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.

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!

So, if you are looking to search for jewelry, see if there is a theme that will work for your particular needs. Are you going to a garden party, or an event to benefit the local conservatory? In that case, you may want to search for floral themed jewelry. Some of the more ornate pieces might not be best for volunteering at the Audubon, though!

Perhaps you are going to an elegant benefit or fund-raiser, and you will be wearing your hair up, with a ball gown or gorgeous evening dress. You could take your theme from the chandeliers that will light your tables, and search for long, dangly earrings which will help frame your face, necklace, and gown.

If you are a part of a wedding party, you will want jewelry that matches the color you are required to wear. Or, if you have chosen a dress for another event, you may wish to find jewelry based on the color. Another reason to search for jewelry in a specific color is if you are going to a charity benefit – remember the (PRODUCT) RED(tm) is helping to fight AIDS in Africa, and pink is associated with Breast Cancer research. Therefore, if you are planning to attend a Breast Cancer fundraiser, be sure to stock up on pink jewelry in advance!

Sometimes you can’t determine a theme for the event, and you end up going through page after page of jewelry search results. In that case, it can be helpful if you choose a brand name or a style, such as Bulgari style rings, and go from there. It’s like deciding to put a Tiffany-style lamp in your living room, sometimes a touch from a well-known designer (or a knock-off) can pull together the rest of an outfit!

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!

For other folks, there are a few options. You can call in a bunch of favors to friends, or you can find a company that offers on-site service for homes and residences.

There are a lot of small businesses that can’t afford a full-time IT department. Private schools with computer labs would fall into this category, too. If you have the need to have someone on-call, but not enough service needs to pay someone full-time and with benefits, it’s a good idea to find someone to outsource your IT needs.

Fast Teks.com has a wide variety of services available for residences and businesses, including office relocation assistance. Trust me, computers and cables need special treatment during an office relocation – you don’t want to entrust them to a regular moving company!

Companies like Fast Teks.com are really helpful for small companies and families who don’t have an IT person in their household!

I don’t quite believe that this is possible, but Zenni Optical is selling glasses (complete with prescription lenses) for as little as $8 before shipping. As a caveat, there are limited frames in that price range, and it only includes single-vision glasses – no bifocals.

The other caveat is that you need to know your prescription. Which, if you haven’t had your eyes checked since your last move, might be difficult. And a sign that you should go get that done. I’ve had the same pair of glasses for 2 moves (so, 6 years), mostly because I don’t have a couple hundred dollars to drop on glasses.

This is just the motivation I needed to go get my eyes checked again, and then grab a pair of glasses. I had been wanting to try rectangular frames, but worried I would lose some of my peripheral vision. I can’t tell that by trying them on, so it felt like too much of a gamble. But if I can try them for under $20, I’m all for it. I’ll probably go to a brick and mortar store somewhere to try on different “types” of glasses, because that seems to be the only drawback here – no ability to try on the glasses.

What made it sound too good to be true for me was that so much is included, even for the $8 glasses – anti-scratch, UV protection, lens polishing and beveling, a cleaner cloth, and fully guaranteed. I may get myself a pair of sunglasses finally – the sunglass coating is only $4.95. From what their website says, they make and sell the frames themselves, so there’s no middleman and a very low advertising budget. I guess word-of-mouth is good! I’ll have to update this once I buy some. Here’s hoping I only need to buy 2 pairs – 1 regular and 1 sunglasses, nothing for anybody else in the family!

If you are looking for a way to reduce your fuel bills, gas wall heaters can help. If you can use a natural gas fireplace to keep your main room warm, then you can lower the thermostat, rather than heating the rooms you don’t use. You can get products that run on natural gas that is piped to your home, run on a tank of propane, or ones that are electric.

While most of these heaters require professional installation, they don’t need venting, so installation shouldn’t be all that labor intensive. If you’re in a house that doesn’t have the ability to be vented for a wood stove, indoor heaters can bring you the warmth of a wood stove (and the safety of having back-up heat) without the venting. I know I’ve got my eye on one, as I type this with a fleece blanket and fingerless gloves on so we can cut down on fuel bills!