Jul 24, 2003

What a great couple of weeks! Hope yours have been good as
well. We celebrated my birthday, but that's not all...

 

My husband and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary!
So, we went out on a romantic sunset dinner-dance cruise
and dreamed of another 20 years together...

 

(And guess what...we didn't even break the bank on this outing
because we used a buy one-get one free coupon from, you guessed
it, the Entertainment Book of coupons). So what did we do with
the savings? We went out for ice cream afterwards, of course!
One of my other passions.

 

And what of the store? Giftsprings is going full steam ahead!
We keep adding great items for you and keep making positive
enhancements for your shopping convenience!

 

Like what?

 

We've added an express shopping feature that you can use to
order quickly by code numbers if you have one of our catalogs
or if you browse one day and write down item numbers that
you plan on ordering on another day- you can just add in item
numbers to your basket and they'll pop right in there now. You
can find this feature on the Basket Contents page.

 

And, we moved the search field top and center for easier
searching by item name (for instance, so you can type in
horse when you're looking for any horse related gift or home
decor item). We also added a new section for safari home decor.

 

We're also pleased to share that we've opened up a new
Wholesale Support Center for our partnering retailers and
wholesale distributors. We'll be adding and expanding that area
more in the coming months and notifying wholesale customers
of more details related to this soon.

 

Whew! See, we've been busy.

 

But... we also have plans to reorganize the shopping categories
of the website in the next few months as well! This will be a large
undertaking but will improve ease of finding products for you,
so you can browse and shop in a variety of different ways.

 

By the way, we are looking for sales reps in various locations
to call and visit shops in your area to acquire new retail accounts
that will carry our products. So contact us about this if you have
experience doing this and would like to represent our offerings.

 

I hope you'll read on below because we're featuring some great
sale items this week, many are new arrivals and there's a really
interesting item I'd love to hear your reaction to. You'll see what
I mean if you go look at it.

 

Keep on smiling because it's still summertime! So after you read,
work and shop ... go play a little! :)

 

Liz Hekimian-Williams

 

Send your comments, questions, and anything you'd like to see
shared in this ezine here: Link removed
Use subject line: To Share in Giftsprings Ezine

 

~~~~~

 

If you do not see this newsletter properly or if you simply
wish to read it online, here's a link you can use:
http://www.giftsprings.com/category/00073

 

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2. Inspirational Thought For Your Day
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There's this kid's Christmas sing-a-long song
where this snow creature is getting a lesson on
how to change for the better one step at a time...
I found myself humming the tune today... so
here's your inspirational thought for the day...

 

" Just put one foot in front of the other, and soon
you'll be walking out the door! "

 

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3. Giftsprings Featured Sale and Bargain Items
-------------------------------------------------------------

 

33849 Frosted Angel Statue with Multicolor Light
Sale price now  $15.95 (msrp $29.95)
http://www.giftsprings.com/product/33849

 

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33861 Pewter Frame with Glow-in-the-Dark Flowers
Sale price now $6.35  (msrp $11.95)
http://www.giftsprings.com/product/33861

 

----

 

33889 Fabric Santa Family (It's Christmas in July time!)
Get this wonderful set before they sell out closer to the holidays!)
Sale price now $57.95 (msrp $ 119.95)!!
http://www.giftsprings.com/product/33889

 

----

 

33547 Candy Cane Candles- Set of 4. (It's Christmas in July time!)
SALE price now $10.60  (msrp $ 19.95)
http://www.giftsprings.com/product/33547

 

----

 

33601 Metal Bench With Leopard Print Cushion
(Teen girl's delight!)
SALE price now $53.30 (msrp $ 99.95)!!
http://www.giftsprings.com/product/33601

 

----

 

33778 Cauliflower Cow (You must SEE this novelty
kitchen decor item. Bet your neighbor doesn't have it ...
but maybe it'll become the next craze LOL)
SALE price now $6.75 (msrp $ 9.95)
http://www.giftsprings.com/product/33778

 

----

 

33765 Appetizer 4 piece Apple Plates Serving Set
Apple motif handle, with green metal stand included.
SALE price now $22.95 (msrp $32.95)
http://www.giftsprings.com/product/33765

 

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Giftsprings Storefront Specials
http://www.giftsprings.com

 

----

 

Giftsprings Bargain and Sale Center
http://www.giftsprings.com/category/00005

 

----

 

Giftsprings New Monthly Arrivals section:
http://www.giftsprings.com/category/0009

 

*Please note that offers at Giftsprings.com may be for
a limited time and depend on stock availability.

 

Giftsprings offers you discounts off retail on most items, f*ree gift
with purchase by qualifying purchase amount, and f*ree ground
shipping for retail customers on orders over $100.
http://www.giftsprings.com

 

----

 

Want to find out more about starting your own
gifts and home decor business? Interested in wholesale
pricing and becoming a work at home distributor? Find out
more here. http://www.giftsprings.com/category/00080

 

-------------------------------------------------------------
4. F*REEBIES Around The Web: (We often use the * or another
variation in the word f-r-e-e because this ezine uses that word quite
a bit and filters may block this newsletter from getting to you
otherwise. Also, we do not control or vouch for the below f*reebie
finds that we've discovered as they are from third parties.)
-------------------------------------------------------------

 

F*ree Catalogs from retailers and great savings
http://www.qksrv.net/click-1132113-54897

 

~~~~~

 

F*REE books from Harlequin with f*ree shipping and
mystery gift (no obligation or cost, just write cancel).
http://www.qksrv.net/click-1132113-534089

 

~~~~~

 

F*ree Registry for Eliminating Telemarketer Phone Calls!
Official Government Website! Go to this URL to register
your phone number today! Begins in a few months and
lasts 5 years, but read carefully to see if you desire this.

 

 

~~~~~

 

F*ree Printable Coupons from Target
http://www.wowdolls.com/coupons/target.htm

 

~~~~~

 

F*ree Free Stationary Pack from Wren Press
Click on Letterhead and Correspondence Cards and then click on
Request a Stationary Pack for a complimentary sample pack.
http://wrenpress.com

 

~~~~~

 

F*ree Bumper Sticker "Kids Shouldn't Smoke" and spread the word.
http://www.rightdecisionsrightnow.com/freeoffer.asp

 

~~~~~~

 

Entertainment Book of Coupons-
F*ree Meals and Entertainment in your city! Books are only $10
now! Expire in November 2003, that's why they're reduced so
much now. New editions come out soon for 2004 at normal pricing.
http://www.entertainment.com/index.cfm?affiliateID=00395188546688193349

 

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5. Readers Write in:
-------------------------------------------------------------

 

Send your questions, feedback, comments for this
section to me with Subject line "Readers Write In"
to: Link Removed

 

Question:

 

"I was browsing through your website and was wondering
if you have any catalog you could send me? Thanks."

 

-Marg

 

---------

 

Marg,

 

Yes, we have a large catalog with over 300 pages that you can
order online at this URL:
http://www.giftsprings.com/category/00150

 

Or, you can browse our online catalog here:
http://www.giftsprings.com/category/00160

 

Take care,
Liz

 

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6. Ad swap
-------------------------------------------------------------

 

Whimsies! Personalized Gifts for all Occasions
Fun personalized gifts: comical personalized cartoon
pictures, personalized computer novelties, exciting
personalized gifts for ballroom dance lovers, silly
personalized gifts for pet lovers! Subscribe to our ezines
for your free gifts.  Come visit with us at
http://www.whimsies-online.com

 

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7. Feature Articles - "Home of the Year"
-------------------------------------------------------------

 

Home Of The Year
By David Leonhardt

 

We were gathered 'round the television, where Little Lady
was watching an episode of Stuart Little. The kids had
entered the mother for a Home Of The Year contest sponsored
by some fancy magazine, but she had fallen ill just before
"The Committee" was to visit.

 

I turned to my wife with yet another one of my
way-too-brilliant ideas. "Why don't we enter the Home Of
The Year contest?" I asked.

 

My wife looked around in horror. "What? With this place?"

 

Little Lady, just over two years old, was looking for the green
crayon. "Sure," I replied, obviously missing something.
"Why not? It's a great home."

 

"This place is a mess," my wife said in frustration, as she
started slipping the videos back into their sleeves. "What
magazine would call this home of the year? Dump Monthly?
Trash Can News? Oh, I know - Bad Housekeeping?"

 

Little Lady emptied the crayon box on the floor. "Oh come on,"
I answered. "This is a wonderful home full of love and joy. See
all the drawings taped to the wall?"

 

"In the Home Of The Year, there are no crayon drawings taped to
the wall," my wife explained with just a hint of patience. "There
might be an original Rembrandt or Van Gogh, or perhaps an
exceptional imitation. It would be placed in an elegant frame."

 

Little Lady found the green crayon. Now she needed a sheet of
paper on which to draw.

 

"I don't know," I hesitated. "Rembrandt and Van Gogh don't
sound very homey. I suspect you might find them in the Museum
Of The Year contest."

 

"Just look at this dust!" my wife cried. She blew on the top of
the television set, which temporarily vanished into the haze.

 

Little Lady emptied her bookshelf with one fell swoop, but still
could not find paper on which to draw.

 

"OK, so it's dusty," I admitted. "If we dusted more frequently,
we would spend less time together and it would be less of a
home."

 

"The Home Of The Year contest Committee really does not care
whether we spend time together," my wife said. She headed
toward the kitchen in search of iced tea, nearly tripping over a
bag of clothes along the way. "They just want to see a spotless
house with all the classiest decorations."

 

Who needs paper, anyway. Little Lady found a blank spot on
the wall, and started applying her green crayon.

 

"Well, that might make a good House Of The Year, but a home
is a place to live in. It needs to exude love and comfort, not
cleanliness," I said.

 

Apparently, I was still clueless. "Homes of the year never
exude  love, and certainly not comfort," she explained,
picking up a  copy of Good Housekeeping from the floor.
"They are showcases  of a woman's ability to keep a house in
immaculate condition with  absolute precision ... despite
the presence of a male creature  around."

 

Ouch. Little Lady gleefully switched to the red crayon.

 

"Well I  don't know anything about keeping a house tidy, but
if that's  what the magazines want, why don't they call it
The Janitorial  Olympics?" I asked.

 

"I don't know. Maybe it's too hard for them to spell," my
wife  replied, smiling. "But they don't, so just get used to
reality.  We simply do not have even the slightest, tiniest,
most minuscule  hope of ever winning the Home Of The Year
contest."

 

By then, Little Lady had drawn three stick figures on the
wall. My home," she shouted, running to give Mommy a big hug.

 

I didn't need a magazine to tell me we already lived in the home
of the year. And if the dust doesn't kill us off first, we will
live there every year.

 

Author Resource Box:

 

The author is David Leonhardt, The Happy Guy, author of The Get
Happy Workbook at http://TheHappyGuy.com/happiness-workbook.html
and publisher of Your Daily Dose of Happiness at
http://TheHappyGuy.com/daily-happiness-free-ezine.html .
Visit his web site at http://TheHappyGuy.com .

 

-----

 

Send your home and family, shopping, and/or inspirational
tips or articles for consideration to share with your fellow
subscribers or  with visitors to our website. Submit your
idea or article here and  we might publish it! Use Subject
Line: "Article and Tip  Submissions" and send email to:
Link Removed
-----

 

Does your relationship need help? Then get this ebook...
"21 Revealing Tips to Improve and Save Your Marriage" Ebook
http://www.giftsprings.com/product/EB2003EHW

 

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8. MORE F*REEBIES
-------------------------------------------------------------

 

F*ree BREAKOUT GAME
Play Smashing online for free and enjoy over 50 levels of brick
smashing action with bonuses and amazing upgrades.
http://www.miniclip.com/smashing.htm

 

~~~~~

 

F*ree "How Stuff Works" Article...

 

Suck It Up - How Vacuum Cleaners Work
http://home.howstuffworks.com/vacuum-cleaner.htm

 

Vacuum cleaners have been helping us keep our homes clean for
over a century. Today's vacuum cleaners are amazing machines.
From simple canister styles to wet vacs to steam cleaners --
they can pick up almost anything and even remove stains.

 

Learn how they suck up the dirt (and whatever else finds its
way onto your floor).

 

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9. RIDDLE - from the Riddlenut
-------------------------------------------------------------

 

Here on Earth it's almost always true, that tomorrow will
follow today. Yet there is a place where yesterday always
follows today. Where is this place?

 

So... did you guess what it is?

 

Think and take a guess. You can see the answer further down
in this ezine...

 

-------------------------------------------------------------
10. Business Ads & More- Subscriber Exchange Ads
-------------------------------------------------------------

 

THIS WEEK'S HOT NEW BUSINESS ADS
are located online at this link now!
http://www.giftsprings.com/category/000841

 

Please visit this week's Business Ads Page and review offers
our subscribers and advertisers are sharing with you. These
ads help our subscriber base grow and also help keep this
ezine  free for you...plus you just might find something of
real interest  and benefit to you!
http://www.giftsprings.com/category/000841

 

-------------------------------------------------------------
11. Home Business News, Resources, Tips:
-------------------------------------------------------------

 

Direct Sales Tips by Regina Baker - you can read it online at
the URL below.

 

Sneak peek: You'll find 8 sales tips and she begins like this...
"As a direct salesperson, you serve a vital function in our society."

 

Read the entire article here:
http://www.businessknowhow.com/marketing/directsalestips.htm

 

~~~~~

 

F*REE Magazine Subscription to Home Business Connection
Complimentary magazine with home business resources.
http://www.freemoneymakingmagazine.com/?a=31372

 

-------------------------------------------------------------
12. AD SWAPS and Other Tidbits
-------------------------------------------------------------

 

Dot Com Women - Enter your kids for creative contests
to win prizes through the end of July! Hurry!!

 

Come! Join the EVEolution on the Web! Free resources,
listings, freebies, WAH, Contests, business, beauty, food,
travel, home & decor and much more!
http://www.dotcomwomen.com

 

-----

 

Work at home FOR yourself but not BY yourself!!
No Selling/inventory/home parties
Join an ethical family-focused company that values financial
security, social consciousness and complete health:
http://www.moms-connection.com/momsforlife.htm
Subscribe to newsletter:
Link removed

 

---------------------------

 

Giftsprings Gift Certificates available here:
http://www.giftsprings.com/category/00074

 

~~~~~

 

Work at Home as a Giftsprings Distributor:
http://www.giftsprings.com/category/00080

 

-------------------------------------------------------------
13. Riddle Answer:
-------------------------------------------------------------

 

In a dictionary!

 

-------------------------------------------------------------
14. Sales or Bargains Elsewhere:
-------------------------------------------------------------

 

Review of Cleverisland.com Service, offers a free gift card etc...

 

If you go to Cleverisland.com http://www.cleverisland.com
you  will likely be offered a deal like "get a $20 Target
Gift Card" free  and get a two week free trial to
Cleverisland.

 

Well, I bit because I wanted to check it out and was looking
for  something for my younger daughter. Upon review of the
details  of the offer it seemed reasonable enough for a
trial.

 

Here's the scoop though.

 

There's a slight misleading that I didn't care for in that
you have to  actually pay $1 by credit card to get the free
trial, but then I  figured it was worth it for two weeks of
learning and entertainment  for my youngest daughter.

 

It has turned out to be just that. There's a catchy tunes,
good  characters in short movies which keep her attention
enough,  load in reasonable time frames (we have high speed
cable though  so I don't know how it would be on a phone
line), a lot of games  and areas to explore and learn with
and the best test ... my  daughter spontaneously asks to
play it almost every day.

 

However, here's what you need to keep in mind. This is
geared  towards kids only in the 3 to 8 year old range
(Cleverisland even  admits that), though I'd narrow it even
a bit more to say it will  appeal most to kids in the 4-7
age range. And, it costs somewhere  around $70 for the year,
but they will prorate refund you for  unused time depending
on when you cancel. They say it's only a  few bucks a month,
but be prepared that they will charge you  the entire year's
fee once your free trial period is over.

 

All in all I give it a rating of Good to Very Good for kids
4-6 years old.

 

But... are you sure you want to start sharing your computer? :)

 

Liz HW

 

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Thanks for reading! Have a great week.

 

Liz Hekimian-Williams
http://www.giftsprings.com

 

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15. Valued readers... please be careful...
-------------------------------------------------------------

 

Giftsprings accepts no responsibility for the content or
legality  of any third party's advertisement or content that
appears in any  of our ezine issues or on our website. It is
the advertiser's or other  party's responsibility to check
all laws pertaining to the products  or services they
advertise and advertise accordingly. Claims of how  much
money others or you can earn may not be representative of
your earnings if you join or participate in any offerings
through us  or through any other third parties. We encourage
you to support  us, our sponsors, guest writers, and
advertisers but we also urge  you to check out all business
opportunities and offers carefully.
------------------------------------------------------------
-
16. Subscription Management:
-------------------------------------------------------------

 

Thank you very much for being a subscriber of this publication!

 

Please feel free to forward this newsletter to your family and
friends and let them know they can receive this ezine by
subscribing here: http://www.giftsprings.com

 

~~~~~

 

To UPDATE / CHANGE your name and email address for your
subscription, send your change of information to:
Link Removed

 

~~~~~

 

We appreciate you letting us stay in touch with you. We also
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