Weight Loss Aids – More Natural Diet Pills

by SBL Editor on May 21, 2012

Diet pills are tempting. After all, who wouldn’t prefer a quicker way to lose weight? Stimulant- based diet pills certainly succeed in giving an extra boost in energy, and sometimes suppress appetite depending on the ingredients list. Getting a synthetic boost in energy might make it easier to talk yourself into a workout after a long day at work, if you can tolerate the stimulant effects, but that’s a big if.  There is a reason diet pills have a bad reputation – most of them do more harm that good to your body. It is also impossible to know what’s really in some of those “proprietary blends”, so the jury was out to find more sensible alternatives for boosting energy and promoting fat loss.  Below are the results.
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Fitbit Ultra Activity Tracker Review

by SBL Editor on April 16, 2012

The Fitbit Ultra makes fitness addictive, really.  I can’t get enough of it.  As Time magazine put it “Makes getting in shape as addictive as checking Facebook and Twitter”. I did several nights of research on the top competitors in the “activity tracker” market – the Nike Fuel Band, the Fitbit original and Fitbit Ultra. (The Jawbone “Up” would have been a competitor here but they’ve halted production due to battery issues.) I settled on the Fitbit Ultra because of it’s ability to monitor sleep, plus all of the geeky graphs and charts available on the Fitbit web dashboard.

What’s in the package: Keep Reading

Vegetable Gardening: How much is too much?

March 25, 2012
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It’s easy to get excited about gardening when warmer temperatures arrive. We’ve been inside all winter, so the second the ground thaws and trees begin to bud, our collective green thumbs get an itch and we start planning our vegetable gardens. The trouble with planning a garden when you’re excited is the same trouble you [...]

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Go Naked – I Mean, Paperless…

March 24, 2012

More than a third of collected recyclables in the US , by weight, consist of paper.  The United States boasts a 63 percent recycling rate on paper – not too shabby considering we use about 71 millions tons of the stuff a year. The amount recovered averages 334 pounds per person.*  About a third of that unrecoverable 206 [...]

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Easy Spring Sangria

March 23, 2012

Nothing greets warmer temperatures like sangria, and you really don’t even need a recipe. Sangria is hard to make incorrectly, and every batch can be different!  It’s best to pick fruits that are in season, but earlier in the season when yields are low and cravings are high – a touch of flavored brandy will [...]

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Baked Brussels Sprouts

March 20, 2012
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Brussels Sprouts are in season year round, from California June – January, and from Mexico December – June. It’s not uncommon to find them still on the stalk during winter and early spring – which can look rather alien. Remove from stalk if this is the case, and follow the directions below for a much [...]

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A Note from a Recovering Keurig Addict: It’s too expensive!

March 7, 2012
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The trouble with making coffee in the mornings is that I haven’t yet had any coffee. I blame my father for this one – he started putting “coffee milk” in my sippy cup before I could walk. In fact, he thinks there is something wrong with people who don’t drink coffee – like a strange correlation between coffee [...]

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Current NY Times BestSeller: “Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking”

March 1, 2012

Book Description from Amazon.com Publication Date: January 24, 2012 At least one-third of the people we know are introverts. They are the ones who prefer listening to speaking, reading to partying; who innovate and create but dislike self-promotion; who favor working on their own over brainstorming in teams. Although they are often labeled “quiet,” it [...]

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Simple Tip: Keep Your Linens & Stored Clothing Fresh The Easy (and Cheap) Way

February 3, 2012
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It’s time to put away cozy winter sweaters and bring out spring colors and raincoats. Get out your storage containers, switch your closets, and cut the soap – yes, the soap! For stored clothing in closets, take a bar of your favorite scented soap and cut it in half – put half in the top [...]

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