Getting the Straight Talk

This post brought to you by Straight Talk. All opinions are 100% mine.

My cell phone contract is expiring next month, so I've started looking into my options once it does. Once of the companies that I've researched that I really like is Straight Talk.  You can get unlimited monthly service (including calls, text, picture messaging, and web) for only $45.  I don't know about you, but that's a lot less than I'm currently paying, and who doesn't love saving money?  I've practically spent it on makeup and shoes already. (I'm very serious about my budget.)

Another thing I like is that they have the All You Need Plan as an option, where you get 1,000 minutes, 1,000 texts and 30 MB of web data. I do a ton of texting and I'm constantly checking email and social networks from my phone, so the more I can get for a reasonable price, the better.  And they have great coverage plus phones from manufacturers that I like and trust like LG, all with no contracts required and none of those random extra fees that can sneak up on you. It's pretty much everything you need.

They also have a prepaid calling service for international long distance calls, so I can call a friend who lives outside the country without breaking the bank. They have a great selection of phones available, including smart phones.  I guess you could say that I might be falling hook, line and sinker for Straight Talk.

Does anyone have any experience with Straight Talk? Let me know in the comments!

Get Unlimited With NET10

This post brought to you by Net10. All opinions are 100% mine.

My cell phone contract is expiring next month, so I've been doing a little bit of research into my options.  One of the companies that I've been impressed with is NET10, especially after watching this interview with a real NET10 customer.

They have a plan called NET10 Unlimited that looks really promising.  For just $50 a month you get nationwide coverage with unlimited talk, text, and data.  I can't live without unlimited testing and I'm constantly using my phone for email and social networking, so this is the kind of plan that I need, and I love how affordable it is.

Another thing I like is that there are no contracts, and you can even switch plans from month to month depending on what your needs are. (You can buy airtime online or right from your phone.) Love that.  They've got a good selection of affordable phones from well-known manufacturers like LG and Motorola.  My last few phones have been LGs and I really like them, so it's good to know that I could stick with them if I decide to make the switch to NET10.

I think it's safe to say that when it comes to my current cell phone plan vs. NET10, I see the Light. For more info on NET10, check out their Facebook and Twitter pages (or this cute NET10 commercial). And if you have an experience with NET10, definitely leave a comment and let me know how you like it.

Sports Fan

Guest post of the week by Brittany Booker

I’m really into sports. Like, really, really into sports. I have a favorite team in just about every division and I have probably 12 jerseys to my name. My wife is pretty much the best woman in the whole world and she got me expertsatellite.com satellite for my birthday around Christmastime and it’s been amazing so far! I was able to watch just about all of the College World Series baseball games and I’ve even been able to catch a lot of random soccer games being played internationally I usually have to go to sports bars to watch. I know my obsession is probably getting a little out of hand but who cares? All that matters is that I’m able to sit at home and get some enjoyment out of watching a bunch of guys compete against each other in some trivial sport! I think it comes from the fact that I was never a great athlete growing up and I always wanted to be so now I’m living vicariously through my teams.

Getting Well With Walgreens

This post brought to you by Walgreens. All opinions are 100% mine.

I was visiting my mom the other day when I suddenly started to feel a bad headache coming on. I'm prone to migraines, but I didn't have any of the headache medicine that I usually take with me.  My mom offered me some Walgreens brand extra strength pain reliever, saying that it always worked well for her aches and pains.  I don't have much experience with Walgreens Brand Health & Wellness Products, so I was a little bit skeptical, but my head also really really hurt so I gave it a try.

I have to say that I was very pleasantly surprised. My headache was gone in no time, and I was even more interested when my mom told me how much she had paid for the product at Walgreens. It was definitely a big savings over the brand name migraine medication that I usually depend on.  When I did a little more research, I was even more impressed, because I learned that every Walgreens Brand Health & Wellness Product that you buy helps to support the Walgreens Way to Well Fund™, which works to bring free preventative health care and other health and wellness services to local communities. The services are provided in various ways, such as vouchers that you can redeem in stores and through the National Urban League Health & Wellness Tour.

If you're interested in Walgreens Brand Health & Wellness Products and the Walgreens Way to Well Fund™, you can learn more at walgreens.com/waytowell. You should also check out the giveaways that several bloggers have going on right now for Walgreens Gift Cards. Who doesn't love a good giveaway, right? And if anyone has any other product recommendations for me, let me know. I'm always open to trying new things.

More Mailboxes

If you've been reading this blog for awhile, you know that I really like shopping (and window shopping) for cool outdoor and garden decor and accessories, like planters, garden statues, mail boxes, benches, etc. My taste is pretty eclectic so I'm always looking for new stuff that I like.

Today's a mailbox day so I'm looking at a site that sells all kinds of residential mailboxes as well as multi-unit mailboxes, drop boxes, address plaques, and other decor. I really like this shadowbox style mailbox:



I love the contrast of the white and a bright color (they have several different colors to choose from), and I like that it's different from a "traditional" looking mailbox, but also a decent size and totally functional.

Aside from mailboxes, they also have some other great decorative items for the house and garden. This doorbell is really cool:



And I absolutely love this Times & Seasons outdoor thermometer:



What do you think? What's your favorite decorative piece in your garden?

Calling In The Steam Team

I mentioned the other day that I know a bunch of people who are either planning to move or have just moved recently. So it's funny to me that the craziest home story that I've heard this week came from a friend of mine who hasn't moved in a few years. What she does have is a couple of kids and a couple of dogs, all rambunctious, which is definitely a recipe for wackiness.

This week's story was about how you should not attempt to relax with a glass of red wine in your beige-carpeted living room at the end of a long day, because Kid A and Dog B will come wildly chasing each other into the room, and they will not be satisfied with just knocking over one glass. No, they'll take out both glasses and the bottle too.

Of course, this is nothing new for my friend - by now she knows all there is to know about carpet cleaning in Austin. She's got http://www.thesteamteam.com/ bookmarked in her laptop and their number ready to go in her phone. She likes them because they offer every carpet cleaning service that she could ever need, as well as pet odor treatments (did I mention she has two dogs?), upholstery cleaning (did I mention she has two rambunctious kids), and green cleaning services so that she can keep the chemicals to a minimum around her wacky and wonderful family. Personally, I like them because of their name. They sound like superheroes. Put the Steam Team signal in sky today!

Getting Medicare

I was visiting my cousin the other day, and while I was there we ended up spending awhile helping my aunt figure out a problem that she was having with her Medicare application. Later, we were talking about how complicated some of this stuff can be to figure out, what with all of the different parts and letters and rules and so on, especially for our older relatives who aren't necessarily so computer savvy and don't know what resources might be available to them.

Out of curiosity I did a little research, and I found this really helpful site for people who want to get Medicare. It lays out the differences between the Part A, Part B, and so on, and explains who is eligible for Medicare and how and when to sign up. There's also a separate section with information about the online application for Medicare, which is extra helpful for that less computer savvy set that I mentioned. You can even submit your information and get a phone call from a representative from the site who can walk you through all of your options. I think it's always good to know about resources like that are out there, because you never know when it might come in handy to help someone out.