Fantastic Father’s Day Finds at Lady V dZine

May 19, 2010 By

Psst…

It is time for a fun event here at Lady V dZine.  In honor of Father’s Day, I will be hosting a Fantastic Father’s Day Finds event starting on June 1st.  The event will include Fantastic Finds reviews and Fantastic Finds reviews with giveaways.  I will also be doling out tips on how you can honor that Fab guy in your life!  And because I am feeling pretty fantastic about this event, I wanted to offer you an opportunity to earn up to ten bonus entries before it even begins. 

1.  You can earn 5 bonus entries into each of the Fantastic Father’s Day Finds giveaways by blogging about this event, BEFORE June 1st, with a link back to my site.   Leave a comment on THIS post with a link to your blog post (not your main page).

2.  You can earn 5 bonus entries into each of the Fantastic Father’s Day Finds giveaways by grabbing this button, BEFORE June 1st, and displaying it on your blog.  Leave a comment on THIS post with a link to where I can find it. 

<div align="center"><a href="http://thatbaldchick.com" title="Fantastic Father's Day Finds at Lady V dZine"><img src="http://thatbaldchick.com/lvd_FFDF_button125.jpg" alt="Lady V dZine" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

***PLEASE NOTE***

You MUST leave your comments on THIS post in order to qualify for the bonus entries during the event.  When the giveaways are posted, you will then be responsible for leaving comments for your bonus entries (i.e. Bonus 1) on each giveaway. 

If you are a company that would like to submit a product for review for this event please email me at virginia@ladyvdzine.com. 

Be blessed,

Virginia

Lady V dZine

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The lost art of handwritten notes

May 19, 2010 By

Do you recall the last time you sat down and actually wrote a letter by hand and mailed it with a real stamp?

It would seem that in today’s technologically advanced world, handwriting is fast becoming a lost art.  Why write a letter when you can send an e-mail and save a stamp?  Why trot out to the mail box and drop something in, when you can jump on any one of numerous social networking sites, like Twitter or Facebook, and send an IM to a friend.  Save your energy, right?  Who needs ink when you have qwerty.

I, for one, have horrible penmanship.  Always have had.  In fact, I can remember a time when my Mom told me that if I didn’t print it, she wouldn’t read it because my penmanship was so atrocious.  For years, I printed everything but my signature.  Then, somewhere along the line it became easier to just type everything.  Letters to friends, birthday cards, etc.  If it was from me, you could pretty much guarantee that it was computer generated.  The only thing that was written was my signature. 

Recently, however, I received a hand written note from a friend (thanks, Dina).  It really touched my heart.  She had taken the time out of her busy day to actually sit down and put pen to paper.  Then she put that note in an envelope, sealed it, affixed a stamp, and trotted to the mailbox.  To me, that said that she not only cares about me, but that she values me. 

So, I decided that I wanted to be more intentional about sending handwritten notes.  So, when my friend Darcy was absent from church a few weeks ago, I wrote a card out.  I had the best of intentions, of course.  Poor Darcy never received the card.  So, when I saw her the following week, I had to apologize to her. 

This last weekend, we had a Ladies Tea at our church.  The topic was on Women of Influence.  As each woman spoke and/or sang, I was again reminded of the handwritten note from Dina and how much it really meant to me.  Dina influenced me with that note in that she made me smile  SO, I decided that I would be more intentional about writing notes AND seeing to it that the person actually gets them.  If being more intentional can influence someone’s day, and make them smile, it’s totally worth it, right?

What are you being intentional about this week?

Be blessed,

Virginia

Lady V dZine

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The Power of Digital Video

May 19, 2010 By

As you all know, I am relatively new to the blog reviews/giveaways world.  I posted my first review in March and my first giveaway in April (both 2010).  Since February, my blog traffic has literally quadrupled, and it really excites me.  I have learned a lot in the last few months, and am still learning.

One of the things that I have learned is blog reviews are more personal when a personal photo is used.  Shots of my kids or husband using a product really add to the veracity of a review.  You can see the product in use.  You can see the expressions on our faces.  It just somehow makes it more real.

One of the things that I would love to do is incorporate digital video into some of my reviews.  I want my readers to really know what my experience was like with the products that I review.  With the power of digital video, my readers could actually watch a product in use.  How cool would that be?  I mean, it would certainly add to the review, and may even help you make up your mind about whether or not you want to try a product. 

Click to Visit

JVC is sponsoring 4 bloggers with an all expense paid trip to BlogHer 2010 in NYC in August.  BlogHer is, among other things, an annual blogging conference for women.  For the second consecutive year, JVC will provide four winners with roundtrip airfare, hotel accommodations and a full registration to this popular event.  The BlogHer conference is simply NOT in my budget this year.  I would, however, love to be able to go and learn EVERYTHING I need to learn to make my blog the best that it could be.  So, I am entering the JVC “Power Your Passion” contest. 

What are your thoughts about using digital video for reviews?

Be blessed,

Virginia

Lady V dZine

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Kymaro’s Body Shaper Review

May 19, 2010 By

Last fall, I took my kids to a local park to play.  My son, Mister, loves to go down the slides.  He wanted me to go down the slide with him, so I did.  It was less than comfortable.  I promised myself, and my son, that I would lose weight so I could go down the slide comfortably this year. 

I’ve lost 25 pounds thus far.  I still have a ways to go, but am pleased to say that going down the slide is more comfortable now. 

With losing weight, I have found that I have a few, eh’hem, extra curves.  So, I’ve been wanting to get a body shaper to help put things in… proper perspective.

I received an opportunity to receive the Kymaro New Body Shaper top and shorts for review. 

Kymaro New Body Shaper

The Kymaro New Body Shaper top is made of polyester and spandex (90/10).

The Kymaro new Body Shaper shorts are made of nylon and spandex (85/15).

Both garments are machine washable (warm water/like colors).  Do not bleach.  Lay flat to dry.  Low iron if needed.  Both garments are pre-shrunk, but the company recommends that you air dry like you would a pair of panty hose (i.e. DO NOT PUT IN THE DRYER!)

What I thought…

The top is donned much like you would don a bathing suit, feet in first.  Because the top is made to fit snugly around the midsection, it can be tricky to get the top up over the hips and in place correctly.  Once in place, though, it was easy enough to “smooth” the lines.  It took me a bit to figure out the correct landing spot for the bottom of the garment, to keep it from rolling up.  Once I had it situated, though, it was okay. 

The bottom is donned like any other pair of shorts.  They fit snugly and felt like I had a pair of control top panty hose with the control in the derriere.  They didn’t offer much in  I found that it was best to put on the shorts, then the top. 

I expected the shapers to be torturous (I mean, seriously, I have a post c-section muffin top that isn’t pretty) but they weren’t bad as long as I maintained correct posture.  If I slouched at all (which I have a tendency to do), they were not as comfortable.  

All that being said, I will certainly wear them again when my clothing shows a little more curve than I like.  Besides, my husband thought the effect was quite nice. 

What I would change…

I could not wear the Kymaro Body Shaper top with a shirt that I really wanted to wear because the top has a high back.  I am certain that the high back is intended to conceal the unsightly bumps that some women have around their shoulder blades and sides.  However, I would have liked a scoop back option, so that I could have worn it with more.

How I rate it:

ladyvdzzine_blogbutton_rateit_4of5

I have to rate the Kymaro Body Shapers a 4 out of 5 hearts because of how much my husband liked the effect. 

Where you can buy it…

For $39.99 you can snag a pair online at Ubuyez or at your local Target, CVS or Wal-Mart  

Be blessed,

Virginia

Lady V dZine

FTC Compliant Disclosure: I received a complimentary New Body Shaper and New Bottom Shaper from Kymaro to facilitate this review. No other compensation was provided. All opinoins expressed herein are mine and are based on my experience.  Your experience may differ. 

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