influenster venus embrace razor review

As you know, recently, I received the cosmo voxbox from influenster. Inside were several totally awesome products, one of those products being the VENUS EMBRACE RAZOR. 

I got the opportunity to try this razor out just before heading out for the evening with my husband.  Honestly, I didn't care for the razor very much. It felt like my skin was being shaved off as well as the hair. I think maybe the blades are too small, or to close together.

Below is my video review. 

INFLUENSTER COSMO VOXBOX 12/2012

I finally received my first VOXBOX from INFLUENSTER! I am so excited to be testing some great products :)
I hope you guys enjoy my video, I will make a separate video for each product after I test it. So stay tuned and keep checking back for new videos and blogs.

INFLUENSTER!!

A few months ago, I joined a site called INFLUENSTER.COM
this site occasionally sends out a "VOXBOX"  to random members of their site. This box is usually filled with full sized products to try and review. 

I just got an email telling me that I would be receiving my very FIRST voxbox. It's pretty awesome and I am totally excited to be getting this box. It's called the  "cosmo voxbox". I can only imagine the cool things that are going to be in this box. 

As soon as I get it, I will review my items and maybe even post a video of the cool stuff I get :)

STAY TUNED......

Shoot me a message at CALLIEJAMES1978@yahoo.com if you'd like an invite to become an influenster :)

HOME MADE TWINKIE RECIPE

Supermom saves the day....and the twinkies :)

The bankruptcy of Hostess is effecting Twinkie lovers everywhere, but not all hope is lost. We present to you, the  homemade Twinkie recipe.
     Golden "Twinkie" Cake:
    2 cup all-purpose flour
    3 tsp. baking powder
    ¼ tsp. salt
    ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
    1 cup sugar
    2 large eggs
    1 tsp. vanilla extract
    1 cup whole milk

    Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Spray molds/pan with non-stick spray.
    Sift together flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl and set aside.
    In a large bowl, beat together butter and sugar at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Next, beat in the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute in between each addition. Reduce the mixer speed and add flour mixture alternating with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Add the vanilla and mix until the batter just comes together. Over mixing with make your cake chewy. Makes 12 cakes.
    Spray your Twinkie canoes and bake at 350 for 15 minutes, or until the cakes are just a light golden color and a tester inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool.

    Cream Filling
    ¼ cup shortening (I prefer Crisco brand)
    ¼ cup margarine
    1 cup sifted powdered or 10x sugar
    2 tsp. vanilla

    Beat together the shortening and margarine until light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar in a little at a time and beat on high until peaks form. Add vanilla and beat for one minute. Place in prepared icing tubes for piping into cakes.
    To fill the cakes, insert the icing tip – preferably a large star tip – into three points along the flat-side of the cake, about 1/8 of an inch deep. Squeeze lightly until you see the filling begin to ooze out.

20 states want out!

I'm sure by now you've read the articles on the 20 states petitioning to secede from the US. I've read them, as well as reading the comments that come with each one. This is actually what I wanted to address today.

With each of these articles, you get ridiculous comments. Anything from accusing people of being racist to calling people sore losers. I personally don't think this is the case at all. I think that people are just tired of BOTH sides not doing as they claim they will. OBAMA has done nothing that he "promised " in the first four years of his presidency. Neither has any other president!!

I find that people tend to run on blind emotion and what they are told instead of actually researching the topic before spewing all of the hatred and bigotry that I am reading in these comments.

~ BrownGregory Renee King • 19 hours ago

People saying this country will turn socialist are either A. Stupid or B. Racist. Either you are too stupid to look up what socialism actually is or you just don't care and are mad because a black guy is president. He forced everyone to get PRIVATE INSURANCE (READ: NOT SOCIALIST). Before you go using dog whistle terms from the 60's regardless of their veracity do a little research. Every time you say something blah blah socialist people just think you are a racist moran and they are correct because this country isn't anywhere near socialism. ~

Apparently, our comment contributor above has done very little research of her own, while telling everyone else to do theirs. All the while calling people racist and dumb. Why does this make you so angry? Blind emotion and no FACT!

~

Frank Pinko • 15 hours ago

Hey I've got an idea. Lets round up all the republicans put them in an internment camp, along with all the stupid people. We should then make the Republican party Illegal. If they try to assemble, we'll send the FBI in to arrest them. That would make American safe for all us smart, educated people. ~ again, Obama supporter ~

I'm not for either party, it doesn't matter any longer which party you are for. They are all the same. They all say the same things and do nothing. What does this solve? Absolutely nothing. If someone wants out, they should have the right to go. This country has gone to shit. I'm not on here to call anyone racist or stupid because they don't follow along with my point of view, I just wish people would use the internet at their fingertips to LEARN about these things before spreading garbage around making them look like the very names they are calling everyone else.

OUT OF CONTROL CHILDREN

I recently got a request for a blog about out of control children. Trust me, I have tons of experience in this area. So let’s just jump right in to it.

 First off, the parent should look at their own behavior.  I know you’ve all heard of “monkey see, monkey do”. This could be the case. Children copy their parents behavior. It’s simply a fact. It’s our job as parents to show them the right way to behave through EXAMPLE. This isn’t the case with all children, sometimes it’s multiple things. We’ll discuss several options to try later on in this post.

Sometimes, a good change in diet can help. This is a big one. More natural foods, less processed, less sugar infused, less wheat infused foods. We heard it as kids, and now I’m using on my own kids. Meat, veggies and fruit. No sugar, no grains, nothing processed, nothing pre-made. I can not tell you the differences that my kids have with their behavior. Before, they would be bouncing off the walls, totally lazy, disrespectful, hard to deal with…the list goes on. But now, I can actually stand to be in the same room with them. Yes, the diet doesn’t cure everything, but it’s a big step in the right direction.

Another big step, is making sure your kids get outside. Take them to the park, go for a hike, have a race around the block. DO SOMETHING with them that requires physical activity. Just this past weekend, I took my 3 kids out to the Natural Bridge State park to hike and check out a few of the wonders of nature. We came home, they went to bed without a fuss, no problems.

I’m not saying any ONE of these things will cure a child bad behavior. I’m saying that you should be doing ALL of these things. I understand that there are kids that still would have some problems, even with all of the changes. We as parents need to remember how it was to be a kid. Not having the freedoms to make their own choices, having to ask for everything. It kind of sucks and it is very frustrating. Open the line of communication by asking them what they would like for dinner, and allowing them help make it. Give them incentives for being responsible and finishing their chores or homework.

Parents, WE are the example that our children are following. WE have to make ourselves better so our children will be better. My ten yr old is in therapy once a week, her behavior is out of control. I’ve been dealing with her this way since she was born. This is how I knew that it wasn’t only a behavioral problem, it was something more. I had to choose to see that my child had a problem that I wasn’t equipped or educated enough to fix on my own. There is nothing wrong with getting outside help, if and only if everything else has failed.

I am a firm believer in just about everything I’ve talked about here. It wasn’t that long ago that I had to make these choices for my children to have a better future. Is it time for YOU to do the same?!

BLOG TOPICS

I've been sitting here trying to figure out just what to write about today. I was unable to come up with a topic, so here is a job for my readers.

Tell me what you'd like me to write about. Anything at all. I did a little journalism back in high school and college, as well as play writing and short stories. I'm sure I can write about anything you'd like to see. SO, if you have an idea, send me a message at CALLIEJAMES1978@yahoo.com or leave it in the comments section.

Out for now ~ CALLIE

SEPHORA WINNERS!

Congrats Meagan V. Your number was closer to the winning digits. You should be receiving an email shortly from me. Thanks for those who entered. 
Enjoy your Sephora Lip and Cheek Stain!

TOURETTE SYNDROME

A year or so ago my two year old was diagnosed with a tic disorder after he began to squint his face up uncontrollably. This happened if he got upset, was tired, or just wasn't feeling well. 

For the last couple of months my son, who is now four years old, has developed a vocal tic on top of the motor tic. He makes noises that sound similar to him swallowing air really hard. sort of like clearing his throat, but not exactly.

I've done my research online and every sign points to tourette syndrome. He has the vocal and motor tics both, and have had them both happen in the last few months. I made him a doctors appointment for tomorrow. I really hope this is not the case. I don't even know how to handle a child with a disorder. I supposed this is how every parent feels when they are facing a struggle like this.

I'm finding it extremely difficult to even potty train him. If he gets the least bit upset, his tics come out and that makes him even more stressed out. I feel lost. I don't know where to turn or what to do. 

If any of you guys have any info or just plain old support. That would be awesome. My comment box is always open.

~ out for now ~ CALLIE

CAVEMAN MUFFINS

Today I tried out a new recipe for caveman cookies. Yes, they are paleo and gluten free.

First you'll need to gather your ingredients ~
2 Cups ground almonds
1/2 cup organic coconut oil
3 TBS organic local honey
                                4 organic free range eggs
                                1/2 tsp vanilla
                                1/8 tsp organic sea salt
                                1 cup organic raw cane sugar
                                1 cup dried fruit of your liking ( I used   chocolate chips )

   

Grind your almonds in a coffee grinder or food processor

melt the coconut oil and honey in the microwave for about 30 seconds

mix your eggs, honey, coconut oil, salt, sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl

slowly stir in your sugar and ground almonds, then add your dried fruit

Put into muffin cups and bake at 375 for about 15 minutes

here is the finished product.....they taste delicious!

You can drizzle a little honey on top or add some melted butter, whatever you like.

Enjoy the recipe and let me know what you think in the comments.
~out for now ~ CALLIE

BABY IT'S COLD OUTSIDE

~ DON'T FORGET TO ENTER FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN A SEPHORA LIP AND CHEEK STAIN ~ ABSOLUTELY FREE~ JUST FILL OUT THE FORM TO THE RIGHT WITH YOUR NAME AND EMAIL. DRAWING WILL BE HELD ON THE 18TH OF THIS MONTH. I WILL NOTIFY THE WINNER THROUGH EMAIL TO GET SHIPPING INFORMATION. 

This happens to be one of my favorite songs of winter, among many others. It reminds me of my younger days playing out the snow and building snow animals and snow caves. It was a blast.

I'm not sure why many adults today don't just go outside and play. Go out with your kids to a park or out with a friend and play Frisbee. I still do this today at 33 years old. I can't wait for it to snow. I will be the first one outside to build that snowman, and start a snowball fight.

I'm not sure why this topic has come up today, I guess because of the ever approaching winter season. Holidays are another topic. I really don't enjoy the holidays. Even though we try to keep the commercialism of the holidays down in my household, it is still there. It's everywhere. What happened to enjoying a good meal with your favorite family members and friends on the holidays? Or sharing stories from some of our favorite memories as children and growing up. Isn't THIS how the holidays are supposed to be?

I miss having a good holiday. It's been so long since I have been around decent friends and loved ones for a good meal and goofing off.

Any who, this was just a random snippet of what I was thinking about today.

WIN SEPHORA LIP STAIN ENTER BELOW!

I just bought some sephora lip and cheek stain in "lush flush" and I have just used it for the first time. I absolutely LOVE IT! It stays on well and the color is amazing.

Since I liked it so much, I will be giving ONE tube of SEPHORA lip and cheek stain away FREE! All you have to so is fill out your info on the right side of the page and leave  a number 1- 100 in the message box and i will use a random number generator to pick the winner.

Please check back on October 18 to see who the winner is. Please don't forget to leave me  comment and let me know that you've entered. :)
If this contest goes well, I will hold one once a month or maybe bi monthly.

BROKEN TOE NAILS, BLOOD AND A CRYING 4 YR OLD

My poor little son tripped and broke his teeny tiny pinky toe nail. He thought it was the end of the world. Crying and freaking out. He kept saying "it's gonna make me blood all over".

It was bleeding, but not terribly. It stopped just shortly after it started. I am not saying that it didn't hurt, I'm sure it did. But the way he was crying you'd thing someone was beating him.

I had to close up the windows so someone didn't send the cops over. Eventually, we got it bandaged up. During the night last night, he pulled the bandage off and it was bleeding again.

Not sure what to do, the nail is still attached and I can't get close enough to it to clip the part that was broken. He really broke it all the way down too.

Guess it's time for ^ to handle things :)

POP SECRET POPCORN (extra butter)

~ PRODUCT REVIEW ~

I bought a box of pop secret popcorn (extra butter) for my families movie night. Got home, popped the first bag, opened it, and to my surprise there was less than a quarter bag of popped popcorn! I shook the bag around to see just how much was left un popped and saw the "extra butter" sloshing around in the bottom of the bag with tons of popcorn kernels.

I thought to myself "this must be a bad bag", so I popped another one...and another one....until I had poipped all six bags of popcorn. The end result was one full bag of popped popcorn out of all six bags that I had popped.

Very disappointed the product, I emailed the company expaining what had happened. I recieved an email back about an hour later stating 

" Dear Ms.             :

Thank you for your recent e-mail to Diamond Foods.

We were sorry to learn of your disappointment with Pop Secret Extra Butter Popcorn.  I will be sending you a letter and refund by US Postal
Mail.

We appreciate your interest in our products.

                   
         

It was nice to get an email back so quickly, but they didn't even seem surprised that I thought so poorly of their product. I guess they get many of these types of emails a day. Why else would you immediately offer a refund and end the email? 

I DO NOT recommend this product at all. It is not worth the five dollars they charge for a box of six. I say, make your own. It's better quality and cheaper.

out for now ~ CALLIE

PINEAPPLE COCONUT CREAM PIE!

Pineapple Coconut Cream Pie – adapted from Kitchen Daily News

3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
1 can (20 oz) crushed pineapple, in its own juice, well drained, reserve juice
1 can (14 oz) coconut milk (not cream of coconut)
5 egg yolks
2 tbs butter, cut into pieces
2 tbs. coconut rum (optional, but highly recommended)
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut, chopped
1 cup heavy (whipping) cream
2 Tbsp sugar
1 prebaked 9″ pie shell crust of your choice

Mix sugar and cornstarch in a 2-qt saucepan. Add enough pineapple juice to coconut milk to make 21⁄2 cups. Stir into sugar mixture, then bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring slowly but constantly. Boil 1 minute, again whisking slowly but constantly. Remove pan from the heat. Whisk yolks to mix, and gradually whisk in about half the hot mixture; return yolk mixture to saucepan. Stir over low heat 2 minutes. Remove from heat, add coconut rum and butter, and stir gently until butter is melted. Stir in pineapple and coconut. Pour into prepared crust. Cover surface with plastic wrap; refrigerate at least 3 hours.

Right before you are ready to serve the pie, beat together cream and sugar with mixer until stiff peaks form, and spread over the pie.

BRILLIANT S'MORES!

~ RECIPE BORROWED FROM A FELLOW BLOGGER ~

No fires needed for this one :)

 

Here it is...everything you need to create s'mores in a jar...

Crush a package of grahams crackers...

Mix the grahams with a couple tablespoons butter and pack into the bottom of jam jars, use the end of a kitchen tool to pack it down. Mix the batter as the box directs and pour evenly into 8 8oz jars.

Put the jars in a cake pan with about an inch of water in the bottom, so the jars don't break from the heat. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean. It will take a while since the brownie is so thick, mine took about an hour.

 Stuff the mallows on top. Just stuff 'em in.

Put jars back in the oven until mallows are melted. Keep an eye on them, this step only took a few minutes. Even better, I would advise you to broil them for a genuine roasted mallow top, OR throw on some mini chocolate chips to make it look cute. (I drizzled mine with chocolate syrup)

Screw on the tops and head to the party. VIOLA, we have perfect s'mores.

PIGAGEDDON ~ SAVE THE PIGS!

Recently, I heard a snippet on a radio show talking about how the price of pork will begin to sky rocket. Why, you may ask? Well let me tell you. ~ SAVE THE PIGS

Pig farmers are beginning to complain that the price of grain is going up and they can't afford to feed the pigs. At this rate, all our beloved pigs are going to starve. That won't make a good bacon sandwich!! ~ SAVE THE PIGS

Some people would ask, why not feed the pigs something else? They could do that, but the price would still go up. I don't mind paying a bit more for better raised, healthier pork. ~ SAVE THE PIGS


The truth of the matter is, the cheaper the food is, the lower the quality. You really do get what you paid for when it comes to groceries. If you want a better quality food, then you have to pay a bigger price. I don't mind doing this, I prefer better quality, cleaner, healthier food.

You can either pay more or raise the pig yourself and have someone butcher it. This way, you get better quality food which is healthier for you and your family.

My conclusion is ~ quit bitching about the cost of food. I figure soon enough we'll all be paying out the ass for crap food, because the better quality will be so darned expensive, we wouldn't be able to afford it anyways.

MESSED UP PARENTS

I am writing this blog on behalf of my children. I kept them in an abusive relationship with their father for 7 years. Now my 10 yr old is out of control. I realize that this is partly my fault, but I need to figure out how to change this or just make it better.

BACKGROUND ~ My EX husband was an abusive jerk. He was physically, emotionally, verbally, and mentally abusive. He would scream constantly, yet require constant attention like he was an infant. He did not know how to show affection, yet wanted to feel loved by everyone, even those he was constantly hurting. He only beat up on people who was smaller than him (women and children). I lost a baby due to his violent fits of rage. I left him just before my 3rd child was born. Just so you know, I did not want kids. I tried every type of birth control out there, nothing worked. We literally only had sex like twice a year when he harassed me so much that I would give in just to get him to leave me alone. I was scared, terrified of what he would do if I tried to leave. He told me several times that he would kill me if I tried to leave.

NOW ~ divorced for 4 years, and in a new relationship with a wonderful man, and my 10 year old has taken on the role of her father. She acts just like him. hitting, screaming and abusing her younger siblings. She also yells and screams at me. She is totally disrespectful and constantly angry. She only acts this way at home. When she is at school or a friends house, she's fine. 

I have her in an intensive therapy group, but she seems to be getting worse. Please, I need advice, help. I don't know what to do with her anymore. I feel like I am a prisoner in my own home. I am finding it hard to even have her here. It's not right to feel this way about my child. I don't know how or what to do in order to make things better in my home.

~ struggling mom of 3 ~

<a href="http://www.hypersmash.com">HyperSmash</a>

MOBS, FIRES, SEX, AND STUPID BLONDE GIRLS

Like the title? Ha Ha. This title explains my camping weekend to a tee. I'll explain further below, but it all doesn't involve me.

This weekend, as many of you already know, I took my children on their first camping trip. It was unusually cold that Saturday evening, so we thought that the camp sites would be relatively empty. I was wrong. Big Time.

We got there about mid afternoon, picked out our spot, set everything up and it was going well. The kids were playing and we had the fire going. Then one by one, the other sites started to fill up. We had a teenage couple on one side of us, and a family on the other. We were all pretty close, so close in fact, that we could hear what they were saying and the extracurricular activities they were partaking in at that moment. I'll explain this further later in the post.

First order of business - MOBS

Not long after we got settled in we heard singing in a different language. It was getting closer and close. At first, we thought it was boy scout troop or something. As they got closer, we realized they were not singing in English. I couldn't tell what language it was, but it was middle eastern. Anyways, as the sound was right around the corner, we saw a whole MOB of middle eastern campers, singing. This wasn't a problem, but it plays a role in the rest of my day. It was unusual, I had never seen anything like this. I thought camping was supposed to be quiet?!

On we go to the STUPID BLONDE GIRLS

My friend brought her two little boys with us camping. The kids all decided to go for a hike, so my friend Emma went with them. About 45 minutes later, the kids and Emma return carrying a childs coat, notebook, and CD that did not belong to them. When asked where they got it, they replied "We were out hiking in the woods and saw a baby stroller pushed into the brush. We thought there might be a baby in there, so we looked." Good Job for the kids to be so caring. So where did they get the stuff? "Emma told us that we could take the stuff in the stroller cause there wasn't anyone around." WHAT??? This woman let my children STEAL  from a childs stroller that did not belong to them?! My DH and I took the items and returned them to the stroller. Just as we had gotten back to camp, the MOB from earlier came back through singing their little songs, and carrying the STROLLER that my "friend" let my children STEAL from!! We must have just missed them when returning the items. My children know better than to take items that aren't theirs. I seriously thought that Emma wasn't STUPID enough to steal or allow children to steal! AGAIN, I was wrong.

Next - FIRES

The teenage couple that was on the right side of us seemed nice. They needed some help to pitch their tent, so me my DH helped get it set up for them. As night fell, the two were just starting their fire. They were kids, so I didn't expect them to know how to keep a fire going steady. I did, however, expect them to know NOT to empty the entire bottle of lighter fluid onto the fire. This still didn't keep their fire going. As the night went on, we heard them trying to keep the fire going. They were emptying beer into the fire because "it has alcohol in it" and over heard them saying "we have oil and cardboard in the car." Ha Ha. They had burned through all of their wood, and started to use oil and gasoline from their car to keep warm. Silly teenagers.

Up Next - SEX

The same teenage couple from above finally gave up on the fire about 3 AM and turned to "cuddling" in their tent to keep warm. We could literally hear EVERY word (and sound) they were saying. Trust me, it didn't last very long. The guy talked too much and the girl was making these over the top noises like she was in a porno or something. It was kind of funny. After the Sex, they were arguing because apparently the boy grabbed the phone and was going to get a picture where he "emptied his ugly" all over her. They argued about that for a while and went back to the over the top sex noises. Then all of a sudden we hear "what? what's wrong, where'd it go" the two came out of the tent immediately and headed out in their car not returning for a long while. My guess is, the items they were playing with either got lost inside or stuck inside the girl.

So all in all, it was an interesting camping trip that included tons of not needed information about teenage sex, stupid blonde girls, mobs, and fires.

My DH did fall a few times running through the wood chasing the kids. That was kind of funny too :) Hope you enjoyed reading. Will blog later if I can think of something I forgot to add in here.

out for now ~ CALLIE

DAY OF ADVENTURES

Hey there, It's me again. Yes, I am up at 3 AM! My DH has to get to work pretty early, So I get up too. Seems like the only time we can talk without the little ones running around.

Today I have planned the kids very FIRST camping trip! I hope they have fun. We are just going down by the creek and setting up a couple of tents. They've never stayed outdoors in a tent before, so this should be an experience. Well, let me take that back, they stayed on the deck until it got dark, then came inside :)

A friend of mine is also coming and bringing her 2 little boys. I plan on doing some hiking, sitting around the fire making s'moreeses, as my oldest daughter calls them. She likes to make s'mores with reese's cups instead of using the plain Hershey bars. They are actually quite tasty. Try them, you'll like them. 

What kills me is the amount of stuff you have to pack to go camping. Since I have three little ones, that means blankets, favorite animals, extra clothes, pullups, paper towels, TOILET PAPER, tents, food, drinks, the list goes on for about another 10 items. So much for minimalists. Ha Ha. If it were just me and DH, we'd go with our water bottle, camping bowl/cup, and anything else we could fit into a small hiking pack. Certainly will be carrying my 9mm today, as well as my knife. Never can be too careful in an area that you've never been in before.

Well, that's it for now. Keep checking back, I like to blog often.

Out for now ~ CALLIE