I’ve heard a lot about bison, but it’s not probably not something I would have tried on my own. And not for any good reason – just because it’s not convenient to get and I am perfectly happy with beef and chicken and occasionally pork. But then High Plains Bison offered to send me some meat to try. And they say there’s no such thing as a free lunch. “They” weren’t bloggers, I guess!

It didn’t take but a few days before a big Styrofoam container arrived on my door step filled with gourmet bison steaks, sausage and hot dogs.  I think we threw it on the grill that evening.

Unfortunately it got a bit charred, so I don’t think I got to experience the flavor as fully as I could have, but it was tasty.  I’d never have known it wasn’t beef.

Why Bison?

Bison is naturally leaner than beef.  It’s lower in saturated fat than beef, chicken, pork, or even salmon; it’s also low in sodium, and it’s a great source of iron and Omega 3 fatty acids.

Personally, I don’t worry too much about saturated fat and sodium, but I know that it’s good to have a variety of foods in our diets, and I’m always happy to try something new.  And you know I’m all about a company that raises free roaming animals and doesn’t use antibiotics or hormones.

I was confused by the fact that they offer “grass fed bison” and then regular bison on their site.  This is explained on their FAQ page:

Our premium grass-fed products are just that, grass fed. The product will be slightly lower in fat and calories than the grain-fed. It will be priced slightly higher due to the fact that they can only be harvested once a year. Right at the end of summer when there has been plenty of grass to ensure a good healthy cut.

Our grain-fed products are still free roaming animals. During harvesting, we feed them grain pellets for a minimum of 3 months before we harvest.

And if you care about such matters, you can rest assured that High Plains Bison are not fed any animal bi-products, antibiotics, preservatives, fillers, or hormones; and their grounds are not sprayed with chemicals.

Since bison is leaner than beef, it does require slightly different cooking techniques.  High Plains Bison conveniently provides many recipes on their site, and the packages came with individualized instructions as well.  I read them carefully and then still managed to char my meat, so definitely keep an eye on it!

If you’re interested in trying out High Plains Bison, they have generously offered Musings of a Housewife readers 20% off all food items with the code EATGOOD22. Although you will add the code on the cart page, the discount does not show up until the billing page, so don’t be alarmed if you don’t see it right away.

Do you eat bison?  How do you like it?

I knew it would be a short-lived relationship, but I do love cars, and since we are the types to buy a reliable automobile and drive it into the ground, I don’t get to play around with new cars very often.  So when my friend Robin suggested applying for the Chevy Roadtrip to BlogHer program, I eagerly jumped on the bandwagon.

Chevy did not ask me to write a review, but I thought I’d share my impressions anyway.  We are sort of in the market for a new car, meaning that my car has well over 100,000 miles on it and drives like a buckboard on the highway and I’m just waiting for it to die so I can justify replacing it.  Besides that, it’s fun to dream.  And also, did I mention, I like cars?  So my husband and I have been talking a lot lately about what our next vehicle purchase will be.

I know one thing: it will NOT be another minivan.  I loved having a minivan when my kids were babies, but I’m over it.  I’m ready for something with a little more style, something that’s fun to drive.  But of course it will need to be large enough to accommodate our growing family of five.  And by growing, I mean growing in size as is related to age, not number, ahem.

When I signed up for the Chevy Roadtrippers program, I didn’t know what kind of car they would give us, but I assumed, incorrectly, that since we would be driving into Manhattan, they would probably give us a smaller car — perhaps the new electric Volt.

Imagine my surprise when I heard we’d be driving the Tahoe.  And not just the Tahoe — the Hybrid version of the Tahoe.  SWEET!

It’s a handsome vehicle, for sure.  I have admired the Tahoe ever since they came out with the current body style back in 2007, and it looked awfully purty perched in my driveway.  I was thrilled to try the Hybrid model because I’ve never driven a Hybrid before, and I’m intrigued by them.  We briefly considered the Toyota Prius before my husband replaced his gas-guzzling Dodge Ram pick-up truck with a sensible Honda Accord last winter.  (I’d have chosen the Prius, but it wasn’t my decision to make.)

I was a bit intimidated at the prospect of driving the Tahoe in the Big Apple.  It’s an imposing vehicle, no doubt about it, and I have to say that I did feel rather conspicuous driving it.  Also, the braking took some getting used to, as in, I almost ran over a pedestrian in New York City because it wasn’t as responsive as I was expecting.  (Although, in my defense, I think he wanted to be hit.  Only in NYC, right?)

Compared to my rickety aging minivan, the Tahoe drove like butter.  The ride was incredibly smooth and almost silent, especially when driving in Hybrid mode.  I love sitting up high, and I love the roominess inside the cabin.  And it was actually quite easy to maneuver, if you can believe it.  I actually managed to drive through the city without taking out a side mirror or a fender, so pat me on the back.

My only complaint would be the surprising lack of cargo room for a vehicle so large.  With the third row seats in place, there was almost no cargo room at all behind them — barely room to line up a single row of groceries.  And with the third row seats flipped up (they do not sink into the floor as they do in some minivans and crossover vehicles) there was certainly more room, but we were still hard pressed to fit all of our BlogHer luggage inside.

(On the way home, our copious bags of swag were stuffed all around poor Mindi in the second row.)

If I were considering the Tahoe for our family use, we would need that third row anyway, so flipping it up wouldn’t be an option.  We would probably do what we do with our minivan and take half of the third row out entirely (it’s in two parts.)  But even with a luggage rack on top and a seat out, I don’t see how it could provide enough room for us and our paraphernalia for our 2-week vacations to Maine.  I guess that’s why people with large families often opt for the Suburban (or a minivan.)

The Tahoe Hybrid will also set you back a good chunk of change.  The MSRP “starts” at $50,000, and the list price on our borrowed vehicle was $56,000.  I know, YIKES.  Of course, you get 22 MPG as compared with about 13 for a non-Hybrid Tahoe, so there’s that.

On the plus side, I absolutely loved the OnStar service.  I get so frustrated typing an address into my GPS device.  Either I misspell it and have to go back and correct, or even once I get it typed in correctly, it doesn’t find what I need, or worse, it takes me to the wrong location (that happened to me just last week.)

With OnStar, you speak to a live person and then download the directions to the Navigation system on the dash.  You can verify exactly where you’re going, and there are no typos.  It’s so much safer than trying to type and drive, not that I would ever do such a thing. Of course, you pay a premium for this service — $299 a year.  But honestly?  I think it’s worth it.

To wrap it up, I don’t think we will be considering a Tahoe for our next car.  It was certainly fun to drive for a week, but we have our sights set on a crossover vehicle of some sort.  The Chevy Traverse is on our radar, as well as a few others.  My neighbor has the Traverse, and I took a peek inside the other day after driving the Tahoe and was surprised to see considerably more cargo room behind the third row seats.  Plus, the third row seats fold flat into the floor.  With those features as well as a starting MSRP of $29,000 and 24 MPH on the highway, it’s definitely a worthy contender.

What about you?  I’d love to hear from other families of five.  Do you have a car you love?  Tell me about it.

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Sick season has officially begun.  It seems like everywhere I turn, I hear about someone being sick with something that sounds dreadful.  Perhaps it’s that the world has gotten so small, what with the internet and all, but it seems like I’m surrounded.  It’s enough to give me a minor anxiety attack.  We generally stay pretty well in our household, but there is usually one dramatic episode at some point during the winter — usually right around the holidays.  Bah humbug.

This year, of course all the hype is about the swine flu.  I’m extremely conflicted on the swine flu vaccine, and the regular one, for that matter.  Some sites lead you to believe vaccines are virtually harmless, and conversely, that dying from the flu is a huge risk — a risk far greater than any risks the vaccine may pose.  Other sites suggest that the statistics about flu deaths are overblown, the swine flu is generally mild, and the vaccine is ineffective at best and harmful at its worst.  I’ve also read that vaccines lower your immune system.

Who’s a mom to trust??

I have never had a flu vaccine.  I’ve also never had the flu.  KNOCK ON WOOD.  My husband often gets the vaccine at work since it’s convenient and free.  My son has had the vaccine every year for several years due to his asthma.  My older daughter had an egg allergy in her first few years of life and has never had the vaccine.  My younger daughter has never had the vaccine simply because I never bothered to go out of my way to get it for her.  Her well checkups are always in the spring when flu season is almost over, so the topic has never come up with her doctor.

I’ve never been one to get hyped over the flu.  It always goes around, EVERY year they say it’s going to be the worst year for the flu EVER, we never seem to get it, which is not to say that we don’t get sick, but whenever we’ve been tested, it’s always come back as a virus.  I never did any research on the flu vaccine; I just went with my instincts.

This year there is no way around it.  Everyone’s talking about it, and as I research our food choices, I invariably come across articles about H1N1 and flu vaccines.

After reading everything I can get my hands on and talking to people in the medical profession, other moms, and polling my readers where I avidly read every single comment, I’ve decided to do what I do every other year — let my instincts make the decision for me.  There is so much conflicting information from reputable sources that I think I’ll just do what’s been working for the past few years.  There is, however, one thing I’ll be doing differently.  This year I am actively trying to prevent my family from getting sick.

Along with all of my food research, I have come across many suggestions for natural ways to boost the immune system, and I am implementing many.  Here’s what we’re doing.

First and foremost, I have purchased good quality mulit-vitamins and additional vitamin D and Omega-3 supplements for all of us.  I also take probiotics, mostly to help with my tummy troubles, but a healthy tummy supposedly contributes towards a healthy immune system.  I’ve been planning to buy vitamin C as well, but as you know, supplements can get expensive.

We have been limiting sugar and processed foods because sugar depletes the immune system.

We’re getting plenty of rest.  I’m trying to be better about getting the kids to bed on time, and also myself.

I cook with a ton of garlic — a natural antibiotic, or so I’ve heard.

I have been making chicken broth weekly, and trying to cook with it as much as possible.  My kids love chicken noodle soup, so I try to keep that around for lunches or quick dinners.  The nutrients from correctly prepared bone broths boost the immune system.

We eat lots of fruits and veggies.

And I have the kids wash their hands immediately after school to hopefully cut down on the germs being brought home.  I’ve also been told by all 3 of my children’s teachers that they are being very proactive about having the kids wash their hands before snacks and meals, for which I am thankful.

Finally, there has been a lot of press recently about the possible dangers of OTC cold and flu medicines for kids under the age of 6.  I usually try not to give the kids medicine unless they really need it.  I’m even one of those mean moms who will let their bodies fight a fever without Tylenol unless it’s dangerously high.  But when One2One Network offered me an opportunity to try out some homeopathic cold and flu remedies from Boiron, I was intrigued.  They sent me their 3 new homeopathic medicines for children– Children’s Oscillococcinum®, Children’s Coldcalm Pellets®, and Children’s Chestal®.

Here are the benefits according to their website:

I’m interested to see how these work, although of course I’m hoping we stay well enough that I don’t have the opportunity to try them.  If you’re interested in giving them a try, click here for a $1 off coupon on any of these 3 Boiron products.

What about you?  How are you keeping your family healthy through the winter months?  I’d love to hear if you have any suggestions that I missed.

I know I’m probably the last person in the civilized world to see this movie, but when it came out, I scoffed.  I knew McDonalds was horrible for the health of anyone who eats it more than once a month, but I loved my occasional Quarter Pounder with fries (never super sized, I might add), and I didn’t figure seeing the movie was going to change my mind.  And at the time, I don’t think it would have.  In fact, last night as I was watching with my husband, I said, “This is really making me crave some Micky D’s.”  And it did.

I broke down and saw the movie because after reading Kelly’s review, I want to see Fat Head, and since that’s a rebuttal to Super Size Me, I figured I ought to see Super Size Me first.

While it was certainly entertaining, the movie didn’t share anything particularly new or surprising.  I thought it was a pointless experiment, actually.  We all know fast food is nasty, and who actually eats it exclusively?  The doctors who were shocked that he was destroying his liver were amusing.  I mean, REALLY?  That was SURPRISING?  I will say that the fact that he started to show signs of addiction was interesting, although even that was not particularly surprising.

Even though I haven’t had fast food since I started my “whole foods initiative” a few months ago, I can’t say that I never will again.  It’s not totally unappealing to me; rather, when I drive by those famous golden arches, I often consider it briefly and then think to myself that I don’t really want it right now.  Some day I might, and if I do, I may go ahead and treat myself.  Hopefully it won’t taste as good as I remember, but I can’t say that watching the movie turned me off of McDonalds forever.  That’s not the part that got to me.

I’ll tell you what really got to me — the scenes in the high school cafeteria.

That segment made me want to cry, scream, and bang my fists against a brick wall.  And perhaps even consider homeschooling — not that that’s a horrifying thought; it’s just not something that I’ve felt called to do.  Not yet, anyway.

But last night, as I watched those scenes of kids making lunches out of Ho Hos and Ding Dongs and potato chips, and the teachers pontificating about teaching them to make wise choices when there wasn’t a decent choice to be had in the entire place — the supposedly better choices were reheated, reconstituted packaged foods, undoubtedly full of sodium and sugars and fake vegetable oils — and then to see those lunches contrasted against the lunches at the school in Appleton, Wisconsin that were made with real, fresh ingredients, and they don’t even cost any more.

Did you get that?  Feeding our kids real nourishing food doesn’t cost any more than the slop they are currently served in the vast majority of public schools across the country.**

So why aren’t we doing it?  It seems like a no-brainer, right?  I mean, diet has been linked to all sorts of learning disorders and behavior and health problems.  Why are we feeding our children the same garbage we feed our prisoners?

HELLO?  BUELLER?

Not that I’m necessarily in favor of feeding it to our prisoners, but my first concern is most certainly our children.

Of course, my kids are young, and I can pack their lunches, and as far as I know, they are eating the food that I send.  For now.  But I don’t think for a moment that I can send my teenagers to the school cafeteria where soft drinks and cupcakes and potato chips abound, and expect then to happily eat their natural peanut butter on whole wheat and carrot sticks while their friends pig out on junk.

And it’s not just about me.  The way we feed our school children makes them distractable and lethargic and contributes to behavior problems and learning disorders.  It affects the learning environment of our entire culture.  I just don’t understand why improving the food in school cafeterias (and getting rid of soda machines and junk food) isn’t a top priority for every school district in America.

** This is what Morgan Spurlock stated in Super Size Me.  I tried to verify this fact with online research (that is, if the two minutes I spent googling the topic qualifies as research) and came up with nothing.  I have a hard time believing that real food is cheaper than reconstituted precooked food, but if you consider all the factors and the money saved on behavior problems and health and learning issues, real food always comes out ahead.

Sorry to be all Debbie Downer, and on a Monday to boot.  Let me try and end on a positive note.

I am happy to report that the nurse at my children’s elementary school is very concerned about health and nutrition, and there is a Health and Wellness committee forming, which I volunteered for.  I am anxious to see what we can do to help improve the school lunches in our district.  I was also pleased to note at my children’s Back to School night that they are banning sugary sweet treats for classroom celebrations; instead they have a recommended list of healthier alternatives such as goldfish, soft pretzels, fruit pops, apple slices, carrot sticks, etc.  There are plenty of things on the list that I wouldn’t keep in my home, but this isn’t a perfect world, and I’m thrilled to see an effort being made to improve the snacks we bring into the classrooms.

All this to say, if we band together, we can make a difference.  I tend to wring my hands and vent about the situation, but I’m making a concerted effort to try and find ways to get involved and get the tides of change moving.  I’m open to suggestions, if you have them.  Has anyone been involved in a similar endeavor in their own school districts?  I’d love to hear about it.

I don’t know about you, but I’m always in search of miraculous undergarments to hold my post-childbearing body together.  I have had many a daydream of inventing the perfect product, but I figured if I waited long enough, someone would do all the hard work for me.  And whatddya know, my laziness patience was rewarded when I discovered the Unbelievabra Ultimate by Shapeez:

A bra/cami/torso slimmer all in one, for the woman who wants an all-in-one bra solution.  The miracle product’s unique patent pending design eliminates all visible bra lines, back bulges, and even the feared “muffin top,” effectively and comfortably providing superior breast support as well as slimming of the waist, tummy and back.

Oh happy day!

This is exactly what I’ve been looking for all my life.  Well, at least for the last five years.  It virtually eliminates the lumps and bumps, it’s supportive without feeling restrictive, and it stays put nicely when tucked into pants.

All in all, I’m thrilled.  If you’re looking for an all-in-one piece of shapewear, I highly recommend you give Shapeez a try.  For a more detailed review, see my Shapeez post on Chic Critique.

If you are a Reviewsings subscriber, you may not have been receiving updates this week because I have brought Reviewsings into the Musings directory.  All that means for you is that you will probably have to re-subscribe to start getting updates again. I apologize for the annoyance.  It’s just a little switch to make things easier on me.

Make sure you are subscribed to www.musingsofahousewife.com/reviewsings. Click HERE if you’d like to do that now.  If you go to Reviewsings.com, you will be forwarded to the new site, but for some reason, Feedburner is not with the program.  Eventually I’ll let Reviewsings.com die entirely so you might as well make the switch now and be done with it.

Meanwhile, let me tell you what’s been going on over there this week!

Kellyn reviewed the Audiovox Homebase — a very cool product if you have older children.

Melissa reviewed the iHome LED Color-Changing Speaker System with Built-in Subwoofer for iPod — a fun gadget for all you iPod lovers out there.

*GIVEAWAY* Today is the last day to enter to win a strong of freshwater pearls by PearlParadise.com.

Stay tuned for more fun reviews and a super cute jewelry giveaway next week at Reviewsings!

My SIL and one of my very best friends are both pregnant with their firsts, and as excited as I am for them, it has also brought on the realization that I am totally out of the baby stage.  And while I don’t regret that necessarily, it does seem a little odd.  I will never experience this again, at least not with my own flesh and blood.

I was always a source of information for my friends.  One girlfriend once referred to me a product junkie.  I didn’t mind.  I loved to research products (still do, but I’ve moved on to appliances and technical devices) and the latest version of Baby Bargains was always within my arm’s reach.  My friends still occasionally email me for my opinion about a certain baby product, which is what gave me the idea for this post.

First I’ll list products that I believe are worth every penny.  Then I’ll make a list of ones that I wouldn’t waste my money on again — things I rarely used and ended up throwing or giving away.  Take these lists with a grain of salt.  I’m sure things have changed, and everyone’s opinions and needs are different.

Here is MY Best of Baby Products List. I haven’t covered every possible category.  These are simply the products that I am (or was) PASSIONATE about.

Best book on baby gear: Baby Bargains

Best book on pregnancy: Girlfriend’s Guide to Pregnancy

Best nursing book: So That’s What They’re For

Best stroller: Maclaren Quest

Best infant carseat: Graco Snugride

Best convertible carseat: Britax Roundabout

Best booster carseat: Graco Turbobooster

Best skincare for baby: Burt’s Bees

Best potty chair: Baby Bjorn(so simple and easy to clean — and the best pee guard for little boys)

Best bib: Bumpkins

UPDATES:

Best chair for nursery: Recliner (thanks Susan for reminding me) — we have a huge La-Z-boy recliner that we inherited from my husband’s grandmother.  We have spent MANY a night in that chair.  It isn’t as pretty as those gliders you see at Babies R Us, but it was a lot more practical.

Nighties: I swear by these for newborns.  Wait on footed sleepers until they’re older (or going out) but around the house, I kept my babies in those little nighties until their feet were popping out the bottom.  I had winter babies, so I layered those fleece “bags” over the nighties. So easy for middle of the night changes — unzip the sleeper, pull up the nightie, change the diaper, and zip ‘em back up!  Carters makes both!  They were my favorites.

These are things I wouldn’t waste my money on again:

Babywise — God gave us maternal instincts for a reason.  Use them, and politely disregard anyone who tells you there is one right away to parent your infant.

What To Expect When You’re Expecting — This book will give you a complex.  Eat whatever you want, or whatever doesn’t make you want to hurl.

Bulky travel system — As soon as your baby is out of the carrier, you will wish you had a lightweight, streamlined stroller.  I swear by Maclarens.  They are AWESOME.  They maneuver around the mall like nobody’s business.  I see that Graco now makes a stroller frame to go with their infant carriers — I wish they’d had that when I was having babies!

Over-sized boosters for up to 80 lbs — we had the Britax version, and the thing was mammoth.  So inconvenient for swapping cars and such.  Go with the Turbobooster and be done with it!

Bath seat — What a pain in the arse.  I gave sponge baths when they were infants and put them in the tub as soon as I could.  **NOTE – bath seat, not to be confused with baby bathtub, which I DID use for a long time.  But when they are ready to sit up, I just put them in big tub and held them so they didn’t slide.

Diaper genie — Again, pain in the arse.  I sold mine in a yard sale (I know, EW!) and just used those plastic grocery bags.

UPDATES:

Wipes warmer — more trouble than it’s worth.

I’d love to hear your feedback. What are your favorite baby products and the ones you could do without?  Feel free to disagree with some of mine.  I fully expect that! 

Note: I didn’t mention slings b/c I could never get one to work.  However, I think they’re fabulous and highly recommend trying to find one to work for you.  I carried my babies A LOT and had amazing arms.  Wish I still had those guns.   Also, swings and bouncy seats and exersaucers, I used them all but am not passionate about any one kind.

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You may notice there is no fabulous giveaway today.  That’s because I’m moving all of my giveaways to Reviewsings to make things simpler.  There IS a fabulous giveaway over there — check out the gorgeous pearl necklace I’m giving away this week!  And don’t forget to write your What I Learned This Week post for tomorrow.

This giveaway is closed.  The winning numbers are 25, 16, 6, 18, 8, 4, 13, 21, 11, and 1.  Congratulations!

This week’s giveaway is of a practical nature.  It’s something every parent needs — internet safety for your child!  CyberPatrol was given 4 stars by PC Magazine and this is what they said about it:

CyberPatrol includes all the features I look for in a parental-control system and implements them with unusual flexibility. Its IM filtering is innovative.

Did you know that:

• 72% of kids don’t tell their parents what they do online
• 61% admit using the Internet unsafely or inappropriately
• 71% received messages from someone they don’t know
• 55% have given out personal information to a stranger
• 12% met in person with someone they first met online
• Nearly 50% have been bullied online
• 39% have downloaded illegal music content

Yikes Stripes!

Here are the features of CyberPatrol:

• Blocks undesirable web sites — Keeps porn, adult content, gambling and other undesirable content away from your kids.
• Designed for kids of all ages and all Internet skill levels. You control the extent to which you want to manage their Internet access.
• Restricts chat & Instant Messaging — Filters chat, instant messaging and other programs to prevent important information from being revealed, like names, addresses and phone numbers.

CyberPatrol costs $39.95 and protects up to 3 PCs. You can download a free 14 day trial copy of CyberPatrol from their web site.

The only downside is that CyberPatrol is designed for Windows-based standalone PCs. Unfortunately that leaves us Mac users out in the cold.  But if you have PCs and children, this sounds like an excellent product to keep your children safe online.

WIN IT! I’m giving away 10 copies of CyberPatrol software!  YES, TEN.  You can earn up to four entries.  These are all optional.  Enter one, two, three, or four times.  Here’s how.

1) Leave a comment – ANY COMMENT – on this post.  That’s a gimme, right?

2) Twitter the contest.  (OPTIONAL)

3) Blog the contest.  (OPTIONAL)

4) Give yourself an entry if you’re a subscriber.  (OPTIONAL)

Good luck!  Ten winners will be chosen at random on Saturday, January 24th.

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Today I’m over at Chic Critique demonstrating how to use ColorOn EyeEnvy Appliques — eyeshadow application for dummies. 

Also, there are several new reviews on Reviewsings and three giveaways going on!  Check it out!

There was a lot of interest in my post about the laptop bags I was considering a few weeks ago, so I sent out a query to my PR peeps to see if anyone had cute, stylish laptop bags for review.  Here is a video of several bags I tried out (and the one I’m keeping for my personal use!) and I have several more to tell you about that I didn’t see first-hand.

Laptop Bag Roundup from Jo-Lynne on Vimeo.

So as you can see, the bag I chose for myself is the Portfolio Bag by Built NY. It’s made of neoprene, which is wetsuit material. I figure, if it can protect the human body underwater, it ought to be able to protect my laptop.

I like that it’s slim and compact. I don’t plan to haul around my kitchen sink or even the contents of my purse in my laptop bag, so I didn’t want anything too cumbersome. It’s very comfortable to carry, either by hand or over my shoulder. And besides all that, it’s super cute, which is the most important thing after all!

The red bag you saw is by Reisenthel, a German company known for their reusable bags, carriers and totes.  This is their new Loopbag Business, and it retails for $54.95.

It’s made of a sturdy, lightweight nylon.  It features an adjustable shoulder strap and those eye-grabbing aluminum handles.  The cool thing about this bag is that it can be a purse or a shopping bag when you’re not carting around your laptop.  And it is so spacious that you can easily carry your laptop, purse essentials, and reading material with room to spare.  Outside are two end pockets and a zippered pocket to keep your phone or keys handy.

The Targus Grove Sling bag of my husband’s is more of a rugged bag that retails for $64.99.  The Grove Sling is PVC-free and features recyclable plastic accents and nickel-free metal to reduce the amount of toxins released into the environment.  It is chock full of compartments to keep everything perfectly organized.

Just after I made the video, I received this leopard-print neoprene sleeve ($34.95) by DesignerSleeves.com.  It’s designed specifically for the Mac Air so it fits like a glove.  My laptop feels so safe and secure encased in this sleeve.  If I were using one of the bigger laptop bags, I would double up with the laptop sleeve inside the bag.  And it would make a great carrying case when you’re walking around, say, a blogging conference or something.  The only thing that would improve upon it is a carrying handle, and some of their bags do have those!

What makes these sleeves cool is that they have a vivid, colorful image printed directly onto the neoprene — so fun and stylish!  If you’re not a fan of leopard, there are many other designs to choose from.

Another bag that wasn’t shown in the video is this Square Bag by O Yikes. This is a great bag for moms because there is room to carry bottles, diapers, and toys along with your standard 14” laptop.

The size and shape of this Square Bag is an ideal all-around-bag, but is also a great fit when tending to energetic toddlers or rushing to work.  The bag is lined in micro fiber with extra padding to protect your computer.  It retails for $100 on CareerBags.com, which is a fabulous site for moms looking to “stay organized, look professional, and travel with ease.”

Finally, Fashion Flips, Inc. is debuting a laptop size bag this month that I hope to get a chance to review.  Here is what they told me about it:

It is a laptop size bag which provides 5 different looks from one 2-piece system.  The base bag alone is your basic padded laptop bag with a removable strap.  The Flip Cover(TM) is reversible, providing two additional looks when slipped onto the base bag. The Flip Cover(TM) itself is a beach size tote which can be used on it’s own.  So it’s basically five looks from one product — plus, you would never know it was a laptop bag.

Here’s the picture they sent.

So there you go!  If you’re in the market for a laptop bag, here are five ways you can’t possibly go wrong.

When I was asked to review Nina Garcia’s guide to The One Hundred stylish pieces every stylish woman must own, I eagerly emailed my contact at Collins Publishing with an enthusiastic YES! 

I am an avid watcher of the hit TV show Project Runway, and I adore
Nina Garcia. I love her understated sense of style, and I always
anticipate her colorful descriptions of the outfits on the show. I have
had the opportunity to review quite a few style and beauty books by
famous style icons, and this is hands-down my favorite so far.

Read more at 5 Minutes For Books.  And be sure to leave a comment for your chance to win a copy of The One Hundred!!  (The comment must be on the post at 5M4B to count!!)