Javita Instant Coffees

 

 I had the opportunity to sample this coffee in exchange for my opinion. I am not sure why my opinion was so important to the sender, but it was, so I gave it a go.

First of all, the company claims that the herbs (yerba mate and garcinia cambogia) infused with this coffee will make you feel more energetic, with an added boost of some weight loss by speeding up your body's ability to burn fat. Not a bad claim at all.

While that may or may not be true, I found the side effects to be more of a hindrance than the possible benefits. And I did give it a decent try--I used the entire box before coming to my official opinion on this product.

The coffee itself is an instant coffee, not unlike any instant coffee you can find in the grocery store. Since I am not a big fan of instant coffee to begin with, this was only one of my stumbling blocks. To its credit though, it does indeed taste like coffee. However, the heart palpitations, headaches, and stomach ache that came with each mug was not appreciated. After a quick internet search of this product, I discovered others experienced similar side effects.

I suspect the increased energy and weight loss that is touted is from the caffeine in the coffee and nothing more. The high levels of caffeine can also increase your blood pressure, make you feel anxious or give you heartburn. On the upside, the small packets are easy to carry around, the coffee is easy to make and can and should replace your daily coffee intake. And if you are on medication for anything at all, for goodness' sake, see your physician first. The herbs in this coffee can interact severely with pharmaceuticals!

Unfortunately, I can not give this product a tiara. It ended up in my trashcan.


Lady J.

 

Relentless by Robin Parrish-- Lives Up to Its Name

The main character is just your average guy, minding his own boring business until he happens to see himself walking down the street one day. Suddenly, he is shifted into another life and his entire identity is gone in one terrifying moment. Now he's running for his life in a battle to the death with good versus evil and a cast of extremely interesting characters. Plot twists, a journey of self exploration and the final showdown kept me turning the pages long into the night.

This is book one in the Dominion Trilogy. I enjoyed this so much, I've already purchased Fearless (#2) and Merciless (#3) .

I give it a tiara.

Waffle Anyone?

The Count is a huge fan of The Avengers, so when he found this delightful little waffle maker, he was so intrigued that he set out to make breakfast himself! Imagine that! Cook was not impressed with being ushered out of her own kitchen, but he was determined. He can be quite a stubborn man when he is motivated.

 

Now between you and me, I thought this was going to be another one of his little domestic disasters. Alas, it worked out quite well, with only a moderate amount of batter splattered around the kitchen. 

 

The truth is, I am not much of a cook. I know where some of the things are in the kitchen, but I don't use them. I barely know how to boil an egg (all right, that is a bit of an exaggeration), but the Count is always tinkering in there, and getting under foot. I do not know how Cook puts up with him some days, although I am certain it is much worse when I'm in there, watching the Count use his latest gadget. I may not cook, but I am one heck of a cheerleader! And I can read directions like nobody's business. 

 

Oh my, did the waffles turn out wonderful! And it was so easy to use, simply pour the batter in, close the lid and wait 3 minutes. Voila, instant breakfast! In a snappy pattern too. The grooves of Captain America's shield are perfect for holding syrup, jelly or whatever else you like to put on your waffle. The Count filled the grooves with crumbled bacon and soft boiled eggs.

 

Do be careful where you purchase this waffle maker from. Some stores try to sell it for a whopping $130, but if you look carefully, you can find it for under $30.00.

 

This little gadget gets a tiara. And syrup. Lots of syrup.

 

WEMO Smart Switch

Being mired in the past makes it difficult to embrace new technologies, but I thought I'd give it a try. I bought several of these smart switches, with the expectation that my home would be on the way to being 'smart'.

 

The premise is a good one. Insert them into an existing plug, plug in your appliance and then voila, you can command your things to do what you want without the usual push of a button or switch.

 

Unfortunately, the execution is not as good as I'd have liked. First, you must download the WEMO app. That part is easy. Then you have to add each device to the app. This can be problematic in that it depends on your wireless network and how capable it is of handing the extra hardware.

 

Once that's done, and you've got all your switches listed on your smartphone's app, you should be good to go, correct? This would be true if you never ever exited out of the app and left it running continuously on your phone. That isn't reality.

 

Each time you want to use the app to control your switches, you have to wait, endless amounts of time, while it connects to your wireless router, and only then can you turn on your lights, switch off your television, etc.  Since the app takes far too long to connect, it's quicker to simply turn on the devices the manual way. Except you can't. The switch doesn't allow you to do so, so you really have to wait and wait for the connection, or unplug the switch and use your normal wall outlet. I am not a patient woman. I expect things to work the way they are supposed to work. This does not.

 

These hit my trashcan.

 

Lady J

Tracks by KM Tolan - A Gem Waiting To Be Discovered

I found this book by accident on a recent browse of Amazon. The cover drew me in, and then the little writeup enticed me further. A little click and I was on my way into a world of steam trains, hobos and magic.

I won't go into all the nitty gritty details, but suffice it to say, I very much enjoyed this book. The author (KM Tolan) is not only an imaginative writer, but very talented too. He takes something endearing to many people (steam trains) and blends it with a little fantasy and before you know it, you're chasing down the rails right beside him, looking for an elusive steam baron who keeps power by enslaving the very people that has made his train company successful. Sounds a bit like history repeating itself but in a fantasy setting, doesn't it?

I can be a swift reader when I'm captivated by a story, and this one did it for me. It will do it for you too.

This novel earns a tiara and a permanent place on my Kindle.


Lady J

Umm.. What's a Blog?

Yes, that's what I asked when my assistant said "You should have a blog". She laughed at me, and asked where I've been for the last ten years or so. I gave her the look. You know, the look that's designed to kill a man at 20 paces, but only serves to make her laugh harder. You see, she's been my assistant for decades and knows me well. Too well, sometimes.

She gave me the history: 'weblog' shortened to blog for the lazy. And there she goes, rolling her eyes at me again. Not lazy. It's evolved into it's own word. Funny, I thought that weblog was its own word. What do I know? I am just an old countess, learning the ways of the internet. Because my assistant won't do it for me anymore.

So here I am, blogging away. 

And what will I blog about? Well, anything and everything. From things I like to things I despise. Reviews on books I've read, products I've purchased, vacations I've taken. And anything else you'd like my opinion on.  I'll let you know if it's worth a tiara, or worth the trash.


Lady J