All posts by Alicia

Jurassic World DVD

Jurassic World Movie Night With Mike & Ike and Peeps

Jurassic World Movie

Our Halloween night was supposed to look like this…  trick-or-treating through the neighborhood, then a Halloween Festival at a nearby church, and last, a viewing of Jurassic World.  I visioned the kids and I and Tim sitting on the couch together, a blanket covering our laps, popcorn in hand and Mike and Ike’s and Peeps on our snack plates.  Maybe you see where I’m going with this.  It didn’t happen.  Tim and I talked about what we thought was going to be such a fun night for a week before Halloween.  It would be a Halloween night unlike any other, we thought.  Well, it was.  It was the quietest Halloween ever.  Madelyn was sick and Sebastian went to a friend’s house.  That left Tim and I taking care of Madelyn who was in no condition to stay up to watch a movie.   We took her to the Halloween Festival but left soon after because she had a coughing attack.  🙁

I am sort of glad Madelyn didn’t watch it with Tim and I once we had time to watch it as she is very sensitive to violence, which this movie does not lack – but in a fun way for kids over 12 or so and who can handle some gore and suspense.  If you haven’t already seen Jurassic World, now is the time to plan a date night or family movie night!  This movie is fast paced, energetic and even the dinosaurs were full of character.  The CGI was wonderfully done allowing us to feel like we were flying in the world of dinosaurs ourselves.

Jurassic World DVD

I think I’ve only been to a movie once in my life when I didn’t have popcorn.  Having a special snack is a huge part of the movie experience to me. Mike & Ike and Peeps candy have Jurassic World themed candies for a limited time so get them while you can!   Mike & Ike are available in Jurassic World themed boxes and feature a variety of tropical fruit flavors with a mystery-flavored ‘Dino Egg’ bean inside.   Peeps offers fans Peeps Jurassic World Marshmallow Eggs!

Get your copy of Jurassic World on DVD today at Amazon.com.

Carbonite backup installation

Carbonite – Online File Backup for your Family’s Most Precious Memories 24/7/365

Carbonite Influencer Central

The days of photo albums are long passed. In the modern age, you store your precious photos and memories on the computers. However, hard drive failure is much more common than house fires; 78% of hard drives will fail within six years. Do you have a reliable online file backup plan in place to keep those memories safe?

My laptop is home to 284GB of data.  This includes work and personal photos, documents, website files, etc.  I went through a huge loss of data soon after I started my first website in 2001, before external hard drives and online data backup services such as Carbonite were available.  It was a devastating loss that cost me money and many many hours of time and energy to resolve.   With Carbonite online file backup, I can rest assure that I won’t suffer a loss like that again, no matter if my computer crashes or if I accidentally delete files.

Carbonite offers easy and affordable computer backups that make it easy to keep your photographs, important documents, and other data safe — and they do it for as little as $5 per year. While there are other cloud backup programs available, none have the reliability and durability that Carbonite has.

OCTOBER IS CYBER SECURITY AWARENESS MONTH!

Carbonite makes your precious memories last a lifetime – easily and at a low cost, by protecting your irreplaceable files with automatic and secure cloud backup.

Carbonite was developed after both co-founders had family members had lose data on their computers. David Friend’s daughter called him frantic after her hard drive had crashed containing her term paper she had worked on for six weeks. His partner Jeff’s wife lost years of baby photos and financial records when her laptop was stolen. It was after these incidents that David and Jeff founded Carbonite as a safe and secure backup system.

Carbonite makes being aware and protecting your family with cyber security efforts, easy.   You can try Carbonite’s online file backup service free for 15 days. Full functionality is included with the trial. After you’ve registered, download and install Carbonite. From that point, the program takes up and backs up your files to the cloud. It will make a sweep of your system and retroactively store files.

Once they’re on the cloud, the files are easy to access — and you can do it anywhere, anytime, from any internet-connected device. And you don’t have to worry about running out of storage. Carbonite offers truly unlimited cloud-based storage. Store as many photos and music files as you want.

After the program has been installed, it performs automatic, continuous backups. You don’t have to worry about scheduling these. Carbonite stores your life so you can focus on living it. Carbonite also offers 24/7 award-winning customer support if you ever have problems. The support team can be reached through a quick phone call, email, or live chat.

HOW TO BACK UP WITH CARBONITE

Protecting your family’s memories and your computers is easy with Carbonite! This was our first experience with the service and it was so easy to get going. Here’s the steps we went through to get the laptop protected.

  • Install

    I started by going to the Carbonite Trials page to sign up for an account.  Then I installed Carbonite on my computer.

Carbonite backup installation

  • Back up

    As soon as I installed Carbonite onto my computer, Carbonite began the backup.  Carbonite offers a suggested plan of action but the software makes it easy to change which files/folders are backed up.  My initial backup took about 4 days so make sure you’re on a good Wifi connection.

How Carbonite Backup Works
Since installing Carbonite and running the initial backup, I have access to the following Carbonite features:

  • Restore

    With my files safely stored in the cloud, I can get them back anytime, whether I accidently delete a single file or have a complete hard drive failure.

  • AccessCarbonite mobile access

    This is the feature that I love, perhaps most, about Carbonite.  I can access my files from any Internet-connected computer or mobile device.

 

On Carbonite, your files are safe. Before Carbonite backs up the data, it’s encrypted with a 128-bit Blowfish encryption then transferred over a secure sever to the data center. The Carbonite data centers are fully staffed and guarded 24 hours per day.

At just $59.99 per year, the basic program is insanely affordable. That comes out to just $5.00 per month for peace of mind that your files and photos are safe.  All plans provide unlimited cloud backup space, automatic and continuous backup, free premium support, easy restore capabilities, mobile app access to sync and share files between devices, and file safety and security.

Personal Carbonite Plans:

  • Basic

    $59.99 per year for each computer.  All the essentials – Automatic online backup for your photos, music, documents and more.

  • Plus

    $99.99 per year. A complete backup solution – Automatic online backup of your computer and external hard drive – plus a local backup of your operating system and software programs.

  • Prime

    $149.99 per computer per year.  The top of the line – With automatic video backup and the option to have a copy of your backup shipped to you anywhere in the United States, this is our most comprehensive solution for protecting home office and family computers.

Stop worrying that something will happen to your computer. Try Carbonite today with a free trial. Once you see how easy it is to set up and get started and how smoothly it works, you’ll never turn back.

Carbonite Promo Code for 2 Additional Free Months of Service!

Check out the Carbonite website and get started protecting your family’s technology! And use the code INFLUENCECENTRAL to get two (2) additional FREE months of service, after a subscription plan has been purchased (offer expires 12/31/15).

Dinosaur Terrarium Grow Jar

Makers Kit: Craft Projects for the Whole Family

Kids love to make things. Leave them in the dining room alone even for five minutes, and you’ll return to a tower built from chopsticks, napkins, and those coasters your mother-in-law gave you for Christmas last year. Why not channel that creativity into something productive and fun for the whole family?

Makerskit is a service offering everything a family will need to making interesting, fun crafts. With crafts as varied as a Mason Herb Garden Kit to a Dream Catcher Kit, there’s something for everyone regardless of age, gender, or interests. Each kit of Makers Craft craft projects kits contains all of the supplies and ingredients necessary to create the crafts, as well as a template of instructions showing how.

Dinosaur Terrarium Grow Jar

Perhaps best of all, the kits are inexpensive. The Dinosaur Terrarium Glow Jar — a perfect choice for young boys fascinated with dinosaurs — is only $18. That means that when an accident happens (and with young children, they will) there’s nothing to worry about. The kit can easily be replaced and you can replicate the experience again, using the previous accident as a learning experience.

The creators of Makerskit also started the Give a Kit Campaign in partnership with the Pledge 1% organization. This means that each purchase of a MakersKit results in the donation of an art supply kit to a public school in your home state or country. If you want to make fun, family-friendly crafts with your kids and give to a charitable organization, order a MakersKit.

Philips Hue Starter Kit

Change the Mood in your Home Instantly with Philips Hue Wireless Lighting

We’ve had a blast using our new Philips Hue wireless light bulbs and Hue Go portable light for the past week.  I’ve heard about Philips Hue wireless light bulbs but didn’t understand how much a light bulb can change your life until using them.  I can change the mood, decor, and ambiance of myself, the kids, and my home instantly by adjusting the color of a light bulb from my iPhone or iPad!spacer

Philips Hue Starter Kit

The Philips Hue family of wire-free bulbs breaks free from traditional illumination by infusing domestic lighting with the added dimension that is the Hue ecosystem.  The innovative Philips home lighting solution is an evolved form of illumination, one capable of altering the brightness and color of specially designed light bulbs. New possibilities suddenly appear on the smart home horizon thanks to the WiFi connectivity built into Hue products.  Potent automation features combine with iOS and Android Apps to deliver exciting ways of playing with lighting.   My kids love adjusting the color of light bulbs from their iPhones.  For example, Philips Hue enables a user to pair light fixtures with smartphone notifications, meaning you can program a light to blink, dim, or change color when a Tweet or an email pops up on your smart device.  Pretty exciting, right?  Third party Apps extend this functionality, letting the kids bridge the gap between a music collection and lighting. In short, the wireless lighting will dim and dance in response to the rhythm and tempo of music, all thanks to a growing collection of user-friendly Apps.spacer

Philips Hue iOS appThe problem with past smart lighting solutions is that separation existed between the technology and the user, an issue the Philip’s solves by employing a starter kit.  It’s this grounded approach to blending state-of-the-art mobile tech and familiar home electronics that makes the difference, easing the frustration of configuring complex components by turning the experience into a user-friendly experience.

Experience a new world for home lighting and transform the way you use light by adjusting colors, timers, alerts and more from your phone or mobile device.

The starter kit packs three WiFi enabled bulbs into the box and includes the Hue bridge, and a number of accessories, including cables and a power supply. On the smartphone side of things, iOS and Android devices play host to an expanding selection of Apps. These include the feature-loaded Philip’s App and a number of fun third-party applications.

The extensible Hue series begins with the starter kit, with features that include out of home light control, Apple Homekit compatibility, scheduled security lighting, and advanced dimming settings, but this is only the beginning. The hue Go, for example, cuts the cord and personalizes your lighting. Place it on a table and simulate warm candlelight during a romantic evening or use a brighter color to energize the kids while they’re doing homework.  Pack the hue Go in a backpack and use it for mood lighting on a dark night during a camping trip.  Below is a photo of Madelyn sleeping with her hue Go.  Yes, she sleeps on top of her comforter.

Philips Hue Go - portable wireless lighting

Furthermore, conditional statement versatility is insured within the Philips Hue domain, its wandering cousin, the hue Go, and other Philips smart bulbs due to IFTTT services. The IF/THEN commands bring time and social media interactivity into the wireless lighting equation. Of course, if all you want is to sit down and watch a DVD, position your new lights around the television and let Hue illumination immerse you within the movie.

We love our Philips Hue wireless lighting and Hue Go portable light.  Madelyn enjoys sneaking in a color change while I’m cooking dinner or reading.  It’s pretty entertaining.  I use the ‘concentrate’ setting in my office lamp and the ‘relax’ setting in my nightstand lamp, most of the time.  When I really miss the beach, I turn on the ‘beach’ setting to imitate the beautiful hues of beach scenery.

Philips Hue Wireless Light Bulbs

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You may be questioning if your router can handle all this activity.  Your family likely already has 4+ devices on your WiFi connection at at time, will adding wireless light bulbs slow down your network?  Not with the new Netgear® Nighthawk™ DST Router and DST Adapter (with Geek Squad included).  This router provides consumers with an easy, all-in-one solution to support your home’s connected devices. As the number of Wi-Fi dependent products increase in a home – the average US household has 7 “connected devices” – from smart phones (often several in a home), to tablets, to laptops, to computers, and Wi-Fi printers, this puts a strain on your home’s network, especially your router. Streaming shows from Netflix or hulu places even more demands on your network. Your home may experience slow Wi-Fi, dropped calls, or experience “dead zones” – which could be improved upon with an “AC” router, Wi-Fi extenders and expert help.

Netgear® Nighthawk™ DST Router AC1900

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The Netgear® Nighthawk™ DST Router AC1900 comes with one DST, or “Dead Spot Terminator,” adapter – to eliminate the Wi-Fi dead zones in your home.  Place it in an area where you get little/no reception to improve Wi-Fi access.  Best Buy makes it easy to set your new router up with the included Geek Squad Set Up and Support via phone & web, for one full year.  spacer See how easy it is to manage Philips Hue wireless lighting!

spacerspacerThe reviewer has been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free

Buy used iPad on Gazelle

See how easy it is to sell your old iPhone for cash on Gazelle!

This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

I’ve owned iPhones since the first model was introduced.  Not because I was a fan of Apple products – I had never touched one before – but because it was the first phone that I knew of, that would allow me to check email, text without hitting a number three times to product the correct letter, etc..   Being aware of and wanting new technology and gadgets is in my DNA.  I naturally want the newest technology in my home, car, office, and hand.  When Gazelle launched several years ago, I jumped on the opportunity to sell my old iPhone in order to upgrade to the new iPhone without having to pay $200+ out of pocket at the AT&T or Apple store.   I quickly learned that the process of selling your iPhone, or other device, on Gazelle is fast and easy.  Simply select your device model, carrier, capacity, and the condition the iPhone or other device is in (be honest) and you’ll have a quote within a matter of seconds!

Below is a Gazelle quote for my current iPhone.

Gazelle iPhone 6 Plus quote

Surprisingly, I am not itching to upgrade to the iPhone 6S Plus – even though I could get $325 for it from Gazelle.   I am very happy with my iPhone 6 Plus.  I love the size.. I haven’t once regretted getting the 5.5″ smartphone even though I’m a petite-ish girl and it barely fits in my hand.  I appreciate that I can read the screen without squinting and I can type without hitting the wrong letters. 

If you want to sell your used iPhone, iPad, iPod, MacBook, AppleTV or other device and get a fair, cash price for it, consider trading it in at Gazelle. All you need to do is select your gadget from a list of options on Gazelle’s “Trade-In” page, answer a few questions, and then Gazelle provides you with an offer for your device.

For items worth $1 or more, it’s free to ship your device to Gazelle. Once your trade-in is received, the device is inspected to make sure its condition matches your evaluation. If the device matches your description, Gazelle will pay you in the form of a check, an Amazon.com gift card, or via PayPal. Payment takes about a week once Gazelle receives your device.

Get cash for your iPhone!


Once you’ve received your payment, you should definitely peruse Gazelle’s extensive selection of certified pre-owned devices, including iPhones, Samsung Galaxy phones, iPads, and accessories. You’ll be able to get an upgraded device without paying a head-spinning price. 

Buy used iPad on GazelleYou should also check out Gazelle’s sale section.  Gazelle has dozens of items on sale for a great price!  For example, the iPad Mini 3 16GB WiFi is currently selling for $279 on Gazelle.  The best price I could find for the same model on retailer websites is $349 (with a $50 discount) at BestBuy.com and $399 from Target.com.  You may find refurbished iPads on retailer websites but used devices is what Gazelle specializes in they even have a 30-day risk-free return policy.


It’s important to note that Gazelle performs a 30+-point inspection on all their devices, so you can be confident that every feature of the device is tested and of the highest quality before you buy it. They also back up the quality of their Gazelle Certified device with a 30-day return policy. You can also keep your carrier or switch to a knew one because Gazelle Certified also means no contracts or strings attached

Now that the new iPhone is here, you should consider trading-in your old iPhone to offset the cost of a new one. Or, buy a certified pre-owned iPhone 6 at a lower cost than the new!