Fab Find: The Polar F^ Heart Rate Monitor

First off, I have to say how proud of myself that I am.  I started exercising again in October and have stuck with it for seven whole months!!!  (Pat on the back for me!)  For my birthday, B got me this awesome heart rate monitor by Polar USA, the F6.  So simple to use, I just strap a monitor around my chest and strap a watch to my wrist each time I work out.  I went the sensor on the monitor down, click the button on the side of the watch a few times and it monitors my heart rate throughout my workout.  But it not only monitors my heart rate, it calculates how many calories I have burned – which is awesome when it gets nice and you can be outside again!  I have found that certain things that I didn’t think would burn much, actually burn much more and certain things don’t burn as much as you thought they did!  I have also figured out that the calorie counters on the machines at the gym?  Yeah, not accurate at all.

When you first get your monitor, you enter in a bunch of information about yourself, height, weight, age – everything.  Then that information paired with your heart rate determines how many calories you have burned during exercise.  (Machines at the gym do not take into account your height and your heart rate when calculating how many calories you have burned, thus its inaccuracy.)

B got my monitor off of eBay for about $90.  A little pricy, but these things can get up to $500.  If you want to get really into it, you can download your information from your watch to your PC and track your progress.  (I am not that into it… yet.)  When I first got it, I wasn’t sure how much I’d actually use it, but I have actually found that it encourages me to work out more because I want my calorie burn to be higher!  Totally recommend this for every one!

Fab Find: The Nikon D3000 dSLR Camera

Holy cow guy, I am in love… This time for real!  I have always loved photography… Love, love, love pictures of anything and everything.  They say a great photographer does not depend on the camera, just like money can’t buy happiness… But it helps!  Enter my new dSLR camera – the Nikon D3000.  I was originally going to go with one slightly more expensive, (the model ran me about $700 with two lenses and a four-year service plan from Best Buy) but decided since it was my first, and I am definitely an armature, I’d start of smaller.  I don’t know if I could be any happier with a camera!  This camera is so easy to use and takes crystal clear pictures.  The settings are incredibly easy to use and it’s just FUN to have!

My next Endeavour is to read the D3000 for Dummies book… It’s gotten great reviews and I am ready to dig in a little deeper than just the preset settings.  So far the pets have been my subject as it’s just getting nice enough (and dry enough) to get outside again in Iowa, so then I can get some outside shots (my favorite.)  Below are a few of my favorites since I’ve gotten the camera – enjoy!

Fab Find: The Magic Bullet

Get your mind out of the gutter - this is the best blender EVER.  Yet another Christmas present from Santa (aka, my parents,) I requested the Magic Bullet to blend my morning protein shakes that I always drink.  I usually either make a smoothie and toss in some protein powder or make Carnation instant breakfast and add a scoop of protein powder.  Either way, protein powder needs to be blended in REALLY well in order for you not to taste it.  I had been using a regular blender, but it was cheap, loud, annoying and messy.  The Magic Bullet is super easy to use, it is made for one serving of drinks, but you can also make dips, desserts, sauces and all sorts of stuff in there!  I especially can not wait to make salsa this summer.  And guacamole. Mmmm...

It's a little on the pricey side - around $50, but totally worth it.  You get all sorts of attachments and a recipe book with it, so I say it's a good deal.  It's especially geared towards health conscious peeps and those who are watching what they eat/drink.  

You can find more information at their web site: www.buythebullet.com

Fab Find: The Slanket

I am always cold.  Always.  I run my space heater at work in July (and I get a lot of crap for it.)  I have no boundaries when it comes to what I will do to stay warm.  I will wear long underwear, spend $200 on a winter coat, wear dorky snow boots - anything.  

I am sure you have all heard of the Snuggie.  When I first saw a commercial for it, I knew it was made for me.  I was going to ask for one for Christmas, but as I usually do, I searched for reviews on the product before I made my official request.  While searching reviews, I came across the Slanket.

The Slanket is a high-end Snuggie basically.  I immediately requested one from Santa.  Sure enough, Santa delivered and I am now the proud owner of a gray Slanket.  I have compared the Slanket to the Snuggie and I will say, the Slanket was well worth the extra money.  It is thicker, softer fleece and there is much more blanket.  The sleeves are also longer, which is slightly annoying, but nothing that a few safety pins can't fix  

Oh how I love my Slanket, I am actually thinking about getting a second one for work - like I said, I have no boundaries. :)

You can find the Slanket here: http://www.theslanket.com/

Fab Find: Cuisinart Grind & Brew

Um... I've been slacking on the blog posts lately... Sorry!  I hope you all had a fabulous Christmas, Bryan and I sure did!!!  Our families were beyond generous to us!!!  I definitely got some very Fab Finds under my tree this year.  The first of them is the Cuisinart Grind & Brew coffee maker.  

Bryan is what I call a "coffee snob" and we can only drink freshly ground coffee beans, not the pre-ground stuff. I admit, the fresh ground does taste better, but the whole beans annoy me for two reasons.  1.) I find it the biggest pain in the ass to grind the beans in a grinder, and then transfer them to the coffee maker.  It adds a full two minutes to the coffee making process and I am far too impatient for that. 2.) They cost about $10/bag/week.  I am far to cheap for that.

Well, one of my annoyances has been alleviated. Enter Cuisinart Grind & Brew, the 12-cup PROGRAMMABLE coffee maker. (Our old coffee maker was not programmable, so this is very exciting to me.)  With this coffee maker, you put the water, filter and beans into one machine, press the button and *poof*  The coffee maker grinds the beans FOR YOU and then MAKES THE COFFEE.  ALL AT ONCE.  NO TRANSFERRING BEANS!

It's a little on the pricey side, $99, but I find it totally worth the investment that Santa made. :)

You can find this Fab Find here: http://www.cuisinart.com/products/coffee_bar/dgb-550bk.html

Black Friday

Black Friday is like a drug for me... I love all the sales, I get giddy and my heart starts to race just from the thought of saving 50% on ANYTHING. But I know I should not go, I know Black Friday is NOT good for me.   Usually I don't go.  Because if I were to go shopping on Black Friday, I would shop for me and not for people I need to buy Christmas presents for.  I save all my shopping for the day after Christmas.  However, Bryan's sister-in-law sent me this AWESOME web site this year that you simply MUST check out.  It's called Live Black Friday and it has all the Black Friday advertisements ALREADY!!!!  Now you have a good week to map out your Black Friday strategy and to prepare yourself for all the crowds. Enjoy!

http://liveblackfriday.com/ 

My New Lover er Computer

Yes, you've probably figured out by now that I have a lot of Love's in my life.  Here is one of my newest: My MacBook Pro!  That's right, I ditched my PC for a Mac and L-O-V-E it!!!  

Here are the things I love the most about it:

1. iPhoto - so easy to upload, organize and find pictures
2. Numbers - incredibly easy to organize my finances as well as track them with charts and categories. 
3. iTunes - I've never used iTunes before, I always used Limewire, but will never go back!  iTunes is so fast and easy and I love how it organizes my music, with album art. 
4. Safari - I stopped using Explorer when I started blogging because Explorer... Well, it just sucks.  I had been using Firefox, but Safari is much easier to navigate and much faster. 
5. Speed - there are only 14 known viruses for Macs at the moment, unlike PCs which are susceptible to... Well, a lot more (I don't know the number.)  Therefore, Macs are much, much faster.
6. Size - I travel for work about every 6 -8 weeks or so and lugging my 10+ laptop around, plus it's cords and everything else was not fun.  It made my back hurt and frankly, I just dreaded it.  My Mac weighs 4.5 pounds.  I carried it through the airport today and it was much, much more pleasant.  
7. Battery - My battery lasts 7 hours!!! Yes, 7!  Traveling today, I was able to pull it out at multiple times to use it without pulling out the cord with it!  Those of you who travel a lot, especially for work, understand how wonderful that it.  
8. Sleekness - You know me, things have to be cute! And this is cute!  So sleek, modern and hip looking.  Love walking around with it. :)

There are many more things that I love about this wonderful machine, but I will stop with my list there.  The only con to my Lover is the cost, you can definitely get a PC for half the price.  However, if anyone asked me before buying a PC, I would totally try to talk them into a Mac.  It was worth every cent!

I'm in Love

I have to thank my friend Stephanie for this next find I have... I can't believe I've gone so long without knowing about it!  Have any of you guys heard about "Real Simple" magazine?  Um, I haven't!  But I have now!  I have been pursing their web site all afternoon and have so many things I am going to be trying around our house!!!  Check out their web site: RealSimple.com, so many great tips!!!