Ozeri Digital Blood Pressure Monitor

Disclosure: Grandma Bonnie's Closet has not been compensated for the following product review. I received  a sample of the product mentioned below for review purposes. All opinions expressed are my own.

It is just about that time of year where most everyone starts thinking about a New Years resolution. I do not normally make a New Year resolution myself. What I normally do is look back over the year and make a list of things I might want to improve upon. At the top of the list this year is my health. I have been struggling with some health problems for a few months now and I have decided I need to take better care of myself and work on the underlying causes of my health problems. So, on my list of health goals is getting more exercise, eating right, and loosing a little weight. I will be monitoring my weight and blood pressure for the next several months. I am hoping to see some gradual changes in both my blood pressure and weight. With all this to consider I was so excited when I heard that Qzeri asked if I would like to review the CardioTech Pro Series Digital Blood Pressure Monitor. 

When the Blood Pressure Monitor arrived in the mail I was just a little worried it would be hard for me to set and use. Well, I had nothing to worry about. The product came with a little manual that went over the process of setting the date and time. Then you turn it on and the rest is easy. The Blood Pressure Monitor has voice-guided operation. The digital voice told me my wrist was too high. I lowered my wrist and it told me it was too low. I raised it just a bit and the digital voice said it was ready to start. The cuff inflated measured my blood pressure and read it out loud to me. 
The monitor also automatically provides an audible hypertension assessment along with a screen read out. It can even detect an irregular heartbeat(arrhythmia). 
The Monitor can store 180 blood pressure readings.(90 each for 2 users).

The large lighted screen was easy to see and read. That is important for me as I do not have to find my glasses when I need to take my blood pressure. The Ozeri Digital Blood Pressure Monitor comes with a 5 year warranty, user manual, 2 aaa batteries and a carrying case.

You can find this Blood Pressure Monitor here on Amazon.
Will you be making a New Years Resolution? 

So Sad To See The End

Disclosure: I am participating in the Verizon Boomer Voices program and have been provided with a wireless device and six months of service in exchange for my honest opinions about the product.

As 2013 comes to an end so will the Verizon Boomer Voices Program that I have been a part of. It is sad to see this program end. I have benefited in learning first hand about all the new innovative products and services Verizon has to offer their customers. Although I have been a Verizon Wireless customer for many years it was not until I joined this program that I became aware of how great Verizon's services really are. 
Verizon has made it easy for customers like myself to learn about the connected devices we own. 
One of the ways a customer can learn how to use their connected device to its full potential is to attend an educational work shop that is made available in stores like  Verizon Destination Store at Mall of America. 
Another way a customer can learn to use their connected device not only to its full potential but to optimize for the best personal use is by adding Verizon's Tech Coach to your phone service. I just love this service. 
Verizon Tech Coach is a service that gives you over-the -phone, in person(not a robot or computer) technical support from device experts. This includes support for apps, cloud services, connected devices, printers, routers, and computers. The Tech Coach can even remotely access your Android phone, PC or Mac if you are comfortable with that. I for one like this idea. You see when something is not working for me I will gladly let an expert fix it and lower my frustration level by 100%. 
Now you know what my two favorite services are from Verizon. But I figure you might want to know what my favorite smart phone is. At this time I have compared three smart phones and have come to the conclusion that my favorite by just a pinch The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 which is just slightly better in my opinion than my Galaxy SIII. The Droid Razr Maxx HD came in third by just a smidgen. All three phones are great Smart Phones and I have not had any issues using any one of the three. You can check out how I compared them in this past post if you missed the comparison.
I want to thank Verizon for allowing me to be a part of the Boomer Voices Program. Thank you for the the experience that will stay with me for many years to come.

Scoobys First Christmas

Disclosure: Grandma Bonnie's Closet has not been compensated for the following product review. I received samples of the products mentioned below for review purposes. All opinions expressed are my own.

Just a few more days until Christmas and I have been planning a little gathering for the part of our family that will be able to make it home for Christmas. I was hoping all our grandchildren would be here but that is not going to happen this year. Well, I decided I wanted Scooby to dress up for our family Christmas party. Now mind you Scooby has taken to dressing up. He enjoys wearing his dog sweater and his quilted coat. When Scooby wants to go out side he will paw at the little wicker basket I keep his clothing in. I open the lid and he will dig until he finds something wear. I have to laugh because he thinks he has to wear something to go outside. I did not teach him this but it is too cute. I don't think he has a preference as to what he wears he just wants something on to go outside. My hubby thinks he sees us putting our coats on and is copying us. 
So, I contacted Anit Accessories and asked to review this darling little costume Candy Cane Cutie. I know he is a boy but I think you will see how cute he could be if he were a little girl. Lol, My husband laughed so hard when he saw Scooby dressed as a girl. He had to admit Scooby was adorable.

A bit of info about the Candy Cane Cute Dog Costume. The costume comes in two pieces. It includes a v-shaped corset top, attached lace petticoat, apron with candy cane and bow applique, and adjustable drawstring bonnet with mistletoe detail. The front Velcro closure makes the dress easy to put on and take off. The details on this costume are incredible. From the lace petticoat to the adorable bonnet it is the perfect Christmas Outfit for Scooby. 
Costumes from Anit Accessories range in sizes from x-small to x-large. If you are looking for a fun adorable holiday costume for your favorite pooch look no further check out their Christmas Costumes here.  
Along with the Candy Cane Cutie Costume, Anit Accessories sent a mesh harness and plush lobster rope toy to review. 

Scooby loves squeaky toys and stuffed toys. So, the combination has made him one happy dog. Being an older dog Scooby does not chew his toys much unlike King Arthur who thinks chew toys are meant to be eaten. Scooby likes to carry his toys around the house and hide them. I imagine he learnt his lesson when he left his pink squeaky pig out in the open and King Arthur ate the pigs head. 
The plush red lobster dog rope toy is made of ultra plush material with tightly embroidered details. The squeaker is deep inside. The lobster measures 6.5 inches long from claws to tail. This makes it perfect for puppies and small to medium breed dogs. 
The beautiful Basic Mesh Harness in red has been put to good use. I have wanted to get Scooby a harness but was hesitant not knowing what was the best harness for a small dog like Scooby. When I first put the harness on him I had to adjust it to fit him which was very easy to do even with a squirmy Scooby in a hurry to get outside.

The mesh harness is super comfortable. Made with breathable mesh it improves pet safety and comfort. by distributing any pulling tension evenly through the dog's mid-section around the shoulders, rather than on the throat. Being soft and lightweight the harness provides good airflow for maximum comfort. The chest strap is fully adjustable to custom fit your dog. It has a side release snap that makes of putting on and off easy for you and your pet. To find a store near you that sells these beautiful costumes and pet accessories check out this page.. 

Like Anit Accessories on Facebook.

This post is also featured in Grandma Bonnie's Closet's Holiday Gift Guide. 

A Verizon Party With An Encore

Disclosure: I am participating in the Verizon Boomer Voices program and have been provided with a wireless device and six months of service in exchange for my honest opinions about the product.

Early Saturday morning as party preparations were under way snow started to fall in those big beautiful flakes that we loves so much. I new we were under a winter weather advisory but pushed that fact to the back of my mind. I got started on food preparations and equipment testing. While I worked to some Christmas tunes being played on my Samsung Galaxy Note 3 over the Mini Jambox by Jawbone my husband began cooking beef ribs in his homemade barbecue sauce. 
Looking out the window on and off as the day progressed my husband got a little nervous about the weather and began calling the guest to be sure they were still planning to attend the party. After all the calls were made, each guest had assured us they would be able to make it. We were able to relax and complete all the party preparations needed in plenty of time to spare. Then about an hour before the guest would start to arrive we began getting call offs because of the winter storm that was settling around us. After most of our guests cancelled we called the remaining guest to reschedule for the next day. Unfortunately, we were not able to call the party off completely because there were a few party guest already out on the snow covered roads in route to our home. So, on the spur of the moment I knew I would make my presentation of all the great Verizon products that evening and give an encore performance the next day. At least that is what I thought would happen. I actually did one presentation on Saturday evening and two on Sunday for the guests that had other prior obligations and could not all show up at the same time. I saved the prize giveaways until the end on Sunday evening and did a drawing from all the guest that showed up over the two days time. I even included the Skype and Hangout guests in the drawings. 
Our menu consisted of Barbecued beef ribs, Greek salad, fresh green beans with slivered almonds, buttered potatoes with parsley, and two Swiss cake rolls chocolate and red velvet. 

 The products featured and given away at this party were as follows.

MINI JAMBOX by Jawbone

• It connects via Bluetooth.(or with a 3.5 mm stereo cable)
• Up to ten hours of battery life.
• Price $179.99

Check out the Mini Jambox here.

The Mophie Juice Pack Powerstation

• Quick-charging 4000 mAh external battery.
• Works with just about any USB-charged device.
• Provides a charging output of up to 2.1 amps
• Price $79.99

Check out the Mophie Juice Pack Powerstation here.

Verizon Ellipsis 7

• A portable full-feature tablet available exclusively from Verizon.
• Works on Verizon's fast 4G LTE network and with WiFi.
• It has a 7-inch HD display.
• It has an ample battery life and a 1.2GHz quad core processor.
• Price $149.99 with a 2-year contract or $299.99 with month-to-month.

Check out the Verizon Ellipsis here.

Most of the guest that attended this 2nd Verizon Boomer Voices Party were in the age range of 20  to 29 years. We did have a couple boomers like myself but the young crowd was represented very well. A vote from the guest picked the MINI JAMBOX by Jawbone as their favorite product. That said the FitBit One was the winner at the first party I hosted. You can read about that here. 

More guests.

Hanging Out!

Skyping!

What would you pick as your favorite product for the above list? 

Christmas Tree

Our tree is finally up! I am so happy. Little Bug was over yesterday and grandpa fished the tree out of the tool shed. Little Bug was thrilled to help decorate the tree.

I am now looking forward to seeing all my sweet grandchildren. What are your plans for the holiday? Will you be traveling?

A Little Bit Of Everything

I have been slacking on my blog these days. I thought a little update on what I have been up to might be in order. So, we have had this stray rooster hanging around our home for a couple months now. Well, I am not sure I should call it a stray as we do know where it came from. The neighbors two doors down moved away and did not take their rooster with them. some new owners have since moved in to the home but I am guessing they don't think the rooster belongs to them. He has been hungry so I have been feeding him and he has decide to adopt us as his new family. The cats and dogs have no problem with him hanging around. It is kind of funny to see them interact.

Our cats and rooster sharing water.

Rooster enjoying the barn cats food.

We took a trip over Thanksgiving to see our grandsons Pooh Bear and Little Roo. We even took Scooby with us. I had never taken a dog on such a long ride before. Scooby behaved great. We will probably take him on lots of future trips considering how much he enjoyed the trip.

I placed a sheet over the back seat and blocked the space between the seats so he could not get into the front seat. It work well and no dog hair was left on the seats or our clothing. 

My grandsons made  a ginger bread house. That was so much fun. While Pooh Bear glued the house together with icing Little Roo snatched a wall and started munching on it. It was so hilarious.  My daughter and I were laughing so hard as Pooh Bear was trying to build the house with parts that had little bites from them. I caught a cute photo when Pooh Bear thought no one was watching. Who could blame him for tasting the icing it must have been hard to resist the temptation. Lol, they were so much fun.

Any how we have gotten our share of snow and maybe someone Else's share of snow you might agree. I just hope by morning it has stopped so I might be able to get to my Christmas tree in the storage shed. I can not for the life of me remember why I decided to store it in the shed this year. I did that about ten years ago and had a hard time getting to it. So after that I have always stored it in our house. One forgets many things as we get older. So this is the first year in many that I do not have my tree up the day after Thanksgiving. 

A Smart Phone For Grandma

Disclosure: I am participating in the Verizon Boomer Voices program and have been provided with a wireless device and six months of service in exchange for my honest opinions about the product.

So, with Christmas just around the corner you are probably finishing up your holiday shopping. You might want to reconsider that sweater, slippers or bottle of cologne you got grandma. Take my advise grandma wants a smart phone. Of course you already know all the wonderful things a smart phone can do. But I want to give you a list of some of the features a grandmother like myself might find useful.

The following is a list of how I use my smart phone.
1. Obviously, I call and text with my phone.
2. Keep up with my email.
3. Pay bills and check bank accounts.
4. Blog
5. Keep up with social media, Twitter, Facebook and more.
6. Read books.
7. Skype with my grandchildren
8. Hangout with my grandchildren.
9. Take and share pictures of my grandchildren.
10. Use a GPS app VZ Navigator to travel to my grandchildren's homes. Their families have moved twice over the last year. The VZ Navigator has saved use many times.
11. Watch movies with my grandchildren. Usually when we are traveling in a vehicle together.
12. Play toddler games with my grandchildren. I have several apps loaded on my phone just for my grandchildren.
13. Sharing my mobile hot spot with my grandchildren's tablets. That way I can use my phone while they play their educational games.
14. With all the apps I have on my phone now. I could list at least a dozen more uses such as my calendar, alarm clock, radio and more.

When picking a smart phone for grandma you should take into consideration what features would be convenient for her. For instance if she takes lots of photos then a good camera on the cell phone is a must. If grandma has a vision problem a large screen might be appropriate.

Let's compare the three smart phones I am currently carrying. Yes, I have three smart phones I have been using for a while now. I purchased a Samsung Galaxy S 3 in January 2013. In June 2013 I became a participant in the Verizon Boomer Voices program and was given a Droid Razr Maxx HD to review. Just recently Verizon has added the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 to the program to be reviewed. 
I will just highlight the features of each phone. If you would like to go a little deeper you may want to stop by a Verizon Wireless Store near you. They will be happy to help you select a phone just right for you or your grandmother!

They all have great features.Being all are android phones I can easily use and switch between each device. 
The Samsung Galaxy S3 is a winner for being light weight which is easy on arthritic hands. It has a fantastic camera which is easy to use. I have no complaints about the battery life which is good but not great. 
The Droid Razr Maxx HD is a winner for its battery life. It is rugged which if you are hard on a phone this is great for that accidental drop. The camera is good but not great. One complaint it is heavy for arthritic hands. Using a blue tooth head set helps with this complaint.
Finally the Samsung Galaxy Note 3. It is the winner in my book on all accounts. The large screen is great for reading. The S Pen is perfect for writing notes instead of typing. The battery life is totally awesome. The camera beats the other two phones with out a doubt! 
Readers, What do you think? Which phone would your grandmother like? Which phone would you prefer?

Important Fitbit One Follow Up

Disclosure: I am participating in the Verizon Boomer Voices program and have been provided with a wireless device and six months of service in exchange for my honest opinions about the product.

This post is long over due. I have had a little struggle writing this blog post. I have not been sure how I wanted to approach this subject. As most of my friends and readers know I usually do not write about my health. I like to write about happy subjects such as my sweet grandchildren, recipes, DIY projects and lots of product reviews. You may have noticed I have not written much lately except about the products I have accepted for review. I have been having some health issues that have taken away some of my computer time.

Over the last six months I have been privileged to wear a Fitbit One wireless activity tracker. I have enjoyed the perks of keeping up with my exercise, diet and sleep tracking. While wearing the Fitbit One I have been able to see why I have been so tired and exhausted during my waking hours. I was able to see how restless my sleep really was. I shared this information with my doctor and we came up with a plan to help improve my sleep. After following the suggestions my doctor made I continued to track my sleep with the Fitbit One. I had some improvement to be sure. The suggestions seemed to help with my daytime energy levels. I still felt that I was not getting enough rest and would run out of energy early in the day. Not being able to focus on normal daily tasks and falling a sleep at the computer where just a few of the symptoms I have been experiencing. 
Once again I printed off the sleep record my Fitbit One provided. With this information in hand I made a follow up appointment with my family doctor. After looking over my sleep record, my doctor has decided we need to run some tests. He suspects Sleep Apnea might be what is causing part of my health problems. I will keep you updated with the test results in the near future. 
I want to thank Verizon Wireless for allowing me to be a part of the Verizon Boomer Voices Program and for the amazing Fitbit One they have provided for review. As the Verizon Boomer Voices Program comes to an end I am going to miss being a part of this awesome group and the wonderful service Verizon has provided. I expect to remain a loyal customer for many years to come. 
You can read my past post about the Fibit One and all it can do here.

CampusBookRentals And Operation Smile

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of CampusBookRentals.com. All opinions expressed are my own.

It is that time of year when college students have finished classes for the semester. Its time to sell their textbooks and make a little money. I went through this with each of my children. They buy their text books at a high price in the college book store. Then at the end of the semester the book store will buy back the text books at a very reduced rate.
I feel college students are spending a great deal of money on their education and can use a little break in at least the cost of their textbooks. When my youngest son was in his Junior year of college we found CampusBookRentals and were able save 40-90% off of bookstore prices by renting his textbooks. With free shipping both ways and flexible rental periods this was perfect for us. CampusBookRentals also allows highlighting in the textbooks which not all rental companies allow. 
You get all the this and another big incentive. CampusBookRentals donates to Operation Smile with each textbook rented. You may have heard of Operation Smile. Operation Smile is an awesome organization that performs cleft lip surgeries on children whose families could not otherwise afford it. The improvement in quality of life for the children that receive these surgeries is almost incomprehensible.You can read more about Operation Smile here.
I have really liked dealing with CampusBookRentals. My experiences have been great. If you like what you have heard so far you will really be pleased to hear that not only can you rent your students textbooks and save money. You can also use their new RentBack program to make money by renting the textbooks you own to other students. Check out www.RentBack.com for more information about this program.
Check out this video clip to see how easy it is to rent textbooks for your student.

A Verizon Boomer Voices Party In The Making

Disclosure: I am participating in the Verizon Boomer Voices program and have been provided with a wireless device and six months of service in exchange for my honest opinions about the product.

Being a part of the Verizon Boomer Voices program has given me the opportunity to try out some newest, hottest, and trendiest cell phones on the market today. I have learned a lot along the way about products and services offered by Verizon Wireless. I have been privy to hot deals like this one being offered now. "Red-Hot Deal!! 7" Samsung Galaxy Tab for $99 w/new 2-yr activation. Get it here! Offer ends 12/9 so hurry to get this deal.
Now I am in the party preparation stage of my second Verizon Boomer Voices House Party. If you missed the details on my first House Party check it out here. I know you are all wondering, "What happens at a Verizon Boomer Voices House Party?" Well, let me tell you what you can expect if you are invited to a party like this one. First, you are not going to need your wallet, checkbook or credit card. There is nothing being sold and nothing to purchase. You can expect to learn about the latest and greatest technological devices available at Verizon Wireless stores across the country and online. You should also expect a swag bag full of awesome Verizon Goodies, games, prizes, good food and lots of fun.

My last party was attended by some tech savvy friends, family and co-workers with many being in the boomer age group. This second party is going to be a little different. I have asked my children to invite their very tech savvy friends which are in a much younger age group. I would say the 20 something age group. So, I am betting they are going to be very interested in the hot prizes I am giving away at this party.

I will give you a few clues to some of the awesome prizes. 

Clue #1: A portable energy source for on the go!

Clue #2: Its small, makes a big sound, no wire needed!

Clue #3: It can be connected, makes for great book reading!

Try and guess what the prizes might be. Follow @grandma_bonnie on twitter for some more clues to my Verizon Boomer Voices House Party Prizes.  I am off now in search of a new recipe that will Wow my party guests.