Lisa Reviews

The Secret of Wellington’s Map

Lisa — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 16:34:58 +0000

Over the past week or so, I have been reading an awesome book called The Secret of Wellington’s Map. Granted, this isn’t my normal reading genre (usually if I can get a few minutes away I pick up Stephen King or Dean R Koontz book), but you know what? I enjoyed this book just as much as I do books by those authors (though I think this book would be considered in either the sci-fi or mystery genre). I would say that The Secret of Wellington’s Map is probably geared towards the ten and up crowd. However, as an adult, I truly enjoyed the book too. I found the author’s style a joy to read, and she really caught the essence of teenage girls in this book. I also enjoyed finding a book that girls are the heroines. The other thing I liked is that even though the main characters are teenage girls, they weren’t boy crazy. Granted, there were a few boy mentions, but their lives didn’t revolve around boys. The author had the girls talking, acting, and dressing like teenage girls, so I found them very believable. There is also a bit of real life history intertwined into the story.

The story centers around two girls, Jaime and Nicole, that had expected a carefree summer. However, after they come across a magic map, they go on an adventure of a lifetime. I hate to go into more of a synopsis of the book, because I don’t want to spoil any part of it for you. I will tell you that the map is somewhat of a time space portal, and they do go through it and end up in 1885. However, if you want to find out why and if they make it back, you have to go read the book!

Fabric Workroom

Lisa — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 16:56:50 +0000

In the market for Window Treatments, Drapes, Valances, Swags, or Roman Shades? If you are, Fabric Workroom is definitely a place you should check out. I personally found their selection awesome and found several window treatments I would definitely put in my living room. They also have my favorite: free shipping. Shipping is always an obstacle for me to shop online, so when it is free, it makes me want to buy all the more. You can even get free swatches! I also like that everything is made in the US and that there are live specialists to answer any questions that I may have (it’s from 9 - 5 EST). Unless you live in CT, there is also no sales tax (which is awesome when you live in places like me who have 10.25% sales tax). Lastly, they have a Satisfaction Guarantee and a refer a friend program. I know I will be checking out Fabric Workroom the next time I am looking for window treatments.

The Puppy Who Lost His Bark

Lisa — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 06:05:21 +0000

The Puppy Who Lost His Bark is a great book for a young reader. It contains only 61 words which helps with word recognition for the young reader at your house. The book is about a puppy who seems to lose everything from her ball to her bag. I am surprised she didn’t lose her Manolo Blahniks shoes! Instead, the puppy lost her bark, so her friends must help her find it. They look all over, but finds it in the park! This is a short book that any little one will like.

Froot Loops Cereal Straws

Lisa — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 05:22:41 +0000

If you just got done reading diet pill reviews, this is not a review you want to read. This doesn’t fall under anything I personally would eat on diet. However, getting my 4 year old to drink milk is like pulling teeth, so anything that makes her want to drink is a good thing. When I saw these (and the coupon I found helped too), I thought this may be exactly what I was looking for. The straw is about 6 inches long. It has a crunchy cereal shell on the outside and a fruity flavor lining. Madison (my four year old) loves them! It has gotten her to drink more milk. Would I buy these again? Probably not. There were two things that I wasn’t exactly pleased about. First, once you open the packaging there is no way to keep the other straws fresh. The second problem is why I probably won’t buy them again, and that is that I’d say 3/4 of the straws were broken. You can still use them as a straw, but when you have a 2-3 inch straw, it is kinda useless. If Kellogg’s can solve their packaging issue with this, I will definitely buy these again!

I Spy Memory Game

Lisa — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 03:36:37 +0000

Madison and I recently tried the Briarpatch’s I Spy Memory Game. This game will help your child develop their memory, matching, critical thinking, reading and oral language skills. It also teaches them to take turns, follow rules, and sharing. The object of this game is to match pairs of cards.The great thing about this game is that you can really tailor it to the age of the child you are playing with. The directions had several different versions depending on the age of the child you were playing with. Right now, Madison (who is 4) struggled a tad with this. The cards that you are trying pair are not identical. The object itself is identical. However, the two cards may have a different background or with different lighting. That being said, I do like the detail on the cards. They are great pictures. The basic memory game is played with the blue cards. You are able to play a riddle game with the red cards and the blue cards (this would be for an older child). The red cards all have riddles on it like “A dish on a duck, a bow on a bell, a bird in a cage, a pearl in the shell” Then on the bottom of the card that you should find the 4 cards that match this riddle. Some of these riddles Madison was able to do. This is just one version of how to play with both sets of cards. There are a couple of other versions that can be played also. Madison and I ended up making up our own rules and games with this which was just as fun! We counted clocks and toys and matched colors.

I would highly recommend the I Spy Memory Game! We had a lot of fun with it, and I can see it being a game that your children will enjoy playing as they grow older.

Sony Digital Photo Frame Giveaway!

Lisa — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 20:17:49 +0000

Yes, you heard it right. I am completely jealous of all of you, since I only got one of these to borrow! The Sony Digital Photo Frame is worth about $249.99, so this is a giveaway you want enter!

Let me tell you a little bit about this frame. It is a 9-inch Digital Photo Frame with 800×480 resolution and 15:9 aspect ratio LCD screen. It has 512MB of internal memory with optional image resizing to maximize the internal memory. It also includes HDMI output for viewing photos in high definition on an HDTV. You are able to auto correct images with features such as red-eye correction. It also offers nine slide show styles and clock and calendar modes. Now, I know that all sounds difficult to figure out what to do. However, I was able to do this all without reading the manual! This digital picture frame is even BlueTooth ready! You can also run the pictures off several different kinds of memory cards: Memory Stick media and Memory Stick PRO Duo media, SD, MMC, CF, Microdrive, and xD Picture cards. I seriously could not believe how crisp these pictures are. I am seriously sad that I have to venture over to Fed Ex on Monday and send mine back.

Now, I know you don’t want to read about how much fun we had playing testing this out for you, my readers, so . . . . what do you have to do to get one of these in your house?

1. Leave a comment on this post. Check out Sony’s site and tell me what feature you think you would like best on this frame. One comment please and let me know everything you did on that comment. If you don’t list a feature, you are not eligible to win.
2. Stumble this post. If you don’t know what Stumble Upon is, please read Lori’s post at Blogging Cents. She explains it extremely well.
3. Vote for this post on other social media sites. One extra entry for each social media site you vote for this on. (I’ll be adding some links to make this especially easy for you to vote — Digg, Propeller, Mixx, Kirtsy, Entreview, Reddit, Blogging Zoom)
4. Twitter about this contest. Please leave me your Twitter name in your comment.

For 5 additional entries,

1. Blog about this on your blog. Please give me the URL, so I can verify.
2. Add this to any forums you belong too. Please give me the URL, so I can verify.
3. Subscribe to this blog using either my email or RSS feed

This contest will run from now till August 24th at 8 PM CST. It is for US residents only. Good luck!

First Words

Lisa — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 18:39:46 +0000

A great book for the colorer in your house is First Words. This book comes with tis own erasable crayons. The colors then erase with a soft cloth or tissue. The kids can then color the book up again! Each page is colorable. It has large pictures to color and a label next to each item telling you what it is. I swear, the next awesome idea they are going to come up with is colorable birthday invitations! If you have a child who likes to color, this is a book for them! It is not your typical throw away coloring book.