Pampered again

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My second time around at Pamper Me Fabulous brought about a heftier gift bag, a taste of the cuisine, and sweet new products. What I did miss were the free services, which I signed up for but came too late to get a chance before the day was over.

room full of gift bags given to attendees of pamper me fabulous

My first order of business was to get a swag bag full of goodies!

expert corner stage at pamper me fabulous with shirtless guys giving out hats

Then I wandered around and attended this panel where shirtless guys gave away hats.

ladies sitting on hillside facing ocean view at terranea during pamper me fabulous event

For lunch I went to enjoy the view like these ladies.

panoramic view of the pacific ocean from terranea resort

It’s a sweeping view up here.

view of rocky beach and red cliffs from terranea resort

What glorious cliffs.

view of pamper me fabulous bazaar area in ballroom of terranea resort

Back to the hubbub of the bazaar!

view of terranea resort and ocean from up the hill

By mid-afternoon I was worn and ready to go. You get a nice view leaving Terranea Resort.

a peek at items included in the pamper me fabulous gift bag given to attendees this year

My baggie was brimming with goodies.

sign showing yield to golfers at terranea resort

Haha, what a golfing community it must be.

small reusable bamboo boat-like tray bowl used for salad at terranea resort

After gobbling down my salad, I noticed the bowl thing wasn’t paper! So of course I had to take it home with me. 😛

Fish sports

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I had some bread for the fish and when some chunks were just too hard to break down I gave up and threw them in whole. The fish kept nudging this one and nibbling bit by bit as it softened. Looked like a game of ball! Fish-ball!

fishball (the sport) from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

Looong day

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I’ve had a pretty long day traveling & getting some work done and boy am I pooped!  While it’s only been about 20 hours and certainly is not one of the more stressful times I’ve been through, it has tired me out nonetheless.  From an early morning to catch a flight cross-country to pit stops for food & groceries to settling in to work, I haven’t really taken the time to recover.  I guess it was partly because I had so much stuff to do – packages to open and enjoy, new items to list for sale, and bonding time with family.  Now that the excitement has died down, I suddenly feel the achiness and droopy eyes.  I’m sure I’ll sleep well tonight!

Tomorrow’s another busy day (time for Pamper Me Fabulous again!) and I’ll need to rest up.

Squirrel sightings

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One day, not long after Hurricane/Superstorm Sandy brought two windy, rainy days to our area, I was out walking and came across no less than 8 squirrels when normally I would have seen one or two.  They must have been hungry after the storm, because they were ALL eating (or scavenging for food).  Here are just a few I managed to capture on film (or so to speak)…

squirrel perched precariously high up on tree branch

Yes, that little glob is a squirrel all the way up there!

zoomed in on squirrel perched precariously high up on tree branch

Here’s a zoomed in shot of that squirrel, nibbling on a snack as the branch swayed in the wind.

squirrel with high arched back digging into ground

This squirrel was doing some serious damage and really got into it.

collage of squirrels in tree and foraging on ground

I even put together a collage of some of the squirrels I came across.

Drop by drop

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I love a warm summer rain and I’ve always been fascinated with when it first begins and the drops evaporate from the ground fast enough that the wetness doesn’t “stick.” The one thing I’m not fond of – that wet asphalt smell that starts to waft up with the humidity.

raindrops on cement from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

Down time

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What do you think of when you hear work from home, self-employed, entrepreneur?  Do you imagine someone huddled over their laptop all day and all night, tapping away at those keys?  Do you imagine someone kicking back with a cool drink on a warm day, enjoying the sunshine?  Or maybe you think of someone lounging around in pajamas and slippers, cupping a steaming cup of coffee and a book.  Whatever the case, people usually consider working from home and working for yourself to be less stressful than a typical office job.

When I first started working from home, I imagined being able to enjoy myself no matter where I was (and being able to go anywhere no matter when it was).  For the most part, that has been true, but another thing that I’ve wrestled with is being able to set boundaries with my time.  I’ve enjoyed far more freedom in terms of where I am and when I work, but then it all blends together.  Lately I’ve found that I think so much about work that I even dream about it and disrupt my rest.  Without realizing it, stress has creeped up on me because I am the one responsible if things go wrong and I am the only one managing all that there is to take care of.  The pressure of that doesn’t seem so bad, yet here I am, needing a break.

In a way I feel guilty – my days are hardly ever as busy and fast-paced as my previous job, so I often feel like I’m not working hard enough.  However, just because I don’t have 9-10 hours filled with work and then a respite before it all starts again doesn’t mean that I’m working less hard.  As it turns out, the entire night and weekend concept no longer applies to me and any day, any time is work time.  Whether I’m home, out eating or shopping, or taking time off for social activities, work is just a few taps away (thank you phone apps).  So in that sense, I never get rest and I never get away from the looming work that follows me around.

This weekend, it finally caught up with me.  I’ve been so overwhelmed by the constant checklist of things to do for work that I just had to mentally check out for awhile.  So, for the past two days I hardly did anything for work and instead vegged out to a variety of random entertainment.  I buckled back up and got a bunch of work done today, but I’m still not ready to throw myself back into things again.  Perhaps I need to learn to set better boundaries so I periodic bouts of worklessness.  Harder said than done though!

iPhone 5

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Ah yes, the iPhone 5.  I’ve had it for a month and a half now and I’ve loved every second of it.  Not only does it fit better in my hand, it offers me just about everything I’m looking for in a phone/gadget/toy.

white & silver iphone 5 in shipping packaging

It comes in a nondescript box so as to not attract attention.

box of white & silver iphone 5 open to reveal phone inside

It’s so shiny and wonderful! If only I could keep it that way.

inside of iphone 5 box with accessories showing: earpods, charging cable, and charging plug

Underneath the phone you’ll find the key accessories – the new EarPods and charging plug with cable.

 

back of white & silver iphone 5 in box

I like the new two-toned design that’s part iPhone 4, part iPad.

apple's new earpod earphones in special carrying case

The newly designed EarPods do fit my ears better than the previous earbuds, but I wouldn’t mind a more cushy design.

white & silver iphone 5 in purple and pink clutch wallet

Happily, it still fits into a clutch wallet designed for iPhone 4 and older models.

 

Even birds get impatient

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Case in point: pacing stork! Must have been frustrated too since it would occasionally peck the water forcefully.

pacing stork from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

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