Category "Gifts for Me"

Upgrade His or Her Lifestyle | Thoughtful Gift Ideas

Princess Diana - February 11, 2015 - Anniversary, Birthday, Business, Christmas, Father's Day, Gifts for Him, Gifts for Me, Mother's Day, Valentine's Day

You probably know someone who is hard to shop for. It can be frustrating finding this type of person the perfect gift because they seem to have everything.

Don’t worry. For those who are hard to shop for, buy them a nicer version of something they already have in order to upgrade his or her lifestyle!

By upgrading, you’ll be giving someone a higher level of quality, comfort, beauty, performance, protection, or utility.

These types of gifts really work well when someone doesn’t typically spend money on themselves or when someone isn’t aware of what they’re missing by not owning a better brand that provides additional benefits.

10 New Year’s Gifts for Me, Myself and I

Queen Darlene - January 1, 2015 - Gifts for Me

Have you noticed how New Year’s resolutions have become detested by the majority? Gosh, it’s like social suicide to even bring New Year’s resolutions up in conversation these days!

I think it’s because the term “New Year’s resolutions” has become associated with the word “failure.” I have an idea of how to get out of that negative mindset! Make your list a New Year’s Gifts to Me!

When you are making your New Year’s Gifts to Me list, think of yourself first and how your list will benefit you when it is accomplished. I’ve taken the top 10 most popular New Year’s resolutions listed in the graphic to the right and added a “thoughtful twist” to frame them in a positive way.

1. More Time with Family & Friends! – My gift to me: I laugh more when I am around people I enjoy, and laughter is the best medicine!

2. Forever Fitness! – My gift to me: When I exercise, I sleep better, I’m more energetic, and I’m more conscious of what I eat because I work hard exercising. I think I’ll try yoga!

3. Lose It! – My gift to me: Health benefits, blood pressure comes down, change in body shape, and clothes fit, look and feel better. My reflection in the mirror will make me smile!

4. Live Life! – My gift to me: Change my hectic schedule by saying “No” to things I really don’t have to do, and saying “Yes” to more things I want to do. Take singing lessons, learn photography, become an artist or whatever my heart desires!

5. Ashtrays are Out of Style! – My gift to me: By quitting smoking, it will improve my health and save hard-earned dollars. That money saved can go towards more worthwhile things like paying off debt, buying a new flat screen TV, or going on a much-needed vacation. Aloha! Continue Reading

Because I’m Happy | Happiness Jar Project

Princess Diana - December 30, 2014 - $20 or Less, Gifts for Me

I’m a true believer that happiness is finding joy in the little things in life.

That’s because you’ll have hundreds of small happy moments in one year, but only a handful of large happy moments.

Capture and collect your happy moments by writing them down and dropping them in your Happiness Jar.

When my husband cuddles with me before we go to bed, I’m happy. When I read to my son, I’m happy. When my co-workers make me laugh, I’m happy. When I eat a delicious meal, I’m happy. When I spend time outdoors in warm weather, I’m happy.

Sometimes we miss these happy moments because we’re focused on the negative things. The stress of work or family drama can overshadow the blessings in our lives.

A great way to start recognizing all of the happy moments in your life is to start a Happiness Jar. All you need is a jar or container, some scraps of paper, and a pen. Set the jar in a place that you will see it everyday.

Any time something makes you happy, write it down on a piece of paper with the date and drop it into the jar.

Each time you do it, good feelings will emerge. Be present in that moment and take time to savor those feelings. As you continue filling your Happiness Jar, you’ll find you become better at recognizing the happiness that sprinkles itself in the different areas of your life.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Queen Darlene - October 2, 2014 - Birthday, Business, Experiences, Gifts for Me

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I love my birthdays. Always have. I really never worried about turning a year older. Well… maybe once. When I turned from 16 to 17 years old. I would never again be 16 and never been kissed!

My mother made sure my brothers and I had a birthday cake, a gift, and that we always celebrated birthdays together as a family. We had very few birthday parties where we invited our friends. I’m not sure why other than it was kind of the norm back then.

As I got older, I would celebrate with friends and co-workers by going out to dinner, a movie or even dancing.

Now I celebrate birthdays for an entire week!

It happened quite by accident. During a week of my birthday, my best friend from grade school who lives in Texas mailed a birthday package to my office. She was not the only one. A friend from Albuquerque also sent a package. One of my dear friends who I work with presented me with a gift. You see a pattern here? My mother showed up with a gift on another day and on the last day of the week, my actual birthday, my husband took me to lunch.

Thus, the Birthday Week was born!

The following year I declared Birthday Week and for that thoughtful twist, instead of receiving gifts I give gifts to my co-workers. No gifts for me! Period! Because my co-workers thought it was weird not to give birthday gifts, I relented by saying, “OK… you can get me a birthday card.” Continue Reading

Instant Photobooks Delivered Monthly | Groovebook

Princess Diana - September 2, 2014 - $20 or Less, Baby Shower, Birthday, Christmas, Gifts for Me, Mother's Day

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Click. Click. Click. With the camera on our smartphones, we can quickly capture any moment with ease. Many of of us have hundreds of photos stored in our phones.

Besides the ones you’ve shared on social media, most of the photos you’ve taken on your phone have probably never been seen by another human being. That’s too bad!

You also probably don’t get many of them printed either. Heck no! That would be waaaay too expensive!

Or is it?

What if I told you that you could print 100 photos from your phone each month and have it shipped to you in a keepsake photobook for just $2.99? That’s the total price. No tax. No shipping and handling.

These Are A Few of My Favorite Things | Mother’s Day Gift Ideas

Queen Darlene - May 1, 2014 - Anniversary, Birthday, Gifts for Me, Mother's Day, Valentine's Day

This Mother’s Day gift idea came from my boss, even though it did not start out as a Mother’s Day gift. He asked me and several other female co-workers, “If you only had one item to choose as your favorite product, what would it be?”

I asked him, “What do you mean? Clothing? Jewelry? Makeup? A book?”

He just said, “It doesn’t matter. It can be anything.” He was going to use our best products to choose gifts for his wife’s birthday. Awesome idea!

I had to think about it for a few minutes and decided it was my eye makeup remover. I have used several different kinds through the years but this one is by far the best in removing my mascara. No fuss, no mess! Dab it on a cotton ball and swoosh your makeup comes right off!

I have given the makeup remover as a gift many times since that experiment with my boss. Just never really thought about it as a gift idea until then. Everyone that I have given it to has loved it as much as I do. Continue Reading

Custom Personalized Name Ring | Mother’s Day Gift Idea

Princess Diana - April 8, 2014 - Anniversary, Baby Shower, Birthday, Christmas, Gifts for Me, Mother's Day

Coming up will be my second Mother’s Day. My son will be 19 months old, and I just love him more and more with each month that passes. (I’m surprised my heart hasn’t burst out of my chest yet!) I wanted a piece of jewelry with his first name – Aiden – and middle name – Dragen – (he was born in 2012 the Year of the Dragon) and decided on a ring so that every time I looked at my hands, this ring and my wedding ring would remind me of the two most important people in my life.

I found a store on Etsy.com that makes custom personalized name rings but what made them stand out is that you get to pick out the font! With so many stylized fonts in existence, a person’s name can look like a beautiful custom piece of art.

You can also choose a font style that best fits the personality of the mother. A script or cursive font might be better for one mother while a retro or handwritten font might be the better choice for another. My favorite font website is Dafont.com because they have a wide variety of font styles. You can also type in names or words and see what they will look like in a certain font.

By selecting what goes on the ring, the metal the ring is made of, and the font, you can tell someone you custom designed the ring for them!

Random Acts of Kindness for Your Own or Someone Else’s Birthday

Princess Diana - March 25, 2014 - Birthday, Experiences, Gifts for Me

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUw92wHDbSk&feature=youtu.be

When my friend Erin turned 34 years old, she posted the following message on Facebook:

pay it forward popcorn taped to Redbox machine

Pay It Forward Idea – Tape a package of microwaveable popcorn to a Redbox machine along with a note!

Friends and family – I am on a quest to complete 34 random acts of kindness today in honor of my birthday… will you help? Pretty please!?

It can be as simple as buying the order of the person in the drive through behind you, helping someone load their groceries in the car or taping quarters to the candy machines at the mall. It can be done at anytime and anywhere!

And if you wouldn’t mind sharing with me (send me a text, give me a call, post it on my Facebook wall), I would love nothing else on my birthday than to hear about all the nice things being done for others! I am starting today with volunteering at the Oklahoma City Regional Food Bank until noon if anyone would like to come and join!