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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

Lots of kids young people have been dropped off at college already. Yikes. In mid-August? That’s early. Thank goodness, we still have another 10 days before our own drop-off. My son and I have still not crossed off most items on the door-room-basics shopping list.
I feel wholly unprepared for this stage in his life. As our oldest, he’s the first one to head to college and away from home. Though missing him will be the (my) largest issue ( I never expected to have a teenager I’d want to be around), getting him prepared for dorm life is a whole [...]

Just add water.
We might be a tad too old for the water paint coloring books but we can now get the same kick from walking in the rain with the mood-lifting Squidarella Umbrella. The umbrella, designed in London by Squiderella, is printed with a design that is then covered with a special ink. When the ink gets wet, it reveals the colors beneath it.

See it in action here:
I never thought I would ever look forward to heading out in the rain, but now…
You can buy the Squidarella umbrella online here. Works well for those who hate the rain and [...]

By Audrey van Petegem, Senior Editor
My girlfriend Lisa wanted me to head to IKEA with her to shop for dorm room necessities for her college bound son. As expected, we found some great items, all of them incredibly well priced. Here are some of our favorites:

DAVE computer table – This portable table adjusts at different angles and is great to use while lying on the bed  or sitting on the couch and working on the laptop. $17.99

JANSJO clamp-on LED lamp – Versatile lamp that can clamp on wherever you need it. Among other things, it’s  perfect for the DAVE [...]