New Product Review! Vibration Bark Collar & Anti-Skimming Sleeves! ---Inculdes COUPON CODES!---

I have a mini-poodle & bichon frise mix.  I adore her, she's a sweet fluffilufigus (one of my nicknames for her :P )  Buuuuuut....she is a dog.  And a small one at that. That being said, she naturally enjoys a good bark when she hears a noise outside or especially when the doorbell rings.

I don't have it in my heart to use a shock collar, especially on such a mild manored and timid dog (she'll cower in the bedroom if a housefly gets too close to her in the living room...)  But she was driving us nuts with the barking.  Yelling, stomping, snapping fingers, they just weren't working.

We got this collar at a discount in exchange for our honest review.  In all honesty, I was on the verge of giving it a 1/5 stars and planning on chucking it into a box somewhere...but I decided to check with the seller to see if there was something I could do to improve the situation.

The main problem is that it scared the witts out of little Mia.  She was shaking, hiding in another room.  She really didn't seem to understand where this horrific beep and vibration was coming from or what she did to deserve it!  PLUS, it was going off at times that she wasn't barking i.e. shaking herself, scratching, jumping.

We took it off for a couple days.  The seller told us to try a couple of days with it on but without the battery so we did that.  Now we've had it on for 3 days with the battery back on (and made sure to tighten the strap a bit) and we're really surprised and happy with it!

In the 3 days she's had it on, she has barked several times to make the beeping sound go off once, but only 1 did she keep barking to the point that the vibration was triggered (and then she stopped).

It will still go off on accident a little here and there, usually when she's shaking or jumping vigorously, but we try to give her love and reassurance on those occasions that she did nothing wrong.  When it goes off because of her barking, we make sure to tell her "no" so she associates it with our wishes.  We don't have her sleep with it on or leave it on her when she's alone or kenneled up or playing.  I think we'll continue to use this!  If you want to see how it works, I reviewed it with my husband on our Youtube channel HERE.

To purchase this collar, you can go HERE (affiliate)

20% off coupon code: DT8B-AC7GN2-V4XWQ3



The other item we have up for review is this set of Anti-Skimming Sleeves.  (We also received these at a discount in exchange for our honest review.)

It's hard to "test" these, because we don't have the equipment necessary to steal other peoples' information lol.  But they are nicely made, not flashy to draw attention, and keep your passports and credit cards safe, especially when traveling internationally.

To check out these sleeves, you can go HERE (affiliate)

15% off coupon code: ZPRFID01

 

Unexpected Lesson:Learning from Pain

Today in church we had a great lesson. The title of the lesson was "Feed my Sheep". They talked a lot about the positive influences we've had in our lives that have helped spiritually fed us. I had examples come to my mind, I really have been nurtured by SO many people throughout my life and I'm grateful for each and every one of them.

 The unexpected lesson that I came to learn was not in the lesson that was being taught from the front of the room. Sometimes that happens. While I wanted to be attentive to what the teacher had prepared, and I wanted to be uplifted by an attitude of gratitude for the positive influences in my life....I kept having flashbacks of the negative influences of my life...

 Some have called me slow to forgive. I'm pretty sure that's an accurate assessment (not that I'm proud of it). And it's not that I can't play nice with the other kids and act as though nothing ever happened, I'm getting good at that, but I sometimes have trouble not letting the pain keep hurting me.

As we were supposed to be thinking about and sharing stories of those who have loved us and guided us on the path of life, I kept thinking about the person that has never in their life met me but wrote more than 1 email about me based on something they had heard, and pronounced me essentially a waste of space. They never met me. They never knew I read those emails (I wasn't snooping, it was an accident that I came across it). They'll never know how I sometimes reflect on that, almost a decade later, and recall their words. It stings. Bad.

 I remember the time as a child that an adult that should have been nurturing me called me a degrading name. And the time a different adult rudely and falsely accused me of something I never did. This kind of thing shouldn't bother me anymore. I don't know why, but it does.

My mind bounced back and forth between the good and bad. I wish I could only remember the rose petals and forget the thorns, I'm working on that. But sometimes those thorns give us a pain or a scar that remains, and it doesn't have to be in vain.

The thing I learned today is to be careful what you say, you never know when it will stick. Choose to be an influence for the positive in someone else's life.  If someone is acting like they are a "waste of space", perhaps they need love and encouragement, even from a stranger, instead of criticism. Choose to love.  Choose to trust. 

I've come to the realization that suffering from anxiety and depression are a blessing so far as they help me be compassionate to others who suffer similarly.  The scars others have given me can serve that same purpose.  They help me to be better, to be compassionate.  I'm sorry for the pain I've caused others.  I have never been a perfect daughter/sister/wife/friend/human being, but I'll try to be better.  I feel terrible thinking that I could have or may in the future cause someone else as much pain as I feel because I was insensitive in what I say. 

So that's my challenge to you-watch you words.  And not only that, take your scars, whatever they may be.  Take whatever that is that weighs you down and find the lesson from it.  What can you gain?  We're here on this earth to learn, to grow.  Not just to be victims.

Christmas Coupon Codes! (Awesome Products!)

My husband and I have been product reviewers for a month or so and I wanted to share some products that we've really liked.  To add to it, I asked the product sellers if they had any coupon codes I could share with you guys and they graciously shared some with me.  These are some great ideas for Christmas shopping, so feel free to check them out ;)

(The links included are affiliate links, we are not being compensated however for our reviews, though we received these items for free or at a discount for the purpose of reviewing them.)

USB Bike Light #rearbikelight
I love the concept of this light-the fact that it's a USB chargeable light so you don't have to wonder about odd batteries! It comes with a nice micro usb to usb charging cord. The 1st and 2nd clicks turn on the red light, the 3rd is a blinking/strobing light. The 4th click turns it off.

The elastic/adjustable strap is nice to fit a variety of sizes, it fits great on the front and back of my bike and could be used for other reasons as well i.e. going to a job when it's a little dark outside. You can easily disconnect the light from the strap to recharge it so the whole thing doesn't have to come inside to charge.

You can buy the light here:
http://amzn.to/1NgYwuZ


10% off coupon code: NIGHTPRO




Silicone Cupcake Liners

I love reusable silicone baking cups! This isn't my first time ordering silicone baking cups so I was curious to see how these were compared to another brand I had purchased before. These are thinner than the set I already had.  I think that it makes it easier to turn them out for cleaning.

As for silicone baking cups in general:
PROS:
good for the environment
good on the budget-one time purchase!
nice colors

CONS:
You probably don't want to give them away on a treat plate-though you can just take off the cup.
Cleaning-while these may be able to withstand the dishwasher, that probably won't do the job. I find you have to hand wash to get out baked goods remains. While you don't have to spray the cups, it does help them come out cleaner.

You can buy these liners here: http://amzn.to/1MmIXkQ

15% off coupon code: JJCUPS15




Fashion Running Belt

This is a comfortable and cute running belt.  I honestly was pretty skeptical about whether or not I'd like it, and pleasantly surprised.  In it's simplest form it could be described as a tube of fabric with pockets.  There are 3 pockets-2 with zippers and one with a clip for keys.  It is stretchable and you slip it on like a skirt or pants-no clips, hooks, or buckles. 

Almost instantly, I realized how nice it would be as a travel belt.  It fits wallets, phones, keys, passports, etc and can easily be concealed underneath your clothes.  Unfortunately, their largest size (XL) is a little small for me-but it works for my husband.  I saw some others post in comments that it fits them well at a size 14-16, that would probably be a good size.  My husband and I both wear size XL shirts, but me being the woman with hips, I think was the real 
problem ;) 

You can check out the running belt here: http://amzn.to/1NgYqUf

20% off coupon code: 355PRMY4

Our vlog showing these items and talking more about them is found HERE.

BIG NEWS FOR US!

As much as I've tried over the years, I'm having a hard time posting regular blog posts.  BUT, fun news!  My husband and I are doing DAILY VLOGS!  We've done daily videos for about 4 months now and are going to keep going :) 

This summer we're doing our first garden so there's a lot covered there, but I hope to get to more crafts once the harvest is over.  Depending on your interest, you can look at the playlists we have (let's be honest, we have lots of interests!) so we like to sort them by topic a bit depending on the focus of the video i.e. at the time I type this, we have "Gardening" "Cooking" "Challenges and Shenanigans" and "Monthly Bloopsers" playlists.  I'm sure over time, along with documenting our daily journey with infertility, hopes of being foster parents, saving to purchase our first home, etc....we'll add new playlists such as Crafts, Couponing, & Fitness just to name a few. 

Our Vlog can be found HERE.

We would LOVE new subscribers on Youtube!