8 Nights of Hanukkah December 20-27 - Candle #1

Celebrations

Chanukah, the 8 day and night Jewish Festival of Lights, begins tonight at sundown. After dark Jews living in Israel and in countries around the world will use a service candle called the shamesh to kindle  the first candle furthest to the right on the branched candelabra known as a menorah. Blessings will be said in Hebrew before this special nightly candle lighting ceremony over the next eight evenings of the holiday. 

Our oldest son on the first night of Hanukkah a few years back

Vintage family photo by Janis Brett Elspas, MommyBlogExpert.com

Then families and friends -- children and adults -- will gather to sing songs, play with the dreidel, a toy top that you spin, and eat customary foods fried in oil such as latkes potato pancakes and sufganiot jelly donuts. Kids especially enjoy receiving Hanukkah gelt money which depending on the age of the recipient means gold foil covered chocolate coins for little ones and cash, checks or gift cards for teens. Traditionally, to publicize this historical event, Hanukkah candles are lit in the front window of one's home or by a doorway.

Gold Hanukkah menorah & coins

iPhone Photo by Janis Brett Elspas, MommyBlogExpert.com

Watch for a new post on each of the subsequent nights of Hanukkah.

Meanwhile, check out these other 2011 Chanukah posts
Make your own Hanukkah Gingerbread House
Paper Hanukkah Menorah Centerpiece Decoration

To read additional MBE posts from past years use the search window and enter the word Hanukkah in the right hand column of this blog.


How will you be spending Hanukkah this year? Please leave a comment and share your thoughts.

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FTC Disclosure: This blog did not receive any payment or other compensation associated with this post. See complete FTC Disclosure information that appears at the bottom of MommyBlogExpert's main page and at the bottom of every individual post on this blog,including this one.

New Tech Device Promotes Family Fitness

Technology

Have Fun Exercising While Saving Rainforests

As little as 30 minutes of physical movement throughout the day can be transformative to your health. In addition to benefits of weight loss, leading studies show that walking 30 minutes a day can dramatically reduce risks of heart attacks, stroke, and diabetes.

MBE partnered with Striiv for the story

Striiv Product Review

My family and I have tested lots of tech products for this blog. I have to admit, though, that a new product called Striiv has got to be one of the most cool and novel the kids and I have had the opportunity to try so far. At first glance it might appear to be just a glorified pedometer or a mere hand-held fitness device. What we found out -- and you will too when you take a closer look -- is that Striiv is those things and a whole lot more. 

Like a personal trainer this gadget will motivate you to move, walk or run more, but by inspiring you to be more active it is not only motivating you to improve fitness. This pedometer, replete with innovative apps available in no other similar product, expands its functionality, paving the way for you to positively impact causes around the world. For example, you can aid rain forests with every step you take, since Striiv and its corporate partners donate on your behalf.

Just by exercising holding this in your hand, wearing it using the included belt clip or key chain or carrying it in your pocket or bag, Striiv detects each step when you walk, run or climb stairs. You can use this alone without a computer to motivate you to increase physical activity.

However, if you plug this into your PC or Mac with the USB cable that comes with it you can upload your progress data to the company's site and do a whole lot more than maximize your health prospects. That's because based on the number of steps recorded, Striiv ensures that funds are transferred to the cause you choose from one of their three charitable options: clean water for families in South America, polio vaccines, and rain forest protection. For example, after just 18,000 steps you'll earn the equivalent of a parking spot size rainforest for one year in Tanzania. Talk about making a difference both at home and in the world at large.

This is a product the whole family will likely benefit from: kids, moms, and dads. As a matter of fact you don't even have to be a parent or have children at home to have fun with this. Likely it would be an original gift to give a senior citizen you know that is in good health but needs some motivation to get out for a daily walk around the neighborhood.

At our house the kids got really competitive about racking up their steps using the single boxed device set we received from Striiv. So based on that experience let me warn: this gadget is addictive -- even though you could share one device for your entire household, you may want to buy several of these to keep everyone happy.

The product works right out of the box after you charge it using the included USB adaptor and cable, without the need of a computer. However, if you want to participate in fund raising walkathons and get Striiv to donate money for all the exercise you do, you'll need either to connect this with a Mac or PC. What a great idea for a holiday gift or to give yourself or someone you care about to start the new year by exercising more.

Striiv, which will be exhibiting at CES 2012 in January in Las Vegas, is the flagship product manufactured by Striiv, Inc. Priced at $99, this is affordable and available now.  Not only is this really easy to learn and use, it is also very cool, sleek and compact, weighing just 1.5 ounces and measuring 2.75" high by 1.7" wide, a fraction of the size of an iPhone. See the Striiv.com website for exact technical requirements, more product details and to purchase this clever piece of technology.

What kind of new year resolutions are you making about getting more exercise? Do you think the Striiv can help you make a difference in your own health and the world? Please leave a comment with your thoughts.


FTC Disclosure: I received the Striiv to facilitate this review. MommyBlogExpert did not receive any payment or other compensation associated with this post. See complete FTC Disclosure information that appears at the bottom of MommyBlogExpert's main page and at the bottom of every individual post on this blog, including this one.

Coming Sunday: A New Category of Tech Gadget

Stay Tuned...

Tomorrow (Sunday) MommyBlogExpert's Striiv Product Review goes live. 

You'll learn why this is different than any other technology device currently on the market.

Easy Personalized DIY Photo Craft Gift Perfect for Friends & Family for the Holidays & All Year Long

Unique Gifts

All images in this post are iPhone photos by Janis Brett Elspas, MommyBlogExpert.com

When I took on this Photo Christmas Ornament product review assignment working with the product I received in the mail from Photo Jewelry Making (PJM), the original plan was to use some family photos to make some ornaments for Christmas or Chanukah to decorate the tree or home for the holidays. As you can see from the photos I took of the DIY process and the end results, not only was this photo project quick and easy to make, it was also a lot of fun to dream up lots of other uses for these beautiful heirloom quality gifts for kids, adults, and parents to enjoy and treasure all year round.
PJM Ornaments are not just for trees, your pet will love this too

Creating these beautiful presents for my teen triplet girls, with the help of my teen son, turned out to be unbelievably fast, from start to finish in about an hour. Ironically, picking the photos out to use ended up taking a lot longer than actually making and assembling these.

Big brother easily designs a personal gift for his sisters with the included CD

To make them, the first step is to choose photos -- definitely the hardest part at our house. Next, my son loaded up the EZ Photo Resizer Software provided by PJM onto his PC computer, imported the JPG photos we chose into the program, cropped them and with the click of a button sized each of them to precisely 30mm x 20mm to fit the photo frame squares the brand sent us. After we saved the project as a PDF, I printed them out on a sheet of regular white paper on our Epson Artisan 800 All-in-One Printer.

After that, it was simply a matter of cutting out the images which are a tiny 3/4" wide so definitely use sharp scissors as I did to make as clean a cut around each photo as possible. The printout you get, BTW, includes very light gray grid dotted lines so if you take your time the guidelines should help you cut each perfectly straight. 
The resulting images for this project are a petite 3/4" wide

At last, it's time to carefully slide out the plastic cover piece of each ornament and then insert the photos you cut out into the frames facing outwards, then just gently slide the plastic piece with photos back into the frame. Attach the decorative hooks to each photo frame and you're done.

Silverplated parts that came with the PJM Ornament Kit reviewied

As you can see from the photo at the top of this post and more images below, there are so many uses for these pretty home accents making it possible to enjoy these not only during the holiday season, but all year long. I can't wait to see my girls' reactions when my son gives these to them for Hanukkah which starts at sundown December 23rd as well as what other ways they might think of to enjoy these personalized gifts. 

The next two pics show one of the original photos and what it looks like once it's resized and transformed into an ornament. Also shown are just a few other creative ideas to use these.

Make these into an ornament, necklace (add your own chain), decor for a kid room dresser, wine glass charm, or anything else you think of. You are limited only by your imagination.

The DIY Photo Jewelry Double-Sided Christmas Ornament Kit set makes personalized gifts for up to six of your family and friends. It comes with 6 silver plated rectangle photo frames, 6  swirled ornament hangers, and the EZ Resizer Software CD to resize your photos. Regularly retail priced at $24.99 for the set of six, these are on special as this post goes live for just $14.99 (a savings of $10) plus shipping. They sell wholesale, too. Check out the company's website as they have a wide variety of similar products also available.

You are encouraged to leave your thoughts about this personalized gift as a comment. Also, if you've already made these please tell us about your experience making them.

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FTC Disclosure: This review was made possible by Mom Spark Media. I received the product mentioned to facilitate this test and product review and thoughts in this post are my own. See complete FTC Disclosure information that appears at the bottom of MommyBlogExpert's main page and at the bottom of every individual post on this blog, including this one.

The Cult of LEGO Coffee Table Book Review

Books

Chances are if you or one of your children isn't a lover of all things LEGO, then you at least know a youngster or adult that is passionate about building with these familiar plastic interlocking bricks now found in more than 75% of homes in the Western World.  I know our household is included in those statistics because my kids played with LEGOs as toddlers and as teens now, they still love them. 

MBE partnered with Starch Press, post contains affiliate links

With such popularity among all age groups -- whether serious or just for fun -- I'm surprised that it took this long to introduce a book as good as The Cult of Lego book a collaboration between authors John Baichtal (Make Magazine Contributor and Wired's GeekDad Blog) and Jose Meno (Founder of Brick Journal, a LEGO fan magazine). After my whole family -- mom, dad, and four kids -- took a look at the sensational illustrations, photos and the text inside that awaits you, we all agree that it certainly was worth the wait for this particular book.

Equal parts coffee table art book, history lesson, and creative inspiration for builders of all ages, this is a comprehensive title that is the first to capture all the excitement about LEGO into a single book. It has as equal appeal to the serious adult LEGO professional or hobbyist as it does to kids in a variety of age groups with various abilities. In hard cover with over 304 interlocking pages readers will learn about the fascinating 50+ year history of LEGO and how the product was first brought to market and how it has evolved over time up until the company's present foray into technology.

This piece of non-fiction also delves into the intriguing world of men and women that fell back in love with the product as adults. Known as AFOLs (Adult Fans of LEGO) these are the enthusiastic bunch who build fantastical sculptures, attending conventions and competitions to congregate with like-minded souls.  

My 4 kids at LEGOLAND, Carlsbad, California

In fact, this A to Z book covers just about everything related imaginable from the Minifig Mania craze, LEGO Art, and the use of LEGOs as autism therapy and bricks used in marketing, to what goes on at LEGO users groups and conventions, and even a Guinness Book of World Records-type section where you'll learn about cool stats such as the biggest LEGO statue ever created -- the Sitting Bull sculpture at LEGOLAND Billund, Denmark that was built with 1.5 million bricks.

The Cult of LEGO available on Amazon in hardback is published by No Starch Press and where books are sold.  Note: As the dustcover indicates, this unofficial book is not endorsed or authorized by the LEGO Group.

To WIN a copy of The Cult of Lego for yourself or to give as a gift to someone you know, scroll down for details about MommyBlogExpert's giveaway of this title.

The Cult of LEGO

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FTC Disclosure: The publisher provided the book to me to facilitate this review and also is providing the prize for this giveaway.  MommyBlogExpert did not receive any payment or other compensation associated with this post.  See complete FTC Disclosure information that appears at the bottom of MommyBlogExpert's main page and at the bottom of every individual post on this blog, including this one.