Happy Holidays! My Online Shopping Experience

I'm glad you made it to this site. Just wanted to share my experience shopping online for Christmas presents.

First, I had a list in mind of what to get the children based on television shows they watched. You can't go wrong buying something they see on tv, because in their world it's like having their favorite character jump right off the television screen into their home!

The next thing I noticed during my internet surfing was the incentives that jumped out at me on the various websites. I found that the ones that say "select shipping" is a complete waste of time when you are on a limited budget. Most of the popular items you will have to pay shipping costs.

When I find a site I am interested in, usually the ones that I would shop offline because they tend to still beat out most of the competition, I head straight for the clearance items first. When you do this, you never know how much you will save! However, what I have noticed is that since it is getting closer to Christmas time, some of the sites are offering better incentives, but still not the best, like free shipping on all items. So since they may not offer free shipping on the items I buy, then I will go with sites that offer cheap shipping costs. You can actually put in your desired shipping cost in the serach engine to see what comes up; for instance put 97 cent shipping and most likely Walmart will come up. Also, consider buying from private sellers. They tend to have the best costs for a variety of reasons. Sometimes what they receive was a gift so they have nothing to lose from selling it, other times they are an inexperienced seller just looking to move product and make the sell, and then there are those who have been around along time and just know how to price the items perfectly since they have bought so many. So I enjoy buying from the seller who has a 95% or better rate, who has been on the Internet selling for more than a year, who has visible contact information, and who also states the specifics when it comes to shipping, returns, etc. You just can't go wrong with some of these private sellers so give them a chance. They usually have stores on sites like Amazon and Ebay, but also check out IOffer, Ubid, Craigslist, and Overstock. But be careful when you do buy from classified ads, get their contact information first and don't pay upfront unless you feel 100% comfortable with the transaction. If you feel somewhat uneasy, test them. Ask more questions, do more research, and don't give out any of your contact information until you know enough about them to file a complaint in case something should happen in the future.

Lastly, I avoid any site that doesn't have a phone number, email, street address, or any other contact information. I also scroll down the front of the home page to the bottom to see if the website has been updated to the current year, if not, I don't make a purchase with those lesser known sites. All information must be visible and up to date. You can always check on ripoffreport.com to see if anyone has filed a claim for fraudulent activity.

I hope you found this information useful, so go out there and start shopping!

What is happening in 2009 to Nicholl McGuire?

Well let's start off by saying that I will be releasing two books that I have written about mothers to mothers. Those of you who have been silently dealing with issues concerning your children that you feel no one seems to understand or is empathetic to your cause, I am hear to tell you I am! I expose both young and old motherhood issues in my new book, When Mothers Cry. I bring to you a host of painful issues we can all relate to that make mothers cry and I also tell of ways some mothers have dried their tears up! From the partner who you use to be madly in love with, but since the children showed up, you are ready to say, "See ya! I can do bad all by myself!" to the issues you have with other mothers including your own! There are some powerful truths in When Mothers Cry, the kind that make you say, "I was thinking the same thing!" This book was created to bring mothers together to find the solutions to the nonsense that society has fed us on what our role as mother should and shouldn't be! So get the book, be encouraged, and then pick up my next one...

Book of Questions for Mothers and The Men Who Love Them, yes I know, "What's up with the long title?" Well if you know anything about Internet search marketing, then you know that this can work to my advantage, before it's all said and done the title may change, but my name won't so you will still be able to find it under my name in the search engines. Anyway, the book provides some insightful questions to help you understand yourself as well as the other mothers around you. Men who have always wanted to know more about their mothers, but were too afraid to ask or couldn't figure out the right questions to ask her will also enjoy the book. As you know life is too short to not say or ask the questions that you always wanted answers to about your mother. This is another one of those entertaining, yet serious books that will get your meeting, party, or some other event off to a good start! Keep new mothers in your group interested, bless some with wisdom by offering some deep information about yourself, delve in deeper to who you are and what your purpose in life is besides being a mother, the questions in this book will surely inspire you to want to change direction, drop a few things, and/or start something new!

Both books are available for pre-order now to ensure that you get your copy early. They will be sold through me at the temporary cost of $12 each. The price will go up once it is released on the Internet. There will only be a limited number of copies printed when you purchase directly through me, so if you don't want to miss out, get it. The Book of Questions for Mothers...is scheduled to come out during the spring, but may come out sooner depending on interest. When Mothers Cry will be out in time for Mother's Day. If you want more information about either book, email me.

As for my first book, Laboring to Love an Abusive Mate, interest increased during the month of October, because that was domestic violence awareness month. Now I noticed another increase has taken place nearing the Christmas holiday, so thank you to those of you who are getting the word out about my book! There is a new blog site dedicated to the book, if you are interested in purchasing it, go to Click Here!

Well, thanks for stopping by, feel free to click around this site, I'm sure you will find something that will peak your interest! God bless and please continue to pray for me as I will continue to do the same for you!

Are Secrets Destroying Your Relationship? What to Do About Them.

Someone knows something about you that you don’t want your partner to know. You know you should have told him or her by now; but you don’t want to because you fear what he or she may think of you if they knew the truth, so you continue to lie or don’t say anything at all.
It may have been a scar on your body that you lied about, an experience that you told them but left out the details, or something that you did in the past that you regret. Whatever the secret, if it is killing your peace, stealing your joy, or destroying your relationship, then it is something that has to be said and you will just have to deal with the consequences as they come up.
People lie out of fear and they make up excuses when they don’t want to bother with the truth. “I told you this lie, because I was scared you would break up with me.” The reality is that a person will more likely break up with you because you didn’t just come out with the truth and kept the lie going. It is never too late to tell the truth, but if and when you do, prepare yourself for the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Too many people have a false hope when it comes to a secret-- the hope that no one will ever find out about it. But as we see someone always finds out as long as there is someone living to talk about it or evidence circulating about it. That is why in the movies the snitch is murdered and the object of discussion is destroyed. But such drastic measures need not happen when the truth is told right from the very beginning. There is a way to tell the truth and relieve your conscience without saying anything and the following information will help you do just that.
Some people will purposely leave information behind so that someone else tells what happens. Others will tell a big mouth in the hopes that they will tell whoever needs to be told or they may write an anonymous letter. Strangers can be some secretive people’s best friends by being there to listen. They are able to find the peace they need when they confide in someone who isn’t involved and doesn’t know them.
Another way to tell your truth is by leaving circumstances and events open to question. For example, you can tell just enough about an incident and leave it open to interpretation usually leaning toward the truth. The person listening can read between the lines if they are smart enough. If it is too embarrassing even for them, they may have learned of the secret, but never say a word. I think of media outlets like the National Enquirer, they wouldn’t exist if there wasn’t some celebrity’s assistant, family member or friend feeding them with secrets. Who knows maybe this is why many celebrities don’t bother to sue, because they know it all isn’t a lie?
You may be giving yourself a hard time about someone finding out about your secret or maybe someone else is giving you stress about someone finding out, but if it is killing what matters the most to you then rid yourself of it and try using some of the ways that were explained to you. Because if you don’t, you will find yourself creating more lies to cover up lies.
Once you have made up in your mind how you will expose your secret, have thought about all of the consequences as a result, go ahead and show or tell your truth. Just like a teacher assigns a child a “show and tell” assignment in school, you will have to be prepared to show or tell your secret. Avoid the temptation to lie again and if you find yourself doing it, tell the person, “I’m sorry, let me try this again…this is what I really meant…no what I just said is incorrect…” If you fear the person may act violent, don’t be around when they find out your secret. If you rely on the person for food, money, and shelter then wait until you have these things before you tell them anything. You don’t want to be put out on the street. If you have children with this person, be sure you know what to do if they should threaten to take your children away from you because of the secret. If you know you have done or said something that may help in a criminal investigation then be sure to have a support system around you such as a lawyer, clergy, and family. There are those secrets that may be related to employment. If so, don’t say anything unless you have another job. You don’t want to do the right thing and then find that you are without a job. Exposing a secret has to be well thought out, timed appropriately and all options must be exhausted. People get into heaps of trouble when they don’t consider who may get hurt and what may happen as a result of exposing a secret that affects them or someone else.
When you expose a secret that is bringing you or someone you love much pain and grief, you will feel a peace in spite of the consequences. You will wonder what took you so long. In time, you will find that you are acting different. There will be those bouts that you will wish you had never said anything, but then you will remember the peace of having finally told. Even if you don’t feel comfortable in your decision initially, think of the person who may be helped as a result. Of course, if you have told lies to cover up your secret, you will have to earn their trust again.
Think of the many people who have told their stories of sexual and physical abuse, things they saw, what they heard and how their stories helped so many including themselves. If we all kept everything to ourselves and said nothing, then we would all die with broken hearts having helped no one. I thank God for those people who came before me and shared their terrible secrets, if it wasn’t for their courage, I would have never been able to face my own challenges.
Sometimes when people carry secrets they may not realize that what is so important to them may not matter to the person who loves them. If someone truly loves you, then they will walk through the fire with you. If you look at the benefit of having a secret and eventually tell it, you will find that it is a test on whether or not a relationship was meant to be. If this person who claims that they love you can’t handle a little secret, then what makes you think they will be able to handle even bigger challenges in the future? You may have to re-evaluate whether you want this person to continue to be a part of your life.
Finally, there are those secrets that don’t help anyone and those are better left being buried with you when you die.