A mere three days after my upbeat and optimistic blog post, my UP vibrated and died. No more tracking. No more patters. No more movement alerts. Seriously? Yep. I should have just gotten the FITBIT. Maybe I still will.

Then, after tweeting about my broken and sad-faced UP, a friend of mine sent me this link. Too ironic right? That never happens to me. The article states:

Jawbone has released an announcement that it will offer a no-questions-asked refund policy on the UP in order to win back customer confidence.

I submitted my information and yesterday I got my refund in the mail. Nope, they weren’t kidding.

I’m not sure if this has really changed my opinion of the UP. After all, I did buy it from the Apple store and I’m sure they would have taken it back.

Overall thoughts: The data it collected was interesting, but not ground breaking. Again, the sleep data was by far the most interesting but not necessary. It didn’t help me sleep better, in fact I probably slept worse knowing it was tracking me ALL NIGHT LONG. The feature that allows you to compete against other people was motivating. I was waiting for my sister to get one and the day she did mine stopped working. Hilarious.

Overall great idea — I’m anxious to see what they come out with as an adaption to the UP. Will I buy it? Maybe. I haven’t lost my confidence in Jawbone.

Her TED Talk below put me in a good mood yesterday and convinced me that I need to start living beyond my wildest dreams, every day.

Yesterday I purchased the UP by Jawbone and I am officially IN LOVE. UP is a new device created to track daily activities, specifically: eating, sleeping and movement to inspire healthier lifestyles. The device itself is a bracelet that you wear 24 hours a day. It collects data on steps, workouts and food intake during the day and sleep patterns at night. I really like the bracelet because it’s both stylish (IMO) and comfortable. I forget I’m wearing it!

So far the most interesting data collected is while I’m sleeping. It tracks how often I wake up and whether I’m getting light or deep sleep. IT’S CRAZY! The first night I slept horribly — probably because I was anxious to get the reading as soon as I woke. This is what the reading looked like on my first day:

The other really cool feature is that you can set it as an alarm clock – a silent alarm clock that vibrates to gently wake you. The technology is designed to intelligently wake you at the ideal moment in your natural sleep cycle just before your desired wake time. This might be the best feature.

The active data is interesting – not sure how accurate it is though. I wore it to the gym today where I did cardio for over an hour – a mix of running, step and latter work. It couldn’t accurately calculate my steps on a machine, but it did calculate my time on the treadmill.

Another very cool feature is the movement reminder. Set an interval of time (I set mine at an hour) and your UP wristband will vibrate on your wrist to remind you to move when you’ve been inactive for too long. This could also be my favorite feature.

The food log is, eh OK. It tracks food with images you take with your phone, which is a great reminder but it can’t accurately tabulate calories through those images (that would be cool!). I wouldn’t suggest getting the UP solely to track food intake since the data collected isn’t giving a reading of anything useful if you are trying to count calories.

I’m anxious to use UP steadily for the remainder of the month of December. I’ll report back in January with a more accurate review once I’ve used it daily for 26 more days.

The only thing that I have had an absolutely overwhelming craving for are smoothies – BUT not just any smoothie – POWER PROTEIN SMOOTHIES. That’s right people – I can jam pack anywhere from 20 – 30 grams of protein into one cup of smoothie awesomeness. I am also getting a full serving (sometimes two) of the fruits and vegetables that my body craves. These smoothies fill me up, increase my protein intake for the day, AND pump me silly with vitamins and antioxidants.

Lots of you have asked me for some healthy smoothie recipes. Here are a few that I suggest. Just dump all the ingredients into your mixer and blend until smooth! Comment below – let me know what you think of them!

Spring Cleaning Smoothie via Eat Clean Diet
Don’t let the color turn you off – this smoothie packs 14g of protein and a whole lot of flavor. Try it for breakfast on the go!

Ingredients
• 1 tsp / 5 ml Spirulina powder
• 1 serving hemp protein powder (or any kind of protein powder you prefer)
• 1 Tbsp / 15 ml coarsely ground flaxseed
• 1/4 cup / 60 ml dry oatmeal
• 1/2 banana
• 1/3 cup / 80 ml applesauce
• 1/2 tsp / 2 1/2 ml vanilla
• Handful of ice cubes
• 1 kiwi, peeled and sliced (Optional: save 1 or 2 slices for garnish)
• 1/3 cup / 80 ml low-fat plain yogurt
• 1/2 cup / 120 ml milk of your choice
• Juice of 1/2 orange

Tropical Tango Smoothie via Oxygen Magazine
If you like Pina Coladas and getting caught in the rain you’ll LOVE this healthier rendition.

Ingredients:
• 1/2 cup mango, sliced
• 1/2 cup pineapple chunks
• 1 cup non-fat vanilla soy milk
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 ice cubes
Optional – Top this smoothie with 2 teaspoons almonds, sliced.

Cake-like Vanilla Blackberry Smoothie via the Clean Eating Club Online
Who doesn’t cake? Celebrate your hard workout at the gym this morning with this as your afternoon treat!

Ingredients:
• 1 cup Light Silk Soymilk
• 1 scoop vanilla flavored protein powder
• 1/4 c. frozen blackberries (sub any frozen fruit you prefer)
• 1 tbs. wheat germ
• 1 tbs. ground flax seed

The Purple Protein Shake from the Feb 2011 Issue of Oxygen Magazine
This is my new FAVE! If you want to ward off the flu or dodge that cold which has been floating around your office – this shake is definitely for you. Mangoes are a real boost to your immune system with a superior blend of vitamins A, C and E!

Ingredients:
• 1/4 cup frozen blueberries
• 1/4 cup frozen mango pieces
• 1/4 cup frozen cherries
• 1/2 cup sugar free & fat free yogurt (plain or vanilla)
• 1 tsp honey
• 1 scoop of vanilla whey protein powder
• 1 tsp flaxseed oil

The film began as the quiet young Coco, at the age of 12 years, was dropped at the orphanage of Aubazine where she learned the trade of a seamstress. After six years in the orphanage she left and continued her work as a seamstress by day and a cabaret singer by night. She performed in clubs where the regulars called her “coco” after the songs she used to sing: Vous n’auriez pas vu Coco?

Chanel was a determined young woman. She was tough, hard working, dedicated to her craft and terribly ambitious. While living as a mistress with Étienne Balsan, a French textile heir, she continued her work in the tailoring shop then began designing hats as a hobby. She designed many hats for Balsan’s friend — the theater actress Gabrielle Dorziat which helped her gain recognition as a designer. Her hobby soon turned into a deep interest, a passion that took her to Paris and opened her eyes to the world of fashion.

After becoming a licensed hat maker (modiste) in 1910, Chanel opened a boutique at 21 rue Cambon, Paris named Chanel Modes. She continued to design luxurious hats for Gabrielle Dorziat until the love of her life, Captain Arthur Edward ‘Boy’ Capel, whom she met through Balsan, died it a tragic car accident. The film portrayed Chanel’s devastation as life changing, fully propelling her fashion design. She spent her days and all hours of the night developing her ideas into a career as a fashion designer.

The film’s cinematography was sensational. Each frame was gracefully articulate in color, composition, lighting. Here are a few frames in sequential order.

Watch the trailer and submerse yourself in Coco.

Half way through my read I stumbled upon a chapter on canning local produce. I’ve never canned anything before, yet have always had the desire to do so. As I paged through the ideas, from tomatoes to pickles, the last recipe was on canning plum jam. Sold.



So, on Saturday morning (after Bootcamp, of course) I headed over to the farmers market in Reston (right on Lake Anne) and purchased 4lbs of plums from one of my local vendors.



Next I washed the jelly jars that I got from my grandmother.



I set aside all the ingredients (plums, sugar and lemon juice) and started to boil the jars and the lids. Boiling the jars and the lids helps prepare your tools to properly seal during the canning process.





Next, I had to prepare the plums by chopping them into quartered pieces and removing the pits. This process took FOREVER!



After everything was properly chopped and the pits were removed, all ingredients were combined in a stockpot placed over high heat. Ingredients were brought to a boil as I mashed up the plums with a potato masher.



The process of mashing boiling plums in not easy. The bubbles of the plum sauce are hot and splatter easily. Be sure to wear an apron as your mashing. Then you’ll begin to notice a bubbly scum compiling on top of your mashed, juicy plums. Be sure to skim that scum off the top of the surface while you’re mashing and mixing.



After about 10-15 minutes, depending on how much plum jam you’re making, the fruit should begin to rise to the top of your hot sauce. Once the mixture clings to your spoon, falling off in languid clumps, you’re ready to start filling your hot jars with the mixture. Take one can out of the boiling water one at a time. Funnel the plum mixture into your jars, leaving about a half inch at the top. Wipe rims and threads of the jar clean with a damp cloth.



Put the warmed lids on each jar of plum jam, seal them tightly and place them back into boiling water. This process should take about 10 minutes.



After 10(ish) minutes remove the canner from the hot stove-top and let it cool for about 5 minutes. Once cool, use your tongs to remove each jar of jam from the hot water. Check the lids for a seal, and wipe the lid and jar with a cool, clean cloth. Allow the jars to sit for 12-24 hours and then store in a cool, dry dark place until ready to eat!

Here’s the thing: technology is changing the way we engage with each other and with content. The iPad is going to enable magazines to thrive again, using multidimensional experiences to re-engage with their audience. This is so cool! Check out this video by Wired on their new iPad App: