SanDisk Memory Vault Protect Your Valuable Photos Review and Coupon

Before I had my children I just dabbled in photography and didn’t particularly take that many photos.  Once they were born, as all new parents do, I felt compelled to snap numerous pictures of the boys each and every day as they grew.  Even though I didn’t have all of them printed, I slowly over time, have acquired thousands of images on my local hard drive and that which we store on our home server as well.  Besides the obvious digital storage options, I have always wanted a place though, to keep them besides just on the home computer.

Our plan was to ultimately burn all our photos on to cds, and make triple copies, sending one to my parents to keep, one to put in a safe and one to just have on a shelf in our home.  That way I would be sure to have copies, no matter what happened.  I am always on the lookout, however, for compact ways to have my most precious memories kept safe without risk of damage and readily available to me if I need to access images.  Let’s face it, cds break, get corrupt, and hard drives fail.  Having a low risk, highly reliable, and compact way to store your pictures has to be the most logical and desirable way to store digital images and video.

But, what if there was a way to store your photos for at least one hundred years, in a compact location, with minimal risk of losing your precious photos?  And what if you didn’t have to rely on your computer’s hard drive to store your digital images and risk them failing?  SanDisk has come up with a way to protect, and store your most important images, and videos for at least 100 years.  The SanDisk Memory Vault is designed for long-term preservation.  All you have to do is connect it to your computer’s USB port and drag-and-drop.

Features

SanDisk Memory Vault features Chronolock™ technology:

• Engineered to preserve the quality of photos and videos long term
• Tested to support data retention for up to 100 years*
• Physically designed for long-term reliability and durability

*For more information, see www.sandisk.com/preserve
1 gigabyte (GB) = 1 billion bytes. Some capacity not available for data storage.

Additional Info

Minimum System Requirements

• Windows® XP, Windows Vista®, Windows® 7 and Mac OS® X v10.4.11 or above
• USB 2.0 high-speed connector

Package Contents

• SanDisk Memory Vault
• USB 2.0 transfer cable
• Quick start guide
• Writable labels
• Storage pouch

With as many pictures as I take, the SanDisk Memory Vault is very useful.  I also like the designated place that they have for a label which is provided with the Memory Vault and the handy little storage pouch.  I was sent the 16GB SanDisk Memory Vault for review and I found that I am going to need a whole lot more space than what is available on it.  I take so many pictures that it was full in the first twenty minutes of transfer.  Currently, the SanDisk Memory Vault retails for a whopping $90, which personally I feel is a tad on the steep end for a flash drive like device with some added technology.  I would like to see a much larger storage capacity at that price range.   Putting the price aside, I feel like it is a really nifty little device and has a potential to be a a really great go to device for the future of photo storage.  I would like to see this with more storage capacity and for organization sake a place like storage box in which I could slide the SanDiskMemory Vaults into it, with the labels visible within the box.  The SanDisk Memory Vault is a great forerunner in the future of digital memory protection and storage options.

If you are looking for a great way to preserve your treasured photos and memories, the SanDisk Memory Vault would make a great stocking stuffer or gift for an avid photographer or just a special person in your family. DoubleBugs would like to offer a 20% discount to the first four people to email me at laurie@doublebugs.com. The coupon is good for one discount and can only be used at the SanDisk online store (http://shop.sandisk.com) and expires December 31, 2011 at 12am EST.  Keep your memories safe with the SanDisk Memory Vault.

 

“I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of SanDisk and received a product sample to facilitate my review, and coupons to giveaway.”

VTech DS6421-3 Cordless Phone

This one time (recently), our cordless phone was left on the bumper of the car (whoops!), and my husband, took it for a little drive where it spent the night lonely on the side of the road in the rain.  It still worked sort of, but no one could hear me when I talked. It’s been a long time since I’ve paid much attention to cordless telephones.  If you’re anything like me, you look at a cordless phone and think “hey, it’s just a phone, what’s the difference?”.  Thanks to VTech, I’ve had a chance to play around with a new modern “digital answering system”, the DS6421-3.  Apparently there’s a lot of difference between cordless phone systems nowadays, a lot has changed over the past 5+ years.

First, here’s what’s in the box, neatly packaged:

• Quickstart guides, user’s manual
• Wall mount bracket
• 3 cordless phones (handsets) with batteries
• 1 base station with power adapter and phone cable
• 2 charging cradles with power adapters

Specs

I won’t go into all the detailed specs here as part of this review, you can find the complete listing on the VTech DS6421-3 site here.  This set of phones operates on the DECT 6.0 standard.  That means it uses the 1.9 GHz frequency and it won’t interfere with your wireless network (home wifi equipment  that generally uses 2.4 and/or 5 Ghz frequency).   Another feature that comes in handy is the “Connect To Cell” technology.  Connect to cell means you can use both your cell line and your landline with this set, easily switching between the two.   The VTech DS6421-3 also includes “Push To Talk” technology so you can use the sets like walkie-talkies.  Overall, the features are pretty impressive, equaling those of some of the more expensive high-end sets on the market.

Installation

Installing the phone is as easy as can be.  You just have to figure out where you want to put the base station and plug the included phone cord into a phone outlet.  You can easily mount the base on the wall with the included wall mount bracket if you want, but I preferred to have mine on the counter.  The batteries included with the handsets come pre-charged, so you just plug them in and the ‘base’ automatically recognizes each handset and configures it.  One handset sits in the cradle as part of the base, the other two handsets can be placed anywhere you like, just plug each of the charger cradles into any available outlet.

Using the DS6421-3

Once you set up the base and cradles, you’re ready to start using the phones.  The VTech DS6421-3 does everything you’d expect from a good cordless phone set.  The handsets themselves are very sleek, fit comfortably in your hand and feel well-built.  The back lighting is good, the screens on the handsets are crystal clear and easy to read.  So far everyone I have talked to sounds crystal clear. Each cordless phone has caller ID, functions as a speakerphone, and the base has an indicator on it that tells you how many voicemails (if any) are recorded.  You can also screen calls right on each handset – just hit the “screen” button  and you can listen to the person leaving the message on the handset speakerphone.  I love not having to get up to hear who is calling.   Another feature I found myself using frequently is the ability to listen to recorded messages from any of the handsets.  Just use the menu to select “play messages”, and listen to the voicemails on whatever handset you have available.

There’s nothing more annoying than having your cordless phone run out of  battery all the time.  The VTech DS6421-3  features very long battery life.  I used the cordless phones for hours and didn’t have to charge  them for at least a week.  I was very impressed with the battery life and I had no low battery sounds beeping in my ear mid conversation.

Another, aspect of cordless phones is their range of use.  I am often on the phone and going out to the mailbox and prefer not to lose connection.  You want something that will let you walk anywhere in the house without interference, as well as short distances like your driveway.  I was able to use the cordless sets throughout the house, outside the house all the way to the street in front of the house with no problems.  VTech lists the range as “up to 500 feet”, which is probably only feasible under the most perfect conditions, but the range on these were great.

The 3 handsets in this set are identical.  They operate using a very simple menu, it didn’t take long at all to figure out how everything worked without even opening the manual.  The menu is operated using a left / right select buttons along with a round disk .  The menu options are straight forward, you can customize pretty much everything from the ring tones to the ringer volume to the number of rings it takes before the answering machine picks up.  You can also set a name label for each handset so you know where each one goes.  This feature is perfect for when you want to use the “push to talk” functionality.   Picking up the phone and pushing the button for “Kitchen” or “Basement” makes a lot more sense then trying to remember where “handset #1” is located.

One thing I really liked about the phones is that when someone calls each set it speaks the name/caller id of the caller.  You don’t have to look at the phone or base to know who’s calling, which is very handy for easy screening of calls.  For me this is more fun than anything, because at first I had some trouble recognizing the pronunciations. The DS6421-3 also has “equalizer” functionality to optimize the sound quality of your phone calls.  I don’t know about you, but I can’t imagine ever needing to use an equalizer to fine tune the sound on my mono phone handheld…. But hey, it can’t hurt, it’s a nice touch they threw in!

 

Connect To Cell

The “connect to cell” functionality is one of the features relatively new to the cordless phone market.  Basically, it allows you to integrate your cell phone(s) and your landline together into one seamless phone system.  it works like this:  you “pair” up to two cell phones to the DS6421 base, using Bluetooth connectivity.  That means the paired phone just has to be somewhere near the base (in the same room generally) to be connected to the DS6421 base.  Once paired, the base will treat the paired cell phone as another “line” in addition to your land line.   You can receive incoming calls from your cell phone(s) on your cordless phone the same way you would incoming calls on the land line.  Different ring tones indicate whether the call is on the landline or on the cell.

This is an excellent feature for those with a cell phone with Bluetooth.  When you come home, just put your cell phone in the same room as the DS6421 base, plug it in to charge the battery, and you’ll be able to make and receive calls using your cell or your landline with the simple click of a button.   Click the “cell” button, and you receive or make a call using your cell phone.  Click the “home” button, and you receive or make a call using your landline.  Since you can pair two cell phones, two people living in a home cold both have their phones paired, and both use the same set of cordless phones to access either the landline or the cell phone.

One important note to the landline/cell phone functionality is that you only need to have one or the other to use the system.  If you have both cell phone(s) and a landline, the DS6421-3  integrates them perfectly… but you can use the VTech DS6421-3 without having a landline at all, great for those who are thinking of getting rid of their land line and just using cell phones.  With this system you get the best of both worlds, a nice handset with great range and coverage while your cell phone is charging.   For example, you could use your cell phone for free long distance if your landline doesn’t have free long distance.

Another great feature of the connect to cell technology is that the DS6421 phone system can copy your contacts from your cell phone(s) to the cordless phone system.  That makes the issue of having someone’s info on your cell but not your home phone a thing of the past.

You can also connect Bluetooth headsets to the DS6421 for easy hands-free calling in your house.  I found this feature somewhat less than useful since you are limited to a relatively small area around the base of the phone system.  You can’t use the Bluetooth headset and wander off to the other side of the house while on the phone, the Bluetooth signal will get disconnected.  Still, it’s a nice option to have if you need to be on the phone a lot and want an easy hands-free setup.

Expansion

The DS6421-3 can be expanded to up to 12 handsets, although who needs 12 handsets?  I found that the three provided were more than enough and felt like I had phones laying around everywhere.

In conclusion, I really like the VTech DS6421-3.

Pros: great feature set, great look and feel, cell/landline integration, phone contact copying, expandability, long battery life, ease of setup and use, overall value.

Cons: inability to set ringer volume for each handset, ringer options have to be set for all handsets at the same time.

Overall, I was thoroughly impressed by the VTech DS6421-3.  It was easy to set up, works great, integrates the land line with the cell phones seamlessly, and does everything at a very reasonable price (less than $100 last I looked).  That’s a great bargain! I’d recommend this set to anyone who’s in the market for a new cordless phone system.  You can save a few dollars by getting a “no frills” cordless phone set, but you’d miss out on a lot of great features and functionality for relatively small savings.  The bottom line: The VTech DS6421-3 is a really great phone for the home.

 

**I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of VTech and received a product sample to facilitate my review.  All of the opinions I have expressed here are my own.**

Cheerios Cheer Sending Words Of Cheer This Holiday Season

With the age of the internet, most things we do, even the mail we send is often via the computer. I sometimes miss the days when someone would just send me a handwritten letter. There is something special about receiving a note of encouragement or just a thank you in your mailbox outside. I believe it to be much more meaningful and a heartfelt expression to a special person or even a complete stranger.

I know a lot of military families that I have met either online or just friends and acquaintances. I know that sending their loved ones overseas for months and even years at a time cannot be something that is easy. Many of their spouses are back at home taking care of the family, paying the bills, and holding the household together. I think being in the military is a huge monumental sacrifice to take care of the American people and I think the families involved make just as many sacrifices by giving up their loved ones to go protect our country. I can imagine that it can be a huge emotional taxing on families, and often times it’s nice to be able to hear kind uplifting messages to help get you through each passing day.

To help spread these messages, Cheerios has started a wonderful campaign. Cheerios and the USO have launched “Cheer,” a postcard campaign that spreads cheer directly to these honorable military families and supports USO programs. During the months of October and November, 2011, specially-marked boxes of Cheerios cereal will feature Cheer postcards on the front of the box. You and your family, can out the postcard, write a message of thanks, let the kids make a drawing, or write words of encouragement. Then, all you have to do is, add a stamp, and mail the pre-addressed card to the USO. The USO will then deliver the Cheer card to military families across the country!

And, along with that, Cheerios will donate $1 to the USO for every postcard that is mailed and received by November, 30, 2011. Cheerios has already donated $150,000 to the USO, and will donate up to an additional $100,000 based upon the number of postcards received. Your participation is needed to reach this goal and who doesn’t love cheerios?  So stock up on a few boxes, and mail some wonderful words of thanks and encouragement to these families who are making big sacrifices each day.

 

**I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Cheerios and received product samples to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to post.**

Tombstone Pizza Making Halloween A Treat

Halloween is fast approaching, and it’s one of my favorites with the kids.  Besides loving the Fall weather, we love spending time with all our friends in the neighborhood.  Halloween, is always special because we have a pre-Halloween get together, take lots of pictures then some adults stay back with everyone’s candy lined up in lawn chairs waiting for all the little ghosts and goblins.  After the kids get tired, there is a fire, lots of glow sticks and kids playing and parents chit chatting.

The hours before trick or treating are spent getting costumes in order, waiting for my husband to get in the door and my boys have their noses pressed to the window to see who is already out.  In all their excitement and mine, we have little time to get everyone ready and a meal on the table.  My favorite is to throw a Tombstone pizza in the oven, throw together a garden salad and dinner is ready in minutes! And who doesn’t love pizza?

About Tombstone Pizza

• Only fitting for the “Official Pizza of Halloween,” TOMBSTONE pizza was brought to life in 1962, at a bar called the Tombstone Tap that was located across from a graveyard in Medford, WI.
• It all started when Tombstone Tap owner, Joe Simek, broke his leg dancing the “Peppermint Twist.”   While recuperating, Joe experimented with various pizza recipes in the kitchen in the back of the Tombstone Tap.  The tasty pizzas he made were an instant success, creating the TOMBSTONE pizza brand.
• 50 years later, TOMBSTONE pizza today offers eight different crust varieties (including Original, Brick Oven Style and Garlic Bread) and a multitude of tasty topping choices, including new TOMBSTONE Double Top. With so many options to choose from, moms are sure to please all their favorite little ghosts and goblins this Halloween season.
• Moms can find TOMBSTONE pizza in the frozen section of their local grocery store.

This Halloween season, Tombstone is being dubbed “The Official Pizza of Halloween,” and to help make your Halloween a success they are providing you with all the tools you would need to have a spooky good time!   Start by simply ‘liking’ the Tombstone Facebook page. There you can download a free Halloween Party Kit that will give you everything you need to make your Halloween party and conjure up lots of Halloween fun.

The free Tombstone Halloween Party kit includes tons of really great ideas including fun recipes, games you can play, fun tips, decorations and way to create fun Halloween photo ideas.  I love their spider web munch and bone chillin brew in the recipe section.  I know my kids would love it!

So while you are rushing to get those excited little ones out the door, pop in a Tombstone Pizza and make it your official Halloween favorite every year!

“I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Tombstone Pizza and received coupons and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.”

 

Fellowes Helps Keep The Shred On Identity Theft

With tax time fast approaching, it is now time to go through receipts and all the important paper work that you need to get your taxes in order.  I always find myself going through my old receipts and bank statements to gather up the necessary paperwork to file taxes.  I used to just tear these things up, and give them a toss, but this day and age, you need to go the extra step to protect your private documents from getting into the hands of the wrong people.  This is why I believe having a paper shredder is one of your best investments against identity theft, and it also helps minimize all the clutter from paperwork.

Having a paper shredder is probably one of the greatest things you can have on hand in your home or home office.  I have found that rather than shoving piles upon piles of paperwork into a file cabinet or on a shelf, that shredding makes my life so much easier.  I don’t have to deal with the clutter and I know that I can safely dispose of vital information.  Shredders today have come a long way, and now you can even shred your credit cards, and cds.

Recently I was given the opportunity to review the Fellowes PS-12Cs Cross-Cut Shredder.  This couldn’t have come at a better time because we are in the process of gutting the home office.   When I took it out of its box my first overall impression was that it is sleek, and compact.  I was able to tuck it neatly next to our file cabinet, which made it very unobtrusive in the room.  If there is anything that I don’t like are big bulky things that take up way more space than needed.  It looks great, but how well does it work?  So we put it to the test, first we shredded a few pieces of paper, and it gobbled it right up with record speed.  We then tried one of our old expired credit cards and it had absolutely no problems.  It can handle up to twelve sheets of paper at one time.  I found that the shredder moves a little slower if you put all twelve in there at once, but I find that I would hardly ever shred twelve at once anyway.

Take a Look!

If you are worried about little hands sticking their fingers into the shredder, the Fellowes PS-12Cs Cross-Cut Shredder also has a really great safety mechanism called the Patented SafeSense® Technology this stops the shredder when hands touch the paper opening.  I find this to be a great advantage, because I have two very curious four year olds that always manage to “laugh in the face of danger” so to speak and have an inherent knack for getting into trouble.  This makes one less thing for me to worry about, so my kids are safe as well as my identity.

The paper collection bin is really nice and just neatly slides out so you can empty it.  I like the fact that the bin is not too large so I can easily slip a trash bag on top of it and turn it upside down to empty it without make a ginormous mess.  Our last shredder we had, the bin was too large and we wound up having an office that looked like we partied like 1999 with paper shred confetti all over.

Fellowes PS-12Cs Cross-Cut Shredder Features

• Shreds 12 sheets per pass into 5/32” x 2” cross-cut particles (Security Level 3)
• Patented SafeSense® Technology stops shredding when hands touch the paper opening
• Slim profile fits neatly under desks
• 4-gallon bin
• For individual use
• Can shred: Paper, staples, credit cards, paper clips

The only drawbacks that I found were that the shredder itself is rather loud, and it doesn’t shred cds.  Overall, I love Fellowes PS-12Cs Cross-Cut Shredder’s compact size and the Safesense Technology so I don’t have to lock it  up away from the kids. In general, it is very effective at shredding most of  the things you would want to shred.  It would make a great addition to any home office.

Tax time is just one good reason to have a paper shredder, but protecting your identity is a top priority so you can avoid the nightmare of identity theft.  Victims of identity theft can surely tell you how awful it really is.  It is important to make sure your computers have the appropriate protection, invest in a a small safe to keep your important documents, and invest in a good paper shredder to appropriately dispose of documents that contain vital personal information.

“I wrote this review while participating in a Mom Central Consulting blog tour on behalf of Fellowes. I received a Fellowes paper shredder to facilitate my review.”

Fiber Choice Are You Getting Enough Fiber?

Fiber is one of those things that is important for our bodies, but let’s face it, most people rarely get enough of it in their diets.  You hear it all the time “eat more fiber,” it’s essential for good health.  Fiber is found mainly in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and beans.  When I think of fiber, I think of poop.  Really, who doesn’t think about that first?  It has its other health benefits, but I have always heard, you need more fiber to keep yourself regular.

With the new year, comes all the promises of a healthier lifestyle, and better eating habits.  I am always gung ho in the beginning, but eating the right foods, isn’t always easy or very tasty.  When you are out of the habit of eating the healthy foods, everything good for you, is less than appealing.  Let’s face it, lettuce leaves don’t taste like much, unless you have cheese and dressing on it.  And eating fiber, is just as bad as the lettuce leaf, if you don’t jazz it up with something it tastes like cardboard or wood chips.

Fiber Facts

• Most people need 25 to 30 grams of dietary fiber each day, but most of us get only 12 to 15 grams a day.

• One daily serving of FiberChoice® – just two chewable tablets – contains 4 grams of dietary fiber.

• Fiber is typically associated with regularity, but fiber is also important for overall digestive and full-body health.

• FiberChoice® should be taken every day as part of an ongoing effort to live a more healthy life.

I always try to offer the boys fruits, vegetables and whole grains to ensure that they get enough fiber in their diets.  One of my boys has always had problems with constipation, so I have always tried to give him things like prunes, and encourage drinking lots of fluids.  I am always looking for easy additional ways to add some fiber in my diet and his.  I recently had the chance to try Fiber Choice, which is a fiber supplement.  My initial thought, when I read the bottle that said, sugar free and fiber supplement, was that this was a bottle of compressed taste free lettuce leaves.  But to my surprise, they actually tasted really good and are easy to take at any time during the day.  The recommended dosage is two tablets.  I started with that and found that I did get a bit bloated and gassy and I just reduced the serving to one and a half tablets for about a week to let my system adjust.   Each chewable tablet is scored down the middle so it makes it easy to break them in half and I also started giving my sons half a tablet daily, and my husband takes two in the morning.

Because they’re chewable, FiberChoice® tablets are the fiber supplement you can keep anywhere, take everywhere – at your desk, in your gym bag, in the car, in your suitcase, in the kitchen counter – wherever it’s convenient for you.

Inulin: A natural fiber source.

One daily serving of FiberChoice chewable tablets – just two tablets – contains 4 grams of inulin, an all-natural dietary fiber found in fruits and vegetables. Inulin is a unique fiber source that helps boost calcium absorption.*

We now make taking fiber a daily part of our routine. My husband hardly ever eats a vegetable or fruits for that matter, so this is also a great alternative, and helps to get at least some fiber in his diet. We recently stocked up with the 220 count bottle from our local Costco, and plan to keep up with the daily routine of taking Fiber Choice. A little more fiber in our diets can only help in maintaining our health and keeping our plumbing in order.  To learn more about Fiber and it’s benefits you can follow @FiberChoice on Twitter or visit their website at http://www.fiberchoice.com

“I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of FiberChoice and received a coupon to facilitate my review and a gift code to thank me for taking the time to participate.”

Bank Of America Helps To Save You Time

With being right in the middle of the Holiday hustle and bustle, I find myself trying to beg borrow and steal time wherever I can, just to manage all the tasks on my list.  Not only am I chasing after the kids, managing the house, and rounding up the family for holiday travel, I also tend to do a majority of the paper work in the house.  Online banking has become a savior for me, and simply one of the greatest inventions ever!

When it come to banking, I cannot imagine banking the old fashioned way, especially with having two young kids.  I can pay all of my bills from my couch, I don’t have to waste money on stamps, and the time it takes to fill out checks, and seal up envelopes, and make my way to the mailbox. Bank Of America offers some really great tools and time saving tips to help you save valuable time while helping to mange finances. We make greatest use of their online banking, and it makes managing bills so much easier.  You can see when they go out, you can schedule payments, receive alerts and balance information, as well as make money transfers.  With the winter months, I do not even have to put a toe out my front door, and I can take care of our financial obligations.

• Bank on the go: It’s easy to set up mobile banking and secure access to your money wherever you are. Download the mobile banking app and you can check balances, transfer money, pay bills, and locate ATMs.  Sign up for text banking and you’ll be able to send a text message to get your balance instantly in a reply.
• Make quick and easy deposits: Holiday means a lot of extra work, so eliminate the labor of depositing checks.  With Bank of America’s Deposit Image ATMs, you simply feed checks or cash into the ATM with no envelopes or deposit slips required.  You get images of your checks and a list of cash deposited on your receipt as proof.
• Save a trip to the bank: Don’t worry about making an extra stop to the bank during all of your holiday shopping.  Keep track of your spending by using Bank of America’s online banking: set up alerts, check balances, and transfer money.

During the holidays, it is important to manage your time, so you can enjoy those special moments with family.  Outside of banking, I try to plan ahead, and organize items on my to do list that coordinate with each other.  Both me and my husband split up (divide and conquer), each of us takes one kid, to take care of errands and chores.  It eliminates having to take up the entire day trying to get everything done, and allows for us to have some quality family time.   A little bit of planning goes a long way!  You can hear about other great tips by following @BofA_Tips on twitter too!

Would you like to win a preloaded $50 Bank Of America Gift Card?  With the Help Of mom Central, DoubleBugs will be offering one lucky reader the chance to win!

Here’s What You Gotta Do!

(mandatory entry, you must complete this to have a valid entry)

Answer this question…What are some of the ways in which you get back time during the busiest times of the year?

Additional Entries

Tweet about this giveaway linking to this post

Follow Me On Twitter @Laurie2008

Good Luck!

Contest Runs From December 21, 2010-December 26, 2010

“I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Bank of America and received a Bank of America preloaded gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.”

Nescafe Dolce Gusto Test Drive

Just about everyone I know loves coffee, I am probably one of those rare people that doesn’t drink a whole lot of coffee and didn’t even own a coffee maker till I was married.  I don’t drink it because I try to avoid the caffeine, so I have never really enjoyed it.  Nowadays, there are so many choices out there, that I can enjoy some of the hot beverages minus the caffeine.  My favorites however are hot chocolate and an occasional cup of tea.

I was recently offered the chance test drive the NESCAFE’  Dolce Gusto coffee maker.  I took the opportunity because I like single serve coffee makers and like having the option of making a single cup at a time.  Going into the winter months, I tend to make a lot of hot chocolate and tea, and I like having the option of making it any time during the day, quickly, and without making an entire pot of hot water. Not only is the NESCAFE Dolce Gusto a coffee maker, but it was designed with kitchen decor in mind

“Each machine carries an individual style and personality,designed with something  for everyone.Compact,classic,modern and smart-it’s a dramatic departure from what’s currently in the marketplace.”

With most of my kitchen electronics, I try to keep them stuffed in a cabinet, or well hidden in my kitchen.  Let’s face it, many kitchen appliances are just big and bulky and unattractive to look at, and the only reason why they stay on our counters, are out of pure necessity and easy access.  NESCAFE has come out with some really cool looking single serve coffee makers, that actually look good on your countertop.  Names like Piccolo, Creativa, Melody 2 and Circolo, each coffee maker has it’s own individual character.  I chose the Creativa, because it just looks fun, and kind of exudes my artsy personality.  It also comes, in this really sexy red, if you feel like making a bold statement in your kitchen.  I have had several people already pass by my new NESCAFE Dolce Gusto and say “oh that is cool!”  So, it definitely draws some attention.  I like how it looks and it is far from ordinary.  I definitely won’t be hiding this one in the cabinet and it makes a great conversation piece.  It sort of makes you want to use it more, because it is fun, functional and really cool.  I couldn’t wait to use it.

If you are looking for something that has functionality but adds a really nice design element in your kitchen, NESCAFE Dolce Gusto, offers you several choices to add pizazz to boring kitchen appliances.  They also come in a really nice neutral titanium and black color, so if you aren’t as bold as me, you can still have something that looks great. It’s a fun and exciting way to make your coffee! In my next post, I will talk about the benefits of a single serve coffee maker, all the fun flavors NESCAFE has to offer for your Dolce Gusto, and what my experiences were when using it.

“I wrote this review while participating in a test drive campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of NESCAFÉ Dolce Gusto and received a coffee machine to facilitate my review.”

Sansa Fuze+ MP3 Player With VH1 Slot Radio *review*

We are a house that loves music.  One of my favorite things to do is to put on headphones, and do housework or go on a hike at our local parks.   Being able to have portable music via MP3 player has been one of the greatest inventions since sliced bread.  In fact I still have boxes of CDs in my closet wondering what on earth I will do with all of them.

For me when it comes to portable MP3 players, the smaller they are the better, because  it is easier to take with me on plane trips, on car rides, in my purse, and on walks.  I was recently given a really cool opportunity to check out the new Sansa Fuze+ and a VH1 slot radio card, and this thing is pretty cool.  I received a  red MP3 player  which just looks really sleek and compact, but I also love all the features.  The sound is really good, but the fact that I can listen to this pre-loaded VH1 slot radio card, is even better, or add additional music to a blank micro sd card.  I like being able to get a preloaded card that I don’t have to mess with hand picking and adding songs,  and it had a lot of the very popular  songs from the 80′s.  The screen on the Sansa Fuze+ was really crisp and clear which and I had no trouble navigating with the Sansa Fuze “invisible” capacitive touch control.  You simple just have to touch right, left, up, down, or in the middle to navigate through song lists, genres, and even settings.   You can also watch videos on the bright 2.4 inch LCD screen which is really cool.

At a $79.99-$119.00 price point, depending on the capacity, you can get this for just about anyone in the family for a gift for this holiday season.  The Sansa Fuze+ is available in five colors, red (my favorite), black, white, blue and purple.  Also available on the Sansa Fuze website are all sorts of preloaded slot radio cards that you can get to accompany your new MP3 player.  I am already eying the one with Health and Fitness to get ready for my New Years workout plan.

Specifications/Features:

• Capacities**: 4GB, 8GB, 16GB
• 2.4″ bright QVGA screen (320 x 240, 30 FPS) LCD screen
• Audio formats: MP3, WMA, Secure WMA, Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, AAC, Audible, Podcasts
• Video formats: MPEG-4***, H.264, WMV and Flip Video™***
• Photo formats: JPEG and BMP; photo formats can be further extended with Sansa Media Converter PC software download?, enabling TIFF, GIF, and PNG formats
• Digital FM Tuner with record functions
• Rechargeable battery lasts up to 24 hours for audio playback and 5 hours of video playback†
• Hi-speed micro-USB 2.0 port
• Expandable microSDTM card slot and microSDHCTM card slot
• Ready for slotRadio™ & slotMusic™ memory cards
• Sleek industrial design with “invisible” capacitive touch control and highly intuitive graphical user interface

SanDisk® slotRadio™ Cards

Each SanDisk® slotRadio™ card includes 1,000 songs featuring artists from the Billboard® charts. Songs are preloaded onto a tiny card with handcrafted playlists that include hundreds of artists. Like a FM radio experience, you can lean back and let slotRadio do the heavy-lifting so you don’t have to download music song-by-song. Songs are played in sequence and are locked to the card. You can skip individual songs as many times as you like, or switch between playlists with a touch of a button. Simply insert a slotRadio™ card into the slotRadio player and enjoy music in an instant. It’s great music made effortless.

This is really a great little MP3 player for just about anyone with some really great features.  You can listen to your favorite radio stations, pop in a pre-loaded slot radio card with all your favorites, or add you own song line up.  You can even watch a video.  It would make a perfect gift, or stocking stuffer.

“I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of SanDisk and received the SanDisk Sansa Fuze+ and VH1 slotRadio Card to facilitate my review.”

Bing Our School Needs Contest Voting Phase!

Education is one of the biggest and most important things that we can give our children so that they can be successful in their life.  It is the best gift that we give our children in hopes that they can flourish as individuals.

Bing is showing its commitment to education by helping teachers and students by providing them with the financial support needed to ensure their success in learning.  Bing will be giving away up to $1.1 million dollars through its Our School Needs contest.  In a bid to win $100,000 for their school, parents, students, and teachers around the country have been sending in essays, photos and videos to Bing to tell them what their school needs. The entry with the most votes wins $100k, and 3 others will each win $50k. The voting phase starts Friday, October 29 and runs through Sunday, November 7. America will be asked to vote on the 15 Our School Needs finalists as determined by the panel of judges. The winners will be announced Tuesday, November 9.  Be one of the first 30,000 to vote for your favorite finalists each day and receive a $3 donation code to redeem for the classroom project of your choice!
This hits so close to home, so do know that your votes matter!  I used to be an early development teacher and there were so many budget cuts that I found myself dipping into my own pocket to get the kids the books and material they needed for successful development.  There are so many great teachers, and sometimes there just aren’t enough resources.  In the schools near me, teachers and parents have set up classroom donation lists where parents bring in two of a particular item so their is a surplus of much needed supplies.

When I watched some of the videos and read some of the stories, all of them touched me in some way.  But Bear River Charter School, a K – 8 school in Logan, spoke to me because of the importance of books in my own children’s lives that I found getting them a new library is something that is like winning a million dollars.  Up to date books in every subject is great for little imaginations, and children who read are smarter, have better language skills and go far in their education.

If you want to help our schools out, casting your vote for a school in need is a wonderful start.  You never know the young minds you are helping to shape (maybe the next president or the one who finds the cure for cancer) just by clicking a button.

“I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Bing and received a gift card and DonorsChoose.org giving code to thank me for taking the time to participate.”

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