In college when I really needed to study and cram for a test, I force myself to go to the basement section of the library. There was nothing for me to do there except study. No email. No instant messages. No snacks. No TV. No visitors.

These days, with internet/wifi available everywhere, text messages and phones with web access, it is so hard to find a time and space where there is little distraction. The only place that forces me into the “library mode” is when I am on the plane or in the airport.

I think it’s my restlessness. When I’m awake, I need to be doing something, anything. And there really isn’t much you can do on a plane.

On my most recent plane ride, I read 4 weeks worth of the Economist magazine, wrote two blogs, brainstormed high level features of DealDivine that we will implement this coming year, planned the next release of DealDivine, and made minor changes to the site. And during my 1.5 hour stop at Dallas, I hopped onto WiFi, posted deals and coupons.

Goal for 2009: Give myself more “airplane” time when I’m on land.

I attended my first Ladies Who Launch meeting last week, and I loved the energy and warmth I felt from the other aspiring women entrepreneurs.

It was personally satisfying, especially after attending a startup panel where I was one of five women in a group of 150+. I got warm fuzzies the instant I walked into the all-women meeting, and left more energized than ever.

Another reason why this intimate all-women event was refreshing: it was the opposite of a geek fest! Women of all ages with interest in a variety of business (retail, apparel, restaurant, consulting, interior design, author) shared their success and what they want to accomplish. In Silicon Valley it is sometimes easy to get in a tech bubble, and miss seeing the opportunities outside the capital of geeks.

I’m not sure if there will be more meetings like this from this organization, but I think women business leaders and entrepreneurs do need support groups and an environment where they can “talk shop” but also encourage and inspire each other.

Below are all the past issues of the DealDivine Weekly Newsletters

http://www.wwd.com/business-news/the-price-of-the-new-frugality-1910836

I was just reading the WWD article above and this paragraph jumped out at me:

“… price still counts for a lot. According to a new study by Young & Rubicam Inc. advertising, price triggered purchases of 80 percent of 2,500 brands people bought from 2004 through the first quarter of 2008, well before onset of the economic crisis last fall. “

Brand and quality matters too, but sometimes price and the discount amount is just that trigger that you react to. I got a black wool dress from J Crew for $30 and thought it was the best deal ever because that was like 70% off. But if I found that same dress with an original price of $30 at a no name brand at a store, I might pass… Maybe it’s not the absolute price people react to, but the perceived discount and “value” they are saving.

DealDivine was mentioned in the Wisconsin State Journal yesterday! http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/local/431602

It’s always nice to get mentioned/interviewed And I LOVE talking about deals, about trends I see online and at the malls. I go shopping enough at both high end retailers, normal mall stores, and outlets to know what’s going on at most levels. What a great excuse to go shopping huh? It’s research!

DealDivine’s rss feeds have been added to deals.alltop.com!

I think Alltop.com is a great idea. I am a religious user of my.yahoo.com for the past decade, so I am rather set in my rss reader habits (switching cost is just too high!). But if you have yet to get started on a good “home page” of relevant rss feeds, I think places like Alltop and Popurl are good places to start.

I was in LA this past weekend, and somehow we ended up at South Coast Plaza.

That place is like a mini-city. We only hit a few stores and spent majority of the time at Bloomingdale’s and Sak’s because their sales was so fabulous. And as we all know, selection varies by store and lets just say the South Coast Plaza stores had some fabulous stuff (on sale).

Here’s my splurge purchase, a purple patent leather Ferragamo wallet. I absolutely love it! It’s shinny and cute, with perfect slots for everything. I got it for $150 (originally $450, sale at $300 and then there was an extra 50% off!). I did think this was the best deal possible, but I actually just found a similar deal online. So you can get one too

Below’s a fuzzy picture from my phone…

My New Purple Patent Leather Ferragamo Wallet