Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial. 
Celebrate Valentine’s Day with this classic love spell. A luscious infusion of cherry blossom, citrus, hydrangea, apple and peach. What better way to say I love you this Valentine’s Day!
I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.
Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial.
KIND Healthy Grain Bars has just launched new super grain-packed granola bars – KIND Healthy Grain Bars and so they want us to talk about our personal Super Hero. My super hero is my mom. She used to take me to physical therapy daily when I was a kid – with my 2 younger brothers being taken along as well. When we found out that my Dad needed a kidney transplant she was tested and found to be a match so she donated her kidney to him. She does a lot for all of us and I’m not sure where we’d be without her!
I shared my KIND Healthy Grain Bars with Mom to get her opinion on them. Each bar contains 18-22 grams of whole grains sourced from a blend of 100% unique whole grains including amaranth, quinoa, gluten-free oats, millet and buckwheat making them the perfect snack for any super hero’s healthy lifestyle.
Flavors include:
Dark Chocolate Chunk
Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate
Vanilla Blueberry
Maple Pumpkin Seeds with Sea Salt
Oats & Honey with Toasted Coconut
Over several evenings we tried all the KIND Healthy Grain Bars. Mom’s favorite was Maple Pumpkin Seeds with Sea Salt. My favorite was Oats & Honey with Toasted Coconut. I was a bit nervous that being healthy they would be “gross”, but they are not at all. The Oats & Honey in on par with other similar bars I have tried. The other flavors are a bit more unique but all still great.
I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.
Since I am a bzzagent, I got some FREE Fiber One bars to try out and let you know what I thought!
Balanced Nutrition for a Healthier Lifestyle.
You’d love to fit things like protein and fiber into your day, but can you get that order of nutrition to go? With NEW Fiber One Meal Bars, you sure can! And to make your busy day even better, all three flavors taste pretty darn great.
Chocolate Peanut Butter – A classic combo of roasted peanuts plus creamy peanut butter and chocolate flavored chips
Strawberry Greek Yogurt – Roasted almonds are complemented by strawberry flavored fruit pieces and a Greek yogurt coating.
Dark Chocolate Almond – Think delicious roasted almonds mixed with delectable dark chocolate flavored chips.
Plus, each Fiber One Meal Bar packs 10g of protein, 9g of fiber and 40-60% less sugar* – making every delicious bite count!
*Than comparable Special K Meal Bars
I received the Chocolate Peanut Butter and Strawberry Greek Yogurt flavors to try. If you know me, you would guess that I prefer the peanut butter ones, but actually I found the strawberry bars to be better.
When you first open the package of the Strawberry Greek Yogurt bar, you get to smell some delicious strawberry, except that the “fruit pieces” look nothing like strawberry in the bar. That aside, this bar has a great combination of greek yogurt coating, almonds and fruit. Definitely my pick for a breakfast on the go.
I was expecting the Chocolate Peanut Butter bar to be a lot better than it was. The peanut butter taste is more of an afterthought and when I eat peanut butter I want it to be the main event. I wouldn’t say that this bar was bad, or that I wouldn’t eat it again, but I was just expecting more of it.
Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial.
PicGIF is an easy and quick GIF maker that allows you to create fun animated GIFs from your photos and videos on Mac OS X. It allows to re-edit your existing GIFs. The program is really easy to use, you can import either photos from your computer or a video. If it is a video – you can only make 300 images from it max, so if there is something funny in the video that is GIF-worthy, make sure that you have edited the video down to just that part. The only images I had on my computer to play with were from Jamaica. After importing the images, you can re-order them and then choose how long each one appears in the GIF. So, below, see my recap of Hanson’s Back to the Island in just a couple of photos. (I probably should have added more, but there’s always my next attempt!)
PicGif allows many file import formats – hundreds of image formats, GIFs, all common video formats. You can customize the size, frame delay, frame order, sequence, etc. Lots of choices! There are also really convenient and easy export and share options.
Regarding video tutorial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Z89p_D8Wpc
Check it on App Store: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/picgif/id784260229?ls=1&mt=12
I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.
Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial.
If you’ve been reading this blog for a while you know that I like to think I am a writer. Although I always seem to have ideas for novels and never follow through (although I do occasionally participate in NaNoWriMo). With several ideas that have been floating around in my head, when I saw the website “Now Novel” I knew I had to check it out. Now Novel has their tagline staring you in the face – “Want to start writing your book, and finish it?” YES! I want to finish a book!
I have a tendency to start strong, have several chapters mapped out in my head… and then I lose it. I either give up or I throw together a bunch of nonsense that either ruins the end of the book, or the book is never finished.
I signed up for the site, and then in true ConcertKatie fashion got a bit distracted and wasn’t able to go back right away. This is when the site ended up being like a clingy girlfriend and emailing me reminding me that I had signed up and should come check out the site. I actually got a couple I think because I got a free trial account so it thought I had signed up and stopped at the payment page (which I did, because that was when I was supposed to send info over to get set up for free) and then I got another email that I had signed up and didn’t visit yet. It was all a bit overwhelming and put me off from going back to the site. (Any excuse, right?) But I did finally go back to the site and log in to see what it is all about!
Once you are logged in, you will see your dashboard. It shows you what parts of your story are started or not, your word count and all sorts of important information.
Now Novel helps you find your idea, finesse your idea (get the plot, character and setting) and write your novel. There are groups to interact with, a forum and workshops to attend and a critique section to get feedback and interact. Our creative writing blog is full of tips and tricks to help you with your writing. Paying for the best essay writing service reddit can also help you avoid plagiarism and thereby avoid future problems.
The site really helps you map out your novel and should, hopefully, help me actually finish a novel. We’ll see. (Especially since what I am currently thinking of writing doesn’t seem to have an end in site). Though I do like how everything is organized out in little check lists – which is how I tend to do things myself. Maybe with the site I will actually follow through? Let’s hope so! I want to finish a book!
I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.
Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial. 
Recently I got the chance to check out the Missy Mila Twisted Tales Volume 1 DVD. The DVD runs 101 minutes and is great for kids – but it is probably best if you watch just one or two stories at a time. (I had trouble sitting through the whole DVD in one sitting). Mila is an 8 year old girl and she tells some fairy tales with a bit of a twist at times.
Mila sometimes even pops up in the middle of the stories to add information. I thought that this was a cute addition, to try and get more interaction. In between stories she plays games as well – there was a simon says (Mila Says) skit after one story that I think would really engage kids.
I also really liked the animation and illustrations of the story. Some of the characters are a bit unique looking which added a nice touch.
The DVDs are made by a French company and I did find that some of the characters have accents but not so much so that an english speaking person wouldn’t be able to understand them. Organa, the company that makes the DVDs, was established in 1995 with the mission of introducing American families to characters and cultures from around the world through multicultural stories with universal themes.
Missy Mila is recommended for children ages 5-8, available for $19.95 per volume. For more information visit www.organa.com
Mila is an 8-year-old quirky, energetic tomboy who loves to tell you traditional story-tales but with her own twist. Kids will be inspired to use their imagination and to become storytellers themselves. Audience participation is triggered by Mila’s direct-to-camera asides all along the episode; her questions and games bring kids right into the story. Join Mila, laugh at the zany dialogs and fresh art in this innovative series which explores the world of classic tales.
Traditional tales are timeless stories that everyone loves to delve back into, generation after generation. Far from old-fashioned clichés, the series “Missy Mila: Twisted Tales” revamps this cultural heritage through the imagination and spontaneity of a present-day little girl. Mila’s stories are peppered with spicy anachronisms and offbeat re-interpretations. So, don’t act surprised if you see a prince applying hair gel before setting out to rescue a princess, unless the latter is a kung-fu champion, that is! As for the dreadful Minotaur, Mila prefers to picture him as the Toupouloupou, a sweetie pie with a sweet tooth. And why do the wolves always have to be depicted as the bad guys? And, in her very personal adaptation of the Three Little Pigs, Mila swaps the awfully shy big bad wolf for an affable bull that… rocks!
Missy Mila Volume 1 includes the episodes: The Hidden Princess, The Toupouloupou, Baba Yaga the Witch, Djoha’s Last Lie, Piboule and the Bear, Strabiwolf the Telltale, the Donkey and the King, The Houses of the Pig Brothers, Elvis, Captain Bloody-Nose the Pirate, The Leprechaun’s Treasure, Aurel the Mocker, Pancho Pimento’s Riddle. Volume 2 includes Toadette the Frog, Prince Gabo, Miss Lazy, Bigmess the Ogress, The Mermaid’s Secret, The Ghost Who Couldn’t Scare, Quentin and his Dragon, Tounde the Ginormous Elephant, Rodolphe and Carlo, Chantal and Noemie, Greedy Liza, Tinytiny, The Two Tinanooks.
I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.
Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial.
Roger Love’s Singing Academy has already helped thousands of people, including stars like Jeff Bridges and Anthony Robbins, Selena Gomez and John Mayer, find their voice and learn to communicate effectively. Whether you are a professional singer, sing in your church choir, or just want to hear how good your voice really can sound, Roger Love’s Singing Academy can coach you.
In five weeks I can teach you the basics of mastering all three of your voices – Chest, Middle and Head.
I’ve always been told that I’m a pretty decent singer – but it can’t hurt to try and get better, right? Now that I’m looking to become a Pop Star… but I’d hate to be that person that somehow always ends up behind me at concerts who can’t sing at all (yet they always seem to be the loudest and proudest?)
Week 1 begins with you recording yourself singing ‘Happy Birthday’, this is so that you have your “before” sound and can figure out what progress you’ve made when you complete the course and sing it again. Then you go into Vocal Evaluation. There are 2 videos one for males and one for females. And the final video is about Diaphragmatic Breathing. (Turns out that it is a very good thing that I’m not a mouth breather!)
The videos are neat because Roger will go through things with you and then pause for you to sing along. It’s almost as if he is in the room with you telling you you are doing beautifully and great!
Week 2 we have videos about the Larynx, How the Vocal Chords Work and Intro to Chest, Middle and Head Voice.
Roger has a lot of great advice and techniques for singing, a lot of stuff that I am sure many people don’t even think about before singing or trying to sing. There is really a lot that goes in to properly breathing and singing.
Week 3 is separated by Male and Female once again with different videos about Chest, Middle and Head Voice as well as a Special Message from Roger.
Week 4 gets into Vibrato and an Intro to Love Notes. This is where the actual voice lessons begin!
That is how far I have gotten so far with my Academy Lessons, but I do plan to finish them out. Maybe, if I’m feeling up to it, I’ll post a video in a bit of me singing after going through all the videos (but don’t count on it. I’m camera shy!)
If you think you are a singer or just want to improve your singing for the heck of it – be sure to check out Roger at http://www.rogerlovesingingacademy.com/ You can get access to 4 Free video lessons right now! The 5 week course is just $297 , the 10 week course $497 and the Advanced 14 week course is just $997.
I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.
Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial. 
Do you have trouble keeping your recipes organized? I know that is a problem for a lot of kitchens! Let me tell you about Cook’n Recipe Organize Software. I’ve been trying it out for the past couple weeks and if you are trying to get organized as one of your New Year Resolutions – this is for you!
You can use this software to organize all your recipes. You can create a cookbook for your family recipes, share your recipes with ease, create menus and meal plans in advance, add photos and stories to help enhance the recipe AND get the nutritional facts for your recipes. This is a huge one for many who are trying to eat healthy and are counting calories. A lot of times you don’t know what that home cooked meal might contain calorie wise – this software will help you figure it out!
With your meal plan you can save time because you can organize a shopping list and know exactly what you need to buy. You won’t have to run out and buy any last minute items that you forgot about! Planning in advance will also give you more time to plan healthy meals rather than rummaging through your cabinets when you get home from work to see what you have and what you can make from it.
Have you been pinning recipes like crazy on pinterest? You can automatically import all your Pinterest recipes with just one click and sync the two so that any new recipes that you pin will AUTOMATICALLY appear in Cook’n! (It’s not magic, but it’s pretty close to it!)
So I know what you’re thinking – Katie this all sounds great but what about all my magazine and newspaper clipped recipes? Do I have to type everything in to Cook’n? That will waste all the time you say I will save with this software! But wait! The Scan-It feature makes it easy to get printed recipes in to the software. Scan them or take a photo with your mobile phone and use the Scan-it feature to translate the scanned recipes to text and then just a few clicks will get them pasted in to Cook’n!
And there are even more tools than that – I just feel like I am starting to sound like an infomercial!
Now with Cook’n 11 you can print your recipes and make them look great! You have the option of printing out 3×5, 4×6 or full pages with your recipes. (Want to share them with relatives? Print and make them a cute little book to give them for their birthday or the next holiday!) Or if you prefer to share things electronically – you can share to Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter and many, many more!
I have to admit. This software all sounded a little bit too good to be true for me. But it really is as easy to use as it sounds, once you figure out what all the buttons and menus do 🙂 Just poke around and click everything to figure it out – that’s what I did! And you’ll be cook’n in no time!
Below is a screen shot of one of the recipes I imported from Pinterest. I was skeptical it wouldn’t get the recipe in there – but it did! (You can see on the left bar that I have the Ultimate Cook’n Cookbook and my pinterest board titled “FOOD” (Maybe I should have separated out my pins a bit more. It would make things much more organized!)
Win your own copy of the software!
I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.
Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial.
I knew that there were a lot of people that suffered from a fear of public speaking, but I didn’t know that it was actually 3 out of 4 people – or 75% of people that suffer from this.
A lot of the people who have written stories for this book, including the author, once had a fear of public speaking but were able to overcome it. I liked that this book is a compilation of stories from other people with this same fear and what they were able to do to overcome it and how many of them are now successful public speakers and get paid to do this!
There are a lot of great tips in this book and while I don’t think I will find myself needing to be a public speaker anytime soon, they are definitely things that I will keep in the back of my mind incase the need does arise because you just never know when your boss may want you to do a presentation!
If you, like me, also suffer from this fear then I think that you will benefit from this book. If nothing else, you will realize that you are not alone and there are more people who suffer from this than you think. And you’ll also learn that although there are a lot of people who have this fear – there are also many who have been able to overcome it – as shown by the stories in this book!
About the Book
Do you suffer from the fear of public speaking? You are not alone. In the book, Shaking Behind the Microphone: Overcoming the Fear of Public Speaking, Jill Vanderwood shares her story of being terrified to speak in public. She now speaks to groups and teaches workshops without fear.
You will read about others who struggle with this common fear; those who had a choice to either learn public speaking or risk losing their job. Learn tips from experts; read about kids who learned public speaking at an early age, and stories from performers who tell others how to perform without fear. You will also acquire untraditional solutions like using THC gummies for overcoming fear and anxiety.
Taking steps toward overcoming the fear of public speaking will put you on the road to living a better life.
I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.
Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial.
The Shandali Travel Towel is a new product and exclusively available at Amazon. The towel is super light and incredibly absorbent. The Shandali towel is made of new and advanced microfiber lightweight material. It absorbs wetness and drys 10x as fast as a cotton towel. It is multi-purpose and you can use it anywhere you’d use a towel – at the beach, at the gym during a workout, while you’re camping or after a shower! It is soft on your skin, durable and extra compact. Pack it and forget about it – it hardly takes up any room! It is available in Pebble and Stone, River Blue and Light Blue.
I took this towel to Jamaica with me – but unfortunately forgot to get photos of it at work! (I guess that is a lesson for taking “work” on vacation with me!) So these photos are unfortunately not from the beautiful beaches of Jamaica and instead my bathroom – but the review is just the same 🙂
The towel is super light – I was able to stick it in a pocket in my suitcase and it took up no space and didn’t weigh things down any extra. I also dipped the towel in a cup of water just to see what would happen. It absorbed the water and by the time I hung the towel up and grabbed my camera – it had already started (visibly) drying itself.
I also used the towel on my hair – I have SUPER thick hair. I don’t like to use a hair dryer when I get out of the shower because then my hair frizzes up, so I usually dry it as best I can with a towel and then let it air dry. Rather than my cotton bath towel, I gave the Shandali Travel Towel a go. It dried my hair much quicker and moreso than the cotton bath towels had. I am thinking that this is going to have to be my new hair towel! Plus, even after it was quite wet from my mass of hair – it still dried much faster than the cotton towel I had used as well.
I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.
Katie 