Disclosure: I received ICBINB coupons, a Flip cam, and a gift card to create this video and pay for groceries.

I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter contacted me recently to ask if I’d like to visit a local farmers market to gather items for a lunch party with friends afterwards—created with recipes using ICBINB, or course. I turn down a lot of PR offers, but this sounded like fun, and I had a tub of I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter in my fridge already, so I do actually use their product. I also tend to be a recluse, so I thought this would be a good way to force myself outside and see what Chapel Hill has to offer.

There are several farmers markets near me. The Carrboro Farmers Market seemed to be the most popular one, but I heard parking was a mess. So I decided to go to the South Estes Market instead since it’s held in a mall parking lot with plenty of spaces. It was also on the way between my place and my brother and sister-in-law’s house, who I invited to come with me.

You can follow my adventures in the video above, which I probably spent far more time editing than was really required. (At least that Digital Video 101 class I took in college finally paid off.) I did have lots of fun at the market, even though I was a little anxious about having to film people and ask them questions. (See above, recluse.) Strangely enough, I really enjoyed it and I learned a lot of things I would never have discovered otherwise. I guess it’s good to move out of your comfort zone once in a while (says the girl who just moved away from half her friends and family).

As for the ICBINB, it tasted good on bread and corn on the cob. (And damn, that was some good bread by The Farm Fairy.) Their pitch is that it has less saturated fat than butter, no hydrogenated oils (those dreaded TRANS FATS!), and no cholesterol. I’d never used it in the spray pump bottles before, but it made it a lot easier to butter my corn than it was with a knife. I tried it on some popcorn later, and it added flavor without making the popcorn too soggy. So, I feel fine recommending their product, and hopefully you found the video to be entertaining enough. You can learn more at the I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter web site, including a contest to win a grill basket and a recipe library. There’s also an ICBINB YouTube Channel.

In case you’re interested, here is a list of vendors I spoke to. BTW, if someone was kind enough to talk to me and/or let me record them, I bought something at their stall or threw money in their banjo case. I had to pitch my book at book fairs, so I know what it’s like sitting behind that table.

• Bread and honey from The Farm Fairy
• Corn from Roberson Creek Farm
• Veggies from Timberwood Organics (certified organics!)
• Peaches from Kalawi Farm (the peach people!)
• Music by…some banjo-playing dude.
• Stock music called “Rampaging Bulldozer” was downloaded from FreeSoundtrackMusic.com.

Warning: Tech-girl ramblings ahead
The software that comes with the FlipCam wasn’t advanced enough for the editing I wanted to do, so to edit this video I used a trial version of Videopad Video Editor. I’d give it a C+ (and no, that’s not a computer science joke). It was able to open the MP4 files that the FlipCam exported, and I was able to split the audio tracks away from the video. However, if I tried replacing a video clip or inserting one into the middle of the timeline, all my placed audio effects would because misaligned. Also, when I exported, several of the title frames went missing, so I had to encode it and then edit that and encode it again, which is why the video is a little lower quality than what I’d prefer. Anyone got recommendations for a better, free video editing application for Windows? I considered Microsoft Movie Maker first, but it wouldn’t open the MP4 files.

The universe loves to toy with me. Evidence?

Object #1: The brown/black BILLY bookcase I bought on impulse at IKEA last month for $59.99 (plus tax).

Object #2: The brown/black BILLY bookcase abandoned at the bottom of the stairs outside my apartment 5 days ago. (Note: This is not the same bookcase. They occupy two different areas of the space-time continuum.) I checked the front and back and the shelf notches, and there is no doubt that this is a BILLY bookcase. Looks like he made friends with the abandoned umbrella that has been there since I moved in.

Considering the length of time that this bookcase has been sitting literally at my doorstep, it’s safe to say it’s been abandoned, probably by the college students who were moving out this week. Soooooo, if I had not been so impulsive at IKEA, I could have scooped up BILLY 1′s twin brother, BILLY 2, for free. As it is, I’m probably going to grab BILLY 2 and put him in the kitchen to use as a huge spice rack.

I would really like to know what the probability of something like this happening is. Yes, there are probably thousands of BILLY the bookcases in the world, if not millions. But seriously? The same color? The same size? Only a month after my first trip to IKEA? So totally bizarre. If this were a plot element in a novel I would say it should be rewritten because it’s impossible to believe.

On a totally different note, if you were wondering who won the Omron Pace/Distance Tracker, it was Shelley from Boston who has already claimed her prize. Thanks to everyone who entered! Don’t feel bad if you didn’t win. At least you didn’t spend over $60 on a bookcase the universe decided to give you for free.

There are several things you’ll need when assembling IKEA furniture.

A big cup of coffee (or your caffeinated beverage of choice).

Tools! I purchased this toolkit at Target after I moved into my own apartment, and it’s the best twenty-something bucks I’ve spent in a long time.

An Allen wrench, thoughtfully provided by IKEA. The Allen wrench manufacturers of the world must highly covet the IKEA account.

Patience. I have no visual representation of patience for you. A good understanding of spatial dimensions doesn’t hurt either.

IKEA furniture typically comes flat-packed in large cardboard boxes, which you can rip open to view the large Swedish puzzle pieces, a bag of screws, bolts, nuts, and a diagram illustrating how to put the item together. There is no text on the instruction book, probably so IKEA can use the same booklets internationally without translating everything. I was putting together the Expedit bookcase and workstation in black/brown.

I was able to understand the little cartoon character’s instructions fairly well, but I ran into problems connecting the wood panels with the wooden pegs. I would push and push and push and there would still be a half inch gap between the horizontal and vertical panels. For problems like this, I highly recommend a rubber mallet…and not a hammer cushioned with a sheet of cardboard in between it and the wood. (Let’s just say one side of this bookcase is facing the wall for a reason.) Ehem, once I got back from the hardware store with my rubber mallet, I was able to get the bookcase the rest of the way together.

As you can see, Java Bean supervised construction. I denied his requests for a trailer and a hard hat. Overall, it wasn’t that hard to put together, but the desk set, sorry, WORKSTATION, didn’t have any moving parts or hinges to mess up my game. It DID take a long time, from breakfast to lunch, including the time I ran out to the hardware store. I was also hot and sweaty and ready for a shower by the end, which I believe qualified IKEA furniture assembly as my workout for that day.

However, I must point out one thing:

This picture is a lie! First, I did not need two people to assemble this bookcase. Ok, I probably should have waited for Big Brother to get home from work to assist me with flipping the bookcase upright from the floor. I was terribly impatient though, so I did it myself, even though mid-way through the flip I started thinking, “If this thing falls on me, I hope my cell phone is in reach so I can Twitter for help.” Oddly enough, I think I really would have Twittered for help if the bookcase fell on me. (I Twittered in late to work once. My boss was not amused.) The picture is also a lie because the characters have smiles on their faces. Readers in my previous entry about IKEA let me know that you should never assemble IKEA furniture with someone you love, unless you’re trying to break up with them. Danielle joked that they should include divorce paperwork in the box.

By mid-afternoon I had a new workstation and lots of corrugated cardboard I had to recycle in the proper bin. Otherwise, I fear the Chapel Hill police would have broken down my door and arrested me for recycling felonies. (Or just fined me, same difference.) People are really serious about their recycling around here.

That afternoon I filled the shelves with all my belongings and hooked up my computer. Then, later that night, when I was literally lying awake in bed, I realized I had forgotten to insert two screws at the bottom left corner of the book case. I have no idea why this realization came to me at that moment, but it did, and the next day I took a look and saw that the bottom left corner was indeed a bit lopsided.

When faced with the choice of leaving it be or unhooking my computer, removing everything from the bookshelves, removing the desk, and flipping the bookshelf back on its side to fix it…guess what I chose? That’s right, if you see me Twitter that I’m stuck under a bookcase, I might not be lying. Think happy thoughts involving weight-bearing planks, will you?

Just one question left: When will my office stop smelling like plywood?

For too long, I had heard tales of the Swedish superstore—the IKEA—without ever setting my eyes upon this big box monument to sleek, flat-packed, affordable furniture. Truly, this was a wrong that needed to be righted. So, it was this noble desire (or my need for a cheap desk set) that led me to rent an SUV two weeks ago and drag Big Brother to Charlotte, North Carolina to visit the closest IKEA store.

To make things harder, the IKEA was not in my Magellan GPS. It then became a race between me and Big Brother to see who could use their smartphone faster to find an intersection near the store to enter instead. (Big Brother won.)

Then we drove and drove and drove and didn’t die on the highway, despite the high concentration of morons we were sharing the roads with. Finally, after two hours, we beheld the IKEA!

Or, the “KEA” as it would appear to be titled in this photo. It was a huge, blue and yellow store set in a large lot near the highway exit. We headed inside and had lunch in the IKEA cafeteria, because shopping there evidently requires carb-loading beforehand. Why? Because the store NEVER ENDS.

As you can see in the map, IKEA is laid out like a huge, well-furnished, mouse maze. There is no cheese at the end, just the most delicious cinnamon rolls you shall ever taste. Which is far better than cheese, in my opinion. But I get ahead of myself.

To shop at IKEA, they make you walk through the entire store, which explains how I ended up purchasing a colander, a Tupperware set, and a cloth closet organizer, when I only came for a desk set. You see it and you want to buy it! This might also be why IKEA is the only place where I’ve impulsively bought a bookcase. It’s not like grabbing a chocolate bar at the grocery store checkout lane, though they sold chocolate bars here too.

There are no windows in IKEA, so I quickly lost my bearings inside the store, unaware of how far deep I was in the labyrinth. After I had walked down a few halls and turned a few corners, I looked behind me and could have sworn the IKEA employees had moved the walls. If there had been a fire, I honestly wouldn’t have known where to run for the exit.

By the time we got to the end of the maze, I felt like I often do after I’ve been at an art museum for too long. My brain was tired and I didn’t want any more visual input. At the end of IKEA is the warehouse, where you can grab any items you want according to their aisle and bin number. I had written down the numbers of the items I wanted, so Big Brother grabbed a hand cart and used his manly muscles to lift my bookcase and desk set off the shelf. We checked out and Big Brother stayed with the stuff while I got the SUV and pulled it up to the loading area.

Once we had loaded everything, we went back inside to purchase half a dozen cinnamon rolls from the IKEA marketplace. There is nothing about a furniture store that would make me believe they could make the most divine cinnamon-y, sugary pastries I’ve ever tasted, but behold! They were AMAZING. I could almost see myself driving two hours to Charlotte just for them.

On the ride home, we tried to find a radio station that was broadcasting the World Cup final. We found one, but it was broadcasting in Spanish. As we got closer to the triangle area, we found a station that was broadcasting in English. And just when we got home, I accidently hit a button on the steering wheel and discovered the rental car had satellite radio. Whoops!

In my next entry, I shall attempt to assemble the Swedish puzzle furniture with only my wits, a toolset and the assistance of a cute little cartoon man in the diagram!

Disclosure: I received a free Omron GOsmart Pace/Distance tracker for this review, as well as a free t-shirt, water bottle and ear buds.

I figured if I walked up the big $&%^-ing hill to the bakery shop, I deserved to have a cupcake at the top, so I set off on my walk. Then I turned around on my front porch, went back inside and grabbed the Omron GOsmart Pace/Distance Tracker I was sent to review because this seemed like the perfect time to see if it could actually measure my pace, distance, steps, calories burned, and all that fancy stuff it claimed to do.

I’ve mentioned in the past that I’m not really a pedometer person, but I was interested in this device because it calculates your pace, which I *am* interested in. Over the past year I haven’t been running, but I’d like to get back into a run/walk routine now that I’ve moved to a walkable neighborhood. (Yes, I know I made up the word “walkable.” I don’t care if Merriam-Webster gets pissed at me. Nevermind! Merriam-Webster says it *is* a word. Microsoft Word is in the wrong here, with its erroneous red squiggly.) It’s always encouraging to get positive feedback, so I wanted to track my pace and hopefully be encouraged when I get better and faster times.

When I turned on the pedometer pace/distance tracker, I had to go through a quick setup where I entered the time, my height, weight and other info which helps the pedometer tracker estimate how many calories I’ve burned. What I loved was that by entering my height, it estimated my stride length for me automatically. I really don’t have the patience to get out a measuring tape and try to calculate the length of my average pace. It makes me have flashbacks to marching band where I had to learn eight-by-ten and six-by-ten stride lengths and no amount of practicing in a marked-off section of my basement could make me get it right. Marching band is hardcore y’all! Don’t be fooled by the silly tassels on the hats!

Once all that info was entered, I had the option of using the device as a straight-up pedometer that would track my steps, distance traveled and calories burned. But, if you hold down the “Mode” button for two seconds, you go into workout mode where it will also track the amount of time you’ve been walking and calculates your pace for you. It’s got a clip so you can attach it to your waist, or you can just put it in your pocket and pull it out occasionally to check your results as you’re walking. There’s a 7-day memory too which saves your previous workouts so you can compare your results.

So, I huffed and puffed and made it to the top of the hill, which my pedometer tracker said was 1.3 miles. I checked later with my car’s odometer and this seems to be a fairly accurate measurement. However, I probably should have paid less attention to my pedometer tracker and more attention to the red exclamation mark that popped up on the weather app on my new smartphone. It started to get dark on my walk up the hill. I heard the crash of thunder in the distance and the winds started whipping up so hard I got smacked with a dry leaf right in the eye. OUCH! All of which meant—horror of horrors—I had to turn around before I made it to the cupcake shop. IT WAS AWFUL!! I walked up this huge $%&^-ing hill thinking I’d get a hit of frosting and moist, velvety cake as a reward, and all I got was a chance to do my pedometer pace/distance tracker review. *sigh* I made it back down the hill safely, and was able to note my pace time increased because going down a hill is much easier than going up it. I was also motivated to walk faster when I feared an imminent lightning strike. Luckily, I made it back to my apartment literally right as the rain began to fall.

Overall, the Omron Pace/Distance Tracker is a handy little device. I had to refer to the manual to complete the setup, but I was able to figure out the device pretty quickly after that. You can also visit TeamGOsmart.com, a site that’s designed to be community for their users. They’re pitching their other new product there too, the Omrom Pocket Pedometer with Activity Tracker. If you buy a device, you get a free 8-week training program too that you can use on the Active Trainer web site. I signed up for one and it sends you e-mail reminders of your scheduled exercise for the day, and also lets you enter your results online. I wasn’t a huge fan of the site’s interface, which could have been cleaner and a bit better organized, but hey, it’s free, so I shouldn’t complain.

Ok, now as a reward for reading to the bottom of the review, here’s the information regarding the giveaway. You can win your own pace/distance tracker, which retails for $49.99, as well as an Omron T-shirt, water bottle and earbuds. To enter, leave a comment on this entry telling me where you’d walk with your pace/distance tracker. Contest ends at 11:59pm on Sunday, August 1 July 25, 2010. Winner will be chosen randomly. Only one entry per person.