My Reality TV Obsession American Pickers, Storage Wars & Pawn Stars

I never thought I would be a reality TV junkie. I dont watch the Snookies, Singing Shows, Dating or Match Making ones but I LOVE the shows about antiques, collectibles and making money off them! I have 3 shows that are a must watch.

The first is American Pickers. This show is so fun. Its about two friends who own an antique store that travel America looking for what they call "Rusty Gold". They find people who have collectibles and junk for sale and buy it to sell in their store. Its like a nation wide yard sale hunt without any signs lol. I would love to have this be my job. I often see them pass up stuff I know is valuable but they pick stuff based on their clientele. They find a lot of "manly" items but still cool stuff.

Another show I like to watch is Storage Wars. Storage unit purchasing has become a huge industry and long before it made its way to TV I have been trying to get my husband to try it with me. Well we never did and now people are doing it everywhere! I must admit as a somewhat of a germ-a-phobe I would have a hard time going through the stuff but the wonderment of what treasure might be inside might convince me to put on a rubber outfit and dive in!

Pawn Stars is also a cool show since it has like a mini history lesson for each item they look at. Its like the cool kids Antiques Road Show (that show ARS is what started my antique show watching obsession many many many years ago!) They have funny personalities and its a family run Pawn Shop. It takes place in Las Vegas where the store is and they get to see all sorts of items that people want to sell. The call in experts to help them appraise stuff and its exciting watching people sell their stuff. I have a few things in my closet I would like looked at but I am so NOT a Vegas kind of person. I have been trying to find a good appraiser locally for some old books I have.

There have been a few other shows appearing that are similar to these shows that I have been checking out but none are as fun as these three.

Have you seen any of these shows? Do you have a favorite?

1-800 CONTACTS Website Review

My husband has worn contacts since he first started high school. He like most kids that wore glasses wanted contacts as they became a teenager. For sports, looks or convenience contacts are a great solution for not wanting to wear glasses when you need them. We shop in stores for contacts and with a 2 year old and a husband who hates to shop it can be a no fun task. He has a brand he likes to always use but does from time to time try what is new and improved. We have considered shopping online for contacts to save time and money.

I have heard the name 1-800 CONTACTS many times on the internet and on tv. That is a good thing since I would be a bit worrisome to try a company I have not heard of for such a important item. The great thing about 1-800 Contacts is that guarantee to beat any price by 2%. Free Shipping on orders over $50 is great! My husband buys a few months worth at a time when we buy them, no one wants to run out of contact lenses.

They carry all the great brands that everyone buys like Acuvue, Air Optics, Focus, FreshLook, Air Optix Night and Day lenses and many more popular brands. Ever thought of changing your eye color for fun, if you have a prescription for contacts that can easily be obtained at a store like Walmart you can order colored lenses online at 1-800 Contacts. I wonder what I would look like with brown eyes?!? All with the convenience of being at home at your computer to order them. Then just waiting on the mail to deliver them. I love the simplicity of online shopping!

They have a lot of info to get you started if you are new to contact lenses and also have live chat. So much easier to ask right then while on the site then to have to send an email. I have been using Live Chat with many companies lately and I love it.

Next time my husband needs to stock up on Contact Lenses I will have him look at the 1-800 Contacts website. You can learn more about contacts as well as find out about great sales by following 1-800 Contacts on Facebook and Twitter.

*This is a sponsored post. A sponsored post does not effect my opinion. I gave an honest story and opinion.

Bosch Auto Parts & Reed Timmer of Discovery Channel’s Stormchasers Contest and Prize Pack Giveaway

 

Have you seen the show on Discovery Channel Storm Chasers? I have watched it several times and find it fascinating. Its exciting to see all the extreme storms out there. Living in Cali we dont get very much extreme weather.  Extreme weather when you are out in your car calls for  a serious car to be able to handle it. The Storm Chasers have the Dominator for their car. Reed Timmer from Storm Chasers tested out Bosch new ICON wiper blades in the The Dominator. Sounds like the perfect test car to me! 

 Bosch has introduced the new ICON wiper blades. These bracketless wipers are designed without metal or plastic brackets, joints or hinges, which means they’re an improvement over conventional wiper blades.

To celebrate the release of the ICON wiper blades, Bosch is holding a contest where one lucky Facebook fans will win an experience of a lifetime: an all-expenses-paid, five-night VIP Storm Chasing trip for you and a guest, with Reed Timmer of Discovery Channel’s Storm Chasers.


You can enter the Bosch & Storm Chasers Facebook Contest here

You can learn more about the ICON wiper blades over at http://www.boschcleartheway.com.

Reed is documenting his experience with the Bosch ICON wiper blades in a series of webisodes:

"The Dominator"

"Why Reed Chases Storms"

BLOG GIVEAWAY
To help celebrate the New ICON Bosch Wiper Blades being tested by the Storm Chasers I am hosting a Giveaway for a Bosch prize-pack. 

The prize pack includes:

• A set of Bosch ICON wiper blades ($50 value)

• “Storm Chasers - Season 4” DVD ($55 value)

• A signed copy of Reed Timmer’s book “Into The Storm” ($20 value)

• A Bosch C3 6V/12V Fully Automatic 4-Mode Battery Charger ($70 value) 

To Enter This Giveaway: (mandatory entry before extra entries)

What Auto Parts Store is near you that sells Bosch ICON Wiper Blades? ( Look to the right of the site for the list of stores. We go to O'Reilly)


 *Leave a comment answering the question and be sure to leave your email address if its not public in your Google account*

Extra Entries: Can be done after leaving a comment for mandatory entry. If the extra entry says 1 extra entry leave 1 comment and 2 extra entries leave me 2 comments and so on.


-Enter the Bosch & Storm Chasers Facebook Contest +2
-Like Bosch Auto Parts on Facebook +1
-Follow Bosch Auto Parts on Twitter +1

-Like our new fan page on Facebook Frugal Family Tree +1
-Follow FrugalFamTree on Twitter +1
-Share this giveaway on Facebook ONLY, using the Share Button at the bottom on this post. +1 for each share you do. (can be done once a day)

-Copy and Paste This Tweet on Twitter and leave me the link (to find the link click on the time stamp under your tweet. Can be done once a day for the duration of the giveaway)


#Win Bosch Prize Pack w/ @BoschAutoParts ICON Wiper Blades Storm Chaser DVD + more @FrugalFamTree #Giveaway end 01/31 http://tinyurl.com/74efkog


*Limited to US residents; 18 years old and above. Giveaway starts January 12, 2012 and ends on January 31st , 2012 at midnight PST. Winner will be emailed and has 48 hours to respond before another winner is selected. I was not paid for this giveaway or post. The opinions on this item are 100% mine and may vary from others. The sponsor is responsible for providing the prize.

The Bathroom is now the Library

I love to read magazines. They are colorful and a short read. I have my favorite subscriptions that I need to have two of them include Martha Stewart Living and Bloomberg Businessweek. Baby Talk and Parents are two others I love to read. Lately it seems I cannot find the time to read them other than in the bathroom lol. If my son sees a magazine he wants to look at it then tear all the pages out making sure he shows me any pictures of babies or animals. As sweet as it is when I have not read it yet its money wasted not being able to read it.

So I have been hiding them in the bathroom! I have a really cute basket in there that I put hair brushes and pony tail holders in that I now use for my magazines. Its the one room my son has not taken over in the house, a least until he learns to use the potty!

What are your favorite magazines to read and do you have to hide out to enjoy them? :)

Spontaneous Happiness Book Review By Andrew Weil

For many years now I have been a fan of Andrew Weil and the many books that he has written. His latest book is called Spontaneous Happiness and I am very pleased to add it to my bookshelf. There are so many how-to-be-happy books available today that it's difficult to choose one that can really make a difference in your life. Dr. Weil is a trusted source of information, he is both a Harvard educated MD and a recognized expert of alternative medicine. We all want to be our happier, to feel better about ourselves and our lives and release ourselves from any type of depression that we may be suffering from. Dr. Weil offers us insight into the causes and cures of depression and shares his own history of depression with us. He is also surprisingly frank about the way that drugs are over prescribed by doctors and drug manufacturers.

This book is most certainly not a light read, but it is extremely interesting and informative to anyone seeking help to find a happier life. The mind-body connection plays a very significant role in our health and happiness and it is thoroughly explored. As usual, Dr. Weil 's advice is compassionate, insightful, and able to be incorporated into our lives on a daily basis. Spontaneous happiness itself isn't something we can easily achieve or maintain. Emotional health and well being depend on so many factors, including our relationships, physical health, finances, spirituality and more. If we can even recognize the fact that we can consciously choose to make ourselves happier, it is a much more achievable goal. There is an 8 week program included to help us put all the information and recommendations to work for us. I encourage everyone to read this book because we can all use help to achieve the maximum happiness in life.

You can connect with Andrew Weil, M.D. on his facebook and twitter pages.



* I was not paid or compensated for this post. I was sent a free copy of this book for my review by the publisher/PR company. The opinions are 100% mine and may vary from others.