Lightening Online

I’m no tech-head.  People sometimes mistake me for one when they see how professional this site looks.  The thing is, I didn’t do it!  :)  Now my secret is out.  LOL.  You only have to have a conversation with me and you’d quickly discover how much of a tech-head I’m NOT.  I tend to refer to all things technical as “thingys” and can be overheard muttering “I hate computers”.

I actually don’t “hate” computers.  I love them.  I just get so frustrated that I don’t know how to do more with them.

My regular laptop (not this small one that has become my “main” one temporarily) is getting old and tired.  I’ve tried downloading “clean up” type programs to help it along.  I think all I achieved was to clutter it up more.

So when I was offered a trial of this system mechanic from Iolo, I figured I had very little to lose in giving it a go.

I’d love to give you the techie low down on how it works and what it does, but that’s a bit beyond me.

This is all I can tell you:

1.  It was so simple that even I could download and install it.  And use it.

2.  It has definitely sped up the speed of our computer.

I guess that’s all you need to know really, right?

Here’s a bit of info the company gave me for those who want to know more:

System Mechanic:

• Fixes errors, crashes and freezes
• Boosts Windows and internet speeds
• Restores system stability
• Cleans out clutter and junk files
• Prevents slowdowns and bottlenecks
• Plugs security holes
• Clears out private data
• Extends healthy life of PCs

System Mechanic Giveaway

Christmas is a great time of year for a giveaway isn’t it?  Well, any time of year is probably a great time of year really!

System Mechanic have offered a number of copies of System Mechanic for me to giveaway to my readers.

It’s very simple to enter.  All you need to do is fill in the form below mentioning one of the 5 top causes of a PC slowdown (as mentioned on Iolo’s website).  You can find the answers on the Iolo System Mechanic website.

(just ignore the website field on the form below - I thought I’d told it not to include that.  It’s been a while since I’ve created a cform *sigh*).

cforms contact form by delicious:days

I know it’s a busy time of year but I hope you’ll take the time to enter. Entries close end of the day Tuesday 22nd December 2009 (South Australian time) and I’ll announce the winners on Wednesday 23rd December 2009. All personal information collected will be used for the purpose of this giveaway only and then deleted.

Last time I reviewed a lego product, I asked Trailer Boy what his dream Lego would be.

His response?

A caravan!!!

This might not be quite the same as our caravan but it’s pretty close:

And the lovely people at Zing actually remembered that was what his hearts desire was.  How nice is that??? 

I was going to keep it for his birthday but he was so sick recently that I brought it out as a “cheer me up”.  And it certainly cheered him up!!!

Even though it’s a smaller set, Lego had still packaged it up into numbered packages to make building it easier:

I’m not the world’s best Lego builder so this was particularly appreciated given he was not well and needed lots of help (and Farmboy is busy at the moment).

Every time I help build a new set of Lego, my heart always leaps to my throat wondering if a piece is going to be missing.  It’s NEVER happened though.  Lego must have some decent quality control.  Which is nice in this day and age of “cutting costs to increase profits”.  It might not be the cheapest toy to buy but at least you feel like you’re getting something for your money.

I still cannot believe how much detail they get into their kits.  This one has little cups, a pushbike (much to Trailer Boys delight!!!), a television.  Once made up, it opens up and you can actually play with the people that come with it - put them in the back, put them in bed etc.  So much FUN!!!!

He’s done nothing but play with it ever since we put it together!

A message from Trailer Boy:

It’s Good.

I like the inside of it and that they can surf.

There’s a thing up there (the top) where they can sleep.

The best bit is the drivers seat.

Thank you to Lego and Zing for sending it to me.

Thanks from me too!!!  I think you saved my sanity, trying to cope with a sick little boy!!!  :)  No doubt this will remain a treasured item in our home for years to come!

When Farmboy and I were dating, we had a friend who had a mammoth beanbag we loved to inhabit.  We decided we HAD to have one for ourselves.  Fast Forward MANY years and that never eventuated.  While I haven’t gone out of my way to hunt for a beanbag that’s comfortable for 2, I haven’t come across any either.

Not until these Omni chairs by Sumo were brought to my attention.  AWESOME!!!!

It’s like Farmboy and I have returned to those youthful “dating” days!!!! 

Of course, there are a few little differences:

Like back then, we didn’t have an 11 year old!!!! 

Or an 8 year old, or a 5 year old!  I wonder if the omni chair has ever been made into a car before?  Notice the babies in their carseats in the back?  I just love kids imaginations!!!! 

And at the end of a hard day….

Perfect for my new school boy to take a much needed nap! 

It has the perfect fabric for those with kids too.  It’s easy-clean (unlike our last beanbag which didn’t stand up to the test of children!).

Alright, enough talking about it, I’m off to snuggle in my omni pillow and watch NCIS! 

You can find more information about the sumo lounge range, including some other suggestions for ways to use it and information on how to get your own by clicking here.

You’ll have noticed that from time to time I’ve been writing product reviews on this blog. I enjoy trying new products and letting you know what I think of them. So when I was approached about trying this new Pomegranate Juice, I was intrigued. I’ve never heard of it before. Here are my thoughts:

FIRST IMPRESSIONS COUNT

I have to say that before the juice has even hit my tastebuds, I’m impressed. How cute is this bottle? And the logo with the love heart? I’m in love already!!!

I took some with me to swimming lessons during the holidays and the bottle alone sparked quite a bit of interest and intrigue from other mum’s around me.

SOME FACTS AND FIGURES

Attached to the bottle is a cute little label which details the following in terms of the antioxidant power of pomegranate juice when compared to other juices:

POM Wonderful 96%

Red Wine 68%

Concord Grape Juice 62%

Blueberry Juice 51%

Black Cherry Juice 47%

Acai Juice 46%

Given I’ve always thought of Red Wine as being high in antioxidants, I was quite impressed with these figures.

MY FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF THE TASTE

It’s taste reminded me of grape juice and blackcurrant juice which isn’t surprising given it’s a similar colour juice to those. It is quite strong and I prefer it watered down with either water, lemonade or soda water. In fact, I think it would make quite a nice base for mixing together with any number of other drinks. Naturally, the health benefits would also be “watered down” in this case. However, I’m not sure I liked the taste enough to continue to drink it at full strength.

THE BIG TEST - THE KIDS

My children are always the biggest critics when it comes to something new so I thought it would give the juice quite the test if I gave it to them. They’re used to having dark juice diluted with water so I gave this to them the same way. Here are there reactions.

Lleyton (almost 11) - wasn’t keen. Took 1 sip and that was enough for him.

Singstar Princess (8) - wasn’t sure. Drank about half of the first cup and said she didn’t like it but came back the next day and wanted to try it again.

Trailer Boy (5) - LOVED it! Can’t seem to get enough and is always asking for more.

So there you go, quite mixed reactions there!

ANYONE ELSE TRIED IT?

It’s apparently available via Woolworths and Safeway stores. Has anyone seen it in the stores and anyone else tried it? I’d love to hear what you thought of it if you have.

If you’d like to know more about it, you might enjoy having a browse of the POM Wonderful website. I noticed there are some other flavours mentioned there. It would be interesting to try some of those. I particularly like the look of the Pomegranate and Blueberry juice.

Just before Christmas, I was asked if I would review a new product on the market called Top Corn. Being the curious person I am, I was keen to lay my hands on some and see what it was like.

Test 1 - The Kids

My kids are big popcorn fans but tend to balk at the idea of trying anything new. Lleyton was the most keen and also being a nut fan, quite liked the taste and texture of the Top Corn. They liked the plain TopCorn and the Cheese flavoured packet.

Test 2 - Farmboy

Farmboy is generally pretty easy to please and seemed to like the Top Corn. His favourite flavor was the Spicy.

Test 3 - My Parents

My father is a diabetic so I was particularly interested in the fact that Top Corn has less saturated fat than chips and nuts. I put some out on Christmas Day and it was as popular as any of the other available snacks.

Test 4 - ME

No doubt I am the pickiest of all the test subjects. I tend to enjoy a savoury snack and I’m a bit of a chip-a-holic. I found the Top Corn quite satisfying as a snack and the thing that interested me most was that while it was nice, I didn’t feel an urge to down the whole packet. This is quite significant because I tend to overeat when it comes to snack foods. I preferred the plain to the Spicy or the Cheese.

What IS TopCorn?

Unlike popcorn, Top Corn is made using large corn kernels that are unpopped. To me it has a similar taste to popcorn but with a much crunchier texture. The plain was salted with a beautifully light salt which created an interesting and pleasurable texture.

It’s made from giant corn (non genetically modified) grown in the Peruvian Andes.

If you’d like to know more about it, have a look at the TopCorn website.

Disclaimer: The only payment for this post was the provision of some samples to try this product.

I grew up thinking water was “free”. Or at least pretty close to “free”. I remember seeing bottled water in the stores and wondering who in their right mind would actually PAY for water???

A can or bottle full of bubbles, colour, sugar and some artificial flavouring seemed great value in comparison to buying plain water!!!

How times have changed.

I like to rate my purchases in terms of nutritional return on investment. If I apply that formula to the purchase of water vs soft drink, water comes out way in front.

I have to admit that I’m still reluctant to buy it unless I have to.

But like it or not, decent water is essential to our health and is getting harder and harder to come by “free”.

We’re very fortunate here where we live. Our rainwater tanks are new and clean as is our air most of the time (particularly in comparison to cities). We can harvest our own water. Of course, there is a still a COST in doing so (the cost of our rainwater tanks).

When we travel, we always BUY bottled water. Why? We’ve found whenever we’re in another area we get stomach upsets - which we attribute to varying bugs in the water. Bugs our body are not used to. So we prefer to purchase water rather than risk being ill while we’re away from home.

When Noble Beverages asked me if I would be interested in trying their Pureau Pure Water, I agreed. Because I wanted some free water? No. Because I’m actually really FUSSY when it comes to water. Which is actually a source of frustration for us when we travel.

I like my water to taste like…. water.

Not plastic or minerals or whatever else is in many bottled water products that make me shudder when I try to drink it.

We’ve already decided that when we do our trip, we’ll allocate funds to purchase water as we go rather than take a risk with various “free” water sources on offer.

Finding something that doesn’t make me “shudder” to drink is kind of high on our priority list.

THE VERDICT?

Pureau Pure Water tastes like WATER!!!

I kid you not. I have not ever tasted prepackaged water that tastes so close to rainwater before.

It got the thumbs up from the whole family.

And the cask made it very easy for the kids to access the water themselves.

A FEW FACTS FROM THE COMPANY:

Noble’s Pureau is the only Australian water that is 100% guaranteed to be completely free of all impurities including chlorine, bacteria, sodium (salt), fluoride, nitrates and other inorganic minerals.

Noble Beverages uses a proprietary three-stage filtration method for its water called the “Pureau Process”. Absolutely no treatment chemicals are used during the process, nor is ozonation, chlorine or UV. It’s also important to note that Pureau is not distilled water – distillation is not part of the Pureau Process.

Pureau is owned by Noble Beverages, an Australian company based in St Marys, Sydney.

Choosing Noble’s Pureau’s 5 and 10 litre casks is a great way to cut-down the consumption of disposable PET and HDPE water bottles, which can help reduce your carbon footprint.

Final Thoughts

Pureau gets the “Lightening Tick of Approval” for:

• Taste
• Aussie Company
• Not using chemicals in the process
• Ease of access for all ages (cask)
• Consideration of Environmental Factors

Over To You

What are your thoughts on buying water for consumption? Do you do it? Do you have a favoured brand? Do you buy based on cost, taste or some other factor?

No money has changed hands for this review. Editorial rights have remained exclusively with the blog author (and always will for reviews - it is a condition of me agreeing to review a product). If you are interested in having a product reviewed, please see my advertise/review page for more information.