Once a year, the 'world' pauses to say "Thank You" to the women who keep families whole and safe and grounded -- Moms.



At approximately 13 years of age, females are capable of becoming pregnant and giving birth to a new person. A person who is totally dependent upon them for health, love, and guidance - for survival - and has no choice but to trust that those needs will be met.

Those girls/women who successfully bring a pregnancy to term and deliver a healthy infant are Mothers. Any fertile female can become a Mother. The women who nourish, love, and guide their children into becoming the best persons they can be are far more important. They are the 'Moms,' without whom the world would be a much sadder, scarier place.

To all of you Moms and Grandmoms -- God Bless

JMark Afghans, etc. would like to announce our first pricing change - ever.

With the economy in dire straits, we have decided to offer our customers a little help. Effective January 1, 2009 - all Afghan prices have been reduced by approximately 10 percent. (See the chart below.)

Shipping costs have always been what we have to pay for 2nd day delivery - no more, no less - so there wasn't much we could do with those.

Happy New Year - from JMark Afghans to Our Friends and Customers.

   ..                                                                                                                                                                                                                  ......

Size	Block 001 & 002	Banded & Cozy 001 & 002	Lacy Afghan	Misc 001	Misc 002 & 003
36" x 36" Small / Newborn	$40.50	$49.50	$36.00	$58.50	$45.00
36" x 48" Medium / Crib	$67.50	$76.50	$63.00	$85.50	$72.00
42" x 56" Youth / Recliner	$112.50	$121.50	$108.00	$130.50	$117.00
48" x 75" Sofa / Twin	$162.00	$171.00	$157.50	$180.00	$166.50
54" x 80" Full Bed	$225.00	Not Available	Not Available	Not Available	Not Available
62" x 85" Queen Bed	$315.00	Not Available	Not Available	Not Available	Not Available

We get a lot of spammy emails, Mark and I and JMarkAfghans. Today, Mark got a couple that set off alarms. Luckily, the first one was a no-brainer.

'PayPal' had determined that there was a problem with Mark's account. He needed to log in, through the attached link, and confirm his credit card number and contact information. Oooooh! Not good! Hurry! . . . [sound of screeching brakes] . . . Wait just a minute!

Mark doesn't have a PayPal account!

We immediately - and I do mean immediately - expanded the message headers (Really, Really Important!) and forwarded the email to spoof@paypal.com. He's already received a response, thanking him for his assistance.

The second message was actually a bit more scary. 'Our Phone Company' needed to confirm Mark's account information - urgently - or they would not be able to ship his Sidekick. Crap! We need to fix this . . .  Ummmm?! . . . Sidekick? . . . wait . . .

Mark didn't order a Sidekick, wasn't expecting a Sidekick, doesn't want a Sidekick, and  -  most importantly  -  really would not want a charge on our phone bill for someone else's Sidekick.

Both of these messages were routed to Mark's Bulk/Junk/Spam folder, meaning most people wouldn't have seen or been bothered by them. But, because we habitually check our Bulk/Junk/Spam folders for misdirected mail, Mark was able to help PayPal and our phone company go after these criminals.

On the off-chance that you haven't heard this before - or have a teenager who thinks it's cool to tell everyone everything about . . . Please share!

1.  Never respond directly - and I do mean NEVER respond directly - to anyone who sends an email asking for your credit card information. ***NO reputable company EVER does that!***

2.  Never (I sense a redundancy here) Never ~ahem~ NEVER (shall I say it again?) respond to a request ~~ from your phone company ~~ for your account information! They have all of the information that they need to process any legitimate orders on your account - trust me! We have upgraded and ordered new phones a gazillion times and Never (Yes! it needed to be said! Okay?) have we had anyone call and say - "We need you to confirm your information."

Since the economy is in the round-porcelain-thingy-which-sends-all-stinky-stuff-south -- the chances that someone will try to buy their Christmas presents on your dime is HUGE!

Make sure that they suffer for even trying to mess with you! Okay!?  PAY ATTENTION! people It's your life and your money.

We all have shopping stories - confessions, if you will. For instance, I used to tell my second husband, when he asked if an outfit or piece of jewelry was new, that
"I have had this forever! You never notice anything!"

Now, confession is not only good for the soul; it's good for the wallet!

eBillMe, the company that offers the convenience of online shopping without credit, is sponsoring the Shopping Confessions Contest! It couldn't be easier - just get creative, publish your shopping confession, and you could win part of the $1,500.00 in monthly prizes.

Review the entry process at YouTube.



Get Creative! Friends and family can help, but only one person can register each video or text story. Upload your video or post your text to YouTube. Register at the Contest site, follow the directions, and post your confessions.

Shop a lot? Have a lot of confessions? Not a problem! Hollywood thrives on sequels, and so can you. Video or write about all of your guilty (or not-so-guilty) shopping pleasures - the only restriction is that each entry must be entered and registered separately.

Don't forget to check the rules! There aren't that many, but there are a few must do's.

While you're registering - let's show the blogging world that JMark Afghans, etc. has the greatest readers anywhere and everywhere! When you register, just add http://www.jmarkafghans.com/pages/blog.html to the "URL" field and let everyone know how you found the contest.

Who knows? Maybe we'll all win! Heaven knows - we all shop a lot!