Have you heard about RedLaser? It’s this really cool app (that works on iPhone, Android and Windows phones) that allows you to scan or search for items to make sure you have all the information you need, including product details, ratings and price comparison. Check out this video to see how helpful this app could really be!

Here are some of my favorite features of RedLaser:

• Scan and search for products using the bar code scanner.
• Compare prices online and at local retailers, so you’ll know you’re getting the best deal.
• Find out which stores stock what you’re looking for by searching
  for a product locally. No need to drive around town searching for what you need!
• Browse product reviews and ratings.
• Buy directly from your phone using PayPal mobile express checkout and you can pick up your item in a nearby store.
• Create shopping lists (or wish lists!) and easily share them with friends and family via email, SMS, Twitter and Facebook.
• Scan a food item to get allergen and ingredient information.

This video cracked me up!!! They have a few more like this one and just as funny!!!

 

You can find RedLaser on Facebook and Twitter (@redlaserapp) to have an honest chat about the app. You can click here to download the app. Also you can read more about RedLaser directly on their website. I don’t think I understood just how helpful the app could be until I watched a few YouTube videos. You can subscribe to their YouTube channel here like I did!

Personally when I tried to scan a few items in my pantry to see where was the lowest price in my town, there were no listings locally. I suppose that’s the downside of this app, it’s not going to work well in small towns. However, I shop at Aldi for most of my groceries so that really wouldn’t benefit me much regarding grocery shopping. If I lived in a larger town the grocery shopping comparison would be very useful, especially if you are on a budget.

When it comes to shopping for gifts though this app is just what I need. I rarely shop in town because I never find what I’m looking for. I frequently use amazon or ebay for all my shopping needs. Now all I have to do is scan the barcode or do a quick search for what I have in mind and voila! It’s available to buy online and I can checkout super quick with PayPal! I will certainly be using this app for all my gift shopping!!!

This post is a sponsored post for SheSpeaks/RedLaser.

Remember my book review of The God Box? It is an incredible life changing book. I love the back story about how it all came to be. An inspiring story. Have you read it yet? If not you need to run out and buy it! It’s a real quick read, I promise. Like 1-2 hours tops!

Well, the app is out! You can now create your own virtual God Box with the help of this app! Here’s a video of it in action:

From the website:

Please also take a moment to watch this trailer. See how The God Box app enables people to tuck away or share thoughts, wishes and prayers with others. This trailer poignantly captures the human side of technology – and shows how people can learn to let go – anytime, anyplace, in real-time – by writing notes for their virtual God Box.

I’m always on the lookout for fun apps for the kids to play, especially Cutler. Back in March we reviewed Franklin’s Shape Slider. He still plays that one daily. So it’s a very simple concept. You pop the bubbles as they come up from the bottom of the screen. Inside the bubbles you will find all sorts of fun things that make it much more interesting than your basic bubble popping app. Not to mention that it’s the characters the kids see and love from the animated TV show!

I like it when the bubbles freeze. It makes them easier to pop. There is one where they get really big, that one’s nice too. Don’t get the one that speeds them up! That one is for the birds! Cutler gets mad when that happens, but all in all he really likes the app. Well worth the $0.99 in the iTunes store.

Want to see it in action? Here’s a snippet of Cutler playing the game on an iPod Touch 2nd Gen.

Thanks Marco for allowing us to try it out and include it in our daily game rotation! We love it!

Disclosure: App was provided to me for review, all opinions are my own.

I like that the tasks can be integrated into my calendar. I have to-do’s that I need done someday, you know, my honey-do list. Then I have things that need to be done by next week. So this feature is great in my book.

Shopping isn’t just your basic shopping list. You can have multiple lists. You may wonder why. What if you have a shopping list for Wal-mart that includes deodorant, shampoo and cleaning items, and you have another shopping list for the Farmer’s Market. It would be nice to keep those lists separate but in one place. I LOVE that this also lets you record gifts given and received! That’s handy!

Events, well, I don’t have much going on here, but I know many of you do. This would be a great asset if you are self employed, like Pampered Chef, 31 bags, Scentsy, etc. You can keep track of your parties planned and who’s attending! Genius!!!

How cool is this trip calendar? I don’t go anywhere but I may start actually typing in places I want to vacation to and just not put a date on it. Do you see the bookmarks? You can link to websites here. Woo hoo!!! This way when I see an amazing place I’d like to visit someday I can add it here and when we actually have the money to go there I can just refer to my list.

This section I’m sure I haven’t properly utilized yet. I’m thinking it would be great for grouping people that offer services. Like, grouping people in the automotive field so I’d have my muffler guy there along with the body shop, glass repair shop, engine repair, etc.

Home & Assets is a work in progress for me. My mom had a friend a few years back that lost everything they had in a house fire. We helped them for a week or so transferring handwritten lists to a typed list of ALL their belongings. This is so important for all of us to do for insurance purposes to get reimbursed for all of our belongings. So if you haven’t done it yet, DO IT!

Education is for all of us, not just students. If you have areas you want to focus on, like personal growth, learning a language, wood working, then put it here. It’s all in one place. Never stop learning!

The other topix:

Health & Activity – activity log, nutrition log, health stats log (weight, height, cholesterol), medication log, wellness log, healthcare providers, health services.

Finances – Your balances, expense tracker, payments calendar (I NEED THIS), financial assets, charitable donations, banks, accounts.

Notes & Files – folders, files, checklists, online notes. This is a quick way to access your notes in every topic. If you have notes in the travel section and events section you can view them all here.

Media – audio, photos, videos, media services, media bookmarks, home theater assets and media projects.

Bookmarks – access all your bookmarks in various topix in one place.

As you can see you can easily organize your entire life in one app! What do you think you’d pay for an app like this? My guess would be $9.99 but it’s only $0.99!!! For real, that’s crazy cheap for all it has to offer. It’s not available on droid yet, just iPhone and iPad. You will LOVE it! Buy LifeTopix it on iTunes here.

What’s your favorite app?

 

 

For all my moms out there working on creating a home schedule or routine, I wanted to share an app I found called Ritual Life:

If you have a list of things you want or need to get done daily, you will love this! Here’s what a typical day looks like before you add any tasks.

When you click on the plus this is what you see next. Your choices are yes/no and number. Not really sure how the number aspect would be useful yet. I’m guessing if you wanted to track sets and reps of a fitness circuit then you could log the number that you completed.So let’s start with Brush Teeth. Lame I know but that’s where I start my day. I like to check things off as I go. It makes me feel accomplished.Here’s what it looks if you select the number option.Since I still had my “brush teeth” task in there I left it because I wanted to see what it looks like. But I can see how this would work for tracking your fitness regimen!To delete you click on the edit button at the bottom center and then easily delete your task.Adding another item to my ritual life.2 tasks for the day.How about 5?This is the following day. Notice how every item goes forward to the next day. There isn’t a way to do just Monday – Friday. This is daily tasks.Here’s some screen shots from the Ritual Life app in iTunes:Now that I’ve seen their example I can see more options that I could use this for! I like the weight tracker at the top. I like that it shows an X where you didn’t check something off. I like that if you’re trying to cut back on coffee, you can track your progress there too!It’s really easy to swipe through the days left to right and up and down to slide through your tasks.Here’s another look at weight tracking:It even graphs it for you!!!VERY cool! This app is currently $1.99 in iTunes and I can see just how helpful it could be! I’m excited about using this!I’ve been wanting to create a workout routine for myself that I could do throughout the day and I think this app will be exactly the ticket. Like so many squats per day, push ups, crunches, etc. The graph will help me see my progress. You could even track your inches in your waist and hips to see how you’re losing there too!Do you have an app that helps you track your daily goals and tasks?

Are your kids enjoying the new Franklin on TV? I wasn’t sure how I felt about it at first. A little weirded out I suppose, but all my boys love it!

It went from this:

to this:

Same lovable character but will all new reality to it. It really is incredible! Well, of course we had to try out some new apps because since they are watching Franklin they want to play Franklin. Today I want to show you Franklin’s Shape Slider app, it’s available for iPod Touch 3rd & 4th gen, iPhone and iPad.

Franklin’s Shape Slider is an entertaining and educational app for children of any age. Select one of 20 images and drag and drop the selected pieces into place to solve the puzzle. With great sound effects and animations, kids will be enthralled for hours and also develop shape recognition and enhance motor skills.

Highlights:
• 20 exciting images to choose from
• Puzzles increase in difficulty
• Simple and easy to use navigation
• Rewarding animations and sound effects on completion of each puzzle

**Note: Not compatible with iPod touch 1st and 2nd generation.

Cutler loves it and he’s 2 years 9 months just in case you were wondering if your little one would be able to play it. He does get frustrated towards the last few because they are a bit harder, but he eventually gets the hang of it. Want to see it in action? Watch my video below:

Disclosure: This app was provided to me in order to facilitate a review. All opinions are my own.

 

We had the opportunity to try out Max & Ruby: Max’s Mole Mash. My 2 1/2 year old LOVES watching Max and Ruby so I knew this would be a big hit!

It’s available on iTunes for $1.99 for iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad. We have iPod Touch and iPhone. I try not to let the kids ever on my phone for fear that they would mess something up. More times than I wish to admit they have deleted tons of app, and messed up my dock. We invested in some used iPod Touches off eBay and I’m pleased that they have their own device to play on.

It’s recommended for ages 4 and up but Cutler is just 2 years and 8 months and plays it just fine. Think whack-a-mole but better because it has the fun Max & Ruby background music. Cutler likes to name the color of the hats of the moles that pop up. Don’t know where he got the idea but I encourage it! I’m happy he’s learning his colors while he’s having fun. It’s available in Arcade and Puzzle Mode, right now he only plays Arcade mode. It will be a while before he’s ready for Puzzle Mode. That’s probably more for the 4 and up ages.

Want to see it in action? Check out Cutler playing Max’s Mole Mash.

We’ve really enjoyed playing Max’s Mole Mash!

What’s your child’s favorite app?

Starting January 4th this year I have been focused on working out. This is a HUGE challenge for me. I can’t stand working out. I have a large selection of DVD videos that range from the Firm, P90X, 10 Minute Solutions, 20 Second Fitness, to Zumba and Latin Dance. I work at a gym and yet I’m not actually able to work out there.

See, I’m the child care. Meaning that there is no one to watch my kids, because when I close up shop, daycare is closed too.

We have a treadmill in the basement along with all my husbands workout equipment. I never get down there because frankly, working out sucks. But with the new year comes new years resolutions and I need to get heart healthy, tighten up and get stronger! I decided I was going to begin using the treadmill and count calories. This way my husband can watch the kids when he gets home from work while I work out and they eat dinner. So far it’s working!

The first few times I only did the 20 minute program that is 1 mile. I walked more than I ran. I wouldn’t even call what I do running, I jog. I tried jogging to music, but it was going to take time to keep adding new music to my library and setting up playlists. I’m kinda sick of what I have on there now. So I have begun to watch shows on Netflix streaming from my phone! I just finished watching the first season of Walking Dead and now I’m starting Sons of Anarchy. I tried watching Mad Men, but it’s just not good for running. I need something fast and action packed so the time goes by without me noticing. I can push myself faster and harder when I’m not actively aware of the ticking clock.

I knew if I was gonna get anywhere I need to be tracking not only my workouts but my food intake too. That’s when I downloaded My Fitness Pal on my iPhone. My Fitness Pal is available on the web, Droid, Blackberry, Windows Phone and iPad too! So there is no excuse, if you have internet access you can track your calories. Log in today!

The interface is really easy to use. You start with the weight you are, the goal weight and how many pounds a week you want to lose and it will give you the calories you are allowed per day. Of course, when you workout you get to add calories back into your day. Which is real nice.

So far I’ve lost 5 pounds in 5 weeks. If you want to friend me on there we can encourage each other! I’m hablab7. So I’ve made food changes, I’ve started working out 5-6 days a week and I’m actually losing weight! It’s coming off slow but I know that’s the safest way to lost weight and keep it off. Just yesterday I did 2.54 miles and burned 488 calories! It took me about 40 minutes. I’m really getting to enjoy my time down there. It’s both being able to escape the kids and all the mom responsibilities that go with it, and being able to completely zone out and enjoy a show without the show being interrupted umpteen times.

So how do you lose weight? Are you using My Fitness Pal or another similar app?