I laughed when I found out that the Supreme Court justices provided their own robes, but they are paid handsomely for their service to our country. It’s not funny to me that the people who protect us for much less pay have to buy their own clothing, such as tactical pants. I wish they could receive multiple uniforms from their department budget, but if that’s not possible, it’s great that there are companies out there who take their jobs seriously, and provide high-quality uniforms for less than the usual retail price.

If you’re in the market for police gear, whether it’s because your department’s budget has been cut or just because you like to wear police clothes to your civilian job, definitely check out the selections at LA Police Gear. If you are buying for your police department or the military, they are set up for purchase orders, too.

So, we need to find the right Texas apparel so we won’t embarrass my in-laws in the pictures. I avoid “bling” and clothing with words on them for my daughters, and search for modest clothing. Even with those restrictions, I can burn a hole in my pocket at Cavender’s! Who wouldn’t want a fringed shirt?

My daughters are drooling over the children’s cowboy boots, all of which are less expensive and better made than those at other resellers. Once you have boots, you need western belts and accessories, and then you’re all set!

We have Australian Cattle Dogs, who can herd the cows for my cowgirls, too. Now to find a ranch and some cows where we can show off…

As the wife of an IT professional, I was fascinated to read about these results. Within the 2008 IT Skills and Salary Report, we are seeing a raise in salary in general for IT professionals, a great thing to see when your family relies on an IT job. It was also cool that my husband received a larger raise than the average.

Within the report, we can see that when IT professionals have 4-year degrees or above, they have an increased salary. Additionally, with each additional certification such as MCSE training, salaries tend to increase as well. In a time when our country is headed into a recession, it is heartening to see a profession that is growing, and a profession that rewards people who continue their education and increase their skill set.

The 2008 IT Skills and Salary Report is a very useful piece of information for anyone who is looking at IT as a profession, as well as for IT professionals who are looking to improve their own salaries.

If you’ve never played, there are a bunch of sport centers that feature paintball games; a great way to find out if it’s right for you and your family. Once you’ve tried it out, you’ll want to check into finding cheap paintball guns, and buying them from a company that carries the basics, the best known brands, and has a good price range.

If you’re kitting out yourself or your family, be on the look-out for helmets (with goggles! don’t poke an eye out!), protective clothing, and the ability to buy a paintball gun package so you don’t miss out on the one crucial accessory! Be sure to look for guns made by the Tippiman, Ion, and Spyder brands, as those are some of the best-selling. If you buy a product like the Tippmann custom pro, you’ll be able to find replacement parts easily, and if you buy it from Ultimate Paintball, you’ll get free shipping, in addition to many good deals!

Go have fun, but remember that you’ll have more fun if you’re safe and if you know you got free shipping and you didn’t pay full price!

Buy it with Coupons is dedicated to posting some of the best deals available online. It was serendipitous that right before going to the vet for the puppy’s first shots that I found their post linking to 25% off pet meds. This is definitely a site I’ll be checking out before shopping.

For businesses, there are even more reasons to have a label maker onsite. You could be printing labels for all of your files, storage, and more; no more messy handwriting! Plus, now there are label makers that can print postage! You can save yourself time and energy, never mind the cost of gas you use driving to the post office and circling 4 times before you can find a parking place!

While I have yet to meet a label maker I didn’t like, the LabelWriter 400 is special. It can print out almost any type of label you can imagine (and from any computer program you can imagine), plus it can access online stamps, then print out postage label. DYMO has a program for stamps that, unlike most others, doesn’t require a monthly fee. If you’ve got a small business, think of all the ways you could use this little machine that just uses one little USB port to make you happy!

Label makers, they’re the perfect present. Hey, isn’t Mother’s day around the corner? Or Easter? Oooh, buy yourself or your office a label maker to celebrate the first day of spring – you won’t have to waste this spring reading illegible handwriting on files, cramping your hand addressing a bunch of envelopes, or even waste it waiting in line at the post office!

I was offered the opportunity to test the new Naked Naturals citrus shampoo and conditioner, and it’s great to see a hair product with fewer chemicals and more ingredients I can pronounce!

I have always bought natural soap, but I have skimped on shampoo and conditioner, and now that I think of it, isn’t the shampoo and conditioner in closer contact to our eyes and mucus membranes? After that duh moment, I’m switching to a more natural shampoo. Naked Naturals is trying to have a better ecological footprint with no lauryl sulfates, no animal by-products, no harsh chemicals, no synthetic scents, and not tested on animals.

The Citrus and Keratin Naked Naturals shampoo and conditioner have a good lather and a good scent. The citrus-y scent really smelled clean to me. As a person with medium-long hair, I want a conditioner that de-tangles and leaves my hair feeling stronger, both of which occurred with the Naked Naturals conditioner. I’ve used salon conditioners that left my hair feeling brittle and dry, but after washing and conditioning my hair with the Naked Naturals products, it felt strong.

I’m glad I had the chance to try the Naked Naturals shampoo. I’m planning to pick up a couple bottles so that I can do a long-term test about their claims of strengthening hair. The difference in how my hair feels after only one use is impressive, so I look forward to seeing what happens after a week or two! I’ll have to post a review update.

We give the Naked Naturals products 4 spotlights out of 5; great cleaning and conditioning, much more natural than most shampoos & conditioners, but still has a few unpronounceable words in the ingredients!

Thankfully, you can find just about anything online! The folks at The Goldwasser Team in Austin have articles on home-buying dos and don’ts to help new home buyers. Of course, they also have a list of the newest Austin home listings, which are making me drool. While prices in the Austin area have gone up in the past 6 years, they are still much lower than the home prices in New England!

Austin real estate has special features – a view of the Greenbelt or a home near Town Lake is special, but what would that mean for your family? Is the home you spot for $154,000 in a good part of town? Where is Hays, TX, and what is the town like? All of these questions need a real estate agent who is familiar with the area.

I’m itching to click on all the links, but I’d need to find a job that would relocate my husband down to Austin before we could buy a home there…. A girl can dream, though! And a girl can read the tips and articles without having to sell belongings, good information for free is always good!

If you need to get your book in print, one way of doing it is self-publishing. You need to be careful, though – sometimes “self-publishing” companies are actually scams. Author House has been around for over 10 years, and has a history of working with authors. These Book Publishers will work with you to help you see your words in print!

Interestingly, a book I recently reviewed was originally self-published – and now it’s being published by a major publisher! This could happen to you, too!

Vat19.com truly has something for everyone! A Cell Phone Charging Station that doubles as a place for glasses, mail, and keys would be a great gift for a co-worker or a relative who frequently loses their cell phone!

My favorite unique gift idea is this one: a USB cannon controlled by your computer. One would hope that if you gave this to a co-worker you would be off the “target” list! This is the perfect gift for the geek on your list. Why didn’t I find this last Christmas? I know where I’ll be shopping for the next set of birthdays and holidays!