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Friday, July 18, 2025

Book Covers for Textbooks or Books Reviewed

I remember the first time our daughter brought home textbooks with an assignment to have them covered before school the next day. For parents who are prepared, that is not a big deal. However, since she was our oldest child and our first experience with having a child in school, I had no clue such a thing would be required.

I didn't, and still do not, keep paper grocery bags around. I had always heard they would draw bugs and I had no desire to invite them into our home. I had to think fast! I grabbed some wrapping paper and went to work. The books had to be recovered within days because wrapping paper is not durable enough to be pulled in and out of a backpack without tearing. By then though, I had gone to the grocery store and had the desired heavy paper bags.

The heavy paper bags didn't last long, but at least they survived the first few months. That was long enough for me to find and buy some fabric covers made specifically for covering textbooks and the daily use required.

After that first year, I was always prepared with a variety of book covers for our children.

Pretty Book Covers for Any Student

6 Pack Stretchable Book Covers, Jumbo Book Sleeves for Hardcover Books Textbooks up to 9 x 11 InchesCheck PriceBased on our experience, schools and teachers request students cover their books. Some books are provided by the schools and will need to be turned in at the end of the year. Therefore, the school wants their books to remain in excellent, or at least good, condition for the student that will get the book the following year.

As our children got older, they had textbooks that we were required to purchase. I found them much easier to resell if they were in good condition.

I like the book covers featured on the right because they would be easy to select a different pattern for each subject book. That is much better than having them all covered alike. For instance, I would choose the planet cover for a science book, the Legos for a math book, the map for geography or history, and save the panda for my favorite class. The other two covers are super cool and would be awesome for English or Spanish classroom textbooks.

The covers are stretchable, tear resistant, and washable!

7 Pack Stretchable Book Covers, Jumbo Book Sleeves for TextbooksCheck Price 7 Pcs Stretchable Book Cover with Bookmarks Reusable JumboCheck Price

How to Cover a Book with a Paper Bag

If you find yourself in a bind, like I did, here is a video that shows you how to cover your textbook with a grocery bag.

More Back to School Reviews

Insulated Lunch Boxes for School Children Reviewed by Sylvestermouse

3 Items to Help Get the Kids Moving Faster in the Morning written by BarbRad

Back Packs or Rolling Totes! written by Olivia Morris

Thursday, July 17, 2025

Address Labels Printed, Review

I ordered address labels from Zazzle, some years ago. It's not something I use a lot of anymore, but I do appreciate them when I need them.

The return address labels come in quantities of five sheets per order, with 30 individual address labels per sheet for the return address label size. The larger address labels also come in quantities of five sheets per order, with 18 individual address labels per sheet. There is also an option of shipping labels, which comes with eight labels per sheet. The size choice is up to the customer.

Sizes:
Address labels: 2.375" L x 1.25" H
Return address labels: 2.25" L x 0.75" H
Shipping labels: 3.75" L x 2" H
The full sheet is 8.5" L x 11" H.

I do like the address labels that I purchased from Zazzle, I recommend them, and I will purchase them again. The sheets that I received were sent in a cardboard type envelope that kept the labels flat.

Being an artist and having a store on Zazzle, I have a variety of designs to choose from.

My most popular design is the beach scene with gentle waves.

Sand Beach Ocean Waves Scene Address Labels
by CherylsArt

I also provide a variety of occasion address labels including birthday, graduation, and wedding; and holiday address labels too. You can browse all available address labels in my CherylsArt store on Zazzle here: https://www.zazzle.com/store/CherylsArt/address+labels.

Also, desired are my plain and simple address labels, sans design. The text is all the design there is, which comes in handy for more business type mailings, and or when you just want plain and simple.

Plain and Simple Black on White Address Labels
by CherylsArt

Cheryl Paton

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Wednesday, July 16, 2025

Clevr Blends Honey Pistachio Matcha SuperLatte: Delightful Hot or Cold

I’ve never been a big fan of matcha. The distinctive grassy flavor reminds me a little too much of freshly mown lawn clippings. So, when I tried Clevr Blends’ Honey Pistachio Matcha SuperLatte after it was highly recommended by a friend, it was more out of curiosity than optimistic expectation. But this blend surprised me—in the best way.

Smooth, subtly nutty, and lightly sweet, it’s easily the most enjoyable matcha I’ve tried. In fact, I liked it so much I’ve started keeping a pouch on hand for both cozy mornings and refreshing cold pick-me-ups.

Here’s my honest review, including how I like to prepare it as both hot and iced matcha lattes.

The Most Delicious Honey Pistachio Matcha Latte with Superfoods

A Delicious, Indulgent-Tasting Treat

The taste of this matcha latte is surprisingly delicious. The matcha is smooth and mellow, not grassy or bitter. The honey and pistachio notes shine through, adding warmth and a slightly nutty sweetness. The added honey and milk make it even more comforting and balanced. It feels like an indulgent treat. The added superfoods and antioxidants are a bonus!

The iced version is light, smooth, and refreshing, with just the right amount of sweetness. The pistachio flavor seems to come forward more when iced, which I love, and the honey note lingers without being too sweet. It’s the kind of drink I could sip all summer long: satisfying but not heavy.

The bright green color was a bit startling at first, but it's much prettier in person than on the screen!

The Superfoods Bonus

The Honey Pistachio Matcha SuperLatte from Clevr Blends isn’t your typical matcha drink. It’s a creamy, plant-based latte mix that blends:

Organic Japanese matcha (ceremonial grade, but without the overpowering grassy bite)
Oat and pistachio milk powders for creaminess
Real honey for natural sweetness
Ashwagandha, lion’s mane, and reishi for focus and calm
L-theanine to smooth out energy without jitters (this honey pistachio matcha latte with superfoods has 45 mg of caffeine, about half the amount you would find in a cup of coffee)

It’s dairy-free, gluten-free, and refined sugar-free, with functional ingredients that support focus, mood, and a sense of balance. And while it's definitely not keto, it's fairly low carb.

But you don't have to drink it for the superfoods benefits. You can just drink it because it's flat-out delicious!

Making Hot Honey Pistachio Matcha SuperLatte

I add 3 tablespoons of the powder to 6–8 ounces of hot water (not boiling). Then I stir in a small squirt of honey (I use monk fruit-sweetened sugar-free honey), add a splash of unsweetened macadamia or almond milk, and froth it all together until smooth and frothy.

Ingredients for Iced Clevr Blends Honey Pistachio Matcha SuperLatte

Making Iced Honey Pistachio Matcha SuperLatte

I use an electric frother to dissolve 3 tablespoons of the powder in 4 ounces of warm water with a squirt of honey (or monk fruit honey) and a splash of unsweetened macadamia or almond milk until the mixture is very frothy. Then I pour it over a tall (16-ounce) glass filled with ice cubes.

By the way, the best frother I have ever tried is the one in these photos, the Nahida Coffee Milk Frother Wand, which is powerful, has three speeds, dedicated buttons for each speed, and holds a charge longer than any other frother my husband and I have tried.

Why I Keep Reaching for It

As someone who’s never cared for matcha, Clevr Blends Honey Pistachio Matcha SuperLatte really changed my mind. It gives me a gentle, steady lift without the crash I sometimes get from coffee. And I love that it includes adaptogens like ashwagandha and lion’s mane for added stress support and focus. It feels like a small act of self-care, easy to make, enjoyable to sip, and supportive from the inside out.

Pros & Considerations

Pros:

Smooth, mellow matcha flavor (even for matcha skeptics!)
Honey and pistachio notes are well-balanced and comforting
Easy to prepare hot or iced
Adaptogens and L-theanine support focus and calm
Dairy-free and refined sugar-free

Considerations:

A bit pricey per serving (but worth it for the quality)
Some may want to add extra sweetener or milk to customize the flavor, as I do

Final Thoughts

If you’ve avoided matcha because of its grassy flavor, this SuperLatte might just change your mind. The Honey Pistachio Matcha from Clevr Blends is smooth, lightly sweet, and surprisingly crave-worthy. With its clean ingredients and nourishing benefits, it’s become a go-to in my kitchen.

Not a matcha lover? Neither was I. But this superfoods-infused Clevr Blends matcha latte made me a believer.

Clevr Blends Organic Matcha Green Tea Latte, Instant Ceremonial Grade Matcha, Superfood Powder Blend with Oat Milk, Lions Mane, Reishi Mushroom, Coconut Cream, Ashwagandha, Serve Hot or Iced, 12 oz

Tuesday, July 15, 2025

A Review of Stainless Steel Litter Boxes

I cannot recommend these litter boxes highly enough!

I know I usually wait till the end of the post to give my recommendation, be it positive or negative, but I feel so strongly in favor of these litter boxes, that I wanted to put it at the very top! They are the best litter boxes I have ever used in over 30 years of being a cat Mom......but let me start at the beginning of how and why I bought three of them and discovered how awesome they are.

I live in a really small house. 3 bedrooms, 1 and a half baths, kitchen and a tiny family room. There was only one place to put the litter boxes and that was in the closet in the front foyer. An awful place, truly, but their simply was no other place with enough room to put three litter boxes. (yes, I have multiple kitties) I kept the doors cracked so they could easily get in and out and opened them fully to clean them. With new litter boxes, it was fine. We cleaned them daily and swept around them and there was no smell. This was at first.

After about a year I began noticing the smell, light at first, but worse with the passing weeks. I knew I had to do something.

Thus began parade of different types of litter boxes.....

I tried so many styles of litter boxes. First I tried the ones like little houses with doors, thinking that a cover would help keep the smell down. Worked for a while, but the cats didn't like them and the covers didn't keep the smell down. Tossed them and decided to try the stacked three tray boxes that you were supposed to be able to grab the top one, shake it and all the clumps would stay in the top one for you to dump cleanly, and them you put that tray on the bottom. The system looked great in the ads but in reality, the clumps stuck to the tray and I ended up having to wash them every day to keep them clean. They were thrown out in just a few weeks, $100 wasted.

Next we tried the manual rolling kind that supposedly flipped the interior of the covered box and put the clumps in a bagged compartment for "easy disposal." HA! It was a nightmare to roll and all of the clumps never ended up in the compartment, so it was pretty smelly most of the time. Another expensive cat box failure.

By this time I was frustrated beyond measure. I took my old plastic litter boxes and washed them and put them back in the closet. Within a week, they were back to smelling. I just didn't know what to do. Getting rid of the cats was out of the question, they are my babies. The only thing I had left to try was one of those electric self cleaning litter boxes like Litter Robot. They always get great reviews and people seem to love them......but I looked them up on Amazon and they are like $749. I just cannot afford three of them at that price, and what if my cats wouldn't use them?

I was out of ideas. Then one day I was shopping on Amazon for a new litter scoop, as my old plastic one had recently cracked. I decided I wanted to get a stainless steel one so it would last, and there they were, right under the stainless scoops: STAINLESS STEEL CAT LITTER BOXES! I looked a bit closer, chose one and went into the product page. In the narrative it said that most of the time litter odor was exacerbated by older plastic litter boxes. The feline urine soaks into the plastic over time and no matter how many times you wash it, the smell is there for good. That made sense to me. My boxes were always good at first, but after a while.....daily cleaning did not get rid of the smell. Stainless steel boxes could be the answer!

Not only was it impossible for the urine to penetrate the steel, but the clumps shouldn't stick to the stainless, so cleaning would be quick and easy. I was kind of stunned. Could this be the answer? I talked to my husband and he seemed to think it was definitely a possibility and we needed to try it. So we chose this:

Stainless Steel Litter Box

We liked it because it came in a single or two pack (two pack was less expensive each) and we would need three. We also liked the fact that it came in so many different sizes. We could order the perfect size to fit in the closet, making sure that our big cat would be happy with his new bathroom.

Medium - 17.7 x 13.8 x 6

Large - 19.7 x 12.8 x 6

X Large - 23.6 x 15.8 x 6

XX Large - 23.6 x 15.8 x 8

These litter boxes also come with sides, if you prefer them, but I didn't want the plastic in case it absorbed the odors.

Stainless Steel Litter Box with Sides

Stainless Steel Litter Scoop

If you are going to go with Stainless Steel Litter Boxes, you may as well get a stainless scoop as well, I did! I love this one and it comes in 10 different colors!

When the litter boxes arrived, we threw out all the litter and started with fresh. I have not had a smelly litter box in my house since. As long as they are cleaned regularly, these boxes do not retain any smells. We have had them for 7 months and finally no litter box odors AND they are easy to clean! Sweet success! I will end this post the same way it began.......

I cannot recommend these litter boxes highly enough!

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Monday, July 14, 2025

Outward Hound Treat Puzzle Level 2 Review

Always on the watch for helpful puppy products for enrichment! The Outward Hound Treat Puzzle level 2 came highly recommended and indeed has over 78 thousand reviews with a 4.5/5 star average in a very popular online store.

Three Levels In One

The Outward Hound is a three level puzzle depending upon how the components are arranged. I found this pup quickly learned how to find the food. Slightly disappointed the pup needed about 4 feeding times to conquer the puzzle. Three minutes and poof the food was gone! The food was one cup of puppy food which filled about 75 percent of the nooks and crannies of the puzzle. I would expect if the puzzle was 100 percent full the feeding would take longer.

Durability And Chew Marks

I was surprised the components of the puzzle were not puppy proof. Indeed after one use the pup with teeny tiny teeth left its' mark.

The reviews did mention a concern with the chewability of the puzzle as a possible negative.

With a watchful eye I concur. Without purchasing and trying the product chewability is subjective to each dog. Apparently teeny tiny baby puppy teeth can and did leave chew marks on the puzzle. this puppy also lifted off the white bone covers as a toy and tore off a door... leaving me to not feel comfortable with this puzzle unsupervised closely.

Recommendation

I was hoping for a puzzle puppy feeder to keep the pup busy. I liked so many of the features of this puzzle, but ultimately decided it was not a great fit for this pup due to the chewable components and need for very close supervision.

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