Enjoyed talking with stations across the country about pulling off Halloween on a budget. This weekend, we walked the talk and got together with friends + neighbors for pumpkin carving. Here's some of the information on sites referenced in the TV segments on stations, including 9NEWS.Com (NBC-Denver) & FOX-Detroit + photos from our personal shindig (an attempt at applying some of the tips!) A few people took home their seeds .... When looked at the overnight AOL Hot Search list, sure enough ... it's happening all over the country .... there's a surge in demand for what to do with pumpkin seeds ... The term landed in the #8 slot. You can even ROAST THEM.

Decorating on a Dime: www.ShelterPop.com Some neat inspiration here & pretty darn doable.

Here's what we dreamt up at our own home (pumpkins bought in bulk); "achievement" trophies from K2; & tents with LED Christmas lights from Sears. The nice guy from Sears who helped me with the purchase, explained the LED Energy Saver lights cost more, but are brighter. He was right. They really did the trick + love the look.

RELATED POST: PUMPKIN CARVING PARTY

MORE "AS SEEN ON TV"

Should I unplug things? savings-experiment That question and others answered here. They break down the eye-opening math. A lot of practical takeaways.

HOT Hampsters!: Where to Find Them. You can't make it up!

.

My kids are already asking when our annual Halloween Pumpkin Carving Party is going to be ... If you are hosting a Halloween-themed get-together, we'll point you to online resources, starting with invitations ...

Here's some of my favorite Halloween and Pumpkin Carving invitation designs from www.FineStationery.com, a site I always have great luck with .... RELATED POST: Pumpkin Carving Party. This year, we're going with Shutterfly ... See: Halloween Cards & Invites.

We're talking about online resources for buying a car on TV & Radio stations across the country this week. Had privilege of sitting down with the folks on frontlines of the AOL Autos team. They've done some impressive work. The end-result is thoughtfully simplistic (which means the site is loaded with information, but is intuitive to use). A winning equation for successful consumer websites. Here are some background notes based on our conversation with them. Hope helpful. More to come on-air:)

• Should we really log on before we hit the lot and in these tough economic time how do we really make it work to our advantage?

• With automakers filing for bankruptcy and closing local dealers en masse, it is time take advantage of the autos market. AOL Autos, autos.aol.com, is a great place to start for free car information for new and used cars, as well as tips and news.

• People are conducting extensive car research online before they buy. This puts them in the driver seat by giving them the information they need to make smart car buying decisions.

• Those looking at buying a new car can compare the features, prices, incentives and total ownership costs to find the best deals before heading out the door. The site has car buying guides focused on:

• Alternative fuel vehicles

• Crossovers

• Best family cars

• Luxury vehicles

• Sedans

• SUVs

• You can also use their car compare feature http://autos.aol.com/cars-compare
  • Choose between two and five cars to see how they compare on price, features, and performance

  • The differences between the cars you are comparing are highlighted

  • Compare cost to own a selected car with other similar vehicles

• Many consumers are considering used cars due to the current economy, so you can go online and compare cars in your area to make informed choices. AOL Autos Used Cars: Car buying maps and graphs :
  • Search for used cars by zip code: Search results give you location of the car, the cost and it's mileage. See: http://autos.aol.com/used-list/make1-Acura/location-20148/map

  • You can input your address and get driving directions to the car(s) you selected to go see

  • Shows you car prices in your area graphed by price vs. mileage so you can find the best deals. See: http://autos.aol.com/used-list/make1-Acura/location-20148/prices

• Work and even - GRAPH - the used car market - all 3 million of them!

• Don't overlook new - promos highly incentive; very dynamic Run the numbers - look at MSRB vs invoice. Aim to come in on or under.

• E-Haggle - Talk it "type" them down in advance. Win/win - you negotiate anonymously in advance/dealer gets qualified lead.

• Think ahead - use cost of ownership calculator to level-set on "real" 3 year + cost including depreciation (hello! First year will make u cringe), estimated maintenance (not all vehicles historically hold up well).

RELATED POSTS ****** CLICK HERE

This blog post is part-of a series of posts related to a segment on The View re: the SECRET LIVES OF TECH-CONNECTED TEENS. Today's teens really are the first group to grow up online. The average 15 year old has never lived a day without a computer in their home or classroom. That's unprecedented & it makes technology instinctive for young people in a way it never will be for adults. Some refer to today's youth as the digital natives – those who have always had technology as a part of their lives.

Many teens seemingly have iPod earbuds in their ears around the clock, they covet their laptop if they're lucky enough to have one and they practically consider their cellphone an extension of their body. But what are they doing will all that stuff? And with technology such a huge part of teens' lives, how can parents keep track of what content kids are viewing when they go online; what they're texting back and forth on their cellphones and who they're communicating with? It's no easy task.

Today's blog post focuses on teens and social-networking sites and include tips for parents to help them stay in the game and keep their kids safe on these sites.

Teens & Social-Networking Sites
Social networking has become a huge part of our culture. Web sites like Facebook, MySpace, Bebo & AimProfiles have become a common trend among teens. Social-networking sites are a social way to express yourself. If you really want to get to know your child, take a look at their page. To be fair, consider giving them 24 hours notice, so they can make any "adjustments" they'd like to make.

Stress to your teen the importance of making sure they keep the page "private" (accessible only by friends or family they've "rostered in") & keep a close eye on the pages of their friends. As teens explore their identities, a lot of the photos they post online can be very suggestive. If you really want to get in the game, sign yourself up for Facebook, Bebo or MySpace. You may get a little push-back initially (i.e. OMG my mom's on Facebook!"), but they'll play it cool if you don't overplay your hand.

Your teen's online reputation should be
considered their credit score for the 21st century.

Talk to Your Teen About Their Online Reputation
Here's where this is likely to evolve and why it's important for your teenagers to understand these sites are essentially personal marketing ... everything communicates & ultimately what you project becomes your "online reputation." Having a really well put-together, thoughtful page can send all the right messages to a potential college admissions officer or employer. But, it can also backfire. Think of your online reputation as a credit score for the 21st century. This can help teens guard against some of the common pitfalls:

* Being too risque.
* Suggestive (even incriminating) photos that can easily be circulated among classmates.
* Spending an inordinate amount of time updating page (disruptive to other responsibilities).
* Winning the online popularity contest at all costs.

And keep in mind, pre-teens want to do what teens do. Social-networking is intended for ages 13 and up, because younger children don't have the judgement to make appropriate decisions on these sites. There are some sites emerging for younger kids, but expect to get hounded when your child hits ages 11-12, that "everyone" is doing it. Hold firm. The age restriction is their for a reason.

Another reason to be involved in your teens online lives is to protect them from becoming victims of "internet-stalking" or online predators. Remember, anything personal information posted online makes it that much easier for someone to be tracked down offline.

Red Flags for Teen Profiles
1. Posting personal information: Address, home town, dorm #, full name, cell phone number, school name. Putting anything online that makes you findable in the offline world is a big no-no.

2. "Giving away" their location: Posting pictures of themselves in front of their school sign, in front of the license plate on their car or the place where they work, could lead someone to them.

3. Talking to strangers: Kids may like the idea of meeting new people online, but that cute 14 year old might not be so cute and might not be 14. Predators can easily hide behind a fake picture and profile to gain the trust of a child, later attempting to arrange an in person meeting.

4. Saucy Screen Names & Provocative Pics: Screen names shouldn't include provocative language ("cutie," "hot" and the like) that draws the wrong sort of attention. As for pictures, if you wouldn't post it on a highway billboard, don't put it on MySpace.

5. The Three P's: Teens shouldn't post anything they wouldn't want parents, their principal or predators to know or to see.

Tips for Parents
1. Know the motivation: Ask your kids why they're doing this in first place. To meet new people? Express themselves? To be cool on campus? Teens say MySpace is so mainstream, there's pressure for them to have a profile on the site or they risk not being part of the "in" crowd.

2. Look at their page: Tell them you want to see their profile page (for the first time) ... tomorrow. This gives them 24 hours to remove anything that isn't appropriate and keeps it from becoming a "gotcha" moment. It that approach doesn't work, you can search for them on the sites – by name e-mail address or their school. You may be surprised how much you learn both good and bad.

3. Private vs. public – know the difference: Most social-networking sites make it possible for users to make their page "private," so they can roster in their friends or classmates vs. allowing any registered user to view their page and contact them.

4. Float the worst case scenario: We've all heard the stories about in-person meetings going bad. The simple fact is, people can "be" anyone they choose to be online. Just because they posted or sent you a picture, does not mean it is THEIR picture. Make sure your young person is aware of the headline stories.

5. Use Parental Controls: Take advantage Parental Controls and online timers offered by your ISP. Some parents worry about invading their child's privacy with blocking or monitoring software or by reading their Web diaries. Sites like MySpace are a privilege; a computer is a privilege. A parent needs to be a parent and that may mean using monitoring software.

6. Don't over-react: These sites are enormously popular and it's unlikely they'll disappear anytime soon. The key is for adults not to panic and force kids to hide their online activity, at which point no one can monitor them.

I spoke with a lot of teen and pre-teen parents in preparation for this segment & must say, am really impressed (and inspired) by how genuinely interested parents are in staying on top of tech trends as they relate to their children. They instinctively seem to know being on top of their teen's online life and helping them mature with and through it, is a critical part of modern day parenting. Parenting remains the tricky part. The tech-piece just accelerates things. The good news is the more you know about the overall trends and the better feel you can get for your teen's tech style, the more you'll be able to apply the same parenting instincts you use when it comes to everything from dating to driving.

For additional tips and information on everything from social-networking safety to tips on dealing with Cyber-Bullying, log on to www.safetyclicks.com.

Tomorrow, we'll continue this series of blog posts along these lines by taking a closer look at teens and texting – and an alarming new trend emerging that's being referred to as "sexting."

Related post: Teen Tech Trends: Parents are on it!

Granted, the timing may be opportune as it appears there's an inverse relationship between the economy and online dating sites. A growing number of the estimated 92 million singles in the U.S. are turning to online dating sites to hunt for dates. Many are cutting back on big nights out and instead choosing to spend more time at home on the Internet surfing through profiles, which can take tons of time. As reported in the Washington Post, Match.com saw it's biggest one-month jump in seven years!

The L.A. Times reports eHarmony.com registrations is seeing signficant increases. And, get this, eHarmony and Match.com reported especially high traffic on days when the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted. Apparently, cold weather is also a factor. Both sites can be accessed via AOL Personals.

Related: Online dating do's & don'ts.

WEB SURFERS SEARCH FOR SIGNS OF SPRING ONLINE:
Spring Break Travel Deals, Bathing Suit Season Shape-up, Tips for "Going Green," Fixing-up the House & Managing March Madness Bracketology.

Regina has pinpointed some of spring's most searched for topics to help consumers shake off the cold of winter and put them in the know for shaping-up, fixing-up, saving money and being ahead of the curve for the season's latest and hottest fads and interests.

SPRING BREAK TRAVEL: How can you really be sure you're getting the best price? What happens if the price drops AFTER you click to buy? Good news ... You could be eligible for the new lower fare. We'll show you how to get the credit you deserve and new cyber-savvy ways to use airline miles. Plus, this year, over 250,000 college students will go on Spring Break, and an unprecedented number of webcams will follow the action (for better or worse!). Expect to see the unexpected. We'll show you why & where your teen might think twice about striking the wrong – or even incriminating - pose in this tell-all, social networking age. www.Gadling.com

DIET DIARY: Start a Diet Diary: The multi-billion dollar diet industry isn't exactly known for FREE resources, but one of the most effective things you can do just launched online at ZERO cost. It's a diet diary to plan and track your food & nutrition in-take, plot and record your exercise regime and track your progress. According to the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, a recently study indicated people who keep a food diary realize TWICE the weight loss of those who rely solely on dieting and exercise. The newly available tool generates printable graphs & spreadsheets, so you can really see how your diet stacks up against recommended guidelines for the goals you're trying to reach. If you're off-course, it shows up in the reports before it shows up on your waistline! http://www.aolhealth.com/food-diary

MARCH MADNESS: Online bracket challenges are in full force. Regina has tips and sites to help make sure you're Final Four picks are a slam dunk. This year there'll also be hours & hours of basketball coverage online and it may look better than ever with improved video streams comparable to high-def TV. It's one of the first big sports event to take advantage of it & the potentially career-saving "Boss Button" will also be back (not that you need it;). If you're looking to attend the Final Four in person, "sold out" doesn't' meant you can't get tickets online. We'll point you in the right ticket re-sale direction and fill you in on the going rate. www.Fanhouse.com

FREE CLASSIFIEDS: Here's a sign of the times... In response to demand for a way to bring classified listings across the web to one place, a new classifieds service boasts listings from EVERY zip code in and allows you to post your own ad for FREE. At launch, there are more than 40 million listings aggregated from more than 80 million sites, which means less searching and surfing for what you're after and more luck trying. www.classifieds.aol.com

My friend Sara is extremely diligent in her approach to "real food" and she dug up some terrific organic food coupon sites. I'm amazed how terrific these sites are & am excited to save on some of our favorite products & brands. Here's one of my new favorites:

www.mambosprouts.com

It's an over-the-top title for an over-the-top, but infectious best-selling book by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin, whom you most certainly want to have a non-lunch with after reading the book. The Audio Book, etc. also widely available HERE.

Have shared with bunch of friends & we're comparing notes .... The DAIRY DISASTER CHAPTER seems to have particular "shock & awe" ....

Here's some of the opening lines: "Breast milk can grow an 8-pound newborn into a 24-pound toddler. Sounds pretty fattening, huh? It is. By design, it is intended to allow for the biggest growth spurt of a person's entire life."

Hmmmm ....

They go on to remind us: "Cows' milk, by design, grows a 90-pound calf into a 2,000 pound cow over the course of two years. It allows cows to double their birth weight in 47 days .... "

Hmmmm ....

Next week we're focusing on diet/nutrition TOP SEARCH TERMS & RESOURCES .... STAY TUNED. IN MEANTIME, HERE ARE SOME RELATED LINKS & RESOURCES: Diet, Fitness & Exercise Tips & What's the Latest Diet Craze?

Clara is so darling & am enjoying talking about her on the radio this morning.... She's 93 years old, a great story-teller and great grandmother. She recounts her childhood during the Great Depression as she prepares meals from the era, in a series titled "Great Depression Cooking -- Poorman's Feast." It's like visiting your own Grandmother or Great Aunt's kitchen (if you are blessed enough to be able to do so). There is something particularly touching & instructive about it. "Back to Basics" seems so sensible & as she speaks you can't help but think of the nearest mega supermarket and how things have changed so much in just a matter of decades. It also strikes me as a sign of the times as oral history is forever changed by the online medium. The advent and acceleration of video on the web, means incredible access to places you're privileged to spend a few minutes -- like Clara's kitchen.

It appears there's an inverse relationship between the economy and online dating sites. A growing number of the estimated 92 million singles in the U.S. are turning to online dating sites to hunt for dates. Many are cutting back on big nights out and instead choosing to spend more time at home on the Internet surfing through profiles, which can take tons of time. As reported in the Washington Post, Match.com saw it's biggest one-month jump in seven years!

The L.A. Times reports eHarmony.com registrations saw 20 percent increases in 2008. And, get this, eHarmony and Match.com reported especially high traffic on days when the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted. Apparently, cold weather is also a factor. Both sites can be accessed via AOL Personals.

While some dating sites are free, consider this: even if you're paying $20 or $30 a month for a membership to a dating site, it's still cheaper than one night out on the town and the success rate is staggering! eHarmony alone boasts sparking a whopping 118 marriages every day! (based on 236 divided by 2). e-Harmony now accounts for 2.5% of all new US marriages. W-O-W. The company's self-commissioned research also indicates, the couples are "happier" than most couples.

If you're sold on the concept or are eager to help a friend or relative get going on this path, here are a few tips:

DON'T: Crop Out your EX
Probably the number one "no no" when it comes to posting a profile photo is cropping out your ex-wife/boyfriend or girlfriend. We've all seen the picture where you've chopped them out ... all except for their hand or arm that's around you ... bad move.

DON'T: Use an Old Picture
Remember, you are going to meet in person at some point. So, those pictures from 10 years ago or 20 pounds ago ... resist the urge.

DO: Be Specific
Help people "get" you. Saying you "love sports" is vague & doesn't tell people a real lot. "Enjoy fly-fishing & never miss a Yankees game" is a lot more telling.

DON'T: Seem Desperate
No need to send five-page emails right out of the box or instant message 24/7. For women it tends to seem "needy" & for men it can be construed as sign of a serial dater.

DO: Adjust Your Profile
Face it, your profile is a marketing campaign. Take a look at what's working for you and what's not. Shop the competition, see what attracts you, and steal some tricks of the trade. You can & should continually change and update your online profile.

DON'T: Move too Fast
Online dating tends to move quickly. For starters, you're both on the site cause you genuinely want to meet someone. Though, that doesn't necessarily mean you'll have same degree of "readiness" in pursuing a relationship. The general sequence is: online dialogue, talk on phone, meet in person at a public place.

DO: Manage Your Expectations
Both in terms of the amount of responses you get & the amount of dates you may need to go on. A lot of times people think, "I know this is THE ONE" based on their initial online exchanges. It's nice to think, but -- remember -- truth is, you're still on the front-end of one of life's easier-said-than-done events. Don't wait too long for first in-person meeting, it only makes the drumroll more intense. You'll know when you meet them, so just go, once you get a sense it could be worthwhile.

DO: Stick with it
If you don't like the responses you're getting, switch it up. This is marketing after all. If you don't like the fish you're seeing in the online sea, stick with it ... The sea is stocked daily & there are always newcomers, especially now with record traffic to top dating sites.

We're taping a segment for "The View" today. It'll air on Friday. It's about the SECRET LIVES OF TEENS. Here are some startling stats used in compiling what I hope will be a genuinely useful show. Teens really are the first group to grow up online. If you are 15 today, in many cases you have never lived a day with a computer in your home and your classroom. That's unprecedented & it makes technology instinctive for young people in a way it never will be for adults. I spoke with a lot of teen and pre-teen parents in preparation for this segment & must say, am really impressed (and inspired) by how genuinely interested parents are in staying on top of tech trends as they relate to their children. They instinctively seem to know being on top of your teen's online life and helping them mature with and through it, is a critical part of modern day parenting. Parenting is the tricky part. The tech-piece just accelerates things. Here's hoping we can do a little something to help you keep up .... This is the first in a series of related posts. First, the #'s:

TIME SPENT ONLINE
- The average 13-17 year old spends 11.5 hours online per week (Source: OTX Research – Press Release 2008/06-18-08_Teens_and_Internet.pdf)

TEXT SENT MONTHLY
- The average teen ages 13-17 1742 texts monthly according to Nielsen. And that can be conservative!

IMS DAILY
- There are 1.5 Billion AIM messages sent daily (Source: AOL data)

FACEBOOK STATS
- 150 million people currently use Facebook (as of Jan. 7, 2009). The announcement was made on the Facebook company blog by founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg. If Facebook sustains this rate of growth, the 5-year-old site could hit 200 million users by this spring. To try it, is to get it. Keeping up with it, can be time consuming.

The reported median age is 26, so it's important to know they can be hanging with an older crowd. Looks like approx. 14% of Facebook users are ages 0-17. The 30+ demographic is growing the fastest and has parents and teens crossing paths online. The 30+ Population on Facebook Grew By Over 200% In 2008. Nearly 50 Million Users On Facebook are Over 30. That's "creeping" some kids out - Parents and teenagers meet on Facebook - Internet- msnbc.com

Inside Facebook expects Facebook could cross 200 million monthly active users as early as April, or in about 90 days.

Some more quick Facebook statistics:

- Average user has 100 friends on the site

- More than 3 billion minutes are spent on Facebook each day (worldwide)

- More than 13 million users update their statuses at least once each day

- More than 3 million users become fans of Pages each day

- More than 800 million photos uploaded to the site each month

- More than 5 million videos uploaded each month

- More than 20 million pieces of content (web links, news stories etc.) shared each month

- More than 2 million events created each month

- More than 20 million active user groups exist on the site

-

CYBERBULLYING
- The most susceptible cyberbullying ages are girls 9-13.
- Sometimes parents are the last to know, because they're afraid you'll take the computer or cellphone (their lifeline) away.

OTHER STATS & RELATED ARTICLES.

- 95% of teens are online (Pew Internet)

- Parents of Teens Regulate Content More Than Time: Though the majority of teen parents do attempt to regulate the amount of time their teen spends online, they are more concerned with the types of Internet sites their teen visits (Pew Internet).

For Parents, a New Concern: Teenagers and Laptops - New York TimesWe used to always tell parents to "keep an eye on the screen" and to "keep the computer in a central location in the house like the kitchen or family room." That's getting a lot less realistic. With laptops, the computer moves around. With cellphones glued to your child's body, unless you shadow them all day ... .this isn't really doable. Also, they can put one screen in back of the other and change it up in a split second. So, as soon as you approach .... up goes the homework.

And, here's my personal favorite article title by gifted writer Michelle Slatalla: 'omg my mom joined facebook!!' - New York Times. I've shared it with every mom I know. Feel free to do same.

We're returning to FOX's "Mike & Juliet" Show today .... Is always a pleasure & it should be fun to watch the food stylists behind-the-scenes. Juliet (Juliet AnneMarie Huddy bio) is one of the nicest hosts you'll ever meet off-camera & every time I look at Mike (Michael Eugene Joseph Jerrick bio), it reminds me of my cousin Jay. They look so much alike.

Is it really possible to eat out for less than eating at home? It really can be and the big fast food players are playing right into demand for this. Fast food has always been about convenience; in some cases they've learned the hard way (many were late by their own admission to address this) Americans - particularly women - are also trying to be more nutrition conscious; and now more than ever, we're also pinching pennies. Those three trends combined have sparked some really amazing options for consumers looking to make smart choices - for their waistline and their wallet. You're in the driver seat .... Can you walk in and run up a big tab and wolf down thousands of calories, yes (but you can do that at home too). Can you walk in get out for roughly 500 calories and $5 .... Absolutely.

One of the things the web has done is really upped-the-ante on full disclosure. Carb counts, fat grams, sodium levels .... You name it. It'll all there. I have three kids and we take a lot of road trips. Our rule is we can eat fast food when we're on the road, but I challenge them to figure out all this stuff before we stop and they make their pick (and I make mine). My daughter uses my iphone to look it up or reads of the info on a napkin invariably in car from previous weekend;). It makes for a fun little car trivia game (eg. Guess how many calories there are in one small shake?"). There are some real surprises, including some pleasant surprises, which think you'll see when you check out some of the suggested meals on the show and in this blog entry ....


Best ways to really get the prices down?

** Keep an eye out for the latest deals – even if you miss them advertised on TV, you'll find most deals also posted online by logging on to to the web site of your favorite fast food restaurant, i.e., KFC's Unbeatable Feast TV Ad - KFC.com – Dinner for 5 for $3.00 each – 10 pieces of chicken, 3 large sides and 5 biscuits.

**Addl. examples of current value items/deals at top chains:
- Taco Bell - Why Pay More "Why Pay More Value Menu" - 79, 89, 99 cent items on the "Why Pay More" value menu, incl. crispy tacos, soft tacos, beef burritos and more.

- www.Subway.com - getting a lot of mileage out of their $5 FOOTLONG promotion - all day, everyday - how many kids can you feed with a foot long sub - at least 2 little ones. How much would it cost you to buy the deli meet at the store, the bread, the toppings, etc.?

- McDonald's - Dollar Menu News - Due to rising food costs, the McDouble has replaced the Double Cheeseburger on the Dollar Menu. It's almost the same as the Double Cheeseburger but with one less slice of cheese. It has two all-beef patties, mustard, ketchup, onions, pickles and a slice of American cheese on a toasted bun. Via www.WalletPop.com – McDonald's coupon book for $1.00 gets you 12 freebies

- www.Wendys.com - "3Conomics" promotion - choose from three different sandwiches, all offered for just .99 cents each.

**Sign-up for "special offers" online: Most of the fast food sites also encourage you to sign up for "special offers" and printable coupons to be emailed to you, i.e. SUBWAY FRESHBUZZ™ & Sign up for WENDYMAIL & Online Coupons - KFC.com

**Ordering Pizza? Look for online coupon codes: www.papajohns.com - PapaJohns Online Coupon Codes are easy to find online (and you can order your pizza online) – examples: Papa Johns Coupons handpicked by BradsDeals.com and Domino's posts their latest offers right on their site - Our Menu: Coupons. Pizzeria UNO has an Insider's Club. You should never order pizza without a coupon!

So there are some good food deals out there, a lot of this food is not exactly heart-healthy ... maybe it's a better for your bottomline, but what about peoples' waistlines?

**Fast Food Nutrition Info. on the Go:
A lot of fast food chains have continued to roll out healthier options. One great way to find out the nutrition information on the fly is with a mobile applications you can download for free online – here's one for the iPhone - http://www.appsafari.com/food/5704/restaurant-nutrition/ You can look up what your best bet is while you wait in the drive thru line.

**Do you want fries with that Text Message? (Mobile Coupons):
Getting back to cost-savings for a second... some fast-food chains are beginning to experiment with text message special offers/coupon codes which are sent to customers who have opted in to receive them.

- It's cheaper for the fast food restaurants to send out promotions this way (vs. mailing them) and they have the opportunity to go viral, as people fwd. the deals to friends.

- Money Mailer is now moving into "mobile couponing," in which consumers agree to receive coupons via cellphone text messages. In a recent promotion for a fast-food chain, 13 percent of the text message coupons were redeemed, said Steven Gray, chief operating officer of Money Mailer, who said that "5 percent is a good return."

Fast food chain Arby's deploys mobile coupons - Mobile Marketer - Commerce

It's a worldwide phenomen .... SMS Text Serves Up Tasty Results for Fast Food Outlets

RELATED:

Eating well on a tight budget | SCNow + News Video

The HUFFINGTON POST is so impressive ... If you want to cut to the chase, here are two of my most favorite Inauguration slideshows:

MOST ADORABLE MOMENTS with MALIA + SASHA

&

WHAT MICHELLE HAS WORN SO FAR

greenumbrella.com
Companies sell extended service plans for just about everything these days – from iPods and cell phones to big screen TVs, washing machines and everything in between. When you buy an extended service contract, you're betting your new gadget will break within the next three years & the cost of fixing it will be higher than the price of the warranty. The seller of the warranty is betting it won't. The odds vary. You beat the house if you pay $200 and run up against an $800 repair. They win if nothing goes wrong & they've pocketed $200 of almost pure profit.

One way to potentially pay less and possibly stack the odds a little more in your favor is with "umbrella" coverage. GreenUmbrella.com offers all-in-one extended plans for $9.95 a month that covers all your new gadgets or household appliances for three years. Green Umbrella covers an unlimited number of major brand home appliance products per customer, there are no deductibles and there are no fees for in-home repair or replacement service. Consumers can register multiple products up to 30 days after purchase at no additional cost. More than 50,000 coverage eligible products are listed on the site & right now, they're running some specials allowing you to register anything you've purchased in last calendar year. Arguably, the more items you register, the more valuable the potential service. There are some caveats: they don't cover cell phones and they don't cover accidental damage.

walletpop.com
If there's one money saving/deal-finder site you want to have book marked, especially in this economy and during the height of holiday shopping season – it's walletpop.com. The site offers up daily money saving tips and advice, uncovers information for finding the best online shopping deals and hidden coupon codes and even dishes out helpful financial advice and planning. Walletpop had live-bloggers station at malls during Black Friday and will be staying on top of the best Cyber Monday deals.

servicemagic.com - Find qualified contractors online.

Old way: Crack open the Yellow Pages and look for help.
New way: Log on and have qualified businesses contact you.

I tried it and was AMAZED how quickly I got a call back from a potential handyman. Literally within 60 seconds of submitting my online request. Think of it as eBay for services. ServiceMagic.com has a database of 52,000 prescreened contractors and other types of home service professionals, such as plumbers, electricians, landscapers, maids, on and on. With a few clicks of the mouse you have multiple (qualified/screened) contractors competing for your business. Simply typing in your zip code and the desired service. I couldn't believe how many results instantly got for refinishing kitchen cabinets. The service is FREE. They make their money by generating leads for the service providers.

www.yapta.com - Yapta.com: Short for "your amazing personal travel assistant"
You book your airline ticket, prices drop ... But it's not game over! Plug in your itinerary into Yapta.com (before or after you book) and it will alert you if/when prices drop. All major airlines offer what is called the "guaranteed airfare policy," which means you're eligible for a refund if the fare price decreases. When you get your itinerary, just email it to Yapta at flights@yapta.com. It's literally just a matter of forwarding what the airlines send you. Couldn't be easier. Even after deducting any change fee levied by the airline, if your $400 round trip ticket is suddenly $275, you might have $50+ bucks headed your way. (Yapta only sends an alert if the savings are more than the airline's rebooking fees, and claims 19% of purchased flights qualify.) Travelers can call the airline to claim their travel credit themselves or pay $15 to have Yapta do it.

DMAchoice.org – junk the junk mail.
A new Web site lets you keep unwanted come-ons from piling up. DMAchoice.org, the Direct Marketing Association's site, lets consumers pick and choose what they want and don't want to receive in their mailboxes. By logging on to the site for free, consumers can indicate their preferences by business name or entire categories, such as credit card offers, catalogues or magazines.

www.howstufworks.com

Recently read about how a baby monitor was picking up a feed from the Space Station. What a shock that would be. How Stuff Works explains this kind of thing. An award-winning, unbiased site it does what it says it does and explains how stuff works. The baby monitor mystery is all about TV & Radio satellite frequencies. The code is cracked here: Howstuffworks "Why is a baby monitor picking up video of the space shuttle?"

truveo.com
If you haven't discovered this yet, you're going to thank me. Think of it as Google, but for video. It's the leading video search engine, so you can find whatever video you're looking for -- from all video sources across the web -- news networks, YouTube, MySpace, etc. It's incredibly well organized & suspect will soon be a household name along the lines of Amazon, Google, and iTunes. No more aimless surfing.

Funnyordie.com
The award-winning web site started by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay brings in over 3 million visitors per month and has become one of the top destinations for comedy on the web. FunnyorDie.com put itself on the map a little over 18 months ago when McKay's 3-year-old daughter Pearl became a star in her own. Pearl starred with Will Ferrell in the site's first video: "The Landlord" and it pulled in more than 60 million views. FunnyorDie.com has expanded to become a repository of professional content created by top comedians, including Judd Apatow, Jack McBrayer ("30 Rock") and the comedy troupe Human Giant. Their videos are mixed with (the less popular) viewer-submitted videos, which can remain on the site if they are rated highly enough.

Swinging by the popular Morning Show with Mike & Juliet tomorrow .... Have done interviews with both of them before, but it's the first time I'll be appearing on their morning show. She is full-fledged FOX-gorgeous ... tough person to sit next to! At the risk of stating the obvious, they're both enormously talented & fun to spend New year's with (they often anchor the Fox ball-dropping broadcast). We're doing a segement on THINGS PARENTS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT WEBCAMS, especially in light of the popular iCarly Show ... My Kids are big fans & this story is close to my heart ... Tune in & watch for additional, related WEBCAM 101 TIPS FOR PARENTS to be posted tomorrow.

WEBCAMS 101: FIVE THINGS TO ZOOM IN ON

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