When you order the bullet, you actually get quite a lot.  It costs about $70 through Amazon.com and here is everything that comes with it:

• Batchbowl, short cups, blades and storage cups
• Power base unit, milling blade, baby blend blade, batchbowl, one short cups, spatula, two stay-fresh resealable lids, batch tray, six date-dial storage cups, storage tray, pocket nutritionist and user manual/cookbook.
• More information

That seems like a pretty good deal, but a good number of parents who own this don’t think so.  The major problem with this product is the fact that the containers do not do well in the dishwasher.  Not only that, but the blending unit itself is not the as good as it could be for the price.  Many people are actually calling this a “piece of garbage”.

The Alternatives:

But if you’re like us, parents who want to make our own baby food, then keep listening.  We’ve found a few alternatives that look 100% better and they are only a little bit more.

The first is called the Baby Breza.  As far as we know, this product don’t come with all the containers.  But that’s not really bad thing because the containers in the bullet are poor quality.

You can learn more about the Breza here

This One Looks A LOT Better

The second one is called the Baby Chef Ultimate Baby Food Maker.  We are actually pretty amazed at this thing.  It not only does baby food, but it does everything from warming bottles to steaming food.  Definitely way better than the other product we started looking at.  It goes for around $100 on the Internet.

You can learn more about it here

Both of those look like great deals.  As you can see, the last one clearly has a lot more features than the other.  Our baby is loving solid foods and he loves to experiment with new flavors.  We’re not too comfortable with a lot of the commercially made baby foods and this last Baby Chef product is our pick for baby food makers.

We hope that we have helped you figure out what not to and what to buy when it comes to making your own baby food.  And hopefully we’ve steered you clear of a bad product before you bought it.

Here is to healthy babies!

A Look At The Top Laptops of This Year

I’ve separated the top 10 laptops of 2011 into two different categories for obvious reasons: mac and pc.  Everyone has their own preference with an operating system so we are going to list 5 laptops for each.  This should make is easier for Mac and PC users alike to find the best laptop that will work the best.

Also take note of something very important. These laptops are listed in no particular order. I pulled the most popular laptops of the year and diversified the brands. I know that some people like to buy by the brand and figured that listing different brands would be the best for you people. After all, it wouldn’t have made sense for me list a lot of similar models when one is the clear winner from a particular brand. That said, here are the laptops:

Notice that I threw in the top current budget deals. I figured that some of you might be tight on cash and some of these deals could be right in your price range.

That wraps it up for the top 10 laptops overall and the top 5 for each system.  If you’re still on the fence, then stop by later and the list is likely to change.  But if you’re ready to get a new laptop, then visit Amazon.com and read a few reviews.  Just about every product you buy on the Internet has user reviews.  These user reviews can give you very valuable insight into a product before you get it.  Laptops are no different.

Thank you for visiting. Leave a comment below if you are looking for something specific but didn’t find it here. I keep a close eye on what is new, selling the best, and getting the best reviews. If you have a question, I can probably answer it.

What To Consider When Getting A Laptop

In writing this Pandigital eReader review, I hope to help a lot of you decide whether or not this ereader is worth buying. The last thing that any of us want to do is buy a bad device and waste our money. So let’s take a look at what I’ve found while taking a very detailed look at what pandigital novel ereader provide and how they stack up against their competitors.

The Best Rated eReader

The Good: The best thing about this device is probably the price. You can get a remanufactured pandigital multimedia ereader for just under $100. If you opt for the brand new model, you’ll be spending around $150 to $200 (prices quoted from Amazon.com).

But… and there is always a but, this unit is not the only one in the price range. More and more eReaders are popping up every month. Skytex sells a similar reader, but it has received so-so reviews around the web.

The Bad: There are a few bad things I can say about this reader.
First of all, it is heavy. Ask any owner who has one and they will tell you that laying in bed with this device really lets you feel how heavy it is. It comes it at just over 2 pounds. That doesn’t seem like a lot, but it is.

Second, finding a good model of an ereader (pandigital 9 ereader and 7 are both pretty comparable) can be tough. The best way to see what is reliable is to jump over to the Amazon.com ereader section and see what has the best reviews. The image that I shared above is actually the top rated (5 star) model for this brand.

Before I forget… See The Best Rated eReaders through this link so you can see what else is available.

My advice: If you’re going to get a color ereader, I would bump up your budget by about 50%. Spend no less than $150. That little bump will open the doors to a lot better models and brands for ereaders. They always say “you get what you pay for” and electronics are no different. Don’t be cheap on a device like this because it could be with you for awhile.

When we first got it and were opening it, I noticed the packaging, nice color, simplistic, the 7 different languages and of course Sophie. I have to admit I was never 100% sure on this, I mean it kinda reminded me of a squeaky toy, but none the less, we gave it to Nicky.

Nicky went to town chewing on this thing. It is so easy for him to hold, he often shakes it around or squeaks it. He has fallen asleep with it a time or two as well, and it fun to watch him squeak it in his sleep, it never really wakes him when he does this but he still reacts in his sleep. My son, who is 6 months, has Sophie in his mouth all the time, sometimes its her head, and other times its her legs, and the various textures of these parts really seem to give him some kind of comfort on his gums. He has recently learned he can crawl, so if he can see Sophie, he will crawl across the room for her. Our almost 3 year old will often bring Sophie to Nicky when he gets fussy, according to her, it makes his mouth not hurt.

I’m so glad we bought this for Nicky, and wish I would have known about her for my daughter, and I have told numerous friends about Sophie. Like I said in my previous posting Sophie the giraffe is made of 100% natural rubber and high grade food paint. I also found out some other facts about Sophie on the packaging. Sophie is a great sensory developmental toy, and has at least one feature for all 5 senses. For sight, its the contrasting spots; for hearing, its the squeaker; for taste, its the fact its made of high grade food paint and natural rubber; for touch, its the shape of Sophie; and for smell, its the natural rubber made from the Hevea Tree. Sophie was “born” on May 25th 1961, and received her name because its Saint Sophie’s Day. When she was created, she was amongst the first wildlife toys to be created, other animal toys were farm and pet figures. To make Sophie she goes through more than 14 manual operations, and is made in France. Sophie is also very easy to clean, you simply wash it off with a washcloth, you don’t want to submerge it in water due to the squeaker.

The love for Sophie amongst Moms and their babies is what has made Sophie so popular, and that popularity has grown through word of mouth. I ran into a Mom at the local target the other day who had 2 kids about the age of mine and her youngest was chewing on her Sophie. My daughter noticed it, and first thought that they had her baby brothers Sophie, I had to tell her that they had one just like Nicky. When we called it Sophie the husband started laughing, he didn’t realize that was her name and thought his family named it that their-selves. That Mom said they loved theirs as well and she went everywhere with them.

Any way long story short, buy Sophie. She is simply the best, and if your baby is like mine (or the families I ran into) then they will love her, and not just cause she will soothe their gums. But they will also find amusement in her squeaker, be in awe of her spots, and may even enjoy the simplistic scent of the natural rubber. Whatever the reason you buy or for whoever you buy, this will not be a meaningless or waste of money purchase.

More Experience With The Teether

Using it goes like this… Stand in front of your TV and wave your hand. navigate the menus with your hands, start your game, and now you start playing. If you’re playing a ball dodging game, all you do is move your body like you would naturally. There really isn’t any learning curve to this device. We own the Wii also and it’s way easier to use – and 1000 times more responsive than the Wii.

Cool Features That We Use Most:

The Kinect also has some addon features. These let you do things like play movies or little free mini games. Here are some of the ones that we use a lot…

Voice Commands For Movies:

This is probably the best feature in my opinion. They didn’t immediately release this feature, but it is now out for Netflix and movies that you watch through Zune marketplace. I can’t remember if they have it for DVD movies, but I’m sure they must.

This feature basically gives you the ability to control you movies with voice commands. Some of the commands I use on a regular basis are used like this:

• “Xbox stop” – makes the movie stop
• “Xbox play” – makes your movies play
• “Xbox pause” – makes your movie pause
• I think you get the point

Gesture “Hand” Commands for Menus:

I don’t use this too much, but it’s fun to control different menus with your hands. It reminds me of that Minority report movie where Tom Cruise is surfing around just by waving his hands in the air.

Kinect Gadgets: Fun Labs:

I noticed this feature last week and we played around with it for an hour or two. This is a section of cool little gadgets that let you do crazy stuff. One of them lets you turn yourself into a bobble head that you can control. Another one lets you take a picture of an object (i.e.: teddy bear) and then you can control it by moving around in front of your Kinect sensor.

Anything Bad About It?

The only downside is actually when we first got it. Back then, there were not a lot of games for the Kinect. But after 6 months or however long it has been, some really neat games have been released. We love the dancing games and some of the other ones where you play with the animals. In a few days we are going to check out that Children of Eden game which looks awesome!

Our Favorite Game:

Kinect Adventures game

This is our top game. It comes with the connect so you don’t have to pay extra for it. In this game, you can do stuff like: water rafting, space bubble popping, wall ball, etc… The game responds really well to everything you do. You can even tilt your head a little left or right and the character in the game will mirror that movement. Before I move on, I should also add that one of my friend’s favorite mini-games on this is the roller coaster.

I would review some more games, but I’m not really reviewing games right now. Actually, if you’re buying this today then I recommend that you don’t buy any extra games. Try out the Adventure game and maybe go rent a few. Some of the sports games are fun.

The Best Place To Buy:

Without a doubt, Amazon.com has the best deal on the Xbox 360 Kinect Bundle. But that’s not surprising considering that they usually beat the prices at game stores and Walmart. I actually bought through a game store when these were selling out and have to kick myself because of the money I wasted.

When you buy it, you’ve got a few options. Your decision is going to come down to how much you play with the Kinect.

Option 1 – 4GB of hard drive space:

Choose this if you are just a casual gamer who will only use the Kinect. If you want to upgrade your space later on, then you’ll have to buy a larger hard drive. That will set you back about $100 – which in the end, totals the cost of the second option.

Option 2 – 250GB of hard drive space:

We bought the 250GB and we are glad we did. Get this if you plan on playing lots of games, downloading demos, and downloading movies. You would be surprised how quickly you go through 4GB of space (trust me).

Hope that you enjoyed this review. Here is to your family having fun with the Kinect like ours is!

The Best Time To Get The Kinect

(Update: Make sure that you read our Sophie the Giraffe review after buying)

I kept coming across, Sophie the Giraffe, parents were raving about this product every where I looked. So I did some research on it and this is what I found, she was created in 1961, and has sold millions in Europe and worldwide. She is made with a natural high grade rubber, is BPA free and has food paint. She is not mass produced in some factory in China, she is made by hand in the French Alps.

At this point in my research I was pretty much sold, but I wanted to know a little more about why it worked so well as a teether. When you see product pictures of Sophie, you see several areas for babies to hold, or chew on. According to product descriptions and reviews she is soft, has a bumpy head which helps with teething gums, when squeezed she makes a sound, shes light and easy to hold. None of this mentions her appearance which is supposed to visually stimulate babies, because of the contrasting colors and spots.

I have to admit I’m sold on this product, any product that will help Nick with teething and give me and my family some peace and quite I’m willing to try. I’m going to order my Sophie the Giraffe (through Amazon.com) today and try it. I hope Nick likes it, and will be satisfied with chewing on this. Check back in a week or so and find out if Sophie is worthy of all this fuss.

It’s a lazy summer night after dinner where I live and I just wanted to drop a quick update on here.

I understand that I have been scarce when it comes to updates, but we’ve had a lot of family, personal, and other things going on.  Now that those are under control, we’re going to jump back into reviewing products and sharing what we find with our readers.

Go drink some lemonade or ice tea if it’s hot where you live.

Talk to you soon,

CBO

Traditional knives are slowly making their way out the door to be replaced by ceramic knives. Ceramic knives now seem to be the most sought after thing by professional chefs and regular folks who cook at home for their families alike and there is a reason why – because they stay so sharp and make cutting and chopping seem like an effortless task.

Take the Yoshiblade ceramic knife for example. The advertisement for the knives says this is the last knife that you’ll ever need, and there is a reason for this. Because once you have tried them, you’ll want to toss all the traditional old fashion blades out the window and replace them with these.

The Yoshiblade ceramic knife makes claim that this is the only knife that you’ll ever need in their kitchen and they could be right. A knife that does not go blunt, is super durable and long lasting and will stay sharp no matter what you may cut, is able to cut through anything from bread to meats to vegetables, who wouldn’t want that?

Even if you’re not a professional chef, the Yoshiblade ceramic knife will certainly have you chopping slicing and dicing just as if you were one! Because the blades are so sharp, they make slicing and cutting a lot more effortless. So effortless in fact that you can even slice up soft bread without using too much force that you end up squashing it. Cutting up your meats and veggies will never be this easy with a regular knife, which is probably why ceramic knives are getting a lot more popular than the traditional metal knives.

Because the Yoshiblade ceramic knifes are made of ceramic material, it means that they won’t rust and will be able to last you a long time because of that. They are actually made of natural, eco friendly material, so it is safe to use and it won’t leave a weird taste on your food the way some metal knives tend to do.

The makers of the Yoshiblade ceramic knife claim that this is the only knife that you’ll ever need and they are right. Once you’ve tried cooking with one of these, you’ll probably never want to look at a traditional knife again and toss out your drawer full of metal knives because the Yoshiblades are just that good.

The main problem that women experience when it comes to makeup is getting it to look as natural as possible and to look like we’re not wearing anything on our face at all. But even with a lot of practice it can sometimes be difficult to achieve that because the makeup can still tend to look caked on or visible– unless you using the Luminess Air makeup system.
The Luminess Air makeup system works like an airbrushing system, where you get to spray on your face- literally. Instead of applying your makeup the traditional way, you’ll be spraying it on with the air compressor which comes with the kit.

Just like airbrushing. By spraying on your makeup, you’ll be just coating your face with a fine mist and the makeup will be thinly applied on your face, which is how it looks natural like it is a part of your skin.

Traditional makeup application would require you to rub the makeup into your skin, which probably does you no favors since it does tend to emphasize the wrinkles and fine lines on your skin if you happen to have any. And when your makeup is rubbed on, it doesn’t look quite as natural as it should no matter how you try to apply it.

Which is why the Luminess Air makeup system airbrushing system is the perfect solution – it doesn’t cake your face, it goes on in a thin layer but provides enough coverage, it is weightless and blends in naturally with your original skin texture. Makeup has never looked so natural before!

These days it seems just about anything can be done at home or done yourself with the help of handy DIY tools. The CarMD diagnostic tool is one of them and it allows you to get a reading or an assessment of your vehicle to check if anything is wrong with it. If there is something wrong or your car is in need of repair, the device will give you a reading of what might be wrong so you will be able to better communicate with your mechanic what you suspect the problem might be.

The CarMD diagnostic tool is simple enough and easy to use. All you have t do is plug it into your car’s OBD II port, turn the engine on and wait while it gets a reading of your car’s system. Once it is done, it will beep several times and you can unplug it and see which LED light has lighted up.

The CarMD diagnostic tool comes with three LED lights – green, yellow and red and these three colors are a representation of what might be wrong with you car. The green light usually means it is fine, while the red and yellow means that something is not right and needs to be checked out.

The CarMD diagnostic tool will allow you to run an online report which will give you more details about what might be wrong with your vehicle. The device comes with a free CarMD online account which you can sign up for and run your reports. At least this way you’ll know what the problems are before you hit the repair shops.