Product Review: SodaStream Fountain Jet

(Full disclosure: SodaStream provided this product at no cost to me.)

This is what I’d consider my first “real” product review. And it’s pretty darn cool (I feel like an actual blogger. Eep!).

The product: SodaStream Fountain Jet. It has usurped my margarita glass fruit bowl as the coolest thing in my kitchen. What is it? It’s a soda making machine. In. my. kitchen.

Upon opening the box, I was a little intimidated by its contents. Not because of the machine – that came with a tag with a 3 step set-up guide. I was intimidated by the sheer number of flavors they sent me – they asked what flavors I wanted to try, and I said I wasn’t picky, any of the diet flavors would do.

 

Look at all those!

They sent me ALL the diet flavors. And a MyWater flavor essence pack, too – wow! Speaking of set-up – it was fairly easy, even for non-technical me.

 

I can do this...

I did, however, first Google “carbonators” to make sure I wouldn’t accidentally blow myself up with the bottle, ’cause that would be so me, you know? Satisfied I would be left in tact, I followed the instructions, installed the carbonator (the white bottle in the above photo), and filled one of the two reusable bottles with water, and got ready to become The Carbonator.

 

Blurp... blurp...

Two pushes of the button, release of the bottle, and I was now ready for the task of choosing a flavor. That took a few. I’m a citrus girl, so I decided to go with:

 

Lemonade! Yum. 😀

(P.S. I make soda barefoot. That’s the only way to do it, I swear.) I poured in a capful of the flavoring, shook the bottle gently, and took a sip – it was pretty tasty. It tasted even better after I put it in the fridge for an hour to cool it further. I also made diet pink grapefruit, and that was also delicious.

 

This one's a pretty color.

Actually, the only flavor I didn’t care for was the energy drink flavor.

Pros:

– easy to assemble

– looks cool on my counter top and is a great conversation starter (immediately raised my social standing)

– can have any flavor soda at any time you want

– great for making mixed drinks for those 21 and older 😀

– overall, great tasting flavors

– earth-friendly. The bottles are reusable and I’m not tossing out a plastic bottle or aluminum can each time I drink soda.

– product has expanded to several retail stores. In fact, my town really only has one “big box” retailer, ShopKo, and I was pretty surprised to see SodaStream on an endcap as I was passing through the housewares section.

Cons:

– again, the energy drink flavor. It did not make my tongue happy.

– doesn’t seem to stay fizzy as long as store-bought soda

– can exchange the carbonator with the SodaStream company only (which, despite some fairly regular use, I haven’t had to do yet)

Overall, the SodaStream Fountain Jet gets two thumbs up. But since I need one hand to take pictures, it gets this:

 

Thumbs up, SodaStream!

Want to learn more? You can check the Fountain Jet and other SodaStream models out at http://www.sodastreamusa.com/. Have you tried the SodaStream? What did you think?

(P.S. Yes, I’m from Wisconsin. No, I did not call it “pop.” Yes, I called it “soda” ’cause I think that sounds fancier. ;))

The Ballet Body (Booty?)

I’ve been taking ballet lessons, once per week, for three months now. And I love it. Like, crazy-want-to-marry-it-and-have-its-babies kind of love.

The thing is, I didn’t expect it to affect my body image so much. Even more strangely, it has impacted it in both directions.

The bad: typical ballet attire is skin-tight. Leotard, the aptly-named tights, and I get away with a wrap skirt to disguise my holster hips. So, while I’m wearing nothing but stretchy material pulled soundly around each bulge on my body, I’m in a room with walls that consist nearly completely of mirrors. And I’m expected to jump around in this environment.

This is a total buzz kill. At last week’s class I was leaning backwards on my elbows against the barre, and when I looked in the mirror, my stomach pudge in my black leotard looked more realistically like a spare tire than the one hidden in the trunk of my car. TRUE STORY.

Though, some of my anxiety was relieved after my teacher told me that the mirrors in her classroom are bowed outwards, making everyone appear ten pounds heavier. I breathed a sigh of relief after hearing that one, though my inner annoying voice chimed in with “The mirror didn’t create that spare tire!”

Most often, the mirrors don’t bother me. Honestly, I’m too busy trying to make my body move in ways it never has before. The after effect: I feel totally graceful nearly 90 percent of the time now. Walk to open the door of my apartment? No way, why not grand jete? Merely bend over to pick up an errant piece of paper? Pfft. Arabesque all the way. I point my toes when I walk, jump out of bed, step out of the shower, etc. I don’t turn around – I spin. I even stretch with my arms in the proper positions.

So I’ve come to the conclusion: ballet makes me feel pudgy, but graceful. And I can work on the pudgy part. 😉 I will never have the perfect ballet body. I’m not built to be a stick – I’m built to be a shaped more like a gnarly tree trunk. I don’t have a ballet body – I have a ballet booty, and I’m proud of it.