Stop Looking!!! Oriental Trading Probably Has It!

Summer is definitely here in the state of Oklahoma!  As a teacher, I truly enjoy my summer break…well… except for the blazing hot days!!  Next month my family will be having our annual family reunion.  We decided to have it at a private lake (really a pond) where there is absolutely no air conditioning. Crazy I know…but that pretty much sums up my family.

As I searched the internet trying to find fun activities for this reunion, I knew that Oriental Trading would be one of my favorite places to check out.  They have so many cute ideas that are very affordable.  Here are just a few of my favorite things I found there.

I decided to type in “Reunion” and see what came up.  Have you ever heard of an inflatable buttet?  This is such a great idea!  

Getting everyone to eat at the same time is always a problem at our reunions. This is exactly what we need.  All you do is fill it with ice…. Put your containers of food in at…and there you go… the food will stay chilled for those that were too busy to eat.  Yes… I am definitely ordering one of these babies!

Throughout the heat of the day we have so many activities planned.  We will definitely need a few Water Toys throughout the day to entertain us and help us survive the heat. I think these Neon Grip Squirt Guns might do the trick… or at least cool us off a bit!!   

The little ones, the old folks and everyone in between will definitely enjoy feeling the squirt of cool water during the heat of the day.  Oh yes... they are are must!

    

For some reason we  have never had BUBBLES at our family reunions.   I think they will be a big hit for everyone!  And of course... if you are going to get bubbles…you might as well go big!!!  Take a look at these Huge Wands! 

 I have such a crazy family… no telling what kind of game we will think of to do with these long tubes filled with bubbles!!!

Outdoor Games are always a huge part of our summer family gatherings! As a matter of fact, several of us are in the process of making oversized outdoor games that will allow us to show our competitive side!!!   I came across these Large Yahtzee Dice and I think they are a definite MUST HAVE!  Now all I have to do is find a cute bucket to put them in. 

Oh my goodness there are so many other summer fun items that you need to check out at Oriental Trading!  What are you waiting for... go check out all the summer fun ideas!

Pentel Mechanical Pencils and EnerGel Pen

It seems like I can never get enough pencils and pens.  However, not any pen or pencil will do… so… when Shoplet asked me to review these Pentel Sharp Mechanical Drafting Pencils and this Pentel EnerGel Alloy Retractable Gel Pen I eagerly jumped at the chance.           

These mechanical pencils are so cool!  I’ve never owned a mechanical pencil that wasn’t black so I was excited to try out these beautiful metallic pencils.  Aren't they beautiful? 

 These mechanical pencils come with six sticks of pre-loaded  0.7mm lead.  This lead is Super-Hi-Polymer which of course never needs sharpened.  This pencil lead would be like using a #2 pencil. It also has a pocket clip which I will use all the time... or I would probably lose my pencil quickly!  

Gel pens are my favorite type of pen and this Pentel EnerGel Alloy Retractable Gel Pen is a beauty!  This pen has a medium-sized point (0.7mm).  I love the way this pen just glides across the page and leaves no skips as you write.  The ink itself dries very quickly!!! No smudges while you are writing.  Yeah!! There are decorative silver ridges where your fingers grip the pen which allowed me to hold the pen easily and with control. 

Shoplet is one of my favorite places to do online shopping.  It is so easy to find the items you are looking for.  They have a wide range of Pentel products that I think you will be pleased with!  That’s not all though… they have a nice selecting of  office supplies, cleaning supplies, and medical supplies.  If you are in need of new  office furniture they might be able to help you out in that area as well. 

Disclosure: The thoughts and opinions expressed here are my own.  I received no other compensation.

Acme Westcott CarboTitanium Scissors

I am always losing my scissors…so I was definitely excited when Shoplet contacted me about about reviewing a pair of heavy duty Westcott CarboTitanium  8” pair of scissors!  

 I was definitely not disappointed.  Let me tell you everything that I absolutely love about them!

The blades are strong!  I mean really strong!   The package claims they are 8X harder than stainless steel.  

I decided to compare them to my favorite pair of scissors.   I cut through 20 sheets of paper with both of them.  When I used the Westcott CarboTitanium Scissors I had absolutely no problem cutting through them. Using my other scissors (my best ones)  I struggled quite a bit to cut through these 20 sheets.  It was hard to get a picture that showed it...but hopefully you can see what I'm talking about. 

I love how comfortable they are to my fingers while I am cutting.  They have a contoured soft grip handles which also allowed me to get a good grip while I was cutting.  Nice!

They have a lifetime warranty!  Nice!

  

If you haven’t ever shopped online at Shoplet, I hope that you will give them a chance to meet your shopping needs.  They carry an assortment of office supplies, cleaning supplies, medical supplies, office furniture and everything in between.

***Disclosure*** I received this pair of Wescott CarboTitanium Scissors at no charge.  In exchange, I have given my honest review of them.  

Avery Easy Align Self-Laminating ID Labels

These are not the ordinary labels that I have used for years and years.  I had to take a second look when I first saw them.  They are self-laminating.  How cool is that!!!  This packet has a total of 250 labels and there are 10 labels on each page. These Avery labels are definitely worth checking out.  

Whenever something is able to help me get more organized I am all for using it.  These labels did just that. I decided to start my organization with some plastic drawers that I had previously labeled with a black Sharpie.  Wow!  They look so much nicer now.   

I have so many other things that I am going to use these laminated labels for.  Here are just a few that I’ll be working on over spring break in just a few short weeks:

*plastic mini drawers 

*label my personal property at work

*plastic tubs 

*food containers

Here are a couple of reasons why I am going to love using this product:

1.  They are water resistant!  I of course had to check that claim out.  I attached a label to a jar and then placed under water for a short period of time. My label was still perfectly attached...with my smearing of print.  I don’t think I will be putting them in the dishwasher though because it doesn’t claim to be water proof!!!!

2.  They are also quite durable.  These laminated labels are tear resistant.  I goofed up on the spelling of one of my labels, so I decided to test out their claim of being tear resistant.  It passed my test…I wasn’t able to rip it apart not matter how hard I tried!!

Did you also know that Avery has a 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed Policy on their labels?  I didn’t… but they will replace them if you are not completely satisfied.  You can’t beat that!!!

Shoplet is one of my absolute favorite places to shop online.  They are able to meet the majority of my needs for office supplies, cleaning supplies, medical supplies, and office furniture.  They also have a wide range of Avery products!

Please note that I did receive these Avery Self-Laminating Labels for free in exchange for my honest opinion.  The thoughts and opinions expressed here are my own.  I received no other compensation.

Forgiving My Daughter's Killer by Kate Grosmaire

Too Many Carrots by Katy Hudson

My 1^st graders loved this story!  They got so excited when I showed them the cover.   They all wanted to climb up on a huge pile of carrots too!  

Everywhere Bunny goes he can’t seem to help himself… he picks up carrots.  As you can see from the cover, he is quite the little hoarder!  These carrots become a problem when Bunny realizes his home is just not big enough for him and all his carrots.   And…Of course.. no bunny wants to be homeless.  Luckily for Bunny he is blessed with some wonderful friends that are more than willing to help him out.  He soon realizes that relocating and living with his friends is not working out so well either. 

This is a great book to discuss friendship, sharing or being selfish, just to name a few.  It is definitely a keeper for my classroom.  

Disclosure:  I recieved an e-copy this book from Capstone Young Readers through the NetGalley reviewer program at no charge.  In exchange, I agreed to review this book and to nd to give them my honest opinion.  

Cold Shot by Dani Pettrey

As I continue to expand my repertoire of different styles of authors I came across a book written by Dani Pettrey.  When I read the cover of one of her books, I knew I needed to give her an opportunity to be added to my list of "want to read" authors.  Cold Shot is the book I chose to read.

SYNOPSIS:

Griffin McCray is an ex-sniper who now works as a park ranger at Gettysburg.  After he discovers a body in a shallow grave near Little Round Top, Finley Scott is brought to the site.   She quickly concludes that the remains are relatively recent.  Declan Gray, an FBI agent is brought in to take over the case.   Parker, a crime scene analyst is also brought in to to help solve the case.  The reader quickly learns that these three men were best friends at one time.  However, events that happened in the past have left Declan and Griffin’s friendship quite strained.  As they investigate the murder, they quickly realize that all of their lives are in danger.  Relationships develop... Issues from the past surface...  Mysterious disappearance are investigated... 

MY THOUGHTS:

Cold Shot is apparently the first book in Dani Pettrey’s Chesapeake Valor series.   After reading this book, I can definitely see several different directions that the author could go with these different characters.  

I did enjoy the romance between the characters that developed throughout this story.  The characters’ faith in God was woven into the story and the author was able to portray that with the characters personalities and the needs of each of the characters.   The characters definitely needed to work through issues by trusting God and forgiving others.  However... it wasn't what I would call a "religious book!"  

The book was suspenseful and it didn't turn out quite like I had anticipated...or as I would have hoped...but I still enjoyed the read.

As I began this book… I must admit that Ifelt like maybe there was a book before this one.  Since I am a fast reader, I initially thought I probably just missed something... However, after several hours of reading I found myself continuing to flip back in the book to clarify who the characters were.   

Although I will most likely read the next book in the series, I did find a few things a bit annoying.  There are brief paragraphs of unknown characters sharing their thoughts and conversations and I found them a bit distracting. I also like to visualize books when I read them... and for this book I never really had a picture in my head. 

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Bethany House Publishers/NetGalley.  In exchange, I have given an honest review of what I thought about this book.