WOSS Enterprises Military Strap Trainer Black

I've been on a little workout kick for the past 18 months or so. Use it or lose it, right? Anyway, I keep hearing about TRX suspension training, but when I check out TRX, the prices seem a little crazy for some straps.

Luckily I found Woss Enterprises. They make a suspension training system that is reasonably priced, very well constructed, and made in the US! I got the Military Strap trainer from Amazon: http://smile.amazon.com/WOSS-Military-Trainer-Black-Built/dp/B00HHZRA0E
I also got the anchor:
http://smile.amazon.com/WOSS-Stainless-Steel-Oblong-Anchor/dp/B005O3RXOO

Installed it this past weekend - works great!

(That's not me btw, just a pic from Amazon.)

Grado Headphones

A while back I wanted to get some over-the-ear headphones to listen to music at home. Finding a reasonably priced pair made in the US is a trick! After a lot of searching, I found Grado Labs. I picked up their 'entry' headphones - and have been quite impressed! I've had them for a few years now, and they've held up really well.

Consumer Reports has taken notice of Grado, and in their latest ranking Grado holds 5 spots in their top 10. Go Grado!

RollaRoaster

We have a small fire pit on the back porch that we use every few weeks when the weather cooperates to cook hot dogs & s'mores - the kids love it (and honestly I think it's pretty fun too). Instead of using just sticks to suspend the hot dogs or marshmallows over the fire, we have a set of Rolla Roasters. Not only do Rolla Roasters allow you to easily rotate the food item for thorough cooking - with just one hand! Plus they telescope out over 3 feet, so you don't have to smell like smoke after cooking. They're stainless steel  so no rust, the clean up really easily, and they are made in the USA. If you cook out over a fire at all, you've gotta try em.

Redi Shade Black-Outs

Redi Shade Black-Outs (pic from their website)

The blinds/curtains we had in the house were good for blocking the view, but not great for blocking out the light. When the sun came up, it came into all of the bedrooms, and consequently everyone got up.

We talked about various new blinds/curtains/shutters/etc. we could get to alleviate this issue, and a search brought me to Redi Shade's Black-Outs, that reportedly block "99% of sunlight".  And because they are less than $7 a piece (and made in the USA), I had to try 'em.

They are pleated black paper - no string to pull them up (though they send little clips to keep them up). They come in two widths - you customize to your exact window width yourself with scissors (I used an Xacto). You stick them to top window recess with included double-stick tape. Sounds pretty cheap I have to say.  But boy, do they work well!  The really do block the sun light.

Now if I could just keep the dogs from waking me up...

Soloflex

The machine that revolutionized the home fitness industry, Soloflex, is still around and selling their wares.  I bought a used one many years ago for around $100 - a fantastic deal!  I bought a new set of bands from Soloflex as the used ones had some wear.

The unit itself is built of very heavy duty steel, almost indestructible.  And you get a fantastic spotter-free workout with minimal room required.  And of course, it's made here in the US.

And check out the new Soloflex Buddy app for the Soloflex too!

Brushtech & Weber

Summer is approaching and it's time to start grilling.  I pulled my Weber Q series grill (made in USA!) out last week, took the cover off, and realized that the cooking grate was in desperate need of cleaning. At that moment I remembered that I threw out my grill brush at the end of last year - it was beat.

A quick search and I found Brushtech, a domestic maker of many types of brushes, including brushes for the grill.  Ordered it on Amazon Prime, and it promptly arrived two days later.  Now I'm ready to grill.  :-)

Shapeways

After cracking my iPhone 4 screen from a drop onto ceramic tile, I decided that a case for my iPhone 5 was necessary.  I also thought it'd be cool to "empty my pockets" some.  I have a Jimi wallet (also made in the USA!), so I had already reduced the number of cards I was carrying to 4 (ATM card, two credit cards, and my drivers license).  All other cards I scanned and put into an album on the Photos app, which has worked out just fine - though the librarian always looks at me funny when I hand her my iPhone with a picture of my library card...

Anyway, I thought it would be great to have a combination iPhone case/Jimi wallet.  Apparently some others have come to that conclusion too, and have a design that you can print out on a 3D printer!  Shapeways is the company that hosts the designs, and has the printers.  You select the item, select options to customize it, purchase it, Shapeways prints it in New York and ships it to you.

So, I ended up with the Tank Tri iphone 5 case w/ 3 CC 1ID holder.  Love it!