Technology is advancing forward at a super-fast rate. Back when I was a kid, my 1986 Talking Computron is considered high tech & cell phones were bigger than most rotary phones (think of the phone Zack Morris ran around with on Saved by the Bell). These days almost everything is digital and cats rule supreme on the Internet. It’s so common place to post selfies & current locations on sites like Facebook and Twitter that people forget that there are dangers of sharing too much personal info on the Internet. First, don’t give out or post passwords or other very sensitive info. Companies are not going to send you an email asking for your password to a certain account. If you get an email like that, immediately report it as a phishing scam. Other scams include anyone emailing you ‘in good confidence’ about moving money overseas & asking for your bank account, that $1000 Walmart gift card you won & can't receive it until you give them your social security number, and any ...
Article – Gear Up & Get Camping!
Spring has sprung, which means it’s time to get you and your family outdoors for some fun. And there’s no better way to do that than to go camping! You get to get away from it all and spend great quality time with everyone, without any distractions like television or cell phones. There are plenty of places you can camp at, like state or national parks and campgrounds. Once you find a place, you will need to decide what you need. Now, unless you can ‘ruff it’ like Les Stroud and go all Survivorman (not fun if you don’t know what you are doing), you are going to want the appropriate gear and clothing. The first thing you will need is a tent. Tents come in varying sizes (dependent on the number of people and/or use), shapes, and ease of setup. If your family is very large, you may consider one giant tent that sleeps everyone. These can be harder to put up since there will be a lot of polls, especially if you are not used to setting it up. You may also consider getting a few smaller ...
Product Review – Cassani Fogless Shower Mirror
Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial. Last week, I was sent a Cassani Fogless shower mirror. The mirror is designed to keep from fogging up letting you shave or wash your face in the shower. It comes with a two stainless steel hooks: one for hanging the mirror and the other for your razor. I’ve seen a lot of the anti-fog mirrors in stores; most of them having you put water in the back heat the mirror. This mirror has a coating on it, so both my husband and I didn’t think it would work all that well. The mirror itself is very thin and light. I hug it up at the back of the shower where the water doesn’t directly hit and tried it out. Surprisingly, it doesn’t fog. My husband has used it several times already and hasn’t had an issue. Now, I’ve seen a lot of reviews on Amazon stating that after a few weeks it does start fogging. It fix this, Cassani says to wash it with either soap or toothpaste. I don’t really see where that would help, but if ours starts ...
Product Review – Solid Cordz 6 ft High Speed HDMI Cable with Ethernet (28 AWG)
Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial. A few weeks back, I was set a pair of Solid Cordz 6 ft High Speed HDMI Cable with Ethernet (28 AWG). The HDMI cables are gold plated which give them better signal transfer, and they are double shielded to protect against EMI/RFI. They also support Dolby® TrueHD and DTS-HD Master AudioTM standards and are compatible with Xbox & PS3. Now, the Blu-ray cables and all that kind of stuff falls more into my husband’s realm of expertise. We’ve been using some High Speed HDMI cables there were slightly expensive at the time we bought them. They work…I can’t exactly tell you how well aside that the picture comes through good. To test these cables, I used one cable for our entertainment system and gave the other to my parents to use to hook up their Blu-ray player. With our player, I did notice an improvement with the picture & sound quality. The video is definitely crisper than what it was before. With my parents, there ...
Guest Article – Make Your Next Kids Birthday Party a Pool Party!
One of your children has a birthday coming up soon, and you’re looking for a place to throw him a party. It feels like you’ve been invited to Chucky Cheese for kid parties way too much, so why not use that wonderful resource – your back yard pool. Just let the kids swim. The beauty of the pool is that you don’t have to plan much to entertain the kids. They love the pool, and will just take to it naturally, so just stand aside and let them enjoy themselves. If their attention flags, have someone yell “Marco,” and you know it will be returned by a chorus of “Polo,” and they’ll be off to a new round of fun. There are some great resources available to make sure you develop a checklist to have an excellent party: http://www.birthdayinabox.com/party-ideas/pool-party.html http://blog.intheswim.com/childrens-swimming-pool-party-games/ http://family.go.com/parenting/pkg-school-age/article-794956-pool-party-t/ The interesting dynamic with kids at the pool is that they will devise ...
Product Review – Valentia Even Glow Serum
Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial. A few weeks ago, I was sent a bottle of Valentia Even Glow Serum. The serum is an antioxidant treatment made from Vitamin C that evens skin tone, increases glow & radiance, boosts collagen production, and reduces fine lines & wrinkles. Now, I normally scoff at this kind of stuff, having the opinion that it’s not going to work. I’ve been sent a few items in the past that were kind of similar and they did nothing aside from making my face itch for several days. The bottle is 1.18 fl oz and comes with a dropper. Following the directions, I shook it for a minute, and then opened it up. The first thing I noticed was the smell. It smelled like a fresh bag of oranges. I filled the dropped about halfway and put a drop on each cheek, one on my chin, one on my nose, and one on my forehead. I started rubbing it in. It absorbed into my skin quickly and didn’t leave any residue. The most noticeable thing that I saw right ...