Bonanzle Quickly Becoming a Runaway Train eBay Alternative

In the short time since I’ve closed my eBay store and moved over to Bonanzle, I haven’t looked back at all!

Bonanzle is simply a runaway train, and is seriously going to be giving eBay a run for it’s money!  I’ve made several sales in less than a week (which as a past Power Seller, I consider a terrific turnaround time, since I’m new on the site.)

Always the researcher, I’ve been zooming around the ‘Net and am reading and liking more of what I’m seeing and hearing. I’m finding kudos about the site everywhere, from Twitter and Facebook to  Squidoo, as well as other Web 2.0 social networking sites.

Other Bonanzle sellers have been dropping into my booth to say ‘Hello‘ and introduce themselves, and I also have been visiting booths and ‘dropping my calling card’, favoring booths that I like, and ‘tagging’ items that I think are particularly ‘beautiful’; ‘cool’ ; ‘funny‘ or ‘well priced.‘

Not only is Bonanzle a selling marketplace, Bill Harding is trying very hard (and succeeding, I must say ~ congratulations for effort) in establishing a social networking site, to give a human element to an otherwise sterile and disconnected atmosphere that eBay never could duplicate.

Here’s what other blogs are saying:

Kims Corner:

Bonanzle Voted Best eBay Alternative of 2008

Thank you Bill, Mark and the other great minds who have given us all THE BEST eBay Alternative by far!

Red Ink Diary:

Bonanzle Makes a Million

Site succeeds by making people relevant to the transaction process

Day in the Life of An American Woman in Business

Let’s Talk About Bonanzle

Bonanzle recently reached a major milestone reaching the 1 million listing mark. It truly was all the buzz on twitter, in articles, and blogs, even one in French.

I’ve found many other sites that I’ll be writing about in upcoming posts where Bonanzle sellers can be found sharing their insider knowledge.

All these sellers have one common denominator ~ they couldn’t be happier with the decision they made to leave eBay!  They’re WAHMs, Baby Boomers like myself, Grandmoms, Dads ~ small sellers, not mega sellers.  The majority of the items being sold are unique, one-of-a-kind finds.

If you’re thinking of selling your hand-made items or collectibles, give Bonanzle a try!  If you’ve made the switch, what do you think?

Visit my Bonanzle Booth at: Moomette’s Magnificents

Leave a comment ~ I’d be happy to know!

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Consider Starting a Root Cellar – Dried Fruit and Health Advantages

Awhile back I came across an interesting article in the New York Times, Food Storage as Grandma Knew It, detailing a ‘return to the earth” concept of a root cellar in, of all places, New York City.

As a New England native, one only needs to take a leisurely drive along back country roads in order to see root or cold storage cellars built into the hills besides homes that are partially hidden behind stone fences. Such a sight often made me want to travel back in time and wonder what it was like growing up in that era.

Part of the food pyramid says that we need to eat fruit on a daily basis. Much of our vitamin C comes from fruits and fruit juices. Learn how dried varieties of fruits are both good and marginal for our bodies.

Certain fruits can be dried for prolonged storage. We buy fresh fruits from the grocery store and the farmer’s market as a part of a healthy diet. But, fresh doesn’t stay fresh for as long as we like. One way to save that fruit is to dry it.

The drying process can be as easy for you as sticking some fruit directly on the oven rack and letting it shrivel up. Once all of the water has been removed, the dried fruits can be stored in a cool place for a long time. Dried fruit also tastes much sweeter than regular fruit.

A piece of fruit is mostly water. The drying process concentrates the natural sugars and can feed our sweet tooth better than candy and other sweet foods. Also the vitamins and nutrients contained in the fruit are still present. Depending on the fruit, it contains folate, antioxidants, Vitamin C, and Vitamin A.

Dried fruit takes up less space than regular fruit. A cup of pineapple slices may contain four slices while a cup of dried pineapple slices may have twice as many. Since there is no water less it takes up less space. A handful of raisins give the same daily benefit as two cups of grapes.

Dried fruit benefits our bodies with natural sugar instead of added sugar. Eating some fruit is much better than eating artificially flavored sweets. But, there is one drawback to dried varieties of fruit.

Like everything else, dried fruit is eaten in moderation to avoid eating too much. While it’s okay to eat a lot of real fruit, dried fruit contains more calories than regular fruit. Why is that, you may ask? Because more fruit fits in a serving, the calorie adds up. Be careful to eat the serving size of dried fruit to avoid ingesting too much sugar or calories.

Dried fruits don’t have to be eaten alone. They can be added to cakes and pies. The most widely used dried fruit is raisins. Raisins go well in cookies, cakes, and sweet breads.

It only takes a couple of handfuls of raisins to get most of the daily allowance for vitamin C and A. As long as you don’t eat too much dried fruit on a daily basis they are good for your health. It is just like anything else. Eating all things in moderation keeps them as healthy additions to your diet. Besides, dried fruits are easy to transport anywhere for a simple snack.

St. Patrick’s Day will soon be here on March 17th, and is traditionally celebrated with grogg and Irish Soda Bread. I like to make Traditional Irish Soda Bread all year long! Plus, the house smells so wonderful when it’s baking!With the addition of raisins and/or currents, it’s a terrific way to add dried fruit to your diet!

Copyright 2010 Moomette’s Magnificents – All Rights Reserved

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Copyright 2010 Moomette’s Magnificents – All Rights Reserved

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Eco Store USA ~ No Nasty Chemicals

Eco Store USA ~ No Nasty Chemicals

When I was a senior in high school, the first Earth Day took place on
April 22, 1970.  My husband and I graduated high school together, and he recalls that he flew out from Connecticut to Milwaukee, WI and back the same day to go on a college tour.  The campus he visited was hosting many celebrations that day, which he thought was so cool!  As luck would have it, he was accepted and attended that college.

Now that I’m a Baby Boomer, many in my generation are re-discovering and returning to re-visit our eco-conscious days of our youth.  We are realizing that eco- friendly, plant-based household cleaning products are as effective as the leading supermarket brands, gentle on our skin, and easy to use.

I recently had the opportunity to try several products from Ecostore USA.  All of their products are made from plant- and mineral-based ingredients, free of toxic chemicals that bring people closer to nature with non-toxic, environmentally safe solutions that also help to reduce our carbon footprint.

Our products also help to ensure value for the dollar for our customers. We know it can be expensive to buy natural or organic products but we’ve found a way to safely super-concentrate our formulations. Our super-concentrates means that a little really does go a long way – saving you money by cutting down significantly on cost per use.

The products I tried were full-size containers of:

• Plant Based Toilet Cleaner

• Naturally Antibacterial Spray Cleaner

• Naturally Active Pure Oxygen Whitner;  and

• Plant Based Super Concentrate Laundry Liquid

These products cleaned remarkably well, and were easy to use.  While scent and fragrance are both subjective in nature, each produced a “just clean” smell, without any particular “flower” or “perfume” fragrance.

In the case of the Super Concentrate Laundry Liquid, I used far less than the brand I normally buy when grocery shopping.  Used in conjunction with the Pure Oxygen Whitner, my family’s laundry (including the grandkiddos’) came out exceptionally clean!

Ecostore USA products are now available in the USA market, and will be available at MEIJER in early spring.

For more information visit: EcoStore USA

Review possible courtesy of Mom Bloggers Club

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Stop & Shop A Few “Simple Swaps” and a Family Favorite is a Healthy Idea

Stop & Shop A few “Simple Swaps” and a Family Favorite is a Healthy Idea

Phew!  The holidays and post-New Year birthdays are finally over!  Although I had been trying to stick to a diet, and was somewhat successful at hit, I did only manage to gain about 2 pounds back.

My oldest daughter, who gave birth to Slugger this past August, and I are attempting to get back on to a regular healthy schedule  – and with that transition comes a new resolve to eat better and provide healthier options for our families this year.

We both do our regular weekly grocery shopping at Stop & Shop Supermarket.  Fortunately, I live within 10 minutes of three Stop & Shop grocery stores!   What’s exciting is that Stop & Shop is launching
Healthy Ideas, a new, easily recognizable on-shelf symbol that helps customers easily identify foods that fit into a healthy lifestyle.

To help Moms, Grandmoms and the food-decision maker in your household take the guesswork out of making healthy food choices, Stop & Shop has placed the Healthy Ideas symbol on more than 3,000 items and shelf tags throughout its stores.

A few “Simple Swaps” and a family favorite is a Healthy Idea.

The symbol highlights foods that have less fat, saturated fat and sodium. It also helps to ensure that the foods we select include a healthful amount of at least one nutrient, such as fiber, whole grains, calcium and minerals.

The power of Healthy Ideas lies in the strength of its criteria which was developed by a team of registered dietitians and reviewed by an advisory panel of physicians and nutrition experts, including Dr. George Blackburn, associate director of the Division of Nutrition at Harvard Medical School. Research played a critical role in the development of the symbol, which uses the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the USDA Food Pyramid (Mypyramid.gov) and the USDA/FDA’s definition of healthy as a basis for its foundation.

Watch for the new Healthy Ideas symbol next time you visit Stop & Shop!

Go to Stop & Shop for more information

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Sparkplugging Top 10 WAHM Blogs 2008 Prize Winner

Recently my blog, Moomettesgram’s Musings was awarded the honor of being one of the Top 10 WAHM Blogs for 2008 by Sparkplugging.

This honor is especially meaningful to me since my blog has been in existence since November, 2007. Blogging has introduced me to many wonderful people from all over the globe who willingly share their knowledge and expertise.

Whether one is a stay at home mom trying to develop a supplemental income for their family, or on the cusp of retirement, I hope to inspire others to pursue their dreams and goals of working from home.

I’d also like to extend special thanks to all the creatively talented people and companies that sponsored this contest and acknowledge their generosity in donating to the Grand Prizes.

• 1 Yr Membership to Mom Masterminds ($270) From Lynette Chandler & Kelly McCausey
• Free One on One Coaching Certificate ($75) From Mom’s Talk Biz
• Information Product Sweetie ($37.95) From Alice Seba
• Mini Site Templates & Graphics ($17.00) From Wendy Wood
• SparklugU Self Study Course of Choice ($30-50 Value) From Wendy Piersall
• Optimizing Your Workflow ($19.99) From Anne Marie Martin
• Yummy PLR Article Pack ($10.00) From Arika Liddiard
• Affiliate Commotion Course ($47.00) From Angela Wills
• Featured Giveaway Listing ($10) From Courtney Chowning
• Offline Marketing Report ($12.99) From Crystal Unrau & Tracy Roberts
• Internet Strategy ($10) From Elizabeth Ashe
• Traffic Tips PLR eCourse ($15) From Nicole Dean
• How to Improve Your Writing ($15) From Jimmy D. Brown
• How to SEO Your Site in 60 Minutes ($25) From Matt McGee
• DIY Email Marketing & DIY Press Releases ($40) From Susan Payton
• Natural Mom Business Guide ($40) From Carrie Lauth
• 1 PLR Pack from Natural Mom PLR ($12.97) From Carrie Lauth & Tiffany Washko
• Mini Course Money ($27.00) from Carrie Lauth & Marie Ynami
• Tips for Home Office eBooklet & Organization Audio ($10) From Brandie Kajino
• Kickstart Your Online Business ($9.99) From Anita DeFrank
• Advertising Gift Certificate ($30) From Mommy’s Helper Online

Please visit these wonderful sites for more information and opportunities to get your business off the ground in 2009!

Copyright 2010 Moomette’s Magnificents – All Rights Reserved

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Wordless Wednesday

Copyright @ C. Matthews 2008

Copyright 2010 Moomette’s Magnificents – All Rights Reserved

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Plum Organic’s Kids Meals and Baby Foods

Plum Organic’s Kids Meals and Baby Foods

As any Mom or Grandmom knows, kids can be fussy eaters.  Each of my girls had specific preferences in their choice of food while growing up.  These idiosyncrasies manifested themselves even as infants.

My oldest daughter, always a good eater, thoroughly enjoyed her vegetables, while my youngest daughter preferred fruit.

Now that I’m a grandmom, I chuckle to watch how my two grandchildren are so different.  ‘Lil Moomette (age 2) would win an award for being probably the world’s fussiest eater.  She eats at our house frequently, and as much as we encourage a family sit-down style dinner, Moomette does much better just “grazing” on her own.

Slugger (5 months) is the total opposite of his sister.  Since I’ve never parented sons, it’s a delight to watch this kid finish a bottle, and still be looking for more!  Recently he was introduced to fruits, vegetables and cereal.  His little mouth opens, and his eyes follow as he watches us eat!

Whole Foods recently opened a brand-new store over the river and through the woods in the next town over.  I jumped at the opportunity to try out the Plum Organic’s Kids line of fruits and vegetables on Slugger.

Plum Organics Kids are Fresh. Frozen.Baby. Food. and are fortified with DHA and produced in different stages.

What is DHA?
DHA is an omega-3 fatty acid naturally occurring in breast milk.  It’s a major structural component of the brain and eyes, representing about 97% of all omega-3 fats in the brain and 93% of all omega-3 fats in the retina.  DHA is a key nutrient for optimal brain, eye, and nervous system development in infants.

Plum Organics products are fortified with 100 percent vegetarian algae-based sustainable source.

Here’s Slugger enjoying his Plum Organic Sweet Potatoes!

His mom says he really enjoys the fresh taste and texture!

For More Information Visit: Plum Organics

Moomette’s Magnificents Reviews is hosting a Giveaway!
Plum Organics was kind enough to send several coupons along for me to share with my readers. For a chance to win two coupons for either one (1) Plum Organics Kids or Baby Products.

To Enter: Visit Plum Organics and comment on this post, letting me know what other stores besides Whole Foods Plum Organic Products are available at.

Now for extra entries (each task will get you 1 extra entry):
~Subscribe to my blog via email through my Feedburner link (on the top of my left column)

~Add my banner button to your sidebar or add me to your blog roll.
~Blog about the contest on your blog, linking back to my blog  and this post.

~Go Favorite or Fan me on Technorati (the link is on my left column if you scroll down) or both.

~ Follow Me on Twitter

~Tweet about this contest. (Comment separately with the URL of your Tweet)

Make sure you comment separately for each task after the required entry task so you will get credit for each one ~ and leave your e-mail where you can be contacted.

Entires without a valid email address, or those that don’t follow the Contest Rules will be disqualified.  Winner to be chosen via Random.org

This contest will run until January 28 at approximately 11:00 pm.

Winner:
Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

3

Timestamp: 2009-01-29 04:33:40 UTC

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Crafts ‘n things Free Newsletter

Crafts ‘n things Free Newsletter

Once upon a time, when I was single and carefree, I was big into crafting.  As a youngster, teenager, newlywed ~ there wasn’t a craft I couldn’t tackle.

Whatever the fad du jour was, I did it all:

• counted cross-stitch
• decoupage
• embroidery
• knitting
• quilting
• rug hooking and more.

My husband went to college in Wisconsin, while I was ensconced at an all-women’s college in Massachusetts (there were many of them around then). Stuck on campus and with a curfew of 11:00 pm, I ended up crocheting my then-boyfriend (now husband) a scarf that ended up being about 6 feet long!

When we bought our first (and only) house, it took me 2 years to cross-stitch this beautiful sampler.

As the winter season sets in, many of us settle down into indoor hibernations. Staying inside away from the cold allows us more time for creative inspiration. Crafting with family, friends, or even on your own, can provide hours of enjoyment, relaxation and memories. Although, sometimes we could use some helpful hints for projects.

Crafts ‘n things free, monthly newsletter provides members with unique project ideas for home decor, gift giving, and gardening. Once you sign up at www.craftsnthings.com/Newsletter, the newsletter arrives to your email providing a first look at special offers, products, and more.

In addition, each subscriber has an opportunity to sign-up for “Win It!” – a prize program that gives participants a great chance to win fantastic craft-related prizes.

Whether you’re a lapsed crafter, skilled crafter or looking for inspiration to introduce new experiences for your own daughters,  granddaughters or nieces, be sure to check out the Crafts ‘n things informative site:

www.craftsnthings.com/Newsletter

Copyright 2010 Moomette’s Magnificents – All Rights Reserved

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What is Light Therapy – Why You May Need it in Winter

Health

Here in New England, we’ve certainly received our share of snow for the winter. It’s pretty to look at when it’s all clean and fresh.

When the flakes start flying, I usually cocoon inside, bake a loaf of Irish Soda bread, do cookies with ‘Lil Moomette or some good old Yankee homemade soup ~ maybe get something going in the slow-cooker so the house will smell warm and inviting. Best not to be out on the roads when it’s a sleet or ice mixture going on too!

However, being inside, with the warm and fuzzy feeling only lasts so long until we start getting on each other’s nerves.

This past weekend the Hubster and I had dinner with two couples who we used to boat with that we’ve known for years. The snowbird couples are leaving to spend the next several months in Florida.

Being out in the sun makes people happy. It’s not just because the weather gets warm because the temperature could be frigid with the sun beaming down. Therapy for seasonal affective disorder may shed some light on the subject.

Light therapy is used to treat patients suffering from seasonal affective disorder (SAD). The common theory is that the absence of natural sunlight plays a role in how we feel. Since seasonal affective disorder occurs mainly in the fall and winter seasons, this seems to hold true.

During the latter part of the year, the days are shorter which means fewer hours of light. With the change in seasons comes a change in the weather. Those shorter days are more cloud covered and colder than the former months. Nature goes into hibernation as everything appears to “die” so it can be reborn again in the spring.

With light therapy, the conditions of the sun are mimicked in an attempt to alleviate depression. The therapy works to deliver a light that is as intense as the sunlight. To do that, the light boxes (device used for light therapy) emit a beam of light with an intensity of 10,000 lux. This is the measure of the light intensity as compared to a normal light bulb.

A person utilizing this therapy will sit in close proximity to the light box for anywhere from fifteen minutes to two hours. The light hits the body particularly the face without staring directly at the light. Light box users reported better moods after only two weeks of the therapy.

There have been no definitive clinical trials conducted with light therapy to measure its effectiveness on seasonal affective disorder. People who utilize it have done so with the advice of medical personnel. Only they can determine if the situation will benefit from the use of a light box.

The light box has been used by people suffering from clinical depression. It has indication that their symptoms may lessen with use. People with sleep rhythm problems have benefited from light boxes as well.

Light therapy has other indications besides seasonal affective disorder. It is a treatment for acne and other skin disorders. The artificial ultraviolet light of a light box destroys the bacteria that cause acne and other skin disorders.

The artificial ultraviolet rays don’t damage skin like normal sunlight. The rays are not as strong. For use with patients suffering from seasonal affective disorder, this was a concern of the process. Sitting in front of a light that emits ultraviolet radiation on a daily basis would help the depression at the cost of damaging the skin. Light boxes used for that treatment emit no ultraviolet radiation.

A light box is about as close as I’m going to get to go on a winter vacation this year!

Related Posts:
What is Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) ~ Learn to Recognize Symptoms

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