Yes! ShopWiki in The Netherlands too!

2 items that made this week into a memorable one:
Susan Boyle (Need I say more?), and....

drums.....

tada!!!!!!...

ShopWiki is available for The Netherlands too!

I'm so glad, because ShopWiki really makes a difference.

I know, because ShopWiki already exists for Germany and France, and ofcourse in the UK and the USA: http://www.shopwiki.com.

Wiki means "fast", and in this case it means that you can get a fast comparison of products and prizes.

Because shops are not charged to be added, no advertising is involved.
For us, Dutch, it's the way it should be: clean, no ornaments and elbow work.
Just a plain representation of the facts.

Right now over 7000 online shops are participating and I'm sure that number will increase.
I don't know the amount of products are in the system now, but I'm sure it's huge.
Being the cheapest means not only that the consumer gains, but also that ShopWiki sends a lot of customers and potential customers to a shop.

Yesterday I had a dynamic discussion with the man in the house. I want to have one of those little hand-vaccuumcleaners and he'd seen one for 82 euros.
I had seen one for 49 euros, but I knew they were cheaper.... somewhere....
He just didn't believe me because I couldn't prove it.

Just a moment ago I showed him this page, and he was amazed how easy it was to find products and prizes.
Just chose the name of the brand, chose the product and your at a page where a lot of information is provided.

When it's too much: adjust the prize range at the top right.
Or when you just want to know the information about a certain color, chose the color.

ShopWiki gives you the best prizes and the shops where you can go, links included.
New products are added as soon as possible, with the date of addition mentioned.

Additional information, like descriptions and warnings are given too.

Whenever a similar product is available you'll find a link at the top of the page.
In this case I went to this page, where I found items with more gadgets attached.

Another way of shopping is using the list.
We wanted to know more about cleaning the computer and found good tips. The links in the text and a list of related products at the bottom provided us with the products we need, ofcourse with the welknown ShopWiki prize comparison.

We've bookmarked http://www.ShopWiki.nl and take my advice: you should bookmark this site too.

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ShopWiki, not only for your best buys, but also to silence the guys

My autistic boy is all over the place, because his MP3 gave up.

Sometimes I get stressed because of his persistent requests for new items, but this time I told him I would look for one online. I have no plans at all to go shopping this afternoon.

The kids here wonder why mom is able to "organize" things in no time, especially when it comes to products they use and we have to pay for.

While they are visiting online stores they find with the usual search engines, I just visit my own secret place, and come up with the best prizes and the most advanced items.

Unlike other mothers they know, I suddenly speak their iPod language, so I've already used USB connection, Gig, and I even know that the red iPod shuffle contributes to helping AID's victims in Africa.

I'll share my secret with you as long as you don't tell the kids.
I use ShopWiki.com.

It's as easy to use as Google and at least as fast and certainly more targetted to what is needed when one searches for a special product.

Just enter the name of the product, click, and you'll get a list of information, which includes:

• photos for fast browsing,
• name and short description
• 5 stars rating system (with reviews one click away)
• best prize
• number of stores
• and a pop-up with the list of stores and prizes, clickable, so you'll land on the right store in internet.
  

To get additional informations you can find at the right side a list of Wiki Buying Guides.
The one I used today was highly informative about the iPod and all related products including the MyVu Media Viewer, which might be something to keep my son busy for a longer time.

I love ShopWiki, because I feel like I'm taken serious as a customer.
Over an over I'm guided to the best buy and I'm even warned when I'm prepared to make big mistakes, something I don't often experience in normal shops.
Take for instance the compatibility between iPods and speakers.
Not all iPod speakers dock at the same speakers. ShopWiki made me aware of this and guided me to the right choice.

At the bottom of the products you can find "related searches".
I was ready with my choice, but clicked some of the links to know more about what young people talk about.
Which came in handy.

I was in the garden, talking with one of my other sons about the iPod when the neigbour asked how he could use his iPod in the car. While my son took a breath to answer, I already said: "Just use iTrip".
The silence that followed was a consequence of their amazement.

They both looked at me and I smiled back.
"Use ShopWiki guys", I said and went inside.

To write this post for you.

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fire alarms in the house are important

I can never stress enough that smoke alarms in the house are a must.

When my son moved out he got a package with a smoke alarms, and he was very happy with them.

Even though you don't smoke, an alarm in a bedroom might save your house from burning down (when there is someone to respond.)

Why?

Read this experience.

Inform your neighbour about the alarms and give them a key to the house.

It's a few years ago that I heard the alarm of my neighbour.
Because I had the key, I went to see whether it was an empty battery causing the problem.
It wasn't.

It was a haircurler she forgot to unplug.
The towel it rested against caught fire.
I ran downstairs to switch the electricity off, then filled a bucket of water.

A demonstration of the firebrigade a while ago taught me how to kill a fire, and I managed to do so.

Pffff

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Do you need some encouragement?

When I was a student I agreed completely with the idea that everyone should give a percentage of their income to charity.
I hoped that by the time I had children it would be normal to pay a percentage for housing, a percentage for education, etc, and a percentage for charity.

But people are too greedy.

Are you one of them?

Or are you altruistic when you're pushed a little?

Well, you can help yourself from this day on.
You can shop with AidMaker.

It's a small piece of software you can download from www.eengoedezaak.nl.
That's a site of aGoodCause.com.

You might have heard about this global organisation.
It's a partnership of 700 important NGO's, like Save the Children, the Red Cross, Oxfam, etc etc. They all work towards a better world for nature and all living beings.

With AidMaker you can shop at 5000 online shops and generate funds for these charities.
When you buy something at these shops, you'll pay the normal prize, but the retailer donates part of the money to the cause you have chosen. 75% of the total purchase will be donated.
There's no need to do something yourself.

After installing AidMaker and choosing the cause you want, all the rest is done automatically.
Ofcourse you can change the cause whenever you want to, but there's no need.

The system is just launched in 8 countries: America, Great Britain, Denmark, Italy, Germany, France and The Netherlands.
You can choose your own language at the site, where you can find more information.

I hope you too want to participate this way in generating funds for charities.

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Gaines Manufacturing mailboxes

One of the troubles all houses here in the neighbourhood have: bad doorbells.
So I decided to go and have a look around.
I love waterglass victorian doorbells.

Wouldn't it be great to have a reliable doorbell on all houses?

And then I realised I've always wanted one of the real Gaines Mailboxes.

Gaines Manufacturing stands for nostalgia and renewal alike.
The Gaines Classic Mailbox is internationally known for it's solidity and it's marvellous look as are the Keystone Mailboxes.

There's a fair amount of colourchoice and one can even choose the materials of the ornaments.
Or choose for a Signature Keystone Mailbox.

The customer service is outstanding. Each package contains a drill bit, for example, so one can put the mailbox to use as soon as possible.

Our gardens are not large enough to keep the postman out, so we don't need an Original Keystone Mailbox, but we can do with one hanging on the wall.

Maybe we have to wait untill the new neighbour has settles in and then discuss the look of the part between the houses.

I know Gaines Manufacturing has so much choice that most of the people need time to decide.
Did you know there's even a Gaines Pedestal Mailbox?

Well, Gaines Manufacturing is always willing to give advice and enable a choice thsa will please you for many many years.

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Keurig Coffee maker at Wise.com

In The Netherlands "keurig" means neat, nice, well cared for, with an undertone of homeliness, family spirit.

So even before I have seen the coffee machines of Keurig, I have already a certain image, and I have to tell you, I'm not disappointed.

The Keurig one cup coffee machines fit the image perfectly.
Especially the Special Edition B60 keurig coffee maker.

According to Wise.com I'm not standing alone.
947 users have given their opinion and they have ranked this machine at a wise rank of 97 which is very high.

In case you don't know Wise.com:
It's a site where consumers can give their opinion about all sorts of products.
Their ranking is weighted with the ranking of experts, leading to one overal wise rank.

So you can choose a product based on the experience of others.
Above the rank the best prize online is provided, with a link to the shops where you can buy the product. In addition the shipping costs are listed, so you can make a well informed choice.

In the case of my favorite coffee maker it means I have the choice for extra costs for shipping of $11.25 or nothing. Not a difficult choice.LOL!

Since I discovered Wise.com it's a well used bookmarked site.
The itemdiscriptions are to the point and detailled, so I know even better what I'm buying than when I'm standing in a shop and have to rely on information on the box or of a salesperson.

Ofcourse I like the fact that I can share my own experiences too.

Have a look, and let me know what you think.

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personalized candy bars

So, the year started out well.

Now we have to chew ourselves through the taste of january.

That's a bussy month here.
Not only because the schools have a lot of meetings this year, which is a real job with 6 kids, but we also have 5 birthdays in our house, and some others elsewhere. And we have some other festivities.

Time to find the right party favors, hand outs and little presents.

One of the kids found this site: CandyUnderCover.com, and it seems the perfect site to buy all in once.

Candy Under Cover stands for the finest Belgian milk chocolate covered with custom made candybar wrappers.

The whole idea started with the preparations of a birthdayparty in 1998.
Cheryl Salto wanted something else than the usual treats for the schoolmates of her son.
Now she owns CandyUnderCover.com and AllinOneFunFavors.com, two online shops selling quality items.

The idea of personalized candy bars was a golden one.
Her chocolate bar favors can be used at every occassion.
There are: personalized kids candy bars, bridal shower candy bars, bar mitzvah candy bars and bat mitzvah candy bars, and christening favors.

A friend use the bars to announce the birth of her son at her office and it was a huge success.
People didn't only have a nice bit of chocolate. Many kept the nice wrapper. Some laminated it, others put it in their scrapbook.

Another friends used the edible wedding favors along with the candy bar thanks million, which was a nice and sweet combination.

I've decided to make a special design for our own family chocolate bar. So the children can use it as treats at school, and i can use it as a thank-you, or as a special gift.

I'm sure it'll be a huge success!

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Lockers

I can't believe it!

I've quit the management of school many, many years ago, but now they need renewal of the lockers I've been called.

I guess they wanted the easy way out.

But I'm not a fool.

I've arranged a meeting about the subject. When I have to invest, I'd better get the things at the school the parents and students want, instead of the cheap, insecure and smelly solution.
Lockers can be a dump of germs and mess, but they can also be a great way to assist the school and everyone else.

Lockerixchange is for me the place to order new Lockers.
No discussion about it.

When they want to have new School Lockers it's important to know what they are used for.

The yellow Plastic Lockers fit perfectly well in the teachers room and the individual offices.
Maybe yellow for the teachers and blue for the administration and the management.

For the students I prefer Steel Lockers or Metal Lockers. Maybe the students in the final year can have an extra wide model.

I want seperate Gym Lockers or basket lockers, which are vented, with matching Locker Benches.

I think careful consideration of what, why and where, can not only safe money but will also enhance the schoolclimate and look.

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Healthy toys

I came across a site for healthy toys.

Maybe it's of help for someone.

I'm glad my children aren't as little anymore that I need to be afraid they poison themselves with their toys.

When they were little I taught them not to chew on things.

Only on the special teething rings and their furr animals, after I checked them for loosing hair, loose bits and after I washed them.

Oh..the link:

http://www.healthytoys.org/home.php

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PixelProtector for better screen quality

Don't you like this time of year?

All those wonderful movies on TV, family gatherings where photos and videos are shared, and the internetsites where you can catch up after missing your favorite programs.

With DVD there's so much to share. So much to watch. And when you're completely out of reserves, you can even hire the most wonderful movies.

I know some people who have bought a new screen so they can enjoy the best quality, but they still don't have the clear vision as we have with our old screen.

There's a secret: PixelProtector.

I can't say it better than it's written on the PixelProtector site:
"PixelProtector™ is a DVD based premium screen diagnostic and calibration tool for all types of LCD, plasma and rear projection TV screens."

Many people plug in a TV and start watching their programs.
They don't resalise that a TV needs adjustment to get the sharpest images and the best colour.

PixelProtector helps to set your TV to the best quality, far better than you an get with visual comparison with a normal testscreen. And it's easier too.

Because it repairs screen burn, lost pixels, you'll get far better vision quality.

One of the problems we had was: "spooky images".
The kids started to call the feature this way and they were right.
Whenever a picture was displayed for a certain period of time, we had a shadow effect lasting.
Now we use PixelProtector it's gone.
We needed some time, but far less than was written in the instructions.

You don't need to be a technician to use PixelProtector.
There's a clear manual, but there's also an informationforum online and you can call customer's service.

Want to enjoy the new year's progams at the best quality?

Order it now.

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Farrey's is a big help with planning a safer house

Each year around this time I get the feeling I need to spread the light fixtures far better.

They're now at the traditional spots.
You know: in the livingroom the chandeliers at the prefixed places, the bathroom light fixtures in such a place that they shine either in my eyes or cast a bad shadow. Just because the architect of the house didn't think.

About the same with the kitchen light fixtures. There's one in the corner of the kitchen and one beneath the cupboards. There are no ceiling light fixtures at all. Isn't that strange?

So I went through the house at the end of the afternoon, and wrote down the dark spots. Like at the stairs.

Then I went through the house when it was dark.

It's very reveiling to be critical about home lighting. There are some hidden dangers in the house, like at the stairs, and in the hall at the front door.

We have light there, but it makes me seen for the visitor, whereas I'd better see the visitor before he or she sees me.
So I decided to make a spotlight there first, that I can switch on with a simple movement of my hand.

I had a great time at Farrey's choosing new lamps and ofcourse the spotlight.
That'll be installed first.

You can browse the tremendous collection at Farrey's by browsing by category or brand.
I like the fact that the site is so often updated with new additions to the collections, which are clearly indicated.

I also like the fact that I can find complete collections of brands with one click on one of the lamps. That way I can use fixtures that create a designed look.

Ofcourse Farrey's has a nice amount of energy saving items.

Have you seen a lower price for an item elsewhere?
Call Farrey's and get a competitive quote.

Farrey's has a lot more on their site than lighting fixtures.
Just have a look.

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Wedding Lane

Organising a wedding is a time of stress and anticipation.
Sometimes the stress to get a dream fullfilles is so great that the bride forgets that she's creating the day of her life.
To get things done the right way can be the main goal, and I've seen quite some brides and assistants forget that millions of pairs went before them and that they have left us with a large amount of knowledge about what works and what not.

Wedding Lane is a site that offers a simple business directory of mainly small shops.
There are no banners, nor wonderful pictures that divert the attention.

It's a place where you can find advice about everything that has to do with organising a wedding.

Take for instance the subject of wedding invitations.

The way people usually mke a choice is by visiting all sorts of shops and businesses, look through the books with samples, or take them home. And then a time of endless decision making starts.

Why not take some good advice on invitations, and grant the printing to a local store. They know what's in fashion, they know what's appreciated, and their experience can make a world of difference.

When we had to make the decision we wanted elegant wedding invites.
So we asked for the book at one of the local printshops. The man smiled.
He asked my fiancee to leave the building and buy me a bouquet of roses and invited me for a cup of coffee.
Then he started to ask questions. About my dress, the flowers, the church, the date, if I loved gold or silver, which jewelry I would wear. He commented on my blue eyes, etc etc.

Then he took a book, opened it and showed me what he thought would be a perfect match to the complete day.
To my surprise I really liked the invites he showed.

They would present our guests with the right feel about the wedding.

So I made a choice without all the fuzz many other brides to be experience.

We took another cup of coffee and then he asked me if I knew why he asked my fiancee to get roses.
Because he knew I would go for the classical, traditional style of wedding invitations.
Not because I'm old fashioned. Oh no!! Because they have proven to be the best.

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featured gift: Photo Blanket from Vision Bedding

I don't know why, but I'm enjoying the sinterklaas- and christmasseason more than other years.

Maybe because there's far more to discover in online shops, and even more that can't be bought in the shoppingcentres here.

Take for instance Vision Bedding.
They offer remarkable personalized gifts and home decor items.
The bedding they offer is of a very high quality and the decors are awesome.
Every members of the family can find something which is absolutely to the taste.
Whether it's flowers, sports, torpical or cowboybedding, VisionBedding.com has it in its collection.

Even more impressing are the custom blankets and pillows.

Almost any clear photo can be made into a useable bedding item.
And who won't be happy with a Photo Blanket?

With the latest phototechnology the images are dyed on the fabric.
So you can surprise grandparents with the photos from the grandchildren, mom with the babyphotos of the children, and dad with the photo of his favorite dreamcar.
The top layer (photo side) is made from a soft and breathable celtic fiber while the bottom layer is 320 thread count cotton in either black or white.
All photo bedding items are washable.

There's even photo dog bedding possible.

So why wait?
Vision Bedding is the best, so go and have a look!

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TV Wall Bracket

I can't believe some people still have their TV's hidden in a corner.

A friend just bought a plasma screen and when I said it shouldn't be in a corner, she had the excuse that it's the safest place, because the children won't come as near to it as at any other place.

Without thinking if I was tactful I said: "Have you never heard of a TV Wall Bracket ?"

Ahem...

No, she never considered that a wall bracket might be the best solution.

DekoMount has nice models on their site. Some with huge discounts.
They have brackets for all plasma TV's and all LCD screens.
There's an 18 month guarantee included and a price match guarantee.

Just select the brand of your TV and the size of the screen and DekoMount offers you the total amount of brackets available.
Choose is you wants a fixed one, a tilted one or one that moves in some directions, and you'll have the brackets at home within days.

I like the fact that you can call for assistance. So when you're lost about what you need, you'll get professional advice.

DekoMount is developing an amount of same day collection places, to help you even faster.

Trade prices are available, for an amount of 10 or more.
Just call the service line.

With the offers on their site, buying brackets for schools, for instance is an option within reach.

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Truly Wedding Favors

One of my friends is organising her wedding.

The joy of love combined with great expectancies.

We've been looking around for gifts for the guest and little table presents.

Ofcourse we found our way to the site of Truly Wedding Favors.

It's my favoritre site to buy presents and now they have updated their ordering system it's even easier to shop there, especially now we needed more of the same.

You won't believe it, but she's always so lucky.

Now too.

There are always special offers on the site, but this time she could buy the little presents for the lowest prize possible: under 1 dollar!!!!
Like the "love birds place holder" for $ 0,69.

We have little boxes for on the plates of the guests, each for $ 0.19, in blue and pink. We ordered some more for the children in het classroom.

Truly Wedding Favors is a unique site and the team is always developing the site, always looking for new items and always offering surprises.
I found the most lovely Silver Coach Place Card Frame, and we've decided to use them for the parents.

The site is a joy to be. Easy to use, with a fast shopping cart and a safe payment environment.

When you need assistance a very friendly team is ready to help you. Tollfree.

Even when there's no wedding involved you can use this site, because they have the best presents available.

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Save Buckets

Isn't this a great time for price comparisons.

You simply have to when you want to survive the rest of the year.
Everything is so expensive, and why be a thief in your own wallet?

A friend is teacher and she asked all the children in her groups what they wished for christmas.
She was surprised to find extremely expensive items on the lists.
MP3's were the main items.

For all those parents and grandparents I have the right site: Save Buckets.

It's a site where the prizes are compared of 1,723 MP3 Players and 799 Accessories.
All items are described and when available there is a link to buy the product even cheaper. For instance by buying more at the same shop so you get a discount when buying above a certain limit.

You can search in the shops you know, or in all shops.

This site enables you to find the best prize for the products on the wishlist.

Enjoy!

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