By Audrey van Petegem, Senior Editor

You’ve seen people of all ages wear these “rubber” bracelets, anklets and necklaces with holograms on them, and you knew it wasn’t just another Livestrong copycat. But what are these things? Well, let me tell you…

My son has been wearing a holographic necklace for years. Designed for surfers, he swears by Power Balance to help him with his balance in such sports as surfing, skimming, skateboarding, wakeboarding and snowboarding. The website explains how it works and it’s pretty straightforward: the body’s cells naturally generates electro-magnetic energy, which is essential for the body’s performance and well-being. The holographic technology is designed to resonate with this energy, creating a body that is more in harmony. This allows the body’s muscles to relax and the blood flow to increase.

After my nephew suffered a skateboarding accident and then, later the same year, broke his arm while snowboarding, I thought that a holographic bracelet might work for him. I bought him an EFX wristband (another of the brands that make these wearable holographic pieces) for Christmas. Since he was in a cast almost all winter he never did get on his snowboard again, but he never took his holographic wristband off. This summer, he tried wakeboarding for the first time. He could not believe how confident he felt and how easy he thought it was. Easy? He likes to credit EFX.

I now also wear a holographic bracelet all the time and have noticed a difference in my ability to stay up later at night and I sleep much more soundly. I also notice more strength and balance in my yoga practice. My son gave one to his grandmother for her birthday to help her balance and she wears it faithfully. Take a look at the EFX website to learn more about the technology and take a look at the balance test. We all took it and it does work that way.

Placebo effect? Snake oil? Maybe. And, I am not a scientist but I do know that I feel better wearing one of these holographic bracelets and so do three of my family members. I never take mine off. If you wear one, I would love to hear your story.

To see the full line by both companies, go to www.powerbalance.com and www.efxusa.com

It’s the beginning of the school year and many kids – as well as their parents – are dreading the return. Because of bullying.

Though the issue seems to have corrected itself in the last months of the last school year, my daughter was the subject of bullying and nasty rumors in the eighth grade. We had just moved to the area and she was one of a handful of new kids in the middle school of 800+. Not a “misfit” by any definition, being the “new kid” was still enough to make her a target.

The bullying and rumors started a couple of months within the school year. But I only started taking note that something was dreadfully wrong in December when my daughter was in a consistently somber mood and we noticed severe behavior change. Over time, she finally told us what was happening, of course forbidding us to talk to her teachers as she did not want to be seen as a tattletale. Still, the situation was serious enough that I called the school, who was completely ineffective in handling the problem. Eventually, my daughter’s assertiveness and rebuttal to her attackers made an her undesirable target. The bullies moved on. But, who was their next victim?

So, when the publicist of Jodee Blanco’s book, Please Stop Laughing at Me, offered to send a copy, I quickly said yes, eager to read about the author’s own story and see what recommendations she might have…

Read the full story »

I wrote an article last month about the Kyocera Ceramic Knives, that is truly the best knife I have ever used! I shared the article with the company and they generously offered a Santoku Knife (retails for $65.00) as a giveaway to our readers. Woot!

To enter, simply go to the Kyocera website (in the kitchen utensil section — Kyocera is also the manufacturer of printers and cellphones, among other things) and tell us which of the Santoku knife color you would pick and enter that as a comment here below. This giveaway is open until September 17, 2010 @ 11.59 am CST.

Usual giveaway rules are: One entry per person. The winner will be chosen at random using a random integer generator. Your information is confidential and used for this giveaway only. Multiple entries will be deleted. Winner who does not respond within 7 days will be dismissed in favor of another winner. Valid in US & Canada.

Good luck!

I’m far from being a techie. Tech stuff is just not that… succulent. But, given that we are more and more dependent on our computers, I thought I’d share a couple of geeky solutions that have spared me from much computer-related despair and hair-pulling.

A couple of months ago, I sensed that my two year old laptop was – prematurely- ready to call it quits. Usually, I give my laptops three years, but this one (I won’t mention the two-letter brand name) was not going to make it. I’m quite proud to have had the foresight – for once -  to avoid disaster by using an online (remote) backup solution. Sure, I have an external backup drive, but you think that I ever remember to backup? Never. And then, what happens if something happens to my backup dirve??? So, when I found out about Carbonite, it was like “Eureka”.

Carbonite automatically backups up all files on my computer: emails, photos, documents… The Carbonite program scans my computer to check for any new or updated files and backs them up automatically. There is nothing for me to do. The files are encrypted as they make their way to the Carbonite data center, so they are completely secure. There is a yearly fee of $54.95 which to me is completely worth it for the ease and peace of mind that it provides.

So when my computer did decide to give up, I was prepared. All I had to do was to access my Carbonite account and upload the files to my new computer.

Read the full story »

By Audrey van Petegem, Senior Editor

During the summer months, I inevitably put on some weight due to all the BBQ’s that we either host or are invited to. I eat way too many burgers and potato salad and, let’s not mention all the Bloody Caesars (a Canadian version of the Bloody Mary).

When I discovered ShaToBu (that’s short for SHAping, TOning and BUrning calories) I thought “This is just what I need!” According to the website, “ShaToBu shapes, tones and burns up to 12% more calories as women go about their daily activities. With regular wear, women can see and feel a difference in their bodies over time”.

I was pleasantly surprised with the fit. I could feel the resistance bands when I walked, but not so much that it was uncomfortable. When I wore it into town, running my usually errands and grocery shopping, it took a bit more effort to walk but it felt great knowing that I was burning more calories. The ShaToBu tagline “The Workout You Wear” is perfectly chosen.  When I getting dressed up to go out I used to wear Spanx, but now why not get an extra little “workout” while sipping my Chardonnay! I also decided to take it a little further and started to wear ShaToBu under my exercise pants when I work out. The “real” workout.

I’ve only had my ShaToBu for a couple of weeks and because of the summer clothes I wear (mainly bathing suits and cover-ups) I have not worn it as often as I would like and so  have not seen direct results just yet. The technology though, makes perfect sense. It’s all based on resistance as explained in this video. Simple. So, I am looking forward to the fall and cooler weather so that I can wear ShaToBu more often, under jeans and longer skirts. It will be great to get in an effortless, regular “workout” just by wearing this undergarment. I will definitely report back on how it is working for me.

Get more information or buy directly from the ShaToBu website or from Amazon.

I know that we are harping on a theme these days (here and here), but just as no one really, really, really – like, I mean, really – told me how having kids would change my life, no one has warned me of all the prep work that is required to send a kid off to college these days. Oy!

We got most of it done by now, including the dorm room shopping bit and that’s mostly thanks to this convenient solution called Alice.com. For those of you already using Alice, it’s a “duh!”, I know. For others who have not used it (yet), I raved about the service here and haven’t looked back since. So, my dorm room supplies solution is to order from Alice.com and have all the sundries shipped directly to my son’s dorm room. Brilliant, if I say so myself.

Here’s what I got:

• All toiletry duplicates (we want him to feel at home when he comes back, without having to bring a toiletry case to use in his own home) such as shampoo, body wash (would you be surprised if I told you that he is using Old Spice nowadays?), deodorant, toothpaste, etc…
• Laundry supplies: I love that I could find tiny packaging on the site. There is certainly no room to store the 50 oz bottles here. I like the Country Save laundry packets. Nice and small and convenient to bring down to the laundromat. I also like the GrabGreen 3-in-1 pre-measured pods which also contains fabric softener. I went for the pack of 24 on this one. Both product lines are green. Then let’s not forget the Tide To Go stain remover pen.
• Dishes and cleaning: I love Sun & Earth products which I discovered through Alice (wrote about them here). In this instance, I think that their trial size bottles are perfect for dorm room use. I got my son the dish liquid and the all purpose cleaner. Green and $0.89 each.
• First Aid: Alice has everything in this category. Pain relievers, bandages, antibiotic ointment, cough drops and the rest. But I also got this SymptomPak which is perfect to appease all potential flu-related ailments. Add chicken soup.
• Coffee & Tea: My son loves his coffee and was given a mini French coffee press which he is taking with him along with an electric kettle. I thus ordered ground coffee – and a variety of teas. Though Alice doesn’t sell sugar per se, they do carry sweeteners of various kinds, including Sun Crystal which is stevia and cane sugar based.
• General: one roll of paper towels, box of tissues, batteries…

That’s it. I think we are covered. I’ve added a few “luxury” items (like a fancy nut mix and shortbread cookies) to the order to surprise my son when he opens the box. It will be convenient to replenish any of these items via long distance and have the whole order delivered right to the residence hall. PHEW.

By Audrey van Petegem, Senior Editor

My friend Tammi told me about these eco-friendly Yubo lunchboxes that she bought for her two daughters. After checking out their website I could see what she was so excited about. Every year I would throw out my children’s old lunch boxes because they were so dirty and raggedy. It won’t be the case with these. The Yubo lunchboxes completely come apart to wash in the  dishwasher. They are also BPA free, antimicrobial and recyclable. They offer three different shapes of storage containers that can be mixed and matched, keep everything organized, so no more need for plastic bags. See all the great and well thought-out features here.

The best part for the kids is that they can change the face-plates whenever they get bored of their lunchbox. They can design their own or pick from a myriad of available designs.  I particularly love the faceplate that allows you to upload three of your own photos and write your own caption under each. What fun for them to show off their summer vacation pictures on their lunchbox.  Six months later upload your Christmas pictures for a new faceplate.  The possibilities are endless. To learn more about the Yubo Lunchbox and to order, go to the website at GetYubo.com. The list of retailers can be found here. Amazon sells them also.