iBitz Activity Monitor for Parents and Kids - Product Review

There's been a lot of technical advances in the way that we track our activities and fitness in the past couple of years.  We have graduated from simple pedometers that you clipped on your belt into the realm of technology that you wear all the time and it tracks your steps, activity and even sleep.  Of course, this, along with other factors has lead to a push for a healthier society (which is good imho, as I think children spend too much time watching tv and not being active- which is partly in the fault of the parent!).  I have a Fitbit, as well as I have tried several other monitors as a tester and wear mine almost religiously (except for when I take it off to shower and one of my children makes off with it).  I find that it motivates me to get up and move, which is important since most of my ventures have me sitting down.  

Recently, my daughters teachers all started wearing pedometers and tracking their steps schoolwide.  The teachers all had a contest going on to see who could get the most steps.  This really encouraged my daughter to make sure that she was getting active and she kept asking me if I would buy her a Fitbit.  Not willing to spend that kind of money on something that she was more than likely to lose, I started doing research on buying just a simple pedometer but wasn't ready to buy anything for her yet.  

Then, as if by some cosmic force, I got an email from Best Buy asking if I would like to review a new brand of child/parent combo activity monitors.  Suh-weeeeeet!  Sure thing I said!  About a week later, my daughter got her wish PLUS a whole lot of fun to go with it!!   

What came in the mail was an ibitz Unity- Parent "wireless family fitness monitor" and an ibitz Powerkey Kids "wireless fitness monitor & game."

The adult version came in black and the kids is this neon orange that my daughter loves.  It is iPhone/iPod 5/iPad specific, so make sure that you have one or more of these devices before you get it.  I personally wish it were on Android, as most of the devices in my life are android powered.  We own one iPod and we're lucky it worked for the testing of this device.  It's very specific on which versions it will work with.  I hope in the future that they expand this to allow for android and perhaps even some older versions of ipods.  

The adult version tracks your steps, distance and calories and you can wear it on your hip or your shoe.  It seems pretty accurate.  The kids versions tracks steps, and then uses these steps to allow your children to "earn" game time and power their Geobotz character.  The app for the adult monitor is marketed as "a unified family app", and will sync multiple devices so you can monitor your children's progress.  

Pros: 

 The kids device is pretty awesome.  I love the idea of earning game time through physical movement and the games are ones that kids will love. Parents can set the goals and rewards for the child and even allow for rewards of screen time, adventures with parents or even coins and content on Disney's Club Penguin. 

I also love that it will sync with the parent app, though I'm not sure how it works in terms of distance as we only have the one ipod and I am unable to test syncing across multiple devices. 

It's pretty accurate and the colors are fun for kids (7 different colors, in fact!) rather than just black like the adult version.  

Comes with an extra battery (though gives you no indication as far as how long these batteries should last)

Low cost in comparison to other models, such as the Fitbit or Jawbone Up.

wirelessly syncs to your iOS Bluetooth 4.0® (BLE) phone or tablet

Water resistant.  (I don't need to say more. As a parent, this is important)

Cons:  

Apple only products.  (I really don't like it when companies do this... so limiting!)

No display to show your progress without a device handy (like I'm going to let my 7 year old take the ipod to school)

I wish it came with a band to wear as a bracelet or other form of attachment.  I just don't think children can resist messing with them.  (though that would probably also be true of a bracelet)

No GPS is included on the kids monitor, which would be useful if it was perhaps only used as a locator?

Overall, the concept is so cool and it is a great vision of what is to come in the future to help keep adults and kids (and whole families) active together!

The reviewer has been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free.

Garnier Olia Hair Color Review!

I recently had the pleasure of trying out a new hair coloring product from Garnier, called Olia.  It is an oil based hair color, that is supposed to be better on your hair than regular ammonia based dyes. 
I have to admit, when I first heard about this product I was not sure what to think about it being an oil based color. I wondered if it would work as well as the other hair colors that I have used in the past.

Before: My hair lacked body

I went shopping to get my Olia and was pleased by the selection of hair colors, quickly finding a dark brown that I thought would be nice.  I couldn't wait to get started!  When I first opened up the box, I found 4 containers- developer, color creme, a mixing bottle and conditioner. When I opened the developer to add it to the mixing bottle, I made a little bit of a mess. This made me wonder why the developer wasn't already in the mixing bottle like some other brands I had tried. A small matter, however, and I easily moved on.

 After I got everything mixed I started to apply the dye. It spread easily and I was most surprised that there was no strong odor like other dyes. It actually had a very pleasant smell! I tend to use my hands a lot to spread the dye and make sure that I get all of my hair, and after my gloved hands were wet, I found the mixing bottle a little difficult to hold onto because of its round shape.  The gloves were nice and thick, but I couldn't really see the hair dye on my hands because they were black.

 After application, I waited for the 30 minutes required and followed the rinsing instructions included. The conditioner had a nice smell, not overpowering like some. When I got out of the shower and dried my hair, at first I was disappointed. It did not look near as dark as it did on the box. I was a little worried that I would want to redye it later. I went about my business and came back about an hour later to see that it had developed to its full potential. This would have been something nice to know before I got really bummed out about it.I love the color now that it's fully developed!!

After: A huge improvement!!

 
The first day that I showed up to work after doing my Olia coloring, all of my coworkers were amazed.  Everyone thought the new color was great and they couldn't believe how nice and shiny my hair was.  Everyone wanted to know what salon I had gone to!  I just laughed and told them about my awesome Garnier Olia experience!  I think I definitely changed some minds, including mine!  Overall, the only complaint I have about the experience were packaging issues.  In the future, I might use a different bottle and my own gloves, but otherwise, it's a great product!

Can't you see the improvement?  It has a much nicer texture!

Disclosure: I received this product free to review as a BzzAgent, however, the opinions are all my own.  I will always give you an honest review!

My Pattern Experience: Summer Flies Shawl {knit pattern review}

If you're a regular reader of my blog, you'll remember my trip to Schaumburg, IL for Stitches Midwest this past August.  While there, I snagged some really cool yarns.  I went knowing I only wanted to buy yarn that I couldn't buy near me, and came home with this beautiful light sport weight yarn varying from white to dark blue.  I was very curious to see how it would work up, and started with this shawl pattern: Summer Flies Shawl.
I found it on ravelry one day and liked the way it laid, just as a collar piece, and I love it.  It was really fun to work up, with the varying pattern stripes, and the color just worked up beautifully!  I think the only thing that I would change for myself would be the way the end curls and ruffles.  I almost wish that it laid more flat.  I also probably would have gone up another needle size or two, as I like the looser look a little better and this worked up pretty tightly.  I think mine is actually a little smaller than the original. Overall, this is a great pattern, was fun to do, easy to understand and I love the way it came out!
I went back recently to discover that this pattern was no longer available for free, which is a major bummer!!  It's still a pretty good bargain at only $1.85, but if I had to pay for it when I made it, I probably wouldn't have made it and gone for something else.
I still love the pattern and would love to do it again :)

It's not quite Saturday, but lets talk Savings! {Deal Dash Review}

So I just found out about this site and wanted to share it with you.  Have you ever heard of a penny auction?  Penny auctions allow you to get items at a cost that is far below retail value, in a sort of cost share with the other bidders.

Well, this new site, called DealDash, has tons of great items, from cameras and tvs to gift cards to all your favorite retailers. You buy a bid pack from Deal Dash and then you can start bidding in the auctions. Each bid will cost you $0.60 and make the price go up by 1 penny. If you win you pay the final item price in addition to your bids. If you lose, you do not get your bids back, BUT (here's what makes DealDash different from all the other sites) you can use those bids toward buying the item at the "buy it now" price.

 I'm not hugely into auctions, because I don't like the feeling of losing, but it is something that I would try if I saw something I really wanted at a price I couldn't pass up. Why don't you check it out today and see what you think!

Deal Dash

Disclosure: I have received compensation for writing this post and review, however all the opinions enclosed are my own.