I tend to get appreciative comments when I share things I’m enjoying currently. In that spirit, here are five things I’ve been digging lately.

1. Garmin Instinct Solar Watch

I was in the market for a new watch this past fall. In terms of activity and sleep tracking, I already have an Oura Ring, which I LOVE, so I wasn’t looking for my watch to be an activity or sleep tracker. I mainly just wanted a solid watch: an easy-to-read screen, waterproof, a long battery life, and with the ability to have multiple vibrating alarms. I didn’t care about being able to read text messages or email (even though this watch has those features) or track my steps, workouts, or sleep (again — the Instinct does all those things well).

Here’s what I love about this watch:

• It’s battery lasts nearly a month per charge. It will last longer than that if you give it some sunlight periodically. Recently, I was traveling for work and my battery was running low so I laid it in the sun for a few hours and the charge increased by two days. Pretty cool.
• Its screen is easy to read. The main screen tells me the time, date, charge, sunrise and sunset times.
• You can set multiple alarms that can either be vibrating or with a chime. They can repeat or be one-time only. The vibrating alarm is key if you need to get up in the morning but don’t want to wake your spouse with an alarm.
• It tells me current temp and weather forecast.
• It bugs me to move enough each hour.
• It has GPS so I can track time, distance, and map of a walk, hike or run.
• It has a lot of other features I don’t use: number of daily steps, workout tracking, heart rate, O2 while sleeping, stopwatch, timer, storm alerts, text messages, and so on.

Here’s a link: Garmin Instinct Solar

2. Drip Drop ORS Sports Drink

Hydration is super important when exercising. Over the past few decades, I’ve tried a bunch of different sports drinks as I’ve trained for marathons, triathlons, and century bike rides. I’ve found that the quality of the electrolyte drink matters — being properly hydrated helps performance and how you feel after the workout.

Recently, I’ve discovered Drip Drop. It comes in single-serve powder packs that you just pour into your water bottle and shake. Drip Drop has 3x the electrolytes of most sports drinks and half the sugar. It’s like getting an IV of fluid in terms of hydration. I’ve heard that college and pro athletes are filling their Gatorade or Powerade branded bottles with Drip Drop due to it providing better hydration. It tastes great!

Link: Drip Drop at Amazon

3. On Cloud Shoes

I love these shoes. They are super comfortable, look cool, and you just slip them on. No need to tie your shoes. Their comfort and ease of taking them on and off have made them my go-to shoes for daily living. I slip them on heading out the door to take my Andorran Retriever for a walk, to go to the store, and to meet friends for happy hour.

Link: On Cloud Cloud Shoe

4. Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthon Doerr

I just finished this a few weeks ago and I’m sure it will make my list of top books I’ve read this year. The book tells the story of characters in three different eras: the 1450s and the siege of Constantinople, the 21st Century in Idaho, and 100 years in the future aboard an interstellar spacecraft. What links characters is their relationship to a novel from ancient Greece that tells the story of a shepherd seeking a city in the clouds.

Link to Cloud Cuckoo Land

5. Cuisinart Easypop Hot Air Popcorn Maker

We’ve owned our Cuisinart popcorn maker for about 10 years and we love it. It’s a super easy and healthy way to make popcorn. Just pour in some kernels, turn it on, and a few minutes later you have perfect popcorn.

Last weekend I had friends over to my house and as the evening progressed I made a huge bowl of popcorn (with a bit of salt and melted Earth Balance) and put it out for my guests. It was the perfect late-night snack for us and a few friends commented that it was the best popcorn they had ever had.

Link: Air Popper