Motorola Roadster

I bought this a few months ago and I LOVE it. It is a bluetooth device that clips to your visor. It's great for all the "hands free" laws that are in effect. You can drive with both hands on the wheel, and not have that little speaker thing on your ear.

Features:

• Answers phone calls automatically
• Announces the caller's ID
• Reads text messages through the speaker
• Allows you to make phone calls by speaking (you have to push a button first)
• You can reply audibly to text messages
• You can listen to any music you have on your phone through your car speakers (I haven't figured out that one yet.

The product does recommend downloading MotoSpeak on your phone.

It comes with a car charger and the battery lasts about 2 weeks on standby. It also lets you know the battery level when your phone is in the car.

Overall, it is a pretty nifty gadget.

Weber Grill Pan

I bought a grill pan for Doug about a year ago. I was looking for one for a while and it just so happened they were testing them on one of my favorite shows, America's Test Kitchen. They ran through many grill pans and the durability, even grilling ability, hole shape/size, and price put this pan at the top of the pack. I bought ours online through Amazon which was cheaper as usual, but not by much. Right now they are on the Weber website for $22.99 and on Amazon for $19.00.

The only thing I wish is that I could have kept it pretty and shiny (that's just me), but even after the first use it was stained - what can I expect when it's cooking at hundreds of degrees on a barbecue?

It's a great pan and I'm glad we have it.

HangMan Hanging System

This picture/mirror hanging system is really easy to use. Hangman includes all the hardware you'll need to hang your item, even a level. Helpful tools to have on hand: drill, hammer, screwdriver and pencil.

You put the appropriate piece on the wall and the other piece on the back of the picture or mirror you would like to hang.

Make sure you face them the correct way so the item piece will sit in the piece on the wall. The kits we used hold up to 200 lbs; they were $10.88 per kit at Lowes.

And, it's really that easy. I've messed up a few of our walls while hanging things with screws and wire, but this system was easy and painless.

The mirrors are not completely level, but I'm sure that was my lack of skills and not the product; It's hard to tell that they aren't level.

My only issue was my idea of how low the mirrors were going to hang. Both of them are too high, especially the one above. I measured over and over again and somehow it still ended up too high.

Check out their products here: Hangman

ThermaCare

I had bronchitis a couple weeks ago, so I was coughing A LOT. I was coughing so much I was dry heaving and gagging. After a couple weeks of coughing like that I started having really bad rib pain. After another trip to the doctor to see if I broke a rib, the doctor told me to take anti-inflammatory medication and use heat pads to ease the pain. I can't plug my heating pad into the car or take it where I need to go, so I picked up some ThermaCare HeatWraps. These heat wraps are great. They stay warm for a long time. They say "8 hours of heat", but when I take it off 9-10 hours later they still feel warm. (The package advises not to wear them for longer than 8 hours.) The adhesive works really well; the wraps stay in place and after hours I don't worry about them moving or coming off. I have an allergy to tape and adhesives and I was worried about using these, but I've been through 6 of them and I haven't had any issues with redness or blistering. I recommend making sure you know exactly where you want the wrap because they don't stick as well if you take it off and move it. I suggest removing them slowly so you won't damage your skin.

You can check out their products and get special offers here:  Thermacare

Turtle Wax and RainX

I've had issues with my car windows fogging up on the inside, so I tried the RainX Glass Cleaner with Anti-Fog (right). They come in a tissue box type dispenser which is very handy. I did not like the wipes. They leave some serious streaking on the windows, I was really hoping they would have been more like a Windex product - glass cleaners shouldn't leave so many streaks.
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I've always (until those wipes) been a fan of RainX (middle) as a rain repellent on the outside windows. It takes a little bit to make sure there aren't streaks on the outside of the window; it's like waxing a car. The product applies easy and wipes off easily too; just spray it on, wait for it to turn to a haze and then wipe it off. I've used another product by RainX also, it's a dual product that is a rain repellent and cleaner in one and it works really well. If you're in a hurry, you can spray it on the windshield and turn the wipers on.
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And the last product is by Turtle Wax. It's a headlight restoration kit (left). Here are my results:

They have a one step application unless your headlights look like mine...then it becomes a 4 step process, but it's all in the one box. I'll admit my arm was a little tired afterwards, but I'm very happy with the outcome and it didn't take very long.. This was the cheapest product on the shelf and it worked really well. It was $8 for the Turtle Wax kit while the other products were $15+.

Trader Joe Joe's cookies

These cookies are DELICIOUS!!! Imagine a Minty Oreo cookie with candy cane pieces in it. YUMMM

Here is the description: Trader Joe's website

A rich cocoa cookie sandwiching an intense peppermint filling and crushed candy canes.

Move over Thin Mints, your cousin visiting for the holidays is way hotter than you, and with her pink and brown colors of the season, a much snazzier dresser as well.

Fans of Trader Joe Joe's cookies already know that this stand-in for an Oreo has the unique ability to be both better tasting and less expensive than its Nabisco inspiration. The filling is lighter and fluffier, and in the case of the creamy vanilla flavor, has obvious flecks of vanilla in the filling.

Candy Cane Joe Joe's are a seasonal offering -- same great, dark cocoa wafers as the existing Chocolate Joe Joe's, but filled with a very bracing peppermint vanilla filling, which has crushed candy canes throughout.

The crushed canes are finely crushed enough not to shred your gumline, but gritty enough to still stand up and be noticed.

This is one "minty" taste combo; very strongly mint flavored, but very much candy cane at the same time. This means it doesn't taste or remind me of toothpaste -- my litmus taste for all mint flavored foods. It is strong enough you won't likely eat an entire handful or a box (a good thing), but not so strong it will create a hip rumor, like Altoids.

Set two out for Santa with a cup of Hot Cocoa, or give them to carolers this season.

Two Candy Cane Trader Joe Joe's are 140 calories, 6g fat, 19g carb, 1g protein.

**And 100% delicious!! **My added note. All the ladies in my office went crazy for them!

Hair Removal

I've had this Remington Epilator for years. It works just as well today as the first day I bought it. It came with a carry bag, cap for the top, small cleaning brush, instruction manual and a long cord. It works without the cord, but it spins much faster when plugged in. I think I paid $50.This is my favorite waxing product. I really like using a honey wax; it works very well and rinses easily with water (you can lick your finger if you get sticky wax on it too). It cost about 1/3 of Nads and works just as well (Nads is about $30 and Sally Hansen is about $11). Sally Hansen has recently stopped putting the rinsable strips in the package and now has a roll of plastic strips. I'm a much bigger fan of the rinsable strips; they are much better than the Nads strips too - the Nads strips are cloth and the threads start to shred at the ends. The plastic strips work well, but I run out of strips before I run out of wax; luckily I have many reusabe strips from previous boxes. And I'm also a fan of Venus Divine razors. In the past I've had issues with razor burn, but I don't have any problems with Venus razors. Also, it's very nice that even years later the heads still fit the same handle.

Cuisinart Rice Cooker

I really like our rice cooker. It makes about 4 cups of rice and it works really well. Doug bought this for me quite a while ago and we've used it pretty regularly; he found it on clearance and I think he paid about $20. The only thing I would like to change is that it spits as the water and rice boil inside. I put a flexible cutting board under it for easier clean up. Also, it spits less if I use the steam basket on top when only making rice. The rice cooker cleans up quickly and easily; I've burned rice in it a couple times and it came right out. It comes with instructions, a measuring cup, steam basket, lid and a rice scooper. All you have to do is measure how much rice you want to cook, fill water to the appropriate line and flip the switch. It turns itself to "warm" when it's done. I don't think it has an auto shut-off though.

Formosa Covers

We bought a new patio set cover and 2 chaise chair covers on Amazon.com:

The patio set cover product description:
Mildew resistant vent. Heavy duty water resistant, UV treated polyester. Fits oval or rectangular tables up to 79 x 42 and 6 - 8 chairs. Heavy duty vinyl with polyester backing. Can be used with or without umbrella. (hole is located in the center of the cover) Keeps table and chairs clean and dry. Velcro ties keep cover secure. Zipper runs from center to one end for ease of putting the cover on. Clean with a damp cloth. Size: 120"L x 86"W x 45"H

Chaise covers product description:
Mildew resistant vent. Heavy duty vinyl with polyester backing. Heavy duty vinyl coated polyester 600 denier x 300. Heavy duty water resistant, UV treated polyester fabric. Easy to slip on and off Keeps chaise clean and dry Clean with a damp cloth Velcro ties keep cover secure Size: 84" L x 30" W x 24" H

They are much better than I expected. The patio set cover was $60 and the chaise covers were $20 each. I'll have to give an update about how well they hold up to the elements later; it hasn't rained much yet, but we're expecting wind and rain tomorrow.

I had to contact Formosa Covers customer service department about the shipping fees and they were very polite and helpful.

Mr. Clean Magic Eraser

Magic Eraser Bath Scrubber.
These are even better than the original Eraser. The say they are larger and more durable, but I was really wondering if it was true. The package comes with 2 for the price of the original 4 - about $3.50. They are worth it! I scrubbed our tub and shower and it didn't disintegrate like the original Eraser. It made cleaning the tub and shower MUCH easier....and a bonus - I didn't have to choke on the smell of bleach or cleaners. Great product.

You can check out their product and get special offers here:  Mr Clean