Eco-I-Lite

All of the appliances in my home are Energy Star compliant. In fact, the house itself has features built in that designate it as an Energy Star home. What better way to light an energy efficient Energy Star home than with Energy Star night lights. But wait, a night light that doubles as a flashlight? Get outta’ here. The Eco-I-Lite is a flashlight that doubles as a night light. During a power failure, the flashlight automatically turns on!

The Eco-I-Lite comes in a two-pack for thirty to forty dollars. Not an inexpensive price for small LED flashlights. When considering the price, the features should also be considered. The Eco-I-Lite produces light from six LED lights, which means no bulb replacement. The lithium ion batteries will remain charged for a long time and are rechargeable…so no batteries to purchase, either. The flashlights consume very little power because of the LED design, allowing them to provide constant light for up to seven hours after they are fully charged. Not bad at all.

Eco-I-Lite consists of a base-style charging unit that plugs into the wall. There are no exposed conductors on the base because the Eco-I-Lite uses induction charging. An interesting concept that was previously foreign to me. The flashlight simply sits in the base, recharging as necessary. The base has a small light connected which can act as a nightlight if turned on (with two levels of brightness). Regardless of whether the nightlight is on or off, the flashlight will automatically turn on if removed from the base or in the event of a power failure. That feature would make this light easy to locate when needed most.

The flashlight itself is extremely lightweight. The flashlight has three modes which are all activated from a single click switch. One click turns the unit on (or removing the unit from the base). The next click places the flashlight into strobe mode. A final click powers the unit off. The beam created by this flashlight is sufficient for indoor use on a limited basis. Outside, the light will create ambient type lighting without any concentration of light. If you were searching for something, the light would probably be useless. The flashlight does not have a bezel to help concentrate the light.

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Kellogg's Whole Grain Pop Tarts (Cinnamon)

Finding breakfast foods with the right combination of healthiness, ease of preparation and flavor can be a challenge. On most mornings, I begin my day with a protein shake. For a change of pace, I enjoy yogurt and a Kellogg’s Cinnamon Whole Wheat Pop Tarts. These pop tarts contain sugar, but are healthier than regular pop tarts.

Kellogg’s Cinnamon Whole Wheat Pop Tarts contains twenty percent of the daily recommended value of fiber (5 grams of the recommended 25). At 200 calories per serving, the 7 grams of fat amounts to 60 calories from fat or thirty percent, not a bad ratio. Most adult diets recommend a daily allowance of 60 to 65 grams of fat, so these 7 grams do not consume a very large chunk of the daily allowance. Other breakfast alternatives might equate to an entire days worth of fat. The 14 grams of sugar still make this a sweet breakfast product. Kellogg’s Cinnamon Whole Wheat Pop Tarts are healthier than donuts but still have room for improvement in terms of overall health value.

The nutritional information is important, but it really doesn’t matter if you don’t enjoy what you’re eating. Kellogg’s Cinnamon Whole Wheat Pop Tarts have an excellent flavor. I have tried the chocolate version and can attest to the fact that they taste like cardboard. The cinnamon flavor taste really good, with no noticeable difference in flavor from regular pop tarts.

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Dap Tub and Tile Caulk

My shower was constructed by my builder from cultured marble. Because it is not a shower kit or molded shower, every joint needs to be sealed with caulk to prevent leaking. The shower has a bench built in, which adds that many more seams to seal. Caulking a shower is not a difficult task, but it can be time consuming.

The first step in recaulking my shower was to remove the old caulk. There were areas that had already separated, but to get a good bond with the new caulk it is beneficial to remove all remnants of the old caulk. To aid in this process, I used Dap Caulk-Be-Gone and a Hyde caulk removal tool. The Caulk-Be-Gone runs about four dollars and comes out as a green colored foam. After allowing the foam to sit on the old caulk for about two hours, I used the removal tool to take out all remnants of the original caulking job.

The caulk I used for this job was Dap Kwik Seal Tub and Tile Adhesive. I purchased this product at Wal-Mart for about two dollars per tube. Dap has a good reputation that I trust, so I figured it was a good buy. It should have been a good-bye. This adhesive did not work well at all. After cleaning up the mess from the caulk removal, I dried the seams and applied a steady bead of Dap Kwik Seal Tub and Tile Adhesive to the joints. I smoothed and tamped down the new caulk with a Hyde application tool. The job looked good when it was finished. As an added precaution, I waited 24 hours before using the shower.

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Dap Caulk-Be-Gone

I recently went three rounds with my shower caulk. I was intent on caulking with DAP adhesive caulk which proved to be an inferior product. Each new application of caulk requires the thorough removal of prior applications to provide the new caulk job a clean smooth surface for application. In order to facilitate the caulking job, I employed the use of Dap Caulk-Be-Goneto assist in removing the old caulk. It proved to be a product superior to the Dap adhesive.

I purchased my Dap Caulk-Be-Gone at Home Depot for around four dollars. The product indicated that it was not recommended for use on plastic or fiberglass. It did not indicate that cultured marble was an issue, which is what I intended it to be used on. Following the recommendation, I tried some in an inconspicuous area of the shower to see if it would damage the finish. I was concerned about damaging the cultured marble because many of the cleaning agents for showers indicate that they should not be used on marble or cultured marble. My test area held up well.

I applied the Dap Caulk-Be-Gone over the top of the existing caulk. It comes out of the plastic squeeze tube in a thick greenish foam that adheres to the caulk. The product recommends allowing one to two hours to elapse for the latex caulk to soften to the point where it becomes tacky. After waiting two hours I tested the caulk and found it to be sticky enough to remove. With the assistance of a Hyde brand removal tool (a cheap plastic tool shaped to slightly penetrate a seam while scraping the side surfaces), I stripped away the old caulk. The greenish foam clumps together, binding slightly with the old caulk strip. Clean up and removal of the residue was quick and easy.

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Lysol Basin Tub & Tile Cleaner

I have searched high and low for decent cleaning products for use on cultured marble. Although cultured marble is not porous, most of the products I have checked indicate that they are not for use with marble or cultured marble. I have only found two that specifically indicate that they will not harm cultured marble. Method Tub and Tile is available at Lowe's home improvement store. This product smells good but does not work very well. A superior product is the hard to find Lysol Foaming Basin Tub & Tile Cleaner. Although not as pleasant to smell, the product works exceptionally well.

Lysol Foaming Basin Tub & Tile Cleaner comes in a 24 ounce aerosol can. The foaming spray is easy to apply. The foam makes the areas covered easily detectable to ensure proper saturation and thorough removal once it is applied. Although the fragrance is intended to make the smell of this product less repulsive, it follows the tradition of most Lysol products...masking strong chemical odors with light fragrance creating a somewhat less repugnant smell that can still be a bit harsh on the sinuses.


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Leinenkugel's Sunset Wheat

My beer tastes lean heavily towards the blond end of the spectrum. In terms of mainstream brews I like Michelob Ultra or Budweiser. The lighter beers tend to have a brighter flavor without the bitter acidic aftertaste that some of the darker brews leave. I have had tasted some nicely balanced beer of the darker variety but tend to be cautious in my experimentation.

I first tried Leinenkugels Sunset Wheat during Christmas. It was on tap at the local bar. I enjoyed it enough to make it my choice to join me for the Superbowl. I placed a couple of glasses in the freezer to get a nice chill on them before pouring the beer. With glass tilted, the beer poured nicely leaving a moderately sized head. The aroma was pleasant with hints of citrus. The wheat provided a nice amber straw color with a cloudy consistency. I garnished with a healthy slice of orange for added balance.

Although Leinenkugel’s Sunset Wheat has a darker color, the beer lacks the bitter aftertaste I dread. The flavor has a smooth balanced taste with citrus notes balanced by the thicker wheaty flavor. The flavors are a combination of wheat, pale malt, cluster hops and coriander. The coriander is not too spicy but balances nicely with the orange garnish. Leinenkugel’s Sunset Wheat avoids the headiness of other wheat beers I have sampled with a nice balance of spice, citrus and grain.

Leinenkugel’s Sunset Wheat is available year round. It is available on tap or through retailers like Wal-Mart, where I purchased a six-pack of long-neck bottles. The price is slightly more expensive than other beers that I like, but it was nice to experiment with a slightly gamier beer. The six-pack was around $7.50 placing it in the higher end for equivalent packaging of other brands.

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Scene It Movie Second Edition

Scene It! came highly recommended from a friend of mine. I have seen the game in the store and acknowledged that it looked like fun...but the thirty to forty dollar price tag has kept me scared away. After receiving a glowing recommendation of this game, I shelled out thirty dollars at Wal-Mart and went home with Scene It! Movie 2nd Edition. Although the price was a bit steep, the game has been fun to play...and you don't have to be a movie buff to be successful. There are elements of chance that help level the playing field. I'm not certain that this game is quite worth thirty dollars, but I don't regret spending the money.

Scene It! Movie 2nd Edition has a circular playing board that unfolds into a larger extended version. The playing area on the circular board looks a bit small...but this game takes longer to play than it looks. The extended board has several dozens spaces that you navigate using a six-sided die...so you could potentially finish the game in less than ten turns. But this game is not simple. The extended version normally takes me nearly an hour to complete. That is a decent game length...the shorter version can be played in less than half that time, which is a welcome option.

Younger players would be able to play this game but might struggle a bit with some of the questions. Some answers are given inside the video clips, which means you only have to pay attention, you don't necessarily need to know anything. But getting the answer within the movie clip questions doesn't mean the answer will be easy...for instance, there is a clip of Tom Hanks in Castaway calculating the number of square miles that the search teams will have to cover in order to find him. After completing a complicated mathematical equation, the clip ends and asks "how fast was the plane traveling when it crashed?" The answer was 475 miles per hour...but you would have had to listen close to get that one.

Scene It! Movie 2nd Edition facilitates up to four players (with a recommended age beginning at 13). The four mover pieces include a set of chatter teeth, a heart shaped box of chocolates, a racecar and a tombstone. There are two dice that can be tossed together. The six-sided die is numbered one through six and indicates the number of spaces you move if you answer correctly. The eight-sided die consists of symbols that indicate the type of challenge that must be completed in order to win. There is a DVD which contains video instructions, a timer and video clips for game play. The video choices include My Play and All Play options as well as a Final Cut challenge which must be used to win the game in the event that you don't win an All Play challenge upon reaching the end of the game board.

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