Category Archives: MomCentral

Hoover Wind Tunnel vs. the Rabbit

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My rationale was short and sweet: I told the Hoover and MomCentral Consulting representatives, “I have a pet rabbit. Need I say more?” The people in charge understood; they sent me a Hoover Wind Tunnel vacuum to test and review.

Putting the vacuum together was simple. The directions in the manual were readable, and everything was labeled correctly. I had to look up the procedure for tipping the handle back, but as soon as I knew where it was, the process was easy.

I decided to attack the den first. Bean bag chair, 20-year-old attached to Olympic soccer, and various bits of snack crumbs and tracked-in bunny litter had the room looking something like this.

BEFORE

I’ll let the results speak for themselves. In addition to picking up the visible dirt, my Hoover Wind Tunnel sucked up a lot of bunny fur. I hadn’t realized how much our lovely bunny leaves behind. Results? Oh, yeah. Here. Look! Even the 20-year-old has disappeared!

AFTER

Oh. Wait. Those are his feet in the corner. He’s still here, waiting to bring back his bean bag.

The real challenge awaited the Wind Tunnel: the bunny cage surroundings. Not only fur, but hay scraps were all over the bunny’s rug. I usually pick up the largest pieces of hay before I vacuum this rug, but I decided to put the new Hoover through its paces and see how it measured up to this challenge.

The Wind Tunnel did a nice job of picking up fur and hay and any other miscellaneous dirt. The bigger pieces of hay did clog the intake a little bit, but not so much as to stop the vacuum from working. With that in mind, I will continue my prep habits and pick up the largest pieces of hay in advance.

The Hoover Wind Tunnel came through its first tests with flying colors. It is lightweight and easy to use, and it picked up much more than I expected. Fur, dust, dirt, and even scraps of hay couldn’t stop the Wind Tunnel. I wonder if I can train it to handle laundry?

Never mind.

I received a sample of this product to facilitate my review, but my opinions are entirely my own. Thanks to MomCentral and Hoover for inviting me to test-drive this vacuum.

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Evergreen and the Refrigerator

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To start the Evergreen Products blog tour, my instructions were simple: raid the refrigerator. Okay, not exactly. I was to take inventory of its contents.

Wisconsin Public Radio Magnet

My refrigerator likes Wisconsin Public Radio. Doesn’t everybody’s?

The Racing Sausages from Miller Park

Recipes and clippings stay up with the help of the racing sausages, of course. Doesn’t your refrigerator work this way?

Oh, I get it. I’m supposed to be looking in the refrigerator, not on it. Darn those prepositions. I need to look inside the refrigerator for packaging in general, specifically for paper cartons.

Open the refrigerator door, Hal.

Inside the refrigerator itself

I came to a conclusion quickly: I use too much plastic. Eggs are in a paper carton (recyclable or reusable), the cream for the homemade ice cream was in waxed paper cartons (biodegradable), but that was it. You see glass jars, including those from my own homemade jam and pickles and (the last batch of) salsa. Those are reusable. But overall, there’s room for improvement, and a lot of improvement.

To recycle cartons, first check to see if your community accepts cartons in their recycling collection. Mine doesn’t – yet – a disappointment, since my state considers itself a paper industry giant. I can still make a case for cartons, though. Paper, like that used in food cartons, is often made using renewable energy and recycled paper waste. Evergreen Packaging, the sponsors of this blog tour, use 50% biomass in making their packaging.

Evergreen also talks about responsible forestry. Wood for lumber, pulp, utility poles, and yes, food cartons, is a renewable resource. Taking care of the forests contributes to cleaning our air by removing carbon dioxide, a major greenhouse gas. I liked the statistics Evergreen provided:

In the US, due to both increases in the total area of forest land and increases in the carbon stored per acre, an additional 192 million metric tons of carbon are sequestered each year through responsible forest management programs nationwide. This offsets roughly 11% of the country’s industrial greenhouse gas emissions, the equivalent of removing almost 135 million passenger vehicles from the nation’s highways.

Wow. I couldn’t have said it better myself. To find out more, and to increase your own use of paper cartons and other recyclable packaging, look up Evergreen’s web page. I took their “carton checkout” activity and found out that I use eco-friendly packaging more often than I thought. Each time I clicked on a grocery item like milk or cream or goldfish crackers, I saw a fast fact about paper carton recycling.

Since paper recycling is limited in my area, I have placed paper cartons with or without waxy coating in my compost. I found some, like Chinese take-out containers, decompose beautifully. Juice cartons leave behind some of their colorful label; there must be a significant plastic content. Since my community isn’t ready to recycle these products quite yet, I’ll have to be satisfied following on Facebook and Twitter. You can, too:

https://www.facebook.com/ChooseCartons

https://twitter.com/#!/ChooseCartons

I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Evergreen and received a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.

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Zero Water Pitcher Review – How’s your TDS?

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I live in the Great Lakes basin where water is plentiful. In the Great Lakes basin, municipal water goes through mandatory primary, secondary, and tertiary treatment stages. Look it up. It’s fascinating.


Even in the Great Lakes basin, unfortunately, water can contain particles that slip through the water treatment plant. People in the know refer to these as Total Dissolved Solids, or TDS. TDS can contain lead & chromium, among other metals; pharmaceuticals (unneeded medications flushed into the water supply), and more. These particles are tiny; they’re measured in PPM, or parts per million. It’s a wee bit scary, isn’t it, to think of these microscopic dangers in our drinking water.
Enter the solution: the Zero Water Bottle for filtering water.
I have a water pitcher with a filter already, but I have no idea how much it filters out of my tap water. I offered to test the Zero Water brand filter because my current pitcher is an awkward shape for the refrigerator and because the Zero Water pitcher comes with its own water meter for measuring TDS. Before taking a sip, Chuck and I read the directions.
Chuck: This has more instructions than a broadcast camera!
Me: No problem. Clear instructions are good.
Chuck (reading enclosed pamphlet): Actually, it’s not that bad. What is TDS? It’s measured in PPM, parts per million.
Me: Total Dissolved Solids. See above for explanation of TDS.
Chuck: Why should I care?
Me: Those dissolved solids can be lead, chromium, medications… you name it.
Chuck: Ah. I get it.
Me: This will be fun. I don’t get enough hands-on science any more. Hand me that meter.
Getting started using the TDS meter was indeed fun for me. I looked up the directions, made sure the meter started on zero, and then filled my new Zero Water pitcher. Meanwhile, I measured my tap water at 117 ppm.
You can find an estimate of your own TDS by entering your zip code at the Zero Water site. According to the site, my reading should have been higher: 275 ppm. I sent my own reading to the webmaster to help correct their data, something you can do if your reading is not the same as the one they have on record.
Now back to the pitcher. After going through the ion exchange filter in my new Zero Water pitcher, the TDS reading was an impressive 000. This process only took a few minutes.
So far, I’m impressed by the Zero Water pitcher. It fits nicely on my refrigerator shelf. It has a spout for pouring and a dispenser button at the bottom. In addition to these practical aspects, the filtration met, no, exceeded my expectations. I’m very pleased with this product.
Would you like to win a Zero Water filter pitcher of your own? You can, courtesy of MomCentral and ZeroWater. They’re giving two readers a chance to own their own pitchers just like mine. Readers, leave a comment to be entered into the pitcher drawing. That’s pitcher drawing, not picture drawing. Ahem. To make this even more interesting, leave your TDS reading from the Zero Water web site. It’ll be fascinating to compare the data.
Make sure I have your email in your comment profile or already in my address book so I can contact you if you’re a lucky winner. The drawing closes at midnight on Wednesday, April 25. It’ll be worth your while. Limit yourself to one entry, please, despite my enthusiasm.
While you’re waiting for the contest to close, you might want to visit the Zero Water web site and their Facebook page. If you don’t win, or if you want to buy one for someone else, you can use MC30 for 30% off on a 10 cup pitcher at this site.
I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of ZeroWater and received a water pitcher to facilitate my review, two pitchers to giveaway, and extra filters to thank me for taking the time to participate. Participation was fascinating and fun.

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>Hickory Farms Gift Baskets

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Every year I create gift baskets for our extended family. I’m lucky; if I start early, I have time. My gift baskets are no match for the professionals, though. Hickory Farms, for example, sent me a gift basket to review and I was impressed.

When the box arrived, I was eager to open it and see what had come from Hickory Farms. It was like an early Christmas gift from Mom Central! The basket was a good size, wrapped well, and looked like it contained a lot of delicious treats. I emptied the top layer and stood back to look it over.


I noticed that the packaging was paper, shredded small and crinkled. The effect was a nice looking basket with a neutral background for the fruit, sausage, cheese, and more, and then a reusable or recyclable batch of packaging. This was a case of good packaging, keeping the pears and apples from bruising, and filling the basket as well. Within the layers of shredded paper fill were more pears and apples!


The fruits were delicious and fresh. One popular feature at Hickory Farms is their $3 – 3 Day shipping. Freshness matters when giving food. I recommend this shipping option because my fruit and cheese was just right and ready to eat when it arrived. See below for a close-up of the fruit. The racing sausage guys were a little jealous when I paid attention to the Hickory Farms sausages, so I let them join in the picture.

The cheese was fresh and flavorful, a smooth and tasty medium cheddar. The beef summer sausages sliced easily and tasted good with crackers and cheese as we watched our Green Bay Packers trounce the Detroit Lions. This was definitely a winner in my book – er, kitchen. I enjoyed the Hickory Farms basket, and so did the rest of my extended family.
I wish I could have found out exactly where the cheese and sausages were produced. In a state like Wisconsin, where cheeses abound and sausages even race around a baseball field, it’s logical to want to trace the origins of these products. Product quality was excellent, and freshness a plus. Wherever the butchers and cheese makers are, they do their work well.
As for the basket and the packaging, there are two birthdays and the Christmas holiday coming up. I know I’ll reuse these by filling them with my own homemade goodies.

I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Hickory Farms and received a product sample to facilitate my review. And what a generous and delicious sample it was!

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>Beside Still Waters book review

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>It started with tragedy and ended with a question: will she or won’t she?

Marianna Sommers is nineteen years old and facing the usual challenges of being an Amish teen. Should she experiment with the outside world, the Englisch? Or should she stay within her boundaries, follow the guidelines of Amish life, and formally join her church? It’s no spoiler to say that Marianna is very devout and has no desire to stray from the Amish way. She has other constraints, though. Born on the day of a terrible accident, she feels pressured to be all things to all people, to make up for the losses her family suffered the day she entered the world.

Marianna, wrapped up in the courting rituals of a young man in the community, doesn’t realize that her parents are also suffering. Their solution is a major change: a move from Indiana to a smaller, more intimate Amish group in Montana. Marianna breaks out of her usual quiet to beg to be left in Indiana, finally agreeing to stay in Montana for at least six months to give the move a fair chance. After six months, she may return to Indiana and the man she’s loved for most of her life.
The family finds many differences not limited to the landscape. Montana Amish are less bound by the traditions and rules of the church, often by necessity. They befriend outside of their faith, working and socializing with Englisch people. It takes Marianna a while to adjust to interacting with people who do not follow the Amish way, but she finds her skills as baker and quilt-maker to be useful in both cultures. She also finds peace in Montana in the mountains, in the woods, and beside the still waters of a beaver-made pond.
Author Tricia Goyer did her homework before writing Beside Still Waters. The Sommers family is true to the faith and culture. Bits of Pennsylvania Dutch language are sprinkled in, as are Amish methods of farming and cooking and completing basic household chores. The family isn’t perfect; each member, from parents to the youngest child, has faults and doubts to confront. Goyer takes readers inside the thoughts and emotions of Marianna, especially, as she reaches adulthood and faces difficult decisions.
Beside Still Waters is only the first. Goyer plans more novels to follow Marianna, her friends, and her family. To follow Tricia Goyer on Twitter, look for @triciagoyer.
I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of the Beside Still Waters Campaign and received a copy of the book and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.

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>Cheese! Glorious cheese! Sargento Fridge Packs

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Being part of Mom Central Consulting is a lot of fun. The current fun is cheese. Yes, cheese. This cheese is good quality (it’s from Sargento), and the product itself is all about the packaging. Speaking of packaging, I was very excited to open up the box when it came. Look at all this cheese!

Below is the cheese as it fits in the refrigerator. Sargento Fridge Packs are made for convenience. As much as I prefer bulk packaging for most of my foods, I have to admit I liked these. Each cheese stick is vacuum wrapped to keep it fresh.

I opened the box of Colby Jack first. It didn’t take long before all three boxes were open. La Petite and Chuck dipped in immediately. This is a good sign for Sargento; we’re cheese snobs. We like our cheese real and we like it fresh. This cheese, thanks to its packaging, was very fresh and very delicious. Chuck packs a stick or two in his lunch. La Petite eats it any time of day, including breakfast. My favorite time to dip into the Fridge Packs is mid-afternoon to keep me from nibbling later while making supper.
Did I say it went quickly? It was a blur, honestly. Who needs junk food? When something healthier is this convenient, the family will eat it.
I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Sargento and received product samples and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate. No, it wasn’t a cheesehead. I already have one of those. This product review was tasty and fun; thanks for including me, MomCentral and Sargento. The family thanks you, too.

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>Treasuring Simple Pleasures & Everyday Joy

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MomCentral calls this blog tour in honor of Mother’s Day “Treasuring Everyday Joy.” I added Simple Pleasures to the title because the everyday happy moments are often simple.

My little darlings are entering adulthood; Amigo is 19 and La Petite is 24. Chuck and I are gradually getting tastes of what the home will be like as an Empty Nest.
Since my children are not home every day, I treasure the days and nights that they’re here – mostly. I’m sure we’ll reach the point where we love it when they arrive, and we like it when they leave. We’re not there yet. I still get a tug on my heartstrings when my young adults leave for school and work in other cities.
Simple pleasures include eating supper together at the table, watching Jeopardy as a group, and exchanging stories of our time apart. Simple pleasures might be shopping with La Petite; we’re both bargain hunters. Amigo is a fan of Public Radio, and listening to Old Time Radio Drama is his favorite Saturday night routine. When I join him, I might listen, or I might just relax with my laptop and work while we enjoy each other’s presence.
Simple pleasures are different when the “kids” are gone. La Petite and I email, text, and chat online when she’s not busy. Amigo emails me or calls me with news. He called last weekend as his bus left the site of their forensics meet; he’d earned a first place medal! Thanks to cell phones, we were able to share the celebration right away.
Yes, my babies are gone. They haven’t been babies for a long, long time. If I need to fulfill the urge to snuggle a small one, our bunnies are usually willing to step up. Hop up. Okay, I pick them up.

In honor of Mother’s Day and babies everywhere, Johnson’s is contributing $1 to the March of Dimes for each “promise” (like) on their Facebook page. They are also hosting a series of photo contests on Facebook; check out the page for details.
This was not a typical product review blog tour. I wrote this post while participating in a blog tour sponsored by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Johnson’s. I will receive Johnson’s Baby products and a promotional item as a thank you for my participation.

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>Spring, Summer, and good health

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Late spring and early summer are sometimes the hardest seasons for eating fresh and local. My freezer is emptying of last summer’s bounty, the Farmers’ Market hasn’t opened yet, it’s too early and too wet to plant, much less harvest, and we’re in the midst of time-consuming events that signal the end of the school year.
We’re hoping and planning to put up more of our own garden produce and local goodies from the Farmers’ Market as soon as local food comes into season. I’m preparing in several ways.
  • I picked up a food saver to replace my hand pump. I liked using the zipper bags for vegetables, but pumping the air out of each bag got tiring. Pushing a button and “zip!” sucking the air out will make it easier.
  • I’ve set aside good containers for freezing fresh fruits and fresh peppers. It’s so nice to reach into the freezer and pull out a jalapeno pepper from last fall’s garden instead of buying one from the store, a pepper probably imported over a great distance.
  • The tomato and pepper sections of our garden will be bigger and more varied. The family requested more salsa this year; last year’s stock only lasted until December. More salsa means more pulp tomatoes and more peppers.
  • We’ll continue to plant spinach; adding spinach to soups and stews and salads and omelets, to name a few, can increase or maintain a decent amount of iron in my diet.
  • Herbs! Seasoning with fresh herbs is tasty and helps us resist adding too much salt to our food. The chives are right outside the dining room door, making them easily accessible.
In the meantime, I can stock the kitchen with good foods made from scratch. I keep baking bread, adding flaxseed or local honey or other healthy additions to the recipe. The slow cookers (yes, plural, I have several) provide another method for easily cooking from scratch. It’s easier to keep meals low salt and low calorie when I have control over the ingredients.
When I don’t have time or energy to cook from scratch, it’s time to pull out something simple, yet healthy. Weight Watchers Smart Ones is making it easier to stay on track with a healthy meal plan without spending time on prep work beforehand. Their products provide a variety of delicious, convenient and portion controlled meals and snacks that contain lean proteins, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. And now they are offering two new breakfast items – like the new Egg, Sausage & Cheese Wrap and the French Toast with Turkey Sausage. If you’re keeping track, the packaging tells you the Weight Watchers PointsPlus values in each serving, allowing you to conveniently plan for the day. Visit www.eatyourbest.com for more information.
I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Weight Watchers Smart Ones and received a promotional item and coupons to facilitate my review.

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>Bausch and Lomb Bio-True

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The prefix bio- means life or living. Biography. Biology. Biodiversity. Bioluminescence. I hear you: bio what? Look it up. Bioluminescence. It’s cool. Bausch and Lomb set some pretty high standards for their new contact solution BioTrue.

BioTrue gets its name from the research involved in creating the product. By studying how the eye itself works, how it naturally cleans and hydrates and keeps itself healthy, researchers created BioTrue contact lens solution. Like my previous contact solution, BioTrue can clean and store my contacts. I only need to bring one bottle along if I’m traveling. Unlike my previous solution, BioTrue is exactly the pH of human tears and contains a lubricant that already exists naturally in human eyes.
I once asked an eye doctor about the importance of the brand name on contact solution. He told me, “For a lot of people, it matters very little. For a few people, it matters a lot.” My experience with store-brand contact lens products led me to believe that I’m one of the latter category; quality of solution makes a big difference to me and my contacts. I found BioTrue to be an excellent storage solution for my contact lenses and to clean them as well. It really does keep my lenses, and by association my eyes, wetter, er, better hydrated. This is a product I can buy again, even with my sensitive eyes.
I wrote this review while participating in a Mom Central Consulting blog tour on behalf of Bausch + Lomb Biotrue. I received a Biotrue sample and a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate. They sent a collapsible shopping bag, too; it’s already in my purse and ready for use.

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>In with the good air, out with the bad air

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Last fall MomCentral sent me a Filtrete water pitcher to test and review. We’re still using it. I filter water for my coffee, to make juices from concentrate, and Chuck used some last weekend to mix up a delicious rum punch with fresh nutmeg grated on top. Oops, I’m getting off the subject.
The Filtrete water pitcher is good quality. I replaced the filter on top and kept using it; it’s really working out well for us, providing filtered water for many uses and reducing the amount of bottled water we purchase.
Home air filters should be replaced regularly, too, and Filtrete (a 3M company) makes a high performance filter called the Elite Allergen Reduction Filter. Clean air is just one healthy home tip found on Filtrete’s Clear Advantages site. If you’re like me, you’ll visit a site like this once, gather tips, and then forget to go back. Filtrete makes it easy, though; just subscribe to their eNewsletter. It’s seasonal, so it won’t clutter your inbox. The eNewsletter offers seasonal tips for air quality and even a reminder to change air filters regularly.
I did not get an air filter to test for this review. However, I did have a good introduction to the brand from my water filter experience. The Filtrete web page is full of good information and opportunities to buy their products if you can’t find them locally. I found a Special Offers page, too, offering mail-in rebates and more. Filtrete is also on Twitter as (you guessed it) @Filtrete.
Thinking about allergens is making me sneezy. Just staring at my friendly pet rabbit, that loving and shedding little source of animal dander, and remembering the mold season coming soon (begone, snow!)…. it’s probably time to change the air filter at my house.
I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Filtrete and received a gift certificate to thank me for taking the time to participate. Now I’m thinking about the allergens to come as the temperatures rise and the snow melts; I’d better put down the computer and get the air filter changed.

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