Omron Wireless Activity Tracker - Day One

I was accepted to a Chatterbox program through House Party. Being selected allows me to receive a free product and chatter pack. I received the tracker yesterday and was pretty excited to get it started right away. I recently started using another tracker - Misfit Flash - that I LOVE! So I was excited to try a new one, and compare them. After using the Omron device for a little over 24 hours now, I'm not real impressed. The size of it may be small, but it's a little bulky for my preference, using the clip makes it stick out a little far and I keep hitting it with my hand or arm as I walk, so keeping it in my pocket is really the only option that works for me. I don't always have pants with pockets, so that makes for difficult tracking accuracy. The Flash is much thinner and easier to wear, pretty much unnoticeable, and can also be clipped easily on my waistband for pocket-less pants. Syncing the device with the app is another "chore" It doesn't sync automatically, and I have to shake the device to make sure it's "awake" and right next to my phone before I can sync it. I cannot check my daily progress with just a push of a button or by simply opening the app, I have to literally make sure everything is open and on and then sync every time I want to check the status on anything I'm tracking. The Flash syncs automatically throughout the day and again anytime I open the app. I can check progress by just pressing on the device face or by opening the app...it's all updated instantly.

Checking progress on the Omron is kind of tricky. Well, not really tricky, but not super quick either. I have to shake the device to wake it up, it doesn't always wake up on the first or second shake...kind of like a stubborn teen in the morning.....after a few shakes, the digital display will show your step count for the day, up to the point you woke it up. Sometimes it also shows the number of miles walked, but not always. I'm still trying to figure that out. With the Flash, I just have to press the face of the device and it shows me by a ring of LEDs how close I am to my goal. Not a specific number as the Omron does, but still shows me what my progress is to that point. The app for Omron is pretty simple, I like how the bars are across for each individual goal I'm tracking, and also when I select an individual goal, it show's another bar graph...I like bar graphs. The Flash app shows the ring of lights for progress but also includes other information. The Flash also monitors sleep, which is important to me.

Linking with other apps, Omron doesn't have many options. I can link with AppleHealth, Walgreens and RunKeeper.....I don't run, lol. Maybe I should, but I don't. I use other fitness apps on a daily basis. MyFitnessPal, MapMyFitness and MapMyWalk are my three absolute favorite and unfortunately I cannot link them with the Omron device. Fortunately, they DO link with my Flash. I'm not entirely sure how accurate the step count is at this point, but I'll be doing further side by side comparisons soon.

FRESH FOODS MARKET CHICKEN TENDERS AT KROGER

Wow, so it's been a long time since I've posted any reviews! Or really anything for that matter. Good thing I don't have much of a following, lol. So I recently was invited to a Bzz Campaign (cuz I'm a Bzz Agent :) )for Kroger Chicken Tenders. My son LOVES Kroger deli chicken, so of course I wanted in. I received a coupon for a free pound of fresh deli chicken tenders and a 1 liter bottle of soda. My son was overjoyed with this coupon. All in all I can say it was a great night. Dinner was very easy, lol. No fuss, no muss, no clean-up...great night. Kroger Deli is always an easy pick up, usually fresh (except around closing time), so it's a pretty good deal.

Brieftons Spiralizer

So I was lucky enough to be included in a giveaway from Brieftons (kitchen gadgets)......I got to choose from three products, and I chose the spiralizer. There's no limit as to what can be made with this little contraption, and I love it! Just today, in less than ten minutes, I made apple chips and apple spirals for a snack. Yes, you still have to wash the food and still have clean up, but the spirals are fun, and the slices are all nicely uniform. It's safe enough for the older kids to use, with supervision. Clean-up is pretty easy and there's not alot of waste.....just the ends and a very small core. You can use just about any of the more firm fruit and veggies......onion, apple, carrots, cucumber, zucchini, cabbage, potato, peppers, cantaloupe, etc. I'm not sure I would try a tomato or not, but who knows, lol. But for garnishes, soups and stews, healthy veggie meals/sides, or just fun, healthy snacks...this is your gadget! Here's the spiralizer, right out of the box

Here's the chips and spirals...from green apples....there was a little bit of juice that dripped during the process

And, finally, here's the waste....not really much left of the two apples. Just the ends that need to be cut off to make a flat surface for putting on the machine, the small end left after cutting, and a very small core. Not much at all, some of it you can even chop up and add to whatever you're making so there's even less waste. :)

You can purchse the spiralizer HERE on amazon.

ARM & HAMMER (TM) Baking Soda

ARM & HAMMER (TM) Baking Soda

Natures Bounty® Hair, Skin, & Nail Gummies

Natures Bounty® Hair, Skin, & Nail Gummies: Join the Natures Bounty #HairSkinNails Challenge & feel beautiful from the inside out! #freesamp http://bit.ly/1mrOsQj I received a free sample courtesy of Smiley360

GoGo squeeZ(TM) - Get Out and GoGo Play!

GoGo squeeZ(TM) - Get Out and GoGo Play!

Kroger Deli Chicken

Kroger Deli Chicken is the perfect part of a convenient meal for the family. My kids and grandkids absolutely love it. It's hot, juicy, tender and delicious. It's nice to be able to only have sides to make after a long day at work. Thanks BzzAgent and Kroger for our free Deli Chicken Meal. :)

NEW Kroger Yogurt Smoothie Bars

We're always excited to try new products...especially for free, lol. And it's an added benefit when it's a product from Kroger. We shop almost daily at Fry's, which is a Kroger store, so it's nice to get their product for free once in a while. We've always like their store brand products, they are very comparable to other brand names. However, this time, I can't be as positive. We are starting to eat lighter around here, so we thought the yogurt smoothie bars would be a great addition to our diet. I guess normally it would have been, but the flavor of these bars is not good at all. In our opinion anyway. There's still almost a full box in our freezer...and we are frozen dessert junkies....so that should tell you a little something about how we feel about the product. We've also tried the fruit bars and ice cream sandwich wheel things...those are fantastic. Sucks that these weren't just as good. :(

AVEENO® NOURISH DANDRUFF CONTROL

 I like the Aveeno dandruff product as compared to the other dandruff shampoo I've previously used. If you want to try it be sure look pretty good in the shampoo aisle because it was a little difficult for me to spot on the shelf. Seemed to almost be camouflaged by the bigger, brighter bottles around it.

AVEENO® NOURISH DANDRUFF CONTROL: Get flake-free, beautiful hair with AVEENO®! SAVE $3 here http://smiley360.com/1764594.cfm #AVEENO #freesamp *Please remember the FTC requires you to mention that you received a free sample courtesy of Smiley360 when sharing.

Palmolive Soft Touch

Palmolive is Tough on Grease, Soft on Hands :) If you want to try this product, you can find it at Walmart. I received two full size bottles of Palmolive Soft Touch from Influenster (free) for the purpose of trying and reviewing. (See Influenster reviews HERE) I kept and used the Vitamin E bottle for myself and gave the Coconut Butter bottle to my daughter to try. So far, It doesn't seem to be anything spectacular or over and above any other leading brand I've used. I like the colors, the packaging, the fragrance, the feel of my hands after washing dishes. But one sinkful using this soap doesn't really seem to be washing as many dishes as my usual brand. The bubbles seem to disappear, and it doesn't really feel like there's enough left in the water to continue washing. So I tend to use more of Palmolive than my other brand, to get the same amount of dishes clean. I may or may not buy this product in the future, maybe if there's a good sale. :)

BIC Mark-It Permanent Markers

BIC Mark-It Permanent Markers: Thx 4 the free #bicmarkit permanent markers. Enter 36 days of spring colors sweeps http://on.fb.me/XLFLmf No Purch Nec US.18+ Ends 6/14/13

KROGER PRIVATE SELECTION UPSIDE DOWN CAKES

I was really pretty excited to find myself in the middle of this campaign. Who doesn't love cake?! We sure do! I shop at Fry's (Kroger) almost daily, so there wouldn't be a problem finding this new product, right?! Wrong. I visited my regular Fry's right away...(I said I was excited)....where I know the lady in the bakery very well. Unfortunately, the upside cakes were nowhere to be found and my friend hadn't even heard of them! I was very disappointed, but thought maybe because it was a new product, they just hadn't received it yet. I waited about a week and tried my regular store again...still no cakes! I decided to go on a little hunt. I tried two other stores in the area....nope! Never heard of the product. Because I'm at Fry's almost every day, I still check in and around the bakery in hopes that maybe they've finally received them yet. Still nothing. The campaign ends in eight days.........I have a feeling I will not be able to find and try these cakes. So disappointing!

Campbells® Slow Kettle® Style Soups

Campbells® Slow Kettle® Style Soups: Thx Campbells® #SlowKettle 4 the free soup and cool stuff! Get a $1 off http://bit.ly/YVxW1D #SlowDownAndSavor

Covergirl Blastflipstick

I received three full-sized COVERGIRL blastflipsticks (in Stunner, Vixen and Minx), free, from BzzAgent.com to try for a while and review. I love the idea, I love the ease of application, I love Covergirl. The thing I don't love is the colors. Of the three I got (six total colors), there was really only one that I could sensibly wear out of the house. The others were very bright, even when using the shimmer with them. I also did a little looking around and saw the other colors available....(you can see them here on Covergirl's site)....there are a couple colors I'd love to try, and probably will. But like I said, the colors I got were just not a match for me, my age, my style, or my skin tone :/

Torani Flavor!

New recipes are always fun to try...experimenting is a favorite thing to do around our house. When I was given the opportunity to try Torani syrups I was so excited. i received two full sized bottles for free, for sampling and review purposes from SheSpeaks...extra YAY! The two flavors I got are Vanilla Bean and Pumpkin Pie. Perfect timing with the holidays and all :) The kids and I wanted to try the syrups for different things. We used the Pumpking Pie syrup added to our pancake mix for delicious pumpkin pancakes...topped with whipped cream, of course. Not much of a "recipe", I just added about 1/8th cup of the syrup to my regular batter and it worked fabulously! For the Vanilla Bean, we made regular old vanilla shakes. A little bit of vanilla ice cream, a little bit of milk, and a little bit of Torani's Vanilla Bean syrup...Y-U-M!! There are so many other flavors, and so, so many recipes and tips on Torani's website...you should go checkit out :) Happy Holidays everyone!

SLEEP NUMBER® m9 Bed

I went into the sleep Number Bed store this afternoon for the first time ever.  The sales people were very attentive, friendly and helpful...not pushy, as I had expected.

The representative showed me on a computer monitor where the adjustments to the air chamber would be made and explained very thoroughly how the mattress works.  I LOVED it! I even asked "What if I don't want to get up?"  He said, "Then don't", lol.  I could have stayed for a while longer.  A sleep number mattress is something I would love to have in the future.

By the way, my sleep number is 45 :)


SLEEP NUMBER® m9 Bed: Thx @SleepNumberSara 4 my free CoolFit Pillow! Enter 4 chance 2 win FREE #SleepNumberm9 bed http://goo.gl/IBhol

SLEEP NUMBER® m9 Bed

SLEEP NUMBER® m9 Bed: Thx @SleepNumberSara 4 my free CoolFit Pillow! Enter 4 chance 2 win FREE #SleepNumberm9 bed http://goo.gl/IBhol

Influenster Makeover

So by now you all know I review products that I receive for free from a couple different places. They're all amazing. But let me tell you about Influenster. It's one of my favorite places to learn about new products. I can read reviews from other Influensters, write reviews, learn where to find products and how much to expect to pay. Influenster has recently re-vamped their website. It looks amazing. I love how easy it is to navigate. It wasn't difficult before, but now it seems more organized and more user friendly. You really should look into becoming an Influenster. Since I joined, I've received two vox boxes. Vox boxes are boxes containing a grouping of about 5 to 8 products following a specified theme, that you receive free (no, there's not even a subscription fee). You try the products, review them and share your opinions with friends and family and whoever else will listen, lol. Here's a link to the site: http://www.influenster.com/ Happy reviewing :)

EBOOST

I received one sample packet of orange flavor EBOOST energy boost free in my Naturals Vox Box from Influenster. I actually kept putting off trying this one til I had the time to really try it out. I was afraid that if I used it in the morning and it made me sleepy or didn't help, or made me sick then I wouldn't be able to perform well at work. If I took it too late in the day, I was afraid it might keep me up too late at night. But the last two days I've missed out on some sleep and have had extra hours and tasks at work, so I was feeling a bit sluggish when I got home today. I decided to go ahead and try the drink -- it's Friday, no work tomorrow, and nothing planned for the rest of the day, so any adverse reactions wouldn't interfere with anything. I added a little extra water to avoid a strong flavor, as I'm not too fond of orange, lol. It wasn't too bad, but I did notice a funny after taste. I'm attributing that to the type of product it is, and letting it slide. It doesn't give a great boost of energy, like say "other" energy boosts may give, but just enough to keep me from wanting to nap. I'm noticing a slight headache, but not sure if it's from the EBOOST or just from the long work week. I also noticed the cost is a bit high...$28 for 20 packets...so $1.40 per packet. I guess it's comparable, but I'm not sure I'd go out and buy a whole box...maybe one packet at a time. All in all, the slight boost it gives, with the not so great flavor and the kinda high price, I'm not too sure I'll be purchasing this product regularly in the future. Like I said, maybe a single-serve packet if I needed it and saw it on the counter at the store as I was checking out...but not going to go out looking for it specifically. Here's a link to their products so you can check things out for yourself: EBOOST Natural Energy

SheaMoisture Baby Bar Soap

As part of my Naturals vox box from Influenster, I received a free full size bar of SheaMoisture Raw Shea, Chamomile & Argan Baby Bar Soap. I love it! The scent is great, it lathers really well, cleans well, and is a good sized bar....larger than most single bar soaps. I'm kind of anxious to try other products from Shea Moisture and will more than likely continue to buy and use this soap. Here's the link again: http://www.sheamoisture.com/