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Last year, I was using several services to track my physical activity throughout the day for weight loss. I had to enter in my workouts and my caloric intake. Then I added the Nike Plus, which tracked my mileage and the pace of my runs, and then allowed me to upload my workout to my Nike Plus dashboard.

Available early next year, I am really looking forward to utilizing the Fitbit Tracker an advanced monitor to track my activity throughout the day and even the quality of my sleep. Fitbit is the all-in-one fitness and sleep monitor (using motion sensing technology) to help track your level of activity throughout the day...and night. The small bluetooth device fits to your clothing worn throughout the day. The data collected is wirelessy uploaded to your own Fitbit dashboard where you can monitor and measure your progress.

FitBit seems to simplify and aggregate all of the necessary information into one health and wellness dashboard to log food, activities and track weight. The Fitbit device then does all of the rest, showing how many calories burned for the day and other personal stats.

To learn more about Fitbit, read more on the Fitbit launch at this year's TechCrunch50.

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We are popping the cork here at Extraordinique in celebration of our first review published on September 21, 2007. With close to 150 reviews since that day, we have enjoyed sharing our favorite finds with you. Taking a look back in the Archives, we revisited some of our top favorites. The team worked to identify a Top 10 list for Extraordinique - A Year in Review, but we all agreed if they are in the Archive, they are all Extraordinique in our view.

For 2007-08, revisit these favorite finds and let us know what you think.

Vibram FiveFingers
We first started Extraordinique with Vibram FiveFingers footwear, making one of Time Magazine's best inventions in 2007. Since our first post, it also looks like FiveFingers has come out with two more lines - KSO and Flow. Vibram FiveFingers was catalytic in our concept for Extraordinique. In an era of innovation and "smart" technology, footwear has been taken to a whole new level with Vibram FiveFingers.

Vosges Haute Chocolate
Vosges is a fun one because a year later, we still find family and friends talking about Mo's Bacon Bar or the truffles we brought home, which included a symphonic blend of sweet and salt. Muah! Delish!

Christine J. Brandt
Another artist bringing elements together in an extraordinary way is jewelry designer Christine J. Brandt. Her jewelry collection is beyond words - setting stones and minerals in rich wood carvings for rings, necklaces, and cufflinks. The color, shape and texture of all of her pieces embody the word - Extraordinique!

Ego
There is no such thing as "check your 'Ego' at the door" if you own one of these artistically and fashion-inspired notebooks. Winner of this year's Microsoft Fashion PC Award and nominated for the 2009 German designprize Ego will be competing with brands such as BMW and Porsche for uber design excellence.

SIGG
Eco-friendly SIGG bottles became our favorite functional, go-anywhere water bottle for the car, the gym, and our weekend bike rides this year. We found them to be ultra durable and kept our drinks cool and refreshing.

Stokke Strollers
Over the past year, Stokke seems to have had a major influence in the design of baby strollers and it doesn't stop there. Now, Stokke is featuring the Tripp Trapp - designed to "invite your child to the table" like no other high chair can. Again, Extraordinique!

Flip Video
The best in plug-in-play digital video recorders, we flipped for Flip Video. End of story!

Easy Glider
Taking "people mover" to a whole new level, we found EasyGlider to be the ultimate mash up of inline skating, skateboarding and surfing melded into the design of a "scooter."

Coal
As Fall is upon us, Coal is still the first company I think of for super cool (or should I say toasty) knitted caps and scarves that we love. Debuting their latest 2008  Winter collection, you gotta check them out.

Pi
In a year of outrageous gas prices, Pi took electric mobility to a whole new level with a highly functional and beautifully designed electric bike.

If you have a favorite, please comment and let us know what enjoyed the most from Extraordinique - All Things Extraordinary & Unique.

Now, to celebrate, if only we had some Bling H20!

The ice cold beverage isle always seems to draw me in during the summertime at our local market and what I've recently noticed is that the beverage isle is kinda a "cool" place to be!

Our local Nugget Market carries a wide selection of really great drinks, including my favorite GT's Kombucha, and now a new line of drinks, call Function. Function, on the shelves caught my eye, because I had recently read an article on a line of physician-developed drinks with concrete science behind them.

Stocking our Extraordinique fridge with Light Weight, I've got to say the Pink Grapefruit and Acai Pomegranate are a guilt-free, calorie-burning, preservative-free alternative to diet soda and other sugary juices and "sports" drinks.

Function Light Weight includes EGCG, a green tea extract to help increase calories burned and gymnema extract, which limits the absorption of calories your body takes in from fat and carbs. Light Weight also includes reservatrol, which if you've been to any health store lately, it's all the rage. Reservatrol is a red wine extract that has found to increase energy and overall calorie burn.

Now, with all of that said, I will also say you don't get the caffeine jitters or that amp'd feeling on this drink. You just get a sense of "upbeat" energy, which I can always use by mid-afternoon to gear up for exercise at the end of the day.

In addition to Light Weight, Function also has drinks to boost your immune system, improve your mood, and ease sore muscles after a workout.

I haven't tried these others yet, but I'm thinking this weekend, I may try a Vacation.

Cheers!

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OK, so right up front, this cool contraption stopped me in my tracks. I want one or at least want to take one for a ride... and soon! I just came across this totally radical scooter / sports "vehicle." Called the Easyglider, this "vehicle" brings a whole new meaning to "people mover." Whether you want to take a leisurely cruise down a parkway or get x-games with inline skates or a skateboard, it seems like the creative minds at Easyglider wanted to design an innovative way to get people from here to there - you apply your own style.

I've got to believe these will become increasingly popular among the "cool kids." Now available in 50 countries, including the U.S., I can't wait to see these around town!

Check out this segment on TV's Beyond Tomorrow to view the Easyglide in action! It kind of puts it all in perspective.

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We've been having some beautiful nights that are clear and full of bright twinkling stars. Recently, at a family gathering, I was surrounded by nieces and nephews who were energetic about what they learned in school. They amazed me with their knowledge about nature by day and astronomy by night. I recall wishing we had a telescope to see everything they were excited to share with me about what they had just learned in school.

As Summer nears, I was thinking it would be fun to spend warm evenings revisiting what I had once learned in school as a kid. Doing a little research, I found Edmund Scientific to have a very cool family telescope that is fun for all ages. What I loved about the Astroscan® Telescope is that you can sit easily anywhere and hold the rounded base in your lap to view your favorite planet or map out the constellations with ease.

I see a perfect summer night coming up -- a little barbecue, some blankets, KT Tunstall's album Eye to the Telescope playing in the background and the Astroscan under the stars. Sounds fun, huh? I think so.

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As our city's traffic increases, I've found I'm less inclined to go for rides like we used to. I've tried helmet rear-view mirrors and one on my handle, but it still never gave me the full confidence out on a busy road. Now, Cerevellum has integrated all of the latest cycling tools, MPH, distance tracking with a digital rear view mirror that mounts on your handlebars so that you can keep your focus in front of you with the ability to view what is approaching from behind without having to move your head.

I think this is a great innovation and one that might just get me back on the road for a more enjoyable ride. :)

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One of my friends, who happens to be an amazing photographer, graphic artist and all-round awesome mommy concerned about the world her kids will inherit, brought SIGG Swiss-Engineered water bottles to my attention. After subscribing to Extraordinique, she said I needed to check them out! 

Cal said, she sought out Sigg bottles for her and her family because she felt it was time to put an end to buying bottled water in plastic disposable bottles. Being concerned about water quality and some of the recent reports on chemical seepage in plastic bottled water, she said it was time to find an alternative that would be good for the environment and good for her family. This is her collection of the four Siggs she bought for her husband and kids.

SIGG bottles are innovative, functional, go-anywhere water bottles totally suited for leisure and sporting activities. SIGG bottles are eco-friendly by design -- reusable and 100% recyclable.

Not only are there various exterior design to match your taste, but you can select the type of bottle tops to meet your needs and the size you wish to carry. These stylish "lifestyle water bottles" are functionally-designed for all ages and activities.

For all those artists and designers reading Extraordinique, check out the SIGGART Design Contest at MySIGG where you can style your bottle & bottle your style.

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