…from 2013. And when the dog bites and the bee stings I’m grateful for them. I am the kind of person who loves anything that makes life easier. I can’t help sharing any piece of technology that alleviates an annoying thing or any food that helps maintain weight or make me feel better, or any exercise or meditation that has truly helped me. This year I came across some awesome finds.
First is a food. Belvita Breakfast Bars are amazing. They come in both a pack of four thin crispy biscuits or one soft cookie-like cake. They are not sweet so they’re perfect for an early morning meal. With a cup of tea or coffee, I’m not hungry until lunch. No other breakfast bar or shake has ever lasted that long – and I’ve tried them all. They come in many enticing flavors: brown sugar cinnamon, apple cinnamon, blueberry, and, my favorite, chocolate. (Not sweet and simply divine with Dunkin Donuts Mocha Peppermint K Cups coffee.) The soft ones come in mixed berry, cinnamon, chocolate chip, and banana bread. My husband loves them too. We get up early and it’s wonderful not to have to fuss with breakfast. Give them a try.
Next is a technological breakthrough that eliminated an annoyance at work. At Koko we are not allowed to have our phones out on the counter. We can keep them underneath the in the cabinet though and check them when the club is empty. (This is a good rule – if members see you on your phone, they hesitate to ask you for help because they think they are bothering you.) My problem is I leave my phone at work. After going all the way back to get it twice, I decided to just leave it in my bag. The downside with that is that I would get so involved in work, eleven hours would go by and I’d never check the phone. My husband and kids tell me they could die and I’d never know it. So……ta-da….enter The Pebble Smartwatch! It syncs with my phone and let’s emails, phone calls, and texts float over the face of a super cool watch. It vibrates and I glance at it. I know at all times what’s happening on my phone. You can’t respond on it – it’s purely informational. And it’s totally customizable by using the settings on my phone. If I want, I could set it to only allow texts from my husband and kids. It doesn’t save anything so there’s nothing to clean-up or delete. Genius. I love not having to dig in my bag for my phone – or remember to.
Third is my new favorite hot drink. During the summer a friend of mine stayed with me. She put a jar of honey and a container of cinnamon out on my counter. I asked what that was for. She said she drinks hot water with cinnamon and honey in it in the morning and before bed. Then she copied off a list of the health benefits . I was skeptical. I don’t care how healthy or good for me something is, I have to LOVE it to incorporate it into my life. I said what the hell and tried it. Wow. Best thing I ever drank – AND it’s good for me! Pure awesomeness. I now drink it morning and night and in the morning I dunk a green tea bag in it making it even better for me. I dare you to try it. (I use hot water from my keurig.)
Fourth is a car with a back up camera. Nuff’ said.
Fifth is the gas fire pit we built last spring. I found this great thing online and it was sold right here at the grill store. It simply sets up anywhere and you just click the natural gas line from the house to it and Voila! …fire! It even has cool ceramic logs that my daughter’s friend swore were real. We set the bricks for the wall. Filled it half way up with clamshells. Set the logs on top of the clamshells and light it with a grill lighter. No buying and hauling wood. No having half our guests sitting in smoke. No having to close the upstairs windows or the bedrooms will fill up with smoke. No sparks flying and landing on our roof. No having to interrupt conversations to fuel the fire. And…best of all…no running out of wood at height of the evening. And when it’s time for bed there’s no waiting for the fire to go out safely – just turn it off. I love my fire.
And last, but certainly not least, is my Silent Journey meditation series. I tried everything from Oprah to Dee Pak to Gabrielle Bernstein and more, and there was no meditation series that was worth spending money on other than this one. I use it every morning and the difference it has made in my days is indescribable. When the guy says at the end I’m going to count to three and you will open your eyes and be energized and ready to go, he’s NOT kidding. I jump out of my chair and off I go – no matter how bad or tired I felt when I woke up. I highly recommend clicking the link and getting the free session and trying it everyday. You’ll see. Everything it says in the ad is true. It REALLY does alleviate anxiety. Best money I ever spent.
And so, as the first days of 2014 go by, I wonder what great foods and products this new year will bring, and…I have written.
Leave a Reply