Thursday, May 24, 2018

Cave Tools Pulled Pork Shredder Rakes Review


I received the Cave Tools Pulled Pork Shredder Rakes free to facilitate this review. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

Cave Tools is a great online store to find BBQ: tools & accessories, charcoal grills, recipe books, apparel, and gift ideas. They have a great selection of things from tool sets & grill baskets to grill racks & a portable charcoal grill. Find your barbecue and grilling needs at Cave Tools!



The Pulled Pork Shredder Rakes Features:
  • Rips Through Entire Chunk of Meat in 2 Minutes - Ultra strong stainless steel helps you pull apart pork, chicken, turkey, poultry, beef, brisket, hams, roasts and anything from your slow cooker, grill or smoker in record time.
  • Picks up Large Hot Food - With its extended handles and bear shaped claws you can take hot meat from the: Crock Pot to the grill, grill to the table, or oven to table with ease. These provide extra leverage so you don't drop it.
  • Shred - Handle - Carve - These meat rakes are the ultimate multi purpose kitchen tool. Shreds meat easier than a fork. Perfect gift for both men and women.
  • Gift Box Packaging Can Be Reused For Storage
  • Comes with 25 Professional Recipes - Free download of “The Grill Master’s Essential Barbecue Recipe Book” complete with DIY Bbq Sauce Recipes, Ribs, Chicken, Kabobs and More. Step by step instructions and detailed tutorial videos are great for the family.
  • Lifetime Satisfaction Guarantee -  If at any point you are unhappy with your pulled pork shredder claws you can return it for a full money back refund. Cave Tools takes customer service that seriously.


Cave Tools Pulled Pork Shredder Rakes in action.

Awesome Ideas for Pulled Pork or Other Pulled Meat:
  • sandwiches
  • sliders
  • omelets
  • tacos
  • quesadillas
  • taquitos
  • fajitas
  • enchiladas
  • loaded nachos
  • tamales
  • empanadas
  • carnitas
  • pizza
  • calzones
  • fries
  • loaded potato
  • pasta
  • Ramen
  • soup
  • chili
  • stuffed peppers
  • wontons
  • Asian dumplings
  • steamed buns
  • Indian tacos
  • Pad Thai
  • dip
  • salad

Our Thoughts:
The Cave Tools Pulled Pork Shredder Rakes are really handy to have for both lifting large pieces of meat and shredding it. It makes a great pulled pork or other pulled meat effortlessly and safely. Also since these are stainless they will last longer than plastic claws and are easily cleaned.

We used them on pork shoulder marinated and cooked in the crock pot. These definitely got the job done in no time at all. I thought they were wonderful at lifting the meat out of the crock pot and into the bowl. I love that they are easy to grip with the long handles. These are sized well and the tines fit in between the other ones so you can pull meats apart fast. The box it comes with is attractive to store in as well.

BE SOCIAL
Official Website: https://cavetools.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CaveToolsGrilling
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CaveTools @CaveTools
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/cavetools/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cavetools/
Google+: +Cave Tools
YouTube: http://cavetoolsvideos.com/

BUY IT
...at Amazon or Cave Tools. These would be an awesome gift for Memorial Day, Father's Day, Birthdays, etc.



Cave Tools Coupon Code: Meat Rakes 15% Off: MEATCLAW15

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received this product for free to facilitate this review. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review. Affiliate links can be found in this post. Thank you for your support of this blog!

Wednesday, May 23, 2018

Wordless Wednesday Mother Zari Zoo Visit

Zari and I had a Mother Daughter Date at the Portland Oregon Zoo on May 18, 2018.

Here are some of the neat animals we saw.

Here is some of the awesome scenery we saw.

It was super fun!

Monday, May 21, 2018

Precious Moments Spring Sale!


Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

Precious Moments is having a spring sale! Get 15% off select products with coupon code: SPRINGSAVINGS Now through May 31st! There are some lovely spring garden products and some home decor that will brighten up any home or landscape and make it more cheery. Take a look below at some of the delightful Precious Moments products and click on one of them to go to the website and save!




Spring into action now to save 15% sitewide with code SPRINGSAVINGS at PreciousMoments.com! Sale ends 5/31.
 
DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: Thanks to Precious Moments for sending me this information. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any compensation for doing this post. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog. 

Zaycon Fresh $.99/lb Fresh Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast! Lowest Price Ever For All!


Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.


Zaycon Fresh has Super Fresh Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts at the lowest price ever for everyone, not just new customers. At just $.99/lb for the fall delivery event this deal can't be beat!!! But hurry supplies are limited!

Click to SHOP NOW!

Existing customers? Yes! New Customers? Of course! Order yours now with promo code CHICKEN2018 at checkout. Promo code will expire as limited quantity is sold-out and may be without notice. Order yours now!

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I wrote this post to let my readers know about this great opportunity and deal. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

Thursday, May 17, 2018

Animating Life: The Art, Science, and Wonder of LAIKA Exhibit at The Portland Art Museum is Not to Be Missed!


Since October 14th of last year The Portland Art Museum has been showcasing the awe inspiring art of stop-motion animation in their Animating Life: The Art, Science, and Wonder of LAIKA exhibit. This exhibit will close on the 20th of May and, in my opinion, should not be missed.

LAIKA Studios is an animation studio that has become a local fixture of Portland Oregon since 2005. They are not just any animation studio, however. They use stop-motion animation, a technique where the animator has to physically manipulate the object so it appears to move on its own. You might have seen one of their 4 award-winning films: Coraline (2009), ParaNorman (2012), The BoxTrolls (2014), or Kubo and the Two Strings (2016). Just by watching you don't feel of the real scope of these movies, but the characters are brought to life by animators painstakingly moving them 24 times for every second of screen time. The Animating Life: The Art, Science, and Wonder of LAIKA exhibit gives you an up close and first hand look at the meticulous artistry that goes into each one of their films. Visitors to this exhibit are immersed in LAIKA's wonderful imaginative world. Museum-goers get to explore production design, sets, props, puppets, costumes, and world-building that have become the studio’s hallmarks.

Here is a sneak peek at what is in store for you if you go...


My son, Jaedan, and I went to the Portland Art Museum on April 27th. We started the day out at Voodoo Doughnut. I had a Mango Tango and my son had an Apple Fritter. Then we went out to lunch at some of the food trucks in the Pearl District. Jaedan had seafood curry noodles and I had a Gyro. We just couldn't visit Portland and not partake in these delectable treats. Going to Voodoo Doughnut and eating from food carts is part of the experience of the of the City of Roses.

Eating Voodoo Doughnuts and Food Cart Food are a must while in Portland.

After our meals we headed towards the Portland Art Museum (PAM). As we had never been there before we tried to partake of what all the museum had to offer before diving into the LAIKA exhibit. We looked around first at the art that was part of the permanent and private collections. Of the Museum’s collection of 42,000 objects, we saw only a representative few, of which my favorites were: Isa Genzken's Two Orchids, Claude Monet Nymphéas (Waterlilies), Nude in Sunlit Wood by Childe Hassam, Joseph M. Raphael's Cottage Garden, Uccle, Belgium; Gabriele Münter's In The Village Chamonix, Frank Stella's Newell's Hawaiian Shearwater (Exotic Bird), Sonya Clark's Penny Loafers, and Dale Chihuly's L'arbre rouge.

Just some of the lovely art we saw at the PAM.

Then we headed to the exhibit we had been anticipating all day. When you go through the doors to the Animating Life: The Art, Science, and Wonder of LAIKA exhibit you are automatically drawn to a towering skeleton puppet looming over the room. This was used for the film Kubo and the Two Strings. This piece is over 18 feet tall and the largest stop-motion puppet ever made. It is jaw dropping with its impressive lighting and glowing eyes to make it look even more menacing. It was fun to learn that LAIKA's studio is too small to house this giant beast all put together and they had to film it in two pieces: legs and torso, for Kubo. For this exhibit it is the first time this puppet has been in one piece.

Skeleton puppet used in Kubo and the Two Strings.

Beside this massive creature you can see the puppets of Beetle, Monkey, Kubo, and the Origami Samurai Warrior for reference of size. On the far wall you can see the "Wall of Faces", which features the rapid-prototype face replacement 3-D printing that LAIKA won a scientific and engineering Oscar in 2016 for. This technology, used first in ParaNorman, is astounding to me because each tiny expression and movement of the face is captured in individual faces that LAIKA snaps off and on the puppets to make them seem far more lifelike than other stop-motion animations.

Jaedan looking at Coraline's "Other World" House.

Next we migrated to a room with Coraline's "Other World" House in it. We saw first hand how LAIKA animators could go behind it so they could manipulate the puppets. This was a piece of the actual set! It was like a large doll house and it was intricately designed...all the way down to tiny plants hanging from the porch and lights that actually glow. The attention to detail is mind-boggling!

Back into the skeleton room and through a corridor of Asian art we come to the main LAIKA exhibit. Before you enter it warns, "This exhibition contains a zoetrope that produces a strobing effect and may trigger visitors with photosensitivity or epilepsy. Staff are happy to direct you to another entrance or answer questions." The room has a darker ambience and there is so much to take in and see. We saw many LAIKA artifacts, including: original sketches, small models called maquettes, puppets, sets, costumes, rigging, storyboards, etc.

Some of the LAIKA sets we saw at the exhibit.

The sets are amazing! As you go in you can see the set of Kubo's childhood home to the left with Beetle and Monkey inside. We saw some of the sets for The BoxTrolls: one scene of the verminator puppets chasing down Eggs and some BoxTrolls in the hill top town of Cheesebridge, Norvenia and another set of the ballroom dance scene. Coraline's Garden set took up almost a whole room by itself and when seen from above you can clearly see Coraline's face in the garden itself. There were also some neat sets from ParaNorman.

Jaedan looking at the Kubo and the Two Strings Giant Eye Monster.

There are also things you can touch and manipulate too! Inside there is a 11 foot Giant Eye Monster from Kubo and the Two Strings that you could go behind to see the robotic framework and then move with the same bowling ball trackball interface that they used to create the underwater scene in Kubo. We also got to manipulate the ocean waves in Kubo which were made out of paper and seemed to topple over each other like a string of dominoes.

Everything had remarkable detail. There are so many teeny-tiny handstitched outfits and props to go with the sets and puppets. These must have taken them so much time and effort to make! All of it is just so intricate and ornate and ultimately makes the films feel even more lifelike.

Snapped a photo of the Animating Life: The Art, Science, and Wonder of LAIKA exhibit banner as we left.

I wish we could have taken more time to explore the Animating Life: The Art, Science, and Wonder of LAIKA exhibit. We enjoyed it all so very much! We had a fabulous time visiting the Portland Art Museum and hope that LAIKA decides to come back there again at some point. I highly recommend to go see the LAIKA exhibit if you can. The last day is the 20th of May!

This exhibit is organized by the Portland Art Museum and the Northwest Film Center in collaboration with LAIKA.

Follow LAIKA on Social Media:

Follow Portland Art Museum on Social Media:

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any compensation for doing this review.

Tuesday, May 15, 2018

True Citrus - Be Healthy, Be Happy, Be True Sweepstakes #HealthyHappyTrue


USFamilyGuide provided me with this promotional information and offer to share with my readers. I am getting something for free in return for posting this information.

The #HealthyHappyTrue Sweepstakes was created by True Citrus to celebrate how people live their healthiest, happiest and truest life possible. Entering provides the chance to win a grand prize including a $10,000 cash prize, a Vitamix Professional Series Blender ($600 value), Fitbit watch ($200 value), a True Lemon thermal water bottle and a sampling of all True Citrus products.

To enter the sweepstakes and for details on how to increase chances of winning ENTER HERE: https://www.truelemon.com/be-healthy-be-happy-be-true-sweepstakes/  through June 15.

Click HERE to Enter.

Interested in trying True Citrus for yourself? Save 40% on your order at www.truelemonstore.com by entering the code TRUEFAMILY40US at checkout.

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: Because I am posting about True Citrus #HealthyHappyTrue Sweepstakes I am getting a FREE a variety of products for my family and I to enjoy, along with a discount code to share with MY followers. Products include: True Lemon (32 ct), True Lemon Lemonade (2 flavors), True Lime Limeade (2 flavors). Thanks to USFamilyGuide and True Citrus for providing me this promotion information and free product. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for posting about this promotion.

Friday, May 11, 2018

Go to Sleep, Sheep! Book Review


I received this book free to facilitate this review. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

Go to Sleep, Sheep! is a children's board book written by George Beahm and illustrated by Sydney Hanson. This book is part of the series, Bedtime Barn. Adorable sheep and rhyming verses grace the pages of this book to help lull your little one off to sleep. This book tries to help convince even the most stubborn to drift off to sleep with its silly story.

Zari enjoying the Go to Sleep, Sheep! book.

What We Thought:
This board book with sparkly cover has an adorable story about little sheep that try to delay bedtime. The colorful pastel illustrations are lovely and have not only sheep, but other animals that might be on a farm. The sheep have a bow, glasses, and scarf. Most pages end in the phrase, "Go to Sleep, Sheep!" as the mama sheep tries to get them to go to sleep.

This is very cute and most parents and little ones can relate to this story. I recommend this board book for toddlers, preschoolers, and kindergartners most of all. My youngest daughter, Zari, who is in first grade also loves this book! It is the perfect size for little hands to hold and the sturdy pages are less vulnerable to tearing. She is learning to read and it has the perfect amount of words on each page for her. She also loves looking at the adorable illustrations as well.

BUY IT
Buy Go to Sleep, Sheep! board book, HERE.



WIN IT
Prize: Go to Sleep, Sheep! Book
Host: Harper Collins and FrontGate Media.
Who Can Enter: Open to US Residents 18 years or older.
Selection Process: 5 winners will be selected on 6/10/2018 and notified by email.
Where to Enter: Go to this link https://www.blessedfreebies.com/gotosleepsheep.html and fill out the form to enter.

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I received this product for free to facilitate this review. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for doing this review.

Wednesday, May 9, 2018

Friday, May 4, 2018

NOVICA Cinco de Mayo and Mother's Day Sales


Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

NOVICA helps change the lives of artisans in developing nations, while offering us extraordinary handmade gifts, jewelry, apparel, and home decor. There are so many talented artists and artisans around the world. NOVICA provides these unique, hard-to-find items on their internet website at great prices. These services are all fair trade, meaning that they don't charge the artists and artisans any listing fees and the artists and artisans remain fully independent. They are free to raise their prices, lower their prices, or remove their items from their website whenever they please. This website is great to buy something from for your special someone for Mother's Day, just remember since these items are coming all the way from the country they are made in, the shipping might take longer than expected. 

Mother's Day and Cinco de Mayo is just around the corner and NOVICA is having some awesome sales during this time.



Here are the sales...
  • Mother's Day Gifts are on sale now at NOVICA! Save 10% Off Unique Gifts for Mom. Valid 4-23-18 through 5-13-18 11:59 PM PT. 
  • Until Sunday, enjoy 10% OFF Mexican treasures during their Cinco de Mayo sale! Valid 5-3-18 through 5-6-18 11:59 PM PT.
  • Two birthstones are on sale for the month of May: Agate and Emerald - save 10% on these birthstone jewelry! Valid 5-1-18 through 5-31-18 11:59 PM PT.

Daily Deals

Save up to 50% Off with NOVICA Daily Deals! Below are the upcoming deals for the next week...

Aqua Rose, Artisan Crafted Silk and Wool Blend Shawl
Save up to 25%
Deal Price: $37.99
Deal Date: Friday, May 4

Peach Blossoms, Pearl and quartz earrings
Save up to 18%
Deal Price: $14.99
Deal Date: Saturday, May 5

Glowing Bronze, Handcrafted Solid Rope Hammock (Double)
Save up to 27%
Deal Price: $52.99
Deal Date: Sunday, May 6

Moonlit Sparkle, Sterling Silver Bangle Bracelet India Fair Trade Jewelry
Save up to 24%
Deal Price: $62.99
Deal Date: Monday, May 7

Conical Nature, 1 Quart Serving Bowl in Natural Wood Handmade in Thailand
Save up to 23%
Deal Price: $39.99
Deal Date: Tuesday, May 8

Moonlit Stars, Floral Sterling Silver Hoop Earrings
Save up to 23%
Deal Price: $27.99
Deal Date: Wednesday, May 9

Innocent Colors, Two Handwoven Striped Cotton Wrap Scarves from Thailand
Save up to 21%
Deal Price: $22.99
Deal Date: Thursday, May 10

Save up to 50% Off with NOVICA Daily Deals!


DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: Thanks to NOVICA for sending me this information. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any compensation for doing this post. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

Wednesday, May 2, 2018

Wordless Wednesday Web Hairstyle & Gymnastics 4 U End of the Season Show

My first time doing the Web Hairstyle. I think Zari's hair turned out pretty cute for her show!

Stills from Zari's floor routine on April 27th, 2018.

Zari's gymnastics classmates and her awards ceremony.

Tuesday, May 1, 2018

Weigl Publishers AV2 Books Review


My family had the privilege of trying three AV2 books from Weigl Publishers for this review to use in conjunction with our own homeschool curriculum. This is a Homeschool Review Crew Review. All opinions expressed are my own or those of my family.

Weigl Publishers started in 2010 with 53 AV2 titles. Now they have close to 500 titles in their ever growing catalog. The AV2 books have titles that cover science, social studies, language arts, visual arts, sports, etc. These media enhanced audio visual digital books have audio clips, video clips, embedded web-links for further research and interactive activities, 'Try This!' learning activities, key words activity interactive word matching to teach vocabulary, quizzes for self assessment, and slide show. This pairs books with online interactive content that brings the books to life and makes learning more fun. Each book has a digital code that unlocks the multimedia content. You will need internet access to get to the multimedia content. You have access to this content indefinitely, it is not a subscription. This is great for homeschooling for self directed learning.

The AV2 Books We Received:
  • Glaciers from the series "Earth's Water" published under their imprint Lightbox and intended for a grades 3-6 interest range.
  • A Lion's World belonging to their “EyeDiscover" series, intended for a K-2 interest range.
  • There Once Was a Cowpoke Who Swallowed an Ant, a fiction title, intended for a K-2 interest range.

How We Used This and Our Thoughts:
We received a PDF for each eBook. Once downloaded this gave us access to the multimedia content associated with each one with instructions inside the eBook to go to a website and enter a code. These looked like so much fun with all of their interactive components. I checked out each of these books and their extra features with my daughters who aged are 7 and 10.

Lightbox Glaciers eBook cover.

The first book we checked out was Glaciers from the series "Earth's Water" published under Weigl Publisher's imprint Lightbox. This is intended for a grades 3-6 interest range. It is a 23 page eBook represented on 15 PDF pages. After going to the link it says in the book you can type in the digital code it gives you. The digital code has to be typed in without spaces. After answering a security question it goes on to the media enhanced book online. This showed us a Lightbox Glaciers Menu that has the same pages as the PDF eBook, but with more interactive content. You can flip through this like you would an online book using the arrows.

Lightbox Glaciers Menu online.

The icons are easy to follow. Each page has a diamond shaped button to go back to the menu and an audio icon that when clicked will have a computer voice read you the book at the top left of the book. You have the option of doing this or reading the book on your own. The voice is robotic sounding so it wasn't our favorite. Some pages have other icons as well at the top left of the book, for example: the triangle icon plays a movie, the earth icon goes to an external link, the pen icon is an activity PDF you can download, the stack of papers icon starts an interactive graphic/transparency, the icon that looks like rectangles lined up opens a slide show, the g icon shows where stuff is on google maps. At the bottom left there are icons for going to the home page and accessing the Lightbox supplementary resources. At the top right there is an icon that shrinks and grows an area of the page if needed to zoom in or out or magnify it. Throughout the book there are underlined bold vocabulary words you can click on and it will popup a definition. Close to the end there is an interactive quiz you can have your student so online or alternatively you can download it in PDF format for printing. At the end there is a key icon that gives you access to a online keyword quiz with multiple choice you can bubble in or you can download a PDF version. There is also a science experiment at the end that you can do. This book is fantastic and very interactive with the reader. My daughter Teela especially loved the interactive transparencies and this book was perfect for her since it was right at her 4th grade level. It is also packed with great content about Glaciers and we learned a lot. This would be a great book paired with a unit study of the same or similar subject.

EyeDiscover A Lion's World eBook cover.

The next book we checked out was A Lion's World belonging to their “EyeDiscover" series. This is intended for a K-2 interest range. It is a 24 page eBook represented on 15 PDF pages. After going to the link it says in the book you can type in the digital code it gives you. The digital code has to be typed in without spaces. After answering a security question it goes on to the media enhanced book online. The first page it brings you to tells the student what they are going to be learning in a pleasant woman's voice, then you can start reading by clicking an arrow. It also has a lion image that moves and roars silently. The woman's voice proceeds to read the book for you if you do not click the audio icon to mute. If you click on the book icon you can see thumbnails of the PDF pages of the eBook. In each page in this media enhanced book you have to mute the lady's voice in order to read the book on your own. You can also make the page full screen by clicking the square with arrow icon. Each page you come to of the online version of this book has high-definition moving pictures. They bring the book to life. The last pages in the PDF show us facts about lions by numbers and keywords by sight words and content words. This wasn't as interactive as the Glaciers book, but it is written for a younger age group so I thought that was fine. We did wish after we muted the voice on the first page it stayed mute when we turned the page, but it didn't. My daughter Zari loves the moving pictures on the pages of the lions and the text was just at her speed since she is in first grade. It had some great facts about lions that my daughter didn't know and it was easy for her to read or read along if she wanted. This would also be a great book paired with a unit study of the same or similar subject.

A Lion's World eBook shows features to the EyeDiscover AV2 book.

AV2 Fiction Readalong There Once Was a Cowpoke Who Swallowed an Ant eBook cover.

The final book we checked out was a fiction reader called There Once Was a Cowpoke Who Swallowed an Ant. This is intended for a K-2 interest range. It is a 32 page eBook represented on 19 PDF pages. After going to the link it says in the book you can type in the digital code it gives you. The digital code has to be typed in without spaces. After answering a security question it goes on to the media enhanced book online. The first page it comes to has a big start button to click and that will open the AV2 book full screen.

AV2 Readalong Navigation.

You will have two options to choose from in this book: Read to Me and Read by Myself. The Read to Me version is a lot of fun. My daughter Zari loved this version. It had wonderful narration and fun sound effects. It also highlighted whole sentences/paragraphs as it reads. You can also pause it if needed. The Read by Myself version lets you read the words on the page to yourself or if you mouse over them it will read them as they would be in the other version. My daughters loved the cowboy's voice and even though the pictures weren't animated the sound effects made it more fun. This book was definitely farfetched, but very entertaining and is an spinoff of The Little Old Lady That Swallowed a Fly story. We enjoyed it very much.

Weigl Publishers AV2 books are interactive and fun. We are very glad we got to review these and hope to be able to review for Weigl Publishers again. We highly recommend these books for homeschooling or just to purchase for reading.

Social Media:
For use on Twitter, Instagram & Google+
  • Hashtags: #hsreviews #AV2Books #MediaEnhancedBooks #digitalbooks #digitallearning

BUY IT
You can purchase these or other titles from the Weigl Publishers catalog online.


Read other homeschool curriculum reviews for Weigl Publishers...
Multimedia Digital Books {Weigl Publishers Reviews}

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