Archive for the ‘Thursday: Reviews’ Category
The Battle of the Craft Store Apps
I think I may have a problem…. Hello, my name is Michelle and I am a craft-oholic. “Hi, Michelle”.
In addition to spending the day making kids belts, being a mom, and being a loving wife, I love to craft (thus my previous blog about Pinterest). I enjoy creating things and I REALLY enjoy craft stores. I have to say that a craft store to me is like a candy store to a kid. I don’t know where to start, I get overwhelmed and all tingly inside and I want to run through the isles grabbing everything I can fit in the shopping cart!
Recently, I came across something that made me happy. I found the iPhone Apps for Michael’s and Joann Fabrics! Now, I can get my craft store fix from the comfort of my own couch at 11:00 pm if I want! I am enjoying both apps, but I have to say that the Michael’s App is winning in my book.
Here are my comparisons of the two apps:
Michael’s…………………………………………………………JoAnn Fabrics
Able to view weekly ads…………………………………………….n/a
Able to view Events/Classes………………………………………n/a
QR Scanner…………………………………………………………..n/a
Coupon Barcodes to be scanned at store……………………….Coupon Code to be typed in at store
DIY Projects with Supply Lists……………………………………..n/a
Browse Products…………………………………………………….Browse Products
n/a…………………………………………………………………….Shop Online
Able to create shopping lists………………………………………n/a
Searchable Location Maps………………………………………..Searchable Location Maps
Coupon Text Alerts (optional)……………………………………..n/a
Do you see why my winner is Michaels? They just have so many more options, but I have to give Joann’s a kudos for having an App. One other thing I don’t like about Joann’s App is that in order to view and save the coupons to your “wallet” you have to give them your phone number. I’m not crazy about that, because I am worried about telemarketers having my number. I’d rather register with an email address, then I can choose what I want to read and what I want to delete.
I like both Apps, both feed my need for crafts, one just more efficient than the other. Ok, maybe I should have introduced myself better, “Hello, my name is Michelle and I am a craft-oholic and an iPhone App-oholic.”
Blessings,
Magic Mesh, not so magical
I got sucked into the “As Seen on TV” section of our local flea market. I know, I promise I haven’t lost my mind. I just like to see the newest gadgets that they swear we can’t live with out. (Something you really can’t live without? Dapper Snappers kids belts!)
One of the newest must-haves was something called “Forever Lazy“. Really? Because our nation isn’t quite stagnant enough that we now can stay in a one piece pajama set all day? My favorite part of their pitch is “Has Zippered Hatches in Front and Back, for Great Escapes When Duty Calls”. So, now you don’t even have to bother with taking the thing off when you have to go to the bathroom. Nice…
Anyway, back to my visit to the TV section. I did get hooked by a product. You all know that we moved into a new place not to long ago. Well, this place has an amazing screened-in back porch. However, the screen door does not work so well for Sammy dog who thinks she can come and go as she pleases.
There it was… a solution to my problem… the Magic Mesh…
The premise is simple, attach one side of the Velcro to the door facing and the other side is attached to the Magic Mesh. Then all you do is match up the Velcro and tada! you have a screen door. Now you, your family and pets can come and go without having to open any close doors.
In theory, it’s a good idea, but being the inventor that I am, I think it could use some upgrades. The first being the Velcro. I think that is a bad choice. I know that it makes it removable, but the glue side of the Velcro doesn’t stick that well to all surfaces and tends to fall down easily as it has been doing at my house. The other thing that should be added is a weighted bottom. The way it’s set up now, you have to hope that the magnets come close enough to each other to clasp, which doesn’t always happen. I think that weights would help with that because it would fall back into place.
All in all, if you have the right door to hang it from, it’s not too bad but it’s not too great either. More often than not, Sammy dog has walked into the house dragging the Magic Mesh behind her. It hasn’t made it back up since the last time that happened. Boo… I wanted it to work.
Blessings,
Hanging with Friends
So, my new obsession is Hanging with Friends. If you haven’t heard of it, it’s basically a cutesy version of hangman. It’s super addicting especially if you are at all competitive which I am and currently my assistant is beating me. I’m not quite sure how I feel about that, I mean, shouldn’t she at least let me win?
There are times throughout the day when I need a mind break from working on my kids belts and my go to distraction is now this game. It’s nice because it keeps me thinking and stratigizing (is that a word?) in way that is different from my day to day thinking and stratigizing. A good deal of what I tend to do at work is stare at a computer screen. Whether it’s designing a new pattern (which can be awfully mind-numbing at times) or answering emails or seeking out new ways to spread the word about Dapper Snappers, while I love it, it is monotonous. As a result, I like to break up the day with a game or two of Hanging with Friends.
Here’s how it goes, once you have started a game (either with a random person or a friend), you use your random tiles to create a word. You get points for the letters you use in your word. The points are used to purchase your lifelines (see more below). Your opponent then has anywhere from 4 to 8 chances (depends on the length of your word) to guess your word. Once they have guessed your word, or have run out of chances, they get to put together a word for you to guess and it all starts over. Once one of you has missed 5 words, the game is over. Simple enough.
They just came out with some new updates that I love and some changes that I’m not so fond of. I love the fact that you can now see how your opponent tried to guess your word, that way I can see what letters they tend to choose first and stay away from them. That’s where that whole stratigizing (if I use it more than 3 times, does that make it a word?) thing comes into play. Then there are the lifelines (sometimes free, sometimes 20 coins) that come in handy as well. There are several to choose from:
When guessing your opponents word:
- Suspects – reveals 4 letters, one of which is actually in the word.
- Extinguish – removes 4 incorrect letters from your tray.
- Revive – will remove one strike from you.
When creating a new word:
- Tune-Up – lets you swap out letter tiles for randomly-drawn new ones
- Conjure – gives you one magic blank tile that can become any letter you want
One of the things I don’t particularly like since they updated the game is that the bonus tile (DL, TL, TW) seems to more often than not just be double letter. Before there was a good mix of all of the bonus tiles, now, not so much. I know it’s because they want to limited the point you earn, which in turn limits the number of coins you earn. That way you will purchase coins to be able to use your lifelines. It’s not fair. But, alas life isn’t fair and that one little gripe isn’t going to keep me from playing the game.
So that’s how I kill time, when I know I should really be doing something constructive… oh well, there’s always later!
Blessings,
It really sucks!
It does… really… my vacuum that is, and if there is ever a time that you want something to suck, it would be with your vacuum! There is nothing I hate more (well, ok, maybe some things… war, famine, disease, but you get my point) than when you spend the money on a “good” vacuum, only to get it home and not have it work well.
It’s my experience, in the world of kids belts, that when you produce a product for a specific purpose it should, at the very least, perform whatever that function may be. However, for reasons unknown to me, vacuums don’t seem to fall under that mold. Some work well, some are sort of in between and some are so bad you would be better off getting on your hands and knees and picking the dirt up manually. Totally defeats the purpose of having a vacuum in the first place.
I must say, though, that I have finally found a vacuum that I like that and it didn’t break the bank! It’s the Dirt Devil Power Air Cyclonic. I love the fact that it has amazing suction. Most of you know we just moved, but what you don’t know is that the house has ZERO carpet. That means lots of tile and laminate flooring. Many of the other vacuums I used would just push the dirt around, but not this one. It has a silicone strip that helps catch any dirt that may have not been sucked up, so that you get it on the back stroke! It’s super lightweight and very easy to clean. Overall, I am very pleased.
There are just a few cons to this handy piece of equipment. The first being that it’s very loud which is only amplified by the lack of sound absorbing materials (ie. carpet). The second being that the filter is replaceable. I would have preferred to have a filter that I could just clean out rather than having to remember that in 6 months I need to purchase another filter. The last is that it’s not the best for corners of rooms. It’s sort of hard to get it to get all the way into the corners to pick up the dirt.
So that’s my two cents on my vacuum. I hope it serves you well and comes in handy if you are in the market to purchase a new one!
Blessings,
Target Weight App Review
I feel as though I am fighting a never ending weight loss battle. I also feel as though its not one I will ever win because when I do get down to the weight that will make me happy, I will then have a new battle, a battle to stay that coveted weight.
I have tried all kind of diets and a few years ago I got down to a weight that I loved, then life caught up to me again and kids happened.
This is not going to be a blog about dieting though (even though I could literally go on for hours about that). This is going to be a blog about a weight loss aid, the Target Weight App.
I think it goes without saying but I am a busy mom (who isn’t, I know). Mamapreneur, inventor, kids belt manufacturer by day and a loving wife, devoted mom and puppy wrangler (or is that devoted pet owner and kid wrangler?) by night so I don’t have a lot of time in my schedule to track my weight, BMI and my goals.
This app is great because it does that for me. The home screen shows me how many pounds I have left to lose as well as how many days I have left to lose them. It shows me my current weight, BMI and even a graph that shows my progress (which I love, because it makes me feel like I have actually done something). Another really neat function of this app is that it will show you how long it will take you to reach you goal at your current rate of weight loss. This app will also sync with the Withings Body Scale, but unfortunately, I don’t have one so I really can’t say how well that side of it works.
This app has become a great accountability partner for me. On the app thumbnail on my phone’s home screen it even has a little red circle with the amount of weight I have to lose to reach my goal. So, basically, I have a little red nag every time I need to use my phone, but that’s ok, I know I need it and hey, I’m down 18 so far! So I am on my way!
Now, if I could find an app that would give me all the nourishment I need without actually having to eat, I’d be set… Oh iPhone gods, where are the good apps when you really need them?
Blessings,
Bringrr me my phone…
How many of us have thought of doing just that? Destroying our cell phones (newer cell phones mind you, that’s a really old model).
I have a love hate relationship with mine… I love to hate it and it hates to love me. Such a necessary evil, though. As much as we hate them and as much as we feel constantly connected to everyone, everything, everywhere ALL the time, we have become a society dependent on them and heaven forbid we forget that precious little electronic cellular telephone at home!
Show of hands, please, who of you still have a land line? Now, a show of hands, how many are asking yourselves what a “land line” is…? Exactly… a sad sign of the times. It used to be that when you made plans with someone, you actually had to show up because once they left their house, you couldn’t reach them. “Pashaw”, you say, “she’s crazy”, that may be true, but I do fondly remember those rotary dial phones. (If any of you ask what a rotary phone is, I may scream!)
Squirrel!
Anyway, back to what I’m here to do, talk to you about the Bringrr. The Bringrr is an amazing little device that is designed to make sure you don’t leave your cell phone at home, or at the office or where ever you have been spending your afternoon.
Tada! It’s super simple to use (so easy a caveman… oh wait… wrong commercial). All you have to do is make sure your bluetooth is turned on in your phone and set it to “discoverable” mode and turn the car’s engine on. Next, plug the Bringrr into your power outlet in your car then press and hold the Bringrr Button until you hear the beep. Now, on your phone, press Search for Devices and select BRINGRR from the list to pair with the device. You will hear another beep from it once the pairing process is complete. That’s it!
Now, every time you start your car up, the device will search for your phone. If it finds your phone, it emits a quick tone turns blue and then all is right with the universe and you can back out of your driveway and happily proceed on your journey knowing that your cell phone is stowed somewhere in your car. (The other nice thing is that it will notify you if the battery in your phone dies during your trip.)
If your phone is not in the car, it instantly goes into self destruct mode and you have 30 secs to find your phone and get it in the car or everything explodes… JUST KIDDING!! If it doesn’t find your phone, it will sound an alarm and the light turns red. Once you have your phone with you in the car, the light goes back to blue and the alarm stops.
I love it. I can’t tell you how many times I have scrambled out the door with a dog in one hand, back packs in another, a cup of coffee in another and a handful of kids belts in the other (yes I have that many hands, I AM a mom, remember?) only to get loaded up and arrive at my destination to find out I forgot my phone. Ugh… the Bringrr has saved my butt many a morning! The only draw back I have seen is that some mornings it takes a little longer than others and I have been down the road a bit when it alerted me, but overall, I would recommend it!
Blessings,
I Feel Like Such a Fool!
I should’ve moved this post over from my old blog a very long time ago, but I forgot about it until the topic came up in a mamapreneurs group I belong to. I was young in the toddler belts realm back then and didn’t know any better, but I should’ve. This was originally posted June 10, 2009.
I feel like such a fool. I am disappointed. Beyond disappointed really. Part of me thinks I shouldn’t write this post because a) I will look like a fool to everyone else, b) I should have known better. You be the judge… (all names have been omitted or changed to x’s to protect all involved…well except me that is.)
I couple months ago, I got on a website to help me get contact info for celebrities. My hope of course was to send Dapper Snappers to these people and either have my product spotted on their children or at least have something from them saying how wonderful they think my product is. I still haven’t sent any out…ugh. Anyway… I saw the Celebrity Gifting Opportunities and thought, Hey! This could work. I send them product and for a nominal fee I get the opportunity I’m hoping for…right?I contacted the celebrity gifting company and got caught up in the excitement of gifting an Anonymous celebrity (no, they wouldn’t tell us who it was for – just adding to the suspense) who was expecting a baby boy. I did the works with customizing and quadruple checking quality of the Dapper Snappers. I sent special packaging with it and a self addressed stamped envelope with nice blank note card so they could write back those words I longed for (I just LOVE the Dapper Snappers! Thank you so much!!! etc). And I paid the not so nominal fee of $75.00 that I really couldn’t afford, but I was taking a gamble. Anyone who knows me, knows I do not gamble…ever.The possibilities were endless. I just didn’t think about the other extreme “possibilities”. So imagine my disappointment today when I finally got my note back, and it was signed by some guy I’d never heard of. I looked him up and he’s one step above an extra. He’s not even a B-list celebrity. I feel cheated, misled, and stupid.What was I thinking? I won’t put a quarter in a slot machine, but I give this company $75?I decided to write an email. I haven’t sent this email yet and am not sure it would even do any good. When I started the email, I was very angry. I rewrote it until I came across as more sensible and understandably upset. Hubby said it sounds like I’m acting as an upset mom and not a business. I’m not sure it matters. They didn’t make any promises other than I was guaranteed a response. I have no legal recourse. All I can do is be angry.Here’s the email. Again, name’s protected, etc.————————Mxxxxxx,I received the reply today. Who is Sxxxx Txxx? I thought all the secrecy was because it was an A list celebrity. I can’t use his autograph for anything. I basically wasted $75 and product for this note back to me:Toddler Tech,Thank you for your lovely gift.All the best.Cheers.Scribbled autographThat is unacceptable. I, like other product-based businesses that gift celebrities, had hopes that Dapper Snappers would be given to someone well-known, and that maybe someday their child would be spotted wearing a Dapper Snapper, thus promoting my brand, and of course all the wonderful success that follows a product spotting. I also had hoped for a better response (something I could use immediately on my press page) than “Thank you for your lovely gift.” It doesn’t even mention what I gave him. I am so disappointed.No one knows who he is. I can’t even find any information about his family, or any new baby boy. Your service has done nothing for me but waste my money. I feel like such a fool.Needless to say, I won’t be doing business with your company again.Sincerely,Michelle————————So I am a fool. It was a dumb thing to do. I am going to go kick myself for a while. And maybe pout a bit. Yeah…pouting sounds good. Sigh…
Oh, Wen, You Fell Short
I wanted to like you, in fact, I wanted to fall deeply, madly in love with you. I had such high hopes for this hugely hyped hair care product which lured me in with it’s grandiose promises of beautiful, soft, flowing locks of loveliness only to completely and utterly disappoint me.
You all know me by now; mother of two, wife of one, puppy parent, kids belts inventor, one who is a usually a pretty good judge of products and one who isn’t easily sucked into “as seen on TV” marketing, but I bought into it. I think mainly because I wanted it to work so badly. It would be amazing to just be able to wash my hair and go. No longer wasting time blow drying or flat ironing my hair! Yay!! Oh, wait, that would have been my response had the product done what it said it would.
I’m sure you have seen the infomercials for Wen Hair Care. Beautiful celebrities with “bad hair days” who have been shampooing with harsh, harm-full over the counter shampoo (GASP! How could they!) are miraculously transformed to even beautiful-er celebrities once Chaz Dean (creator of Wen) gets ahold of their hair. If you have not seen them, their website boasts: “WEN® Cleansing Conditioner is a revolutionary new concept in hair care. A 5-in-1 formula, this one product takes the place of your shampoo, conditioner, deep conditioner, detangler and leave-in conditioner. It cleanses hair thoroughly but without lathering and all the harsh ingredients that may be found in ordinary shampoos—it is designed so it won’t strip your hair and scalp of their natural oils. Your hair is left with sheen, moisture, manageability and better color retention.”
Well, after two, greasy months (yes, months and yes greasy) I feel like I can give a valid review of this product. I would not recommend Wen Hair Care. It claims to be great for all hair types, however, my hair type is pretty typical and it didn’t work so well. Basically, what you are supposed to do is replace your shampoo with Wen, use a small bit of it for a leave in conditioner, apply style cream and then texture balm if you’d like. All of this product left a greasy, filmy mess in my hair. I could actually scrape my hair with my fingernail and remove film. Trying to give the benefit of the doubt to the product, I thought “Maybe I used too much, or didn’t get it all rinsed out”. Even though they claim that you can’t use too much and if you can leave it in as a leave in conditioner, why would it matter if I didn’t get it all rinsed out. I told you, I had high hopes! So I continued to try it for two months to no avail. Same result every time.
To say I am disappointed, would be an understatement. As I said before, I REALLY wanted this product to work. If sheer “want” could have produced results, I would have been singing Wen’s praises, but no, that doesn’t work either.
I guess I have to resort back to my trusted ponytail… ah ponytail… you have never let me down.
Blessings,
Because I Love My Kids and These Awesome Apps
I had the pleasure of checking out a couple of Kiboomu’s iPhone Apps, Toddler Sing & Learn and Preschool Sing & Learn. You all should know by now how much I adore Kiboomu. They have so many great apps!
Both apps are great for entertaining bored little ones while sneaking in a little bit of education. Bug spent hours in the office killing time with the Preschool App while I was tirelessly working on the new kids belts fall catalog. She loves it. The toddler app and the preschool app both have interactive puzzles with music, coloring pages and songs.
Toddler Sing & Learn is a great “stepping stone” app for early learners! Toddlers will learn words, letters, numbers, colors and shapes, body parts, food, and more with their full music album of 10 sing-along songs, 10 puzzles, and 10 coloring pages!
Preschool children will learn essential early learning skills such as first words, alphabet letters, counting, seasons, days of the week, and more with an album of 10 children’s sing along learning songs, 10 puzzles, and 10 coloring pictures!
I’m not one to try to pacify or babysit my kids with technology, but there are times where it really comes in handy and I try to only choose apps or videos that offer some educational benefit as well. Kibumoo is AWESOME for that very reason! And Bug seriously plays both apps all the time. She loves the songs. She sings along. She’s happy and content. Yay!
I really liked that I could just hand it to Bug and go. She could very easily maneuver through the app bouncing between areas, so she totally does not need my help. The colors and graphics are great and the music is very clear (and the singing is great too!). Overall, I would highly recommend these apps for parents of preschoolers and toddlers. Your little ones will love them!
Blessings,
Don’t Get Greedy!
Alas, poor Netflix, you served me well…But your split plans? Um…no…
My family and I have thoroughly enjoyed hours of unlimited streaming (I think that’s the only thing that has kept Bug from being bored out of her mind here at the office while we schlep kids belts) and the DVD’s have been great, but I have to say that a 60% price increase seems a bit excessive. I’m not sure what school of business you attended that said such a drastic increase all at one time is a smart one.
It seems as though the rapid (seemingly overnight) popularity of Netflix all but hastened the demise of Blockbuster, Movie Gallery (in case you don’t remember those, click here) and the like. I mean, really, we saw those stores going by the wayside eventually thanks to cable companies offering “On Demand” programming and more and more Redbox vending machines popping up all over the place and the endless places that you can stream movies online, but I’m pretty sure that Netflix was the straw that broke the camels back.
While all of these new options are convenient, there is something to be said about walking into a video store, picking up a VHS tape (yes, that dates me, I know) reading the description on the back of the box and moving on to the next. Call me nostalgic, but it was exciting to see the “New Releases” and all of the fancy cover art. Ok, so I’m a geek, but I’m ok with that.
Then, there were all of those glorious late fees. By the time we actually returned the movie and paid the late fees, we probably could have just bought the movie, but all those tapes just took up too much room.
Ah… Squirrel!
Back to Netflix, I think it was a major mistake to raise your prices so drastically and no matter how much I love you, it’s now the principle of it… I will not pay a 60% price increase, for no additional return. I guess our life will consist on trips to the nearest Redbox vending machines. Maybe we will now just have to check out Epix for our online streaming. It’s free for the time being, anyway. And if we stick with you? Well, I will be saving $2/month by only getting streaming. Thanks for saving me money.
The lesson: Don’t mess with a good thing by getting greedy. It’s bad for business.
Blessings,