Last week after we moved Mr. College Student into his dorm, I got a text message that he had forgotten the charger for his MP3 player.
Naturally, he didn’t know where he’d left it. It was either in his room, which was a complete disaster area after he’d packed only what he needed for college, or in the vicinity of his desk–either on or under his desk in the family room.
Since the desktop was amazingly messy, I figured I’d start under the desk. And there I found the jungle of wires. You know what I mean. There was a desktop computer on that desk, that our kids were using. So we had the power cord for the computer, cord connecting the computer to the monitor, mouse cord, keyboard cord, and joystick cord. Those were the ones I could identify.
Then I attacked the USB hub, and found three cords attached to the hub but not connected to anything else. They were all different, and I wasn’t sure which (if any) was the one that connected his MP3 player to its charger.
A few text messages later, we established that he already had the cord and only needed the bottom part of the charger (which I finally found in his room, not near any place where you could plug it in, go figure!) I’ll have to wait until he comes home for a weekend before I can find out what any of those mystery cords are.
In the meantime, I’ve disconnected all of them. So far, no one has missed them.
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Even when I was a kid, my grandmother knew me well. We lived less than 3 miles from her house, so we visited at least once a week. And I never walked in empty-handed; 
I always had my crayons, pencils and drawing paper with me so I could draw pictures or color while the grownups chatted.
When my ninth birthday rolled around, my grandmother came over with a big box. I figured it was a new dress, since that’s usually what she gave me and my sister for birthdays.
The box was way too heavy–and rattled too much–to be a dress, however. I was completely and pleasantly surprised to discover that the box didn’t contain clothes, but a huge assortment of art supplies and a fat sketch pad full of thick white paper. I got my own stapler and tape dispenser as well as a new box of crayons (with the built-in sharpener). I got new scissors, colored pencils, and a pencil sharpener, as well as quality drawing pencils and a good eraser.
All these years later, I’ve never forgotten the great feeling I had when I opened that gift. It was just what I’d wanted, though I hadn’t thought to ask for it. And knowing that my grandmother understood that, and had taken the time to select all that cool stuff for me, was priceless.
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40% off 1 regular priced item at Joann.com Fabrics 
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Here in New Jersey, Labor Day weekend is considered the last weekend of the summer season. Many schools in the Garden State won’t be opening until after Labor Day, because people are so entrenched in the whole “go to the beach for Labor Day weekend” thing. 
It’s a nice time to be at the beach; the water is at its warmest, and once Hurricane Earl passes by, the waves will be calm; beachgoers are only hoping that there’s not too much flooding and that the sand hasn’t washed away in the storm. In addition, there are great bargains to be found for last-minute travel–at the Jersey shore and elsewhere.
A beach vacation at this time of year isn’t an option for my family anymore; we’ve got a college student whose classes began Monday and a high-school student who’s deep into pre-season practices for field hockey. They have a mandatory team event on Sunday. The coach told one player whose family has vacation plans that she is not excused.
So, will we be hitting the road for Labor Day? My husband’s taking the day off today and visiting a couple of his high-school buddies in Pennsylvania for the day, and on Friday, I’ll be anxiously driving into Philadelphia to pick up Mr. College Student for the weekend. That round trip is only about 30 miles, but 30 miles of city driving is tougher for me than 90 miles of highway driving–and sometimes it takes just about as long!
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Save $50 on Monthly Rentals at Hertz.com 
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Labor Day weekend is almost upon us–do you have plans for a picnic?
As I write this, I’m looking at a weather-forecasting website that’s informing me that I live within the “cone of possibility” for Hurricane Earl.
Unless the storm changes course, there’s a good shot that in two days, we’ll be starting off a very soggy, windy weekend.
Fortunately, I have a screened-in back porch. So we don’t have to go outside to be outside. If it’s too rainy to cook the burgers on the grill, I can stay inside and make sloppy joes or chili. Or both.
There are advantages to turning the cookout into a cook-in. The chairs are more comfortable, for one. None of the meat will turn into charcoal because the grill-master got distracted. And we’ll get to enjoy our dinner without interference from flies, bees and mosquitoes!
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I love the movie “Last Holiday” with Queen Latifah. I’ve rented it so many times from Netflix that I could have bought this movie several times over; 
it’s a story I never get tired of watching. And it’s a good thing that Netflix has no late fees, because the last time I rented it, I kept it out for 2 months or more!
While I’ve watched this movie often enough that I can recite entire scenes along with the actors, I never knew that this film is actually a remake.
In general, I’m not a fan of remakes. I prefer rock songs by original artists rather than remakes or covers by other groups. But I’m not going to condemn one of my favorite movies just because it’s a remake–since I’ve never seen the original, a 60-year-0ld picture starring Alec Guinness.
I’m interested in watching the original film and comparing it to the remake I enjoy so much. There’s a big difference I know about already–the original has a male in the lead role rather than a female. Unfortunately, the review of the movie that I was able to find contained a spoiler–without a spoiler alert–and now I know that the ending in the 1950 version is very different from the 2006 remake. Knowing that, I’m pretty sure that the 2006 Last Holiday starring Queen Latifah is going to be my favorite of the two.
COUPON TIME
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My teenagers go through earbuds at an alarming rate. Yes, they use their music players quite often, so it’s not like they don’t get pulled out several times a day. 
But I can’t understand how those wires get so tangled in such a short time.
I roll up my earbuds after I use them and keep them in my iPod case–and even those get tangled up. So I can’t blame the kids. It seems that no matter how you treat those earbuds, they’re going to tangle.
Unfortunately, I think that all that knotting and unknotting of wires has to be hard on them. It seems like one or the other of my teens is always shopping for new earbuds. It’s gotten to the point where I start to look for sales and then encourage my kids to stock up.
Maybe I should just buy the things in bulk–or tell the kids to save their money and invest in a wireless pair. No more tangles!
COUPON TIME
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My daughter has this split personality when it comes to her bedroom. She’s both Oscar AND Felix. 
She’ll let it get so bad that you can’t tell what color the carpet is, because it’s covered in clothes, sketchbooks, guitars and pencils. But every once in a while she will shut herself up in there and clean it like crazy. She’ll bring in the Pledge and the vacuum and the Windex. She’ll make the bed and arrange all the pillows. And she’ll completely fill her laundry hamper with clothing that she’s picked up off the floor.
We love it when she cleans her room. It looks (and smells) great. She’s proud to invite her BFFs over so they can hang out in there. She even invites US in so we can admire the fruits of her labor.
The last time she did this, we were thrilled to see how clean and neat her room was. Then she left to spend the afternoon with friends. Ten minutes after her arrival back home, her room once again looked like a tornado hit it.
“What did you do in here?” we asked her.
“I came home.”
Sometimes it’s better just to close the door on the situation.
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by Doug Desjardins
Continuing a trend that started with Memorial Day, more people will travel over the upcoming Labor Day weekend than last year, though most will be staying closer to home.
According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), Labor-Day travel will jump 10 percent this year, with 34.4 million people traveling 50 miles or more from home over the holiday. That compares to a 13-percent drop in travel over the 2009 Labor Day weekend. With the economy still shaky, AAA wasn’t sure whether the steady increase in leisure travel that started on Memorial Day would continue. 
“But this holiday, relative to last year, travel is (going to be) up,” said AAA Services director Glen MacDonell.
The AAA expects 91 percent of people to travel by car over the weekend, with 5 percent traveling by air and the remainder by bus or train. Gas prices are about the same as they were last year, with the national average ranging from $2.65 to $2.75.
Leisure air travelers are expected to total 1.6 million for the weekend, a 4.5-percent increase from 2009 despite an increase in airfare prices. AAA expects the average price for a flight to be 9 percent higher over the Labor Day weekend than last year. The increase comes in spite of a report from the Air Transportation Association that estimates the major domestic airlines saw a 1% decrease in travelers in July.
Prices in other areas of the hospitality industry are also on the rise. Car rental rates, always closely tied with air travel, are expected to increase almost as much, with the average rate jumping 7 percent for Labor Day weekend. Hotel rates are expected to be close behind, rising an average of 6 percent over the weekend.
Though prices are on the rise, there are still plenty of deals around for bargain hunters as the hospitality industry tries to cash in on the last weekend of the summer.
Expedia is advertising 40 percent off on select hotels for stays booked through Sept. 6 and kicking in a $50 pre-paid Mastercard for three-night stays.
As usual, Las Vegas will be the top destination for holiday travelers over the Labor Day weekend, according to Orbitz.com, where the average room rate will be $106 per night. Orbitz.com senior editor Jeanenne Tornatore said travelers looking for bargains should look to other cities.
“Those wanting to bid a final farewell to summer, but have limited funds, should set their sights on Denver, Orlando and Los Angeles, which are all offering daily hotel rates under $100 per night,” said Tornatore.
According to Orbitz.com, the top 10 destinations for Labor Day weekend are Las Vegas, New York, Chicago, Denver, Seattle, San Francisco, Atlanta, Boston, Orlando and Los Angeles. The top international destination is Cancun, followed by London and Paris.
Resources
Labor Day Travel Up But So Are Prices
Airlines May Raise Fares to Boost Profit
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by Doug Desjardins
Though the economic recovery is still shaky at best, the days of inexpensive travel appear to be over as the industry starts to raise rates and leisure travel continues to increase.
Hotel chains and airlines saw a good sign that the summer rebound in travel will continue into the fall when the American Automobile Association (AAA) predicted Labor Day travel would jump 10 percent this year. And though 90 percent of travelers are taking trips by car, the AAA expects 1.62 million people to travel by air, a 4.5 percent increase from 2009.
“While media reports on the state of U.S. economy are mixed, many Americans are still interested in taking one more trip as the summer travel season comes to a close,” said Glen MacDonell, AAA Travel Services director.
Hotel rates are expected to be 2 percent to 6 percent higher over the Labor Day weekend compared to 2009, providing another sign that the long slump in tourism is coming to an end. 
The industry is also seeing encouraging signs of recovery in Las Vegas, a key bellwether for tourism trends. So far this year, occupancy rates in the city have averaged 80 percent – compared to the national average of 56 percent – and have increased every month.
“When you look at the average daily room rate increasing for four consecutive months, and increasing 6 percent in the month of June, it demonstrates that the market is starting to adjust to the new room inventory,” said Vince Alberta, vice president of public affairs for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Bureau. “We’ve added about 12,000 rooms during the past two years.”
But Las Vegas still has a long way to go, considering the average room rate in June was $90 compared to a pre-recession average of $132 a night in June 2007.
Trends also show that more people are shopping online to find bargains on hotels and airfare. According to research firm ComScore, online spending on travel increased 9 percent in July, building on increases of 8 percent in June and 7 percent in May. Priceline reported a 43-percent jump in second-quarter bookings followed by Expedia (19 percent) and Orbitz (17 percent).
But the industry is receiving mixed signals from consumers who still don’t seem confident that the economic recovery is going to stick.
The Air Transportation Association reported that major domestic airlines in the U.S. posted a 1 percent decline in travelers for July, though most planes were more than 90 percent full. The drop came despite a slight bump in air travel during the Fourth of July.
But a survey from TripAdvisor shows leisure travel trending into positive territory. Its survey found that 86 percent of U.S. travelers are planning trips this fall, up from 73 percent in the fall of 2009.
Resources
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by Doug Desjardins
It used to be that buying eco-friendly and organic products meant spending more money. But now that green products have gone mainstream, it’s easy to find all natural back-to-school products that are affordable.
Students who want to make an eco-friendly statement this fall can find the most variety in apparel. Nearly every retailer now carries a wide variety of clothing made of organic cotton, including industry leader Wal-Mart.
Wal-Mart has a wide selection of boys’ and girls’ back-to-school apparel from Faded Glory made of organic cotton, including girls’ plaid dresses starting at $8 and a 3-pack of t-shirts priced at $10. Retailer American Apparel is taking a more upscale approach with its designer, organic cotton t-shirts in a variety of colors priced at $18. 
Mass merchants are now the world’s most prolific sellers of eco-friendly clothing. Wal-Mart and Target are the third- and tenth-largest consumers respectively of organic cotton worldwide, according to the Organic Exchange, with Nordstrom checking in at #12. The trio helped sales of organic cotton apparel rise 35% in 2009 to $4.3 billion.
“Many people thought the recession would mean an end to all things organic, but the market reacted in quite the opposite way,” said LaRhea Pepper, senior director of the Organic Exchange.
School supplies are another category loaded with eco-friendly options for back-to-school shoppers. Target is carrying Bic Ecolutions White-Out Correction Strips made of 51 percent recycled material and Elephant Poo Poo journals and notebooks – made of 100 percent recycled elephant waste – for $7.78.
Staples is carrying a wide selection of Sustainable Earth notebooks. The wire-bound notebooks are made with 80 percent sugar-cane waste and start at $2.50. And you can find Earth Write Recycled Pencils from Paper Mate at most retail outlets. The pencils are made with 100 percent recycled material and are only $5 for a box of 48.
And for back-to-college shoppers, Kohl’s has the Eco Style Round Hamper from Creative Bath that’s made of bamboo and cotton and a three-shelf storage tower made of 100 percent bamboo.
And for people willing to pay a little extra for products that are truly green, there are Ecojet Notebooks that retail for $12. The 300-page notebooks are made of 100 percent post-consumer recycled paper – essentially recycled paper that’s been recycled – and made with inks and dyes that are vegetable-based and completely biodegradable. And Ecojt even powers its factor through biogas generated by local landfills and donates a notebook to charity for each one it sells.
Another high-end, eco-friendly product is the Solar Backpack from Soltaic Systems. The backpack is equipped with solar panels on the back that create and store enough power to recharge a cell phone or digital camera.
Resources
Wal-Mart Back-to-School Apparel
Back to School Fashion for Eco-Teens
Global Organic Cotton Market Grows 35%, Hits $4.3 Billion in 2009
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