Stacey McGregor

Walk into any convenience, grocery, or drug store and you’ll find no shortage of magazines whose covers feature scantily clad models and celebrities showcasing their rock-hard, oiled up abs alongside a headline that reads something like: “To get this body, all I did was drink more water and cut out sugar!” Well I’m calling on that. Being fit takes work. Hard work. And it’s not necessarily all about obtaining those elusive abs. It’s about being healthy. And that’s why, to me, there is a wide range of “fitness enthusiasts” out there. So, at the risk of offending the people in my life, I’ve created a list of “fitness enthusiast types” and what gift might be a hit for them under the Christmas tree this year.

Ping Pong, or as my dad likes to call it “gnip gnop” (pronounced “geh-nip geh-nop”), wasn’t invented in China, as many believe, but came into being in the late 1880s in England when a group of upper class Victorian gentlemen created a version of tennis they could play indoors as a way to relax after dinner. At that time, the tools used to play the game were everyday objects, such as a line of books as a net, a champagne cork as a ball, and a cigar box lid as a racket.

A few days ago I went grocery shopping, and as I was paying, the cashier asked me if I was collecting stamps. “Stamps for what?” I asked. “Stamps for new knives” she enthusiastically replied. To be honest, I’d never really given much thought to knives before. I mean, I have a set that I got when I first moved out many moons ago, but I took my stamp and went on my merry way. Later, I was flipping through the knife brochure that came with my stamp and after about page 6, I started thinking – why are there so many different types? What knife is for what? Do you really need 18 or will two do? As it turns out, you do! Here’s a breakdown of what makes one knife different from another.

LCD, LED, HDTV, 3D, 4K, IPS. OMG, right? Ok, that was pretty cheesy, but it was meant to illustrate a point – TVs these days are much more complex than they were only 10 years ago. Not only do you have to understand what all those acronyms mean, you have to understand what constitutes good value. Sure, you could spend the equivalent of one month’s salary on a 60” LED Smart TV, but why would you when you could get much more for your money with the Panasonic 60” 1080p 120Hz IPS LED Smart TV (AS630). It’s got all the acronyms you could want and performance you need, at a price point that won’t break the bank.

Let’s face it, laundry isn’t a whole lot of fun. It’s certainly not how I like to spend my evenings, I can tell you that much. I mean, there are just so many steps! You’ve got to sort your clothes, lug them to the machine, put them in, press a button, wait … take them out, put them in another machine, press another button, and then wait some more before you take them out and fold them. It’s excruciating. It’s also pretty sad that I’m not alone in my disdain for laundry, especially when you consider the fact that electric washers and dryers as we know them today, like those from consumer appliance giant Frigidaire, have only been around for about 100 years.

Remember the days when a 32” TV weighed about the same as a small car, cost you one month’s salary, and required an industrial strength TV stand that took up the majority of your living space? Thankfully that’s all ancient history. These days, there is a TV to fit every lifestyle, every space, and perhaps most importantly, every budget. But with so many options, how do you choose? It can be difficult, and that’s why I’ve done the legwork for you and have selected five HDTVs that I think are the best value for what they bring to the table.

Like almost every other household appliance, today’s dishwashers come equipped with a seemingly endless array of features. But if you are in the market for a new model, all those options can be overwhelming. That said, you don’t want to make your decision based solely on price or appearance either, because the cold hard truth is that if your dishes don’t fit, or if they come out looking just as dirty as they did when they went in, then it was not money well spent. So with that in mind, here are a few things to keep in mind when the time comes to choose your next dishwasher. 

When it comes to TVs, there are a few brands that stand out from the pack – Sony, Samsung, LG, and Panasonic, to name a few. But have you heard of VIZIO? If you have, great! If not, you’re not alone. But that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be on your radar – especially now that their all-new M-Series Smart TVs are available at Best Buy.

Bose has developed quite the reputation for itself. In only 50 short years since its launch, the Bose brand has become both a leader in the consumer electronics pack and synonymous with superior sound quality. But being a leader isn’t always enough for Bose. Nope, to stay on top of their game they often best even themselves, which is apparent when you look at the latest addition to their headphone product lineup, the Bose QuietComfort 25 Over-Ear Noise Cancelling Headphones.

I’ve got some news for you folks. You may not want to hear it, but it’s inevitable. Yes, it’s true; summer is coming to an end. Sigh. Fall is right around the corner, and with it will come even shorter days, cooler nights, and a whole lot of wet stuff falling from the sky. But it’s not all bad news, because fall is synonymous with many awesome things, including delicious comfort food. So rather than mourn the end of another summer season, let’s embrace the fact that the season of warm, gluttonous, nap-inducing food is upon us. Food like homemade, hot, cheesy, toasty, oven baked pizza.