She's Growing Up Too Fast!

My almost 13 year old daughter went to the first dance of the year last night... it is amazing how quickly she is growing up. Fashionista that she is, she wore black skinny jeans from JCP, a Braiden top from prAna in terracotta and ankle boots she found online last year from Barefoot Tess (she wears size 9 or 10 shoes already, a far cry from the size 5 I wore when I graduated!) Sigh... time is flying by way too fast, soon she will be a TEENAGER. I can't wait to see what that brings! (I remember my teenage years, and shudder to think I'm now the mom, lol!)

Review: Pong Rugged iPhone Case

I absolutely love my iPhone 5s... I've had smartphones before, but this is the first time I've had an iPhone and while I am still getting used to it, I'm really having fun downloading apps for shopping sites and fast food restaurants, and all that other stuff that helps me save money! I've had my iPhone since May, and while everyone is going crazy for the iPhone 6 and I've checked it out at my local Verizon Wireless store (hubby wants one and is waiting NOT so patiently lol) I am pretty happy with the size and width of my iPhone 5S.

Speaking of my phone, when I purchased it I got a rather cheap plastic case (in addition to getting the Applecare insurance of course!) and while the case was cute and all, it just didn't give my phone the protection it needed. Since I am always on my cell phone, I have to say that I worry a bit about radiation and have seen studies stating that cell phones emit a lot of radiation which can be dangerous.

I recently received a really cool case from Pong Research which was designed to withstand a 4' fall AND to also deflect radiation away from me while not interfering with my phone signal. I got a really cool orchid color, which looks great with my phone-and it also comes with a screen protector (which I haven't used yet, since my existing one is still good I'm going to save this one as an extra!)

The neat thing about these Pong cases is that they deflect the radiation the phone emits away from your head and body while still giving you a strong mobile connection. I've been trying mine out for a couple weeks now, and can tell you that my connection has been constant and hasn't changed a bit since I started using the Pong case.

On the back of the Pong case, there is a thin gold antenna, which works with the phone to re-direct the radiation away from you while keeping your signal strong. I also really liked the fact that this case has that rubbery feel, my last case was smooth and I have to say a bit slippery-I almost dropped it a couple of times due to that, but with this case I have had a good grip on my phone at all times. The cheaper plastic case I had cost me $15, and there was virtually NO protection at all. While the Pong case does cost a bit more, it offered me peace of mind that my iPhone would be protected should I drop it, and it would keep harmful radiation away from me. We all know the price a new phone costs if we have to replace it, even with insurance there is usually some sort of a co-pay!

My daughter doesn't have a cell phone yet, but she is hoping to get her dad's cell phone once he upgrades to a new one. Because she is young, and I worry about the effects that radiation from the phone may have on her, I'm thinking of getting her a Pong case just like mine.

The neat thing is they have cases for quite a few popular phones today, in addition to iPads-her school recently assigned her an iPad for use in class and at home as part of a program our Dept. of Education has here in Maine for junior high school students. The cases they give them unfortunately are flimsy and don't do any justice in protecting the iPad from damages if dropped nor the student from radiation. I'd love to see the students have Pong cases on their iPads!

My daughter really likes my case, but also loves designer cases too-so her wish is to see Pong come out with some cases with cool designs too. Who knows? Maybe they will.. ;) But in the meantime, I know I'm doing what I can to keep radiation away from me when using my iPhone and that suits me just fine!

Disclosure: I received a Pong iPhone case for free as winner in a blog giveaway, but it did not affect my opinion of the product. The above thoughts are mine alone and I was not required to write in my blog or do a review for receiving this iPhone case.

First Girl's Night Out!

Sigh... I often wonder what I get myself into at times. But it's all good, I assure you. I'd won a blog giveaway over at Rita Reviews for a Dolphin Tales 2 prize pack a few weeks ago. This past week, the package showed up and I was pleased to see all the swag they'd included, buttons, dogtag necklaces, a small swim shirt for my grandson, a tee which was a bit small for my daughter but ended up fitting one of her BFF's, sunglasses which were claimed by my daughter, an awesome beach towel (also claimed by the tween queen as I call her), mini posters, a bigger poster, and of course 4 Hollywood Movie money vouchers to go see the show at the local theater. Lucky for us, the package arrived in time as the tickets expired Oct. 9th, and lucky for ME that the local Flagship Cinemas accepted the free passes AND was still having a couple of showings of the movie this past weekend. My daughter quickly got in touch with 3 of her BFF's and decided it would be a Girl's Night Out. After hitting Daddy up for $20 for the concessions, off to the movies they went. (I was of course the chauffeur!) Being Mom, I was not allowed to enter the theater and see if all was well with redeeming the free passes. After all, there were BOYS and other people they knew from school there. So I waited right in front of the theater and watched from the window... lol. After getting a thumbs up from my daughter that all was cool, she quickly came out to tell me to pick them up at 8:45 when the show ended. I have to admit, I was a little nervous about leaving all 4 of them there alone but my daughter is quite mature for her age and had asked the usher if that would be a problem since it was a PG movie, and he'd said no, it was just fine. Plus, this was to be their night out, I'm sure the first of many to come. When I got to the theater they were waiting outside, and lucky for me had just gotten there. Immediately when they got in the car, I know they'd had a great time. Sugar soda pop and candy overload...combined with massive amounts of buttered popcorn= 4 very hyper tweens. My daughter is a chatterbox to begin with, but once she got into the car she was a full blown motormouth. The other 3 girls in the backseat were pretty much the same, lol. I drove cautiously since it was raining but I couldn't help but laugh as they started taking selfies with my iPhone. I'm still recovering from the drive home last night, and still smiling when I look at the selfies on my phone. But I'm also glad the girls got to enjoy a fun Saturday night together, time flies by way too fast, and it's great when they can enjoy the little things and still act like kids. So, I leave you all with a photo of the girls, taken with my iPhone... after their first Girl's Night Out.