Duelin’ Deals Blog by Marlaine

We Wish You Joy in Life and the Happiness of Good Friends and Family!

Merry Christmas …
To our Mom, Raemonde, and Dad, Norm, in Australia!
We love you!
And…
A Very Joy Filled Year To Come To All!
¸.•´¸.•*´¨) ¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.••*¨Brad and Marlaine

Originally posted August 26th, 2007 · 10:38 pm

We have decided to start our own little store to help people find things to save money, time and energy in all aspects of their lives. I know, personally, that a meditation tape that is not pleasing will not help a person relax and that something may appeal to me but might irritate someone else. We will try to find great deals on many of the things that have helped us. If you are looking for something specific and can’t find it, drop us a line and we’ll try to locate it. As a writer, I love doing research.

There are only a few things on our list for the moment but we will be adding things as we find great deals! The meditation tapes by Susie Mantell and Brian Weiss are outstanding. Self-hypnosis is a great technique when you are trying to break a bad habit like smoking. Once you understand how to do it, you can apply it to any problem in your life. You can find soothing meditation tapes at Duelin’ Deals Emporiums!

Due to a big accident with our blog system, I lost the following posts from this blog. A huggggggggg and a hugggggggggggggge thanks to my Mother-In-Law, Raemonde, for saving those posts for me! It took me a while to find the pics again but here it is – as close to the originals as possible.

Originally posted May 17, 2007

Dogs, cats, birds, Hub and me! Everybody’s dropping hair, fur, or feathers!

Ahhhh Spring!

If a dog is about to drop a lot of fur, give them a bath. Since we all have shampoo and conditioner sitting around we don’t really like, squeeze just a bit of shampoo and a lot of conditioner into a bathtub of water and let your dog soak a while. 10 to 15 minutes is good. Be prepared to comb your dog out after the bath because this will make it drop and fast! Instead of day after day of “Buffalo Butt” tuffs of fur here and there, they drop their excess fur all at once. Dogs should only have a bath or two times a year because it dries out their skin so badly. I add more conditioner before the final rinse to help moisturize. Buy a cheap small to medium strainer that fits over the tub drain to catch the hair and bend back the handle for easy use. (Or watch for one in a rummage sale!)

I was going to suggest a dollar store for a strainer and that is a good place for a cheap one but…. a lot of items are more expensive in a dollar store than in an Aldi’s, Walmart or Walgreen’s. Know your prices! Every region and a lot of areas within a region have varying prices. We were driving out in the farm lands after we took Gypsy to the vet, and the gas prices were higher than in the city! Prices are based on what the market will bear and people in the country need gas because their destinations are farther. With no buses and high taxi charges, it’s buy the gas or stay home. When I lived out there, we planned our shopping trips around what we needed and what we might need in the coming month. In truth, I still do because it does save gas and wear ‘n tear on the car – AND US!

I have long natural blonde hair and the strands get all over. People shed, too. A bad illness or shock like a car accident or the death of a dear one can also make a person’s hair fall out at tremendous rates.

My tips for saving your hair are as follows:
I wash my hair only in the shower and brush my hair out while it has conditioner in it. Then I rinse it, leaving some conditioner in it. The right amount depends on your hair’s “tolerance” to oiliness. I have seen other sites that say you should never brush your hair when it’s wet but that is really the only way I brush it. I wet my brush – never use a comb – and gently brush through it, adding water as I go. If my hair has been a bit “dry”, I put a bit of conditioner in my hand and add water, smoothing my hair with my hands. My hair has never been in such good condition or as long as it is now. Wish I would have known about this when I was in high school and thought of my hair akin to the Wizard of Oz’s Scarecrow’s straw hair!

Encourage growth of hair with pure olive oil with ground rosemary in it, plus a bit of aloe juice from a real plant leaf. Massage into the scalp well about half an hour before a shower. The massage stimulates growth and the aloe heals a lot of things. (Use some real aloe juice on your face. Let dry and then rinse with water. Tightens the skin and helps get rid of impurities.)

Originally posted May 10, 2007
Hehehe – Love The Far Side cartoons – Thanks to Gary Larson! But no – Gyspy Noodles will not be getting spade any time in the future. She’s got a pedigree that most dogs (owner’s) would bite for.
Tip for the vet’s office: the receptionist at the vet’s office we go to told me it is cheaper to ask for an inoculation instead of a check up because the office call would be charged separately. The inoculation includes an office call and exam. Smiling…… save a few dollars but get the same care. Gypsy is going in for her rabies and heart worm check today.
I linked the Blufr to this blog today. I am the MMF on all MMFs – smiling. (Blufr is no longer in existence – dang it!)

Originally posted May 4, 2007
First of all, the list is nicely full, now. Not too much to buy or carry back into the house, even if my adorable Hub will be doing most of the carrying. We are also doing a loop to the post office and the library today. And stopping for a small can of gas for the lawn mower, last.
That’s a nice, well planned list of things to do. If things go as usual, that’s all we will do and we won’t have anything else interfering with our web work for the weekend. In fact, if all goes as usual, we will be getting only one or two extras that are on sale (that I somehow missed while looking at ad sheets). After the total without any discounts shown, I will hand over my discount card and coupons (already folded inside my written list), and I will smile with satisfaction when I see the much lower total.
One of the best ways to save money is to plan ahead. Notice, I didn’t say save time. That is built into the steps of the loop in this pre-planning. If you plan ahead, stick to your list and coupons, and keep a limit of one or two impulse products popping into the cart, you will still walk away knowing you saved 20 to 50% on your bill.
Another way to save is to take the extra few minutes of standing in line for – sigh – RAIN CHECKS! Believe me, I am the last one to want to stand in line after doing all my shopping but it is so worth it! When you ask for your rain check, ask for more than one when the product is an unlimited one. I asked for a second for ground chuck hamburger when it was out of stock. I am not really sure, but the ground chuck seems – ummmm – redder, when it’s not on sale, and, it’s regular price seems to be higher than the pre-sale-off price when it is on sale.
I’ve often noticed a lowering of the regular price when the mailed out ads are in effect. So, while a certain product is on a sale suggested by the head office, for some reason, the regular price gets lowered. (I have a few ideas why but no confirmation) Then, even without a coupon, many coupon items are on a reduced price. Just keep notes, either on paper, in your head, or in the comp, and check out prices on sale goods a couple weeks later to see if your store has this trend and on what type of products.
I try to wait to buy basics until there’s a sale, then stock up enough to last about 3 or 4 weeks. The things that go on sale tend to cycle in about a month and go on sale again. I suspect every store has it’s own key sale items, so again, watch your store’s trends.
Ok – gotta go now. Things to do, lists to check – yup, t-paper is on the list … and the ad sheet.
Smiling……