Favorite Video of the Week

I love watching kids try new foods. But this, was so funny.

Freebie Friday!

Welcome to another edition of Freebie Friday, where I tell you what free samples and full sized products I received in the mail and how you can get them too. Someone asked me why I do a 'Freebie Friday" each week, so I'll tell you.

A while back I listed all the free samples and wins that I had received that previous year and so many people didn't believe that I could have gotten so many free things. So I decided to prove it by taking a picture every week and sharing the sites that I found the links to the freebies at. So now you too can get great free samples coming to your mailbox each week.

  You can find links to samples like these at Hey It's Free and Freebie Shark.

Did you know you can sign up at Tomoson and get free products too. You can also sign up at these sites and get products at a great discount. No Kidding Coupons, AMZ Review Trader, and Elite Deal Club.

This week I received:

A sample of Truvia sweetener

A coupon for a free small bag of Lays potato chips.

And a $5 Amazon gift card from Crowdtap.

Did you receive any freebies this week?

Recipe: Roasted Zucchini

Ever since finding out that I have diabetes, I've been trying to make more vegetables and less rice, noodles or dishes with a lot of carbs. So I've been looking into ways to cook vegetables and roasting them really seems to be my new favorite way. Now this might not seem like a big deal to you if you've been doing this for a while but it's new to me because my mom told me to just cut them and throw them in boiling water and boil the hell out of them. It also boils the taste out of them. lol 

So here's my recipe for Roasted Zucchini. 

1 Zucchini- cut into 1/4 slices

2 TBSP. oil

1/4 tsp. Smoked Paprika

1/4 tsp. Onion Powder

1/4 tsp. Garlic Powder

1/4 tsp. Season Salt

1/4 tsp. Thyme

Place sliced zucchini in a large bowl and add all ingredients. Toss until well coated. Place zucchini in a single layer on a foil lined baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. 

Do you have a tasty zucchini recipe?

Amazon's New TOS and What It Means For My Reviews *UPDATED*

**UPDATE**

So today 10-6-2016 I received an email from Amazon.

"Hello,

Based on a policy change to our Community Guidelines, some of your reviews will be removed. We recently updated this policy to prohibit incentivized reviews, which includes those posted in exchange for free or discounted products. Incentivized reviews posted prior to this policy change are being retroactively removed if they are excessive or do not comply with the previous policy.

Your reviewing privileges will not be affected by this action, but you will not be able to resubmit the reviews that were removed.

To learn about our review policies, please see our Customer Review Creation Guidelines."

So I went and looked and they deleted over 100 of my reviews. Poof! Gone. Completely uncalled for. I'm sure I'm not the only one, I'm sure hundreds of people are getting this email and completely shocked that their reviews are now gone too.

--------------------------------------

So yesterday Amazon changed their Terms of Service so that they no longer accept reviews for products that were given to people free or at a discount. A few people tried to submit reviews yesterday anyway and posted the email they received which said something like, "We're sorry, we could not accept your review because we no longer accept reviews for products that were given free or at a discount."

Others have said that over the last year that Amazon has decided to erase all of their reviews and in some cases ban them from writing anymore reviews at all.

Here's a link to the new TOS in case you're wondering what I'm talking about.

But here's an excerpt from the new TOS.

"Customer reviews are one of the most valuable tools we offer customers for making informed purchase decisions, and we work hard to make sure they are doing their job. In just the past year, we’ve improved review ratings by introducing a machine learned algorithm that gives more weight to newer, more helpful reviews; applying stricter criteria to qualify for the Amazon verified purchase badge; and suspending, banning or suing thousands of individuals for attempting to manipulate reviews.

Our community guidelines have always prohibited compensation for reviews, with an exception – reviewers could post a review in exchange for a free or discounted product as long as they disclosed that fact. These so-called ‘incentivized reviews’ make up only a tiny fraction of the tens of millions of reviews on Amazon, and when done carefully, they can be helpful to customers by providing a foundation of reviews for new or less well-known products.

Today, we updated the community guidelines to prohibit incentivized reviews unless they are facilitated through the Amazon Vine program."

So from this point forward, I will no longer be posting reviews on Amazon for products or books whether I purchase them or not. I don't want to get banned, be sued or have any problems with Amazon since I do purchase from them quite often. I will however still post reviews on my blog so before I accept a book or product for review from this point forward, I will be informing those sending me products and books to review that the review will no longer be posted on Amazon. Sorry but I won't be taking any chances with my Amazon account getting banned.

Review: Degusta Box Subscription Box

So this is my second month getting the Degustabox and I have to say, I'm pretty happy with it so far. This is the box from September and it was a good one. We're really liking these boxes.

In this box was...

A bag of PopCORNers- Popped corn chips. 

A bottle of lemon Sparkling Bitters- Flavored sparkling water.

Toosum- Oatmeal bar. 

2 Packs of BustaNUT- Flavored peanuts. 

Sam Mills Quinoa and Corn pasta. 

Entenmann's Mini Chocolate chip muffins. 

Nando's Peri Peri sauce. 

3 jars from English Provender- 2 chutney's and a lemon curd. 

Michel Et Augustin butter cookies. 

Hak's Ratatouille sauce. 

Zollipops hard candies.
A full size box of Honey Bunches of Oats- Honey Roasted cereal.

Have you thought about signing up for a subscription box like Degustabox? It's $19 a month and as you can see, there's quite a bit in the boxes.

You get 10-15 full size products each month. You don't get to pick the products, it's a surprise but I kinda like that. Most of the stuff this month are products that I've never tried and everything has been great with the exception of the sparking water. It was lemon flavored water with a dash of bitters and it was not tasty at all. Maybe if it was added to a drink of some kind. maybe.

Does this sound like a good box? Would you ever try a subscription box like this?

Happy Raturday!

*Photo courtesy of Martymousehouse.com*

*Photo courtesy of Martymousehouse.com*

*Photo courtesy of Martymousehouse.com*

*Photo courtesy of Me*

The first couch was too soft, the second couch was too hard but this one is just right."

Review: Target Beauty Box

September's Target Beauty Box was their "Fall" box and I paid just over $10.00 with tax for this one.

In this months box was...

A full size Maybelline Mascara. 

A full size S. W. Basics Lip Balm. 

Sample of OGX Renewing Coconut Milk Conditioner. 

A Full size Rimmel Lipstick. 

Sample of Eden Bodyworks JojOba Deep Conditioner. 

Full size Laneige Water Bank Moisture Cream. 

Full size tube of Biore Baking Soda Facial Cleanser. 

I've never tried most of these products so I gladly paid the $10 to be able to try out a few new products and so far, I like all of them. Before I started getting all these beauty boxes I had a few certain pieces of make up that I always bought the same brand, same color, same style. So it's been fun being able to try out 7 different mascara's, 8 different lipsticks and all kinds of face creams and shampoo's that I wouldn't have otherwise tried out. 

Have you tried out a Target Beauty Box yet?

Review: Aaden's Hope by Jacqui Jacoby

Book Description

There is no cure,” Aaden said. “It’s over. Mankind took the hit.”

It took little time for the world to go from cell phones, credit cards and the Internet to barren continents and too few people to count. The very few who remained refused to roll over and die. Now, four years later in a small campground in Northern California, twenty people rely on each to make it day to day.

Before 'The Fall', Aaden Muñoz lived as a laid-back handyman with more music in his mind than crops. Now he serves as an unofficial leader, keeping wheels moving when chaos wants them to stop. Digger “No-Last-Name”, the newest recruit, is an efficient government operative carrying a secret grief no mother should ever have to bear.

The days of keeping the food growing and the supplies coming in are never-ending. Each survivor is responsible to the person next to them, helping them stay safe, healthy and happy. The camp is a place of unity, family and hope … until betrayal comes from nowhere with a knife to decide that maybe, none of them were meant to survive.

My Review

I love it when a book grabs me in the first few pages and I have to say that this one sure did. In the span of five minutes I was laughing at Aaden's carefree attitude about how he woke up in some woman's bed who he knows is just a fling. The next minute he's watching the news about some new outbreak that's killing people, but he gives it just a passing glance and doesn't really seem too concerned about it. That's when Aaden decides to go camping and things drastically change. People are dying, the first 2 that we read about damn near broke my heart and that was all in the first five minutes of reading this book. To say that I was hooked is an understatement. 

Aaden stays at the place he set up camp and a couple of new people show up every once in a while. Within a couple of years, most people around the world are dead and the ones they come across end up coming back to the campsite with them. They venture out to get supplies every few months and aren't all that worried since they think there really aren't many people left alive in the world. Things heat up when they come across a man and woman and all hell breaks loose after that. The female who calls herself Digger, comes back to camp with them and she has a whole van full of supplies that they bring back with her. You'd think that would make everyone happy but for some reason a few of the other 19 people at the camp aren't so happy. Crazy things start to occur and there's a murderer among them. 

This is a story of what happens after a virus wipes out most of the world's population and a small group of survivors try to make their way towards some sort of future. It's also a story of how just one nutball can ruin a good thing when people are fighting for their lives and their future. 

I give this story 4 out of 5 stars. 

I received this book free in exchange for an honest review. 

Freebie Friday!

Welcome to another edition of Freebie Friday, where I tell you what free samples and full sized products I received in the mail and how you can get them too. Someone asked me why I do a 'Freebie Friday" each week, so I'll tell you.

A while back I listed all the free samples and wins that I had received that previous year and so many people didn't believe that I could have gotten so many free things. So I decided to prove it by taking a picture every week and sharing the sites that I found the links to the freebies at. So now you too can get great free samples coming to your mailbox each week.

  You can find links to samples like these at Hey It's Free and Freebie Shark.
Did you know you can sign up at Tomoson and get free products too. You can also sign up at these sites and get products at a great discount. No Kidding Coupons, AMZ Review Trader, and Elite Deal Club.


This week I received:

A make up case from Covergirl that contained....

A nail polish
BB cream
Lipstick


Did you receive any freebies this week?

Review: Walmart Welcome Baby Box

I've been subscribed to and getting the Walmart Beauty Box for a couple of years but they also have a Baby Box and it's only $5 every 3 months as well. I signed up for the Walmart Welcome Baby Box and it was free with free shipping. They sent a Free Welcome Box as long as I signed up for their  Baby Registry and was an Amazon Mom Member.  This box is currently sold out.

Inside the box was cute blue tissue paper and several free samples of baby products. I'll be adding these to a box to give to the next mom I know with a newborn. 

Inside the box was a coupon towards fabric softener. 

Newborn baby bottle. 

Pacifier. 

Sample of laundry softener. 

A sample of Cetaphil shampoo/body wash. 

A sample tube of diaper rash cream.

It was a nice box of freebies that I'm sure a new mom will love to get.

Favorite Picture of the week

You can give a dog a comfy bed...but you can't make him lay in it. 

lol 

I was trying to figure out what might have been going through his head when he decided to lay on the floor and rest his head on the side of the bed. Why not just get in the bed? 

Product Review: Finether Minimalist Novelty Design Wood Table Lamp

Product Description

Minimalist design, never out of date. Ideal as holiday GIFT, birthday present. The soft, stable, and non-flickering flight is friendly to the eyes, you can enjoy what you're doing for longer. Buy a table lamp that complements your bedroom's color. Look for a style with a wooden base for a classic feel or buy a wood table lamp for a more vintage vibe. Use the lamp as a gentle nightlight, or to create a romantic atmosphere. Whether in a child's room, near the television or computer, or in your office, the lamp, sitting on its square solid wood base, provides a natural feeling. 

My Review

The lamp came in a secure box with Styrofoam on all sides to protect it. When I took it out of the box, there were two pieces, the stand with the socket and the lamp shade. It does not come with a light bulb. 

The socket is a standard size and my regular light bulbs fit it fine. The stand is sturdy and a dark brown color. The instructions aren't very clear about how to put this together but after messing with it, I figured out that you have to unscrew the small piece from the socket, put the lamp shade on and then screw the top piece back on to hold the lamp shade on. Then screw in the light bulb. 

It comes with a long enough cord to reach anywhere I want to put it in my apartment, but it's going to replace the old lamp that I have in the bedroom. It fits nicely on the dresser we have in there. 

Even though it was packaged very well, there were still a couple of dings to the lamp shade itself and once they are there, there's really no way that I found to get them out without making it worse. 

It does have a nice lighting effect when turned on and works just as well as the other small lamp I have. 

I like the lamp and think it makes a nice light source for a bedroom or kids room. It's not overly bright so it's not good if you're looking for a lamp that is really bright because this lamp takes a 40 watt bulb. 

I give this 4 out of 5 stars. 

Disclosure: I was given this product for free in exchange for an honest review. 

Happy Raturday!

*Photo courtesy of Poppy's Mischief*

"Insert yogies here."

*Photo courtesy of Martymousehouse.com*

*Photo courtesy of Martymousehouse.com*

*Photo courtesy of Martymousehouse.com*

Old Photo Album

My mom and dad got divorced when I was 11 and they gave me a big box of photos because I was interested in keeping the family pictures. I went to live with my grandma when they split up and she bought me this photo album to put all the pictures in. That was 35 years ago and this photo album has seen better days. The outside of it is all cracked to hell and is falling apart. The magnetic pages are no longer magnetic and don't stick, so the pictures just move around inside the album and fall out. It was time for a new photo album. 

The inside of the photo album is cracking and pulling apart and like I said, the pictures don't stay where they're supposed to. Oh and on this page is a picture of me and one of my dad, both of us at age 12. 

The pictures are just in piles inside this old thing. 

So here's the new one. 

My brother and sister in law gave me this one and I like this with the pockets. These pictures won't be floating around the pages. I have about 20 photo albums. I know everything is digital these days but I really like being able to pull out a photo album and see the picture instead of trying to track one down in a file on my computer. A few years ago I lost some pictures that were stored on my computer when it crashed and it wouldn't turn on again. It happens so now I back all my pictures up on photobucket and order prints from shutterfly for the ones I want print copies of. I should put them all on disc at some point. 

Favorite Video of the Week

I found this one really funny especially because the Pawn Stars show is filmed right here in Las Vegas where I live.

Freebie Friday!

Welcome to another edition of Freebie Friday, where I tell you what free samples and full sized products I received in the mail and how you can get them too. Someone asked me why I do a 'Freebie Friday" each week, so I'll tell you.

A while back I listed all the free samples and wins that I had received that previous year and so many people didn't believe that I could have gotten so many free things. So I decided to prove it by taking a picture every week and sharing the sites that I found the links to the freebies at. So now you too can get great free samples coming to your mailbox each week.

  You can find links to samples like these at Hey It's Free and Freebie Shark.
Did you know you can sign up at Tomoson and get free products too. You can also sign up at these sites and get products at a great discount. No Kidding Coupons, AMZ Review Trader, and Elite Deal Club.

This week I received:

A Fitjoy Energy Bar.

Finether motorized scrubber. (The company sent me an email and asked me if I'd review this product for them)

Did you get any freebies this week?

Universal Yums Review

Universal Yums is a monthly subscription box that sends you snacks from all over the world. A different place each month. This month's box is from Taiwan. There are two box sizes to choose from. The 6 or more snacks or 12 or more snacks. I chose the 6 or more snacks box.  For my box size, it's $13.00 a month. And they sent quite a bit in my box. The other box costs $25.00 a month.

This month's box was from Brazil and it had 16 treats in it. 

There were quite a few really good snacks and a few flops as far as I'm concerned. So let me tell you a little about my favorites. 

This was a crunchy puffed chip type snack with a really interesting lime and spicy flavor to it. At first I wasn't sure I liked them but they grew on me. 

Caramel corn. You really can't mess up caramel corn and this was really good. The popcorn was fresh and crunchy and the caramel was really sweet and tasted good. 

Now this was my favorite. It was chocolate and peanut butter and really tasted like a reeses peanut butter cup. It was good. 

There ere also some coffee candies that pretty much tasted like all the other coffee candies I've had but that's a good thing. And there was a chocolate wafer cookie which was really good. 

The flops for me were a very crumbly powdery type treat that had a weird taste and the fruit rolls that tasted like fruit but not the fruit pictured on the package. They both tasted like fig to me and Ken. 

All in all not a bad box of treats and it was fun to try things from Brazil. 

Favorite Picture of the Week

My favorite picture this week is the one I took at the beginning of the month when my brother and sister in law came into town. My dad, brother and hubby all standing around the bbq as the food cooked. 

Product Review: Finether Cordless Handheld Household Power Scrubber with Rechargeable Battery, 7 Brushes

Product Description

Description:

The light weight and low noise tool will save your hands and wrists from the tedious work of scrubbing. It can be used to clean kitchen, bathroom tub and tile, carpet stains, auto body, outdoor furniture, barbecue grill and more. Say HELLO to finether cordless handheld household power scrubber!

Specifications:

-Color: Blue

-Battery: 3.6V 1300mAH Ni-Cd Rechargeable Battery 

-Battery Charging Time: 6.5-8.5 hours

-Operating Time Per Charge: About 2 hours

-No-load Speed: 180-200 r/m

-Dimensions: 9.4 x 3.9 x 2.8 in/ 24 x 10 x 7 cm

-Circumference of Handle : 5.3 - 5.9 in/ 13.5 - 15 cm

-Net Weight (of Main Unit): 15.4 oz/ 436 g

Package Contents:

1X Power Scrubber 

1X Rechargeable Battery

1X Battery Charging Dock

1X AC/DC Adapter 

1X Battery Charger 

1X Hard Brush 

1X Fine Brush 

1X Scouring Pad 

1X Crevice Cleaning Brush

1X Oil Brush

1X Polish Brush 

1X Micro Fiber Brush

1X Assembly Instruction Manual

My Review

I've never used a power scrubber for cleaning purposes even though I've looked at them on Amazon a few times. I charged this for 8 hours, then put one of the scrubbing heads on the base and scrubbed the bathroom sink. I have to say that in spots where it's hard to reach and right around the water handles it did clean it better than I could have done by hand. It's gets into those hard to reach places that I have to use a toothbrush to get to and it did it in no time. I wasn't actually sure this was going to be a good scrubber because when I turned it on it wasn't swirling around as fast as I thought it should be going but I was wrong. It worked great and on the bathtub, sinks and I even used one of the heads to dust out around the bottom of my sliding glass windows and it got out all the debris that was there.

I'm very happy with this and it does hold a charge for a full 2 hours. I used it for more than 2 hours and it was still going strong but I wasn't using it continuously for 2 hours, I did take a break here and there. I love all the different heads/tools that came with it for doing different jobs and I really like that it came with a battery charger. I also really like that there are no cords to get in the way and that it's really easy to use. 

The only thing I would change is the addition of a carrying case to keep everything together instead of having to keep it stored in the box. 

Disclosure: I received this product free, in exchange for an honest review. 

Happy Raturday!

*Picture courtesy of MrRat395*

"I'm not moving until someone serves me breakfast...."

*Picture courtesy of MrRat395*

"Ha! I knew that would work."

*Picture courtesy of Poppy's Mischief*

"You're poking me in the eye with your whiskers again. That's it, I'm making an appointment with the hair dresser. Maybe she can curl them." 

*Picture courtesy of Poppy's Mischief*

"I think she said food. Don't just sit there, she's bringing food!"