"Instead of thinking of sleep as the ending of your day, start thinking about it as the beginning of your tomorrow". - Dr. Angela Holliday-Bell I am writing this story in an airplane coming home from a trip to see my dad dreaming of coming home to my Tempur-Pedic Adjustable Bed. This is the only picture Mary Beth and I took from our two visits to Laguna Beach in our most recent trip. We walked from Heisler Park down the steps to the beach nestled between the rocks watching the waves and surfers (not captured in the photo). Mary Beth and I took a few day trip cross country to California and had a great time. We spent the time at our favorite restaurant, Las Brisas, in Laguna Beach. Not only is the food amazing, the restaurant sits on top of the hill overlooking the ocean in front of you, the beach to the left down the hill, and the start of a short, beautiful winding walking path to the right. Mary Beth and I spend the next afternoon back at Laguna Beach walking the path and then heading down to a small beach just below nestled within the rocky cliffs. We watched some of the surfers on a wintery 86 degree day in January. The last day of our trip was spent driving 90 minutes to Temecula, where we went for wine tasting at Ponte, with lunch following at their restaurant. The tasting started with six, one oz pours of their wines, where we choose a selection of whites and reds, each one better than the last. The bartender (I guess that is what you call the person who is pouring the wine), also shared a small sample of a $110 reserve bottle they had. Let me tell you that there is a difference between a $110 bottle of wine and the $65 bottle we also sampled (which was excellent) and a $30 bottle, which was also very good. The $110 bottle was impressive. We had a few bottles shipped to us including the $110 bottle (thanks dad). I can’t wait to try it with our Josephinenhutte wine glasses. I feel like I am digressing but there is a point to this start of this story. The visit to see my dad reminded me of a time Mary Beth and I went to visit about 20 years ago. Mary Beth had back surgery a few years prior and had been having problems sleeping. When we were there, her back didn’t hurt and the two of us woke up much more rested. We had a better night’s sleep on my dad’s guest mattress than what we had at home. This prompted us to go home and search for mattresses the following weekend. We went to our local Mattress Firm and tried all the mattresses as one does when they go to a mattress store. Following a bit of pondering, we really liked the Tempur-Pedic mattresses but were hesitant about the cost (at least I was). We did wind up buying the adjustable frame but opted for another mattress brand at the time. This is the side profile of our bed in its fully extended position. We never use it to this extreme, but I wanted to share what the adjustable bed is capable of rising to. After getting it delivered and trying it for a week or so, we realized this was just not the right mattress for us. Taking advantage of the Mattress Firm 120 Night Sleep Trial, we took another trip to the store and made an exchange, this time spending a few extra dollars (ok, a bit more than a few), and exchanged it for a Tempur-Pedic adjustable mattress. Mary Beth saw an immediate improvement in how her back felt and while I personally never had many issues sleeping, my sleep improved as I started waking up more rested than before. It used to be that when Mary Beth and I went to a nice hotel, that is where you got to sleep in a nice bed. For us, it’s the opposite. It’s been about 15-20 years since we made the exchange. Every time we come back from a hotel or a visit to someone else’s home (including from my dad’s guest bedroom), there is nothing that compares to our Tempur-Pedic bed at home. The Rooted & Refined Living Expert Tip: "Sleep is so important to everything we do, I felt this quote should be restated... Instead of thinking of sleep as the ending of your day, start thinking about it as the beginning of your tomorrow" My perspective on buying a great mattress is the following. The experts tell us that you should get 8 hours of sleep a night but with only 24 hours in a day, that means on average, we are sleeping 1/3 of the day or in reality, 1/3 of our entire lives. So many of us take the time to research and invest in other things like the stock market, but what about investing in a quality mattress, a good pillow, and comfortable sheets. Should we invest 1/3 of our salary on a mattress, pillow, and sheets? Probably not, but making an investment in a great mattress is game changing for your sleep and how you will feel the following day. Do yourself a favor, this weekend, go to your local mattress store and try out a few mattresses. You may soon realize what you are missing. I am not naive to the fact that buying a Tempur-Pedic Adjustable Bed is a big financial investment and not everyone had that kind of disposable income. The mattress is only 1 piece of the puzzle and if you don’t have thousands of dollars stuffed under your mattress (get the irony😊), think about purchasing a really comfortable pillow. It's hard to tell but there is a slight indent in the middle to cradle your head. Pillows are just as important as the mattress but buying a pillow is cheap in comparison, with good pillows ranging from $50-$250. When researching your pillow, the first thing you need to determine is if you are a side, back, or stomach sleeper. There are pillows that are specifically designed for all three and some that offer combinations of the scenarios. For example, I sleep on a combination on my side and on my back. Flip side of the Tempur-Pedic pillow. This side is a bit more oval shaped. Tempur-Pedic Adjustable Bed After doing a ton of research, we purchased the Tempur-Pedic pillow which supports the combination of my sleep patterns. After realizing how our sleep continued to improve with the new pillow, we purchased one for each of the kids too. I know some people will think that kids are kids and they will sleep on anything we give them, which is true, but Mary Beth and I had the belief that if we felt better in the morning after a good night’s sleep with our pillows, our kids would as well. Stay with me here and I have a few more things to cover. This is the DreamFit sheets we use. We have two sets and alternate when we do laundry. We also purchased a nice set of sheets (two of them to be exact) to go with our adjustable mattress. The sheets we have had are very comfortable and have straps to have the sheet stay in place when we move the bed up and down. You can do some research on your own but the ones we currently use are from DreamFit. I would also consider Boll and Branch the next time I am in the market based our positive experience with their towels. I did have one challenge recently. The mattress pad we were using for many years needed to be replaced. I researched and researched but couldn’t find a mattress pad that fit the 11 inches, which was what our mattress measured in depth. All of the ones I was finding online stated they fit 10-18 inch depth but none specific to 11 inches. I had to purchase the all-in-one pad as there were no other options, including me reaching out to Tempur-Pedic. ZumberLock solved my problem of the mattress pad bunching up. Not seen but there is a strip that locks the pad or sheet into place. This was now causing a new problem with the mattress pad bunching up underneath the sheets. But problem solved; somewhere in my travels online, I came across the ZlumberLock sheet holder, which we now have on all 4 corners of the bed. It took all the lumpiness out of the mattress pad, and we are now back to a good night’s sleep. Newly purchased travel pillow for Mary Beth, which she really liked in our last two trips. The last topic I want to cover is a travel pillow. Mary Beth and I travel periodically and as I mentioned earlier, I don’t have any problems going to sleep but Mary Beth does, especially the first few nights we are away. The pillows are never comfortable, and it never feels like the peaceful sanctuary we created at home. This year for Christmas, I got her a Tempur-Pedic Travel Pillow which she used this week on our trip to California. It’s just a smaller version of what we have at home, and it offers her the ability to get a good night’s sleep while we are away. Frequently Asked Questions Would you buy a Tempur-Pedic bed again? Absolutely. Our current bed is still working great for us so we are not in the market, but when we are, we won't look at another brand. Our biggest decision will be which Tempur-Pedic mattress to buy! Have you ever flipped your Tempur-Pedic Mattress? We only did it once, about 10 years after we purchased it. We were amazed as to how well it held it's shape from the original purchase. Does the ZlumberLock really work? Yes, we saw an improvement in the smoothness of our mattress pad immediately. It went from being very bunched up to smooth as silk in seconds. While we use it for our mattress pad, it can also be used for sheets. Start Your Own Tempur-Pedic Good Night Sleeping Sensory Experience If you are longing for a good night's sleep, the Tempur-Pedic Bed is the way to go. It will elevate your sensory experience allowing you to become more alert when you wake up and throughout the rest of the day. Try it today and let me know your thoughts in the comments! For Transparency: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. If you purchase through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products I truly love and use myself.

Cover photo by Nik Owens Game changing! That is the only way to describe the pizza when it’s made with the Ooni pizza oven. Michael and I checking out the new pizza oven on our first day cooking. As you can see, we were both curious. You can also see the table Michael built in High School Wood Shop class. I will get back to the Ooni Pizza Oven Review in a bit as I first need to help set some context. A Pizza Snob from New Jersey When my wife first met me, she called me a pizza snob, and I have to agree. You see, I grew up in New Jersey and became accustomed to the New York style pizza. For the people who live in the New York/New Jersey area, you may have your favorite place to get your pizza from but in general, you will defend the New York style until the day you die. People from the New York area will scoff at the idea that someone likes pizza from Chicago, Detroit, or even New Haven, CT. To New York and New Jersey residents, there is no comparison, period. Emma practicing her pizza throwing I lived in New Jersey for almost 25 years and still visit on a regular basis as my mom and family are still there. Growing up, I used to have pizza a few times a week, especially as I got into middle school and high school where I could ride my bike down to the local pizza shop, Tony's Pizza. My friends and I would get a few slices each and every Friday was pizza night at our house. I still go to Tony's when I am home visiting my mom. However, I moved to New England and my struggle to find good pizza was bewildering (especially because I really wasn't that far away- it's not like I moved across country). My first experience of non-New York style pizza was when I was in college in Rhode Island. Mary Beth, who was my girlfriend at the time (now wife) and I went out for pizza and I asked for a slice. The guy looked at me and stated, “no slides, we only sell a whole pizza”. It was at this time when I started to realize things were different and finding good pizza was going to be a lifelong challenge if I lived outside of the New York/New Jersey area. As they say, the struggle is real. The Rooted & Refined Living Expert Tip: "Transform the prep into a social workshop. Provide individual doughs for guests to curate their own culinary masterpieces, making the creative process just as memorable as the pizza itself." The Struggle to Find Great Pizza For years, I went on a search for good pizza trying to find something that was at least comparable to what I grew up with. I was like a wondering nomad continuing to be disappointed in my efforts to find a place I would stack up, especially living 40 miles west of Boston. Over time, I started to find some restaurants that started offering Neapolitan style pizza, with my first experience in New York City and then a restaurant opened up near me in Worcester, MA called Volturno. Volturno was the first restaurant in Massachusetts to get certified in associazione verace pizza napoletana (apn) to guarantee the style of preparation and cooking that originated from Napoli, Italia. My family and I frequent Volturno often, not only for the great pizza and pasta, but the open-air atmosphere that it offers. However, when we are not going out for pizza, we now cook on our Ooni, which does a great job in replicating my experience going to Volturno with a Neapolitan style pizza. My pizza going into the Ooni Pizza Oven. The metal launch peel is a requirement to slide the pizza in. A turning peel is also required to move it around, so it doesn't burn in one spot. Ooni Pizza Oven Review Now, here is where I can say with 100% certainty that the pizza cooking in Ooni is Game Changing. For over 25 years, we have been using the same bread maker to make pizza dough (I know, I still haven’t ventured into making my dough by hand). The bread maker for us has been a great way to make multiple doughs with little effort. The bread maker and same recipe is our constant in this comparison. As a gift when we were first married, someone gave us a really nice pizza stone which we used to cook our pizzas for many years. At some point about 10-15 years ago, we started cooking our pizzas on the grill. Same recipe from the same bread maker and the grilled pizza was 10 times better than the pizza stone. Cooking on the grill became our go to for pizza making for quite some time. Finished product, about 90 seconds later. Even the slightly crispy/burnt parts of the crust taste really good. To dive into my Ooni Pizza Oven review, A few years ago, Mary Beth gave me an Ooni pizza oven for my birthday and I was entering into a world I never knew existed. She solved the pizza problem I was trying to solve for 30 years. I started to read and watch YouTube videos about the Ooni experience with the oven that gets up to 900 degrees Fahrenheit (482 degrees Celsius). I was impressed and couldn’t wait to get started. The problem was I didn’t have the proper tools and putting in dough into an oven that cooks in 60-90 seconds is unforgiving if you can’t get it out in time or can’t turn it quickly enough. My first day cooking on the Ooni wasn’t a success and most of it burned to a crisp, with all of the pizza going into the garbage. It wasn’t until I got the Ooni Pizza Peel and Ooni Pizza Turning Peel that I was able to control the cooking process. While I don’t consider myself an expert by any means, 9 out of every 10 pizzas I cook are impressive. I wasn't kidding when I said it gets hot. This is pointed to the middle part of the stone inside the oven. As a result, I now have the ability to compare the same bread maker dough recipe cooked on the pizza stone, grill, and now the Ooni. I can say with 100% certainty that the Ooni is hands down, the best option for cooking a restaurant quality Neapolitan pizza in the comfort of your own home. I have the Ooni Pro 16 which has since been discontinued. It is a multi-fuel oven that has an optional gas attachment. I have opted not to get the attachment and use a combination of wood and lump charcoal to cook my pizzas. They have so many great ovens now including electric ones if you live in an apartment. I was fortunate to have my son make me a pizza table that we use but Ooni also offers tables. To my surprise, I learned that Ooni pizza ovens can sit on top of a wood surface (in addition to metal and stone). Since we have been using our Ooni pizza oven, we cook 9-12 pizzas at a time as we typically only bring it out when we have a crowd. To support 9-12 pizzas, we now have 3 individual wood pizza peels and just recently, a stacked pizza rack with 4 additional peels from Slyced. I also recommend getting an infrared thermometer to check the temperature of the stone. Slyced Wooded Pizza Peel Rack holds 4 doughs ready for toppings to be added. Lastly, for my birthday, I just received a cast iron Dual-Sided Grizzler Plate which similar to my experience cooking my first pizza. I am still getting used this new toy. In my first try, I cooked potatoes that cooked so fast, when I took them out, they were still cooking on the Grizzler. They were a bit crispier than I had hoped! As you can tell I am passionate about my pizza. I hope you can elevate your sensory experience just the same. Also, don't forget to cut all of your toppings on your John Boos wood cutting boards! Have you tried cooking your own pizza? What was your experience? P.S. I had a few people ask me about Gluten Free flour so I asked the Ooni Facebook group. By a wide margin, they recommended the Gluten Free Antico Molino Napoli Antimo Caputo Pizza Flour. Frequently Asked Questions Have you tried the new Ooni Koda2 pizza oven? Not yet but hope to in the future. The newest one with the revolving stone is impressive How long was the learning curve to make the perfect pizza? I am not sure I will ever get to the point in making the perfect pizza, but it took 3 or 4 tries before I was able to consistently make good pizzas that I was happy with. I was comfortable inviting friends over after 5 or 6 tries. Is the metal pizza peel required to launch into the oven? Can't I just use a wooden peel? I highly recommend using the metal pizza peel. Due to the length of the handle and the ease of the dough launching off of the peel, it makes for a great combination. Start Your Own Home-Made Pizza Sensory Experience If you’re curious to start your own home-made pizza sensory experience, I’ve listed my favorite products below. Please note the Ooni pizza oven I use is discontinued so I shared a link to their store for the new products. Give it a try and let me know your thoughts in the comments! For Transparency: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. If you purchase through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products I truly love and use myself.

Golden Girl Original Granola I think I have tried every granola brand on the market based on the selection in every major grocery store in a 20-mile direction. It wasn't until 2 years ago when I found the one that my wife and I love, Golden Girl Granola. Of course, this is not to be confused with the great sitcom, Golden Girls, or the lighthearted fast talking drama with a slightly different name, Gilmore Girls. But more on Golden Girl Granola in a bit. Let me share with you how we got here. If you know me by now, I am a big fan of products that are made in small batches that can only be produced by individuals or small businesses. These products are made with love and care and you can taste it in every bite. Similar stories include Dick Taylor Craft Chocolate Review: The Intersection of Art and Flavor and Smugglers Notch Maple Works Review: Elevating Breakfast With Wood Fired Flavor to name a few. When I first met Mary Beth, she lived in the area of MetroWest Massachusetts, which is about 40 miles west of Boston. If you talk to someone in Boston, you would think we live in Ohio based on how far they believe it is outside of the city, but the reality is its only an hour drive to get to into town. Yup, people from Boston refer to their city as town, like Beantown. Very opposite from where I grew up in New Jersey where we referred to New York City as "the city". Not far from where Mary Beth lived was a discount retail store called Spag's. This store was a destination for so many people in the area to get a wide range of products from hardware to deodorant, all at great prices. I think I made the visit to the store once or twice over the years before it was sold and then ultimately out of business. The store was empty for a few years to the best of my recollection. Back to Spag's and the location further down in the story. News story from the local ABC affiliate in Boston on Golden Girl Granola Mary Beth and I got married in 1998 and then in 2000 moved up to Grafton, MA. We initially put a $1,000 deposit on an attached condo in Shrewsbury MA, actually not far at all from the original Spag's location. It turned out that the condo design we wanted was not available in the location we picked as they were building the condos. As a result, we backed out and started looking again. One of my thoughts was to look for a house not far from a grocery store, Stop & Shop, a store with a good reputation. I figured if they selected an area to put their stores, it was already a good location for Mary Beth and I to plant our roots. As we started looking, there was an open house in Grafton, MA and we wound up buying our first house. If you are curious, it was about 1 mile from Stop & Shop, so my approach worked. The Rooted & Refined Living Expert Tip: "Life will take you down many windy paths. As you meander along, you will find unexpected treasures. Keep your eyes open for what is possible." Stop & Shop was our go to place to shop for many years and then the area where we lived really started to grow. The headquarters of Staples and EMC (which was sold to Dell) brought in an influx of people to the area. With the population growth also came new grocery stores. Initially, it was Wegmans, which had a cult following in the east coast and had 25,000 people shop in the first weekend. We made it the second weekend. Then after that was Market32, a division of Price Chopper. Both Matthew and Michael worked at Market32 during high school and college. The last big store to arrive was Whole Foods, which found a home in the old location of Spag's. I know many of you, at least here in the United States, knows about Whole Foods and the good quality they offer. The other thing that Whole Foods does a really nice job with is to honor the location that it is moving into. If it was previously a historic bank, it would try to keep some of that theme. In the case of Spag's, there is a homage to Spag's across one of the walls, which is a really nice touch to make a very big chain feel a bit more local and personal. Small Batch Granola Based on the 4 different grocery store chains I referenced above, along with a few independent stores and a few farmers markets, we tried just about every granola around. It wasn't until my 3rd or 4th try at Whole Foods when I landed on the small batch granola from Golden Girl Granola. Whole Foods has a few of their 7 varieties including the Original, Forest Maple, Chocolate Decadence, and Home Sweet Honey. We have tried them all and love every one of them. Golden Girl Forest Maple Granola Mary Beth often puts the granola in her yogurt and I typically eat it plain as a snack in the afternoon or as a topping in my Acai bowl. It wasn't until I went on their website where I found they have 7 different varieties including one I would still like to try, Blueberry. I was also very excited to see that they also sell their granola at a few local farms. Mary Beth and I made a trip a few weeks ago to Lilac Hedge Farm in Rutland, MA for ice cream. We picked the location because it also had a little shop to buy things like eggs and their own meats. Golden Girl Granola was on their shelves as well and we picked up a few while we were there. As an aside, I was just thinking about the pictures I will be taking to share as a part of this post. To give you a sense of what is actually inside the bag, I will be putting it in a small dish and taking pictures. The problem is we usually only open one bag at a time and now I will be opening up 4 at once. I guess I will be eating a lot of granola in the next few weeks! Frequently Asked Questions How many varieties does Golden Girl Granola offer? Currently, Golden Girl Granola offers 7 varieties including Original, Chocolate Decadence, Home Sweet Honey, Forest Maple, Blueberry, Creative Cranberry, and Truly Tropical Where did the idea of their logo come from? The logo image of the little girl with pigtails was created by their oldest daughter, Jacquie and a childhood love of Pippi Longstocking. Is the granola handmade? Yes, each batch of granola is hand measured and baked with love from the mother/daughter duo of Deborah & Jacquie Start Your Own Granola Sensory Experience If you are looking to upgrade your snacking experience, Golden Girl Granola will satisfy your cravings and elevate your sensory experience. Try it today and let me know your thoughts in the comments! For Transparency: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. If you purchase through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products I truly love and use myself.

"Disclaimer: This article shares personal experiences and is for informational purposes only. It is not medical advice and should not replace professional medical consultation." Photo by Mikey Frost I have always been a breakfast eater. I remember when I was a kid, my mom would always make me breakfast. Sometimes it was eggs, other times it was pancakes or waffles. Some days, I would make myself breakfast cereal with milk. My Blue Zone smoothie journey has been nothing short of evolutionary. The thing that I loved the most was reading the back of the cereal box. That is what we did before the days of scrolling on a cell phone. As I became an adult, I continued to eat breakfast but during the work week, I would usually have breakfast cereal augmented by eggs on the weekend. About 7 or 8 years ago, I noticed that I wasn't feeling great after breakfast (even after switching to the healthier, organic cereals. I don't know if it was the milk sensitivity or the lack of real nutrition that was derived from the cereal, even though it was fortified with vitamins. After consulting with some friends, my wife and I embarked on making smoothies. We purchased an organic protein powder with Mary Beth choosing the chocolate flavor and me picking the veggie flavor. Researching the ingredients, it had everything we could ask for including 20 grams of protein and 6 grams of fiber (21% of your daily allowance) and up to 50% of the daily allowance needed across over 15 vitamin categories. The Rooted & Refined Living Expert Tip: "Smoothies can provide a complete meal experience. Periodically assess how your daily smoothie is making you feel and make adjustments as needed. Treat the process as an ongoing experiment in sensory health. Assess how you feel two hours post-consumption, both physically and cognitively. Make adjustments as needed." Mary Beth's smoothies were fairly basic with the protein powder, a banana, ice, one or two other supplements and she was good to go. Mine was much more involved adding frozen fruit, bananas, ginger, and a few other items. Over time, my smoothie kept getting more involved. I should mention now that I pre-make the smoothies on Sunday for the 5 workdays, usually still having eggs or an Acia bowl on the weekends. In general, I felt great and so much better than I did when I was having cereal and milk. I even talked about it in my TEDx Talk, How Drinking Olive Oil and Curiosity Changed My Life. However, a few months ago, Mary Beth started to pull back on her smoothies referencing that she was starting to feel bloated from them, and for me, it wasn't having the same effect that it had when I started. Something was off and I couldn't put my finger on it. Then I read a post by Azadeh Gharehgozlou about protein bars and the reason why people are experiencing the same symptoms as Mary Beth. It was the way some of the proteins were processed. As a result, I decided to do something which seemed a bit radical but honestly, not that strange once I started digging into it a bit more. I replaced my protein powder with a combination of 1 can of Black Beans and 1 can of Garbanzo Beans (also known as Chickpeas). I think I almost gave my mom a heart attack reading this as I can't tell you how many times she tried to get me to eat beans as a kid. Now I am putting them in my smoothies and consuming them daily. The reality is that the black and garbanzo beans don't have a taste, and their texture gets mixed in with everything else. I do want to share that I do eat both on a regular basis anyway, but this is a deliberate way to consume both daily. I also wrote in another post, The Books That Transformed My Purpose and Longevity, where the author, Dan Buettner shared that one of the best foods that people consume in the Blue Zones regions are beans and they are consumed on a daily basis due to their inexpensive cost combined with their high protein and fiber content. For those of you who are wondering, here is what I put into my smoothies. I use an older version of the Ninja Professional and we also have this Ninja blender version for more daily use. My Blue Zone Smoothie Ingredient List: Frozen Wild Maine Blueberries Frozen Organic Strawberries Frozen Pineapples Frozen Spinach 2 Bananas 1 can of Black Beans 1 can of Garbanzo Beans 3 Tablespoons of Local Honey 2 Tablespoons of Pure Maple Syrup 3 cubes of fresh cut Ginger 1 Fresh Turmeric Root (or 1 tablespoon of the Turmeric Spice) 1/4 cup of Steel Cut Oats (I pre-grind them so I am not chewing my smoothie) Ground Pepper 1/2 Teaspoon of Sea Salt 1 teaspoon of Cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon of Cayanne Pepper 5 scoops of Bran 2 scoops of Peanut Butter Powder 2 scoops of Cacao Powder Daily, I add a trio blend of Chia, Hemp, and Flax Seed Mix (because it will expand and harden if premade) I think I got it all. I know this combination of foods is not for everyone (including my family), but it works for me. Plus, I know I am getting a well-balanced breakfast each day. I would love to hear about your breakfast / smoothie experiences in the comments below. For Transparency: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. If you purchase through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products I truly love and use myself.

"Disclaimer: This personal story is for informational purposes and is not medical advice." Just a picture to give you a little sense of calm. Last night, I watched the movie Woman of the Hour. It's a story of a serial killer based on true events. I watched it because Mary Beth was on the phone. She avoids intense movies since they make her anxious. Surprisingly, the film affected me too. That anxious feeling is the same reason why I am stopping the news and to regain my sense of calm. Normally, I can handle this genre without a hitch. To make matters worse, we then turned on the news to catch up on the day’s political events. While the news wasn’t horrific, the combination of the movie and the news left me feeling unsettled. The Rooted & Refined Living Expert Tip: "News is like clutter and removing it will feel like a weight has been lifted from your shoulders." As we do every night, we wrapped up our bedtime TV routine with an episode of Friends. Sometimes we only watch halfway, but other nights we enjoy the full episode. This routine helps Mary Beth (more than me) calm her mind. Last night, it helped me too. My Relationship with News Last night’s experience was unusual for me. I realized I hardly watch the news anymore. It's been about ten years since I made a conscious effort to cut back. I used to tune in every night, and my social media feeds were filled with news stories. You probably know how social media algorithms work, they feed you what you engage with. The more you watch something, the more it appears. Your brain operates similarly, but that’s a topic for another time. Now, if a major event occurs, I usually hear about it from Mary Beth or our kids, not through social media or TV. I’ve even set my social media feeds to exclude news entirely. Here’s how successful I was in eliminating news from my social media: I received ZERO notifications when Queen Elizabeth passed away a few years ago. The only way I found out was through my family. I also only got one notification about the winner of the last presidential election. Today, political news seeps into business and entertainment posts. As a result, I’ve had to unsubscribe from various outlets to reduce the negativity that news brings. Video of the stream behind my house after a few nice days melting 2 feet of snow. This is to help provide you with a sense of calm. Best is to just listen to the water falling. If you close your eyes, you may be able to hear multiple spots where the water is falling. Stopping the News For me, news, whether political or local, is often 95% bad or anxiety-inducing. I strive daily to eliminate these sources from my life. For instance, I subscribe to the Wall Street Journal, hoping to read about business news. However, 90% of their front-page articles have political headlines. Earlier this year, I unsubscribed from several other business publications for the same reason. I re-signed up for WSJ because there were articles I genuinely wanted to read. Instead of consuming news that seems to consume me, I focus on what uplifts me. Some might say I live in a bubble. But I prefer to eliminate negativity that comes from watching, listening to, or reading the news. By choosing to eliminate negativity, I create space for positive thoughts. The Neuroscience of Filtering Information Lately, I’ve been diving into neuroscience. One fascinating topic is how our brains filter what we want to see, much like social media algorithms. Did you know your brain processes 11 billion (yes, with a B) bits of information every second? Yet, you only consciously process about 40 bits per second. Think about that. It’s such a small number that my phone calculator struggled to display it. When I divided 40 by 11 billion, I got .0000000036. That’s an incredibly tiny fraction of what our brains process. Consider when you’re driving. You focus on the road and maybe the car in front of you. But what about the hundreds of trees whizzing by or the clouds overhead? Your brain filters them out. By choosing what we allow into our minds, we can create more space to elevate our sensory experiences. One specific meditative practice that I engage in on a daily basis is having a hot cup of loose leaf tea. Embracing Positivity So, why not filter out the news and opt for a good comedy instead? You might feel better as a result. I know I do. 😊 Cover photo by Cole Keister and post photo by Nadine Marfurt.

This story isn't for everyone, especially if you live in a warm weather climate like my friend Bob. Actually, I may be wrong. If you live in a warm weather location but travel periodically to a cold weather destination like New England or anywhere in a northern climate, this Cotopaxi Fuego Review may actually be for you as well. Me with my Cotopaxi Fuego winter jacket For clarification, I am going to use the word coat and jacket interchangeably. I did research and there is a general difference (jackets are shorter and typically lighter weight), but it's not relevant to this story. When I was a kid, I probably had one or two jackets/coats at most. One was a lightweight jacket for the fall and then a heavy coat for the winter. Then everything changed when I got married. Mary Beth's family, specifically her mother, loved coats. That also meant Mary Beth loved coats too and my closet of two was just not going to cut it. Over the years, I think I have had every type of jacket and coat you can imagine. For purposes of this story, the focus will be on the winter coats. I had a trench coat and raincoat for work as that is what you did when you went into New York City for work in the winter. I also had a ski jacket which was big, puffy, and bulky. The Rooted & Refined Living Expert Tip: "When the snow begins to fall, step outside and close your eyes. Listen to the silence, as each individual snowflake insulating the world around you. Breathe deep, letting the cold air and stillness ground you." As time went on, more and more jackets and coats filled our closets. I now have lightweight jackets for fall, rain, wind, and coats for cold, really cold, and really, really cold weather. A few years ago, I did donate my trench coat and raincoat as I just wasn't wearing them anymore (they also felt a bit old as felt like I was living in the 1960's on the show Mad Men). Last year, I wanted to update my outerwear a bit and find a jacket that was warm and lightweight. The technology has improved over the years where I don't need to have a big heavy ski jacket but a nice looking lightweight down jacket. Basically, I wanted to feel like I was a part of this century. Cotopaxi Fuego Review I went shopping to try a bunch of brands on. I think I tried them all and found that the Cotopaxi Fuego Down Hooded Jacket was the right one for me. Outside of the jacket itself, I found that Cotopaxi's core values of sustainability were impressive. As well, they make sure their clothing factories adhere to the UN Global Compact and Principles of Responsible Business. As a disclaimer, Cotopaxi is not a small business but is on the smaller side of some of the more popular outerwear brands. Me again with my Cotopaxi Fuego jacket The jacket I picked is very comfortable, lightweight, and stylish. What more can you ask for. The thing I love most is its comfort and lightweight design and it is very warm for those cold Boston winter days. Lastly, if you didn't know, Cotopaxi (koh-toh-PAHK-see) is one of the world's highest active volcanoes, located in Ecuador. If you are interested in discovering what Cotopaxi has to offer, check out the links below. 2 Month Update During a recent trip to North Conway, New Hampshire, the temperature was negative 2 degrees with a windchill of negative 15 degrees. Mary Beth, Michael, and I took a trip up the Cog Railway, which is the only railroad in the world that goes straight up the mountain. During the winter, it only goes up part way Mount Washington (during the summer it goes to the summit). It was so cold that Michael’s hot chocolate froze. Mount Washington, NH, which is known as having the worst weather in the world. For example, around 100 days per year, the summit gets hurricane force winds and has a record wind chill of -108 degrees Fahrenheit. The amazing thing about this photo is the entire area got 2 feet of snow the week prior but the only real snow you can see is on Mount Washington. I learned two things during this trip, both being in town and on Mount Washington. First my Cotopaxi Fuego jacket was perfect. It kept me very warm and was very lightweight as I shared in my original writing above. Second, I realized the hat I was wearing was just not sufficient. Following the trip, we went to visit a few outdoor stores, and I went searching for a beanie. I looked at all of them across multiple stores. I felt them for thickness, material feel, and the band strength (basically is it going to stretch out). I was excited to find that the Cotopaxi Alto Beanie met all my criteria. I was really excited after trying it on that it actually kept my ears warm with a combination of the material and the band strength, giving a nice snug feeling. I wore it for the rest of the weekend, and it will now be my first choice for these cold New England days. The only thing that would have made this experience better is to have cooked some French Toast with some Vermont Maple Syrup! Frequently Asked Questions What is the Cotopaxi Fuego jacket filled with? It is made with Insulation: 800-fill down from responsible sources according to Cotopaxi's website. How lightweight is the jacket? Honestly, it doesn't even feel like I am wearing a jacket at all as it feels like it weighs only a few ounces. How did the Cotopaxi Fuego jacket hold up in the harsh cold winters? I wore the jacket up Mount Washington, in New Hampshire in -15 degree wind chill and I was toasty warm. It blocked out both the wind and the cold. Start Your Own Down Jacket (and Beanie) Sensory Experience If you’re curious to start your own Cotopaxi Fuego Down Hooded Jacket and Beanie Sensory Experience, I’ve shared my current purchases below. Give it a try and let me know your thoughts in the comments! For Transparency: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. If you purchase through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products I truly love and use myself.

I grew up listening to stories of my dad's career. This is part one of his journey. ------------------------------ My business career was one of extremes. The first half of my career was working for Fortune 100 companies - Colgate Palmolive; Johnson & Johnson; Warner-Lambert and American Express. The second half started with a 3-man company. I graduated Wagner College with a degree in Business Administration specializing in accounting. I received an MBA from Pace University in Financial Management. Fortune 100 Career Journey I started out as a cost accountant with Colgate at their Jersey City, N.J. plant. I worked in a bullpen area with the sound of old-fashioned calculators throughout the day. Most of the accountants graduated from nearby St. Peters College. Two years after I joined one of my Colgate associates got a job with Johnson & Johnson in New Brunswick, N.J. A few months after he joined J&J, he called me up and said they had a job opening and to give it a shot. I did and I got the job making a few thousand a year more than at Colgate. I worked five years at J&J and my last boss got a job with Warner-Lambert in Morris Plains, N.J. He called and said a job working for him as a senior accountant was mine if I wanted it. My Fortune 100 Career Journey continued and I took the job in the Consumer Products Division doing P&Ls for each brand in the division... brands such as Listerine, Efferdent, Trident, Dentyne, Rolaids and Halls Cough Drops. I worked very closely with the Product Managers on each brand. The largest brand was Listerine, a market leader product that dominated the mouthwash category. The Group Manager on Listerine was a man named Steve Rothchild. He had a degree from Columbia and an MBA from Harvard. All the product managers had MBAs from the best universities. One day Steve approached me and says marketing a product is so much more than making commercials and going to sales conferences in Florida or Nassau. There is day to day involvement with market research, trade promotion, consumer promotion, shipping, costs, etc. I need someone who can work the numbers for me... "How would you like to become a Product Manager on Listerine?" I said sure Steve, but I don't have the MBA credentials. He said the ones who have these MBAs don't want to get involved with the numbers. They want to go to New York City and work with J. Walter Thompson, our ad agency, developing TV and print commercials. Then they want to go to the Palm with their agency counterpart for a steak dinner. I need someone who can get me the numbers I need accurately and on time. Steve was a real up and comer at W-L and was able to sell his Division President to give me the job. Current view of the competition between Listerine and Scope, sitting on a CVS shelf. I couldn't have joined the Listerine marketing team at a more critical time. Procter and Gamble had recently launched Scope mouthwash, and their advertising campaign was built around the fact it had the same germ kill efficacy but with a fresh minty taste. Listerine's typical user was older and skewed male by 2-1. Scope's was younger and skewed women by 2-1. Scope was beginning to erode Listerine's dominant share. A big meeting between the Listerine marketing team and J. Walter Thompson account executives took place. They came up with an ad campaign for Listerine that ranks as one of the greatest of all time. The campaign for Listerine took on Scope head on. It recognized Listerine tasted like medicine, but it worked. It also addressed the fact that Listerine users mostly gargled once a day in the morning, so the campaign drove home a simple message: Listerine Antiseptic—"The Taste People Hate Twice A Day." The commercial went after usage over users. It helped stabilize the brand and give Listerine the time to develop a sister brand... Listermint. You have to love YouTube as I was able to find this commercial from 1973 My job was to develop consumer in store Listerine displays, sweepstakes, coupons and trade incentives to keep from going out of stock. An interesting sidebar to this is that I worked with a lower-level creative person who was just starting at J. Walter Thompson. His name was James Patterson who has become one of the bestselling authors of all time. Patterson rose up the ranks at JWT and became Creative Director. He left the agency when his first novel featuring Alex Cross became a best seller. At Warner-Lambert I was offered the position of Director of International Marketing. I went to every Latin American and Asian company in the 5 years I had the job. My main claim to success was as a strategic planning facilitator. I would ask the questions regarding all the internal and external factors affecting their country business. Then we would develop 5-year growth plans and action plans to meet timetables. Page 1 of my dad's story. Internal factors are personnel, products, assets, liabilities, R&D. External factors are competition, government regulations, technology, legal, environmental. Internal factors can be controlled for the most part. External factors cannot be controlled (an example is COVID). My work in International Marketing attracted some suitors... the most interesting and lucrative was American Express where I worked for three years as Vice President of International Marketing. Then the man who brought me into the company and was my boss left and my new boss and I didn't connect. So, for the first time in my 18-year business career I was out of work. Compounding the situation was that the job market was one of the worst ever. At that point I did a strategic plan about myself. I analyzed my strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. I came to the conclusion maybe it was time to join a smaller company. In Part II of my career, I'll go into the second half of my story. The second half of this story is now published and can be viewed at Experience MarketSource Growth Strategy Executive Review.

Cover photo by Joanna Kosinska *There is a special discount code at the end of this story* The Search for Better Olive Oil My visit with Louie and Tina at their house. I learned about how they got started on this olive oil journey. Turns out as I was writing this and pulling the links to from the website, I just placed an order for the Tesoro Italian Olive Oil. I had to wait 9 months as the farm had issues with shipping internationally. Now that it is back in stock, it will be in my pantry within the week! My journey to get to these high quality, Italian olive oils didn’t come overnight. This was a long process where I didn’t realize what I was missing until we found Madge & Louie’s. The Tesoro olive oil was the best I ever had. The bottle to the right is an organic version from the same producer. Like many of you, I started out with the olive oil and vinegars that were in the local supermarket and then would buy in bulk when we went to the local wholesale club. From there, we started purchasing olive oil and vinegars from those specialty stores that pop up in the highly popular tourist areas, which for me was in Boston and Newport, RI. Over time, while we were seemingly happy with the olive oils, the vinegars just didn’t taste like what we would get in a nice restaurant. The Love of Italian Olive Oil One day a few years back, we participated in a virtual pasta making class from a great local Italian restaurant in the Worcester, MA area called Volturno. As a part of the pasta we picked up, they shared a small sample of some olive oil. We loved their food (they were the first pizzeria in Massachusetts certified by the Associazione Vera Pizza Napoletana and I figured they had to use some quality ingredients to make the food that good. I decided to give them a call, and they put me in touch with Louie. The Rooted & Refined Living Expert Tip: "Embrace the peppery finish. Take a moment to drink a small amount of the olive oil by itself. That distinct sensation at the back of your throat is sensory proof that you are tasting authentic, high-quality olive oil." Here is where it got interesting. I sent Louie an email asking for a vinegar recommendation and he asked for my phone number to give me a call. From there, we spoke for about 30 minutes with him asking me all sorts of questions around what I was using it for (ie. cooking, salads, bread dipping). We also talked a lot about olive oils during the conversation with Louie asking me questions which led to me buying a few. In addition, Louie also sent me a bunch of small samples to try. This olive oil changed my life in so many ways from feeling better to being the basis for my TEDx Talk. During the conversation, we also spoke about the benefits of olive oil, specifically some of the olive oils that have a very high polyphenol count like Azienda Agricola Le Tre Colonne 1000+ Olisir. While I am not a medical doctor and would encourage you to do your own research, polyphenols help reduce inflammation in the body. This led me to ultimately give it a try. Taking a tablespoon a day, I felt about 10 years younger in about 2 weeks as my body felt so much looser. I even did a TEDx Talk on it called How Drinking Olive Oil and Curiosity Changed My Life. Meeting Louie and Tina Yesterday (at least at the time of writing this), I had a unique opportunity to meet Louie and his wife, Tina. Tina and Louie run the importing, and Johnny Madge finds the farms/producers. Louie and Tina live about an hour away and I made a special visit to meet them. They were nice enough to have me visit them at their house, which is where they run the business. It was so much fun. I was like a kid in a candy store. Getting to meet Louie and Tina and learn a bit more about their business, how they got started, and even sampling some of their vinegars was a treat to say the least. What a perfect way to end the story with some Italian olive oil for dipping! We first had a tour of the operation. The olive oil is stored in a special temperature-controlled room in the basement with dehumidifiers running constantly. Louie also shared details like purchasing high quality shipping boxes to ensure the product is delivered without damage. Picture of our vinegar tasting in Louie and Tina's house. My favorite was Caterina Balsamic Vinegar. We then walked upstairs to his kitchen where we talked about how they got started. They were on their honeymoon in Italy and the local Innkeeper shared that they should go down to the local olive oil and wine bar run by Johnny Madge. It was at this point in time when the business idea struck and two years later, they were in business. Johnny himself recently got married and moved to Spain where he opened an olive oil and wine bar in Valencia, Spain. He now operates "day" tours in Spain and continues to do week-long tours with Tina and Louie when "Madge and Louie’s" hit the road "off the beaten path" to various locations throughout Italy. Johnny Madge Farm2Table Tours Italy (TripAdvisor). Louie and Tina then offered to do a vinegar tasting with some samples they received from one of their vendors, plus a few of the vinegars I was familiar with and purchased before. After tasting 7 different vinegars, I am happy to say I really liked the one I currently use, Caterina Balsamic Vinegar. The great thing about tasting good quality vinegar is that it doesn’t make your head spin around from the bite. These vinegars are smooth and were very enjoyable. Me holding a bottle of my favorite olive oil, Tesoro, along with wine, Vuaria, from the same producer, FEUDO DISISA Circling back to the Tesoro olive oil. Louie shared with me that the same producer makes wine as well. Once I try it and if it’s as good as I hope, I will share a story on that as well. Elevating Everyday Cooking Fast forward to today, I have a pantry full of these olive oils and vinegars, and it elevated our cooking, salads, and bread dipping. My wife shared with me that this was her favorite of all my purchases. It’s also probably the one that I have spent the most money on since we started a few years ago. And do yourself a favor, ask Louie for some product recommendations. Hope you enjoy it as much as we do! 6 Month Update Since initially writing this post, as well as Josephinenhütte Hand Blown Wine Glasses: Review and Sensory Experience, I found that my favorite Olive Oil, Tesoro, which is from FUEDO DISISA in Sicily, Italy, also has a corresponding set of wines, of which I found one of them in my local wine shop (and just got a bottle from my mom for my birthday)! Frequently Asked Questions Are Italian Olive Oils worth it? Absolutely! Especially ones that have been hand selected. As with any farm based product, selecting one from a small producer will create some much more complexity to the flavor of the olive oil, and in turn, the recipe you are making. Do you have a favorite Olive Oil for bread dipping? Yes, TESORO by FEUDO DISISA is by far the best. It has a complexity of flavor that doesn't require any spices to be added like most olive oils. Just dip, taste, and close your eyes to elevate your sensory experience. Where can I purchase the best Italian Olive Oils and Vinegars? I highly recommend Extra Virgin Olio by Madge and Louie's. Madge is an expert in the selection of the Olive Oils and Vinegars and Louie is the local US distributor. Louie can recommend the right product based on your needs. Does a good Olive Oil have a peppery finish Yes, A good olive oil, particularly an extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), has a peppery finish due to the presence of oleocanthal, a natural phenolic compound found in the olive fruit juice. This finish is an easy way to determine the quality of the olive oil. Start Your Own Olive Oil and Vinegar Sensory Experience If you’re curious to start your own Olive Oil and Vinegar sensory experience, I’ve listed my favorites below. Give a few a try and let me know your thoughts in the comments! For Transparency: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. If you purchase through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products I truly love and use myself.

This is one of my favorite photos. Michael took it in Aruba about 5 years ago. It is a 3-inch space within the volcanic rock of the Arikok National Park. The white in this photo is sun dried sea salt that was left after the water that splashed up on the surface evaporated. My current SaltWorks collection which includes Sea salt, Himalayan salt, Sel Gris, Flake, and Fleur de Sel Talking about salt (and specialty salts) feels a bit like a Goldilocks situation where sometimes you read about consuming too much salt, and other times you don't have enough. This story will not cover the health benefits (and negative effects) of salt but more about how picking the right salts can help enhance the flavor profile whatever you are cooking or the meals you are eating and help you get started. Like most of you, growing up, there was one main store-bought table salt in the house. You know, the one that says, "this salt supplies iodine, a necessary nutrient". As a side note, while probably not required as much now, there was a part of the country in the US that had illnesses related to a lack of iodine back in the 1920's which is the reason why it was added. The Rooted & Refined Living Expert Tip: "Start with a clean palate. Place a few salt crystals on your tongue, close your eyes, and let the flavors melt. Notice the texture profile and complex taste. Season throughout the cooking process, then finish with a flaky salt to add depth and texture, elevating your sensory experience." In addition to the table salt, some households like mine also had Kosher salt. That was it, just 2 salt varieties to add to your food. Himalayan salt from SaltWorks For years, especially when we were first married, this was the only 2 salts we had in our kitchen. At some point in time, we either bought or received as a gift, salt and pepper grinders. Using these grinders made the food taste better so we started to incorporate it more and more into our daily cooking and meals. I think we started out with sea salt and over time also started using Himalayan pink salt as well. Nothing changed in our use of the grinders and the sea/Himalayan salts we were using for about 10-15 years. These salts became our standard way of cooking and eating but we never had a favorite or was brand loyal. The assumption was as long as we were not using the table salt, we were good. Review Of Specialty Salts and Cooking Blocks A few years ago, I started a quest to upgrade our salts. I started reading about finishing salts (salts that you sprinkle on your meal just before eating) which gives the food flavors an extra pop. SaltWorks finishing salts- Sel Gris, Flake, and Fleur de Sel After doing lots of research, I landed on the company, SaltWorks, which when I went on their website was surprised to see that I had actually used their products once before buying a salt grinder from a local retail store year's prior. I started with buying their Sea salt and Himalayan salt and then extended my purchases to also include specialty salts, which are often called finishing salts, including Sel Gris (French grey sea salt) used for meats, Flake salt (which I use for eggs and guacamole; typically used as well for anything that calls for Kosher salt), and Fleur de Sel (which I use on caprese and cookies). Saltverk Lava salt (great on eggs) We have also been venturing into some other salts (it's like a whole new world of options and can be a full-time job in and of itself tasting all of the varieties and brands). However, two that have made an impact to us are Saltverk Lava salt which is hand harvested from Iceland and Maine sea salt from Slack Tide Maine (picture below). While I haven't tried it yet, I think my next purchase will be their Maine Blueberry Sea Salt as I also love Maine Blueberries (which are smaller and more flavorful than regular blueberries). This is Michael's salt block that he uses for his smoker. The other salt item I want to share is a salt block. This was a Christmas gift from last year that has been such a fan favorite in my household, I had to get a second one to fit all of the food we were cooking on it. If you haven't tried a salt block yet, you don't know what you are missing. It gives a great even profile and subtle flavor of salt across the entire meat or veggie you are cooking on. There is some care that needs to be taken when heating it up (slowly) and cleaning afterwards, but the food tastes incredible. We use it on our grill and cook it at the same length of time we would for anything on the grill itself. Slack Tide Maine Flake salt Just a point to note, when we use the salt block or the finishing salts, I use little to no sea or Himalayan salts when cooking. I don't know if there are any specific rules about using or not using it, I just find that if I use both, the salt taste is overpowering. I hope you try some of these salt options to elevate your sensory experience with your meals. Of course, don't forget to pair your salts with pepper. My favorites are from Burlap & Barrel. What are some of your favorites? Frequently Asked Questions What do you cook on your salt block? We cook steak, chicken, and pork on the salt block as well asparagus and onions. What is your favorite dish to use with Slack Tide Maine Flake salt? I love the Slack Tide Maine Flake salt on eggs. It really brings out the flavor of the eggs. What is your everyday salt that you use? We use Himalayan salt from SaltWorks as our everyday salt. Do you salt your pasta water? Yes, we use Sea salt from SaltWorks to season our water after it boils and just before we put our pasta in the pot. Start Your Own Salt Sensory Experience If you’re curious to start your own salt sensory experience, I’ve listed my favorite flakes below. Give one a try and let me know your thoughts in the comments! For Transparency: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. If you purchase through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products I truly love and use myself.

Metuchen, NJ farmers market, held every Saturday in the town plaza. It's been around since 1997. It's August 8th and I had plans to write this at the start of the season, but time just got away from me. I grew up in New Jersey and spent the last few months there hanging out with my mom. Because where she lives is very dense with people, space for farms is just nonexistent, which is ironic because New Jersey is called the Garden State. I am sure there are lots of farms in the state, just none within a short drive from where she lives. If you travel 20-30 minutes west or south, the space opens up and I am sure there are lots of local farms where they sell fresh fruit and vegetables. The problem is, traveling that far just for a weekly supply isn't really feasible. Bread Guy Breads at the Grafton, MA Farmers Market. It's one of our favorites. My Farmers Market Journey That is where a search on Google led me to two local farmers markets, one in the town next to us in Metuchen and the start of my farmers market journey this year. This is such a cute town with lots of little shops and restaurants, including one of our favorites, Wood Stack Pizza Kitchen, which also is a vendor at the Metuchen market. When I was 5 years old, I used to play soccer with the Metuchen-Edison Soccer Club. The soccer field is no longer there as it made its way for a condo complex, right next to the cute downtown area. On my first visit to the farmers market, I bought way too many fruits and veggies, which is typical for me. I buy what looks good, not what I plan to eat for the week. Mary Beth is used to this from me but it was the first time my mom got the experience my shopping experience. I think we were eating 3-4 veggies a day for the entire week. Farmers markets are like Christmas to me. I love seeing everything that the vendors have to offer, whether it is a fresh piece of fruit, honey, maple syrup, or freshly baked bread. One of my favorite farmers markets we went to was in Kauai. They had farmers markets 4-5 days during the week at different places but the one we went to on Saturday last year had to have about 100 vendors. Granted, lots of them sold the same types of fruits and veggies that were native to the area, but there was one that stood out, which was the white pineapples from Kauai Sugarloaf Pineapple. If you have never had a white pineapple, you are missing out. Fresh sugar cane drinks at the Kauai farmer's market. Emma and Matthew don't have the same Christmas like experiences that Mary Beth, Matthew and I have. As we were at the Kauai farmers market, we did a first pass to see what they had, and Emma started walking to the car thinking we were done. We were just getting started. Mary Beth and I are also very lucky to have a farmers' market in Grafton, which has a wide variety of vendors including Bread Guy Breads, which we frequent often, a honey vendor, sweets like cookies, craft beer, a local winery, and of course a local farm. This market also holds a special place for us as Michael shared and sold some of his photography there for two years. He no longer sells his photography, but one special fun fact is that one of his prints was featured at the Massachusetts State House Library for the entire summer. It's also stored forever in the library archives that can be accessed at any time upon request. Michael at 14 years old at the Grafton Farmers Market Farmers markets used to be only found when you were on vacation in a cute town in tourist area but today, they are all around. This post isn't about any single farmers market but all of them. Not only do you get to support local vendors, but you will get some great food and products made with the love and care only available from a small business. Enjoy!

The iconic red dot at the TEDx BryantU event. I had watched a few TED Talks over the years, but it wasn't a regular practice of mine. If I watched 10 or 20, it was a lot. Of the one's I watched, a few that stood out were How I hacked online dating by Amy Webb, which I used to teach in my Introduction to Information System and Analytics class at Bryant University back in 2018 and of course, Simon Sinek's Start with Why, which I think everyone has seen. Amy's session was used to help relate dating to analytics for students that weren't necessarily going to become data scientists, and based on the student feedback, I think it worked. When the opportunity for me to apply for and ultimately become a TEDx speaker, I jumped at the opportunity. TEDx Speaker Experience This post, however, is not about how to become a TED or TEDx speaker, but the emotions that were felt before, during, and after the Talk. I have enlisted the help of a few other TEDx speakers; John Boccuzzi, my son Matthew, as well as my perspective, where we all share our TEDx speaker experience. As I was preparing for my presentation, John had a direct influence which I will detail below. Mary Beth and I, both Bryant graduates, met John, also a Bryant alumnus, along with his wife Cynthia during an alumni reception during orientation for our kids (Matthew and their son John), who attended and recently graduated from Bryant as well. John and I have stayed in touch ever since, with it now being almost 6 years. Also, if you are in the Newtown, CT area, Cynthia and John run a small business, BD Provisions, which was founded on the idea that consumers are ready to move towards more sustainable lifestyles, and everyone moves at his or her own pace. The Rooted & Refined Living Expert Tip: "Opportunities can appear from preparation, silence, and despair. The win is to be open to the possibility of what could be." These stories are a more behind the scenes look and will cover the before, during, and after the TEDx Talk. We are going to start with John's story. John Boccuzzi's Someday In 2006, I watched my first TED Talk and said one word to myself: “Someday.” Someday turned into 11 years. Until Fall 2017, when Jake Zimmer, a Bryant University student I had met the prior year reached out and invited me to apply to speak at the first TEDx at Bryant University. No more excuses. This was the sign. I Was Seduced By Exceptional Customer Service by John Boccuzzi, Jr. - TEDxBryantU I spent weeks asking myself a hard question: After watching 100+ TED Talks…What could I possibly offer? The answer was my passion: customer experience, and one unforgettable story about Ruth, a pair of glasses, and how exceptional service can change a life. When I shared the title idea with my wife Cynthia, she said it needed to be bold. She suggested: “I Was Seduced by Exceptional Customer Service.” It felt provocative. Maybe too provocative. But what did I have to lose? I applied. I interviewed with the committee. I was selected. And that’s when the real work began. TEDx is structured. Two in-person rehearsals. Hard deadlines. Tight timing. I wrote the talk. Rewrote it. Practiced for weeks. Lesson #1: Talent is optional. Preparation is not. Two days before the talk in February 2018, I came down with a terrible fever. Instead of staying overnight in Providence with my wife and two kids, I stayed home and tried to recover. We drove up early the morning of the event. On that drive I had every thought you can imagine: What if the fever derails me? What if I forget my talk? What if the slides fail? What if the audience doesn’t react? Backstage, every speaker wore the same expression; excitement mixed with anxiety. Then it was my turn. The lights were so bright I couldn’t see the audience. Probably a gift. I couldn’t even see Cynthia and the kids. I started. It was flowing. I felt great. With less than a minute left, my internal voice started celebrating. And that’s when it happened. I forgot my next line. Time froze. Instead of apologizing or panicking, I paused. It felt like an hour. It was probably three seconds. I refocused. Turned off the celebration voice. Delivered the ending. The applause was incredible. Hugging my family afterward was even better. Lesson #2: Composure beats perfection. After the event, I shared the video with friends, colleagues, and on LinkedIn. It took off. the art of Seducing your Customers by John Boccuzzi, Jr. Within months it was recognized as one of the best Customer Experience talks of 2018. Seven years later, it’s approaching one million views. And in 2024, I followed it up with a book: The Art of Seducing Your Customers. Lesson #3: One courageous “yes” can compound for years. From “Someday” in 2006…To TEDx in 2018…To nearly a million views… To a book. If you’re sitting on a “Someday” goal… Maybe it’s time to remove the excuses. What’s your “Someday”? The Fiore Overview Giving a TED or TEDx Talk is exhilarating but also comes with its challenges. I think when I was giving my Talk, my family held their breath for the entire 15 minutes as they were watching me. It was a different feeling for me watching Matthew speak. I had only heard one early draft of his speech, but just with that one early version, I was confident it was going to go well. As Matthew was giving his Talk, Mary Beth and I both had the same feeling that he was offering hope to people that were dealing with autism, either the individuals themselves or the families that were supporting them. Even to this day, Matthew doesn't see that perspective; it was just a speech to him. When you get to the end of this page, I will post an excerpt of one of the notes we got following his speech on the impact he made to at least one person. Matthew's Story Giving a TED talk was never something on my bucket list, and honestly, it became even less likely after watching my father give one. Seeing him on stage made me so nervous. But that feeling only lasted about a year, because soon enough, I was giving my first TEDx talk at Bryant University. I won't go into the full details here since you can hear that in my TED talk; but I was diagnosed with Autism late in life, during my freshman year of college. Receiving that diagnosis sent me through something similar to the five stages of grief as I tried to reconcile this newly defined reality, even though nothing in my life had actually changed. Deep down, I always knew autism was part of me, but the formal diagnosis made it real in a way I had never faced before. Navigating Life With Autism by Matt Fiore - TEDxBryantU The theme of the TEDx event was Through My Eyes, which felt fitting for my story. I wasn't entirely sure what I wanted to say at first; I mostly saw it as the final step in my journey toward fully accepting my diagnosis. Like I'm doing now, I started by simply typing my thoughts with no particular structure- just whatever came to mind. I worked with my parents and a close mentor to turn those thoughts into a cohesive story. I wanted to share my personal experiences while still creating something that anyone, not just autistic individuals, could connect with. Beyond my own reasons for doing it, my hope was to impact a last one person such as a parent, a family member, or someone on the spectrum who could take something meaningful away from my talk. During the writing process, I remember feeling overwhelmed at times, but I kept chipping away at each draft. The talk was definitely happening, so I locked in and focused on refining it one iteration at a time. Memorizing the speech ended up being the easiest part for me, I learned my 15-minute talk in just over a week. I know that's not exactly relatable to most people, but let's call it one of the perks of autism. As for actually giving the talk? I barely remember it. I essentially blacked out on stage. I remember the moments before and after, but the entire time I was speaking is a complete blank. Afterward, I celebrated with my family and friends over pizza and dessert. The next day, I felt accomplished and relieved that the four-month process was finally over. I went to work as a substitute teacher like I normally did on Mondays. My morning routine felt normal, but something was off. I became dizzy and light-headed, and no amount of water or deep breathing helped. Because I was in an elementary school, the staff became concerned and called an ambulance. I found myself lying on this tiny hospital bed clearly meant for a seven-year-old, crying because the school had ordered a stay-in-place lockdown just to move me safely. I felt awful for disrupting everyone's day, but eventually I ended up at the hospital, where they diagnosed me with vertigo. Long story short: my body had completely crashed from the pressure and excitement of giving the talk. I can laugh about it now, but at the time, I was definitely not amused. In the end, l am glad I gave the TEDx talk. It felt like the right conclusion to my journey toward accepting my autism. I have only rewatched the YouTube video once, I just can't do it, but I'm glad it's out there and hopefully it makes a small impact on someone every now and then. My Story I applied to be a TEDx speaker because I thought it would be pretty cool. I know TED and TEDx have a great reputation but as I mentioned above, I really wasn't a big watcher of the Talks. I brainstormed several concepts but kept coming back to one specific period in my recent career. I was transitioning between roles at my company, performing both my old and new jobs simultaneously, and surprisingly, that was when I was highly productive. I started to analyze why I was productive and it started to become a long list (many of which are chronicled on previous posts, including Blue Zone Inspired Smoothie with Black Beans and Garbanzo. After I had a rough outline and early draft, I enlisted the help of a speech writer, Jennifer Woodbury, who was on contract with my company and I had participated on a few of her training sessions. Armed with my initial training, Jennifer and I worked on making my speech better aligned to a college student audience. How Drinking Olive Oil and Curiosity Changed My Life by Steve Fiore - TEDxBryantU Working with Jennifer was fantastic. I had to record our sessions as she had so many ideas, it was hard to write that fast to capture everything she was sharing. Working with her was great as it made my speech so much better, but at the same time, it made my preparation that much harder. The words didn't flow off the page because they weren't mine as I was speaking them. I remember vividly as I was practicing that there were sections of the speech that were mine and there were sections or lines that were hers. This was really hard to get past but after about 6 weeks of daily practice, the words finally became mine. I also called on John Boccuzzi for guidance as he had recently performed his TEDx Talk. John shared his comments (as he did above) that he was so close to finishing his speech but blanked at the end. I do credit John with the idea of the act of taking the shot of olive oil in the very beginning. I had the words in the speech, but John actually suggested taking the shot (as it is a bit full circle, John's son was one of the student organizers for our event and was the one who removed the shot and chair when I was done). This is where it gets interesting for me. With 3 lines left in my first section (as I memorized all 5 sections of my speech), I blanked. Not like John where he stated it was 3 seconds that felt like a lifetime. I blanked for a full 30 seconds (which I timed when I got the raw video). I know I gave my family, who were in the audience, a heart attack as time slowly passed by. Thank goodness for video editing (which was the only edit for my video). When you watch it, you will never know that I blanked. I ultimately decided to move on to the next section and hope for the best. The rest of the speech went off pretty much without any other issues and I was very excited to finish and proud of my accomplishments. However, I couldn't get those 30 seconds out of my head. For what should have been a great moment of success, I couldn't get past how I messed up those 30 seconds. I decided to rewatch Jaime Diglio's WAR Room speech and made the decision that it was time to forget about the 1 mistake and focus on all the great things that happened before, during, and after the speech. It's been a few years since I gave my speech. It is closing in on 4,000 views (not quite as many as John's) but very respectable in my own mind! Excerpt from someone who watched Matthew's TEDx Talk This excerpt meant so much to us. It was from Matthew's speech therapist when he was 1 1/2 to 3 years old. Ironically, Matthew didn't talk for the first 2 1/2 years of his life. My oldest daughter, (now 17 and a senior next year) is going through a similar situation. Over the past 10 years, I’ve had my concerns with multiple doctors regarding her sensory, social, and communication skills and needs. Multiple test results indicate “inconclusive to support an ASD diagnosis”. It has been a frustrating battle to get the support she requires and for family members to accept it. I found a psychiatrist a few months ago who is able to give my daughter an ASD diagnosis and was surprised how she wasn’t diagnosed earlier. There has been an influx of 16-18 year old girls getting diagnosed at this time and the psychiatrist is baffled on why this is happening so later in life for females. So here I am, 10 years later, shedding tears of joy knowing my daughter will have to support she needs when she turns 18. Anyways, Matthew’s speech has been another way for me to get through to my daughter to have her understand that she CAN find success and not see ASD as a label or a disability. Our motto is “See the able, not the label”. It’s okay to be unique and to love and accept herself for who she is. I feel Matthew’s message has sunken in because she has asked me for updates and “Is Matthew famous yet? He has inspired me to help me understand who I and accept who I am.” As with all TED and TEDx Talks, they are designed as powerful ideas worth spreading. If you like these stories or TEDx Talks, please share. For Transparency: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. If you purchase through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products I truly love and use myself.

My All-Time Favorites I thought I would write about some of my all-time favorites such as a restaurant, song, movie and TV show. Everyone has a favorite and I will share mine. This article will be about my favorite restaurant. Opening screen shot of Dan Tana's website Dan Tanas West Hollywood Hands down my favorite restaurant is Dan Tanas West Hollywood. Located in West Hollywood this little Italian restaurant is known for its great food and frequent celebrity customers. It was established in the 1930's and has been a Hollywood staple for almost 100 years. I live in Orange County, California and a trip to Los Angeles is 100 miles and takes about 2 1/2 to 3 hours depending on traffic, but Dan Tana's is worth the trip. As I mentioned in previous articles my company MarketSource was a leader in college marketing bringing household name brands such as Kellogg's, Apple, Colgate toothpaste, etc. onto large college campuses through signage, events, and sampling. We did very well in virtually all brand categories except one, the movies. The reason was one fantastic salesperson named Gene who worked for a competitor, U Magazine. His office wasn't in some LA office building... His office was a corner table in Dan Tana's restaurant where he did all his business. If you missed Tony's other recent posts, you can find them here at Papa's Corner. My business partner Marty Levine, whom I had written about in previous articles said to me "Tony, meet up with this guy Gene who works for U Magazine and gets a ton of movie ads every issue. See what it would take to get him to work for MarketSource." So I call Gene and I introduced myself over the phone and requested a meeting. Gene said to meet him at Dan Tana's at 6 PM where he conducted all his business. I enter Dan Tana's and I am greeted by the maître d', a tall good-looking guy named Craig (more about Craig later). Craig escorts me to Gene's booth. I notice that the man in the booth to Gene's left is Jerry Buss who owns the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team. Then I look to Gene's left, and I see Sumner Redstone who is a billionaire who owns Viacom (CBS, MTV). Gene is standing at his booth talking to Gary Marshall, creator of "Happy Days" and "Laverne and Shirley". Gene introduces me to Gary who smiles and leaves to go to the bar area. I said Gene I am impressed. He just smiles and calls for his favorite waiter Arturo to get us some drinks. Gene then waves to George Clooney who is walking to his table. A celebration for the movie, Kramer vs. Kramer for the Gene, third from left, from his days at Columbia Pictures, with the actor, Dustin Hoffman, 4th from right. Dustin won Best Actor for the movie. The person on the far left was Stanley Jaffe, Gene's brother-in-law, who produced the movie. Clooney comes over and says to me "Hi I'm George," I said "Nice to meet you, George." Then he kiddingly says, "I judge people by who they associate with, but I'll make an exception in your case." We all laugh and he departs. I ask Gene how often he is at Dan Tana's and he says Monday through Friday, 6 to 10 PM, at this booth every night but weekends. I come to find out that Gene is from Rye, New York and married a young lady named Marsha for 30 years and has a son and daughter. I asked Gene what brought him to California and he said, "I got a job with Columbia Pictures where my father-in-law Leo was CEO for many years." He also said his brother-in-law Stanley was CEO of Paramount Pictures for many years and won an Academy Award as producer of "Kramer vs. Kramer". I'm thinking, this Gene fellow is more connected than I could have ever imagined. Gene asks about me and I tell him the MarketSource story and how great it would be to have him on our team. Gene says, "I'm interested but it would have to be for substantially more than I make at U Magazine." He said, "Before we talk business lets enjoy a nice dinner and get to know each other." I said, "Gene since you eat here practically every day, what do you recommend." Gene said, "The New York steak is great, as are the New Zealand lamb chops, white fish, spaghetti and meatballs and his favorite chicken parmesan." Notes from my dad's story I order the shrimp cocktail as an appetizer, lamb chops entre and NY cheesecake for dessert. Gene ordered the calamari, white fish and spumoni. I'm thinking this is the best dinner I ever had, no wonder the place is so popular. The chef comes out and asks how it was, Gene and I say terrific. Gene hands him a $20 and he smiles and goes back to the kitchen. Craig the maître d' comes over and asks if we need anything and we say no, everything was great. Gene hands Craig a $20 and he heads for another table. Then Arturo comes to the table and Gene hands him $60. The bus boy cleaning the table is handed $10. I'm thinking the dinner was $200 and the tips $110 or a total of $310 times 5 nights a week is about $1,500 a week times 52 weeks comes to about $75,000 a year. Then Gene tells me he has a top-of-the-line BMW as his company car and limo service if he doesn't feel like driving to Dan Tana's. So now I get into salary, commission on sales and bonuses. Gene says he delivers 7 to 8 million a year in movie advertisements to U Magazine. His base salary is $200,000 and his commissions are 10% or about 750,000, so when you add up salary, commissions and expense account, Gene is pulling in about $1,100,000 a year, not bad in 1994. No wonder he has a constant smile on his face. I leave Dan Tana's telling Gene I would discuss everything with Marty Levine. I call Marty and tell him that every night Gene is sitting at Dan Tana's entertaining executives from Paramount, Warner Brothers, Universal, Sony, 20th Century Fox, Lionsgate and MGM. He comes with a contract and after dinner he gets them to sign. He loves them and they love Gene and Dan Tana's. There is no way MarketSource could break that bond. Then Marty asks how much Gene is making and there is stone silence. I'm not sure if the phone has a bad connection or Marty has passed out. This posed quite a dilemma for MarketSource. Gene could give us a major brand category we couldn't touch. It would increase the value of the company and make us more attractive to potential buyers and to investment banks considering us for an IPO. However, on the flip side the compensation imbalance between Gene and our 50 advertising sales reps would be of such significance to cause morale problems, requests for higher salaries and commissions on sales and company cars. The cons were more than the pros. MarketSource had prided itself on a culture of family and it resulted in significant annual growth and very low turnover. Hiring Gene would risk jeopardizing the culture of the company despite the attractiveness of the entertainment industry. Marty and I made that decision and let it stay in silence since there was no need to rattle any cages. It was a great meeting with Gene, a great dinner at Dan Tana's and fun meeting celebrities. So I called Gene and said how great it was to meet this legendary salesperson and we considered making him an offer, but we decided not to because of the factors enumerated. I thanked him and he said maybe we could get together again at Dan Tana's but the next time just as friends. I said I look forward to it. Well, since that sunny day in 1994 Gene and I have had at least 200 dinners at Dan Tana's and although Gene no longer lives in California, we speak every Monday morning from 7 AM to 8 AM. We talk about sports, politics, business happenings and family. Ironically back in 2003 when Alloy Entertainment purchased MarketSource, Gene was working for Alloy and knocking it out of the park even though he was in his 70's. I became a member of Alloy's board of directors and got involved in the entertainment industry as Alloy produced very popular teen and young adult television shows such as "Gossip Girl", "Vampire Diaries" and "Pretty Little Liars". Alloy has since been sold to Warner Brothers. At the beginning of this article, I mentioned the maître d' at Dan Tana's, Craig Susser. Well Craig opened Craig's Restaurant in 2011, and it has become the most popular restaurant in Los Angeles, even more popular than Dan Tana's. My next article will be about my favorite song.