A few of my favorite things

In the past couple of months I have come across a few how-in-the-big-blue-world-did-I-ever-live-without-you things.  I'm so smitten with them I decided a blog post singing their praises was in order.

1.  This baby.  I'm a little embarrassed to admit I spent over $20 dollars on a water bottle when I won't spend anything over $10 on pants. Shows were my priorities are I guess ;). Let me tell you though...it is worth every penny!  I take this sucker with me everywhere.  Even to bed. It's durable, doesn't leak, light-weight, pretty, fits in my cup holders in my car, fun to drink out of and very well insulated.  I accidentally left it in my broiling hot car for several hours while I was shooting a wedding in the middle of summer, when I finally retrieved it it still had ice floating in it.  It's that good. It's also very easy to carry. The little loop thing on top makes it possible to carry with one finger which comes in handy when I'm lugging around children, camera equipment, and groceries.

2. Podcasts.  Dave is in charge of cleaning and updating our phones.  I'm in charge of losing them and cracking the screens about every two months... but that's beside the point.  Anyway, after the most recent update (thank you, honey) I noticed a new icon for podcasts.  After exploring it a bit I found myself in heaven.  I am totally addicted to listening to podcasts. They have podcasts on every subject imaginable. Why didn't anyone tell me sooner?! I listen to podcasts on cycling, nutrition, running, current events, photography, history, parenting, general conference etc.  I listen to them in the car, while editing, on walks, while mopping and folding laundry, while spinning on the trainer, while making dinner.... you get the point.  I even found several that the kiddos love and will listen to with me.  In fact Emma is hooked on the National Geographic, How Things Work and Storynory podcasts. 

3. This bread. The petite loaves are perfect for packing for lunches. Not to mention, they are SOOO delicious and I'm in love with the fact they are made with all whole wheat and have very little butter and sugar in them.

4. The Waze app.  It's no secret that I get lost easily.  Something about directions and maps turn my brain into a puddle of mush.  In fact, I got a call from Emma's friend's mom letting me know that Emma was concerned I wouldn't be able to find my way to her little friend's birthday party and had asked her if she would call and give me directions.  The kicker?  The party was just below our house at the lake.  Dear, sweet, Emma... ha!  Anyway, the waze app allows me to enter my destination into it and then it's freaky-fake-lady voice gives me simple, concise directions until I get there.  It also warns of upcoming traffic, hazards or cops.  It's pretty much a lifesaver.  Although my mountain seems to confuse it quite a bit.  Good thing I at least know how to get off the mountain on my own... despite what Emma may think ;)

5.  Rumble strips.  We have a lot of narrow, winding roads and rumble strips around where we live.  Anytime I would accidentally hit one Canyon would gasp and get a huge worried look on his face.  I decided to alleviate his fear of the rumble strips by telling him it was simply a big, hairy, sharp-toothed monster trying to get through the bottom of our car to eat our eyes out.  Heh. Heh. Now every time we hit a rumble strip he yells, "Oh!!! Eyes!!" and covers his eyes as fast as he can.  Pretty much the funniest and cutest thing I have ever seen. Don't judge.

6. The Strava app.  Yes, yes, another app.  Dave introduced me to this one and I use it to track all of my runs and rides now. I already take my phone with me on runs/rides for safety reasons and music and love that it now works as a GPS too. When comparing it to Dave's Garmin it is pretty darn accurate.  I love how it is set up and that it saves all my past excursions so I can compare and contrast.

I'm also a big fan of the fact that ride details such as elevation, splits, etc. is all readily available to view afterwards without having to download it to the computer first like Dave's Garmin.  Fun note- this is actually a screen shot of my "flat" ride. Love me all the hills and climbing around here. I may not have loved them at first but they are definitely growing on me.