I once read some advice about picking a main theme or piece to use as a basis for your decor and, in San Antonio, I used a large wall mirror for that purpose. However, there’s no room to put it up in my current apartment so it’s leaning against a wall. It definitely makes me a little sad because it’s a very nice piece. But the rest of my decor, which uses an autumny golden orange theme doesn’t seem to match because it’s not up.

I could also definitely use a lesson in grouping and choosing items that either match or contrast in a way that helps to make the decor of a room feel complete and well thought out. My interest in this definitely had a correlation to watching all those home design shows and now sites like Pinterest or Houzz make it even easier to get ideas from people who are more creative — and experienced! — than I am. A decor coffee table book would be cool, too.

Coming from the North, I certainly spent less time in the sparkling waters of a pool that’s freshly cleaned with pool filters but it was an entirely different issue when I lived in Texas. Every complex had its own pool — I’m sure some had several — so it was easy to access a pool all day long. Ironically, I never stepped foot into the pool in my apartment complex because I’d just become so accustomed to not using a pool.

1. A gift card can go toward my necessities, like food, clothing or household goods.
2. A $10 gift card is always more useful than a $10 item than I don’t need but a $10 gift card is infinitely more useful than a $100 item for which I have no use.
3. Gift cards give me a choice in what I win so I can be really excited.
4. Some gift cards can be used online so I don’t even have to leave my house or I can still shop from stores that aren’t in the area.

But gift cards have perks if you’re holding the giveaway, too!

1. Gift cards appeal to more people (see my #2 above).
2. Gift cards blur the geographical lines. Sure, I may be in Wisconsin but if I giveaway a gift card to a company that has a website and ships worldwide, I’ve just expanded my giveaway (and potential readership).
3. Gift cards are cheap to send. Throw ‘em in an envelope, or even better, click “Send.” Anyone who has had to mail off their own prizes understands the frustration about this one.

Do you also love gift card giveaways?

You see, several years ago, Ryan bought me flowers for Valentine’s Day while he was deployed. He was pretty good about that and I expected it but the day came and went without flowers. At first, he hinted that I should be receiving something but I didn’t. Finally, he confessed in frustration, that he had purchased me flowers. Several days went by without notice. I then stopped into out apartment complex office and, lo and behold, there were flowers for me there… except, I’d been home the entire day so the delivery person hadn’t even tried to bring them to my door or leave a note. I was pretty unimpressed with that service. I don’t even remember if the flowers contained the additives and I’d already missed out on several days of enjoyment.

Deliveries are something that can often be problematic. I know because I purchase a lot of good online but part of being a successful online retailer is not just having a website that is easy to use or competitive prices. A lot of people are willing to spend more when they know they’ll get more — IE timely delivery or personal interaction — that’s why mom and pop businesses are still in business.

So it’s pretty coincidental that I just discovered an entire website dedicated to low income housing that does just does. I put in a quick search in my local area and other areas that I wouldn’t mind living in to see what popped up. Some expected apartment complexes showed up and even a couple townhomes.

The nice thing about the Low Income Housing Authority website is that is also has information regarding a variety of other topics. For example, there are pages about applying for Section 8 housing benefits (vouchers) as well as foodstamps (EBT) and even advice if you are dealing with an eviction or foreclosure. Unfortunately, these things have always applied in our society but it seems like they are even more common with the housing bubble burst and today’s economic climate.

Although the Low Income Housing authority website is focused on housing, the information there is beneficial to anyone who is struggling financially and it’s a resource that puts it all together in one place. It’s definitely something that I think more people need to know about and could potentially help before before the downward spiral.

More than once, I have considered doing away with a contract phone plan for a more wallet (purse?) friendly option like Straight Talk. The only reason we get such a great deal on our phones and plan is because we knew someone who worked for one of the big four phone companies. In fact, it seems like you’re almost shooting yourself in the foot if you sign up for an individual contract; it’s only cost effective if you share the plan with some people. It absolutely seems to me like Straight Talk’s customers agree with me, judging from the videos you can find online.

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It’s great that there’s no activation or termination fees and I’d especially like the $45 per month unlimited plan. It has everything you need including calls, messaging and Internet data. You know I couldn’t live without Internet on my phone and Straight Talk has a few smart phones, including Nokias, which I’ve used before. I probably couldn’t make it on the “All You Need” plan, because it only includes 1,000 minutes, 1,000 texts and 30 MB of web data but I’m sure others could.

One of the cool things about this company is the bility to buy a reconditioned phone, which was previously used, for $10. That’s a lot nicer than the hundreds of dollars the big companies are asking for. If you want cell service to call a friend, Straight Talk is a lot cheaper than paying for all the features you don’t need.

You don’t have to take it from me; all the current customers are happy enough and surely some of them qualify under the cliche “mom knows best.” Just stop by their website yourself. If you like what you see, Straight Talk might work well for you.

This is a case when bigger is definitely better and perhaps even safer. As much as you don’t like being the creepy car wandering down the street, stopping every five feet to try to read numbers on a building, it can totally impede the normal flow of traffic, too. That’s just a rear-end collision waiting to happen. Luckily, the complex I live in is lit up pretty well at night but our building number signs could still be a little larger, I think. Of course, it’s not the building that people have trouble finding. I swear, people ask my for my apartment number on a daily basis.

One of the cool aspects of Go Modern is being able to order their furniture in the finish that you like. For example, the round mirror comes in black or white so you could continue the theme throughout your home with the same piece in different colors. The coffee table is also available in a one meter squared version or a size that is 20% larger so you can pick the one that best fits your space.

The more I think about it, the more that I’m thinking maybe I should consider a more contemporary look.

No, that’s not the ideal gift for me and, to be honest, I couldn’t tell you what is. There’s not a specific “it” thing. There are many things that I would enjoy but the gifts that I love the most are those that others have put a bit of thought into. It could be store bought or home-made, it could be expensive or not so much but as long as someone is thoughtful, it’ll mean a lot to me. That is precisely why I hate telling people what to buy me. That completely negates the one aspect that is sure to guarantee that I like a gift and I don’t know how to explain that people well enough, I guess.

To put things into perspective, the best gift I received in quite a while was a small stuffed animal, a box of cereal and a t-shirt. Nothing extravagant but there was a running theme and that took thought and I couldn’t have appreciated that more. Even something that I wind up not using is better than a gift someone purchased after having to ask me what I wanted, that’s how much it means to me.

So the guy shows up, a little late but that’s okay because it gave me time to pick up a bit — and vacuum. Of course, they want you to do that before they come (and while you may think it’s so they have a clean floor to shampoo, this is not the case). I answered the door and your typical salesman-in-khakis-and-a-polo entered. Right away he jumped into how excited he was to be here to talk to me and how he was just two sales away from making his monthly quota and, if he could do that, he and his wife could go on a cruise because they’d never had a honeymoon in thirteen years. Sales tactic number one. I was onto him.

Kirby Sentria

Other tactics included appealing to the young adult in me. After all, all those elderly customers really wished they had had a Kirby when they’re my age and they might also be in better health if they’d had one to deal with the dust mites (tactic number five: raise red flags about your health). The salesman would go on to explain that if I were going to be replacing my vacuum every few years, I’d eventually wind up spending as much on multiple vacuums (and security deposits and renting shampooers, etc) in a lifetime as I would this one-time purchase. Mathematically, that just doesn’t add up, of course. I spent $40 on my last vacuum and will have five years sometime this fall or so. It would still be cheaper for me to replace that vacuum for the next fifty years.

But, wait! There’s discounts. You’re single? You’ll turn in your vacuum? Your microwave? You boat? You’ll be paying cash today? You can get the price knocked down from the original $2400. If you’re really persistent, you’ll get a bottom line price of $1200 — which I did. It was an impressive mark down from the $1900 he originally quoted me but that’s still twelve fucking hundred dollars, am I right?

Of course, most tactics were pretty subtle. Except not the, “Oh, I missed a call from boss. Let me call him back. Oh My god! I forgot that discount and can we give her this special deal? I’m sure she won’t tell.” That portion of the presentation came off as far too scripted for my tastes. I don’t know how anyone could fall for that. At that point, I just said “Hey, your sales tactics are just a little too obvious buddy.”

Then he started in with how this wasn’t a sales pitch anymore, yea okay.

The presentation itself, however, really showed that the Kirby is an effective vacuum as well as a versatile tool and shampooer on top of that. There’s no denying that its suction power is better than that of my vacuum or that it’s effective across the entire width of the machine. The transmission makes it quite easy to push and it has some unique tools. Nevertheless, I’m sure that most owners wind up not using them. That it converted to a handheld machine is also interesting and actually functional, when you consider the length of its cord. No, I couldn’t say that I wasn’t impressed. In fact, I uttered that very sentence quite a few times.

But I also couldn’t say that it was worth even $1200 and so I said “good bye” to Mr Kirby Man, finally, after he shampooed my carpet (the shampoo, by the way, had a horrible, sickly sweet scent). I immediately jumped online to look up reviews and prices and, sure enough, a lot of people weren’t blown away by their Kirby. And the lifetime guarantee may have been overstated. Lots of consumers had complaints about trying to get their machines fixed and Consumer Reports rates the lifetime of a Kirby as twenty-five years. Longer than my Dirt Devil? Sure. But his “you’re going to spend that much in your lifetime anyway” match becomes even more fallacious.

There are new and refurbed Kirbys available on both Ebay and Amazon starting at $300 – $400. That’s the range I’d consider. The salesman was probably spot on when he said that most people who don’t wind up buying the Kirby do wind up going and purchasing a better vacuum anyway; however, I think that points out that while the Kirby is good, it’s not the only option much as he’d like me to believe it.