Product Review: Paper Mate Flair Felt Tip Pens, Medium Point (0.7mm), Black, 2 Count

 

They are perfect for things like signing cards, marking events on calendars, etc. Basically, it is good for anything that you may want to use something darker and thicker than a ballpoint pen on, but not as thick as a "regular" Sharpie or a wide marker that has a lot of bleed through.

Product Review: Industrial Grade Paint Stir Stick

 

This is great as a reusable paint stirrer if you are painting with different colors (such as painting an accent wall). Unlike the wooden stirrers, you can easily wash this off, or peel the dried paint off, and use it again. It definitely comes in handy if you are doing a lot of painting with different colors.

Product Review: 10x6 3-Way Wall Register

 

I recently finished my basement, and the old ceiling registers that were likely original to my townhouse, which was built in the early 1970s looked old and grungy. I definitely did not want to put the old ones back on in what was essentially a brand-new room, so I got these as replacements. As long as you measure the duct correctly these fit perfectly and are very easy to install, and are an easy way to spruce up a room.

Product Review: Cuisinart CPT-320P1 Compact 2-Slice Toaster

 

This is a very good toaster. It is definitely an upgrade from the cheap plastic toasters you can get at the grocery store. Once you find the setting you like on the dial for how toasted you want your bread, it does it perfectly all the time. And, it has a warming feature that will warm your toast up again without toasting it any longer. So, if you toast your bread but do not eat it right away for some reason, you can warm it back up without risking burning it. And, it has a bagel setting for thicker slices of bread, as well as a crumb tray that pulls out completely (as opposed to a door that opens and dumps crumbs all over the counter). While it is not ultra high-end, I definitely recommend it if you are looking for an intermediately-priced toaster.

Product Review: Glacier Bay Irena 4" Bathroom Faucet

 

My old bathroom faucet, which was probably original to when my townhouse was built in the early 1970s started leaking and needed to be replaced. I went with this due to the low price, and so far, I am satisfied with it. It is sturdy and outputs a good stream of water. The model I have comes with a drain plug that you push down to fill the sink and does not have a pull on the back of the faucet spout.  The handles turn toward the front to turn the water on and then back to the side to turn it off. I feel that the handles are very sturdy and, as long as you do not crank on them with a lot more force than normal, it does not seem that they will somehow break. It is a decent-looking faucet but is certainly not as fancy-looking as the more expensive models out there. But, if you are looking for a good, inexpensive faucet, this is a good option.

Workout Update: 645 and XB Stretch Hybrid - Day 63

Day 63 was the first Phase 3 cardio workout in 645, which was supposed to be yesterday's workout, but as I explained in the prior post, I was not up to it after a long day. But, I got back on track and did it today. It was tough and tiring. As has been the case with all of the Phase 3 workouts so far, this one mixes new moves with things that have been done in prior workouts. On the whole, there are a lot more jumping/plyometric exercises in this one and I definitely got more winded. Even so, it was a good workout and the cast was pretty funny including some good banter with Amolia. 

Workout Update: 645 and XB Stretch Hybrid - Day 62

For Day 62 I switched things up. It normally would have been Cardio in 645, however, I was installing a new garage door opener, which, even with help is, to quote Buffy The Vampire Slayer, "a job of work." By the time we were done, I was exhausted and then had to go to a birthday party. Needless to say, by the time I got home and had time to work out, I was not feeling 45 minutes of cardio, so I did the Realign routine in XB. Even doing that routine was tough, but I got through it.

Product Review: LED Edison Light Bulbs

 

I got these for new pendant lights to go over my kitchen island. They look great and throw a lot of light. If you like the look of Edison bulbs, these are definitely great looking. And, because they are LED bulbs, they will likely last a lot longer than traditional filament bulbs.

Product Review: 4K HDMI Cable 10 ft - Atevon High Speed 18Gbps HDMI 2.0 Cable

 

When I remodeled my townhouse I switched out my old wood-burning fireplace with a gas fireplace. I decided to mount my TV above the fireplace on the drywall bump out where the gas insert is mounted. I got this to run through the drywall from the side of the bump-out to the front where the TV is mounted so I did not have to run a cable down the wall and around the corner to plug it into a Roku or blu-ray player. The cable is a perfect length to go through the wall and has enough length on either end to easily reach the HDMI ports on the TV and place a device at the other end where you want it. So, if you are looking to do something like that, I highly recommend this cable.

Product Review: Shur-Line 6620 9" Premium Grip Paint Roller Frame

 

This is a very solid, and well-put-together paint roller. It is much better than some of the cheaper rollers out there. It holds the roller brushes on well, and I have had no issue with them sliding around. My only complaint, and what knocks it down a star for me, is that when you attach it to an extension pole, as you paint it unscrews itself and becomes loose, so you keep having to tighten it to the pole. That can be a pain when painting elevated areas like vaulted walls. Aside from that, however, if you are just holding onto it and not using it on a pole, this is absolutely worth the price.

Product Review: Emliviar Mini Pendant Light

 

I got two of these when I had my kitchen remodeled back in 2020 to put over the newly installed kitchen island. I was looking initially at a slightly different light which was sold out and decided to go with these. I am not sure how easy they were to install, I had an electrician install them, but he did not seem to have any issues and had them up in about 10 minutes per light if that. I used LED Edison bulbs in them which look awesome in the fixture. Everything was well packed and nothing was broken in either of the lights I received. I am definitely happy with the purchase and highly recommend these if you are looking for nice-looking, affordable, pendant lights.

Product Review: Filtrete 16x25x1 Air Filter, MPR 300, MERV 5 Basic Dust 3-Month Pleated 1-Inch Air Filters

 

I had an older furnace (about 20 years old, give or take) that could not handle one of the heavy-duty filters. These are perfect as basic filters that I can replace every 1-3 months and are not prohibitively expensive. Even though I now have a newer furnace, these do keep it from getting too dusty and dirty (that and regular yearly maintenance), which is really the point of the air filters. 

Product Review: RIYCUOWT Damaged Screw Extractor

 

I got this because I had three braces for large floating shelves that had screws with stripped heads in them. I was able to use these to get some, but not all, of them out. If the head is damaged too much, these will not get them out. But, if they are not, these work as advertised. It is important that you have the drill in reverse at all times when you are using these otherwise it will not work to get the screws out.

Product Review: Ropeless Jump Rope

 

I got this because I do a lot of the Beachbody workouts (as anyone who reads this blog knows), including ones like Insanity: Asylum which uses a jump rope in some of the workouts. But, my basement has low ceilings, so it is difficult to jump rope exercises down there. Plus, I was never super coordinated with a jump rope even when I was a kid, and that has not gotten better as an adult. This allows me to do the moves without having to worry about tripping over the rope, or the rope hitting the ceiling. The ends are weighted enough that it mimics the feel of swinging a jump rope, but not so much that it gets your arms or shoulders too tired. I definitely recommend this.

Product Review: FLEXISPOT EN1 Height Adjustable Standing Desk

 

I got this to use in an office corner of my renovated basement since I am stuck working from home due to COVID-19. A couple of things to note about putting it together. First, as it says on the product page, this will come in two boxes. One with the pieces for the frame, and one with the desktop. I got the frame first (on a Tuesday), then got the desktop the following Monday. So, you will not be able to assemble the entire thing right away. Second, you will need two people to assemble the frame because the legs are too heavy to hold up with one hand while screwing on the part that holds the crossbar. Third, you will need a drill and/or electric screwdriver to put this together. An electric screwdriver makes it easier to screw the base to the tabletop (and the power box and lift controller to the tabletop). The former you need because there are not pre-drilled holes for all the spots that need screws. For me, the hardest thing about putting it together was aligning the base with the holes on the tabletop that you need to screw the legs to the table. Unless you are very lucky you will have to adjust the crossbar after you put the base together when you are screwing it to the tabletop. You also need to be very careful when connecting the piece that turns when the motor engages not to turn the motor winch too much when you are tightening the bar (it will make sense in the instructions).

Overall, the instructions are written better than most for these types of put it together yourself furniture pieces. You do have to look at the pictures to see exactly how things should be aligned, but it is not too hard, even if you are not very handy or much of a DIYer. The desk is very heavy and sturdy once put together and does not feel flimsy like a lot of things you have to assemble. You can move it up and down using the arrows on the control box, or you can program up to three heights using programmable buttons. So far, I am very satisfied with it and would absolutely recommend it.

Product Review: FROGTAPE 280222 Delicate Surface Painter's Tape with PaintBlock

 

I used this to tape around door frames so I could paint the walls around the doors (which had also been painted along with the frames). I specifically used the tape for delicate surfaces because the door frames had been newly painted. When taking this off, some of the paint did come off the doors. The tape would remove fine, then pull a bunch of the paint from the door off, then be fine again. so, needless to say, the door frames needed touching up again. And, the tape did allow some amount of bleed-through in some spots. So, it does not work as advertised, at least in some situations.

Product Review: Shur-Line 06100 Gallon Can Paint Pourer

 

This is a pour spout that fits a one-gallon paint can perfectly, makes pouring the paint into a tray a whole lot easier, and avoids causing a huge mess with paint dripping down the side of the can. When the paint on the pourer dries you can just peel it off and reuse it. I definitely recommend it.

Product Review: Mr. Longarm 4.9 in. W x 4.4 in. L White Foam Applicator

 

I have a townhouse with a lot of vaulted ceilings and painted most of the rooms a couple of years ago. This definitely helps with edging at the top of the vaulted walls. It would work even better if I did not have popcorn ceilings in some of the rooms, so right at the very top, I had to have a professional go up there with a brush to finish. But for the edges that were not against the popcorn ceilings, this gave awesome coverage, much better than a roller, and allows you to do a lot of painting before it wears out (which you will know has happened when it starts peeling away from the backing). I definitely recommend it.

Product Review: ALLWAY GPS5 Paint Pouring Spout for 5-Gallon Containers

 

I renovated my townhouse back in 2020, which included painting most of the rooms. Thus, I purchased a couple of 5-gallon buckets of paint. Of course, those are very heavy and hard to pour paint from. This makes it much easier to pour from the buckets, regardless of whether they have the tab you pull out or the cap you unscrew. If your bucket has the former, you can separate the "inner portion" which is the pour spout itself, from the base, and just push that into the hole after you pull the tab out. If it is the latter, you simply unscrew the cap on the bucket, and screw the base with the spout in it, on the same threads. It definitely helps keep paint from getting everywhere or pouring out too fast from the bucket. I definitely recommend this.

Product Review: Mr. LongArm Trim Smart Paint Edger

 

When I was renovating my townhome back in 2020, I was doing a lot of painting, including painting vaulted ceilings. This definitely came in very handy to do the edge work. And, it gets a nice coating of paint, much better than a lot of brushes and rollers. The contractors that I used who helped with some of the painting also really love these. The only drawback is that it is hard to keep paint off the wheels, so it is almost impossible to keep all the paint from getting on the connecting wall to the one you are edging, but that is really only an issue if you are going to do an accent wall. Otherwise, these are wonderful.

Product Review: Fitbit Alta HR Charging Cable

 

The charger for the Alta and Alta HR will likely break down eventually and they are not like other charging cables that use a mico-USB connection. This charger has prongs that have to connect to the back of the Alta HR, that do break off or lose a good connection over time. This is the official Fitbit cable and is a bit more expensive than the knockoff cables, but I have seen reviews of some of the cheaper cables that cause the units to go haywire. And, Fitbit is very particular about what they will not warranty and what will void the warranty on the Fitbit, so it is best to use their cable.

Food Review: Marie Callender's Tender Ginger Beef and Broccoli Bowl

 

While it is not as good (in my opinion anyway) as an order of Beef with Broccoli from a restaurant (especially a good Vietnamese restaurant), you get a good amount of food in the bowl, it is filling, and it is not just all rice. Most of the meat is tender, although I have, from time to time, had one with a piece or two of the beef which is quite tough. But, I have probably had around 10 of these, and that is a rarity. You get a decent amount of protein per serving but it does, like pretty much all frozen dinners, have quite a bit of sodium.  It is definitely one that I would recommend.

Product Review: mDesign Plastic Tea Bag Divided Storage Organizer

 

I have a large box of green tea that I purchased at one of the warehouse clubs. The box from the store was huge and took up a lot of room, this is a much better option for storing the tea bags. It is large enough to store all the tea bags, and can easily be placed at the front of a cupboard or pantry for easy access. If the tea bags are larger, you may have to put them into the separations at an angle as there is no way to adjust the size of the inner portions that form the separate boxes. You could also use these for craft supplies, however the lid is not locking, so if you accidentally dropped it, or it fell from a shelf, whatever you put in it would go everywhere. But, this is a great option to hold individual tea bags.

Product Review: Treehouse by Natureclean Nature Clean Liquid Hand Soap

 

It is a good size and is available as a subscribe and save item on Amazon, which is nice (when it is available). The only complaint I have is that it has a very strong, almost overpowering, citrus smell. It does not linger on your hands after you rinse them off, so it is not a huge drawback, but it could be toned down a lot.

Product Review: Decor Grates ST410 Classic Collection Décor Design Painted, 4x10 Inches, Floor Register

 

A couple of years ago I replaced the white carpet in my master bedroom with dark engineered hardwood. While renovating the rest of my townhouse, I was looking for new vent covers to match new flooring that was going in other areas of the house, and I came across this which is a perfect match to the flooring in the master bedroom. There is no fancy installation (just make sure you confirm the size of the duct before you purchase), just take the old vent out and put this in. The outside is metal, but the inner part, including the vent flaps, is plastic. The benefit is that they are much easier to open and close than the flaps on the old metal vents, but some people on Amazon have issues with the plastic part partially melting and warping when they turn on the heat. I installed these in the summer, but have used them for a couple of winters. They still open and close just fine and the plastic parts have not melted or warped at all. And, I live in a part of the country where it gets very cold in the winter, so the furnace runs a lot. They look great with the flooring in the room and are a great value for the price.