Do you travel a lot? In this last year, I have started traveling quite a bit. I learned that my black luggage my hide dirt and wear and tear well. However, I have also learned that everyone has black luggage, and it all looks exactly the same when it is coming off the baggage claim thing at the airport. I always thought I was being tricky by tying a neon colored ribbon on my luggage. However, a lot of people are doing that now, so that has quit working. I hate to pass along this great idea, since then you all will buy them and ruin it for me. However, Luggage Charms are such a great idea that I have to pass it on. Luggage Charms are super easy to use. Just tie them (triple knot) to anything that you don’t want to lose when you are flying such as your baggage, stroller, car seats, etc. These charms come with brightly colored ribbons and tags. On the front of the tag, you are able to get whatever design you want. On the back of the tag, you are able write or affix a label with all of your identifying information in case your luggage ends up separated from you (I hate when my luggage ends up on a better trip than me). They won’t look like anything anyone else has on their bag, so you don’t have to worry about anyone accidentally grabbing you luggage. You also won’t be standing at the baggage area trying to figure out if that’s really your suitcase or not! Even if you aren’t sitting at the airport, you can also use these to show who’s suitcase belongs to who. Since the ones I have each have different ribbon colors, it was easy to know whose suitcase was whose suitcase on your visit to Green Bay this weekend.

If you do any traveling at all, I highly recommend these luggage charms. They are priced right, are fashionable, and they make your life that much easier.  Now, I know you want a set of your own (each set has 4 charms in it), so I have arranged to give away 5 SETS of these, and you’ll get to pick what initial you want on each charm!  How awesome is that?  Here’s what you need to do:

1. Leave a comment on this post. I want to know which set of luggage charms you like the best.
2. Twitter about this contest. Please leave me your username so I can verify.
3. Stumble this post. If you don’t know what Stumble Upon is, please read Lori’s post at Blogging Cents. She explains it extremely well.
4. Add this post to other social media sites like Digg, Kirtsy, Blogging Zoom, Reddit, Propeller, Etc. (1 entry for each social network).

For 5 additional entries,

1. Blog about this on your blog. Please give me the URL, so I can verify.
2. Add this to any forums you belong too. Please give me the URL, so I can verify.
3. Subscribe to this blog using either my email or RSS feed
4. Add my badge to your sidebar:

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This giveaway will end on December 2nd at 8:00 pm and is available to US & Canadian residents only. Good luck!

Image via Wikipedia

This was my favorite newspaper.  I think we have been subscribing to it since we have moved here.  However, about a week ago, they changed their format.  Now, I have went through several format changes with them already.  However, this one, I cannot stand.  I cannot stand it to the point that I will be leaving them and getting a subscription to another area newspaper.  (The advantage of living in Chicago is that we have quite a few to pick from).

This  makes me sad.  However, the changes that have been made this time around I just cannot stand.  The majority of their articles completely blend with the ads for things like fat burners and real estate.  As a blogger, we got a lot of slack for not disclosing what is paid and what isn’t.  However, it doesn’t look the print media has to have the same standard.  The majority of the articles have huge pictures and less content.  I know it is not just my eyes playing tricks on me either.  It actually takes me quite a bit less time to read the paper everyday.  A lot of the articles also look like blog posts with the amount of stuff on the page.  If I wanted to look at something that looked like a blog, I would read my news online.  I personally love having a print paper in my hand.  I like the style and how informative a paper is.  If I want a synopsis, I go to the internet.  If I want to read full articles, I look for my local paper.

As soon as I find my credit card, I will be canceling my Chicago Tribune subscription and signing up for the Chicago Sun Times.  Hopefully, their paper will be less tabloidy and more news.