I’m participating in my friend Chrys’ Scavenger hunt. See this pretty flower? Good! Leave a comment here and then head on over to Chrysanthemoms to find the rest of them. Great way to blog hop and win prizes too.
Details about what you have to do to be entered is at Chrysanthemoms site.
Some gadgets are small and some are big. Really big. Look what I scored for Mother’s Day.
It’s an elliptical! Yeah, I know, I know - stuff like these will likely end up being clothes hangers before long… but maybe not. This time, I have it inside my office. Mocking me during my long work hours. I’ll be the winner this time. Heck, I better be since I’ve not publicly challenged myself here 
Here’s more about this baby. It is a ProForm 880s. It has a 8 different workout settings, a heart rate monitor, fan and also able to plug into iFit.com for more work outs. Don’t know how this works yet, but think you hook up the CD to it.
This thing has a remarkably smooth stride. Lovely to work out on. There is a little trouble with the console since the original owner left the batteries in too long and now one of the springs broke but ever handy hubs fixed it. Still acting a bit odd though but at least it turns on. We’ll eventually get a power supply for it and that should take care of the odd heart beat rating readings.
So the savings? About $490 including the gas we used going to get it. The machine was originally $600 and we bought it for $100. Spent about $10 in gas. Yes. I bought it myself but hey, who says I can’t buy what I want for myself for Mother’s day?
Since receiving our Senseo, I’ve surely been getting more yummy freshly brewed coffee thank before. The best thing I like about it is, no more burnt coffee! Oh how I hated washing coffee pots.
The only trouble is, these pods are not exactly economical. Penny pincher and geek that I am, I could not stand that. So when my friend Annette put into my head the thought of making my own pods I decided to do just that.
Start the video to see how I do it. It only takes me less than a minute - the video is longer because I was trying to demonstrate and move slower. Also, I used 8 cup filters because I still have like 400 of them around. Waste not want not. You might not need to cut them if you use smaller sized filters.
Also another thing to note in the video, I used two tablespoons which is equivalent to two pods. If you only use one pod, one tablespoon of coffee is good or you won’t be able to fit it into the holder.
Enjoy!
Oh my I so want one of these. I am no longer a student nor do I attend a lot of conferences or meetings. But still can think of several ways to use this thing. What does it do?
The LiveScribe is a pen with a tiny camera and audio recorder built in. It will record everything you hear while you are writing on a special paper. It’ll also digitize and store your notes.
The super best part is, you can print your own special paper. Which means you aren’t forced into buying awfully expensive note paper. But that is just the tip of the iceberg. You can replay the audio and jump right to the part what corresponds to your notes.
It is quite difficult to explain this thing on text. The first time I read about it, I didn’t quite understand what the big deal was. After all, how much more revolutionary can it get than regular note paper and a low cost audio recorder? But this is quite amazing. You must check out the videos on the LiveScribe site to see what it can do.
Let’s come back to using this. I do listen to a number of audio teleseminars recorded and live. But like school, there’s always a disconnect between my notes and what I’m actually listening to. This would be awesome to ‘take you back to the right spot’.
Since you can also upload it and share your notes either in PDF format or live animated/video type, I’m wondering if this might be a good solution when brainstorming. Then I can verbalize my thoughts or even instructions for my assistants then they can review it and act on them. Thinking this can also be a fantastic way to hand over this to a transcriptionist. Dunno just brainstorming 
The LiveScribe is on pre-order, 1GB for $149 and 2GB for $199 not bad pricing. If you have a college kid, this might just be a great gift.
This is one of those things they don’t tell ya when you become a parent. Who knew washing the kids’ hair can make me want to pull out my own hair. It’s so much easier when they were babies.
How do you wash your kiddos’ hair without getting drenched?
When I saw this Shampoo Rinse Cup at Walmart for just a few bucks I thought we’d give it a try. The verdict, it does work, but you’ve got to ‘work at it’. I think the idea is good but the design can be improved upon.
It is easier for older kids because they know they should tilt their head back and they don’t have a big problem with that. But with 3-4 year olds or younger… not sure you noticed or not, at this age, they kinda have a phobia of tilting their head. Also, you have to really put the cup up against the forehead before tilting it.
This down then up motion for 2 or three rinses is challenging for the littler ones. For my youngest, I quit using it, the older ones love it. This Shampoo Rinse Cup is not bad, just have to get used to it and I don’t recommend for younger kids.
I cannot help but snicker each time I see this TV commercial by Propel.
Did you spot what is wrong with this commercial? Well.. maybe not wrong wrong, but… I dunno. I think someone who is really health conscious, works out regularly and truly understands the importance of water would drink… water. Not flavored water or sugared water!
Yes, yes, I understand. Some of us just don’t like the taste of water - or rather the lack of taste. But sometimes I think that’s just us acting spoiled I have no problem drinking water and some days I can drink 1 Liter of water with no problems. But there are days I just don’t feel like having tasteless liquid and allow myself some juice or something.
Guess I’m just one of those who never understood flavored water. If I want grape flavor in my water I’d go drink some real grape juice if I want water I’ll drink real water and that is 100% fit.
My coffee pot broke this week while I was washing it. We haven’t been drinking coffee by the pot lately anyway so it was not a big thing. The last few times I did make pot we ended up throwing away 3/4 or the whole pot.
Several months ago, my Twitter friends were going crazy over the Senseo. They all got on the Share Senseo plan and soon everyone got their own free Senseo system - a $80 coffee maker for free. You only need pay shipping - $15. Sure it was a deal but I never felt it was something I would be attracted to.
First, I never understood the draw of the single serve system. In our family, we always drank coffee by the pot. When my father in law was alive, we’d all (me, hubs, mother-in-law and father-in-law) will go through a few pots a day. So making single cups seemed like a lot of work to me. Plus, the pods also seemed very expensive.
But eventually, we quit making coffee by the pot. We made our own coffee by the cup - instant. So all of a sudden the Senseo didn’t sound like such a bad idea anyhow. So when my friend Annette let us know the Share Senseo program is back, I jumped right at it.
I got my Senseo today. It came with 18 pods so me and hubs put it to work right away! We only got the dark roast - I wish they would send you a sample of different kinds. But so far we like the coffee.
The one thing that kinda threw us off was, we thought it was a coffee maker not an espresso maker. I dunno. It may be the other way around but the one cup was soooooo small! We are heavy coffee drinkers who drink by the mug - large mugs. So we ended up making 3 cups to fill one of our regular mugs.
I also didn’t like the water tank. I think it is difficult to fill. The water tank is also small. Be prepared to fill it every other time you make coffee if you’re like us making 3 and 2 cups at a time. We may end up getting the large water tank. We’ll see. Well, these are our first impressions. So far we like it!
If you want one for free, you can get it at ShareSenseo.com
By the way, if you want to upgrade or the share Senseo program is closed when you read this, I have $20 off coupons. Just let me know.
Here’s something really fun to do with all those digital pictures you snapped. Make them into Moo Cards.
Moo cards are like mini sized calling cards. You can print just about anything on the flip side. Your family address, a holiday message, an inspirational message, your blog URL.
Very cute, cool and hey a good way to showcase all those pictures. I am thinking the grandparents would just love having some of these cards with their grand children’s photos on them. Kinda like a new age brag book - except they can give it away.
Moo cards cost $19.99 per 100 cards. Print up to 100 of your photos in a box in full color.
What I am especially attracted to are the sticker books - 90 stickers with your own images for $9.99. I don’t exactly know what I’d do with the stickers, but I think the kids would just love to snap some of their very own pictures and maybe drawings then hand a sheet or two to their friends.
I haven’t ordered any, but I think I will give it a go very soon. Have you ever ordered from Moo.com? What’s your experience? What did you do with your cards?
I’m quite excited. Last weekend, I took a personal vow to quit working so much to spend some time making memories with my kids.
Tonight, my girls and I are going on a date. They don’t know it yet, but mommy is looking forward to spend the evening with them watching the Lunar Eclipse.
I hope it won’t be very cold and we’ll have clear skies. What an amazing opportunity to teach them about science and spend quality time together. Best of all, it is free.
My parents are not highly educated folk. So, I never had any such opportunity to understand the application of science in everyday life. If they did understand such things better and taught them to me, I’d probably have a very different lifestyle now. But I’m not complaining. All I want to do tonight is pass on some of the love and wonder of science to my kids.
What about you? Want to join us? Then you’ll want to, check out NASA’s page for Lunar Eclipse times.
Computer time is not a big problem with my kids. They are not on there everyday and they spend a short time on it. Probably because they are young - I hope that doesn’t change though. TV is not a huge thing either, but I do not like to hear the whining and crying when the TV turns off for the night.
I’ve been using the timer on the TV to shut it off automatically but sometimes they get sneaky ya know. I need something that can police this for me AND possibly more important. Something I can blame and make the bad guy Yeah now it’s mommy’s turn to be sneaky.
I found BOB last night. I really want him! Bob is a Screen Time Manager. It controls any electronic device. Shuts down safely and you can’t turn it back on until the next day at the allotted time (or mom and dad turns it back on). Thing is, BOB is pretty expensive. List Price is $99.99 and I’ve found some places selling it for $79.99 but it’s only $59.99 over at Amazon plus free shipping. The deal is sweet but $60 is still a lot of money.
Gonna talk with hubs over this. I think we can likely budget this in. Small amount I guess in exchange for less power struggles.
