I think I'm in love with Coupon Chief!

I am in Heaven!

I love, love, love coupons, in a way that's almost frightening. It amazes me that more people don't take advantage of these wonderful money-savers. Yes, you do have to put a little thought into it -- they only save you money if you're using them for things you were going to buy anyway -- but you'd be surprised how many of those things have some form of a coupon attached to them.

There is a fabulous site called Coupon Chief that has a ton of coupons and coupon codes on offer, and it couldn't come at a better time, since Easter is just around the corner and there are Easter baskets and gifts and whatnot to be purchased. Coupon Chief can definitely make that a little less painful, financially speaking. For instance, if you were wanting to pick up some Easter baskets for the kids or Easter decorations, you might want to check out the Target coupons they have there. If you were looking for a nice Easter outfit for you and your kids or an Easter gift for someone special, you might want to look at the Overstock coupons as well because that will save you some serious coin!

Or, if you were thinking about taking a last-minute trip to have Easter dinner with your family, they have some sweet Travelocity deals as well. That last is especially welcome to me. As I've mentioned before, I spend a lot of time traveling to be with my fiance (next trip is in April, hooray!) and I am always looking for ways to make that a little cheaper. I've literally saved hundreds of dollars by taking advantage of coupon codes for travel sites. It can make a huge difference. Definitely give Coupon Chief a look, I think you'll like it as much as I do!


Elle

Bits and Pieces

Hello, everybody :)

As you can see, I've made significant changes to aesthetics of this site. I took a standard template and tinkered with it until I got the end product you see here. I personally love the color orange, hence the color palette. I just wish I could wear it, but it doesn't go with my skin tone so very well. Anyway. Comments, suggestions? I use Firefox for my browser, but I also tested it in Explorer and it seems to work there as well. I've also increased the number of posts per page to twelve. On some days I'll post up to six times, so I thought I'd increase it so those who read here can just scroll down instead of having to hit "older posts" all the time.

Have a Happy Leap Day, everyone!

Elle

Great Skin Care Site -- Skin Health Today!

I came across an interesting Skin care site today. It's called "Skin Health Today" and what's really different about it is that they have their own radio show with free streaming that covers a weekly topic, such as Weighing in on Stress, Diet, and Skin Health and Acne, Not Just for Teens Any More, among other aspects of skin health that you can find in their radio show guide. There's also a ton of information in the Skin Health Digest section of the site, a Beauty Workout Club and a blog. Incidentally, there's also an email list you can subscribe to by going to the blog.

I'm very lucky, I have pretty good skin for my age, and have good genes on both sides, though it's something I always have to keep on top of. I do get the occasional acne outbreak, but they are few and far between, thank goodness. I did notice that when I started low-carbing, way back in the day, my skin got a lot better. I'm convinced that one of the reasons why is because of all the water I started drinking, and continue to drink to this day. Good hydration is one of the best things you can do for your skin.


If you're concerned about your skin and its health, as well as its general appearance, you may want to bookmark Skin Health Today. It's definitely worth a look!

Elle

Welcome, Amy B!

And congratulations on your escape from the Kimpound. ;)

Amy B is a new blogger. While her blog, thus far, deals with you-know-who, I won't call Amy an anti-kimkins blogger. That's for her to decide. We're just glad she's out. Right now, she's sharing those parts of her story she feels comfortable relating. What she tells, how much she tells, and who she tells is entirely up to her.

As to what she's related so far -- well, it shouldn't be a surprise, and yet, I was shocked. This is the tale of a master manipulator and an object lesson in why Captain Morgan and internet activities do not mix. I guess when you're busy hiding ill-gotten assets and covering your considerable rear end it's hard to remember which intemperate and thoroughly moronic email you've sent to whom even without the alcoholic haze getting in your way.

You know, I've often referred to Heidi as "intelligent' but I may have to reassess that. Anyone with the brains and common sense God gifted the average goat with would have known better than to commit to email phrases like, "No more talk about your hair. You have hair so stop talking about it. It cannot be falling out that much" and "I do not want any talk about your Dr telling you to add foods back in. That will just make you gain weight. NO talk of vitamins. No medical issues at all."

That's some pretty tough talk from a hairless, diabetic, overweight woman who couldn't lose weight on her own plan. Especially one who was being sued at the time this email was sent for being a lying fraud whose diet was causing hair loss and medical issues. Then there is her latest ill-advised attempts, in concert with a pack of equally stupid accomplices, to dig up what she perceives as 'dirt' on some of the lawsuit principles. Even if there were dirt to be dug, it wouldn't matter. Ted Bundy could be part of this lawsuit and it wouldn't do a thing to change the facts of the case against her.

ETA: Prudentia made a good point in the comments -- Heidi and her mouth-breathing cohorts may be digging dirt in an attempt to scare some of the lawsuit principles into dropping out. If that's true, she's even dumber than I thought. That's witness tampering, and it is a felony.

None of this, of course, matter to her. She's backed into a corner and she's desperate. Booting well-loved members from the Kimpound, especially members who have been on the receiving end of her particular brand of nastygrams may be her dumbest and most desperate move yet. And I'm willing to bet, this will prove to be her ultimate undoing.

Elle

CostCaptain.com - Great Academic Software Site!

One of the benefits of working in higher education, besides the snow days, is the various educator discounts available. There's several sites out there that offer different things with an academic discount, and one really great site is CostCaptain.com, a Microsoft authorized educational reseller. CostCaptain.com sells the academic versions of things like Microsoft Office, and Adobe, among many other things.

Keep in mind, the "academic version" of all this stuff is the same thing as the commercial version. Also keep in mind that this Microsoft Office and Vista software isn't limited to universities, it also applies to research labs (that would be me), libraries, high schools, middle schools, elementary schools, and -- wait for it -- home schools! All you have to do is provide proof of academic eligibility. They've got some really good prices, too -- Microsoft Office 2007 prices from $129, and you can get a Vista Upgrade from $89. Not bad at all!

As the newly frugal person that I am, I really do recommend that people take advantage of all the discounts they're entitled to, because all those little bits really add up in the end. If you work in education, including home-schooling your kids, you may want to check out CostCaptain.com, and see if their great prices can't help save you some money.

Elle

PS: They also offer gift certificates!

Seven Random/Weird Things About Me

I was indirectly tagged with this meme, from another blog I read. No one ever tags me directly :(

Anyway, here are seven random/weird things about me:

1. My twelfth-great-grandmother on my mother's side was a Moroccan concubine.
2. I have an Anatolian Ridge on the back of my head. Dancing in Socks Guy (affectionately) calls me "knothead" because of this.
3. I took three years of ice-skating lessons, just to learn how to stand up on the ice.
4. I have scoliosis. I spent 4 years in a Milwaukee brace as a kid because of it.
5. I speak four languages, with varying degrees of fluency. These are: English, Spanish, French, and Italian. I also know a little Mandarin.
6. I play the autoharp.
7. I can stand with my feet at 180 degree angles from each other. It's due to very flexible hip joints, not from ballet or anything like that.

There's plenty more, but the meme calls for seven so I'll stop there. I love memes like this. Sometimes, when I have more time, I'll do the 101 things about me list. I'm sure you'll all be waiting for that with baited breath ;)

In the interim, consider yourselves all indirectly tagged!

Elle

Borba Skin Care -- Inner Health, Outer Beauty

Borba has a fabulous page about skin care. They've got information on acne solutions, dry skin, oily skin, normal/combination skin, body firming, and aging skin and wrinkles. The acne solutions page is especially good if you're like me. That is, an adult who still gets the occasional acne break out. Yes, it's not just for teenagers, but the kind of treatments adult skin needs is quite different than that of younger skin.

But Borba has a ton of great products. They have this fabulous-sounding Age Defying Micro-Diamond Cleanser that I want to try, along with the Clarifying Complexion Shield. And, since they are offering a special promotion to site visitors who spend $100 or more, I may have to try these sooner rather that later. You can see this month's promotion here.

What I like about these products is that they are nutraceutical-based formulas, which makes these ... cosmeceuticals. The Borba website says that Borba is where "inner health meets outer beauty" and it's easy to see why that is. It would appear from their In the News section that, as often is the case, I'm behind on my beauty news because they're getting a lof of buzz about their products. Well, better late than never, I guess! Borba is deinitely worth checking out, if you're interested!

Elle

*Guffaw*

A joke, courtesy of best friend S:

There were these two guys in a bar, located on the 20th floor of a building. The first man says to the second, " I bet you $100 I can jump out that window and come straight back in!"

The second man says "Okay, sure." and the barman holds the bet. The first man jumps out the window and disappears for a second before jumping straight back in.

Disappointed about losing the $100, the second man says: " I'll bet you another $100 you can't do it again." So the barman holds the bet. Sure enough, the first man jumps out the window, disappears for a second, then jumps straight back in.

Thinking he must have caught a freak gust of wind, or be landing on a ledge just outside the window, the second man says "Okay, I bet you $300 I can jump out the window and come straight back in."

The first man says, "Go for it!"

The second man jumps out the window and falls to the ground below, and is instantly killed.

Back up in the bar, the barman says to the first man " Gee, you can be a jerk when you're drunk, Superman!"


Elle

Good debt and financial site -- Destroydebt.com

I found an interesting article over on Destroydebt.com. This article talks about debt statute of limitations, and gives a pretty comprehensive overview as to how long a creditor has to collect a debt from you. Not, mind you, that this should be used as a way of getting out of paying what you owe, but it's a great resource to have because it's not at all unusual for a past creditor to contact you out of the blue and tell you you still owe something on an old account. That happened to me about a year ago with an old insurance bill (stupid co-pays, why can't anyone figure out who is supposed to pay what when?). Luckily I could prove that it had been paid, but sometimes you just don't have that information at hand. So, it's useful to know how long a creditor has to collect, depending on what state you're in.

This site also has a forum dedicated to bankruptcy, for those of you who need it, and I sincerely hope you don't. As a member, you can start your own "debt blog" in which members can share in any revenue generated through said blog -- quite helpful, if you've got debt you want to pay down. It's quite easy to get into debt with credit cards etc. and these days, it's getting proportionally harder to climb out of debt. If you're interested, check out Destroydebt.com, and see if any of the ideas there can be put to work for you.

Elle

Attention: Former Kimkins Members in San Diego!

If you are a former Kimkins member, and you live in San Diego County, California, John Tiedt would like to hear from you ASAP. Please email John at jtiedt@tiedtlaw.com.

If you have not already joined the lawsuit, it's not too late! Visit the Kimkins Lawsuit page for more information. If you have joined the lawsuit, be sure to get your affidavit in to John, you can get the forms for that here.

We are making a huge difference here, in bringing down a lying, cheating, thoroughly vicious scammer. Together, we can see that she's held accountable for her scams. The orchestra has been warming up, and shortly Heidi will be facing the music.


Elle

Be Oyster Aware!

Two oysters walk into a bar. The bartender takes one look at them, and says, "Sorry, guys, we don't serve food in here."

There's a great site about Gulf oysters, called "Be Oyster Aware." This is a great, informative site on several topics, including Vibrio vulnificus, a gram-negative bacterium found in warm, unpolluted sea water. This presents no problem to healthy people, but there are a few individuals who are at risk, and this site does a great job of explaining this.

Of course, I'm a science geek so all that is interesting to me, but for those who would like something else, check out their recipe page. The oyster quiche sounds especially yummy! So does the oyster cornbread dressing. And the oyster cakes, and the oysters dip and the ...

Elle

Those Hand-Sanitizer Dispensers Are Not Going to Fill Themselves, University

Dear University,

Some time last summer I noticed that hand-sanitizer dispensers were cropping up all over the place. By the doors, by the elevators, in random spots along the hallways -- they multiplied like rabbits.

Don't get me wrong, University, I was glad to see this. Working at a State U is similar to working in a day-care center in more ways than one. One similarity is the ease with which colds get passed around. I haven't gotten sick this often since I used to ride the subway into work every day. I know that I'm washing my hands, but I think this plethora of hand-sanitizer dispensers serves as a great reminder to those who may need a little extra prompting.

Or they would, if they actually had some form of sanitizing agent in them.

There's the rub, University, the darn things have been empty since you installed them, thus significantly decreasing their efficacy. I took it upon myself to ask someone on the maintenance staff why this was. The answer surprised me, though it should not -- you only budgeted for the dispensers, not the sanitizing agent. That line item goes in next fiscal year, so we'll have to wait till July.

Fie, University! I appreciate frugality as much as the next person, but this is ridiculous. I also know that perhaps a small decrease in the amount you had budgeted for that massive move a good chunk of administration's making to the offices over on Satellite (aka "Prettier") Campus would have covered the cost of the sanitizing agent. It's enough to make me want to go over there and cough all over your faux-mahogany-finish desks.

And since I feel a cold coming on, it might happen sooner than you think.

Love,

Elle

The ULTIMATE Paintball Store!

Oh my word! Check out this online paintball store!

I love paintball, though I don't get to do it as often as I'd like. A funny (and true) story -- a few years ago, when I was working at BadScienceXgen, upper management decided the best way to shore up flagging morale amongst their over-worked and under-appreciated staff was to do one of those team-building exercises, in this case, paintball. Not that I minded giving over an afternoon to a favorite activity, but a little respect and a bonus check would have been nice as well. Anyway, as was their wont, upper management compounded the initial problem by choosing the most disliked people in the company to be team captains. We got all of about ten minutes into the exercise when the team captains were summarily fragged with a paintball volley by their totally disloyal foot soldiers.

Oddly enough, that company is about to shut down.

Back to this wonderful online paintball store. Look at all this cool stuff! They've got some great brands on there, including my paintball gun brand of choice, Tippmann. Even sweeter, they offer Tippmann upgrades and Spyder upgrades! One of my brothers is also into paintball (he owes me a game) and I happen to know he needs a new mask, so I'll point him in the general direction of this site, especially since they offer free shipping on orders over $99. If you're into paintball, you should definitely check out the ultimate online paintball store.

Elle

Dear Numbnuts in the Faculty-Staff Parking Lot

Is it really necessary to back your car into the parking space?

I ask because even though I see you there, every day, right at 8:30 AM, valiantly trying to back your Chevette in, you never manage to do it in less than three tries. Since we've been parking lot acquaintances for, oh, a year now, that's approximately 780 times you've tried to back the damn thing in and you still can't do it quite right.

Now, normally your parking preferences would be no business of mine, Numbnuts. But very often you make it my business because you're in my way. Yes, it's not enough that you have to back in, pull out, back in, rinse, repeat. What's really annoying is that during the "pull out" part of this little ordeal, you tend to take a minute or two to study your rear-view mirror, no doubt calculating the necessary vector angles (I think you work in the Math Department) required to get your car into the space in a neat, aligned manner. In the interim, I get to sit there and watch you.

Face it, Numbnuts, we can't all be good at everything. Backing into a parking space is just not your "thing," and you know what? That's okay. I can't parallel park. So, in conclusion, Numbnuts, just park head-first and save us all some time and aggravation. And be grateful I am leaving you this note here, instead of on your car. With my ignition key.

Love,

Elle

Life Lock - Guarantee Your Good Name

Seriously now. Everyone knows it's a good idea to protect your personal information. Yet how many of us actually do anything about it? How many people, for example, make sure their mail is shredded before it goes into the trash? Carefully check bank and credit card statements? Know where their ID is at all time?

The sad thing is, you can do all that and STILL get your identity stolen. Identity thieves are pretty smart, and if someone really wants to, they can get hold of your personal information, such as a social security number, and make your life really, really difficult. That's why a service like lifelock is so useful. Lifelock guarantees your good name by protecting your identity. They contact credit bureaus for you, and ensure that fraud alerts are set up. They make sure those fraud alerts are renewed every ninety days or so (if you request), and also get you off all those "pre-approved" credit offer lists. Those, by the way, are an excellent way to get your identity stolen. Most people just throw them out, and they often contain enough information about you for a clever thief to take advantage of the situation. Lifelock does a bunch of other things as well to protect your identity and keep you from being the victim of fraud. And they back it up with with a $1,000,000 guarantee! It's definitely worth checking out!

Elle

More Great Websites

As you can see, a great deal of my blog roll is given over to anti-Kimkins sites, and I do a fair bit of writing on that subject here. But that's not my only interest.

I visit Snickollet's site every day. Snickollet is a mother of twins, who lost her husband to pancreatic cancer nearly a year ago. Dorcasina is also a young widow, who lost her husband about 2 and a half years ago to esophageal cancer. I defy you to read through their archives and not cry for days. How I wish I had a magic wand I could wave and magically restore their husbands to life for them. As it is, all I can do is read their blogs, send them good thoughts, and use their stories as object lessons in never taking Dancing in Socks Guy for granted. Snickollet may be running ads on her site soon, to help lessen a financial crunch caused by being a single-income family now. I am certain I will find those ads very interesting. I'll let you know when she starts running them, so you can possibly be very interested too. Dorcasina's having plumbing problems, and she could probably use a word or two of comfort right now.

These are two brave women, who didn't deserve the rotten hand life gave them.

Elle

Vista Print Rubber Stamps -- 25% off!

Vista Print is a nifty little website that's got a bunch of different print-related office products on it, such as rubber business stamps. I have to confess, it's the little things at work that make me happy. Yes, to the world at large I may appear to be a fairly competent scientist, but in reality I'm a little kid who enjoys playing with ink stamps. We actually use them quite often, believe it or not, to stamp our notebooks for review, note documents as drafts or what have you. They have a nice selection of such stamps, and you can get up to three lines on them. You can choose up to 18 different designs -- some are the standard kind, like "Paid" and "Fax" and so on. But they also have stamps for "Season's Greeting" and "Thanks You" and what's more, you can customize these stamps to add your own, personalized message as well as your address, if you'd like. One of my aunts is heavily into arts and crafts, especially scrap-booking, and I bet she'd love something like this. AND, they offer a 25% discount! Just use coupon code “Stamp25” at checkout to receive 25% off your stamp order. Not bad! Check them out, and if you're interested, take advantage of that 25% discount!

Elle

Some good posts ...

Medusa has a bunch of excellent posts about eating disorders on her blog. Check out this one, and this one, and this one. You will NOT believe your eyes when you see the video in that first link! We also have another new member of the anti-kimkins (and proud of it) blog roll, Mrs. Menopausal's blog, Weighing the Facts. Excellent blog, please be sure to drop by and comment to welcome her. Mariasol also has some interesting posts up about a certain infamous diet and reinforcing the cult. Finally, our fake blog about a real scam, Yust Yucky, has a cryptic, yet funny, post up about a road trip.

A lot of people don't know how to take Yucky. I just love him/her/it. Maybe it's me, but I love the odd bits of humor Yucky introduces into this whole mess. Given how sad it really is, a little humor now and then is most welcome, as far as I'm concerned.

Nice work, guys!

Elle

Speaking of Frugality ... Great Flight Deals!

I found a website that has some pretty inexpensive flights to Canada from the UK. That may seem counterintuitive, since I live in the USA, but bear with me. My cousin lives in London now (she married a Brit), thus, there is always a place for me to stay. This same cousin's dad lives just about 2 hours away from Toronto, in New York State. I'm thinking -- drive to Uncle M's house (a couple hours), visit with him (as he's always asking me to do), drive to Toronto from there, fly to London, visit S., then reverse the order.

Yeah, I could fly from here but the other advantage is I'd get to see a bit of Toronto, a city I love and don't get to spend nearly enough time in. The last time I had Tim Horton's coffee was ... entirely too long ago. Besides that, there's Yonge Street and the CN Tower and the lake shore, and all kinds of things. And London! I lived there for some time, and you'd think I'd seen enough of it by now, but frankly, that's impossible. I look forward to the day when I, too, live there again. And all the relatives can suddenly miss me and decide to pay me a visit, just as we all miss and constantly want to visit Cousin S :)

Elle

Adventures in Frugality, Part 1

As previously (tediously) mentioned, I am on a quest to pay off ye olde student loans in approximately half the time allotted. In addition to making a budget (and sticking to it), establishing an "emergency fund," working a second, part-time job and doing the odd bit of paid writing, I have also been looking for new and innovative ways to save. I just scored a big with that last one today!

The back story: My car is getting older and odd bits are starting to need replacement. The latest bit is the exhaust system, which is original to the car. It's got a leak somewhere, which in turn is messing with my oxygen sensors, and the engine light is on. I mentioned this to my dad, who in turn mentioned it to our joint mechanic, Tommy, who also happens to be our cousin.

Tommy, being the pro-active soul that he is, called me and asked when I wanted to bring my car in, and said that Dad told him he (Dad) would take care of the bill. I really, really want to get away from my mommy and daddy bailing me out with these little emergencies, so I asked Tommy if we could barter for it instead. I offered to design a website for his business in exchange for his fixing the exhaust and the sensor. And he said yes!

This is so awesome. The website won't take much work, since he basically wants the same design that I did for my dad's business, so it's mostly just editing content. Sweet!

Elle

I bet this isn't how you expected to make your debut on MSN, Heidi :)

The MSN Money Blog picked up the ConsumerAffairs.com story;

Kimkins diet rolls on despite founder's excess poundage

It really sucks to be you right now, Heidi. You know there's no way out for you, right? You do understand that the lawsuit isn't going away, and that the ducks are going to to keep going until your site is shut down and you've faced every bit of justice there is, right? This is just the beginning.

Elle

Interesting site --The Sedona Method

I've been reading through The Sedona Method website recently. I've seen it mentioned before, and I know I cruised by it at least once, but I finally had the time to take more than a quick look. I have to say, it's rather interesting. Here's a quote from their presence awareness page:

The Sedona Method is a simple, powerful, easy to learn and duplicate technique that shows you how to uncover your natural ability to surrender – or let go. It naturally shows you how to let go of the tendencies that cause you to flee from freedom as opposed to whole heartedly embracing it.

The presence awareness page has a LOT of information on it about this method, especially about "conscious awareness" and the ego. This is continued in the Beingness-Presence-Awareness page, in which there's an article on a recent retreat (this page needs to be fixed BTW, the body wrap is too many pixels wide, so the content ends up way at the bottom of the page) which talks about "welcoming" and "releasing." Then there is a page which describes how The Sedona Method is spreading happiness worldwide, and how many people worldwide are using this method as a tool for peaceful revolution in consciousness.

Basically, this method appears to be about spiritual enlightenment, and transcending the ego, as well as the "pain body." They also offer a Free DVD and CD on this method, so if you're interested, be sure to visit The Sedona Method and check it out.


Elle

Black is the color of my true love's hair

Here's a video of one of my favorite folk songs ever. Beautiful.



Here are the lyrics:

Black is the colour of my true love's hair.
Her lips are like a rose so fair.
She's got the sweetest face and the gentlest hands.
I love the ground whereon she stands.

I love my love and well she knows.
I love the ground whereon she goes.
And how I wish the day would come
when she and I can be as one.

I go to the Clyde and mourn and weep
satisfied I never will sleep.
I 'll write her a letter, just a few short lines
And suffer death ten thousand times.

As it happens, black is the color of my true love's hair too :)

Back about ten million years ago, I sang in my school's chorus, and what was called "Concertquire" as well. The former anyone could join (for credit, it was a class), the second was by audition only, and I was just barely talented enough to make it in. Vocally speaking, I'm a full soprano, but I spent most of my time singing contralto, or "second soprano" in chorus and concertquire. This was one of the songs we sang, and I just adore its minor key. I also play the autoharp, and I just found the music for this, so there's something new to learn :)

Elle

Flashbackdata.com -- Data Recovery and Computer Forensics

This is a pretty cool site. Especially if you're me and you still haven't learned to back things up. Important things, like, oh, say, data files or financial records. And if you tend to do things to your system that make it crash, which I, uh, kind of do all the time.

Luckily for me, and others like me, it is possible to recover lost files and data. Flashbackdata.com offers several services, such as data recovery from your hard drive or flash drives (another thing I manage to mess up on a fairly routine basis). They also do media conversions and remote backup (I could use that), among other things.

One of those "other things" is Computer Forensics, a service in which they assist in forensic investigations. It's surprising how many people don't realize that simply deleting things doesn't make them go away forever.

Anyway, they have a nice site design, and they offer quite a few useful services. Definitely worth checking out!

Elle

Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose

Word has come in from the Kimpound that lying, scamming fraud Heidi K. Diaz banned not one, but two members from kimkins.com some time between now and yesterday. The first was banned for having the temerity to ask Heidi about her photos (always a sensitive subject for our Kimmer) and the second was banned for protesting the first banning. Or so the story goes, I'm getting this information second-hand.

Heidi's trigger finger must be getting itchy again. Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose, I guess. I think you may have screwed up big-time with these bannings, Heidi. The last thing you need to do right now is prove that everything said about you in the lawsuit is correct, including your penchant for banning anyone who disagrees with you.

Well, banned Kimkinites, if you happen to be reading here -- you're not the first, you won't be the last. Although I wish you'd never gotten mixed up with her, I'm sorry this happened to you. Believe me, none of us over on "the other side" enjoy being right about Kimmer. And no, none of us are judging you, or laughing at you, or saying you got what you deserved. We know better. Believe me, all of us are very familiar with Kimmer and her ability to suck good, smart people into her web of lies. She's very good at it. Most sociopaths are.

Come visit us at Low Carb Friends, where you will find kindness and support, and can learn for yourselves that we're nothing like Kimmer told you we were.

Elle

Help with Search Engine Optimization

I'm in the process of updating my dad's company website (it's a small business, and the site was designed by a friend of my brother's who clearly doesn't know much about websites). One of the things Dad asked me to do was to make sure the site was optimized for search engines. Well, what he actually said was "Make sure you do those meta-whatevers and get me in some search engines!"

I said I would but it's often easier said than done. What kind of search engine matters a lot, they are not all created equal. That's why sites like Submitsitenow.com are so useful, they make sure you're listed in the most important search engines, and avoid repetition. For instance, Yahoo is powered by the Google search engine. Submitting to both Yahoo AND Google is a waste of time and money, because if you list on Google, you'll automatically be listed on Yahoo. that's probably why Submitsitenow.com is so cheap -- $19.95! You easily pay much more than that with other SEO sites. Check it out, and if you like what you see, why not Sign Up Now To Get Massive Hits To Your Website!

Elle

Watched the Oscars tonight ...

... with my best friend, S. Well, sort of -- we always watched it together when we were roommates, lo those many years ago. but, for the last ten years, we have literally lived on opposite sides of the country, so now we "watch" the Oscars by phone.

Here's the deal: We each assemble sufficient snackies and beverages for the broadcast, get our hands-free headsets out, plug in our cellies and yap away. We begin with the fashion shows and go all the way till the end, with running commentary the whole way through. It ends up being a six to eight hour phone call, but hey ... it's Oscar Night!

And it's one of those little rituals that I really, really prize. It's why we're best friends :)

Elle

Sparkly!

Mmmm. Diamonds!

I don't wear a lot of jewelry during the day, since I work in a lab. i have gloves on 60% of the time, and when you work with chemicals you want to be sure you're not wearing extra bits that could trap anything that might splash on you. Not to mention it's a good way to wreck your good jewelry. But I love it, I have tons. Some I bought on my own, some I inherited from my grandmother.

What i don't have yet is my engagement ring, we haven't bought it yet, mostly because we're still deciding what we want, both for the engagement ring and the wedding bands. This site has a bunch of Diamond Engagement Rings that are really, really nice (and sparkly!) and they have a pretty good selection. I really like how they're sorted by price right on the page, and they've got a nice range of pre-set rings as well as the option to design your own.

I love sites like this, well-designed and lots of choices -- they even have antique-look presets, which is what I'm leaning towards for my own ring. Nice!

Elle

Consumer Affairs rips Heidi a new one!

Y'all HAVE to read this article, postedby Medusa:

Kimkins Diet Rolls On Despite Founder's Excess Poundage

This is a great article -- they make several points I had never thought of. For instance, that Heidi allegedly "worked with" the Woman's World "dieticians" to come up with these menu plans. And that Heidi "smiled" in response to something, indicating she was actually in the room when they interviewed her. Which she was not, as Consumer Affairs points out, if she was they might have noticed she was a 300+ lbs woman, not the 118 lb sylph she claimed to be.

Sucks to be you lately, Heidi!

Elle

O'Snap! Leprechaun Tees!

I came across another cool site, Leprechaun Gifts. While I usually identify myself as Italian, that's only half the story. Specifically, my dad's half of the story. My mother is a muti-ethnic mutt, and one chunk of that is Irish. Like everyone else, I'm Irish on St. Patrick's day except, it's true, I really AM Irish, albeit about 1/8th.

There are some very cool designs here, including the usual slightly risque "Pog Mo Thoin" which, for those who don't speak/read Celtic, is an invitation to kiss a certain part of the anatomy. I have to say, I really like the "O'Snap" tee, and my friend's son was born on St. Patrick's day so I may need to get him one of the "birthday boy" shirts.

Lots of really cool stuff on here, a TON of designs! God, the temptation to buy bunches. I love me a funny tee shirt!

Elle

Phun with Photoshop

The fabulous Honeybee just posted a little something on Low Carb Friends, showing how Heidi (or her son) photoshopped her latest update picture. You can see the permalink here but I know she won't mind if i post it here:

(Photo courtesy of Honeybee)

There is an odd line around both arms, and around her neck. That's because that torso and legs very likely belong to someone else, someone with a slightly lighter skin tone. There's also a lot of pixelation around the legs.

ETA: Yeah, I know, there may be other explanations for the lines. This doesn't become me as a scientist, but seriously -- my gut feeling is this has been altered.

This is a total fake. Heidi, Brandon -- you know, you *are* going to be asked under oath about this stuff. And Heidi, you could lose 200 lbs but it will not change a thing about the lawsuit, you know. As it is, I am betting you haven't lost anything, and you're just up to your old tricks again.

So lame.