The Endless Summer Days of DealDash

How’s your summer going? Have you done anything special? Well, DealDash has something special going on right now called Endless Summer.

Sounds fun, right? What would you do if you had a totally endless summer? I’m the type of person who can’t take the hot weather, so I like to stay inside until dusk, then get out the mosquito-killing tiki torches and hang out outside on my deck.

 

We also love to grill out almost every night in the summer. Burgers, chicken, steaks, even pineapple is great on the grill. Here’s the easiest and most delicious recipe for grilled pineapple:

Ingredients

1 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 pineapple – peeled, cored, and cut into 6 wedges

Directions

  1. Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat and lightly oil the grate.
  2. Whisk brown sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl. Pour sugar mixture into a large resealable plastic bag. Place pineapple wedges in bag and shake to coat each wedge.
  3. Grill pineapple wedges on the preheated grill until heated through, 3 to 5 minutes per side.

See! Easy and so delicious, too. One of the best things about cooking out on the grill is there’s hardly any mess to clean up. No pots and pans to wash, and if you’re going to be eating outside you might as well use paper plates, too.

Another favorite summer activity of almost everyone I know is swimming. No matter if your pool is big or small, just about everyone loves to cool off in a pool when the summer weather gets hot.

 

However, as fun as swimming pools are, please remember your basic pool safety rules. An adult should always be actively watching children while they are in a pool. For infants and toddlers, an adult should be in the water and within arm’s reach, providing reassurance as well as an arm to grab onto if needed.  For older children, an adult should be paying constant attention and free from distractions, like talking on the phone, socializing, tending household chores, or drinking alcohol. The supervising adult must know how to swim. If these simple safety rules are followed everyone should be able to stay safe and happy!

 

Of course, DealDash is always my go-to fun activity in any season. Go check out the Hobbies, Outdoors, & Sports category on DealDash and see if there’s something that you and your family can use for some Endless Summer fun. Good luck and happy bidding everyone!

 

 

 

 

 

Nab Yourself a Nabi Jr. on DealDash

Kids love electronics, it’s a fact of life. Instead of letting them use your expensive adult tablet, how about nabbing them a Nabi Jr?

There’s a lot of talk these days about making learning fun, so that kids actually want to participate. The world around us is changing so quickly, when I was in Kindergarten in the mid-1980s the most academic thing that we did was learn our numbers and colors. However, now with a child in Kindergarten myself I see that there are clear, very specific core fundamentals a child must master in order to succeed in Kindergarten. The kids need to grasp these reading, writing and math concepts before entering elementary school. My son was really struggling last year, so much that he had to repeat Kindergarten this year, and I believe that it was because he didn’t learn these core skills in Preschool that he really needed for Kindergarten.

 

Luckily, the Nabi Jr. tablet that I want to talk about today was designed as a tool, not as a toy. Nabi Jr. is powered by a dual-core processor, including 4GB storage, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and rotating front and back camera. The operating system is Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich, which is really easy to use. The Nabi Jr. also comes pre-loaded with Wings First Steps, which are  age-appropriate lessons that help your child master skill sets and build core fundamentals in math, reading and writing. Parents can check progress with N-Site, a program that allows parents to monitor time spent, skill gains and also to identify trouble spots. Do you have a kid who is reluctant to help around the house? Even the most stubborn kids can learn to be responsible and make good choices with Nabi Coins, Chore List and Treasure Box.

In case you’re curious what Nabi Coins are, Nabi Coins is a parent-managed virtual currency that teaches children how to save, earn and spend money. Nabi Coins can be earned when your child completes lessons in the Wings Learning System or finishes their chores in the Chore List program. Your child can use their Nabi Coins to buy stuff in Treasure Box. Pretty cool, right? The Treasure Box is basically an app store where kids can use their hard earned Nabi Coins to purchase new music, movies, games, and more.

If you would like to introduce your kids to a Nabi, head on over to DealDash and check out the upcoming Nabi auctions. If you see one you are interested in, go ahead and hit the blue “Alert Me” button and DealDash will send you a quick email when one becomes available. Good luck and happy bidding everyone, set your Bid Buddies and go out and enjoy the beautiful summer weather!

 

What Time is it? Check Your NOOKA

Are you young and hip? Do you like luxury brands but think that a Rolex is better suited for your Dad? Check out NOOKA!

NOOKA is a relatively new company, it was founded in December 2005 in New York City, however NOOKA has offices worldwide including Japan and Europe. NOOKA  was founded by designer Matthew Waldman, they mostly design and produce watches that are primarily focused on the intersection of design and technology. With NOOKA you don’t need to know how to tell time like on an old school watch, they display readouts of bars, lines and dots representing a visual progression of time instead of using the hour and minute hands.

 

NOOKA’s first time pieces ever designed and successfully manufactured were the Zoo and Zot series of timepieces.  They were such a success that in 2010, the Zoo series and Zot series were inducted into the JIDA (Japan Industrial Designers’ Association) Design Museum as part of the Vol. 12 Selection. NOOKA doesn’t just make watches, though, they also make sunglasses,  bags, belts, figurines, wallets, and they are working on many other projects that haven’t even been reveled yet.

NOOKA has been featured in many publications. Just last month, NOOKA’s watch called the NOOKRONO was featured in June’s Issue of GQ, and NOOKA was also called “One of the best digital watch brands out there” by Highsnobiety.

 

Unfortunately for me, my very favorite NOOKA design is the Zot V-Series Galaxy watch – it has been discontinued for a long time, and they are pretty much impossible to find. It’s truly a work of beauty, with a galaxy inspired pattern all over the face and strap. Bring it back, NOOKA! Please!

 

 You too can own an awesome NOOKA watch! There are different models, types, and colors on DealDash, book your Bid Buddy, and sit back and enjoy the watching and bidding in the auction. However, also remember, if you have bid up the auction to the point of retail price you should go ahead and hit the “Buy It Now” (BIN) button, because when you BIN the item for the retail price you get every single one of your bids back, immediately. You can then use the bids all over again to try and win another auction. Good luck and Happy Bidding, everyone!

Nikon, the Grandfather of Modern Photography

Nikon has been a cornerstone brand of the photography industry for decades. Isn’t it time you picked one up?

Nikon has been around for YEARS. It was actually originally founded in 1917 under the name Japan Optical Industries Co., Ltd, but they changed their name to Nikon in 1988 after the huge successes that they had with their cameras. And talk about success! For nearly 30 years, Nikon’s F-series SLRs were the most widely used small-format cameras among professional photographers as well as by the U.S. space program. Nikon popularized many features in professional SLR photography, such as the modular camera system with interchangeable lenses, viewfinders, motor drives, and data backs; integrated light metering and lens indexing; electronic strobe flashguns instead of expendable flashbulbs; electronic shutter control; evaluative multi-zone “matrix” metering; and built-in motorized film advance. Basically, when you think of any film-based SLR camera, Nikon was there first, offering the features that we all care about.

Let’s talk about the different Nikons that are available. My personal dream camera is the Nikon D3300 DSLR camera. Being kind of a girly-girl, I absolutely adore the fact that this camera comes in a beautiful red color. But besides the colors, it comes with an awesome AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR II lens. This lens is capable of capturing things with ease, right down to the tiniest detail, it captures high-resolution images up to 6000 x 4000 pixels. That’s way more pixels than you will ever need, no matter how many birthdays, graduations, or vacations you might be attending and be “VolunTold” to take pictures of with your awesome Nikon camera. This particular camera also has a 3″ LCD screen, records in HD video, and has Optical Image Stabilization to reduce the effects of camera shake and vibration to minimize blurring in your shots.

After you have gotten your Nikon camera, be it the D3300, the D3200, or whichever model you are interested in, the next step you might want to take is to get some different lenses for your new camera. The lens that your Nikon comes with will be a great all-purpose lens, but if you need something more specialized, here are a few choices available from DealDash:

Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 Lens

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-140mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR Zoom Lens

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR Telephoto Zoom Lens

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED Standard Zoom Lens

If you are interested in a Nikon camera or any of it’s many accessories such as an external flash,  head on over to DealDash. You can find Nikon cameras in different models, book your Bid Buddy, and sit back and enjoy the watching and bidding in the auction. However, also remember, if you have bid up the auction to the point of retail price you should go ahead and hit the “Buy It Now” (BIN) button, because when you BIN the item for the retail price you get every single one of your bids back, immediately. You can then use the bids all over again to try and win another auction. Good luck and Happy Bidding, everyone!