Archive for Reviews

The Memory Jar

Tricia Goyer is writing a brand new series called Seven Brides for Seven Bachelors. The series is a fictional work about the Amish. The Memory Jar (Zondervan, 2012), is the first book. I read it over a month ago. I have read a few of Trisha’s books and have enjoyed them.

Like many books I read, this book is about relationships. It doesn’t matter if you are Amish, Baptist, Evangelical, Reformed or whatever type of Christian you label yourself, relationships are key to your and my existence. This post could quickly become my soap box if I allow it to because of my views and expectations of relationships/friendships. I have a beef about Christians, even though I am one, and how flippant many are in how they develop and maintain relationships/friendships. So often what comes across to people really isn’t how it is, it’s just the emotional barriers a person has put up to protect themselves from being hurt…yet again.

But that’s not what this post is about, so onward….

The Memory Jar is about a young Amish woman, Sarah, who lives in Kootenai, Montana. The memory jar is her special way of remembering a cherished friend who died. Like many unmarried women her age, she wonders if she will ever find a special man to share her life with.

I really like the sweet friendship and common bond – love of baking – that develops between Sarah and Jathan. Jathan, a visiting bachelor, among dozens of visiting bachelors who seek to live there for six months in order to receive “resident” status for the fall hunting season. What I didn’t like was how swayed Jathan was by other people in his life, at least initially. It was rather heart wrenching to read the turmoil this couple had to go through.

It was also hard to read about Sarah’s grief journey over the loss of her beloved childhood friend. I can relate to grief on a different level but always find it hard to read about because it evokes so many emotionally charged memories, not all of which are good. :( So as usual I cried.

The difficulties Sarah and Jathan had to go through to be understood by family members, the hurdles they had to overcome for having a new generation of ideas end up being character building, as well as foundational in strengthening their relationship. Something I think every relationship endures at some point or another, the key is whether or not the relationship makes it through them or breaks in the process.

As always, I love the show of community among the Amish, but in this story a different side to that community was shown and not in a positive way, especially in Jathan’s home town.

Trisha Goyer’s The Memory Jar receives two thumbs up from me!

Faith and Family Reviews received the following product in exchange for writing a review. While we consider it a privilege to receive products to review, our reviews are our honest opinion and thoughts of the product.


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Novica Black Giraffe Wood Ornaments


Need a last minute Christmas idea?  But, it has to be unique!  Head over to Novica.com. Novica is associated with National Geographic and has beautiful items for any occasion. Need help with a special gift? No problem! Novica has a “Gift Finder” section!

When I received my Novica package, I opened the shipping box and this is the box inside! Wrapped with beautiful paper adorned with a crafted bow.

In my package I received 4 individually wrapped Giraffe Wood Ornaments.

These giraffes are hand crafted and hand painted by Made Sarna. Each giraffe is unique in it’s own way. They have a small hanger on the back and ready for the Christmas Tree.

Head to Novia.com for your last minute gifts!

Faith and Family Reviews received the following product in exchange for writing a review/feature. While we consider it a privilege to receive free products to review, our reviews are our honest opinion and thoughts of the product.

 


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5 Last Minute Stocking Stuffers

If you are heading out shopping this weekend and still need a few stocking stuffers, we have some ideas for you! Below are some products we have recently tried and reviewed or have used in the past. From techie stuff to kids toys, there are last minute stocking stuffers for nearly everyone in the family!

1. Shredz. We got our first snow the other day and our boys have been outside playing with their new Shredz action figures and accessories. The boys really like them! The photos speak for themselves.

2. Eco.Ditty. Eco.Ditty is a company that offers eco-friendly, organic cotton, reusable sandwich and snack bags.

3. Fruit. My mom use to always put a huge apple and orange in our stockings. We never saw that size of fruit any other time of the year.

4. Love’s Christmas Journey DVD. We won this movie in a drawing or something and received it this week. Planning on watching it this weekend or sometime over Christmas.

5. PlayMG. PlayMG is a portable mobile gaming device. It is very cool. So cool that my husband and I have enjoyed playing NBA Jam. ;) If you knew us, you’d know that we both love basketball both watching and playing, but don’t do much of either anymore. Though PlayMG is a pricier item for a stocking stuffer, it is the size of a perfect last minute stocking stuffer, especially if you are stuck in what to get a special someone. No need to buy extra equipment, as it uses a standard cell phone charger to charge. Accessories can be purchased separately, like a case, charger etc.

We have really been enjoying learning to us our PlayMG, but I wouldn’t say it hasn’t been as user friendly as I would like. It took me an email and a couple calls to support and I still cannot get the internet to work even though my WiFi says it is connected. I have to call them again after Christmas. The game has frozen on us a couple of times causing us to reset it by pressing the brightness and volume down buttons, which I need to ask about. Support has been great though.


There were a couple of cards like this and that was the extent of instructions. :( It came beautifully packaged though in a nice box that slide out like a drawer. Too bad my children sort of wrecked ours already or I could show you how nice it was.

I will say that so far the PlayMG has been a motivator for my boys (9 and nearly 11) to do their chores, so it is working in the sense that I want it too. I like that it is portable and needs no other service other than WiFi and it will work with our NetZero device. I also like that we can use the Bill My Parents card. I added $20 to it and Bill My Parents added another $10, so I can use that as an extra incentive for chores. OR if certain individuals are not complying then I can say I get to spend the money instead. Hoping I don’t have to resort to that but if I have to play hard ball I will!

The Bill My Parents card works like a debit card but teens cannot overspend if there is no money on the card. Parents can be notified via email of purchases etc., but they will not be able to get a report of websites visited or what their kids watched. That’s a downfall, if you ask me. I like that it’s a debit card. Now that my girls are getting older, it will be a useful tool to use to educate them about responsible credit card use.

Overall, we like PlayMG, I just wish more instructions came with the device on how to get everything set up -email, internet etc. This is a great device that gets my children OFF my iPhone and onto THEIR games without expensive cell phone charges or contracts.

Have fun with any last minute shopping, visiting or preparing you have to do this weekend!


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Reverse Charades Holiday Edition Review


Reverse Charades Holiday Edition Review

So, I think I still have pains in my side from laughing so much!  My husband, myself, and 2 other friends played this one evening when the kids went to bed. I’ve never had so much fun with a game and it got very competitive! I’m laughing as I write this remembering my husband trying to act out “Cindy Lou Who”. Start laughing now…  imaging trying to act out “Hark the Herald Angels Sing”, “Nutcracker”, or “Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen”. Bring some tissues because your going to laugh until you cry! Reverse Charades Holiday Edition is a must have for a Christmas Party!  Great stocking stuffer also it a small box (it’s about the size of an iPhone).

Reverse Charades also come in Girls Night In Edition and Sports Edition. To purchase Reverse Charades online click here, Amazon.com, or 2000 other store locations.

Faith and Family Reviews received the following product in exchange for writing a review. While we consider it a privilege to receive free products to review, our reviews are our honest opinion and thoughts of the product.


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Pine Bros. Softish Throat Drops Review

‘Tis the season! Time to start stocking up on your throat and cough drops. Pine Bros. Softish Throat Drops are come in 2 flavors – Wild Cherry and Natural Honey. They also have Licorice, which is limited for the Holidays. And look for Lemon Citrus on the selves next year. Pine Bros. Softish Throat Drops are Gluten Free and only 5 calories per drop. Softish Throat Drops are available in bags or pucks.

The drops are “softish” and it’s hard not to bite into them.  We received both Wild Cherry and Natural Honey.  Both had a pleasant flavor, but when it came to our favorite – Natural Honey won in our house.

Faith and Family Reviews received the following product in exchange for writing a review. While we consider it a privilege to receive free products to review, our reviews are our honest opinion and thoughts of the product.


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Prevent Getting Lost With Navigation Apps

When traveling do you use GPS or do you prevent getting lost with any navigation apps? Leave me a comment if you do!

Last Saturday I started an early morning paper route – paid opps and business has been rather slow this month so I needed a back up plan that still allowed me to be at home with my children. The glories of being self-employed…work isn’t always steady or consistent. A paper route allows me to work while my family sleeps. In the spring, if not before, I plan to invite my older girls to help me so we can spend extra time together. If that goes well, then maybe the little ones can join me, but I’d really hate to get them up that early!

An early morning paper route means I have been getting up at 2:22am and am usually out the door by 2:40-2:45am to head to the warehouse to bag the Chicago Tribune, Sun Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today and New York Times. Grab my route papers and be on my way. It’s very easy work. It’s finding the houses and maneuvering my town’s streets in the dark that is taking longer to get use to! I’ll admit I am not much of a navigator and while I have improved, you all know that I have used my human GPS – my travel savvy husband – many times in the past for help getting around town.

Multiple times I have got turned around or taken the wrong way as I drive my route. I have even called Mr. D, the man who’s in charge of routes, for help finding what I call “mystery” houses, the ones with no numbers, yet we are suppose to know where they are! Thankfully, Mr. D trains new drivers with half their route first so I have had the same half all week, however, there are a few new/different houses every day. This weekend he’ll probably introduce the second half, which will be interesting as the weekend routes are bigger and longer.

The past couple of days I have been using Verizon’s Navigator App to help me drive my paper route more efficiently. It has really helped, especially the voice directions on VZ Navigator. The Verizon Navigator voice guidance feature uses traffic lights and number of streets instead of feet or meters, to provide a safer driving experience.

About VZ Navigator

As I stated, VZ Navigator is an GPS or navigation app you can download to your cell phone. Verizon is offering a FREE 30-day trial, after the 30-day trial it costs $2/month or you can pay as you use for a fee of 99 cents per day (Yikes!). According to your data package you may be billed for data usage per megabyte basis.

The app also offers roadside assistance service, show traffic, a follow me option, plan a trip view, a place to store favorites, contacts, recent searches, find a place, movie or events and you can even input your preferences.

This app offers 2D, 3D, Dashboard and List view, plus so much more. From detours to weather, so far it appears to be a full service app from my initial use of it.

VZ Navigator Review

For the most part I am very hesitant to use location services and rarely have that feature turned on, but for the purpose of this post and review I turned it on. The thing I like the most is the voice guidance, which saves me from having to look down so much at the list of directions or the moving pin on the map (that’s what Google Maps provides).

Another thing I like is the convenience of it being on my phone without having to buy another device.

The thing I don’t like is the monthly charge at the end of the 30-day trial. I could buy a GPS system, you know? Time will tell on how much I use it and how attached I get to it. Ha! It’ll probably save me time on my paper route though!

Visit iTunes learn more about the VZ Navigator App.

This is a sponsored post.


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Mailpix Review Update AND Twitter Party


A few weeks ago I posted a review of a new online photo company called Mailpix. I wrote about the ease of ordering and the wonderful system they have to upload and order photos and photo memory gifts. Well, I am back to share with you the items I actually ordered and received.

We ordered a number of items from Mailpix. And although I do not have a photo of everything I will share what I have.

I must say that the orders came faster than I expected. I did expect them to come slowly because of the Christmas holiday but they were right on track with what they noted as their standard shipping times. I was very pleased! The packaging for the photo gifts was very nice as well. They came packaged in Styrofoam containers to ensure safety of the porcelain items. The only item packaging I had an issue with was the 8×10’s … they came in your standard cardboard mailer… and we received them on a rainy day so the edges o the photos were a “Tiny” bit warped because of moisture…but we just put the photos under a big book and they flattened out and were just fine! I cannot blame Mailpix for the weather… but I do wish they were double wrapped or something to hinder the weather issue.

The Above picture is how the mug and ornaments came packaged.

The first thing we ordered was our annual Christmas Card. Yes I did say Christmas card, not Holiday card… my husband was very adamant in finding a layout that said Christmas instead of Holiday…and Mailpix had a great assortment of both layout…of course we opted for the Merry Christmas layout. The cards turned out AWESOME. Although I forgot to remove the red eye on my son in the picture, I must say that the quality was as good as any photo card I have ever gotten. Had I remembered to remove the red eye and press the “enhance” button they would have been the best cards ever… but that is user error!

 

The second thing we ordered were a few 8×10’s of some pictures we took of sprint cars we took over the summer. My husband usually gets his 8×10’s printed at Walgreens and let me tell you … these were BETTER! With the cropping and enhancing I was able to do with the picture they look like professional photos! We are very pleased!

The third thing we ordered was the photo mug. This turned out very nice as well. Not as awesome as the printed photos but VERY nice. The quality of the picture seemed a bit off. Now, I am not sure if this is because the item is on a porcelain mug and I should not be expecting the same quality as a printed photos…or if because these were scanned photos as opposed to digital images. I really do not know. But overall I am pleased with the outcome.

 

The fourth item ordered was out yearly photo calendars. These turned out PERFECT! The quality was s much nicer than the company we have used before. The pictures are crisp and clear and our layout looks great! Sorry I do not have a picture…I forgot and wrapped them :(

Lastly, we ordered a few of their snowflake ornaments. Overall the ornaments were fine. The one I have pictures below was the best of the bunch. It is not very “photoastic” because the white does not photograph well but it turned out okay! However, with that said we did order two more and one I had a problem with the photo being off centered on the snowflake. I would have liked a perfectly centered picture but it looks okay. The picture itself is centered in the circle but the “stamp” of the picture on the porcelain is off centered. There was one ornament we ordered as a gift for my mother-in law that will not be sent… because the picture is NOT centered in the frame of the ornament… it is not that it is not stamped correctly it is that the photo is actually skewed to the side of the photo layout. I KNOW it was not like this when I designed the ornament so I ma not sure what happened between my ordering the ornament and the processing and shipping …but the end product did not look as I expected from my layout in the Mailpix software. This was disappointing. The good thing is that Mailpix offers a 100% satisfaction guarantee, so I have emailed the company about the issue. The bad? I will probably NOT get a replacement in time to give as a Christmas gift :( ***Update talked to customer service this AM and they are sending me one Next Day so hopefully I will get it in time to mail it out to my mother-in-law…keep your fingers crossed! ***

Overall we were VERY pleased with the company and have since placed another order for some more items! So even though one of the items we were not pleased with the overall quality of the other items as a whole have made us loyal customers.

DO NOT FORGET:

We are co-hosting a twitter party TODAY with Sasha from Mailpix…the information is below:

When: Wednesday, December 19

Time: Noon-1pm CST, 1pm-2pm EST, 10am-11pm Pacific
Where: Your Twitter account, TweetGrid, Hootsuite
Topic: Photo Memories
Prizes: 5 photo memory related prizes from Mailpix!
Hashtag: #photomemories

RSVP here.

Faith and Family Reviews received the following product in exchange for writing a review. While we consider it a privilege to receive free products to review, our reviews are our honest opinion and thoughts of the product.


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eco.kid Organics for Kids

The company, eco.kid, is a company dedicated to making healthier choices for our children and our environment. Their products contain no synthetics, no silicone, no sulphate, no artificial preservatives, no artificial fragrances, and no artificial colouring. They have an entire line of products for children’s hair, skin, and body. The products are most suitable for kids ages 3-12. I was able to review five of their products, in which I was extremely impressed.

Prevent and Prevent Sensitive Daily Shampoo

Prevent and Prevent Sensitive are shampoos that contain a botanical complex of Australian essential oils opposed to sulphate detergents. The goal of these shampoos is to make the hair unattractive to head lice, which is a common problem in children ages 3-12. I found both to be very gentle on my son’s scalp. Both shampoos were easy to lather and easy to rinse out. They had a citrus like odor, and left the hair shiny and soft.

Daily Tonic Leave-In Conditioner

Daily Tonic is a leave-in conditioner enriched with organic moisturizers and ultramarine biopolymers that assist in detangling hair while adding strength and shine. I had a friend of the family try this on her 6 year old daughter’s very curly hair. She raved and raved about how amazing the product help detangle her hair. She was amazed, too, at how shiny her daughter’s hair was even the next day. Daily Tonic has a very light plant-like odor to it, and a little goes a long way.

TLC Hypo-Allergenic  Hair and Body Wash

TLC hypo-allergenic hair and body wash is a gentle, “no tears,” formula for extra sensitive skin.  This was by far my favorite product.  It can be used on both the scalp and the body. My 3 year old son is very active, so switching back and forth between a shampoo and body wash is not the ideal situation. I loved that I could use this on his entire body and not worry if it should happen to get in his eyes. My son has sensitive skin, and TLC was so gentle on his skin. It lathered nicely, and rinsed away easily. It left his skin very soft and smooth. I liked that I only needed to use a small amount of it, too.

Outback Jack Aussie Outdoor Spray

The final product I received from eco.kid was their Outback Jack aussie outdoor spray, also called Bug-a-Bug. This is an organically certified hypo-allergenic insect repellent spray.  It soothes the skin and at the same time repels insects. It is a very light feeling spray that smells more like lotion than a bug repellent. It would be a great product for any family that spends lots of time in the outdoors, or even just going to the playground or beach.

Finding quality organically made products for children is a very arduous task. It makes it that much more difficult when your child has sensitive skin. Eco.kid products do it all. Their products contain all pure plant essences and certified organics and many of their products are designed for sensitive skin. These would definitely make great stocking stuffers.

For more information or see the other products they offer, visit their website.

www.ecokidUSA.com

We will be hosting a giveaway a week from Friday so be sure to come back and enter!

 Faith and Family Reviews received the following product in exchange for writing a review. While we consider it a privilege to receive free products to review, our reviews are our honest opinion and thoughts of the product.

 
 
 
 
 


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Reverse Charades Expansion Pack Review

Reverse Charades Expansion Pack

Reverse Charades and Reverse Charades Junior are a twist on an old favorite. In this game the whole team has 60 seconds to act out as many words as possible with one person guessing. Newly available are three different expansion packs, Girls’ Night In Edition, Sports Edition, and Holiday Edition, to keep the fun going. Each fits inside Reverse Charades Original or Junior Edition, or can be played by itself.

Basic rules (from the publisher):

1. Split into teams of three or more. Decide on a number of rounds or a point target to win.

2. 1 word guessed correctly = 1 point. Each team has one minute to guess as many words as possible.

3. Each team selects a guesser (everyone gets a turn) and the rest of the team acts out the words.

4. Shhh! Not a peep among the team members.

5. Ready, set, go! The first team to your target wins.

Each edition comes with 220 words, for 6 or more people aged 6 and over.

Girls’ Night In Edition

I was able to review two of the Reverse Charades Expansion Packs. I brought the Girls’ Night In to my Wives Club Christmas party, and we had an absolute blast! I can’t remember the last time I laughed so hard. I loved how easy it was to teach everyone how to play and set up took under a minute. The small and compact box fit easily into my purse and clean up was a breeze. One of the teams acted out the word, “pregnancy test,” and everyone was laughing so hard! I would recommend this to any and all women groups. It would be fun at a bachelorette party or any party as an icebreaker.

Sports Edition

I brought the Sports Edition Expansion Pack to our last Monday Night Football party. There were 5 couples and we decided to do husbands vs. wives. I don’t know who laughed more, the husbands or the wives. We played until 20 points, and played three rounds. The husbands won the championship round, but the wives gave them a run for their money. This would be a great edition to any board game night, family party, couple’s night, or sporting event party. It was extremely easy to learn the game and even easier to set up.

Overall, Reverse Charades Girls’ Night In Edition and Sports Edition are hilarious and fun filled games to play. Since they come in a small box, they are great for travel and easy to set up. They would make a great gift for anyone on your list!

Retail price of expansion packs $9.99. Check out their website for more information:

ReverseCharades.com

Faith and Family Reviews received the following product in exchange for writing a review. While we consider it a privilege to receive free products to review, our reviews are our honest opinion and thoughts of the product.


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Whole Fruit Sorbet for the HOLIDAYS!

Whole Fruit Sorbets are an award winning member o the Whole Fruit Line by J & J Snack Foods. Whole Fruit Sorbets are made with chunks of real fruit and bursting with refreshing taste. Whole Fruit Sorbets are available in five flavors: Mango, Black Cherry, Raspberry, Strawberry, and Lemon. Voted Best Flavors by Cooking Light Magazine!

 

  • Naturally Fat Free
  • Full 16 fl. Oz. Size pint
  • Smooth and creamy taste
  • Refreshing, unique flavors.

We found that Whole Fruit Sorbets live up to their reputation! They are so YUMMY! The Raspberry and Lemon were by far the children’s favorite! Those flavors did not last long in our house! The other flavors are just as yummy…although I did find that the sorbets were great for a Holiday punch! Just mix ginger ale (we used the cranberry ginger ale) with the raspberry sorbet for a wonderful holiday or any party punch! Recipe for larger parties (4 liters ginger ale & 1 gallon Whole Fruits Raspberry Sorbet)

Here is a different smaller Holiday recipe:

Raspberry Sorbet Punch

3 Cans Hawaiian Fruit Punch

1 liter 7 up or ginger ale

½ qt Whole Fruits Raspberry Sorbet

 

I am sure that the above recipes can be used with any of the Whole Fruit Sorbet flavors… we are just partial to the Raspberry.

If you are not into a party punch…then Whole Fruit Sorbet can be delectable as a way to cleanse your palette during a formal holiday meal…or as a dessert item at a informal holiday gathering! In any respect Whole fruit sorbet makes a great presentation at any meal!

Check out the JJ snack brand and their whole entourage of products at this link:

www.jjsnack.com

Check out the Whole Fruit line at

www.jjsnack.com/wholefruit/home1.aspx

You can also check out Whole Fruits on facebook at:

www.facebook.com/Wholefruit

 Faith and Family Reviews received the following product in exchange for writing a review. While we consider it a privilege to receive free products to review, our reviews are our honest opinion and thoughts of the product

 

 


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