If you, like me, wear corrective lens, then you know that it is a must that you also have a pair of prescription sunglasses, too.

More and more, information about eye damage due to the non-use, under-use, or improper use of sunglasses appears in the news. And, sunglasses are not just a summer thing; the winter glare of snow and ice make it a necessity to protect your eyes at all times when outside. This advices goes for children as well as adults (I’ve seen too many parents wearing their “shades” only to see their kids left defenseless).

Just one of many Zenni Optical choices

Zenni Optical makes it easy for you to get tinted glasses. In fact, their ordering process, and their prices, make it entirely affordable to have more than one pair. While retail eye shops charge an arm and a leg for UV this, and tinting that, Zenni does not have the overhead, and therefore, does not have to “mark up” your prescription sunglasses to make a profit. They also have a wide selection of frame styles (the photo is but one choice). I like the look of these, but I’ll be honest… I do go for more “side protection” and the best part is… they have those, too

You do need, of course, a prescription that includes “your pupillary distance” prior to ordering. This is not unusual by any means. But after your examination, you can stop right there, head home, and select any number of frame styles starting as low as $8 at Zenni’s.

I looked over their ordering process and found it, too, is super easy. You choose the frame(s), enter your prescription information (do make sure you enter this information correctly), add your purchase to the shopping cart (continue shopping if you want more than one pair), and when you’re ready, just check out.

As I said above, sunglasses are no longer a fashion accessory, they are a must. A recent visit to my own eye doctor confirms that statement. One of the things she asked me (told me really) was I must always wear sunglasses ANY time I was outside.

Protect your eyes, protect your children’s eyes, and protect your wallet. Check out Zenni Optical and see what’s available that “strikes your eye”.

I started the day doing an FBI news story that you really need to read, and then, strangely enough, saw an ad later on that caught my eye.

The web site I ended up on is called Swipebids. Now, first and foremost, I did NOT create an account. I will tell you it looked awful tempting, BUT I’m savvy enough to first investigate.

Always look before you leap.

This auction site looks impressive at first glance. It’s ratings in terms of traffic are through the roof. The products shown on the front page, in real time bidding, also impressive. Information on what’s what, well I did not go by what the site says, I first put it into Google to do a “background check”.

Turns out that when you open an account, it works the opposite of say eBay. On eBay you can bid, but it doesn’t cost you anything unless of course you are the lucky winner and get what you wanted.

Swipebids makes you pay upfront each time you bid. For example, say you see something for $2 and there is, oh an hour left on that item. According to sources online, your $2 is removed from your account right then and there. You literally put your money where your mouth is… and then you wait. If someone else bids, and you still want it then you bid again.

This time say you want it badly enough to outbid the last bid by another $2 (let’s assume the other person bid $4). It now costs you $6 on top of the first $2 you initially placed.

And, yes, the money is taken… gone for good, unless you win the bidding war and get that precious whatever for $6.

I found comments at Yahoo! Answers ranging from “don’t go there” to “swipe bids is ‘legit’ but you need to know what’s up with these sites”.

So there you have it, my advice for the day. Plus you really, really need to read the FBI news story. It, too, is advice you don’t want to disregard.

Have a great weekend!

Perhaps it’s because it’s “that time of the year” for our household, with a son attaining our local community college, or perhaps my intuition is telling me that many people would appreciate either 1) the information (seen fresh) or 2) a reminder, but during these particularly trying times for many economically, going back to school should be on your radar.

While Nevada’s educational system is nothing to brag about – being 50th in the country is downright shameful from our viewpoint – the fact remains that they do offer Associate programs (and one Bachelors) degrees and certifications. The beauty is many of these courses can be taken directly and completely online.

The benefit to the online course is not only flexibility, but, should money be tight in your family, economical. No gas, no bus tickets, no “extra spending” involved. Just the pursuit of learning.

Which brings me to my purpose for posting today. It’s FAFSA time, and assuming your state has reasonable tuition for its residents, the Pell Grant (in our case) is covering 100% of our son’s pursuit to his (first) Associate’s degree. This means all his credits plus his books (at least here in Nevada) are paid for – and he has the opportunity to advance his learning while not accumulating loans.

If you find yourself and/or family members in a position where pursuing higher education would be most beneficial, be sure to head to FAFSA.ed.gov and get the ball rolling. Cutoff dates for Fall enrollment vary from State to State. Don’t get caught without the potential for assistance with yours or your children’s education.

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Incendia Health. All opinions are 100% mine.

Have you ever thought of entering a video contest only to question whether you had the “right stuff” to make a potentially winning video? What it takes is a willingness to give it your all, just be yourself, and – of course – fulfill the requirements and/or guidelines of that particular contest.

Recently, Abbott Medical Optics, Inc. (AMO), a business that just happens to be a global leader in laser vision correction, held a contest to see who could make the best video, and their iLASIK Video Contest was a huge success! Sixty (60) participants submitted home videos regarding their experience with Lasik eye surgery. (more…)