a few times, then never look at it again?

2. Who else knows about this? Do I need to have this posted at my desk or can I just ask someone in the office about it when the situation arises?

3. Does this apply to everyone in the office? If so, is there a 'community' board where this can be posted for everyone to look at?

If you'd rather keep everything in electronic format but afraid the document will be lost in your growing collection of files on your computer, don't despair. Just take a few minutes and sort your documents into folders to help you quickly reference each document. Give your folders names that will make sense later. For example, instead of creating a folder named 'Policies' which will contain 100 files, create folders for specific purposes as subfolders. You may have a folder called Hiring Policies and another called Timekeeping Policies.

If you're still having trouble locating a document, go straight to the Search function and you'll find what you're looking for with as little as one word. If you find you reference that document frequently, you can create a shortcut on your desktop to bring up the file quickly. However, too many shortcuts on your desktop can be visually overwhelming. So rather than being convenient, it makes what you're looking for harder to find.

ROI

I don't have any figures to present to you, but I know that with the cooperation of all my co-workers, we've done our part to help our employer and the environment. I am satisfied that with continued awareness and effort, our actions will make a difference. I am also pleased that even after we recover from the economic crisis, we will continue these practices and become more responsible.

j

And now for the Public Service Announcement portion of this post

BREAKING NEWS: One Million Pounds of Processed Pistachios Recalled

On the heels of the peanut recall, we now face a recall on pistachios. One million pounds of pistachios are being recalled pending an investigation of Salmonella contamination. Please visit http://www.usfoodsafety.com/ for details. You can also subscribe to receive email alerts on recalls and safety.

Ground Rules

2009-03-30T18:51:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! My name is Joan and welcome to my blog. I'm new to all this so forgive me if I don't follow a format or any unwritten rules about posting. My intention is to share what's on my mind, and if you want to chime in with your opinion or some advice, I welcome your feedback.

But first I'd like to lay down some ground rules, which I will follow, and in turn I hope that you will too. I plan to talk about just about everything on this blog, but there are 3 things that I won't discuss:

1. Religion
2. Politics
3. Lifestyle

I have firm opinions on these 3 things and I know you do too. The reason these are out of bounds is that I don't intend to change where you stand, and you won't change where I stand, therefore what is the point in bringing it up in a forum where we want to exchange and share ideas?

Now that we've gotten that out of the way, let's get this started!

I'll start by telling you a little about myself. I am an analyst for a prominent vacation destination in Connecticut. I work in a department that monitors the level of guest service between the staff and the public, and we develop training programs that will help develop the staff and improve service. So for those of you that own a business, you may see posts about the different methods we've tried to keep our customers happy.

I also own a gift basket business that I run part time. It's been a learning experience for me since I've never owned a business before. It's not my main source of income but it's still a lot of fun to do. I'll tell you more about it as we go along.

That's all for now. Thank you for stopping by, I hope you'll come back to read what I'm thinking about. I have a lot to say!

Life is always good,
Joan