While I was in Amsterdam, I noticed a shoe store.  Actually, I noticed many shoe stores but there was one in particular that caught my attention so I walked in.

I looked at the “sale” shoes first.  I didn’t see anything I liked so I walked around the shop. I saw a pair of blue suede boots with brown leather straps.  I fell in love.  (If you know me, you know I fall in love with lots of shoes…)

I took off my walking shoes that I recently purchased at Marmi in Manhattan and put on the boots.  I walked around the store.  As I was walking around, I looked at other boots and shoes in the store.

When I came back to my seat, there were three Dutch women picking up my shoes and talking.  They passed my shoes from one to the other.

“Hey, those are mine,” I said.

“How much?” one of the women asked me.

I was confused.  Does she want to buy my shoes? Does she want to know where I bought it? Should I sell them?

“I bought them in NYC,” I said.

“No, how much you pay?” she said.

“Oh, I don’t know,” I said.  I didn’t want to tell her what I paid, unless she wanted them.  ”But you can have them for $200.”

The three women looked at each other, then looked at me.  They didn’t say anything.  They just quickly left the store.

When you think Amsterdam, you don’t typically think business trip, you think holiday. So when I heard that the Entrepreneurs’ Organization was going to have a university there, I was one of the first to sign up.

I had never gone to an EO University.  I didn’t even know what it was. A lot of members talk about how great universities are and how they are a once in a lifetime opportunity.  I didn’t believe them at first but now that I’ve been, I know it really is a once in a lifetime opportunity!

When I went to the EO Amsterdam University this past week, I was impressed with the quality of speakers, the presentations, the organization of the event and the socials. This was one of the best conferences I have been to in a long time.

The conference theme was “Changing the World.”  They had several top-notch speakers including: Mohammed Unis, Peter Schwartz, Joshua Silver and Kofi Annan.  Each speaker talked about how he/she is changing the world. Each speech was more inspiring then the next!

The days were filled with classes and the nights were filled with lots of fun.  One night we took a luxury boat to Westergasfabriek, an old historic gas factory that the Dutch converted into a dance club.  When we got off the boat, we were greeted by EO staff and given a pair of wooden shoes.

All dressed in orange, we wore our wooden shoes and danced together around the complex.  There were more than 500 people from around the world dancing in wooden shoes.  The site was amazing.

The next night, we had a “dine-around” at one of the EO Amsterdam members’ home.  Gaston was a lovely host and his wife and children were so hospitable.  We took a long bus ride to his home, had intimate cocktails and then had a nice formal dinner in his dinning room.  It was great to learn about him and his family and to meet my fellow EO’ers from Dubai, Germany and the US.

The final night, Saturday night, was the “big wow.”   After a fun boat ride in the rain with 500 of my fellow EO’ers, we all got dressed up and met at a church called the Oude Kerk Amsterdam.

The place was beautifully decorated and while we sipped our cocktails, we heard an all boys choir sing lovely hymns.  The organist also played and then we all sat down in the formal setting.

The food was incredible.  Each dish was better than the next!  After we finished our main course, a senior group walked on stage.  Everyone looked at each other.  We didn’t know what was going on. They filled the stage and started to sing upbeat pop songs.  It was terrific!  I ran up there to get a closer look and I was thoroughly impressed.  The after party was even better.  It was back at the hotel for dancing and karaoke.

What a great way to end a conference.  Great job to the Netherlands chapter and to the EO staff!  The event was flawless and we even got a real Manifesto, a cool handbook that we used daily and pair of wooden shoes out of it!

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I have not received any compensation for writing this content and I have no material connection to the brands, topics and/or products that are mentioned herein.

Honey has been shown throughout history to have a number of anti-oxidant and healing properties for the body and skin. Honey is the forgotten ingredient in a number of health,wellness and beauty products.

Maty’s is unearthing the age-old tradition of all-natural remedies that are good for the body and the environment. Maty’s has carefully crafted safe, all-natural treatments for your child–and for you! Their products ensure that you are getting thefinest, most effective ingredients without any dangerous side effects.

Below are some interesting facts about the benefits of Buckwheat Honey

• Buckwheat honey contains seven of the eight essential amino acids including Tryptophan, Lysine, Methionine, Cysteine, Histidine, Glutamine and Tyrosine.
• All honeys contain minerals, but darker honeys such as buckwheat honey have higher levels of minerals than lighter honeys. Calcium, phosphorus, iron, copper, potassium, magnesium, sulphur, sodium, titanium, zinc, iodine, chlorine and boron are all found in buckwheat honey.
• Some of the vitamins contained in buckwheat honey are vitamin A, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, vitamins B-5, B-6, B-8, B-9, and B-12. It also has vitamins C, D, E and Folic Acid.

Rules for the Maty’s National Honey Month Contest

Maty’s would like parents to share their unique use of honey. Please leave your advice in the comment section after this post. The contestants must also “like” Maty’s Facebook page and “follow” Maty’s on Twitter in order to participate. The winner will be chosen at random on Friday, September 30^th. Maty’s can be purchased at your local grocery store. A complete list of stores carrying Maty’s products can be found here: http://www.matyshp.com/where-to-buy/

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I have not received any compensation for writing this content and I have no material connection to the brands, topics and/or products that are mentioned herein.

Probably like most people, I drink a lot of coffee. I especially drink a lot of coffee because I wake up at 4:00 a.m. every morning after only getting about four hours of sleep. Whatever the reason, I love the taste. I only drink coffee with Nestle’s Coffee-mate in the French Vanilla flavor. I don’t care for coffee with milk. I think that the Coffee-mate enhances the flavor.

At the Blogher Conference in San Diego this past August, I met the people who represent Natural Bliss, a new Coffee-mate product. There was so much going on at the conference that I really didn’t get an opportunity to talk with the representatives. I was too distracted with all the brands that were there.

When I returned back to my office, I received a package from Coffee-Mate Natural Bliss from Nestle. In it were three bottles of Natural Bliss to try and review for this blog.

I figured that all Coffee-mate products were made with natural and artificial flavors because they have a long shelf life. But when I looked at the bottle of the new Coffee-Mate® Natural Bliss, I was intrigued that it was all natural and had a long shelf life too!

The creamer is made from four ingredients — nonfat milk, heavy cream, sugar and all natural flavors. It comes in three flavors – Caramel, Sweet Cream and Vanilla. And, let me tell you, they are all delicious!

I’m converted! I simply loved all three of these products.

I asked my staff to sample the Coffee-mate Natural Bliss creamers and tell me which one they would recommend to their friends and neighbors and they couldn’t decide either. All three have a great, smooth refreshing taste. The best part, the coffee is sweet enough that it didn’t need additional sugar or sweetener.

Since I am a runner and strive to be healthy, I love this alternative. The best part is, it’s also low in calories and carbs. It’s only 35 calories in a one tablespoon serving with only five grams of carbs.

What’s also nice is that is both kosher and gluten-free; it and can be found in the dairy section of local supermarkets. The price is $2.69 for a 16 oz bottle.

I recommend it because it tastes delicious and it’s low in calories. It’s not in all supermarkets just yet, so if you want to know where you can purchase your very own Coffee-mate® Natural Bliss creamers visit the Natural Bliss web site.

Subscribe to my blog at www.hilarytopper.com/subscribe and receive a free bottle of Nestle Coffee-Mate Natural Bliss!  Then you can have a nice cup of coffee and read my blog at the same time… (P.S. I only have five left so act fast.)

Here are some locations where Coffee-mate Natural Bliss is available for purchase in your neighborhood:

• Waldbaums 890 Walt Whitman Road Melville
  Stop & Shop 1100 E Jericho Turnpike Huntington
  Pathmark 683 Old Country Huntington Station
  Target 100 Willow Park Center Farmingdale
  Stop & Shop 8101 Jericho Turnpike Woodbury
  Shoprite 1054 Old Country Road Plainview
  Waldbaums 1960 Deer Park Avenue Deer Park

Article first published as Product Review: Nestle Coffee-Mate Natural Bliss on Blogcritics.

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I have a material connection because I received a gift or sample of a product for consideration in preparing to write this content. I was/am not expected to return this item or gift after my review period.

I received an email the other day saying that I can now buy “xxx” extensions to the domain name.  At first I thought it was a good extension to have because of it is easy to remember but when I spoke with a few friends about it, they told me “don’t do it!”

“It’s for porn sites,” another friend said.

I never even thought about that!

A few days later, I read in the Canadian paper, The Globe and Mail, that there are new rules now that may affect brands.

Did you know that soon, you will be able to get the extension .car or .book or .coke for your web site or blog site.  Whatever you want your name to be, you can have it.  So for example, a brand with many different product lines can use the same extension like .beer or .cereal.

There’s been quite a bit of conflict with this. According to The Globe and Mail, the Interactive Advertising Bureau and the Association of National Advertisers both warn that the “changes could damage their brand.”

Many believe that this will lead to cybersquatters who could potentially hurt a brand. Some people feel that there will be people surfing the web for one thing and coming up with something that they don’t want.

However, advertisers’ worries may not be warranted because of the $185,000 dollars application fee.

What do you think?  Is this a good thing or is it just another one of those fads?

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