New Gadgets: IRoast2 and TomTom GO 720

Exciting news this weekend...we've added new gadgets to our collection! Anyone who knows me and E knows we love to tinker with new gadgets. We're very excited about our new toys so I thought I'd share.

After last week's fiasco in San Diego, I decided I needed my very own GPS system that I could take on the road, because apparently you can't rely on Hertz to have one available (even if you reserve in advance). After hours of research, I decided on the TomTom GO 720. It has a lot of really cool features, including the ability to make edits to the map if you find errors and then upload them to a community of other users, live traffic and weather updates using your cell phone's data plan, and a variety of voices. I haven't had a chance to test it fully yet, but I did run errands yesterday and enjoyed it very much!

E's new gadget is the IRoast2. After months of trying to roast our own coffee beans in the garage, E finally broke down and bought a real coffee roaster. For those of you not in the know, coffee beans actually start losing their freshness from the time they are roasted, and they will last for a very long time in their green, unroasted state. So roasting them at home gets you the freshest beans available. I'm pretty sure that most coffee shops (and definitly Starbucks) all use pre-roasted beans. Previously we were using a jury rigged device made mostly from an old popcorn maker. E blew up several popcorn makers before finally deciding to buy the IRoast.

We haven't roasted coffee yet with it because FedEx didin't deliver it till 10:30 last night, but it is also loaded with cool features.

Maybe I'll post reviews when we've fully had a chance to play with both toys.

Kittens in a Bag

There are 7 girls in a bus Each girl has 7 backpacks

In each backpack, there are 7 big cats

For every big cat there are 7 little cats

Question: How many legs are there in the bus?

Solar Panels - Part 2

No sooner did I publish my last post on being green, than low and behold a solution showed up on our front door.

I came home the following evening and found a flyer on my door with an invitation to a local community meeting on solar panels. Last night I learned about the financial benefits available with photovoltaic solar panels.

I came to find out that there are several rebate programs available through the local utility company, plus there is an IRS Tax Credit. Not only that, but if you are energy wise and generate more electricity with your panels than you use, you can actually sell the he excess back to the grid and could see a return on your investment.

I am in love with this solution. The biggest appeal to me is that (1) the solar panels provide benefit all year long, and (2) it is an opportunity to give back to the community. The solar system we have been looking into creates heat. Now this is all fine and dandy on days like today when the high outside is a chilly 25 degrees, but in Denver (beleive it or not) these days are few. Probably 7 out of 12 months we do not use our heater. If the panels create electricity, we can use it all year--and even power the AC with it!

Who says you can't have everything? I still need to set up time for the solar sales guy to come evaluate our home and put together a proposal, so it's not like this is a done deal--in fact E didn't even go to last nights meeting--but I have a good feeling about it.

It's Not Easy Being Green

In the years that my husband and I have been together, he has taught me many things. The two key values he has tried to impress upon me are frugality and concern for the environment.

Now this is not to say that I was completely absent of these values prior to meeting E (well, maybe I didn't even know what frugal meant), but they definitely did not drive my life. Yes, like everyone, I said I thought we should do our part to save the environment...but it's an easy thing to say.

Now that we are proud homeowners, he has organized all of his spare time around fulfilling these two goals: saving money and being "green". He's even started his own blog on the subject.

I, on the other hand, seem to have inadvertently organized myself around resisting his goals. I dread almost every aspect of making our home more economical and green. For me, meeting E's values means this: being cold at home, ugly solar panels, funky thermal curtains and/or blinds, noisy attic fan, and sacrificing cool AC for a less cool swamp cooler.

I'm torn in a dilemma that I know I've faced before: looking good vs. honoring my word. Why does so much of my life boil down to this? I know that the right thing to do (and the thing that will ultimately make me most proud) is to be on E's side about this and support it all. But there's this big part of me that just wants to have the prettiest, coolest, and best house on the block.

So what is there to do?

Just over a year ago, we created a goal of "having it all". I think I will recreate that goal for myself. Why not live for a future where we can have a green home, and be the best house on the block? What can it hurt to try?

Business Travel Diversions

Over the past year, I've become a semi frequent business traveller. I say semi, because compared to some of my co-workers my travel is light--but by many people's standard I am just a straight up frequent flyer.

Whenever possible, I come up with little diversions to keep myself entertained. Yesterday, for reasons I prefer not to go into because the wounds are still sore, I found myself in San Diego for pretty much no reason at all. So I went to the world famous San Diego Zoo.



By the time I found my way to the zoo and recovered from being hopelessly lost and missing my meeting, I had about 2 hours to spend. This was enough time to see the primates, and little else. But they were worth it!

The area that I enjoyed most was the orangutans. With only a plexiglass wall seperating the humans from the orangutans, it was quite an experience for everyone. I truly think that the animals were just as interested in the people as the people were in them. I tried to capture a video with my phone of one cuious little girl, who wanted to play catch and examine the contents of each and every purse.

How To Open A Jar

As anyone who knows me can attest, there are few things in life that I love so much as a nice snack of chips & salsa. Headed home tonight in a foul mood, I stopped by the store for a little pick me up and decided to try a new brand. I got two jars, each different flavors. I headed home and promptly sat myself down for a snack, only to find the lids on not one but both jars hopelessly stuck.

I found this video on YouTube that pretty much explains how I was feeling:



As I entered "Phase 9", I decided to do some more research and found a very helpful post on YahooAnswers. Here is the best response I found, with a little addition from me:

Tap it. Use a knife or the edge of a counter to knock little notches
in the rim in two or three places. This seems to loosen the seal and has
worked for me more times than not in my salsa eating life.

Burp it. Take a teaspoon or butter knife, look under the rim of the lid for
the areas that like they have been pressed. Wedge your utensil under there and
push on it, sending the rim outward (like a crowbar). Once you break the seal it
will be easy to open.

Spank it. Hold the jar in your left hand while your right hits the bottom
in an upward motion a couple of times.

Ram it. Turn it upside down on the counter, pick it up and making sure it's
level, bang it down hard. Not too hard, you'll break it. Just hard enough to
break the seal.

Today, the Burp It method won.

“A goal is a dream with a deadline.”

Rather than resolutions, I do New Years Goals. I think a resolution implies that you need to fix or change some part of your life, and lets face it, nobody wants to be fixed. So instead I do goals. My life is full of goals, and over the past couple of years I've done a pretty good job at hitting them. In the past I've limited them to finance, this year I'm going to create goals for other areas of life as well.

Career

• Support E in finding a job he loves where we can spend more time together during the week (he should be working at new job by December 31, 2008)
  
• Reach or exceed all of my sales goals at FWI
  
• Mentor a new salesperson who will love working at FWI and have that person be in outside sales by year end
  

Finances

• Combined household income of $200K or more


• Add at least $30K to Savings/Investments


• Pay down student loans at a rate of $1000/month


• Pay additional $500/month toward mortgage

Household

• Spend at least 15 minutes 5 days per week on housework


• Paint all living areas of the house to fit my dream house


• Complete phase 1 of landscaping for under $5,000 (lawn, patio, some trees & shrubs)

Social

• Host 3 parties at our house


• Engage with at least 2 recreational activities where we can make new friends as a couple


• Add at least 3 new friends to my social network
  

Recreation & Travel

• Travel to see our families in California, Washington, and Maryland


• 1 Vacation to someplace with a beach


• Try at least 3 new activities


• Go on at least 2 backpacking trips

The Dog, The Cat & The Rat

I received this video by email today and thought it was worth sharing. Be sure to also read the accompanying story.

This is a video of a homeless guy in Santa Barbara and his pets. You
can see these guys every week working State St . for donations. The
animals as you can see are pretty well fed and I can attest to how mellow
they are. They are a family. The man who owns them rigged a harness up
for his cat so she wouldn't have to walk so much (like the dog and
himself). At some juncture the rat came along and as no one wanted to eat
anyone else, the rat started riding with the cat and often on the cat
!
The dog, will stand all day and let you talk to him and admire his
altruistic we are one personality for a few chin scratches. The Mayor
of Santa Barbara filmed this clip and sent it out as a Christmas
card. If they can do it, why can't we??

Yoga Purrs

This is a picture of my three kitties in a rare snuggle moment. The newest addition's constant purr struck my curiousity, and I came across the following web site while resarching the science of the purr.

http://yogapurrs.com/

"Yoga Purrs is for everyone who strives for inner tranquility. Whether it be
through yoga, meditation, tea, chocolate, family time, playing games, dreaming,
stargazing, painting, drawing… well, you get the idea.

Cats are experts at inner tranquility.

Cats are also nature’s Yoga Master’s. Who hasn’t wondered at a cat’s
flexibility and grace? A cat will relax in several different ‘cat asanas’ during
the day. Anyone who owns a cat has observed cat yoga.

Cats are also naturals when it comes to meditation. How often have we
seen a cat ’sitting quietly, doing nothing’. Cats can ‘just be’ and radiate
peace around them in doing so. Often softly purring the whole time.

Which brings us to a cat’s mantra - The Purr.

The purr has the power to heal. According a leading scientific journals, cats purr at a
consistent pattern and frequency that can improve bone density and promote
healing. Extensive documentation suggests that these frequencies are
therapeutic, aid bone growth, fracture healing, pain relief, reduction of
swelling, relief of dyspepsia and breathlessness.

Our yoga kitty reminds us all to seek out own ‘inner purr’, however we
may do this. When we find it, we will benefit from healing energy, relief from
stress and a deep sense of peace. For cat lovers, yogis, mediators, and for
folks celebrating joy in life, we offer Yoga Purrs.

Be well. Find your inner purr. "