It All Seems to Come With a Remote...

Enter my part in the show: I put my foot down.  No more remotes.  At all.  For any reason.  My OCD tendencies rear their ugly head because I just can’t take the clutter of it all.  I actually almost asked if we could get rid of something because the plastic rectangles hanging around are making me twitch.  Not to mention the fact that we should just go ahead and buy stock in AA and AAA batteries or that it takes a Master’s degree to turn the TV on.

I can hear the canned laughter now as we wrestle over the benefits of a Blu Ray player and Hi-Def receiver vs a calm, collected household headed by a woman who is no longer threatening to stomp a poor, plastic tool to bits and pieces.  There’d probably be some eye-rolling (from me) and gnashing of the teeth (from him).

But, like all sitcoms, mine has a happy ending too. No more eye-rolling or teeth-gnashing and definitely a lot fewer batteries.

Enter the Logitech Harmony 650 Universal Remote, also known as the God-mote in our house.  My fiancé found it and I just didn’t believe him at first. A new techie tool, and yes, another remote but now it’s the only one!  Yup, you read that right.  One remote controls the TV, the cable box, the receiver, the Blu Ray player, the CD player/tuner, and the Wii.  Just one.  Even better? It’s just one push of one button to get everything up and running.  Even our six-year old can turn on the TV now, leaving us to sleep in a bit on the weekends.

Logitech offers a few different Harmony remote options, ranging in price from $29.99 all the way up to $349.99.  The Logitech Harmony 650 Universal Remote is right in the middle of the price range and is pretty easily programmed too.  It comes with a USB cord that you connect to your computer and download the information for your devices.  Once you find your devices, you can choose to customize the big buttons near the screen to do the things you choose most often and you’re all set: one remote to rule them all.

One Remote to Rule Them All

At this point in the sitcom, the canned laughter would fade out and the camera would close in on my fiancé and I cuddling together on the couch, sighing contentedly, with only one remote to be found.  Cue the, “Awwww!”

The Logitech Harmony 650 Universal Remote can be purchased in store or on-line at Radio Shack.  It’s regularly priced at $69.99, a pretty good price to pay for a happy ending!

Posted by Kerri for Buy-Her.com.

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The website/app are very easy to use-check it out. You sign up, and then fill in a form about your weight loss goals (and yes-your goal can be as realistic or optimistic as you want. You can even choose to follow a plan that will help you maintain your weight.)

After you set and record your goals, you start keeping a food diary on the site/app that you can choose to share with others or not.

You note everything you eat and drink, they have a pretty good collection of food and drinks to give you the calorie count. They also have an automatic calorie adder, in case you already know the exact numbers and the food/meal isn’t already in their HUGE database.

Here’s an example of a meal entry:

You can also record your workouts and be aware of your progress at any given time. It allows you to see how many calories each work out and basic daily activities are allowing you to burn! You simply click add, click cardio and search the work out/activity you’ve just completed, click on it, add the minutes it took to perform the work out/activity and BAM it calculates it for you!

And the best part is, the site calculates how many calories (both in total and divided into protein, carbs and vitamins) you need to take each day to reach your goal. And after you finish completing your entry for the day, it shows you how much you will weigh in a given amount of time if every day goes like that day. And you can find friends that are using the app to stay connected and accountable while on your healthy journey!

All in all My Fitness Pal is a win win so download it today and friend me! I’m teranorberg1

Healthy Wishes, T

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HP Office-jet Pro 8600

I have 4 children (2 of whom are in school).  I run a home daycare and I am a college student. As you can imagine, I print many things throughout a week.

My last printer was a Kodak. We figured it was a well-known brand and it guaranteed to be good on ink. Sadly, I was misinformed. Besides the fact that the print quality was poor and printing in color was a joke, I was replacing the ink every two weeks.

With all I have going on in my life, I started developing printer anxiety. Just the thought of having to print something would stress me out because I never knew when I would run out of ink. And we all know there is nothing worse than your ink running out mid print.

We decided in January that we would finally purchase a new printer with our tax return. My boyfriend went to OfficeMax and after a bit research, he bought the HP Office-jet Pro 8600 e-All-in-One Printer. I’m not going to lie, I was very skeptical at first because of experience with my last printer.

This printer has got to be the best technological investment I have made in quite some time!

This printer does and has everything - prints, faxes, scans, and copies. It’s wireless which is one of my favorite features. All of our laptops and I-pods are linked to it and we can print from anywhere in the house.  It has a touch screen display pad and is not only linked to the web, but also includes business apps. The speed at which it prints is incredible.  No more pleading with my printer to hurry up.  It’s done printing before I even get the chance to walk over to it!

The print quality is amazing.  The colors are vivid and there are no weird lines running through the page.  It has automatic two-sided printing which saves on paper, and get this… I have not yet had to replace the ink. I cannot even count how many documents and pictures I have had to print in the last 2 months and this printer is still going strong.  Not even a hint of fading.

I have gotten more out of this printer and spent less than I could have ever imagined. This busy mama highly recommends it to anyone looking to buy a new printer… you won’t be sorry.

The HP Office-jet Pro 8600 e-All-in-One Printer printer can be purchased directly from the HP Website for $169.99.

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Can You Outrun The Zombies?

I don’t know if you know this about me, but I am a little obsessed with Zombies.

And the Zombie Apocalypse.

Which I will be fully prepared for thanks to the lovely Vera Sweeney.

I do not… I can not… watch horror movies.  Its a thing with me.  When I was small, my Dad let me watch Carrie, Firestarter, Christine… to this day those cheesy old movies terrify me and I can not watch them – or anything newer and gorier.

So how I became absolutely addicted to American Horror Story and The Walking Dead is anyone’s guess.

Lets talk about The Walking Dead for a moment.  Who saw that whole thing with Shane coming?  Oh.my.god!  I did not.  And I have not been able to stop thinking about it since… just what would you do with all those zombies coming after you, like we left Rick and Carl.

What would you do?

Thanks to Zombies, Run!, a new app for your smartphone, you will have to wonder no more.

Zombies, Run! is an ultra-immersive running game for the iPhone, iPod Touch (and coming this spring, the Android), with a story delivered straight to your earbuds.  You choose your own custom playlists before you start running, and the story unfolds in between your tracks …through a series of radio messages and voice recordings.  (I’m getting scared already.)

Run! Save Yourself & Get In Shape

Just who are you?  You are: Runner 5. Hundreds of lives are counting on you. You’ve got to help your base rebuild from the ruins of civilization by collecting critical supplies while avoiding roving zombie hordes. Can you save them and learn the truth about the zombie apocalypse?

I am addicted already.  As someone who has trouble getting motivated to keep working out and trying to get in shape, I just have this feeling that Zombies, Run! will be just the thing I need. A feature coming soon to Zombies, Run! will record the distance, time, pace and calories burned on your runs.  What’s more awesome than that?  Instant feedback as to what you accomplished.

And if (who am I kidding) when – the Zombie Apocalypse hits your neighborhood, you will have had enough practice that you should know just where you can go – and where you should avoid.

Zombies, Run! is currently available for $7.99 from the iTunes App Store.

I for one can’t wait for it to hit the Android! I’ll be the girl on the run.

You can also catch up with Zombies, Run on Facebook and Twitter.

About The Author:  Liza lives in New England with her 4 favorite boys; her husband and 3 children. She started blogging in 2007, finally getting serious about her passion for writing in 2010. Always the athlete when she was younger, she did not find her inner girlie girl until college. After having 3 boys in under 2 years, she is trying to reconnect with her inner girlie girl (in a house where the toliet seat is always up), while staying on a budget.

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Nook Color Puts The Fun Back In Reading

I have a confession to make: I don’t read nearly as much as I used to. There was time when I always had a book in the car and was constantly in the midst of one compelling story or another. Then life (and blogging) got in the way. Until my husband bought a Nook Color. I’d stayed away from e-readers because I love the feel of a book in my hands, particularly if it’s one of those weighty trade paperbacks, my personal favorite. An e-reader is just not the same.

But I’m finding that’s a good thing.

Five Great Things About The Nook Color

1. One little device replaces a whole (large) bookshelf worth of books. My office has one large and one smaller bookcase that are filled to the brim with books I’ve read – most several times, which is why they are still there. Since getting the Nook Color, the collection has stopped growing.
2. No more bookmarks. Although I finally found a bookmark that won’t fail me by sliding out and falling to the floor, leaving me to try to figure out where the heck I stopped reading, I still had to strap it in place. No more. Your place is always saved, without effort.
3. It’s backlit. I know the Kindle boasts about being easy to read in bright light, but the truth is I don’t read in bright light. If I do happen to venture to the beach, I sit under an umbrella with polarized sunglasses on. Glare is just not an issue. The backlight makes it easier to read in any kind of light. This way I don’t have to turn the light on inside while it’s still light outside, hence saving electricity so I can buy more books. Also? Reading by candlelight in the tub is totally possible (just be careful!).
4. You can still use the library. I haven’t bought many books lately; I’ve been trying to reserve my precious funds for things like new camera equipment and travel. The Nook Color can use Adobe’s Digital Editions (which is free) to borrow books from my local library. I don’t even have to go to the library, just download them from my home computer (as long as my library card is current).
5. It’s not just for reading. I use the Nook Color to watch episodes of “How I Met Your Mother” on Netflix when my husband is watching something I don’t want to watch. It’s awesome.

It holds a charge for a good long time (not as long if you watch a lot of video or surf the ‘Net – yes you can do that too!). While I still love the feel of an actual book, I’m warming up to the 21st century version quite nicely.

About The Author:  Megan is a professional writer, amateur photographer and an accomplished beauty product crash test dummy. She'll try anything once, especially if it's a free sample. She's still trying to figure out what she wants to be when she grows up, but it will probably involve travel and Colin Farrell. And maybe some writing and photography. You can visit her at onethousandwordsormore.com or follow her on Twitter: msmegan.

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Moonpig.Com: Funny Name, Cool Cards

You know how you have an occasion to buy a card, Valentine’s Day for example, and you totally forget to pick one up every time you’re at the store because you’re too busy being terrified you’ll forget the toilet paper? I am terrible at remembering to buy cards. Thankfully, Moonpig.com has come into my life and made that much easier for me.

I live most of my life online. I get my news online, I stay in touch with my friends online, I pay my bills online, and do most of my shopping online, so having a service that will let me choose, customize, and send greeting cards online is perfect for me.

These aren’t e-cards that were really cool for 30 seconds years ago. Moonpig.com has a huge assortment of greeting cards for all occasions, and they allow you to personalize them with captions and customize them with photos. It’s great fun! I made three cards with photos I had taken and they all turned out great. The cards I chose had options to customize the front, both inside pages, and some even allowed you to customize the back.

Customize your greeting cards with Moonpig.com

Mailing cards is easy with Moonpig.com. No more hunting for a stamp, or trying to figure out how much extra postage to put on that oversized card because Moonpig.com takes care of that for you. All you do is electronically sign the card, enter the recipient’s address, and the card goes off in the mail! As long as you make your order by 2pm EST (Mon-Fri) it is printed and mailed the same day. The cards I made arrived within 3 days of making them, which I thought was really fast service.

You can either send cards directly to your recipient or you can send them to yourself, which is what I chose to do so that I would have customized Valentines for my husband all ready to go. The cards arrived in a sturdy white envelope that housed both the card and the matching envelope inside.

You can also set reminders in your account so you don’t forget important birthdays or anniversaries, which is perfect for me because I am the absolute worst.

The cards range in price from $3.00 to $7.99, plus postage and handling, which is pretty much what I pay in the store depending on the card.

You can even send cards overseas and to APO/FPO addresses! Moonpig.com was launched in the UK, and they have an Australian branch, so they’re not just available in the United States. You can actually buy a card here in the US, enter the UK address, and it will be printed and mailed in the UK for much faster delivery than had it come from the States.

I can definitely see myself using Moonpig.com for a lot of my greeting card needs.

Disclaimer: While I received a credit to use on Moonpig.com to order the cards I created, my opinions are my own.

All photos except the Featured Photo (by Lisa Stoner) courtesy of Moonpig.com.

About The Author:  Lisa is an unrepentantly immature fortysomething who loves photography, making great food for the people she loves, and her spankin' new grandson. She's a card carrying 80's refugee who can't make it through a day without her iPhone. She blogs at www.ellemmess.com. Follow Lisa on Twitter @ellemmes

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The Black Rapid Strap Isn'tA Pain In The Neck

I have been shopping for the perfect fit in camera bags for what seems like forever, and I just haven’t found something that suits me. It turns out that I should have been searching for that perfect camera strap instead of a bag, because the Black Rapid RS-Sport Extreme Sport Strap has changed my camera toting life.

I love my Canon 7D. I love it more than chocolate and nacho cheese and Cherry Garcia combined, but… Yeah, there’s always a “but” isn’t there? In this case the “but” is that my beloved camera is one heavy sucker, and if you add a lens of any size pretty soon you’re toting around a big ole hunk of pain in the neck. Forget carrying it around your neck with the stock strap, unless of course you like the hunchback look.

Actually, there aren’t any DSLR cameras that are lightweight enough to be carried by the stock strap around the neck for any length of time without some discomfort. Plus? Those straps are short when you have an overabundance in the chestal area. They hit me just in the wrong place so that not only am I uncomfortable, I look rather ridiculous.

I own several camera bags – too many camera bags, truth be told – including ones that are dressed up to look like purses. But I just couldn’t find something that was comfortable to carry around with my hunka hunka camera, and still convenient to get at the camera and be shooting in a reasonable period of time.

When I went to BlogHer I lugged my big camera bag around with me on an all-day sight-seeing tour and by the end of it I wanted to throw the bag off the pier. My friend Suzanne had a cool looking strap that she wore slung over one shoulder so that her camera rested at her opposite hip. I was intrigued and asked her about it. She told me it was the Black Rapid strap, and that it had made a huge difference for her when it came to spending quality time with her camera. I ordered one as soon as I got home!

I love this strap.

The fastener screws into the base of the camera at the tripod connector, and your camera hangs upside down at your hip, while the strap slings across your body to distribute the weight more evenly. The strap is padded at the left shoulder, and the Extreme Sport model has a removable underarm safety tether that prevents the Black Rapid strap from sliding around your body.

I don’t carry a camera bag anymore, unless I know I’m going to want more than one lens. My camera hangs at my hip, close by my right hand, so that I can easily grab it for quick shooting. You can also lock the camera in place with clips placed on either side of the camera connector. It’s so comfortable I can wear it around all day, even while hiking.

The tripod socket connector is very sturdy and hasn’t come loose once, but I do check it often because I’m paranoid.

The only drawback to this strap is that you have to remove the connector if you want to use a tripod, but it’s super easy and only takes seconds. If you’re concerned about having your camera on a tripod sans strap to hang onto just in case, the carabiner can attach to the bag hanging loop on your tripod to give you that added bit of security.

As a big girl, I was concerned that maybe the strap wouldn’t be long enough to go around my body and still place the camera at my hip, but it’s plenty long enough that I could adjust it to fit exactly how I wanted.

Did I say I love the Black Rapid RS-Sport Extreme Sport Strap already? I do, and I bet if you’re looking for an all-day camera carrying solution that doesn’t leave you with a pain in the neck you’ll love it too.

 Featured Image Credit

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SkinIt For All Your Electronics

I’m a woman. Ok, you knew that already. How about, I’m a fickle woman. (My husband, whom I have lovingly named HHH, can verify that fact!) I change my mind about things at the drop of the hat. I will love a scent one day, then I can’t stand it a month later. I’ll  see a pair of knee socks that I just have to skate every roller derby bout in for the entire season, then tragically, I’ll no longer feel their magic. The same could be said of my tech devices. New laptops coming out? Gotta put one on my spring shopping list. Netbooks are the new craze? I had one of those bad boys ASAP. New cool phone coming out? I’m on it. Well, almost on it. I just haven’t won the lottery yet so I can heavily invest in Apple products. Still, I love my phones that I’ve had. I’ve gone through a few in the past and one thing I have to say is…..

Phone cases ain’t cheap, Yo!

I’ve had all sorts of phone cases: glittery cases, rubber shock-absorbing cases, plain cases. I even had a “Psych” phone case! Even after having had all those phone cases I just didn’t like any of them. Oh they were cool and they served the purpose of making my phone singularly identifiable out of all the other phones casually tossed on to the rink wall at derby practice, but none of them ever really felt like …… well,….. me. I’m individual, singular, like the song says, I gotta be me! I rolled along for a few more months till I happened onto a Web site completely by accident, a Web site called Skinit.

So, I’m looking for a design that says, Blondefabulous, but I’m just not seeing something I really feel awesome about. I kept scrolling through pretty swirls and beautiful photos, still not satisfied with what was there. Then… I saw it! Right next to the “Browse our designs” buton there was a “Create your own” button. Holy crap! I could design my own skin for my phone! COOOOOOOOOOL! I click on the button, follow the instructions, and Bob’s your Uncle I had my first skin designed exclusively for me. From there I filled out the shipping information and everything was a go. And what did I choose for my first skin?

My Skin

Oh yes, I picked one of my roller derby shots from my first season skating. It was totally cool. I couldn’t wait till my new skin arrived. Once it did, (I chose standard shipping, so it took about a week.) I followed the easy directions and applied the skin to the back of my phone. The skin package also came with two stickers for the front of my phone too. I picked a plain, matching color that matched my team colors. Even if I couldn’t figure out how to apply the Skin from the directions they sent, the “What is a Skin” page has a handy video to help with that. It’s great!

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Skinny Sleeve 7 In Gloss Purple

Let me tell you about the Skinny Sleeve 7 by Acme Made.

I have a tablet that I love dearly.  And there are three small sets of hands in my house that are constantly trying to get to it  so they can play their games.  Not only do I want my beloved tablet protected from the day to day with me, I want it protected from those little hands as well.  Even my Droid had a special protective cover on it.  The tablet?  Has nothing.

Acme Made sent me one of their Skinny Sleeves, made for 7″ tablets and e-readers… which just so you know includes the Kindle 3, the Nook and the Samsung Galaxy Tab.

Features include:

Ultra-thin fully padded protection, which does not add bulk within a bag.  Seriously, fits right into my pocketbook without taking up any extra space or adding weight.

Acme Made’s unique StretchShell neoprene which is water AND stain resistant.  Woo hoo!  If you know me, you know I need something water resistant.  Trust.

Super thin seam construction to provide a snug fit.  And it does!  Once you put your tablet in, there is no room for it to move around.  However, when you go to take it out there is no need to struggle either.  Slides right in and back out again.

Protective screen insert to guard against scratches and impact.  You can actually feel it on the inside under the fabric.  I have complete confidence that the tablet is well protected. Color options are matte black and gloss purple, and the Skinny Sleeve 7 retails for $24.95.  It’s also safe for airplane travel. I don’t know how I lived with my tablet for so long without it!

*Disclosure: I was not paid for this post, Acme Made was however kind enough to send me a Skinny Sleeve for review.  Opinions are all my own.

Posted by Cira for Buy-Her.com.

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Running Gear For The Digital Age

I love to run and when the weather is nice, I would prefer to be running outside than on a treadmill. I am considering training for my first half marathon this winter and as I start increasing the distance of my runs, I don’t always want to drive them first to check the distance and I don’t like to run on a track so figuring out my miles has always been a problem.

With regular pedometers, my gauge is always off. I’m never sure if it’s because they’re attached to my hip in the wrong place or if I am doing something wrong when I set them up and I tend to get frustrated with them and give up after a few months. For the past year, I have been using a new method of mileage tracking, the Nike + iPod Sensor. If you have an iPhone or an iPod and like to run or walk, this is the greatest invention since sliced bread.

The kit comes with a tiny sensor that fits into a pocket on your running shoes.  If your shoes don’t have pockets – mine don’t – you can buy separate little pouches that strap onto your laces to hold the sensor for about $5.  The kit costs $39, but if you have an iPod touch or an iPhone 3GS or newer, the receiver is built in and you can buy just the sensor for $19. Once you have the sensor on your shoe, you open the app on your iPod and start walking. The receiver picks up the signal, starts tracking your mileage and you’re on your way.

There are a few things I really love about the Nike+ system, the first is that it saves all of your data from every run so you can keep track of your speed if you are trying to decrease times for marathon training.If you run different routes from day to day you can title them and save them. The next time you run that route you tap on it in your list and all of your previous information comes up for comparison. The app also uses music you already have in your playlists to play durng your workout. You can build a new playlist specifically for the app or use one already in your library.

The only con I have found in the system is that the sensors do burn out.  My first one lasted about 9 months before I had to replace it, but that’s longer than I have ever had a single pedometer last before. All in all, it’s a great tool for runners and walkers looking to keep track of their workout information whether it’s simply for exercise purposes or for marathon training.

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