We're Moving!!!!

Over the next few months, we will be transitioning our blog to http://allaboutpresentation.com/blog

Please visit our new blog location and let us know what you think!

Goals 2.0 - New Year's Even Resolutions with Worldwide Support

43 Things or 43things.com is a social networking web site where users create accounts and then list a number of goals or hopes. It is a good place to save your goals and hopes and other users on there may tell you how to achieve your goal or dream. You can comment other people's goals and share goals too (positive and constructive comments only!).

43 Things is owned and operated by The Robot Co-op. It is a privately held start-up based in Seattle. But, with a capital investment from Amazon.com, 43 Things has gained tremendous popularity since its launch in 2005.

As of 6:10pm Thursday, December 31, 2009, over 220,000 new years resolutions have been listed on 43Things.com. Of those, the top 5 most popular resolutions worldwide include:

1. lose weight

2. be happy

3. fall in love

4. get a job

5. travel

So, how does Virginia stack up against the world? Here are some of the more popular answers from the commonwealth:

- start to learn Italian

- spend more time being happy

- be a brilliant conversationalist

While combing through the site, we found an interesting grid the good folks at 43 Things put together based on the millions of goals listed from 2007-2009. In their words, "As the years change, so do our goals. Below is a table that shows the top 10 goals for the past three years. We found it interesting that the top goals of 2008 were dominated by physical self-improvement, while the trend in 2009 appeared to be stability and simplification."

Rank	2007	2008	2009
1	lose weight	lose weight	save money
2	stop procrastinating	exercise regularly	stop biting my nails
3	fall in love	stop biting my nails	get organized
4	be happy	lose 10 pounds	grow my hair long
5	Get a tattoo	lose 30 pounds	lose 50 pounds
6	drink more water	exercise more	go to bed earlier
7	get married	bungee jump	get more tattoos
8	go on a road trip with no predetermined destination	read the bible	find at least one thing each day that makes me happy
9	see the northern lights	learn guitar	dress better
10	learn Spanish	be less shy	make a smaller ecological footprint

As you make your 2010 goals, we recommend you read Tips for making New Year's resolutions that stick at 43 Things and sign up as a user and get started! Or, if you have no idea what you would like to accomplish, take a look at the site and get some ideas from other people.

Budget Friendly Events in Richmond, VA

It feels like our lives have been put on hold with the economy and all of the recent life transitions. Well, to this I say, Good Riddance! It is more than overdue that we get back living, laughing, and loving, albeit a little more frugal this time.

We believe that a group dancing lesson with friends can be therapeutic and understanding more about your coworkers while learning to cook healthy meals can increase productivity. We believe that breaking bread at a VIP table in one of the areas hippest restaurants generates laughter and coworkers that spend an afternoon playing laser tag better understand that teamwork makes the dream work. We believe that is still possible to have events while still being fiscally responsible.

On December 26, 2009, we launched a new product (well, service really) with the primary intention of getting people back to living, laughing, and loving on a budget. We call them Semi-Custom Events, which are budget friendly pre-packaged events, parties, and experiences. Some would call it a Monthly Special on Steroids.

In addition, we divided these extremely discounted events into categories called Live. Laugh. Love.

To kick off this our new program, we've put together a short clip to explain more. Please take a look.

To view the current discount, which is a healthy cooking class at Mise En Place and Q&A with a personal trainer for only $99, go to: allaboutpresentation.com/specials

Winter Snow Storm Advice for Southerners, especially Virginians

After growing up in Michigan, I've learned a thing or two about snowstorms and thunder snowstorms. If you have to be out in a snow storm, here are just a few things to keep in mind:

1. SUV DOES NOT mean Slideproof Utility Vehicle
I come from the motor city so I know a thing or two about cars. Remember, most SUV's are top heavy which changes their center of gravity. Therefore, even though SUV's are heavier that most passenger cars, they are more likely to roll-over and it doesn't take much for them to do so. ALSO, for you sports car people ESPECIALLY MUSTANG owners, please take it easy around curves and corners. I can't even count how many Mustangs I've seen fish-tail while taking a turn at an intersection.

2. Practice in an empty parking lot.
Every year, usually in October or November it would start to snow. And, one thing I learned is that driving in snow is much like muscle memory. You have to get re-acquantied with the feeling of stopping and/or sliding. Once you practice a few times in the parking lot doing donuts (which is spinning the car in a controlled environment), you begin to get comfortable with the feeling. So, if you start sliding in traffic, you will have built up a resistance to panic. Also, you'll learn your car's breaking distance in the snow (which is how much distance you need to start breaking before you come to a complete stop). OH, BIG NOTE -- when you do stop at a traffic light leave a car length between you and the car stopped in front of you. Why, you ask? Because if the driver behind you has trouble stopping, the accident only involves two cars.

3. NO SLAMMING ON THE BREAKS, period. I know that it might freak you out that you may not have enough time to stop, but slamming on the breaks ALWAYS makes the situation worse.

4. HAVE plenty of groceries
One year a snow storm caught us all by surprise. What we believed would be a 3-4 inch covering of snow turned into 16 inches (apparently the storm stalled over the area). Anyway, because the area wasn't prepared, it took almost 3 days to get the roads clear and we didn't have any groceries in the house. Well, we did have rice and beans. But, long story short, it was miserable. Just make your life easier and stock-up.

I would be remiss if I didn't give you at least one really fun thing to do with all the new snow. While you're stocking up on groceries by some flavored syrups. That way you can make real snow cones with your family.

5. Be patient and resist the urge to hurry. We are all in this together. It's not just snowing over your house or car. So, be patient with the snow plowing crews and understand that your street may not be a priority and the person in front of you may be scared to death of driving in the snow.

Well, here's my top 5. If I've missed any good ones, feel fee to leave a comment. Perhaps we can create a comprehensive list of tips and advice.

In the Press

Every so often we get caught by surprise. We did an interview about 5 months ago and didn't know if it would be picked-up as content for articles, publications, etc. Lo, and behold, while doing a google search on ourselves (which we recommend everyone do from time to time) we found the article by Margaret Littman. Although the article has been published in media outlets from Washington state to the Chicago Herald, here is an excerpt from the article available online in Philadelphia at Philly.com:

You better not pout.

By Margaret Littman

Don't sweat the small stuff
If you've been laid-off you may be concerned about the costs that come with holiday merriment, but you should not stay home just because you can't afford an expensive hostess gift. A hand-written (and heartfelt) thank-you note the next day will go just as far as a bottle of wine brought to the party. Don't fret about not having a new outfit to wear, as long as what you have is clean, pressed and in good shape. Having polished shoes and a good hair cut go further than a new dress, says Lyons. If your holiday parties are pinching your budget too much, pick and choose the few that will be most useful in your job search.

Click here to read the full article

Guess who we met?

This weekend we had an opportunity to hang out with the governor of Virginia and the first lady. Since we noticed that there wasn't any press at the event, we'll say very little about the event and what happened. However, we'll just note that the governor is so awesome and so gracious and we are honored to have been invited to such a rockin' event hosted by the Kaine's!

What you get for the money - 100 gifts for $600 with little or no shopping required

Cost Effective Options for giving great Christmas Gifts - Our challenge 100 gifts with a budget of $600.

What a fun challenge?! One of our clients called and asked us to help them give 100 gifts with only $600 to spend. Well, it wasn't long before we realized it seemed like an almost impossible task to give 100 people a gift that they will actually want AND use. The additional requirement is that each gift had to be very little effort (which automatically excludes crafty types of gifts or home-baked goods). So we put on our thinking caps and suggested a few ideas to our client. We thought we would pass this inspiration on to you.

Idea 1: Amazon Gift Certificate via email

Why not give a gift certificate to the world's largest retailer with a value of $5.00?

There are tons of designs to choose from and, check this out, you can order up to 400 gift cards at one time!!! So, you only go through the ordering process once and you don't have to manually individualize each gift certificate.

This is a great addition for those who send electronic holiday cards. It adds just a little something different and special.

Why we love this idea -- Recipients will get a really fun looking email that can be used immediately online. In addition, you can delay delivery so that e-mail gift cards can be scheduled up to a year in advance.

Check out Amazon Gift Cards online

Idea 2: Holiday Themed Favors When we say favors, most people think of weddings. However, useful favors are wonderful for any type of event or occasion. There are themed favors available, such as the ones shown here. This idea is best left for gift giving where the major concentration of recipients is in one local area. Otherwise, shipping costs will increase the cost per favor. Why we love this idea -- By nature, favors are manufactured to be personalized with a low cost per person. For example the petit fours which are $60.00 are for 30 sets with 3 petit fours per set. Check out more holiday themed favors	Holiday Tea Sachets $3.50	Mini Holiday Brownie Pops $3.75	Personalized Chocolate Bars $2.75
	Hand Painted Holiday Blown Glass Pens $6.00	Holiday Petit Fours $60 per set of 30	Holiday Photo Oreo $2.50
	Personalized Holiday Notebooks $1.30	Personalized Holiday Cookies $4.25	Holiday Travel Candle Tins $4.50

Idea 3: Movie Theater Experience

Recently, we shared an experience in which we planned an event in a movie theater. Well, it got us thinking, why not treat you and 99 of your closest friends to the movies? Pick a date and you can either rent out the theater or get a large group discount. We suggest seeing a movie that is family friendly. We also suggest sending the invitation now but choosing a movie date in January. Here are two family friendly movies coming out in January that may have universal appeal.

The Spy Next Door with Jackie Chan, Billy Ray, and George Lopez

Jackie Chan is set to star in "The Spy Next Door," an action-comedy which centers on a man (Chan) who is called to baby-sit his neighbor's children and winds up having to fight off secret agents after one of the kids inadvertently downloads a secret code.

The Tooth Fairy with Dwayne Johnson Julie Andrews Stephen Merchant

Dwayne Johnson is "The Tooth Fairy," also known as Derek Thompson, a hard-charging minor league hockey player whose nickname comes from his habit of separating opposing players from their bicuspids. When Derek discourages a youngster's hopes, he's sentenced to one week's hard labor as a real tooth fairy, complete with the requisite tutu, wings and magic wand. At first, Derek "can't handle the tooth" -- bumbling and stumbling as he tries to furtively wing his way through strangers' homes…doing what tooth fairies do. But as Derek slowly adapts to his new position, he begins to rediscover his own forgotten dreams.

Why we love this idea -- It is a community experience. There is no better gift than sharing a happy experience with other people. This type of event gives people the warm-fuzzies.