One Stop Boy Shop

First off, check out my new logo! I absolutely love it. Here’s an up close and personal look.

See those 3 cute boys?  Those are my kids!  I found the neatest company called Mrs. Toon.  They take photos of your kids (or yourself) and turn them into hand drawn cartoons!  I was so incredibly pleased with the entire experience.  I uploaded a pic, paid just $12.99 and about 2 days later, I was emailed my photo in a hand drawn image!  So Cute!

They specialize in making avatars for any of your profiles, message boards, twitter, facebook, etc. I loved the first one so much that I sent them 2 more photos so I could have one of each of my boys.  I chose to merge my 3 boys together in order to make my new logo.  Once you receive it, it’s yours to do with whatever you like.

Here are the pics that I sent:

They are incredibly talented, honest and inexpensive.  Jonathan from Mrs. Toon has graciously offered 1 free avatar “toon” to one of my lucky blog readers!  Just visit their site at http://www.mrstoon.com/, come back and leave me a comment telling me what you could do with your own personal avatar toon!

I’m going to give a lot of options for you to have multiple entries.  Here’s how:

Blog about it, and come back and tell me where.

Tweet it, and come back and give me the url.

Put my button on your site and come back and tell me.

Subscribe to One Stop Boy Shop (leave a comment).

Buy a toon from Mrs. Toon to earn 5 extra entries. (don’t forget to come and tell me that you did!).

Contest is open to all.  Get your entries in by midnight CST, April 19th.  The winner will be announced April 20th.

Okay, I know I’m breaking my own rule and posting more than once today. But I just had to show you these shoes from Vans! Maybe I should dedicate a day per week for good deals that I find so I can pass them along. My strict rule of only posting one time per day gets in the way all too often. But knowing that a lot of you are mom’s to boys too, I just had to share.

This is our second round of Vans shoes for our boys. We were so impressed with how well they lasted and how good they held up that we just bought a second round of shoes. I was so tired of having to buy the boys new shoes every month or two because they’re so rough on the shoes, they’d just fall apart. Not the Vans. The kids outgrew them long before they started to look bad and they are several months old!

I also thought I’d tell you about this now because Vans is offering free shipping.

Here you go! Hope you enjoy. The pictures are linked and will take you straight to Vans Online store.

We bought our kids Cranium Hullabaloo by Hasbro for Christmas this past year.
It’s well worth the price. It’s only $24.85 on Amazon. I’ve provided a quick link to it below.

It’s a game that’s kind of a combination of Twister and Simon Says.  The kids have a blast playing it and it’s perfect for preschoolers, although my 11 year old and 2 year old love to play it too.  It encourages quick thinking as they have to quickly process the commands from the game and find an animal or a musical instrument or a triangle, and so forth.  The commands vary from putting your nose on it, to crawling to it or stomping, etc.  Even Nathan gets into it and tries to participate, although sometimes he runs off with the game.

One of the things I like best, is that it’s good old family fun.  Everyone in the family can play and I have video to prove it (I won’t be showing it though, lol)!

Unlike a board game, it gets everyone up and moving.  The winner is often told to do a “funky dance” and the dancing that ensues can be quite hilarious. The only thing I wish were different about it is that I’d like it to play a little louder to make it even more “exciting”, but I have a feeling the volume was purposefully made low so as not to annoy the parents.. lol

Here are my boys playing Hullabaloo.

I have a MacBook Pro, which I purchased 13 months ago. I use it for both of my businesses, One Stop Boy Shop and especially my website business Pages By Nancy. It’s basically a good laptop but don’t believe the rumors (or claims) that it’s not like a PC. Those are false. If you buy one thinking you won’t have to reboot as often, you’ll be mistaken. Every update that gets pushed to my Mac (and believe me there are A LOT) require you to shut everything down and restart your system. And the software is not immune to the blue screen of death on a Mac. There are many instances where a program will freeze my Mac and require me to “force quit” and reboot.

Then there is the durability. If you believe the ads, you’d think that Mac’s are immune to breaking…. not true. The insult to injury here is that their service SUCKS! It’s reasonable that your Mac may require some repairs every now and then but If you rely on your machine like I do, then you’d better buy a backup machine. Yep, that’s right an entirely separate machine to have on hand while yours is in the shop. Oh and make sure you have an extra copy of the thousands of dollars worth of software that you use available to run on your backup machine. This is necessary because their service repair is very poorly run and organized. I’ve had 3 things go wrong with my mac in 1 year. First was the powercord developed a short. They made me sit on the phone troubleshooting a powercord for 45 minutes before they conceded that yes, I need a new powercord. DUH!

Then my monitor went out. Very inconvenient to say the least. After another hour on the phone with their level 1 educated tech support they came to the same conclusion that I did… my monitor may have gone out. DOH! This resulted in me having to make an appointment with their “Genius Bar”. First available appointment was in 2 days. I went to my appointment and was told that my new monitor would be ordered and should be in within 2 days. Okay, there’s 4 days of productivity down. After waiting 4 days for them to call and say my part was in, I contacted them only to find out it wasn’t in yet. The next day (we’re now up to 7 days downtime with my Mac) they called and told me the part was in. I brought them my MacBook Pro immediately. I did tell them that I was severely impacted without my Mac and they assured me they would “try” to hurry, but no I couldn’t wait for it. Three days later, it was fixed and I could pick it up (and it would’ve been much longer I bet had I not pestered their “head genius”). So 11 days downtime to replace a monitor (which by the way is a 15 minute repair, I have 12 years of I.T. experience so I know what it entails).

Also keep in mind that I had the exact same issue with my Dell Inspiron laptop the year before. I called Dell on a Monday and they had a service tech come to my house on Tuesday and he replaced the monitor right then and there! Now THAT is service.

Now my DVD drive is out. I knew better this time than to call their telephone support. I certainly didn’t want to waste another hour of useless troubleshooting just to end up being sent to the Genius Team. I made my appointment on Thursday for Saturday. Went to my appointment where they were running 40 minutes behind. Lovely. But I waited. The “Genius” assigned to me verified that yep, I was right, my DVD drive is broken. DOH! He assured me he’d order the part and let me know when to drop my machine off. Today (4 days later) I received the call that my part was in. I figured it was worth the effort to ask if I could wait for the DVD to be swapped out because certainly they know that I know it’s a SIMPLE repair! But nope, they have to maintain the illusion that they’re “Geniuses”. So I have to drop my machine off for a couple of days while they replace my drive.

So Freakin Frustrating! Thank goodness I still have my Dell. I’ll have to use it for the next few days in order to sort through photos sent to me on a CD from a client for his website.

The moral of this story is that indubitably, a Mac is NOT a PC, because were it a PC, it would be fixed MUCH quicker! It’s too bad that Apple can’t get off their assets and create a better technical support experience. But I guess they’re not hurting for customers, so why bother? They certainly are not in business to keep their customers happy. They don’t care that you paid extra for a maintenance contract. You’re just one in a queue and they’ll work you in on their own time with no regards or cares for your deadlines.

I know that this post might sound like I have nothing good to say about Mac’s. That’s not entirely true. I just take exception to the way they run their service. The actual machine is great (when it’s not broken). I use the heck out of it and really enjoy the great programs that are available for it. Just make sure you buy it because you like it and not because you think it’ll crash less, reboot less or break less. It is afterall just a PC by another name.

As a surprise, my husband bought me a Kindle 2 this week.  About 2 weeks ago, we’d had a conversation about them, weighing the pros and cons and wondering if it would be something that I would like.  I love to read but I love books!  I have a “library” to prove it!  LOL   I love to hold a book in my hands, I love the reward of turning the page to find out what happens next.  I love to pull a book off of a shelf to reread the back, gaze at the cover or to recommend it to a friend.  I also love to reread my books.  I love the weight of a book in my hands, and I love to see my bookmark move along through the pages, marking my progress.

I didn’t think that the Kindle was for me.  But he bought it.  It arrived.  I opened it hesitantly.  I imagined that I’d be returning it after a basic look over to be polite.

First thing that I noticed is it was much lighter in weight than I expected.  I plugged it in, and started charging it.  I waited, and waited, and waited… still convinced that I wouldn’t like it, but eagerly awaiting that green light to come on indicating it was charged and ready to go.

Imagine my surprise when I had trouble putting the darn thing down! I downloaded a book recommendation from a Twitter friend.  It’s called “Marked, (House of Night, Book 1)”.  I’m actually enjoying this book!  And I’m enjoying reading it on the Kindle.

Now the down and dirty.  What don’t I like?

It does not have a backlight.  It NEEDS a backlight!  I have a separate Mighty Bright XtraFlex2 Clip-On Light (Black, Kindle Version)(another gift from my husband), but quite frankly I don’t think it SHOULD need one.  It should have one built in.  It shouldn’t even be considered an extra, it should be a “necessary”.

I don’t like the hesitation in shutting down.  Generally when I have to stop reading it’s in a hurry like maybe Nate has climbed onto the kitchen counter and is balancing precariously on the edge of danger.  Inevitably, as I close the book as I’m simultaneously powering it off, it changes pages on me… grrrrr

What do I especially like?

I can take an entire library of books with me, anywhere that I go!  I carry a very small handbag, and it fits!  It’s lovely, thin and lightweight.

I love that I can increase the size of the text so I don’t have to worry about finding or wearing my reading glasses.

I can immediately have any book that I want!  It’s wireless so it doesn’t matter where I am, someone at the grocery store can recommend a book to me and I can download it right then and there.  It operates effortlessly on Sprint’s Network.  There is no monthly charge for this, it comes standard with your Kindle.

It integrates with your Amazon wish list and will recommend books that you’d be interested in (which you can buy, on-the-fly!).

The cost of the books are substantially less than buying a paper-bound traditional book.

It keeps track of your progress in the book by showing a %age of what you’ve read.

You can (and should) buy a Leather Cover
for the Kindle separately (my husband bought me one).  The cover for the Kindle is a MUST.  It allows you to hold it like a book, you can close it like a book, all the while offering a protective covering for your precious Kindle.  It helps keep your reading experience book-like.

So even though I was hesitant.. and was more like a hostile witness on the stand, it very quickly won me over.  I will miss not having a book to put away on my shelf, although I’ll just have to remind myself how many trees that I helped save.  The Kindle 2 is a hit for me.

Please also read my Update Review to the Kindle 2.

I’ve not kept it a secret that I’m a huge fan of Lumiere Celeste Facial Cream.   Last month Lumiere Celeste launched some new products and sent me some samples to try.  I’m going to review 2 of their new all natural products.

First off is their Mother of Pearl Cleanser -
I put my cleanser in the shower and use it every day to wash my face. It is a LOVELY cleanser. It very quickly washes clean away but leaves
my skin feeling wonderfully clean without drying it out.  It leaves no residue behind and I feel very refreshed.  I absolutely love this new product of theirs.

Another new product is an Exfoliating Serum. The best way I can think to describe it is an Un-masklike “Mask”. You use it like a “mask” in that you use it once or twice per week to really cleanse your face and unclog your pores. I call it an “unmask” because it does not make your face feel like it’s going to crack, nor does it dry out your skin.  It washes away quickly leaving your face soft and clean. It also has a very pleasant soft scent.  It smells tasty. I managed to easily squeeze it into my rushed routine. I put it on as I enter the bathroom to start taking my shower. By the time I’ve gathered my towel, clothing and the water has warmed I have also successfully exfoliated my skin!

I really appreciate how easy and effective Lumiere’s all natural skin care products are.  I’m also fascinated by the anti-aging results that I’m seeing in the mirror.

I am thrilled to have samples to giveaway and to be able to let 4 of you try out the new Exfoliating Serum for yourself!  To enter, just visit www.lumiereceleste.com and leave me a comment about the product that most interests you (maybe it’ll be an upcoming give-away!).   Entries must be received by midnight CST on January 25, 2009.  The winners will be announced on January 26th.

This giveaway is open to all, but only United States Domestic shipping is included.

Good luck!

Want an extra entry?  Just blog about this giveaway and come back and tell me where.

Water is lovely.  You never think about how wonderful it is until you don’t have it.  It’s something that you just take for granted.  I mean, I don’t call my plumber on a regular basis and thank him every time my toilet flushes successfully.  Plumbing is a thankless convenience that is so easy to not appreciate when you have it.

Plumbers are notoriously expensive.  But lets face it, it can be a crappy job (haha, I made a funny!) and it’s well worth the money you have to fork out to make sure that you have running water and a functional toilet.  Finding a good plumber is almost as difficult as finding a good doctor.  It’s not something that you’re comfortable just looking up in a phone book, closing your eyes and choosing the first one your finger points to–but that’s usually what ends up happening.  You pick one by chance and hope for the best.

We’re up at our cabin in northern Arkansas.  It’s near a small town, not too many plumbers to choose from and we’re not really “locals” although we’re “wanna-be” locals.  My husband was born and raised here and this is home to him even if he lives almost 1000 miles away.  He’s been gone so long from here that he no longer knows who to call in times of a plumbing crisis.  So we were faced with the gamble of who to call.  Here it was a holiday weekend and we arrive to no water, a flooded kitchen and bathroom and 4 burst pipes.

We called several places and the most helpful and kind people we spoke to turned out to be Ray Hix Plumbing.  Amazingly these nice people also turned out to be much less expensive than anyone else we could find.  This is a family owned and operated business that’s been around for 5 generations of Hix.  These two guys (I wish I’d gotten their names) were honest, courteous, friendly, knowledgeable and KIND.

If you ever happen to need a plumber in the north central Arkansas area, I highly recommend Ray Hix Plumbing.  They don’t have a webpage (they should contact me, I’m so thrilled with them I’d give them a super deal!) but their phone number is listed.

My cabin is now put back together.  I have water in all the places I should and none in places that I shouldn’t.  My kitchen and bathroom are no longer flooded, my bathroom is no longer messy and torn apart.  While we had the bathroom vanity and sink yanked out for repairing the busted pipes we went to Home Depot and bought a slimmer cabinet and now actually have room to stand in FRONT of the sink to brush our teeth.  So not only are things good, they’re better than they were before.

Today I thank my plumber… my toilet flushed, my teeth are brushed, my body is clean and my dishes are washed.  Lovely water.  Thank you Mr. Plumber!

I found this Mineral Makeup back in October when my friend from Australia came for a visit.  She brought gifts from Down Under and among them was Mineral Makeup by iSHiKi-SKiN.   I rarely bother with makeup, not even when I worked outside the home. The only time I wear makeup is on a rare night out on the town with my husband or for family portraits (which I avoid!).

The down and dirty of my aversion to makeup is quite simple actually. I don’t like to “feel” it on my face. It feels heavy and unnatural, I feel “made up” and not the real me.  I’ve tried all brands, from the high dollar exclusive stores to the grab-it-on-the-go pharmacy kind.

Now I’ve found iSHiKi-SKiN. One photograph of myself emailed to Carmel of iSHiKi and one vague description of my complexion from me and voila! A perfect match in color and the most amazing makeup I’ve ever tried.  I’ve worn more makeup in the last 3 months than I’ve worn in 3 years!  My skin looks great, feels great and I forget I’m wearing it.

I was so impressed with her mineral foundation and setting veil that I approached Carmel and asked if I could review her Mineral Makeup for my blog readers.

Carmel describes herself as a busy Mum from Australia with a passion for all natural skin products.  She offers a completely different experience with her All Natural products;  you can have a say in the products you choose and can select custom blends and colors that are made just for you!

Here are a few of my questions with the answers supplied by Carmel:

How long has iSHiKi-SKiN been in business?
It’s coming into its 10th year, although technically it began as ‘Aromatherapy Naturals’ - iSHiKi-SKiN evolved around 6 yrs ago.

What was your first product?
The iSHiKi base cream which everyone loves and can be used for both face and body.

What is your best selling item?
Historically iSHiKi Face Cream has been and here recently there has been a greater demand for my Mineral Makeup line and I’m also the Australian distributor of the Lumiere Celeste skin care.  People outside of Australia can order Lumiere from the United States at www.lumiereceleste.com.

What sets you apart from the big department store brands?
My all natural ingredients will leave your skin feeling and looking refreshed and in top condition.  I do not add harsh chemicals or soaps that can cause dryness, irritation and bad reactions.  I offer my clients the ability to fully customize the products to suit their skin types, shades and scents.

What are your long term goals for iSHiKi?
To open a specialized outlet, so customers can walk in for personalized skincare advice, play around with makeup and skincare samples and can have
their own product made up while they wait.  Secondly to revolutionize the beauty salon treatment – offering all natural skincare, made to suit the clients’ needs – how does ‘SPA iSHiKi’ sound?

Although Carmel’s website is still under construction, all of her listed products are available for purchase.  She welcomes you to browse her site and find the products that are best suited for you.

On a “footnote”, I intended to write this review to spread the word about her fabulous Mineral Makeup but I couldn’t end this post without at least giving an honorable mention for her Foot Cream.  This was included in my gift package from the Land of Oz and it is fabulous!   I don’t know how she does it, but she makes phenominal products that I think everyone should try.  I haven’t tried everything yet but I’ve just placed an order for some of her body wash for myself and Mineral Makeup for my sister.  I think I’ll try her shampoo and conditioner next.  I feel confident that each product is as great as the others.  I doubt you could go wrong by ordering from iSHiKi.