Author: Karie Herring

Karie Herring rambles of a former life in Phoenix, AZ while raising a teen and tween twins in their new home in Orlando, FL. She has been featured in AOL Money & Finance, Betty Confidential and Career School Now. She's a full-time technical writer, functional fitness athlete, overachieving wife and mom. She loves talking about maneuvering motherhood, womanhood, and her passion for essential oils and natural living.
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Engaging Gifts for Kids VTech Cyber Pocket

Are you on the fence about what kind of game console or portable game console to get your kids? Well I hope this post will assist you in your last minute purchases.

Our family recently received a VTech Cyber Pocket to review with the Zayzoo: An Earth Adventure smart-tridge for endless play. As a parent I worry about too much stimulation with video games, computers, etc. Although we are more of a technological society, I firmly believe children learn from good old fashioned hands on learning and computers enhance the learning.

So before I released the game on Big G to take a stab at, I went ahead and frustrated the poor boy by playing with the game. I thought it was fun and requires a lot of patience, brain power, critical thinking skills. Now we all know I am a skeptic so I compared the VTech Cyber Pocket to the Nintendo DS that Grant has and really these is no comparison. The DS is your typical personal, portable game console and the good majority of the games are and padon me for saying so, mind numbing entertainment. You have to look for the educational games where again the majority are entertainment, not educational. The VTech Cyber Pocket is entertainment for your brain by all means with math, reading, spelling, and as I said critical thinking. Plus if you cost compare the VTech to the Nintendo DS, the cost savings is tremendous for he wonderful skills and brain power your child flexes and uses.

Zayzoo has a spelling adventure and I tell you even as an adult I had to think about the words to be spelled as the letters are provided in an odd entry such as the middle letter or letters are provided and you fill in the blanks. Grant had a great time and enjoyed playing. He did say the pen was a bit of trouble for him when deciding on a level to play but he found he could use the console controls instead.

He enjoyed the VTech Cyber Pocket immensely. Grant was really into the games with the learning and I had no problems with him playing a game console like this as he was flexing his brain and not just numbing it.

So if you are on the fence for what kind of console to get your child be sure to look at what you are providing. Also be sure that you are providing your child with an age appropriate console. While the VTech Cyber Pocket suggests 4-7 years of age, I would think that the age range could be a bit higher because of the spelling and critical thinking, however, as I said, the VTech Cyber Pocket will really flex your child’s brain.

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Perfection Is as Perfection Does

I was asked once, “Karie, is your house, life, everything always this perfect?”
I pondered for less than a millisecond, and the answer I blurted out, “No.”
LIES!
I took a step back recently, I pretended I was an outsider to my own home, looking in as if a stranger or newcomer into my home and life. What I saw was pretty amusing…at least for me…quite amusing because I truly carry the ultimate facade of She Can Do No Wrong.

The Facts:

  1. I Shower DAILY….sometimes twice DAILY because any stench of ick makes me want to puke.
  2. I do truly smell and shit roses because you could never tell anyone had dropped a load of feces in the porcelain god because my toilet is truly white and pristine. ALWAYS.
  3. I always have candles a flame….a lovely ambiance and the smell is relaxing.
  4. I rarely leave the house without makeup, if I do, I had better look fabulous.
  5. My hair is always done, whether I re-brush and use a straight iron to eliminate the JBF I still have fabulous hair.
  6. Even my “grungy” clothes, the ones I consider to be a t-shirt and jeans….FABULOUS. A slim fitting Calvin Klein tee and bella Dahl jeans.
  7. My bathroom NEVER, EVER looks like a truck stop restroom, nor does it look like Chewbaca visited. I cringe when I see other “normal” bathrooms like that. Seriously, I don’t even have toothpaste spatters.
  8. My kitchen is as sterile as an operating room. Every inch is cleaned RELIGIOUSLY, even while cooking my counters are free of debris, spatters, dishes, etc. In fact, all of my cookware is washed immediately AFTER use to avoid the nastiness that will sit overnight.
  9. Seriously I think anyone who celebrates Passover would be happy to know my home is ALWAYS free of crumbs, dog hair, dust, like I said, RELIGIOUS about my cleanliness.
  10. My yard….pretty pristine. Now the party in the back is not so much with the doggie land mines and all. I am not a fan of picking up hot steamers….so thankful for the warm Arizona sun to dry them out for easy scooping.
  11. The bed….made daily. You would think I had a housekeeping service because my sheets are taut, wrinkle free, and the bed is always made….even with useless decorative pillows and shams. That’s how I roll.
  12. The playroom. The one room in the house that should always be a disaster, riddled with toys abound….fail whale…they are all put away. Even the stuffed animals are arranged.
  13. My bookshelf…as I said….color coded and arranged by genre; so my bookshelf looks like a cascading rainbow of literary spines from self-help to my corporate finance text’s to science fiction and fantasy. My bookshelves are truly a masterpiece.
  14. The art work. Oh me or my….my artwork is even arranged in such a manner. Almost alphabetical the way they run through my home. From Kadinsky to Picaso to Van Gogh, plus some private label art. I am a lover of the fine arts and their placement in my home.
  15. My towels are neatly and evenly hung in the bathroom along with hand towels, tip towels, and a beautiful bar of hand soap. My wash cloths are also neatly placed in my shower caddy tower arranged in a rainbow for easy access to a new washcloth for using.

Truly I think you get the picture of my “perfection” which is sad. I truly try to let my house go, I try HARD, really HARD to not work so hard at keeping a good house. I truly try hard to not let my compulsion take over. Some call it a disorder, but really…I find a lot of order to my “disorder,” albeit a method to my madness. Take a good look:

Okay…I lied a little…I left Little Bitty’s shoes on the island and my water bottle as I took these photos.
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Gifts for Kids: CenterStage by Shutterfly

The holidays are such an ordeal.
As parents and even some grandparents search for the perfect gift they often feel overwhelmed.
What is THE gift for your child?
Well look no further because this gift is truly ONE of a kind and unique to your child.

CenterStage products by Shutterfly put the spotlight on your child where they truly are center stage. You can showcase your child and their favorite photos in their very own personalized gift. They can go on adventures with their favorite characters such as Dora or Sponge Bob in an action/adventure book, they can be showcased with their favorite stars in a poster, or be featured in their very own puzzle with their favorite characters or stars as well.

Our family ordered and received a complimentary CenterStage product where we ordered a puzzle. Grant loves puzzles and we thought, what a perfect gift idea but to make HIM the gift. He would be the center of attention and given the opportunity of a truly unique gift all his own. His face was priceless, if only I had more sense to take a picture of his face as opposed to the puzzle you could have seen how ecstatic he was! We chose the Autobots and Optimus Prime as his background and the result is awesome!

Seriously…..how cool is that for a six year old boy?!

The puzzle creation was a simple process and is a 125 piece interactive gift. Choose a head shot, upload to Shutterfly using the CenterStage product option, choose the background from the cast of G.I. Joe, High School Musical, Transformers, (NEW) Star Wars and Star Wars the Clone Wars and Hannah Montana and voila! Just order and within a week your product is shipped and in your hot hands to share with your loved one.

Prices start at $19.99 for the posters and up to $39.99 for the personalized books. An overall great personalized, unique, THE gift to give your child for under $50. But if you are a big spender Shutterfly is offering for a limited time free shipping on all orders of $50 or more. That’s right, order $50 or more and receive free domestic US shipping, but you have to act soon as the offer will be expiring, be sure to use the code SHIP50 when completing your order at checkout.

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Good-bye Gift Guide

Alas the time has come for me to start wrapping up my final posts for the gift guide. I have but a few final giveaways and then I will be able to release all my pent up writing urges….because MAN ALIVE do I have some stories to tell you all! So sit tight….bear with my final posts, enjoy them as well as they are super NEAT-O. s

Yes. I just wrote NEAT-O. Get over it.

Everyone enjoy this time of year with all the joy, celebration, family, and fun!

Have a great day, evening, morning, afternoon!

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The Ultimate Cloth review

The Five Fish are a “green,” eco-friendly family and recently I was contacted to receive and review The Ultimate Cloth. My first reaction was Sham-Wow. I know…I am terrible but that was my thought. My second thought was that this cloth is like the Mr. Clean sponge and laden with formaldehyde and harsh chemicals.

When I received the Ultimate Cloth I put it to the test.

The first item on the list of benefits was “Guaranteed…never streak Windows, Mirrors or Glass.”

Fabulous! Let’s take a gander. So my children sit near a window in their high chairs, that window is the victim of many drive by foodings….lots of concrete applesauce and what have you accumulates throughout the day and quite literally I can spend hours scrubbing and then cleaning to obtain streak free windows. DAILY.

I was PLEASANTLY surprised to see that upon wetting the Ultimate Cloth and wringing the water from it that I truly did get a streak free shine as well as remove the drive by foodings. Amazing! Okay, so could it stand up to THE DOORS. Yes, my French doors. The doors that have received many a grubby hands, muddy feet and hands and slobbery dog faces smooshing on this door. AMAZING! Seriously the schmegma, gone. Just sa bit of extra elbow work into the cleaning and the French doors are now sparkling clean.

The secret is the Mira-Fiber technology. I was skeptical, as usual. Chemicals had to be in this product. Somewhere. Somehow. No way could this smooth cloth be so rough and durable. No way this cloth could take a beating around the house, be bleached, washed, used and repeat all over again and still not be in shreds.

I then put this bad boy to the true test of cleaning in the domicile of The Five Fish…..THE STAINLESS STEEL. If you have true stainless steel in your home you know what a PAIN the stainless is to keep, quite literally, stainless. Finger smudges are the worst along with the ugly black dust build-up. Stainless is only clean and steak free when using the stainless steel cleaner right? Nope. I used the Ultimate Cloth and again, extremely happy that I had a STREAK FREE appliance on my hands.

Now keep in mind. You must rinse after each use and wring in order to achieve maximum results.

The Ultimate Cloth is a great, green alternative to harsh chemicals and cleaners. I keep mine in the kitchen at all times for spills, little wipe downs, and tough scrubbings. What’s great….they offer a money back guarantee on this product and a FIVE year warranty. Who offers those kind of benefits. Not to mention the green benefit of washing and BLEACHING this product for use over and over again.

Want one for yourself? Or hey maybe as a great stocking stuffer? The Ultimate Cloth generally sells for $6 but for a limited time you can take advantage of this great offer and pay just $0.01 plus s/h for this fabulous cleaner! Limit one at that price, but hey….for the price you could order another as a gift or for yourself, or a friend! Order one now!

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Graine de Vie SEED Body Care & Giveaway

Some of you may know I am very particular about my body care. I truly like products that I can read and understand the name of the ingredients, not some laboratory name that requires a kindergarten phonetic to pronounce the words. I recently had the opportunity to review SEED Body Care courtesy of Buzz Cooperative.

Graine de Vie SEED Body Care is co-founded by Rebecca Gournay in an effort to find a detoxifying and healthy alternative lifestyle when she was on her quest to conceive a child. During her research she and her husband began discussing the health benefits of wine and of course grape seeds. One day Rebecca came upon a spa product made with grape seed and the rest is history. Grape seed is packed with powerful antioxidants, Vitamin E, and beneficial essential fatty acids, ingredients shown to promote healthy skin and help prevent premature aging.

The full size products I reviewed were the grape seed enriched conditioning hair shampoo bar, grape seed enriched moisturizing body soap and the grape seed enriched moisturizing body lotion. When I received the products I immediately tore into all of them, I wanted to know how they smelled. I have a thing for the way items smell. I was in heaven. The body soap and lotion each have a wonderful citrus scent, very true to the smell of grape seed oil and or grapefruit. The shampoo bar had a tinge of scent even though it was the unscented bar.

I showered with each of the cleansing products and overall here is how they stacked up for me:

Shampoo Bar
I can honestly say that I was overly excited about the shampoo bar until I finished using it the first time. My hair felt almost stripped and very unmanageable. I chalked up the results as just the products initial use and that after styling and drying my hair would be easier to manage. I was highly disappointed that the result was not to my liking and my hair still felt brittle, dry, unmanageable, and I quite literally had an afro after the initial use. I even made sure to use when I was on my four day stretch of no wash days to ensure maximum results. I firmly believe in washing your hair only once or twice a week, so I was disappointed. However, the shampoo bar is wonderful for my son and husband who each have very short hair. I will say that the lather and bubbly are fantastic, a smooth creamy lather and not too bubbly but enough for my personal liking. The conditioning quality was less than I had expected, but again, could be the product was not jiving with my hair as I have very fine, thick, dry hair.

Body Bar
I love the body bar and the exfoliating seeds. I quite literally used this bar until only a smidge was left. Again the creamy, bubbly, and lather are excellent, but the bar is a bit drying. I noticed the primary ingredient is sodium palmate and sodium cocoate which is a palm and coconut based oil which tends to be on the drying side however, palm is EXCELLENT for lather and cleansing and coconut is excellent for creating a nice hard bar of soap. So all in all I felt wonderfully clean but a bit dry.

Body Lotion
Now, the lotion is F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S!!! I love the smooth, creamy, almost silky feel to the lotion. Very nice when applied after the use of the body bar, they definitely compliment one another if your skin is a bit on the dry side after use. The fragrance is a light citrus, invigorating, awakens your sense of smell and is just a wonderful feeling on your skin.

All of the SEED Body Care products are paraben free, preservative free, and contain no artificial colors or animal products, a truly vegan experience.

You now have the opportunity to experience SEED for yourself here is how:

Mandatory entry:
Go to the SEED website and tell me which products you would like to try because you are getting THREE full size products to win yourself!

 Extra entries:

  • Fan SEED on Facebook
  • Fan The Fish on Facebook (to your right)
  • Follow my blog and tell me you do (again, stage right)
  • Follow me on Twitter, tell me you do
  • Tweet this giveaway using @KariewithaK & #seedbody so I can see your Tweets and give you credit
CONTEST ENDS DECEMBER 17TH 
@ 3:00PM ARIZONA TIME. 
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Egg Nog French Toast and Pancakes Recipe

I decided I needed to get all of these fabulous homemade recipes out of me brain and ready to share with you all and ’tis the season for some FABULOUS cooking and recipes. However, I will never share my secret to the perfect pecan pie….that recipe will probably die with me, I know MANY gluttons who would kill for the recipe.

But for the gluttons in all of us and especially those who pine over the great beverage that is egg nog, this recipe is for you and is a GREAT and easy recipe to be enjoyed by the entire family, especially on Christmas morning.

eggnog pancakes, egg nog
Egg Nog Pancakes & Egg Nog French Toast

For pancakes:

2c. Bisquick or my organic recipe
1 1/2 c. Egg nog
1 egg
1T milk
3t. cinnamon or nutmeg (for extra kick and the taste is DIVINE!)

Lightly beat egg, add eggnog and slowly add and stir in the Bisquick and spice. Mix until a creamy batter is reached. Pour onto medium heat griddle. Recipe should yield 18 pancakes

French Toast:

2 eggs whipped
1/2c Egg Nog
2T milk
2T Cinnamon
1T Splenda or 1.5 tsp Stevia (since the egg nog is rather sweet)
10 slices of bread

Mix together all wet and dry ingredients in bowl. Slowly dip in bread as to coat each side with egg and cinnamon mix, cook over medium heat in pan until a golden brown. Serve with powdered sugar or with butter and syrup. The taste is truly rich and the spices are enhanced by the egg nog.

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Crafting and Scrapbooking Not Just for Girls

Who says that you have to be a girl to enjoy scrapbooking? How about crafts? I say no. In fact, my boy, Big G says NO as well. We (well especially me) were thrilled to receive a promotional copy of a “This Is Me” book from Carrie Lundell, owner of This Is Me Journal.

What is “This Is Me?” The journal is your child’s first keepsake journal, albeit a scarpbook of sorts for them. The pages are preloaded and designed for them to fill in. The journal allows them to share snapshots of their lives in the book. From personal drawings and simple memoirs to sharing events and thoughts.

Grant was not sure at first what to think about the book. Once I explained what the book is and what it is meant to be to him and to us he made a point to work on it everyday, or at least everyday that he didn’t have homework. My heart is warmed to see him take such pride in something that is all about him, a book that he will share with him family about his childhood.

Here is what my boy took the liberty to fill out about himself in the preloaded pages:

 

The cover is his self-portrait that he is still working on coloring and the second is a list of his favorite things.
I tried very hard not to laugh in PURE joy at this because if you look, his favorite song is by Linkin Park, his favorite movie is Transformers and the best part about being six is his Wii.
MAN! Why did we ever want to grow up!? Being a kid totally rocks!
What else…my boy today came with me to a Stampin’ Up workshop in partnership with Build-A-Bear.
I knew he would be excited because the event had Build-A-Bear but I was so pleased that he enjoyed the crafts as much as I did. Here is what my little artist did today while I worked on some Stampin’ Up projects with my fabulous host Jan McClurg and her invitees:
Like I said, who says you have to be a girl to do crafts and scrapbooking. My son did a magnificent job on his crayon tin with his Build-A-Bear stamping cards and his Build-A-Bear cut out Santa.
For more fun stuff for your kids be sure to check out the This Is Me journal site. What a wonderful gift to give your child anytime of year for them to share all the wonderful qualities of being an individual.
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Gifts for Kids: Belles Bowtique

bellesbotique.com, tutus, bowsBlessed be are little girls. Any mother who says “I am happy with all boys” have not experienced the joy, rapture, love, and excitement that is all girl. I used to be an all boy fan, only because hey….no temper tantrums, fits, boyfriends, bows, dress-up, make-up. Do you know how boring life would be without all the aforementioned?

My Little Bitty is just awesome, not only because she is my daughter but she is a truly magical creature and very much a girlie girl. She loves everything pink (I promise! She wears my pink peep toe Dior pumps), bows, hats, and of course, her new tutu.

What is a little girl’s wardrobe without a tutu?!

 

karie herring, thefivefish.com

For Christmas why not give your little girl, daughter, grand-daughter or niece the gift of her very own tutu. I was so pleased when we were granted the special opportunity to receive our very own handmade tutu from Belles Bowtique. A stunning, hand crafted “hot pink” (fuschia) and pale pink tutu for my little girl to prance around, spin, dance, and to feel just like a princess. Sara even received a baby soft crocheted beanie with a “Daddy’s Little Girl” bow.

She loves her hat….if only she could wear it long enough for me to take a picture. I was lucky enough to catch her with the tutu and take a golden photo of her posing. Every princess needs a tutu and what fun she and I had playing around with her tutu. Her beanie comes in handy too because the weather has been chilly lately in Arizona and with what little baby fine hair she has the hat keeps her sweet little head warm.

But Belle’s Bowtique has goodies like tutus, beanies, girl’s clothing, personalized tooth fairy pillows, jewelry for girls and moms! So for a one stop shop for your little princess (and even the queen) spend some love at Belle’s Bowtique.

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Introducing Bare Skin

How many of you are familiar with Leslie Blodgett? Okay better yet how many are familiar with the now house hold name, mineral make-up of Bare Escentuals? That is more like it as I see your virtual head nods.

Well since Leslie has become synonymous as a household name in beauty she is at her finest again with the creation of a limited edition fragrance available only at Sephora. The Leslie Blodgett Perfume diaries was inspired by Leslie’s own pivotal life experiences that she has chronicled in a journal since she was a young girl.

Her first fragrance in the line is Bare Skin, which was released in October. I received a sample of the fragrance to review and I tell you the scent is intoxicating. I am a HUGE fanatic about perfume and have very distinct tastes; Ralph Lauren – Lauren, Glamorous, Carolina Herrerra, Michael Kors – Black, Chanel No. 5, I like gentle scents that emit feeling, that fit my personality, that create a mood and Bare Skin is a personality fragrance that suits my relaxing spirit, is feminine without too much musk or sandalwood.

The scent has hits of tropical notes that are complimented by the sandalwood (if I am smelling correctly), a hint of vanilla, a fragrance that takes me to a place where I feel warm, sensuous, and very feminine.

Leslie confirms my personal opinion by stating that “When I have an experience, I like to have a scent behind it. Bare Skin, which is what Mexico reminds me of, is the way you feel when the sun is beating down on you during the day, but then you go out at night and you’re still sizzling from the warmth of the day which mingles with the night air and the music.”  (Leslie Blodgett Perfume Diaries, 2009)

The perfumer who worked with Leslie and concocted Bare Skin says “Glowing, sun-kissed skin has the power to turn heads. I wanted to recreate that attractive force with notes that draw you in: creamy sensuality, caressing florals and uninhibited musk” (Leslie Blodgett Perfume Diaries, 2009).

Now where can you get a hold of Bare Skin? Exclusively at Sephora and Sephora.com, Bare Skin is available in a variety of fragrance offerings with the Eau de parfum (perfume), perfume compact, and body cream.
The parfum retails for $30-$55 per bottle, the perfume compact retails for $35 and the body cream retails for $30. You can buy the entire collection for $100 and bask in the warm scent of Bare Skin.

Are you a huge fan of Leslie’s too? Be sure to Fan her on Facebook, follow her on Twitter and keep an eye out for more of Leslie’s beautiful creations.