Product Review - Halls Breezers

I feel like mush.

That would be the understatement of the century. Between threats from DHL about shipping me off to the big orange house since I can't locate the FCC number and my jet lag from country-hopping these past few months, it's no surprise that the great MsJudgemental's health finally caved to the flu gods, leaving me in bed for 16 hours straight. I've been hacking up - well, this is a PG-rated blog, so maybe I'll leave you with the notion that I have been coughing, sneezing, and miserable since Sunday afternoon. At first I had hoped it was simply an attack of the allergies, what with our two straight days of torrential rains, but despite my constant Benadryl popping, my efforts were futile and I found myself even more miserable.

I rarely get sick. When I do fall victim to the flu, a cold, scarlet fever (yep, been there), or a sinus infection, it knocks me off my feet and cripples me for two days until I allow myself to get better. During that time I am constantly coughing and certainly get to annoy my favorite useless coworker with a loud, deep cough. I picked up the Halls(TM) Breezers from a gas station one morning, having had enough of the menthol-taste in my mouth and feeling like I could smell a skunk from ten miles away.

I love these things. They taste decent, for a cough drop. They are sweet and quickly ease my itchy throat with no aftertaste. For about $2.00 a bag (via the gas station) I can have some temporary relief (so can my coworkers) from the most annoying part about being sick - the chronic cough. Let's just hope it's not whooping cough.

My apologies for the short review, but alas...with the economy in shambles, I have to ensure that my work comes before my pleasure.

Product Review - Rinse Ace Brand Pet Shampoo Mitt

In my continuous efforts to stop my poor dog's itching and shedding all over the house, I finally broke down and went to Petco in search of new products to help him. Hearing him chew at himself, roll around on my carpet grunting obnoxiously, and rubbing against the corners of my walls like a housecat was enough to get my lazy rear off my couch and hit the pavement.

After locating a new shampoo similar to the one sash recommended in my previous post, I came across this handy little scrubby mitt pictured to the right. Made by Rinse Ace Products , the mitt resembles that of a typical yellow dishwashing glove, but with a rubber palm pasted to it. The product is priced at a reasonable $4.95, and Petco's return policy is very lenient. I grabbed it and thought, "Well, why not?" They claim that it feels good to the pet and helps clear dead, dry skin.

I get home and unloaded my purchases in the bathroom. Now, to locate the test subject.

After chasing a crabby Bulldog around the apartment, then discovering I no longer fit under my bed (must be all the beer I drank while in Australia, ermf), then coaxing him out, then finally threatening him, I heaved the 50 pound test subject into the tub and tried out my new find.

The results were amazing. For under $5.00, I removed almost a pound of dead hair, skin, and dander from my poor Bulldog. I've never seen him remain so still for a bath. I was able to use less shampoo (an oatmeal and aloe based Petco product, to be later reviewed) and scrub his wrinkles twice as well. He adored having his neck scrubbed and massaged. Despite my concerns over the hard rubber 'nubs' on the mitt, Cyrus sighed in complete bliss while I tore away most of his winter coat and relieved the itching. The amount of fur that came off covered the entire palm of the wash mitt - all three times. I used half of the amount of shampoo as I normally did. I gave him a towel dry with a new microfiber towel (similar to Shamwow but half the price) and he bolted around the apartment, frisky, clean, and 2 pounds lighter.

It's been about three days since the bath, and the results are still astounding. Note: I did wash all of his sheets after his bath, so he had nothing but clean sheets on his beds.

The shedding has decreased, and the itching, moaning and grunting has decreased by about 80%. Due to allergy season here in my neck of the woods, he is going to be put on a medicine (Bulldogs are prone to high allergies), but his coat lacks the white dander and dry skin. He still loves a good scratch, but he even smells better. There is no 'dog' scent in my place, less hair on my floor, and his coat is sleek and shiny.

I give this product an A plus for price, quality, and everything in between!

Product Review - Pure Solutions Moisturizing Pet Shampoo

I've been trying to review this product for over a week, but the site to link the picture to was down, so I had to come up with something else whilst I waited. Alas! The site is up and running, and ready for MsJudgemental's wrath.

You guys all know that I have a dog. Cyrus, aka Mr. Wonderful, peanutbutter pie, sugar bear, snooky wooky, etc, is a 4 year old English Bulldog that occasionally stinks up to high heavens. I've been on a shampoo run for the past few months in attempt to keep him smelling springtime fresh for at least more than 3 days at a time. Oh, to be so lucky.

At one of my weekly ventures to "Big Box Store", I found myself wandering the pet product aisles in search of yet another solution to my poor dog's itchy coat. Between the stinkiness from playing hard at the park and rolling in mud, and the time of year that causes all dog's coats to explode from their bodies, I was at my wit's end. I am known for being a bit of a clean freak, and a smelly dog is not at the top of my 'ignore' list.

After meandering through the filthy Hartz products (all readers, please click the link for valuable information!) I found myself staring at the grooming products. The majority of the shampoos didn't work for my dog, so I was looking for something new. Here's what I found:



Yikes, pardon the bad image upload, kids. The puresolutionbrands.com website doesn't appear to have been created by a web expert, what with its explosion of blue happiness and basic html usage. But I'm not here to review the website, am I...?

Pictured to the right are two products that made it into my cart, rushed home, and used on my poor dog. Pure Solutions advocates that this shampoo is all natural, with lavender scents and low foaming, since bubblage is caused from those pesky chemical products. I rolled my eyes and threw my dog into the tub, ignoring his silent protests and vows of eating my shoes while I slept that night. I followed the directions - rinse, suds, and rinse. Towel dry. I did note the low foam/sudsiness of him, which concerned me enough to use even more of the shampoo. Afterwards, he was dry and smelled relatively good.

A few short days later, my dog smelled like....dog. Dog owners know this smell is disgusting and will seep into your fabrics if you aren't careful and dedicated to vacuuming and have stock in Febreeze. I sprayed him with the Pure between bath freshener.

FAIL. I've gotten better results from using Pantene on him. His coat became oily and he scratched himself raw from the 'natural' products in the shampoo. Cyrus was constantly on his back, rolling on the carpet in attempts to relieve his poor, itchy back. Eventually I noticed patches of hair missing around his neck and legs.

I gave the shampoo a second try, hoping that it was just allergy season, only with the same results. I later found an oatmeal and Aloe shampoo by another maker that does suds and foam up, with a clean, happy dog who itches much less and gets more dirt out of his coat. His hair is also growing back.

Overall, these two products are mediocre. I understand about 'going green' and saving the environment. I am an advocate for growing one's own produce, turning off lights and unplugging appliances. Heck, my electric bill is rarely over $60. However, I would rather have a clean, happy dog than be concerned about what the shampoo is going to do at the local water treatment plant once it makes its way down the sewer.

I have some left, if anyone wants to test it on their dog. (said tongue in cheek, of course.)

Food Review - Kellogg's Special K "Chocolatey Delight" cereal

Picture this: It's 10:00 at night, and you've got the munchies. Your sweet tooth has just smacked your tongue, demanding satisfaction in the forms of sugar. But those pesky pounds your promised yourself that you would drop hug you tightly, threatening to disembark new saddle bags on your already frustratingly large love handles (so you think).

What do you do?

Research has shown that diets don't work. Deprevation is not the key to dropping and keeping weight off of our bodies. Americans are known for eating over-processed, fried, greased, grilled garbage that we consider food. So sticking your head in the freezer for a giant fudgecream bar is not the best answer, nor the gallon of Haagen-Daaz inconveniently hidden in the back next to the chicken.

Why yes, this situation describes me to a T! (I don't eat Haagen Daaz...but you get the idea.)

Check out Kellogg's Special K Chocolate Delight cereal.

Yes, you heard/read me correctly. Cereal. This new marketing adventure from Kellogg's hit the nail on the head when they advertised a woman with a snack attack at 10 pm. Instead of charging through the white box of doom and attacking Blue Bell, she reaches for a box of this cereal. Coupled with a half a cup of skim (or 1%, if your tastebuds actually exist) milk, it is the better alternative to destroying any attempts at those smaller jeans the next morning.

While eating at night is not always the healthiest choice for people like yours truly, I get the munchies. Most of the time I go for a 100-calorie pack, some fruit, or a small piece of chocolate. But every now and then, I want something different. At a national Big Box store several months ago, I located the advertised product and chunked it in my cart next to other attempts at being uber-healthy.

I gave it a shot.

Hands down, this product was one of the smartest things Kellogg has ever done to get through the doors of my house. I don't particularly care of cereal, but this cereal is a definite winner. It satisfies my sweet tooth, tosses fewer calories into my system, and as someone who never gets enough calcium (sorry, Doc), it takes care of two birds with one bowl (er...stone).

Product Review - Rescue Remedy Sleep

What a month, kids.

I was kicked out of the country at the beginning of January and forced to do real work in the land down under, eat vegemite, sleep on exotic beaches, and...ok, we'll leave it at that.

When I returned to my office after being gone for two weeks, I had phone messages, emergencies, over 500 emails I had neglected while working down under on another project, a sick dog, family matters, home issues, and...again, we'll leave it at that.

Imagine the surprise when I discovered that I could not sleep at night! I assumed it would be easy to crawl into bed after a long day of battling the corporate world and adjusting my body off of a 15 hour time difference (what day is it?).

So I found myself at the health food store, searching for something that would help me sleep, but not knock me out beyond the ability to hear my alarm clock go off the next morning. I spoke with the girl at the counter, also informing her of my anxiety disorder that tends to fight any sleeping medication. (I tried Lunesta years ago and became a wannabe Spiderman by climbing the walls) She smiled and pulled out this handy little tool:

Meet Rescue Remedy Sleep. This tiny bottle is safe to take on planes, costs about $5.00, and is processed chemical free. From the website Rescue Sleep:

Rescue Sleep calms your restless mind providing natural relief for sleeplessness caused by stress and repetitive thoughts. Containing a blend of Rescue Remedy and the Bach Flower Remedy White Chestnut, Rescue Sleep allows you to sleep naturally and wake refreshed. Visit www.rescuesleep.com for more information. -->
Rescue Sleep calms your restless mind providing natural relief for sleeplessness caused by stress and repetitive thoughts.
Rescue Sleep is totally natural and contains six of the 38 Bach® Flower Essences: Rock Rose for terror and panic, Impatiens for irritation and impatience, Clematis for inattentiveness, Star of Bethlehem for shock, Cherry Plum for irrational thoughts, and White Chestnut for relief from repetitive thoughts.

Repetitive thoughts? Shock? Restless mind? I just wanted to SLEEP. I wanted to stop thinking about my second trip back down under, my expense report with a $100 missing receipt, a trip to Europe for more work, my boss hounding me about a project...I just wanted to sleep. The girl assured me it would knock me out with no side effects in the morning. I gave it a go and spent the $5.

One evening, despite my futile efforts at relaxing my body - calming thoughts, warm bath, hot tea, snuggle time with my dog, and no TV, computer, or any electronic device near me, my jet lag was the culprit. I woke up around 2 am, wide awake, head racing, wondering if I had sent off an email to someone. I grabbed the bottle and peered at the instructions:

"Spray 2 times on top of tongue. Spray as needed throughout the night."

Sheepishly, I grumbled about not needing to take additional Unisoms and Advil PMs once they'd sent me into a coma, but I sprayed twice, then hit the sack and waited.

Suddenly, my alarm clock went off, and it was 8:30 in the morning. I had fallen asleep and rested the entire night, and woke up without feeling hungover. My body felt relaxed and comfortable.

Now, I'm not anti-drugs. But the realization that I had fallen asleep with the assistance of an all-natural product and woken up with no side effects iced the cake.

Overall, I highly recommend this product. I plan to test it out a few more times to ensure that I didn't 'get lucky' and fall asleep on my own accord.