What an unusual month here in Texas! Between the weather and power outages, I’m completely surprised to get this article written before the end of the month. Honestly, I almost skipped this month’s favorites, but I didn’t want to go another month without talking about this first product. Without further ado, here is what has helped me survive February!
Miroco Light Therapy Lamp
Ever heard of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)? It’s basically depression that is brought on by the changing of the seasons. There are multiple potential causes for this, but the one that I experience is the disruption of my circadian rhythm due to my lack of sunlight exposure. I get to my full time job around eight in the morning, and leave around 4:15pm (on a good day), not leaving much time for sunshine during the short days of winter. I also do not have a nearby window to see outside during work. Due to the disruption of my internal clock, symptoms of depression creep up every winter. Last month I purchased this Miroco Light Therapy Lamp from Amazon which is basically a lamp that is supposed to provide you with 10000 lux (brightness). This is supposed to make up for that missing sunshine and boost your mood. I didn’t realize how effective it was until I left it at work for a week, and soon felt SAD creeping up once again. I’ll definitely be ordering another for my home!
Revlon One-Step Hair Dryer + Volumizer Hair Brush
One thing I absolutely hate is the amount of time it takes to wash, dry, and style my hair. My besties got me this hair tool for my birthday in December and it really has changed the game! It combines the last two steps (drying and styling) into one. I personally love it for these two specific reasons:
- If I have somewhere to be straight after a workout, this drastically speeds up the time it takes to fix my hair.
- If the day’s workout was arms/shoulders specific, I don’t have to fight to hold a heavy hair dryer AND brush in order to use it!
Shaker Bottles with Mixing Grids (Not blender balls!)
It shouldn’t come to anyone’s surprise that I like to save time when possible. I find shaker bottles with blender balls to be more of a hassle to clean compared to shaker bottles with mixing grids/agitators. All of the parts of this cup can go into the dishwasher, and you don’t have to worry about them blowing around, getting tangled, or disappearing. Lastly, I’ve never lost a mixing grid in the garbage disposal, so that should count for something!
WARNING! You are approaching TMI! Proceed at your own risk!
Knix – The Dream Short
While reading Runner’s World Magazine, I ran across these Knix Dream Shorts (pun intended). I have two major needs for absorbent undies when it comes to workouts. Okay, I warned you that you’re approaching Too Much Information Territory, so proceed at your own risk…
Well, since I’m too chicken to go into too much detail about this first issue, just think about why most females would have a need for absorption come one week out of every month. I tested these and they worked. If you want to more details about my experience in this department, I’d much rather you send me an email or Facebook message. I don’t mind having a one-on-one conversation about how well they worked!
Embarrassingly, I have a second need for these. Usually while doing extended reps on the jump rope, I have leaks. Even if I go to the restroom RIGHT before the workout begins, leaks still happen. This can be extremely frustrating because I’m kind of decent at double-unders and get excited when I see them programmed in the WOD, but I always get distracted by leaks. Even worse, we were recently doing a workout that I felt was made just for me consisting of double-unders and heavy squat cleans, and I made it through every jump rope rep and every heavy squat clean without an accident… until the LAST REP! And it wasn’t just a leak, if you catch my drift. This all happened before I purchased the Knix shorts and led to my reason for giving them a try. I know I’m not the only woman who has this problem!
Bonus: These shorts are seamless! I like working out in leggings during the cooler months, but it can be a challenge to find undies that are invisible under the tightness of leggings. These are basically no-show!
