Category: review

**I received the below mentioned shirt in order to complete a review. No other compensation has been received** 

 Even though Breast Cancer Awareness is an important and a serious subject sometimes the best way to get the point out is with a creative way to make people think.   I’ve seen shirts that are made to wear in memory of someone, survivor shirts, shirts with lots of bling, and Breast Cancer Awareness shirts for men.

I love the variety.  I think it’s great seeing guys where shirts in support of Breast Cancer Awareness too.  Breast-Cancer-Tshirts.com has a nice selection of Breast Cancer Awareness shirts so you’re sure to find a way to support the cause in your own way.

One shirt offered on the site is the “Don’t Let Cancer Steal 2nd Base” Shirt made with a baseball theme

It’s available for men and women.  I received this shirt for myself.  After I got it my son tried it on but it didn’t quite fit him.  Honestly at 11, I think he just thought it was a baseball shirt and doesn’t fully comprehend what it means.

Breast Cancer Awareness is something I actively support.  My mother died of breast cancer.  She died at the age of 50.  My maternal grandmother also had breast cancer but she had beat it.  The risk of breast cancer is very real for me and my sister.

Also working in a local hospital it’s something that is promoted strongly this time of year.  They encourage us to wear pink on Fridays and even make special hospital branded breast cancer awareness clothe we can purchase.  My hospital also holds a basket party and each department donates baskets to raise money to pay for those that cannot afford mammograms.

So let this post serve also as a reminder to you to do your self exams, get your regular mammograms, and help raise awareness.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

**I received a sampling of V8 V-Fusion® Refreshers at no cost in order to complete a review.  This post also contains a coupon affiliate link**

 My oldest son for a while would only eat corn, green beans, and carrots  The carrots only if I put a little brown sugar and butter on them which kind of negates the healthiness of the veggies.  My youngest son used to eat anything I put in front of him but in the last year has become a picky eater and my 9 yr old son is about the only one who will eat almost any veggie.

So I get creative, mixing small amount of veggies into mashed potatoes, Making chicken pot pie with a mix of veggies.  One dish my kids love is chicken stir fry which I load with veggies.  My oldest son says “I don’t like broccoli but I do like it in chicken stir fry” It’s a favorite dish in our house and since it’s packed with veggies (the way I make it) I try to make it about once a week.

Another sneaky way to get veggies into my kids’ diet and have them like it is V8 V-Fusion® Refreshers.  V8 V-Fusion® Refreshers a juice drinks with a 20-25% blend of fruits and vegetables.  They are naturally sweetened, contain no artificial colors, no artificial flavors, no preservatives, and are a good source of Vitamin C (100%).  Also, they contain no high fructose corn syrup.

They are available in 4 yummy flavors:
–Black Cherry Berry
–Cranberry Grape
–Tangerine Passionfruit
–Peach Strawberry

I received 2 of the flavors to try.  The first one we tried was the V8-Fusions Refreshers Black Cherry Berry.

Now my husband has tried the V8 Splash before.  He loves those but I thought they were a bit too sweet for my taste.  The V8 V-Fusion Refreshers were more up my alley.  They had a light flavor, definitely not too sweet.  You could smell the cherry and berries in the juice.  My youngest son really liked this flavor.  It was crisp and really was refreshing.  I was telling my husband about how good these juices were and he said “That’s ok I like my juice”  I tried to convince him to try it.  Well he started off with a glass of the Tangerine Passionfruit

and chugged that down pretty quick.  Then this happened…

He said “yea this stuff is pretty good, we’ll have to get more the next time we go shopping”  Yes honey that’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. 

I found a coupon for them also for $1.00 off when you buy 2

**I was given a box of 30 capsules for review purposes.  This post also contains Amazon affilliate links**

My memory has never been perfect.  Honestly once I started having kids it seemed to get worse.  Now after number 4 I feel like I can’t remember hardly anything anymore.  I tell people that I think with each kid I had a piece of my brain when with them when they were born.  People often make excuses for me “Oh well you have 4 kids”, “No one remembers everything” , “You have so much going on, no wonder you don’t remember some things”.  Still I know there’s more to it then that.  I’ve honestly debated on talking to my doctor about it but until then I use reminders: keeping a a daily planner with appointments, the kids games and practices, meet ups with friends and coworkers, etc.  Writing notes for myself at work too.  I also utilize the notes and scheduler on my phone to remind me of really important things.

I do have depression and I’ve heard that some memory loss can be a part of that.  I also know that sleep is a factor and I know I don’t always get enough sleep.  Some nights I’m lucky to get 6 hours (and I really don’t even feel rested unless I get 8 or 9).  I’ve also read about herbs and supplements that can help with memory and alertness as well.

Excelerol™ is a maximum strength #1 brain supplement it is said to support and maintain memory, concentration, and focus.  

Excelerol tablets are vegetarian capsules. These capsules contain a variety of ingredents that are said to help with memor, focus and alertness including: Ginko Biloba, Guarana & Kola nut, Green Tea, Black Tea, & White tea which make up the botanical sources of caffeine found in these pills. 

There were a few ingredients I had never heard of so I decided to look a few up just to see.  One was Baccoppa Monnieri.  Never heard of it in my life.  When I looked it up it turns out it’s an herb that grows in marshy areas in parts of asia. In my reading I found out that there have been several tests that showed increase in retention of new information and has “potential for safely increasing cognitive performance in the aging”.  

The list went on like this and I was satisfied enough to go ahead and give these supplements a go.  I took them over a 2 week time period.  The directions say to take 1-2 capsules up to 3 times a day.  I started with only taking one a day and gradually increased my dosage to see if anything changed.  

size comparison for size of capsule

I did notice that I was able to concentrate more when attempting to write my blog posts in the evenings.  One thing I was most impressed with is when I was grocery shopping.  I always have to write a list.  If I don’t write it down, inevitably I forget something.  Even with a list I some times miss a thing or two on the list and notice while I’m putting groceries away.  Well I took 2 capsules and went grocery shopping with the list.  I realized I only looked at the list twice in our hour and a half grocery trip and didn’t forget one thing.  This might not seem much to some but to me it was a good feeling.

**I received a costume from FrightCatalog.com in order to complete an honest review.  No other compensation has been received**  This post has been updated as FrightCatalog.com is no longer available.

The days are getting shorter, they’re cooling off.  You’ve probably already dug the jeans out of your drawers and have worn your casual boots a couple times.  It’s also the time that the kiddos are thinking of costumes ideas for Halloween.

I have 3 boys and a baby girl.  I allow my kids to choose their costumes (with parental approval of course).  It seemed like all my boys wanted to be was ninjas, soldiers, or a Star Wars character every year.  I was getting bored of it but ultimately they were the ones to wear them so I wanted them to be happy.

It was my 9 year old’s turn to select his costume.  As we scrolled through the pages of HalloweenCostumes.com  He went to the usual Star Wars and Ninja categories.  Then he said well let’s look at the food category.  Surprised we scrolled through and seems quite interested in the Bacon Strip costume.  But then he went back to his normal categories.  My 9 yr old is very choosy and spends a lot of time making his decisions (which is usually a good thing) finally he says “I want to be the Bacon Strip”  Awesome!   When it arrived I thought he looked super cute!

This is awesome.  I told him I’ll probably get him a maroon or brown sweatsuit to wear underneath but I love it and so does he.  Even though it’s an adult costume it still worked for him.  I’ll most likely have to safety in the bottom up a little bit so he doesn’t trip but we love it. It’s a one size fits all kinda deal. there’s an attached vest type thing that keeps the strip in place and the head is something like a hoodie.

After I took his picture he says “Ok mom it’s your turn to try it on and I’m going to take a picture of you”  Well I guess it’s only fair.

Lol that’s hilarious.  I told him, “I’ll bet you’ll be the only piece of bacon walking around for trick or treat.”  My son is excited about his costume.  Would you leave a comment and tell him how cute he looks?

Since the original sponsore of this post is no longer in business here some some links so You can find bacon costumes on these sites:

Halloweencostumes.com Bacon costume

kids bacon costume at Wholesale Halloween costumes

toddler bacon strip costume

Adult bacon strip costume at Walmart