Herbal Essences Body Wash

My latest fun sampling came through CrowdTap again, which always has good ones, it seems. This latest sampling through #TheHerbalistas was their latest body wash, Hello Hydration. I'll be honest, I'm not the most loyal when it comes to body washes. Nothing has ever really 'wow'd me, either in scent, feel, or after-effects. I buy a lot of body washes from a certain body care chain, since they always have a 'buy 3 get X free' sale going on. And because of that that, I have a backlog of body wash, all sorts of scents and even types (gels, liquids, etc.). Do they clean me? Yes. Do they smell good? Yes. Would I ever switch it up to another brand? Yes. Nothing is really keeping me with them other than my backlog of inventory.

So back to this latest sampling. Herbal Essences Hello Hydration Body Wash. I was kind of excited about trying it out - Herbal Essences always has good advertising that makes you want to try their stuff. From the orgasmic showers to the convincing name (making it seem all natural). Which, let's be honest, no body wash is truly 'natural' in ingredients. Nothing 'natural' lathers up like soaps we're used to and expect. But I wasn't expecting that, so no worries there. So not to the actual sampling...

First off, it smelled awesome! I really dug the scent. The little bottle made it a little difficult to put as much soap as I normally do on my pouf... well, the bottle itself didn't, but my perception was off since it seems like way more was being used. But after the first try, where it didn't stay lathered up long enough, I figured out I just didn't have enough on my pouf. But once I did, it lathers nicely, smelled good, and I felt clean afterwards.

But beyond feeling clean... I felt no additional hydration. Maybe it was because my skin has been going crazy with the changing seasons (FINALLY!) and has been unusually dry lately. The scent didn't linger long, either. I guess if I very purposely tried to smell it, I could still catch a bit of the scent. But having a lingering scent has never been a big deal or desire to me.

So at the end of the day, what are my thoughts? Well, I still don't see a body wash that wow's me. It's nice, but it seems to be in with the standard fair of body washes. Smells good, gets me clean, but there's nothing there to make me loyal to it. No super moisturizing wow factor, which I was hoping for in the name 'Hello Hydration!" No all day effect that had people asking what I was doing differently. Would I buy it? Sure. Why not. Would I search it out if my normal store didn't have it? Probably not. Would I recommend it? Well, I wouldn't NOT recommend it. If someone asks, I'll tell them it's a great smelling product and I'd use it is I had it. So, all in all, neutral. A little more than "meh" but not at the level of 'wow' I'm still searching for.

Preen The Ready2Go Spreader

This was a different 'try-out' from my normal routine. Fertilizer. Kind of cool to try something different... something for the house, more so. We have a small yard, so a lot of the stuff that seems to come out is meant more for suburbia. But we're lucky to just have our little patch of green in downtown... just enough without an overload of up-keep.

But there is still up-keep. And that's where this handy gadget comes into play. With our small backyard, and awkward raised/sloped/walled front yard, it's never easy to work with the 'normal' gadgetry of yardwork. Now, I'm not complaining about said yardwork... but it makes it both easy to do and easy to put off. So if we can make it even easier, why not?

We've all fertilized or put down weed control in our yards. Well, I assume we have. Even when I had a bigger yard in the suburbs, I never bought more than the hand spreader to fertilizer. But my hand would cramp up or the fertilizer would get stuck in a sticky ball. It was the simplest task, yet not so simple. With this Ready2Go Spreader, it's battery operated! It does the spreading for you - you just walk the line. And since the fertilizer is self contained and not exposed to the elements, it stays in it easy granular form.

It took me a couple of minute to figure out how to open it and get the batteries in, but then it was very easy to use. The only issue I had was because of my OCD nature, in that since this was the 'weed control' fertilizer, I tended to focus a little too much on the areas that had weed problems. I'm sure if I would've walked the lines like I was supposed to, instead of doubling back, it would've been fine. Probably why I use the liquid version of the spring fertilizer usually... but you know what? No matter. It worked. Within a few days, I could see the weeds starting to wither.

This one is a winner in my books. I'll likely look for the various refills in stores - you reuse the canister and spreader and just buy the refill bags. So if you see this in stores and have a postage stamp of yard, go for it. I think you'll be glad you did.

Hershey's Spreads

Some opportunities I get to try new things are just awesome. This was one of those such things... how could it be anything but good? It was from Hershey's, after all! Plus, it was a CrowdTap sampling... they've continuously had great samplings! I only wish I had more time to try this before really talking about it... like, time to go through the whole jar! But between the weather and the fact that the post office damaged the delivery, I really only had a week before needing to report back. Not that I needed more time to tell you it's great stuff.

So the new Hershey's spread... I received Chocolate with Almond, which, quite frankly, I love Hershey's candy bars with Almonds. And while I get this was Hershey's answer on getting in the popular 'chocolate/hazelnut spread race' that was spurred on by the ever popular Nutella, I like that this isn't hazelnut. Ironically, I bought some almond butter instead of peanut butter a couple of months ago. I like the trying the slightly different.

Anyway... back to my 'testing' of a product I had no doubt I'd like. But I tried to put that aside... go into it with an open mind and truly form an opinion about it. SO I tried it with a bunch of different things to get a feel for how it would be. Interestingly enough, I didn't try it the one way I'm sure I'll eat it often - on a sandwich of a piece of toast. I was more focused on trying it in different ways. First place I tried it... waffles. The warmth of the waffles melted it just a little to give it a nice gooey yumminess. Then I tried it as a snack with some strawberries and apples. I liked the strawberries better, but both were still good. Then with some Nilla wafers. And then some pretzels. Finally, I melted some in the microwave so I could drizzle it on ice cream. It was pure goodness.

But wait. Then genius struck me... time to make a sundae! I chopped up some strawberries and threw in the Nilla wafers... voila! THIS was by far the best thing. It was so good I forgot to take a picture of it! I can guarantee that I'll be doing this again very soon! The mixture of all these items together was just all brought together by the now Hershey's with Almost 'sauce' that I melted down in the microwave.

So yes... when you see this on shelves, you need to get some. It is absolutely wonderful and quite a tasty treat in many forms, from breakfast to dessert. I can only imagine what craziness this might add in my baking... just thinking about the possibilities truly gets me excited. Maybe you'll be the lucky recipient of one of these treats!

Tuna Creations

Not sure if it's just me, or my generation... but tuna just wasn't part of our normal routine. Tuna in a can, that is (I LOVE Spicy Tuna rolls!). But it's a great thing to have in your diet. but what can you really do with it, besides tuna casserole, tuna salad, and tuna melts?

Yeah... that's what I though, too. Until I discover Starkist Tuna Creations! They have a few different varieties that have been pre-flavored with flavors like ranch and lemon pepper. Talk about making it easy for you! You could so easily throw this on a bed of greens and be good with calling it a salad. But there is so much more, I've learned.

For example, I tried the ranch flavored tuna through my CrowdTap membership, and they gave a link to all sorts of recipes. The tuna sliders caught my eye... definitely different. And it seemed pretty easy, too. It's almost like making tuna salad, but there's some cheese thrown it, along with bread crumbs to make it all stick. Standard procedure. However, instead of the mayo that the recipe called for, I used my new favorite mayo substitute - greek yogurt! SO much better for you! Can't speak on the taste difference, but I sure liked it with the greek yogurt.  My husband even liked the sliders - he thought it was a nice change from the norm.

So anyway... this is something worth having in your pantry. Easy to grab and make something with it, and has a lengthy shelf life, just like it's canned sibling. But with flavor. Now I just need to decide which flavor to try next!

Sweet Switch!

I'm sure you all have heard of Truvia by now. If not, where have you been??

I've been a fan of Truvia for awhile now, but apparently, word's been slow to get out there. Not sure why - the stuff rocks! What better way to have a sugar substitute than one that comes from nature, itself? Who needs a lab when nature give you everything you need.

So, for those who have been in a cave recently and are just re-emerging into society, here's the scoop of Truvia. There's a plant out there, Stevia, that has a naturally occurring sweetness to it. With no calories. Think of it as another herb from your garden... all natural, very sweet flavoring. And unlike many of those other artificially sweetness out there, there's none of that nasty aspartame in there. In other words, no nasty chemicals going into your body.

Hard to believe, huh? Well, it's true.

I recently did a 'Sweet Switch" on my husband. Honestly, he doesn't think much one way or another when it comes to sweeteners, artificial or not. He just knows he has a sweet tooth, whether it's candy, soda, coffee, tea... whatever. If it's sweet, he likes it that much more. So who better to test it out on. If I could get sugar out of this house, it's a win-win for everyone! Well... maybe I can't get it all out of the house. But let's see what I can do, at least.

Turns out, he's a fan! Or he's at least not NOT a fan! Maybe he wasn't the best guinea pig... but you should try it yourself, if you haven't already. You can go get a sample here, if you'd like - no excuses not to try it! Not only do they have it in packets, but they have a spoonable version, as well as a baking blend (mixed with sugar, but brings calories down, at least.

Definitely glad I did a #SweetSwitch for my house!

The BlackBerry Z10

Nowadays, iPhone has almost become to a smartphone as Kleenex is to tissues... a name brand replaces the generic name in society and it just sticks. Though not too long ago, if you asked a business exec what the ideal phone was, they'd say a BlackBerry. People fell in love with the full querty keyboard and the ease of typing emails on it. I had one at one point. I had a few, actually. Then I had a Trio, and then another BlackBerry, a then I got a personal iPhone, and that was the end of BlackBerry for me. My next work phone (what I have now) is an iPhone, too.

But BlackBerry finally stepped up.

They recently introduced the Z10, and not long after, I was given the opportunity to try it out. For the past month, I've been able to 'play around' with the BlackBerry Z10 and compare it to my iPhone, and even other phones friends have. The Z10 can more than compete, and I'm going to spend the rest of this blog telling you why.

First off, they finally made the touch screen the standard for this phone. At the same time, they integrated their querty keyboard into the touchscreen version, still 'learning' how you type and giving you shortcuts to words. It's nice to not have autocorrect constantly changing words you don't want changed. So if you've ever had a BlackBerry before, you'll immediately fall into this comfort zone with it's familiarity.

The Z10 also has a 'hub' if you slide the screen right, giving you all your emails, notes, appointments, alerts, etc. right in one place. You can look at just certain things (like email), or all of it in a chronological list. It's way more comprehensive then 'hubs' other phones have as an option. Even more so, on the home screen, it tells you if you have new items in the hub, so there's no guessing or wondering if something new is there.

And it has apps. Just like the iOS and Droid operating systems, it has it's own store (BlackBerry World) with lots of apps. It came pre-loaded with all of the already popular apps, like YouTube, Facebook, etc. The only flaw I found with some of the apps (mainly the social media) is that they aren't as up to date as ones you find on other operating systems. But I'm guessing that'll change as more people pick up a BlackBerry Z10.

But, by far, my favorite feature is probably the one they're trying to promote the most. It's called Story Maker and if you're one who likes to take pictures and videos and then show them off, this will give you an option that makes you look like a pro. Seriously. It's the simplest video compiler I've ever seen and I can see this, alone, being a selling point. You can even create a video in 1080dp! Especially for those with kids... imagine being able to take pictures and videos during one of their games or recitals, and then being able to have a video compilation of it all before you even get home, ready to send to all your friends and family, and even post on social media. It's absolutely brilliant. I did the video below in about 5 minutes. If that.

As far as cons go, the biggest I can see is that this great phone comes so late in the game. We're so far entrenched in smartphone technology, that most people have chosen their system, and have bought/downloaded all sorts of apps made for that system. As far as I know, there's no way to convert. Sure, it forces loyalty... but you shouldn't have to force it.

But the bottom line is, the BlackBerry Z10 is a great phone, and it's no longer just for the business side of things! It's a great personal phone now, too! They're finally crossing that line, realizing that everyone has a smartphone nowadays, not just the on the go business person. So a big 'yay!' for that! I can honestly say that if you're in the market for a new phone, this is worth a look. BlackBerry hasn't given up yet, nor do they plan on limiting who their market is anymore.

Cottonelle Care Routine

Okay... let me start this blog with a disclosure... it's about what you (or rather, I) do in the bathroom. So if that's TMI for you, stop reading. But if you are as curious as I was, read on!

I was given the opportunity to try out the Cottenelle Care Routine, and share the opportunity with a couple of friends, too. What's that? Well, I'm sure you've seen the commercials about either trying to name the routine (I liked Freshi-Fresh) or the commercials where they don't use water to cleans, say, a table top or your car. The CCR is the routine where you use Cottonelle TP, followed by Cottonelle Fresh Care Wipes.

I was completely skeptical going into this. The thought of wiping with anything wet just seemed too foreign to me. Sure, you use baby wipes on a baby, but that's because that's what you need to clean them with. But then, I guess that's not really different as you get older... hmmm...

So I tried it. Still a little iffy the first few times. But then I could actually tell... it really did feel cleaner. It was kind of... refreshing! Go figure!

So now I'm a believer in the routine. If you're never tried it, it's worth a shot. I can see where it'd be great for younger kids that are still 'learning' to fully wipe. Or just adults who try to go to fast.