Safe Shopping Online

Been browsing shopping sites though I don't really have anything in my mind to buy but just looking for holiday gift ideas. Visited ebay for rocking chair, then wandered around for clothes that will fit me as my gifts for myself and came across these tips. I think it's very handy so I'm sharing it.

10 Tips for Shopping Online for Clothing

..for a safe and pleasant transaction

by Sarah Testa

As many women would say, shopping for clothes can be lots of fun! We’ve all had our doses of retail therapy in the past… and with the vast selection available online to us ladies, shopping for clothes on the Internet can be even more fun.

Shopping on the Internet however can be a tricky business, especially if we do not take our precautions and make sure everything is in order. One need not fear though! With a little care shopping online can be a breeze! This article will walk you through ten tips, which if followed correctly, should help make your online shopping experience a safe a satisfactory one!

1. Although shopping for clothes online is a fun experience, it might prove to be a little bit tricky at first because you cannot actually go into a changing room and try on the items before buying them! If you find yourself wanting to buy from a new store, one which you have never bought from before, you might be a little unsure about the size to choose.

Most reputable online fashion store do have size guidelines which you should definitely consult to help you choose the right size; however what I suggest doing is the following. When buying items online from a new store take it easy: buy one item first! Once the item arrives you would have an idea whether you have made the right choice, or maybe you need a smaller or larger size.
That one item will give you an idea of the sizing of the particular store, so after having ‘tested’ the sizing go ahead and buy more!

2. I like to describe the feeling I get of a website as the same feeling I get when I meet a new person. There is usually either good chemistry or otherwise. It’s really the same with website and online stores. What kind of feeling do you get of a website?

Does it look professionally done? Does the design and navigation make your online shopping experience easier… or is it terribly difficult to find what you’re looking for? Is there an ‘About Us’, or a ‘Company Info’ page? These elements usually give you a general feel for a website, and give you hints on whether to decide either to trust the website enough to purchase from it, or move on.

3. Whilst browsing around the website, look out for signs and logos which may indicate certificates of security and reliability which the website might hold. Common names to look out for are VeriSign and BBB.org (Better Business Bureau).

4. Before actually making the purchase take a note of the websites customer service email and/or telephone number. Making sure that you have somewhere to refer to queries to should you need to, before actually making the purchase, will help you put your mind at ease.

5. Check the store’s privacy policy and customer service page before making the purchase. It is important that you are aware of the store’s return policies, delivery charges and shipping times.

6. Make sure that you use a credit card when effecting purchases online and not a debit card! This is a vital practice which you must make use of. Debit cards don't have the same protection as credit cards when it comes to limiting your liability for fraudulent use. You can easily dispute a charge made on your credit card, however it can take a very long time for you to recover funds taken fraudulently from your debit card.

7. When you arrive at the check-out page, which is usually the page where you are asked to enter your details and payment information, check your browser’s address bar and look out for the extra ‘s’ after the usual ‘http’. For those of you who feel a little bit lost, your browser’s address bar is usually located towards the top of the screen and contains the address of the website you’re currently visiting. Have the website start off with ‘https://…’ means that the website you are on is secure.

8. Whilst checking out, after making sure ‘https://…’ is present on the address bar, look down towards the bottom right-hand corner of your browser and pack sure the padlock icon is present. This is an essential part of checking whether the website you are on is secure and encrypted! If the padlock icon is missing, stop the transaction right there and move on!

9. As soon as you complete you online transaction print out the page which usually shows up as confirmation of the order you have just placed. Besides being good for your record-keeping, this print out will contain important elements of your transaction (like order number and date) which you would possibly need to refer to in the future. If the page that shows up after your complete your transaction does not contain such information look out for a confirmation email which should arrive in your inbox shortly after you have completed the transaction, as such an email would usually contain the important information and details. Make sure you print a copy of the email and save it… do not hit the delete button!

10. Finally, ensure that the Internet browser you are using is kept up to date; check for and download the most recent version. If you carry out a lot of Internet browsing it is also a good idea to clean your computer with free online software that detects spyware; an efficient program which you can make use of is Spyware Doctor.

So there you have it! Ten short but essential tips which can help you make your online shopping experience a pleasant one.

Credits

Then, saw local sites that are affiliated to the payment site, so I reckon I would check it to see if my intented christmas gifts for MCJ and Baby Ian are available, and they are. Have to check the site thoroughly, though. I also made a bid on one item for Baby Ian.

I always had fun shopping, online or actually going to the shop. :)

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Trio

Mitch and Mich want to know what are the three things that I can't live without (apart from the basics, of course). Here they are girl:

A bottle of milk or my calcium supplement. I had backpains when I was pregnant, though it went away after giving birth, the pain came back and it intensifies, blame it to carrying a baby for most of the times especially if Baby Ian is being fussy. Also, after giving birth.. I always feel my bones have become weak that when I've seated for so long, I feel pain just to stand up and walk. It is more on the ankle. And most of all, calcium is essential to Baby Ian's growth and he can only get it from me. I should have enough for the both of us else, he'll get my calcium deposits in my bone.


I have a very long hair, past my waist line and it is important for me that it is smooth and shiny, otherwise I would have short hair then. Actually, it had been damaged by the dry winter weather that I have to use conditioner (and shampoo) that would repair the damage. This is the brand that I recently use. Inspired by Eva Longoria ad. lol. But so far so good, it was not a false advertising afterall.







I am short-sighted so I need a pair of glasses when going shopping, watching telly/movie, etc. (ignore the mobile phone and watch in the photo, it's an old one). I don't need them all the time but viewing from afar would be a waste of time without them.

credit

Anybody who wants to do this tag? Feel free to do it! :)

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I Blog Therefore I am!

Got this nice tag from Mich. Thanks, girl!

I started blogging without any reason why I should have to, no inspiration, nada. But eventually found out that my/our daily life is inspiration enough for me to keep going and share it to the blogosphere. Lately, it had become soo therapeutic and addictive that I would always keep in mind what should I write about or is something that I am doing is worth sharing. Recently, another reason came up why should I continue to blog, that is earning moolah! Indeed, it has become one of the most rewarding and fulfilling hobbies.

**Start Copy Here**

We have a voice;
We must be heard;
Therefore we blog;
Now spread the word!

This meme is based on a recent post that was conducted asking the question “Why do you Blog?” and the rewrite “Why do you Blog? - Reworked.”

The purpose of this meme is to tell our tales by spreading the reasons that we blog to as many sites as possible. We get to explain ourselves, direct traffic to our site and highlight our most important, most representative or most relevant post in an SEO favorable format. This will be a positive experience for everyone who wants to get involved. This will enable you to create a short advertisement for your site that will be spread across the blogesphere; a growing directory of blogs.

This is an open meme. You do not have to be tagged to join in. All you have to do is follow the rules. Please let me know when you have added your site by leaving a comment on “Complete List” with a link to your post. This will insure an up-to-date list, giving you even greater distribution. You then have the option of copying the growing list back to your site.

Rules:
1. Create an inventive post title.
2. Write a brief introduction to the meme.
3. Copy from “**Start Copy Here**” through “**End Copy Here**” .
4. Paste into your post.
5. At the end of the “*list*”, before “**End copy here**”, please add your name, site name (with link), a very brief description (2-3 sentences) of why you blog, and your most important, most representative, or most relevant post (with link.)
6. Tag at least 5 others to participate.
7. Leave a comment and a link to your post on “Complete List”

*List*
My name is Mel and I am the Author of Attitude, the Ultimate Power, aka Monday Morning Power. I blog because I am passionate about happiness and living in the moment. I want to spread the concept that we are in control of our own lives and can choose how we act and react. My site is focused on the Pursuit, Capture, Care and Feeding of a Positive Mental Attitude. One of my most representative posts is “Happiness Vs. Human Nature.”

I am Max and I offer weekly articles on MAX. Why do I blog? I do it because I want to share my thoughts with you guys. I present a new and interesting way of transmitting philosophical thoughts: funny, engaging and intriguing! My funniest, yet intriguing, post is "Don't you just love People?"

I am the Great and Powerful Baba Doodlius. My 100% factual blog The Thoughts and Sayings Of Baba Doodlius is intended to educate all of you curious readers about the Truth behind the Great Secrets of the Universe. I have the Truth! Can you handle the Truth? For a sample of my powers of enlightenment, read my Revelation of the terrible secret of Bigfoot, aka Don't get stepped on.

My name is Amelia and I am the Author of Amel's Realm. I blog because I need to voice everything in my world so that I won't explode. My site is all about thoughts, experiences, fears, problems, misadventures, hopes, and dreams of an introverted tropical girl in a foreign land (Finland). One of my most representative posts is On Trust and Relationship.

I am Geoff of Geoffandcarley.com and I blog for reasons as diverse and as fickle as my moods. Mostly I blog because I'm firmly convinced I've figured a few things out and that the world will benefit from my experience the same way I've benefited from others' experiences. One post that I feel captures my emotional involvement and my ire (but not my humor as much) is Decision time.

My name is Judy and I am the Author of ~~Sugar Queen's Dream~~. I blog because it's cheap therapy and I have something to say. I feel my most powerful post is called “The Myths of Smoking......”

My name is Sindi and I have written a blog entitled Life is a roller coaster!. My blog is based on the ups and downs of everyday life. I started blogging because I was going through some hard times and I wanted to meet new people to talk to. I like to write and was hoping people might enjoy reading what I have to say. I think the most inspiring post I have written to date is We Effect So Many.

People call me the Midgetmanofsteel (although I’m neither a midget, nor made of steel). I am the sole author the blog Mental Poo: a mostly true and humorous account of things that have happened to me, are happening to me, or are just filling my head and taking up valuable space where images of women should be. You can get a sneak peek into my mess of a brain by reading “Raisins are People” – a true account of my son’s first field trip. My name is Sandee and I have a blog called Comedy Plus. My blog is just for fun, and I started it to poke fun about everyday life. My reason for blogging is to have fun and meet new friends. I have done both beyond my wildest dreams. I have posted lots of jokes, but when ask what my favorite joke is, I always pick Anger Management.

My name is Lynda. I blog to as a way to expose my writings and to spread my knowledge on the subject of love. My primary blog (I have 15) is lynda's loft. My favorite piece would be I LOVE..... I have over 300 original poems and posts dealing with the wonderful and painful world of love. I love love!

My name is Adrian, although most of you probably know me as the Mighty Genie King. I am the author First Time Dad. I started blogging as a way to document my growing up pains as my wife and I raise our daughter. I hope that one day my daughter will be able to look at this and get an idea what life was like "back then". Now I blog about everything but the main focus is still the same! One of my favorite posts is Goodnight Sweetheart! Hello Basil! Eh...Who's Basil...

Hello, my name is Ann and I'm the author of A Nice Place in the Sun. I blog because I care about people and want to make them happy. My site is focused on humorous, inspiring, and nostalgic posts about life, children, and memories. My most representative post, or the post where I'm most myself is "The Craziest Experience Of My Life.

"We are a team of writers, and everyone calls us NAFA, so that would be our name. We are the proud authors of NAFASG©™ - United And Dedicated Behind You™. Blogging, to us, is a form of spreading useful information and sharing our knowledge to every part of the world in order to contribute to the betterment of our global community. The post that we feel would be representative of our blog and the global community at large is The Sociological Interaction.

Hola! This is Mariuca and I blog because writing is what makes me whole. I write about anything under the sun from life, love, friends to cats and work. I tend to write best when under pressure and my personal favourite post from Mariuca is Love in Disarray.

My name is Susan and I am the Owner of ~~Wake up America ~~, which is a political, right leaning blog. I blog because I believe we need more voices out there to separate fact from fiction, to support our troops and to high light the lack of ethics from journalists today. I feel my most powerful post is called "Are You Proud to be an American......"

"Here I am :-) My name is Mauro and I'm the author of 1 Million Love Messages ...That's my challenge! My favourite post it's (for sure) Adam Donkus & Lizzie's Love History.

"Hi there World I am Aussie, the author of Little Aussie Cynic and I want to BreatheThere is Always a Natural Way the latest edition to the Aussie Cynic Family...

I am Zubli Zainordin, in Total Happiness, I organize the Book Project blog and co-author Santa's Community Blog and Hall Of Fame Blog. I blog with the purpose of documenting about my self for my own reference, my future generations and friends who prefer to know me. I also share vital and valuable information entirely on total happiness. I believe in Santa Claus and I share the Spirit of Christmas within this Blog World. In addition I promote bloggers, their blogs, and invite them to share their blogging experiences, and together with Shinade, I review their blogs and award them with the Zubli and Shinade Recommended Read awards. Those who continuously show continuous blogging improvements shall be residence of the Hall Of Fame blog.

Hi! My name is Crystal, my middle name actually. I am the author of Choc Mint Girl. I started to blog because I need my own space to 'just write', but what I find here is quite inspiring and I am amazed at how many different bloggers with different approach ended up as great friends and inspire each other. It doesn’t matter what I blog about as long as the two parties find the connection in one another, that will be the best reason of why do I actually blog. I guess my most relevant post is my very first innocent post, Getting Started.

Hello world! My name is Lucel Juliana, you can call me Juliana. I author the blog, My World. I'm a newbie blogger and I'm so loving it. I blog because, I love to write and I want to document my life as a stay at home wife in my newfound home: New York. And if anyone out there tries to tell the story of my life, I prefer that it's going to be me. The one post I'm really passionate about is Cell Phone Hazard . I want to spread awareness about lurking dangers on cell phone use.


Hi! My name is Thira. I author the blog As The World Turns. I blog because I love and enjoy it. I used to write on journals before but blogging online is more fun. With blogging there are so many things one can do. You can write down your thoughts, experiences and interests. You can express how you feel, learn many things, share information and knowledge, meet new friends and a lot of interesting people. Like they said, there is a world of endless resources out there.

Eds here! The creator of " My Precious". =)I just started blogging this month of September 2007, as a newbie, I've discovered so much in blogging, that's why I really enjoyed it. In blogging, you can express yourself freely, you can sniff some very informative articles & issues, also you can see some updates of your friends, relatives or blogmates! I'm very happy I've started blogging, it gives some pleasure & satisfaction that I can't explain. Well, my most memorable post is my first post ever " how to start?"

My name is Mich and I'm the author of the blog, "Random Thoughts". Blogging has been part of my daily routine nowadays. I blog because I want to share some thoughts and experiences that we encounter as a family and me as a wife and Mom. I also enjoy the "company" of my blogger friends by going through their blogs everyday and reading their wonderful posts. One post that I love is one of my first few posts entitled "On Having a Baby" which explains how it feels to have a baby. Alex was a few months old then.

I'm Era of Permanence in Change. This space has become my diary of our life, though not really that complete. I blog inorder to share some thoughts and interesting stuff about me, my life as a wife and mother, our family life and the whereabouts of my son. Plus, I've gained friends. It has become a give and take cycle that I feel compelled to blog whenever I can. The post that is really worth sharing is Oh God! What can I do? It was a 84 quartet poem penned by my husband.

**End Copy Here**

I'm passing the ball to Dangkin, Mitch, Chi, Genny and Arlene.

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The Purple in Me!

What color is your personality? Your personality is purple! Highly unique, you're a true idealist. You're the most spiritual of all the colours. You're attracted to things like the occult, and metaphysical concepts. You have strong beliefs, but are incredibly passionate. Click Here to Take This Quiz

Quizzes and Personality Tests

Copied this from Dangkin. Thanks, girl!

Hummm, I like the result though I have more than two answers in each question, so this is not absolutely true! :)

Try it too!

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Moving, moving, moving

Baby Ian had had been a lazy "mover". For more or less two weeks now, he doesn't move regularly like he used to, every morning. These days, it would be one in five or four days. I was worried at first when he didn't move for two days. I then check my baby guide book to see if I can do something to help him. But nah! I just read that babies age three to four months decrease their frequency of moving but that doesn't mean that they're constipated. So I was relieved but sometimes it still concerns me because adult who doesnt move for more than two days would have a headache. I didn't see any sign of him being ill or affected by it. So maybe, it's just normal for him.

Anyway, if that happens to me, I would be really worried and I may seek medical help already. I'm a lazy "mover" myself but I don't go that long. Recently, I heard in the news what really is the purpose of our appendix and it is to store bacteria that help digestion. I have mine removed, so that might have been causing my moving problem, hence I am taking daily fiber supplement. You know, I'm scared that someday I might have hemorrhoids. :)

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The Search for a Wife

There is this latest show in telly that I am looking forward to watch on Wed night. It's a real dating program. It's not new but the scheme is something that's peculiar.



There is a shortage of women in the bush and there are more than enough in the city. The telly channel searched for farmers who want a wife. The profiles of the farmers were posted in the net and women sent applications. Each farmer would choose ten "applicants" and they're going to meet.



First meeting was a five minutes speed dating with each woman. It was their first time to meet. Some felt and look awkward... some were just into it that they easily fit in, I would say.

I think, I was more excited than the "applicants" and the farmers.

At the end of the first meeting, each farmer chose 5 among ten women for another date. This time it would be whereever the farmer wants to date. It was last night. One went for a cruise, one a tour of the vineyard, another dancing lesson, one lunch in a fine restaurant, one ice skating and another in a spa. At the end, the farmers chose two women that will stay at their farm for two weeks. I think, that's where the excitement and thrill would go to extreme. And I am really looking forward to it. Can't wait for next week.



Meet the farmers.:

Farmer Chris
Age 34, Tamworth, NSW
A shy, country gentleman
"You get a long way in life with a smile and a friend, someone who can laugh at themselves."

Farmer Craig
Age 27, West Wyalong, NSW
Dinky-di farmer
"I am looking for a girl that would be with me for the right reason; start a new life and then see where we would end up."

Farmer Drew
Age 32, Mudgee, NSW
Laid-back larrikin
"I have a cheeky nature... the lovable brat. There is never a dull moment in my life."

Farmer Gus
Age 32, Warren, NSW
Cool and confident
"I come from a close and happy family and firmly believe this has made me the happy confident person I am today."

Farmer Jon
Age 28, Deniliquin, NSW
Commitment '07 - bring it on!
"I hope to find a person with an easy going nature to share the good and bad times together."

Farmer Brad
Age 30, Swan Hill, VIC
A sensitive new-age farmer
"Really I'd like to settle down with a woman who's ready and wants to share her journey with me."

Credits

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Old and Happy or Otherwise?

As the human body ages, come the deterioration or degradation or depreciation. Sounds like financial assets, eh! :) Seriously, when you get older you got wrinkles, flabby thighs and arms, deeper laugh lines, receeding hair lines or hair loss, saggy breasts, and what-have-you's. Aging may make some look handsome, beautiful, matured and dignified but more often, they just simply make you look older and hey, some are not happy about it. So they succomb to the lure of cosmetic surgery which in this age and time, I think is the most profitable or bankable kind of medical profession. There is the botox, face lift, breast implant, lipo-suction, hair transplant, etc. These most certainly attract those who are well off and can afford the exorbitant cost of cosmetic surgery. Cosmetic surgery is a very remarkable development in science and medicine but doesn't always mean that the result would be good for the patients. I've seen in the news lately that cosmetic surgery can cause severe effect on ones appearance. Instead of making you look beautiful or younger, it can make looks otherwise. I reckon, it always pays-off to do some research before jumping into the wagon.

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