September 11th 2015 - Android Tablet

September 11th 2015 - Android Talet

Just over a week ago on the Martin Lewis Website there was a freebie come up for a free Alldaymall 7" Android Tablet in pink.  You entered the money off code and selected free shipping on Amazon and the order went through. It turns out that this was a BIG mistake on the comapnies part, and the code shouldn't have been to get the item free.

Sadly I didn't know this until after I had ordered it, received it and allowed my children to use the free tablet that I got.  Well i'm not a cruel mother and was not prepared to take it away from my children.  I do feel sorry for the company as a lot of people took advantage of the freebie, but I will give it an honest review and write up here.

The item was packed very well and was protected and it arrived a day earlier than I was told it would arrive.   The package contained everything that it should it would.  If this tablet had to have been bought it would have been £29.99 plus shipping.

The device had no power to start with so we put it on charge for an hour and then turned it on, my first thought was how loud and clear the sound was, not bad for a cheap tablet.  It took you through a start up menu of which you could customise to suit yourself.  The colours and display were very bright and clear, the only thing was the screen didn't go fully edge to edge.

Once set up the tablet was actually quick to load and run pages, it worked well unless my children tried to open too many things which slowed it down (but this happens on all devices).  The screen is great for looking straight at but if turned or angled slightly you can't fully see what is on the screen.

It has both forward and rear facing cameras, I can't comment on the quality of pictures it takes as we have not tried this yet.  It also has room for a memory card to be inserted, again we haven't done this but probably will.

It is small and light weight and ideal size to fit in a bag.  It will be used a lot at hospital appointments as wont take up much room to take with us but is enough to keep the children amused whilst waiting.  It has a hard plastic shell around the tablet which i'm sure is strong enough to protect it but I plan on buying a rubber one just encase it does get dropped.  It is a well built little machine.

The tablet is able to connect to wi-fi which is great an it is also bluetooth enabled.  It runs on Android which is what myself and children are used to (they have use my mobile phone for games etc).  Apps install on it quickly, but as it has low memory I wouldn't advise you to add too many, unless you plan on adding a memory card to boost it.

It can be charged via mains plug or the mini usb cable.  My youngest son is happy to play on it whilst on charge from my laptop so that he can sit and snuggle with me before bed.  The battery life isn't the best and is about 2-3hrs depending on what you are using the tablet for, but I really don't want my children glued to a device for this amount of time let alone longer!

For the price the tablet is (and even better for me as was free) I can safely say it is a great little device, it does what you would hope a small tablet could do etc.  It is ideal size etc for children and slipping into a bag for waiting rooms or even whilst shopping.

I would recommend this product to family and friends.  Thank you for sending it to me an i'm sorry that I wasn't aware of the mix up and that it shouldn't have been free.  I hope that you accept my apology and review as fair exchange.

June 2nd 2015 - Bzzagent

June 2nd 2015 - Bzzagent

A few months ago I came across a website called Bzzagent who send their members samples of products to try for free in exchange of an honest review and discussions with friends/family about the products.

So far I have received a sure deodrant, caramel and hazlenut Douwe egberts coffee and the latest one was for F&F school uniform.  I have left reviews of the products on the bzzagent website.

The deodrant was the first product I tried and in fairness my review wasn't that great as I hadn't done this type of thing before but it was a start.  The product was packaged nicely, smelt nice, applied nicely and left no marks or residue on clothes or skin.  I would consider buying it in the future.

The next products were the coffees.  I thought they would be a couple of sachets like you get in hotels, but no they were full size jars.  The roasted hazlenut smelt really nice, but was very strong and I wasn't too keen on the after taste of it.  The caramel smelt and tasted lovely, it was even better when I added a couple of drops of caramel essence to it as it sweetened it more.  I have actually bought more of this since I trialed it.

The latest trial I am currently doing is the school uniform from F&F.  I was sent a voucher to use towards the cost of some school uniform products (of my choice).  Luckily for me the coucher was enough to completely pay for 4 pairs of trousers for my 5yr old.  I chose the ones that have re-inforced knees as he always goes through them!  I haven't been able to review them yet as they only came yesterday, but upon opening them etc they seem nice.   Review to follow in a few days.

If you would also like to try prodcuts for free in exchange for an honest review, you can find out more by following this link: http://u.bzz.com/whffa

January 14th 2015 - Finished 1 book from reading list

January 14th 2015 - Finished 1 book from reading list

Today I have finished 1 book from the 2015 reading challenge.  The book was the subcategory of "Magic", it is called Dark Winter, the wicca circle by John Hennessey, and the pin is located here on my 365 board. 

Strange but good is how I would describe it, there were a few spelling mistakes but this dodn't alter the story, there was alos abit of confusing as it did flit about and repeat a few bits like character descriptions and because of this I gave a 3* rating of it in my review over on goodreads.


Also today my new laptop tray arrived (YAY!) but sadly it doesn't fit across my sofa and 1 leg falls down the gap between cushions and 1 leg doesnt even balance on sofa!  so not good.  But it's not wasted as it fits on hubby's sofa - he only has a 2 seater so the cushions are bit wider.  This does mean that I am still on the look out for a new laptop tray!

Product review of Virasoothe

This is the type that I had

I was recommended this product by a friend of a friend after a discussion on Facebook about both our children having chicken pox.  And how calamine lotion was not advised, I had been using Aqueous and calamine cream.
 g I had never heard of this and went straight to Google.  After a Google search I found the product and started to find where had it locally.  The chemist at the top of the road had not heard of it, Boots didn't stock it as only small boots, 3rdly was the late night chemist in town who had both the spray and the gel in a tube, they only had 1 spray left so I asked them to put it aside for me and headed down to get it.

My initial thought of the product was how expensive it was in relation to the size of the product.  I paid £8.49 for a 60ml spray bottle.  It does seem that the price varies from shop to shop though, the chemist I got it from was selling the gel in tubes at £5.49 compared to £8.99 on Boots website and as cheaply as £3.99 on eBay (but 3-5days delivery so no good.)

When I got home I covered my son in it and I had to rub some in  as it was quite runny for a gel spray and was running down his chest/belly.  My son didn't cry out in pain upon application like when I was using the Aqueous and calamine  cream, he just laughed and said "it's cold and it tickles".  So this was a great start and can only be a good thing.

The gel wasn't sticky and it didn't leave any residue or marks on clothing, nor did it dry out like the cream.  The spray nozzle is quite wide and some spray does go "away from the body" like when I was doing his shoulders it sprayed over them.  It also didn't dry out my sons skin causing him to scratch like the cream did.  My son hardly scratched his spots from when we started the Virasoothe.  He even said that they didn't itch anymore.  I did have to go and get a second bottle as I used the first in 2days, it says to use "two or three times a day or whenever relief is needed," I found we were applying it more than two or three times, more like every 4hours including night time as my son was very heavily covered in spots and kept waking in discomfort.


His chicken pox are nearly all scabbed over now, the 1st few spots that had the cream on still look quite red and nasty compared to the majority which had the Virasoothe on them, which are smaller scabs, not red and fading.  I believe that the Virasoothe has helped a lot and dried the spots and healed them.  I wish I had heard of this product before as I would have used it from the start.  At least I know of it if my other 2 children get it.

I would certainly recommend this product to friends with children both before they get chicken and when they have it.  It wasn't until I went onto the company website that I found out that Virasoothe is available on prescription free.

As well as the Virasoothe, my son was having regular Calpol and we were also advised ti use Piriton as it is an anti-histamine and helps reduce the itching.

The only downside I would say about this is that I ended up buying medical gloves in order to rub it in because I reacted to the gel and all the skin on my hand started to peel.  This was the only new thing that I had touched and it happened a short while after application.  I noticed it after the first time and thought nothing of it, but when it happened after the second and third I knew it was from the Virasoothe.  (But I do react to a lot of products that touch my hands so I wasn't surprised.)


http://www.itchi.co.uk/parents/care-virasoothe-menu/where-to-get-it.aspx  is the website about the product

book review

I Was given an e-copy of this book (Endangered Creatures) by the author Stephen Dunkley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the use of so many creatures that are believed to be mythical beings like the dragons, dodo's, the yeti and dryads to name a few.  They are described in ways which make you question their being and go against what you have previously read or been told, which in turn makes your mind start questioning things.

The end of each chapter has a clue about the next and therefore they link into each other quite well. 

I found the way the locality of the area where the creatures lived (Regents Park, London) to have been written in an interesting way as I have never thought of it as an "old place".  And also, the other local locations were places I knew of and got thinking as to what the events mentioned actually were.

There were some lines that have really stuck in my mind and made me smile, for instance the linking of Knights in armour to ready to bake meals for Dragons, Dodos to battery farm Turkeys in Norfolk, and he Dryads being linked to being like rugby players and lumberjacks as they are a female nymph! 

The line (quote) "....often mistaken for Lumberjacks.  Although they  never, ever cut down trees.  After all, it would be easy to make a mistake and end up cutting the feet off a hibernating relative." (end quote) really  made me chuckle and think of the fun I could have if I was Dryad and if my own relatives were hibernating at times!

The other line that I really liked was (quote) "I'm sorry, but dragons don't come in pink." (end quote),  this is just utter brilliance and a great conversation stopper, and a line I would love to find a use for!

Knowing that the author was previously a barman, it made me wonder how many of the creatures were based on punters from the bars and/or his own drinking buddies!!!  The whole book had a feel of being along the same lines as a Terry Pratchett book. 

I finished reading it in 1 day as I didn't want to put it down, which is usually a sign of a good book, as it means it has caught my full attention.  It was an easy read, was entertaining with humour throughout that flowed well with the storyline.  I'm looking forward to reading another instalment if there is one.

Book review

I have had an email from an author today asking me if I would be prepared to read his book and write an honest review of it.  Well I have agreed and he has sent me over an e-book of it.

Watch this space for the updated review.  which I will also be posting on other sites.