Product Review: Pomi Tomatoes

First off, sorry about the lack of posting this week. Things got crazy all at once and I was just so overwhelmed by it all that honestly, even logging in to say I wouldn't be posting felt like a bit too much. But I'm back now, so let's not dwell on the past!

Instead, let's talk about delicious food.

I've discussed my concerns about tomato products here in the past--the quality control issues, and the issues with chemicals in canned tomatoes. So you can imagine how happy Mr. Scrimp and I were to find that our local Whole Foods and our local Italian/import grocery store both carry Pomi tomatoes.

Product Review: Yogi Tea Cold Season

This morning, when the alarm went off and Mr. Scrimp shook me awake, there was only one thought in my head:

Blllllllleeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrgggggggggghhhhhhhhhhh.

That is what I groaned into my pillow as I shoved my face in it and tried to hike the covers up over my head even as Mr. Scrimp insisted that I had to get up and start getting ready for the day. I whimpered. I pouted. I whined. I coughed pathetic little coughs. When the lights went on, I clutched my poor aching head and winced in pain like a hungover vampire.

I has the sick.

There is some illness that has been making the rounds amongst our friends. Mr. Scrimp was the most recent one to have it, and so it was only a matter of time before I, too, fell prey to it. I feel miserable. I'm still dragging myself to work, but I admit that I am doing it with bad grace, because my head hurts.

I started feeling sick yesterday morning, and so I made myself a cup of the tea that I'd bought for Mr. Scrimp when he got sick--Cold Season, by Yogi Tea.

First of all, this stuff is delicious. Delicious. It has a great blend of herbs and spices in it, including just enough black pepper to warm it up and give it a little kick without actually being spicy.

Second, it actually works. I am a big believer in medicinal herbs and this tea combines all the ones I otherwise would have had to take separately into one delicious beverage. I found it, mixed with a little honey, to be very soothing on the throat, and very relaxing to drink.

I recommend this stuff without caveat. It's excellent. I will warn you, though, that the Cold Season formula has valerian root in it, which is an herbal sedative. Some people are fine drinking that throughout the day, but some aren't. I drank some with my lunch yesterday and it knocked me right out. I fell asleep at work, in spite of my best efforts to stay awake.

That can also work to your benefit, though. Mr. Scrimp and I each drank some right before bed last night and both fell asleep almost as soon as our heads hit our pillows. No being kept awake by coughing, no lying awake feeling uncomfortable. Just warm, delicious sleep.

Drink some. I promise, it'll be great.. until the alarm goes off and you have to get out of your nice warm bed again.

Note: This is an unsolicited and unsponsored review, reflecting my opinion and experience only. I was not compensated in any way for providing it.

Product Review: Hot Prints Photobook

Last month, I found a website for a company called HotPrints that is running a year-long promotion--one free photo book per month, with free shipping, for twelve months. Crazy rad, right?

Figuring I had nothing to lose, I decided to go ahead and see what I could do with it. I uploaded some photos from our wedding and went to work.

The website itself was pretty easy to use. It took a while to upload enough photos to fill the book, but it was very simple once everything was uploaded--just a lot of clicking and dragging. There were a tolerable number of layout and design varieties, and I was pretty happy with the potential of my book when I finished.

Well, it got here a couple of days ago. I'd say it took maybe 3 weeks but I was silly and didn't actually record the exact interval.

All in all, I can't complain about something that was free. Still, I wasn't completely satisfied. Photos were smaller in the book than the preview made it look like they would be. The book was paperback, more like a 20-page comic book than anything else (slightly heavier paper). The print quality wasn't bad, but the photos did turn out a little dark, so if I do it again I'll have to be sure that I lighten my photos more than I think they need before uploading them.

The promotion is sponsored by advertising of course, so there was a full 2-page spread of ads printed in the middle of the book, although it's designed to be easily torn out. I have to admit, I didn't even look at it--just ripped it out and tossed it in the trash.

There are also ads on the outside back cover, which is of course a little harder to tear off and throw away.

I'll probably make another one or two of these, because hey, it's free, and you could put together a nice little collection of comic book-sized mini photo albums without much trouble.

Overall verdict? It's definitely not a service I would pay any significant quantity of money for, when there are much higher-quality services out there with better layout options and hardcover books. But, if you've got some photos that you want to put into a booklet without spending a ton of money and don't care about those things, you've got nothing to lose, really.

Note: This review represents my opinion only, and was not sponsored or paid for.