So after an abrupt breakup of a long term relationship, I decided to evaluate a lot of my habits and methodology for doing things and decided I wanted a new routine. I've put on a bit of weight over the years, and as most adult males on the wrong side of 30, I'd grown facial hair as a way to hide the features of my face that I was uncomfortable with. But I want to look in the mirror and like what I see, so to facilitate that, I shaved all the hair off and invested in a skin care and shaving regimen. I want to be more accountable to myself and decided that looking at my chubby face every day was a way to get motivated.

So while I now have a 4 part facial care strategy for my skin (cleanser, differin, moisturizer, sunblock), I also have a new shaving routine. My razor is nothing fancy... I've tried Dollar Shave Club and been disappointed because it has TOO many blades and gets clogged too easy, but I also really wanted a shaving brush.

So I picked up a badger hair brush and a set of Proraso pre-shave cream, shaving soap, and balm. I'd never used the product before but saw ads in old barber shops I'd go to as a kid. Shaving used to always irritate my skin, and I expected it to be doubly so because I hadn't set razor to face in forever. To my surprise, I had no irritation at all. Completely smooth and not a single nick or red bump. I don't think I've ever been more happy with a set of products.

At the same time, I was looking to eat healthier. And I love ice cream. So why not make a healthier version of ice cream without spending a fortune?

High end restaurants usually have one or multiple pacojet systems in them. Pacojets are basically glorified ice shavers that shave ice down inside of a small container. Restaurants use them by freezing ingredients in containers to make ice creams and sauces.

Well, the Ninja people created their own cheaper version in their Creami system. I've made chocolate ice cream by throwing some sweetener into a bowl with cocoa powder, agar agar, and coconut milk. I've made a sorbet by tossing a can of fruit into the container with juice or syrup, by tossing banana chunks into strawberry or guava nectar, etc. Really, its only limitation is that you're limited to the containers you have on hand and the ingredients. I even saw a recipe for pumpkin pie ice cream and I've made bananas foster sans ice cream and just tossed in some heavy cream for a nice treat. It's vastly more convenient than having an actual ice cream machine.