Cool holiday gift idea for all the kids in your life

This little traveling wonder is the CoOLeSt. It's called a Trunki and is from the UK.

A few years ago, I caught sight of a child riding one of these at the airport. At the time, the product was not available in the US. After waiting another year, they finally became available online.

I immediately placed my name on a waiting list and eventually was able to purchase a set for my kids last summer. They were such a hit, I sent them to all my nieces for Christmas.

The greatest thing about this mini luggage is that it doubles as a ride-on. At the airport, walking long distances is inevitable and for the kids, this piece makes it all fun! My kids love riding these at the airports, especially on those big, smooth surfaces.
They race each other, pull each other. My son has even mastered a little wheelie-spinout...

There are two little "nubs" that the kids can hold on to as handles, as well as a "leash" that can be used to pull the luggage in tow, or as a shoulder strap. And to top it all off, it is big enough to carry all of your child's favorite must-haves. And now you won't even have to carry them! Your child will LOVE doing so on his or her own!!

It never fails, every time we travel I am stopped at least 5 times by people asking where I got the cool luggage. So, I'm telling you now...

Go to www.trunki.co.uk for the main site, or www.trunki.net if you are in the US.

Time's a tickin'...

Hey Folks...

Today marks the 100-Day Countdown for 2008. Have you thought about what you want to accomplish before the end of the year?

Do you want to finish a home project?... Secure a promotion?... Start a new business?... Lose 10 pounds?

Whatever it is, your chances of achieving your goals are much greater if you write them down, be as specific as possible, and let them be known to others.

Since my work-related goals are technical and boring, I'll spare you the details, so here are a few of my personal goals:

1) Read 5 more books.
2) Have 3 dinner dates with my husband only!
3) Have a yard sale to get rid of clutter.
4) Speak to someone new every day.

There you have it. Your turn! Don't get all freakish about this. It's fun. You'll be able to look back on New Year's Day and say, "Hey, I set out to do these things and I did them!"

The countdown has started. You've got 99 days to go!

My New BFF

When it comes to online auctions, I immediately think: Ebay. When it comes to books, dvds, music, and home goods, I think: Amazon. And when it comes to shoes? It's all about ZAPPOS, baby!!!!

I have been a looooooong time customer of theirs and have remained loyal initially because of their unprecedented shoe return policy. Free shipping to AND fro for 365 days after purchase. Wow! Whoever heard of being able to return a pair of SHOES one year after you've purchased them?

Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to listen to the Zappos CEO, Tony Hsieh speak about Zappos' "Path to $1 Billion". In 1999, Zappos began as a private company doing $8.6 million in 2000 and $32 million in 2001. Today, they have 1,600 employees, a 500 person call center, and are well on track to hit $1 billion in sales this year.

Tony emphasized that company culture was key and stressed the importance of achieving the best customer service. Zappos.com was not going to be just about shoes. It was going to be about great customer service- regardless of cost. This is hammered home in every aspect of their retail site and the overall experience.

In order to achieve this, a company culture book is provided to team members each year and every single employee writes a few sentences about what the culture means to him or her. They also send new team members to the company headquarters in Las Vegas for FOUR WEEKS of training just on culture, core values and customer loyalty, followed by a week of warehouse training in Kentucky! That's FIVE weeks of training before even touching a phone and speaking to a precious customer.

From free shipping and free 365-day return shipping, to fast, accurate fulfillment and surprise upgrades, the Zappos experience is like customer service on steroids. Tony shared a story of a customer declaring that what would really make him happy was a pizza but it was 3am. The customer rep searched and found the nearest pizza places in Santa Monica that were still open! WTF?!?

Hey, that's really cool. Today, I had to exchange a pair of shoes I bought for my son. Even though their return instructions are so easy, I called the 800 number just to hear the joke of the day :) To my pleasant surprise, Tony answered and had a guest speaker, Serena friggin' Williams helping him go through the menu options! Hilarious!!!

If you haven't shopped there yet. By all means, check it out. And the best part is, they're not even just shoes anymore. Clothing, bags, accessories... they're all at Zappos now, too.

Enjoy!!!
www.zappos.com

Let's take a trip down to King Burger...

... and see Bon Qui Qui:

SICK Beats..

While I don't typically work while listening to house music, I spent the afternoon today listening to DJ Inphinity and let me tell you. He rocks my world!

I can't wait to get back to Chicago to hear him live. Sick, I tell you!

Listen to some tracks here:
http://www.myspace.com/djinphinity

Fine Bowling Alley Food?

Well, no matter where you go, the shoes are not likely to be the most glamorous, but I was pleasantly surprised to discover a super cool bowling alley on a recent trip to Tampa.

Instead of a smoky, dingy, dark atmosphere, this place also known as Splitsville, had a fresh, funky and upscale vibe. There were plasma screens everywhere so you could watch sports in between turns. The alleys were spotless and featured all electronic scoring. The leather seating was modern, inviting…clean. And the food – oh, the food!

First of all, whoever heard of good bowling alley food? Forget the greasy onion rings, hot dogs and beer. This menu featured a host of tapas-style appetizers in addition to main eats like: grilled mahi mahi, blackened shrimp, seared ahi tuna, and sirloin steak topped with crab meat and asparagus and coated with hollandaise sauce! Seriously, wtf?

So, I did some researching… Apparently these luxe bowling alleys are all over the place.. Just not in SD. Waaaah. In particular, I’ll have to remember next time I’m visiting to check out Red Rock Lanes in Las Vegas, Lucky Strike Lanes in Chicago and Ten Pin Alley in Atlanta.

Needless to say, I was duly impressed and am itching to go bowling again. We need a Splitsville here in SD! Holla!!!

My Pick To Win ANTM Cycle 11 is......

SHEENA from Harlem!!!

This girl rocks. She's beautiful. She's positive. She's hilarious and best of all, she's OVER THE TOP! I loved her on this season's opener and I'd love to see her win.

You know, 'cuz she go hard. She got a diffrent swagger goin' on. You know? She don't play. She don't fit in into the regular society. She a stereotype slasher. She not lazy. She brung it. She's representin' us Asian females. She got so much flava she don't even know where it come from, for real.

Go Sheena! Go Sheena! Go Sheena!