Good Enough to Eat Indeed!

Allow me to introduce you to Stacey Ballis.  Besides blogging at The Polymath Chronicles, Stacey is a fabulous author.  She is the partner in crime to another of my beloved authors and bloggers, Jen Lancaster and I tell you no lie, I would gladly give up just about any vice to be a fly on the wall when those two get going. Stacey has a new book, Good Enough To Eat.

I have a special place in my heart for books by bloggers but my literary tastes are vast, I’ll read anything as long as it isn’t a bodice-ripping Harlequin romance, a Western, a Sci-Fi book or anything that Stephen King has touched.  And aside from my love of Chick Lit, Memoirs, Forensic Thrillers and True Crime, Not to mention, I’m a book-a-holic.  I read about 3 books a week.  I devour them at an inhuman pace and my computer pretty much just points itself to Amazon without any prompting.  (Although much to my husband’s delight, I have recently procured a library card.)

Having read three of Stacey’s previous books, Inappropriate Men, Room for Improvement and The Spinster Sisters, I was so excited to hear about her newest release and pre-ordered it on Amazon months and months before it was released.  When it showed up, it was all I could do to keep myself from feigning a pathetic cough and rushing home to curl up on the back porch with my new treasure.

Stacey’s protagonists are always strong, powerful and unapologetic women and the latest, Melanie Hoffman, is no exception.  After working hard for nearly two years to lose half her body weight, Melanie has gone to culinary school and now runs a take-out business specializing in healthy gourmet food.  Then one day, with no warning,  her previously supportive husband up and leaves her for a woman twice her size.

I could not put this book down for the two days it took me to finish it.  Stacey Ballis has surrounded Melanie (who I adored secondly only to Sidney, the witty, sexy plus-sized star of “Inappropriate Men”) with intriguing friends and family and weaves a really wonderful story of a woman who thought she’s come to the end of a journey, when in fact, she’s only at the beginning.   I’d call it a beach read if it weren’t so freaking cold outside.  And yet… it has more to it than a normal beach book… more heart.

Stacey’s books are refreshing because they are about REAL women.  These aren’t supermodels skipping around Manhattan in 4-inch heels with mysterious unlimited funds (although I do profess a guilty pleasure for those books as well).  Her subjects are smart, witty, accomplished women who aren’t afraid of their faults and love themselves just the way they are.  Just between you and me?  That’s the kind of role model I would want for myself and my daughter… if I had one.

Find Good Enough to Eat, along with all Stacey Ballis’s books, on Amazon.

Featured photo by Horia Varlan

Mascara Help for Hazel-Eyed Girls

Today, I want to tell you about CoverGirl’s Exact Eyelights Mascara… or what I like to call only the most AMAZING mascara EVER!!!

I have hazel eyes.  Until discovering this product, the only option I thought I had was plain black mascara – and it’s been my staple since I was about 15.  I don’t put on a lot of makeup.  I’m not the girl that usually puts on foundation, blush, eyeshadow and all that jazz.  Sometimes I will, but my daily beauty routine usually consists of mascara and lip gloss (sometimes a lip plumper underneath).  Don’t look at me like that, I have 3 boys ages 4 and under.  I’m lucky if I do my hair in something other than a pony tail these days.

So, I can’t live without my mascara and lip gloss.  For years, depending on what I was wearing, I would get the questions “What color are your eyes?  Brown?  Green?”  It was not always easy to tell.  Of course, if I was wearing a green top my eyes looked a lot more green.

Fast forward to the first commercials for the Exact Eyelights Mascara.  It is not often that I run right out and buy a product the second I have seen it, but this time I did.  A mascara for hazel eyes?  I had to try this!  I ran right over to CVS and perused the choices. ’ Black Pearl ‘ for brown eyes, ‘Black Sapphire’ for blue eyes, ‘Black Ruby’ for green eyes… ‘Black Gold’  for HAZEL eyes!  That was me!

I drove home, put it right on and fell instantly in love.  CoverGirl advertises the product as a way to ”get 4x brighter eyes… Light-reflecting metallics and a hint of tint bring out your blues, browns, hazels and greens, while our patented no-clump brush helps define lashes”  While I can only speak for the hazel eyed girls out there, it is Totally True!  Goes on easy, no clumps.  And the best part?  People were no longer asking me if my eyes were brown or green, because the mascara brightened my already hazel eyes and really made them stand out.  I do not go anywhere without it, it’s definitely a must have.

And it’s affordable.  I bought mine at CVS, where it retails for about $8.99.  HOWEVER, you can also find it on Amazon for the totally amazing price of $2.70.    HOW CAN YOU BEAT THAT?!  Try this mascara.  I guarantee it will make you look adorable!

Green Toothpaste from Tom’s of Maine

Question : What do you do when you buy toothpaste as a joke and it turns out to be the most awesome personal care product ever?

Answer : Relish in it, people.

Over the last few months, I’ve been really focusing on “going green” in as many areas as possible.

It started out simple….a water bobble here, a microfiber cloth there….before I knew it, I was reading labels and checking corporate policies before I bought something.

To say that I had both feet firmly planted on the bandwagon is something of an understatement.

About a month ago I was at the store, buying toothpaste.  To the left of my normal brand, I saw a box that I had never noticed before.  It wasn’t anything special to look at – no fancy logos and the box was almost totally white.  I suppose that is why it caught my eye – it’s simplicity is definitely not the norm.

So I picked up a box of Tom’s Of Maine toothpaste and started reading.  My husband was only slightly embarrassed when I burst out laughing.

Environmentally friendly toothpaste?  Seriously?  What gimmick will they come up with next?

I had to buy it and show it to my brother, who was “green” (btw, I really hate that term) long before it was cool.  He, of course, was all “oh yeah – that stuff has been around for forever.”

Way to be a buzz kill, bro.

Anyway, it was time to put this stuff to the test.

I bought the Whole Care Fluoride Toothpaste, if you really care to know.

It made my teeth squeaky clean, left a slightly minty taste in my mouth that is not overpowering the way most toothpastes are and several hours, two meals and countless Dr. Peppers later, my teeth did not feel gritty and my mouth still felt clean.

As an added bonus, this stuff is a buck cheaper than my regular brand.

Considering I went to a second store to buy this stuff when the grocery store I was at didn’t have it in stock, I think it’s safe to say that I now have a new regular brand.

While you can find it at some of your local stores, you can get a better deal if you order it online, which is the only place I’ve been able to find their children’s toothpaste, as well as their other products.

From Girlfriend to Goddess, Oprah: A Biography

I am a reader of books.  I love books.  I have since I was just a wee one (and really, we don’t need to discuss how many years ago that has been).  My mother tells stories of me reading books or magazines at the tender age of 2 without tearing a single page.  To say that I love books would be like saying Britt loves shoes.  I probably have as many books as she has shoes, and that’s saying something.

When I saw Oprah A Biography on the shelf at my local library, (I checked it out from my local library. You can buy your own copy here.) I jumped at the chance to read about the most powerful woman in media.  And by media I mean television, radio, print, and internet.  If it’s out there so is she.  I wanted to know what’s Oprah really like? I wanted to know the history and what she did to get to where she is today.  After all, aren’t well all using social media to get out name, our brand out there to make impact, make a difference or even make a living, (or maybe just enough to pay for webhosting).  Oprah does the same thing, only on a much grandeur scale.  She has cornered the market on branding, by trade-marking her name, her signature, her image, her catch phrases. If she’s come up with it, come in contact with it, or makes you think of her, she probably owns it.  But most of all, I wanted to know what’s the true relationship between her and Stedman and Gayle?  Who’s really sleeping with who in that trio.

The book follows her life from ‘a po’ ole’ nappy-headed colored chile’ in Mississippi, to Baltimore where she was first put on air as a news anchor, to Chicago where she got her own show, to The White House where Obama works and she sings his praises.  It follows her from a net worth (according to Forbes) of $675 million in 1998 to $1500 million in 2007.

Oprah is a control freak, and the more powerful she gets the more control over her life, her image, her secrets, she has to have.  She makes everyone sign life long all inclusive confidentiality agreements (that DO stand up in court, they’ve been challenged).  And by everyone she means all her employees, all her guests, their entire family, her maids, hair dressers, dog walkers, gardeners, her entire staff, hotel staff, everyone she comes in contact with.

She is a contradiction in terms, meaning her private life is a contradiction to her public life.  On air, in public, she appears to be caring and giving and open and sharing and warm and your BFF for life.  Behind closed doors she’s shrewd, insensitive, cold, calculating and manipulative and single minded.  What she wants, she’s going to get no matter the cost to anyone.  The Pontiac G6′s she gave to her audience?  While she could have paid for them herself, she didn’t.  “Yes, I could have paid for them, but Pontiac offered to donate them so why should I pay for them?”  She of course did not help with sales taxes licensing or fees either.  They were presented as a gift and not a prize and therefore audience members had to pay approximately $7000 in sales tax on the vehicles.  Nice gift.

Oprah is the queen of branding and the Madame of Media, using each and every possible outlet to it’s fullest potential to further her brand and reach more and more people.  She is the epitome of what we’re all doing on a much much smaller scale.  The phrase if you build it they will come certainly applies here.  She has built an empire around herself and fans and followers flock to worship at her feet, or at their television set every weekday at 4:00 (9:00 AM Chicago).

I enjoyed the book.  I was sucked in from the first page and would read it every night when I got home. It’s a hard book to put down.  If for no other reason than to find the answer to “What the hell really *is* going on with her, Stedman and Gayle?”  The world may never know.

5 Holiday Gifts For iPhone Junkies

Chances are, you have at least one person on your holiday list who is an iPhone junky.

You can tell they’re an iPhone junky because you know what kind of freaking cell phone they have. They don’t call you.  They “call you on their iPhone.”  They don’t lose their phone or their cell.  They lose their iPhone – except they don’t, of course, because iPhone users are rarely far enough away from their iPhones to lose it.

Shopping for an iPhone junky can be difficult, because they already have the whole world in the palm of their hand.  Just ask them.  But, there is something that iPhone users love even more than their iPhones: stuff to go with their iPhone.

5 Holiday Gift Ideas For People With iPhones

1. iHome Docking Station and Clock Radio

I did a review of the iHome Docking Station and Clock Radio back in September.  I still love it.  I’ve since run into several readers of this site who have added it to their own wish lists because a good speaker system and iPhone compatible alarm clock is hard to come by.

The problem with most “iPhone docking stations” like this is that they are  made for iPods, not iPhones, and so you have to put your phone in airplane mode to use it, or endure the annoying buzz of interference.  This system is compatible with every single iPhone, way back to the first generation (what I had until about 24 hours ag).

The iHome docking station lets you play music over the speakers with impressive sound quality.  It also lets you wake to and fall asleep to specific playlists.  On top of that, it’s a great alarm clock that allows you to set two separate alarms and designated an alarm for a 1, 5 or 7 day schedule (no more accidentally waking up early on Saturday or forgetting to reset the alarm for Monday morning!).

The iHome iP9BR Clock Radio for iPod is $81.88 right now on Amazon. ($79 if you get it in silver.)  Buy it here.

2.  Mophie Juice Pack Case – Rechargeable iPhone battery

This is something I don’t have and want desperately.

The biggest downfall of the iPhone is that the battery isn’t removeable, so heavy users can’t buy extra batteries to keep charged.  The Juice Pack addresses that problem by giving you a fully rechargeable battery that doubles as an iPhone case.

Like I said, I don’t have this and have never used it.  But reviews online as well as reviews from people I know who have this product say that it doubles the battery life of your iPhone.

You can charge the case and the iPhone simultaneously and switch the case’s power source on and off to decide if you want to save your extra battery life for later.

The juice pack will add a little bulk to the iPhone – more than a simple silicone case – but the extra power you get is worth it for someone who uses their phone constantly.

Amazon offers a variety of colors for the juice pack that will fit the iPhone first generation, 3G and 3Gs.  Click here to see the full range.

3.  Bluetooth Stereo Headset

Another “don’t have, want badly” product for me. I’ve been looking forever for a headset that works for music and phone conversations, and isn’t plagued with reviews about a short product lifespan.

This looks to be the answer I’ve been looking for.

The Sony DRBT160AS Bluetooth Stereo Headset is perfect for iPhone users who like to run or workout regularly.  This headset gives you the ability to listen to music and take a call (although obviously not at the same time).  Headsets that do both can be difficult to find for the iPhone.

The “behind the head” design is ideal runners and the wireless aspect makes it perfect for just about anyone.  It’s also going to provide much higher sound quality than the stock ear buds that come standard with iPhones.

The Sony DRBT160AS Bluetooth Stereo Headset is $81.95 on Amazon. That’s more than $40 off what they’re charging at the Apple store for the same product. Buy it here.

4. iPhone Armband

Speaking of people who run – an armband case is pretty much a necessity if you’re the type of person who works out while listening to music on your iPhone.  Otherwise you end up trying to shove your iPhone down the back of your pants.

Trust me on this – not. comfortable.  Also not comfortable?  Having to dig down the back of your pants to retrieve your slipping iPhone while you’re in the middle of a packed gym.

Ahem.

ANYway, the Tuneband from Grantwood Technology uses a silicone case to secure the iPhone in place.  The case has a screen protector, but still allows you to access all of the ports and camera.  The band itself is stretchy velcro to fit most arm sizes.

Another fun fact: it comes in lots of pretty colors!  (Oh, and navy or clear if, for some odd reason, you’re not into pretty.)

The Tuneband is designed for the 3G and 3GS iPhone models.

(Hint – it’s cheap and a great stocking stuffer idea.  Jared.)

The Tuneband Armband with Silicone Skin and Screen Protector is just $16.99 at Amazon. Buy it here. (in pink, if you’re my husband.)

5.  Go Groove FlexPod: iPhone FM Transmitter and Car Mount System

This?  Is a freaking awesome device.

You plug the device into your car’s cigarette lighter (or power source if you have a newer, snobbier car) and put your iPhone into the cradle.  Your phone is now charging.  Yay.

BUT, more than that, the FM transmitter lets you play your music from your iPod through your car stereo’s speakers.  For those of you unfamiliar with the idea of an FM transmitter – it works good.  You should have it.

For those of you who know what I’m talking about – this is one of the more advanced models of FM transmitters and seems to have a strong locking system that makes it easier to find (and keep) stations available to play your music.

Added bonus: it turns your car into a bluetooth device for phone calls.  When a phone call comes in while you’re listening to music, the music fades and the call options come up on the screen.  Accept the call and you’ll hear the voice via your car’s speakers.  End the call and you go back to the music you were listening to.

The Flexpod (that’s the official name of this thingie) also has a USB port so you can charge other USB powered devices through it.

The entire iPhone cradle is held up on a flexible gooseneck device so you can hold your iPhone steady at multiple angles.

You can watch a video on how the entire thing works here.

The Go Groove FlexPod Car Mount System is $34.99 on Amazon. Buy it here.

Books for Boys

Listen, I don’t subscribe to the idea that there are girl things and boy things.  While I may be what is typically called a “girly girl”, it’s by choice and not genetic shackling.

If my kids want to play with dolls, trucks or lab rats, I don’t care, as long as I don’t step on it in the middle of the night.

That being said, I’m probably not going to convince my son to read more by handing him my first edition copy of Sweet Valley High.

The holidays are coming and I think books make great gifts for kids.  Books are an especially good gift for boys who are so. not. impressed. with clothes (and really don’t need another video game.  Really.  Please.)

As of December 14th, I’ll have a 10 year old boy, so the focus of this post is “mid-grade” books for boys.  (Most of these books will work for girls as well, obviously, but I wanted to concentrate specifically on ideas for boys today.)  Let’s just pretend it’s not called “Buy Her” for a moment.

Read more

Air Popcorn is The Devil. But…

My favorite snack food in life is popcorn.

Specifically, I love buttered popcorn.

More specifically, I like popcorn drenched in warm butter and coated with salt.

Air popped popcorn, as far as I’m concerned, is from the devil.

But oh, how I love my hot air popcorn popper.

I have a Presto Poplite Popper that I am not supposed to use because I am not supposed to eat carbs.  But I make a carbohydrate exception on occasion for a ginormous bowl of popcorn.  Because if you’re going to take health risks you should do it in moderation, and nothing says moderation like the word ginormous.

This is, in my opinion, the closest you can get to movie popcorn without being in a theater.

Read more

A Book For Wounded Souls

My friend Deanna sent me an instant message last week to see how I was doing.  I assured her that I was, still, doing fantastically awful.

And then she did the most annoying thing that people always do when they know you are feeling awful.

She recommended a book to me.

I don’t know why I didn’t punch Deanna.  Maybe because she was instant messaging me from Canada, and I have yet to figure out the emoticon for “punch in face through computer”.  Maybe because I really kind of love her.  Or maybe because, for some odd reason, my mental response was actually something along the lines of “I think you need this right now.”

Don’t ask me why.

I don’t know why I didn’t roll my eyes or immediately forget the name of that book.

What I do know is that I had $200 in my checking account, 24 hours until pay day, and a weekend conference I was leaving for that was going to require me to feed myself using a good chunk of that $200.

I stopped at Barnes & Noble on my way to the hotel and bought that damn book anyway.

Read more

On Task On Time Saved My Children’s Lives. Basically.

I first read about the On Task On Time unit over at Work It Mom.

I spent the next 30 minutes figuring out how to get my hands on one, and then sent a barrage of pestering emails to their PR department.

A few days later, FedEx delivered salvation to my front door.

Let me back up.

I have two kids.

Every day, both of these children have to get out of bed, get dressed, get fed, get stuff, and get out the door to school or daycare.  At the exact same time that I have to get up, get dressed, get fed, get stuff and get out the door to work.

It makes for fun mornings – if nagging and crying and threatening and crying and begging and pleading and crying and starting off every day pissed off and crying is fun for you.

(In which case, you need therapy.)

Read more

Bluetooth for your car, not your ear. Also? Why they make owner’s manuals.

I’m a good daughter. I call my mom almost every single day. It was important when I moved that we found a way to maintain the closeness in our relationship.

That means I wake her up at about 7:00am her time nearly every morning so that I can talk to her on my drive to work.

Because I’m a good daughter.

I am also, I have been told, a terrible driver.  I tend to disagree with that assessment (despite evidence to the contrary), but I do try to limit my distractions while driving to smoking, listening to music and pondering the meaning of life.

I tell you all that to tell you that I almost always use some type of bluetooth device while driving.  Because I am nothing if not succinct.

I’ve been using a Motorola Bluetooth Headset ever since my husband got it for Christmas a couple years ago.  It pairs easily with my phone and the sound quality is fine.  It does what it’s supposed to do.  I’d been asked to try other bluetooth headset models recently and have found that the Motorola was still my favorite.

A representative from Parrot.com contacted me recently and asked me to review their portable Bluetooth hands free kit.

My first thought was what the hell is a portable Bluetooth hands free kit?

I’d only ever used the headset version before.  You know, the little thing that sticks in your ear that makes people think you’re talking to yourself.  I didn’t even know portable Bluetooth hands free kits existed.

And yet, it seems, they do.

But what the hell are they?

Read more

« Previous Page — Next Page »