Then there are our lights. Until recently we have been using standard light bulbs. We still have a few here and there, but we switched to CFL light bulbs in our living room and in the bedrooms. Then I read about an opportunity to review Infinity LED Ultra Series LED Light Bulbs. While CFL light bulbs are certainly energy efficient, LED light bulbs are even more efficient. And the Infinity LED Ultra Series LED Light Bulbs are certainly worth writing home about. Each of these specialty bulbs contains 88 small LED lights which are evenly distributed, and together put out 35,000+ continuous hours (that’s 4 years) worth of lighting. You can save up to 93% of your lighting costs per bulb when you use these bulbs.

Infinity LED Ultra Series LED Light Bulbs are available in two color temperatures – cool white, which is more of a blue light like what you would find in stores and medical offices; and warm white, which is more of a yellow light like what you would find in homes. While cool lighting can certainly have its place in homes (such as in bathrooms, kitchens, and garages), I’m a fan of warm lighting.
Then there’s the wattage – the 3W power consumption is equivalent to that of a 40W incandescent bulb, and would be appropriate for small rooms and reading lamps. The 4W power consumption is equivalent to that of a 60W incandescent bulb, and is perfect for living rooms, family rooms, and bedrooms.

We popped out our CFL light bulbs and replaced them with the Infinity LED Ultra Series LED Light Bulbs, and with the exception of brightness (our CFL light bulbs had a wattage equivalent to a 100W incandescent bulb), there’s no difference in the light temperature, its steadiness, and how well it comes through the lamp shades. Here are the before and after shots:

My husband and I are quite satisfied with the quality of the Infinity LED Ultra Series LED Light Bulbs, and we’re both excited to see how our electricity bill might change – especially once we replace all of the bulbs in our house with LED light bulbs. Yes, LED light bulbs are pricier than even CFL light bulbs (right now the 3W/40W equivalent LED light bulb is $15.75), but they are much more energy efficient, and are designed to last a lot longer – so it won’t be long until they pay for themselves!

Many thanks to CableOrganizer.com, your go-to site for cable management, for this excellent product review opportunity.

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Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Disclosure: CableOrganizer.com provided me with free products in exchange for my honest opinion.

So when I saw that Crane USA carried an extensive line of Adorable Humidifiers that include a Hello Kitty humidifier, I just knew we had to have it. We do have a humidifier in the house, but that’s one humidifier to be shared amongst three bedrooms, and with winter’s cold, dry air, the dry air produced by forced heat, and not to mention the numerous colds, bacterial infections, sinus infections and general bugs that will be making the rounds this winter and even early spring, it just makes sense to have more than one humidifier, rather than fight over one.

Humidifiers, in case you’re not familiar with them, are electric-powered devices that convert regular tap water into a warm or cool soothing steam. This steam can help with congestion, as well as dry, irritated skin – particularly the nose, nasal passages, and throat. When used at night, close to your sleeping area, a humidifier can ease your breathing and improve the quality of your sleep. If you’ve ever dealt with the misery of not being able to comfortably sleep due to being congested, then you’ll want the comfort and relief that a humidifier can provide.

The Hello Kitty humidifier features a 1 gallon water tank that can run for up to 24 hours, misting up to 2.1 gallons of water in a 24 hour period – and no inconvenient filter is required. In addition to providing enough humidity for a room that is up to 250 square feet, the Hello Kitty humidifier also has a night light function (perfect for a child’s room!), and has an auto-shutoff safety sensor. A dial on the front of the humidifier allows you to determine the output based on your needs, preferences, and room size.

This humidifier is the perfect addition to our daughter’s bedroom during the colder months. She has been sick a few times, including right before and right after Christmas, and the humidifier was a great help when she was dealing with a dry cough and a sore throat. The humidifier is indeed whisper-quiet, while providing more than enough vapor to humidify the room and provide comfort for my daughter; the night light feature is also a welcome addition, and one that she enjoyed.

The Hello Kitty humidifier retails for $49.99, and can be purchased here. You can purchase any of the other Adorable Humidifiers on Crane USA’s website; you can also use the Where To Buy section to find local retailers.

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Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Disclosure: Crane USA provided me with a free product in exchange for my honest opinion.

Well, I recently had the opportunity to get one, thanks to CSN Stores. The Fox Run Craftsmen Pancake Batter Dispenser is a very straightforward dispenser for pancake batter — and any other batter of similar consistency. Simply fill up the container, then pull up on the handle in order to pull up the plug that prevents batter from being dispensed. Release the handle once the appropriate amount of batter has been dispensed.

The dispenser works beautifully, and it’s a very worthwhile addition to my kitchen!

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Disclaimer: CSN Stores provided me with free products in exchange for my honest opinion.

Besides monitoring my calories and fat grams, I also like to know how much I’m eating. This is especially handy when it’s time for me to log my meals and snacks at My Fitness Pal. But sometimes it’s hard to calculate just how much I’ve eaten. How many grams is a bite? How many ounces is three pieces of my husband’s steak?

Thanks to EatSmart, calculating just how much I’m eating, or measuring out a certain number of grams or ounces of an ingredient for a meal or dessert recipe, will no longer be an issue. They recently sent me a Precision Pro Digital Kitchen Scale, a high-end digital scale that can be used to weigh foods.

Features include:

• Compact design, battery-operated
• 0.5 ounce graduation
• 11 lb/5 kg weight limit
• 4 measurement modes
• Tare feature

I look forward to using this in my kitchen and with my logs at MyFitnessPal.com. I look forward to posting a full review in a few weeks!

The Cuisinart Automatic Frozen Ice Cream and Sorbet Maker makes up to one and a half quarts worth of sorbets, frozen yogurts and ice creams conveniently and easily. Simply leave the double-insulated freezer bowl in your freezer so that it’s ready to go at all times, then stick it in the base of the appliance, add in the necessary ingredients, drop in the automatic mixing arm, slide the easy-lock transparent lid on everything, hit the On/Off switch, and you’re good to go!

In case you can’t tell, I decided to make cake batter ice cream, following this recipe (not shown: extra ingredient: sprinkles!). As I already outlined, using the Cuisinart Automatic Frozen Ice Cream and Sorbet Maker was incredibly easy. I combined all of the ingredients in a regular mixer, then pulled out and assembled the ice cream maker, poured in the ingredients, and let it churn away for about forty-five minutes. At that point it was too thick to be labeled a milkshake, but not thick enough to be called ice cream, so I covered the bowl with saran wrap and stuck it in the freezer for another hour. At that point it was ready to be devoured!

It was easy to pick out this particular ice cream maker from CSN Stores. Their 200+ sub-stores, amazingly organized selection of products via categories and further filtering/sorting options on category pages made narrowing down thousands of items to just a few hundred, then a few dozen, and then just a handful, until I found exactly what I was looking for. CSN Stores was quick to ship, and they kept me updated on my order progress every step of the way. I’d highly recommend them — and this ice cream maker — to anyone!

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

So, now I have the oh-so-sexy and glamorous Bissell ProHeat 2X Deep Cleaner! I wanted it after having the opportunity to use the Bissell Little Green ProHeat to clean a variety of stains from hairballs, spilled juice, a spilled Mexican dish, etc. What drew me to the Bissell ProHeat 2X Deep Cleaner is the simple fact that it heats up the water as it’s being used. The water temperature won’t go above 190°, but that’s more than enough to do a kick-ass job at cleaning carpets and other upholstery!

I used the carpet cleaner tonight to clean my kids’ bedrooms and the hallway outside of their bedroom, but I want to use it in our living room — which could definitely use some TLC — before forming a final opinion.

The Dirt Devil Scorpion Cordless Hand Vac charged up nicely enough, and is lightweight and easy to carry and maneuver, but it just doesn’t have the sucking power that the crumbs and dirt and general debris that gets into vehicle upholstery requires in order to get it all out! I spent about fifteen minutes vacuuming out my car, going over the same spots again and again and again, and when I finally finished there was still noticeable debris. Also, the opening at the end of the Scorpion is fairly narrow, so unless you line up the hand vac just right over areas, it won’t pick up anything. Ugh.

I won’t be taking the Dirt Devil Scorpion Cordless Hand Vac back to the store, but for two reasons only. First, it is adequate for doing a quick vacuum between and around sofa cushions; and second, I threw out the box it came in, and Target is a little picky about packaging.

Rating: 1 out of 5 stars