Burger King. Poutine Review.

 

I have done quite a few reviews from Burger King and quite a few poutine reviews (search them on my blog) and today I'm finally trying their original poutine. It took me a very long time to try this poutine after the bacon one I had I think back in 2016.

This poutine is a lot nicer than the bacon poutine. Though this was a little soupy and odd gravy gravy but it was a pretty good poutine overall. I'd not likely get it again but I'd eat it again if offered and I rate it 3.5/5.

Mike's Hard Blue Freeze Vodka Drink Review.

 

I've done two other reviews of this brand (search them on my blog) and today I'm trying the blue freeze. Note I will not be reviewing all of the flavours, as there are ones I wouldn't like such as the black cherry and cranberry flavours but there are still a few I want to try, stay tuned.

This tastes like blue raspberry like the white freeze but meets something familiar, almost like 7up and I don't think the vodka is strong in this one thankfully, overall it's pretty good and I'd buy it again and I rate it 3.5/5.

Mike's Hard White Freeze Vodka Drink Review.

 

I tried the peach flavour not too long ago (search it on my blog) and today I'm trying the white freeze. I also have the blue freeze coming up.

This tastes a little like blue raspberry and lots of vodka kick. Overall a solid drink I didn't love or dislike. I don't know if I'd buy it again but I'd drink it if offered and I rate it 3.5/5.

Bright Dairy. Three Colour Ice Cup Review.

 

This is a Chinese dessert in 3 flavours, I wanted to try it for review. The first ingredient is drinking water the the label doesn't say it has dairy in it but the warning does say there is dairy in it, so I'm not exactly sure if this is supposed to be an ice cream or just a frozen dessert.

It looks great and the colours are gorgeous but the texture, taste and overall feel of each one is a bit odd and not like the western version, this doesn't taste like dairy as there may or may not be any in it. I think you can taste the water used but it doesn't taste too bad. I think the brown portion is coffee and chocolate according to the label and then the pink portion seems not to be strawberry by the label but it's fruity and strawberry like and there doesn't seem to be any vanilla in the white portion but it tastes similar to coconut. I don't think I'd get it again but I plan to finish off the box, as it comes in a pack of 6. I rate them 2.5/5.

Note: it melts like ice cream and tastes better melted haha, the texture changes then and it's nicer.

Booster Juice. Banango Burst Smoothie Review.

 

I just did a review of another smoothie from Booster Juice (search it on my blog) and today I'm trying out the banango burst.

The banango burst smoothie has: bananas, mango, guava, passionfruit and whey protein. This was a really nice smoothie, the banana and mango for sure came through most in this drink. Though the whey protein makes it thicker and a little harder to drink but not too bad of a factor. I'd consider getting it again and I'd rate it 3.5/5.

Booster Juice. Mango Hurricane Smoothie Review.

 

I had not been to Booster Juice in many years prior to this and at that time I had only been once but I decided the first time back I'd try this mango hurricane. I plan to retry the smoothie I had prior, so I can give a review for you guys.

The mango hurricane is a smoothie with: mango, strawberries, bananas, orange and yogurt. This was a delicious smoothie! It has a lot of good flavours and the mango and orange really came through in this drink. I have to admit since this review I ordered it once more haha. I would get it again but I do plan to try other flavours. I rate this one a 4/5.

Napoli. Cheese Pizza Review.

This is my first time trying this brand and I do enjoy myself a frozen pizza so I wanted to do it for review.

It was cheap only 2 bucks and it tasted cheap but not bad overall, I've had a lot worse of pizza. I don't think I'd get it again but I'd eat it again if offered and I rate it 3/5.

Arby's. Salted Caramel Cookie Review.

 

I had recently done a review from this restaurant and I have done quite a few others (search them on my blog) and today I'm trying the salted caramel cookie.

I always like testing my tastebuds to see if I will suddenly like things I don't normally like, as sometimes my tastebuds change in either direction, so I wanted to try this despite it being salted caramel. Well I still dislike it but if you like salted caramel I bet it'd be a solid cookie and it's soft in texture, it's not for me at all so I rate it a 1/5.

Arby's. Apple Turnover Review.

 

I've done a few other reviews from this restaurant (search them on my blog) and this time I'm reviewing the apple turnover.

I preferred the pastry without the filling as the pastry and icing were really nice but it wasn't a bad filling but not to my personal taste but overall it was nice. I don't think I'd get it again but I'd eat it if offered and I rate it 3.5/5.

Tim Hortons. Strawberry Creamy Chill Drink Review.

 

I have done so many reviews from Tim Hortons (search them on my blog) and today I'm trying the strawberry creamy chill.

This is like a smoothie and a milkshake had a baby. Flavour overall is pretty good though of course artificial and I was able to stomach it which was a surprise for me haha. I wouldn't get it again but I'd drink it if offered and I rate it 3.5/5.

Update: I've since had another one and I realized how lackluster this is, the fake flavour is overpowering and I now rate it 3/5 and I don't want to ever have another. I'm looking forward to trying the two other flavours.

KurKure. Masala Munch Crunchy Snack Review.

 

I found these at a wholesale story, this cost me about 3 bucks, I was excited to try these for review.

These taste like a delicious savoury dish and the flavour was good but too spicy for me. I wouldn't get them or eat them again but I rate them 3.5/5.

Dr. Oetker. Ristorante. Speciale Pizza Review.

 

I've done a few reviews from this brand (search them on my blog) and this time I'm trying the speciale pizza.

I enjoyed this pizza but it was nothing to write home about, there was nothing wow about this pizza but it was a solid flavour and good toppings, not sure why it's called speciale as I didn't think so haha. I would consider buying it again but not often and I'd eat it again if offered and I rate it 3.5/5.

Arm The Animals. Clothing and Website Review.

 

I have had friends and coworkers message me about this brand, showing off their website and cool products and the types of work they do for charities and the animals. I was interested in making a purchase and I did check out reviews and they were honestly a mixed bag, so I will be gambling here. I hope for the best, nonetheless a review is a review.

I was checking out their products and the one I loved most was this top:

The note at the bottom of the page states it runs a bit small and to size up, I got a large and I hope that will fit me haha because I normally wear a M/L so I just hoped the large was enough.

Here is my cart:

It came out to a total of $31 Canadian, I think that's a great price for total, as most places sell the top alone for 30 bucks haha.

I made my purchase April 12th 2022, their website claims item will be shipped in 9-10 business days and shipping to me may take 25 business days. May 31st 2022 is when I should receive my purchase, though there also may be Covid delays.

Today is now April 20th 2022 and they have now shipped my item and given me a tracking number!

It's now May 2nd 2022 and I have received my item! I'm surprised it only took 3 weeks, I was thinking it would take almost a month more, impressive!

This is what it looks like: 

I think I could've worn either the medium or the large but I'm still happy the large fit, it fits a little loose but overall a good fit. The quality of print is great and quality of top is also pretty nice, a good solid quality; not the best but good quality overall.

I'm very happy with my purchase, the promptness of the delivery and overall shopping experience, I would shop with them again if there was something I had fallen in love with, like I did this time and I rate shopping experience 5/5 and product 5/5.

Spencer. Automatic Pill Dispenser Review.

 

I had seen an ad for this Canadian company called Spencer, they make automatic pill dispensers. They have their own pharmacy that works with your doctor to automatically refill and fill prescriptions, pack them and send them to you to insert into your Spencer medication machine.

This is the machine:

This also comes with an app, I read it puts you in contact with your care team, which so far have been really friendly! They also have bluetooth connectivity for tracking medication and progress AND they the machine has video conferencing for you to get in touch with your doctor or pharmacist which is also handy.

I thought this was amazing, I'm sick and tired of refilling medications by going to the pharmacy multiple times each month AND each week packing my pill box, this was driving me insane! I saw this product and thought I need to try this out.

I input my info and got a call from a nice young lady not even 20 minutes later, about the Spencer and she answered various questions I had and told me based on my circumstances the Spencer would only cost me 19 bucks a month instead of the full price of 100 something bucks, depending on your age and circumstances it may be free for you, they will give you a quote.

Today is now January 13th, she called and we discussed my medications being ready for transfer and that she would now go ahead and contact my pharmacy to do the transfer, she also explained to me that she can send along a bottle of my "as needed" medication that is not on a schedule but that if I took it regularly they could still put it into the Spencer, I dont take it often enough to need that but that is an option for those that do.

Today is now January 25th 2022 and my Spencer has arrived! 

This is the Spencer:

I plugged it in and it automatically turned on, I didn't have to push any buttons during the set up stage but this is what it looked like, it was very quick:

The bottom tabs are: health reading, medication list/ schedule/meds to go, support/appointments and tools (where you'd find settings).

Here is the tools tab and settings options:

Here is the health readings tab:

Here is the medications tab:

If you'd like to make changes to your schedule you may contact the pharmacy and change it for your next fill, I called them to change my 9:30am pills to 10am, as it would better fit my life schedule but for the time being it will be 9:30am, I hope I don't miss any doses as you'd again have to call the pharmacy for further instruction.

After a period of time, not in use during dispensing or other uses, the screen goes black, I'm very happy with that, as I didn't like the big print and lighted up screen to always be lit and disturbing me while I work, as I don't have kitchen space for it, so it sits next to me at my table.

Today is now January 28th 2022 and it is 9:30am, time to take my medication, the Spencer will let out an alert sound (that you can change the volume on in the settings menu) and the screen will prompt you to dispense the medication, in which you click the button to dispense, wait for the screen to say READY, to remove your medication pack.

Here is a photo of the prompts:

You remove the pack from the slot in the bottom, it will look like this:

The pack will have the medication in it, and will state the date, your name and the name of the medication.

They state in the video tutorial to rip along the arrow to open BUT I did not see an arrow anywhere on the pack so I just found at the top it was easy to rip, opening it there. (Remember to cross out or scribble out your name before throwing the pack away, as your full last name will be printed on the pack.)

I want to mention the very helpful video tutorials, that will teach you about settings, taking meds on the go, how to insert medication refills and much more; consult them or call the pharmacy if you have any questions.

Today is February 5th 2022 and I got an email with a 50 dollar Amazon gift card from the Spencer company, to thank me for joining their program. I used it right away and I want to thank them for the generous gift!

I wanted to make note their pharmacy is not open on the weekend, I wanted to let you know so it doesn't come as a surprise, like it did for me.

For monthly payment they will send you an email regarding payment invoice and instructions for auto-payment if you wish OR interac etransfer for payment, they also give you options to pay in installments but I pay upfront.

It's now May 3rd 2022 and I have been using my Spencer every day and I wanted to give my thoughts and "final" review.

So I am overall happy with my Spencer. The reminder each day to take my meds and take them on time is great but it doesn't work for reminding you to take them once you take your meds to go, that's then on you and I often forget to take my afternoon medication while I'm out but I guess I'll never be fixed of that haha.

I find it's easy to use the Spencer and very educational, if I have further questions the pharmacy is a call away and always helpful.

One issue I have is most times it's not easy to rip the medication package, I often struggle to open the package or need to use scissors; I guess it's not a big deal but where I have my Spencer set up it's not the most convenient for me.

Overall I recommend Spencer to others and would likely buy it all over again. I rate my overall experience and how I feel about the Spencer a 4/5.

Note: I will want to update this again down the road if I come into changes like changing medications, adding or stopping medications or changing doctors but I can't review this currently as I have no current medical changes to report for review.

Note: I wanted to mention, twice when I've used it the Spencer when dispensing makes an awful sound, this is when the pill package is stuck, I got an error. I just took the refill box out of the machine, fiddled with the stuck package and then put it back in. This has happened when it's usually at the end of the refill or near the end, or just stuck for no reason.

Update: I have been using my Spencer for almost 10 months now and I have to admit, they have a poor billing system. They dont give me invoices "on time" BUT I still get my medication. I am being invoiced for a few months at a time IT SEEMS, so I'm not invoiced and billed each month like you would a regular pharmacy, like I did prior to this. BUT I am most peeved that they once called me for my first invoice but not a single call since then, I MYSELF had to go out of my way to call the pharmacy and request an invoice on what I'm owing. In the first email (and second invoice) I received the woman wanted me to confirm if I've paid it or not, she had no idea about my first and prior payment or that I hadnt yet paid the second one, I had to go looking into my bank statement to confirm that I had not paid for the second invoice yet, so I JUST NOW paid both the second and new third invoices. (Note I always have the money, Im just not being billed properly until I reach out.)

I currently rate the Spencer experience a 3.5/5.

Update: Since my complaint about their billing system, I was contacted with an invoice on their own accord and I didn't have to reach out, which is great. We will see if this keeps up.

Update: I've been using the Spencer about a year now and their billing continues to be inconsistent. 

Update I've been using the Spencer for a year and 8 months, I continued to request my invoices but today I was emailed they are finally caught up and I will no longer need to reach out unless it doesn't arrive by the end of the mon month but that invoices should now be sent out in bulk. I will give it some time and see if this actually happens.

Note: I had forgotten to mention, a few weeks ago I had difficulty receiving my medication, it normally arrives Tuesday night but after waiting on it and calling the pharmacy twice, the driver delivered it by Thursday night. I had such worries they would not arrive in time to take them Friday. This has happened maybe once before but it depends on who is the driver, one of them calls if it's arriving another day, this was someone new, so I had no idea where my meds were for 3 days. I got my medication but I was mad for days. Last week it was my usual driver and he arrived on time, he's the one who calls me anytime there is an issue, he's great.

Update: I got my first invoice since the last update and I did not need to request it, it arrived on the 12th, for the month's prior invoice. I hope this continues, so I don't have to reach out anymore.

Update: I have been with Spencer 2 years and 5 months, today is October 18th 2024. I was to receive my most recent box yesterday and start it today, it did not arrive this week but I luckily have extra medication but nothing for bedtime Monday and onward. We will see what happens.

Update: I received my medication two days late but I'm happy to have them. I have never been delivered to on the weekend but the driver stated he got them from another driver who was not coming to my city. This new driver I have had once before and he texts me, it's been great; he also apologized for the delay. 

I currently rate the Spencer experience a 3/5.