Let's Talk Turkey (and Ham)

I love Thanksgiving.  First, it is no secret that I love food.  But I also love holidays and tradition.  It did not hurt that I was able to prepare a feast without spending a dime of my own money.  If you had to pay for your Thanksgiving meal this year, perhaps you are not yet registered with the right companies.

My first score was a delicious honey-glazed, spiral-sliced ham.  This year the ham company went with a new mystery shopping provider, but I had gotten so used to my free holiday ham that I went through every shopper site I could think of until I found them.  The good news is that the report was basically all yes/no answers and took all of three minutes to complete.  I'm not really sure how the ham company gets any value from that, but that's not really my concern - I got a great ham with minimal effort.

I was also lucky enough to happen upon one of my favorite providers' web site the day they released all of their grocery shops, which means I was able to choose up to ten shops.  Each shop paid $7 with a $10 reimbursement for groceries.  So I was able to get the turkey and all the trimmings with plenty left over to feed the cats and pick up a few household staples.  With a little practice, I've learned to get through these shops in 30 minutes or less, and the report is painless.  Since we all have to go to the grocery store anyway, I hardly think this qualifies as work.  The only negative was that I had to visit the stores between 4 and 7 PM on Thanksgiving week.  I crammed in as many as I could on Monday, but I still had to go back on Tuesday to do the rest.  It was crowded, and I had to park far, far away from the grocery store, but I tried to think of it as burning some of those extra calories in advance.  Besides, shopping amongst a crowd sort of gets me in the mood for the holidays.

If you missed out on the bounty of shops available for Thanksgiving, you still have time to take advantage of what will come available for Christmas.  Some companies that offer grocery and specialty food shops in my area include: www.marketforceshopper.com (Market Force), www.serviceintelligence.com (Service Intelligence), and www.msishopper.net (TrendSource).

Happy shopping!



To iPad or Not to iPad

I recently won an iPad2 in an editing contest at A Closer Look.  This was super exciting, and I looked forward to my new toy until I realized that they (at the last minute) decided to offer a cash option, as well.  And so the dilemma unfolded.  When the editing contest began, we had no idea what the prizes would be, but we were told they would be "fantastic" and that we definitely wanted to win.  We were also told the prizes would be something we would want but would likely not buy for ourselves.  All those things turned out to be true (the prizes for second and third place were an iPod Touch and a Kindle + Amazon gift card, respectively).

I pondered my decision and broadcast a call for advice to all my Facebook friends.  Naturally, all the Apple fans out there said I should take the iPad, and I was somehow inclined to agree.  After all, it was an awesome piece of technology that I would never put out the money for on my own, and it would be great for traveling.  I've never been overly practical, so the thought did not first occur to me that I did not actually need the iPad2 and could buy several other things with the cash option.  I also conveniently forgot that I had never been a big fan of Apple products.  Funny how that tidbit of information was forgotten when the machine was dangled in front of me.

When I remembered all those things, I started to compare the iPad with other tablets.  I was impressed with the new Kindle Fire.  Though obviously not on the same level as iPad as far as quality and certain features, it is still a pretty amazing machine.  A lot of the iPad features I have no use for since I have no other Mac products and only know two other people who utilize Mac products (no "Facetime" for me).  There would also be compatibility issues between my devices.  The Kindle Fire would serve my purposes for wanting a tablet (e-Reader capabilities, email and impromptu web surfing in a machine bigger than a phone but that would still fit my purse) at less than one third the cost.  I could still pick up a Netbook for editing on the run with money left over.  Even after all of that sound reasoning, I was just about convinced to take the iPad.

As it turned out, just when I had made the decision to take the iPad, I learned I could not work on it.  The ACL website apparently has incompatibility issues, and I would not be able to edit.  Since the majority of my waking hours are used for editing, and if not editing then mystery shopping, the iPad for me would have become only a glorified e-Reader and movie streaming machine.  Still a great toy but not at all practical since it would get very little use over the course of a year.

I feel good about my decision, and in a way, I'm glad that I could not work on the iPad, thus forcing me to come to this conclusion.  I will still have a toy and a mini work machine, and I will still have some money left over for small extra goodies - like taking a friend to tea ;-)

As for the rest of you, if you're trying to decide whether or not to buy an iPad2, the way I see it, you either are or you are not an Apple fan.  If you are, I guess nothing else will do.  If you can live with the so-called "lesser brands" like the rest of us mere mortals, my guess is you're probably getting a better value.

Viva Las Vegas!

I recently returned from the 2011 IMSC Conference in Las Vegas.  I really enjoy these conferences because they are great for networking, and I have had some super shopping opportunities come from the people I met at the Orlando conference in May.  I enjoy talking with other shoppers and hearing about their experiences, and I just meet great people at these!  I also was invited to speak at the Las Vegas conference, and I held two editing workshops.  It was a lot of fun!  Unfortunately, I can't tell you much about the rest of the conference because I missed most of it!  Let me explain.

When I learned I would be attending the Vegas conference, I wanted to get the most out of my visit without spending a lot of money - yes, the mystery shopper in me never rests.  So I quickly applied for my Nevada work card with the help of A Closer Look, and I signed up for a bunch of restaurant shops.  As it turned out, my Uncle and Aunt, who live in Reno, decided to drive down to visit while I was there.  I also invited my gal pal editor friend, Alison, to come with.

When we got there, my Uncle and Aunt picked us up from the airport and whisked us off to their hotel for a quick breakfast (we arrived at 8:30 AM) and then we went on a grand tour of some of the finest casinos on the strip.  We visited Caesar's Palace:

and then we went shopping somewhere in or around The Bellagio:

and later at night we went to the top of the Eiffel Tower at Paris:

We also went to two shows, KA, a great Cirque du Soleil event in the MGM Grand, as well as Legends of Music show at Harrah's.  This is where Alison got kissed by Elvis and sang to by Toby Keith.  We stopped by Toby's bar after the show:

We experienced a unique cab ride from a Mad Russian, and I'm pretty sure Alison was over there praying us safely back to the Tropicana for the entire eight miles from downtown Las Vegas.  We also learned about a secret pizza place on the third floor of The Cosmopolitan. Apparently, just knowing about it makes you cool by default. Now you can also be cool by default! ;-) 

I don't know how we found time to work, but we did.  We managed to complete all six mystery shops at six different restaurants in between all the shopping, sight-seeing and shows, not to mention just a couple hours at the penny slots.  Sleep was definitely an afterthought for the three days we were there.  So how was the conference?  You'll have to ask me next time.  I will definitely budget my time better or go sooner or maybe even stay later.  But one thing is for sure, I will definitely be back!

Where Has The Time Gone?

Wow!  Three months!  Now I remember why I stopped journaling.  This is no easier.  So much has happened, but most of it loses its effect in summary.  Oh well, I guess that's why I should keep this thing up.  To touch on the highlights, I went to Maryland for almost three weeks in September, and it really did not cost me a dime.  I had shops from A Closer Look, Baird, Mercantile, Market Force, and Coyle Hospitality to keep me busy.  Now, I have to comment on the last company I listed.  I have been trying for over a YEAR to get work with that company, and I was so excited when they finally approved me for a shop in Maryland!  Of course, I realized after the fact that the reason they approved me was because no one else wanted to do that particular shop.  Oh well, at least I got my foot in the door.  Now, if they would just approve me for something GREAT!  While I was in Maryland, I sort of attended my 20 year high school reunion.  I say "sort of" becuase I never bought a ticket because I really had no intentions of going.  Since it was at a public bar, some friends and I stopped by anyway, and I was reminded why I had not been to any of my high school reunions previously.  I also did some shops in DC - I took my brother, who can eat more meat in one hour than anyone I know - to a great Brazilian Restaurant.  However, I did not realize when I invited him and allowed him to drive that I would be putting my life on the line.  Next time I drive, because after I enjoy a good meal, I'd like to keep it down.

My Mom came back to Florida with me, and we enjoyed a lovely hotel shop courtesy of my favorite company near Hilton Head Island.  When we arrived in Florida, we stayed busy (shopping, of course!) and we did a super fun shop for Buckalew Hospitality in Orlando.  This is another up and coming company that  is great to work for!  Very fair, and fun shops if you're not afraid to do a little work.  I look forward to my next shop for them.  Cheers!