**RESOURCES** Apps, Videos and Tutorials

Reviews are slow while I wait for approval of more products. In the meantime, I'm taking breaks from my fiction writing to share resources that some of you might be able to use. I'll jump right on in.

Want a 2nd cell number for free?

Sideline is an interesting sounding app. I say that it sounds interesting because, so far, I've not actually used it. I'm waiting for numbers to become available in my area code.

If you are lucky enough to find numbers with your area code - or if you don't mind your second number being prefixed with an area code different than your current number - check it a cnet overview here. The features are listed here on Sideline's page. If you like it lots, you can get paid versions. Because I haven't read all the docs and you might want to, check out the FAQs and other support info.


Want some explanatory stuff/Explain it like I'm 5?

Thanks to Reddit, I ran across these YouTube channels that can be helpful"
SciShow and SciShow Kids. (As always, be sure to check the page for leads to more content. Also, if you like the channels, show your support.)

Some other useful (and interesting) channels are Science and Technology 4U and Discovery TV's (especially the Learn Something New playlist).

I've long used the How Stuff Works site as a resource for info when writing on different subjects. Make sure to check out the channels they have on YouTube also.

As the saying goes, you can learn almost anything with with YouTube and Pinterest. As far as videos go, there's even a YouTube channel for Google developers. (Seriously though, if you learn how to search it well, Pinterest has some great resources for writers, students and just about anyone else.)

Want to mix learning with some entertainment?

Personally, I love watching documentaries. It's a guilt-free way to watch some TV, but it's also a great way to help my brain generate story ideas. If nothing else, you don't usually feel like you've just spent wasted time in front of the tube. Here are some of my fave places to pick up on interesting doc films:

• SundanceNow Doc Club is a streaming subscription service. Too rich for my blood right now, but...

... free alternatives are out there, including

• A lot on YouTube (this is a link to a query showing a bunch of choices), also
• Top Documentary Films is my long-time fave. If you get an expired/non-existent vid, do a Google search and you might find another source of it.
• Documentary Addict is a site I haven't yet used, but... it's there. Same goes for
• Documentary Heaven

With documentaries, it's all about what you're looking for. If you want a video about something really specific, YouTube is still the best bet, IMO.

Anything specific for students?

If you're a student, definitely check out TryIt. Most definitely. It's an "opportunity and inspiration site" that helps connect students to learning and career interests. Something like that anyway. Check the FAQs for better info than I can give you.

Any other good stuff?

Plenty and they are too good to leave out, but I was having trouble categorizing them so... you just have to go for it:

•  OER Commons (Open Educational Resources) has lots of resources, including full university courses. Yep. No excuse for ignorance.
• Khan Academy. I've linked to KA before. It seems heavily math focused, but there's other subjects covered & it's excellent for college prep work.
• Wolfram Alpha. I don't even know how to describe the site. Good thing there's an About Us page!

Of course, I can't leave out Wikiversity. 

If I missed anything, here's a list I've just run across that could help you out with finding more video tutorial sources. Wish I'd found it at the start of this post.


Good luck, good learning, and
Peace
--Free

**RESOURCES** For Writers (Microsoft Edge)

I wasn't sure if I should tag this as a "Review" or  "Resources". Either way, this will be of interest (again) to note-takers, writers, students, and businesspeople. Okay, it's pretty much for anybody.

Microsoft Edge is the browser you can write on whether or not you have a touchscreen PC.

Courtesy a nephew, I happen to have a nice touchscreen PC, but with the Edge, you can use the mouse to utilize the write-on feature. There are other features that can work for you, depending on your needs. I'll go through the ones I have used up to now. WARNING: There are going to be a lot of screenshots in this post...

This is the landing page that I got. It's a little confusing because you really can't do any alterations here. Instead, you have to "turn on" the interesting feature.

Keep reading. We're going to get to the good part.

First thing I figured out is that I can't "write" on the Start (or landing) page. Refer to the photo below. When on that Start page, the options I want (on far right hand side) are greyed out and not available.

So, get off that page by going to the Google tab. Or you can just open a new tab with the + sign.

I decided to use the Google home page to test this out. Notice that now I have those options on the far right top.

When you get to whichever page/site it is that you want to make notes on (in this case, Google, for me), then the main two buttons you want to deal with are...

1 - The one that gives the option to "make a web note" (see yellow arrow)

and

2 - The one that gives the option of what to do with the web note -share, save, etc. - (see orange arrow)

You can write on the screen - with stylus or finger if you have a touchscreen, and with the cursor/mouse if you don't have a touchscreen. You can use the Text Box function to type on the page. Also, you can Highlight things or use the Eraser to delete what you've added.

Notice that you can change the sizes and colors for the Pen and the Highlighter.

Now here is where I get to tell you what I had a problem with. Maybe "glitch" is the better term...

When I was using my finger to circle items on the screen, I must have touched outside the "allowed" (or the edge, heh heh) part of the screen because my markings were interrupted and had blank spots. Writing on the center of the web page/screen was okay except my onscreen writing is super sloppy. I preferred to use the Text Box function.

The one thing I don't like is that, of course, searching from Edge defaults you to the Bing search engine. I really, really hate Bing.

Another irritation is that once you Save what you've done, the Eraser no longer works on your notations. In other words, if you make a hand note then hit Save, you can only erase what you do after that last save.

Overall, though, this is all pretty cool. For me, I like being able to use the features while researching stuff for my writing. I think that's something that just about anyone can find a use for.

Best of all is the ability to share what you've done. It's fast and easy. As you can see from the screenshot below, the most popular share spots are there. If you don't see one you're looking for, you can look for one in the Windows Store.

Last of all, if you do use Edge (even only when you want to use the features I mentioned), be sure to check out the Settings. I was able to change everything I wanted (except having Bing as the default search...).

I won't be using this constantly, but I am going to take advantage of what I need from it. I haven't yet done a lot with the Cortana (the "personal assistant" built into Win10)  feature. From what I understand, there's a way to link Cortana to Edge to enhance the experience. ~shrug~ The link I just provided explains more, but I'm not there yet.

Peace
--Free

P.S.: If I made any errors in this overview, you'll just have to remember that I'm an Edge newbie.

**RESOURCES** For Note-takers (May 2016)

How is it that I am just now hearing about the wonder that is digital writing? You guys have been holding out.

If you are a writer (or student, or other notetaker) whose mind works the way mine does and- Wait. Let me back up. I don't think that anyone's mind works the way mine does. What I should say is that if you are the type of writer who:

• Comes up with the most brilliant ideas ever at the most inconvenient times, and/or
• Tends to write on any and everything when your ideas and thoughts strike, and/or
• Loses some of your amazing ideas/thoughts because of lost notes, and/or
• Sometimes like to write things down (instead of using a keyboard), and/or
• Is sometimes so much of a scatterbrained creative genius that all the mind-mapping software in the world can't help.

Basically, if you are like most writers and/or creative personalities, then you might benefit from gadgets that help you keep better track of your ideas.

Personally, I want one of those digital gadgets that let you take notes on the go, then transfer those notes to you computer. Preferably, the notes will transfer to text format. I'd dance around the moon if I could find something that would do all that and work with MS Word.

So far, I've seen some of the digital pens that sound interesting:

• Livescribe sounds neato. I'm confused about whether it works with a PC or just phones and tablets. This was one of the first "smart pens" I heard about. Thing is, apparently, you need to use a special type of paper. I'm bookmarking this for later reading.
• Equil sounds most interesting to me at first glance because I saw the words "real paper, real ink" and thought of not having to spend so much on refills and such.
• IRISNotes is on my radar because, right off, I see that it's claimed to "type what you write". That is exactly what I need. EXACTLY. 
• Like some of the other pens I've seen, the Neo Smartpen sounds like it might be more for artists than for writers. 
• Bamboo Spark sounds interesting also. I'm a little confused about whether or not it's limited to a Wacom tablet.

By the way, the drool factor was highest for the Moleskin "Writing Set". Who am I kidding though? I can't afford regular Moleskin notepads, no way am I going to get tangled up with a gadget from the brand. Besides, there are too many downsides just to have something with the "Moleskin" name on it. (There's a reason I drive an old, old Honda. Two words: cheap and reliable.)

Since there are so many potential pros and cons for any of these (depending on what the user needs), I'm checking a lot of lists and reviews. This one is where I've started.

So, if you are like me, you might have questions about which gadget would be best for writers to use. If you are more up on all of this than me, I hope you can help ease my confusion. I'm still on the hunt for a pen that will work well for me. I will be back to do another post when I've narrowed down options based on the following:

• Affordable initial cost (I'm thinking most writers I know want a range of $100 - $150), and
• Most affordable upkeep (refills on ink/cartridges/special paper etc.
• Easiest to use on the go
• Reliable at saving & transferring written notes
• An ability to recall stored notes would be nice
• Works with a PC/Not limited to smartphone or tablet. (If it works with only a PC, I'm fine)
• Out of the box "user-friendly" setup and management. (Most writers don't want to have to deal with anything but getting their ideas down!)
• Warranty/Guarantee. Better yet, a trial period.
• Decent online and/or customer support.

Is that asking for too much? I don't know, but it sure doesn't hurt to ask anyway.

Peace

--Free

**REVIEW** Pure Organic Ceremonial Grade Matcha Green Tea

Green tea is one of those things that is so good for you, but hard to fit into the daily (Westernized) lifestyle. If I drank green tea the way I drink coffee...

What I like about matcha is that I can do one cup a day and feel like I've had lots more than that. I've tried other brands and am always on the lookout to try more. I got this in and gave it the first try today:

I love the color of matcha green tea. The taste is something that takes getting used to. For me, I've learned just how much to use for a cup (depending on if I plan on doing 1 cup or 2 on a particular day), and I've learned how to sweeten it to my personal taste. Before I get to all that, though, let's talk some of the positives about this particular one from Nature's Nectar.

Just as with anything else that I do for my health and well-being, when I use a food or beverage, I want to know that I'm getting good quality. One of the first things I noticed on the product page for this matcha is that it's "lab tested for purity".

In the U.S. we look to the USDA for regulations of agriculture, and this tea has the stamp. In addition, this matcha also bears the stamp of the JAS - or Japanese Agricultural Standards. From what I have read and heard, the JAS has strict standards. That's nice to know. I'm not sure, but I think that the Japanese might be stringent when it comes to labeling a tea as "ceremonial grade".

It's been a while since I've reviewed a tea so let me go again over the benefits.

The biggie for a lot of people is that green tea is supposed to be a metabolism booster. Of course, that would translate (I'd hope) to weight loss, right? The other thing that the tea is good for is general relaxation and stress relief. That's the one that I like. Most of all, This matcha has an all natural Amino Acid called L-Theanine which supports energy and focus and mental clarity. (I should be drinking more than one or two servings a day!)

By the way, when I checked online to find out more about "L-Theanine", I found a Wikipedia article discussing the use of it in Japan. This article claims that "Theanine is used to help with anxiety, blood pressure control, mood, and cognition". I have to check out more info about that, but I found it interesting on the surface.

Like I said, I've learned how to use matcha to suit my tastebuds. I usually add the smallest amount of sweetener to it. In the past several months, I've primarily been using honey for my go-to sweetener. Tupelo honey (being so extremely sweet, IMO), is the one I like for this tea. I don't have to use a lot of the honey because I generally gulp the tea down as fast as I can.

Another (and my favorite) way to get my fix of matcha is to add it to smoothies. Until recently, I'd even been adding matcha to ice creams. Go ahead and laugh, but I thought that as long as I was going to be "bad" I might as well me good at the same time. There's a slight problem with that plan though.

I can't remember where I read this, but it was in n article or post all about teas. When someone asked about adding cream, milks, and sugars, it was pointed out why that isn't as healthy. Aside from the fact that those things add calories, the dairy also does something to lessen some of the healthy properties of the tea. I can't remember now exactly what the claim was but I'll update if I find the source again.

In addition to the health benefits, I know that some people consider other issues so I'll point out a couple more things. This matcha is pure. It's non-GMO, gluten-free and free of preservatives. I appreciate that the can is labeled on the bottom with a 'Use by" date.

I'll mention that The Daily Tea talks about the pricing of matcha. Also, notice that there is a Recipes page (for all types of teas) on the site.

So, go on, go and get your green on.

Peace
--Free

DISCLOSURE: via Tomoson, I received one or more of the products mentioned in this post at no charge & in exchange for doing a fair & unbiased review.

**RESOURCES** For Writers (May 2016)

Some handy links I ran across in the last few weeks that might be helpful.

              

• The Word Counter blog is just good stuff. Show some support.
• Word Counter link 1 
• WC link 2 (for counting words by font/size/spacing etc.)
• WC link 3 (a quick-glance chart)
• Grammarly  is amazing (also the MS Word Add-in is extremely useful)
• I've already mentioned Scapple. Love, love, LOVE it. For PC and Mac.
• Should you market your work as "Literary" or "Mainstream"? 
• What do reps consider a decent length for fiction types? 
• Self Pub Nation has some encouragement for you.
• A helpful infographic for Kindle publishing (quick & short)

I will update this as I collect more links. For now, I am working like mad to finish reviewing the proof copy of my book. Hopefully, my sanity will return as soon as I am finished with that task.

Screenshot of Scapple
 just to show how it works

By the way, someone once saw what my "writing station" (meaning a tiny laptop table to sit at and everything else spread across my bed) looked like. They remarked that one day I might have a really nice writing office. You know what? I like my improvised situation.

Peace

--Free

**REVIEW** CreateSpace for Publishing

**For those who want to skip my ranting & get right to the tips and "helps" (hah!) I offer, those items are scattered throughout the post so I put them in boldface font.**

I'm thankful for CreateSpace giving independent writers (and other artists) a platform. Believe me, if it were not for CreateSpace, I'd still be begging to get my foot in the door with an agent or publisher.

Here's the thing: I'm not writing to became rich and/or famous. I write because I like to tell my stories. I might never become a household name, but I will get to see my work in print form. I might connect with a few people who like the way I think.

Whatever the case, I think that it's pretty awesome that I can be in control of all aspects of getting my work into print (or even in digital format) for people to read. So, once again, thank you, CreateSpace.

But, uh...

LOL

There are some headaches in the pursuit of anything. Writing the stories for my first C.S. project wasn't hard. Okay - the writing wasn't any harder than I expect writing to always be. I'm full of stories (however that sounds) and want to share all of them, no matter how difficult that might be.

The hard part of preparing the book was using the CreateSpace process.

Oh.

My.

Heavens to murgatroyd.

I had so many problems. The template I downloaded (to conform to CS standards) drove me crazy. Parts of my manuscript kept being shifted and knocked out of sync with fonts and alignment... I think I've mentioned in another post about the day I literally just sat down and wept. That's right. I wept,

Once I got my manuscript to jibe with the template, I thought I was done with the hard stuff.

The hard part was just beginning.

When I did get the manuscript uploaded, CreateSpace flagged problems with it. Something to do with font embedding, blah, blah, shoot-me-now, blah.

I decided to take a cooling off period with the manuscript and skip past it and work on the cover.
That was going to come back to smack me upside the back of my head. Just wait.

The cover that I wanted were in these beautiful hues of reds and golds. The font was exactly what I wanted (though I can't even remember now which font that was) and I was so happy that I was on a natural high. For about five minutes.

Now the dang cover was erroring out with CreateSpace. Nothing I did would clear the errors - and I really had no idea what the errors were.

Going into the community forums to look for sympathy, empathy and, maybe, help, I learned that I was just having first-timer's dilemma. Apparently, just about everyone was having the same problems. I did find a couple of offered solutions, but they didn't work for me.

After more tears, I decided that the entire universe was against the idea of my getting anywhere with my book. I considered becoming an alcoholic, but I'm such a lightweight that, once I get past two glasses of wine, I'm out so cold that I don't even drool. Someone once took a photo of me passed out drunk. I should take all my photos that way. I was so out of it that I looked perfect and embalmed. Of course, it helped that I was dressed from a night out and my hair and makeup were  seriously on point.

I spent a couple of days feeling sorry for myself, then I jumped back into the task. Since by now I was sick of the cover, I went back to the manuscript. For anyone else who has gotten stuck on the "embedded fonts" error message, here's the deal:

Make sure you are using the correct PDF format. I was trying to save my file as PDF (from Word). When I tried exporting the file as a PDF, I had the PDF/x option. Apparently, using that PDF/X option fixed whatever the heck was wrong with my fonts. This might explain why.

I'm a dummy when it comes to Adobe and all that. I realize the tip I just gave might sound stupid to smarter folks, but some writer out there is going to love me.

Now that the manuscript was finally uploaded, I got back to the cover. Guess what? No matter what I did to that cover, it was always going to error out. Why? Because (and I'm making a logic leap here), until the manuscript got uploaded, the system had no way to know how many pages the book was going to be. The cover has to be somehow auto-configured to match the book size.

Like I said, I'm using some of my logic here. At any rate, once the book was uploaded (and the system knew that it was a 58-pager), it could work with the 6x9 format I'd chosen.

Basically, I had skipped past steps of uploading the manuscript and created unnecessary headaches for myself.

Learn from my trauma: just follow the directions and follow them in order. Here are some other tips for not going insane while using the CreateSpace process:

• Make sure that you are in a decent state of mind (or whatever comes closest for writers).
• Before you even start anything else, download a template that will work for CreateSpace. I used one of theirs. You can also find advice for just formatting your doc to the appropriate standards.
• Keep track of what you are doing. I had several copies of my manuscript done in Word. When i was uploading, I mistakenly worked with the wrong Word doc. Twice. I suggest making a Desktop folder just for the CreateSpace files you'll be working with.
• Don't keep working on the process once you get frustrated. Get up and walk away.If you are having a problem before you get too frustrated, just imagine the need for a Valium if you go past that point.
• Do use the Community forums. Even when I wasn't finding a solution, I was relieved to know that other people were struggling. The other members are sympathetic and encouraging even when they don't have the answers you need. 
• Don't compromise. I did give up on my cover and used another one. As I'm waiting for the proof copy of my book to get here, I've already decided that I'll probably be changing the cover back to the one I originally wanted.
• DO get a proof copy. There's the quicker option of proofing your work from a digital copy, but I think that seeing your work the way readers will be seeing it makes a difference. (By the way, I am going to do a Kindle edition of my work, but I haven't yet looked at the proofing methods available for that.)

Another reason that I wanted a proof copy - even though I know that I will be making some minor corrections - is that I want to have that copy for my bookshelf. I will set it right next to a finalized copy. When I start to work on the next project, I will use that proof to remind me that I can (and did) do this.

Good luck to any of you who are on the road to getting published - regardless of the route you take getting there. I will leave you with a list of helpful resources that I perused (or wish I had) during the nightmare that was my first try at CreateSpace. Also, there is info for other self-pub options.

• Helpful step-by-step walkthrough for newbies
• Info on margins and gutters. (You really might need this.)
• I do believe self-pub is changing the whole game.
• I'll read this before I do my next cover.
• I used GIMP for my original cover, but...
• ...apparently, Word can be used for that
• I heard about Cover Creator in forums. It's free to try out.
• I use this app on my phone for personal stuff & now I like using Pixlr (desktop) and Pixlr Express (online) when I do product review photos. I'll be checking it out for book covers next.

Peace

--Free

**REVIEW** Scapple Software

So, this is happening. Finally.

Might be changing the cover. We'll see.

I almost had a mental breakdown trying to deal with CreateSpace's Cover Creator, but that was mostly my fault. (Tip to other users: Don't try to fix cover errors until you've actually uploaded your manuscript. In other words, do things in the order set out by CreateSpace.)

Anyway. Now that I have Volume 1 of the short story collection done (just waiting for my Proof copy before giving the go-ahead and selling on Amazon), I needed to work on two other projects. If I had a lick of sense, I'd work on one project at a time. That's just not how my brain works. I must make my life as difficult as possible. LOL

Since I already have a couple of stories written for Volume 2 of Therapy Sessions, I'm leapfrogging back and forth to work on another set of stories. I only have general ideas for what I want to include in that set. This is where my scatterbrained way of thinking and processing tasks was causing me problems. And this is what I found as a solution.

Those are screen shots of  Scapple boards I put together just for this post.

I've tried out all kinds of software to ease or organize the process of writing. I will test out the Trial version of something and, usually, only get a couple hours in before I'm going nuts. Scapple is so good (and simple to use) that I actually `~ are you sitting down? ~ paid for it. Yeah, I know. I'm such a tightwad that I should be writing a book about being a tightwad.

Thing is, Scapple is such a lifesaver for me. Now that I depend on my writing for extra income, I've been feeling the pressure to not only be productive but to be organized and productive.

As a writer, I am very disciplined. I will give myself a schedule and stick to it. I line up tasks and check-mark them off until I'm done. Actually, when I was working, I was the same way. The only difference is that, before I began struggling with an illness, I had tons of stamina and I could focus like nobody's business. A former manager once called me a "multi-tasking workhorse."  (At the time she said that, I decided to take it as a compliment.)

These days, I still have lots of creativity, but it's very hard for me to focus and organize my thoughts. I spent months working on the 5 short stories that make up "Love & Madness". Whenever I stopped work on a story for the night, my brain would re-set itself so that, by the time I got back to the story, I'd lost track of things.

My solution before now was to handwrite notes and index cards that I'd tack up all over the place. That works, but it is something of a nightmare when you have to change something around or re-think part of a story.

Scapple lets me do all my note-taking and tracking of ideas without the paper and cards. I can pick back up on outlines and ideas easier. When I want to play around with an idea, I can do that.

The best thing about this software is how cheap it is (compared to other stuff I've seen), and how easy it is to start using it right away.

This is not just something for writers. Anyone who thinks better with visual prompts will love this software. Students can use it to organize study notes. There are so many ways this can be used.

If anyone knows of similar software, please share. For now, I'm so happy with Scapple that I expect that I will never want to be without it.

Peace
--Free

**REVIEW**' Silk Elements Pure Oils

Okay, this is actually a review of 2 products, but they are both from the Silk Elements line of "Pure Oils".

I could have sworn that I had already done a review for the Hair Butter. Oh, well, I will do a quickie about how much I love the stuff.

The Hair Butter is a "thin". It moisturizes the scalp without a lot of weight. I don't use it on my hair just because I don't like oils on the hair, but I could see this being used by some people to protect the ends. I think that even people with Caucasian type hair could use this on their ends and flyaways.

I'll get back to this in a moment, but I now like using the Butter very heavily on the roots of my hair while they're damp and when I am using the Marmalade.

The one thing that I noticed right off about the Butter is that there is little to no smell to it.The Marmalade, though, has a really wonderful fragrance that I wouldn't have placed without looking at the label:

I spotted "honey" in the list of ingredients but had to look harder for the "Passiflora Edulis Seed Oil".

Anyway, the Marmalade smells delicious. The scent fades as soon as the product dries so there isn't a problem for people bothered by conflicting fragrances.

The Marmalade has an odd texture. Right out of the jar, it's super moist and has a slightly slick and slime-like feel. (Not like something gross, so no worries.)  In my book, this was a Plus for a couple of reasons. For one thing, it takes very little product to work with my hair and, the other thing is that it really helps the twisting process. It's a little bit like Eco styler in the way it applies.

Do I like the Marmalade? No. I love it. It defines my twists like crazy and the hold is serious. Now, do I have any negatives to report? Yep. One.

The Marmalade is very moist going on the hair but, boy, when it comes time to unwind my twists... That stuff is like hard glue. I had to be really careful not to tug and break aloose the hair when I was untwisting it. That was a little alarming. I mean, how could this be that moisturizing when it dries so hard???

Well, there's an upside to that downside. Once I went back and studied the label, I saw the suggestion to use some Pure Oils Moisturizer with this Marmalade - "for softer hold and definition". (Tip: when you're ready to untwist/style your hair, use a moisturizing spray if you forgot to add something when setting your hair. I used some StaSof and it softened my curl right up.)

So, yeah. I'm not even mad about that. For one thing, I love so much how this does hold and define my twists that I'm going to be playing with other styles. For another thing, the label did warn me! LOL

When I added a little bit of my Mizani Moisture Stretch while twisting my (damp) hair, the Marmalade still defined well and without the over-strong hold. I don't yet have any of the Pure Oils leave-in, but I can't wait to try it. For now, it seems like the Mizani - or any other good moisturizer - will do the job. There are going to be times when I need the stronger hold of this Marmalade, but it's nice to know that I can add another moisturizer to lighten things up.

So, to sum up a bit:

• The Butter is fantastic for light scalp and ends use
• The Marmalade will hold you like Teddy Pendergrass would have and it will define like a dictionary.
• The Marmalade has a nice (light) fragrance that I like. The scent fades with drying.
• The Butter has no noticeable fragrance.
• Both products work well, but the Marmalade is for getting serious definition and hold. The Butter could work for all hair types, depending on what you're looking for.

By the way, a long while back I used a little of the Butter on my hands. I had washed dishes without using gloves and, for some reason, I wondered what the Butter would feel like on my skin. It feels really good but, since that's not what it's labeled for, I'm not going to suggest anyone else use it that way. (But it did make my hands feel really good! LOL)

All in all, I really do like both of things. As I type this, I have just done my scalp with the Butter and I did my twists last night with the Marmalade. 

Still hard to tell. Take my word, it looks and feels good.

Is that a freaking double chin???
What the heck!

They make a nice hair styling duo. I just have to get me some of that Pure Oils Moisturizer to test out...

Peace

--Free

**REVIEW** Ceylon Cinnamon Powder (Frontier Co-Op)

Here I am again, trying to do something natural and healthy for myself.

Years ago, I heard talk about cinnamon being good for you. I was never a big cinnamon fan. When other kids were eating cinnamon toast and cinnamon cereals, I was sticking to the plain stuff. I like the taste of cinnamon in very small quantities because the flavor is too spike-y or "hot" for me. You know me, when I do something, I go all out. Good thing I never got into the cinnamon craze when I first heard of it because the only kind I'd heard of was the most common types: Cassia and Saigon. Those are tasty (if you like cinnamon), but they contain something called coumarin. Too much of this coumarin can have a negative effect on the liver.

When more recently I started hearing about the health benefits of cinnamon, I did a little research. What I learned is that there is a cinnamon that has very little of the coumarin that is to be avoided.

You can see that the powdered Ceylon cinnamon is a different color than the kind we've grown up sprinkling on our toast. It's also a very fine (talc-like) texture.

Ceylon cinnamon is from Sri Lanka. Where the common type of cinnamon found in local grocery stores can have as much as 63 times more coumarin than the Ceylon variety. Big difference. Also, the flavor of Ceylon is milder.

Some of the claimed benefits of cinnamon in general and specific types of:

• Regulating the blood sugar
• Helping with weight loss
• Lowering cholesterol
• Treating yeast infections
• Anti-inflammatory & anti-oxidant
• Relief for depression
• Helps concentration and memory
• Good for the immune system

I just like spices and experimenting with new ones so I figured, why not cinnamon? But I had to find the Ceylon (or Cinnamon Verum) type. The one I could find that had good "ratings" and reviews from other users was this one from Frontier Co-op.

Let's go straight Pro and Con with this one:

PROS - 

• The brand source does have lots of good reviews from users.
• The size and price* is very reasonable (especially considering how little I need to use for a serving)
• The taste is amazing.
• Their website is wonderfully informative (about the company and user info)
• The company lists their contact number for questions (and they answer those questions)
• The company is a Fair Trade co-op (which equals ethics in sourcing).

*Note The price for this 1-lb bag was $18.57. I had to do a double-take when I saw the prices for larger quantities:

I don't think I'd ever need anything larger than the 1 pounder but, if I did, why wouldn't I just order 2 or 3 of the one I did buy? I mean, why does the price-per-unit go up on that listing???

CONS - 

• Not much info on label for new cinnamon users
• The powder doesn't "melt" completely, and...
• ... is very fibrous (which might also be a Pro)
• Country of Origin not labeled (you have to call)
• Amazon Product Page info confusing on C/O also
• Their website doesn't offer a lot of info on their products' pages
• No scoop included (okay - I'm being a bit petty)

Really, though, there's not much not to like about this product. Because I am a rookie at using this kind of cinnamon, I did have to do some searching. Since I don't plan to bake with this cinnamon, I looked into ways of cooking with it. For me, that's going to be limited pretty much to mixing this with other spices. I'll end up adding some to what I call my TCC spice mix (Tumeric, Curry, Cardamom) for seasoning meat and veggies.

What I will be using this a LOT for is as a beverage enhancer. 

Cinnamon and honey drinks are supposed to be great for weight loss. I think that's because (at least for me) they help reduce cravings and give a boost of energy. It's claimed that you can lost up to 5 pounds a week with the mixture. I don't know about all that. I'll have to let you know how that works out later. For now, I just love the way this tastes. 

I call this my "Cinnamon Sludge" drink. It's basically about 2/4 cup of the cinnamon powder, 2/4 cup of raw (filtered) honey, and around 4 1/2 cup of water. 

I boil the water and cinnamon (stirring it a lot), the I let that mixture cool down before I add it to my honey. (Remember that too much heat can leech some honey benefits.). 

When I add this to a container, I will let the "sludge" of the powder settle to the bottom so that I can sip from the clearest part. Every now and then, I shake the container, then let it settle again. From the photos, you can see the difference when shaken (right)  and then settled (left).

I don't drink all this amount you see at one time. What I do is sip from it off and on during the day (making sure to get some first thing in the morning and last thing before bed), adding up to about 1 cup per day. 

This helps me not have to make a new batchup every day. I keep the ready batch in the fridge in between drinking it. When I finish off this batch, I will add more cinnamon and honey to the "sludge" residue.

Here's the thing, since I gave up carbonated drinks a long time ago, I limit myself to coffee, water, honey-water and, every now and then, a bottle of juice. That gets boring and, sometimes, I am really tempted to buy a Dr. Pepper or Sprite when I'm at the store. The only thing stopping me is I can no longer finish more than a few mouthfuls of that stuff. Yew-ick! Having this cinnamon-honey mix is nice. If I want to drink more than a cup a day, I can always dilute it with more water.

Peace

--Free

**REVIEW** Forskolin Extract (from Bioscience Nutrition) ***UPDATED***

**UPDATE** Cannot say how very glad I am that I got to try this. Barring any future problems (I don't expect any), I plan on using this for life. Seriously. This morning, my BP reading was 122/93. That's is the lowest I have been in over 10 years. I have not been taking my regular BP RX either. I plan on talking with my doctors about permanently substituting this for my THREE prescriptions. In my initial reviews, I mentioned that I had not noticed other significant changes. Since then, I can report that I am (for the first time in years), having very regular bowel movements (sorry that there's no more sensitive way to say that), and I am noticing a bit of an energy spike. Weight loss changes are slight, but any more weight loss could be due to the cinnamon-honey drinks I am doing.  I will update again as I hear and learn more. I am so happy about the improvement in my blood pressure readings that I could cry. I wonder if some of my fatigue was due to the high BP??? At any rate, this is such a positive change for me that I'm only upset that I didn't hear about the supplement sooner.




I very rarely apply to review supplements like this Forskolin extract.

 The reason I'm wary of supplements is because I take prescribed medications and infusions for existing medical issues. I'm not trying to create more problems for this aging body of mine! So why did I want to give this supplement a try? Not so much for any of the claims made:

1. Sustained and safe weight loss
2. Improves metabolism
3. Fat burner
4. Curbs appetite

Okay, truth be told those are some attractive claims. Lots of products make those same claims though. I wasn't really drawn in by any of that. What got me was what I'd read elsewhere about Coleus forskolii root extract - commonly called Forskolin.

Normally when I look up info on supplements, I don't find anything supporting the claims I want to believe in. Most times, I find that there is just a lot of hype from people selling something, but only "insufficient evidence" from respectable sources. Not this time. I was interested in the claims that this supplement might lower blood pressure and my trusty standby source (you know, until I can check with my personal physicians), WebMD was all over it:

On how it's used...

"Forskolin is a chemical found in the roots of the plant Plectranthus barbatus (Coleus forskohlii). This plant has been used since ancient times to treat heart disorders such as high blood pressure and chest pain (angina), as well as respiratory disorders such as asthma."

... and how it works:

Forskolin works on muscles in the heart and in the walls of the blood vessels. It produces a more powerful heartbeat and widening of the blood vessels, which lowers blood pressure.

Still, this caveat was also  part of the article:

Herbal product manufacturers are now producing Coleus forskohlii extracts that contain high levels of forskolin. These preparations are being promoted for the same conditions for which forskolin has been traditionally used. However, currently there is no reliable scientific information that shows Coleus forskohlii extracts taken by mouth are effective. (my emphasis)

I wanted to give this a shot anyway. I'll run down what the Pros and Cons as of just 3 days use.

I can't tell you that I've experienced any boost in energy. I still use my 'strap molasses and my various honeys for that. The first day I took the Forskolin, I was really beat. I was still beat by the end of that day. (I noticed that the extract is supposed to be "good for insomnia" so not sure how that matches with boosting energy???)

The claim about this particular supplement curbing the appetite also is falling flat for me so far. I'm not eating more, but I'm surely not eating (or craving less). Maybe the metabolism part with help me with any weight loss. I've weighed myself so that I can do a comparison when I've finished this bottle, but it's way, way too early to tell anything yet.

None of the claims highlighted on the product page for this particular brand has been happening for me. Still, I am really so happy that I am giving this a try because, guess what? The claims made in general about the extract lowering blood pressure are being proved out for me.

I'm certainly not giving medical advice here (and if I was, you'd be crazy  to take it from me!), but I can tell you how this is working for me.

I currently take up to 3 different meds to try controlling my blood pressure. Sometimes, they work, sometimes, they don't. If I eat ZERO sodium and drink gallons of water, my meds work okay. If I get any kind of stressed out, or eat wrong, well then, my numbers go crazy. I'm always in a struggle to keep my top number under 140, but I've recently had trouble with my bottom number being high.

The first day, I took the supplement, I didn't notice a huge difference in my BP readings. I certainly didn't make any special notes about it in the tracking app I use. 

On Day Two of using the supplement, I checked my BP only because I was stressed. My reading was 140/87. This is a huge thing for me. Normally, the only way my numbers look that decent is if I am completely chilled out and haven't had my coffee yet - or any "forbidden salts" for several hours.

My BP numbers for Day Three were especially good. Not only was I mildly stressed (trying to do some freelance work that's driving me bonkers), but I also hadn't yet taken my prescribed meds. I wanted to check my BP after taking the Forskolin and before taking meds just so I don't get bottomed out. My numbers? 134/97.

Shut the door. Get out of here. Drop the mic.... All that. I'm checking my BP before I even dare take the prescribed meds. It would be so not-funny if I passed out from LOW blood pressure.

I can't wait to see my doctor so we can talk about this. I have some questions for the medical professionals: if this works, why isn't it being used more to treat blood pressure? Are there good reasons that it's not even being experimented with as a solution???? 

Anyway, I will update this post as I use the supplement more. I'm so happy about my blood pressure that I'm not worried about the other claims, but I will follow up on the weight loss thing.

Peace

--Free

DISCLOSURE:

In exchange for providing my fair and honest review, I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free or at a discount using AMZ Review Trader. Regardless, I only review products that I have personally used and can give an opinion of.