Puroast Low Acid Coffee is expanding through many areas of the country and communicating the benefits of Puroast Low Acid Coffee to many people.  We have a Facebook and Twitter sites but our blog will always have separate content.  We look forward to updating anything that is new and relevant to our customers in 2010.

Puroast Promotions – December: Puroast Low Acid Coffee will be promoting at Costco stores in Northern California in December. We are in Concord, CA (East Bay) on December 3 through 6. South San Francisco, CA on December 10th through December 13th, and Woodland, CA December 17th through December 20th. 

Pharmacy Growth – Puroast Low Acid Coffee has launched with tremendous success in pharmacies through independent pharmacy groups like Good Neighbor Pharmacy and Health Mart Pharmacies as well as Savon Drugs in Southern California.  Puroast Low Acid Coffee’s research and clinical survey have helped us communicate effectively to pharmacists and their customers. Pharmacies and pharmacists are excellent resources to learn about health and wellness.  We will be growing throughout pharmacies in the United States throughout 2010.  We will continue to update you these significant developments.

Holiday Promotions – Come visit us at www.puroast.com and use “good1″ at checkout to receive a 15% discount on all orders. We have free shipping and we can deliver your Holiday gifts quickly and bring good holiday health for you in December and beyond!

Are national brand marketers spending too much on sales promotion with their retail partners, at the expense of long-term brand equity? Here’s my point of view:

It’s hard to separate this topic from the recent discussion about partnership (or lack thereof) between national brands and their biggest retail partners. (The last post centered on the conflict between Costco and Coca Cola.) While it’s easy to say that national brands have sacrificed long-term equity by cutting their marketing budgets, it’s also hard to argue that retail consolidation has forced serious rethinking of overall strategic spending.

Certainly the retail landscape was much more diffuse 25 years ago; power has become much more concentrated in the hands of companies like Walmart that were barely noticed in the early 80’s. (And at the same time there is far less concentration among a few media outlets, with many more choices for ad spending among cable networks, digital media, and so on.) So the national brands who intend to spend against “equity” need to deal with the reality that they must allocate more dollars than ever before to keep their key retail accounts happy.

Retail Wire panelists weighed in on the subject of the disagreement between Costco and Coca Cola on wholesale pricing. (At this writing, Costco has dropped Coke products from its stores.) Is this a sign of retailers’ greater power over national brands, and is it fair to consumers? Here’s my take:

There is little doubt that retail consolidation over the past decade has put greater pressure on brands to cooperate with (or in some cases, bow to) their key accounts. At the same time, national brands own a smaller share of a shrinking pie as large retailers put their focus on private or exclusive labels. so the power in the equation has definitely shifted toward the retailer. The Costco-Coke dustup takes it to a new level, however: At what point does the power struggle between the brand and its retail “partner” start to affect the consumer adversely?

Every one loves free samples. Ether it be cheese or cake or cheese cake. I push to go shopping at the stores that not only let you taste the food, but gorge on it. These following stores are the elite few that really treat their costumers right; these are the top three greatest places to get free samples:

#3:
Rounding out the top three is Costco. If you go a little later in the day, Costco can be a mecca for those who want to score in the tasting category. Costco has reasonable free sample portions. But, if you like soda, Costco’s food court has really good soda prices; 60 cents for a 22oz fountain drink with refill; but be warned Costco had a dispute over prices with Coke Co., so Costco may start carrying Pepsi, instead. Costco is located all over the US, and truly deserves 3rd place on the top three greatest places to get free samples list.

#2:
Coming in at 2nd place is Food Lion. Food Lion gives out incredibly big samples, and lots of them. When most stores give you one-eighth of a sugar cookie, Food Lion gives you the whole cookie; even if it’s two or three inches in diameter, like it usually is. Today there was two types of holiday cookies, chocolate cookies, a big hunk of chocolate cake, and cups of some kind of stuffing. Sample hunters; if you want an a sample of amazing portions, then Food Lion is THE place to go. Plus, conveniently, Food Lion is all over the US.

#1:
And, without further adieu, the number one place to get free samples, and coming in at 1st place is…
Le Gourmet Chef!
You probably never heard about Le Gourmet Chef, which is mostly in the eastern part of the US, but this is the best place to get your free samples. Mostly serving dips, this up-scale kitchen store sells every thing from salt and pepper shakers, to hot dog makers, to honey pretzel dip, to wasabi chip dip, every thing you need for your kitchen is here.
But, the part I really care about is the samples; every flavored dip you could imagine– pepper mint, honey, raspberry, wasabi, mustard, barbecue, ect. Plus stuff to dip in the sauces– animal crackers, chips, pretzels, ect.

Well, those ARE the top three greatest places to get free samples.

And no, Costco, Food Lion, and Le Gourmet Chef did not pay me to say good things about them.

I love 9 hour days: My every other Friday off. I slept in a little getting up at 6 instead of 5am. I woke Miss Gem up who said indignantly, “Why didn’t you wake me up??!!” I ran a mile on the treadmill. I started doing that last week, I don’t run everyday but I’ve ran at least 4 times/week so far. We take Rosie for a mile walk everyday too so I think I’m getting enough exercise. If it wasn’t for Rosie, we’d be spending that time watching TV or on the computer so for that reason alone, I’m glad we have her.

I cleaned the bathrooms and kitchen and made a grocery run. After L came home, we made a Costco run. Just why is it that they don’t take Visa or Discover? I didn’t have the checkbook so we had to use our cash to pay the $113 bill. Luckily we had enough leftover to stop at Taco Bell on the way home.

We told Miss Gem yesterday that we’re going to start teaching her how to cook a main dish. She was not happy. “I already know how to cook!” and “You guys said you were going to do this last year.” That made both of us burst out laughing because she has commented in the past that we tell her we’re going to have her do this and that and then we forget about it. Apparently, cooking was one of those things. I want to teach her how to make Spaghetti with Bolognese sauce (Chef Gordon Ramsay’s recipe) this weekend. That or Sweet and Sour Tofu (Alton Brown’s recipe). I’ll give her a choice. I suspect that tonight, she’ll stay over at Jennifer’s house so we won’t have a chance to do anything today.

L. is taking a shower right now and then is going to nap. He has a half hour before she gets home.

I emailed Todd again today. I told him he didn’t need to write a book back (I wrote a long message). I want to keep in contact with him. Right now I only talk to him once or twice a year.

We bought rotisserie chicken at Costco, we’ll have that, salad and potatoes for supper tonight.

We live in a country sans turkey

But Costco had one , large and perky,

We sat on the floor

drinking wine, telling lore,

now our Thanksgiving Day  is quite murky.

A conglomeration of hard to find foods

Just read a wonderful quote in the letters section of my latest Costco Connection magazine. It’s regarding the possible creation of a “Consumer Financial Protection Agency”, but I think it applies just fine to the majority of governmental and military agencies.

“In the political arena apparently you create an additional governmental agency to watch over the existing ineffective agency. Sounds like a failed plan to me.”

Consider our current Consumer Product Safety Commission. It seems like they’ve done an excellent job lately of welcoming in anything from China, no matter the danger. Drywall, toys, toothpaste. I’m ashamed to admit that a fellow South Carolinian Inez Tenenbaum  is in charge. I shouldn’t be too tough on her though. She’s new to the job and maybe she’ll switch it around.

At 9AM this morning, we had a meeting with our real estate agent here in Santa Monica, and I got up later than I anticipated so I didn’t have time for a workout. But instead we rushed over the Fairmont Hotel to me Petra. When we got there, she was waiting for us on the sidewalk in front of the Fig Restaurant entrance. It was great to see her, we had been e-mailing back and forth about properties this year, but it was still nice to meet face to face with her.

It so happens, Petra is from Hungary(she was born there, I’m 1st generation American/Hungarian born in the U.S.) and it’s nice to meet up with people from my nationality. It’s not often I get to do so, so it’s nice when it happens. Plus, Petra is very pleasant and I found out this morning she also just recently went Raw too. After several days of people questioning my position to not eat meat, it was a relief to find someone who’s been getting the same flack from everyone too. Petra’s been getting flack from her mother, friends, and other family members for her decision, but like me, she agrees it just feels good to Eat Raw! She exclaims she has more energy then before and she just feels better, physically and mentally. And I agree with her on all those points. So why can’t everyone else see that and just be happy and try it for themselves.????

After we parted ways with Petra, Mike and I continued to do some running around until 1 in the afternoon… And by that time, I was famished. We raced home to eat a special dish Mike’s mom cooked for us yesterday. It’s a Vegetable based stew with Noodles… Mike actually made the same thing for me once in Florida, but this was 100 times better. While we were out, we stopped into Costco, where I picked up some Whole Grain Wheat Bread to go along with this afternoons dish. Perfect pairing!!!

But now, as we sit around the house visiting with Mike’s other sister and waiting for his brother to stop by, I can feel the bread weighing on my stomach. Tonight after dinner, will be reason for another walk around Santa Monica. Speaking of dinner, I hope we have some more of the Vegetable Stew…. or we could have left overs from other meals we’ve have this week already. Mike’s mom is keeping us in suspense.!!!

Good evening!! I had a good day. Got a lot done at work today thanks in part to some yummy snacks. I stayed fueled through the afternoon by having baby carrots, Stacy’s Naked Pita Chips, and Sabra Spinach and Artichoke hummus.

After work I went to the gym and had a wonderful workout. I was there for about 70 minutes or so.  Checkout the workouts tab at the top of the page to see the detailed spreadsheet.

When I got home I was super excited to make the dinner I’d been planning my head.  Salmon filet (Costco), browned polenta topped with mashed red potatoes and a little Brummel and Brown, plus some steamed broccoli.

I made a little dish of olive oil, lemon juice, rosemary, dill weed, and salt.  I then brushed the concoction on the salmon with a basting brush.  (BTW: They make silicone basting brushes now.  They don’t stain and are easy to wash).

I was SO excited to take pictures of this fantastic meal and SUPER letdown to find out (after I’d eaten all) that they didn’t come out well.  VERY blurry.

I also had a Dr.  Pepper (I know, I know…I need to kick my soda habit.) with dinner.  For dessert I’ll probably have a Libby’s Pumpkin Nut Muffin.

Right now, I’m going to take a shower and finish watching Gossip Girl on DVR.  Have a wonderful night!! 

P.S. Do any of you out there have a netbook you’d recommend?  I’d like it to have Windows 7 and be upgradeable to 2GB.  I’d love to hear from you!!

Sometimes I get one thing stuck in my head, and dinner gets made around it.

Last night, I was stuck on the hummus I had made.  So I cooked up some chicken and couscous, and made this plate of veggies

Add in some toasted pitas?

Heaven.

I eat a lot.  But I rarely eat till it pains me.

Last night, I was loving dinner so much I didn’t realize I should be done till the fiance (who is almost a full foot taller than me, and therefore can eat a lot more) said he was stuffed, and I was trying to get another helping.

Whoops.

Worth it.

Today I taught over at the private school I sub at.  Was kinda spacy on the whole “making breakfast” part of the morning and ended up with this

Breakfast of champions?  And I found almonds in my bag (I use the same bag every time I sub, and keep important things like aspirin, snacks, and stickers in it.  They alllll come in handy)

When I got home (I was only there till 12:30ish) I made… Well, I have no idea quite what it is.  It’s food, in a bowl.

From bottom to top it was spinach, couscous, green beans, olives, and parm.

Whatever it was, it was tasty.

The green beans btw are from a giant costco bag-they sell 5 lb bags of frozen organic veggies for 5.99 there.  Which is a better price than good frozen green beans would cost, regardless of if you care about organic or not.

And, you know, I may have had one or two of these

Question:  So, last night I felt super compelled to heat up the pitas for dinner, so that it was a warm dinner, I think cause in my head warm food = dinner.  Cold food feels more like lunch.  Is this a weird me thing, or does anyone else feel that way too?

So as of yesterday I’m all done my Christmas shopping. I bought my parents gifts in November and my brother and my 2 close friends theres this week. It’s nice to be ahead. All I have to do now is wait for my brothers and my friends gift to arrive in the mail. It’s nice that I will still have some money left over with out being broke.

Last night when my parents and I went to Costco to get one of my friends gift I also wanted to check out the laptops there. I wanted to see the size difference between a 15 inch screen and a 17 inch screen. I found I think the one I want the 17 inch screen is selling for $599 which I thought was a great deal but when going to Costco website it was not even there. Kind of strange but I hope its still there when I go back middle of December with My Father since thats the gift Im getting for Christmas. It came with a webcam and mic which Im looking for as well some other nice things so I will have to wait and see.

Any who thats about it for now over and out Lana

Well, well, well – Day 3 I felt terrible – I had a headache from the time I went to bed on Day 2 until I FINALLY gave in and took ibproufen (sp?) around 7:15 p.m. Could have been caused by many things – weaning from caffeine, not enough water, blood pressure out of whack, and the list goes on!

For today’s challege we had to limit dairy and eggs. I had my last hoorah with milk in my cereal, the sprinkle of cheese that was served on my lunch (i’ll tell you what that was in a sec) and the cream that was probably in my tomato soup from lunch and dinner.

What did I eat all day?
Breakfast – only about 5 spoonfuls of Kashi cereal with dried strawberries and a little honey (the rest vanished by way of M. O.)
Lunch – NOODLES & COMPANY – this could possibly be my first or second favorite fast food – it’s a toss up between this and Qdoba. Anyways I had my usual – whole grain tuscan linguine with tofu and tomato bisque soup! HMM MMM GOOD!!!
Snack – Some sort of pretzel bread from Trader Joe’s
Dinner – Panera Bread – You Pick Two -Half of the Mediterranean Veggie Sandwhich (was not as great as it sounds they were stingy with the veggies) and tomato soup.
Drinks – green tea, ginger & mint tea, water, water and mo water!

My family and I spent about 2 hours grocery shopping to stock up for the next two weeks. We bought tons of produce for eating and juicing at Costco! They have the best non-local produce in large quantities and good prices!!!! We then ventured to Trader Joe’s to get all of the other things that I couldn’t get. (oh yeah – i did try their sparkling cranberry juice – it was SOOOOO GOOOD!)
When were finally checked out the cashier asked it we were buying anything new! I had to think and look – why yes we were! I hope to incorporate most of the items as regulars including my rasberry sorbet for my sweet habit, and several soup purees – he said the Black Bean one was great – I can’t wait! *NOTE TO ALL BUSINESS OWNERS – good customer service goes a LONG WAY!!!!!!

For those of you saying well dang I can’t afford to go to THAT place and I don’t have a Costco’s membership – you can do this exact same thing with some substitutions at Marsh, Kroger, Meijer or even Super Target! For instance Frozen veggie are 77 cents each, you can get 5 avocadoes for $5 and 5lbs of pears?apples?(one of these) for $5 with your fresh idea card this week!
Being healthy doesn’t have to be expensive like most people think – especially if you catch deals and shop local! Check out Indy Winter Farm Market on Saturdays!
Okay – this is getting too long for all text – so i’ll catch you later for a post on Day 4 and other randomness. For those of you that joined in – TODAY AND TOMORROW ARE TOTALLY VEGAN – DITCH THOSE ANIMAL PRODUCTS!!!!

Yup, AGAIN with the asparagus, but this time it is NOT roasted.  You see, my hubby gets just as tired of me cooking roasted asparagus just as you probably get tired of me blogging about it.  Well, we recently went to Coscto (is that a Bay Area thing?  There are a few just in San Jose.) and bought a few bags of asparagus.  I could eat just roast it and eat it that way, but I like to make food that my hubby will enjoy too, so I decided to try cooking it another way.

Trying to come up with something new is a little exercise in creativity. It is funny how it works out when I am just throwing stuff together and when I am just trying something out to be different it turns out that my husband LOVES it.  I never know how it is going to work out.   

I put some garlic infused olive oil in a pan with some onions then cooked the ground turkey.  I decided to be totally daring and so I used some balsamic vinegar (hubby is not a fan, but Ithought I would try it).  Then I added the asparagus and I also used some smoky garlic sea salt a friend of ours brought us from Hawaii. 

I cooked it all up and served it over rice.  Now, I have to honest, I really liked it, but my hubby LOVED it and it COULD be because I plated his rice, then I took two slices of Havarti and put it over the rice, THEN I put the turkey asparagus combination over that.  So the cheese melted in between thehot rice and the hot turkey.  I had a taste, his tasted pretty much like cheese.  And anything is better with Havarti because it is like butter.  I didn’t have the cheese and I felt it was great and not overpowered by cheese.

I used a package of turkey (I guess it is a pound or a little over) and probably a one and a half pounds of asparagus. 

So . . . how else can I cook asparagus?

I was at Costco the other day doing some Christmas shopping and I also purchased myself quite an expensive razor. Having previously utilised what can only be described at the cheapest razor in recorded history this was quite a red letter day indeed. I had decided a while ago that I should perhaps upgrade to a more expensive facial hair removal system for a couple of reasons:

1. Every time I shaved with the aforementioned cheap razor it felt like I was scraping a layer of skin off my face.
2. Perhaps due to (1.) it left me with serious razor burn which meant that I usually took the precaution of shaving in the evening so as not to walk around looking like a burn victim all day.

Previous to the cheap disposable razors I had been using an electric shaver that could at best be described “functional.” AKA it took me half an hour to clear my face of about 75% of my facial scruff.

SIDENOTE: I only discovered two days ago that AKA stands for “also known as.” Sometimes I wonder how I survive life on an everyday basis. I mean, I always knew it was some sort of acronym, just not what it stood for.

Anyway, I had been using the crappy disposable razors for a couple of years despite all the hassle – you know when something is awful but you kind of get used to it and eventually ripping a layer of your facial epidermis every few days just become habitual? So yeah, I was a bit sceptical that an expensive razor could really make a difference.

OH HOLY GOD AND FUCK I WAS WRONG!

I am in love with my new Gillette Fusion razor.
IT IS FIVE BLADES OF PERFECTION!

Who needs five blades you ask?
I FUCKING DO!

Who needs a vibrating, battery operating razor?
ME ME ME!

Seriously, this thing is amazing. First off, the head sort of glides across my face, pivoting into every awkward crevice with the greatest of ease. The five blades effortlessly tackle even the thickest of scruff on my face, decimating what was once a jungle of days old fuzz. Even before you turn on the power, this razor is like some sort of mystical object from beyond the stars and then you flip that little switch and fuck if isn’t like you’ve landed in an alternate universe where shaving is actually pleasurable!

I AM AMAZED!

I did a story for the National Education Association’s website on how teachers and other educators should handle gift giving in the classroom during the December holidays. While that story was written from the educator’s perspective, I thought it would be helpful to offer some advice from the parent’s perspective. Here are some quick and frugal teacher gift ideas, broken down by age of your kid/level of school he/she is in.

DAY CARE
A gift card to a nail salon where day care teachers and the classroom aides can get a manicure is a great idea. You figure that these teachers are using their hands all day long, either changing diapers or doing hands-on projects, and they could use the pampering. Best of all, you can usually buy this gift of a manicure for less than $20.

NURSERY OR PRESCHOOL
A gift card for a manicure will work here, too, as would a gift card to a local bookstore or a book from it–my favorite gift to give my daughters’ (long-ago) preschool teachers. If you want to give a book as a gift, check out places like Costco and BJs for great prices on books.

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
I still love the notion of a gift card to a bookstore, but a gift card to the local coffee shop, whether it’s a chain like 7-11, Wawa, Dunkin Donuts or Starbucks, or the mom and pop “Joe’s java” shop near to the school, would go over well, too. Also, you can get away with spending $5, maybe $10 for one of these. Another great idea? Board games for the classroom that can be used during indoor recess.

MIDDLE SCHOOL & HIGH SCHOOL
In most instances parents feel that they get off the teacher-gift hook when their kids make the transition to middle school and high school. I’ll admit that I sometimes feel overwhelmed with buying gifts for seven or eight teachers. I know that the teachers here probably don’t expect gifts but if you can afford it, you should try to get them a little something–whether it’s a small tin filled with home-baked chocolate chip cookies or a heartfelt, handwritten note about how much the teacher means to you. Another idea? Make a donation to an education-related cause in the teachers’ names. For example, our school district has an education fund, or you could make the donation to the local public library.

Let me know if you have other, sure-fire teacher gifts suggestions.

By: Kimmy Basra & Gurjita Gadey, Grade 12

Describe your style.

My style is very casual, cool and comfortable.

Where do you buy your clothes?

I buy my clothes from Sears, Costco, The Bay, and Old Navy.

 What is the one thing that everyone should own?

Everybody should own a good T-shirt.

Does anyone influence your style?

No!

How do you make your hair so beautiful? What’s your secret?

I simply, wash and rinse once a day.

What teacher, besides Mr. Beetlestone and Ms. Singh, do you think has good style?

Mr. Ng has a very good style. It is very casual. He wears a lot of European T-shirts and soccer uniforms which are mostly Dutch soccer jerseys.

I love that you guys don’t think eating nuggets for breakfast is the weirdest thing ever.  Cause the fiance does.  He’s finally gotten to the point where he just goes “ok” instead of “you’re kidding right?” when I tell him I ate nuggets (or salad, or rice, or whatever other non breakfast food I had) at 8 am.

Yesterday I accidentally bought 3 pounds of garlic at costco

I should not be allowed to shop on my own some days.

I realized I needed a way to justify purchasing such an insane amount, so I roasted up 9 heads (note:  that bag is how full 3 pounds of garlic looks AFTER you remove 9 heads) and made a dinner where the theme was “let’s put roasted garlic on everything!”

chicken (fried up with garlic), beans (partially smooshed with garlic), and spinach (with lots of garlic)

I was a little in love with the spinach

The fiance doesn’t adore spinach like I do, but he doesn’t hate it… So I rarely make cooked spinach, and save it for when it sounds reallllly good to me.  That way he doesn’t get sick of it.

We had bed dinner too.  I had some cheese and crackers

We were supposed to share this

But to the fiance “sharing” means I got three bites and he ate the entire rest of the pint.

He’s not big on serving sizes.

I came pretty close to having chicken nuggets with roasted garlic for breakfast.  But I held it in and made pancakes instead

Vegan pancakes actually!  Mostly because the only milk I had was soy.  But i’m pretty sure that vegan = healthy (it’s what I tell myself when I buy the vegan cookies at whole foods) so this was like… having apples for breakfast.  Sugary, carby apples.

Ok, so help me out…. What should I make with my 3 pounds of garlic?

I purchased a CostCo membership today. I figured with it, I can save up to 25 cents a gallon on gas. I did get a few things inside but the problem with buying in bulk is that you are buying in bulk! Our freezer isn’t big enough for everything! So be prepared when you come visit for everything to be mondo sized!

I am giving Limerick Township Supervisor Ken Sperring a tip of the hat for thinking outside the box and asking mega developer O’Neill Properties Group to pay the salary for an additional township police officer.

O’Neill is building another shopping center next to the Philadelphia Premium Outlets in Limerick featuring Costco and other stores, which will further strain the township police department.  Sperring is requesting that the developer pay the salary ($102,000 per year) for an extra police officer for the first three years after the project is completed.

Hopefully this becomes a trend!

Thanksgiving is awesome!

I was going to leave it at that, but I suppose a bit of elaboration wouldn’t hurt.

So I went to my first Thanksgiving on Saturday, a couple of very kind Americans invited me to join them in the celebration of one of their county’s biggest holidays.

While we waited for the food to cook a few of us went of down the street to a basketball court to ’shoot some hoops’. Naturally the locals, upon seeing six white people rocking up onto their court, thought they were about to be treated to some kind of showboating exhibition. How wrong they were. We really weren’t very good. Now I already know that I’m no good at basketball, but generally when I’m throwing something, my aims pretty good. Guess I was having an off day (although when we decided to leave and were just having a last few shots, I was sinking everything. Typical.

Anyway, the food! Wow! I hadn’t eaten anything ‘western’ since I had arrived here. Now that’s not all that long ago, but I’ve still had some cravings every now and then. First, it’s important to talk about the turkey, this thing was huge! It was bigger than some of the kids I teach. Also there was mac & cheese, mashed potatoes, green beans, sweetcorn, some kind of rice+broccoli+cheese combo, deviled eggs, biscuits (the American kind, not hobnobs), pizza, I think there may have been a chicken or two, apple pie, pumpkin pie – I’d never tried that before I could have eaten it all, and of course, there was copious amounts of alcohol. Ever tried to eat that sort of stuff with chopsticks? Didn’t think so. It doesn’t feel right. Someone was nice enough to hand me a fork after a while though.

So there was a lot of food and drink right? Well there was a lot of people too, around 30 altogether. I think there was only two Koreans, the rest were foreigners. Despite it being an American holiday, they were in the minority they were quickly outnumbered by combined forces from UK, Ireland, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and possibly others. There was talks of some kind of hostile takeover but in the end everyone decided to be friends and just eat and drink more. Win!

I ended up seeing three different apartments that day/night and they all put mine to shame. Each time I see where someone else is living I compare it to my own place which I would struggle to swing my bag of collected cats in. But I guess this way I’ll stay humble and not start marching round kicking over bins and old people and shouting “OUT OF MY WAY KOREA!”

And because I didn’t want to make an all-text entry check out the pizza from Costco. It’s like everything from Costco – supersized!

It was like being punched in the mouth with a big cheese fist!

Two years ago, who would have thought Coke and Energizer could ever be cast aside by retailers?

Well – it’s happening.

Costco recently announced it was no longer selling Coca-Cola products as a result of a price battle.  CVS is dropping most Energizer products and will only carry Duracell and its private label.     Following this trend, Wal-Mart continues to move towards its product mix goal of one top brand, one value brand and its private label.

Costco is betting people will continue to come to Costco and buy alternatives to Coke.  CVS has used its customer shopping data to predict a minimal sales drop if they no longer sell Energizer.

What should all businesses take away from this?

Few brands are indispensable to the customer. In fact, you know your customers could find a pretty good alternative if you were no longer in business.

So what can you do to become as close to indispensable as possible?

Know your customers

• Why do they choose to buy your product/service?
• What do you offer them that they can’t get anywhere else?
• Why do they buy from your competitors if you aren’t available?
• What do your competitors offer that you don’t?
• How are they using your product or service?
• How do they use your competitor’s product or service?

(These questions can be easily answered through one-on-one interviews and quantified through online research.)

Know your competition

• What are they offering that you don’t?
• What makes them unique in the market?
• Do they partner with other companies?

Upon learning about your customers, develop service offerings that they can only get from your company.  Some ideas could be:

• Guarantees
• Special hours
• Rewards programs
• Loyal customer specials
• Packaged service offering
• Something extra every time they do business with you (for example, a local Chinese restaurant gives you an extra appetizer as their way of saying thank you)

Why no mention of lowering prices on these lists? Making your brand indispensable is not about price; it is about creating value that your audience can not receive anywhere else.

How are you creating value to make your brand indispensable?

Post your comments so others can learn from what you are doing.

It was such a bee-yoo-ti-ful day today! Self was so grateful for the sun, the warmth, the free time!

The Thanksgiving holiday is over, and instead of boarding an Asiana flight for 23-hour flight to Manila (includes lengthy stopover in Seoul), self is at home, battling irate seniors in huge cars in the parking lot of the newly re-opened Costco in Redwood City.

Seriously, almost the first automobile encounter self had after weeks — no, months! — took place today, with an elderly white gentleman and his wife, driving an Olds Cutlass, who apparently were not satisfied with the room self had given them to get by, and wanted self to back up, and to keep backing up, and keep backing up, like — almost a third of a mile. Swear to God.

Afterwards, this wonderful and courtly old man — who had a nice, thick head of brilliant white hair, combed in a style vaguely reminiscent of the late Liberace — gave self such an ugly face as he sailed past her clunker in his huge boat of a car, that self smiled and kept smiling, straight back at him, and thought: At least I’m not as old as you! I’ve got at least 20 more years to live (if I’m lucky!)

Self can’t help wondering how a man gets to be that old, and instead of being joyful and savoring each new day of life, he has to try staring down a strange Asian woman in a parking lot. Well, this just goes to show: being old does not necessarily improve one’s disposition.

Another thing: the Costco cashier short-changed her by 50 cents. Unfortunately, self didn’t realize it until she was sitting in her car. She re-checked her receipt. Yup, she was short-changed. But, it really made no sense for her to go back inside and try to argue that she needed fifty cents. That would be just too stupid/humiliating. So self went home.

And every time she saw a police car (which was, like, every five minutes), self was sure they were going to arrest her. For giving that nice old gent in the Olds Cutlass the stink-eye. Like, maybe he wrote down her license plate number? And reported her for being such a road hog?

Stay tuned, dear blog readers, stay tuned.

First of all, gua mau ngucapin Happy Thanksgiving dan Selamat Idul Adha buat yang merayakan yaaaa…

Rabu, 25 November 2009

Seperti biasa kalo ada long weekend, pasti sehari sebelumnya kita cuma kerja setengah hari. Asik banget ya. Apalagi banyak banget yang udah cuti, jadi nyantai abis di kantor.

Siangnya kita cuma ke Costco untuk last minute grocery shopping. Tadinya gua kirain udah sepi karena pasti banyak yang lagi sibuk nyiapin Thanksgiving di rumah masing-masing, ternyata rame banget… Banyak yang masih belanja! Yang banyak diborong orang ya pumpkin pie, frozen turkey, dan bunga poinsettia.

Kita sendiri sih cuma belanja bentar trus pulang buat tidur siang. Malemnya, gua ama Andrew bikin snowman untuk ditempelin foto-foto orang-orang yang kita undang untuk Thanksgiving dinner besok. Jadi ceritanya instead of naruh nama di masing-masing piring untuk nentuin siapa duduk dimana, kita taroh foto-foto mereka (yang ama Esther di print dari Facebook). Good idea kan? Jadi lain dari yang lain…

Ini nih penampakan snowmen yang kita bikin:

Eh malemnya, tetangga kita ada yang ngetok. Dia ngasih kita mocca chocolate cake! Doh gua jadi gak enak ati. Soalnya awalnya sebenernya gara-gara pas Halloween kemaren kan dia ngasih kita permen, jadi pikiran pas Thanksgiving kita balesin gitu. Jadi kemaren pas Selasa, gua ngasih dia pumpkin pie (yang mana ukurannya kecil banget soalnya kan gua pikir dia masih single)… Eh ternyata malah dibalesin lagi kita dikasih cake (yang mana pasti harganya jauuuhhh lebih mahal kan!!). Haiyaaa… Jadi kepikiran dah, berasa kok gua pelit amat. Hahaha.

Kamis, 26 November 2009

Hari ini Thanksgiving day!!! Yah walaupun setiap hari pun kita harus kudu bersyukur selalu, tapi hari ini kita bener-bener lebih bersyukur, atas segala yang Tuhan udah kasih ke kita selama ini. Yang pasti karena kita bertiga sehat-sehat aja, keluarga kita juga semua sehat, gua juga punya kerjaan yang lumayan, kita punya tempat tinggal, ada mobil, masih bisa jalan-jalan dan makan-makan… dan semua-semuanya dah… Kita sangat bersyukur banget!

Makanya kita bakal ngerayain lagi kali ini. Kita ngundang 5 orang, jadi total ber-8 ama kita. Gak banyak-banyak ngundangnya, soalnya mau sitting dinner.

Paginya sih kita nyantai-nyantai dulu di rumah. Internetan, nonton DVD… Enak banget ya nyantai-nyantai itu. Hehehe. Trus sekitar jam setengah 1 baru keluar. Ngambil pesenan makanan dulu buat malem. Sama kayak taun lalu, kita taun ini juga mesen semua dah. Males mau nyiapin dari scratch. Menunya pun sama, ya tipikal menu Thanksgiving dinner lah: roasted turkey, bread stuffing, dinner roll, yam caserolle, gravy, mashed potato, dan cranberry sauce.

Trus kita pergi makan siang dulu di luar, baru trus pulang. Andrew dipaksa tidur walaupun rada susah, soalnya dia udah excited banget karena ntar malem mau pesta. Dia udah nanya-nanya mulu kapan orang-orang mau dateng.

Begitu Andrew tidur, langsung kita beraksi. Makanan-makanan dimasukin oven, meja makan mulai disiapin (ditata gitu biar rada keren.. Haha). Untung kita cepet beraksinya, soalnya Andrew cuma 1 jam tidur udah bangun.

Dan ya malemnya kita makan rame-rame. Andrew juga seneng banget banyak yang nemenin main. Trus ngobrol-ngobrol sampe gak nyadar, udah jam setengah 1 pagi! Huaaaa… Cape tapi seneng banget!

Jumat, 27 November 2009

Hari setelah Thanksgiving day dikenal sebagai Black Friday, hari dimana banyak sale gede-gedean dimana-mana. Terutama di toko-toko elektronik, orang-orang biasa dari midnight udah ngantri di depan toko. Toko-toko juga dari subuh udah pada buka.

Kita sendiri gak niat ikutan. Soalnya kalo gak beli barang elektronik yang emang mahal, rasanya gak worth ya untuk ngantrinya. Plus lagi malem sebelumnya kita jam 1 pagi baru tidur, jadinya Jumat ini kita bangun rada siangan.

Nyantai-nyantai lagi di rumah, sampe jam 12-an baru jalan keluar. Tujuannya ke Foxhill mal. Rencananya sih untuk sekedar memantau Black Friday di mal.

Nyampe sana, mau masuk tempat parkir aja udah ngantri. Macet! Parkiran pun penuh banget. Untung cuma muter sekali eh langsung dapet. Trus langsung cepet-cepet masuk cari makan. Udah laper. Foodcourt nya pun rameeee banget! Semua orang bawa belanjaan yang banyaknya bukan main.

Abis makan baru kita jalan-jalan. Masuk dari toko ke toko yang sebenernya sale nya gak sampe gimana-gimana banget (bukan elektronik sih). Barang yang sale nya lumayan, banyak yang udah abis. Eh tapi gak nyadar, entah karena pengaruh ngeliat orang lain pada belanja (alesan aja), akhirnya kok kita dari yang tadinya cuma mau memantau malah jadi ikutan belanja ya? Huahahaha….

Apalagi pas ke Disney store. Mau masuk aja kudu ngantri dulu! Padahal di dalemnya ternyata gak gitu banyak diskon juga. Awalnya gara-gara ada boneka yang emang good deal, jadi kita beli buat ponakan gua. Eh trus ngeliat ternyata kalo total belanja $40, bisa beli boneka Mickey Mouse yang lumayan gede seharga $5 doang. Lumayan banget kan… Jadinya malah nambah-nambahin belanjanya biar $40. Huahahaha. Kaco ya… korban iklan banget…

Trus sempet foto ama Santa Claus juga. Taun ini Andrew udah gak takut lagi, malah seneng, soalnya dia mau minta kado Natal! Huahaha.

Yah gitu deh, akhirnya baru jam 7 malem nyampe rumah lagi, dengan belanjaan yang… ehhmmm banyak juga! Huahaha…

Sabtu, 28 November 2009

Hari ini pengen nyantai lagi. Siang-siang baru keluar pergi makan, trus mampir sana sini beli titipan bentar trus pulang… Tidur siang! Enaknya… Sore nya ke gereja, trus pulang… Dan kita mulai packing untuk pulang Indo. Wah ternyata lumayan ribet juga ya… Banyak banget barangnya!! Huahahaha. Akhirnya kelar jam 10-an, lumayan lah sekitar 80% udah masuk koper. Tinggal baju-baju aja…

Minggu, 29 November 2009

Yah udah hari terakhir liburan… Kenapa ya kalo yang namanya liburan selalu cepet banget jalannya?

Hari ini kita ngunjungin temennya Esther yang baru ngelahirin. Rumahnya lumayan jauh di Laguna. Sekitar 1 jam perjalanan. Temennya Esther ini punya anak umur 2 tahun tapi gedenya ampir sama ama Andrew. Demen banget mereka main berduaan.

Trus kita pergi ke wharf untuk makan. Ngobrol-ngobrol, jalan-jalan di pinggir dermaga ngeliatin laut ama kapal-kapal. Andrew ama anaknya temennya Esther lari-larian mulu berduaan. Gak nyadar sampe jam setengah 4 kita disono. Trus langsung buru-buru balik dah soalnya masih kudu mampir ke salah satu toko buat beli titipan sepupu gua, trus masih mampir supermarket, dan ditutup pergi makan… Baru pulang dah.

Yah begitulah cerita liburan long weekend kita kali ini. Very very fun!! Yah ada acara nyantai-nyantainya, ada acara makan-makannya, ada acara belanja-belanjanya, dan banyak ketemu temen-temen… Menyenangkan sekali…

Gimana acara long weekend kalian?

PS. Gua kasih review dikit DVD yang kita tonton ya…

1. Angels and Demons – nilai 9/10 – “bagus, seru, mantep banget dah film ini… very recommended!!”

2. Orphan – nilai 8/10 – “seru juga, cukup menegangkan, bikin kaget-kaget… very recommended!!” Btw, ada pelajaran yang patut diambil dari film ini… Kalo mau ngadopsi anak, ngambil yang bayi aja, jangan anak yang udah gede. Serem gile…

3. Ugly Truth – nilai 5/10 – Pelajaran yang gua dapet dari film ini adalah… Mendingan nonton film yang lain dah ya!

PS lagi. Hari ini dapet kabar gembira. Satu hal lagi yang perlu kita syukuri banget. Akhirnya kita berhasil untuk refinance mortgage kita! Setelah bete berat karena pas bulan Mei lalu kita gagal untuk refinance, padahal waktu itu prosesnya udah sebulan lho… Eh gagal gara-gara nilai properti kita turun 15%! Jadi kalo kita tetep mau refinance, kita harus nombokin DP nya (soalnya rasio loan to value nya harus tetep 80% dan kita dulu pas beli emang naroh DP nya dipas-pas-in 20% aja). Ajegile… Duitnya dari mana coba…

Nah bulan lalu, gua coba-coba lagi untuk ngajuin refinance. Dan ternyata nilai properti udah balik normal (bersyukur #1). Dan bunga bank masih cukup ok (kita dapet 5.125%, bandingin ama bunga kita sebelumnya yang 6.375%), jadi per bulannya lumayan banget kita bisa saving nya (bersyukur #2). Dan hari ini (setelah 1,5 bulan prosesnya… yang mana lama dan ribet banget!) akhirnya dananya keluar juga (bersyukur #3)… Legaaaaa…. Thank  God banget banget dah!

Monday, November 30, 2009
Waxing Moon
Uranus Retrograde
Rainy and cold

I haven’t opened the computer or typed for days. It feels weird to be back. It felt good to be unplugged.

I hope everyone had a great holiday.

Wednesday, we were on the road before 6 AM. We kept hearing how it would be such a heavy travel day — but there was NO traffic all the way through CT, MA, NH, until we crossed into Maine. It was a nice, smooth ride.

I stopped in Portsmouth at Riverrun Books — what a nice store! I bought a biography of Emily Post I’d wanted for awhile, and the time period covers some of my current research. We made our usual slew of stops heading up in Maine in Kittery and York and Wells and even Windham. We had lunch in York, at the Stolen Menu Cafe, which has become one of my favorite restaurants anywhere. The food is outstanding, the service is friendly, and it’s reasonably priced. I really like the Yorks anyway — I could live there, should I choose to go to Maine. It’s a friendly, year-round, arts-oriented community and I really like it. I picked up a few things I needed, stocked up at Stonewall Kitchen, found some decorations I thought were cute, and found my writing bag!

It’s made by Sharper Image, and has compartments for computer, folders, books, everything. I have room for my travel yoga mat, my research materials, everything. It’s on wheels, so I can walk it rather than carrying it. It’s small enough to be a carry-on, but large enough to hold everything I need. It was on sale for about 1/5th of what I’ve seen it at regular retail. So I grabbed it.

Found a skirt — a long, black velvet one that drapes beautifully. Good for formal occasions. Still need some more casual types, but I have a feeling I’ll just sew them in the New Year.

Arrived at my great uncle’s around 3:30. Unloaded, heated up the food, got it dished out to various and sundry. My great uncle wasn’t feeling well, but he seemed to perk up while we were there. My cousin called a few hours later and invited me up to the blueberry farm up the street — I hadn’t been up there since he and his wife worked on the house. I went up and saw the house — it’s an 1850’s farmhouse that’s been lovingly renovated so it’s comfortable and modern, and yet respects the history and architecture of the house. They’ve done a fabulous job. We sat around drinking wine and peeling the onions for the dinner. I’m always just dashing up and back and taking care of the older relatives that I rarely get to hang out with my contemporaries and catch up. So, that was fun.

I’d been up since 4:30, so I was pretty tired. Went to bed early, woke up early, got breakfast sorted. Managed to get in a few hours of writing. We went to the hall around 12:30 and they handed me the potato masher (which, by the way, is 4 feet long because of the vats of potatoes to mash) the minute I walked in the door! We got everything finished and dished out and sat down by 1 — 52 people for dinner. My great uncle (who’s in his 90s) was feeling much better and had a good time. The food was great, as always, and so was the company. Most of these people I only get to see once a year, so it’s kind of a quick catch-up, but it’s good. We’ve been doing this for over 30 years, and everyone gets along, at least for the day! Any arguments are left outside, and everyone respects that rule.

And it’s definitely an example of “many hands make light work” — people pitch in and everything gets done. We all washed up, left the hall better than we found it.

By the time we got home, another branch of the family who doesn’t come to hall came by to visit — one of the cousins I hadn’t seen for about 15 years! We were really close when we were kids and teens. So that was a nice catch up.

Another pretty early night for me. I was too tired to even read.

Friday morning, we were up early and out of the house by seven. Although I rarely shop on Black Friday (and I’m not a mall shopper anyway), we drove up to Freeport, to the flagship LL Bean store. I needed a sleeping bag for various and sundry travels coming up in the next year and change, and they’ve got good ones. We had a quick breakfast in the cafe — really good, the coffee (Coffee by Design is the fair-trade company) was outstanding. We picked up a few additional things, got some ideas for when we have the house, and were back on the road in about an hour.

The drive back was not fun. The weather was dreadful — heavy rain. Of course, the forecast was for “light showers”. Right. And the temperature was dropping, so it was pretty clear it would soon be snow. We managed to outrun most of the storm, although it was still sprinkling by the time we hit Sturbridge.

Earth Spirit Herbals, one of my favorite stores, closed at the end of July, but supposedly a garden center down the street carried their oils and herbs. However, we couldn’t find the garden center, so maybe that’s not open anymore, either. We backtracked and had lunch at Admiral O’Brien’s, which is right next door to where Earth Spirits used to be. The food is great, and, again, the prices are good and service friendly. So, we had a good hot lunch and were back on the road.

We managed to get home by about 3:30, which was pretty good. It took a few trips to haul everything upstairs, and there were packages waiting for us, including my next assignment from Confidential Job #1.

Saturday, I was up early and writing. Hit Costco to stock up on things like butter and eggs, stocked up on some other stuff at various stores. Did the test runs of the cookies all afternoon. My mixer was useless and caused a major setback. And the recipes for rolled sugar cookies and butter cookies don’t hold together and the dough doesn’t work as well as the recipes I usually use, which are from the 60’s and 70’s, so, next year, I go back to them. I thought both the sugar cookies and the butter cookies tasted a little bland. And the dough was hard to work with.

I made a rolled cookie that I cut out into angel shapes — it’s a kind of a sugar cookie, but with eggnog. That turned out pretty well, and the eggnog icing should bump it up. I did a lime-flavored cookie that’s really good, but it doesn’t pack well, so I can’t use it for the cookie plates.

I made a lemon shortbread that’s really good, but my idea of cutting it into Lighthouse shapes and frosting it — again, I can’t make the volume I need, and it’s not very packable and stackable.

Frustrating day.

Sunday, up early, writing. Looked at Bed, Bath & Beyond for a new mixer. The prices were ridiculous, and if I can bend the paddles with my bare hands, it’s not going to work. I don’t have the money or the room for the standing Kitchen Aid Mixer, although that’s what I want. But I can’t justify spending over $300 for one. Headed to White Plains to Trader Joe’s for a few things, and then to the Chef Central where I found the decor sugar I needed AND a Kitchen Aid hand mixer that does everything the standing mixer does — for $40. Grabbed it.

Not only does it work beautifully (and it has dough hooks for the next time I make bread), but, because it works properly, it took me three hours less to make the same amount of cookies.

I made a rolled chocolate cookie. I wanted to cut them into moose shapes (“chocolate moose”), but the design of the cutter and again, the dough’s lack of ease in working made it impossible. Also, the moose cookies are so big that I couldn’t get the volume I need to make for the plates. I tried making reindeer, but they didn’t hold their shape while baking, so I tried a different cutter and ended up with chocolate BOOTS. They’re okay, but, again, I don’t think I can make the volume I need.

I need at least 100 of each cookie to have enough for the 30 or so platters I’m doing. So I need a cookie that’s sturdy and that I can do in volume.

I made the molasses spice cookie — it’s one of my favorite recipes ever. Fantastic, easy to work with, makes a lot. That’s a definite for the platter, along with the Toll House. I can make more sugar cookies if I need to – and I think I will.

I also made a cranberry “sandie” — one of those melt-in-your-mouth cookies. I love them, but again, not a lot of volume, and I don’t think it’s sturdy enough for the platter. I also made an almond-hazelnut crescent, grinding the nuts to an almost flour-like consistency. Unfortunately, the cookies disintegrate if you pick them up or even try to move them. They taste good, but, again, not something packable and stackable.

What I’m going to have to do with the almond crescents is make a trifle with them by doing a layer of sponge cake, a layer of chocolate mousse, and then a layer of the crumbled cookies, another set of layers, topped with some raspberries and whipped cream. It’ll be fine, but it still doesn’t make a cookie for the platter.

So, the center of the platter will have a small gingerbread cake. I’ll surround it with Toll House, sugar, and the molasses spice cookies. I’m on the fence about the eggnog cookies. If I roll them and cut them thicker than the recipe says, I think they’ll be packable and stackable. A peanut cookie might be good, but so many people are now allergic to peanuts that I worry.

I do a cheat sheet with a photo of each cookie and ingredients so if there’s anything someone can’t have, they can avoid it.

Also spent a good part of the weekend packing and stacking the stuff I need to move for the furniture swap. Thursday comes up quickly.

I haven’t started decorating for the holidays yet. It doesn’t make sense to do it and then have to move everything for the furniture swap. Once the furniture is swapped out and I can put stuff back and rearrange and get some breathing room, I’ll decorate.

Haven’t started the cards yet, either, and the overseas need to go out by the end of the week.

I’m still working on the Christmas story, but I’ve got enough done so it’s in design. I also have to start another story due at the end of the month for an anthology and the steampunk TODAY. Even though I’m behind, I have to keep stacking things up or I get even more behind.

I’m headed to Long Island later this morning to acupuncture. I definitely need it. The next two weeks are going to be insane, but that’s the way it is. Time Management. NONE of these balls can drop, so if it means longer hours and harder work, that’s the way it is. It’ll be fine, just a lot for the next two weeks, and it all has to get done. No excuses, no room for letting anything slide. Once the furniture swap is done on Thursday, it will be much better. Even though next week will be busy, there will be more physical room in the place, which will allow for more psychological room.

I’d love to just take a nap and wake up on Christmas Eve with everything done, but that’s just not going to happen! So I’m gearing up for a busy couple of weeks.

Devon