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Because exercising can be difficult to fit into daily routines, people tend to catch up on reading while on the treadmill and file taxes between sets of jumping jacks. Exercise with ease with today's Groupon: for $12, you get an illustrated TrainerBrands yoga, abs, or Pilates TrainerMat from G2Lifestyles (a $29.99 value). Choose from the following options:

• TrainerMat for Yoga Pro Plus in green or grey
• TrainerMat for Abs Pro Plus
• TrainerMat for Pilates Pro Plus
• TrainerMat for Weight Loss Pro Plus

Heralded by celebrity choreographer and artist Paula Abdul, TrainerBrands mats feature easy-to-follow illustrations. The 4-millimeter thick, nonslip TrainerMats are designed to visually aid bending and stretching bodies with pictures of physician-certified poses and silly-putty ballet dancers. Boasting a bacteria-resistant, reversible-color design that is both washable and odorless, the exercise mats allow for several sessions of good, clean workouts. An instructional DVD and an array of online videos further assist in achieving results capable of catching the eyes of passing hypnotists, whose swirly gazes are notoriously hard to tame.

Groupon Says

The Groupon Guide to: the New Year’s Eve Ball Drop

Is it appropriate to start crying on New Year’s Eve when the ball drops?

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Holidays can wreak havoc on skin, with breakouts caused by stressful last-minute shopping and brows permanently furrowed from trying to remember which halls still need decking. Help faces recover with today's Groupon to Pure Aveda SalonSpa in Fremont. Choose between the following options:

• For $49, you get one Essential facial with a revitalizing eye treatment (a $105 value).
• For $119, you get three Essential facials with revitalizing eye treatments (a $315 value).

Pure Aveda SalonSpa's trained aesthetician refreshes faces through cleansing custom facials that draw from Aveda's cache of plant-based products. A thorough washing of the face, neck, and shoulders removes dirt and oil, clearing skin for a meticulous skin analysis. A refinement mask and extractions clear pores of oil and dirt, and a custom massage transforms mean mugs into Mona Lisa grins. The treatment concludes with a custom mask, a final hydration, and a revitalizing eye treatment that unloads baggage beneath tired eyes and places it gently on the nearest airport conveyer belt.

Guided by socially conscious principles for more than 30 years, Aveda produces a full line of natural beauty products carried at nearly 7,000 salons and spas. Popular gorgeous-makers such as Shampure shampoo and witch-hazel hair spray deliver on Aveda's commitment to well-rounded earthly beauty with eco-friendly packaging cradling ingredients derived from the world's finest and least selfish plants.

Groupon Says

The Groupon Guide to: the New Year’s Eve Ball Drop

Is it appropriate to start crying on New Year’s Eve when the ball drops?

Read more...

Making food from scratch typically requires advance preparation, adherence to a recipe, and your third and final genie wish. Save the third wish for more wishes with today's Groupon: for $10, you get $20 worth of Thai cuisine at Tub Tim Thai Restaurant in Corte Madera.

Tub Tim Thai Restaurant serves up classic dishes for lunch and dinner, enlivening taste buds with spice levels both subtle and robust. Begin with a succulent starter such as charbroiled chicken satay ($9.50) or move straight to a main course of tofu-studded vegetable pad thai ($9.95). The pumpkin curry with chicken—gabocha squash in a coconut milk–based red curry?arrives sprinkled with basil and a fairy godmother’s wistful sighs ($10.95). Barbecued entrees include succulent grilled salmon accented with a sea of Thai spices and piquant red-curry sauce ($14.95). Adventurous tongues can tame the spicy hot beef ($11.95) or undertake a gentler safari through the moderately spicy pad himapan with tofu and vegetables, aromatically stir-fried in a roasted-chili sauce ($9.95).

Groupon Says

The Groupon Guide to: the New Year’s Eve Ball Drop

Is it appropriate to start crying on New Year’s Eve when the ball drops?

Read more...

Like a sitcom, a good news publication appears weekly to the sound of applause, and usually ends with a heartwarming moral about international trade. Bone up on economic antics with today's Groupon: for $51, you get a 51-issue subscription to The Economist (a $126.99 value). The subscription includes delivery of 51 printed issues and access to The Economist online and audio. Subscriptions are automatically activated for the shipping address provided at checkout, with the first issue arriving within five weeks. This Groupon is valid for new subscribers only.

The Economist's globe-spanning scope, comprehensive analysis, and unflinching grasp on world issues make it required reading to stay up to date on world news, politics, and business. In addition to the weekly publications, subscribers to The Economist also receive special benefits, such as "The World in 2012," a special annual volume that predicts trends for the coming year. Subscribers also get unrestricted access to the online site, with a fully searchable archive dating back to the Neolithic age of 1997, as well as free access to The Economist in audio, which includes the option to listen to digital recordings of all print articles or to download them as a weekly podcast. For updates on the go, readers can also access The Economist via an iPhone or iPad to peruse the latest photos, articles, charts, and Big Mac index.

Groupon Says

The Groupon Guide to: the New Year’s Eve Ball Drop

Is it appropriate to start crying on New Year’s Eve when the ball drops?

Read more...

Thanks to the sense of smell, humans can thoroughly enjoy flowers and successfully fill out scratch 'n' sniff tax forms. Nourish your nose and body with today’s Groupon: for $45, you get a 50-minute Wellness 2012 Relaxing De-Stress Massage at 2GORJIS Integrated Health & Wellness, in Walnut Creek (a $100 value).

At 2GORJIS Integrated Health & Wellness, experienced massage therapists use their magical mitten fillers to alleviate muscular tension and pain with a range of massage modalities. The 50-minute Wellness 2012 Relaxing De-Stress Massage begins ousting troublesome aches with smooth, gliding strokes aided by essential oils that coddle olfactory senses––unlike Froot Loops burning on the stove. Keeping the client's medical history and specific sore spots in mind, a relaxation specialist eases tension out of muscles and banishes weariness in bones. The aromatherapy sessions whisk clients away on a sweet-smelling cloud of tranquility that can improve mental clarity and elevate moods and energy levels.

Groupon Says

The Groupon Guide to: the New Year’s Eve Ball Drop

Is it appropriate to start crying on New Year’s Eve when the ball drops?

Read more...

The car was invented to get commuters directly from point A to point B, which made life easier but destroyed the once-thriving tourism industry of point C. Visit all points on the map with today's Groupon to Marty's Motors in El Cerrito. Choose between the following options:

• For $58, you get a package for three standard oil changes (a $369.85 value).
• For $129, you get a package for three synthetic oil changes (a $490 value).

Both packages also include:

• Two tire rotations
• A 52-point inspection
• A brake adjustment and inspection

Named the East Bay’s Best Car Repair shop by East Bay Express, Marty’s Motors keeps cars roadworthy with quick and efficient oil-change services. Worn, contaminated oil is swapped out for fresh, slick lubricants as techs fill auto bellies with standard or weather-resistant synthetic fossil juice. A pair of tire rotations helps roadsters to roll with ease as wheel wrappers find new grooves upon the pavement. The shop’s certified mechanics also inspect and adjust brakes and carefully scrutinize 52 vital car components for wear and tear or signs of becoming self-aware. Clients who roll up to the shop in the early morning hours can expect a one-hour turnaround; those who pull up later in the day, however, should plan to leave their car in the car clinic’s trustworthy hands until closing time.

Groupon Says

The Groupon Guide to: the New Year’s Eve Ball Drop

Is it appropriate to start crying on New Year’s Eve when the ball drops?

Read more...

Menus are laminated to prevent staining from diners' spilled coffee or attempts to pen “lobster” into every item’s description. Get the dish you really want with today's Groupon: for $15, you get $30 worth of freshly caught seafood, sandwiches, and savory breakfast dishes at Ketch Joanne Restaurant and Harbor Bar in Princeton-by-the-Sea.

A genealogy of fisherfolk and kitchen skippers informs Joanne Franklin's cuisine, seen in meals harvested from turf and surf alike. Freshly caught by the very cod hunters who hunker down at the restaurant's Fishermen's Table, piscine entrees may be bathed in lemon-garlic butter or parmesan-dill sauce or grilled until they admit the location of Atlantis. Diverse, fresh fish entrees include salmon ($21.95), Pacific oysters ($15.95), rock cod ($16.95), or the all-out Captain's Combo with scallops, prawns, cod, and calamari ($23.95). Terrestrial offerings include a savory new york steak with sautéed mushrooms ($25.95) and teriyaki-garlic chicken breast ($14.95). Tide yourself over at midday with a rich selection of burgers, sandwiches, and salads, which remain the only compelling reasons to wake up before 4 p.m. Appease appetites at any hour of the day with an array of savory breakfast plates, including speciality omeletes packed with seafood, veggies, and traditional linguica sausage, a sweet Portugese meat ($7.50+).

Since 1975, Ketch Joanne has operated from the same building, which teeters on the edge of Pillar Point Harbor. The entire Franklin family has worked at the restaurant, and Joanne prides herself on her restaurant's place in the Coastside community. An in-house bar stays open until 2 a.m. every day, with a dozens of draft beers, flat-screen TVs, and free WiFi for web-hungry mobile devices to shotgun through punctured wireless routers.

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The Groupon Guide to: Auld Acquaintance

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