Who doesn’t love the soft glow of a candle? It’s great to turn the lights off and enjoy the ambiance that only a candle can provide. The problem with candles is that you have to locate matches, light each one trying not to burn your fingers, trim the wicks, make sure the wax doesn’t drip on furniture, and you have to watch them closely—especially around pets or children. It kind of takes the enjoyment out of it.

Enter remote control, flickering LED light candles. These are amazing! The set of three pillars look just like real candles with a wax exterior, but inside there is a bright light that glows and flickers just like a real candle. You’d never know they’re not real. And you don’t have to go around turning each one on. Just turn the switch on the bottom to the on position and then use the remote control to turn all the candles on and off with press of one button. And there is no safety hazard with pets or children so you can place them where you want. I see no downside to these candles. They’re great!

I have spring fever! Out here on the east, we have had a very mild winter. The temperature will reach nearly 60 degrees today—the last day of January—and I love it! The spring-like weather every other week or so is a little reminder that winter does not last forever, as it sometimes seems it might.

The only thing I do not like about spring is the dreaded spring cleaning. The house has been closed up, needs to be aired out, the windows have collected a fine coating of dust (yuck!), the blades on the ceiling fans are looking a little dusty by this time, and all the nooks and crannies in your home that don’t see a vacuum during a normal cleaning could use a good scrub.

Most people don’t like cleaning windows. I don’t mind it so much. What I really dislike is cleaning out the dryer vent. There is no good way to do it with a regular vacuum. It’s a necessary safety measure to get the built up lint out of the lint trap and vent hose to prevent a fire, but the vacuum hose can only go so far. It creates such a mess and just seems like I’m making a bigger job of cleaning than I need to.

That is where the Lint Lizard comes in. This handy tool attaches to your vacuum and the long, thin, flexible hose goes right down in the vent to reach where your regular vacuum attachments can’t. I’m also going to use this under, behind and around the washer and dryer, the refrigerator, behind the headboards in bedrooms, and any other place I can find that I can’t reach with my regular vacuum attachments.

Now I’m getting excited about spring cleaning!

With all of the handheld and wireless devices we have today, one of the many benefits is having music with you wherever you go. You can listen to whatever music you want while cooking, while on a bus, at the park, the options are limitless. Sometimes you want—or need –to listen through ear phones and other times you want to hear the music through speakers. The problem is that speakers aren’t exactly portable. Until now!

The Music Bullet is pretty awesome. It connects to more than just your iPod or MP3 player. You can use the Music Bullet anywhere that you can connect to a speaker jack. So, for example, if you’re anything like me and are generally busy at home taking care of chores and other projects, you can plug in the Music Bullet into your cell phone and have a clear “speaker phone” set up for you so you can use both hands while being on the phone. Also, I frequently watch DVDs on my laptop, but I like a lot of sound, not just the flat sound my laptop provides. By hooking up the Music Bullet to my laptop, I can get the full sound of the DVD I am watching without struggling to hear.

I love the idea of speakers, but I feel like they are bulky, expensive, and don’t provide the complete sound I am looking for. With the Music Bullet, I can not only get the complete sounds from my iPod, but the Music Bullet allows me to use my cell phone and laptop more effectively than ever before.

Are you a cat lover or a dog lover? I find most people lean one way or the other. Of course you can love both, equally. But of all the people I know, most really, really love dogs and like or tolerate cats or vice versa.

Either way, part of owning a pet is the cleanup. There is the fur on the floor and furniture, the splashed water and spilled food, and nobody’s favorite, the litter box or yard cleanup. I’m not sure which I find worse—I’ll spare going into details. At least there are handy helpers for these unpleasant chores. For the dogs, the Grip and Grab Pet Scoop keeps your hands away from the mess and makes quick work of cleaning up the lawn. For the cats, there is now an As Seen on TV product called Sift N Toss. It’s a series of mesh liners that you lift out one by when the box needs cleaning. The mesh sifts out the waste and the rest of the litter stays in the box. No shoveling the litter around to find the waste and stirring up odors.

We all love our pets, but not necessarily the more unpleasant duties. These two products make it just a little more bearable.

I came across an article last week that I think many of you will find fun and even useful. It was Craft of the Day, a Pencil Dish Rack
Reading the article, and the other Craft of the Day items makes me realize that I can actually do these things even though I am not crafty at all!

I loved the idea of the pencil dish drying rack. It is such a neat idea, especially for those of us who may be on a budget. For Christmas I received a new cutting board with a tool drawer that can be used as a cheese board for parties. I have been hanging onto my old beat up board, but not using it. This is a great way to turn it into something useful that looks a lot better than a plastic drying rack!

Check out the article to see how to make the pencil dish rack with your old cutting board. Also, check out the other crafty items I am certain you’ll be able to do on your own!

What a weekend! The weather was crisp and cold, a perfect weekend for snuggling under the blanket while watching movies, sipping on some hot chocolate, and trying out some new recipes in the crock pot. But of course, this is real life and I had things to do. I did spend a good deal of time indoors, doing laundry, cleaning, and doing some cooking, so it wasn’t a completely rush-around weekend.

In between grocery shopping and folding loads of clean clothes, I wanted to get some cooking done so I didn’t eat junk all weekend. I used the new Orgreenic Frying Pan to make a Green Chili Frittata. The Orgreenic pan is oven safe, so I could start the frittata on the stove and then place the pan directly into the oven. The aluminum core helps the pan heat evenly, so the eggs were cooked perfectly. I also used the pan to make salmon. The non-stick ceramic surface kept the fish from sticking so I didn’t have to use any extra butter or oil to keep it from sticking. I love this pan and can’t wait to make more meals with it!

Yesterday was a very rainy day! I don’t really like rainy days–not sure that I know of anyone who does. But I know that I’d prefer a few inches of rain over a few feet of snow, so I’ll try not to complain. While I knew it was supposed to rain and I planned for it by bringing my rain boots along, I neglected to bring my umbrella. So my feet were dry and my jacket was soaked. No big deal though because as soon as I got home, I pulled out my collapsible bamboo drying rack and I hung my coat and wet clothes to dry. If it were laundry day, I would have just tossed everything in the washer, but it isn’t and I don’t want those clothes going in the hamper soaking wet and getting mildewed. Everything was dry this morning, so I collapsed the drying rack and tucked it back in the closet beside the washer. How handy!

Luckily, today is a sunny day so far…but I’m bringing my umbrella just in case!

One of my resolutions this year was to cut back on unnecessary spending. There are some things that I won’t give up entirely, I just have to find a way to make it reasonable. I’ve mentioned several times before that I am making my coffee at home instead of buying it on my way into work. Over the course of a year, that will be about a $400 savings!

I would also consider some beauty regiments a necessity. One of those is a pedicure. I can’t stand to have rough, dry, cracking skin on my feet! I haven’t had a pedicure since the summer…and it shows. I don’t want to spend the money to go to the salon and have a full pedicure done. It’s great to feel pampered, but it costs money.

That is why I’m investing in Pedi Spin. For a fraction of the cost of a salon pedicure, I can give myself countless pedicures at home. Pedi Spin uses gentle abrasion to remove the rough skin on my feet and leaves me with soft and smooth skin. I can cut, file, and polish my toenails by myself.

An added bonus; I don’t have to walk outside in the cold with those flip flops the salon provides you with!

Happy Monday! I hope you had a nice weekend. Wherever you’re located, you probably had decent weather this weekend. Over here, on the east coast, we are having a crazy winter. One day it is 20 degrees and the next day it is in the mid 50’s! I’m enjoying the warm days as they come.

This weekend, I made every effort to be outside. Most of my errands were within a 3 mile distance, so instead of spending an hour indoors on the treadmill and I took a hike in lieu of Pilates. I’ll be back to using the indoor equipment this week when it’s cold or too dark outside before and after work, but it felt really great to take advantage of the nice weather and fresh air!

What a great spring weekend in the middle of winter!

How is your New Year’s resolution coming along? Have you stopped smoking, started eating healthier, paid off that lingering credit card debt, been to the gym at least three times this week? Probably not.

We’re only one week into the New Year and you might be feeling as if you’re behind your goals already. It’s easy to feel that way when you have a big goal to meet. It’s always a good idea to break your goals down into smaller manageable tasks. If you’re trying to eat healthier, start with focusing on cutting out one snack a day, or be prepared with a yogurt or almonds instead of grabbing whatever chocolate-coated candy bar is calling your name from the vending machine.

Maybe you’re doing all the right things but still not seeing the results you want yet. We all need help with our goals. If you have a few extra inches around your midsection that just aren’t budging, Slim Away will instantly show off the slimmer, trimmer you. It not only helps you look trimmer right away, but locks in body heat to help stimulate weight loss around the waist while you wear it! Slim Away is thin enough to wear under your clothes, so no one will know your weight loss secret, and it’s fully adjustable so as the inches melt away you tighten and continue to lose weight.

Keep trying to meet your New Year’s resolutions and goals. Small steps are the key. How are you all doing with your resolutions after one week?