Product review: Flexible Curling Rods Hair Flexi Rods

During COVID-19 my formerly short wavey hair grew into curls.  Surprise! I liked the look and I decided to keep the new do. I thought curling rods will help me have more defined curls. I expected it to work, the hair wants to be in curls on its own!  Turns out this is not so.  My hair looks less curly with the rods.  Keeping curling rods in the shortest hair in the front is somewhat hard as sometimes they fall out.  A few times I wore a hair drying cap and that helped to keep them on my head through the entire drying period.  Unfortunately, the hair looks less curly after drying with the rods.

This set includes 5 blue rods, 5 yellow rods, 5 purple rods, 5 orange rods, 9 pink rods, 9 red rods, 9 green rods.

Bottom line: the curling rods did not work for me at all.  I decided not to return these rods even though I can't use them because I can use them in my garden. These rods are basically identical (just thicker) to the garden plastic-coated wire ties that I use to train cucumbers up a trellis.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★☆☆☆

Product review: Kashi GO Cinnamon Crisp Breakfast Cereal / home grocery delivery during COVID-19

I love this cereal!  Not too sweet, just the right amount of cinnamon (not too much, but you can taste it).  It is crunchy and retains its texture in milk.  At $11.96 for four boxes very reasonably priced, no pandemic pricing here!  This will be a repeat item for me.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Lithuanian Rye Bread "Kaimska Duona" / grocery home delivery

"Kaimska Duona" is dense rye bread with a slight caraway flavor.  It comes unsliced.  It is fragrant and tasty.  Good bread. Despite two-day mail delivery, it tasted fresh.

The cost of the bread $5.99.  The shipping cost is $15.75 for two-day shipping from New York to New England, so one needs to make a fair amount of shopping to make it worth it.


You can find it on RussianTable.com by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: MEGNYA Orthotic Flip Flops for Women

I have been working at home for several months due to COVID and basically lived in my old Tevas around the clock.  They were old and worn on especially one the outer sides and I began having heel and back pain. 

First, I purchased Vionic orthotic sole sandals,  They have very high arches and after three weeks they fixed my back and heel pain, but introduce arch pain because of the high hard arches built into each sandal.

I decided that I need to vary my footwear throughout the day like did when I used to drive to work rather than work from home. Megnya orthotic flip flops are one of the sandals I purchased for this purpose.

They have very soft cushioned sole. The arch support is there but it is light and soft and not pronounced. I feel uncomfortable in totally flat shoes without arch support.  Since my foot feels so comfortable I know the arch support is there.  Walking in this shoe is like warking on memory foam - my foot sinks a little with every step. It is very comfortable. The sole also absorbs sweat well.  Vionic flip flops feel a bit slippery on a very hot day when my feet are sweating.  This is not the case with these flip flops.

These sandals are true to size.  I normally wear size 7.5, I ordered size 8 and they are pretty much perfect: the back is just right, and there is a bit of room near the big toe.

Frankly, they exceeded my expectations for comfort, especially after Vionic flip flops which felt like a medical device (i.e. very helpful but somewhat painful).

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Vionic Women's Tide Sequins Toe Post Sandals - Ladies Flip Flop Sandals with Concealed Orthotic Arch Support

These sandals are my first Vionic sandals.  I purchased them based on the comments about good arch support.  They are not as comfortable as I hoped, but they have a number of important positives as well. 

I have been working at home for several months due to COVID and basically lived in my old Tevas around the clock.  They were old and worn on especially one the outer sides and I began having heel and back pain.  I decided I needed thong sandals with good arch support.  Now I have been wearing Vionic sandals for three weeks.  My heel pain and back pain are gone! (Great!!!). However, now I have arch pain. Vionic arch supports are too high for me and I can't wear them all day long because the arches start to really hurt. I hoped I would get used to the high arch support over several weeks, but I have not.

The second minor issue is that my feet feel more sweaty in these thongs then they did in Teva sandals.  Somehow the smooth plastic sole absorbs less sweet, or perhaps just feels more slippery that the textured Teva's finish.

The fact that these sandals fixed my back and heel pain is a big deal. I purchased another set of sandals and I think I have to mix what I wear through the day so I have the benefits of strong arch support without putting too much stress on my arches all day long.

These sandals are true to size.  I normally wear size 7.5, I ordered size 8 and they are just a little large.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: Elegant Life Food Storage Containers Jar Set

Elegant Life Jar set is four jar glass set. The jars have attractive lids that appear to be bamboo although the description does not say that lids are m6767ade out of wood. 

The four jars are the following sizes:
67.6 oz (2 liters)
54 oz (1.6 liters)
40.6 oz (1.2 liters)
23.5 oz (0.7 liters)

I love glass containers as it is easy to see what is stored in them.  I always run a water test on all containers I buy. These containers are not all water/airtight. As you see in the attached video three out of four contains drip a little they have water and turned upside down.  This test helps me know how to use the containers as I have plenty of needs some require water tightness while others do not.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★★☆

Product review: Thai Kitchen Gluten Free Thai Peanut Rice Noodle Bowl

I bought a couple of boxes of Simply Asia and Thai Kitchen noodles to get me through limited shopping during COVID-19.  I have to say that I was disappointed in all of them: good noodles but the sauces and mix-ins were not good. Sesame Teriyaki was the best tasting of the disappointing noodles I have tried.  Unlike other products, the stock photo is reflective of what you get.  You get only noodles, sauce, and a small packet of dehydrated vegetables. It tastes better if you can add your own fresh vegetables and herbs.  The sauce is not spicy. This package contains one serving, 420 calories.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.

Ali Julia review ★★★☆☆