Busy Mom Reviews

I love coffee, and the stronger the better.

I've been drinking the Cuban coffee Bustelo for a while now, and when I was offered the chance to try out Bustelo Cool cafe con leche, I jumped at it, even though I'm not always a big iced coffee drink fan (it just kind of depends on how it's made).

They sent me a whole case to try out, and I eagerly put one in the fridge to cool off, and when I went to get it, it was gone. Seems my 11 year old coffee drinker (no, we don't allow him to drink coffee regularly, but we have to watch him with our coffee) got to it first.

He liked it, for whatever it's worth.

I tried again and got to drink the second one, and it was good!

It's sweet, but not too sweet and it kept me sufficiently awake and alert. Many of them now reside in my work fridge, too.

It's a hit and I'd buy it again, check it out.

Did you know that one third of American households pay on average 40 percent (4.4 cents more per kilowatt-hour) more for their electricity bills solely because they live in states without Federal regulation?

The Campaign for Fair Electric Rates is a "grassroots advocacy effort focused on educating consumers and businesses as well as Members of Congress and other policymakers, on the failure of the wholesale electricity markets operated by regional transmission organizations (RTOs) to adequately protect consumers."

Also, according to the website:

Participants in the Campaign for Fair Electric Rates are encouraged to contact their Senators and Representatives asking that Congress urge the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to reexamine the changes made to the wholesale electricity markets over the last few years and take all necessary steps to protect consumers against unjust and unreasonable rates

he Campaign for Fair Electric Rates is committed to raising awareness of the price discrepancy in electric rates between regulated and deregulated states, learn more.

I don't get a thing in the world for this, I just thought it was cute, but the HP Activity Center loaded with free printable projects and one of them is for the 4th of July.

There's invitations, iron ons, printable flags, DVD labels and more.

Since I have photography on the brain as I keep breaking cameras and trying to learn how (still!) to use my Canon Digital Rebel XT, I especially liked the printable photo frames.

I'd better use them before I run out of cameras.

I was sent a
Schick Quattro Razor for women for review.

It's nicer than any razor I've ever had since I've been using disposables for forever.

It's solid, but not too heavy, and the handle has a pretty effective no-slip grip. There are 4 blades with "conditioning strips" that help with a close shave and the pivoting head works well to help get around the contours of your legs and arms.

The shave is very smooth, but I had to press a little harder than I thought I would have to, but I had no nicks or cuts. The blades last an average amount of time, and for me the shave lasted somewhat longer that my disposable razor.

The blade did get clogged, but was no big deal to rinse out. It took me a minute to figure out out to get the blade back in as I inadvertently knocked it off in the shower (not a problem, I have no idea how I did it).

It even came with a little suction cup thingy to put in the shower to hang, the razor on, but my shower didn't like it.

I really liked the razor and will stick with it a while, but if money is tight I'd have to let it go as it retails for around $9.00 US and a package of 4 refill blades is a little pricey at about $18.00

There's some fun stuff that Schick is advertising to go along with it (even though I think I'm older than the demographic since my dream date involves going to the grocery).

There's the Girl's Guide to Dating and the Dare to Dream Date II Sweepstakes where you can have a chance to win one of 3 grand prizes of $1,500 cash for the ultimate dream date.

There's even a place for you to create a dream date for yourself or a friend.

Use Wedding Paper Divas discount coupon code BUSYMOM for 10% off at Wedding Paper Divas.

Use Tiny Prints discount coupon code BUSYMOMREADER for 10% off at Tiny Prints.

If you bring dad to Outback Steakhouse for Father's Day on June 15, 2008, he’ll receive a $10 certificate valid on his next visit.

All he has to do is activate the certificate online at http://outback.com/dadsday where he’ll also automatically be entered in an online sweepstakes to win a $100 gift card when he enters the promo code found on the bottom of the $10 certificate.

The certificate can be used at any Outback location from June 18th– July 20th with the minimum purchase of $25.

With gas prices the way they are, many people are going to be in the market for a more fuel efficient car.

I've seen more Ford Focuses (Foci?) than ever lately.

Anyway, Carmax.com is a good place to start your search online.

Their newly redesigned website allows you to search for vehicles based on reliability and safety ratings from the NHTSA and J.D. Power, customer and expert reviews from Edmunds.com and more.

Check it out!

Skinny Cow, products favored by dieters with a sweet tooth, has a new ice cream bar, Skinny Dippers, and I got some to try out.

Skinny Dippers are an ice cream bar with the end covered in chocolate, and one bar contains only 80 calories and 3 grams of fat.

I'm not much for pretend ice cream and other diet "treats", but I have enjoyed Skinny Cow's ice cream sandwiches, so I was glad to give these a try.

Know what? They taste like real ice cream and chocolate. I liked both the caramel and the mint. The serving is one bar, and, it was really enough, I didn't feel "cheated" or anything.

But, the real test was the fact that the 2 boxes lasted less than 24 hours in our house because the kids devoured the rest not knowing anything was "different" about them and they asked why we didn't have any more.

Skinny Dippers have 2 grams of fiber and are only 1 Weight Watchers POINT. They come in caramel and mint flavors.

For our Canadian friends...

Fido last week launched a Canadian first for the wireless industry with its new service, Fido Uno.

Fido UNO works by connecting calls from a specially-enabled handset to a high-speed Internet connection when at home and through the Fido network when on the go. Now you can have the freedom to talk as much as you want on your Fido phone while at home without using up your wireless plan minutes and all the benefits of a mobile when you’re not.

Whoops!

I screwed up my own contest.

I originally thought the contest should last until tomorrow, but, I realized I'd be extremely busy this week, so I changed the end date to last Friday and promptly forgot.

Sorry, 'bout that.

Yeah, I know, "Shut up and tell me if I won or not."

Using this handy dandy Random Number Generator, the winning comment number is: 2!

Congratulations, Debunot!

Here's a screen shot of the drawing.

Thank you so much for all your entries!