Have I mentioned before that I love the commercial exhibits at the State Fair??? Total weirdo I know but I can’t pass them up.?? Other than the food,??the exhibits??are my favorite part of the fair.?? Every year, I try to keep the family on a strict fair schedule because trying to keep 50 zillion of us together and have adequate time at the exhibits is near impossible.?? This year, I kept saying to everyone “Go ahead – go do your own thing.?? I am gonna :)”.?? If anyone wanted to meet, we were all a cell phone call away right??? Jodi is one person I can rely upon though to “experience” the fair.?? We fully intend to behave like Templeton at the Fair (Charlotte’s Web) and we walk til we drop.?? This year, thanks to Susie’s fair ticket mistakes, Jodi and I got to go back to the fair on Halloween day and fit in what we missed the previous weekend.?? That was fun.

Now…about the exhibits.?? I am convinced there is a gene that is passed down that causes an attraction for gadgets and new inventions.?? Aunt Becky has it and so do I.?? Jim is threatening to never allow me to purchase another floor cleaning product for the rest of our lives.?? (I may get that one from my mother).?? If I see something new that looks like it would clean better, I just need it.

The fair always has something I need.?? Something you won’t likely find anywhere else.?? Here is a short list of past fair purchases:

*?? A mop that has such a good sponge it could soak up a whole coke off the kitchen floor.

*?? My Foodsaver

*?? A hair clippie like none other.?? I actually made some for my nieces last Christmas.

*?? A foam top for my ironing board that made ironing faster and easier.?? Jim threw it out because it “bugged him”.

*?? Watkins spices that go in sour cream for great dip.

*?? Gel shoe inserts that are really comfy – ask mom she bought some too.

*?? Ice packs that you rub together to activate the gel and then you freeze them and put them in your cooler and they keep everything VERY cold for a LONG time.?? Haven’t ever seen them anywhere else.

This year I bought:

*?? A dental hygienst pick for 4 dollars.?? Been looking for one of those.

*?? A therma pak for my back and neck.?? This was a truly cool buy.?? It is a pak that has water and food grade sodium acetate in it.?? There is a dime size metal disc in it and when you bend the disc it causes the sodium acetate to react to the water and heats up to 130 degrees in seconds and into a stiff gel like substance.?? If you leave it in the wrap, it stays hot for an hour and then warm for an additional hour.?? The only pain about it, is after you use it, you have to boil it for 15 minutes within a couple of days of use to return to its liquid form.?? BUT, it’s worth it for the instant heat when you need it.??????Jodi bought a ton of the hand paks for??Darin??so that he could put them in his pockets when he is hunting.??You can find them here:?? www.danielsdesigns.org

*??And my favorite purchase this year….The Dreamer Evolution!?? It is the nicest pillow.?? My TMJ has been acting up causing a lot of neck and face pain therefore, I just can’t get comfortable.?? I am never happy with any pillow.?? If they are too soft, I need my arm under the pillow all night and then my arm falls asleep.?? If they are too hard, it increases my headaches.?? This pillow is filled with microbead and feels like those super cushy neck pillows you buy at the airport.?? BUT it has a zip cover on it that is smaller than the pillow and contains it so it is firmer.?? One side is satin and it stretches a little so that side is softer like a down pillow.?? The other side is velour and doesn’t give as much so it’s firmer.?? This pillow is PERFECT for me.?? I have used it two weeks now and I love it.?? I am comfortable in every position.?? It was expensive so Jim was harrassing me about it and thinking I would end up not liking it but I DO LOVE IT.?? If you take it out of the pillowcase it is just like a big cush pillow to cuddle with – that is an option too.?? They also have a Snooz Bear that I would like someone to purchase my next child????????.?? It’s white and that is dumb but it’s washable.?? I think a little one would love to cuddle it.?? Ty actually loves my pillow too.?? Also it will never compact or lose shape.?? That’s a plus too.?? www.snooztime.com

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If I had more money, I also wanted the really cool snow that you activate.?? Figured it would be a big mess but it was sooooo coool!?? It was this powerdy stuff that you activate in water and then it becomes a snowlike substance that kids can play with or you can use for decorations.?? That was tough to resist.

And one more G R E A T find this year….Heritage Makers!!!?? I am not a scrapbooker because I enjoy digital creation.?? I do some amount of digital type scrapbooking but I don’t like every page to be scrapbooky because I want the pictures to get singular attention so I alternate it.?? BUT what I DO love is photograph books and story books that I can have printed myself.?? Kodak easy share had a nice one that I made for Grammy on her 75th but I really wanted to find one that did printed covers.?? Heritage Makers have FABULOUS looking books.?? You can either create your pages in your own editing software and then import and send to print using HM or you can create your pages using their website.?? If you pay their monthly charge, they allow you a huge selection of digital scrapbook materials to create your book.?? I didn’t go that route because I enjoy creating my own props and pages (being an Adobe Photoshop lover) but I can see how that would be a benefit too.?? I haven’t printed a book yet but I looked at their samples and they were truly great.?? Can’t wait to print some.?? I want brag books, a family 2007 album, and “Tanner’s Story” and “Ty’s Story” book where I will write their adoption stories for them.?? www.AStorytoRemember.com

I was looking at digital scrapbooking art online this weekend and a lot of people are selling “sets” for a minimal amount.?? I studied these sets, and I think I could create my own.?? That would be a fun thing to do.?? Doubt I would actually sell them but it would be fun to make them myself. 🙂