I've been experiencing a lot of back pain lately. Some people say it's a sign of getting old, others say it's a result of my daily activities. Either way, it’s not a wonderful feeling doing your chores with a painful back.

Upon doing some research, I found that it may be true that back pains are associated with the things we do every day, like working nine hours a day at your desk. Did you know that sitting puts 40% more pressure on your spine than standing? It puts so much pressure on your back that it begins to hurt. Sitting at a 135-degree angle can reduce compression on the discs in the spine, so lean back slightly every now and then. You can put a pillow on your chair positioned right on your lower back. This will give you a good angle to support your lower back when you lean backwards.

And since most of your time is spent in front of your desk, you tend to be physically less active. Try to allot at least 30 minutes in a day to exercise. Bring out your running shoes, promotional towel and water bottle. A good 30-minute walk and some stretching every day will help ease the tension on your bones.

For women, back pains are usually associated with carrying a heavy shoulder bag. To combat the pain, pack only the things that you need every day into your bag. For example, you can remove coins and loose change as it adds up quickly. Some bags are heavy even when empty, and that’s because of the styles and designs – beads, studs, and metals that manufacturers puts in to make it more stylish. Motivators has a lot of totes and non-woven bags that weigh less and are easier to carry. These also come with different colors and designs so you can still feel stylish.

Did you know that stress is also related to back pain? When you’re stressed, your whole body clenches up, including the muscles in your neck and back. If this happens very often, it will lead to pain. When at work, grab a stress reliever. This will help you relax your mind and your body and hopefully ease pain.

Drinking plenty of water also helps in minimizing and preventing back pains. Back muscles frequently spasm when denied proper amount of fluid. Always bring with you your water bottle. You can never get too much water in your system. If the pain is no longer tolerable, you might want to give your chiropractor a visit; he or she can help you with more advance ways to relieve pain and discomfort.  Who knows?  You might even get a free spine keychain purchased from Motivators!

I was recently in the market for finding my father-in-law a birthday present - and we all know how difficult it can be to find the perfect gift! After creating a list of things he loves to do, it was clear the gift that would get him the most excited would be one that is centered around fishing - his favorite sport and past time! I decided to ask my mother-in-law if she could take a picture of the back of their boat, which is named "Boat Nick" (Nick is their last name). She sent over this photo: 

Once I received the photo, I sent it to our Art Manager at Motivators, Keri, to see if she would be able to re-create "Boat Nick" as a logo. She did an amazing job so I was confident that creating a custom gift was the way to go. But what should I get? There were so many fishing theme items to choose from!  I decided to go with custom can coolers that my father-in-law could use to keep his drinks cold when he went out to fish or just for a leisurely spin with the family. I also thought promotional towels would come in handy during tournaments and they would look great rolled up on the couches of the boat! Boy, was I right!

Because of Motivators artistic abilities and fantastic selection of promotional sporting goods, I will have "Boat Nick" gifts to give for life!

Recently, I noticed that my body easily gets tired with simple things that I do. I don't get decent sleep anymore, I'm gaining weight, after just a short walk I end up really perspiring, and I have to catch my breath more often. My head aches most of the time, and I feel dizzy after a whole day’s work.

Before things get worse, I decided that it's time to do something about it. The best thing to do is to work out. So last weekend, I took out my running shoes, pulled out one of my promotional towels from my locker, filled up my promotional water bottle with water and left for an early morning jog. 

The weather was fine-- no signs of rain, but not too sunny either.  After an hour of running, jogging and walking, I called the wife and asked her to play badminton with me. It was a good game-- I didn't win any sets, but the fact that I got good exercise and spent quality time with my wife made everything great.

I intend to do this every morning to improve my health and develop a better immune system!

New York has been hit with a ton of rain lately. I feel like ever since Irene, there have been fewer dry days than rainy ones. Summertime rain doesn't typically bother me. I'm not much of a beach person, and the rain usually cools things off. The biggest headache for me with all of this rain has been my dog: a three-year-old Border Collie mix named Brodie who is absolutely terrified of thunder and borderline refuses to go outside in the rain.

If it's raining really hard - so hard that you can almost hear the drops ricochet off of the A/C and the thunder sounds like it's right outside your window - he won't even approach the door. The only thing worse is the Fourth of July with all of the fireworks. I'm a big dog-lover, and (call me crazy, but) I often talk to dogs as if they understand every word I say; I just don't know how to convince him that loud noises like thunder and fireworks won't hurt him.

So to get my message across, I coax him over to the door and open it nice and wide. He lowers his head, staring at the rain and sniffing the air, then looks at me like, "you've got to be kidding." Again, call me crazy, but at moments like that I actually pass through the doorway, step outside and stay out there with him until he's completed his mission and comes bounding back to the door. Barefoot and raincoatless, these are the things I do for my dog...

The designated "dog" towels consist of old promotional towels that have been so beat up, stained or torn I dare not use them for guests or even myself. While most people have coats, hats and scarves hanging on hooks in their hall closets, I reserve space for leashes, a doggie backpack (equipped with water bottle and travel bowl), treat pouches and my dog towels. When we come in from a downpour, Brodie gets the first rub-down - nose, face and ears, then back and tail, then paws - as I stand there clothes soaked and hair dripping. As much as I love my dog, I'm not about to use his towels after him. You'd think I'd learn by now to leave some clean, un-torn promotional towels in the closet along with the old battered ones. Ah, the things we do for the people (yes, I am equating my dog with a person) we love...

This morning, my friend Leanne and I made our way to Gilgo beach in anticipation of a few clean waves, ideal for fun surf, days ahead of Hurricane Irene's expected arrival.  The beach was packed with eager surfers who apparently had the same idea.  As we approached the shore, conditions seemed alright-- not nearly as calm as we'd hoped, but still surfable.

Then we started paddling.  As we ventured out into the sea, we soon realized how turbulent its waves were becoming.  It took about 10 minutes for me to reach an area I felt comfortable surfing from, and by that point I was already exhausted.  To make matters worse, when I finally took a look around, I realized Leanne was gone!  The strong rip current had carried her a half a mile down the beach.

I caught just one wave, and then we decided to get out of the water.  After all, it's better to be safe than sorry.  And as I dried off with my promotional towel, I couldn't help but wonder:  What ever happened to the calm before the storm?

I was hoping for last week's blog to be an isolated event - shoveling and promotional products. Sadly (for my back, not my "snow is pretty!" wife), the snow continues to fall. Without further ado, I present: The Snow Strikes Back.

I find that the time passes more quickly if I'm listening to music or a podcast. I downloaded the latest Bill Simmons podcasts, put my iPod in one of my custom iPod covers, and outside I went. I put the iPod in my sweatshirt pocket, not the jacket, figuring that the combination of custom iPod cover and layers would keep it from getting too cold. This made the shoveling more bearable.

For further entertainment, I brought the puppy outside. We've learned this winter that Terry loves the snow. He chases birds away from the birdseed, rolls around, and uses the extra couple of inches to eat berries off of the bushes. The only downside is that the snow gets clumped in his fur. To solve this, we have a couple of promotional towels handy. They do the trick. We have a dry puppy who has spent tons of energy and is ready for some sleep!

That concludes this week's promotional products snow update. With more snow in the forecast, tune in next week for (hopefully) the final installment. Laurie's brother will be back from LA, so I'll have some help in.. The Return of the Screenwriter.

Last winter, there was one thing on the top of everyone's holiday list. It wasn't a new fancy iPhone or Hannah Montana wig ( I can't believe my brother bought that for my niece). It wasn’t even an cute little puppy, it was the one, the only, the ugly, the atrocious, the Snuggie.

This week, at the internationally acclaimed NY Fashion Week, Vera Wang, Marc Jacobs and Rodarte were among the esteemed fashion designers to showcase their latest styles on the runway. Joining them was Snuggie. What in the world? Men, women, children and even animals sported the unflattering Snuggie while strutting their stuff down the runway.
                                       
If I were there, you can be sure that I'd be throwing promotional products at the fabric clad models. Thankfully, I was informed that the creators of Snuggie have a sense of humor and that their presence at Fashion week had comical intentions.

Ross Matthews, known as the intern on the Jay Leno show, was the host of the event and read, "He can change the channel! He can read! He can text his friends! All while
wearing his Snuggie," while a Shih Tzu-Yorkie mix trotted across the runway.
                                      
The self proclaimed, "Blanket with sleeves" also showed off their latest designs of animal prints, tie-dye, and camouflage- as if you could actually "blend in" while wearing such an awful piece of clothing. After observing the photos from the event, I do have a greater appreciation for the creators of the Snuggie. Though I think they ruined the social lives of countless individuals world-wide, they have now managed to make me laugh. The models played up the hundreds of parodies on television and You Tube in order to entertain the crowds. Still- they were attempting to sell more of these. Yuck.
               
It did get me thinking though. A promotional Snuggie would have the largest imprint area of any custom apparel. You can get great use out of custom embroidered active wear and everyone loves promotional t- shirts, but with a custom Snuggie, your logo will be seen by the masses. It’s like tying four large promotional towels together.

Bam! Company recognition while the poor paid advertiser waits on line at Walmart sporting a tie-dye Snuggie!
Wha Who! University notability as penniless, endorsed college kids engulf the black-light lit dance floor at the frat party !
Kazaam! Business exposure as tradeshow attendees run in between booths with their Snuggies flailing behind them like capes!
Yipee, for superbly tacky and grandma’s moo-moo wanna-be promotional apparel.

So recently I was searching for a new car and I happened to come across the Jalopnik.com Blog, if you haven't been to this site I advise that you check it out it has some cool concepts of future vehicles. One of the concepts on this site that actually caught my eye was the Lexus LF-Ch, no it was not the brand of the vehicle that drew my attention even though I am a fan of Toyota/Lexus but the technology that was placed seamlessly in the head rest of the driver and passenger seats. Imagine that you have your friends accompanying you driving around town and the ones seating in the back seat say they really want to watch something they take out their iPhone place it in the headrest and begin watching YouTube now that is cool. Also on the rear of the two front seats there seems to be two hooks so let's say you just came from the beach you can hang your promotional towel on the rear of the seats instead of getting your seats covered in sand.