Unlike the rest of the world, fall is not my favorite season. I am not looking forward to shorter days, sweaters and falling leaves. Pumpkin spice ANYTHING is not making me happy this month. I don’t hate fall, it’s just not bringing me the same joy it seems to be sparking in everyone else.
So if I’m not all about fall, then what am I enjoying this month? I have three things that are making me happier than any latte or fall festival ever could.
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Ninja Ultima Blender
I am leading off my list with the thing that literally makes me squeal with delight right now – my Ninja Ultima Blender! I got extremely lucky at the IDEA World Fitness expo and won my choice of Ninja products. It is AMAZING. I have made everything from my first beet juice smoothie to vegan cream of broccoli soup in it. I am almost convinced that there isn’t anything this blender can’t do. The dual stage blending even made quick work of the dried dates in the Date Balls of Energy I love to make. I was impressed with how well it handled them versus my food processor (which is a pretty mean machine in it’s own right). Clean up is a snap since most of the parts are dishwasher safe. I basically want to juice everything now. I even contemplated juicing a lone zucchini leftover from another recipe just to see what happened. (No, I didn’t do it. I spiralized it instead.). I have been cured of my Vitamix envy!
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Oxygen Magazine
Oxygen Magazine is back! I hate to say this but even before Robert Kennedy Publishing went bankrupt 2 years ago Oxygen had been on a bit of decline. In my opinion they seemed to be chasing fads, recycling a LOT of old material and adding filler that had little to do with fitness. I missed the balanced strength training plans and solid science based nutrition advice that made me subscribe in the first place. Even after coming back from the bankruptcy hiatus, the magazine still felt it was lacking something, but when I sat down to read the October issue it was like being reunited with an old friend. I can say for the first time in a long I read EVERY article. I found the articles on BCAA and hiking very helpful. Even Jamie Eason was back! My fingers are crossed for a new beginning for what was once my favorite magazine.
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Lumosity
I’ve added brain training to my workout routine. Exercising your body also is great for your brain but your mind needs some workouts just for it. I got a free month of the Premium subscription to Lumosity from Starbucks and I am hooked! Each training session only lasts about 15-20 minutes and can be done from your phone, tablet or laptop. They’ve confirmed something I’ve always known: I am an excellent problem solver. I also learned that my brain performs much better after a workout than it does after an evening of training others. Sadly, my free month of premium is up but I plan to continue taking advantage of the free version. Although the workouts are shorter something is always better than nothing, right?
Falling leaves aren’t making me happy but maybe you really do LOVE fall? Are you all about chili in the crockpot and football games on the weekends? What do you love (or at least like) about fall?
