UGLee Pen Review and Giveaway

What is that thing???  It's weird, it's ugly, and it's completely ergonomic!!!!  

When you first see the UGLee Pen, your first impressions will vary.  To kids, it is fun, new, and squishy.  To adults, it is interesting, super lightweight, and writes well.  So what is so amazing about this UGLee Pen?  

First, it weighs less than a 1/2 ounce.  That means less work for your hand. 

Second, it's unique shape hugs your hand so that you don't really have to "grip" the pen.  

Third, the soft, squishy grip removes the stress from your fingers and that writing callus.

The UGLee Pen was developed over eight years by a Dr. Lee who was looking for the first truly comfortable pen.  After a lot of failed and mislabeled "comfort pens", Dr. Lee studied everything about the make up of a pen, and that of the human hand, to come up with the UGLee Pen.

My thoughts on this pen are mixed.  I am an dork, so I love the strange look of it.  That doesn't turn me off at all.  The sparkle in the grip...that's a little too juvenile for me, though.  Since this came in a 3 pack, I gave one to each of my 2 bosses to get their take on it.

Boss #1 says the pen is very comfortable, but reactions from other people in an over 40 age group are "too youthful, gooey feeling isn't nice, and it's just a cheap looking pen."  Boss #1 also said he doesn't like the difficulty in pulling it in and out of his pocket.

Boss #2 says his pen stayed at work, but he did notice that it doesn't write well at an angle.  Also, if the UGLee Pen has been sitting for a little while, it doesn't want to write when you first pick it up.  

My feelings were all positive about this pen.  I love it's shape!  I am the kind of writer who presses very hard, so my hand begins to cramp after a few short minutes of writing.  The UGLee Pen's grip is so strange in that you can't squeeze it hard because it smooshes.  So I find I'm writing softer.  My penmanship (which usually looks like that of a serial killer) is a bit improved because of my softer grip.  Guess what....No Cramps Either! Pretty nifty pen if you ask me!

That said, you can order the pens in a 3 pack of your color choice for $19.95.  On the green side, you can replace the ink cartridge instead of the pens when they run out.

This could be a great gift for that student going off to college, or your favorite Dr.

And now...for the moment you've all been waiting for......

Giveaway for a 3 pack of UGLee Pens

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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.

Off-Season in New Orleans ~ A Family Budget Vacation

The first week in March, the husband and I went to New Orleans by Amtrak without the kids.  We had 5 days to ourselves exploring all we wanted to see and do in the Big Easy.  There was sooo much more than just good drinks, we loved every bit of our adventure.  But...WE SPENT A TON!

The kids (6 and 3) haven't let us forget the fact that they want to go to New Orleans, too!  Soooo...things worked out well in their favor.  We are going to NOLA in the summer!  YIKES!  Yes...we are crazy.  Yes...we know it will be hot.  Yes... we know it's really balmy allll summer.  

However.... we are aiming for a Budget-Friendly Family Vacation.  By traveling to a destination with a summer off-season, we are more likely to accomplish that.  So far, I have planned the first 4 days of our itinerary  and we should come in waaaaay under budget :D

I recently did a review on RedWeek.com, and through them, I found a Timeshare Rental for only $60/night! Only $240 for 4 nights in New Orleans!  To top it off, we will be staying right at the end of the French Quarter, near the Market :D  So I can wake up, and walk the few blocks to Cafe du Monde for my Beignets and Cafe Au Lait!!!  My girls are gonna be soooo excited to finally get real beignets!

Please follow Housewife Survival Guide to stay current as we plan our vacation.  As we get nearer to our departure, I will post a full itinerary.  When we arrive, you will be seeing reviews of places and things we are enjoying, pictures included.

If you have any tips, advice, or suggestions... feel free to comment on this post to let us know.  I don't want to miss out on a great adventure.

First Impressions of Diet 1234

**** UPDATE ON MY 90 DAY WEIGHT LOSS CHALLENGE ****

Diet 1234 pills came in the mail Friday!!  I must say, I wasn't impressed with the package I received.  Seriously, all that was in the package was 4 tiny booklets and my 3 bottles of pills.  The tiny booklets would've been nice if they explained anything to do with taking these pills, but they didn't!  One booklet was a pamphlet for all the Creative Bioscience products, the others were Diet Instructions that didn't tell me a whole lot at all.  If I didn't know what I was doing, there'd be a TON of questions left unanswered.

What I would like to have seen: 

1. A more thorough information booklet about this particular product. 
2. Ingredients list in this booklet
3. Consistency within the instructions. (bottle says avoid extra caffeine, but instructions say unlimited amounts of black coffee is okay)
4. Just a snazzier "Welcome to Creative Bioscience" type booklets.  For a pricey supplement (my 90 day supply = $209 retail) I would expect to see a colorful paper or booklet that welcomes me and tells me what to do.  Just sayin' 

^ You can see in relation to a notebook, just how tiny the booklets are. ^

That all being said....

I have had much more energy and focus. My thoughts aren't as scattered while I'm working.  Also, I haven't experienced any side-effects.  I though I might have been Sunday evening when I felt a twinge of  a headache.  However, when I woke up Monday morning with a full on migraine and Aunt Flo at my house for the week, (sorry TMI but it's necessary) I realized it was all hormonal issues, not from the Diet 1234 supplements.

I'm keeping a spreadsheet online based on the tiny spreadsheet on the back of the little booklets received with my Diet 1234 supplements:

With this, I can keep track anywhere!

Be sure to scroll all the way to the right of the spreadsheet to see my daily notes (complaints maybe).

Please feel free to ask me questions in the comments below.

Wish me luck!

* ORIGINAL POST WITH MORE ABOUT THIS PRODUCT AND MY 90 DAY WEIGHT LOSS CHALLENGE * http://www.housewifesurvival.blogspot.com/2012/06/90-day-weight-loss-challenge.html

Family Vacation on a Budget

I do everything on a tight budget.  Most of the mommy bloggers do, and I have a feeling, most of our readerships do, too.

Before you get scared away when you hear the word timeshare, just take a minute or two out of your busy day to allow me to explain to you how other peoples' timeshares can help you save tons of money. Maybe you don't take family vacations because you can't afford 4-7 days in a hotel??  Please read on...

When I first went to RedWeek.com, I had trouble navigating the website.  It isn't laid out the best, but it didn't take long to realize the search I needed was on the right side of the screen.  From there, I could search by location or resort name to find timeshare rentals, for sale, or exchange.  I'm definitely not in the market for a purchase nor do I have a timeshare to exchange with anyone...

My husband and I just went to New Orleans in March, so I started by searching there. Already familiar with the prices and locations, I was very impressed and yet a tad disappointed.  Impressed that there were some fabulous places with amazing prices.  Disappointed because I didn't know about this sooner!!!  We could've stayed right in the Quarter in a place with a beautiful brick courtyard for the same price we paid to be in the Marigny district!  Oh well, live and learn, right?


Why would you want to rent a timeshare?

• They typically cost up to 50% less than a hotel room
• Usually spacious, multi-room set-ups
• There is usually a kitchen, so you save more money on your vacation by cooking
• Most are attached to a resort/condo complex with bonus amenities such as pools, playgrounds, beachfront access, gyms, etc.

Why would you want to use RedWeek?

• RedWeek allows you to find those timeshare owners who are unable to use their weeks. They rent it out to recoup some of their own cost while you save money on your vacation.  It's definitely a Win-Win situation.  
• You can search one collection of timeshares vs. hunting all over the internet for timeshares at your destination.
• Rent or buy directly from the owner to avoid travel site/resort mark-ups.
• RedWeek is the largest online marketplace for timeshares, and has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau.

Go over to RedWeek.com to look at the amazing prices.  You don't need a membership to see listings and availability.  Head on over and see what you've been missing!  Wish I would've seen this 3 months ago!

Giveaway Time!!!!

Okay... checkout this Rafflecopter:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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 only post honest reviews.

Cook'n Recipe Organizer

I would like to introduce all of the Housewife Survival Guide readers to a pretty handy program.  Also the #1 Best-Selling Recipe Software!!!  Cook'n Recipe Organizer

Why You'll Love Cook'n:

1.  You can do an internet search right from the home screen of the program!  Great when you know what you want to cook, but don't know how....I used this to find a great jambalaya recipe Sunday night.
2.   Instant recipe capture!  Find a recipe you like, one-click capture let's you store it in your Cook'n Library.  You can even customize how it looks...personalizing the feel of your own virtual cookbook.
3.   Preset recipes worth browsing.  Don't know what you want in your weekly menu?  Browse around for a while...find something you have always wanted to try or something you've never heard of.  Drinks, deserts, dinners...OH MY!
4.   You can enter your own recipes easily and quickly.  There is a "Quick-fill" function for when you are typing in ingredients.  The program gives you a suggested list of entries as you type, which really speeds up the process.
5.   Creating a family cookbook is fun and easy!  This is just too cool!  The program lets you personalize with colors, layouts, photos, stories, and sharing with others.  :How thoughtful, Cook'n Team.

My favorite feature of this product:

Enter in your ingredients and let Cook'n suggest recipes!!!  How awesome is that?!

There is soooo much more to this product, I'd be typing allll day to explain all the different facets of this total package software.  I used to use MS Office templates for recipe cards, then have to save them as separate files in a folder on my computer.  It was tedious, the layout always got screwy if my recipe was too long.  If you've ever struggled with that, or you just want a place to organize all the recipes you come across surfing the web....THIS IS THE BEST RECIPE SOFTWARE EVER INVENTED!

Basically, Cook'n is 5 products in 1:

Electronic Cookbook

Recipe Manager

Menu Planner

Grocery Shopping Assistant

Personal Home Nutritionist

Please visit Cook'n Recipe Organizer's Facebook page: Click Here!
They do WEEKLY PRIZE GIVEAWAYS...be sure to like their page so you don't miss out.

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.  All opinions in my product reviews are mine and 100% honest.

90 Day Weight Loss Challenge

Good Morning Everyone!!!! <3

As I am getting ready for work this morning, I couldn't wait to let you all know that I've been given the opportunity to take part in a 90 Day Weight Loss Challenge sponsored by Creative Bioscience.  This came at the perfect time in my life.

About 3 months ago, I started counting my caloric intake and being more active.  It helped that it was spring time and I could get out with the kids and have fun.  Immediately, 10 lbs melted off.  After another month of diet and exercise, I seemed to be at my plateau.  143 lbs may not sound like much to some of you, but I am only 5'2".  None of my clothes are fitting right, and for the first time in my life, my arms are getting fat!!!  That is just crazy!!!

When I received an email from Creative Bioscience inviting me to the 90 Day Challenge, I knew it was meant to be.  The let me choose the product that would fit my needs and lifestyle.

After carefully reviewing their product line (like 3 times!) I chose Diet 1234.  With my daughter's summer activities and sports in full swing, I am concerned that my "sneaking extra calories" will derail what I've been working toward.  With Diet 1234, I am able to be a bit more relaxed with my calorie count and exercise program.  Diet 1234 helps keep fatigue and hunger at bay while dieting.  Suppresses appetite, boosts energy, prevents new fat formation, by enlisting nature's help with natural ingredients.

I will be sharing my continued progress with you wonderful readers.  Any pitfalls and/or successes will be right here for your entertainment.  Maybe there will be a pic or 2 for you to giggle at my chubbiness?

The best part, Creative Bioscience will give me a 90 day supply to giveaway in a Rafflecopter contest!  So one of you lucky readers will be able to try one of their products as well (winner's choice)....isn't that just FABULOUS!!!

Please check with your doctor before starting any weight loss plan.  Have your pre-existing conditions checked and discuss how this diet plan could affect you.

Are you a blogger as well?  Creative Bioscience wants to hear from you too.  There are still opportunities to be involved in this awesome challenge. 

Sign up here 

Spice Things Up Anytime.... Sexy Costume Review

The Fun that is Costumes: being able to step into a role unlike your own...

From young to old, introverts to Type A's, dressing up as someone or something else is fun!  Also, you can work an adult costume party into anything, not just Halloween.  Your upcoming 4th of July party....make it a theme party and everyone dress up according to that theme.

The most fun time with costumes can even be in the bedroom!  TMI?  No...seriously...sexy costumes don't have to be just for teenagers at Halloween!  Just think what your husband will say/do when he comes into the bedroom to find you in this:

He will either be scared you are going to kick his a** or ready to pounce on you.  Either way, grab a sexy costume and spice things up a bit.  A little role-playing never hurt anyone...

The wonderful people over at Sexy Costume Discounters sent me this fun costume to try out: 

I definitely don't look that good in mine, but my husband was so excited to see me when he got home from work ;) Okay....here I am in my Game Official costume:

             Sheesh...I'm such a dork! lol

The quality of this costume was far better than I expected!  The fabric was sturdy and slinky at the same time.  The zipper is strong enough to hold my girls in, too! LOL  What really amazed me was the quality of the socks!!!  Seriously, I was oohing and ahhing over the socks for a while.  They are soft, and cushiony like actual sport socks!  I didn't want to take them off!  

Head on over to look at all the fun, flirty women's costumes they have to offer.  Remember....dressing up can be an adventure any day of the year. http://www.sexycostumediscounters.com/

I survived a yucky virus and lived to do a Product Review ?! :D

Good Morning!!! I'm alive!!!!

After each one of my kids, husband and I fell like dominos to a yucky virus, I am back to my blog.  I missed you all so much!  So let's get this off to a good start:

PRODUCT REVIEW:

POTTY COVER
Disposable Toilet Seat Cover for Kids

This is a life saver!  If you have a kid, then you know the horrors of the public restroom.  First scenario: you are able to get the disposable seat tissue supplied by proprietor of place where public restroom resides, only to find that any drops of "water" (or other fluid) have soaked straight through the tissue and onto your child's bum.

Second scenario: the restroom is out of toilet seat tissues.  You string out tons of TP to lay over seat, lift up your child, set them on toilet...but right before their bum touches the toilet paper strips, the back of their clothes knock your well-laid plan into the bowl.  Now your child is bare bottom on a yucky public potty.  The next thing they do is grab onto the toilet seat with their hands for balance.  All you can do is pray your hand sanitizer will do it's job today.

Enter the amazing.......(drumroll) POTTY COVER!!

Seriously, these are the most comprehensive toilet seat covers!  They cover the sides, the back, the entire front of even the biggest public monster toilets!  I originally tried this out by chance at the local Dairy Queen.  I had grabbed the mail, left home to go get a treat for my daughters and me, opened the package before I got out of car (see steering wheel in bottom pic lol), went into DQ, and my children immediately had to potty (duh...it's a new bathroom!  how exciting!)

I figured this would just be like a bigger version of the papery tissues at other restrooms, but the Potty Cover seriously stood the test of my 6 year old and 3 year old!  (They didn't use separate covers, it held up like no one's business to 2 tinkling tots).  The plastic coating on the back kept any fluids (yucky) from seeping through, and I wasn't panicking when my 3 year old grabbed the seat to balance!

Definitely a product invention success!  This would make a great gift for a mommy who is celebrating a potty-trained toddler.

As a parent, you are probably used to being a pack mule.  All the stuff we have to haul around for everyone in our oversized, yet trying hard to still look fashionable purses!  Surely you don't want ANOTHER item in that mess of a bag!  Here is a photo I took of how compact the Potty Covers are:

They come individually sealed in cellophane about the size of a maxi pad, but thinner.  You will be amazed at how much unfolds when you open it.  So you can slip this into any diaper bag or purse (or husband's big baggy pockets).

Okay....go check out the product here:Potty Cover
Or go buy a pack here: "A pack of PottyCover sells for $5.99 and it is available on Amazon, Ebay, all Buy Buy Baby stores around the country and at select Bed Bath & Beyond stores."

Be sure to ask any questions or tell me your thoughts on this product in the comments below.  Thanks :D

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.

Leg shaving gone public...

I honestly didn't think I'd be sharing any information about leg shaving on my blog!  Yet, here I am....about to tell you alllll about my legs.  "Why?" you ask... because I am a BzzAgent and must review awesome products and share the news with my friends/family/followers (followers? I am not a cult leader...well, maybe I'll become a leg shaving cult leader...we'll see).


Here are the new Bic Soleil Savvy Razors I will be reviewing:

(Doesn't she look super excited to have soft legs?  Maybe she is on some crazy 

hallucinogen and these magical floating razors are giving her the giggles?)

I'm a brunette with very dark-brown, coarse hair on my legs (TMI?)  After I shave, you can still see the hairs just under the skin.  My skin tans very easily....on the upper half of my body!  For some reason my legs just don't really tan anymore.  So with this combination, if you look very very closely at my legs after I shave, they look prickly even though they aren't.  Don't get me started on the whole I just shaved shut the bathroom door before I get goosebumps and have to shave again thing (I am always shouting this at the husband and spawn).  That really drives me insane!  Not to mention the bumpies I get just because my hairs grow all stupid-like and so quickly that they can't possibly come out of the skin properly!!!!  

Okay... enough with the TMI.  Just stay tuned.  I'm due to receive a BzzKit on this product and will have a nice long blog coming soon.  Full of pictures of my legs before and after, too!!  I'll let 'em get extra furry just for this experiment ;)  Don't say I never gave you anything.  Because after this experiment/product review, I will have bared my sole on this whole shaving thing (legs too!).

Here is what I read about these razors...

You've got brains, a gift for never paying full price and (we hope you don't mind us stating the obvious) a show-stopping pair of legs. So it's only natural you'd want an effortless way to display all three.

Enter BIC^® Soleil^® Savvy^™ — an innovative razor that combines the convenience and priced-to-please savings of a disposable with the premium shave performance of a refillable cartridge system. In short, this shaving experience feels savvier with each stroke. Flexible blade technology and a pivoting head provide a flawlessly smooth shave.

Every Soleil Savvy package contains an easy-grip disposable handle and four replaceable, triple-blade heads. Show off your practicality and intelligence by saying no to pricey razor refills, and then show off your super-close shave to those legions of admirers. (Because we know you have them.)

They actually sound pretty amazing.  Just think about how much "greener" these are without 4 separate handles in the package!  

Lower your carbon footprint here!

What's in The Package?

• Each BIC Soleil Savvy package contains one disposable handle and four refillable cartridges
• The razor's handle includes a rubber grip for added control
• Triple-blade heads feature flexible blade technology and lubricating strips with Vitamin E
• Pivoting heads are made to follow a woman's contours and provide a super-close shave
• Available at grocery stores, drug stores and mass retailers (like Walmart) for a suggested retail price of $7.49

To be Continued.....

Pearl Mountain Image Converter Product Review

Pearl Mountain Image Converter is a very straight forward and user-friendly program.  This software allows the user to convert an image from and to so many different formats!

For Example: Have you ever had that dreaded situation of having a png image that you have to have as a jpg in order to upload it?  Or even to view it on your computer?  Pearl Mountain Image Converter takes all the hard work and online searches out of that equation.  With this software, I know I will never worry about "save as" or finding a program online to convert.

But wait!  It does more than that!  You can resize, crop, watermark, and correct brightness, contrast, hue, and sharpness.  Need to add a border?  Need to quickly rename all the adjustments you just made to an image?  This Image Converter does all of that. Better yet, this program can do this in batch to save you time on doing it one image at a time!

I'm sure there are more comprehensive image editing programs out there, but what I like about this, is the simplicity.  You don't have to juggle layers and all the other overwhelming image editing junk.  Absolutely ideal for my blog.  I have added this software as one of my top blogger utilities.

 Just a quick file format change, resize, rename and save.... upload to blog...done :D

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.