How to Straighten a Vinyl Jump Rope

Today's favorite moments included . . .

. . . going for a walk with my kids.

. . . making Protein Poppers (yum!).

. . . Anna learning a new word.

. . . finally getting the kinks out of my vinyl jump rope.  I bought the thing a month ago to get a little cardio workout here and there, and was told if I just hung it up for a while the bends would straighten out.  I hung it for weeks, and the kinks persisted.  I read somewhere that I should soak it in hot water, but that didn't help much, either. 

Tonight I finally did an online search for "how to straighten a vinyl jump rope."  After looking through a dozen sites, I found a comment on some obscure blog post (not unlike the one you're reading now) that suggested boiling the vinyl jumping rope to straighten it.  I set a big pot of water boiling, immersed all but the handles of my rope, and within a minute the kinks had disappeared like magic.  I hung it up by the handles to cool, and an hour later the kinks are still gone.  Yessssss!

So if you, too, are wondering how to straighten a vinyl jump rope, and your search engine has directed you here, I hope my experience will be helpful to you.  Happy jumping!

And another thing . . .

. . Protein Poppers are one of my favorite snacks when I want something kinda sweet but kinda healthy, too.  I just pop a couple and I'm good.


Protein Poppers

1 cup dry oats (rolled or quick)
1/3 cup unsweetened coconut flakes (you can buy them at Whole Foods and the like)
1/3 cup ground flax seed
1/2 cup nut butter (I use peanut butter, but almond would probably work, too)
1/4 cup honey
1 T cocoa nibs (optional; you can also try mini chocolate chips, chopped nuts, raisins, other dried fruit)

Mix all ingredients until well blended.  Chill one hour (this helps the dough hold together), then roll into  1” balls and enjoy.  I store them covered in the fridge because I like them cool, but you could store them covered at room temperature, too.

Makes about 25 poppers.

Note: You can tweak proportions or substitute other things for most of the ingredients, but don’t mess with the honey and nut butter much because they act as binders.