BIC Gelocity Pen Review

I love pens, all kinds of pens, and it's safe to say I may have a slight problem. Yes, I love pens, but gel pens hold a special place in my heart. I've bought so many sets, different brands, different prices, I love them all! So when I got the chance to try out BIC's Gel-ocity pens I was more than happy to. 

There were three colors that came in the set that I got to try out for free: pink, purple, and blue. I'm glad the sent colors that were a bit out of the norm because it's more fun using them. The pink was more of a hot pink, leading to a red. The purple was very dark, leaned real close to black. It was just a bit too dark for me. The blue was a turquoise color; not very dark. 

All the ink in the pens came out super saturated, no skipping, and it dried pretty quickly. If you run your hand across it right after writing you may get it smudge. I found it hard to get it to smudge though because it does dry quickly.You can refill these pens, but I didn't see refills for these colors. The grips are a bit hard, but not uncomfortable at all. I have smaller hands and find pens with larger grips to be hard to hold. The retractable part of the pen works great, no issues with that. 

I did try using them for my adult coloring books and they do work great, but not very good at layering. Because they don't really smudge I can't blend very well, but that's okay. I still think you can use them for coloring, if you enjoy using pens to color. 

Overall, they're great pens that I'll use over and over again. The ink writes so smoothly, it's just amazing. I know I'll have to fight the kids to keep them from leaving with them to school.

Disclaimer: I did receive a three pack of BIC Gelocity pens for free in return for my honest review.

Tony's Pizzeria Pizza Review

I was chosen to try out Tony's Pizzas through BzzAgent, umm yay! So I have tried Tony's pizza before, but honestly it's been a very long time since I've done that. With having such a large family of 5 teens I can't get by with just one or two pizzas. So I was excited to plan a pizza night for all the kids to try out the different varities of pizza Tony's offer. Tony's Pizza offers 8 pizzeria style varieties: pepperoni pizza, sausage & pepperoni, cheese, supreme, meat trio, sausage, bascon cheeseburger, and half pepperoni - half cheese.

My kiddos are strictly meat eaters so I chose: pepperoni, meat trio, sausage & pepperoni, and cheese for me. I went with the cheese pizza for myself to help cut down on some of the sodium. I'm really trying hard to limit my daily sodium intake and pizza isn't really friendly to that diet. Tony's Cheese pizza has 25% or 600mg of sodium. I had to be really strict with my food earlier in the day, but I stayed within my limit. Now that 600mg is for 1/3 of the pizza and couple with some salad I was able to get a taste of some great pizza and not feel too bad at the end of the day.




The kids had meat trio, pepperoni, and sausage & pepperoni to choose from. The lucky ducks were able to sample a little from each pizza. I really tried to get a picture of them eating, but I swear they inhaled the pizza like that was the first food they had seen in years. I was busy cutting up the pizzas as they came out the oven and before I knew it, it was all gone. I was able to include some tasty looking pictures of the pizza so enjoy!




Pepperoni pizza has a little sodium in it at 650mg, 330 calories, and 12g of protein. The pepperoni's are a good size and have a great flavor.

Sausage & Pepperoni has 710mg of sodium, 350 calories, and 12g of protein. The same pepperoni is used, full slices, along with sausage crumbles. The sausage was a little on the small size, but it had great seasoning making it really tasty. I was a tie with regular pepperoni for second place.

Tony's Meat Trio has the same amount of sodium as the sausage and pepperoni but has 360 calories and 13g of protein. It has the same slice pepperoni, sausage crumbles, and small diced ham. I wish the ham was a bit bigger but you could still taste that it was ham.

All of the pizzas came with a thinner, crunchy, and crispy crust. I absolutely love thin and crispy pizzas so this was a super duper plus for me. All the pizzas cooked up in the same amount of time, but I noticed the cheese pizza didn't need as much as the other pizzas. It was a little too brown, but whatever I'm not hard to please. I thought it still tasted really good and I liked some of the browner, crispy cheese. Of course I love all kinds of cheeses so I'm a little biased. I cooked all of the pizzas straight on the rack, no pan needed, to make sure they would get the crispy crunchy crust I love. You can use a pan for a softer crust if you so wish.





I'm so glad to have found Tony's Pizza again because overall all the pizzas were so tasty and filling. Everyone was happy to be able to try everything. I was happy to not hear any whining about not liking a certain topping.  I'll definitely be buying more Tony's pizza in the future and hope they come out with more varities - how about a double pepperoni pizza? Or perhaps a vegetarian style pizza?! Anyway, if you're a meat loving carnivore like my kids, then you'll definitely love Tony's Pizzeria Style Pizza.

Disclaimer: I was sent coupons for a free pizza along with coupons to share with family and friends. All opinions are my own and no compensation was received. #GotItFree

Hormel Rev Wraps

I was excited to try out the new wraps from Hormel courtesy of BzzAgent. They're called "Rev" Wraps and there are 8 different varieties:

• Pepperoni Pizza
• Ham & Cheese
• Peppered Turkey
• Meat Lovers Pizza
• Italian Style Ham
• Hot Pepper Ham
• Italian Style
• Spicy Italian Style

They come packaged in a plastic container and are really easy to open. Sadly my area grocery store only had four of the varieties - Ham & Cheese, Peppered Turkey, Meat Lovers Pizza, and Pepperoni Pizza. Of course I bought all four of them so I'd be able to try them all out.

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 The first one I tried was the #3 Peppered Turkey. The wrap uses one large round piece of cheese, three slices of turkey, and wrapped around that is a wheat flat bread that reminds me of a tortilla. It has 220 calories, 90 Fat calories, and 18g of protein. I was a little alarmed with the sodium in the wrap, it was 41% (950mg). Right now I am watching my salt intake so I changed up my dinner as to not go over my limit. I decided that I could make it my own by adding some of my favorite ingredients - spinach, mixed greens, and avocado. The result was super delicious and really filling. I wasn't sure that I would be satisfied with just one wrap, but I really was. The flatbread didn't hold up very well and did start to tear a bit when I started working with it. It held up enough for me to finish my meal and in the end it wasn't that big of a deal.

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The next wrap I tried was the Ham and Cheese and again I wanted to be a little creative. I figured I'd have this one for lunch so I got an egg, some spinach, and the Rev. The Ham & Cheese has 240 calories, 110 fat calories, and 17g of protein. This wrap too had a lot of sodium in it: 990mg to be exact. I didn't want to use up too much of my daily intake so I took out two of the slices of ham. Each wrap comes with three small round slices of meat, and one large slice of cheese. I separated the egg white from the yolk and poached it. The spinach I left alone as I don't care much for cooked spinach. This was a fantastic late breakfast for me and really held me over till I had my small lunch later in the day. I didn't feel hungry in the least and didn't feel tired afterwards.






Sadly I wasn't able to get pictures of the last two wraps as they mysteriously disappeared from the fridge. I don't know if the nobody ghost visits your house, but it practically lives in mine. You know the nobody ghost, right? Something gets eaten and nobody touched it in the house, even when you have 5 suspects they of course push the blame onto the nobody ghost. Either way I'll do my best to give you some info on the last two: Pepperoni Pizza and Meat Lovers Pizza. When I went to the store they didn't have any in stock so I may do another post featuring these two wraps as I actually had some great ideas for them.

Obviously they're both pizza wraps and I wanted to turn them into pizzas. I planned to unwrap them and throw the flatbread into the over to crisp up a bit. Then I would have taken it out, put a bit of pizza sauce on it, cut the cheese and pepperoni (for the regular pepperoni wrap) into small shreds to evenly coat it. I think doing it this way would be a totally fun way to get the kids involved in their own lunch making. You could also cut down on the ingredients so the sodium isn't too high. The pepperoni pizza has 300 calories, 180 fat calories, and 16g of protein. It has 990mg of sodium in it, so you can obviously see the trend. The last is the Meat Lovers Pizza, again I wanted to make it into an actual pizza and think it would have turned out awesome. It has pepperoni, spicy salami, genoa salami and mozzarella cheese. The nutrional value is: 280 calories, 160 fat calories, and 15g of protein. The sodium is 950mg making it a 41% dv.

I would love to see some low sodium varieties hit the market because these are really great. They're convenient, tasty, and relatively inexpensive. The cost about $1.98 for each wrap and while they do look small, they will definitely fill you up. I also would have liked to have seen some condiments inside because I normally don't eat a ham and cheese sandwich without mustard. I don't know if that would cost more to add, but I think it's something they should definitely look into.

You can find Rev Wraps at most grocery and supermarkets, although you might not be able to find all varieties at first. So if you see them in your store don't pass them up because they have potential to be a great meal. Don't be afraid to customize it either!



Disclaimer: I received 1 free product coupon and 9 - $1.00 coupons to share. I was not required to write a review. All opinions are my own and no further compensation was given. 

Health Review: Dr Scholl's Insoles

I received a pack of Dr Scholl's Massaging Gel insoles for women to try out and I was loving them. First off they come in a hard plastic package that was a total pain to open. It took a little work, but in the end it was so worth it. I was certain they would not fit because they were so large compared to my feet. One package will fit a shoe from size six to size nine. Yup, that's a pretty wide range so it's sure to meet your needs. I have to say they aren't that pretty, but they are definitely comfy!

So after you take them out of the package its time to get your scissors and go to work. My favorite pair of shoes are an old pair of DC shoes that are about 5yrs old. I love them, but they have been through hell so they aren't as comfy as they once were. I figured they would be the perfect pair to stick my new insoles in. So the shoes are a size 7.5 so I tried to get it in between size 7 and 8. The insole was too large so just go down to a whole number. Meaning if you have a size 7.5 cut it at the size 7 mark.

My favorite pair of shoes - gross but comfy!

After cutting both insoles I stuck them into my shoes to try them out. My shoes were a bit snug as the insoles add height to your foot. I had to untie my shoes and redo them to the right size. I love to slip my shoes on and off so I leave them tied and loose. I could definitely feel the difference in the comfy level. I won't lie, but they did feel a little weird at first. It does take a little time to get used to going from something flat to something with cushion. It was totally awkward for me and I really noticed the wonky way I was walking.


At the end of the day my feet were feeling awesome! I have feet issues, something that has come with age, so these really helped in relieving some of the pain without my having to go and take medicine. I'd definitely recommend everyone getting themselves a pair of Dr Scholl's insoles. There are so many different kinds and types that there is surely something that will meet your needs. Visit Dr Scholl's Website to see if there are any products that will work for you!



Disclaimer: I was sent this product for the sole purpose of doing a review. All opinions are my own and no compensation was received.

Household Review: Pennington Seed Fertilzer

My sad little garden second time around - no green yet!

So I was super excited that I'd be able to try out Pennington's Smart Feed Sprayer System. I was just getting a garden started so it was perfect timing. Sadly we had some major rains which ended up killing my plants before they ever had a chance to really grow. I had to start all over again and it has been a little slow going. Thankfully I still had some of the fertilizer left to start over again. I planted lettuce, greens, tomato, jalapeno, and will add more as I get the chance. Thankfully we have long summers here in Texas so I have a little time to continue adding some veggies. 

First off it was super easy to use and set-up the sprayer. You twist it open, using very easy to see arrows, you then add the blue circles of fertilizer - either one or two and then twist it shut. Then you attach it to your hose, turn the water on and spray whatever you want to spray. I have to say though it can be a bit heavy especially if you have major arthritis. It is a bit bulky, but I managed it just fine. I have to say I was a bit surprised at how fast the water came out. There was a lot of pressure which was awesome. At first I was a bit annoyed with having to press the trigger, but I ended up finding it to be a real convenience. I was able to spray, readjust my hose and then spray again. 

As you can see to the left you just drop in the blue disks and twist the top closed. Make sure you close it correctly and that the black arrow is matched up to the arrow on the green lip. Believe me you want to really make sure because if not prepare to get sprayed. I made the mistake of not twisting it completely and like I mentioned above the pressure is pretty darn good. While I didn't necessarily like getting sprayed with fertilizer it was refreshing on a hot summer day. Not recommended though - seriously!



The attached head is great with its different spray functions. In total there are 5 different sprays along with drain. I happen to like the shower function for spraying directly onto my garden and jet for the rest of my yard. Flat also works really well to get the most area of yard. It's easy to change to different functions when it's needed.

Now I did notice that with the two tablets in my sprayer they dissolved really quickly so the water was really concentrated. I did read that you could over fertilize your plants so I'm hoping that didn't happen. With the second application from the separate container of discs sent they dissolved much slower so not sure why it was like that. I know a lot of complaints are that they dissolve too quickly making the water too concentrated. I think if the price were 2 bucks cheaper then they could leave those out because they seem to be a real issue. I'd rather have the sprayer and then the separate discs as a package for maybe about $20 which would still give you a savings of about $3-$4 dollars and Pennington would still be able to sell a good product. I do think its a great system even with the small issues. I'll definitely be using it again because it did make a difference in my yard...even though it's mostly weeds I am seeing more green. I definitely need to overhaul my yard, but being able to be outside and see more than just dirt is awesome! Yea, yea don't remind me that they're just weeds, but check out the pictures below. You only need to use the fertilizer discs every 7-10 days so the 4 discs could last you either a month or half a month.

Overall it was simple to use, while the tablets already in the sprayer were "so-so" the actual system is great. I would recommend getting the separate discs as those seem to dissolve a whole lot slower. You can purchase Pennington Smart Feed Sprayer System at Home Depot. So far that seems to be the only place you can buy them at so hoping they'll branch out to other home stores. They're priced at $12.98 down here in South Texas so the price will vary in your region. The discs are also available at Home Depot and go for about $9.98 for 4 tablets.

BEFORE:

Poor Budha was hurt when I took this picture, he is feeling great now.

AFTER:

Look at all the green, yea they're weeds and such but better than nothing.

Disclaimer: I received this product from Penningtion and BzzAgent for the sole purpose of reviewing it. No further compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

Review: Garnier Fructis Hydra Recharge Trio

The horror - its a flat gross mess!

I love Garnier Fructis Products whether its shampoo, conditioner, or any hair styling product. I know it'll be a good quality product because I have experience using Garnier Fructis. So I was really excited to get this BzzCampaign. I have to say I kind of have a thing for hair care products and hair styling products. I think because I'm always searching for that next big thing that I'm never really satisfied. Well With Garnier Fructis' new Hydra Charge Shampoo, Conditioner, and ----, I knew my hair was going to look great. I went ahead and skipped my regular hair products and washed my hair with this set. I normally wash my hair every other day, depending on how the weather is. 

Hair Myth #1: You have to wash your hair every day.

This is so not true, even for those of you who have oily hair. Washing strips the natural oils from your hair so its good to go at day without washing. If you have oily hair you can use a dry shampoo, baby powder, and even corn starch to help pull out some of that oil and leave your hair looking fresh.

First off the smell of the shampoo, conditioner and the 1 minute treatment is wonderful. The shampoo and conditioner have a nice sweet fruity smell, while the treatment has a lighter fruity scent.

The shampoo has some really great things going on with its encapsulated beads of superfruits goji berry, passion fruit and kiwi. Yup tiny little blue specks of wonderfulness for your hair! These make your hair feel silkier and smoother for up to 2 days - which is perfect for me as I wash every other day. The shampoo is a little loose, but lathers up really nicely. Start at the roots and work your way down to ensure every strand of hair is covered.

Hair Myth #2: Washing your hair with hot water is better.
This is a toss up, washing your hair with hot water does open up the pores allowing the good stuff into the hair shaft. It also strips your hair of those natural oils, it can leave it overly porous making it dry and brittle, and it causes frizz! Try a combination of hot and cold like me! Hot in the beginning to open up the pores, add the shampoo/conditioner, etc and then turn the cold water up and rinse it. The cold water helps to close the pores up keeping in all that good stuff and seals the moisture in. Although it can flatten your hair if you have thin hair.

Next up was the conditioner and it smells much like the shampoo. It obviously was thicker and creamier than the shampoo. In order to not have greasy hair remember to not rub your conditioner in. I always leave it in a bit, for a couple of minutes before I wash it out with cold water. It is made with the same things as the shampoo - goji berry, passion fruit, and kiwi but has a stronger smell than the shampoo. No pretty little blue beads in the conditioner but it still did a fantastic job!

You can either use the regular conditioner or the 1 minute Moisture-Plenish Treatment. I can say now that it was a little hard to just leave it on a minute. I normally leave my conditioners on for at least 3-5 minutes so that was a bit of a change and I'm a creature of habit. The treatment has a lighter scent than both the shampoo and conditioner. It is just as creamy as the conditioner and includes the same ingredients as the other two. I can't really say what the difference was between the regular conditioner and the 1 minute treatment other than the time. I found it worked just like the conditioner and left my hair feeling silky smooth, just like the conditioner.



Disclaimer: I received these three products for the sole purpose of reviewing them from BzzAgent. All opinions are my own and no compensation was given. #GotItFree