Living a DIY Life

My husband and I are trying to conceive so the doctor asked me to start tracking my BBT (Basal Body Temperature). This thermometer from iProven reads to the hundreds of a degree (out to 2 decimal points). This thermometer worked great for me. It takes a little longer than a regular thermometer (about 2 minutes as compared to 1 minute) but this is so that here is a more accurate reading. Another reviewer complained that it took a long time, but the company mentions that and the reasoning in the listing.  The thermometer comes with a case. The one thing I would change is to make the screen back-lit. To get the most accurate reading, you are supposed take your temperature before getting out of bed. This means its dark in my room when I take my temp. It makes it very difficult to read the thermometer without the back light. It does remember the last temperature taken so I can come back later and record the temp when I have the light on. I received this produc...

After watching a lot of videos about how great the black mask is, I thought I'd give it a try.  I found this one from Dermatique on Amazon and it was listed at a best seller.   It was very easy to apply.  The consistency is like white school glue.   I didn't put on as a thick a layer as many of the videos I watched because the instructions said a thin layer.   My skin felt so soft afterwards.  I know some people have reported that it hurt to remove the mask, but I didn't find it horrible.  It hurt a lot less than waxing. I have sensitive skin.  As you can see in my pictures, my face was red in the areas where the mask was.  It wasn't itching, swollen and I didn't get hives so I'm assuming that it was red because of the pulling off process.  Since it does pull, I would suggest avoiding areas with thin skin (especially in us ladies over 30) like around the eyes.  Also, try to avoid getting in your hair.  I got s...

I have always had problems with regular earbuds staying in my ears.  Even if I'm just sitting still, they pop out.  These headphones from Bestfy help rectify that problem.   They have plastic pieces that help keep them on your ears.  I was worried that the plastic would be uncomfortable and make the back of my ears sore, but I was wrong.  I wore them for a movie spree session of about 6 hours and they were so comfortable I almost forgot I had them on.   The noise canceling works very well.  I can sit in the same room of my husband while he's playing video games and I don't have to turn the volume all the way up to enjoy my video.   The headphones come with 3 different sizes of rubber ear tips so that you can find the most comfortable fit for you.   The only thing I would add is a case to carry the headphones in.  I'd like to be able to have them in a case so I don't have to worry about anything in my bag messing them u...

I bought this set because I wanted to try the loofah out.  It was a bonus to get the back scrubber and the mitt scrubber.  The whole set is $10.99 on Amazon . The scrubber part of all 3 is made from a natural gourd.  The loofah even still had some seeds on the inside.   Dry, they feel really hard and rough, but a quick run under the water and they soften up nicely.   Dry I have really sensitive skin - if I lightly run my nails over it, I get huge red scratches - but these are gentle enough to not irritate my skin.   Wet The backing material on the back and mitt scrubbers are very soft.  I really liked the handles on the back scrubber.  It made it easy to hang on to while rubbing it back and forth on my back. The only downside I found was that my soap didn't foam up very well on the surface.  That isn't a deal breaker for me, but some people may not like the lack of bubbles. I received this product at a di...

These kitchen shears have replaced the ones that came with my knife block.  $9.95 on Amazon is a pretty good deal for a nice set of kitchen shears. The shears have a really comfortable rubber handle which is nice when trying to cut through tough things like skewers or bone.   They are labeled as having 8 functions, although I probably will never use some of them. Not only are they shears, but they also have a peeler, fish scaler, can opener, screwdriver and nut cracker.  I have never scaled a fish and I'm not sure when I may need a screwdriver while cooking, but those options are there.  The blades are really sharp and they can come about for easy cleaning and for using the peeler and scaler.   They aren't super heavy, but still feel substantial.  They also come with a sheath that has a strong magnet on the back.  The magnet was strong enough to hold the sheath and the scissors firmly on my fridge without sliding or fallin...

I teach students with special needs and I'm always on the look out for new fidgets (things they can mess with in class).  This one is somewhat pricey at $11.99 on Amazon.  I've seen several for under $5.  The difference here is in the quality of the materials.  The cheaper ones are usually plastic.  This one is aluminum and has a nice weight to it. The idea behind fidget devices is that if the person is physically distracted, then their mind can pay more attention to the task at hand.  I let one of my students with anxiety use this one for several days and he says it has helped him a bunch.  There is a great weight to the spinner and you can really feel how high quality it is.  It spins super smooth without any catches or hiccups.  One push of the blades and it will spend for at least a minute.   I know there is a bunch of people who think the spinners are really distracting.  These are intended for people with a disability...

This work light is super bright!  We previously had a name brand one that we bought from a big box store.  I husband was a bit resistant to trying a brand he had never heard of but after seeing how bright it is and how great it works, he's changed his mind.  This Daway light is going for $32.99 on Amazon right now.  This is comparable to how much we paid for our name brand one.  The name brand one only has white light and the lights only have one mode, so in the long run, this is a much better deal. The light is rechargeable and it comes with a wall plug and a cigarette lighter plug so you can charge it at home or on the go.  It has red and white lights and the lights can be on solid or flashing.  The flashing can be helpful if pulled over at night working on the car. If there was anything I could change about the light, it would be the off switch.  To turn the light on, you click the one button.  To cycle through the m...