Tryazon _ Numbers Alive Party

Hello,

I was selected by Tryazon and Numbers Alive to host a #NumbersAlive Pi Day party featuring the awesome Pi character and also the Pocket Pi Tape Measure. This program is designed to help teach mathematic concepts using Pi for both children and adults. This program is fantastic because it is a good learning experience for kids of all ages and gives a great hands on way to engage in the activities.

A bit about Numbers Alive from their website:

"Mission: Improve numerical literacy and encourage creativity and global citizenship by visualizing world patterns through fun and friendly number characters.

After more than thirty years of working with and teaching about numbers, Dr. Rebecca Klemm, The Numbers Lady, founded NumbersAlive! as an innovative framework for demystifying numbers and math. Students of all ages join the inquisitive numeric characters – plush toys, puppets, and animated characters – as they explore the relevance of mathematical concepts worldwide."

In the Party Pack we received:

• Pi Character with Hat
• Pocket Pi Tape Measure
• 3 Postcards
• 1 set of 3-D glasses

Prior to the party, Tryazon and Numbers Alive provided a party guide that included four (4) activities to test out at the party using the Pi tools that we received. Reading and understanding the directions took more time than we had expected so we were only able to complete a couple of the activities. The first activity

Activity 1:The first activity involved using strips of paper and tape to put together a couple of rings that you then cup down the middle and turned them to make a square (or, selfie frame). This activity was the most fun because everyone got to make their own creation and then take pictures with it. This activity also took much longer than expected because we had to watch the Youtube video several times then the adults had to go around helping the children and other adults that were struggling. This activity was also fun because we quickly realized that we could be a little bit creative with the cutting and began making squiggly lines and other designs. The instructions say that you can use any sort of paper, which is true but I happened to have a pack of colorful paper at home which made it much more fun to complete the activity. I did not really understand the point of this activity as it did not really involve any math but rather it was just a fun way to introduce the concept of Pi.

Activity 2:For activity 2, we used the pocket Pi tape measure to view the many values of pie. We then got pieces of graph paper and broke into groups where we counted now many times each number value occurred in the set of 100 digits that we were given. This activity was interesting but also did not really teach us really anything math related other than engaging with the value of Pi. It also was not very exciting for young participants to count and graph these values. Additionally, I have expected the result graph to show some sort of pattern but it did not appear to. Maybe we did something wrong but it seemed somewhat pointless.

Activity 3:Activity 3 involved putting on the 3-D glasses then looking at light to make the Pi sign visible in the glasses. I thought these glasses could have been a better quality as many of us had trouble seeing the design.

Activity 4:Activity 4 was to create custom post cards to send to either friends and family, or to send back to Numbers Alive for them to possibly use in future Pi day materials. Through doing the other activities, we ran out of time to complete this one and truthfully, I probably would not remember to send them back anyway so it’s better that we didn’t do it.

Overall, these activities were very fun and some were a little bit tricky at times but we were able to put our heads together and figure out each one of them while also having fun and trying to learn. I had originally thought that this party and the activities would involve math and actually doing some math but they really didn’t at all. If one were to follow the activities exactly as they are written, you would never learn anything about math but I myself was able to involve mathematic concepts with the formulas and teaching the kids how it all works. I wish the instructions would have more clearly stated how to tie in the formula and mathematical concepts into the activities. The activities were all fun but they all seemed to be just a way to get kids excited about the concept of Pi but did not really teach anything material about it. I was honestly surprised that these materials have been used for over 40 years, I felt that the materials seemed a bit rushed and not completely thought out, but one would imagine that 40 years should have been enough time to create effective instructions. I thought this was fun and it did teach my son about Pi in general which is something that he was not yet learning in school but I also felt that it required me to be the teacher and it generated questions that I do not have the expertise to answer myself without a little help from google.

Social Sharing: #NumbersAlive #Tryazon

Checkout Numbers Alive here: http://www.numbersalive.org/

Checkout Tryazon here: https://www.tryazon.com/

Checkout my unboxing and review video here: 

Mucus Fighters Community - Free Prize Pack

Hello,

I joined the Mucinex Mucus Fighters Social Community which is a great place where you can collaborate with other members to either get or share some great ideas about ways to keep yourself and your family happy and healthy. In the community you also have the opportunity to accept missions that require you to share about the community and Mucinex on social media in exchange for the change to receive a prize or free sample. Thanks to one of the challenges we completed, we were selected to receive a free Mucinex Prize Pack.

In the Prize Pack we received:

• A Mr. Mucus Doll
• A Mucinex reusable bag
• 1 Coupon for a free Mucinex item up to $16.00 value

My little one was so incredibly excited to receive 2 of the Mr. Mucus stuffed animals. He has switched off between which one we take with us when we go places and he has slept with both of them every night. He named one of them Carl and the other one Jim and he had me write their names on their tags so that we know who is who and he has made me give a kiss to Carl and Jim every night when I give him his kisses and hugs at tuck in time.

With the coupon, I was able to pick up a full sized package of Mucinex Day and Night pills at Target. By choosing to purchase the regular pills rather than the liquid gels, I was able to get a larger count box with my coupon so that was great. I had not previously noticed that liquid gels have fewer per package and are more expensive than regular pills so I will have to watch for that in the future.

This experience was so fun for my son and I that it made me feel so greatful for having signed up for this community. I love to make my little one smile with surprises, especially when it is something free. He is also very money conscious (more than I would like for him to be), so it is extra exciting for him too when he knows we received something as awesome as this for free.

Definitely check out the Mucinex Mucus Fighters community for your chance to receive some great free items, or coupons, or to just contribute to the community.

Social Sharing: #MucusFighters #Sweepstakes #FreeSample #Free

Checkout the Mucus Fighters community here: https://mucusfighters.socialmedialink.com
Checkout our unboxing video here:

HouseParty_Blount Bowls (Free Sample)

Hello,

I was selected by houseparty.fun to receive some awesome free items from Blount Bowls in exchange for hosting a party with the items and sharing about them on social media. The Houseparty website is super fun, you can apply for all sorts of parties that you can host for your friends and family and there are also occasionally Chatterbox opportunities for sampling without hosting a party. This party was super fun and I was actually very surprised about the results of who liked the products and who did not love them as much. I thought my sister would really love these because she loves soup more than anyone I know but unfortunately she was semi uninterested in these soups whereas my mother who typically doesn’t like soup, absolutely loved these and will be picking up more to take to work for lunch.

About Blount Bowls from the Website: 
"

Our Story

The Blount Family has been in the food business since 1880. Our product line includes refrigerated and frozen gourmet soups, sauces, side dishes and entrées for food service and retail. Blount's gourmet soups and specialty foods are made with the finest and freshest ingredients, handcrafted by our dedicated team through unparalleled customer collaboration. Our seafood background establishes us as the largest producer of Clam Chowder in New England and the largest manufacturer of Lobster Bisque in the country. We also make a large variety of Beef, Chicken and Organic soups. For a more in depth view on Blount Fine Foods, visit Sea to Soup, a book which tells our company history.

In the party pack we received:

• 1 Blount Bowls apron (Very nice quality)
• 1 Blount Bowls reusable bag
• 1 Blount Bowls dish rag
• A bunch of little Blount Bowls serving cups
• 8 Coupons for a free Blount Bowl product
• 12 coupons for $1.50 off of a Blount Bowl

I used the product locator on the blountbowls.com to find stores near me that carry these products. I found that really only Super Target stores in my area carry these so I headed to my closest Super Target and was lucky enough to pick up one of each flavor using the Free Bowl coupons that I received. There are four flavors to choose from; Hibachi Chicken and Rice Bowl, Vegetable Rice Bowl, Coconut Chicken and Noodle Bowl, and Chicken Ramen Bowl. These Blount Bowls are kept cold in the fresh deli section of the store, I am glad that I read about that on the website or I would have been searching all over for these but was glad to easily find them in a cold case below the deli counter. I was a little bit frustrated though because I purchased one of each and after getting home I realized that the Chicken Ramen bowl was going to expire in just 3 days whereas the others would be good for about another month. This was definitely the fault of Target, not Blount Bowls as I am sure this particular item had just sat on the shelf longer than the others. I went back to Target and picked up another Chicken Ramen bowl that had a sell by date of several weeks out. I learned to pay a little more attention to the dates on these so that I am not rushing to eat them since they are a more freshly prepared item in comparison to your typical ramen, Campbell’s, or Progresso type soups.

Hibachi Chicken and Rice Bowl
I personally really liked this bowl, it has a great smell and flavor although it did have a bit of a spice to it. I thought that the rice broke apart nicely and cooked into the broth well. To prepare these bowls, you microwave it for a while, then stir it, then microwave a bit longer. Prior to stirring, the rice was not mixed in well and was still a bit chunky but after mixing and the additional microwaving the rice fully cooked into the broth nicely. In the package, the rice is tightly packed together so I tried to break it up a bit while I was pouring it into the bowl of broth. I had read another review that mentioned how the rice stuck together in globs but I think with a little bit of stirring that could have been prevented, sounds like user error to me. I was also surprised that after having cooked in the bowl that the rice was nice and soft, from the package it seemed like the rice might be a little bit crunchy but it was not at all, I think the steam from microwaving may have softened it up a bit while it was cooking. I really liked the flavor of this bowl and it seemed that all of the other guests at the party liked this one as well and would eat it again in the future but it was not a favorite for anyone. The only thing I would change about this bowl is maybe adding more liquid broth, after having added the rice and let it sit for a moment to cool down it seemed that the rice absorbed quite a bit of the broth making it quite thick and not much liquid remaining to make it soupy.

Vegetable Rice Bowl
This bowl was also very tasty, I was very surprised at how much flavor this had considering it is a vegetable bowl but it was very flavorful and enjoyable. Similar to the Hibachi Chicken and Rice Bowl, the rice seemed to be hard in its air tight package but after opening it and following the cooking instructions, the rice became soft and mixed into the vegetable broth well. I thought this one was a little better than the Hibachi Chicken and Rice Bowl in terms of texture and consistency. After having added the rice, this bowl remained nice and juicy and soupy like I had expected whereas the Hibachi Chicken bowl had too much stuff and not enough broth so became a much thicker meal than one would typically expect soup to be like.

Coconut Chicken and Noodle Bowl
I thought that this one would be the least liked out of all of the bowls but it turned out to be the overwhelming favorite. I hate coconut flavor so I was worried that I would not like this one at all but actually it did not have any sort of coconut flavor (I think it might just be coconut oil or something) but the flavor from the chicken and spices was fabulous and super flavorful. I thought in terms of the consistency, the broth versus the amount of noodles was proportioned well and it was more soupy than the rice bowls. My grandpa liked this one so much that he took the leftovers home for a snack at dinner time.

Chicken Ramen Bowl 
This one was the least favorite and also the least flavorful of all of the four bowls we tried. It also looks the least flavorful once made. Similar to the Coconut Chicken and Noodle bowl, I thought the consistency was good between the broth and the noodles but I thought it could have had more flavor, even just a bit more salt would have done the trick. My mom actually liked this one best but no one else in the group liked this one as much as the others. In my opinion, the lack of flavor made this meal feel sort of fake; it reminded me of warm water with plastic noodles. This is not one that I personally would purchase again but I think my mom will be getting some of these to take to work for lunch.

Overall, I thought these bowls were much better than I had originally imagined. Typically I am not a fan of soup of any kind but I really liked the Hibachi Chicken and Rice bowl, although I would have liked it to have more liquid. I was surprised though that my sister did not really seem to love any of these, I thought she would be the biggest fan as she LOVES soup usually. I thought that the noodle bowls were a better consistency than the rice bowls, I think the rice bowls could reduce the amount of rice then they would have been better. I thought the flavorful tastes of the bowls were awesome; they were much tastier than typical soup with the exception of the Chicken Ramen bowl which had little to no flavor. As far as the extra items we received for the party, I was really surprised at how nice the apron was, it is nice and thick and will last quite a while I think. Also the reusable bag, it is an interesting material; on the outside it almost feels like a paper bag but then on the inside it feels like cloth like your usual reusable bag. It seems like a silly thing but the material of that bag is just really interesting to me.

Ranking from most favorite to least favorite:

1. Coconut Chicken and Noodle Bowl
2. Hibachi Chicken and Rice Bowl
3. Vegetable and Rice Bowl
4. Chicken Ramen Bowl

Social Sharing: #BlountBowlsParty #Sponsored #FreeSample 

Checkout Blount Bowls Here: http://www.blountbowls.com/

Checkout the Houseparty.fun website here: https://www.houseparty.fun

Checkout my unboxing and review video here: 

L’Occitane Free Gifts

Hello,

I received an email in March that said for just 3 days you could send a free gift to up to 10 friends and receive one yourself. The free gift offer is good through April 3rd I believe, while supplies last but they ran out of the last free gift so fast that my mom and I rushed to get these the same evening that I received the initial email. My mom was one of the 10 friends that I send the offer to even though she already receives the emails directly from L’Occitane as well. The soap smells fabulous and I cannot wait to use it. 

In the gift pack we received:

• 1 35ml Shea Body Shower Oil
• 1 Shea Verbena Extra-Gental Soap
• 1 8ml Immortal Precious Face Cream

Signup for the L’Occitane emails here L'Occitane Special Offers they send a lot of emails with coupon codes and deal for free items if you make a purchase but occasionally like this time, they offer a free gift with no purchase necessary.

Verydice – Free Makeup Brushes and Makeup Brush Cleaning Tool

Hello,

I signed up for Verydice around August 2017 and let’s be honest here it takes quite some time to accumulate enough points to actually receive anything for free. I see some people posting things like “if you’re having a baby, play this game and get all your diapers for free” and stupid stuff like that which would NEVER work if you ask me. It is a slow going process to earn points as you get a limited number of rolls of the dice each day. I try to watch as many app trailers as it will allow me to each day so that I can get a few extra rolls. What I also do is save up my rolls until I have over 100, then I roll and try to get doubles of each set so that I can earn the daily bonus points too. By saving my points and getting the bonus points from rolling doubles, I have earned quite a bit of points pretty quickly. From about August to February I earned enough points to redeem them for 2 sets of makeup brushes and 2 makeup brush cleaning tools. My mom and I will each get a set of brushes and a cleaner tool, my mom actually had these same brushes added to her cart in amazon for just a couple of dollars but I told her not to order them since I knew I could get them for free eventually. You certainly are not going to get rich by playing this app but I felt that the turnaround to get 4 free products was pretty good in about 7 months. I am going to continue playing this app and will post about it again when I am able to order some more great goodies from my points.

If you feel like trying it out, use my referral code here: it doesn’t do anything for you but will give me a few extra rolls. Don’t be fooled by people saying you will get hundreds of points or rolls from using their code, it is just not true.

Click here to checkout Verydice: https://www.verydice.com/

Mucus Fighters Community - Free Mr. Mucus Doll

Hello,

I joined the Mucinex Mucus Fighters Social Community which is a great place where you can collaborate with other members to either get or share some great ideas about ways to keep yourself and your family happy and healthy. In the community you also have the opportunity to accept missions that require you to share about the community and Mucinex on social media in exchange for the change to receive a prize or free sample. Thanks to one of the challenges we completed, we were selected to receive a free Mucus Doll. We received the prize package from the Mucus Fighters Community with a note saying "Thanks to your awesome sharing, you've been selected as a winner of a Mr. Mucus doll! Congratulations! Be sure to share about your win using #MucusFighters and #Sweepstakes!"

My son was super excited to receive this awesome Mr. Mucus doll.  I had received an email saying that we would be receiving one but we were unsure what it would be like.  This was so much better than we had expected, he was a very nice sized Mr. Mucus stuffed animal that my little one absolutely loves.  He even asked to take Mr. Mucus to the lacrosse game but of course we had to leave Mr. Mucus in the car but it was a fun adventure for him none the less.  So fun to take Mr. Mucus along with us while also reminding us to stay healthy and keep his real mucus cousins away from our bodies.

Social Sharing: #MucusFighters #Sweepstakes #FreeSample #Free

Checkout the Mucus Fighters community here: https://mucusfighters.socialmedialink.com

Checkout our unboxing video here: