I must admit that even though I heard the Rusk line of products was good, I had not purchased any because the brand name sort of bothered me. Rusk? Too manly.  Sounds like rust. Not a good choice.  But one day while at TJ Maxx looking down the beauty aisle, I found Rusk Blofoam for $9 and decided to buy it. I thought that was a bargain because it was at 1) TJ Maxx; and 2) the beauty aisle looks like an aisle of beauty clearance prices. Surely this stuff must cost $25, right? Wrong. While looking for the product on line for the link, I found it at Amazon for $5.49. Lesson learned. Again. Why do I have to learn so many lessons?

Back to the subject.  I love this stuff.  It adds texture and volume to my hair and the bottle is huge at 8.8 ounces!

I have to be honest though.  Loving the Rusk Blofoam, I ventured out and purchased another hair care product:  Rusk Jel FX.  Hated it. A little dab was really too much and weighed my hair down and made it sticky, icky. Yuk. Probably best for someone who wants to spike short hair.  So I am 1 for 1 on the Rusk line.

Have you ever tried the Rusk line of products? What are your thoughts?

I have been shopping Oriental Trading since the dark ages before the world wide web. That’s right children, in the olden days we used to get catalogs in the mail to find our treasures. Oriental Trading has always been a great site for party favors. My BFF purchased baby items here for baby shower table decorations. She’s smart like that.

How cute would these toy filled jack-o’-lanterns be for a school party? Two dozen with prizes inside for $10.

When I worked at a bigger office I would always get some little magnets or pencils to hand out to co-workers. 24 pencils for $4. They thought I was thoughtful and festive. I know I’m cheap.

How about 250 fall leaves for $4?  So pretty on the Thanksgiving table.

That’s just a few ideas to peek your interest. They have party favors for all holidays, birthday parties, weddings, themed parties, baby showers, and a ton of kids’ toys and craft projects.  75 years in business. I cannot confirm that as I am NOT that old, but they have been around a long time so they are doing something right!

I love techy, geeky stuff. By no means am I a geek in a smart way.  Far from it. But I do love technology and all that it offers. I just have my son explain it to me. He dumbs it down. He’s sweet like that.

Here’s some nifty gadgets I found recently that are definitely on my wish list.

Belkin Conserve Socket Energy Saving Outlet is a timer that will automatically shut off power after 30 minutes, three hours, or six hours. If you worry about overcharging your electronic devices, or just want to use it to plug in your curling iron or electronic equipment, it will automatically shut itself off at the time given. $10 – can you say stocking stuffer?

I previously told you of thinkgeek.com. They now have a simple plug in dock for your iPhone. Genius.

USB Portable Power Supply is a nifty little portable USB charger for your cell phone, MP3 player, or any other USB plug device.  Holds charge for three months, so just what you need in your backpack, purse, or briefcase for those emergencies when you want to read my blog but have no more juice.

I never tire of finding new gadgets! Let me know some of your favorites by leaving me a note in the comments section.

Oh my gracious goodness, this time of year you can really get bombarded with catalogs. Many years ago, when I was mailing something, the clerk at the post office said to me, “oh you are the lady with all the catalogs”. I knew then I had a serious problem.  See, you order something from a catalog, and those people share your name with everyone else so that they can get you to buy from them. Here’s a great site to opt out of all those pesky catalogs and save a tree while you are at it:  catalogchoice.org.

You can also opt out of all credit card offers. Does it make you nervous when you get these offers in the mail with all your information on it? Someone could just fill it out with a different address and get that pre-approved credit card in your name. Go to optoutprescreen.com, and you can opt out of receiving those offers electronically, or permanently by filling out the form and mailing it in.

Finally, a few years ago federal law allowed the consumer to opt out of allowing any creditor sharing your personal information with others. I sent out this letter below to all of my creditors at the time. As I continue to get new creditors, car loans, new mortgage, etc., I immediately shoot off another letter. I don’t want anyone thinking they can share my personal information with someone. They get something out of it. You don’t.

Dear Sir or Madam:

It is our understanding that federal law allows you to disseminate our personal information with third parties. We wish to opt out of any disclosures of our personal information. Please do not share any personal information about us to any third parties, or any affiliates of your company. Please remove our names from your mailing lists used for promotional offers, and remove our names from your telemarketing lists used for promotional offers.

If you didn’t already know this about me, I’m big on security and privacy.