Read. Write. Mom!

Freedom To Read- $15 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway

Posted on June 28, 2012January 10, 2016 by Mandy

We’re celebrating Independence Day here at Read. Write. Mom! by offering one lucky winner a $15 Amazon Gift Card as part of the Freedom To Read Giveaway Hop hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and Mundie Moms. For more great giveaways, please visit all of the blogs listed below who are also participating in the giveaway hop.

To Enter:

Simply fill out the Rafflecopter form below. The first entry (a comment) is mandatory, but the other entries are optional.

Deadline to enter is July 6, 2012 at 12:00 AM EST. This giveaway is worldwide and is open to all 18 and older, void where prohibited. Gift Card will be emailed to winner.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Does Deva Curl Work?

Posted on June 28, 2012January 22, 2020 by Mandy

Late one night I was sucked into watching infomercials on TV and an infomercial came on for Deva Curl, a hair product that was supposed to make your curly hair look amazing. My hair is naturally wavy and I would give anything to be able to just wash it and go, so I decided that I would buy it. Does Deva Curl work?

Naturally Wavy Hair

I use a flat iron on my hair everyday because my wavy hair has no definition. If I wash my hair and let it dry naturally, it looks very blah with some spots wavier than others. This is what my naturally air-dried hair looks like:

Just little waves sitting there. I didn’t want blah waves. I wanted really curly hair! (Sorry for the pic quality…I was using my phone)

I only ordered a Deva Curl Travel Kit because I didn’t want to be stuck with tons of product I wouldn’t use in case I didn’t like it. My travel size bag contained the following:

No Poo (shampoo)
One Condition (conditioner)
Light Defining Gel (styling gel)
Set It Free (moisture lock)

So, I shampooed and conditioned my hair using the products listed above and then once I gently squeezed the excess water out of my hair, I ran my wide tooth comb through my hair to detangle it and then I applied the Light Defining Gel, gave it a few scrunches, and waited for my hair to dry naturally. Once it dried, I sprayed on the Set It Free.

RESULTS

So does Deva Curl work? I would say that there is definitely more curl in my hair after using Deva Curl and letting it dry naturally. If you have really curly hair, then this is definitely the product you want to tame the frizz, hydrate your curls, and keep your hair looking amazing! I was pretty pleased with the results and the products smell so good. I definitely think this product is worth the money and highly recommend it if you have naturally wavy or curly hair. I only wish this had been around during the late 80’s and early 90’s when I fried my hair with perms on a regular basis to achieve the curly hair look. Ha!

These opinions are strictly my own. I was not provided with this product for review or compensated for my opinion.

So Not (Mine)crafty

Posted on June 26, 2012May 28, 2019 by Mandy

You know, I thought being at home all summer long would drive me a little nuts, just because I had been so used to my routine during the school year. I was up early every morning, at work by 7:00 A.M. and stayed busy until time to clock out. I really looked forward to this summer off because I would get to spend more time with my son. I figured, if anything, having way more free time would drive me a little crazy.

I was wrong.

Can I just tell you what is driving me crazy this summer? Minecraft. A video game called MINECRAFT!!!

It all started when my son discovered another video game (which shall remain nameless) that was almost like building a world with Legos. He loved it. However, we are pretty sure this video game was the cause of the demise of not one, but two netbooks in our home. Not acceptable. And so, I had to break his heart and inform him that his days playing that game were over. I desperately tried to find something, anything, that was age-appropriate and to his liking. I had no luck. He begrudgingly played some of those other games that were similar, all the while reminding me how “NOT cool” they were.

Then, a couple of weeks ago, a family member introduced him to Minecraft, a game he was playing on his phone. It was safe for kids to play and for the low, low price of $26 it could be played on our home computer (make that MY computer…the only one left standing). So, I bought the game and downloaded it for him. He was super happy and couldn’t tell me enough how cool it was. But then, he wanted to play this game at the exact times when I needed to use my computer and it dawned on me that this was not going to be a good arrangement after all. BUT! Never fear! They make Minecraft for XBox 360, and so yes, I bought the game AGAIN for him to play on his XBox.

Well. Apparently there are many “worlds” and “golems” and “teleporting” goodness that this mama knows absolutely nothing about, and I must get asked by my son a million times a day how to “make iron”, “craft things”, and how to “get rid of the creepers”. When I can’t come up with anything, he gets frustrated and whiney and Iamthisclose to taking it all away.

I figured YouTube would be a good place to watch some videos to figure out how to play this game. I quickly found out that most of these videos were junk, with kids and adults cussing and making some not-so-nice things happen to the little characters in the game. He has found some decent videos on the Minecraft site itself, but they don’t answer all of his questions and Mama is just fresh out of patience and ideas.

It’s times like this I wish my son had an older brother, because mythical older brother would surely know just what to do. I just wish Minecraft came with an Idiot’s Guide For Non-Gaming Moms because, even after reading up online on how to play, craft things, etc, I am sad to report I am just as clueless as when I started. Also while researching this game, I found out there is such a thing as gaming chairs at www.bestgamingchair.com Who knew? They review gaming pcs, laptops, mice, keyboards, chairs, desk, ram, graphics cards, monitors, gamepads, streaming software, operating systems, pro streaming equipment, etc.

Thankfully, my husband will be starting his vacation soon and hopefully between the two of them they can figure this out. My sanity kind of depends on it.

For the record, my son doesn’t play online with anyone else and he doesn’t sit on this game all day. It’s just his favorite game to play when he gets time on the computer or XBox.