Product Review: Weight Watcher's Peanut Butter Cups

Have you seen the new lines of Weight Watchers products? I've personally noticed their cheese and yogurt hanging out with the other cheeses and yogurts, flaunting their fancy Points value. :) I've never personally tried Weight Watchers, but I know people who have gotten excellent results with their program. One of the keys to succeeding on Weight Watchers (or really, any weight loss program) is portion control. Weight Watchers is trying to make it easy for you. They recently released a line of chocolates and I got to try their peanut butter cups!

I love chocolate, and the Weight Watcher chocolates were no exception. Here's my thoughts:

Pros:

• They were pretty yummy!
• They were small and individually wrapped- easy to throw into a lunch.
• If you're on the Weight Watcher's program, you know their Points value. (2 points!)
• There were 5 in the bag- instant portion control.
• Did I mention that they were yummy? I found them nearly identical to other peanut butter cup products that I've had in the past.
• They retail for $2.99, which may help prevent you from scarfing down the whole delicious bag at once so you can avoid shelling out the money again so soon. Portion control!

Cons:

• They're fairly tiny. (This can be a pro or a con depending on what you're looking for!)
  
• They retail for $2.99, so each tiny cup costs nearly .60 cents.
• I'm not sure I'd want to eat something with Weight Watchers written all over it in public. Nothing is wrong with losing weight or their program, but I'm an extremely private person and I'm not sure I'd want to invite conversations about my weight.
• They were so yummy that I ate almost the entire bag in one day.

Have you tried portion control products before? What is your view on them? I'd love to hear your comments!

Product Review: Mr. Clean Magic Eraser

The friendly folks over at Mr. Clean sent me some of their Mr. Clean Magic Erasers with Fabreze to compare against A Leading Brand of cleanser. WOO HOO! I'm a sucker for cleaning products and an even bigger sucker for anything with the freshness of Fabreze, so I was excited.

They included some pre-grossened (is that even a word?) tiles in the package, which I further grossed up with chili and hot chocolate. I then let all that gunk sit for a few days.
The bleach based leading brand hardly got anything off, even with some decent scrubbing with a sponge. The Mr. Clean Magic Eraser took it off in a few swipes, no problem!
I was so encouraged, I attacked my counter tops. There's an area by the sink that had a few rings that I'd been trying to scrub off for ages. I'd tried bleach based cleaners, my usual favorite Basic H, Pine-sol...nothing got it up.
Enter the Mr. Clean eraser! I'd heard that they were truly "magic" but I had to see it to believe it. Those rings were gone after three swipes.

Even after scrubbing the counters, the sample tiles, and pretty much everything else I could think of, the eraser was still intact. I have not even touched the second one yet, and am hopeful that they will last for awhile. Thanks, Mr. Clean!

Review: Fabreze Odor Eliminating Candles

It really is amazing to me how much scent can do. When I was a professional house cleaner, the emphasis was looking clean and smelling clean, not on actually being clean. We'd all like our house to be perfect all the time, but unless you're a housekeeping super hero, it is not going to happen. Sometimes we have to go with the look and smell factor.

When I'm pressed for time, I stick with the most basic of housekeeping duties. I find that as long as I keep junk from piling up on the surfaces (junk mail, I'm looking at you!), run a dust rag over the tables, keep the floor reasonably clear and vacuum, I'm fine. This takes me 15 minutes, tops. When I add a delicious scented candle or two, my husband wonders how I get so much other stuff done, when it looks to him that I've been cleaning all day!

It's no secret that I LOVE to use candles. Most people also know that I have an obsession with Fabreze, so when I saw the Fabreze Odor Eliminating Candles, I was stoked.

The candle seemed pricey to me, but I tried it. I've never been disappointed by a Fabreze product yet, and my candle supply was low. It was true with this product as well. The candle looks small, but the burn time is astounding. I burn my candles for at least an hour or two at a time. I've had this candle a month and it's still holding on.

It really does seem to keep the scent longer than my other candles, and their claims of "getting rid of odors" really does seem to be true. There is also a wide variety of scent choices, from vanilla, linen, apple and spice, evergreen and snow...I don't buy many name brands, but Fabreze is one that I go back to again and again.

I'll be watching for Fabreze candle sales now. I'll be using these coupons over the holiday for some "scent decorating" this year!

Product Review: Swiffer Dust and Shine Furniture Spray

When I was given the opportunity to review a furniture dusting spray, I'll admit that I was not super excited. It's just dusting spray, right?

Then I tried Swiffer Dust N Shine, which I just may buy by the case.

The new type of bottle was easy to use- more of a trigger than a button, and it smelled so, so good. The spray was nice and even, and it was a very fine mist.

It's a multi-use product. It can be used on laminate, marble, leather, and granite. I have none of those things, but I've seen some leather couches that could use a dusting in my day, so it's nice to know there is an inexpensive product out there than can take care of it. But forget all that. Let's talk about the SMELL.

Oh my YUM. I'm such a sucker for nice smells. Most furniture polish has a lemon or orange scent. I tried the DELICIOUS Tropical Breeze scent, but they also have a lavender and a citrus scent.

The smell alone made it so worth it. Both my husband *and* my roommate immediately asked what smelled so good when they came in from work. I'm usually an Endust gal, but I may have to switch.

Product Review: Senseo Coffee System

Have you seen these Senseo coffee makers? I've been seeing these cute coffee makers around and thought that they looked kind of neat, but at nearly 70 dollars each, it was not an item I was going to casually pick up and toss in my cart. Plus we already have a coffeemaker, so I could hardly justify buying a new one just because it looked cute.

I was so happy to get the oppurtunity to try one for review! (Want one too? Okay!)

It was pretty easy to set up. When I pulled out all the little items, plus the coffee pods, and the crazy filter thingI had a few second thoughts about it. Despite apperences, I was pleased to find it was really easy to set up. Put in the water, pop in the filter, put a cup under, and you're good to go! Since we are not huge coffee drinkers, being able to brew one or two cups at a time was very appealing!

The machine is a bit noisy at times. It has a motor in it, and while it was not crazy loud, it was kind of an odd sound to come out of a coffee maker. We got used it quickly, once we realized that the sound was normal.

The coffee was very rich and strong. It was almost too strong for my husband and I, but our roommate loves his coffee very strong and thought it was just right. (This is the same man who orders expresso beans from Italy- let me not understate his love of strong coffee!) They have many different flavors, so I'm sure that with time we'd find one perfect for us.

Do you want to try one? Go fill out this quick survey and you could be eligable to receive just what I did- the coffee maker, a tin pod holder, the pods, plus coupons! There is a $15 dollars shipping and handling fee, but that sure beats the $70 new price.

Heads Up!

If you have not already signed up for your free sample of FiberOne, you still can! They have extended the offer until March 31- request your sample today!

Joyful Holidays: Lower Expectations

A lot of expectation seems to be placed on women around the holidays. Who finds those perfect gifts, writes the charming cards, perfectly wraps gifts, and fills the house with the smell of fresh holiday baking? (Okay, I'm sure some man does this somewhere- but I know that most of the societal expectations of The Perfect Holiday still seems to fall on women.)

Who puts this pressure on us? Of course, watching Martha Stewart create some incredible (and expensive!) craft on TV does not help, nor does the yearly rush to get the Gotta Have gift from the overcrowded store. Maybe it's not even that. Maybe it's much smaller.

Maybe, like me, you accepted an invitation to be part of a cookie exchange a few months ago, not thinking about how hectic the Holiday Season would be by the time the cookie exchange came about.

I had great intentions! I bought extra flour and butter and had plans to make cute packaging. But then I had a horribly exhausting week, and we did a lot of things that took a remarkable amount of time (like buy a car!) and frankly, I was just worn out. Yet I was very anxious about this cookie exchange- if I did not show up with homemade cookies, what would the other women think? I was grumpily staring at a bag of flour when I realized that this is exactly why holidays are so stressful. We worry so much about what other people will think if we do not conform to what we think the holiday should look like, rather than considering what our lives actually look like at the moment. Sure, I could have planned better and made up the dough a few weeks ago to put in the freezer. I didn't. Why should I beat myself up over it?

The flour and extra butter is in the freezer. I will make some delicious homemade delicacy another day. For the cookie exchange, I got some Kroger brand pre-cut cookies for 1.88 a dozen. I decided that this would also be an awesome time to try out my Reynold's Parchment Paper. That parchment paper is wonderful- nothing stuck to the cookie pan at all! The cookies came right up. I don't make cookies often, but it seems like every time I do, I end up having to scrap up at least a few cookies off the pan. I'll have to keep an eye out for parchment paper coupons.

The cookies were well received, and the Oatmeal Cranberry ones never even made it out the door. They were all eaten before anyone left. Nobody cared that I used the pre-cut kind. The high expectation was something I was placing on myself.

What can you let go of this holiday?

Cascade vs Ellectrasol: A Product Review

I love my dishwasher. I love putting everything as it gets used in there and not having to watch it pile up in the sink, or on the counter. I love starting it before I go to bed and waking up to clean, fresh smelling dishes. Ahhhhh.

What I don't love is getting dishwasher detergent. It can be pricey. I did make my own recently, and while I do think it worked well enough, I do think that the store bought stuff does seem to have something extra, especially in my hard water area. Of course, store bought is expensive, but I can get it for a decent price by combining coupons with sales.

The two dishwasher detergents that most frequently appear in my house are Cascade and Electrasol. Occasionally Palmolive or a generic will appear, but I generally stick with Cascade or Electrasol.

Cascade is my favorite. It really does seem to get the dishes very clean, and you can use far less than the recommended amount. I've also found that the scent makes the whole kitchen smell good. It's there, and not overpowering at all. They offer several great scents. I've never had problems with water spots with Cascade, and even in my hard water area, I don't need to add vinegar to the rinse. I'm not the only one who loves it. However, I do not have as much luck finding decent coupons for the regular type. The super duper shiny with twenty extra dish polishing polymers type is almost always out of the question, even with coupons, and those are about the only coupons I see these days. I don't buy it nearly as often as I would like. Really, if the price came down and/or better coupons were offered, I would never even look at another brand.

Electrasol cleans well enough. It is not as great as Cascade, leaves a few water spots, and needs the vinegar rinse in my hard water area. It smells nice, and comes in several types- they have liquid, powder, and tabs. I prefer the liquid and powder, because I generally use less than the recommended amount, and I can't do that if it a tablet! The edge that Electrasol has for frugal me is that I can get it for very little, after combining coupons and sales. Usually I buy the best quality I can afford, but since we use a lot of dishwasher detergent over time, and Electrasol cleans well enough, I usually go with it. Or I use homemade detergent, which also does a pretty good job. It's sure not Cascade though.

Those of you who have dishwashers, what is your favorite detergent?

Product Review: Dawn Simple Pleasures

Dish soap is one area where I don't like to buy the super cheap generics. They often seem a little too watered down for my taste. Usually I go for Crystal White Octagon, but when I can get quality name brands like Dawn for a great price, I stock up. Dawn soap really does live up to it's one drop promise, and they often have lovely scents.

A great inexpensive way to make your home seem cozy and inviting is through scents. I'm always looking for ways to make my home seem more inviting, and I'm always very concerned about how it smells, since I have a mini zoo of small animals and a dog, so I was very excited to try Dawn Simple Pleasures. Dawn Simple Pleasures has quality Dawn soap with a small air freshener at the base of the bottle. They have three scents: Apple & Pear, Lemon & Tangerine, and Water Lily & Jasmine.

The soap was the same high quality Dawn, and the soap's scent was pleasant. I was very pleased with the bottle's new shape as well. It was smaller than most of the soaps I buy, which contributed to a less cluttered look. I was excited about the air freshener- I love adding scents to my home via nice smelling cleaning products and scented candles. I had high hopes for the air freshening Dawn.

Sadly, my hopes were quickly crushed. When I peeled off the air freshening sticker covering the vent, I was assaulted with an overwhelming wall of sticky sweet scent. It was lemon, tangerine...and something else I could not quite describe. It was VERY strong. I figured the scent would fade a bit after a day or two, so I left it.

The next morning I could smell the freshener long before I got to my kitchen, and not in a good way. The whole upstairs of my home was drenched in lemony tangerine perfume. Our roommate was not pleased with how strong it was. He said he could smell it before he got all the way up the stairs, and he did not find the scent pleasant. I ended up trying to get the scent part off the bottle, and when I failed at that, I simply placed some clear tape over the scent vents. Even with the tape over it, we can still smell it, but it is not nearly as strong. It was quite nice smelling when the scent was not invading my entire upstairs. Dawn would have to tone down the scent in this product quite a bit before I bought it. Love the soap, hate the air freshener!

Have any of you tried this product? Leave a comment and let me what you thought of it!