Monday, January 28, 2019

Reviewing the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Reviewing The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is an Amazon original series set in New York in 1958, starring Rachel Brosnahan. Mrs. Maisel (Brosnahan) is living her dream. She is married, loves her husband, has two children, and lives in a beautifully appointed apartment in Manhattan. From a very young age, she has dreamt about and planned it all: college, wedding, and her adult life trajectory. She tells us about it during a flashback to her beautiful wedding. Everything is going exactly as planned, until suddenly - in one evening - Mrs. Maisel learns that others can completely de-rail her best plans.

Midge Maisel is a loyal, happy housewife who works hard to please her husband. Mr. Maisel (Joel) is a salesperson with an office job. But at night, he performs at a club as a stand-up comedian. He's not very funny and Midge bribes the club manager with briskets to get Joel into better time slots with a better audience. On the same night that he completely bombs, things completely fall apart for Midge. She is devastated and lost. Am I making this sound like a drama? It is not. It is a comedy full of quirky characters.

A co-worker told me to watch the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Since she has recommended an author that has quickly become my favorite, I trusted her opinion and I began watching the series the first weekend I had a few spare minutes. I am able to watch it for free because of my Amazon Prime membership. I watched several episodes that first day and binged watched into season 2 the next weekend. 




The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel reminds me of I Love Lucy - but a naughtier version. The buildings, clothing, baby carriages and way of life are all from that time period. Rachel Brosnahan's facial expressions and/or timing of her humor remind me quite a bit of Lucille Ball. She's a bit sneaky, like Lucy. An example being reminded of Lucy was during a scene at bedtime. Midge goes to bed in a negligee and still made-up. As soon as Mr. Maisel is asleep, Midge gets up and does her beauty routine; putting her hair in curlers and applying an over-night face mask. She sets the blinds so that the sun shines through the crack in the morning - waking her before the alarm. She completes her beauty routine and is back to bed; perfumed, made-up, and looking beautiful. She closes her eyes and he wakes. This scene made me laugh and reminded me ever so much of I Love Lucy

Am I making this sound like an I Love Lucy rehash? It is not. There is cursing, "sex" scenes (not the type of sex scenes shown on cable tv but sex scenes nonetheless), and some modern colloquialisms that aren't from the 1950s. For me, these things are a bit like watching a cartoon with a child and the cartoon includes adult humor and references - out of place but funny (although, I wouldn't be bothered by less profanity).

If the title sounds familiar, it may be because Rachel Brosnahan won a 2019 Emmy for Best Actress in a Television Comedy. Deservedly so, I think.






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.”


Sunday, January 27, 2019

Review of the Meaning Behind Different Colored Roses

The Meaning Behind Different Colored Roses
Did You Know that Each Rose Color Has a Unique Meaning?

With Valentine's Day around the corner, there's nothing carved in stone that says you have to give Red Roses.

If you want to send a different message, check out the meaning of each colored rose as described below. Once you determine what you really want to say, send a dozen roses of that color instead.

Red Roses

This one you know. It generally means "I love you". Sending red roses tells the person in no uncertain terms that you love them. It also speaks to beauty and lets the person know, that in your eyes, they're perfect just the way they are.

Yellow Roses

If you want to send someone a flower that expresses thanks for the friendship you share, yellow roses are a good choice. Yellow roses tell the person that they make you happy and you're thankful to have them in your life.

Lavender (Purple) Roses

If you've just met someone and you've got that love-at-first-sight thing going on between the two of you, then sending them purple roses says you're eager to continue and grow this unexpected relationship. Purple is also associated with Royalty, so if you happen to fall in love with a Prince or a Princess at first sight, send them purple roses.

White Roses

If you're looking to send flowers to someone you just met, white roses are the ideal choice. They're used in weddings to symbolize new beginnings but you don't have to be getting married to experience a new beginning. Don't hesitate to send them in the case of anything new; new job, new baby, new friendship, new love.

Pink Roses

Is there someone in your life that you admire? If so, send them pink roses. Perhaps it's a person who has accomplished a great deal, been an awesome friend or set an unparalleled example with their life. Sending your mother pink roses speaks to your admiration for her. Pink also represents gracefulness. For the person with high integrity and who behaves in a classy manner, pink is their flower.

Orange Roses

Orange roses speak to your excitement about being with a person. You're anxious to take on new adventures with them and your relationship is all about enthusiasm and, where applicable, desire. Give orange roses to the person you want to take on the world with. It doesn't have to be a love interest. In fact, if it's a good friend, give them a combination bouquet of yellow, orange and white roses.

Peach Roses

Do you want to send someone a 'Thank you'? If so, then peach roses deliver that message. If you're grateful for someone and what they've done for you, or for just being in your life, peach roses say it without words. When you want to show someone how much you appreciate them, add peach roses to your bouquet.

Now that you understand the general meaning of each rose, consider the message you want to convey and either mix and match them or give a dozen of one color.

If real flowers aren't doable, here's a collection of faux bouquets to send to that special someone:




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.”


Saturday, January 26, 2019

How to Keep Post-Workout Soreness At Bay - The Easy Way!

Phytosport After Workout Supplement to reduce post workout soreness
Arbonne's Phytosport After Workout
2018 was my year of rebooting my body and building up strength again.   I joined a gym halfway through the year and go every second day.

Now if you are a gym-goer you'll know that after a particularly good workout you can feel quite sore  over the following days!   I remembered that when I was a couple of decades younger and was 'gyming it' I would take BCAAs to help reduce and/or stop the soreness.

I was really happy when I found that Arbonne had a Phytosport range that included their After Workout - guess what one of the ingredients were?  BCAAs!  I knew this would help and the fact that it's a sachet that you mix with water to make a drink is even better because you need to keep your water intake up.

What's in Arbonne's Phytosport After Workout?


So what exactly is in this product and how do they help is probably what you're all wondering.

Arbonne's Phytosport After Workout Sachet - an easy to use way to reduce muscle soreness after a workout
Phytosport After Workout Sachet
Branched-chain amino acids, commonly known as BCAAs are one of the key ingredients.  To explain how they work let me tell you what happens when you work your muscles.   The muscle fibres actually pull apart, when you stop exercising they have to go back together.   It's actually this action that causes people to develop bigger muscles, but the time when they are knitting back together is when you can experience muscle soreness.

Where BCAAs come in is that they help the muscles to knit together faster thereby supporting muscle repair while also alleviating muscle soreness.

Now a side effect of exercising is that your body produces something called free radicals.  Free radicals can cause aging - I once heard someone talk about them with this analogy; if your body was a car, free radicals would be the rust!

This is why when people exercise a lot they're encouraged to increase the intake of anti-oxidants either through their diet or supplementation.   In After Workout there are also anti-oxidants formulated from pomegranate.

Also included are calcium, magnesium and vitamin B12. 

How to Use Phytosport After Workout


When you buy this supplement it comes in a box full of sachets, you add the contents of one sachet to approximately 500ml of water and mix.   The drink is a mixed berry flavor and has a pink color as you can see in this photo of me.

Louanne with Phytosport After Workout Drink in tow!
Louanne with her After Workout Drink

I have just finished my usual circuit PLUS started a running program when this photo was taken so I knew I needed to have something to stop myself from feeling sore the next day!

It even tastes nice, which is true of all three of the Phytosports range (yes I use all of them!).

What Isn't In Phytosport After Workout?


Sometimes what makes a product great is just as much about what isn't in it as what is in it!   This sports drink is certified vegan and also has the BSCG certified drug-free stamp of approval.

All of Arbonne's products are also gluten-free.   The After Workout contains no artificial colours, flavours, or sweeteners.


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.”


Friday, January 25, 2019

Velvet Hangers for Clothes Reviewed

For decades I used plastic hangers because I hated the creases made across the shoulder of my blouses when I used wire hangers. However, I recently started changing out my expensive plastic hangers and replacing them with thin velvet hangers. 

Velvet Hangers for Clothes Reviewed

I absolutely love the velvet hangers!

I'll be the first to admit that I am really surprised by how much of a difference the velvet hangers make in my closet.  When I first purchased them, I wanted to see if they would really keep my blouses and sleeveless tops on the hangers.  For years, I have fought the battle of having my blouses slide and fall off the plastic hangers simply because plastic hangers are smooth and slippery.  

What I did not expect was to end up with more room on my closet clothes rod.  



Black Velvet Hangers for Clothes


 Premium Velvet Heavy duty-50 Non Slip Black Suit Clothes Hanger Hook Swivel 360-Ultra Thin, 50 PackCheck PriceSince we have extreme weather during the winters and the summers, I have a lot of seasonal clothes.  During the winter months, I rarely wear anything lightweight or sleeveless.  However, during the hot summer months, you won't catch me wearing sweatshirts.  Unfortunately, that means I have what seems like too many clothes for one person and those clothes take up a lot of room in the closet.  At least six months out of the year, I have sleeveless shirts and lightweight blouses that are not touched.  They just hang there taking up space.  Likewise, the sweatshirts, heavy sweaters and jackets just take up space during the summer.  

I have two rods in my closet for my clothes.  One is above the other.  The lower rod doesn't give me as much grief simply because I can easily reach it and if a second sweater starts to come off the hanger when I am removing one beside it, I can usually catch it before it hits the floor.  However, that is definitely not true for the blouses and tops that hang on the upper rod.  

Before I started using the velvet hangers, I couldn't get dressed without having a second blouse come off the hanger next to the one I was trying to remove.  That was extremely annoying since I was already having to reach up over my head to get a shirt.

By the way, dress slacks don't slip off velvet hangers either!  Just make sure you purchase the ones shown here with the lower pants rod across the bottom of the hanger.


My Introduction to Velvet Hangers


 Home-it 50 Pack Shirt and dress Clothes Hangers Black Velvet Hangers - Ultra Thin No Slip neck (hook) swivelCheck PriceLast summer I needed a few new hangers.  I went to my favorite online shopping place to buy a package of plastic hangers.  When I looked down the page at the "related items", I saw the velvet hangers and I was intrigued.  After reading a few reviews from women stating their clothes didn't fall of these hangers, I bought my first set of velvet hangers.  What a difference those hangers made in my closet!  I no longer have to fight blouses, shirts and tops on all sides just to remove one to wear.  I call that more than awesome!

When winter arrived and I started fighting my sweaters just trying to remove one, I thought to myself, oh no I won't!  I promptly purchased a set of 50 velvet hangers.  Each time I take something out of my closet now to wear, I hang it on a velvet hanger, after it has been laundered, instead of the original plastic hanger.  My closet is being transformed a little at a time.

Now, nothing slips from the hangers and another fabulous unexpected benefit, there is more room on my rods!  Yes, that is right!!!  The velvet hangers are a lot thinner than the plastic hangers and it really does make a difference.  Even though they are thinner (like a wire hanger) they do not make that horrific crease across the shoulders of my blouses.

My battle of the slipping garments has now ended and I will never go back to plastic. 



 Home-it Premium Velvet Hangers 50 Pack - BlackCheck Price Home-it 50 Pack Shirt & Dress Clothes HangersCheck Price Home-it Premium Velvet Hangers 50 Pack - IvoryCheck Price Home-it 50 Pack Shirt & dress Clothes HangersCheck Price

 


 



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Thursday, January 24, 2019

Reviewing Dryer Balls


bag of wool dryer balls photo by mbgphoto





During the Christmas holidays, I was washing a batch of sheets when one family left and another would be staying in the guest room.  I was frustrated because the sheets tangled in the dryer and didn't get dry in the middle.  My daughter was observing this and said "Mom, haven't you tried dryer balls.  They work great to keep things from tangling in the dryer and your clothes get dry faster."  

I had never heard of dryer balls before, but thanks to my thoughtful daughter a bag of the balls were delivered to my house 3 days later.

Features of Dryer Balls

  • Great for people with sensitive skin.  Non-toxic and Hypoallergenic
  • Reduce wrinkles and drying time
  • Eco-friendly way to soften laundry
  • No more tangled laundry
  • Good for 1000-2000 loads
  • Reduce need to iron clothes
  • Minimizes clothes damage and lengthens clothes life
I have been using the balls since I received them.  The bag came with 6 balls so the will last for years.  I put 2-3 balls in each small to medium load of wash and 3-4 balls in a large load.  I am very pleased with the results.


Buy Your Own Dryer Balls

Here is a link to the dryer balls like the ones I use.





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