Category: College Bound

College Bound, Gift Guides

3 Unique Graduation Gifts that Promote Safety on College Campus

Erin Sluka

Sending one off to College? Scary, isn’t it? All we can do is help make sure they have all they need and let them go. For our own piece of mind, we can make sure we set leave them on campus as safely prepared as possible.

These Unique Graduation Gifts that Promote Safety on College Campus are great to give and in a time when needed, they will be so appreciative you made them available for them to use.

1. The Bunk Trunk

This is the best space-saver gift you can buy a grad heading off to a small dorm in College! If you have someone graduating High School and heading off to a College campus in a few months this is a gift that will get a lot of use! Dorm rooms are small and furniture just makes it smaller, so the Bunk Trunk is several spaces in one.

It is a safe/locker, nightstand and work surface all in one. But you can’t mount things or drill into the walls of a dorm room per the rules? There is no mounting hardware! It easily fits above the top bunk in college dorm rooms or under the bed. The BunkTrunk has a digital combo, so you never have to worry about losing a key. It even has a power strip with USB ports to charge your gear when it’s locked away.

The Bunk Trunk protects your valuables while you get to know your roommates and their friends. When student leaves their dorm room, they lock up their Bunk Trunk and take the key with them. Keeping valuables safe is on every students mind and this is a space saver and peace of mind for them. This is your must gift that you can buy HERE!

2. SABRE Pepper Spray Keychain for Women

Mom and Dad, take a breath! Remember putting your daughter on the bus for the first time and not letting out a breath until that little girl walked back off of it hours later? That doesn’t compare to leaving her behind on a big and scary campus! Leave her with SABRE!

Every female student (and males too) should carry a safe protection for themselves. I know a pepper spray is not cool-lookimg to carry around, so how about a pink one with quick release maximum police strength OC Spray. It also has finger grip for accuracy, 10-foot range with 25 bursts. So no one is messing with her now! This can be ordered right now on Amazon!

3. Securityman 2-in-1 Adjustable Door Knob Jammer

This is great for all dorm rooms. Not only does it keep intruders out, but there is no hardware installation needed which most dorms will not allow and it is easily removed in a fire or other emergencies where they need to leave in a hurry.

Whether they are in a co-ed building and needs that extra intruder safety or there is a campus-wide intruder alert they can safely barricade inside. Grips to hard floor surfaces or carpet. Available on Amazon.

2019 Valentine's, College Bound

3 Adult Games to Play with Friends and Family

Erin Sluka
3 Adult Games to Play with Friends and Family

3 Adult Games to Play with Friends and Family

The Holidays are over, a new semester is beginning at school, spring will be here soon and we will have Easter baskets to fill, school, gifts and kids! Sometimes we need adult time. Whether you invite friends over or get a sitter and meet at a friends home for some adult socializing, games always add an extra element of fun. Card games, especially, create laughs and weirdness that is so refreshing.

There are several adult games to play by Goliath Games from GAMES ADULTS PLAY (the name is catchy)! I have 3 of them and we first brought these out on Super Bowl Sunday as we had food prepped and were waiting for the game to start.

True Colors

My 10 year old really wanted to play with us and True Colors was the most appropriate so we played this one with him. In True colors you have cards each player reads at their turn. Everyone is voting on who (besides themselves) most relate to that question or comment.

While you are voting for others in the ballot box, you are then trying to guess how many votes were cast for you. Scoring is a tad tricky at first, but once you can focus on a round of two it’s easier. You get scored based on if you were correct about getting any votes or not and then if you actually got the most votes. For 3 to 6 players and the more the better the game!

Friend or Faux

Friend or Faux is strictly adult fun because these questions get personal and intimate at times. I would save this game for friends you know well and are not worried about creating awkward conversations with. It is my duty to give you that bit of a warning.

However, it is a blast! It is very easy to play and you simply are sharing your cards question with a friend to answer. There are Bull Shit cards in play and you can use it at anytime if you think the player is bluffing and want to create an argument you may or may not win. At your turn you start at Pile 1 for round one and read the card. You wait to answer because everyone else is guessing what you might say. Will they be right or wrong? If they were wrong? What was it they thought you’d say? This is why it is so fun.

If you cannot avoid young ears being around, just stick to the lower numbered piles. The higher numbered pile the worse the questions. Pile 1 is kid-friendly with questions like favorite movie, etc..

Shit Happens

This game is a blast! Again, NOT kid-friendly. Each player starts with 3 cards and lays them down in order of less severe to most severe in circumstances. Such as…

Being Stung by a Swarm of Bees and Finding a Dead Hooker in your Bed (like I said, not kid-friendly so I wanted to make that clear).

Every card has a number professionally dictated as its place on pleasant to worst scenario. The player next to you draws a card and reds it to you, without showing you the number place assigned to that scenario. You must decide where it falls in your stack of cards. If you guess right you keep the card. The first to collect 10 cards wins.

Find more games like this at Games Adults Play.

Back to School 2018, College Bound, Education

Back to School Organizing with Sharpie

Erin Sluka

I have partnered with Sharpie for this feature. Samples were sent and opinions are my own

Back to School Organizing with Sharpie

Chances are you have a drawer in your desk or kitchen with some Sharpie markers. They are like a home staple everyone has laying around. There is no time like Back to School season that my Sharpies get used the most. I have personal items to mark and the kids have backpacks to stuff and I use my Sharpies for so many organizing tasks before that first day.

Sharpie has much more than that standard black pen we all know and love to use. Find highlighters and art cut pens for so much more uses around the home and with schoolwork.

marking lunchbox

Don’t Lose Your Items

Marking your kids jackets, lunchboxes, bags, helmets and supplies saves money and can mean that in the event your child leaves it laying around it will get back to you. I work in the schools and I cannot tell you how out of control the lost and found can get! Using Sharpie pens to mark your child’s items means it will last through the year and weather. I like using the Sharpie Extreme Makers due to their fade-resistance.

school list

Back to School Supply List

Do you have your supply list? I go around the house first and mark off items I already have and that way I do not overbuy at the store. Having the Sharpie Highlighters is great for marking off the items I have. Once I am done shopping I can still see the list as I load it all up into his backpack.

brakfast

First Day Breakfast

There is a lot to do on that first morning. It is exciting, the kids nerves are on high and you are in a bittersweet moment. Make breakfast special. Decorate a plate, cook their favorite breakfast menu. It takes moments and starts the day off right. It is going to be a big day!

subjects

Have the Kids Organize their own subjects

It is tempting to stay up late one night and go down the list and pack the kids items for them. However, for the older child it is important that they find their own way to organize and prep for subjects. They need to find what works for them and motivates them to get their work done on time. Hand them the supplies you bough and some pens and book wraps. Let them organize it themselves.

soccer ball

Fall Sports

Don’t put those Sharpies away yet! Are they starting football, cheer or soccer? Mark that equipment or it is bound to get lost forever on a field or court!

Sharpie markers

So many Sharpies for your ‘so many’ back to school tasks! Find them at retailers near you. For inspiration on Sharpie projects you can have fun with, visit Sharpie.com

Apps, College Bound, Healthy Living, Natural Products, Promotions, Reviews

I Fall Asleep Faster Now with the Pzizz Sleep App

Erin Sluka

I have partnered with Pzizz for this feature. Opinions are my own

When you write and try products for a living to help readers find products to live happier, healthier and more active lives, I sometimes come across something so genius I now have it incorporated into my daily life and don’t know what I did before using it. For me lately, it is the Pzizz App. I have been pitched and even tried many sleep products and this one is my nightly savior. Let me explain more so you can get better sleep just like I do now and save too with a promo code!

The Pzizz app is not only for your nightly sleep. There are 2 other modes, nap and focus. So this is truly meant to relax your mind and allow you to settle down a bit even during the day. If you are like me, you crave to rest then the moment you settle in your mind refuses to shut off. I used to give myself the excuse that I do my best thinking at night, but at what expense? It was a loss of precious sleep. The healthiest thing anyone can do, no matter your age or abilities is get proper sleep.

Sleep is more than counting the hours your eyes are closed. Sleep means deep, non-interruptive and prolonged rest and if you function on naps they need to be short and so effective and deep as well or you just want to keep sleeping through your day. Pzizz uses a combination of music, voiceover and sound effects in a sort of hypnotic way that is in a rhythm allowing your body to use the play as a daily ritual to train for falling asleep fast and allow you to wake up refreshed.

There are 2 ways to use this app. The Classic ‘FREE’ version gives you a simple ‘Dreamscape’ that plays a few variations for you each night in a soothing male voice. It gives you a classic version without options to choose sounds or even allow for the female voice playover. However, if free is all you can do you WILL still benefit from the app.

However, Premium (about $9.99/month or $99.99 a year OR Free for 7 days and I’ll explain below) Pzizz is truly the way to go and don’t worry because I have a savings code below for you and it saves you a whopping 80%!! Paid sleep apps are still a lot cheaper than those artificial sleep aids you take with water and hope for the best each night.

With Pzizz Premium you have over 25 Dreamscapes to choose from. You always have the voiceover and in this version you can switch from male or female voice (I love the female voice myself), but the Dreamscape is the background sounds and music. I love the choices and the Saturn Set and Hills are 2 of my favorites.

You also get an alarm option where it will properly wake you up without loud alarm sounds. You can even set a sleep reminder if you need motivation to stay on a schedule. I recommend buying some sleep headphones unless your partner is OK with listening but there is something about hearing it right up to your ear versus full volume to reach around the room that is most soothing.

Remember! I promised you a code to save off of the paid version and it is below! First, here is the official pitch I was sent that really sparked my interest and then you can head over to the Pzizz blog for more sleep topics:

Over two billion people (yes, with a “b”) in the world are affected by insomnia, but Pzizz has helped over 1 million people get the sleep they need, including some of the world’s most influential people. J.K. Rowling called Pzizz the best thing she’s used for sleep by a mile. Former Indiana Pacers Center Roy Hibbert told Sports Illustrated Pzizz helped cure his insomnia and Ambien addiction. Even The Duke of York is a Pzizzer!

Pzizz Savings Code Instructions

Here is how to use your Pzizz code: GRADGIFT that will expire on June 30, 2018! You have to redeem the code on the Pzizz website at https://pzizz.com/buy/ Once you redeem the code, you can use it on iOS, Android or both with the same email at app registration as you used on the site to redeem your code. This code saves you 80% off the yearly price option so that makes it only $19.99 a year or about $1.66 a month! How much do you spend a month on sleep aids that aren’t always cutting it? It makes a great gift for a grad heading off to college!

Still unsure about the Preferred version? If you download the Pzizz app right now on Apple or Android you can get Pzizz Preferred for 7 days free and no credit card is required. It will ask if you want it and you confirm and after 7 days it just reverts back to classic. I did this at first and it was very easy to try it for 7 days. However, I missed the features once it went back to free so I now am a Preferred user. I can tell you that I settle in each night and turn on my app and after a week I am not even 5 -10 minutes into the play and I am out! I used to have this 7pm drag everyday (or so I called it) and that is gone! You want to try this. You have nothing to lose! Start now— Pzizz on iOS and Android