I wanted to share with you a coupon you can use on Yankee Candle to get $10 off a $25 purchase to use online or phone orders. The code is CLFPTBR and expires 3/13/10.

I love Yankee Candles. They burn evenly and smell wonderful. If you never have bought a Yankee Candle I would suggest doing so now with this coupon. I am addicted to Drift Away right now and plan on getting Lilac Blossoms to remind me that spring is on its way.

It’s time to revive ellen Living because I am still alive and kicking.  I have started some new blogs, Simple Tech Today and Simply iPhone Now but lately I have had writer’s block because I have so many ideas of what to write going through my head that when I go to write I can’t get the ideas out.  So, my blogs have been suffering.  I can come to ellen Living and write about my writer’s block because it is an appropriate forum.  Plus, I have decided to really start using this blog to show you who I am and what I have to offer.

I spend a great deal of time each day on the Internet, browsing blogs and news feeds about technology, web applications, shopping and lately iPhone and Apple blogs because I have an iPhone and a MacBook Pro.  My other two blogs cover technology and the iPhone so I don’t need to write about them here all that much.  I can share though daily deals, contests and what is popular each day on the web.

I’m also a big television watcher.  I am thankful for the two DVR cable boxes I have so I can record shows and watch them at a later time.  My favorite show is House and I also watch all the Law & Order shows, Criminal Minds, Lost, Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, Mercy, NCIS, Fringe, Bones, Burn Notice, The Real Housewives of current city, Project Runway and America’s Next Top Model.  I watch a lot of television!

So, watch for new posts and changes to the design of ellen Living.  And, I always include my cat Jack will make his appearance from time to time.

I had some fun this morning creating a playlist of all the videos I’ve taken of my cat Jack from a site called Embedr.  You can create any kind of playlist using videos from Atom Films, Blip.TV” href=”http://blip.tv/” target=”_blank”>Blip.TV, College Humor, Dailymotion, Metacafe, TeacherTube, MySpace Video, Veoh, Vimeo, YouTube.

More sites will be added in the future.  All you have to do is put in the url or embedded code for each video to create your playlist.  I might create a playlist of my favorite music from 2008.  But for now, here’s Jack!

I love to shop.  It’s one of my favorite hobbies.  The web is a great place to find deals and coupons and I am pretty good at finding what I want.  Right now I am waiting for a good deal from Dell on their desktop computers so I can get a new one to replace my 3 year old system.

I have a number of sites that I read each day to that help me find the deals that I want.  All of the sites you can subscribe to (see my post What Are That Orange Button And RSS Feed? to understand subscribing to a feed) or receive a daily email with current deals and coupons.

• Dealnews – This is my favorite.  If you visit the site it is broken up by topic which makes for easy browsing.  Most of the deals are computers, electronics and gadgets but some home and fashion items.
• Stylenotes – This site is maintained by the same people who have Dealnews but it concentrates more on women’s clothing, apparel, accessories and home decor.
• The Bargainist -  Another great site with deals, coupons, tips and freebies.  One of the nicest things on this site is Amazon Products Sorted By Discount. It is a great way to find discounted items on Amazon. .
• Techdeals – Another great site if you are looking for deals on computers and electronics.
• Delight – At 1pm Eastern time Delight displays a new deal of the day.  They have unique offerings and also an archive of items that didn’t sell out as deal of the day.  I have bought quite a few items for myself and as gifts for friends.
• Woot – Another one day, one sale site.  This one doesn’t have an archive so if you miss the deal you are out of luck.  Their deals start at 12:00 am Central time.  The descriptions of the items for sale are unique and their is also quite a discussion board where people write about their feelings about the deals.
• Fatwallet – This site is a little different.  You sign up for an account and if you buy through a merchant on their site using their link you get cash back.  Percentages vary depending on merchants.  This is a great site to find current deals and coupons.  My favorite part of the site is the forums where people post the latest and greatest deals.
• Slickdeals – Another site to find the latest coupons, lowest prices and hottest deals.  Content is submitted by community members.  There is also another great forum section that is worth browsing.
• RetailMeNot – This site has coupon codes and discounts for over 20,000 online stores.  It you are buying anything on the web this site is definitely worth while checking out for coupons, especially for free shipping.
• Amazon – Amazon has a link for Today’s Deals which has a Gold Box for a daily deal and then Lightning Deals that occur throughout the day.  Also, my favorite is to browse the The Friday Sale.  The other thing I like about Amazon is the reviews from buyers.  It helps to know whether a deal is worth going for or not. 

Lastly, you can always type in the item that you are looking for in Google and see who is offering it for what price.  However, you need to be careful that you are dealing with a reputable merchant.  What I like about all the sites I listed above is that the merchants are reputable.  I have ordered from many of these merchants and not once had a problem.  Returns were easy, especially with Amazon.

I suggest that whenever you buy with an online merchant to check out their terms of service and return policy.

There are many, many more sites out there that offer deals, discounts and coupons.  What are your favorites?

I was watching the Oprah show today about cleaning up your messy home – mine isn’t messy but I do have a lot of clutter.  Anyway, at the end of the show she mentioned that Oprah viewers can get 20% off at The Container Store through March 1, 2009.  There is a link for a printed coupon to bring in-store, a promotional code to use online or you can use the bar code number from the coupon for phone orders.

Click this link, Oprah’s Container Store offer.

I love a good cup of coffee and Dunkin’ Donuts is offering a free sample of their dark blend.  Just click on the image below and fill in the form. You should receive your sample between 6 to 8 weeks.

Whenever I hear this song I think of a love from years ago.  I want to pick up the phone and call him but it wouldn’t be good for either of us at this time in our lives.  Oh well.

Are you looking for a way to bring your family together and create a family tree that they can contribute memories, photos and videos?  Well, there is a simple solution with the web application Geni. There are plenty of sites out there where you can publish your family tree for public consumption but for some family members they don’t want their information floating around in internet space for the world to see.  Geni, on the other hand, is a private family tree where members are invited through their email addresses.  Best of all it is free!

Geni describes itself as follows.

Geni lets you create a family tree through our fun simple interface. You can expand your tree by adding relatives’ email addresses. They will be invited to join your tree and can add other relatives. Your tree will continue to grow as relatives invite other relatives.

Each family member has a profile which can be viewed by clicking their name in the tree. This helps family members learn more about each other and stay in touch. Family members can also share photos and work together to build profiles for common ancestors.

Geni is private. Only the people in your family tree can log in to your tree and your profile. Geni will not share your personal information with third parties. We will not sell your email address or spam you. Users control which communications they would like to receive from us.

Creating Family Tree & GEDCOM Import

I started using Geni about 6 months ago with a tree consisting of immediate family and first cousins.  I sent out invitations and family members joined the site but we really weren’t using it to full capacity.  Basically we were all getting email announcements of family birthdays.

To start a family tree all you need to do is join, put in your information and then add family members.  For living family members you can invite them by putting in their email address.  They can then add more family members and invite them to join. Here’s a brief tutorial that shows you how easy it is.

Last week though I found out that I could import a GEDCOM file which I created from the family tree I had put together a few years ago with Family Tree Maker.  I was ecstatic!  My family tree went from close family to ancestors to now going back to my 8th great grandfather on my mother’s side and over 700 family members.  Wow!  To learn how to import your GEDCOM file into an existing tree see this forum post, HOW TO: Merge your GEDCOM file(s) into your EXISTING tree.  It sounds complicated but it actually was pretty easy. 

Or, if you are creating a new tree the process is this simple:

Importing your GEDCOM is easy:

1. Go to the GEDCOM Import page.
2. Fill out the form and upload your GEDCOM file.
3. Indicate who you are in your file.
4. You’re done!

Features

• Privacy.  I think this is the most important feature in Geni.  Each family member has the ability to control who sees their profile from immediate family only to distant relatives.
• Unlimited space to upload photos and videos.  This is great, especially since the site is free.
• Tag photos and videos identifying family members.  With photos you can choose a face and assign it to a specific family member.  Neat!
• Populated Home Page.  Upon signing in the user is brought to a home page that shows Family News, Family Stats and Recently Online.  The Family News section is great showing birthdays, anniversaries, recent photo and video additions, discussion topics and comments left by family members.
• Discussion Board.  Start discussions with family members from highlighting upcoming events to questions about heritage. 
• Inbox. Family members can send you messages that you will receive in your online inbox.
• Tree or List View.  Browse family members either in tree or list view.
• Look up ancestors either by searching for specific ancestors or through an index.

In my opinion Geni is great!  Not only does it help you build a family tree it also promotes bringing family together through photos, videos, events and discussions.  Over the last week I have generated a lot of interest from family members by adding photos and videos as well as inviting cousins who then are adding husbands and children to our tree.  It’s very exciting.

Are you using an online genealogical tool?  Do you have concerns about privacy?  Is Geni the web application for you?

Peek-a-boo Jack

A little game of peek-a-boo with Jack the cat.