Woolzies - An Eco-Friendly Wool Dryer Ball

Woolzies are 100% pure New Zealand wool dryer balls that do everything that conventional fabric softeners do plus they reduce drying time by 25%. They are money back guaranteed to last for at least 1,000 loads!   Woolzies have no chemicals at all and are also hypoallergenic so are safe even for people with wool sensitivities.

I haven't used fabric softener for a few years; there wasn't any particular reason why I stopped.  I still used the dryer sheets until the bars came along.  I had gladly switched to the bars so I wouldn't have to hunt for the sheets or track them all over the house.

The Woolzies review opportunity came along and I jumped on it.  After all, who couldn't use some kind of helper with laundry, right?  I don't do our laundry the way everyone else does (or at least I don't think I do).  I put the load in the washer right before bed and toss everything in the dryer when I get up in the morning.

I've tried Woolzies for about a month in every load.  I've mixed them in between the clothes, put them on the top, and put them on the bottom.  Because of the way I do laundry I haven't experienced faster drying times.  I do believe they have helped reduce the static cling that the dryer bars don't handle.  (Woolzies also entertain the cat when she's playing on top of the dryer.)

Woolzies are currently only available for purchase online.  They're available for $34.95 per box; shipping is free within the US and $6.95 worldwide.  Thinking to purchase a box of Woolzies for a Christmas present?  Gift wrap is available for an additional $5.  Please visit the Woolzies' website (link below) for more information.

Woolzies Online:  Website | Facebook | Twitter

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

I Tai Cheng'd It Up & Lost

May 5 - August 3, 2013

If you followed my weight loss progress on Life as We Live The Long and Winding Road to Wellness: Cassi's Journey you saw my transformation since joining Weight Watchers and starting Tai Cheng.  I've received so many compliments over these past months slimming down.  Even though I can't always notice the changes everyone else around me does.  The encouragement from others helps keep me plodding along the weight loss path.


The Tai Cheng Program

This is what's included when you purchase the program - 

Every day you start off with the Neural Reboot (warm-up) and then work on the Tai Chi moves.  The first three phases consist of learning six moves individually the first week, pairing them up the second week, and putting all the moves in sequence the third week.  With the final phase you do the first and second sequences (separately) the first week, the second and third sequences (separately) the second week, and all three sequences (separately) the final two weeks.

Program FAQ (PDF)

Function Test

I didn't score as bad on the initial function test as I had expected (8/20 instead of 0/20).  So where do I stand after 90 days?

• Squat:  2.  No pain, just a little wobbly.
• Single Leg Stand:   2.  A slight wobble here.
• Shoulder Mobility:  0.  No pain but still the discomfort when reaching the bottom of my left shoulder blade with my right hand.
• Chair Touch: 3!  I didn't lose the grip on my back fat.
• In Line Lunge:  1.  A slight wobble there.
• Rotary Stability:   1.  Still a little wobbly.
• Standing Toe Touch: 3!  I can touch the floor now.

My overall score raised by 4 to 12/20!  Sure, I'm not at 100% but didn't expect to be.  No pain, just a little stiffness in one area.  I'm more balanced as the wobbling decreased significantly over these 90 days. Once I reach my goal weight I'd like to revisit this function test to see what further improvements I've made.


Physical Changes

I didn't expect to see that much of a physical transformation since Tai Cheng is low/no impact.  Can you see any differences (besides my smile)?

Some of the stretches during the Neural Reboots became easier as time went on.

• Inverted V Hang:  I was able to only touch the floor with my fingertips in the beginning.  By the end my whole palm touched the floor.
• Deep Knee Bend:  I went from hardly able to bend to almost in a complete squat.
• Drop Stance & Kossak:  In the beginning I had to lean on the couch for balance.  By the end I was able to hold myself up and bend a little further.

Pros & Cons

PROS

• Regained the balance and flexibility I hadn't had for years.
• Relatively easy to perform most of the moves in both the Neural Reboot and the Tai Chi sequences.
• Improved my posture and gait in others' eyes.
• Foam rolling helped rid the pain I've had in my legs for years.

CONS

• Doing the splits in any form.
• Needed an advanced option at the end to do all 18 Tai Chi moves in one fluid motion instead of repeating the sequences of six.

Overall I think this is a great program for someone like me who wants to get re-introduced to exercise and improve balance and flexibility.


Check out your local library for the DVDs (and buy the foam roller separately like I did) or click below to purchase your own Tai Cheng kit.

Noxicare™ Natural Pain Relief Cream Giveaway

Noxicare™ Natural Pain Relief is a breakthrough natural, patented pain relief formula that is a proprietary combination of 7 of the world’s most potent natural pain relievers that quickly and effectively alleviate inflammation, muscle aches and nerve pain (burning feet)—with NO known side effects and without a prescription.

It always seems like some part of my body is experiencing pain.  Traditional medicine relieves my pain less and less often as the years go by.  So I'm starting to search for other ways to quickly knock out my aches and pains.  When I stumbled upon Noxicare™ I just had to try it out.  However (luckily?) I didn't experience any pain during the trial period so I haven't been able to test it out yet.

The Giveaway

Two lucky winners will receive a free full size tube of the Noxicare™ Natural Pain Relief Cream.  Please complete the form below to be entered into the giveaway.  You only have to like Casually Cassi and Noxicare's Facebook pages.  Additional entries available for following us on Twitter as well as daily Tweets.

Entry-Form

DISCLOSURE: I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Enter Brand New Google Nexus 7 16GB Giveaway

This is your chance to enter to win one of the brand new Google Nexus 7 (16GB) tablets that was just announced on July 24th and they began taking orders on July 30th.  This tablet which has the best specs currently on the tablet market includes a 7.02” screen which has a 1920x1200 HD resolution which is an incredible 323 PPI.

Dual cameras now with a 1.2MP front facing and 5MP rear facing camera, the new Google Nexus 7 boasts up to 9 hours of active use battery life with it’s 3950mAh battery. It also has Qi compatible wireless charging built in.

Audio on the new Google Nexus 7 includes stereo speakers with surround sound, powered by Fraunhofer. The dual band Wi-Fi supports Wireless a/b/g/n but I would have loved to see Wireless a/c support which exists in the newest routers but client devices are still slow to support.

You also get:

• microUSB
• SlimPort™ enabled
• 3.5mm audio
• Microphone
• Power and Volume buttons
• GPS
• Gyroscope
• Accelerometer
• Compass
• Ambient Light

The New Google Nexus 7 in spec is better than the iPad mini in nearly every way including double the pixel resolution, equal in camera quality, 4x as much built in memory and a vastly superior processor. At a price that is still $100 cheaper than the iPad mini.

Enter Now for your Chance to Win a Google Nexus 7

Thanks to the following sponsors Dragon Blogger,  SBABZY, TechWalls, CravingTech, Techetron we are able to co-host this giveaway and one lucky entrant will get a brand new Google Nexus 7 Tablet 16GB.

Win the Brand New Google Nexus 7 16GB

You can increase your odds of winning by sharing your custom link in the PromoSimple giveaway and convincing others to sign up with your referral link, up to 250 bonus entries can be gained this way. Also it is setup so you can tweet from the widget 1x per day so you can get 30 extra entries if you come back and tweet everyday from the widget (bookmark this site). Remember to do all of the entries, thank our sponsors and if you do write a blog post and become a co-host remember to leave the post URL as your entry validation. As an additional benefit if you choose to become a co-host you can win $50 cash for hosting the winning entry even if you don’t win (or that in addition if you do win).

This giveaway is open to anyone, anywhere over the age of 18 where rules and restrictions apply. See contest rules for details, but if you live outside the U.S. you have a few options, one you can receive $229 cash via Paypal instead of the Google Nexus 7 due to the costs in shipping and limitations in shipping Internationally directly from Google’s site, you could gift it to someone else in the U.S. or if you are willing to pay for shipping I will order the Nexus 7 delivered to me and then ship the device Internationally to you as long as you are covering shipping costs. This will add time to the delivery as it has to ship to me and then ship overseas to you however.