Cold weather. Hot Chocolate, steamed & frothed milk, all automatically.

Capresso Froth Pro is designed to create thick, rich frothed milk for cappuccinos, steamed milk for café lattes, and frothy hot chocolate. It’s real easy to produce super results with the touch of a button. There are three temperature settings – hot, warm and cold. The company says the warm button might be used to make hot chocolate for the kids, while the hot button would be used to make hot chocolate for the adults. This stand-alone appliance is an ideal complement to any coffee maker, espresso machine or use it to satisfy the hot chocolate lover! The unit features a black pitcher along with a black base with stainless steel accents and illuminated touch pad buttons. The smart design includes dual auto shut-off for safety and a storage compartment in the bottom of the base to hold the two frothing discs and one heating disc that come with the unit. Large Capacity cup hanldes 8 oz for frothing or 12 oz for heating without frothing. Under $60

http://capresso.com/water-kettle-frother-frothpro.shtml

Lift that knife, lift that fork! Exercise as you eat.

For years we’ve been told that you if you slow down while eating you won’t eat so much. True or not, here’s something that will slow down even the fastest eater and give them a bit of exercise at the same time! The Knife and Fork Lift is a combination of utensils and dumbbells! Yep you read that right! These dumbbell utensils can serve as a constant reminder that eating puts weight on and requires exercise to take it off. Lifting food with these utensils is like doing curls with dumbbells because each one weighs 1.5 lbs! So if you’re cutting a piece of steak with the knife & fork you’re working with 3 pounds of stainless steel. Knife and Fork Lift’s inventor, Tom Madden says. “Everybody approaches it as a joke, but when you think about it, it does require you to eat more slowly.” Eating more slowly, say many health experts, allows the brain time to register feelings of satiety, resulting in eating less. That’s why Tom came up with a knife and fork encased in a dumbbell-shaped handle. I ate with these things and you definitely feel you’re lifting some weight! They’re beautifully made and can be used a table centerpiece if you don’t want to actually use them. They can stand on end as a silent reminder to slow down and chew! Heck, there's even a medical warning about using them to exercise on the company website! $39.95, plus shipping and handling. And now there's a newly added matching spoonlift. 

 www.knifeandforklift.com

Here’s a device that can help you save energy year round.

Black & Decker Thermal Leak Detector lets find leaks around doors, windows, your air conditioner, etc. It even can check to see if air is coming in around electric outlets. If the light is green, there’s no leak. When you first turn it on it will get a ‘reference’ temperature of the room and the light will turn green. Then you start your scanning, moving the device 1 to 4 inches from each part of the room where outside air might enter. If the beam turns blue it means cold air is leaking in. Use this when checking for leaks in the winter. When the light turns red it means hot air is getting in. Use that in the summer when you want to keep cool air-conditioned air inside. You also set the Leak Detector for the range of temperature difference you want, 1, 5 or 10 degrees. Black & Decker says their Thermal Leak Detector could save you up to 20% of your heating and cooling energy costs. Not bad for a device that sells for under $50. Runs on one 9-volt battery. 

http://blackanddecker.com/Energy/ThermalLeakDetector.aspx?WT.mc_id=BDThermalLeakDetector

Here’s an ultimate energy saver. It just needs water to run!

Bedol Water Powered Alarm Clocks really do their part to reduce our carbon footprint by running on tap water alone! When they first arrived I filled the reservoir with water wondering if this really could be possible. With seconds, the digital clock started running. Amazing. There are three versions of the water clock. I showed the latest two. The smaller one, the Water Droplet clock, is appropriately sculpted in the shape of – well, a water droplet. It can run up to sixteen weeks or more on just plain tap water! (They don't recommend using bottled water.) Just refill the water reservoir when you see it running low through the translucent case. The Water Droplet retails for $29 and is available in four colors. The newest eco-friendly Bedol Water Alarm is the Smiley and it’s available in six colors: Red, green, orange, blue, yellow and charcoal. The clock’s base acts as a fill spout cap for water (approximately four cups) held in the reservoir which powers the clock. It can run an amazing four months (or more) between water changes. Actual operation times varies depending on the content of local tap water. The clock’s power plant employs the ions in water to generate electrical current.  Each clock features a daily or hourly alarm and easy to set 12 hour or 24 hour clock.

www.bedolwhatsnext.com

CFL bulbs (Compact Florescent Light) are efficent, but LED bulbs are even MORE efficient.

CCrane introduced the first 60-watt direct replacement LED bulb about four years ago, the GeoBulb. It cost more than $100! But now the price has dropped to $39.99. (Don’t forget the first CFL bulbs were about $30!) The GeoBulb is the same size as a conventional incandescent bulb suitable for direct replacement in any indoor open fixture. It puts out more light than a standard 60-watt bulb but uses less than 8 watts. That’s about 45% less than even CFL bulbs. Also LED bulbs are instant on/off. They don’t take time to reach full brightness. The newest bulb, the GeoBulb3 is built for long lasting durability. It’s the first bulb built to last for about 50,000 hours! It just may be the last bulb you’ve ever have to buy. And you’ll be using just 8 watts of electric instead of 60. That can really offset the price of the bulb. As with CFL bulbs, as people start using them more and more, sales will increase and the prices will drop further and faster. Right now GeoBulbs are not dimmable. Part of the problem is that most dimmers don’t go down to zero watts. So while an incandescent bulb may appear to be off when totally dimmed, a super efficient LED bulb like the GeoBulb would stay on! Available in soft and warm white. Learn more here:

http://www.ccrane.com/lights/led-light-bulbs/geobulb-led-light-bulb.aspx?RefID=WS110401WSDG0100