General Hospital Update

Ok, so we’ve got Michael and we’ve got Dante and Sonny’s stuck in the middle and honestly Michael’s been such a brat for so long that I don’t really care. Oh and he killed someone.  Even if we hated her, letting outofcontrol Michael get away with murder is probably a mistake.  You think?

Also, while I’m all for a little romance, the story line about LuLu and Dante’s inability to find the time to… you know… is starting to make me a little uncomfortable.

I am a participant in a Mom Central campaign for ABC Daytime and will receive a tote bag or other General Hospital branded items to facilitate my review.

Mirra Beauty Products and Giveaway

A few weeks ago, I got the notification that I was chosen to review a new line of beauty products called Mirra,  from the Kroger Stores.  The notification told me that I’d be receiving my samples within the week.  When I received the box, I could not believe what they sent me!  Full size products, beautifully packaged!  I received shampoo, conditioner, moisturizing lotion, hydrating night treatment cream, wrinkle reduction eye cream, body wash and hydrating and detoxifying cleanser.  The first thing I noticed is that the shampoo and conditioner were paraben and fomaldehyde free, the second thing was that they smelled wonderful!  Very light and clean and slightly fruity.  Just yummy.  Aren’t you jealous?  Well there’s no need to be – Kroger has graciously offered to give one of my readers a package similar to the one that I received.  If you’re interested, leave a comment and I’ll choose a winner on Sunday evening, March, 14th.  Tweet the link to this post for an extra entry, but be sure to leave another comment including the link to your tweet!

What did I think of the products?  Well, I’ll tell you.

The shampoo and conditioner were light and clean and although I need a stronger conditioner for my dry, coarse, curly, damaged hair, it was perfect for my daughter’s medium coarse, wavy hair.  The lotion is nice and light, perfect for every day, normal skin care, the facial scrub was just the right amount of friction for a light exfoliant.  My favorite though were the face creams.  Thick, yet not greasy, ultra moisturizing and gentle enough to use every day.  I use them in the morning and at night and they are some of the best face creams I’ve ever used (and I’ve spent some serious money on face creams). I was quite pleased with the products and would definitely purchase them.

From the press release:

mirra products are made with natural ingredients, such as olive oil, aloe leaf juice, and cranberry, bamboo, honey and chicory root extracts.  Proven technologies are used for many of the products too.  For example, the revolutionary oleosome emulsion technology is used in skin care products to deliver long lasting moisture that keeps protecting and nourishing skin long after application.

Click here to read more about these products and to download a $5.00 off coupon and don’t forgot to enter to win your own!

Full Disclosure:  I received the products pictured above at no cost to me.  That, however never colors my review.

Dante or Michael?

So last week we wondered if Dante would lie on the witness stand to protect his father and while he did, in fact lie, it wasn’t the outcome that I was expecting, how about you? Now we’re waiting to see how Dante finds out who killed Claudia.

This week there’s all kinds of fall out with Sonny and his children and I’m just not sure that I care that much. Kristina annoys me, I hate her boyfriend and honestly, I”m two decades past caring about this kind of story line.  And if Elizabeth weren’t sucking all the life out of me, now she’s got Robin there to further annoy the crap out of everyone. And Helena getting all involved and taking care of the outcome of a paternity test?  Haven’t we done this already?  Ad infinitum?  Ok, enough hatin’.

I am enjoying the Lulu/Dante thing and the Johnny/Olivia thing and everything in between and that Johnny sure is cute, isn’t he?

What do you think of what’s going on?

I am a participant in a Mom Central campaign for ABC Daytime and will receive a tote bag or other General Hospital branded items to facilitate my review.

Sonny and Dante, GH and a Question

So things are coming to a head.  Will Dante testify against his father?  Will he learn the truth about Claudia’s killer in time?  Will Michael go to prison?  Or will Jason or Diane and Alexis figure out a way to get around this?  Sonny’s been so slippery for so many years, that it’s hard to imagine him not getting away with murder.

I happen to like the Olivia, Johnny, Dante, Lulu thing going on and have heard speculation about Ethan teaming up with Johnny.  I think I could get behind that story, how about you?

On a different topic, I’ve heard a lot of noise about the thought of watching soaps.  I’ve been watching them forever and when I’ve got a lot going on in my life, I barely watch – when I’m not so busy I watch quite a bit.  I’ve found that DVRs have changed the way I do this too, recording is so easy that I just let it record – if there’s a great story line, I’ll watch at night or on a lazy Saturday and when the story line isn’t one of my favorites, I’ll only watch occasionally.

What about you?  Do you watch soaps?  If not, do you watch Primetime soaps like Desperate House Wives, Grey’s Anatomy, even Lost? If so, what do you feel the difference is?  Just curious.

Disclaimer: I am a participant in a Mom Central campaign for ABC Daytime and will receive a tote bag or other General Hospital branded items to facilitate my review.

Chef’s Little Helper and App

Remember when I was lamenting the lack of a perfect iPhone app for groceries and lists and menus? Well, apparently I’m not going to get everything I’m looking for in one app and it’s not going to be free.  At least not yet. So, while I searched for perfection I came across something pretty darn close. The app is called Chef ($2.99 from iTunes) and it’s got a companion website “Chef’s Little Helper“.   I’ve been using them for about a week now.

The interface is very nice.  Bright, crisp, appealing, graphics and easy navigation.  From the main screen you can access the app settings, deciding which page the app opens to, some grocery list setting as well as your website log in and which color scheme you prefer (just blue or black).  Definitely sign up for a free account on the website, it’s what makes this app so useful.

The recipe search is beautifully done.  You can choose the meal type and the cuisine type – and I love the wheel selector thingies, I think more apps should use them.  There are tons of recipes in here.  I don’t know if they’re all user submissions, and use at your own risk – they’re obviously not guaranteed to be good. Use your own judgment.

The cookbook shows the recipes that you’ve entered at the top, and then the bookmarked ones beneath it. You can rate the recipes, and add the ingredients from the recipe right to the grocery list, even email the recipe to someone from right within the app. You can add pictures with your recipes, but you don’t have to.  I wish more people would, but that’s just me.

The grocery list is sortable by aisle and you can add from the app, from the cookbook and from the website.  And they all sync beautifully.  Nicely done.

There are even four kitchen timers! I have three of them in my kitchen already, but sometimes I need as many as five. I haven’t tested their effectiveness and accuracy, but it’s nice to have.

What I love most about this app and site is that there’s a community feel – the ability to create your own cookbook, as well as try other other cooks’ recipes.  There’s even a forum, but it doesn’t seem very active.  If you decide to give it a try, I’m ColorMePink.

My personal wish list:

• the ability to add items that the app doesn’t recognize to an aisle (ex: the app doesn’t know what rappini is, so it puts it in “odds and ends”.  I’d like it in produce where it belongs.
• Ability to add recipe submitted by someone else to your cookbook, via the website
• Remove bookmarked recipes from your bookmarked list in your cookbook

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