Things I like a lot
Hey, guys, I'm no Debbie Downer. So after posting two negative reviews--a great production of a play that shouldn't have been produced in the first place, and a bad production of a play that should--I thought I'd write about stuff that I like. In the past year or so, I've bought a few things that have made my life much, much better. The kinds of things you tell your friends, "You've got to get one of these!" So, since I consider all of my readers to be friends, I am going to tell you about them. And if there are products that you, too, truly love--be they high-ticket items or humble little conveniences--please share them in the comments!
1. Silicone no-stick baking sheet
I bought this at Crate & Barrel to make cookies for a neighborhood cookie exchange this Christmas. The cookies sucked, and of course I was initially irritated that I'd spent $20 on this one-time-only item. But as it turns out, I use it almost every day! Cookies are clearly not my forte, but I love roasted vegetables and baked tofu, and it's so much easier to make these with a Silpat (that's the most popular brand, I think mine is something else). You just place the sheet over a regular baking sheet, pop your veggies or tofu cubes down, season them, and bake. No need to grease the sheet, or scrape fused-on parsnip off your roasting pans. When they're done you just wipe the Silpat off with a sponge. We have a really awful kitchen with little storage space, so I am VERY conservative about buying kitchen gadgets--I can only afford to have things that I'll use a lot, so when I say a kitchen gadget is worth it, you know it is.
2. Neti pot
My neti pot, which I extolled here, is a little plastic cheapie that looks like Aladdin's lamp. Apparently, however, they come in a range of designs, including a few that really resemble bongs. If you already own a bong, you probably don't want to get a neti pot that can be confused with it, as running bong water through your sinuses would, I imagine, be a truly disgusting experience. (I love the picture of "Our son Connor using a neti pot." There's no way I could have survived having my parents put a picture of me draining my nostrils on the internet, but maybe Connor has higher self-esteem, or a more compassionate peer group, than I did as a kid.)
3. Light box
The light box wasn't a purchase for me, but for Mr. Improbable, who suffers from insomnia. Or, perhaps more accurately--I suffer from his insomnia. He's been that way since adolescence and is fairly used to it. Sitting in front of a full-spectrum light box for 20 minutes every morning hasn't entirely cured his problem, but it's helped immensely with his sleeping habits, improved his mood, and makes him actually awake in the morning. (He'd been one of those people who take about two hours to fully wake up.) I got a rather high-end one, because I figured that if I'd gotten a lesser version and it didn't work, then I'd be unsure if it wasn't working because it wasn't ever going to work or if I just didn't get a powerful enough one, and then I would probably have wound up up getting a better one anyway. The less expensive ones are probably fine (to be honest, at the point when I bought this, I was feeing rather "I Married a Zombie"-style desperate). The model I got has an automatic timer that shuts it off after your prescribed dosage of light, and of course you don't have to just sit there staring at it the whole time--you can eat breakfast, read the paper, catch up on e-mail or whatever.
They're not the most elegant addition to home decor, but entirely worth it:
4. GPS
Oh, we all know the love story of Miss Conduct and her little GPS now, don't we? Having had it for a couple of months now, I can say it really is the gift that keeps on giving. The danger of some technologies is that they allow your skills to atrophy (calculators are a good example here)--the GPS is different. I really understand how a lot of parts of Boston and environs connect in ways I didn't before. I'm a much more confident driver than I used to be. The GPS has made me more independent, not dependent upon it.
(Please note, however, that I no longer want a version with Alan Rickman's voice. I now want one that sounds like Edward James Olmos on "Battlestar Galactica." I could drive around all day listening to that voice!)
5. Clogs
Yeah, clogs. If anyone ever wanted to make a Boston-based version of "Sex and the City" featuring me and my girlfriends (Verena, the Traveling Psychologist, History Girl and her daemon Johnny Cash, the Fabulous Bureaucrats, Amazing Genius Science Girl, etc.), not only would the dialogue be a lot funnier and the problems more realistic, but strappy stiletto Manolo Blahniks would be completely displaced by Dansko clogs. (And frilly pink drinks by a decent single-malt whiskey or a full-bodied Shiraz.)
Except for me. I have these weird tall Lego feet, and Danskos don't fit me. To my delight, I recently discovered Sanitas, which do. Now I, too, have joined the clog club. What's not to love about shoes that can be worn with dress pants, jeans, or skirts; bare feet, stockings, or socks; that you can walk in for hours but are still good-looking enough that you don't mind being seen walking in them for hours? They're also great travel shoes. And I have the impression that they will never, ever, wear out. I realize I'm incredibly late on the clog bandwagon--there was even a recent New Yorker cartoon about their ubiquity--but if you've been holding out agains the trend, it's time to give in. And if you, too, have feet like Barney Rubble, give the Sanitas a try.
Now it's your turn. What products have made your life better?
Let's see...I'm totally with you on GPS! Love, love, love mine - though it's in my cell phone and not a separate unit. My voice is a girl whom I refer to as "Stella"...however, this girl would prefer a perfect "McDreamy" voice to keep me driving on the straight path to wherever it is I'm going. ;)
Littermaid is in a word - to die for. You can't go with any of the newer versions, it has got to be the tried and true original version. Available only at Amazon I believe, it will be the best $80 spent for cat lovers. Trust me...
And my favorite lingerie product - SPANX bras. No lines, no wires, the best support ever -- and the most comfortable bra one could ever wear. I can't vouch for any of the other slimmer type products by the company, but the bras are AMAZING. Try one and let us know what you think! :)
http://supergoddessgirl.blogspot.com
DVR, DVR, DVR!!! I love mine enough to make its mother uncomfortable. There are no TV disagreements between my roommate and I because we can just DVR whoever's show we don't watch that night. And during sports events, it's great because you have your very own version of instant replay.
I love my DVR it makes things so much easier. I also love my craft light cutter, which yes I did purchase because I saw it on TV. It has made making things for my wedding so much easier. I really like it a lot and for $20 it is quite the time saver.
Great minds DO run together!
My DVR My DVR My DVR! I watch less tv than I ever have, because I'm now spoiled by only watching what I like and actually want to watch. We actually have 3. My husband and I "control" the main one; each of the two kids can "control" one in either the living room or the basement. PEACE REIGNS!
And I know I'm way behind the times, but I love my SanDisk MP3 player. I love listening to the music; I like listening to books while I work out, and I love that mine, unlike CERTAIN BRANDS has an FM radio so that I can listen to the news when I go to the gym after work.
Robin says: Well, dang! I had no idea this would turn into such a DVR lovefest! I can see where they'd be very useful in households where different television interests compete. As I always say, never underestimate the power of an engineering solution for an etiquette problem!
I love my neti pot, which I was just talking about this morning with a friend visitng my house who saw it and didn't know what it is, and another friend to whom I introduced it a while ago. When my then-boyfriend (now husband) first used his in front of me, I was horrified. I refused to use one for a long time, until desperation due ot a bad head cold forced me to it. Still, I was afraid of drowning. Now? I use it every day.
The light box sounds like it might be the solution to a persistent problem here, as well. Would you consider emailing details off line? Manufacturer, etc? Thanks!
Robin says: You tell your husband that neti pots are meant to be used in private! For the light box, if you click on "3. Light box" in the original post, it'll take you to the model that I bought.
For anyone else still afeared of the Neti, keep the words of a friend of mine in mine: "Head SIDEWAYS. Not BACK."
Netflix. We're incredibly time-starved and incredibly cheap. We're two working parents with a 4 year old & 2 year old, so we haven't watched much TV in the past 4 years and we won't spring for HBO. So we're watching all the TV we never got to see on Netflix. We're just finishing the Sopranos. It is our one true guilty pleasure. Sopranos & a little lemon sorbet. Only 2 episodes left. Any suggestions for our next series?
Robin says: Well, "Deadwood" is the best show ever, but you REALLY don't want your kids picking up vocabulary from that one, so make sure they're well asleep! "Big Love" is also good (adult themes but no bad language) ... and will certainly put anyone's family/in-law troubles into perspective!
Pampered Chef's Garlic Press. I love, love, love it. No peeling necessary.
Robin says: Totally concur. My mother got me one and it's really terrific.
I am on the clogs bandwagon and had the same experience with Dansko's. Luckily I found the Sanita's on Amazon and am sooo happy that I did.
Earbags, from www.earbagsus.com. I get ear aches from the cold absurdly easily, and have spent much time unsuccessfully seeking earmuffs that work, don't pull out my hair, and stay on. I just accepted that they would look ridiculous. Then I stumbled on Earbags. They are kind of like those fake Spock ears you can buy, except that they don't have the point and they are fleecy. The "skeleton" is a circle of metal that flips back and forth between two shapes. The open state allows you to slip the nice warm bag under your earlobe and over the top of your ear. Then you pop it into the closed state, and it lies flat against your head. They come in lots of colors, they stay on very well, they are totally inconspicuous, and after a little while, you get so used to having them on, you forget to take them off. They have changed my life - not only can I go outside during the spring and fall now, I can wear any hat I want.
Robin says: The earbags on the site do look very conspicuous, because after all the manufacturers want you to know what they look like. But I've seen AGSG in hers, and she's right, you don't notice them.
Tell your Mr. Improbable that he should read my book, 'Insomniac," a first-person account of living with insomnia and an investigation of what the research is up to. (I, too, have had the problem since adolescence.) He'd probably find it interesting. It's Amazon's #1 spotlight pick for the month of March.
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