SimplyMaggies

photo credit: waffries

We are taking two weeks off for the holidays so there will not be any new posts. We will be back the first week of January and back to business as usual.

Hope you will have a wonderful Christmas (or whatever you happen to celebrate) and take a moment to enjoy this holiday season.

MERRY CHRISTMAS! And see you in two weeks.

With the recession and the economy in shambles, it is important more than ever to have a reasonable plan for this holidays season’s spending (not to burry yourselves in debt but to enjoy the season).

Here are some useful tips for the holiday giving;

• Use gift cards—these simple things are always a favorite and you really don’t have to spend a lot on them. Besides, you don’t risk buying something the receiver may not like…
• Have a White Elephant Party—this type of party (where you re-give things) is an especially good idea if you have items you own but don’t need or want them anymore (e.g. TV sets, coffee makers, DVD players etc) and someone else may find a good use for.
• Check online for your favorite stores—searching items you buy in your favorite stores by SKU number (numbers under the bar code on the price tag) may save you money before you go to the store. Enter the SKU number in the search engine to get a list of stores and sites that sell this item and compare prices for most savings. Some sites, e.g. Overstock.com and Smartbargains.com are not allowed to use names of some designers and using the SKU number may be the only way to find those items on sites like these.
• Get and use coupons—many stores offers in-store coupons if you sign up for their online newsletter. Another way of finding coupons for your favorite stores is to type in the store’s name and the word ‘coupon’ in a search engine to get sites that offer coupons for these particular stores.

These are just a few simple ideas that hopefully will help you save some money in the holiday madness.

      “Taken”, starring Liam Neeson and Maggie Grace and directed by Pierre Morel, is an action packed thriller, following the footsteps of movies such as the Bourne series (may even be surpassing in the thrilling factor).

Liam Neeson plays a retired CIA operative who is trying to rekindle a relationship with his estranged teenage daughter. When a trip to Paris results in her kidnapping by an Albanian mob (whose specialty is human trafficking), Neeson must rely on all of his past job skills to find his daughter before she disappears forever. And he only has 96 hours to do so.

I have not thought that an action film could be so engaging and so thrilling as well. But then again, what else would you expect from Liam Neeson? Whatever this guy gets involved in always seem to have amazing results. And so is this one, surprisingly so…

Even though a bit on the older side these days, Neeson does a remarkable job of playing a former agent and makes it seem quite believable. Besides, who said that man in their fifties cannot be deadly?

The main theme of the movie seems to be ‘violence is an answer for everything’ with sub-themes touching upon drugs, prostitution and human trafficking but in spite of these (or perhaps because of exactly those elements), “Taken” moves from a plain ‘blow them up, shoot them up’ movie to one that is not only fast-paced and action packed but also containing some meaning and perhaps even lessons for the gullible ones. This might be because the script was partly written by Luc Besson (“Leon-the Professional”) whose one of the best action movie writers in Hollywood these days.

Would I recommend it? Definitely. And not only for Liam Neeson’s fan but anyone who enjoys good action thrillers that will keep you on the edge of your seat from the beginning to the very end. Enjoy…