I thought I should write about this here so that you can take advantage of it.

In September of 2005, New York City permanently eliminated the city sales tax of 4% on clothing and footwear purchases under $110. In April of 2006, the state of New York followed suit and repealed its portion of the sales tax on these items. The result is that the five boroughs of New York City are the only counties in the state of New York that charge no sales tax on these purchases.

NYC Tax Free Shopping Tips

What items are exempt from sales tax? All clothing and footwear, clothing material (fabric, thread, buttons, etc.), hats and neckwear (ties and scarves), formalwear (purchased), and diapers (including disposable diapers).

What items are not exempt from sales tax? Jewelry and watches, handbags, umbrellas, rented formalwear, sports equipment (pads, helmets, etc.), pet or doll clothes.

Shop ‘Til You Drop, NYC-Style

Don’t forget to check out the following New York stores for bargains under $110:

Macy’s Herald Square: The world’s largest department store, Macy’s has ten floors and half a million items for sale. You’re sure to find something that looks fabulous on you.

Bloomingdale’s: Bloomie’s is another shopping hot spot. Designer clothes, a fully-stocked shoe salon. There’s always a sale going on somewhere.

Lord & Taylor: This famous department store has seasonal sales that can save you a bundle.

Century 21: With deep discounts of 25% to 75%, you can find major steals on designer names like Armani.

Loehmann’s: Loehmann’s always has bargains on designer apparel. New York magazine calls it ‘the mecca of off-price shopping.

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When Avatar came up to big screen I really thought it was gonna be Avatar’s year but I was surprised that Hurt Locker won. Anyway I liked both films but not much. There are films that I didn’t yet watch so I can’t say that Hurt Locker was the best one or not.

Couple of things I want to add; I was so happy when Sandra Bullock won; somehow I like her a lot, sometimes her movies (usually) so cheesy but she can manage to get you watch. Anyway, I think she deserved it with this movie. Christoph Waltz was soooo good in Inglorious Basterds. Even I was scared in the beginning of movie when he was questioning the farmer.

Anyway here is a complete list of winners

Best Picture: The Hurt Locker

Director: Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker

Actor in a Leading Role: Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart

Actress in a Leading Role: Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side

Actor in a Supporting Role: Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

Actress in a Supporting Role: Mo’Nique, Precious

Original Screenplay: The Hurt Locker, Mark Boal

Adapted Screenplay: Precious, Geoffrey Fletcher

Animated Film: Up

Foreign Language Film: The Secret in Their Eyes (El Secreto de Sus Ojos, Argentina)

Original Score: Michael Giacchino, Up

Original Song: “The Weary Kind,” Music and Lyrics by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett (Crazy Heart)

Art Direction: Avatar

Cinematography: Avatar, Mauro Fiore

Costume Design: The Young Victoria, Sandy Powell

Makeup: Star Trek

Film Editing: The Hurt Locker, Bob Murawski and Chris Innis

Documentary Feature: The Cove

Documentary Short Subject: Music by Prudence

Animated Short Film: Logorama

Live Action Short Film: The New Tenants

Sound Editing: The Hurt Locker

Sound Mixing: The Hurt Locker

Visual Effects: Avatar

Governors Award: Lauren Bacall, Roger Corman and Gordon Willis

source: www.imdb.com

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Photograph by Bob Landry, 1946. From the Life photo archive

Chewing…

It’s is easy and we learn it before we can even walk, yet there is a way that we might do it wrong… Actually I shouldn’t say wrong; I should say that there is a way to do it better, and this way might help us loose some weight.

A typical person chews her food 10 times of chewing before swallowing. Some teenagers even stuff their mouth with food and swallows every 5 seconds. Imagine that.

Chewing your food with thought instead of swallowing it down when it gets small enough will help you to physically feel the sensations of being full. Chewing each bite takes time, since brain gets the signals from your stomach after 20 minutes, it’s going to take about just enough time to get the signals from you stomach before stuffing it hard. When you are full you should then stop eating. You do not have to clean your plate. It takes so much time for your stomach to feel this satisfaction just because it has not registered as quickly as you might be eating. If you eat fast you will not feel this until you are beyond what you should be in terms of caloric intake. This will, in turn, give you that overstuffed, bloated feeling. This is not helpful to your weight loss eating plan.

If you chew your food properly and slow it down a bit you will have a better dining experience as you are giving yourself time to enjoy every morsel and actually taste your food. The nutrients in your food will then have a chance to linger more fully. Your saliva, as well, will break your food down more efficiently.

This weight loss eating method is easy to use once you get used to it. Just chew each bite of food about 30-35 times before swallowing. This is about three times as much as the average person chews. Once you’re used to eating this way, you’ll be able to lose weight more easily and enjoy your meals more.

Since you’ll get full more quickly and taste your food more, you’ll have an easier time losing weight. Another thing to remember is not to drink large amounts of water with meals. Sip your water instead of gulping it down; drinking too much water while eating can reduce the efficiency of your digestive processes.

When you are chewing properly you are also doing something good for your body in other ways besides activating your weight loss endeavors. When you chew your salivary glands are put into use. The saliva formed helps to conquer any bacteria that may harbor on your food.

Your saliva is also the first step in digesting your food. Your saliva has enzymes which begin the process of breaking down your food and helping your body to absorb the nutrients from your food. Chewing your food properly is a weight loss eating technique which is one of the more effective secrets to successful weight loss and achieving your ideal body weight and better health.

So. lets slow down and enjoy our food while losing weight.

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Fitness tip # 1 – Split it up

Instead of spending one hour to the gym, do six 10-minute workout sessions throughout the day. Try some slow stretches, leg crunches or lunges when you get up in the morning, during short breaks at work or while you are watching your favourite show at T.V.

Fitness tip # 2 – Walk yourself

Take a quick watch around the neighborhood before breakfast or after dinner. Even small increments of daily activity can burn body fat. Walking not only tones your hips, legs and lower back muscles, but also keeps you energized throughout the day.

Fitness tip # 3 – Do a jumping jack with skipping rope

Borrow a skipping rope and start jumping. You will be loosing as much as 70 to 110 calories in only 10 minutes.

Fitness tip # 4 – Drink a lot of water

Dehydration will hinder your aerobic performance, so no amount of working out is going to help if you are not drinking enough fluid. Water helps you burn calories and digest fat, and most importantly, it detoxifies you system.

Fitness tip # 5 – Fire the maid

Studies suggest that women today are more overweight and less fit that women in the 50’s. That’s because we depend more on electronic appliances then doing work ourselves. Simple daily chores burn a large amount of calories. In fact, vacuuming for an hour burns 90 calories, gardening will kill 150 calories and cooking can actually burn up to 160 calories!

Fitness tip # 6 – Get outdoors

In your leisure times, opt for activities that excite you. Go to the park, walk the dog, plan picnics or do something more adventurous like hiking, rock-climbing paddle boating or scuba diving.

Fitness tip # 7 – Work it off

Do some exercises at work too. Next time you find yourself picking up the phone to call a colleague, walk down to her office instead. Or if you are in the mood for a cup of coffee, go out and get it yourself.

Fitness tip # 8 – Become the delivery person

Forget internet shopping and ordering in. If you feel like grabbing a sandwich, walk to a nearest cafe instead of ordering on the phone. Similarly, if you need books or DVD’s, walk down to the store and get whatever you need.

Fitness tip # 9 – Hide the remote

Don’t be a channel-flicking couch potato. Ask someone to hide the remote so that whenever you need to use it, you’ll have to go dig it out. Better yet, if you are spending more then half an hour parked in front of T.V., use a treadmill or  stationary bike while you are at it.

Fitness tip # 10 – Use the stairs

If you are at work or at shopping mall, avoid taking the elevator. Opt for the stairs. Climbing up the stairs adds strength to your leg muscles and gives you a cardiovascular workout. Climbing down the stairs builds strength in the quadriceps and hamstrings. To burn over 200 calories at once, run up and down a flight of stairs as fast as you can. Two at a time if you are particularly brave. Do this everyday in five-minute sessions.

Fitness tip # 11 – Make it family time

Try to get your spouse and your kids to work out with you. Play catch or frisbee with your kids, make fake microphones and dance to some music, or even run alongside your children as they learn to ride a bike. In fact, a recent study in Canada suggests that if you are active, your children are 6-times more likely to be active too.

Fitness tip # 12 – Learn the alphabet

For flexible ankles, trace the alphabet with your toes. Do this with both feet, one after the other. This is something that can be done anywhere – while waiting for someone, working on your computer or lying down on the couch.

Fitness tip # 13 – Pick up the pace

Whatever you’re doing do it faster. So if you’re washing clothes, folding clothes, vacuuming the house or washing the car, speed it up just a notch. Just don’t try it when slicing vegetables!

Fitness tip # 14 – Meet up with friends while doing exercise

Instead of catching up over a cup of coffee, do it while playing tennis, taking aerobics lessons or learning salsa. Meet a couple of friends a few times a week and combine socializing with exercise.

Fitness tip # 15 – Tone your legs

If you spend a lot of time sitting and working, you can try some leg exercises. Stretch out your toes forward and out slowly, away from your body, till you begin to feel a slight tension. Hold your position like that for half a minute. You could also try tightening your buttocks, rolling your neck 20-times in each direction, extending your arms over your head as much as possible and stretching or flexing your feet and ankles.

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Hang clothing by category; jeans and casual pants, dress pants, skirts, suits, dresses, casual shirts, dress shirts and tops etc. Be sure to return each item to its appropriate section of the closet.

Hang or put away clothing shoes, jewelry, etc. while they are in your hand. You will save time and keep things more organized if you do not have to handle them twice. Check to see which items have to be washed and put them directly into the hamper. Designate one place in the house for items that have to go to the dry cleaner.

Use an over-the-door shoe bag to hold small items and accessories.

When you remove an item from the close, put the empty hanger at the end of the rod, not between the clothes. You will always have the proper hangers when you put clothes away and you will never have stray hangers that tangle between clothes.

Take out clothes with matching jewelry and accessories the night before you need them. If something needs ironing or has a loose button, you will have time to take care of it or change to something else.

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Use a marble or spiral notebook for medical notes. Record dates, health care providers’ contact information, visits, test results, phone calls, follow-up appointments, etc. List the person you saw or spoke to, when and what was discussed. Bring the notebook with you to your appointments.

In your notebook, write down any questions you want to ask at your next appointment and leave room for the answers.

Use a notebook that has one or two pockets for prescription, business cards, instrctions, etc.

At home, keep a file for all of your receipts for co-pays and explanation of benefits forms you receive from your insurance company. You may want to maintain a separate file for each health care provider and one for prescriptions. Another suggestion is to maintain the files chronologically. Either way, at the end of the year, store the year’s files together and start a new file for the following year.

Maintain a notebook and file for each member of the family.

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Ok; I want new window treatments for our little living room, large living room and bedroom but I don’t want something so basic, I want something unique, nice looking and easy to use and clean and also just maybe for small living room something with a bold prints… Am I asking too much?

When I was searching all over the internet I found this about window treatments and copying here…

Trends come and go in fashion, but that is common today is the tendency in the body to mimic the trend of fashion. Window treatments are striking a familiar chord color and picked the flavors of the details in the clothes to find, bold prints color combinations. In all, the window section some interesting clues, the greatest opportunities for homeowners at prices more than ever.

The new black

Far from dull brown, the newblack is brown. But this is not your grandmother’s brown, is rich, deep chocolate brown. Coupled with blue, teal, mint green, orange or apricot (it just sounds delicious), Brown returns to the scene the window so strong. Brown remembers the color of bark, and nature itself, which makes it a comfortable and relaxing color that has a strong presence, without arrogance, as it sometimes is black. Brown is friendly and it is to love a color that most of the men.

Code Nature

Another important issue in window treatments to continue the use of natural materials. This may vary from curtain rods bamboo shades, with Reed, fabric and bamboo products for the home. Bamboo fabrics are reflected in the clothing and furniture lines for home, like towels, blankets and towels. Wood elements are also shown in accessories and decorative items. To obtain an updated twist to window treatments, try a small board of hand-carved wooden beads.This may be all that is necessary for a window or panel topper make more power.

Bold and beautiful

Strong models with bright colors are another trend that window came into vogue. Under a model in bold in a college does not make much sense, though, because it makes the wrinkles disappear from the panel models in bold. To the best of bold, bright patterns are the tissues to be blind in the window openings. These look particularlydoing well in rooms with little ‘color or pattern, because the strength of the model is really open the window against the walls smooth. Or apply a pattern in bold or engaged in a frame – a supplementary treatment window, the return is back in vogue. Curtain rods can be a great stroke of color and texture, without a deluge. Coupled with simple dishes, a colored and bold imagination is the industry leader for adding zing to a window opaque.

Touch of Luxury

The plot is also an important  design trends in window fashions and fabrics are top of the line. Many are looking for privacy and old-fashion-drama film is in their home theater and velvet is the perfect choice. The opulence of rich velvet is hard to beat, with the exception of a fabric and the fabric is silk. Nothing says wealth like silk. Why? The cloth. Silk differently than any other tissue swims, and has a huge body without feeling heavy in the room.Higher, with the rich luster of silk and silk combination that is hard to beat. He also says that you’re a fan of quality, nothing is too good for your windows.

Affordable Windows

Applications window used to be hard to find and were very high, even for the so-called low-priced lines. But with the Internet and shopping online, now in velvet and silk window treatments are available to consumers at prices that are not financialHardness. Some good options for online luxury tents contains halfpriceddrapes.com or Crate and Barrel (crateandbarrel.com). The consumer is facing an increasing range of treatment options window and decisions. It ‘nice to know that these decisions including the price corresponds to the variety of styles of window treatment today.

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I know this is the case when you read the book before you watch the movie but I really think it couldn’t have been more, and with a better director I could even see Oscar in the future because with a story like this all you can go with is the actors and actors were good, especially Viggo Mortensen.

If you red the book I wouldn’t recommend you to watch it, if not watch it and I would like to hear your opinions. Anyway, that’s all I wanted to say.

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Just as I was sitting I heard a ripped cloth sound; yes my pants were ripped from the back. I had a sweater so I covered and went to the ladies room to see… Never in my life have I thought I would see anything like this..

This is God’s sign telling me to go on a diet and loose “a lot of” weight…

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Everything is where it’s supposed to be, no clutter, nothing out of place, junk mail goes to garbage can/recycle right away… Just perfect, I mean almost, because nothing is perfect…

Are you kidding me? Who can do this? With everyday life, taking care of kids, cooking, laundry, going to the office, appointments, shopping etc…Is there time to take care of the mess that seems to be adding up everyday?

But, there is a solution, at least there is help. Almost every magazine has a section about organizing or websites, or even companies about organizing your home, office, even you… You call them, they come and clean out your clutter.

But if you just want to do it yourself, then you need to read the tips. Fist start out small, don’t think about organizing the whole house, think about one little section of it, then move to the other section. Little by little you can do it, but if you think about a big project then you might get discouraged…

Being disorganized causes stress, money and time loss. So make a plan and start…

Now, I’m going to write what I learned (but not yet practiced) about organizing;

The Home Office

Keep a two-subject notebook (or a little address book for passwords) near your computer to record useful websites, passwords, customer account numbers, etc. Use the second section to make notes on phone calls; the company and the name of the person you spoke to, date of the call, the problem or issue you discussed and the person’s response, and any follow-up you can expect.

Sort mail as it arrives. Keep one section of your desk, table or counter for bills and other items that need attention. Designate a basket or box for magazines or other material that you can read at any time. Shred anything that contains and account number or personal information.

Store canceled checks alphabetically and start an new file for each year. If you have the option of having your bank store your checks electronically and not return them to you, take advantage of it.

Put a Post-It ote on a check half-way through your checkbook to remind you to order new checks.

Clip receipts from each charge card separately to make it easier to check your credit card statements.

File product warranties, manuals and receipts together. Create one file for each room or for similar products (e.g televisions, CD players, major appliances, etc.)

Write addresses and phone numbers in pencil in your address book. It will stay up-to-date without looking messy.

Buy a supply of greeting cards to have on hand; birthday, anniversary, get well, sympathy, and thank you. Keep a master list of family and friends’ birthdays and anniversaries and refer to it once a month. You might want to list those that fall in the first week of the month with the previous month so you have time to mail them.

Next time; Medical records and appointments

These ideas are taken from Organizing Concepts.

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