I love espresso, and this little baby makes a great cup. Here are a few points that might be useful for you to know:
Good points:
*It doesn't take up too much room on the counter and looks nice with it's silver metal accents.
*The water reservoir is a good size, you can make about 8-10 shots before you need to refill it, which is very easy to do, and there is a clear section behind the basket which shows the water level.
*Fast heat-up time (only about a minute), good frothing wand, no wait time between frothing and brewing (though you do have to wait a little between brewing and frothing).
Be warned:
*Frothing wand is only 3 1/4 inches from the counter top. Not a big deal, I just went and bought a frothing cup that is about that height.
*Distance from grounds basket to tray is only 2 1/2 inches, I usually use a small espresso cup.
*Built-in tamper sucks, buy a good metal one.
*You don't end up with a nice dry puck, the grounds basket is a watery soup after your espresso is made, so I dump it down the disposal.
*You will end up drinking more espresso than you mean to, it's that good!
Seriously, I chose this machine after a lot of online researching, and decided on this one based on its outstanding reviews and great price. What led me to it were the reviews of another DeLonghi, the EC140B, which is an older and less attractive model, but had reviews from people who had owned theirs for 6 and 10 years! I'm hoping that this one will have the same longevity.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Graco Sweet Slumber Sound Machine
Well I did a lot of research for white noise machines. The short of it is, I even stopped in to Brookstone to hear the $70 white noise machine. It wasn't near as loud as this one. But a few comments on this Graco.
-The noise can sound extremely loud or sometimes more quiet depending on the surroundings. It's loud enough for us, and when you first turn it on (highest volume) it sounds very loud. But after a short time, it sounds normal, or even like we could stand it louder. But it's been good.
-All the features are great, though we don't use many. Only white noise and night light
-There was some loose cheap parts that were making some rattling noises randomly. It was very noticeable and annoying. I put a rubber band around the unit vertically, and we haven't heard them sense. It was just cheap platics parts rubbing.
For the money, we're content with this product. It has it's pros and cons. The white noise is a little too deep for us. But all things considered, it's a very decent product compared to anything else on the market that I researched.
-The noise can sound extremely loud or sometimes more quiet depending on the surroundings. It's loud enough for us, and when you first turn it on (highest volume) it sounds very loud. But after a short time, it sounds normal, or even like we could stand it louder. But it's been good.
-All the features are great, though we don't use many. Only white noise and night light
-There was some loose cheap parts that were making some rattling noises randomly. It was very noticeable and annoying. I put a rubber band around the unit vertically, and we haven't heard them sense. It was just cheap platics parts rubbing.
For the money, we're content with this product. It has it's pros and cons. The white noise is a little too deep for us. But all things considered, it's a very decent product compared to anything else on the market that I researched.
Sony Bloggie Touch (MHS-TS20/B) - 8 GB, 4 Hours NEWEST MODEL
I've had this camera for about a week now and have been loving it ever since. I've used another "flip" camcorder and the Bloggie Touch puts it to shame.
Pros:
1. Love the quick on and record. Great for spontaneous videos of the little one.
2. The touch screen interface makes it both useful and fun to use the big screen.
3. The still pictures come out brilliant, when the lighting and focus is good.
4. The battery charges up super fast and stays with you for a whole day of shooting.
5. The image stabilization is good. You can take decent video while walking around and panning too. Note that it is not optical, but electronic SteadyShot stabilization.
6. The lens is very good quality and the pictures are crisp.
7. Really like the "snap picture while recording" feature. I find myself using that feature the most. The video doesn't stall while the picture (full 12M resolution) is being taken and since the focus and exposure are usually locked well while you're in the middle of the video, the pictures come out great.
Cons:
1. In low lighting, there is quite a bit of graininess and using the digital zoom makes it much worse.
2. While the lens is good quality, the auto-focus mechanism is really very slow. If you move around the camera too much before focus has locked on, the auto-focus will almost never lock.
3. What I really miss with this camera is a flash. Even a tiny one would help with low light pictures.
4. Minor annoyance: to preview a picture right after you take it, you have to go through at least two clicks. Sony could have designed it so that it always goes to the last picture taken by default, instead of the thumbnail list of all pictures/video on the device.
I decided to purchase this camera over a still camera that can do video because:
1. This one is dead simple. One button to turn on, one to take video and one to take stills. This makes it both easy and quick to use.
2. This one can do 1080p video and 720p at 60fps.
3. Its under $200 and is smaller than your phone.
4. Its got internal flash and USB connector - no more SD cards or cables. 8GB is enough to get you through the day before you can come back to your laptop to dump the pictures.
I decided to purchase this camera over other ones in the same category because:
1. Its got a big display and the touch screen is fun to use.
2. Its got a better lens system than the others.
3. Its got (some) image stabilization.
Monday, May 23, 2011
LeapFrog My Pal Scout
My daughter absolutely loves this little guy. And as a parent I am happy it is customiseable(though it was challenging to setup on my laptop)
Saturday, May 21, 2011
wow, parenting makes it hard to blog
but i am going to be better about posting something each day. so here is a picture at least
Friday, May 20, 2011
a solution to my need to work from home and be there for my babygirl!
Affiliate Marketing Software
Affiliate marketing software is the perfect solution to everyone's problems when it comes to keeping track of your income and your earning potential. Affiliate marketing is something that many people get involved with, but few people actually know how to manage it. The use of an affiliate marketing software can not only help you succeed in affiliate marketing, but can help you maximize your profits.
The affiliate marketing software that you choose will help show you which products and affiliate programs that you will be able to maximize your profits with. There are so many affiliate programs available that it can be incredibly difficult to decide which programs are the best programs to get involved with, and which ones will bring in the most money. Some affiliate programs will offer more money per click or a higher percentage per purchase, but the sales that result from that do not tend to be as high, which in turn hurts your profit.
The affiliate marketing software will take away all the guesswork involved with trying to decide which programs or products turn the most profit. They will supply you with reports that will allow you to see which ones have had the greatest amount of return for other people, so that you will be able to sign up for their program.
The affiliate marketing software is specifically built so that instead of signing up for every affiliate program out there which can make your website look jam packed with spam, and can draw attention away from the big money making marketing plans. You will be able to select the top earners, so that you maximize the amount of traffic that flows through these select marketing plans which in turn will earn you a much greater amount of money.
Most affiliate marketing software will not only help you select which specific affiliate programs that you should sign up for or get involved with, but will help you track your income as well. You will be able to see which programs are bringing in the greatest amount of money. Depending on the affiliate marketing software that you decide on, you will be able to receive affiliate marketing training so that you will be able to know how to design your website to help maximize profit. Most affiliate marketing software will allow you to set up everything you need to so that you will be able to maximize your profits. There are many affiliate marketing software programs that are available. It is surprising how much easier it will be to get started and begin making money rather quickly.
To learn more about affiliate marketing software that can put 5 figures a month in your pocket while you lazily do nothing at all, click here!
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Affiliate marketing software is the perfect solution to everyone's problems when it comes to keeping track of your income and your earning potential. Affiliate marketing is something that many people get involved with, but few people actually know how to manage it. The use of an affiliate marketing software can not only help you succeed in affiliate marketing, but can help you maximize your profits.
The affiliate marketing software that you choose will help show you which products and affiliate programs that you will be able to maximize your profits with. There are so many affiliate programs available that it can be incredibly difficult to decide which programs are the best programs to get involved with, and which ones will bring in the most money. Some affiliate programs will offer more money per click or a higher percentage per purchase, but the sales that result from that do not tend to be as high, which in turn hurts your profit.
The affiliate marketing software will take away all the guesswork involved with trying to decide which programs or products turn the most profit. They will supply you with reports that will allow you to see which ones have had the greatest amount of return for other people, so that you will be able to sign up for their program.
The affiliate marketing software is specifically built so that instead of signing up for every affiliate program out there which can make your website look jam packed with spam, and can draw attention away from the big money making marketing plans. You will be able to select the top earners, so that you maximize the amount of traffic that flows through these select marketing plans which in turn will earn you a much greater amount of money.
Most affiliate marketing software will not only help you select which specific affiliate programs that you should sign up for or get involved with, but will help you track your income as well. You will be able to see which programs are bringing in the greatest amount of money. Depending on the affiliate marketing software that you decide on, you will be able to receive affiliate marketing training so that you will be able to know how to design your website to help maximize profit. Most affiliate marketing software will allow you to set up everything you need to so that you will be able to maximize your profits. There are many affiliate marketing software programs that are available. It is surprising how much easier it will be to get started and begin making money rather quickly.
To learn more about affiliate marketing software that can put 5 figures a month in your pocket while you lazily do nothing at all, click here!
http://eridlon.lazyafrich.hop.clickbank.net
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