Hi, I'm Lisa...a SAHM to my sweet daughter Jasmine (a happy toddler), and a fairly new resident of the State of Connecticut. Wife to Ron and mom also to three cute kitties, I keep pretty busy. In my previous life I was a paramedic and hospital administrator/strategic planner. I have a tremendous and abiding interest in all things health care!! I'm an Epinions newbie (but having fun learning all about it). Love my computer time!

My chief interests are: parenting my daughter (pictured above) and especially going to parks, village collecting, nutrition and vegetarian cooking (not a vegetarian but trying to eat more vegetables), home decor, scrapping, (mostly) all kinds of music, reading medical thrillers, watching movies, hiking, my three kitties, The Sims, Ebay, and lots else.

Products I love NOT found listed on Epinions yet...Stewarts Orange Cream Soda (I also love the Key Lime flavor), Origins Ginger Essence Cologne Spray, Stila Lip Gloss, BeneFit Lightning Body Lotion, Body@Best bath products, Department 56 StoryBook Village (a collectible), Creepy Hollow (Halloween Village), West Farms Mall (CT), Lifetime Movie Network, The Music Class, Avent Magic Cup (No-Spill Sippy Cups/Lids), Mega Bloks Mr. Piano, Embryonics Mozart Magic Cube, FP Little People "Eddie goes to the Doctor" set, Tomy Ball Party Connecting Bridge (and more to come).

You will mainly find me in the Kids and Family section on Epinions (heck, that's what I spend the bulk of my cash on!), but you'll also find me branching out into book reviews of medical thrillers and hospital novels, music reviews, and health and beauty product reviews. I'm trying to do some reading and rating in the books and music sections now to get into that mode!

BTW, I end up doing a lot of my Epinions reading and rating (R/R) while nursing my daughter. Therefore I can't always leave comments as often as I'd like (I'm one of those people who CAN'T type while nursing!!). If you ever have a question on why I rated your opinion the way I did, just email me. I'll be happy to explain and even give the opinion a reread.

How I Rate (this paragraph in progress)

I am trying to rate fairly consistently...I do enjoy reading reviews and I always want to be fair!

Very Helpful. For me, VH reviews are ones that (above all) describe the product in DETAIL (I want to know how it looks, what it feels like, sound like, smells like (if that's applicable LOL). I want you to explain the product for the reader that has never encountered the product at all. I also want to know how you or your family or friends has PERSONALLY experienced the product. How does your child play with the toy (and it always helps to give your child's age)? What do you like or dislike about the product? A very helpful review helps me to make a purchasing decision on its own...I don't feel like I have to read more reviews in order to decide whether or not to buy the product.

Helpful. For me, Helpful reviews help me make a purchasing decision but they do not go into as much detail (in describing the product or in relaying your personal experience with the product) as Very Helpful reviews. When I read a Helpful review, I do feel like I need to read more reviews before making a purchasing decision.

Somewhat Helpful. These reviews are reviews that may give me one or two lines of description about the product and/or merely tell me you liked or disliked the product but don't tell me why. They are reviews that mention, just a little about the product but that make me feel like I still don't know what the product is all about. Basically, they are reviews that leave me feeling flat when I read them.

How I Select for my Web of Trust (this paragraph in progress)
There are three things I look at before I place people on my Web of Trust... First, do you consistently write reviews that really help me make purchasing decisions, that really tell me about both the product (fully describing it, telling me how it works (or why it doesn't) and how you or your family EXPERIENCE with the product (for example, how does your child play with the toy, or how do you use the product). Second, do you tend to rate reviews the way I do. Do I find myself rating reviews VH when you do...or SH when you do, etc.. That way I know, we are of similar minds on Epinions. Third, do we share significant interests in common? I may really enjoy your reviews, but if they are on products I don't use (or don't expect to use in the future), I may end up reading a lot of your reviews, but I probably won't place you on my WOT. OTOH, if we have significant interests-in-common, then I am more apt to place you on my WOT (and I definitely won't want to miss your reviews!).