Category: Works for Me Wednesday

Jenny and I thought long and hard about the assignment for this week’s Works for Me Wednesday – writing about our favorite online store. We kept coming back to our first thought, though – Amazon.com.

It’s just hard to beat Amazon! The prices are great and shipping (on most things) is free with a purchase of $25 or more.

There’s a lot more to Amazon than just books! They pretty much have everything… from plumbing fixtures to diapers, treadmills to iPods. I just placed an order last week that contained “Baby Bargains” (had to have the updated edition!), a Hannah Montana t-shirt, and a set of Fred Bombed Beer Bands (a Valentine’s gift for my husband. Romantic, eh? Thanks to Pinks & Blues for finding these!) Random, huh? But like I said, they have everything! And did I mention the prices are great?

The everyday prices rock, but there are real deals to be found on Amazon as well. Before Christmas, Jenny & I stumbled upon their toy clearance section and pretty much bought everything they had for our kids and spent like $30. They have a page called “Deals of the Day,” where they have random products on a great sale, but only limited quantities for a limited time. AND, Amazon frequently drops prices, and if you find that something you’ve bought in the last 30 days listed for less than your purchase price, all you have to do is email their customer service department and they’ll credit you with the difference! Pretty sweet, especially during holiday sales.

Amazon is also a wealth of information. As I may have mentioned before, I am addicted to reading user reviews, and there is no better place to find them than Amazon. Even if I’m not planning to purchase whatever I’m looking for from Amazon, you can bet that I’m on there reading about what everyone else has to say about that product.

Even though Amazon is more than books, it is still a great place to find and buy them. Again, the prices are great. I don’t generally buy a lot of books, but I’ll go on Amazon and search for a book that I liked, click on the “more like this” button, and instantly have a new reading list. Then I just head over to my library’s website and put them all on hold! Books are the one thing that I don’t read user reviews for, though – that is, until I’ve read the book. I’ll look at the user star rating, sure, but I often find that the reviews are full of spoilers.

This is Jenny now, putting in my two cents. One of the big reasons I love Amazon is that they sweeten their deals with FREE SUPER SAVER SHIPPING on orders over $25 much of the time. As Emily said, she and I did a lot of our Christmas shopping on Amazon. Thanks so the great prices and free super saver shipping, I got presents for 7 of my nieces and nephews, Sophie, and Emily’s little girlie Kate for about $60 shipped. And the kids all really liked their presents and some of them were even unique and educational!!

You can also find nice name-brand stuff at Amazon for less. I love, love, LOVE Robeez shoes. I usually get Sophie’s Robeez used on ebay, but last week I decided to see if they had any on Amazon. I was thrilled to find that they had brand new Robeez for 40% less than retail!! Woohoo! The selection is a little more limited, but since all Robeez are SO DARN CUTE, it wasn’t really an issue. 🙂 I even picked up these for my friend Andrea’s baby boy who is due in June (sorry to reveal the price Andrea but I KNOW you’ll be happy that I got such a good deal):

Anyway, Amazon is pretty awesome. Take some time to look around – I’m sure you’ll find things on there you didn’t know existed!

Amazon.com works for me! For more WFMW online store reviews, visit Rocks in my Dryer.

What do Oprah Winfrey and I have in common? Well, besides the fact that we’re both female and look much younger than our age, we also both HATE exercise! I really, really, really do not like to exercise. But alas, sometimes it must be done! Especially say, when you’ve just had a baby and have 37 extra pounds to lose (or so. ish. 37-ish.)With my first kiddo I busted my butt back into shape with Tae-Bo, but with an additional and much more high-maintenance child, I needed something simpler and faster. Sorry, Billy Blanks! You and your blue unitard were gross fun while it lasted.

My solution to the need for fast effective workouts? The 10-Minute Solution series! I have these three DVDs: the 10 Minute Solution: Pilates, Rapid Results Pilates, and Carb Burner, and I LOVE them (as much as it is possible for me to love anything that has to do with exercise)!

I also have this one, but I am too retarded to do the dance moves.

I tried it three or four times and then gave up. So the first person to email me and tell me how great I am can have it if they want it. (If you live in the U.S. and if I can find it. But I am pretty sure I know where it is.) You have to be coordinated to do this one. Sadly, I am not. **Edit: Millicent took the video! Yay Millicent! I hope you can bust a move!**

Anyhoo, with the help of these fine videos (each features 5 different 10-minute work outs so you won’t get bored) I lost my baby weight from Sophie in just 110 days. It took me 5 months to lose it with Joshua! So this was a great improvement, and I actually enjoyed the Pilates DVDs. Like, I actually wanted to do them. Scary, I know. This could be addictive. I better cut back, since my coupon addiction is the only one I can handle right now. Which means my meth dealer is really gonna be bummed out!

For more Works for Me Wednesday tips, check out Rocks in My Dryer!

Today is not really BACKWARDS WFMW, but we’re posting it as that today anyways, because I need some advice!

So here’s the deal… we loaned our infant car seat to some friends, and upon its return, they told us they had been storing it in close proximity to moth balls.

Now I don’t know exactly what dangers moth balls pose to infants, but I do want to make sure I give this car seat a thorough scrubbing before putting our 2-day-old kiddo into it.

My question is two-fold… or actually three-fold.

a) What’s the best way for me to clean it?
b) Should I buy a new cover for it? (And if so, where can I find one that doesn’t cost as much as the bleeping carseat?)
3) Is it worth saving/cleaning or should I just get a new one?

I am VERY perplexed by this situation and I welcome any and all suggestions and comments. Thanks so much!

For WFMW tips from those who don’t need as much help as I do, visit Rocks in My Dryer!