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Entries in Review (298)

Wednesday
Feb172010

I'm the Featured Blogger at Simply Stacie!

Stacie over at Simply Stacie features review bloggers to spread some love in the blogosphere.  Today it is me!!  Stacie lives in Canada (eh!) and has built her blog to the point where she has her own product review team.  She's always posting new reviews and giveaways often of unique products for small businesses.  Now head on over, read about me (hee hee), and then spend some time checking out Stacie's blog too.

Sunday
Nov292009

Tropical Traditions Tea Tree Organic Liquid Soap Giveaway


Here I am bringing you another great product giveaway from Tropical Traditions.

This time it is their Natural Liquid Soap.
Tropical Traditions soaps are made with Organic Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil as their base, and the scented varieties use only high-quality organic essential oils. Ingredients: saponified organic virgin coconut oil. Scented varieties: organic essential oils of tea tree and lavender.
The Tropical Traditions Liquid Soap has an easy to use foam pump, and is useful in both the bathroom and the kitchen.
The foam pump adds air to the soap, causing a rich lather of foam to come out.  This makes it simple for even the littlest ones to wash their hands, no worrying whether they are lathering the soap up on their hands or not.

Tea Tree oil has a unique scent to it.  I would describe it as almost medicinal.  If you haven't used Tea Tree oil before, you will likely notice the lingering scent for a while until your nose becomes accustomed to it.

The Liquid Foam soaps come in a 8oz dispensers,they cost between  $7.50-$9.50 retail.  If you can't wait and see if youwin the giveaway and really want to try this, if you order and enter my referral code 5414915, you can receive a free copy of the book Virgin Coconut Oil, How it has changed people’s lives and how it can change yours! by Brian & Marianita Jader Shilhav.  Even better Tropical Traditions provides excellent customer service and you can reach them here with any questions.

Tropical Traditions is giving a Tea Tree Liquid Soap to one of my readers.

To enter, please take a look at the Tropical Traditions product line and tell me what interests you the most.

For extra entries (the above must be completed first to be eligible for extra entries):

  • subscribe to Tropical Traditions' newsletter - you'll know all about their specials and promotions
  • check out the free coconut recipes and tell me which one you'd like to try;
  • follow me on twitter and Tropical Traditions and  tweet about this giveaway – you can do this once a day, feel free to copy and paste: "Win a Tropical Traditions natural liquid soap at http://bit.ly/4WUfC3 #organic #giveaway ends 12/13 @troptraditions @threedifferent";
  • become a fan of Tropical Traditions on Facebook
  • become a fan of Three Different Directions on Facebook
Open to US and Canadian residents, ages 18+, ends December 13, 2009 at 11:59 pm cst.Winner will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.Email must be in comment or available in profile. By entering thisgiveaway you are stating that you have read my **About Reviews and my Privacy/Rules statements and agree to them.

I received a complimentary bottle of Liquid Soap from Tropical Traditions for the purpose of this post.

Sunday
Nov292009

Build-A-Star-Wars-Bear at Build-A-Bear Workshop!


I don't think it matters how old the kids get, there is something magical about building your own teddy bear.

Each year our local Girl Scout council takes a trip to the Mall of America with girls ranging from 6th to 12th grade (and their Moms!).  We live in a pretty small city, and don't have a lot of the stores and shops that bigger cities do.

One of the things the girls are all eager to do is make a visit to Build-A-Bear Workshop in the M.O.A..  They will line up and wait, just to make their teddies, monkeys, kitties, etc., as a memory of their weekend at the mall and to add to their collection.
The great thing about Build-A-Bear is that you can order online too, so if you don't have a Workshop near you, the classic and new models are still available to you, as well as all the fun accessories to deck your stuffed ones out!



This season Build-A-Bear Workshop has a group of bears that will delight the youngest to the oldest Star Wars fan!  The group is all here; Darth Vader Dimples Teddy (who is not nearly as scary masqueraded as a teddy!), Anakin Skywalker Read Teddy, Clone Captain Pawsome Panda and Jedi Knight Champ-A Champion Fur Kids.  These lightsaber wielding bears start at $37.00 and would be a keepsake for years to come.

We received the Darth Vader Dimples Teddy, and he comes housed in the classic Build-A-Bear Workshop house.  As is the case with all the Build-A-Bear stuffies, he is well constructed and is a quality toy.  While we didn't get a chance to make him ourselves, Build-A-Bear online,has so many offerings, choosing a unique and special gift for your recipient, shows just as much love as if you or they made it at a Workshop.  This toy will be cuddled a lot, and proudly displayed for a long time.

Already have a bear and just want to purchase some accessories?  All of the Star Wars outfits can be bought for an existing teddy for $15.00 each.  I personally think it would be cool to have an Anakin outfit for Dimples as well, so we could act out the before and after scene with the Darth Vader outfit, how fun would that be?!

Until December 16th, Build-A-Bear.com is offering Free Shipping on a purchase of $35 or more using the code 94590 at checkout.

If Star Wars isn't your thing, you may want to check out their Christmas selection of stuffies, ranging from puppies as elves to Frosty the Snowman.

Visit Santa's Build-A-Bear Workshop online to join the fun!

I received a complimentary Darth Vader Dimples Teddy from Build-A-Bear Workshop for the purpose of this post.

Saturday
Nov282009

The Gold Coast & The Gate House Giveaway

One of the great things about Hachette Book Group's involvement with blogs, is that I get a chance to introduce readers and myself to previously unread authors.

Nelson DeMille is one of those authors for me.

One of the latest HBG giveaways is the trade paperback of The Gate House.  If you are unfamiliar with that book (as I was) it is actually a sequel to DeMille's The Gold Coast, which I also had never read.

I had asked to also do a review on The Gold Coast and the kind people at HBG were willing to let me do that.

The Gold Coast refers to the very upper crust section of Long Island (you know the place of multi-million dollar estates, guest homes and gate houses).  So it's no surprise that an interesting storyline was penned by DeMille when he has a Mafia don purchasing the estate next to blue blooded John and Susan Sutter.
John, a tax attorney, through some IRS troubles of his own, trades in numbers to take on the duties of criminal lawyer for his neighbor.

According to statements made about the book from when it was first published, the novel is a mix of "The Godfather and The Great Gatsby" type tales.


Simply put this story combines action, emotion and humor and leaves you wishing it had not ended.  So it's a good thing DeMille followed up with The Gate House.

From School Library Journal

In this long-awaited but ponderous sequel to The Gold Coast (1990), it is ten years later, and John Sutter has returned for the funeral of a woman who isn't dead yet. He's also looking to restart his life and possibly hook up with his ex-wife, Susan, who'd had an affair with a local Mafia don she later killed. Confounding the problem is the don's son, who has taken over the family business and wants vengeance against both John and Susan. While there are interesting characters, and Sutter's first-person observations are clever, it takes forever for the action to get going. Even an exciting climax doesn't help. DeMille has developed a reputation for fast-paced action thrillers, and this is neither. His name will guarantee a level of success, and those patrons who enjoyed reading about the lives of the rich and decadent in The Gold Coast will enjoy this sequel.
 I'm looking forward to reading this sequel.

Due to some overlapping e-mails, I find myself with 1 copy of The Gold Coast as well as 3 copies of The Gate House to giveaway.

To enter the giveaway leave a comment letting me know which one you would like to receive or whether you would like either one.

For extra entries you can: (the above must be done first or you will not be eligible for extra entries)

1. Blog about this giveaway. Leave a separate comment with a link to your post.
2. Subscribe to my rss feed.
3. Follow me on Blogger.
4. Tweet this post on Twitter. Leave a comment with the link to your tweet.
5. Stumble, digg, or facebook this post. Leave a separate comment with your id or the link.

Open to US and Canadian residents, ages 18+, ends December 12, 2009 at 11:59 pm cst. Winner will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. Email must be in comment or available in profile. By entering this giveaway you are stating that you have read my **About Reviews and my Privacy/Rules statements and agree to them.

I received a complimentary ebook copy of The Gold Coast to review from Hachette Book Group for the purpose of this post.


CymLowell

Friday
Nov272009

Overnight Prints Self Inking Stamp Giveaway


Living away from both of our families, I tend to send a lot of Christmas cards out.  Addressing the envelopes is not my favorite part .  

I have fairly large handwriting and trying to get the return address to look nice in the left hand corner is a chore.  I know, I know I could use the abundance of free labels I get from all of the charities that solicit donations from me, but generally I don't like the pictures on those.  I could make my own I suppose, but I'm too lazy.

I have always wanted a self inking stamp for my return address, and recently got one from Overnight Prints.  This has to be the handiest way to get your return address on multiple pieces of mail quickly.
 This is what it looks like (I took out our address from the image).   The green border is from their design system so you can be sure that what you want on your stamp is shown.





It stamps up great, each time I use it.

I will note that the label was put on it the wrong way (I have to have the label facing away from me in order to have the stamp come out right, which may be the way they are made, but that seems counter intuitive to me), and the hyphen between my zip code and the 4 number extension didn't get placed on the stamp.  So it looks like this 12345 6789 instead of like this 12345-6789.  

Overnight Prints sells all kinds of products for your business and home.  Business Cards, Postcard Printing, Magnets, Self Inking Stamps, and so much more.  The prices are very reasonable too.

Overnight Prints is giving a self inking stamp to one Three Different Directions reader.  (Shipping is not included in this giveaway, you will have to cover the shipping expenses yourself)

To enter visit Overnight Prints and click on the Advanced Designer and leave a comment telling me which icon you would use on your stamp.

For extra entries (the above must be done first to be eligible for extra entries)

1. Tell me another product you'd be interested in at Overnight Prints.
2. Follow Overnight Prints on Twitter and tweet this giveaway .(this can be done daily)

The cost of shipping the self inking stamp to you is not included in this giveaway, you will have to pay for the shipping expenses on your own.  Open to US residents, ages 18+, ends December 11, 2009 at 11:59 pm cst. Winner will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. Email must be in comment or available in profile. By entering this giveaway you are stating that you have read my **About Reviews and my Privacy/Rules statements and agree to them.

I received a complimentary self inking stamp for the purpose of this post.

Friday
Nov272009

Vitamins + Delicious = Vitalicious

I love to eat.  And I can eat. A lot.  This 4'9" less than 100lb body, can eat her Hubby's 6 foot frame, plate for plate.  Actually I could probably beat him and eat one more!

Of course the love of food comes at a price, and on a 4'9" person it doesn't take much to make those extra pounds noticeable.

7 years ago, I realized I was heading down an unhealthy slope and began the Weight Watchers program.  I lost 30lbs and have kept it off.

It isn't always easy but companies like Vitalicious sure do help!

Vitalicious makes all natural, high fiber products.  They are very low in fat (most of them are fat free), and they are chocked full of vitamins too.

A quick, nutritious (you'd get 100% of many essential vitamins), and yes tasty breakfast, is two Vitatops.  At 100 calories a piece and a whopping amount of fiber, you'll stay full until lunch and for only 3 WW points!

From their website:

Vitalicious® Inc. is the market leader of innovative "vitaland delicious" baked goods that promote a healthy lifestyle, withoutsacrificing taste. First to market with 100-calorie servings, Vitalicious® is leading the way to a holistic approach tomaximize satisfaction with minimum calories, with products that are lowfat and high in fiber and nutrients.Vitalicious® has created a unique triangle ofneed-satisfaction (All-Natural ingredients + Nutraceuticals + WeightManagement), the only baked-goods company in this niche. Founded in1999, Vitalicious® creates and sells a variety of unique, healthy, value-added baked goods under theVitaMuffin™, VitaTop™, VitaBrownie™, VitaCake™, and VitaMuffin Mix™ trademarks.Vitalicious® products are now sold at stores nationwide and at www.vitalicious.com (www.vitalicious.ca for Canadian Residents). Here at Vitalicious® our mission is simple: to make healthy and delicious baked goods that are fortified with essential vitamins and minerals.
Vitalicious products contain no preservatives, so assuming you aren't going to eat them all at once, you do need to freeze them or they will spoil.

Vitalicious is a healthy food that you don't notice a flat taste in.  I personally found the bran VitaTops with fruit the tastiest of all the samples I tried.  The fruit pieces are really big .  All of the varieties I received were moist even after being in the freezer.

It works really well to take them straight from the freezer to microwave too, if you don't have time to thaw them regularly.

I did like the fruit/bran VitaTops best, but to indulge the sweet tooth you cannot go wrong with the chocolate varieties or the brownies (no joke, they sell healthy brownies!).  

You can buy Vitalicious products in some grocery stores, to see if a store in your area carries them visit their store locator.   Otherwise you can purchase them online. 

I was sent complimentary samples of Vitalicious products at no cost to myself for the purpose of this post. 

Thursday
Nov262009

Michael Season's Review & Giveaway

I am fortunate to not have any food allergies in my family.

We have many friends though that do, and it is always a challenge to find snacks that everyone can enjoy, so that no one person feels singled out.

I hate having to stand in the grocery store reading labels to find an appropriate snack, I truly feel for people that need to do this on a regular basis.

For those families that don't eat gluten as part of their diets, Michael Season's is a good way to snack.  The gluten-free and wheat-free snacks come in chips, crisps, puffs and curls.  All natural ingredients are used to make their products.
I got to try four varieties of Michael Season's Baked Single-Serve 100 Calorie snacks.  My favorite was the Cheddar Cheese Curls.  They had a great "mac and cheese" type flavor to them, and the same crunch as the full fat kinds.  The Cheese Puffs were similar in flavor, so may suit those who don't want as much crunch when they're snacking.

I was somewhat surprised when eating the Multigrain Chips, I was expecting more of a crispier texture, when actually they are more like eating a "puffcorn".

The Barbeque Potato Chips had a nice crispness to them, without the oily nature of non-baked potato chips.

Until December 31, 2009, you can save 50% off a 24 count case by using the code nsbakedss at www.seasonssnacks.com.

You can win a  lunch tote and four single serving bags of Michael Season's snacks right here on Three Different Directions.



To enter visit Michael Season's, then come back here and tell me what flavor you would like to try!

For extra entries you can: (the above must be done first to be eligible for extra entries)

1. Subscribe to my feed.
2. Follow me on Twitter and Tweet this "@threedifferent is giving away Michael Season's snacks find it at http://bit.ly/5kAmAX"
3. Get 2 extra entries if you blog about this giveaway and link back to my blog.

Thisgiveaway will end on December 10, 2009 at 11:59 pm cst and open to U.S.Residents ages 18+. The winner will be chosen by random.org and will bee-mailed. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the e-mail or analternate winner will be chosen. By entering this giveaway you arestating that you have read my **About Reviews and Privacy/Rules declaration and agree to them.

This review post is solely my opinion. Your experience with the product may be different than mine. Natural Snacks, LLC provided me with  products to test at no cost to myself.

Tuesday
Nov242009

Ultimate Cloth Review & Giveaway

When I clean I generally use microfiber towels. I have ones about the size of a hand towel (but square) and use them for virtually every cleaning task in my home.

I recently had the chance to try the Ultimate Cloth in my home. It cleans all hard surfaces including, glass, granite, steel, painted surfaces etc), and all you need to use it with is....water.

Ultimate Cloth is made from MiraFiber™ Technology, which has open spaces between fibers that act as millions of tiny 'scoops' that pull dust, dirt, oil & other contaminants into the cloth and hold them until washed away with mild soap or detergent. (Can also be bleached for disinfection.)


There is vey little besides water I can use on my countertops in my kitchen, since the granite is not sealed. I can use a mild dish soap, but typically use only water to clean them. The deal is, even with my current microfiber cloths, I have to buff them dry, otherwise I will get waterspots.

Ultimate Cloth really did leave clean, streak free countertops in my kitchen, using only the cloth and water. I didn't have to dry the counters after cleaning them.

I like the fact that it is reusable. Just toss in the washer (if washing with a load, make sure the other items in the machine are lint free), and air dry.

The other cleaning chore that this cloth is awesome for is mirrors. I don't know about your home, but in mine, I often wonder what my Hubby and daughter do in the bathroom, when they brush their teeth. I can not in my wildest imagination even dream of how they get toothpaste where they do on the mirror. It's like they shimmy up as close as they can, and open as wide as possible and then brush, all the while splattering the mirror as they clean their teeth.

Amazingly enough, with just water, Ulitmate Cloth, wins the mirror war. Wow. I just wet it, made sure it was wrung out well, and then cleaned the mirrors. There was no streaking at all, and I didn't need to go over any of it. It was so quick, which in my books is fantastic.

Ultimate Cloth is available to purchase online starting at $6.00 a cloth. But the more you buy the more you save, and I'm pretty sure if you decide to purchase these, you'll want more than one.

Ultimate Cloth America has sponsored a giveaway for one of my readers to win one cloth.

To enter visit http://www.ultimateclothamerica.com/ and tell me what you would use your Ultimate Cloth for.

For extra entries (the above must be done first to be eligible for extra entries) you can:
* Become a Fan of Ultimate Cloth America on Facebook
* Subscribe to Three Different Directions
* Follow me on Blogger
* Become a fan of Three Different Directions on Facebook
* Follow me on Twitter and Tweet about this contest: RT @threedifferent New Review & Giveaway: The Ultimate Cloth at http://bit.ly/4ELiKK (this can be done daily)
* Leave a relevant comment on a non-giveaway post and let me know which post you commented on. (2 entries, does not apply to previous comments made)

This giveaway will end on December 8, 2009 at 11:59 pm cst and open to U.S. Residents ages 18+. The winner will be chosen by random.org and will be e-mailed. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the e-mail or an alternate winner will be chosen. By entering this giveaway you are stating that you have read my **About Reviews and Privacy/Rules declarations and agree to them.

I received a complimentary Ultimate Cloth prior to writing this post.

Monday
Nov232009

Miss Trimble's Trapdoor

A magic trapdoor that lets a student visit any time in history, makes learning US history fun!


Tyler Thompson may remind you of a child in your life.  A little distracted, not extremely popular, but wanting to do his best despite his self image.  A scraggly mutt is the least likely character you'd expect to help Tyler learn and remember US history, but Barnabas Bailey, who hangs out under the magical trapdoor in Miss Trimble's classroom, is indeed the teacher here.

The new book series, Miss Trimble's Trapdoor by Lori Jordan-Rice, is intended to help students learn basic US history and provide a positive message along with it.
The first book in the series Miss Trimble's Trapdoor, lays out the characters, setting and a brief introduction to the rest of the books to follow.

The second book is, Miss Trimble's Trapdoor: The Perseverance of Christopher Columbus.

This book really explains the life of Chirstpoher Columbus and his journeys in an engaging way, as well as showing perseverance as a character quality for living, while tying it back to Christopher Columbus and his life.

The books are stated to be for an audience of ages 9 -12, but I think that advanced readers as young as 6 could easily read these books.

If you're looking for a way to get your children or students more interested in basic US history, these books might be just what you're looking for.  Short chapters, large print and pictures help to make history come alive.  You can find out more about them at http://www.misstrimblestrapdoor.com/.


Sunday
Nov222009

The Ghosts of Lone Jack Review


THE GHOSTS OF LONE JACK
by Lance Lee Noel

Jared Millhouse and his dad plan to spend an uneventful summer on his grandfather's farm in Lone Jack, Missouri. Then Jared runs into the ghost of a Civil War innkeeper and wonders if he's lost his mind. With the help of his grandfather--and some local characters--Jared and the Crossroads Gang uncover the truth about the Civil War battle that trapped so many bloodthirsty ghosts in Lone Jack. They even recruit a pair of eccentric ghost hunters to help. When it comes to facing down the local bully, dodging the power-crazy sheriff, or escaping convicts, Jared can count on his friends. Together, they face haunted baseball diamonds, embattled cornfields and abandoned mines. But when Confederate and Union ghouls line up on the battlefield, the entire town relives the gruesome Battle of Lone Jack, as it was fought in 1862. Then only Jared can save the town from its ghosts.

I really like the idea of fiction books teaching history. This book centers around the battle that took place in Lone Jack during the Civil War, and some of the more noted soldiers who served.

But as a parent I have a hard time recommending this book. I let my 13 year old read it prior to myself picking it up, and I likely would not have let her read it, had I read it first.

The fantasy often borders on the edge of gruesome, the group of 10 year old protaganists are rude and disrespectful and likewise many of the adults portrayed in the book.  Perhaps the talk that occurs really happens in a small town like that of Lone Jack, but I hope not, because that would be a poor reflection on that portion of American society.

As a home educator, I have equal hesitancy to recommend the book, as the editing is poorly done. The pages are riddled with spelling errors and when the characters are speaking in local dialect type speech, it doesn't seem to be consistent.

That being said, my daughter loved it. Since she is a reluctant reader that says a lot about the story line and the way it flowed to a certain audience. When asked, she even said she learned a bit about the events of the Civil War, and that she found those portions of the book interesting!

I personally won't be adding this to a "must read" book list for personal or teaching purposes, but it won't surprise me to find my daughter passing this title on to her friends.

The Ghosts of Lone Jack is available at Amazon.com for $11.16 at the time of this published post.

I received a complimentary copy of The Ghosts of Lone Jack to review for the purpose of this post.

Saturday
Nov212009

T P Kitchen Jam Giveaway - Natural Homemade Jam

Back in February when I was still getting my feet wet doing reviews, I had the wonderful privilege to review and host a giveaway of some jam from The Jam Lady (also known as Pat) from T P Kitchen.

The organic blackberry jam that I got to try was so tasty, I mean you could really taste the berries, probably because you could see the berries, so you knew they were in there lol!  The berries in the jams are all organic and the jams are all home made one batch at a time.  You know that a lot of care goes into the making of these products, which in turn is reflected in their taste.

There is so much you can do with T P Kitchen jams besides the obvious breakfast toast spread.  Use them as ice cream toppings, pair some of the flavors up with cheese and crackers, english muffins, how about blueberry jam on blueberry scones?  I'm sure when you see the abundance of flavors Pat offers up in her online store, you could think of a bunch of other pairings too.
This time around The Jam Lady is sponsoring a gift basket with 5 different Oregon Berry Jams.  Each jar is about 1 1/2 oz each.  The flavors include Blackberry, Huckleberry, Cranberry, Blueberry and Marionberry.



The blackberries and huckleberries are picked from the coastal hills of southern Oregon, and the blueberries come from a local organic grower.  Those little berries can pack a bunch of sweetness in them, sometimes Pat has to make the batches of her blueberry jam as no sugar ones because of that!

How about some homemade cranberry jam for the holidays.  You know they grow cranberries sweeter out west, that's because they don't have to harvest them as soon.  Again, here is where the quality of T P Kitchen jams show, only fresh cranberries are used, never frozen.

And in case you were wondering what exactly a marionberry is...its a cross between a blackberry and an Owalla berry (and if you don't know what an Owalla berry is...that's what wikipedia is for!).  It doesn't have as intense a flavor as a blackberry, and the marionberry jam is a favorite choice of many who purchase T P Kitchen jams.

This basket is a fabulous way to taste a variety of the many flavors T P Kitchen has to offer.  Jams are a great gift to give at the holidays as thank yous, hospitality gifts, for foodies, for those who like handmade items, and there are always people who prefer consumable gifts to knick knacks, who knows you might start someone on a Jam Lady addiction!

One winner will receive the Oregon Berry Jam gift basket thanks to The Jam Lady.

To enter this giveaway visit T P Kitchen and choose another product, besides those mentioned in this post, that you would like to try. 

Extra Entries: Leave a separate comment for each additional entry. (the above must be done to be eligible for extra entries)

1. Follow me on twitter and tweet about this giveaway. (This can be done daily)
2. Become a follower of Three Different Directions on Blogger.
3. Subscribe to Three Different Directions RSS Feed
4. Blog about this giveaway and link back to this post (leave your post link)
5. Grab my button and put it on your blog (leave the link to where it can be found)

Open to US residents, ages 18+, ends December 5, 2009 at 11:59 pm cst. Winner will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. Email must be in comment or available in profile. By entering this giveaway you are stating that you have read my **About Reviews and my Privacy/Rules statements and agree to them.

I received no compensation for hosting or promoting this giveaway.

Saturday
Nov212009

Boiron for Children - World Leader in Homeopathy

I'm sure you have noticed by now the cold and flu season having kicked in.  If it has passed by your home this month, feel fortunate!  I thought we were going to get through November unscathed by illness, and then this past Monday morning, I woke up with a most painful sinus cold.  Ick!

I don't know what kind of options you've chosen to use when you and your family get sick, but myself personally, I don't like to shove a lot of drugs in my body, for a couple of reasons.  One is that I already take enough meds for other ongoing medical problems, and the second is because a lot of over the counter drugs make me feel lethargic and sleepy.

Being only 4'9" and under a hundred pounds, my body size is more like a child than an adult so I tend to look to children's products first when needing some relief from cold and flu symptoms.

Lucky for me, I had been sent some Boiron products for children in the mail last month, that up until now had no reason to use for either myself or Amber.  With a full blown sinus cold and headache, I was ready to start popping anything like candy!

I received three products from their Boiron's children's line to try out the Oscillococcinum (yeah say that three times real fast!), the Coldcalm and the Chestal


I decided what I needed to try for my symptoms was the Oscillococcinum.  It is actually for flu-like symptoms like feeling run down (oh I felt like a freight train hit me!), body aches (well my head is part of my body right?), chills and fever. 

Easy to take, the Oscillococcinum comes in a tube, you twist the cap to remove, and have your child dissolve the entire contents in their mouth.  Really similar to eating a pixy stik and seriously as tasty too!

Homeopathic treatments are great for these reasons

* do not contain any of the ingredients under question for use in children
* have no known side effects (not even drowsiness or jitteriness in children)
* don’t interact with other medication
* don’t mask symptoms (allowing doctors and patients to easily detect and respond to symptoms of serious illnesses should they arise)
* are not body-mass dependent (so there’s no need to give more or less medicine depending on body weight), and
* have no risk of overdose

If you are looking to have some products in your home that fit the above, and are ready to help fight the cold and flu in your home, check out http://children.boironusa.com to learn more about them, as well as find a retailer in your area.  You can also download a coupon off their website to help you save money on your purchase.

I received a set of Children's Boiron products at no cost to myself prior to writing this post.

Friday
Nov202009

The Big Brain Puzzle Book | Review and Giveaway


In 1983, November was recognized as National Alzheimer's Disease Awareness month.

As you get older, you may notice a decline in your mental faculties, and that can be because of changed connections among cells in your brain.

Just like exercise keeps the muscles in your body healthy, keeping your brain active seems to help with function and maybe even generate new brain cells.

Crosswords and other puzzles are a great way to keep your brain active and so the Alzheimer's Association presents The Big Brain Puzzle Book with over 200 puzzles from Terry Stickels.

Three levels of puzzles are within this book.  they range from basic reasoning to higher level math equations.

Both Hubby and Amber are abstract thinkers.  Give them a problem, and they will likely find an answer (or two) to solve it.

The Big Brain Puzzle Book is perfect for them to work at together.  There are so many differnt varieties of puzzles, that they use thier individual strenths to solve them together.

These puzzles will definitely make you think too.  Even the level one puzzles will put your brain through the "think tank" so to speak.  I'm pretty sure I generated a whole year's worth of brain cells working on the puzzles just on the first three pages!

This would make a great gift for the intellect on your list, or really anyone who wants to keep their brain in shape.

The Big Brain Puzzle Book is available at Amazon.com for (as of this post being published) $8.63.  You can even take a peek a some of the puzzles inside the covers.

I have one copy of The Big Brain Puzzle Book to giveaway.

To enter tell me in the comments what kind of puzzles you enjoy doing.

For extra entries you can (the above must be done first to be eligible for extra entries):

1. Subscribe to my feed.
2. Follow me on Twitter and Tweet this "@threedifferent is giving away The Big Brain Puzzle Book find it at http://bit.ly/34WCTa"
3. Get 2 extra entries if you blog about this giveaway and link back to my blog.

This giveaway will end on December 4, 2009 at 11:59 pm cst and open to U.S. Residents ages 18+. The winner will be chosen by random.org and will be e-mailed. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the e-mail or an alternate winner will be chosen. By entering this giveaway you are stating that you have read my **About Reviews and Privacy/Rules declaration and agree to them.

I received a complimentary copy of The Big Brain Puzzle Book prior to writing this post.

Friday
Nov202009

Sweet & Sassy Gifts for the Tweens & Teens

Here are a couple of gift ideas that are sure to please the tweens and teens that you need to buy for this year.

Yum Drives are a perfect stocking stuffer, or an easy and light mailable gift.

These Jazwares products come in all the "flavors" the kids (okay grown ups too!) like best.  Hershey's Milk Chocolate,

Krackel, Mr. Goodbar, Twizzlers and Bubble Yum.

Available in 1 GB and 2 GB models, there is plenty of room for the kids to store their homework photos, music and other digital files on.

I think the Bubble Yum branded one would make an extraordinary "sweet" gift for those wearing braces, who are otherwise banned from chewing gum!

I received the Hersheys one to review.  I opened it up and placed it in front of Hubby's PC.  He is a chocoholic and tends to inhale any type of chocolate within his reach.  It was quite funny to watch him think it was an actual Hersheys Miniature and thanked me for getting him a chocolate for a snack .

Depending on the storage size Jazwares Yum Drives retail between $14.99 to $29.99.

The sassy part of this review comes to you via Hasbro's I-Dog Amp'd

This guy is "awesome sauce" or whatever those youngsters are saying these days (I'm sure my phrase is so last week). 

Plug him into the MP3 player and watch him go.  A written description really won't do, so here's a video of Amber showing off her new "pet".


I-Dog Amp'd is available at retailers nationwide and has an arv of about $34.99.

I received both the Jazware Hershey's Chocolate Yum Drive and the I-Dog Amp'd at no cost to myself prior to writing this post.

Thursday
Nov192009

Skin MD Natural Review & Giveaway


I originally posted this review in January of this year.  I am re-posting it for this winter season and because Skin MD also would like one of my readers to experience this lotion as well.

I have often encountered difficulties with my skin. Living in a place that has a harsher winter climate attributes to some of that. A few years ago I was diagnosed with Dyshidrotic Eczema. I have tried so many different prescription and over the counter lotions and medications to relieve the symptoms of this. Some work with varying degrees, and for certain amounts of time, but I have never found one that I can use all the time.

I had the opportunity to try Skin MD Natural, and jumped on the chance. Because of the eczema and the fact that I have not found anything to use on it for the long haul, if you look under my sink, you will find scores of different lotions!
This natural skin care lotion arrived in my home last week, and I have been using it twice a day, every day since I received it.

The lotion is a bit thinner and seems waterier than most that you might be used to, and I was worried that it would require a lot of rubbing to be absorbed by my skin. That was a needless worry though, Skin MD Natural absorbs quickly and leaves your skin silky smooth after applying. It also is fragrance free. And it really is. I've been trying to smell something after I put it on. Many "fragrance free" products that I have used, still have a little bit of an odor to them. Not this one, it really truly is fragrance free.

I think I've found a keeper! One of the reasons I think it will be very effective on the type of eczema I have is because Skin MD Natural is actually a Shielding Lotion. This means, that it keeps irritants out and moisture in. Most lotions try and "add" moisture to your skin by using glycerin. Not so with Skin MD Natural . With Water and Aloe Vera being the top two ingredients in the product, you can see that it will be effective in moisturizing and have healing protection for your skin.

A 4 oz bottle has a retail price of $18.00 (it also comes in a variety that offers spf 15 protection). That might seem like a lot of money, but a little goes a long way. If you use it daily this will last you at least a month, probably longer. It's comparable to buying a large bottle of scented product at a large bath chain store, simply because you will use less to moisturize and hydrate, and it is actually better for your skin. For myself it is a good investment, when I think of all the money I have spent on prescriptions, and lotions that just have not worked.

Please take the time to visit their website. I'm sure that you will be amazed at how this product works to give you healthy skin. There is so much more to this lotion than what I have said about it, and they truly can explain it better than I.

Even better, it's made in the U.S.A. In these struggling economic times, I always like to support American companies when I buy something too. They have a function to find a store near you that sells it (and I'm sure most of you will find a store, since there is even one where I live, and I live in the middle of nowhere!)

Be kind to your skin in 2009!

Buy it: You can purchase Skin MD Natural Shielding Lotion on their website for $18.00 & $25.00 for the lotion with SPF 15.

Skin MD Natural is giving one of my readers their own bottle of Shielding Lotion!

To enter leave a comment telling me who in your family will benefit from Skin MD Natural Shielding Lotion.

You must do the above in order to be eligible for extra entries.
.
Please leave your email address in your comment if it is not visible in your profile.

Extra Entries! You may do any or all of the following, leave a separate comment for each.

    * For two extra entries - Blog about this giveaway with a link to my blog (http://www.threedifferentdirections.com) and Skin MD Natural (http://www.skinmdnatural.com)
    * Follow my blog
    * Add my button to your blog
    * Subscribe to my blog
    * Follow me on Twitter and tweet the following: "WIN! Skin MD Natural Shielding Lotion at Three Different Directions @threedifferent http://bit.ly/YIKMQ" Leave the link to your tweet in your comment. You can do this daily!

This giveaway will end on December 3, 2009 at 11:59 pm cst and open to U.S. Residents ages 18+.  The winner will be chosen by random.org and will be e-mailed. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the e-mail or an alternate winner will be chosen. By entering this giveaway you are stating that you have read my **About Reviews and Privacy/Rules declarations and agree to them.

The original review post was written after receiving a bottle of Skin MD free of charge.  I received no monetary compensation for writing this post and all views and opinions are mine.