Here are some adorable printable jokes and encouragement notes that you can slip into your kids’ lunch box for fun!

I love this idea 🙂

You need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view these jokes. Get the jokes here.

Traveling to Florida anytime soon? Get a free copy of the Florida State Parks Guide.

Get your Florida State Parks Guide here.

Go to Paramount Canada’s Wonderland corporate partners website here.

In the “company ID” enter:

company ID: Rogers
$33.68  (7-59 years of age)
$29.72 (ages 3-6; 60+)

company ID: ASME2006
$35.66 (7-59 years of age)
$29.72 (ages 3-6; 60+)

company ID: SYMCOR
September 10th (a Sunday) ticket
$26.74

company ID: FR903
September 3, 2006 (Wonderland Chinese Day) ticket for
$27.00

company ID: LCALUMNI
$35.66 (7-59 years of age)
$29.72 (ages 3-6; 60+)

Yes, Shoppers Drug Mart’s Friends and Family crazy 20x secret points event is back. Although I wouldn’t call it a “secret” anymore this is still one superb event 🙂

On September 1st, spend $50 or more at Shoppers and receive 20x the points. You can also invite family and friends and earn more rewards.

You can use this event to get a good deal on Apple iPods. You can find more details about buying an iPod on that day in my old 20x event post here.

More details and registration on Shoppers Drug Mart’s website here.

If you’re thinking of buying a new PC I very very strongly urge you to wait for about one and a half months when most desktops ship with Intel’s new Core 2 Duo Processors (replaces Intel Pentiums). The Core 2 Duo processors received loads of positive reviews from IT professionals all around the world. Without getting into any computer jargon, new PCs using this Intel Core 2 processor will work significantly faster, quieter and consume less energy.

Here are some reviews:

Wikipedia, Techspot, Cnet

Dell and other computer companies aren’t selling PCs with Intel Core 2 Duo Processors yet but they will very soon. The Dell Dimension 9200 as well as a whole bunch of other models which have Core 2 Duo should be out soon.

Thanks Mike C. and ceci for letting me know about Best Buy’s Back To School Discount Dorm Sale 🙂

I had a quick scan through their products and I found good deals but nothing stunning. I’ll have another look tonight.

Check out the Best Buy Discounted Dorm products here.

Ladies, get a free trial pack of o.b. tampons as well as one of these colourful cases I guess?

Get your O.B trial pack here.

Get a free cd from Vassar College that discusses risks and evidence suggesting role of the environmental factors in breast cancer. It also discusses how reproductive history, inherited factors, and lifestyle can increase or decrease the risk of Breast Cancer.

Only if it will be of use to you, get the free “Environmental Risks and Breast Cancer” CD here.

In this week’s Sobeys Ontario Flyer the Sobeys Spring Water – 35x500ml – is on sale for $3.49 (limit 3 per person).

Read the full Sobeys flyer here.

Best Buy has the Creative MuVo V100 1GB MP3 Player – White on sale for $59.99 (regular price $99.99).

You can
1) get this offer in-store (it’s in this week’s Best Buy flyer) or
2) order online and pick it up from store or
3) order online and have it delivered to your address (I think Best Buy charges for shipping now).

Creative produces brilliant, high quality and nice looking mp3 players. Adding mp3 files to this player is way more flexible than iPod’s proprietary iTunes. You just plug it into your computer, drag and drop! Non of iPod’s annoying restrictions or limitations. You can also use this mp3 player as a USB flash key to store your documents and other non-music files.

Only major drawback is the lack of a radio (FM tuner). I don’t understand why iPods and Creative mp3 players don’t have FM tuners. Maybe listening to the radio isn’t cool anymore? jeez.

I strongly recommend this deal.

Get this Creative MuVo V100 1GB MP3 Player deal here.

Loads of free stuff for Canadians are posted daily in the forum.
Visit the freebies forum here.

note: I will post this message every now and then for new visitors.

Do you have a son, daughter, sibling, nephew, niece, cousin or friend, born in 2006, 2005 or 2004? If you do, they could win SmartCanucks’s Cutest Baby Contest and receive a FREE gift!

Details coming up next week!

Landior left a comment on my Disappointing Dior post describing her unpleasant experience at The Bay in Kingston. I always felt that The Bay in Kingston is very unwelcoming, from the second you pass by the cosmetics section to the second you check out.

I believe that as customers (or even just as humans!) we have the right to be treated in a respectable manner. Some sales people just have this bad attitude for no comprehensible reason. Bad attitude, rudeness, carelessness and racism should not be tolerated.

I’ve therefore created a new category called “Praises and Complaints” where Canucks can share their good or bad shopping experiences. You can email me your story ( my email is boo at smartcanucks dot ca) and I will publish it on here as is as long as it’s written for a family-friendly environment (i.e. no cussing). If you’re complaining please feel free to name the specific store where you had your bad experience. If you’re praising please feel free to name the store or even person.

I just want to make it clear that I’m not saying all sales personnel are nasty. In fact, I’ve met some wonderful people who deserve all the appreciation and respect. We want to make sure that it is these courteous people who get recognized, rewarded and promoted 🙂

Here is Landior’s comment about the Bay in Kingston, Ontario:

Dear Boo Radley,

I am the person who came a couple days earlier! I came with my sister, and we were so excited. We had printed off the coupons, but when we went to redeem them the Dior lady said that the offer was only valid in Ottawa, and that they should say that on the coupon. The Dior rep was pleasant, but I generally find the staff at The Bay in Kingston to be EXTREMELY rude. A couple of years ago, the manager of the women’s clothing department nearly brought me to tears. The dept had held a swimsuit for me, because they could not find the price. They took down my number and said they would call, but they never did. I was fine with that, I figured that they had lost my number, and those things happen from time to time. So this time, I found the swimsuit, and explained that I had attempted to purchase it a couple of weeks ago when they were 50% off. I explained that they had recorded my information and the promotion that was on at that time. As soon as I said 50% off, she cut me off, and in a raised voice told me that it was impossible because that sale had never occurred and that I “got [my] information wrong” or that I was lying! She never attempted to look for the record of my having attempted to purchase the item, and her tone, body language…every aspect of her behaviour was very rude. I almost burst into tears; she had treated me like dirt. I walked away at first, but then I went back to the counter and put down the items that I was going to purchase (my entire family has supported The Bay for as long as we can remember) and I explained to her that I had planned on buying those items, but after the way she treated me I would not purchase anything that day, and would think twice before shopping there again. She just muttered, “whatever”.

Now, I have worked in retail, and I would always try to serve my customers to the best of my ability. I always tried to score them a deal, and help them coordinate outfits, etc. I made sure I showed them sale merchandise and informed them about freebies/promos/contests. I have had bad days, but I would never dream of taking it out on my customers.

The Bay in Kingston is known for having terrible customer service (understaffed + rude staff). I know that there have also been several reports of racism Apparently a racial slur was used by one sales associate, and black customers received no help (only suspicious looks).

Dana, at Lancome is great about freebies, and she does a great job on makeup, but beware the lady with the British accent–she doesn’t seem to like the freebie idea.

Again, I am so sorry to hear that this happened to you too. I hope that future freebies work out much better for you! Take care, and happy hunting!

The Canadian National Exhibition starts today (August 18th, 2006) 🙂 🙂
I managed to find some amazingly good ticket prices. To get the lower prices please follow the instructions below:

Either:
Go directly to the corporate ticket purchase site here.
or
Go to CNE’s main website here then click on “Get Tickets” then click on “Buy Online” then scroll to the bottom and click on “Click here to enter your access code and buy your tickets online”

Once you’ve reached the Corporate/Group Tickets Online page enter the following code:

SC2006CNE

You can then purchase tickets for:

Fun Pass (All Ages) Admission Only: $7.00 (reg price $12.00)
Magic Pass (All Ages) Admission Plus Rides: $25.00 (reg price $39.00)

You will also get:
– Express Entry
– 15% off official CNE merchandise! (for purchases of $20+)
– Opening Weekend Comeback Special
Visit opening weekend of the CNE and come back for free any other day of the 2006 CNE. (Free return visit does not include rides.)

I can almost guarantee that these are the lowest prices you can get for the CNE 🙂

Some general information about CNE:

2006 CNE Dates: August 18 to September 4, 2006.

Hours of Operation:
Gates: 10am to 10pm
Midway: 11am to midnight (weekdays) & 10am to midnight (weekends)

Buildings: 10am to 10pm,
KIDS’ WORLD: 10am to 8pm,
CASINO: noon to 6am (daily)

Regular Gate Prices: General Admission=$12; Children (13 yrs. & under) and Seniors (60 yrs. plus)=$8; Babes in Arms (2 years and under)=FREE. On-site unlimited ride Midway Pass=$27 plus admission.

Enjoy your Canadian National Exhibition visit and let us know if you make use of these ticket prices 🙂

French manicure looks great but getting it done professionally is not always the most practical (and economic) way. There’s nothing better than doing it at home. After all, why pay for a manicure when you can do it yourself!

When giving yourself a French manicure, place adhesive tape under the white tip of your nail (so the tape will cover the entire area under the tip). Then place the white nail polish to the uncovered tip. Using the tape will give a straight square look. Once the white polish dries, remove the tape and apply a coat of the transparent or pale-pink polish over the entire nail to complete the look. I do that and they look professionally done. Using adhesive tape is a lot cheaper than getting it done professionally or buying the kit. It’s also quite simple!

I got the tape idea from a friend of mine who’s obsessed with french maicure 😉