Fitbit Zip Review

It was an impulse buy, kinda.  I had thought about purchasing an activity monitor for several weeks when I finally decided to do a little research on them.  With my new found internet knowledge, I went over to Amazon and clicked the 'buy now' button on a Fitbit Zip.  Am I happy with it?  Overall, yes.  

I'm happy I only spent $49 on an activity monitor.  I like the fact that it's not a bracelet and I can clip it discreetly to an article of clothing.  I also found it interesting to see how many calories are burned by just living, breathing, and walking into the kitchen to get more coffee.  I also like the website monitoring and log that comes free with a Fitbit purchase.  The food database is quite extensive, which means just about everything you eat can be found in the database and therefore all you need to enter is how much of something you ate and the calories will appear automatically.

It's also nice that you can log activities you may do manually on the website because one of my biggest not-likes (dislike is too strong of a word) is that the Zip doesn't track cycling very well.  Before I purchased it, I read several reviews that said it would and that you just needed to clip it to your shoe.  The rotation of your foot on the pedal would register steps.  This is true, however, it's no way accurate, especially the miles traveled.  Because of this, I've been logging cycling manually.  Unfortunately, I have yet to find a way to remove the steps the Zip logs while I'm cycling and I'm ending up with the activity being logged twice.

I received my Zip Thursday and immediately started using it.  Sunday of the same week, the battery died.  The Zip uses a  3V coin battery  and they are quite cheap, about $3 for 5 of them.  When I researched why my Zip's battery would die within 4 days I found that I should have installed the firmware update.  No problem, but it would have been nice if I were forced to do that once I first registered the Zip and synced it.  As it is now, I can't update it because it's dead until I get a new battery, see picture above.

Wearing the Zip for the past 4 days got my mind to thinking of the possibilities of it.  How easy, it would seem, to make a really REALLY accurate activity monitor.  Sure, it would cost more than the $49 I spent on the Zip, but for some it would be worth it.  For instance, add a GPS to the monitor to accurately track miles.  Add a heart rate monitor to accurately track intensity.  Add a camera to allow you to photograph labels or bar codes of food items you ate then look up the exact item to get a real calorie count of the food.  And please, keep it small and discreet. Perhaps this is all overkill, but I'm just thinking, it seems like it could be so much better...

Overall, I am please with the Zip and I have ordered more batteries and I will do the firmware update and continue to use it.  The new update may even include a way to edit the steps the Zip logs so I'm not doubling up when I cycle.  It has been an eye opener to log the food I've eaten and I see some easy adjustments I could make to help with weight loss.  I'm glad I didn't spend $100+ for an activity monitor since I really didn't see that they were twice as good as my $49 Zip.  I imagine soon there will be monitors that include all the suggestions I made and more!  For one of those, I'd spend more.

Keeping watch on your UV index

Photo from wikipedia

 

During the dog-days of summer, it's probably worth checking your zipcode's UV index and following the recommendations suggested by the EPA.  

Today, in "cloudy" Portland the UV index is 10, on a scale of 1 to 11 with 11 being the highest!
Even on days where the UV index is 2 and less, it's recommended to wear a 30+ SPF sunscreen!  

Check out Lora's Beauty for an all-natural sunscreen.

New Soap: Basil Lemon&Honey Goat Milk

The new Basil Lemon&Honey Goat Milk Soap is now available in the online store!   This is a one time only, special soap.  Every once in a while we like to experiment and make new types of soap.  These soaps are handcrafted in small batches and offered at special prices for a limited time--until they are gone!

 Made with lemon verbena and delicately scented with basil, clove, and lemongrass, the Basil Lemon&Honey is an exceptional goat milk soap!   Lemon verbena is a wonderful plant for skin care.  It refreshes, tones and is rich in natural oils. This exquisite soap is sprinkled with ground walnuts to provide for gentle exfoliation of the skin and honey to soften even the roughest areas.  

Pick up a few bars now while they last and remember, free shipping on orders $20 and over!

Lemon, Basil & Honey Goat Milk Soap

I've got a new soap curing right now and it smells divine!  It's made with lemongrass and honey with just a few ground walnut shells on top for great exfoliation.  It's scented with basil, lemon, and clove essential oils.  I can't wait until it cures completely, until then here are some fun videos of me making the soap:

I'm adding the olive oil and castor oil in this photo.

Now the goat milk is added, mmmm...great things happen when you add goat milk!  Think creamy, skin softening benefits!

Pouring it in the mold!  Smells wonderful!!!

Check the online store in about a month to purchase this work of art!

Pepperwood Soap Available Now!

A beautiful soap for only $4!  Peppers are packed with antioxidants which help fight the signs of aging on your skin.

Pick up several bars today and get free shipping on orders $20 and over!

Some Great Skincare Links

I've been posting a lot of skincare links on my google+ page lately.  If you're not following me there, please do so to get the most up-to-date Lora's Beauty news!  I'm definitely NOT going to ignore this blog though, so I wanted to share some of the links I've found here.

Are you ready for summer?  How about some homemade bug spray!?  Here's a great link to make your own basil mosquito spray.

Need some flushable, inexpensive baby wipes?  Try this recipe.  Don't think you need flushable baby wipes?  Well, take a look at this article to change your mind.  You might want to look at this with an empty stomach, though.

This smoothie sounds great and is good for your skin!  It's packed with raspberries just like Lora's Beauty Raspberry Aloe soap, also great for your skin!

And in case you need any more reasons to buy natural skincare products, check out this link and this link and this link.

For all you men out there, ever wonder if too many beards can be a bad thing?  Well, I don't think so especially with Lora's Beauty Beard Oil available, but this article has an interesting take on it.  While we're talking men, here's a fun take on how to be a gentleman, hint...get rid of your cats.

That does it for now but you can check out more great links and product information on my google+ page!

More on Soap Molds

I think I've finally found a good, unique, and functional soap mold!

I made some Raspberry Aloe Soap in my new mold.  As you can see from the picture, the mold consists of 3 equal sized pieces of wood and two end pieces.  I drilled holes in two of the boards and inserted two threaded rods and attached washers and wing nuts on each end.  I wrapped all the pieces of wood in plastic.

The mold as pictured, holds two pounds of soap, however you can adjust the end pieces for smaller batches if you'd like.

When your soap is ready to unmold, simply unscrew the wing nuts and lift the sides from the base.  Simple!

I tried something a little different with this soap, besides my new mold.  I added cedar bows to the base of the mold and covered them with plastic.  I was hoping for a nice embedded impression on the top of the soap.  I'm not all together unpleased with the result, however it doesn't look like cedar bows but it does give a nice, rustic finish to the soap.

I'll keep experimenting with this technique but for now, not bad.