10 THINGS THAT CHANGED MY LIFE

Presented in no particular order.

 

1. DOLLAR SHAVE CLUB 

There aren’t that many companies out there that do it right…but when you find one, you’re a customer for life…assuming they keep on doing it right…for life.

One of those companies currently doing it right is the Dollar Shave Club.

From the moment I saw my first Dollar Shave Club Ad (thanks to M. Griffin for that) I was pretty much hooked.

As you may or may not know, I am a complete sucker for good marketing and a bigger sucker for the complete user experience – from marketing to purchasing to unpacking to finally using the product, it just all has to be there…and when it is – POOF, I’m a customer for life!

Well, it just so happens that Dollar Shave Club has snailed the complete user experience – from marketing to product, they are worth every single penny…especially the ones you’ll be saving once you make the switch!

 

 

2. SHAVE BUTTER

Shave Butter – why would anyone shave with anything other then butter?

Shave Butter is a Dollar Shave Club product for, as you probably already guessed, shaving one’s self.

When I originally ordered my first razor from Dollar Shave Club the razor came with a free sample of said Shave Butter.  So, the next time I shaved I decided to give it a go and my friends….BOOM – MAGIC!

SHAVE BUTTER IS AWESOME!

So awesome in fact you will not need any type or form of aftershave.  Shave Butter leaves your skin feeling like butter…and who wouldn’t want butter-face…wait…that’s something else …?

Nonetheless, from the smell to the soothe fresh feel to the fact that it’s clear as opposed to a white foam to allow for a more accurate shave, everything about Shave Butter is awesome…so much so I now look forward to shaving just to get a face full of butter.

shave-butter-dollar-shave-club

 

 

3. NIÑA’S SPAGHETTI MEAT SAUCE

It only took a few months of dating Niña before I realized that there were two types of food in this world.  On the one hand there is Niña’s food, and on the other…everyone else’s food.

Now, let me be clear, “everyone else’s food” can be amazing, delicious, scrumptious, etc…but when someone knows you and your taste buds the way Niña knows me and my taste buds there is only so much “everyone else’s food” can do for a man.

So, now that you know what I think of Niña’s overall cooking skills, imagine that over a 10 year period she has finally perfected her spaghetti meat sauce…yeah, it’s freakin’ perfect…and delicious…and is currently my favorite Niña’s Kitchen meal.

This meat sauce has the perfect amount of kick-to-tomato-to-basil-to-ground-beef-taste goodness very rarely found in meat sauces…and if paired with a banana – BOOM! MY HEAD JUST EXPLODED!

Only downside to this sauce is that no matter how much Nina makes of it there is only enough for one night’s leftovers.

 

 

4. A TED’S BURGER

Ted’s Montana Grill…specifically, the Mall of Georgia’s location…man-ol’ man, I LOVE THAT PLACE!

Ted’s has a New Mexico Burger which just might be my favorite thing to eat on this planet!

“Damn, that is one of the most ridiculous statements I’ve ever heard,” you might be thinking.  Well my friends, think AGAIN!  The story below is 100% true and equally, if not more, ridiculous…so please reserve judgement until further reading.

I know the below story is absurd but I promise on the lives of the three things I love most (my 3 babies) that the story below is 100% truth.

One day, while at Ted’s with the crew (Niña and our three kids, one still in vitro and the other two in the real world), I literally thought to myself – “If I die right now I would be the happiest man in the world – thank you God…for this burger!”

The burger was cooked to perfection!

I mean the meat was perfect, the toppings were perfect, the kids had both gone to the restroom with Niña at the same time, and there I was, left alone, just me and the burger, experiencing a peace of heaven on earth!  At least that is how I felt at that exact moment…all due to a perfectly prepared, perfectly cooked, perfectly dressed, piece of cow muscle…and I’ll never forget that burger as long as I live!  

FYI – the pic below doesn’t do it justice.

ted-s-montana-grill-new-mexico

 

 

5. COSTCO PIZZA

I am a simple man at heart, I truly am, and one of the simple things I enjoy most out of life is a simple Pizza.

One can determine the quality of any Pizza joint by their cheese pizza…even if that pizza joint happens to be inside one of the biggest big-box-whole-sale-retailers in the world…I repeat, I am a simple man.

Growing up I was not the Pizza-loving man I am today.  I mean I’ve always liked Pizza – what’s not to like?  It’s bread topped with whatever toppings you like…and who doesn’t like bread topped with toppings they like on the bread they like?

Well, it just so happens, over the last 3 or so years, I have developed a love affair with pizza…specifically Costco’s Cheese Pizza.

I don’t want to get too much into it other than to say two things;

  1. If you haven’t yet tried it, you need to.
  2. Costco Pizza is what all movie Pizza’s are trying to look like…and what all Pizza’s are striving to taste like.

costco-pizza

 

 

6. MY HONDA ODYSSEY

Let’s face it, we all hate paying bills.  This is pretty much a universal law that holds true across the board…that is unless I am paying my monthly 2012 Honda Odyssey car note!

“Man, this guy is a complete idiot,” you might be currently thinking to yourself.  ”He’d die happily eating a burger, he loves Costco Pizza, and now he is openly praising his mini-van…what a nut case/loser!”  But I would beg to differ my friend, especially when it comes to my mini-van.

From the original commercial that originally caught my eye to amenaties and comfort it has brought into my life, I love everything about my Honda Odyssey and only have one thing to say – my mini-van’s car note is the only bill I happily pay every month!

2014-honda-odyssey-touring-elite

 

 

7. EGG HARBOR CAFE

First there was Ted’s, then there was Costco, and now there’s Egg Harbor Café.

As many of you know, I have been intermittent fasting via an 18/6 approach for over 2 years now.  This means that, excluding the days I fast a full 24 hours, I eat NOTHING for 18 consecutive hours a day and ONLY eat during a daily 6 hour window.  Now, if you’ve been following this blog, you may know that I typically fast from 9 pm to 3 pm the next day (i.e., I start eating at 3 pm and stop at 9 pm pretty much everyday).  This has become a Rolando fact, he only eats at those designated times and does not break fast if not for a very very very special occasion…and/or his family has decided to go to Egg Harbor Café.

I kid you not, there are only two places in this world that can cause me to deviate from my fast/fed eating window, and Egg Harbor Café is one of them.  FYI – The other place is also a breakfast/brunch place located in Sieste Keys so it only effects my life once a year. 

Egg Harbor Café, for those of you who don’t know, is a restaurant…a delicious restaurant.

I have not tried a single item that I didn’t think was pretty freakin’ delicious there, but, being a creature of habit, every time I go I get the same thing.  “So…how do you know everything is delicious?” Well, because Niña gets something new every time and I always steal a bite or two.

FYI – My staple meal there is the Traditional Breakfast with Bacon (3 eggs scrambled, their harbor potatoes, two English muffins with a raspberry jam, and 4 slices of bacon), an order of the Georgia Grits (their perfectly made grits topped with a cheese blend, bacon bits, onions, green peppers, and jalapenos), and a full order of their Banana Bread French toast.

egg-harbor-cafe-food

 

 

8. YOGA

Simply put – Yoga changed my life!

I have shared a number of posts about Yoga and what it’s done for me but I’d like to take this moment to share, once again, how important I think it is.

Be it helping me to lose weight and change my body type, to  improving my physical and mental strength, balance, and flexibility, to making me feel physically younger than ever,  Yoga changed my life and training for the better in countless ways and I am 100% confident in stating that any serious workout regimen needs to incorporate Yoga for maximum results.

yoga-changed-my-life

 

 

9. TONY HORTON

Being that the name of this blog stems from P90X and LeanGains, it should come of no surprise that Tony Horton helped change my life.

How did Mr. Horton Help Change My Life?

Did he teach me anything new about weight training ? Not really.

Did he show me any new moves when it came to resistance training? Not really.

Did he revolutionize my thoughts on dieting and/or fitness? Again, not really.

“So what did he do?”

Tony Horton proved to America that results can happen anywhere, at anytime, for anyone willing to push themselves….period!

I love ending sentences with the word “period” and an exclamation mark as the ending punctuation…don’t know why but it always makes me smile inside.

p90x-tony-horton

 

 

10. LEANGAINS/ INTERMITTENT FASTING

Two years ago I changed my workout regimen and started changing my life forever, but the truth is that the change didn’t truly start happeniing until the day I learned about LeanGains.

As many of you know, I started following my personal take on the LeanGainss approach to Intermittent Fasting half way into my first session of P90X…and I never looked back!

Intermittent Fasting has been my way of life for the last two years and since making the lifestyle change I have never been leaner, more energetic, more focused, and/or generally overall healthier than I am right now.

From the complete disappearance of my “chronic” heartburn and upset stomach (which I had suffered from since the age 12) to my cholesterol levels to enjoying every meal to its fullest without suffering the consequences around my waistline, I can honestly say Intermittent Fasting has done nothing but benefit both my mind and body while allowing my love affair with food to continue.

I know it is not for everyone, but it is worth giving Intermittent Fasting a go…especially if you are currently experiencing a weight loss or gain plateau.

leangains