DIVA REVIEW: ScoreBig–Save on Every Ticket. Every Day.

I scored big and was given the opportunity to check out a site that, according to their press release, enables consumers to get great tickets for live sports, concert an theater events – at guaranteed savings of up to 60 %. ScoreBig.com customers get to pick their own price on seats from the floor to the rafters, always paying less than box office price, and never paying any fees.

Sounds good. Here are their quick facts:

• You are guaranteed to save on each and every ticket on ScoreBig.com
• Tickets for sports, concerts, theater, Broadway, family shows and attractions
• No Fees – free delivery
• Choose Your Seating Area – all seats ordered together will be next to each other
• Tell us what you want to pay – you have all the control, it’s thrilling!
• Get an instant answer- you find out right away if your offer has been accepted

Sound great. In the interest of full disclosure, I received a promo code for $100 off an event for tickets purchased through ScoreBig.com

Signing up is easy. No CC needed up front. Just setting up an account. You can actually look at the inventory before you sign up so stay cool. I did that first just to get a feel and then signed up.

Now, this is where it got dicey – FOR ME. If you are a sports fan, then by all means – you better jump in here to score big on some tickets. There were seats available for every Pre-season football game in the area as well as all the other sports. I didn’t look too deep because I have not much interest in sporting events unless it’s an Army Football game (BEAT NAVY SOMEDAY). I did notice that you can search tickets outside of your area as well. So, if you are traveling and want to get in an event or show, this is a great place to search for deals.


Nevertheless, I wasn’t interested in sports, so I started searching for every concert, play, event going on in my geography (DMV) and was VERY DISAPPOINTED. There either wasn’t any availability or there was no more tickets available for any event of interest to me until 2015.

2015 people. Yeah. No.

I ended up doing a generic search of “Family Activities” in the only think at the time that came up was the 2015 Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Baily: Legends Circus. Mmmm. Okay. Let’s see how many tickets I can get.

So, I had $100 to play with. The box office price is $44.65.  Four star seating was already the front rows so I was happy there. You can choose your seating at other venues. I have to enter a bid. I picked 3 tickets at a bid of $32 and my “Success Potential” meter went just into the green. I hit bid. Sad boo boo kitty. It came back as a NO but with a yes IF I changed my bid to $37.50. Okay. I did and I was booked.

16% savings. Great seats. I paid no fee and the tickets were e-tickets that I just download. Princess Cara will have a great time IF I remember I have tickets to this in March 2015.

Would I use this on a regular to get tickets? Not really, unless I was looking to go to a sporting event which ScoreBig.com seems to have a plethora of tickets for. Plays, concerts and other events…not so much…and I don’t have the time to search and search. I might go and see if the event is listed and available, but if it ain’t there the first time I look then I’m moving on. Nobody got time for all that.

Bottom line…if you want to save big on sporting events, name your own price (through a bidding process – which, when you think about it – isn’t really naming your own price if your bid isn’t accepted. Just sayin’)  and pick your seats in advance, then ScoreBig is the place for you.

Check it out. May the bidding an savings be with you.

Compress It, Compress it Good!

If it can be compressed, compress it. Good advice from the ranks of shit runners & triathletes say. I’ve been coveting compression gear for a long time – LONG TIME. The stuff is expensive and I have never seen any of it on sale.

 

My BFF, MsPattey and I talk about compression socks, pants & sleeves with the hushed tones and stifled giggles of glee for something highly revered. We kept each other posted about possible sale sightings, articles and little known facts regarding compression.

 

Then my girl had to have some surgery on her legs and was prescribed compression hose from the doctor. She wore the hose to the gym for a short stint on the treadmill and was absolutely convinced that we HAD to get on the compression tip…but hey, while we get out nickels together, the compression hose from the doctors would/should do.

 

Mkay…I got some compression hosiery from when I had surgery. How about I put it on under my running tights and WHA LA! Compression.

 

NOT SO MUCH. I pulled them out before a track run a few weeks back and it was a continuous comedy of errors. I got them on after about 20 min of pulling, tugging, jumping on these things. I fell onto the couch  in a heap of sweat with the FireMarshall looking at me as if I had lost my mind with a nonchalant quip “Are you supposed to sweat like that while putting on hose?” Sometimes…

 

I stood up and the circulation at my knees was being cut off. I couldn’t even bend my knees to walk let alone run across the room. Falling back down on the couch, I solicit the help of the FM to peel these things off my body.

 

Surgical Compression Hose is just that…for surgery. NOT fitness.

 

Sometimes being cheap is just that. CHEAP…and dumb.

 

However, a few days later, God showed mercy on my foolishness and a Swaggle Deal for compression socks/sleeves came out. BOOYA!!! Gonna get me some.

 

And they came last night. I put them on and just walked around the house and did just house stuff for the evening. I’M IN LOVE! My lower legs felt SO good. I have got to get me some compression shorts and tri suit. HAVE TO!

 

If it can be compressed – COMPRESS IT!

 

Any of you guys have compression gear? What do you think?

Time is Money/Money is Time

I was freaking out. Just a tad stressed. I have to take exams, finish up about 8 more hours of online modules, entertain Princess Cara who is on Spring Break, choir rehearsal, concerts, miscellaneous appointments to fit in before I go to Minneapolis for 10 days of MORE TRAINING (I am too friggin old to do this rep shyt), fit in workouts for my triathlon training schedule, wife/house/mom/chex goddess duties to perform, restock liqour cabinet AND grocery shop for Easter Sunday Dinner.

 

…and there are only 24 hours in a day. AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!

 

Then the light bulb goes on. While sipping on a glass of wine to calm my nerves & watching an episode of Crim.inalM.inds, I could get my grocery shopping done and have all of it delivered to my door. HALEILUAH! Jesus was a Peapod truck.

 

In 40 min, I had crossed off everything off my list, applied my coupons, used my store card for additional discounts, picked a delivery time/date, clicked ‘complete order’ and I was on to my second glass wine. I just got back about 2-3 hours of my life. YES!

 

2-3 hours in the grocery store, you ask? When is the last time you got in and out of the grocery store, unloaded & put away in less time when shopping for a major dinner party? (P.S. I’m up to 10 for Easter Dinner now…at least it is less than the 16 for Thanksgiving)

 

Talk about a load off my mind. DONE! Time is money/Money is Time. What a load off my mind AND schedule.

 

Have you ever used Peapod or another delivery service to gain back some time to your life?

From Terri: Diva Rule # 23

When a Diva Gets Tired from Shopping, She Sits Down...

17. Treating myself! :), originally uploaded by sarah.louise11.

...and Tries on Shoes.

Shoe-aholic

Hi, my name is Lisa, and I am a shoe-aholic. Yep, that's me. I have it bad and I'm still at step 1 of the twelve step program to recovery (whatever those are) and there is no hope for recovery. My rate of recidivism is infinite. I simply refuse to capitulate. I simply can't stop. I will rotate shoes, I will replace old/out of date with new - at a rate of 2-3x the rate that I get rid of some.

The above picture is just a smattering of my shoes. It does not include the boots, which are in labled boxes, sandals, exercise shoes and other flats. Sigh. Ron is gonna get real mad if I ask for more closet space when I have most of it already. To top it off, I went to NY this past weekend and managed to get in some shoe shopping. I wanted shoes to wear with my new jeans and ended up with 3 new pairs. Ummmm, well, ah, what had happend was....

The icing on the cake was the arrival of a pair of shoes from my girlfriend Terri. She picked up these awesome brown shoes with 2 1/2 in heels and decided that she simply couldn't walk in them. I told her to practice, but alas, it just didn't work out for her - and since we are the same shoe size...HA...I got me some new hotness shoes. I love them, Terri. They fitta fine.

What is a shoe diva to do? I know...go out and get some hot new outfits to go with the shoes. Mmmmm, maybe I should hold off on that till I get me a job or we win a contract. Imma try. Imma try.

A Diva's Gotta Have Shoes

I gotta have shoes. NEED them. So let's just say that I have a shoe fetish and over the past two weekends, I had me a sweet tooth for me some shoes. Yeah baby. The excuse I used (as if I needed one) was that I just HAD to have something new to wear for the 80th Birthday Celebration that I am throwing for my Grandma on Saturday. I can NOT be out done by the Original Diva herself. Now that woman is like Old School Diva. I've gotta come correct.



Anyhoo...I did some damage





And what I love about some of these shoes (the Betsy Johnson's & the Naughty Monkey's) were that they came with an extra set of taps. Just too cool.


I bought the Tadashi Cocktail dress for the party in red to rock at the party. I'm sure Grandma will come in a full ball gown & gloves (or pretty near close).




And YES, Virginia, the new body does rock in this kick azz dress. HA! I even took the bod out for a spin at the gym this week. I was winded a bit but I still got it. I rocked the Master Step class Saturday morning. Gonna try the Spin class tomorrow. Don't want all that money spent to go to waste. Heck Naw!

I was crackin myself up at the gym when this lady I take step with on a regular came up to me and said "Wow, you've lost a lot of weight." I smiled and said thanks, but I was waiting for her to ask me how I did it or is that your body? Kinda like when people walk up to ya and ask "Is that your hair?" I was chuckling to myself as I walked out of the gym thinking that I would answer, the same way I do the hair question..."Why, of course it is my body (hair). I have a receipt." I was crack myself up.

Spree over. Now have to focus on the details for the party.

Shopped Till We Dropped

Bummer! The fun is now over. Back to reality. We literally shopped till we almost dropped in the street. I didn't think I would make it back to Valerie's to get our luggage in time to catch a cab and make our train. After a late night of drinking and hanging with good company, we crashed back at Val's and slept in. We didn't get out for breakfast till about 10 am and went to this interesting diner up the street from Val's house. The toast and bacon was great but my omelet wasn't as good as it was at Annie's. After getting sustenance, we walked around the neighborhood visiting local shops. Erin found ANOTHER pair of boots - they were kind of cool. I picked up a nice refillable notebook for my purse and to hold the beautiful Cartier pen that Ron gave me for Christmas. I refused to take the pen set anywhere until I had an appropriate book to hold it in for fear of losing the pen in the black hole of my purse - and NO you can NOT borrow my pen. Don't even think about it.

We also visiting a thrift store across the street from Val's co-op and if I could have figured out how to get the red leather sofa and chair on the train - SOLD! There were some really good items in the store. We went back to Val's to leave our luggage with the doorman and venture out on our own for a few hours since Val had a doctors appointment. She got us safely on the subway and we were off to 59th & Lexington to walk over to Central Park. We got a little side tracked at the Stewart Weitzman Store - everyone is having a sale and spent an hour trying on shoes. AGAIN. I bought a really cute pair of shoes and then we did a force march through the throngs of humanity to see if we could catch a carriage ride through Central Park. No dice. The line was too long so we decided to just window shop our way back to the subway stop with a side stop at Bloomies again. One guy tried to convince us that riding in his bicycle rickshaw for $85 would be just a good (even better) than the carriage ride. Ya know man, crack kills. Just stop the madness.

Erin and walked up 60th back towards Lexington and stopped in at a really nice shoe boutique. We should have known better when we had to be buzzed in and that they did not have ANY prices on anything in the store. I nudged Erin and gave her the eye to politely leave the store after some browsing. If you have to ask the price - you definitely can't afford it. I didn't even want to know.

We stopped in Bloomies to go to the MAC cosmetic counter - Erin needed a new foundation and we were greeted by some really BAD looking female impersonators or drag queens or whatever. I can't recall what the difference is. These two gentleman looked really bad - not the MAC inspiration that I expect to see when you approach the counter. EEEEEWWWWWAH.

We managed to get back to Val's, pick up our luggage and board another taxi cab ride from Hell. You have to have nerves of steel and be very aggressive to drive in the city. I saw my life flash before my eyes numerous times. We managed to get on the train and promptly fell asleep. I woke up two stops before our final destination. Home Sweet Home.

Top of the Rock

Day 2 in NYC. We start the day...well I have to get everyone out of bed first...with breakfast at Annie's which was great and uneventful, went over to the FedEx Kinkos and sent our shopping loot home, and then started our day.

Off to Rockefeller Plaza where we watched the skaters on the ice rink and then went to the "Top of the Rock." What a great view of the Central Park and the Empire State Building. We could see the Statue of Liberty in the distance, but that is exactly what it was...distant. After getting a birds eye view of our surroundings we embarked on further adventures of SHOPPING.

Our first stop on 5th Avenue was at Saks where I visited the Trish McEvoy counter to pick up a few essentials and then over to Sissely to pickup my favorite perfume lotion and body wash...Eau du Soir. Valerie and Erin plant themselves in chairs and proceed to tell me that "we don't shop at counters like this." BULL Sh--T. They just didn't know what to ask for. Interestingly enough, the Sissely counter was demonstrating a new fragrance, Valerie fell in love with it and now she plan to go back and "visit" this counter to pick it up. Oh what a day makes.

After doing minimal damage at Saks, we then walked down/up (I can't figure out where I'm at) 5th Ave visiting St. John, Cartier, Louis Vitton, Nike Town, Trump Tower and Bergdoff Goodman. I'll tell you why New Yorkers stay relatively slim...they walk everywhere! Those city blocks make for a wonderful workout. It is definitely not a place to shop in heels though. After stopping in Cartier to look at the ring Valerie would like to get as an engagement ring (that is another long story), we made a side stop in Nike Town where I picked up a pair of shoes for Ron. On our way out, we saw the cutest walking shoes and boots. Val got the boots and I picked up the black & gray walking shoes. Decided to trade in the boots I was wearing for the walking shoes. Now I can keep up with Val hustling through the streets of NY. We stop in Trump Tower for a sugar fix at Starbucks and have to get a little assertive to gain some seats. I learned that "Sorry" is a universal language as we grab a table right from under the noses of a family from India. Saarrrrrieeeee.

I never knew that going to a public bathroom could be an experience until we decided that we could do better than standing in the VERY long line in Trump Towers by going across the street to Bergdoff Goodman. WOW!!!! Not only is Bergdoff the new stardard for power shopping (WOW!) but any other public bathroom is substandard compared to this. Even the Ritz Carlton has nothing on Bergdoff. An attendant, private stalls, wonderful products to wash your hands with (the milk scrub was absolutely divine), hand towels and more. It was well worth tipping the attendant. I am absolutely in love with this store.

Erin wanted to do some last minute shopping in a store that she could afford so we hop on the subway to go over to Macy's to find a little black dress for Erin. Valerie picks up a pretty red dress but, ALAS, it is not in her size (4), so instead of deciding to try the 6 - OH NO - she picks up the size 2. I said "Wow, Val, that's aggressive." In my head, I'm like BEEYACH! She's says,"Laugh if you want to - watch my smoke - I'm getting in this." And she did get in it - BEEYACH - but what you don't know is that she couldn't sit down, exhale or eat. It is not getting it on that is the problem, it's getting it off. After finding a cute little dress for Erin, we raced back to Val's to change for the dinner & theater.

We went to dinner at the Firebird Russian Room. It was great. Once again, we had wonderful food. Of course, we were the only black people in the entire restaurant. Doesn't anybody try different food - where are all the black people. Always makes me go Hmmmmm. After dinner we went to see The Color Purple. The play was well done and I just had to get the "Hell No" t-shirt. My new phrase for 2007. HELL NO!

After the play, we met a few friends of Val's at a hotel called Dream in their Ava lounge which overlooks Time Square - awesome view. We drink until about 2:00 am - whew! its been a long time since I hung out that late - and then went back to Val's to crash. Gonna take me a bit to recover. Another great day in New York City.

NYC Lessons Learned...

1. FOCUS...on where you are going or you could easily get hit by a bus or white panel truck. Yeah it almost happened as I look around like a tourist crossing the street.


2. You can walk yourself thin.


3. Saks sucks - Bergdoff rocks


4. There is such thing as a wonderful public bathroom


5. You can get awesome theater tickets 5 minutes before the show.

New York City - Just Getting There Could Kill You

Today Erin and I set off for NYC for her Birthday Trip to the Big Apple. We are staying with Aunt Valerie and she came back from visiting family in Texas to ride the train up to the city with us. We make it to the train at BWI Airport without event (except for Ron nagging the shit out of us about leaving on time). We get on the train and it is complete pandemonium - everybody seems to be traveling north after the holiday. We barely find seats in the next to the last car. I sit in an empty seat, but there is an coat in the seat beside me. No person - for a LONG time. About 20 minutes into the ride, Fat Bastard shows up from the Cafe Car. OH MY GOD! He has a T-Shirt on that he cut the arms off of - so if he lifted up his arms (which he did) you could get a nice view and smell of his ARM PITTS!!! Lord Jesus help me now. The conductor comes by, takes one look at my stricken face and tells me that 3 seats will be available together in 5 minutes as soon as we get to the next station. Whew!

Well, it's noon now and I'm hungry, so off I venture to the Cafe Car. While standing in line, I notice this women behind me that has this really short buzz cut with a Rat Tail. What -is that some kind of modified Mullet? Anyway, I'm gonna mind my business except these 2 couples sitting at a dinning table decide that they are NOT going to mind their business and proceed to discuss the fashion sense of a rat tail hair cut. The woman's son says "Mommy, those people (pointing) are talking about your hair." Oh Hell! There is definitely not enough room in this car for a scuffle. I couldn't get out of there fast enough as the Rat Tail woman started telling them a thing or two. The rest of the ride was uneventful; however, since we were daydreaming, sleeping and reading we almost missed our stop. Managed to get off just in time.

We arrived safely at Val's house and then went out to 59th Street for some mindless shopping. Went to Nine West - awesome sale! Two pairs of shoes down. Spent the rest of the evening in Bloomingdales where everything (except wallets for some reason) was 30 -60% off. We did wander around the 4th floor - Designers - and I found a wonderful pair of silver St. John slacks and matching jacket that was on sale already and then another 30% off. AWESOME!

We finally decided we were starving and went back to Val's, dropped the bags and went across the street to a really nice Italian restaurant called Cafe Buon Gusto. The food was great! We rolled out of there and up the street to get some snacks from the grocery. We are safely tucked in back at Valerie's place having a carpet picnic.

A great 1st day in the city... till tomorrow.

Black Friday Shopping & Tea at the Four Seasons

We ventured out yesterday on alledgedly the busiest shopping day of the year. My girlfiend Terri, daughter Erin, her friend Ashley (affectionately known as "The Ash"), and my niece Charlee jumped in the H3 and ventured into DC/Northern VA to the Pentagon City Mall. It wasn't nearly as crazy and packed with people as we expected and to add insult to injury, the post holiday "sales" were not even close. I think the day after Christmas is much better and I will definitly have to check back in with everyone then and let you know how I made out.

Now don't get me wrong, I did pick up just a few items. We did stop in Nordstroms at the St. John boutique and - well I'll be darned - there was two 50% off racks of St. Johns. Well, I just found this awesome Chocolate Knit skirt and matching top. I did draw the line at the $250 belt. I was only willing to go so far. So then Terri sides up to me and asks the question of the day - "Do you always spend that much on an item of clothing?" Well, that depends on what it is. If it is a St. John, in which I always fell like a million bucks - fits well, hangs right, no matter where you go you are appropriately dressed - HELL YEAH, BABY! Ring it up and put it in the bag.

The rest of the day we just walked around the mall trying to find some shopping deals and at 3pm we jumped back in the Hummer and were off to the Four Seasons in Georgetown for Tea.

I love shopping and then having tea. I would have preferred to go to tea at the Ritz Carlton attached to the mall but it was booked. I was able to get reservations at the Four Seasons so...of we went. Everything was just so at the Four Seasons, from the valet to the table setting and lets not forget the champagne. Yummy. The pictures speak for themselves.

A Diva Makeup Outing

Today I indulged myself in a rather expensive yet totally luxurious afternoon with a private session at Nordstrom with Trish McEvoy and her legions of makeup artists. We started with a workshop with Trish (while munching on cheese, fruit, veggies, etc.) learning so many neat makeup tips and beauty secrets. I felt like the Diva that I know I am. If you can't be thin - you certainly can look absolutely smashing everywhere else. After the workshop we were wisked away by one of her makeup artists that (with absolutely no pressure) asked you about your goals for the day, what you wanted to work on or learn and then spent the next 2 hours working with you on your face. My biggest takeaway...I don't need to wear my foundation so heavy and a eye cream is a secret miracle. I walked away with almost everything and a new Trish Planner to store it all. You should have seen me struttin' my stuff as I walked out of there with my bags (one bag was filled with Trish gifts to include the book pictured to the left). Princess moment. I wish all of my girlfriends a princess/diva moment at least once a year!

Another great adventure.