Adding Fiber to Your Diet: Metamucil

Why does someone take fiber? We all know the best form for fiber is fresh vegetables, fruit and whole grains. We, sadly, don't usually get enough fiber in our basic diets which cause havoc on our bodies. So where we are missing out, we can replace with Metamucil. When starting my sampling, I knew there were benefits to extra fiber. It is good for the heart, helps with IBS, and helps with weight loss. After poking around WebMD.com for more information, I found out that no study have shown that fiber supplements help with the weight loss so I was heart broken. 

Ok so one loss, but it does help with other things to make the body healthy. That same source informed me that fiber is great for controlling diabetes, lower cholesterol, improves the immune system and IBS. I found Metamucil to be easy to drink and swallow, unlike the pills and chalky chewable. The orange flavor drink reminds me some of EmerganC. The instructions won't steer you wrong in that your body will take some adjusting the first couple days, but then things will settle down and get better. Also remember to drink a lot more water throughout the day, and take medications at a different times. It is also advised to visit your doctor before starting, especially if you're taking medication, to make sure there won't be any complications or side effects. 

I find Metamucil to be an enjoyable way to take fiber, and would advise others to give it a try. This was given to me to try and review through Vocalpoint.

Building a Tardis.... Cake

When wanting to build this device that goes through wibbly wobbly timey wimey  you have to carefully plan out what you will be doing. In this first step, you will be required to draw out... a template. Measure out the size of the cake, then divide in almost eight parts. Remember the sign on top when doing this measuring. measure the lines and details, and don't forget the windows. The Doctor does need to look out at times. 

Once this is accomplished, we will need to spackle on a nice base of frosting. Roll out the fondant tell it is the correct thickness and size to cover the whole cake. An easy way to do this is like a pie crust and lightly roller over the rolling pin. Though try to center as much as possible the first time, the fondant should be thick enough to fix any mistakes in the transfer. Lay it smoothly, pinch at the corners of the cake, and trim any excess for fondant. Then start measuring and tracing the planned stencil on the cake. At this point, expect there might have to be changes though sticking as close to the plan will help in the long run. Remember all details will be noticed after the paint is applied, so make sure to press in all the details. 

Once the lines are all pressed in the cake, it is time to give this girl a fresh coat of paint. This blue was found as a frosting spray paint in the Wilton's section of Walmart. Give this a good coat, and then a second coat for touch ups. 

With a special white sheet of frosting paper, trace and cut out the two windows, the booth sign, and the door sign. Before applying it to the cake, draw in the other details. I used a sharpie and just didn't let anyone eat the white stuff, but there might be a food friendlier way of doing this. Apply frosting in the back and place them where needed on the cake. The frosting will make it stick on the cake. 

Ok, so there is one part that if missing will mean the Tardis has no way of lighting it's way through the galaxy. That would be.... the light. Dah! This will require the extra fondant that was scrapped from the edges, yellow and blue food dye, thin paintbrush and a skewer. First, take a little of the fondant, dab some yellow food dye on it, and start kneading. Use the amount needed to make the light the right size for your tardis. Too small and you will get lost, and too big and you'll be going wibbly wobbly. Once the color is correct, create a round cylinder shape. Put this to the side. Then you will get more fondant, put blue dye into it, and knead. This will then be divided into two, flattened and placed on top of and bottom of the yellow cylinder. now drop some blue food dye on a dish, take the small paintbrush, and paint on the lines on the yellow cylinder. Place this now onto the skewer that should be cut down to size, and place on the top of the cake. The right size will hold the light together while enough to place on the cake and hold it in place. 

There it is. Ready for helping take your party to where it might never be on time, never were expected, but ALWAYS were needed and that is the place there is going to be fun! 

I hope you guys liked this. If so, let me know and I'll do more baking/ cooking adventure reviews. Much love to you guys.

"Glowing" Review of L'oreal's Age Perfect Facial Oil

I got the joy to try L'Oreal^® Age Perfect^® Glow Renewal Facial Oil before it had come out through Expotv. It was a joy to get to try something like this, because of the oil concept on combination skin. It let me explore a new venue of caring for my now aging skin to help have more glow. (Bad pun. lol) With this trial, I got to explore using it for a couple weeks to really get an idea of how to use it and what worked for me. 

First lets look at the part that it is... an oil. Say what? Oil directly on my combination skin? This oil isn't the shea butter or olive oil style, though. It is based with essential oils, which are oils distracted from plants. L'oreal Age Perfect is a lovely blend 8 different essential oils from herbs and flowers that vibrate and stimulate the skin cells. Do make sure you don't have any allergies to any of these plants, and then enjoy skin care like the beauty queen Cleopatra. 

It really is easy to use. After washing your face and before lotion, take three to five drops and spread it all over. I found, when I warmed up the oil on my finger tips, it spread easily and further. Start at your neck and gently bring the oils up. This video gives a little more information and shows how I apply it. 

 I hope you enjoy! 

De-Mystifying the Sodastream

When I first heard of Sodastream, it just seemed silly for my family to want an item to make soda. First, taste would never be the same. And second, that would just be one more item in my kitchen that I don't have space for. That and mostly, I have no idea how to use one of the foreign items. So when my daughter was looking at the Houseparty's house parties, she was determined to have mom at least try. She had used it once while camping and loved it. So, yes, I applied and was informed a couple weeks later that I will be getting a box full of stuff and one of those things will be a Sodastream. 

I wanted to make sure I know the ins and outs before display at the party, and found the item was actually very smooth to use. In four easy steps, you have a fresh bottle of fizz. Since visual display is usually easier to explain hte step my step, I did a short video for you to enjoy. http://youtu.be/SQyHQbmiUz4 

This review was all done on my own with no endorsement or benefit from a third party. 

Redbox still has a ways to go....

In this world of stream lining, there is already a big name taking up the market. That would be Netflix. So it is easy to see that Redbox is trying to label itself as different from them. They make it easy to see more of the movies they have available by showing those first in what they have available; where Netflix leans towards showing the TV series with a mix of movies. They offer free movies for those days you need something newer instead of having to wait for the mail person gets it to you. I do see this, but it just isn't enough.

There are things that need to be looked at and realized why these short comings will affect them in the long run.

1.      Limited use of being able to use service on the television. With the options of only one game console, no Roku, or any other smart TV devices. The user has to have the computer directly to the computer to be able to streamline. This left me with only being able to use the phone and computer usage. Easy availability makes people able to use it, enjoy it, and let others know to join it.

2.      Download was glitchy and slow. This was both in using the computer and the smartphone.

3.      Confusion of making sure you don't get charged for the DVDs at the kiosks, because of not using the device correctly.

4.      There is a need for more variety available both at the box and in streamlining, since many of the ones that we can streamline for Redbox are already available at Netflix. And if I want to rent a DVD for the day from a last minute decision without waiting for the mail person, I could just stream rent from Amazon. It should also be noted that we don't need to be using the streamlining service to just rent from the kiosk.

Again, I see where they are trying to make their own mark in the streamlining world. But at this time, they will have to pull out more to really catch people’s eyes. They need to make it available to everyone, and make more movies available that reach everyone and every age. I hope this is something they can looking more forward, and come back in a stronger stance.  

This opportunity was given to me courtesy of Bzzagent and Redbox.