Reviews by Friends of MaineMomof2

CyndiA says "Honda Accord - very solid family car with good gas mileage. " about Honda Accord 4-cyl. - 2009

CyndiA — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 02:02:53 GMT

I got the Honda Accord 4 cyl on the 2009 Cash for Clunkers deal this past summer. That was a short program, so I had to decide fast. With the good reputation on the Honda Accord, I felt it was a safe choice.

To be honest, I much prefer trucks and sports cars. But, I really needed to go with a family car with good sized teen boys and with older relatives who really don't need to try to climb in and out of stadium seating on a 4W drive SUV. Also, I wanted something easier on gas than the Xterra. The Honda Accord fit the bill as far as being sensible and with a nice price with the Clunker rebate.

I went with the black on the Accord with black interior. That is hard to keep clean, but it looks cooler than the other colors (the red being a really awful shade as far as I was concerned). It also does not have the fake wood look inside like with the tan inside option. That reminded me of 1960s station wagons, so I did not like the fake wood trim inside at all. The black has a silver trim which...

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CyndiA says "Splitting logs or wood is a breeze with Yard Machines." about Yard Machines Log Splitter - 25 ton 6 hp

CyndiA — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 01:33:09 GMT

I am a part owner of a Yard Machines log splittler. They are expensive, so my Dad, his buddy, and I went together and got the wood splitter.

Anyone who has split logs or wood by hand will know that's a really hard job. I'm not really big enough or strong enough to do many splits. My Dad and his friend were getting on up in years. So, it made sense to get a machine to take care of the larger pieces of wood.

I wasn't so sure about the Yard Machines brand, since I'd had a lawnmower by that brand that really was cheap and junky. It only lasted a couple of years and was a rider. I was not impressed.

Yard Machines did get it right with the log splitter. It's been in my garage at least six years with no repairs needed. The only issue that came up was the tires with Dad and his friend taking it to Virginia (3 plus hrs away) to split wood for my aunt. That was hard on the tires with pulling the wood splitter behind the truck. We just got a pull behind cart which takes the weight and miles off the...

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CyndiA says "CVS Q-tips are like trying to put your elbow in your ear. " about CVS cotton swabs

CyndiA — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 03:05:46 GMT

I like our CVS pharmacy, so I thought I'd try their brand on cotton swabs which are bascially Q-tips with no brand name and used to clean ears and for other odd jobs.

I really should have known better. I tried the CVS brand on a toothbrush, and it was so bad that I only used it once and threw it away. So much for any savings there huh?

The CVS cotton swabs look just like any other normal cotton swab ear cleaners. Well duh. Just how much can you pretty those things up.

The problem with CVS cotton swabs is that the center part - the stick - it bends. You use CVS cotton swabs, and it is like trying to stick your elbow in your ear to clean it. Bend. Stretch. Wobble. I about hurt myself just trying to get the darn thing lined up.

To add some insult to that close injury, the cotton is wrapped loose. No thank you. I do not want to chance having a blob of cotton stuck inside my ear and a trip to ER for removal. Get a better cotton wrap machine or glue or whatever it takes to keep the cotton blob...

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CyndiA says "French's spicy brown mustard - nice taste with a little kick. " about French's brown mustard

CyndiA — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 23:31:54 GMT

My son just discovered French's spicy brown mustard which made me laugh, since I've always had some on hand. I'll eat the regular hot dog mustard, but I like the little extra zip with the spicy brown. The kid didn't touch it, since it said "spicy." He's not big on hot foods.

I grilled brats, and we were out of yellow mustard. So, the kid decided to try French's spicy brown, and it was love at first bite.

Don't let the name fool you. French's spicy brown is just a nice balanced mustard with a bit of extra flavor but not enough to put anyone off. If it had much kick, the kid would not have eaten it and sure would not be using up all my French's spicy brown mustard now.

Looks like I can cut way back on plain yellow mustard and double up on French's spicy. My son likes it on burgers, sandwiches, and on fried Spam or Treet meat. It's his new favorite condiment.

If you've hesitated to try French's spicy brown due to the spicy name, give it a try. It really is not hot at all. It just packs a bit...

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CyndiA says "Grill Floss - best barbecue grill cleaning tool I've ever owned." about Grillfloss - Barbecue Cleaning Tool, GFLXL, Stainless Steel

CyndiA — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:06:00 GMT

I looked at GrillFloss a long time before I bought one, and I was blown away by how well it worked. It's one of those products that I should have bought long ago. It makes cleaning a barbecue grill so much easier.

Grill Floss has a hook on the end. The hook can be flipped over for larger sized grates. I generally use the smaller end with charcoal grates, since I cook over charcoal most often. And, those grates tend to be the thinner wire types. But, Grill Floss works well on the larger gas grill grates too.

With the little hook design, this just slides right up and down the grate and into the corners and does a great job in getting the gunk off. It takes hardly any elbow grease at all especially if you use GrillFloss when the grates are still warm.

I was so impressed with Grill Floss that I added it at my Open Sky Yes You Can Grill barbecue store online. I just carry top picks for outdoor cooking, so this is definately a thumbs up and a grill cleaning tool I'd recommend to anyone who grills...

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CyndiA says "Acer Aspire netbook - great "on the go" computer in a mini size." about Acer Netbook Aspire One

CyndiA — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:54:45 GMT

One of my students showed up with an Acer Aspire, and I was amazed at how small the little netbook is compared to a full sized laptop computer. I'm not tall enough to actualy use a laptop on my lap, but the Acer looked like it might work. And, it did. The Acer Aspire fits right on my lap with room to move my elbows out and type. Yay!

Now, I have an Acer. It's red, but the red color is not fire engine. It's more a burnt red color. They have pink like in the photo as well as blue, black, and white.

Mine is the 10 inch, since they are phasing out the 9 inch. The only difference is screen size. You don't get a smaller netbook with a 9 inch. You just get a little more plastic around the edges.

The main difference with the netbooks is that they have less storage space, but I do an heavy duty computer work on my desktop computer. A netbook is not designed to hold big programs like PageMaker, but it does fine with MS Word and a few other smaller programs loaded on there. You do need a portable...

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CyndiA says "Love Softsoap Pomegranate and Mango - Yum - So Sexy. " about Softsoap Pomegranate and Mango Moisturizing Body Wash

CyndiA — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:13:50 GMT

I like Softsoap products in general, but I really LOVE the new pomegranate and mango scent. Whew boy. It's a wonderful scent both in the bathroom and all over the house when it's shower time for anyone around here.

Softsoap brand is inexpensive for the bottle soap, and I've found the squeeze soap works better around here. The bars get so messy, and I'm not even convinced the boys use bar soap when I put that in the shower.

I've always just grabbed any scent of Softsoap. One is about as good as another . . . until this pomegranate and mango. They just really knocked it out of the park with this scent.

I thought it just might be me, but my son in college mentioned that the last soap I sent was really great. Yep. It was the pomegranate and mango scent. He has a girlfriend now, so that may be part of the reason he noticed, but this Softsoap really does smell wonderful.

This week I found Softsaop pomegranate and mango at the Dollar Store in town. The manager taught me piano lessons, so I...

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CrystaBush says "Tresemme is a good fill-in when I run out of my Redken Shampoo." about TRESemme Smooth & Silky Shampoo

CrystaBush — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:18:08 GMT

TREsemme
Smooth & Silky Shampoo

5x Smoother & Silkier
Vitamin H
Silk Proteins
For dry or damaged hair
Professional formula
Under $5 for 32oz.

My Viewpoint!
I tend to be very loyal to Redken hair products and very rarely stray from them. Since the Redken products that I use are bought from a hair salon and tend to be very pricey, I don't stock up and find myself running out of shampoo or conditioner from time to time. When this happens, I fall back on TREsemme Smooth & Silky Shampoo.

I have found that most shampoo and conditioners that I have used in the past have always felt greasy when applying to my hair and very hard to rinse thoroughly out thus leaving my hair feeling weighted down and oily. Since I have blonde hair and have to wash my hair everyday, sometimes twice a day, I need a shampoo that doesn't leave my hair looking dirty.

TREsemme Smooth & Silky Shampoo doesn't leave my hair feeling weighted down or greasy looking like most shampoos seem to do. The Smooth & Silky formula...

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CyndiA says "I hunted down this cheese. It's smoked gouda, and it's great. " about Frico Smoked Gouda Cheese

CyndiA — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 22:56:42 GMT

I tried a new cheese at my son's frat Family Day party, and it just blew me away. I tracked down the kid who organized the party to see if he could tell me what kind of cheese I'm stumbled upon, but he was not sure. He did know that Harris Teeter did the trays, so that gave me a starting place.

I went to the local Harris Teeter to get help. The first deli lady had no clue what I was babbling about but rounded up the cheese expert.

Descriptions come easy for me, so I told the cheese lady that it was a light colored and smooth cheese with a creamy texture but still firm. Some cuts were edged with a brownish rind which was edible. And, the cheese was clearly smoked. It had a distinct smokey flavor which is what really made it stand out.

Ah ha. She knew what I was after. The cheese is Frico Gouda Smoked - an import from, I think, Holland.

Frico cheese is expensive, but they pack it in small sizes and charge by weight. I paid $3.50 for a disk of the cheese that I could wrap my fingers around...

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CyndiA says "Not so good - dusty potato chips by T.G.I. Friday's. Bummer!" about TGIF - Potato Skins Cheddar & Bacon Potato Chips

CyndiA — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:28:30 GMT

T.G.I. Friday's potato skins with cheese were one of my favorite appetizers back in college, so when I saw these potato chips by TGIF with the same bacon and cheddar flavor, I had to grab a bag.

First off, the bag is small. It runs about the same price as "normal" chips, but you don't get much. Actually, that worked out fine as there are still some left which I think the dog might eat.

If you think of small Pringles chips that are thicker (so they don't break I guess), then you have the general idea on the TGIF chips. They are not stacked like Pringles, but they are formed and all have the same shape which is kind of like one of those old fashioned shoe horns.

The TGIF chips are sprinkled liberally with powder which I suppose is the bacon and cheddar. Of course, they can't have real bacon and cheese in a bag of chips. But, the powder sure does not taste like bacon or any cheese I ever had and sure not like TGIF potato skins. The taste is kind of like chemicals - maybe what you might get...

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mrkstvns says "The Most Beautiful Cavern in Texas!" about Cave Without a Name

mrkstvns — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 21:38:05 GMT

I'm always looking for fun things to do with my kids on the weekends, and one thing we all love to do is to explore a "land down under". Underground that is. As in cave tours.

We do quite a few cave tours because it's fun, it's educational, it's interesting, it's beautiful, it's totally natural, and because it's a very cool thing to do (literally! It's like 68 degrees underground even when it's a skull-scorching 104 in the shade up top.).

One of the most naturally beautiful caves we've visited in Texas is the Cave Without a Name, located outside Boerne Texas. Boerne is in the heart of the infamous Texas Hill Country, maybe a half hour or so northwest of San Antonio. Though it can be something of a challenge to actually FIND, the Cave Without a Names is fairly close to San Antonio, making it an excellent family day trip for visitors to the Alamo Ciy.

Not only is the Cave Without a Name beautiful and natural, it's also affordable fun: $14 for adults and $7 for kids. A tour takes a bit over...

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mrkstvns says "A World of Childhood Wonder -- Mexico City's Papalote Museum" about Papalote Museo del Nino

mrkstvns — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 20:49:57 GMT

I'm a dad, and that means I spend a fair chunk of time on any trip doing things that shorter people like doing. Zoos and parks figure prominently in our family time, but so too do the many children's museums that are becoming highlights of many major cities. My small crew have been to quite a few children's museums, but their favorite (and mine too) is the delightful Papalote Museo del Nino in Mexico City.

I love the Papalote Museum because it's so big with such an enormous variety of fun activities and because it's got such GOOD exhibits for the little hands and developing minds. Many of the exhibits are hands-on explorations of the world we live in, with a hefty dose of technology to go with it. Papalote has these, just like most childrens' museums do. But what Papalote has that sets it apart are several exhibits that strike me as particularly Mexican.

Most childrens museums I've been to don't have hands-on archaeoligical digs, but then, most childrens museums aren't located in the heart...

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mrkstvns says "It's ALWAYS a Gruesome Halloween Night at the Mummy Museum!" about Museo de las Momias

mrkstvns — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 20:14:38 GMT

One of the COOLEST, most utterly gruesome and terrifyingly WEIRD museums in all of Mexico is the infamous Museo de las Momias --- The Mummy Museum!!

Most travelers come to Guanajuato for the beautiful colonial atmosphere and the city's many cultural celebrations and festivals. But the macabre Museo de las Momias is just icing on the cake!

The museum has an ENORMOUS collection of mummies --- must be hundreds of them. There's galleries where you walk in, and just look down long glass showcases with mummy after mummy, most with grotesque expressions of death on their face, scraps of rotted clothing, bits of wood and dust, or other typical mummy attire.

Some though are just plain unsettling. They have a collection of "child mummies" --- babies or toddlers who died and became mummified, some still wearing very identifiable Sunday best, or clutching rotted bits of beloved toys.

You do know what Beethoven is doing these days, right? He's decomposing!

Well, that's a sure sign that he wasn't buried...

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mrkstvns says "The Convenient Weekend Beach Getaway for Arizona Partiers..." about Puerto Penasco

mrkstvns — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 19:40:03 GMT

A look at a map shows you that Arizona is a land-locked state. It also shows you that it has a long border with Mexico and that there are miles of beaches along the Sea of Cortez just beckoning to Arizona locals. The most popular and fully developed of these beaches is Puerto Peñasco, which many Arizona folks prefer to call "Rocky Point" because otherwise they have to learn how to pronounce the sound of the ñ (en-yay) character, which as all gringos know, is a terrifying prospect indeed.

In any case, Puerto Peñasco has some things going for it that make it popular with the Arizona local yokels. First, it's got beaches (which sure beats the miles of brown sand that Arizona has). Second, it's pretty darn affordable with lots of dirty cheap hotel rooms and plenty of small seafood restaurants where you can sit out on the beach and dig your toes into the brown sand as waiters bring out plate after plato of yummy-licious camarones al diablo or filetes al mojo de ajo, along with chilly cervezas...

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mrkstvns says "Museo de Jose Luis Cuevas --- Where Modern Meets Ancient" about Museo Jose Luis Cuevas

mrkstvns — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 19:09:13 GMT

There are more than 100 major museums in Mexico City, making it one of the most complex yet most rewarding big city destinations in the world. There's at least dozen big museums that can take you hours, if not full days, to tour --- but there are also countless smaller museums with tightly focused themes that can be fully experienced within only a couple hours. The Museo de Jose Luis Cuevas is one of these smaller museums.

I love the traditional Spanish architecture of the colonial home in which the museum is housed. It's just a few blocks walk from the Zocalo, making it an very easy side trip for anyone already sightseeing in the downtown area. It also means that, like just about everything in Mexico City's Centro area, everything you see and touch is about 400 - 500 years old. You'll walk up the cobblestone streets to the museum, which is easily identified by the enormous warped looking human heads outside.

Those sculptures give you a delicious first taste of what Jose Luis Cuevas is...

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mrkstvns says "Museo de Vidrio --- A Unique Glass Museum in Monterrey" about Museo de Vidrio

mrkstvns — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 18:25:57 GMT

Monterrey is one of Mexico's most interesting large cities because it's so dynamic and there's so much to see and do for the visitor who scratches just slightly below the surface.

The city has quite a lot to offer the visitor with an interest in the fine arts, and one of its real artistic gems is the Museo del Vidrio --- the Glass Museum. The museum itself is located inside a mammoth industrial glass works, and it does have some exhibits that are educational and that inform you about glass as a commercial product. That's not its strongest point though.

The Museo del Vidrio has an extensive collection of stunning artworks, all crafted from glass. There are many, many examples of hand-blown and spun glass objects of stunning artistry and complexity, but what blows my mind are the really large, complex artworks. They have things like an enormous horse that sparkles under its spotlights as if it were crafted from a million diamonds --- but it's glass.

There's also an enjoyable gift shop on site,...

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