My first reviewer blog!

Let me start by saying I am a Stay-at-home-mother of two. I started reviewing products and joining focus groups for something to do while I'm at home, and of course for the free products! I decided to start this blog to basically keep track of all my reviews and share them with anyone who cares. I am not employed by any company, I simply sample stuff from them, and my opinions aren't bought, they are always honest. Companies pay me for my time in sampling their products WITH the products and occasionally points that add up to redeem for gift cards. I'm not really making any kind of income with this, I mostly do it because it's fun and I like free stuff!

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Okay so... so far today I have checked my sites for freebies and entered a few contests, but nothing really exciting. I will talk about a few recent exciting items I sampled though, starting with Purex' 3-in-1 laundry sheets.

I became a Purex Insider a month or so ago and they sent me a sample pack to try and review (there were enough sheets for about 5 loads I think) along with coupons for a free starter pack and cash off. I will say, I was iffy at first about how well this would work. Basically you toss one sheet in with your load of clothes and it has detergent and softener with it that is released at the right times. Then you simply switch the load, sheet and all, to the dryer when it's done and the sheet is then heat activated. Now, because it is heat activated, I only used this in a cold wash (I'm not sure if hot water would activate it or not, and it doesn't say anywhere on the product). I will say, it works! It smells great and my clothes were cling-free! I used all the sheets in my laundry until they were used up and I was impressed! I won't go as far to say that it works better than a combination of detergent, softener and dryer sheet. But it does work as well.

Which made me think, that's great! But how much is it? Well, I found the starter kit for $5.97 at Walmart (and used my free coupon). It does 20 loads (the refill packs do 24 for the same price). So for less than six bucks, getting all 3 products in one easy sheet, that's not bad! Typically I spend that on a bottle of detergent alone which does about the same amount of loads. Then I spend another $3 or so for dryer sheets, which last a few months. (I don't use softener).

So that got me thinking even more that I wish I had this when I used to live upstairs in an apartment and had to drag multiple loads of laundry, a heavy bottle of detergent and my toddler to the laundry mat. And I almost always forgot my sheets. This would have been the perfect product for those trips! And that got me thinking to college students, senior citizens, and well, anyone else who doesn't have a washer/dryer in their dwelling. Which makes this product pretty much amazing. 5 stars!

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My next review is for Repo! The Genetic Opera. Okay I'll admit, when I first heard the title I thought, "LAME". But after a few online friends raved about it, I had to check it out. I don't know why I waited as long as I did! This is seriously my new favorite musical of all times! (Topping out the previously tied Phantom of the Opera, Moulin Rouge and Sweeney Todd).

It's dark, gothic and of course, like all good musicals, tragic. Only instead of a tragic romance (which is there, but more of a subplot) this is a tragic father/daughter story. I laugher, I cried, I sang it for days afterwards. And I bought it. And, I plan to watch it again tonight with my sister and get her as hooked on it as I am. And, I'll probably even buy the soundtrack.

Well, so the premise of the movie is futuristic, and you know how when you don't pay for your car it is repossessed? Well, in this future, people buy organs; such as hearts, livers, etc., on credit. And when they default? The Repo Man cometh for them!

It is sooo good. I recommend it to all. 5 stars!

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And last but certainly not least, my latest book review, Un Lun Dun by China Mie'ville. The basic premise for the book is this, Un Lun Dun is a sort of mirror version of London, only weird. When umbrellas are broken or no longer of use, they go to Un Lun Dun, where they become unbrellas. And such is the way with all the world's trash. Sort of. There are also weird residents, crazy buildings, and even crazier ways of life.

Deeba and her best friend, Zanna, accidentally find themselves in Un Lun Dun. They meet strange new friends, find strange alternatives to their way of life, and oh yeah, find out Zanna is the Chosen one and fated to save Un Lun Dun from the all too smart Smog.

I found myself, for the first time ever, unable to put this down yet forcing myself to just because I wanted to savor it and digest it every few chapters. There is so much going on that it can get overwhelming, but in a good way. It just takes a minute (and occasional reread) to wrap your mind around some of the insane details that describe this crazy, new-aged Alice in Wonderland type tale. It is darker than AiW, though, and definitly more modern. It is also rich with good lessons and morals. Definitly a modern day fairy tale for the 8 up crowd. I passed it to my son when I was finished and insisted he start right away, it is that good! This book gets 5 stars from me and goes on my keep shelf. An instant classic! I hope they make a wacky-doodle movie out of it, too!