Pookie the Clown - Classified Ad

Pookie the Clown - Classified Ad

El Cajon Fire Safety and Career Expo

Last Saturday I attended the El Cajon Fire Safety and Career Expo with my son, Michael. This free annual event was located at the Lexington Ave. fire station next to the library. The highlights of this event included free bicycle safety helmets for kids and teens provided by the Kiwanas, kids Halloween crafts, a kids workshop provided by The Home Depot, and open emergency vehicles for kids of all ages to sit and explore. Free snacks of popcorn and cotton candy were also provided by The Home Depot and the Kiwanas offered hotdog and hamburger combos at a minimal cost in order to raise money for the free safety helmets handed out.

The event began at 10 a.m. and my son and I arrived shortly after 11 a.m. Michael had one thing on his mind: sitting in an ambulance and a firetruck. Nothing was satisfactory until we accomplished this task, although cotton candy seemed to help. After standing in a moderately moving helmet line, we made our way to the firetrucks where handsome firemen were ready to assist small children (and damsels in distress) who dreamed of riding in a firetruck. My son climbed in and out of both trucks several times, excited that one fireman even closed to door so he could look out the window of engine number 6. From there, we moved to the ambulance, who had arrived from a call not long before. Michael was happy to stand in the back next to the gurney and take it all in. The Border Patrol also shared a vehicle with the crowd, where my son was thrilled to sit in the backseat and eat his popcorn while the police dog attacked a "perp" nearby. My son, while being 3, left mommy quite a mess to clean-up inside the vehicle. Another favorite attraction was the blow-up fire safety house where more handsome firemen allowed children to play inside, then at the sound of a smoke detector, the kids jumped out the windows onto gym mats. This was a little nerve wrecking for a mom of a young child as I had to man both the front doors and the back windows to avoid a wandering child. Not a fun activity for me!

The line for the Home Depot Workshop was rather large and slow moving so I opted to skip that activity. We headed over to a tent offering fire extinguisher services and allowing children to put out a "fire" with an real extinguisher. Michael was a little nervous due to the loud noise the extinguisher makes upon discharge but it was a hit! (With help) he pointed the extinguisher at a paper cut-out of a fire and let it go. He was especially pleased when he was able to choose a treat from their candy bowl.

Although crowded, the expo was an excellent event, drawing families from all around the community. Besides fire and emergency safety information, the expo offered career information for military and emergency workers, as well as college information. Despite the heat, the expo was informative and fun for children and adults alike. I will be sure to attend again next year!

Speaking Your Mind is American

I recently joined a site called Soda Head where people post questions or articles and other folks can comment on them. Soda Head covers everything from politics to entertainment to the mundane, depending on what people wish to post. There are few rules as it is open to expression. When I first joined I figured I would never post or use it only as a SEO business tool. But strangely, I am drawn to it. Seems almost every question becomes a political rant for some, but I enjoy the banter and expressing my own ideas. This is what America is all about! Freely expressing your opinion, even if it's ridiculous or off topic. As long as people remain open to others ideas and there are sites where expression is allowed, there will be an America. That's my opinion anyway.

Express Lane Diet: Quick and Easy Weight Loss Foods - That's Fit

I occasionally enjoy sharing articles I find that I didn't write. Weight issues is something my family struggles with on a regular basis. I am a sugar addict and my husband over-eats. We don't want our kids to suffer later in life as we do so we are constantly attempting to change our eating habits. This article gives good information as far as the vitamins you receive from these foods, ideas on how to use them, and information regarding how they can help in weight loss. I have to say that in our family, eating broccoli is not an issue, so I was happy to see it on the list. My family likes it best when I roast it! Spray some olive oil over the broccoli and mix it with salt and crushed garlic. Roast at 500 for about 10 minuets. Yummy! As for the article, here it is. Enjoy! Express Lane Diet: Quick and Easy Weight Loss Foods - That's Fit

Port Strike Adverted

Wrote this article on Soda Head and thought I'd share it on my blog too. Enjoy! Port Strike Adverted

What Priceline Did for Me

So in a weeks time, my husband and I planned a family trip to Las Vegas. Unfortunately we waited too long to book our hotel. Prices beginning under $20 a night for hotels disappeared like water in the desert. A couple of days before we planned to leave, we booked at a hotel that was pet friendly and claiming location just outside the Las Vegas strip. Well, Henderson, Nevada is not JUST outside the strip. It's about 30 minuets away! The hotel itself wasn't bad, but it wasn't what we wanted, so hot and tired with two kids and two dogs* we moved to plan B. We drove to my mom's house and regrouped in an attempt to locate a decent rate on the strip the same day we are supposed to check in. "Impossible!" you say? We decided to see what William Shatner could do for us. Using our mobile phones we began searching Priceline for hotels on the strip. To our dismay, many of the hotels were sold-out. It seemed our vacation was coming to a close before it had even begun. Suddenly we spotted The Rio all suites hotel for $48 a night. A 4 star hotel just off the strip for $48 a night? Can't be! I called The Rio directly to find their rate to be over $100 a night. When I told them what I found on Priceline they simply said, "then you need to book it from them." So we did. My husband, skeptical at what we were getting ourselves into, halfheartedly complained on our drive over. He worried our room would smell like vomit and the hotel would be decrepit. I assured him that I'd been inside The Rio before and I remembered it being a nice place. Our fears continued when it took a half hour to valet our car and another half hour to check into our room. But once we walked into our room, our fears melted and relaxation set in. Our room smelled clean, which in Vegas is difficult to do even in the non-smoking rooms as cigarette smoke travels stealthily. We had two queen beds, a desk, a couch, coffee table, and TV. The bathroom was large with two sinks: one inside the toilet area, and one outside. The room was a beautiful thing! Then there was the pool....several of them to be exact. The main pool, where most of the families seemed to be located, had a beautiful, white sandy beach leading into the pool where several waterfalls cascaded over the swimmers. My daughter's face lit up at the site; she could hardly contain herself long enough to be sun-screened. Several other pools were located on the site, also with waterfalls, but they didn't have a beach. Tranquil spas were inset all around the property for enjoyment, but it was just too darn hot for that!

Thanks to Priceline, our vacation was saved! We stayed at a beautiful resort where we relaxed, swam, stuffed our faces at the buffet, and my husband and I even received half-off the featured show: Penn & Teller. William Shatner, thanks for saving us, we'll never book with anybody else ever again.

*The Rio is NOT a dog friendly hotel. We boarded our dogs at a friendly animal hospital . They took good care of them!

Postage Increases

So I am doing a lot of research for one of my clients, Action Mail, who is involved in the direct mail business. Apparently we are up for another postage increase. This has many marketers in an uproar! "What! Another increase? What will this do to my marketing campaigns? What will this do to my business?" Seriously people? Quit your whining! Increases are not going to go away. The Postal Service is loosing money due to increase of internet usage. Just as you need to increase business or increase prices, so does the USPS. What it comes down to is marketing smarter (see my blog posting "How to Market Smart"). Maybe you need to develop a more creative marketing campaign with specific targeting. When was the last time you purged your database? It's time to think outside the box! Look at postage increases in a positive light: maybe this is what you need to be creative in how you reach your customers.

Share your thoughts with me. Are you up-in-arms about this postage increase or do you plan to use it to develop something better for your business? How do you plan to market smart?