REVIEW: Brugo Mug - Temperature Controlled Hot Beverage Travel Mug

Do you drink a lot of hot beverages like Coffee, Tea or even Hot Chocolate? Do you burn your tongue on the first sip and then half way through have to dump the rest because it's gone cold? Not anymore!

The Brugo Mug is a uniquely designed mug that controls the temperature of your hot drink so that each sip is the perfect temperature.

There is a special chamber at the top of the cup and when you have it set to tip/sip, you can tip the cup to put a bit of the drink into the chamber, then swirl a few times to cool it, and then sip it! The more you swirl, the cooler the sip will be. Then when the rest of the drink is cool enough (less than half left), you can set it to sip and just sip normally.

There are three settings on the lid:

1. Lock - Makes the cup spill proof, lock it when say it's on your desk and you aren't drinking from it or it's in your cup holder in the car.
2. Sip - You use this when your drink is less than half and cooled enough that it won't burn you anymore. This makes it act like a regular mug.
3. Tip and Cool - What makes this mug unique - allows the drink to enter the special cooling chamber.

The cups are well designed, heavy enough to not tip over easy but not so heavy it hurts to hold it. They come in a wide variety of colours and even in some muted darker colours in the executive collection.

See how it works:





I don't drink coffee or tea but I tried it with Hot Chocolate. It took me a little while to get the hang of how much to tip and how much to swirl to get the desired temperature of drink but I figured it out. At one point when the drink was about half full, I figured I didn't need to swirl anymore because I had forgotten about my drink for about 20 minutes. So I switched to regular sip and took a drink and burned my mouth! I'm not used to a drink staying so hot for so long!

If you drink a hot beverage every now and again and usually always in a house or building, you may not need the Brugo but this is definitely great for those who drink coffee while in the car or on the go in any other way or who love their drinks very hot. My mother loves her tea hot so she has to drink it really fast or it will cool down and she won't like it. I will be giving her my Brugo Mug so she can enjoy her tea and still drink it hot.

The Brugo Mug would make an AWESOME gift for a coffee or tea lover in your life. A belated Christmas gift, birthday gift, upcoming Mother's or Father's Day gift, or just an anyday gift!

Check out Brugo Mug on Facebook and Twitter.

Check out the website for specials like 25% off when you buy 2 or more and Free Standard Shipping on orders over $75 (these specials are Canadian but you can click to your countries website to find your own specials)

*Disclosure: I received the product(s) mentioned above free of charge by the company or PR representative for evaluation purposes. No other compensation was provided. See my Disclosure Policy for more information. 

Summer Pharmaceutical Guide

Summer is almost over but if you are planning one last trip before school starts back up, you may want to pick up the following items to have on hand. All of them would be of use even when it's not Summer so you can get more than one use out of them!

*Reviewing/Mentioning a product does not mean I am recommending it to everyone. You should never take medication without checking with your doctor first. I cannot be held responsible for anything that happens if you choose to take any medication or use any product mentioned here.

Anacin
Aspirin + Caffeine NSAID Pain Reliever
100 Coated Tablets
Temporarily Relieves minor aches and pains due to headache, sore throat, toothache, muscular aches, cold, backache, arthritis or menstrual cramps

It's always good to have a pain reliever on hand, no matter what you are doing! This is definitely one you can use anytime!

Auro-Dri
Ear Drying Aid for Swimmer's Ears
Isopropyl Alcohol 95% in a Anhydrous Glycerin 5% base
Helps relieve clogged ear discomfort due to bathing, showering and swimming

I've never had swimmer's ear but I'm not one of those people who go swimming a lot. I've heard it's very painful though. This product, safe for kids is meant to dry up in inside of the ear.



Bonine
Prevents Motion Sickness in Chewable Once-A-Day Tablet
Meclizine Hydrochloride - Antiemetic
Prevents and treats nausea, vomiting or dizziness associated with motion sickness

I've never heard about motion sickness being hereditary but both my daughter and I have it. She even got sick once on a 45 minute city bus ride. I have to take a motion sickness pill anytime I'm going on a longer drive but then I end up being really sleepy and falling asleep. I hate it. Bonine prevents motion sickness without making you so drowsy you will fall asleep.

Pronto Plus (Travel Size)
Kills Bedbugs & Dust Mites Where They Hide
Various Chemicals
To Kill those bedbugs!

Some areas in Ontario are having major problems with bedbugs. If you have them, you need to get rid of them fast. If you are travelling, you don't know what the place is like and if there are bedbugs or not. Bring the travel size spray with you to your motel and treat it while you are out, before you unpack.

*Disclosure: I received the product(s) mentioned above free of charge by the company or PR representative for evaluation purposes. No other compensation was provided. See my Disclosure Policy for more information. 

Traveller's Safety - Travel Faux Pas

© Flickr User Corey Ann. Used under Creative Commons.

I'm not a traveller, mostly because I lack the funds but for those of you who might be travelling this holiday season, especially Canadians going to warmer locals, you should know this fact:

98 per cent of travellers make a food or water faux pas within their first 72 hours of vacation.  

You don't have to be backpacking in some remote country to drink or eat something that's contaminated. Here are some tips that were sent to me that I think are quite helpful:

Do:

§ Drink commercially bottled water, soft drinks, bottled fruit juice, alcoholic beverages without ice and hot beverages

§ Drink pasteurized, properly refrigerated milk and dairy products

§ Eat fruits and vegetables that are freshly peeled or cooked

§ Eat foods that are recently cooked and served piping hot

§ Consult with your health care professional about taking DukORAL for protection against Travellers’ Diarrhea; ViVAXIM for protection against Hepatitis A and Typhoid Fever, and other travel-related health precautions

Don’t:

§  Drink tap water or use ice cubes

§  Eat fruits that don’t need peeling

§  Eat uncooked vegetables or salads

§  Eat raw or undercooked meat, fish and shellfish

§  Eat or drink unpasteurized or unrefrigerated dairy products

§  Eat foods sold by street vendors

If you are Canadian, you may be interested in visiting a new resource at www.facebook.com/travelfauxpas where you can get information about travel health, join a discussion about some of their own travel health follies and take a short quiz for a chance to win a $2,000.00 CND vacation gift certificate through Sunwing.  

[Guest Post] Amtrak California

*This post is by Sarah at Puss Reboots - check out her great book reviews!*

If you live in California and want a low cost adventure for your family, try taking the train. Different routes run special promotions that can significantly cut the cost of travel.

For example, the Capitol Corridor that runs from San Jose to Sacramento has a summer time deal where children ride free when accompanied by an adult. Better yet, it's two children per every one adult ticket.

In California, free transfers to other forms of public transportation are also available. BART tickets can be purchased at a discount. For more information: http://www.dot.ca.gov/rail/go/dor/index.cfm

Other Amtrak lines run similar promotions at different times of the year. Regardless of that, children still ride at a discounted fare. Infants (2 and under) are free and ages 2-15 are 50%. For older children and students there are discount plans that require special tickets.

Tickets can be bought online at: http://www.amtrak.com, or at a station, an automated ticket machine (requires a credit card) or from a conductor on the train (photo ID required).