New this 12-Week year? Brushing, mummies and mushrooms

The Brush Off

Washing my face is one of the best parts of my day since I’ve tried the new Silk’n DermBeaute Deep Penetrating Facial Brush. Another is immediately after when I feel so invigorated I can’t stop touching my skin. I know you’re not supposed to touch, because then you’d have to wash again, but the washing feels so good. Anyways, best not to overuse a great thing. It does feel like the power of a spa in an ergonomic little machine with soft brushes to clean sensitive skin and other heads that exfoliate and stimulate. It happens through sonic vibrations. So now you’re clean, but here’s where they get  you: without all those dead cells building up, your fancy schmancy creams and treatments will now absorb and do their job better and your skin is “brighter.” It’s a win-win and worth a little extra you ought to spend on yourself sometimes. The benefits pay off.

Look for this brand. I remember back in the ‘70s my cousin got a prototype of this kind of brush and I wanted one soooo bad. I eventually tried one that seems archaic to the DermBeaute.  I feel I should have more to say about something I love so much, but bottom line: It does what it says, very well. www.silkn.com

Mummy look for high-tech

LoopAttachment’s super-soft silicone case for iPhones is called the Mummy. It’s a wrap. Like bandages. This cool tool seems a contradiction, because it is protecting your phone even as the impressive sleek parts of your actual phone peek through. And here’s another thinker. The bands in back expand enough for you to tuck a few credit cards in there. Why, those should be kept “under wraps” somewhere else, one might “charge.” A woman headed out on the town will appreciate this feature as she slides her slim bundle into a tiny evening bag. Men, your Mummy won’t pick up lint as some covers do, makers say.

I’m loving the attention Mummy is getting and I love the sleek feel of the silicone. They come in crazy color packs, like The Hulk, in purple, neon green and black. Creators are proud to be associated with downtown Chicago. Wonder if they do business near offices of “The Good Wife?” www.loopattachment.com

Mushroom kit

It wasn’t my first log. With GMHP Gourmet & Mushroom Products, Foodies can grow shiitake, pom pom blanc, oyster, Sonoma brown and other mushrooms you may not have even heard of. (I confess, I hadn’t heard of two of the ones I just mentioned.)

So you water this log and keep it your home until little shrooms start producing right there in your home. Then you just cut them off and eat them. It’s a curiosity for the family, though the process is a bit slow for a party game. It sure is a delicious conversation starter. Visit www.gmushrooms.com for the scoop on your indoor mushroom kit. I love the paperwork that comes with this earth-loving product. It’s printed on sustainable eucalyptus paper and tells how you can recycle your kit into potting soil. The shiitake kit I tried could produce two or more flushes, or crops. That didn’t happen to me, though. And I thought I had a green, or fungus, thumb.

Can you do a 12-week year?

Instead of asking “how” all the time, try “what if.”  Think of your week like the business world thinks of quarters in the year, and pick up the pace. Set off blocks of time to focus on tackling the work you’d rather put off – be it you’re company’s big job or  organizing the school carpool schedule. After all, home and work life go together to make a whole experience. Wouldn’t it be great to have more time and a higher success rate when you’re done?

“When you redefine the concept of a year, your life will change,” promises Moran. “A year is no longer 12 months; it is now only 12 weeks, followed by the next 12 Week Year, ad infinitum. Each 12 week period stands on its own.

          “You no longer have the luxury of putting off critical activities, thinking there is ‘plenty of time’ left to meet your goals,” he adds in press materials. “When you have only 12 weeks, each week matters, each day matters, each moment matters. And the result is profound.”

The moment an athlete becomes great is not when the gold medal is won. That is evidence of greatness, which comes when he or  she makes the decision to do what it takes to become great, authors say and urge us to think of deadlines as the “good guys.”

 “Deadlines aren’t sinister in and of themselves—we only feel that way about them when we aren’t on track to meet them or when they’re unreasonable,” Moran asserts. “But realistic deadlines are actually great motivators. They are tools that can help you to hone your focus, increase your efficiency, and realize your full potential. When you think about deadlines this way, it makes sense to have more of them, not less! They can help you to create end-of-year energy, focus, and commitment throughout the year.”

Become the CEO of your own life, be honest and plan for success. I love this kind of book and would love a lot of people I know to both read it and follow the advice. Here’s one for the road. Try to stop thinking you “have to” do something and say I “choose to.”

www.12weekyear.com.