Oprah's Favorite Things Hits Big This Holiday Season

Author : Shelly Lowery

Oprah Winfrey is one of the most popular talk show hosts in American television history.  As her show enters its 21rst season, she has millions of viewers who tune in each day.  One of her most popular segments is her "Favorite Things" holiday show.  During this show, Oprah shares with the studio and television audience some of her favorite things including jewelry, gadgets and vacation getaways.People love this show because on the "Favorite Things" episode, audience members get the extravagant gifts that Oprah displays.  Around 300 audience members are showered with gifts each holiday episode.  The amount varies, but Oprah audience members can each expect to receive between $4,000 and $15,000 worth of gifts.  But, Oprah is a big winner as well.  The 2004 episode of  "Oprah?s Favorite Things" had the highest ratings ever for a "Favorite Things" episode and was the second highest rated episode for the season.Oprah has been doing her "Favorite Things" episode since 1999.  Guests received a set of Illumination Ritual Candles, each one to inspire different feelings like love, peace and passion and each candle contained a tiny gemstone inside.  The 12-candle set was valued at $169.95.  Dog owners were no doubt thrilled with the Fifi and Romeo Pet Clothing ($150 and up) - one of Oprah?s favorite things of 1999.  One of the most extravagant gifts that year was a Susan Abbott Personalized Painting, ranging from $5,000 and up. Oprah loved the Susan Abbott painting given to her by author Sarah Ban Breathnach.In 2000, Oprah added many hi-tech gadgets like the Motorola Talkabout pager (priced at $179), so audience members could receive email while on the go.  Another favorite thing from 2000 was the book equivalent of the iPod, the Gemstar REB1100 eBook from RCA ($299).  The Gemstar let users download up to 8,000 book pages, so they never had to carry around a book again.The BlissLabs Glamour Gloves ($44) and Gel ($22) was one of Oprah?s favorite things in 2002.  The Panasonic 4-in-1 Digital Camera from Frontgate ($449) was also a big hit that year.  The camera, the size of a credit card, takes pictures and video, but can also be used as a MP3 player and audio recorder.In 2003, Oprah decided to do two episodes of her favorite things segment - one in the Spring and one in the Fall.  Spring audience members got an Apple iPod ($399), Silhouette Minimal X Sunglasses ($175-$250), and a Hewlett Packard Digital Camera, Printer and Dock (total value $730) among other items.  Fall audience members racked up with UGG Classic Short Boots ($110), a Philip Stein Teslar Watch ($595), and a Sony DCR-DVD200 Handycam ($1000).2004 was a very special Favorite Things segment for Oprah.  She convinced 300 teachers to attend her show, under the premise of talking about education and a teacher?s daily routine.  Instead, she surprised them with the Favorite Things episode.  The teachers received gifts such as a Sony VAIO S260 notebook computer, a Dell 30" wide-screen LCD television, a Maytag Neptune Top-Load Washer and Drying Center, and a trip for two to the exclusive Miraval Resort and Spa.  Total gift amount for each teacher was about $15,000 - much more than the previous year total of $4,800.  Oprah, a supporter of education and teachers, knew the teachers were worth every penny.In 2005, Oprah decided to make her favorite things audience up of Katrina relief workers.  Among the gifts were Sony VAIO? FJ Notebook, Kashw?re? Shawl Collar Robe, BlackBerry 7105T from T-Mobile, and a couple of Oprah?s favorites from 2004, UGG Australia's Uptown Boot and an Apple iPod.  While considerably less than the year before, the 2005 recipients still received over $7,000 worth of items.Probably due in part to Oprah?s television audience as well as her personal appeal, each year the manufacturer?s of the items found on Oprah?s favorite things donate all the gifts.  But they reap great benefits from doing so.  They get television exposure and an immediate increase in sales after each episode.  Companies like Sephora and Macy?s have both publically stated that as soon as Oprah mentions one of their products, people are coming in the stores in droves to get it.So in the end, it is a win-win situation.  The manufacturers see increased sales, the audience gets great gifts, and Oprah just keeps on getting more and more popular with her viewing audience. Shelley Lowery is a successful writer with an interest in celebrities like Oprah Winfrey. She demonstrates the power of Oprah's Favorite Things list each year on the holiday shopping season. See her report on what products made the list on Oprah's Favorite Things for 2005, 2004, 2003, and 2002.

Category : General Art & Entertainment: Television

The Norelco T7500 - The Best Trimmer on the Market Today!

Author : adam

In this article i wanted to share with you the amazing Norelco T7500 trimmer i have recently discovered making my life a pleasure when it comes to the daily trimming and shaving all us men have to go through on a daily basis.The Norelco T7500In my experience the Norelco T7500 is one of the very best trimmers on the market today, what makes the Norelco T7500 so special? I will give you here now my experience of this great trimmer for you, and let you make up your own mind.Firstly the Norelco T7500 is made by the leading brand name in shavers and trimmers- Philips. The Norelco range from Philips is world class and is backed by a full, two year manufacturers warranty which is very handy when it comes to shavers / trimmers as these have a tendency to develop faults after many months.This modern trimmer has a great design function installed which feactures a dial allowing distance on the guard of the cutter to be altered manually allowing you to get a perfect trim to your personal requirements preventing mistakes which can be very embarrasing.The Norelco T7500 also feactures a setting function on the cutter blades which can handle the reoccuring six o'clock shadow most men develop at the end of the day to even finer adjustment settings which can handle almost any length of stubble / beard growth.Precise cutting has become childs play since i discovered the Norelco T7500 and never again a chore. This is down to the fact that this trimmer has individual settings ranging from 1.5mm to an amazing 18mm beard and hair length which can handle alomost anything you through at it.The Norelco T7500 also has a nifty LED window display on the body which displays the hair length its cutting at the time and also has a built in memory system which remembers the length of stubble / beard length last cut.This trimmers also comes with additional fucntions such as a manually operated trimmer device designed for those awkward places such as edge trimming. This function i have found enables accuracy when used on moustaches, goatee beards and side burns.The cutting blades on the Noreclo T7500 are made from high strength steel in the form of Chromium and has incorporated within cutting teeth which are rounded, i have found this cuts my hairs more efficiently especially around the contours of my face. This enables me to get a great close shave everytime and i would strongly recommend this to anyone.The Norelco T7500 also comes mains operated or battery charged and from what i have found the charge lasts a very long time which always comes in handy. In my opinion the Norelco T7500 is a robust, sturdy electric trimmer with a modern sleek cutting edge design which would make a perfect gift for anyone.For more information on the Noreclo range, visit our new website listed below or in the resource box connected with this articlbust, sturdy electric trimmer with a modern sleek cutting edge design which would make a perfect gift for anyone.For more information oe! Noreclo T7500Find out how you can get rid of up to 30% of your outstanding debt in just Ten Minutes!30% debt reduction Loan ConsolidationFind all the information you will ever need about your health here!Find Online Health Articles Here

Category : General Advice

Decisions, Decisions

Author : Marilyn Lustgarten
Chances are good that right now there is an opportunity to improve a situation in your organization that requires your decision. Perhaps it is a weighty one, with the potential for business consequences that you'd rather not deal with...so you aren't. You justify the delay with the claim that you need more time, more alternatives to consider, more money or resources before you can take action. The fact is, indecision is a decision…not to act. A wise man once said "If you are already in a hole, it's no use to continue digging." The situation that requires a solution will only get worse and your lack of decisiveness will become your legacy.FAILURE TO ACT CAN RESULT IN THE INCALCULABLE COST OF OPPORTUNITY LOST.Consider Barnes & Noble, who as the world's biggest bookseller, failed to act on the opportunity to tap the marketing potential of the Internet, until they became an "also ran" reacting to the overnight success of industry upstart Amazon.com. Or, put yourself in the picture of watching your most talented contributor hand you his resignation out of frustration to take a job with your fiercest competitor because you put off deciding to fund his idea or implement the solution to your organization's biggest problem.In his book The Paradox of Choice, Swarthmore psychologist Barry Schwartz talks about two general types of decision makers: "satisficers" - those that can determine how much information is enough in order to make the best choice possible and move on; and, "maximizers" - those that must examine every possibility and thoroughly analyze each one before deciding, and then worry about and second guess the decision once it's made." It seems reasonable to imagine that if some choice is good, then more choice is better, but psychologically, that's not true" says Schwartz, "Analysis paralysis sets in. There's a kind of regret when you make a choice." Decision makers that are "maximizers" can worry about the state of things, recognize that something needs to change, and yet avoid making it happen because they don't feel "certain" about their course of action. It makes sense, then, to have "analyzers", as well as "good enough" types in organizations to ensure a balanced approach to decision making.WAITING UNTIL THINGS ARE PERFECT CAN MEAN FAILING TO TAKE THE RISK THAT COULD LEAD TO A POSITIVE OUTCOME OR LEARNING EXPERIENCE.General George Patton once said "A good solution applied with vigor now is better than a perfect solution applied ten minutes later." Take the decision by 3M to go ahead with marketing the "failed to stay stuck" glue that has resulted in today's ubiquitous, and indispensable post-it note! Or, consider organizations that encourage and reward employee risk taking as a strategy for growth. One client of mine, for example, consistently uses mistakes to foster a learning environment and has a habit of saying to a manager who makes a bad call, "What did you learn from that experience and how can we apply it to decisions going forward?"The best decision makers are proactive rather than reactive, and those most adept at decision making use different techniques depending on the circumstances.HERE ARE A FEW TIPS:Don't sweat the small stuff: Make on the spot decisions for non-crucial things like what to have for lunch or what time to hold a meeting.Think on your feet: In a true crisis, stay calm, do a fast triage, use your instincts and go with what you've got.Narrow your choices: Quickly whittle the list of possibilities down to 2-3 reasonable options so you can take the time necessary to explore the realistic pros and cons before deciding on more weightier matters like implementing a new organization structure or selecting your successor.Face your fears: Write down the action or decision that is keeping you up at night. By identifying the toughest fears and asking, "What's the worst that can happen?" you should be able to clear the obstacles and see a straight path to the best decision.Ask for help: If you are overanalyzing, get an outsider to help you put things into perspective. If you tend to shoot from the hip, quickly initiate a brief survey or bring the team together to request their honest feedback."Your life changes the moment you make a new, congruent and committed decision." --Anthony RobbinsNow, back to the elephant in the room...what are you going to do right now about that situation waiting on your decision?Marilyn Lustgarten, president of The Star Makers Group, is an organizational strategist, coach and advisor to leaders in organizations experiencing the challenges of getting to the next level. Marilyn speaks professionally and is the author of numerous published articles on achieving stellar performance results through effective leadership, innovation and a winning culture. She also publishes For Your Inspiration, an electronic newsletter and resource for business leaders. For more information or to contact her visit http://www.starmakersgroup.com
Category : Self-Improvement:Leadership

Feathered Wreaths and Christmas Trees Ensure a More Natural Look

Author : Nancy Fitzgerald
Feathered Christmas trees are natural looking. Their branches aren't exactly the same. There is instead a natural variation in branch size. Feathered Christmas trees, whether artificial or real, look more natural than those not feathered. Trees aren't the only xmas decoration that could use some feathered effects either. You can choose online from a number of feathered Christmas wreaths, for natural looks and beautiful ornamentation of your home or door.We found some stunning feathered Christmas wreaths and trees made of pine. The wreaths were wired and beribboned. The designer started with a faux pine wreath with a realistic feathered look that was approximately 18 inches in diameter. Its frame, double wires, was 14 inches wide. This wreath was made with feathered pine that looked airy and light. Its needles gave it the feathered affectation that was also designed into the Christmas trees. The wreaths looked amazingly realistic, with pinecones and twigs placed through out the wreath.This vendor offered a variety of 18 inch feathered Christmas wreaths, the perfect doorway complement to your Christmas trees.The first displayed beautiful Christmas ribbon with caricatures of Ol' Saint Nick running through it. The second, as lovely as the first, sported a red ribbon with festive candy cane motif. Another of these feathered Christmas wreaths was decorated with a sheer ribbon of pale blue with beautiful snowflakes running through it.If you want to choose a larger wreath to accompany your feathered Christmas tree there are a number that are 22 inches in diameter, some with realistic looking snow hanging onto their limbs and gorgeous holiday bows.Nancy Fitzgerald makes it quick and easy to find the best Christmas trees. Read expert information here.
Category : Home-and-Family:Holidays

How To Get Out Of The Way Of Your Own Success

Author : Claire Hunt
Success is something that happens all by itself once you've decided to have it happen and let go of the process. How many things in your life are you absolutely certain that you can be successful at? Take some time to answer this question because your answer will establish the upper limit of your success.What I never used to understand about life is that success is our natural state of being. Failure is a learned experience that a lot of us decide to master through our determined efforts. And master it we do because success in everything, even failure, is our natural state of being.So why do that? If success is what we are all born to do in whatever we turn our hand at why on earth do we decide to become masters of failure? The reasons can be as varied as grains of sand. Maybe we are trying to gain the approval of others by living up to their expectations, maybe we value the experience of being miserable more than the experience of being happy. Who knows and you know what? It doesn't matter. Understanding the reason behind something isn't necessary to change it. It might amuse us and stimulate our minds but it's not essential work on the road to living success again.Success is easy once you realise that it's your equilibrium state and you don't have to work at it. If you've less success than you'd like to experience it's because you've been working hard at mastering failure. I'll say that again because it's so important. If you have less success than you would like to experience it's because you've been working so hard at failure.To experience success you just have to let go of the struggle, the striving and the constant trying. Forcing your will results in failure because it is resistance to your natural balance. The energy of resistance is you doing something while telling yourself you can't do it. Get used to the feeling of success because it's the key to creating more of it in your life. Success feels easy, it feels natural and you don't have to convince anyone or anything that you've got it. It's a natural part of you and never leaves your side.That doesn't mean you can do nothing and success will develop in your life. I'm not saying that. You still need to go through the process of learning, experiencing and creating because they are just as much a part of you as success. What you never have to do though is question whether or not success in any endeavour will come. Of course it will, it's assumed! Put your focus on the learning, the experience and the creation of whatever you are doing. This is where it needs to be. Keep it there and success will follow.Whatever you are doing you will make mistakes, that is also a given. No-one does anything without finding out how not to do it along the way. But what you must do is refuse to see any mistake, regardless of their number and frequency, as a predictor of your final outcome. See them as valuable learning experiences that help you get it right the next time and success is on it's way. See them as indicators of your talent and abilities and you're working hard at failure.It's natural to feel disappointment when your results are wide of your intended mark, but it's not natural at all to see them as proof that you will never make your mark. That's failure thinking.I always like to draw a comparison between us "mere mortals" and the reverred genius' of the world. The Mozarts, Picasso's, and Einsteins. These are not special souls possessing something you don't have. The only difference between them and you is that they knew how to let success happen.We tend to imagine that they never made a mistake or experienced frustration in their skills when we witness their virtuosity. How wrong we are. I remember reading an art instruction book that featured some of Vincent Van Goghs very early attempts, before he had mastered his skill. He suffered from the same problems of perspective, line and form that we all do when we first learn to draw. The featured picture of a man had a head that was too big, feet at strange angles and looked flat and lifeless. If Van Gogh had decided from these learning experiences that he had no talent for art and couldn't succeed then many museums would have empty places on their walls today.So the question I have for you is this. What masterpieces are you withholding from the world because you're working hard at failure instead of allowing success? We all possess the same spark of genius as Da Vinci, he just allowed his to express itself.Claire Hunt is a modern day Merlin, Merlin's mentor and founder of the Online Merlin Community. For a FREE subscription to Lucid Dreams, the Merlin's newsletter, visit us at http://www.merlinsouls.com
Category : Self-Improvement:Success

What You Should Know About the Mesothelioma Illness

Author : David Arnold Livingston
What is Mesothelioma? A lot of people are not aware of
this disease and thus, die due to the delay in
diagnosis. Millions of people die every year because of
cancer; it is among the most pervasive illnesses every
one of us is exposed to. Generally speaking, a cancer
is a group of diseases characterized by alarming rapid
growth of abnormal cells in the body. The disease can
affect almost any part of the body and among the most
commonly affected are the lungs. Cancer-causing
substances are everywhere, especially in the air that
we breathe so the lungs are vulnerable to several fatal
diseases. One rare cancer that affects the lungs is
Mesothelioma.Mesothelioma has been popularized only because of its
association with asbestos, a fibrous mineral form of
magnesium silicate used in fireproofing, chemical
filters, electrical insulation and others. Most of the
patients diagnosed with Mesothelioma have been
frequently exposed to asbestos. They are those who work
in construction sites, shipyards, insulator makers and
similar places. They usually inhale the impure fibers
from the asbestos that float through the air.It can be noted that there are about 30-50 per cent of
Mesothelioma patients who did not have any exposure to
asbestos, which leads to the assumption that asbestos
may not be the sole cause of Mesothelioma. There are
some Mesothelioma patients, too, that had only little
exposure to asbestos but had contracted the disease.
Activities such as washing clothes of a person who has
been exposed to asbestos can still put a person at high
risk of Mesothelioma cancer. This disease takes years
to develop so a person exposed to asbestos might be
diagnosed with Mesothelioma only after 20-50 years of
the exposure.Like other forms of cancers, Mesothelioma is named
after the part which is affected by the disease. In the
case of Mesothelioma, the malignant cells are found in
the mesothelium, a protective sac that covers different
internal organs. This protective sac produces fluid
that lubricates the organs, allowing them to move. They
allow the beating of the heart and expanding and
contracting of the lungs, for example. Specifically,
Mesothelioma affects the lining of the lung and chest
cavity. There are some cases, too, that the lining of
the abdomen (peritoneum) is the one affected. These two
types of Mesothelioma cancer are known as Pleural
Mesothelioma (affecting the lungs) and Peritoneal
Mesothelioma (affecting the abdomen).Symptoms of Pleural Mesothelioma include panting,
persistence of cough, loss of weight, fever and chest
pain. On the other hand, Peritoneal Mesothelioma may
cause swelling and pain of the abdomen and also weight
loss. During the early stages of Mesothelioma, the
symptoms are non-specific; thus, the disease is not
immediately identified. Also, the symptoms are often
mistaken as signs of pneumonia. There are instances too
that the patient doesn’t show any sign of this deadly
cancer.If a patient manifests any of the said symptoms, he
must immediately seek a physician’s help. Usually, an
xray is required to clearly see the abnormalities in
the lungs (in the case of Pleural Mesothelioma).
Indications of a Mesothelioma cancer include a build-up
of fluid between the pleura covering of the chest wall
and the diaphragm. In normal conditions, the
mesothelial cells produce only small amount of fluid
enough to lubricate the space between the chest wall
and the lung.The chance of a patient’s recovery from Mesothelioma
depends on the extent or stage of the disease and
location of the disease. Furthermore, the person’s age
and the way he responds to treatment and medication can
tell whether he can survive the cancer or not.
Generally the patient’s option for treatment include:
surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy and anticancer
drugs.David Arnold Livingston is an advocate for health
issues and suggests you check out:
http://www.newmesothelioma.com/
Category : Psychology

Credit Counseling - Signs That You May Need Help

Author : Rick Munster
Credit counseling is a viable option for those who are feeling the stress of being overwhelmed by debt. Credit counseling primarily offers assistance with working out a credit and debt repayment plan for an individual to gain control of their finances by creating a structured budget for an individual to follow. Credit counseling offers an individual the option to repay their debts, if needed, through a credit counseling debt repayment program. This is where the credit counseling organization becomes in contact with an individuals creditor to ask for lowered interest rates and for the credit provider to stop any late and over the limit fees that may be attached to a particular credit card.
Credit counseling organizations that provide a no charge credit and money management education program for an individual typically have the individual consumer's best interest on their mind.Credit counseling may be needed if the following signs are present:1. Are you using more and more of your income to pay your debts?
This becomes a problem if you are at the point where the money going out is less than or nearly less than the money coming in. Credit counseling would be a wise choice. Speaking to a credit counseling organization at this point can help because in a counseling session you may find that by sticking to a sound budget you may be able to avoid additional help. The best part is the counseling sessions should be at no charge, make sure of that before speaking to an agency.2. Do you make only the minimum payments due on your loans and credit cards each month?
Look at your budget, that is review what dollars are coming in and how those dollars are going out. You may find that by tweaking your budget you may be able to avoid credit counseling by implementing a plan of savings through following your own plan. This should allow you to free up more money to be more aggressive in repaying your debt. Credit counseling may be needed if you have reviewed your budget and can't find additional funds to pay more than the minimum amounts to your credit cards. Paying only the minimum to your credit cards will only prolong the length of time needed to repay your debt. Some credit cards may charge such a high interest rate that it could take years upon years to pay off with minimum payments.3. Are you near, at, or over the credit limit on your credit cards?
Once a credit card is nearing it's available balance or even worse if the credit card is over it's credit limit it is time to take aggressive action to pay down the balance. If this is a situation you are finding yourself in try finding additional dollars to bring your balances down. It is recommended that when doping this you do not open another credit account or take a consolidation loan to repay these accounts as more often than not taking a loan to pay a loan will result in more debt being owed. If you can't find the dollars to apply towards the credit cards try speaking to a credit counseling organization. They may be able to lay out a plan for you to repay the debt on your own, or through their own credit counseling services.4. Are you paying your bills with money intended for other things?
If you find yourself "robbing Peter to pay Paul" with your credit cards it may be acceptable if you are replacing the dollars that are going to unnecessary items such as cable TV., cell phone payments…etc. Just as long as those accounts have been paid and you are not accruing any more fees from them. However if you find yourself using dollars that are intended for necessary items such as a car payment, a house loan, food, etc. then you are most likely in a situation where credit counseling is an option you may need to look into. Look at speaking to a certified credit counselor that will offer a solution to your financial needs. Getting out of the red is very important, the sooner you take action the better.5. Are you borrowing money or using credit cards to pay for things you used to buy with cash?
This can be very problematic when you are utilizing your credit to purchase things like groceries, fuel or other disposable goods. If you are currently in the act of doing this review your finances to determine if you can avoid making these purchases with your credit. If this can't be avoided try speaking to a credit counseling organization. They should be able to give you the tools needed to avoid this costly practice.6. Do you often pay your bills late?
There are a few reasons on why an individual may frequently pay their bills after the due date. One of the main reasons is that there isn't a budget in place to follow, therefore rendering the payments of the debt to the instance of when a person gets paid. If a payment is due on the 25th and a individual is paid on the 30th this typically develops into a past due payment. This is due to the fact that the majority of people live from one paycheck to the next. Creating a savings account and a budget plan will resolve this issue for the most part. Paying bills late on a regular basis may also be attributed to an individual being upside down with their debts, meaning that there is more money going out regularly than coming in. Once this point is reached it may be time to speak to a credit counseling organization. It is urgent to seek help at this point in order to order to avoid long lasting damage to your credit.Regardless of your situation it is important to seek help when feeling the pinch of being upside down or behind with your finances. Taking measures early will result in less dollars that go out in the long run. Taking action early will also result in a lesser need of bankruptcy which has long lasting negative impact on your credit worthiness.Rick Munster lives in Boise, ID where he works as the Media Planner for Debt Reduction Services, http://www.debtreductionservices.com. When he's not busy working with the media he enjoys writing, or getting away to do a little fishing.
Category : Finance:Debt-Relief