July 14th, 2008

Product Review: Smilebox Helps You Make Beautiful Memories

Make a Smilebox photobook

I love the idea of scrapbooking and now with digital scrapping I actually love doing making scrapbooks. Smilebox is a free (with limited options) program that allows you to make scrapbooks, slideshows, and greeting cards right on your own computer. You can then chose to share your creations with friends and family, or if you purchase a Premium membership ($39/99/year) you can print your artwork.

I tried Smilebox because I was looking for a way to make a nice slideshow of my daughter’s first two years.. I took monthly pictures of her and wanted friends and family to see how much she has grown. The program is now compatible with Macs and iPhoto, so that was a huge plus.

Here are some of the most important things I noticed:

• There are many designs to choose from. You can find something to satisfy any occasion and you don’t even need to use PhotoShop to do so. However, you have to become a Premium member to take advantage of the designs.
• There is a pretty extensive music library with kid friendly songs. Again, you must become a premium member to gain full access.
• The layouts are predesigned and makes it very easy for you to drop pictures into the templates. Unfortunately each design has photo limits and those are different for each design.
• The iPhoto integration sis minimal at best. While you can drag and drop photos into the photo sidebar, you cannot see any dates or information about individual pictures. You have to make an album in iPhoto and arrange the pictures by date if that is important. Unfortunately, you have to keep programs running and they use a lot of resources so this slows down the response time on a computer.
• You can add titles and text, but only on the pages that have text boxes. You cannot add text boxes if you want or change font type, color, or size.
• You cannot use iTunes songs in your shows due to license restrictions.
• Reorder the pictures in certain layouts is VERY  difficult and at times frustrating.
• You can export your shows to share them on your blog, Myspace page, or through email.

All in all, I give this program/service 3 thumbs up. It’s got some issues, but the end products are beautiful.

May 10th, 2008

Product Review: Slow Cook Your Way to More Time

My husband and I eat fast food way more than I usually like to admit (which pretty much explains why we are so overweight). But despite our busy schedules, we have made a promise to cook more for ourselves in order to save money and how health. My sister-in-law has long been a fan of her crock pot, so when she found out that we did not have one, she bough us a Crock-Pot® 5.5 Quart Slow Cooker w/ Little Dipper for Christmas this past December.

And we love it.

We use it for stews chili, gravy (what non-Italians call sauce), roast beef, pot roast, and so much more. And, because my husband works the second-shift, he puts meals on in the morning and by the time I get home around 4:00 pm, dinner is ready for both me and my daughter. I love walking into the house and smelling the great fragrance of a one pot meal.

May 3rd, 2008

Product Review: Verizon Has Got To Get It Together- NOW!

We signed up for Verizon FiOS in November of 2007. We are still trying to get it right. Everything started out so well- we signed up and they sent a tech out on a Sunday to hook us up. He was there about 4 hours and when he left we had a better phone service and a faster internet connection. And the cable, well let’s just say that I now know what the Backyardigins actually look like. We were told that our free HDTV Television would be in our possession in 6 weeks. I thought all was well.

But then the trouble began.

Around December 15, 2007 I noticed that we were getting an obscene number of calls, all around 2-5 in the morning. They were for a “Nya Perez”. During the day we were getting even more calls for “Seven Brothers Video Store”. Now the calls for Ms. Perez did not bother me much because with the recycling of numbers, someone is bound to be receiving calls from Columbia House for Kristina Brooke. But the calls for the video store seemed weird because they had been out of business for a good 2 years. a Quick search using Verizon’s website Yellow Pages showed me that my phone number was registered to this video store even in the updated 2008 list of numbers.
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February 18th, 2008

Product Review: Peapod Makes Life Easier

When I first heard about PeaPod Grocery Delivery by Stop & Shop, I was a little skeptical. I mean, who orders groceries online? Who trusts a perfect stranger to ensure that he/she is getting the best food and the best deals?

But then we had a baby and moved to a three floor walk up in an area that you absolutely need to drive to navigate. I don’t have a license. So, we decided to give this delivery service a try.

And you know what? It’s worth it. We shop once a month through PeaPod. We make a huge list throughout the month as we run out of things. It is easier than making a shopping list because it goes right to our shopping cart. We can make a standing list of things we use often or we can make a special list for holidays and other special ocassions. The only things we do not order are vegetables and fruit because they don’t travel well.

Once you have created your list, you must place your order by 4:00 Pm to receive it the next day. All orders of $100.00 or more cost$6.9- less than it would cost in gas. And the best part is that you don’t have to trek up the stairs multiple times to empty the car.

I give PeaPod a 4 star rating.