StyleWriter 4

I think I am a decent writer. Granted, I do better at "free thought" blog-style than I do at formal paper writing. I am just not a formal person. When I got the chance to try StyleWriter 4, I figured it might give me some tips on improving my writing. 

It turns out that StyleWriter kinda hates my writing. I copied one of my previous blog posts to my computer's clipboard and tossed it into StyleWriter. From what I can tell, you can't really do a copy/paste. You copy the text you want to use then you open StyleWriter and, BAM, there it is. Very weird. There also wasn't a way to directly type the text into the program. I would think it would do better as a sort of smart word processor but maybe this works for people.

StyleWriter 4 told me that I use a lot of "glue words." It seems that they consider adjectives and adverbs to be "glue words" and that these are terrible things. I think it makes my writing more personable and easy to read. It does give ideas on how to rewrite your work but I didn't think their rewrites worked with my style. 

There are three different versions of StyleWriter. The Starter Edition is for students and people on a budget. The Standard Edition has some advanced editing techniques. The Professional Edition is aimed at lawyers, journalists, and other academic writers. I'm fairly sure that my version was the Starter Edition. This version is extremely basic. You will get notes if you use a homonym incorrectly but I don't think you will get any amazing editing from it. 

If you would like to give StyleWriter 4 a try, they are offering a free trial of the software. You can download that here: www.editorsoftware.com/stylewriter. Let me know if you think it is a useful tool or complete garbage. I'd love to know what other people think about it. 

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Old Factory Candle Gift Set Review & Giveaway!

I love candles but I don't get to burn them very often. My house is filled with all sorts of things (both animal- and people-related) that will easily knock over a lit candle. The last thing I need is my house burning down! Sometimes I burn candles in my office but not very frequently because there is a LOT of paper there. Fire hazards everywhere! But I couldn't resist the Winter Wonderland gift set from Old Factory Candles. I know, I know. I hate winter. These aren't cold, though. They just smell like winter.

The gift set contains three 2 ounce soy candles. This particular set has Hot Cocoa, Roasted Chestnut, and First Snow as the scents. I mostly picked it for the Hot Cocoa. I can never have too much chocolate!

Hot Cocoa smells exactly like a steaming cup of hot cocoa! Just like cocoa, the scent is more along the lines of a dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate. It is a very deep, pure chocolate smell. If you have ever been on the tour in Hershey's Chocolate World, you can find a similar smell in the beginning parts of the tour. It is delicious!

Roasted Chestnut is a little more difficult to describe. You would think that it would have a nutty smell but it doesn't. It has a light scent that sort of has a vanilla type of feel to it. I think that this would probably be good if you are looking for a scent that isn't very overpowering. Something that will just give you a slight wintery feel without going overboard like a pine tree or gingerbread scented candle might.

First Snow is an interesting scent. I'm not even sure how to describe it. I wouldn't say that it smells like snow. It has a little more of a baby powder type smell to it? I don't know. It smells nice but it is a scent that has you thinking "I should know what this is but I don't." Very weird.

If these scents aren't for you, they have a ton of others available. Coffee Shop, with Coffee Bean, Hazelnut, and Chai Tea scents, sounds perfect for the person that loves coffee. There is a Fall Harvest set that contains Pumpkin Spice, Cranberry, and Autumn Leaves, which might be great to get your house set for Thanksgiving dinner. Or, if you are super into Christmas, there is a Happy Holidays set with Christmas Tree, Candy Cane, and Gingerbread scents. And there are even sets for the "Manly Man" type. The Man Cave set has Straight Razor, Leather, and Mahogany, which definitely sounds interesting. 

So even though I'm not ready for it to be winter yet, I'll be burning some of these candles to try to try to get me hyped for the colder months. Maybe they will help me get through the next six months until summer comes back. I'm ready for you, summer!

Old Factory is being awesome enough to give away one of their candle sets for free! The giveaway runs from November 11 through November 18. Good luck!

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Returning full blast next week!

I am so sorry that I have been absent this week. I somehow managed to get an awful cold that has thrown me for a loop. Instead of doing fun things like testing products and writing, I have spent this week sleeping all of my free time away. But now I am on my way back to normal! (Not that I know what "normal" is....) So, expect lots of new reviews and whatnot starting Monday. I can't wait to tell you about some of the stuff I've been trying. It'll be exciting! 

Green Smoothies: The Weight Loss & Detox Secret

I've always been intrigued by smoothies. Like everyone else, I want to eat healthier and be healthier but smoothies always seem to take more effort than they are really worth. So, when I received a copy of the Green Smoothies ebook, I figured I would give it a try. 

There are 8 chapters in the beginning of the book that give you a little information about green smoothies. Ranging from the health benefits of these smoothies to tips on how to make your smoothie tastier, these short chapters should not be skipped. They are only two or three pages each anyway. 

The bulk of the book is made up of various recipes. I haven't had a chance to try every single recipe but they all sound very delicious. My favorite recipes are the ones with nuts in them. Since my daughter got braces in April, she isn't supposed to eat nuts. This is an easy way to make sure she gets the nutritional value from the nuts without taking the chance that she will break a bracket or something. 

I'm looking forward to trying more of the green smoothie recipes. Healthy living, here I come! 

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Secret Outlast

No one wants to be stinky, right? That is why deodorant was invented. However, most people stick to one certain brand and almost never try anything else. I know that is true for me, at least. I use the Secret Scent Expressions (on the right in the picture) clear gel. It's lavender. I like lavender. But I did jump at the chance to give Outlast a try. Maybe I would find a whole new world of deodorants.

For the most part, Outlast and Scent Expressions are the same. They are both clear gels, meaning you aren't getting that white powdery residue all over your clothes. And they both keep you dry and unstinky throughout the day. The big difference is just their scent. As I already said, I use Scent Expressions in lavender, but the Outlast is in Completely Clean. I think I was expecting something along the lines of baby powder or that "clean laundry" scent you can get in fabric softener sheets. Instead, it smells a lot like alcohol to me. Thankfully, that smell doesn't stick around once you put it on. I would hate to walk around smelling like rubbing alcohol. 

Even though this particular "flavor" of deodorant isn't my favorite, I will still use my Secret Scent Expressions. I am quite satisfied with the odor protection but I like the fact that it keeps my clothes looking nice even better. 

What is your favorite deodorant? Maybe that will be my new favorite too! 

Disclaimer: I received this product for free from BzzAgent. All opinions contained within are mine and mine alone. 

Vitamin C Serum

I am pretty terrible to my skin. I love taking rather hot showers, which makes my face turn bright red. It is a little embarrassing. Thankfully, Sano Naturals sent me some of their Vitamin C Serum to try. 

Here is how I used it: After I got out of the shower and dried off, I would put a dropper full of the serum in my hand. I would rub my palms together then smear the serum all over my face. (I said I was terrible to my skin, didn't I?) As I finished the rest of my morning routine, the redness would disappear. Now, I know the redness didn't just fade by itself. I have spent entire days walking around flushed. So the serum did help it along. I'm not sure that it had any other effects on my skin but I am glad it helps the redness go away.

I also got a sample of their eye gel. I have had problems with eye gels in the past. Most of them are very sticky. It is annoying when your eyelashes stick to your cheeks every time you blink. Instead of using it twice a day, I only used it at night and I only used a very little bit. I didn't notice any changes in the skin around my eyes. It is possible that I need to use a little more or give it a few more days to work. 

The one down side about both of these products is that they do not tell you how much product to use. The containers just say where to put the serum or gel. That makes it a little difficult to know if you are using the correct amount, which may be the issue with the eye gel. However, I do like the containers for both items. The serum is in a bottle with a dropper cap and the eye gel is in a tiny jar. I found the dropper much easier to use over the squirt nozzles that most other companies put on their bottles. I also prefer the eye gel in the jar. It lets me scoop out however much (or little!) I want. 

I'm not sure if I would recommend either product to anyone. The serum did calm the redness but it didn't seem to do anything else. The gel didn't seem to do anything at all. I suppose they are worth a try. After all, it is possible that I have completely screwed them up and you could do a better yourself. 

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

The Dream Ten: Where's Tony?

Where's Tony? is the second book in the Dream Ten series by A.D. Erving. Thankfully, for those of us that did not read the first book, there are player profiles in the front and back of the book to try to help us keep track of the book's key characters.

The Dream Ten series are various stories about a New York City youth basketball team. In this particular book, one of their players has gone missing after a semi-final game in the Lower-NYC All-Star League Winter Classic. Concerned, his teammates forgo practicing for their next match-up in order to find him. 

When I heard the book was about basketball, I was a little concerned. I'm not a huge basketball fan but I can read anything so I cracked it open. There actually is very little basketball in the story. The plot mostly revolves around the inner workings of the team and their friendships with each other. There were some super over-dramatic parts (the opening chapter tells us we will meet the devil) but kids that age tend to be Drama Bombs. Overall, it was a decent read. However, I think the book is more appropriate for boys in a 7-10 age range instead of the 7-14 age range it has listed. And, while the book does have some basketball, it feels a little disingenuous to call it a sports book. 

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

InstaNatural Stretch Mark & Scar Cream

I don't try very hard to get rid of my stretch marks. Most of my stretch marks are on my abdomen as a result of my pregnancy oh-so-long ago. They are what they are and I live with them, even though I don't particularly like them. When I had the option of getting a sample of InstaNatural's Stretch Mark & Scar Cream, I figured why not. 

First off, I will admit that I did not use the cream every morning and night, as the bottle suggests. I only used it in the morning after my shower. After I dried off, I would use one or two squirts of cream on the stretch marks on my abdomen. 

While it definitely is not a magic cream, I did notice that my stretch marks faded a bit. They didn't disappear but they were less noticeable. They faded enough that, at first, I thought they were actually gone. It wasn't until I squished my belly around a bit that I could see that they are still there, you just can't see them as easily. 

On top of that, I really liked the scent of the product and the nozzle on the bottle. The cream doesn't have one particular scent to it. Maybe I would classify it as kinda "ocean" scented? I'm not sure. As for the nozzle, it looks like you are going to get a foam out of it instead of a cream. I found that this made it easier to control how much product came out. If you only wanted a little dollop, you could just squeeze the nozzle a tiny bit. It was much nicer than some other nozzles.

InstaNatural also sent me a bottle of their Argan Oil. I have heard wonderful things about argan oil so I have been on the search for a really nice one. This particular oil worked well for me. The first thing I noticed is, once again, the nozzle is completely different from every other bottle of argan oil I have ever tried. Most other bottles use a dropper. This one has a squirt nozzle. While the squirt nozzle doesn't usually work well for creams, I found it worked nicely for the oil. Instead of having to count out drops from a dropper, you could just squeeze out a larger amount of oil at a time. (I really don't think anyone is using ONE DROP of argan oil for anything.)

I used the argan oil on my hair as a leave-on conditioner. In my opinion, it worked very well. It left my hair feeling soft without feeling oily and it didn't dry out my hair like some other "conditioning" products. It could be a little messier than some hair creams but I, personally, did not have any issues with it. 

In the end, I really liked both products. Neither of them had any magical powers to make me a gorgeous model but they did make my hair and skin a little nicer to look at. What more could you ask from a product?

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

PA Renaissance Faire - Whose Jest Is It Anyway?

To round out this week of Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire Festivities, I am going to leave you with one of the funniest stage shows my family has seen. Due to scheduling, we were not able to catch their show this season but we are hoping that the Faire schedule will allow us to see them next season. 

"Whose Jest Is It Anyway?" is a Ren Faire take on the popular television show "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" Much like the TV show, the stage show has different improvisational games the actors play. Some of them involve songs, some of them don't. One of them involves actors sticking their heads in a barrel of water while the others chat amongst themselves. It really is quite hysterical.

Unlike the other acts I have blogged about this week, Whose Jest is made up entirely of a segment of PA Ren Faire cast members called Blackfryars.  The show is one-of-a-kind. You won't find anything like it at any other Renaissance fair or festival. It's a must see! 

PA Renaissance Faire - Giacomo The Jester

Unfortunately, another one of our favorite acts was not at the Faire this year. That would be Giacomo the Jester. Sadly, I don't have very good pictures of him either. I just have this one and you can't even see his face. 

Giacomo usually has a few shows at the Faire. However, we have only seen two. The first is simply titled "Giacomo The Jester" and the second is the "Oops! Comedy Knife Throwing Show." I haven't seen his self-titled show in about two years so my memory of it is a little hazy. I just remember laughing a lot. 

However, it's the "Oops! Comedy Knife Throwing Show" that you need to see. (By the way, that is 'knife' pronounced ka-nife.) Giacomo and a partner (my favorite is Paolo Garbanzo) do a fairly typical knife throwing act with a ton of comedy. There is even a little bit of magic in the act.

While the guys usually get a little fresh with the women in the audience, this is definitely a show you should check out. I hope that he will return to the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire next year. His presence was definitely missed this time around!