Reviews and Ramblings

Click to check out the selection of cool and unique backpacks!

This time of year, students and their parents are just starting to gear up for the new school year.  Unique backpacks are very popular because they help a student develop their own sense of “style.” They are fun and they can help you find your backpack in the midst of a sea of other backpacks.

If you are looking for a young student, there are a lot of fun plush animal unique backpacks to choose from. If you are looking for your older student, or if you ARE the older student looking for yourself, there a tons of very cool backpacks to choose from.

To help you Prepare Your Fields for school, I am continuing to pick out some really fun choices over on my squidoo lens called, “Unique Backpacks.” I hope you can find something you like!

Click to see the selection of Children's Aprons

If you’ve been looking for Children’s Aprons, chances are you’ve got your kids involved in something that’s kind of messy. Maybe you are teaching them how to cook or letting them help you in the kitchen. Or, possibly they are expressing their interest in art and you’ve picked up some art supplies and let them go at it only to discover how much paint and other things they were able to get on their clothes in addition to their canvas. You could even have them helping you in the garden and, because those helpful kids aren’t as strong as adults, they tend to press what they are working on up against their shirts in order to put more “muscle” into it.

Whatever you’ve got them doing that is getting them dirty, check out the Childrens Aprons featured on my Squidoo lens. I think you’ll like the selection and I own one of the adult size aprons from the links on that page and can attest to the very good quality of the aprons available through them.

The Whirley Pop Stovetop Popcorn Popper is our family’s preferred method of preparing popcorn. Over the course of a month, we whip up at least six to eight batches of popcorn. Our 14 year old daughter is the chosen popcorn snack cook and started doing it about four years ago. Even our seven year old son is able to use the Whirley Pop Popcorn popper – with supervision, of course. It truly is that simple to use.

So, why do we like the Whirley Pop so much? Surely, cooking popcorn in the microwave is faster, isn’t it? Well, I’ve personally timed it and a batch of whirley popcorn is ready in just about 3 minutes; almost the same time as a bag of microwave popcorn in our microwave oven. But, the Whirley gives us six quarts of popped corn which is much more than a bag of microwaved. Also, due to the current worries over some of components in microwave popcorn and the bags they come in, we a lot less anxiety by putting in oil and popcorn. Plus, the taste of the Whirley popcorn is MUCH better, in our family of six’s opinion. I find microwave popcorn to be very salty and messy with oil. Whirley Pop popcorn pops up tasting fresh and delicious. Simply add your own seasonings, like salt and butter, and it’s ready to eat.

Here are a few things you’ll want to know about the Whirley Pop Stovetop Popcorn maker. It has a wooden handle on the lid that has a crank on the end. Wabash Valley Farms, the manufacturer, offers a 25-year warranty on all moving parts. That means, if the gears wear out and break, you can contact them and they’ll send you a replacement for only the cost of shipping. The popping pan is made of aluminum for quick, constant cooking temperatures. Cleaning the maker is very easy. The manufacturer says to just clean out the inside with a paper towel or wash with soapy water.

We’ve had our popper for about 10 years and over that time, we’ve come up with some tips for the Whirley Pop:

- Don’t put the oil in and 3 kernels to test, like Mom used to do. Just put the corn kernels and the oil in the pan and then turn it on.
- Turn up the temperature on your stove just high enough to start popping the popcorn.
- Use only about 3 tablespoons of oil. Our family likes the taste of olive oil, but you can use vegetable oil or use coconut oil for a taste like authentic movie theater popcorn.
- Follow the instructions that come with your new Whirley Pop. (Keep the popcorn moving until it winds down to a “pop-pop.” Then take it off the stove, put in into a bowl and season.)

If you are interested in other types of popcorn makers, check out my Squidoo lens. It covers the Whirley Pop and a few other favorite types of popcorn machines.