Toes Foot Notes

Bud Light MixxTail

2015-05-01T11:49:00.000-07:00

Bring the bar indeed! I'm usually not one that likes malted flavored beers or even regular beer since I'm mostly a Vodka girl but the Hubs wanted to try these MixxTail's when they came out. We got a case of each kind. They taste like the real thing. Our favorite is the Hurricane, which has a very pineappley flavor to it. I really enjoyed the Firewalker myself since I love Fireball and cider together especially when it's chilly outside. The Long Island is meh. It tastes like a Long Island but has a weird after taste I did not care for. If you are looking for a decent alcoholic beverage I would recommend trying these.

Dr. Jart+ Water Mask

2015-04-30T11:47:00.003-07:00

I was clicking along the internet one day when a yahoo story caught my eye. It claimed that you could look younger overnight. Well I'm always up for looking younger as heading into my 40's I've started to develop wrinkles under my eyes. They are not really bad yet but I'd like to prevent them. The story went on to review a couple of different ways to get this miracle look with stuff such as retinol treatments, oils, lotions, etc. But what caught my eye was this thing called a Water Mask.

Sounds hydrating! I liked the sound of it because I have oily skin and putting any lotions on makes me break out. So I went to my go to store Sephora.com and bought Dr Jart+ Water Fuse Water-Max Sleeping Mask. It touts it hydrates your skin with gel and you wake up revitalized and refreshed skin. I know it is a bit pricy at $48 but if it works it would be worth it.

When it arrived I started a night regiment. I have to admit that usually I'd just go to bed makeup and all. I know, I know, that is terrible for your skin. So I got some Noxzema to wash my face with. I like the cooling sensation and it's chock full of good oils for your skin. Then Dr. Jart+ Water Mask. The next morning my face felt good. I washed the mask off and I could actually see a decrease in the puffiness around my eyes!

It was worth the $48! The wrinkles that were starting around my eyes were halted in their tracks. Yes there was a notable difference after using this product. I used the whole container which lasted almost a year. You just need one to two little pumps of this stuff a night to cover your face. So when I ran out I went back to Sephora.com.

There's a new water mask that Dr. Jart+ makes called the Premium Firming Water Mask. If it was anything like the first one I was definitely going for it. It is also priced at $48. I like that this one also contains Kava. Kava is a root herb that promotes sleep, calming and helps with anxiety. When using the Premium Mask I sleep better and still get the benefits of hydrating my skin. I like them both equally but would recommend the Premium Mask over the Water Fuse Mask just for the addition of the calming helpful sleep additive.

Do you have a "go to" product that you use to help your skin? If so let me know in the comments. Now that I have a regimen I might look into adding some eye defining overnight creams or lip repair overnight balm.

Dear Foot Notes It's Been a Loooong Time

2015-04-27T17:44:00.001-07:00

So long that I almost forgot I made you. Well, I hope to change that in the future and start posting again. I'm posting today because I tried something awesome and it works.

I tried a detox and not just a regular food or cleanse detox but a foot detox. I know you've seen all the ads for those patches you put on your feet and everyone is all "They're a scam. They don't work. It's just your sweat that makes them turn all black. Blah blah."

Well I thought why spend good ol money when I could make my own? So after searching hours on the interwebs I only found two recipes for foot detoxing so I combined them and they worked! At least they did on me. I was feeling under the weather this morning so I thought I'd give it a try. Holy smelly, Batman! It's a good thing no one but me was in the house.

Yes, it smells dreadful but after 4 hours and a shower I feel great. In fact I haven't felt this energized in quite some time.

So here are the two sites I got the recipes from:

https://earthstarmama.wordpress.com/2013/05/31/diy-foot-detox-pads/

http://www.ehow.com/how_7379901_homemade-detox-footpads.html

I didn't have the dandelion root oil or the milk thistle so I didn't add them. I also didn't have vitamin c but used EmergenC drink powder instead. I also added some fresh ginger to the brew. So I brewed this concoction for 30 minutes.

I also did not have the pads so I jimmy rigged some gauze pads and ace bandage tape. I also thought what's good for the feet could also be good for the armpits so I stuck pads there too.

My armpits felt like fire for about 20 minutes then just a warm sensation. I think it's from the cayenne pepper. So I only kept those on for about two hours. Funny thing is, when I took them off it looked as though it had whitened the skin where they were applied.

After 6 hours on my feet; I didn't get the dark change you see in the pictures on Earth Star Mammas blog but it looked as though the skin was, well, melted? I guess thats the closes explanation. It didn't hurt but I think it just took off the old skin that was there. I wiped my feet off with the pad and again saw that my feet were lightened where the pad was.

I cleaned off the stink of the combo of vinegar, onions, garlic, ginger mix in the shower. About 20 minutes after the shower I was up and about with an energy I haven't felt in months. Cleaned the house, worked on crafts, made dinner and still I'm not exhausted at all. By this time any other day I'd be dragging ass.

I know everyone is different and may have different effects but for me I'm keeping this recipe for those days I need to recoup.

Let me know if you try it too and how it made you feel in the comments.

The Artful Winemaker

2012-02-29T13:30:00.000-08:00

I like to drink the wine. No matter if it’s red, white, flavored, sparkling or any of the above there’s an occasion for every wine and a wine for every occasion. So I was overjoyed at the fact that I could make my own wine in one easy peasy kit. If you’ve thought of home wine making yourself you’ve probably seen things like jugs and hoses of some sort and blogs/instructions on all these different chemicals you need, etc. Not with the Artful Winemaker. This kit comes with everything you need to make 12 bottles of white or red. I received the Cabernet/Shiraz kit for Christmas and proceeded to make my wine.

Supposedly, 28 days later I should be enjoying my wonderful red, (unless you are as disorganized as I am and accidentally put the date in for 35 days later on your phone reminder) then 35 days later I enjoyed my wonderful red. You can’t even try to screw it up. It’s screwupable proof. Believe me, I did misread the instructions and even after accidentally putting the cones in wrong and leaving it in the container an extra week my wine turned out just fine. I even used the Artful Winemaker to make a homemade brew of Orange and clove wine using my own recipe and it worked great. If you like being creative and wine I suggest getting this great contraption.

Walden Farms Wrap Up

2012-02-28T13:00:00.003-08:00

Wow, I had to go back and read the last post because it’s been so long since I’ve been here that I forgot where we last left off, thanks Lacochran for kicking me in to gear. Oh yes, the Walden Farms claim to miracle fat free dressings and mayonnaise. Or shall we call it the most disgusting thing I’ve ever tasted in my life. Well, to get it straight, there are Miracle Whip people (which my husband is team whip, YUCK) and then there are regular mayonnaise people like myself. Give it up to high calorie goodness. Walden Farm’s claim to mayonnaise resembles something between Miracle Whip and Decoupage paste. It has the consistency of water and the taste of grainy Miracle Whip that has too much vinegar in it. In other words it’s just plain gross.

The dressings, on the other hand, are not that bad. I enjoyed the chipotle dressing, even though it was a bit spicy for my taste and I found the Dijon dressing at my local grocer and was pleasantly surprised at the flavor. I’m guessing when you are just putting a bunch of chemicals together to resemble an edible food without any fat, calories or carbs you’re going to have some hits and misses.

Walden Farms Calorie Free Food

2011-10-20T06:47:00.000-07:00

A calorie free, fat free, carb free mayo, dressing, and (gasp) caramel dip? That’s what Walden Farms claims their products are. Can this miracle upon miracles be true? How can a product taste good with all the bad stuff for you gone out of it? Well, I’m going to find out. I just put my order in for some good for you mayo and chipotle salad dressing and we’ll just see if Walden Farms just became my new love.

One Hope Wine @ Onehopewine.com

2011-10-17T15:54:00.000-07:00

I don’t know if you’ve all heard of this thing called Klout yet but it seems to be catching on, but that is not what this post is about. This post is about perks, the only good thing I’ve found so far that Klout has deigned to give me, since I’ve only been influential about vodka according to their site, is a $10 gift certificate to onehopewine.com.

Of course, the $10 only pays for the wine, it’s still $8 to ship it but hey, $8 buck wine is pretty cheap so I purchased One Hope’s Sauvignon Blanc. I like the concept of One Hope Wine because each of their wines supports a different cause. Purchasing a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc supports the environment and 50% of the profit that One Hope received from my purchase will go to that cause. (Well, in my case none of my purchase price will go to that cause because of the gift certificate but the concept is still cool). They have other causes as well such as the Chardonnay’s cause is Breast Cancer, Merlot is Aids Awareness, Cabernet Sauvignon is Autism and Zinfandel supports our Troops. So if you’re in the market for some wine and a feeling of giving back to the world try out One Hope Wine at onehopewine.com.

The Sauvignon Blanc was quite tasty. Very crisp with a fruity after taste. Great for a warm summer day BBQ in which I enjoyed the entire bottle myself.

Recycle Your Sink Water with AQUS

2011-10-13T11:23:00.000-07:00

Being green just got a bit simpler. Thanks to the people at AQUS you can effectively recycle your gray sink water and use it to flush your toilet. I haven't purchased this wonderment yet but believe me, it's on my list. Not only to help the environment but to help lower my ever growing water bill. I'm a big DIY'er so it doesn't look hard to install. Thoes that are not that hands on inclined my want to consult a plumber.

What's In What's Out

2011-10-13T11:02:00.000-07:00

Every month I post what I feel is in and what is definitely out. (imagine out said in Heidi Klum project runway fashion).

OCTOBER

In: Animal Print, not overboard but just a bit of animal print has been seen more often this month. Yes, ladies, there is a classy way to wear animal print.

Now with fall moving in, this leopard print scarf would do as a great accent to any outfit.

Out: Fur boots. These look like you kicked a rabbit and it stuck to your shoe.

Poor fake rabbit.

Magnetic Nail Polish

2011-10-12T10:57:00.001-07:00

Now you may remember I said what's in with August was fancy nails. Well, Sephora has now made making fancy nails a bit simpler with their new magnetic nail polish. But I do wonder if putting metal on your fingers and charging it with a magnet is healthy. This is one product you won't see tagged organic or natural. Oh the things we girls do for fashion. I have to admit the effect is pretty cool.

Petmate Le Bistro Auto Feeder AKA Magic Bowl

2011-09-02T13:14:00.000-07:00

It’s no secret that my dog has an eating problem, or as I like to say, he has special needs. I was trying to break his habit of doing this bouncy dance accompanied by annoying whining when I walk in the door after work. Not because he’s happy to see me but because he wants to be fed. Then upon feeding him watch in horror as he stumbles about the room hyperventilating and pacing because he vacuumed up too much food in his craw and can’t swallow. Like I said, he’s all kinds of special. So I got him the slow down bowl that has huge eating obstacles designed to slow the eating process. After about a month using this bowl I found bloody marks on the eating obstacles. Being the worried furkid mom I am I immediately took to the internets for a better solution. Thoughts of being a bad mom and thinking Boo’s poor mouth! Sparing no expense to help my poor spoiled dog I got the Petmate Le Bistro auto feeder. Now dubbed the magic bowl.

The magic bowl was perplexing to my special needs dog at first because he didn’t know when it was going to spill out munchy goodness. He decided just sitting in front of it for long periods of time and staring directly at was going to get it to drop the goods. Luckily he figured out the timing schedule (a month later) and now enjoys portion controlled mini meals three times a day. It’s not only fixed his hyperventilating food problem but amazingly, instead of feeding him a bunch of food at once the spaced meals have shown improvement in his weight.

The magic bowl not only helped my poor neurotic dog, I’m not accosted with the whiny happy dance anymore. Yes it was extremely expensive for a dog food bowl (also considering I had to buy two since it seems my kids cannot “SHARE NICELY”, no matter how many times I yell that to their faces) it was worth it. They look healthier and on the plus side I can go on vacation for a weekend and not worry about them getting fed.

There are a couple of things to consider making this purchase though; here’s a list of cons I’ve found after using the product for 6 months:

1. Food size is a big consideration. You have to get kibbles that are evenly sized (better if they are all uniformity close to being round) and are not too large or too small for the small rotary array in the food dispenser.

2. Try refilling the container when you’ll be around for the next dispensary. I’ve found that just dumping the food in can cause the rotary wheel to lock up (too much pressure on it). Usually tipping it up and down will fix this problem.

3. Replace the batteries regularly. Even if they’re not bad try replacing your batteries every six months. Not doing so can slow down the rotary wheel and will make the timing go off randomly.

4. The dog will eventually learn that slapping the machine will produce one or two kibbles after it dispenses. Don’t worry, these machines are built tough. Mine’s been pounded on by the special needs dog a lot with no problem affecting the dispensing. This machine is not suggested to those with smarter animals i.e. cats. They will figure out how to sabotage the machine.

What's In What's Out

2011-09-01T13:14:00.000-07:00

Every month I post what I feel is in and what is definitely out. (imagine out said in Heidi Klum project runway fashion).

SEPTEMBER

In: Sweaters!!! I'm obsessed with my sweater/hoodie collection. Every year around fall I like to add a new favorite.

Cashmere butterflies and koi, oh my!

This cardigan looks sooooo coooozzzyy. I want to wrap up in it right now!

I know, this one kind of looks like a dreaded butterfly top but please note the dolman cut sleeve.

Out: Fluttery weird arm hole shirts AKA butterfly blouse. Now, don't get me wrong I like these shirts but I'm confused about the weird arm holes. I don't personally own one so if you do please tell me what happens when you lift your arms? Does it look like you have wings?

Creepy flying arm hole body suit anyone?

Welcome to the 80's.

I actually kind of like this one once you get past the flying squirrelesque sleeves.

Atkins Diet

2011-08-31T14:01:00.001-07:00

The Atkins Diet is one of the most popular diet trends around. It incorporates eating different types of low carb, high protein foods to regulate weight. The thing that sold me on the Atkins was the Induction Phase, where you eat nothing but protein enriched foods like eggs and bacon. Mmmmm bacon. So I did the Induction Phase and that’s about as far as I got because I lost 5 pounds but I felt lethargic and sick ALL THE TIME. Not just regular, oh I’m dieting so I have to find something wrong with it sick but really violently ill sick. I guess my body disliked “jump starting” as the Atkins diet puts it. Needless to say I stopped that diet immediately and funny, my sickness went away. Atkins, or what I call it Yakins, may be the right diet for some but definitely not for me.

Nutrisystem

2011-08-12T11:09:00.000-07:00

I was lured in by the convenient meals and the promise of cake. Nutrisystem was pretty expensive to start out. I paid around $200 for my first “Basic Package” of meals. I was using the reasoning they claim on their site that you’ll save on groceries because you’ll have the meals instead. What they don’t tell you is that you’re still buying fresh vegetables and fruits to supplement your diet because the stuff they ship you in the boxes is sooooo tiny. (Also I was buying regular groceries for the Hubs because he didn’t want to diet with me.) The meals were tiny. Talk about an extreme portion control. The site claims the diet works on by utilizing the glycemic index but really it is extreme portion control and specific calorie intake.

At first the diet was new and exciting. Little color coded packages to eat with snacks and sweets for desert. It was fun for the first month and I lost about 5 pounds. So I ordered another month supply, this time picking my favorites out of the sampler pack I had the recent month. Then it lost its shiny new feeling and I’m out about $400. The food started getting really bland and I just didn’t feel like heating another thing out of a box. I wanted fresh and good tasting food. The meals were always the same kind of something in tomato sauce and it started getting repetitive. The stacks were good, but I always wanted more. The same with the bland meal packs, they always left me hungry. I thought that if I wanted to be hungry all the time I might as well eat fresh food in smaller portions and save myself some cashola.

All in all I lost a total of 9 pounds and as soon as I went off the meals, promptly gained it all back and 3 more pounds for good measure. I guess this diet would work if A) You lived alone or your partner does it with you, otherwise it’s just too expensive buying two sets of groceries and B) You have no taste buds and don’t mind the bland repetitiveness of the meals. Otherwise, save your money and invest in salads and low calorie foods and plan small portion meals throughout the day. You can accomplish the same thing without having it all pre-packaged for you.

iPad 2 AKA My White Whale

2011-08-11T08:35:00.001-07:00

In June I found myself in such a dilemma. See, I have an affinity for romance novels especially the historical ones. I got the craving for a good romance trilogy and found a book by Amanda Quick at the local grocery store. Unfortunately it was the second in the trilogy and everyone knows you can’t start a trilogy in the second book so the first book hunt began. I searched the big box store (only because romance novels are way cheaper there) with no luck. I tried the local bookstore, again, no dice. Any and all grocery stores, no, no and no. Where have all the trashy love novels gone?

Digital. They went digital and now if you want a book, like right this second, because we are in the instant gratification age, you can get one but you have to have a device to read it with. The question is which one? I am desperately, irrevocably in love with my iPhone so my obvious choice was the iPad. Unfortunately it was extremely expensive so I hemmed and hawed about it for a month straight.

The Hubs finally gave up at my persistent melancholy and got me a white iPad2 for my anniversary gift. I have not been able to put it down. Since July I have read over 6 books on this thing. It’s like magic. I can eBay, check my email, look up unimportant things on the internet while watching tv. It never leaves my side. Therefore my Hubs has deemed it my white whale. I still love reading a real book but once you go iPad you’ll understand its appeal. It is slim and easy to cart around and I can get any book anytime in 10 seconds or less. I’m also addicted to Heartwild Solitaire and can I just say, Netflix is even more awesome on a screen bigger than 3x5 (sorry iPhone).

I did look at other devices but found the following lacked:
Kindle – had buttons to navigate and only black and white.
Nook – can only get nook books on it (might not be the cheapest book)
iPad – can get Kindle books, Nook books, Google Books, iBooks and shop for the cheapest one. Plus I can do so much more like check twitter, facebook, email and surf the internets.

The iPad won out completely and I’m so happy with my white whale.

HCG Diet

2011-08-06T14:34:00.000-07:00

The HCG diet. I tried this diet for two months and lost 20 pounds. The diet consists of calorie reduction, portion control and supplements. The first three days you eat like a pig then you are constricted to a 500 calorie diet for the duration of the diet period. 26 days. You are also supposed to take HCG drops (three drops three times per day). Or you can up to pay big bucks and get HCG injected by your doctor. HCG is a hormone that is produced by women during pregnancy or during their menstruation time. The hormone and the extreme diet make you get results fast.

Who doesn’t want to see that they lost ten pounds in a week? Yeah, those drops may be the psychological factor but if you restrict anyone’s diet to just 500 calories a day anyone can lose weight even if you don’t exercise. Eventually though your body will get used to it and start storing anything over 500 calories as fat. It will also make you lethargic and mess up your hormones. This is what happened to me. On top of this drastic weight loss I was under tons of stress at work. So doing this diet was just one of the factors that lead me to being diagnosed with Adrenal Fatigue. Now I have to take even more hormones and an ungodly amount of vitamins and minerals a day to fix what HCG has done to my body (all under the instruction and careful monitoring of my doctor).

Though the effects of the HCG diet did, in fact, make me lose weight the cost was extremely high to my health. This is an abnormal response to the diet as my girlfriend has done it on and off with no complications and my chiropractor swears by the stuff and recommends it to her obese patients. I on the other had had gained back the weight I lost (but no more than what I started out with) and am on a regimented supplement plan by my doc. Finding out clearly that this diet was just not for me and may not be healthy for those that need an ongoing weight management plan. It will help you lose those pesky five pounds fast and is an ok diet for short period weight loss or a weight loss booster to get you into a more regimented long term plan. You may want to forgo the drops though and just stick with the 500 calorie diet.

You can learn more about the HCG diet here.

What's In What's Out

2011-08-05T13:30:00.000-07:00

Every month I post what I feel is in and what is definitely out. (imagine out said in Heidi Klum project runway fashion).

AUGUST

In: Interesting nails. Either two color, glitter, design, or metal crackily.

Mmmm Bacon.

Geometricy.

Out: Leggings of any sort. Jeggings especially. (But really, were they really ever in style, I think not)

Oh my.

In capri style. Yuck.

This look screams "I gave up!"

Does your diet do it for ya?

2011-08-04T10:17:00.000-07:00

It’s no surprise that I struggle with weight loss. I mean, come on what woman has not struggled with weight loss at one time or another in their life? And if you are one of those that says “it’s never been a problem I can eat all I want and not gain a pound” then you missy are at the wrong place and leave your address so I can shoot you. In the past I’ve tried extreme to mediocre diets ranging from the 500 cal HCG to, Atkins, Nutrisystem and Slim Fast. They all work!

For a little while, then you gain it all back with some and move on to the next diet. So I’m asking; what works for you? Is it a combo of two diets? Do you not worry about what you eat and just exercise everyday?

I work out three times a week for usually 30 to 60 minutes of combo of cardio, stretching, small weights (for the arms) or Yoga. But it’s the diet that gets me. I think I eat quite healthy. I make my own meals and don’t like sweets. I try to stay away from fast food and usually opt for a salad instead of burger but sure enough, if I stray away from a regimented diet then all hell breaks loose up in here and these jeans start getting tight again.

To follow will be my experiences and reviews of the diets listed above starting out with the HCG miracle diet where I lost over 15 pounds on.

Let me know of any interesting diets that have worked for you in the comments. I’d love to review them and see if they would work for me too.

Snowflake Blanket

2011-06-22T10:18:00.000-07:00

I like to think of myself as a modern design connoisseur. Some may refer to my need to drool over CB2 and IKEA catalogs as compulsive fanatic behavior but I like to think I’m soaking in the design ideas (or mentally redecorating my entire house). So it’s when I stumble upon a website or post that I think to myself what the french toast? I must share this with the world.

This is one of those great design ideas that upon first glance I was like, yeah that’s pretty cool looking until my eyes traveled a little to the right on the site’s page and I saw that it was $331 usd or $230 pounds in the UK. My heart kinda stopped a little. This, for all intents and purposes, is a fleece piece of fabric that was folded and cut in snowflake pattern. We did this kind of stuff in school with felt and paper. Although it may look nice spread on a bed it still doesn’t even provide the one thing it was meant for, being a blanket, with all the large holes in it. But hey, who am I to stand in the way of contemporary design, oh yeah the mother fucking connoisseur that’s who! This is a great DIY project that you can do and have yourself $331 worth of snowflake fleece blanket. By the way printed fleece is about $11 for 1.5 yards at the big box store. Go forth and create beautiful contemporary design DIY style.

Moose, Mooses, Meeses

2011-03-31T16:21:00.001-07:00

I recently got my hair did all pretty like with nice highlights and a perm to make it all curly. The problem is that I didn’t have any hair products to showcase my perm to its permiest. My curls were all over the place. They flounced out and didn’t make the nice ringlets that I wanted but instead was this tangled mess of discombobulated hair. I wasn’t looking for anything too chemically since I already bombarded my hair with color and perm and didn’t want to kill it while maintaining its beauty. I searched high and low and purchased the following organic moose to try out:
Kiss My Face – Summertime
Samy E-Sen-Cia Styling Moose Pomegranate Marshmallow
Giovanni Organic Styling Moose

I started first with the Giovanni Organic Styling Moose which claimed that it made your hair even healthier after use. I don’t know if it did that or not but it formed my curls without making my hair stiff and held all day. The smell was pleasant and the aerator on the bottle did a wonderful job of making the moose stiff, airy and easy to apply.

Next I tried the Kiss My Face – Summertime fragranced styling moose. It did an ok job holding my curls but if you use too much it can defiantly make your hair crunchy. What bothered me the most about this moose was the smell. Summertime to them = canned orange soda gone bad smell to me. Not good Kiss My Face, not good at all. Plus the bottle aerator needs improving. It dispenses a half puffed and watery moose.

The last moose I tried was the Samy E-Sen-Cia Styling Moose Pomegranate Marshmallow. I’ll tell you the truth, I only purchased this because it had marshmallow on the label. Who doesn’t love marshmallows? Though it also said it was only 99% natural so it’s like borderline organic. I don’t know what the 1% is that is holding it back but I tried it anyway. This moose smells like black licorice which I enjoyed a lot since I love black licorice but confused me since I was expecting a sweet (marshmallow) pomegranate smell. It holds curls well and they are soft all day. The only thing that kind of put me off this moose was that when applied it kind of feels soapy. The aerator could also use some improvement. Not as watery as the Kiss My Face moose but still not stiff like the Giovanni moose.

All the moose I purchased was in the $7-$9 range per bottle. I really liked the Giovanni moose (which I found available locally at my CVS) and will probably stick with that as my daily routine but in a pinch I’d use the Samy moose. My curls are happy and my hair feels healthy and not weighed down. So if you’re on the look out for some organic hair moose I hope I helped you choose the right one.

Cutest Tire Swing in the World

2009-10-23T13:40:00.000-07:00

I know this one isn’t quite a review as I didn’t purchase one myself but as the Hubs and I checked out Seaport Village in San Diego I came upon this:

This is a fantastic and creative way to reuse a tire. Come on, look at it and is that not the cutest tire swing you’ve ever seen?! And that’s not all. When I took a look inside the store (which mostly sold hammocks) I saw this:

It's a parrot made out of a tire and spray painted. You could possibly fill them with seed and make a bird feeder out of them or water to make a bird bath or make them planters. Or just hang them in your yard because they are the cutest. I have an old tire in my back yard that we found on our property. I’m going to see if the Hubs can make a parrot for me. While searching for cutout plans I found this great site that sells these awesome green swings. Check them out at www.tireswingsandgardenthings.com.

The Acer Aspire One 751h-1211 Netbook

2009-10-02T08:49:00.000-07:00

I purchased this lovely Netbook about two weeks ago and I am just loving it. A Netbook is a mini version of a laptop only it has no internal CD drive or the processing speed of a normal laptop. In trade you get a more compact and lighter pc. I liked this laptop that I purchased from Buy.com for $366. Not only was it cheaper than a full sized laptop but it comes in all different kinds of colors. I chose the red and it is very chic. The only problems I’ve had so far is that it comes with Vista. Anyone who has Vista knows what I’m talking about. Windows Vista is extremely slow and really not designed for slower processors which the Netbooks are based on. This netbook came with 250GB hard drive capacity which in my research so far is the highest I could get in my price range without spending more than $500. It also has 2GB standard memory unlike the others I found that only had 1GB. The 11.6” screen is also larger than those I could get in the same price range. The only reason this one was a bit more than those you see on sale at Amazon for $299 is because it comes with a 6 cell Li-ion Battery which lasts over 7 hours. The whole point of Netbooks is to have “mobile” computing so when purchasing remember to always check the cell. 3 cells will only last about 3-4 hrs. Since purchasing I’ve learned Acer is going to be introducing a 9 cell which I’ll be upgrading when it comes out. Along with the Windows 7 when that comes out also. Don’t expect your netbook to totally replace your laptop. Like I said your trading some processing power for the light mobility netbooks provide so the processor is going to go slower than a regular laptop. If you have some light computing to do and want to stay connected on the move this is a good choice in netbooks.

The Break Fast Dog Bowl

2009-09-11T13:36:00.001-07:00

What to say about this dog bowl…well, the reason I purchased this bowl was because my Black Lab Buddy has an eating disorder that causes him to gulp down his food within seconds of it landing in his bowl. This to my dismay may cause “The Bloat” that can kill your pup. So I searched and searched online and found the Break-Fast Dog Bowl. This bowl is way over priced for what you get. For $35 I could buy a gourmet dining set for the dog. But, I went with puppy mother instinct and on behalf of the reviews purchased the steel version of this bowl. The reasoning is because the other cheaper, plastic versions looked too much like a dog toy and I could just see my dummy dog trying to play with it or worse easily flip it over to get the food out. The bowl essentially does what it claims; it slows down the eating of the food, what they don’t tell you is that it slides around which I’m told was in design to further slow food consumption. I find it down right irritating to find that bowl pushed every which way. I once found it pushed under my couch. So my Hubs purchased an oversized O ring and slipped it around the bottom to stop the sliding. The other thing I don’t like about this bowl is the mess. The dog literally slobbers all over it trying to get the food and I find I’m washing this thing almost daily. It does slow down his eating time and unfortunately there are not that many options to choose from besides this bowl. I found some industrial farm kind of feeding bowls but nothing in common dog size except this one. So I guess I’m stuck with it until the pet industry comes out with something a little more advanced and hopefully more aesthetically eye appealing.

My Cutlery Experience

2009-08-21T11:00:00.000-07:00

Oooohhh, aaaahhhh, so shiny

My Ginsu Knife Set arrived yesterday and I was super excided to open it up and try them out. Luckily I took out some Cornish game hens early to defrost and was going to whip up a proper meal. (Plus they were the only thing left in the freezer. I really have to go shopping soon.) It was a little bit of a learning curve using these knives as unlike the traditional knives I use these have a kind of scalloped edge almost like a bread knife edge and I was used to flat straight edges. I thought this might make for a more jagged cut but I was completely wrong. These knives cut through everything I needed to season my dinner in no time flat.

And of course you knew I had to try this:

It didn’t affect the cutting edge at all.

But what surpassed all my expectations is when I had to cut the game hens in half (usually a great chore with my old knives). I was so surprised at how easy these knives cut through bone and cartilage without even slowing them down. Seriously it was like cutting butter. I’m so going to enjoy using this set on all my culinary adventures. Thanks again to the folks at Living Rooms Direct letting me have the opportunity to review them.

Pattypan Reusable Lunch/Snack Bag

2009-08-18T13:57:00.000-07:00

The Pattypan Shop is Awesome

And so is Etsy for introducing me to them. Etsy.com is a place where you can find homemade items and I’ve patronized a couple of shops there and they are awesome to work with. I was on the search for a lunch box. Not your typical lunch box but a reusable, waterproof, and snazzy lunch box. I also need one kind of slim and ended up getting a lunch bag instead but check out this lunch bag.

Is it not the cutest thing ever?! It’s lined with waterproof material so if my lunch kinda leaks a little it won’t get all over everything in my TH bag which is the reason why I picked this lunch bag. Also they have these little snack packs that have Velcro enclosures (I got one of these too) that matched my bag and are just too adorable. And if my lunch leaks in my lunch bag I can just throw it in the wash. And the best part is that this is a green item I can use over and over again.