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Tuesday, May 23, 2017

Fathers Day Gift From Daughter

Dads With Daughters

father and daughter looking out at the ocean

A father and daughter courtesy of Pixabay.com

As Father's Day approaches, I have been looking for gifts for the fathers in our family. I typically look for things that a daughter can give because, well, I'm somebody's daughter.

When I was little (actually even now) my Dad would tell me that I was (am) his little princess. There is such a wonderful bond between a father and his daughter. Not that Dads don't love their sons, but his girl or girls are so special to him.

When my girls were little their Daddy doted on them and yes they were his little princesses.

So with the princess theme in mind, I found a great gift for the Dad with daughters! It is something he can wear, comes in a variety of sizes and colors and it is perfect for just about any father.

Princess Patrol

A shirt like this is great for a father of any age. He can be a young dad, middle aged dad or the dad of an older princess. No matter his age, he will always protect his special girl or girls. If a tee shirt isn't really something that your Dad will wear, there is an option to get a mug with the same sentiment.

I feel blessed that my Dad is still with us. We have always had a very close relationship and I treasure it more as we both get older. We get together every Wednesday morning and go out to breakfast, we even have our special table at a local cafe. When I was a little girl and he was a young father, he used to take me to a little restaurant in our home town. It was the hang-out for the teens and young adults in the area. Dad would put money in the jukebox and then lead me to an open space and we would dance. It was magical!

So, how about you? What do you plan to give to your Dad for Father's Day this year?

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN), Esty (Awin), and/or Zazzle Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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Monday, May 22, 2017

Reviewing Gift Tags by Nature Cuts

Recently, I have attended a few special occasions and have been invited to others. I am always amazed at how some people can throw a themed party with all of the trimmings. I am especially delighted with the thought that goes into those party favors and gift bags that follow the theme. Then I ran across these awesome gifts tags by Nature Cuts. Although I have not recently thrown a party or hosted any type of gathering, I had to review these themed gift cards.

Gift Tags and Confetti by Nature Cuts

Nature Cuts offers handmade confetti and gift tags. While I've seen confetti used in very creative and beautiful ways recently, I am focused on the gift tags.

Nature Cuts tags are handmade in Wisconsin, USA. Nearly all of the hundreds of gift tags offered have a nature theme; animals, trees, birds, fish, flowers, and more.

They are made from 65lb cardstock. These gift tags come in two size/amount options:

25 tags (2.5" x 1.5")

12 tags (4" x 2.3")

Having lived in Maryland for the past decade, I am especially drawn to the crab design. Gathering around a crab feast, with beer and friends is a way of life here. Special occasions here, such as graduations and goodbye parties, include crabs by default. I can imagine these crab gift tags put to good use at a good number of special occasions in this area.

I am sure that people who regularly host events can think of many ways in which these tags could be used. But these are the occasions I can think of:

showers

crab feasts
beach parties
destination weddings in rustic settings
beach weddings
bridal showers
baby showers
birthdays
graduation parties
camping family reunions
retirement parties
Halloween
and so many more holidays and special gatherings

spider/Halloween gift tags

Nature Cuts tags can be found in their Etsy store as well as on Amazon. The Etsy shop has been open since 2014 and there are hundreds of good reviews. Or maybe Amazon is your favorite convenient mode of buying party supplies. Either way, there are many, many interesting and unique tags to choose from.

Woodland or Christmas Tree gift tags

Sunday, May 21, 2017

The Best Water Bottle to Carry Around

Contigo Autoseal

Water Bottle Review

If you need to drink water consistently throughout the day, you'll love this water bottle.

Without exaggeration, this is the ONLY water bottle I use! There are multiple reasons I call it the best, but before I list them, let me stress the number one feature that makes the Contigo Autoseal Water Bottle my fave: It's easy to carry around without the worry of spilling.

Since I work from home, I drag this water bottle around the house all day long. Here are the reasons it's tops in my book:

1. The handy carry handle lets you grab it with a couple of fingers so you can easily haul it around when you're carrying other stuff. For example, I have multiple places I work from in my home; the family room, at my desk, the living room, and in my bedroom. I'm constantly hauling my laptop from place to place and like to have my water bottle with me all day. The convenient carry handle makes it easy to carry the water bottle and laptop at the same time.

2. The autoseal on the water bottle lets you tip it any which way without the worry of spilling. Simply press to sip from it. Once you let go of the button the autoseal kicks back in and you have a non-spill container.

3. Another convenient aspect is being able to keep a water bottle beside my laptop without the worry of water accidentally spilling onto it. I'm extra careful about cups of liquid near my computer and the Contigo Water bottle eliminates that concern; if I happen to knock it over, it doesn't spill.

4. When I go to bed at night, I'm able to have this water bottle on the end-table without the worry of accidentally bumping it and having it spill. Also, during the night when I need a sip, I can reach over, grab it, and drink from a lying down position! Actually, I prop my head up just enough and take a sip without the worry of spilling - if I happen to drop it, no problem - won't spill.

5. Travelling in the car with this water bottle is easy-peasy. I simply fill it up, put it in the cup holder and off I go. Since you can drink from it using one hand, it makes it very convenient to use while driving.

6. Other perks: It's made out of FDA-approved, BPA-free Triton, which provides high impact resistance and won't stain or retain odors, is dishwasher safe and comes with a lifetime warranty.

So yes, yes, yes, I recommend this water bottle.

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Saturday, May 20, 2017

Reviewing My Favorite Hand Held Labelling Machine

My Favorite Hand Held Labelling Machine - The Dymo Letratag

Get Your Own Dymo!

I own a pink (yes I said pink!) Dymo Letratag label printer and it really is my favorite hand held labelling machine and not just because the color brightens up my day! I brought my Dymo Letratag when my daughter started pre-school which means it's about a decade old and it's still doing it's job really well so this is an investment that will last.

Now I'll be honest when I went to the shops to purchase a label printer I wasn't planning on getting this one, I didn't think I needed a hand held one, I was looking at one that would sit on my desk.

The reason that I got the Letratag was because it was marked down and the couple of pink ones that were available were marked down further (apparently no one likes brighter colors, they want a subdued label printer!). I'm so glad of my decision because a hand held one is awesome and the only sort I now recommend.

Not only is it a wireless, hand held label printer (it runs off batteries) which means it's portable it also fits comfortably in my hand. The way Dymo have shaped their Letratag allows it to nestle nicely in one hand as you type the label with your other hand. It is also a nice weight, altogether the most comfortable label printer I've ever held.

Dymo certainly know their business as they've been producing label makers for years - can anyone else remember the vintage Dymo label maker that had a dial on it and you had to click on each letter (or number)? My mum had a red one from memory. As kids we thought it was great fun!

Features of the Dymo Letratag label printer

The Dymo Letratag printer is super easy to use with no messy ink to worry about or hard to thread tape for labels, let's have a look at the components....

The batteries are located in the back, you simply push down on the bottom of the machine (where there's an indent) to release and the back comes off.

As you can see it takes 6 AA batteries which I thought seemed a lot at first, but I've only changed them twice in about 10 years so in my mind that is pretty good!

I do use my label maker quite a bit so I'm glad that it's economical to run.

If you can change the batteries in your television remote then you can change these!

Now what are the labels printed on? Well unlike some other machines you don't need to add ink and tape as Dymo have combined the two in a little cartridge.

At the top of the machine there's a flap that you simply flip up to reveal the cartridge. When one is finished you simply pull it out and put another one in.

There's no threading or anything it just pops in - not quite as easy as popping a pop tart into the toaster, but not much harder!

Now I've always used the plastic labels as I use them to label containers that are going into the freezer and I'm not sure that paper labels would work that well for this job.

There are a range of different types of labels available from plastic to paper and metallic to polyester. There are also different colors that you can choose from. I've only ever used the plastic black print on white labels.

I have read that people use different types of labels for different jobs - I'm too lazy for that I pop my cartridge in and leave it until it runs out!

If you're looking to get organized and need a tool like this the Dymo Letratag is hands down my favorite hand held labelling machine and I can't recommend it enough.

Now I can't find a pink Dymo Letratag available anywhere at the moment, but I have found a few in other colors which I'm sure will work equally well for you. These other colors just may not cause you to smile as you pick them up!

DYMO LetraTag Labelmaker (Metallic Blue) DYMO LetraTag Personal Label Maker Silver DYMO Grape Translucent LetraTag Labelmaker

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Friday, May 19, 2017

Guardians of the Galaxy 2 Movie Review

Guardians of the Galaxy is a truly fabulous Marvel movie that I would recommend for anyone! The movie is a mix of sci-fi, great animation, several engaging stories & witty dialog. There were several times in both movies, Guardians of the Galaxy & Guardians of the Galaxy 2, where I couldn't help myself and laughed out loud. It is really wonderful to walk away from a movie feeling like you had a great time, not to mention the characters feel like friends.

For Mother's Day, my son surprised me with the DVD of the original Guardians of the Galaxy DVD and movie tickets to see Guardians of the Galaxy 2. We spent the afternoon together watching the Guardians. We started with the DVD and then immediately went to the theater for the second movie. What a wonderful day and the perfect way to celebrate!

I highly recommend watching the movies back to back.

The Plot of Guardians of the Galaxy

Guardians of the Galaxy
(Plus Bonus Features)The original DVD introduces you to all of the main characters and shows us exactly how several unrelated outlaws end up banding together to become the "Guardians of the Galaxy".

The movie starts with Peter Quill as a child listening to 80's music while sitting in a waiting room at the hospital. His mother is dying from a brain tumor and his whole world is about to be turned upside down. When his mother dies, he runs from the hospital devastated by the reality of what just happened. It is at that very moment that he is abducted by Yondu and his team of ravagers (thieves) from another planet. We do find out later that they were hired by his father to retrieve him from earth when his mother dies.

We are quickly fast-forwarded 26 years to Peter as an adult and we discover that he has been raised by Yondu as a ravager. Peter seems happy enough, but it is a time of unrest in the galaxy. A peace treaty has been signed between the Kree and Xandar, but not everyone is willing to adhere to that treaty. Ronan is a powerful Kree who wants more than revenge, he wants complete annihilation of all Xandarians.

Yondu's group of pirates have been commissioned to "acquire" a precious orb. However, Peter decides to go alone to steal the orb.   Once he has the orb in his possession, he does have to battle Ronan's warriors to keep it.   When Peter goes to the Broker to sell the orb and tells him about his battle with Ronan's army, the Broker no longer wants anything to do with the orb and forces him to leave his shop.

Peter meets Gamora, who has been sent by Ronan to retrieve the orb. A tussle for the orb leaves both Gamora and Peter vulnerable to bounty hunters who want to capture Peter for the reward offered by Yondu for the betrayer, Peter. And, this is how we meet Rocket (the raccoon to earthlings) and Groot (a live tree).

They are all arrested by Nova Corps officers and sent to Kyln (prison). Because of her association with Ronan, the prison is full of inmates who want to kill Gamora. One of those inmates is Drax.

Now, we have been introduced to the characters who become the Guardians of the Galaxy: Peter Quill, Rocket, Groot, Gamora & Drax. They form an alliance to break out of Kyln, but that alliance becomes a "family" who battle Ronan for possession of the orb and it's contents, an infinity stone. Possession of that infinity stone ensures the salvation of the entire planet of Xander.

The Plot of Guardians of the Galaxy 2 - Currently in Theaters

POSTER STOP ONLINE Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 - Movie Poster/Print (Regular Style/One Sheet Design) (Size 24" x 36")Check PriceGuardians of the Galaxy 2 picks up where 1 leaves off. The Guardians are now an official team of Marvel defenders. They have been hired to protect valuable batteries from an attacking monster. Their payment for that job is given in trade form. They are paid with Gamora's sister, Nebula.

Rocket can't seem to resist the temptation to steal a few of the batteries and the Guardians are pursued by the Sovereign. They are forced to crash land after they are saved by a mysterious ship. When the unidentifiable ship lands, Peter Quill finds himself face to face with his father, a man he has never met before. Ego (Kurt Russell) invites Peter to his planet. Peter, Gamora & Drax leave Rocket to repair their ship and go with Ego to his planet.

A lot of secrets are revealed on Ego's planet and Peter has some difficult realities and choices to make.

Both of these action packed movies are filled with witty dialog, lovable characters and scenes of strong emotions. Guardians of the Galaxy 2 forces the Guardians to come to terms with a lot of their own personal relationships and the "people" who they really love.

One additional point of interest about Guardians of the Galaxy 2 is the introduction of Sylvester Stallone as Starhawk, the overall commander of the Ravagers.

Great Actors in the Guardians of the Galaxy Movies

Peter Quill - Chris Pratt
Groot - Vin Diesel
Rocket - Sean Gunn (on set) & Bradley Cooper (voice)
Gamora - Zoe Saldana
Drax - Dave Bautista
Yondu - Michael Rooker
Nova Prime - Glenn Close
Corpsman Dey - John C. Reilly (arrested the Guardians & Peter's Nova corps contact)
Ego the Celestial - Kurt Russell
Starhawk - Sylvester Stallone
Peter's Grandfather - Gregg Henry
David Hasselhoff - David Hasselhoff
Stan Lee - Creator of the Marvel characters - appears as random character in both movies