ACCESSORIZE Your GoPro

I really love GoPro photos and maybe got a camera for Christmas. Surprise! I was given a kit with GoPro accessories to test out and I will give my honest opinion. It rocks!

Everything comes in a shockproof case so you can keep track of all 31 pieces. Yeah, I wrote 31 pieces in this accessory kit. It has a helmet mount you can take on your motorcycle rides, a floating grip for underwater use, a chest strap for your adrenaline moments you probably shouldn't tell mom about, a selfie stick, tripod for my favorite kind of selfies, other mounts and straps, and it comes with a free 8GB memory card.

This kit has accessories that are made to fit GoPro cameras (yes, even your Hero 4 silver). The headstrap will stay on while diving, but be cautious. And the suction cups on the mounts were produced and designed to hold your action camera in its place, which means it has super power.

I love companies that back their products and this kit happens to come with a 1 year warranty. So accessory up and let's get out and take some photos!

#ActionCameraKit

WE MAKE THE MOUNTAIN LOOK GOOD

I probably haven't been on ski slopes for at least 10 years, but when your little "Czech brother" needs to test out his new skis because his school is taking a week long trip, you one-piece suit up!

Ivanka and I were warming up the mountain temps with our matching outfits.

 The guys didn't look too bad either.

First run on the bunny hill to boost my confidence.

Check out the Czech ski lifts in this video. It was like riding a frisbee on a stick.

I appreciate the bum tap at the end from the attendant.

I still don't know what to do with the poles when I go down the mountain so I ditched them.

Tomorrow we are going to try snowboarding in Germany.

I have a feeling that might be more my style.

All I now is we sure made that mountain look good.

LINZ, AUSTRIA

Sometimes I drive 2.5 hours to another country just to take a photo of a cool memorial all by myself.

Then sometimes I turn around and drive back. It was well worth the trip.

I drove to Linz, Austria, to the Mauthausen Concentration Camp. Some people might think this isn't the happiest way to spend a Christmas vacation, but I loved the drive.

I have been to the Dachau concentration camp in Germany before and the feeling there was very heavy. I wasn't interested in going on a tour here - I came just to see this giant menorah memorial. 

 It is free to see the memorial, but you must obtain a ticket. As I was getting my ticket from the visitor center, the woman behind the desk wrote on my map and told me to go to the sculpture spot by the gorge and then walk through to the museum where I can visit two rooms for free as well. 

I went to visit the two rooms. Might as well, right?! Well, the two rooms in the museum were the killing rooms and room of names listing around 82,000 victims. Thank you, visitor center lady for a rush of emotions.

The end of my trip was a walk by a beautiful gorge surrounding the area and a look at what are called the Stairs of Death.

 It might not be the happiest place to visit and you might not get the happiest feelings there or maybe even looking at these photos, but it reminded me that I am lucky. We are lucky to be alive, to have freedom, and to learn from the past to be better people.

SUMAVA GREATNESS

Life is beauty full. My goal this year it to do more things I won't forget. I want to find beauty and greatness everywhere I go and not complain so much. I have found that beautiful thoughts make beautiful people. I am lucky to be where I am and who I am. No more complaining. (I might have to be reminded of this a few times...)

I used to complain about going to the forest house in Borova Lada with my Czech family (I even called it Boring Lada), but now I just look harder for the beauty and fun opportunities I have in the trips. Here is what I have come up with so far:

Every day is a start of something beautiful. Enjoy the heck out of it.

NEW YEAR IN PRAGUE

I was given a last minute opportunity to drive to Prague for a night or two for a New Year celebration. 

In Prague, I found myself being a tour guide to a lost individual, 

 sharing sparklers with someone who had NEVER lit them before tonight, 

introducing foreigners to the most delicious Czech cinnamon treats called Trdelnik

(It is totally worth it to get it with a little nutella spread inside).

speaking with an Australian girl who was crying because it was the first time she was experiencing snow and she was so happy (not pictured), 

and viewing some aerial fireworks lit by random people on the street (possibly drunk). I didn't stay long because I was afraid of getting shot in the face with a roman candle, but I sat in the window in the apt on Parizska and watched and listened to the works all night long.

May we spread joy and smiles around the world this coming New Year and try to make at least one person's experience a little brighter each day (including yourself).

Happy New Year.

I love you.

POSTURE

I recently saw an article that listed a reason to be very jealous of Taylor Swift. I mean she has a lot of things going for her like money, fame, talent, the ability to wear red lipstick without looking stupid, super hot guys in her music videos, supermodel friends, etc. But among those things is she she has amazing posture!

It's true. I looked through all of the photos in the article and Swifty is always looking poised and practically perfect in every one.

So this got me thinking about myself and noticing how I slump on the couch to watch a movie and it's horrible. I was given a Faburo adjustable posture back brace to test out for a bit.

This brace is comfortable enough to wear throughout the day. It is great for long periods of sitting behind a desk at work, or a daily jog. The brace is designed is designed to pull your shoulders back, straightening your posture while constantly reminding you to position your shoulders in the proper form.

While helping to fix posture, the brace also helps relieve many back pain issues. With your back muscles in proper form, spinal pressure may be relieved. That's a plus!

The brace is available in black and white. It is easily adjustable via the shoulder straps and fits many sizes (26"-40" chest size). I even had my mom try it out (that's her in the top two photos).

Tip: for greater comfort, wear the brace over a shirt.

Of course, for best results in straightening your posture your physical participation is required...unless you have a magical TayTay wand to wave around. Give it a try. Now I'm off to drink gallons of water to get that JLo glow she promises comes from her major consumption of water. I wonder if she has a bladder as small as mine though.

#BestPostureBrace

Veselé Vánoce

Veselé Vánoce...That's how they say Merry Christmas in Czech.

That's where I am for Christmas. This is how we do it here:

 We make Christmas cookies.

 We wear ridiculous red and green reindeer antlers and jingle bell all the way.

 We decorate the tree.

 We have family parties.

 We make schnitzel and potato salad.

 We eat. Then we eat and eat...and eat.

Oh, and then we open presents.

I guess it was a pretty normal Christmas celebration...just in another language.