Holiday Cheer

A little less than a month ago I wrote about preparing for holiday shopping.  Now December is here and the holiday season is in full swing.  Nearly all of the gifts we intend to give have been wrapped and the holiday cards are written - just waiting for a trip to a photo print center so I can pop some pictures in them.

Today we celebrate one of my favorite holiday traditions:  getting our Christmas tree.  When I was younger we'd wander through the woods at a rural tree farm until we found the perfect one.  Now we venture about 20 minutes from home to a fresh-cut tree lot.  Luckily it's not a depressing parking lot tree lot - it's on a farm.  The trees are beautiful Douglas and balsam firs.  The thought of that first whiff of pine has me excited already!

Before we leave we'll pull the boxes of decorations from the basement, along with the tree stand.  I'm also hoping to put up our outdoor lights before we leave.  That tradition is typically conducted on the weekend after Thanksgiving, but I was away this year.

I can't wait to open the boxes of ornaments and Christmas decor.  Each one has a memory associated with it:  the antique tin birds my great grandmother gave me from her own tree, the huge Santa Clause from my grandmother, the beagle and horse ornament collections, and more.

Of course, despite being finished with my shopping, I'm going out for a little more tomorrow.  Target has a coupon for a $15 gift card if you spend $150 (I got their $10 gift card for spending $100 on black Friday).  My mom needs a few gifts and I need to buy her a pair of slippers as well as some grocery items so together we can probably hit it.  I also discovered this pretty cool Android app:  Google Shopper.  Scan a product bar code and it'll tell you prices for the product at various stores as well as other information.

Happy Holidays!

My Foursquare Experiment

Over the past few weeks I've been conducting a Foursquare experiment.  I have no friends on this social networking site.  Does that defeat the purpose?  Absolutely.  But I wanted to test the waters without making a fool of myself or over-sharing things that I don't want others to know - before I knew they shouldn't know them!

Here's what I've done so far:

1. Signed up for the site.
2. Made all of my information private.
3. Checked into various locations, including during my recent vacation.
4. Added a new place!
5. Became the mayor of said place.

So far, it seems to be going okay.  Nine times out of 10 I forget to check in, despite the fact that my phone has a good Foursquare app.  Without any friends, there doesn't seem to be much point to my checking in, although I do use it to track the distances of my bike rides.  (I'm sure there are dedicated exercise apps I could use instead.)

Will Foursquare be around for the long-term?  I'm not sure.  It seems like they need to add reviews in addition to the Tips section.  That would make me more likely to visit a particular place.  Also, lots of locations are missing or don't show up in search.  Perhaps this is because there aren't a lot of Foursquare users in my area just yet.

I've also read about check in fatigue.  There are apps to check you into your various location tools.  But what about the act of checking in itself?  I have a feeling it won't be long before people tire of this itself.  Obviously, phones will be able to check us in automatically someday - but this could be seen as an invasion of privacy that will freak out most, if not many, people.

I guess I'll keep playing with this tool and see where it goes from here!  But you won't be seeing my Foursquare updates on Twitter any time soon - unless they're to let you know that I passed a new biking milestone, like the 10 miles I hit on Saturday.  :)

Frugal "Fashion"

Reading All Over Albany helped me discover All This Happiness, a really cool blog that's had a lot of fashion posts.  Not fashion like Vogue or In Style (yes, I subscribe to those, too) but fashion like how to make that boring dress in the back of your closet new and exciting again.  Reading it inspired me to dress "fun" and not just throw on something for the sole purpose of:

1. Staying covered so creepy guys don't ogle me
2. Staying cool during this 100 degree heat wave (#1 and #2 are hard to pull off simultaneously)

Because I also want to:

1. Maintain a unique sense of style
2. Do ALL of the above without breaking my ever-shrinking bank account (thanks, wedding)

When I was away at Lake Placid this past weekend, I visited many antique and thrift shops.  I got a really cool set of bathroom decorations (plaster flower sculptures for the walls) for $16.  My fiance guessed $50.

The point is, you don't have to spend a lot to get a lot, something this economy is reminding all of us.  Stores push buy-buy-buy with deep discounts and markdowns.  But really, how much does 20% off calculate out to be?  Not that much.

Lately, the outlets have been my friends.  You can even sign up to receive email coupons from some of them like Coach, Gap, and Banana Republic.

Of course, there are the tricks of using online sites like Retail Me Not to gain free shipping or a percentage off of your online purchases.

Social media plays a role, too.  My Entertainment Book regularly emails me offers.  I have two coupon apps installed on my Droid - supposedly, their coupons are accepted right at the register from my phone - no printing required!  Using my location the apps have found quite a few offers in my area, although none I happened to need at the time.  (My best coupon luck tends to come from the good, old-fashioned newspaper.)

Between all of these money-saving options, I can't remember the last time I paid full price for something.  Not even at the Olive Garden last night.  My grandma sent me home with a coupon the last time I went to visit her.

I Didn't Know There Was an App for THAT!

Back in January I upgraded to my first smartphone - an HTC Eris by Android.  Yes, those Droid commercials with the little green robots are cute, but not the only reason I chose the phone.  An iPhone was my first choice (despite its flaws); the phone isn't yet supported by Verizon.  The Droid has similar functionality - with the bonuses of syncing all of my Google accounts and a lower price tag.

The Droid allows me to update all of my social media accounts on the go via "apps", or applications.  I can maintain my Twitter and Facebook accounts, as well as check my Gmail and send pictures.  These are just the basics.  What are apps are out there?

How to Find Apps - Straight From the Source

Much like iPod/iPhone users download songs, movies, games, and other applications from iTunes, Droid users use the Android Market.  This app store (which contains plenty of free apps) is accessible from mobile phones.  Recently, Google created an online version of the Android Market, "“a showcase for some of the featured and top ranked applications and games available" (O'Dell).

There are three tabs on the Android - Market site; each displays 40 apps.  The tabs display "Featured", "Top Free," and "Top Paid" apps.  I use a moderate amount of apps on my phone (20-30) and thought I had the most useful ones installed.  Perhaps this is because I had spent time searching for what I thought I needed - and never took the time to browse.

Here are a few of the apps listed on the Android - Market site that are useful for social media:

• Congress - uses your location to provide you with a way to contact your local officials and view bills that were recently voted on
• Pocket Agent - contact your State Farm agent, submit a claim, and view all account info
• Yelp - find and review restaurants and other establishments
• Grocery iQ- create a grocery list by scanning item barcodes; share lists with other users
• WordPress - blogging interface

Other Ways to Find Apps

Mashable mentioned six other ways to find Android apps.  Some sites list all available apps; others have reviews and the latest offerings.


So get out there and look for apps - there are many ways to stay connected on the go.  Apps like Yelp and WordPress can assist you with maintaining your corporate image; others are great for personal productivity.


Resources:

Android - Market. Android, 2010. Web. 6 June 2010. . 

O'Dell, Jolie. "7 Ways to Find Amazing New Android Apps." Mashable. N.p., 5 June 2010. Web. 6 June 2010. .