A few months ago, I took the plunge and started reading the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris.  I have this particular quirk that once I read something and like it by an author I must then hunt down everything else they’ve written and read it.  So with that quirk, I’ve been abusing my local library to find all of her books to read. If you are friends with me on Goodreads, you’ll see that I’ve made quite a dent!

The most recent finish of her work is Sweet and Deadly.  This is one of her early novels, which gave me a bit of pause at first.  But it really shouldn’t have.   “Sweet and Deadly” is the story of a young woman who returns to her hometown in the south after the tragic death of her parents.  She works as a reporter at the small local paper, and starts discovering dead bodies of people she has been connected to.  The story brings in a bit of her personal history while of course winding in the beginnings of a romance as well.  Blackmail and unexpected secrets found out are at the basis of this story.

Normally murder mystery books are pretty easy to figure out by about the middle of the book for me.  This one? I never saw it coming.  Which is the way it should be!  I won’t go any further, as I don’t want to spoil the ending!

It’s a short, quick read and quite easy to follow along with even with interruptions.  I give Sweet and Deadly by Charlaine Harris 3.5 stars!
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Well hey, so we kinda dropped off the face of the planet there huh?  Sometimes, life jumps up and smacks ya in the face and sometimes it just knocks you down and takes you for a drag down the backroads tied to the back of a truck.  That’s kinda what happened here.

For now, I (Mika) will be taking over the reins here at STL while Ema continues to untie herself from the back of the truck.  She’s still around, just taking care of the back end stuff that I know nothing about.  As for me, we just bought our first house, along with almost 2 acres of land on which we’ll be starting our own mini homestead.  So I’m pretty sure you’ll hear about that as we go!

I know one of the issues that lead to the hibernation of this blog was having advertisers who weren’t following through with their end of the bargain so we had some folks who didn’t receive their prizes.  That upset Ema and I very much, and still isn’t something I think we have a good solution to make sure doesn’t happen but we’re working on it!  Regardless, we won’t worry about that so much right now!  You’ll see a bit of dust going on around here as we spiff things up a bit, but I’ll be posting new stuff starting soon!

photo credit: Ninja M.

First off we need to apologize for disappearing. We’re so sorry we just stopped posting. Life can be very difficult, and it became impossible for both of us, for different reasons. Because of life, something had to give…Stuff to Love ended up on the back burner.

The good news is: We’re back! We haven’t forgotten about all our great readers. This week we are going to work on making sure all our contests are closed properly, and start getting back on a regular review schedule.

A big THANK YOU! to all our readers who are still here. You guys are great. We couldn’t do this without you.

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If you’re not a part of the Fat Fling 2010 yet, head on over to our Fat Fling kickoff post, and join in. And there’s lots of prizes yet to come. Speaking of prizes, we have a giveaway going on from DecalGirl for your own Wii skin. Quick! Enter now.

This week’s challenge was trying a new thing on your Wii Fit every day. How did it go? Did you find anything new you like?

How much did you get on your Wii Fit this week? Let us know how it went.

What are your goals for next week? Next weeks challenge is about getting better at exercises on your Wii Fit.

Add your check-in post link here. If you are on DailyBurn only, you can either post on your DailyBurn page and link it up here, or comment on this post below.

Thanks for reading! Don’t miss a single review: Subscribe to our RSS feed, get us by email, follow us on twitter, or be our fan on Facebook.
This blog uses affiliate links within posts. To read more, view the terms and disclosure policy here.

Though you can just take your Wii Fit out of the box, plop it on the floor and go, there are accessories out there that can make the experience much more fun. We’ve brought together some accessories that are out there for the Wii Fit and the Wii Balance Board…We’re going to try them out, and then let you know what we both think. You can also enter to win one yourself, and try them out too.

Have you entered our current giveaway? Make sure to enter the giveaway for a Plush Cushion for the Wii Balance Board. Entering is easy! Don’t forget to tell us how last week went on our week 2 check in post.

Today’s review is all about making your Wii a little prettier. Thanks to DecalGirl, Mika and I both were able to wrap our Wii consoles and remotes in awesome full color skins. Here’s what we think of them:

What Ema thought: I’ve been using DecalGirl skins on my iPods and cell phones for a couple years. I wasn’t sure about their bigger skins. I didn’t know how they would go on. I was really excited to be able to try out a Wii console skin.

We have our Wii set horizontal in our entertainment center. Instead of wanting some wild screaming graphics, I wanted something solid and subtle that would not make the Wii stand out like it did being solid white in a dark wood entertainment center surrounded by dark components. I chose the Dark Burlwood skin for my Wii itself. I didn’t want to have woody remotes, so I decided to match a print we have hanging in our livingroom. So our remotes and nunchucks are sporting the Starry Night skin on them.

Installation was really easy. As long as your Wii is clean, and you work carefully, this skins are a breeze to put on. The adhesive does not instantly bond, so you can reposition the sticker as you are putting it on. DecalGirl’s website also has very detailed installations instructions if you get stuck. The skins for bigger devices are split into small parts that are easy to put on.

My only complaint is that the majority of the Wii skins are not designed for a Wii that’s laying horizontal like mine is. The ‘bottom’ of the Wii (or right side of a horizontal sitting Wii) doesn’t get a skin piece, so that side of mine is still white. Unfortunately, this gives it a little bit of an unfinished feel. I still like it better skinned, than not…I just wish there was a ‘horizontal’ option for some of the skins. Or even the ability to just add that one extra piece to an order.

Really, I have a hard time choosing which skin I want whenever I decide to order from DecalGirl. They are all so beautiful, detailed and very high quality skins. If you want to individualize your Wii, start with them.

What Mika thought: I have to admit, I’m a pretty no frills girl, and when Ema showed me the WiiFit skins over at Decal Girl, initially..I said, “ok, pretty, but why?”  Well, that’s just it, it’s just COOL!  I personally wanted to go all girly with it, but the large amount of testosterone in my house said otherwise.  So I let my husband have final say in the design and he picked the Wolf Tree.  When we got it I was pretty amazed at the high quality of the graphic itself, and the intricacy for all of the little slots and slits that come with a media device like the Wii. As you can see in the picture above, the skin fits perfectly on the Wii itself, and the remote as well.  I left application up to my husband and he said it was really easy…the hardest part was smoothing out the little air bubbles.  He ended up using a straight edge to help smooth them out all the way.

Bottom line? I love it!  And now that I’ve overcome my fear of skins, next up is to skin my iPhone when I get it next week, I’m getting this one, the Peace Frog (seriously???  LOVE LOVE LOVE!).  If they had that one for the Wii, that would totally be on it’s way to my house right now!

And now for the giveaway!…

Gotta have your own skin for the Wii? Head on over to DecalGirl.com and get yourself one for your Wii (and your cell phone, and your iPod and…and…and lol)

Want to win your own Wii skin? One lucky reader can win their own skin for their Wii and matching remote skins. Entering is easy: Head on over to DecalGirl.com and Leave a comment below telling us what your favorite Wii skin. Want extra chances to win? Do the stuff below and leave a comment for each task:

• Mandatory entry: leave a comment below telling us your favorite DecalGirl Wii skin. (1 entry)
• Subscribe via RSS or email to Stuff to Love (1 entry)
• Like Stuff to Love on Facebook (1 entry)
• Like DecalGirl on Facebook (1 entry)
• Follow @stufftolove on Twitter (1 entry)
• Follow @decalgirlcom on Twitter (1 entry)
• Join our Google Friend Connect (1 entry)
• Follow us on Networked Blogs (1 entry)
• Tweet this: “Fat Fling 2010 @stufftolove! WIN a Wii Skin from @decalgirlcom #giveaway #wiifit #wii #fatfling10 #wiimoms http://bit.ly/a6rX7T” (1 entry)

You must comment here, on this blog post, to receive credit for additional entries. Contest open to US residents. Giveaway ends May 26th @11:59PM PST. Winner will be picked via Random.org and notified via email by 5pm on May 27th. Please respond within 48 hours, or a new winner will be chosen. Good luck!

Thanks for reading! Don’t miss a single review: Subscribe to our RSS feed, get us by email, follow us on twitter, or be our fan on Facebook.
Post authors were each provided a DecalGirl skin to apply, review and keep. A skin set was provided for the giveaway as well. This blog uses affiliate links within posts. To read more, view the terms and disclosure policy here.
Thanks for reading! Don’t miss a single review: Subscribe to our RSS feed, get us by email, follow us on twitter, or be our fan on Facebook.
This blog uses affiliate links within posts. To read more, view the terms and disclosure policy here.

Here’s the third week’s Challenge for the Fat Fling 2010. Have fun with it! Ask questions, share any tips you have. Let us know how it goes on your Fat Fling Friday check-in post. Make sure to enter the giveaway for a Plush Cushion for the Wii Balance Board. Entering is easy! Don’t forget to tell us how last week went on our week 2 check in post.

The first week we built a routine, then we used it every day. Now its time to have some fun! This week its time to try new things. How much have you explored the Wii Fit? Do you do the same things every day. Are there exercises you just haven’t tried. This is your week to try them. This week, try something new every day. You don’t have to get the best score ever, you don’t even have to do the exercise right…but try things you’ve not tried before to see if you might end up liking it.

So your challenge for this week is to try something new every day. Do at least one thing you’ve never done before. You might find a new favorite thing to do on your Wii Fit!

Thanks for reading! Don’t miss a single review: Subscribe to our RSS feed, get us by email, follow us on twitter, or be our fan on Facebook.
This blog uses affiliate links within posts. To read more, view the terms and disclosure policy here.

Last week I swore the checkin post wouldn’t be late…and karma giggled and made it even later. I’m so sorry. I got blindsided by the worst migraine I’ve had in a few years. Horrible awful stuff, I’ve knocked it down to a dull roar now, so I can at least function. So here goes…

If you’re not a part of the Fat Fling 2010 yet, head on over to our Fat Fling kickoff post, and join in. And there’s lots of prizes yet to come. Speaking of prizes, we have 2 giveaways going right now. Today is the last day you can get your hands on a workout towel by Whimsical Walney. Plus you could win a Wii Balance Board Cushion from CTA Digital.

This week’s challenge was using your routine you built the first week. How did it go? Did you use your short routine?

How much did you get on your Wii Fit this week? Let us know how it went.

What are your goals for next week? Next weeks challenge is about trying new things on your Wii Fit.

Add your check-in post link here. If you are on DailyBurn only, you can either post on your DailyBurn page and link it up here, or comment on this post below.

Thanks for reading! Don’t miss a single review: Subscribe to our RSS feed, get us by email, follow us on twitter, or be our fan on Facebook.
This blog uses affiliate links within posts. To read more, view the terms and disclosure policy here.

Though you can just take your Wii Fit out of the box, plop it on the floor and go, there are accessories out there that can make the experience much more fun. We’ve brought together some accessories that are out there for the Wii Fit and the Wii Balance Board…We’re going to try them out, and then let you know what we both think. You can also enter to win one yourself, and try them out too.

Have you entered our current giveaway? We are giving away a workout Towel from Whimsical Walney. Entering is easy, just takes a comment! Don’t forget to tell us how last week went on our week 1 check in post.

Thanks to CTA Digital, Mika and I both were able to try a Plush Cushion for Wii Fit Balance Board. Here’s what we thought of them:

What Ema thought: When I first saw the Plush Cushion for Wii Fit Balance Board, I thought ”never in a million years” I couldn’t see what difference it would make. Plus, wouldn’t it be slippery? Wouldn’t it be awkward? What exactly would you use it for. Now I’ve tried one for a couple weeks. I still don’t consider it a necessity, but its actually a pretty cool little deal.

Its very basic. A plush covered pillow with thick elastic straps to wrap around the balance board. Its actually pretty easy to slide off and on the board. Which is nice if you only want to use it for specific exercises. One really nice feature…the cover comes off and is machine washable. Very nice for something you have the potential to get really sweaty! Its REALLY BRIGHT GREEN…which totally attracted my toddler like a moth to flame. He’s convinced its really his, and I’m only allowed to use it if he’s not in the room. heee

I’ve used the Wii Balance Board Plush Cushion a few times with my workouts. The first place I thought to use it was with the exercises you sit on the board for…specifically the Grounded V. It really does make that exercise a bit more comfortable. Your abs may be screaming, but at least your tailbone isn’t too! This cushion really makes sense for exercises that you sit on the board for. It makes the balance board a lot more comfortable and the edges less sharp. But there are less than a handful of sitting exercises…so how does it work when you’re moving around?

I wasn’t quite ready for using it fully in motion, so I started out just using the cushion during my daily warm-up routine. No aerobics, but some lunges, and yoga poses…so my feet were moving around the board. I was expecting there to be grip material on the back of the cushion to keep it from sliding around during movement. There wasn’t any, so I was thinking it was going to slip around on the top of the balance board when you moved, as the plush material feels slippery. Surprisingly, the cushion doesn’t move around much at all. On the Spine Stretch pose, my foot felt more stable even. There was a spot for my foot to settle into, and it didn’t feel like it was going to pop off the board. (I have this problem with the yoga/exercises that require one foot on the board, maybe its me???)

Once I got comfortable using it when I was just standing still, I decided to try it with a step aerobics routine. It really wasn’t too bad. But you really do have to be very very aware of the edges of the cushion. If you get sore feet using the Wii Fit, this cushion is a great alternative to wearing shoes on the balance board. Unfortunatly, shoes really can damage the scale wires in the board…so you don’t want to use them if you can avoid it. This cushion is something to look into if sore feet are a problem for you.

I’m going to use it when I play We Ski & Snowboard too. I often get sore spots on the bottom of my feet when I play for a long time. I’m hoping the cushion will alleviate some of those pressure spots. The Plush Cushion for Wii Fit Balance Board isn’t a necessity, but if you are looking for a solution for sore feet its a great place to start.

What Mika thought: When I got the Plush Cushion for Wii Fit Balance Board from CTA Digital, I sat and looked at it, in the box, for days.  As you might remember from last week, I’m not the most coordinated of people, so I was kinda scared of this from the get go.  I finally got my nerve up last week and got it out of the box.  This thing is PLUSH ya’ll!  The outer cover is so uber soft and the cover is super squishy.  It totally feels like what could be my favorite pillow!  I got it slid on the balance board, took a deep breath, and jumped in.

As I predicted, it made me even more uncoordinated (is that even possible?).  I was so worried about lifting my foot high enough to not trip over it, that I couldn’t get my timing right and the Wii Fit was laughing at me.  Now, I don’t do alot of yoga, because its HARD, and I’m building up to it, BUT the little bit I have done I can see where this could be really beneficial.  Quality-wise, so far so good. I’ve been using it for about 5 days or so of workouts, and there are definite “slumps” where my feet go, but it seems to be holding up fine.  I don’t see it holding up for years, but I think it will last for awhile if I only use it for yoga and not for general workouts.  Plus I’ll feel more stable, as the outer cover is a bit slippery-I’m constantly afraid I’ll slip and break my neck on a toddler lol.

And now for the giveaway!…

Need your own cushion for your Wii balance board now? Head on over to Amazon.com and grab a Plush Cushion for Wii Fit Balance Board for yourself right away.

Want to win your own cushion? One lucky reader can win their own Plush Cushion for Wii Fit Balance Board. Entering is easy: Head on over to CTADigital.com and Leave a comment below telling us what your favorite CTA Digital Wii Fit accessory is. Want extra chances to win? Do the stuff below and leave a comment for each task:

• Mandatory entry: leave a comment below telling us your favortie CTA Digital Wii Fit accessory. (1 entry)
• Subscribe via RSS or email to Stuff to Love (1 entry)
• Become a Like Stuff to Love on Facebook (1 entry)
• Follow @stufftolove on Twitter (1 entry)
• Join our Google Friend Connect (1 entry)
• Follow us on Networked Blogs (1 entry)
• Tweet this: “Fat Fling 2010 @stufftolove! WIN a Wii Fit Balance Board Cushion #giveaway #wiifit #wii #fatfling10 #wiimoms http://bit.ly/baS9NB” (1 entry)

You must comment here, on this blog post, to receive credit for additional entries. Contest open to US residents. Giveaway ends May 19th @11:59PM PST. Winner will be announced in a separate post by 5pm on May 20th. Winner will be picked via Random.org and notified via email. Please respond within 48 hours, or a new winner will be chosen. Good luck!

Thanks for reading! Don’t miss a single review: Subscribe to our RSS feed, get us by email, follow us on twitter, or be our fan on Facebook.
Post authors were each provided a cushion to use, review and keep. A cushion was provided for the giveaway as well. This blog uses affiliate links within posts. To read more, view the terms and disclosure policy here.

Here’s the second week’s Challenge for the Fat Fling 2010. Have fun with it! Ask questions, share any tips you have. Let us know how it goes on your Fat Fling Friday check-in post. There’s still time to enter the giveaways we have going right now: Shadow Boxing Gloves from Company X Accessories and a workout Towel from Whimsical Walney. Entering is easy! Don’t forget to tell us how last week went on our week 1 check in post.

Last week we thought about building a routine. This is the week we start to use those routines. See if you can use your Wii Fit routine every day this week. At least do a body test every day this week. Let’s see if you can get a mark on your Wii Fit calendar every day this week. I want to see pictures on Friday! Even just doing a body test can help you get in the Wii Fit habit, so don’t feel like its not enough to just do that. Even that much just shows you are thinking about your health.

Have you checked out wiifitroutine.com yet? Its a great place to help build your Wii Fit routines, and help you get the most out of your workout.

So your challenge for this week is to get your Wii Fit on every day this week. Go! Go! Now’s the perfect time!

Bonus Quick-Giveaway:

Recharge – Natural Sports Drink has given us a bunch of coupons to giveaway. So the first five commenters on this post who request them, will get sent some $1-off coupons to try some very yummy Recharge. Its Gatorade…without chemicals! Just make sure you leave a valid email address so I can contact you to get your mailing address. The first 5 people to let me know they want coupons in the comments will get set some!

Thanks for reading! Don’t miss a single review: Subscribe to our RSS feed, get us by email, follow us on twitter, or be our fan on Facebook.
This blog uses affiliate links within posts. To read more, view the terms and disclosure policy here.

Better late than never right! Here’s the winner of the Mess Saver Bib:

Martha Payne from Goldiloc’s Sweepstakes & Reviews

Thanks so much to everyone who entered! It was great to have you all participate. For those that didn’t win, don’t worry, we will have plenty of chances for you to win again. We will be contacting the winner by email as well. So Martha, watch your inbox for an email from us.

Thanks for reading! Don’t miss a single review: Subscribe to our RSS feed, get us by email, follow us on twitter, or be our fan on Facebook.
This blog uses affiliate links within posts. To read more, view the terms and disclosure policy here.