Nathan Reusable Stainless Steel Bottle Review

There has been a big controversy the past couple of years about water bottles.  It is wasteful to use single use plastic water bottles.  To remedy the problem of excess garbage (since only about 23% of the drink bottles used each year are recycled) many people began using reusable containers such as Nalgene and SIGG bottles.  It later came out that these bottles released the chemical BPA into the water. Even aluminum bottles leeched aluminum into the water. It seemed like there was no safe solution.

Having read a lot about what to look for in a reusable bottle, we began searching for the best solution. While shopping at T.J. MAXX Jessica and I stumbled on a large variety of steel and aluminum bottles.  One brand of bottle seemed to have gotten everything right. The ones we chose were Nathan Human Propulsion Laboratories 700ml steel bottles.

Read more

My Review of Viovio

An example of a page spreadThis summer I had an AMAZING wedding that happened very much in part because of my dad – who also happens to be my source of inspiration for this post.  Of course I wanted to thank my dad in a special way, so I decided to create a personalized scrapbook, cataloging all of his visits and of course, my wedding.  This post will serve to overview my experience with viovio, from uploading my book, placing my order, to receiving my order and beyond…

Read more

Large Floor Bookshelf Part 2

Start to Finish Banner

This is the second part in a two part series about how to design, build, and finish a simple woodworking project.  Please read Part 1 for more info and background on the project.  This section will mainly focus on finishing the bookshelf.

Staining wood projects is a hassle and you can quickly get in over your head.  When I first started looking for methods to stain my projects, I was bombarded with choices:

  • Oil or water based?
  • Which color should I use?
  • How long should the stain be left on the wood?

All of these variables left me confused on what I should do.  With a good bit of research, I found the answers to my questions.  My solution may not be best for everyone, but I do have justification for my choice.

Read more

Our Leopard Gecko’s Reptile Den

Gizmo has a funny feeling about his new reptile den!Gizmo had a funny feeling about his new reptile den!

Recently we purchased an Exo Terra Reptile Den (Size Large) for our Leopard Gecko, Gizmo.  It was half price at a local pet store, so we couldn’t resist.  The premise of this product is that it has one piece that provides a secluded den for your animal and it goes inside the cage; it has another piece that covers the den and it goes outside the cage.  The pieces stay attached by extremely strong magnets.  Upon opening the two pieces for the first time, Adam quickly smashed his fingers between the rocks (hehe, at least it wasn’t me!).  Like I said, the magnets are strong!  Here is our review of the product and how we modified it for our leopard gecko’s cage.

Read more

Large Floor Bookshelf Part 1

Start to Finish Banner

This is the first part in a two part series about how to design, build, and finish a simple woodworking project.  This part focuses on the design and build of the project.

Jessica and I tend to collect a lot of books.   I mean a LOT of books.  When one of those cheap 7ft tall particle board bookcases we had finally bit the dust, and fell on me, I decided we would only get solid wood bookcases from now on.  I also decided that it was probably best that the bookcase we get to replace the broken one be rather short, something that would fit just under the window in our living room. With the cost of solid wood bookcases being pretty high and nothing available suiting our needs exactly, I decided we should design and build one ourselves. Rather than trying to fit a new bookcase into our living room, why not design one that already fits?

Read more