Hobo Mama Reviews: Giveaway: Sodastream Fountain Jet @ Rockin Mama …
It’s that time again. Hey, I’m going to keep entering for one of these suckers until I win!
Yes, Rockin Mama is giving away a Sodastream Fountain Jet home soda maker!
My husband and I do our part to recycle as much as we can, but reusable is really the best eco-friendly option. According to the site, ”the average American consumes nearly 600 bottles and cans of sparkling water and soda every year.” Much of these end up in our landfills (since we’re not a society that does a lot of recycling). Can you imagine not having any plastic bottles or aluminum cans? And, when you figure out that you could make a liter of sparkling water for 20 cents or a 12 ounce can of soda for 25 cents, it makes eco AND financial sense to use Sodastream.
Enter fast at Rockin Mama by Dec. 19.
Life's A Streak Run: Instilling self-sufficiency one baby step at …
Tim is the kid who will ask me to put ice in his drink, hand him a fork, fetch the butter out of the fridge. When it’s homework time, he’ll ask me to get his backpack for him. When he needs a shower, he wants me to put out a towel. He’ll never do anything for himself that he thinks there’s a chance I’ll do. One day he actually handed Holly a used Kleenex to throw out for him rather than crossing the room to the wastebasket. Normally the doting younger sister, she responded by exploding, “Gee, Tim!” with uncharacteristic exasperation.
So when the seltzer maker arrived, it presented a perfect opportunity to change Tim’s habits a little. Tim loves seltzer; it is just about all he drinks. He learned to use my parents’ seltzer maker and then they gave us our own, so from the moment it arrived we declared that seltzer making was Tim’s job. By deliberate choice, I haven’t even learned to use the seltzer maker. Sometimes when Tim drinks the last of the seltzer he goes days on end without bothering to make more, and sometimes he doesn’t hydrate as much as he should during those days. But I refuse to cave on it. The seltzer maker is his domain; when he wants seltzer badly enough, he makes more. It’s a small victory.
One day when Tim was in preschool, I stopped off at a yard sale. The merchandise comprised mostly sports equipment; I had been hoping to find some baby toys for Holly. Although I was the only customer, the woman running the yard sale called her son over, who was about ten. “Ian, go see if we have any baby toys in the garage,” she said. In retrospect, it seems trivial enough, but that made an impression on me. She wasn’t giving him a regular chore to do like making a bed or taking out the trash; she was just delegating a simple task to him that she could have just as easily done herself, but demonstrating to him that there was no reason he couldn’t be called into service. Similarly, I remember a teacher at Tim’s daycare when he was a baby who used to often ask preschoolers to fetch specific toys for the babies, and I could see it was not because the babies actually needed those specific toys but just to show the bigger kids the ways they could help out.
Tim is 11 now, and like most boys his age, there are certain chores he’s expected to do around the house. He does those chores, but ensuring that he makes his bed and puts away his clean laundry is of less concern to me than just seeing him be resourceful enough to take care of himself. The seltzer maker is a small start. Sometimes now I ask him to help Holly with something when I could just as easily do it myself, just for the sake of promoting the behavior I want to see.
Over the summer Rick taught him to operate the riding mower himself, and again, it was progress. Most kids love using riding mowers, so it wasn’t much of a sacrifice on his part, but it means he’s now responsible for mowing the side lawn. Again, a start.
Partly it’s a matter of training myself to expect more. It’s really no trouble to hand Tim a fork rather than telling him to get it himself. But then I remind myself that this is part of a continuum. He needs to develop self-reliance, even if it’s not instinctive to him, even if he’d much rather be served. So I frequently remind myself, “Let him do it for himself. Ask him to help you with this. Show him that he can take care of it on his own.” Even if he has to force these behaviors and will forever be someone who would rather be served than help himself, I’ll know I tried to do the right thing.
Have You Heard of SodaStream?
Today I wanted to take a moment to talk about a great product we just began carrying in our store called SodaStream. Many of us in the store bought these as soon as they came into the store (and we all love them) while we have also been getting rave reviews from our customers. SodaStream in short, is a soda maker you can use in your home. These little devices are incredibly capable and can perform so many tasks that I wanted to do a quick little write up about them.
With SodaStream, making carbonated water and soft drinks is simple. These great soda makers can turn tap water into sparkling water in under 30 seconds, with no clean-up. But that is just the tip of the iceberg with these devices, they offer a large variety of flavoring syrups so you and your family can make all of your favorite drinks. Additionally, SodaStream products are designed with reusable plastic bottles so it greatly reduces the amount of waste that comes with regular soft drinks and sparkling water. Since we aspire to create beautiful living spaces here at The Picket Fence we love the fact that they come in a variety of colors and silhouettes, so you’ll be able to find a soda maker to match any decor.
These are also a great way to save a some money, the SodaStream website says that if you were to use SodaStream to make the same volume of liquid that you would find in a regular soda can, it will cost you 25 cents. And just because you are making your drinks at home doesn’t mean you missing the flavors you can find at the store. SodaStream has a variety of flavors you can choose from to make your drinks. They offer over 30 to choose from, including favorites such as Cola, Lemon-Lime, Orange and Root Beer, mixers, like Ginger Ale and Tonic in both regular and diet or you can try their fruit creations, including Orange Mango, Diet Pink Grapefruit or Cranberry-Raspberry. You can even experiment with mixing flavors to see what you can come up with (I quickly learned that I am not the next soda genius and now stick mostly to the regular flavors 
)
The benefits of these great little machines don’t stop there, another great factor (one of the most important for me) is the health factor. In an average cola soda:
- Pepsi has 100 calories, 27g carbs, 27g sugar, 25mg sodium, and 25mg caffeine.
- Coca-Cola has 100 calories, 27g carbs, 27g sugar, 35mg sodium, 23mg caffeine.
- SodaStream cola has 34 calories, 9g carbs, 9g sugar, 2mg sodium, 15mg caffeine.
You can clearly see that if you drink any quantity of soda you are going to benefit greatly from the reduction in calories, carbs, sugars and sodium that comes with making your own soda.
I could go on all day about these wonderful little devices, but I’ll just leave you with a little tidbit about their eco-friendly aspects. SodaStream soda makers are an “Active Green” product, meaning that consumers are actively reducing their CO2 footprint every time they make soda or sparkling water at home instead of buying it from the store. The more the system is used on a daily basis, the more CO2footprint the user actively saves. (This differs from “Passive Green” products, which use green-friendly production processes, but their products are not inherently helping the consumers save on their daily footprint.) SodaStream also saves on bottles and cans and helps reduce trash or the energy it takes to recycle.
The Picket Fence is very impressed with this product. We have used it ourselves and we love the great soda and sparkling water that these little machines make! We are working on getting these products on our website as I write and if you get a chance to use one of these soda makers we hope you enjoy it as much as we do.
Using Water In Your Garden | Rock Gardens and Ponds
Either still or moving, water creates a romantic mystique in almost any garden. Complete with fountain or waterfall, a garden pool heightens the allure of any garden setting, adding shimmering reflections and flashes of light, glistening movements and sounds of nature. Whether moving or still, water always draws the eye, so that it becomes a focal point in the garden. While contemplating the reflections of blooming water lilies or listening to the splash of a nearby fountain, you’ll derive hours of pleasure from a water garden. In a backyard or garden of any size, well-designed water features can turn an ordinary yard or garden into an attractive place to relax and enjoy the outdoors.
The water element may take many styles and forms, from a small, simple garden fountain with a basin to a large artificial pond fed by a recirculating stream and waterfall. The pond may be bordered with a sweeping brick patio or naturalistically edged with bog plants. Whether dining near a patio pool or strolling along the border of a fish-stocked pond, you will appreciate the moods that water creates. When you view a quiet pool on a warm summer’s day, the stillness elicits a feeling of tranquility. The reflections of flowers, leaves, birds, and sky harmonize with the surrounding landscape. Gentle ripples break the water’s surface as a breeze plays over the pool, and the glint of gold catches your eye as fish dart beneath the lily pads.
The sound and sight of moving water is both relaxing and entrancing. The steady splash of a fountain or the echoing cascade of a waterfall enhances the pleasure of sitting outdoors. A garden pool can be relaxing and romantic at night. Fragrant night-blooming water lilies scent the air while moonlight sparkles on the water’s surface and on foam from a fountain or waterfall.
FORMAL AND INFORMAL POOL STYLES There are two basic styles of pool design: formal and informal. A formal pool is of a symmetrical or geometric shape such as a circle, square, rectangle, or oval. It looks man-made-but no less lovely-because such uniform shapes aren’t often found in nature. An informal pool is irregularly shaped, mimicking nature’s own designs.
The most formal kind of pool is one raised and surrounded with brick or stone walls. If mortar or cement work is required, the installation of a raised pool can be a major undertaking that will probably require the help of a builder or landscape contractor. A sunken pool may also have a formal appearance if it is symmetrical in shape and surrounded by a border of paving, walkways, and orderly plantings.
Formal pools and fountains achieved the height of their glory in Renaissance and post-Renaissance architecture, though many are still being built in urban landscapes. The pools in the Tivoli Gardens and at Versailles and the Trevi Fountain in Rome are all examples of formal design. In Japanese and Middle Eastern architecture, formal pools are often an integral part of house and garden design. Many city parks, squares, and plazas in the United States feature formal pools and fountains that provide restful settings for lunch-time strollers.
The clear-cut lines of formal pools are often in keeping with the neat appearance of a town house or large period-style house. They look at home among neatly pruned shrubs and trees, in the middle of an expanse of lawn, or as a focal point in a town house garden. The materials, such as cut stone, paving block or brick that are used to surround formal pools are themselves round, square or rectangular. A tall fountain jet or piped statuary becomes the focal point of the formal water garden. Waterfalls should also be symmetrical, in clean-cut steps with the water falling in sheets. Water lilies and lotus can be used to decorate the water surface. If plants form the margin of a formal pool, they are best kept in neat beds, to expose the clean lines of the pool’s edge. The effect is that of a well-planned and well-ordered garden.
Informal pools have irregular shapes and usually resemble natural ponds. They look perfectly at home near a rambling country house or a farmhouse or in a treed suburban yard. Bordered by naturalistically placed stones and planted with overhanging ferns, tall grasses, iris, or wildflowers, the shoreline. As you can see, there are several options when it comes to incorporating water into your backyard. The simplest way is with self contained garden fountains. You have hundreds to choose from and by just browsing the various options of outdoor fountains you will definitely get your ideas rolling!
Amber Liddell is resource for the website Serenityhealth.com, your one stop shop for any type of water fountains and water fountain information. You will find many outdoor fountains for your garden, wall fountains, tabletop fountains and even custom fountains. Visit Serenityhealth.com or call to talk to one of our water fountain experts.
If It Ain't Got That Fizz, It Ain't Seltzer Water!
Seltzer water– also known as sparkling water, club soda, carbonated water, soda water, and pop water– is just normal water with carbon dioxide (CO2) gas dissolved in it, and is the major component of “soft drinks.”. This process– called carbonation– forms carbonic acid.
Club soda can be the same as plain carbonated water, or it can contain a small amount of salt or traces of minerals, depending on the brand. These are added to produce the taste of home-made soda water. In some countries soda water is made with sodium bicarbonate; it can also occur naturally to make carbonated mineral water.
In soft drinks (best known examples Coca-Cola and Pepsi), carbonation is used to give fizziness to the taste. The fizzy sensation is caused by diluted carbonic acid which produces a slight burning taste, not by the presence of bubbles.
You can make seltzer as fizzy as you desire with Soda-Club home soda/seltzer maker. You can make your very own special seltzer, and flavor it with an unsweetened, all-natural flavor mix.
If you love seltzer and find it at the best bargain prices, and your family drinks one case per week, you could be spending over ,000 in 10 years.
With Soda-Club, your costs can be reduced to 18 cents per liter– that would come out to just two dollars per case. Whenever you want it, you can enjoy fresh fizzy seltzer. If the lighter carbonation, like sparkling water, is your preference, Soda Club has the Penguin, which furnishes fresh sparkling water.
There are many reasons to begin using Soda-Club:
• The one-liter bottles, being reusable, keep you from accumulating cases from the store.
• Special bottle tops protect the seltzer fizz for longer than store-bought seltzer.
• Single liter bottles of Seltzer. Unlike one-time soda siphon chargers, Alco2jet’s carbon dioxide volume will carbonate 110 liters of seltzer. Empty carbonators are exchanged at your door almost everywhere in USA.
• You control the amount of bubbles as the Soda-Club home maker lets you make it your way.
• Employing reusable bottles reduces discarded/recyclable material in the environment. You will save money on deposits.
• Sodium content: none.
By adding a drop of all-natural, unsweetened flavoring, or a piece of fresh fruit, you offer a great alternative to soda pop for your kids.
It has been shown that if you can make water taste better, the more water your family will drink.So the Soda-Club home maker provides a less expensive way to offer seltzer and soda drinks to your family for complete hydration.
Soda Stream Soda Maker
Dan Stafford – Sodastream Re-launch Party / Mail Art Show | LCSV4 …
Before Christmas I did some work at the Sodastream Re-Launch Party in Camden, London. (Celebrity appearances Included Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Dionne Bromfield (Amy Winehouse’s Protégé) and Shingai Shinowa of British band The Noisettes pictured above).
Check out My Blog for more pictures and details of an upcoming show of Mail-able art in Glasgow.
Cats: Editor’s Choice, Events, Illustration, Recent News
Tags: Dan Stafford, Illustration, London, Sodastream, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, The Noisettes
Boycott Soda Club! | La Feuille de Chou
Soda Club illégal en Europe!
Soda Club illégal en Europe Auchan Strasbourg -Hautepierre
Nous sommes intervenus le 10 novembre 2009 dans cet hypermarché. Nous avons expliqué au directeur qu’il était dans l’illégalité.
http://la-feuille-de-chou.fr/?p=2357
Ce 23 décembre, il l’est toujours: le produit est en vente au SAV, comme en novembre, et, en plus, à l’intérieur du magasin, au fond à droite de l’allée principale d’entrée où la photo a été prise.
En plus des appareils à gazéifier l’eau, Auchan vend des flacons (en bas de l’image) pour faire des sirops gazeux.
http://www.aloufok.net/spip.php?article1190
Tags : boycott, Israël, Strasbourg
Cette entrée a été publiée le Jeudi 24 décembre 2009 à 1 h 21 min, et rangée dans Alsace/Elsass, si Proche-Orient.
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RSS 2.0.
How to Install Pond Fountain
1. Pond fountain should be placed where you can easily get it for maintenance. If you have a small pond, this is not a problem. If the fountain going into a big pond, you may want to place it so that it is close to the edge.
2. The pump must be raised up from the bottom of the pond to reduce the amount of waste sucked into it. This also ensures that the fountain head will be above water. That is where the terracotta pot comes in – turn it upside down and place the pump on top. If it is not the correct height, using concrete blocks to raise it. If the pump is small and light, you may need to link it to the pot to prevent it from floating away. Make sure it is positioned so that the fountain jet is facing up.
3. You need to have an electrician install an outdoor electrical outlet, if you do not already have one. This connector should have a Ground Fault Circuit INTERRUPTER (GCFI, known as an earth leakage protection outside the U.S. and Canada) to protect it, since the cord will be under water. This device helps to prevent electric shock. Plug the pump into the socket. If there is excess cable, tie it together under the water where it will not be noticed. If the cord must cross a lawn, use a square-tipped spade to cut and pry open the sod about 6 inches deep, push the wire down with a stick, and then press the track closed with his foot.
4. Now adjust the flow of water through the switch or turn on the pump. Start with the “low” or “down” position and slowly move it up. Ask a friend or family member to watch from the sidelines, so they can tell you if the water spray is all goes back into the pond. Once you’ve found the perfect level, you’re done! Now you and your family can relax and enjoy your new pond fountain.
isi Soda Siphon
isi Soda Siphon
If you are searching for a cheaper Home Seltzer Maker solution then you might want to consider using the old fashioned style home seltzer maker. The isi Soda Siphon creates seltzer water from tap water. The isi soda siphon brushed aluminum makes seltzer water using a CO2 charger that attaches to the handle of the bottle. The isi soda cartridges don’t hold as much as a SodaStream, but they are also cheaper to buy. Isi Soda Siphons are a great alternative to the SodaStream Home Seltzer Makers. Here is the isi Soda Siphon brushed aluminum 2248 specifications:
- Store bought seltzers often contain added salt – control the purity of yours at home
- Let’s you control the source of your water.
- Cuts down on waste
- Easy to use; Co2 chargers purchased separately
- Safe – has secure neck threading and a pressure regulating system
There is also the isi Soda Siphon and Charger Set that comes with one isi Soda Charger:
