Product Review - Plink Garbage Disposal Cleaner

Every now and then I get a wild hair to throw out half of my groceries, sending some into the garbage can, the rest down the disposal I like to call 'the abyss'. Sometimes my tossing goes horridly wrong after I've opened a 3 week old container of chicken salad. However, at this point it's too late, the paint is peeling down my walls and my Bulldog has packed his toys and headed for Grandma's house.

Most of the time I cover my face with a towel, blast the hot water, and try to rinse away as much of the foul stenched food particles as I can. Most of the time, it works. However, my recent extravaganzas of food purging included a drink thermos that at one time contained my morning protein shake - it had sat in my car for three days.

I assumed nothing was left in the thermos and opened the lid to rinse the cup out before sending it to a piddly bath in my poor excuse of a dishwasher. What I was met with was a large, disc shaped and mousse textured object that had been launched out of the cup and into the sink.

After I awoke (I must have fainted from the smell), I ran the disposal and hot water. The smell was still in my sink, a large cloud above my head in my already small kitchen. My efforts were futile. I threw in a lemon wedge, hoping for some good acidic burn. While the lemon worked, I cursed at my waste of a perfectly good, 2 for 50 cent lemon.



In an unrelated adventure, I went shopping a few weeks later and came across these cute little pearls of genius:


I've been complaining and whining about the stinky garbage disposals poor results at eliminating smells, plus I miss my lemons once they are down my sink. I picked up the lemon-scented pack and tripped home, happy with my $3.99 purchase.

After tossing one down the sink, the odor had been eliminated and my kitchen smelled fresh again. But....as my frequent readers know....what if I tested the product to its limit?

I began my grocery purge: a head of rotted kale (I'd forgotten to bag both ends of it and it molded within 3 days) ; old tomato soup; cream of chicken (2 weeks old); Indian food from 3 nights ago; some mushy pear slices I'd meant to take to work; and soured milk.

Keep in mind that I had been out of the country for approximately 2 1/2 months and therefore had forgotten what mysterious objects were in my Tupperware containers. I do not live this pathetically and am actually a neat freak. End Disclaimer.

At this point, the smell is rancid and I have heard my neighbors all pass out from the smell leaking through the walls in our building, Cyrus is trying to dial 911 on my cell phone. My fake plants have wilted, and I'm dry heaving. I reach for the Plink.

1 Plink destroyed the smell within seconds, and once it all drained away, it was as if nothing had ever happened.

Bottom line: Bachelor(ette)s, this is a must-have in your home. I know how you boys live and what you eat. Buy a pack and chunk one down the sink every week or so. Believe me, your dates will actually want to return to your house after the first night.

Restaurant Review - Biba's "One's a Meal" Greek restaurant

I love food. To this day, I'm not quite sure how I'm not 300 pounds of a fat cow rolling off my couch in search of butter pecan ice cream. For some strange reason, I am in good physical condition. I've eaten horse meat, dried seaweed, fish who are still looking at me, concoctions thrown together in a large black pot by a woman with a wart on her nose, and even *gasp* hot dogs. Growing up in Europe, we were not given the insane amount of cuisine choices galantly displayed here in the United States, bells and whistles shrieking at us to super size our 64 oz 'small' drink.

It's not surprise that I love Greek food, preferably Meditteranean, but I rarely turn my nose up at a good gyro and some hummus. I ventured out to One's a Meal, formerly known as Bibo's Greek restaurant last night with 20 friends and strangers. (Ok, I was forced against my already weak will, but food is food...) They boast that you can do a search on google.com and find 0 bad reviews on their restaurant in their 80 years of existence.

.......

I ordered an appetizer of Dolmades, an iced tea, and a main meal of Spanakopita. I anxiously and hungrily awaited my food, feigning interest in the lives of my companions while I refrained from eating the table.

The dolmades arrived, looking rather sad, covered in a murky yellow egg cream and lemon sauce that I expected to taste savory. I speared one, cut it up, to be met with some meat and rice that resembled that of wet dog food. Unsure of the type of meat I was about to stuff into my mouth, I read the menu:

"Dolmades- Grape leaves stuffed with ground meat and rice, topped with egg lemon sauce."

Hm. Maybe it really was dog food? Unimpressed, I forced down two until my gag reflex tapped on my tongue and threatened to regift my food like a fruitcake at a white elephant Christmas party. I gave up and left the other 2 to dry out under the sauce, shriveled and forlorn on the table. My friends eyed them suspiciously and politely refused my attempts at pawning them off and feeble comments of starving children in China. Sigh, a waste.

My main dish came out, and once they were set in front of me, I curiously recognized a sense of familiarity about the little pies. They looked as if they had come from Costco. Interesting. I stabbed one halfheartedly.

Yep, these came from Costco's frozen food section, next to the TGI Friday's jalepeno poppers. I sighed in dismay.

My neighbor lamented on a missing cream sauce from her meal, which appeared to be a type of lasagna. Rather, lasagna created by a 3 year-old, as there were pasta noodles stuffed into the bottom corner, a random pasta shell surrounding them, and some meat sauce splattered on top. Disappointed, she returned the meal and was not charged.

My meal came: $20. Holy hell, Batman! An appetizer, glass of tea, and a small meal for one person? I can head over to Yia Yia Mary's and get an order of hummus thrown into the mix, along with some baklava. While the staff was friendly, they showed no knowledge of the menu. The space was a bit cramped as well.

Thumb's down, "One's a Meal". You might want to take down the bragging rights of 'no bad reviews'.

Public Service Announcement

Hi again,

I have added two new buttons to my blog and ask that you guys check them out.

For the past few months I have been repeatedly called by a number: 714-261-1535, a telemarketing scam requesting that I purchase a new car warranty. The automated message informs me that my warranty has expired. (I have an extended warranty, morons...). Finally, I pressed '1' to speak with an operator and get my name removed. He requested my vehicle's make and model, to which I replied, "Don't you already have it? You called me."

"We are a third party. Give me the make and model, please."

I asked him to take my number off of his list; he replied, "Ok." and hung up on me.

I've added these two buttons to my site to help spread awareness about telemarkers phishing for personal information. If you receive a strange call, don't delete the number, but DON'T answer it! Report the number to the site.

Yes, our voices are being heard. Check out this link:

http://800notes.com/articles/News.aspx/VmxEJBydEABldAjLoqlB0w

Make a difference. Spread the word.


MsJ

Product Review - Adams Flea Mist

Dear readers,

I know I'm lagging on reviews. I actually have several products in the hopper, but these past few weeks have gone from strange to bad for me. My health has been deteriorating and slowly continues to decline. I am 24 years old. My symptoms are almost controlling my life, and I have paced the floors constantly, waiting for lab results to come back to tell me what my problem is.

However, I do have some time and energy on my hands and therefore, you guys get a review.

In Texas, flea season is in full swing. This year has been one of the worst years I've ever experienced in my 15 years of animal-ownership. Last week, I walked Cyrus out for a quick potty before bed. Normally, I take him out, bring him in, flip him over, and attack the fleas with a vengance. This time, I had fleas covering my feat and calves. I immediately threw us both into the shower to save us from any diseases caused by the biting fleas. With my health in its current state, the fewer bites, sinus infections, and headaches I have, the better off I am.

A few days later, I was given a bottle of Adams Flea Control Mist. The directions are simple: spray on clean dog. You can also spray the product on the carpet, pet bedding, and in corners. I've tried flea sprays before with no avail, aside from wasting my money. I faced this product with apprehension and cynicism.

I washed the victim (Cyrus the Bulldog), treated his back to flea drops, then rolled him over and sprayed his belly and legs. I vacuumed my floors, scrubbed sheets, and hoped for the best.

Overall review: One treatment of this product lasts a solid two days before I douse my dog in it again. The fleas make it to the outside of his legs, but I have yet to see any more on his belly.

The odor is a little strong when first sprayed, otherwise it is odorless and has caused no irritation to my dog's skin. I've noticed less scratching, no dry, itchy skin, and a happier Bully. You can check out additional flea mists made by the Adams company here.

Editor's note: Please discuss all flea treatments/products with your vet before using them on your pet. This is merely my opinion and experience from the product.