Because Mom Said So

The Hotel Room Key–What You NEED to know!

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 20:44:30 +0000

Well, summer is here and you are all undoubtedly going to be taking your vacations soon. Here is something you NEED to know that you probably are not even aware of. Your Magnetic Hotel Room Key Card can be used to gain access to all of your valuable personal information!! Did you know what is on your magnetic key card?

Answer:
A. Customer’s name
B. Customer’s partial home address
C. Hotel room number
D. Check-in date and out dates
E. Customer’s credit card number and expiration date!

When you turn them in to the front desk your personal information is there for any employee to access by simply scanning the card in the hotel scanner.. An employee can take a hand full of cards home and using a scanning device, access the information onto a laptop computer and go shopping at your expense.

Simply put, hotels do not erase the information on these cards until an employee reissues the card to the next hotel guest. At that time, the new guest’s information is electronically ‘overwritten’ on the card and the previous guest’s information is erased in the overwriting process.

But until the card is rewritten for the next guest, it usually is kept in a drawer at the front desk with YOUR INFORMATION ON IT!

What you should do: Keep the cards, take them home with you, or destroy them. NEVER leave them behind in the room or room wastebasket, and NEVER turn them into the front desk when you check out of a room. They will not charge you for the card (it’s illegal) and you’ll be sure you are not leaving a lot of valuable personal information on it that could be easily lifted off with any simple scanning device card reader.

For the same reason, if you arrive at the airport and discover you still have the card key in your pocket, do not toss it in an airport trash basket. Take it home and destroy it by cutting it up, especially through the electronic information strip!

If you have a small magnet, pass it across the magnetic strip several times. Then try it in the door, it will not work. It erases everything on the card.

Information courtesy of: Metropolitan Police Service.

PLEASE FORWARD to friends and family

The Little Things that Matter…This was sent to me and I had to share it

Wed, 26 May 2010 22:10:50 +0000

The ‘ L I T T L E ‘ Things~

As you might remember, the head of a company survived
9/11 because his son started kindergarten.

Another fellow was alive because it was
His turn to bring donuts.

One woman was late because her
Alarm clock didn’t go off in time.

One was late because of being stuck on the NJ Turnpike
Because of an auto accident.

One of them
Missed his bus.

One spilled food on her clothes and had to take
Time to change.

One’s
Car wouldn’t start.

One couldn’t
Get a taxi.

The one that struck me was the man
Who put on a new pair of shoes that morning,
Took the various means to get to work
But before he got there, he developed
a blister on his foot.

He stopped at a drugstore to buy a Band-Aid.
That is why he is alive today..

Now when I am
Stuck in traffic ,
Miss an elevator,
Turn back to answer a ringing telephone …
All the little things that annoy me.
I think to myself,
This is exactly where
God wants me to be
At this very moment..

Next time your morning seems to be
Going wrong ,

You can’t seem to find the car keys,
You hit every traffic light,
Don’t get mad or frustrated;
It May be just that
God is at work watching over you.

May God continue to bless you
With all those annoying little things
And may you remember their possible purpose.

Pass this on to someone else, if you’d like.
There is NO LUCK attached.
If you delete this, it’s okay:
God’s Love Is Not Dependent On E-Mail!!

(that’s the cool part)

A M E N

Garagesalestracker.com Makes Yard Sale Hopping Easy! Review and IPHONE GIVEAWAY!

Fri, 21 May 2010 22:01:32 +0000

GARAGESALESTRACKER.COM is about to make your weekend yard sale hopping A great deal easier.

Are you an avid garage sale seeker? My grandfather was the absolute biggest garage sale enthusiast! As a child I would be driving with him in his beat up old car (God Bless that car for holding together and getting us all where we needed to go for many years) and he would spot a garage sale or a yard sale and come to a screeching halt! He just had to stop. As a kid I would groan about having to stop for them, but today, I must admit that I stop for them too. Oh Pop how proud you must be! What can I say, I come from a family of thrifty people. My dad and mom go to the flea market and yard sale hopping EVERY WEEKEND–Sweltering sun, rain, even snow does not keep them from browsing the flea markets and yard sales. The trick is of course FINDING THE GARAGE SALES in the first place. No one really wants to drive through neighborhood after neighborhood looking for a chance encounter with a great sale right? Sure there are days when a good joy ride is nice, but I can’t imagine doing it very often anymore with the price of gas the way it is now. The local papers are a good source for finding the sales in advance, but the papers charge the families so much for so little text that you really don’t get much information on what exactly will be put out for sale. There is usually just the vague wording: Yard Sale, old and new stuff plus an address. Perhaps you are looking for baby gear or antique trains–Does the local paper list what is for sale? Probably not. There is also that issue of a vague address. The address will be written, but will you actually be able to find it? While the local paper is a good resource, I found a much better resource: Garagesalestracker.com

This is why I love garagesalestracker.com:

IT’S FREE and IT’S EASY TO USE the site!
You can Find garage sales using either the search or browse sales tools.
You can filter your results by using the “Items for sale” tool to find yard sales selling exactly what you want.
The site offers embedded driving directions. It is so great that driving directions to the garage sale are provided on the site.
Automated driving directions. Create an account and get automated routing instructions to all garage sales.
The site offers a contact the seller option. Should you have a question about an item on a garage sale listing you can call the seller or use the contact form at the bottom of each listing to contact the seller via email.
You can find Yard/Garage Sales in specific zip codes and within a specific amount of miles from any given zip code.
The site offers the option to find Consignment Shops in your area

Not only is Garagesalestracker.com a great way to find local sales, it is also a fantastic site for listing your own garage or yard Sale. Listing with Garagsaletrackers.com is cheaper than using the local newspaper and it provides you with better service and better results. Take a look at all of the benefits there are in listing with them:

They offer a longer listing duration. You can get up to two months exposure for your garage sale. List for a short amount of time or for up to two months! Leaving your listing up longer means more potential buyers.

Add images to your listing for FREE.

Increased visibility for your yard sale

Unlimited word count. There is NO LIMIT on the number of words you can use to describe items in your yard sale.

Garagesalestracker.com offers a Rain out guarantee. If it rains on the day you are having your yard sale you can change your sale date at NO ADDITIONAL CHARGE.

Garagesalestracker.com also offers an extensive coupon section, a flea market locator and a great blog that gives great yard sale/garage sales tips such as how to negotiate pricing and what types of things you may not have ever thought of picking up at garage sales that you might want to keep an eye out for.

If you are an avid garage sale person (whether you are one who holds them or shops them)I strongly suggest you visit Garagesalestracker.com and compare them to your usual method of finding and/or listing garage sales.

NOW FOR THE GREAT NEWS!

GarageSaleTracker.com is giving away 2 Iphones to their fans. It’s a great prize and the iphone giveaway is easy to enter; all the details are here: http://www.garagesalestracker.com/iPhone-garage-sale.asp All you need to do is sign up for garage sales tracker and you either follow them and tweet about the giveaway or you fan their facebook page and thats it; from there you’re entered and you have a chance to win. The iphone app allows users to find all local yard sales flea markets and consignment shops with google maps for directions as well as sale details time and date. You can find a specific item at a sale as well a set up a daily route plan to go to the sales you want to attend.

So what are you waiting for? Go Fan them on Facebook and try to win that IPHONE and the app!

Please note that BecauseMomSaidso.com is not sponsoring the giveaway —comments left here will not be counted toward a giveway entry–you must follow the directions above to be entered. It wouldn’t hurt to tell the guys that you found out about their site thru Becausemomsaidso.com though! =) Good luck and happy Garage Sale Hopping!

Can You Tell I live in New York City?

Tue, 11 May 2010 22:24:33 +0000

I went into my local pizzeria the other day and ordered a few slices to go.

“NAME?” the guy asked.

”Cheryl”, I answered.

He picked the slices up by hand and tossed them into the open stove. Nothing new there (atleast around here anyway). He gives me the total and takes the money and then hands me my box and says: “Have a good day, the extra anchovies are no charge” and winked at me. I laughed and said: “You are too good to me”. Here is the cool part-Take a look at the box:

Does the even say Cheryl? lol Gotta love these kids!

How to make money from home with a blog

Sat, 24 Apr 2010 04:06:09 +0000

I was recently asked by a fellow blogger How I make money with my blog. I actually get asked this question often so I figured I would add a post about it. Becausemomsaidso.com has sponsors that run ads on the sidebars of the site. These sponsors either contact me directly or are placed on my blog through ad. companies like Google and clicksor, and adbrite. It is very easy to attach the code to any blog or website and you earn money when people visit your site and the ads make impressions. I thought it would be appreciated if I give each of you the links to the various companies I signed up with that run ads on Becausemomsaidso.com. To get your own ads for your site just Click on any of the links below to go to their site and sign up for your own account and start running ads on your own blog or website to make money with your writing.



The Total Transformation Program Lesson 2 review
Sun, 11 Apr 2010 21:22:17 +0000
Today I am continuing my introduction to James Lehman’s The Total Transformation program. 
In lesson two of James Lehman’s The Total Transformation, James Lehman  discusses the various “well-meaning yet ineffective roles” that parents play that do not promote responsibility, accountability or change.  He also discusses what children learn from these ineffective parenting roles and how these roles actually contribute to their obnoxious and or abusive behavior.  Finally he teaches new strategies to use in order to reduce the ineffective roles. 
     How many times have you heard someone say:  “Oh it’s just a phase, he’ll grow out of it”?  I know I have heard it a bunch of times, and to be honest have even said it myself.  I suppose we all hope that our kids will indeed outgrow these phases of poor behavior, but let’s really think about what we are saying when we say they will outgrow the behavior.  We are actually leaving the kid to handle his/her own behavior.  We are refusing to help them make a positive change in themselves just because we think (or maybe a better word is hope) that they will work it out for themselves.  The truth is, though, that our kids need our help to overcome these challenging stages in life.  It is our job to help them learn how to overcome their frustrations, and to accept their responsiblities.  When we say that they will outgrow the poor behavior, we aren’t helping them to find strategies to deal with what is causing the poor behavior in the first place.   The roles we play in their development will determine how well or how poorly they face each new challenge and or frustration that comes in their path as they grow.  If I sit back and say:  Oh, my son is in his terrible 4’s–and just allow him to throw tantrums I am not providing him with tools he needs now or will need in the future to handle his own emotions.  I can’t hope that he will just learn how to settle himself down and allow him to scream his head off-It just isn’t good parenting, but I certainly can’t give in to the tantrum and buy him or give him what it is he is screaming for either can I?  No of course not, it’s easier and less embarrassing to give in but it isn’t going to prevent it from happening again.  So what is a parent to do then?  Well, James Lehman would offer this advice:  Re-evaluate the messages you are sending to your children and then change your behavior and reactions accordingly.  Chapter 2 of The Total Transformation Program gives various examples of inappropriate messages we may be sending our kids without our even realizing it!   I just love this chapter! 
Here are a few of the “poor parenting roles” parents portray that are ineffective and actually cause negative behavior in children.
1.”Bottomless Pockets”   OH how we all know someone like this (if we aren’t this way ourselves).  This is when a parent over indulges a child materially to stop the child from having a tantrum or to get them to act the way we would like them to act.  According James Lehman this sends some very wrong messages.  Buying a child excessive presents for no reason, or simply to prevent a melt down in the grocery store or your local Target is a BIG NO NO!  Here is why:
A- It only stalls the bad behavior.  After you buy that item, the behavior is going to continue, and unfortunately it will become a habit because your child learns that if I continue to scream and make demands on mom and dad, I will get what I want and get it EVERY SINGLE TIME.
B- It gives children a sense of entitlement.  The child begins to think that we, as parents, must buy them something.  We owe it to them. 
C-It gives them the message that they don’t have to earn rewards or positive reinforcement.  They begin to say:  Why should I be good and act properly when I get what I want without acting appropriately. 
D-It teaches children that they don’t have to work for something which is, as we very well know, it not the reality of life.  When they grow up they will have a very hard time adjusting in the real world, at school,  at work, in a relationship. 
E-It teaches them to measure others by WHAT CAN YOU GIVE ME or WHAT CAN YOU DO FOR ME?  They learn the power of manipulation very early.
F- The child fails to find the value in earning something and working for something and to find a feeling of true accomplishment.
So what do you do?  Stop being a bottomless parent.
Before you head out to that store you tell the children:  We are going to the store.  This is my list of things I need to get.  We can not buy anything that is not on this list.  Stick to your list.  Even if you remember that you  need something when you get there DON’T stray from your list.  If you break the rule for yourself the little one can pull the old “But you bought one thing not on the list, why can’t I have the coloring book” . 
If they pull a tantrum –React calmly and say the behavior is not going to earn them the item they seek.  Pretend you don’t hear it if you must.  Leave your entire cart in the aisle and walk out of the store if it gets bad BUT DO NOT BUY THEM THAT ITEM!  Yes it is embarrassing and everyone will be staring, and of course it is stressful but eventually the message will sink in.  I have done it.  I had my oldest yelling and screaming for something and I told him that he was not behaved well enough with his brother to earn it so there would be no reward at the store.  Oh the embarrassment I felt with him acting up so badly earlier and boy was I ready to lose it in the mall,  but I was THAT ANGRY that I said ENOUGH!  I walked both little butts through the very long mall with him saying I hate you the whole time.  Then as we got to the exit door came the real crying:  I don’t want to go home!!!!   Out the door we went and home we drove.  Hard day for sure but I have to say that it worked.  The two of them know that they need to earn a reward.  Trips to the store and mall are definitely less chaotic now.  Not perfect of course, but they are a lot better. 
Another suggestion is to set up a rewards chart for each child.  Give children a chance to earn a special reward.  I found this worked well with my little one.  I give him stickers for each day that he doesn’t lose his temper and then after two weeks of stickers I let him pick something out from the local dollar store.  He acts as if I bought him an expensive toy; he is so excited and so proud of himself when he gets to go to the dollar store especially for his reward.  I highly recommend this method very highly.  
Next week I will discuss another bad role model technique.  Until then, be strong mom and dad! You can get control of your child –It just takes committment and hard work.
I am hanging in here too.  =)
For those of you who want to win The Total Transformation Program I am still giving away a copy of the program to a reader/fan.  I have decided to do this giveaway a little differently –I am going to pick a random winner from the fans on facebook!  I will be choosing a winner on May 8th so be sure to become a fan of because mom said so on Facebook right away!  The winner will be notified by email on May 8th via Facebook. 
Good luck!



Create a Room Outdoors with Traditional Home’s $26,000 Giveaway!
Sat, 27 Mar 2010 12:08:05 +0000

  I receive Traditional Home Magazine in my mailbox and love to browse the pages for ideas to spruce up my home, and garden.  Traditional Home is offering this great giveaway just in time for Spring and Summer!  Enter for your chance to win a $26,000 “outdoor room” which would include a sunbrella Awning and so much more!  I entered this morning =)    You can enter once a day too!  Good luck.  To enter go here:  Traditional Home



Win a Birthday Bash Gift Bag
Sat, 27 Mar 2010 11:37:08 +0000

Found a nice giveaway while surfing the web today.  You can enter to win this great celebrity Birthday Gift bag in honor of Niecy Nash once each day.  To enter to win it go here: Birthday Bash Giveaway



The Sun Is Out!  Time to Bust out the Spring Clothes and Buy Crocs!
Tue, 23 Mar 2010 02:36:04 +0000
Okay Moms, Dads and everyone else- The SUN has peaked its head out after our nasty NorEaster here in New York and I think it is safe to say the SPRING IS JUST AROUND MY CORNER!!!  I also know that Spring is around the corner because our friends at CROCS is offering up the greatest sales on the winter shoes and boots and promoting their spring line!  YEE HAW!  Who is Excited?   lol
Check out these sale prices and great items and click on any of the links below to go straight to crocs to see EVERYTHING THAT IS ON SALE!!! 
Great new promos are available at Crocs.com!  We have 12 great new products with steep discounts (see below) as well as 

Buy One, Get One on Jibbitz and FREE SHIPPING sitewide through March 31st!!
Buy One, Get One on Jibbitz promo code: JIBBITZBOGO
 Deeply Discounted products:
Prepair Clog from Crocs reduced from $39.99 to $19.99 with code PREPAIRCLOG1999

Prima from Crocs reduced from $24.99 to $9.99 with code PRIMA999  Shown Below

Malindi from Crocs reduced from $29.99 to $29.99 with code MALINDI1999


Electro from Crocs reduced from $29.99 to $19.99 with code ELECTRO1999

Kids’ Baya from Crocs reduced from $24.99 to $14.99 with code KBAYA1499


Captiva from Crocs reduced from $34.99 to $14.99 with code CAPTIVA1499

Wake from Crocs reduced from $29.99 to $14.99 with code WAKE1499

Scorpion from Crocs reduced from $40 to $19.99 with code SCORPION1999

Manhattan from Crocs reduced from $26 to $17.99 with code MANHATTAN1799

Patricia from Crocs reduced from $39.99 to $19.99 with code PATRICIA1999
Also Cute and Priced to sell:
19.99 (were $40)   
Now $20!  (Were $34.99)
Love em all! 
All are available now from my affiliate- CROCS 
Happy Spring Shopping!



A Woman’s Duty to Her Husband  (circa 1960’s in the UK)
Fri, 12 Mar 2010 23:48:39 +0000

What are your thoughts ladies and gentlemen?  I’d love to know.