OK, the lowdown on tipping . . .

This post was inspired by XBOX WIFE - her backwards WFMW was all these tipping questions that I have completely copy and pasted and answered below. Let me preface this by saying that I am not a professional on this, I can only share my personal experience (which is actually quite a lot - my family travels a considerable amount). For somewhat professional advice, consider the following:

* Wikipedia: Tip
* The Original Tipping Page
* Get Rich Slowly: Basic Tips on Tipping
* Emily Post: Holiday Tipping

And now, on to the questions! These are based on my personal experiences and opinions (and I inherited most of my tipping habits from my parents). Note that I am typically a big tipper (at a restaurant I consider around 20% to be standard, if not more). I will also leave less of a tip if my service was not that good. It is rare that I will not leave a tip at all, though I have done it once or twice for truly appalling service. But, like I said, I’m usually a very generous tipper.

* How much do you tip the security officer that brings a band-aid to your room? - I’d think a couple of dollars.

* How much do you tip the taxi driver that doesn’t answer any of your questions, or chooses to text message friends while he is driving? - Depends on the length of travel and such. For a $10 cab ride in NYC, I’d say $2 or so.

* How about the taxi driver that gives you great tips and good conversation? - Again, depends on the length and location. For a $10 cab ride in NYC, I’d probably give him $18ish total (but they were really great tips and some AWESOME conversation).

* Do you tip the doorman that greets you, the one that takes in your bags, AND the one that carries them to your room? - Are they 3 different people? If they are, then I typically only tip the one that carries them to my room (unless I have 15 bags . . . then I might consider the others). And usually it’s $1-2 plus $1 for each bag

* How much do you tip the doorman that hails a cab for you? - How hard was it to get the cab? If there was a cab in a line by the hotel, then $1. If he had to call or something, then $2-3.

* The concierge? - Did you use their services? If no, then no tip. If it was a quick question or two, then maybe $1. If they booked a tour for you and gave you 3 good restaurant recommendations, then $5 or so.

* Housekeeping? Do you tip housekeeping daily, or at the end of your trip? (I always worry that the person that has been cleaning our room all week will have the day off on the day we leave!) - If I’ve stayed at a nice hotel for a week or so and received excellent housekeeping service, then perhaps $10-20 at the end of the trip. But usually I don’t tip housekeeping. On a cruise though . . . definitely.

* Salon and spa services in your hotel? - Yes. Example: $50 massage - $10 tip

* And what about salon and spa services in your hometown ~ How much do you tip your hairstylist, the shampoo person, the manicurist, the esthetician? - Yes. I get a $120 haircut and color. The colorist usually gets $15-20, and the hair cutter gets $10. If they are the same person, then they get $20-25 total. And slip a $5 to the one who washes your hair and sweeps up the mess on the floor! Nails? If the manicure is $50, then give them $10-15 . . . and if you’re a regular, make sure to include ALL these kinds of people on your Christmas list (a small little gift, $10-20 gift certificate, homemade cookies . . . you get the idea, somewhere in there).

* The barber? - $15 harcut for the boys = $5-10 for the tip

* The shoeshine guy? - Do people still do this? I have no idea.

* Car wash attendants? - If they were super excellent, maybe $5. Typically though, no.

* Restaurants? How much? Do you determine the amount depending on the specific restaurant? How about the maitre d’? How about self-service places where someone buses your table? - I sort of addressed this already. Usually I go somewhere around 20% - regardless of how nice the restaurant is . . . those waitstaff are working just as hard at Ruby Tuesday as they are at Ruth’s Chris! At self-service places I usually leave a dollar on the table for the busboy. Unless the matre d’ has done you a special service, I usually don’t tip.

* Airports! How much do you tip the guy who unloads your car and the separate guy that checks your bags before you ever actually get into the airport? The parking attendants? The bus drivers for long-term parking? - Usually $1-2 plus $1 for each bag that you have. This goes for the shuttle driver and the skycap. The parking attendant in the little booth - no tip usually.

* Valet parking attendants? - $1-2 when you give them the car and another $1-2 when you get it back.

* Grocery store baggers and car loaders? - I usually forgo using them, so it’s been a LONG time since I’ve done this . . . I would imagine $5 is good if you’ve got a big carful of groceries.

And I’m gonna toss one in here for myself - TIP YOUR BARISTA! If you’ve had good service at Starbucks (or any other coffee shop for that matter), toss your change or a dollar into the tip jar, ESPECIALLY if you’re in the drive-thru . . . it’s factored into our pay like a waiter’s would be, and the drive-thru stores are notorious for getting awful tips, which is quite unfortunate because the work is harder. ::Steps off soap box::

Any other things you’re wondering about for tips? I’d love to keep going!!!

(I meant to post this yesterday, but my mom was here in town, so things got away from me!)

It’s October, and that means that it’s Breast Cancer Awareness month! As many of you know, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in May 2000 - she found the cancer through a self-exam, and it NEVER showed up on the mammogram (so do your self-exam!). She has been in remission since August 2000, and she is an incredible woman!

There are so many things that we can do to help prevent the risk of breast cancer - exercise, watching what we eat (somethings are good for us - others not so much), and maintaining a healthy lifestyle that includes breast self-exams (BSE) and mammograms. Throughout the month I’ll be posting things that will help us be more aware!

Here are some links to national sites about breast cancer: FitSugar

Don’t forget to stop by The Breast Cancer Site to click - this helps give free mammograms to underprivileged women, and it’s so easy to go click once a day: The Breast Cancer Site

Here are my other posts about breast cancer: Breast Cancer Posts

Here is one post that I want EVERYONE to read: Inflammatory Breast Cancer

If you have any questions about breast cancer or my family’s personal experience with it, I am VERY open about this topic, and will answer any questions you may have - please don’t take this subject lightly!

Breast Cancer Awarenss Ribbon Gifts originally uploaded by The Taif Healthy City Programme.

Thirteen Blogs I ALWAYS Read

1. First off, I have 4 friends that I read pretty much religiously - every time that I get one of their posts in my feed reader I immediately go to their website, and I often comment. These friends are:

Bug - An Indian Summer
Mouse - My Bitch Files
Brittany - Bitter Amalgamations
Amy - Perches in the Soul

2. Lisa @ justagirlintheworld.com - she’s the mastermind behind E. Webscapes and Blogs-About Hosting, and she’s also super nice and funny. She doesn’t post a ton, but I always read when she does. And, to top it off, she’s famous! She’s currently writing Wordpress for Dummies!

3. And two of my favorite “mommy bloggers” - Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer and Anne from PalmTree Pundit! These ladies always have great parenting anecdotes, links to great articles and sites, and an uncanny knowledge for what’s going on in the blogosphere!

4. And of course, Leanne at Intricate Art. Her beautiful art always lifts my day!

5. To get my OCD fix, I always turn to the organization queen at I’m an organization junkie! - she’s the best. She has great organization tips all the time, as well as neat and creative uses for bins, baskets, and more. Plus, she hosted that great Organization Challenge last year that forced me to get my closet into shape!

6. Stephanie over at Back in skinny jeans knows all about what’s going on with our self-image issues. She uses all the senseless reporting on celebrities to showcase our culture’s obsession with thinness - and she’s not taking it anymore. It’s refreshing to see someone with a healthy world view so prominent in the blogosphere.

7. Mama over at mamaVISION is an ex-model who lived through the horrors and is here to share all the nitty-gritty with us. Her real life experience in the fashion industry shows us how women are literally killing themselves to be beautiful and skinny. It’s disgusting, but it’s all true, and my heart aches. I’m glad that she lived through it and is now strong enough to share with the world.

8. I could not live without Lifehacker. It is an AMAZING site. Updated constantly, this site shows the latest downloads and techniques for making technology work for us instead of the other way around. From backing up your computer to managing your finances to figuring out the most efficient way to grocery shop, this site is on top of things.

9. As the proud owner of a Palm Treo, I have to post my favorite resource for programs and products for my Treo - Treonauts. This site is a wonderful resource for any questions you may have about Treos.

10. And my two favorite gadget sites - CrunchGear and Engadget. They are on top of the latest in technology news, constantly updating with reviews and announcements, with a healthy dose of commentary. Invaluable for any technophile!

11. For interesting religious commentary on current issues, I turn to ThinkChristian. The slant is a little more intellectual and theological, but still down to earth enough that I don’t feel like I’m reading a text book!

12. For quick headlines that are of interest, SmartChristian.com is the way to go. The posts don’t really say much, but I’m always directed to interesting material!

13. And to round things up, my two favorite green sites - TreeHugger and WorldChanging. These sites update constantly to show the latest in the news, renewable resources, sustainable design, and basic green living. If you want to learn anything at all to help our planet, these sites are a GREAT starting point. Not too much political agenda, they’re designed as resources to help us figure out the smartest and greenest way to live.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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As I looked back on my previous WFMW posts, I realized that I had not posted one of my absolutely favorite things on the internet - Bookcrossing.com!

Bookcrossing is a wonderful site, especially for book lovers like me (and many of my blog readers ;-))! I’ll try to explain it as best I can, but you really should pop on over to the site and check it out yourself.

Let’s say I have a book (haha, understatement). I finished reading this book, and I enjoyed it, but it wasn’t completely earth-shattering, so I don’t necessarily want to keep it here on my bookshelf taking up precious real estate. I register the book on Bookcrossing.com. In doing this, the book is assigned a number (which I either write into the cover, or use a sticker to put it in - this seems more effective), and I write up my opinion of the book on the website, rating it with 1-10 stars. This book is now added to my virtual bookshelf. I can do several things with it. If I give it to a friend, then they can go online, see what I wrote, and make their own review. Now it’s on their bookshelf. Or, I could take the book and place it strategically on a table in Starbucks. By doing this, I’ve released the book into the wild, and whoever happens to pick it up becomes the new owner. Or I could go to an online trading site like PaperBackSwap.com and trade my book for another book, thereby passing my journaled book on to a new owner. There are tons of possibilities!

Why do this? Why not! You’re recycling books, and it’s really interesting to see where your books have gone. Some of my books are floating around in other countries, and I’m seeing lots of people with different opinions of the books that I read. I released a lot of books when we were on vacation in Europe, so that was really cool.

Bookcrossing also has a big community online. There are forums, groups, all sorts of ways to participate and communicate with other book lovers. There are lots of books that I have read that I never would have read had it not been for Bookcrossing, and I’ve found some great new authors!

I’m more than happy to answer any questions - I joined about a year before I actually started participating because it seemed like too much work, but once I got going, it has snowballed into something I have enjoyed so much.

Bookcrossing.com? Works for me!