Reviews by Friends of vetter2005

Bryan-Carey says "Ravensburger Princess Puzzle will keep Your Princesses Occupied " about Ravensburger Princess Jigsaw Puzzle 24pc

Bryan-Carey — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:40:04 GMT

Putting puzzles together is a great exercise for youngsters, for it improves fine motor skills and gives children a sense of achievement. Some puzzles have far too many pieces for the youngest children, but this problem is eliminated with the Ravensburger Princess Jigsaw Puzzle, a large, twenty- four piece puzzle that kids can put together with ease.

Puzzle Commentary:

The Ravensburger Princess Jigsaw Puzzle is a large puzzle with large pieces. The pieces are interlocking and feature the same standard shape common to a traditional puzzle. Each piece of this puzzle measures about four by six inches, is made out of thick, heavy cardboard stock, and is unlikely to get broken. The pieces are specially coated, with a so- called Easy Clean Surface that can be wiped clean with a damp cloth without damaging the pieces of the puzzle.

Jigsaw puzzles are a great learning tool for children and they offer a nice departure from the usual type of toy. The problem with most puzzles, from the perspective...

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LisaCarey says "Lining and filling makes lips plumper and lipstick last longer " about Mary Kay Lip Liner (All Colors)

LisaCarey — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 22:37:54 GMT

I keep it simple when it comes to caring for my skin and using makeup. I admit that while I am willing to pay more for skin care products like cleanser and moisturizer I usually skimp of make up products. After all, all I wear on a regular basis is foundation, lipstick and mascara. and in the summer I don't even do all that. I have full cupid bow lips anyway, so usually don't even bother with lip liner but my friendly neighbor (and Mary Kay consultant) reminded me that I would have to buy long wearing lipstick that can dry my lips out if I would add a lip liner to my make up routine. Here's three Mary Kay Lip Liner's to try so let me know what you think.

Mary Kay Lip Liner is available in almost 12 colors and you can easily find one of them to match your lip color from almost natural to deep dark colors. It is $10.00 a liner which to me is a bit pricey, but with careful application could last you a really long time.

Mary Kay Lip Liner is easy to use. You simply twist the "tube"...

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LisaCarey says "Glowing skin all day and all night " about Lancome AQUA FUSION CREAM Continuous Infusing Moisturizer 1.7 oz

LisaCarey — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 22:15:47 GMT

I really do try to find greener products to use in both my home and for my health. Unfortunately sometimes when i try a new product it's not very good for me and that was the case with something I borrowed from a friend since I had no moisturizer. It stung when I put it on, and continued to sting and get worse throughout the day. Stopping at the Lancome counter to do my gift with purchase the sales lady cleaned my skin and recommended Lancome's AQUA FUSION CREAM for my skin. I had tried a sample before and liked it but needed to finish my other products before making any other purchases. However this was an emergency, red angry looking splotches had made their way to my face.

First she cleaned my skin and then added a sample of Aqua Fusion Cream Continuous Infusing Moisturizer. My skin actually said, "Ahhh" in relief. I had actually already purchased this but they were nice enough to fix my red skin before I left the counter. Within about 30 minutes my skin was looking much better...

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LisaCarey says "I wanted my little monkeys to like the barrel, but they didn't " about Milton Bradley Barrel of Monkeys

LisaCarey — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 21:59:12 GMT

My children love finger playing out the song "Five little monkeys jumping on the bed." I thought that my little monkeys would also love playing with Milton Bradley Barrel of Monkeys. I was wrong.

Angela LaFon's review reminded me of all the fun my little brother used to have with the Milton Bradley Barrel of Monkeys, and I remember my son playing with them much like she describes in her review. But my two girls were just not interested in the barrel, the monkeys, the linking, or the swinging.

Milton Bradley Barrel of Monkeys are cute and I agree with other reviewers that a bigger barrel and more variety in colors is needed. Who knows maybe then my girls would play with it. But when offered this toy, my girls shrugged their shoulders, walked away and went on to play another game, any other game. My three year old while having excellent hand eye coordination finds linking them together frustrating and just wants to dump it out and place on on another. The 4 yr old isn't even...

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LisaCarey says "I won! You broke the ice! My daughter giggles and exclaims" about Milton Bradley Don't Break the Ice Game

LisaCarey — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 21:44:19 GMT

Rainy day at the beach and on vacation it's time to get a little creative to keep the kids entertained but since it's day two I don't want to break the bank quite yet. Roaming the aisles at the grocery store the toy section the game Milton Bradley Don't Break the Ice Game is on sale for $5.00! I remember this game from when I was a kid. My brother loved this game! My husband loved this game when he was a kid! Sold!

Milton Bradley Don't Break the Ice Game comes home and the game is quickly set up. We don't even need batteries! Within minutes, my daughter giggles and squeals, "I won! You broke the ice daddy!" After about 5 quick games she decided to take a break and hit the Barbie Princess coloring book we also bought (1.00) and I am relieved that my daughter loves this game, since she also says, "Can we play again later?"

Milton Bradley Don't Break the Ice Game is easy to set up, easy to play. The kids enjoy it and even mom and dad can have some fun. It doesn't take...

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LisaCarey says "No bells no whistles just brew " about Mr. Coffee Mr. Coffee 12 Cup Coffeemaker CG13

LisaCarey — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 21:23:17 GMT

The Mr. Coffee 12 Cup Coffeemaker CG13 is about as basic as it gets. I admit, I am not much of a coffee drinker and when I do drink coffee I usually like the flavored ones, heavy on the cream and sugar (ok milk and sugar substitute now). Anyway, recently I needed the extra morning jolt of caffeine that coffee can bring and pulled out this coffee maker. I only wanted to make about 5 cups or so, thinking that my husband would want to drink some too since I was actually making it.

Using the Mr. Coffee 12 Cup Coffeemaker CG13 is easy and I do like that there is only one lid I need to flip to fill both the coffee and water filters. The coffee was ok, once I turned it into something that most coffee drinkers would scoff at. It was easy to clean out the pot afterwards and there was no spilling over during brewing. There is a side measure to double check the water amount and an extension cord with storage room in the back when not in use.

But what I didn't like about the Mr. Coffee...

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LisaCarey says "Snoop around before you hit forward and send " about Snopes

LisaCarey — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 04:42:47 GMT

I have been using Snopes every since I can remember getting emails. A few short months after I started using the internet and email daily of course I was hit up with email "chain" letters, scams, hoaxes and sob stories by everyone from a Nigerian who had a million dollars they wanted to give me to free gift cards from Applebees for forwarding this message. A friend suggested using this site, and now, not only am I older and wiser when it comes to recognizing the email equivalent of junk mail, but I am also armed with one of the best scam detectors out there.

Snopes.com is fast and easy to use. You simply type in the subject line or a few keywords of content from your message (or even a story that someone has told you) and find out if it is fact or fiction. You can also find out details about how this so called story started and when. I admit now I work for a consumer protection website, and one of the first things I do before writing about a bogus email message is start my fact...

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LisaCarey says "Sit back relax and enjoy the show " about hulu.com

LisaCarey — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 04:29:46 GMT

I first found hulu.com when searching for a place to watch an episode of "Super Nanny" that sounded interesting. I tried to watch it online, but for some reason my computer just wouldn't work with the site. Doing a search I found hulu,com, but not Super Nanny.

Interestingly enough I DID find the second part to a television show that I had given up on. I DVR'd the first episode, not knowing that it was a two part movie. Here I was hanging in the wind about how the television movie ended and I was able to watch it online for free at hulu.com.

I admit, I enjoy hulu.com and every once in a while visit it to find something unique for my children to watch (they have veggie tales on there) or just to see what is available. I am not exactly as thrilled with it as many of the other reviewers out there. I am much happier just DVRing my shows and planning the week ahead of time.

I find it is easy to get lost on hulu.com, and that it is hard to find what I am looking for. There is...

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LisaCarey says "Who was that? Oh now I know I looked on IMDB " about IMDB

LisaCarey — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 04:17:58 GMT

I am so bad with names. I can remember faces and people (so other Viewpoints writers please don't change your photos too much) and it is so annoying to be watching a movie and think, "I've seen them before, now who is that?" Followed then usually by, "Now what movie did I see them in?" Since my husband is a walking wikipedia, I can usually turn to him for the answer, but when I can't IMDB is the first site I visit to find out about movie credits, actors, story lines, plots and all the other trivia I need for both personal and professional use.

IMDB (the Internet Movie Database) is overflowing with information from both the knowledgeable and the fanatical. It is true that much of the information is accurate and helpful, and quite often far more than I want to know. But one of the most entertaining features about this site is finding out all the other television shows and movies that some of my favorite or just memorable actors have been in.

Visitors can contribute their own trivia...

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LisaCarey says "Pregnant and cruising sickness better than nothing " about Sea Band Morning & Travel Sickness Wristbands

LisaCarey — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 04:08:47 GMT

The very first time I used the Sea Band Morning & Travel Sickness Wristbands I was not only 6 months pregnant but also taking a cruise (don't ask!). Since any sort of medication was out of the questions the Sea Band Morning & Travel Sickness Wristbands were really my only option.

I didn't think that they would work, so "toughed out" my morning and sea sickness the first day. Upon arriving in Grand Cayman I literally wanted to sit down and kiss the earth that I was walking on.

The next day I thought, I bought them may as well try them. They did alleviate much of my nausea but I found that the longer I wore them the less they worked. I would occasionally have to add pressure to the pressure points to get me through the five star dinners on the cruise - not eating them all mind you but at least keeping my husband company.

Since then I have tried them again from time to time on simply stomach sickness, nausea and vomiting in an effort to avoid using medication. The Sea...

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Bryan-Carey says "Brut Keeps You Dry, but Stretches the Truth" about Brut Antiperspirant Deodorant

Bryan-Carey — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 05:49:01 GMT

Deodorant is a universal need and it’s a product that takes on several different forms. Some people prefer gels. Other people prefer stick. There are even some who would like to turn back the hands of time to the day when spray was popular. My personal preference is gel, but I will sample other forms when the opportunity is right. One stick deodorant I tried recently is Brut Anti- Perspirant Deodorant, a deodorant with the familiar brut scent.

Deodorant Commentary:

Brut Anti- Perspirant Deodorant is a white colored, stick- style deodorant with a scent that offers the smell of brut- just like the aftershave, only a little milder. The product offers both odor protection and wetness protection and it utilizes its special ingredient Trimax, which helps keep you dry and odor- free. The formula is powerful enough to keep you free from odor and wetness for a full twenty- four hours.

Like I said above, my deodorant preference is gel, but much like any consumer good, I am always game to...

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MikeMaroon says "Finding Hope in The Worst Kind of Personal Tragedy." about Steven Curtis Chapman - Beauty Will Rise

MikeMaroon — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 02:21:39 GMT

May 21, 2008 was to be a special day at the Chapman home in Franklin, TN. Steven Curtis and Mary Beth were about to celebrate both their daughter's engagement and the high school graduation of their eldest son. Then, something horrible happened. As one of their sons pulled into the driveway he didn't see his little 5-year old sister Maria. His vehicle struck and killed her, leaving Christian music's most successful singer/songwriter to cope with unspeakable pain, the loss of one child and to father another through heart-numbing guilt. I myself have a 5-year-old little girl and the thought of such a thing is something I cannot bear.

Beauty Will Rise is Mr Chapman's love letter to his lost little girl and a raw look at him working through his pain. With sparse arraignments and acoustic guitar, he publicly wrestles with pain only a father who has lost a child can experience.

He said that, after he lost Maria, he honestly didn't know if he would ever write or sing songs again. ...

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LisaCarey says "Does your travel search here there and everywhere " about SideStep

LisaCarey — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:24:27 GMT

I was first introduced to SideStep when it was in it's "infancy" about 8 years ago. My supervisor loved using it to make travel plans and found it very helpful in finding and comparing quickly and easily airfares from many major and not so major companies. But Sidestep isn't just for airfare, so I feel it needs it's review broken down into different sections I have used.

SideStep for airfare:

I like that I can quickly and easily compare airfare and check out even ones like JetBlue and Frontier. I like that it tells me how long my search will take. However, rarely do I find that their search provides me with any airfare that is lower than the other sites except by dollars. Not exactly helpful in that way. But good searching tool and fast too.

SideStep for hotels

Although I have searched for hotels on sidestep I have never booked. The prices just aren't that great especially when compared to Priceline, Hotwire or Expedia.

SideStep for car rentals:

Great for searching and the...

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LisaCarey says "Hit or miss with pricing, travel and service " about Priceline

LisaCarey — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:10:18 GMT

I admit when I was traveling on my own and I didn't care about time, but I cared about the costs, make a offer on Priceline usually got me where I wanted to be for about the price that I wanted to pay. I have used Priceline for airfare, hotels, and car rental reservations and find that normally my results are hit or miss for satisfaction.

I am most satisfied with Priceline's make an offer on hotels option, I can designate a specific star rating and area where I want to stay. I have stayed in New York, DC and San Francisco at places like the Westin, Marriott and Hyatt for at times under 50.00 a night. Now that makes me happy.

However, if you have to know more about your travel plans before you make them Priceline works much like Expedia or Travelocity with prices and airlines listed, you don't make an offer you just choose you airfare and book your flight.

I admit that the majority of my success has been on Priceline. I did manage to get a great last minute airfare for my parents...

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LisaCarey says "My first stop to my travel destination " about Expedia.com

LisaCarey — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:26:14 GMT

I admit, whenever I am planning to travel there are two sites I visit first, Expedia and Continental. I like Continental because they have non stop flights from Houston to Dayton, where my family lives. Expedia helps me get started on traveling to my final travel destination by giving me airfares, car rentals, cruise prices, hotel prices, and even amusements in the area. I admit I don't buy the amusements, but they are great for ideas.

What I like about Expedia:

easy to use no matter what type of travel help you need
saves my searches so I can easily visit again
allows me to quickly and easily switch to other local airports
competitive pricing
good customer service

What I don't like about Expedia:

Ok, I admit this is silly but I don't really like the site, I think it's unattractive
they tempt me with all these "coupons" but I never get to use any of them

Expedia helps me get on the road and in the air. And when I am tired it gives me a place to sleep too. I really...

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MikeMaroon says "Play On, Carrie, Play On." about Play On [11/3] * by Carrie Underwood

MikeMaroon — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:26:01 GMT

It is my belief Carrie Underwood is the best singer to graduate from American Idol. She has an almost perfect voice and the range of Celine Dion. Loves ya Kelly. Respects ya Adam. But Carrie, she da man, er, woman. She really showcases those gorgeous pipes of hers on Play On, her third and definitely most pop-leaning album yet. Shania, watch your back.

And Ms Underwood went to the studio determined to hit a massive homerun this time. She very nearly succeeds. Bringing in the the ringers, like producers Mike Elizondo and Max Martin along with writers Brett James, Tom Shapiro, and Paul Overstreet, Carrie presents us with an eclectic group of songs that sometimes feels like pandering but mostly feels like a nice variety.

Kicking things off with her already huge radio hit, Cowboy Casanova, Elizondo imparts a juiced-up dance hall flavor that sounds like an attempt to bring back line-dancing. With Underwood's booming vocals, this "warning" song is sure to have urban cowboys...

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LisaCarey says "Great when my sister was wondering where she was going to sleep " about Hotels.com

LisaCarey — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:50:32 GMT

Let me tell you a little story about Hotels.com. Normally I look at it but find it's not very competitive with its pricing so I take a peek to get ideas and then move on to the hotels own site or someplace like Priceline where I have never been disappointed in my hotel bookings and price. But recently, my sister while traveling on business was in a jam and Hotels.com really took care of her, me and the reservation.

After visiting Hotels.com I found exactly the hotel I wanted (airport Sheraton in Orlando Florida) for $62.00 for the night. They had shuttle service so I didn't have to worry about my sister getting stranded. Her travel arrangements didn't work out, her office was closed and she was scheduled to go into a school fare for college recruitment in minutes so we needed someone who could find and book the hotel for her.

Wanting to make sure she would be safe and secure, as well as make absolutely certain of some other details I called Hotels.com customer service line. The...

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LisaCarey says "Not as "hot" as it used to be for booking travel " about Hotwire.com

LisaCarey — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:38:04 GMT

Hotwire used to be my "hot hot hot" travel planning website, about 7 or 8 years ago. Now, not so much. This travel site does offer options for booking airfares, car rentals, and hotels and is often quite competitive but there are some things about the site I just can't get past.

When booking with Hotwire.com:

I don't get my Frequent flyer miles
It is like priceline where you can't see the airline or company name until you book your adventure
the site has made some improvements along the way but it still is a bit of a pain to search and use, especially when going through your booking process
Does give me great car rentals prices almost every time

Hotwire isn't the worst, it isn't the best. It's hard to get a real live person, but that's ok, because they rarely make mistakes in my booking. I do get tired of being "timed" out of the site or my search, let's face it I am a busy WAHM I get distracted and can't always be online as much as I need or want. Overall, Hotwire is one of...

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LisaCarey says "Not my way to travel from city to city " about Travelocity

LisaCarey — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:25:35 GMT

I don't have a lot of spare time. I am lucky that we get to take vacations and planning one takes lots of time so I don't need any trouble when I decide to start my planning and research. Once upon a time about 7 years ago I did use Travelocity frequently for my personal and business travel, now I stop by to see the fares, but I would be hard pressed to book travel there, let's put it this way, the savings better be astronomical to put up with both their website and their awful customer service.

What do I like about Travelocity?

can search for more than one airline and fare at a time
fare watcher

What don't I like about Travelocity?

Travelocity how do I hate thee, let me count the ways. . . . here are just a few

they have a fare watcher but I never get my notices
prices are about the same as everywhere else
hard to search for most things
customer service is the WORST I have ever seen anywhere with any company

Let me tell you a story, and this is just one of many...

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LisaCarey says "Saves you money while having fun in San Antonio " about Save San Antonio

LisaCarey — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:12:30 GMT

My husband and I were considering a trip to San Antonio for the weekend and in my efforts to find ways to save money (including an Entertainment Book for San Antonio) I found SAVE San Antonio.

What I like about SAVE San Antonio:

easy way to get ideas about fun, places to go, hotels, and theme parks
download coupons or order a brochure that includes coupons
the home page gives you a peek at the coupons you will get without having to download all of them sight unseen
helps you get a free visitors guide to San Antonio
free to use
no email address needed

What I don't like about SAVE San Antonio:

the web page is set up kinda weird with one side WAY longer than the other
parts of the pages seem more like advertisements but not in a professional way - kinda of like a blog with categories just set there

I have actually made three trips to San Antonio since that initial planning process and all three times have found SAVE San Antonio to be helpful in finding places to go...

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