Post-Memorial Day

It was a pleasant Memorial Day up here in Jersey, although kind of hot. Still, we're not complaining, especially when Tropical Storm Beryl impacted so many of our Haband friends down in the southeast. But hopefully the weather was nice where you are and you were able to make the most of your Memorial Day. Whether you spent the day on the lake, at a family barbecue, or something altogether different, we hope you gave pause for at least a moment to remember the true reason we celebrate Memorial Day: those brave American servicemen and women and their families who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. We'd love to hear about your Memorial Day - Tell us all about it in the comments section below!  

April Showers and May Flowers!

No, those are not the names of two of my former girlfriends. I've just come in from working in my garden, so I've got weather on my mind. We had a wetter than normal April up here in the northeast, but according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ("Weather Dudes" for short) April was a mixed bag, precipitation-wise across our great United States. Some got more than usual, others less. But hopefully, you got enough of those April showers to be looking at least a few May flowers. As for me, my tomato and pepper plants are really doing well and I hope the lilies will start to bloom sometime soon. What have you got planted and how is it doing so far? We'd love to know!

Graduation Gift Guide 2012

Graduation is just around the corner once again, and I'm sure many of you have children or grandchildren who will be graduating from college and starting a new life on their own.  Picking the perfect gift can be tough and it often seems like they have everything they need already! Maybe… but I doubt there isn't something they could use! Try our gift guide below for some great suggestions — and don't forget about good ol' cash. Who couldn't put THAT to good use, right? ;-D

1. Something for the New Apartment- Many students this year will be moving to a different city - either to start a new job or to find the right one! Something like a single serve coffee brewing system might be just the thing to get your graduate started.
2. Personalized Jewelry/Cufflinks-  For the men add a classy professional look with a some personalized cufflinks.  For the ladies a personalized necklace or bracelet will certainly be appreciated.
3. Tablet or eReader- These fancy new computer Tablets and eReaders seem to be everywhere these days.  Get them the latest tech and you will sure be getting them something that is both productive and fun.
4. Networking Cards- Hopefully the job offers will be flying through the window but realistically they will need to do some job hunting.  Plus you never know when you might run into the one person that can help.  Make sure your grad is prepared with some networking cards.
5. A Family Memento or Heirloom- Nothing makes a better gift then something with sentimental value.  When I graduated my mother repaired an old watch for me that had once belonged to my grandfather.

We're not Down with Down!

The Haband Proggy Award proudly displayed at our Oakland, NJ office!

We're excited to announce that Haband has recently been recognized with an award from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals for taking a stand against the use of down feathers in our products! The man-made alternatives we use not only perform better, they're more durable too! But best of all we get to say, to paraphrase what you often see in the credits at the end of a movie, "No animals were harmed in the making of this item!" Because the only thing better than saving money is saving money with a clear conscience, don't you think?

Spring is in the Air

Springtime in New Jersey is a wonderful thing. Of course, the same can be said about Spring most anywhere. Although our heart does go out to all the allergy sufferers in the Deep South dealing with record pollen counts! But outside of that, what's not to like? Nice breeze, flowers beginning to bloom (even earlier than usual this year), and the temperatures MOST of the time fall within that "just right" range — warmer than the cold of Winter, cooler than the heat of Summer.


Plus, there's baseball season! The first regular season game was yesterday, in fact. Which means no matter whether you prefer to watch in person, at home, or at a local gathering place, you can be secure in the knowledge that you will soon be discussing so-and-so's on-base percentage, earned run average, or home run count with co-workers, friends, and total strangers. Baseball must be every statistician's favorite sport! 


But it's true that there are some people out there who couldn't care less about baseball. However, I'm willing to bet you a box of Cracker Jacks® that they have their OWN favorite things about Spring! So what's yours? We'd love to hear it in the comments section — tell us what you love most about Spring!

Happy Valentine's Day from Haband!

To you from all of us here, a very Happy Valentine's Day! I bet you think this is the part where I am going to go into a big, long explanation about the history of St. Valentine, and how the custom of Valentine's Day came to be, and how it makes the greeting card companies, chocolate makers, and florists a ton of money each year — but you'd be wrong! In fact, all we want you to do is think about that special someone and how much they mean to you. Do something nice for them (even if all you have to give them is a peck on the cheek) and be thankful for them. Then, make sure they know you are. To me that's the perfect way to spend Valentine's Day. But whatever the perfect Valentine's Day looks like to you, we hope that's exactly what you receive today. 'Til next time, friends...

Celebrate your Sweet Tooth all this month!

You might not know it (I didn't until today!), but February is National Chocolate Month! Considering the 14th is Valentine's Day, if I had to pick a month to be National Chocolate Month, February seems like a pretty good choice. But did you know that there's more to chocolate than the sweet taste alone? Here's some stuff I came across on the internet this morning:

• Your "theta" brain waves (whatever the heck THOSE are!) can apparently be    raised by the very smell of chocolate, helping you to relax. Makes sense to me - I can't remember the last time I was stressed while eating a Hershey's® bar!

• Drinking a cup of hot chocolate before you eat may help diminish your appetite. So if you're looking to drop a few pounds, maybe that could help. Who knew Mom was so right when she said, "Don't have sweets before dinner, you'll ruin your appetite!"

• Chocolate may provide cardiovascular benefits by helping maintain the "stretchiness" of your blood vessels. It also increases the level of antioxidants in your blood, which I hear is a good thing. And it contains oleic acid, an unsaturated fat that may help raise the amount of GOOD cholesterol you have.

• Finally (and this is the one that really grabbed my attention), at least one study has found that men who eat chocolate live an average of one year longer than those who don't. Ladies, I don't know if the same is true for you or not, but why risk it? Let's all add some chocolate to our diet! And believe it or not you can even get your chocolate fix at Haband! Check out our 10 Box Chocolate Set! That's good for you health AND good for your pocketbook! A win-win if ever there was one.

So if you've always had a Sweet Tooth, live a little and give in to it every once in awhile — you might just live a little longer! And you'll definitely make your February a lot sweeter!