Natural Balance Holiday Pack For Dogs

Natural Balance Holiday Pack

Samples provided for review.

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, can you believe it? I’d be lying if I said I was even slightly prepared. Between traveling earlier in the month and being sick all this past week, I haven’t gotten much done other than putting up my tree. I imagine I’ll be spending most of tomorrow wrapping presents (Presuming I’m not still coughing my lungs up). Fortunately for me, I have one present all ready to go!

This Natural Balance Dog Holiday Pack retails for $5.99 on Chewy.com and is the perfect gift for the special pooch on your holiday list. Each pack contains a bag of L.I.T. Limited Sweet Potato & Chicken Treats for Small Breeds, Chicken Ultra Premium Canned Formula and Premium Dog Food Roll Turkey Formula, all nestled inside a fun festive box. Just add a gift tag and it’s ready to go! The first pack I received was missing two of the items by mistake, so Chewy quickly remedied this and shipped out a second set, containing all the items as usual. This is a great, effortless present for Bob that I don’t even have to wrap thanks to the cute packaging! Yeah!

Do you buy presents for your pup?

Holiday Gift Guide 2013: The Virginian on DVD & Blu-Ray

The Virginian

A promotional DVD will be provided for this post.

If you’re looking for a last-minute gift for the hard-to-shop-for man on your list – Christmas is next week, aaahhhhh!!!! – then why not check out an updated version of a western classic? The Virginian is a contemporary version of the well-known television show. Starring Trace Adkins and Ron Perlman, this action/western film follows a brutal ranch enforcer and the city slicker writer who investigates him. It’s available at Walmart on DVD for $14.93 and Blu-Ray for $19.97. Click here to check it out online!

Still from The Virginian

Total Gym XLS: Week 15 Recap

Total Gym Handle

We received a complimentary Total Gym XLS for the purposes of this series; this post also contains affiliate links. This article is an account of our personal experience only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, prevent or cure any medical condition. Always consult with physician before embarking on any fitness program.

It’s week 15 using the Total Gym XLS:

Measurements Week 15

This week’s update is short and sweet, simply because I wasn’t here! With my trip to Michigan, I was gone for the large part of the week and wasn’t here to use my XLS. However, this didn’t negatively impact my measurements this week which is great, and I certainly got a different kind of exercise running around airports while I was traveling. 😉 Jai hasn’t been able to use the machine as much recently because he’s been doing a lot of construction and is already very sore from that, so he has to be careful not to overdo it and end up with muscle soreness that impacts his work. His strategy for this coming week is to take advantage of all the great stretches he can do on the Total Gym and see what opposite muscle groups he can find to work out.




Are you traveling for the holidays? How does it affect your workout routine?

My First Trip to Michigan

Ford

Travel and all related consideration provided by Ford Motors.

Last week, I traveled to Dearborn, Michigan to attend Ford‘s annual news briefing & holiday reception on behalf of MiscFinds4u. It was my first visit to the state, and I had a great time!

America's Best-Selling Truck

I arrived on Wednesday night and enjoyed a nice dinner at The Henry Hotel, where I stayed for the duration of my visit. The next morning, I took a bus with the other guests to the Ford Motor Company Conference & Event Center for the unveiling of Ford’s annual trend report, Looking Further with Ford 2014. We were also briefed on company news and developments, and got a close-up look at the Ford Fusion Hybrid automated research vehicle, which Ford created with The University of Michigan and State Farm in order to further develop driverless car technology.

Ford Fusion Hybrid Automated Research Vehicle

After the news briefing, we were able to choose a breakout session to attend to get an in-depth look at various aspects of Ford’s history and current product development – I chose to attend a 3D printing session at the Beech Daly Technical Center, and it was a fascinating experience. I was taken on a tour of the facility to watch industrial 3D printers in action and get a glimpse at the prototypes produced using this method. I even had the chance to get my hands in a vat of nylon dust!

At the end of our tour, everyone in attendance was given a cell phone holder manufactured in one of their 3D printing machines. I thought this was the coolest souvenir – not to mention really useful, I’ve been using it ever since I got home!

Cell Phone Holder Made Using 3D Printing

After the breakout session, there was a quick rest period before we all headed over to Ford’s yearly Holiday Reception. This was a fun party that had everything from a Mustang pool table and toy car races to a candy conveyor belt!

Beeb at The Ford Holiday Reception

I even took home a custom Ford Christmas ornament, which I hung on my tree right next to my Maroon 5 bauble.

Ford Christmas Ornament

The following morning, I flew back to the Pacific Northwest and had an adventure with flight delays at Sea-Tac, which is what I get for traveling on Friday the 13th. 😉 But I eventually made it back to Portland and enjoyed a delicious dinner with a friend before heading home to Seaside and passing out.

I had an awesome time during my trip, and this recap barely scratches the surface of everything I saw and did. For detailed recaps, videos, and photos, be sure to follow MiscFinds4U all this week for my coverage!

Total Gym XLS: Week 14 Recap

Total Gym Workout DVDs

We received a complimentary Total Gym XLS for the purposes of this series; this post also contains affiliate links. This article is an account of our personal experience only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, prevent or cure any medical condition. Always consult with physician before embarking on any fitness program.

It’s week 14 with the Total Gym XLS:

Total Gym Week 14 Measurements

This week, I’ve been really digging in to the stack of DVDs that came with our XLS. I’ve really been enjoying the AbCrunch Workout With Rob Glick, which is the the companion piece to the AbCrunch attachment. It’s a short DVD, so it would be easy to do if you were time crunched for ab crunches (Har har), but it’s a killer workout. I have done it twice in the last week and my abs are so sore – in a good way – that it hurts to laugh! Jai was also impressed with how much of a workout this gave him.

I’ve been combining the AbCrunch with other ab and upper body exercises from the deck of workout cards and working out for about an hour. On “Alternating” days, I’ve been having fun looking at some of the other DVDs: Last night I did part of the upper body portion of the 5-Day Advanced Program, and last week I had a look at the GRAVITYPilates Infused Core. The Pilates DVD works your legs a lot, so I ended up shelving it for later since I didn’t want to put too much strain on my knees; I already did some kneeling AbCruch exercises earlier in the week, so it’s important that I don’t push it too much, since my knees do still get sore easily from working out and I have no desire to re-injure myself by going too hard. This makes it more challenging to get a full body workout in, and I have to get creative to think of how I can alternate muscle groups each day, but that’s totally OK!

I’ve been fighting to make more time in my schedule to take care of myself, which is why I’m enjoying spending more time using the Total Gym. This hour of working out includes my warm-up and cool-down stretches, flipping through the DVDs, adjusting the machine, and so forth. I worked out like this for several days last week, with one day being a quick and simple workout as I didn’t have as much time, and two days off. It’s so awesome being able to modify my workout routine around what’s going on, rather than having to say, “Oh, I guess I can’t do weights today because the gym closed before I could get there.”




What has your workout routine been like this week?

Holiday Gift Guide 2013: Stocking Stuffers For Gadget Guys

CableKeeps

Product provided for review.

In the last few years, it’s become a fun tradition for me to stuff Jai’s stocking with little gadget/techie items. From Santa USB drives one year to an HDMI cable dangling out of his stocking the next, it’s a lot of fun for me to find little items that will be useful to him. One of my finds this year is CableKeeps, a product from Nice by design. These products are designed to be a combination cable and iPhone holder.

Goldie

I received “Goldie“, a fun CableKeeps character shaped like a goldfish. (Perfect for aquarium-loving Jai!) The idea is that Goldie provides a holder for your iPhone or iPod plug, allowing you to wrap the cord around its body and prop your phone up on his fins. As someone who often has her iPhone cable dangling on the floor by the nearest outlet, I can see why this is a cool idea!

Nibbles

I also received “Nibbles“, who is designed for iPads. This will be a great little gift for one of my iPad-loving pals!

Goldie and Nibbles retail for $16 each – pick yours up at Nicebydesign.com!

Decorating For Christmas

Our Christmas Tree 2013

Jai and I put our Christmas decorations up last night! This is our tree for 2013.

Maroon 5 Bauble

Mini Stocking

Santa SpongeBob

Knitted Snowman

Angel

Fairy

Vintage Cracker

Tree Topper

Santa

Snowman

Cracker & Bauble

Our Tree!

The stockings are hung by the “Mantle”:

Stockings on The Mantle

And this year, I set out this vintage egg nog set in the kitchen on the new shelves that Jai built when we finished renovating this room over the summer:

Egg Nog Set

Egg Nog Glasses

Have you decorated your house for the holidays? If so, link me to your pics, I’d love to see them!

Twinkies, Facebook, And Prizes!

Twinkie Sweepstakes

This is a sponsored post.

Do you like posting photos on Facebook? Do you enjoy eating Twinkies? How about winning prizes? Well in that case, my friend, I have the trifecta of awesome for you. Hostess is running a sweepstakes on its Facebook page in support of Despicable Me 2 where they challenge fans to take a Twinkie, decorate it to look like a minion from the movie, and upload it to their Facebook page via the Twinkie Minion Makeover tab. If you’re at a loss as to how to best dress up your favorite snack, then you can download their PDF file of printable cutouts which you can place on your Twinkie to get it photo-ready.

Once your picture is submitted, you’ll have the chance to win the daily prize of a Despicable Me 2 Blu-ray and special offers from Hostess. One lucky grand prize winner will take home a year’s supply of hostess products (Perfect for future photo-ops) and a home theater system complete with a full Blu-ray library (30 discs). The sweepstakes ends on January 5th, 2014 and is open to permanent US residents 13+ – click here to read the official rules.

Total Gym XLS: Week 13 Recap

Total Gym With Exercise Cards

We received a complimentary Total Gym XLS for the purposes of this series; this post also contains affiliate links. This article is an account of our personal experience only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, prevent or cure any medical condition. Always consult with physician before embarking on any fitness program.

It’s lucky week 13 with the Total Gym XLS – here’s our measurements:

Measurements  - Week 13

It’s totally awesome having the Total Gym around during a busy holiday week like this one, where I had not only Thanksgiving treats but also served as a judge for a cookie contest! Between all these extra calories and added activities with family, friends, and work, it’s easy for the holiday season to throw us off. But fortunately, by having the XLS right in my office, I can get a quick workout in no matter what’s going on. Regular gyms close on holidays like Thanksgiving – but my gym is ready for me anytime I need it – any day, any hour! And I’m gonna need it to work off all the cookies I had to taste as a judge. 😉




How do you keep your fitness momentum going during the holidays?