Delicious meal you mix yourself!
eBay success
laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: business, deckmyphone, ebay, experiences, products
30
August
2012
A few days ago, I decided to try to sell my iPhone cases (currently listed at DeckMyPhone) on eBay. After all, the new iPhone is supposed to be coming out in a few weeks and before we know it, the iPhone 4/4S model will become obsolete. Granted, there should be a nice secondary market of people purchasing iPhone 4/4S’s once the price of those drop in light of the newer model coming out. Still, I’d like to be able to move my product as much as possible so I can then focus on getting some iPhone 5 cases to sell.
To my delight, I got a bid on the very first day AND have since sold three at the “Buy It Now” price! Who knew that people were so eager to get a case that they’d pay over twice as much to get it ASAP. I happily obliged and sent out their covers the day they were ordered. I was even more pleased when I discovered how easy it is to ship with eBay, printing labels at home for packages that I can arrange for pickup if I want. It’s like the entire Stamps.com service, but integrated so I don’t need to pay for the membership.
So far it’s been a great experience selling on eBay and I think I might start listing other random items that I have for sale. Who knows what people might want to buy. 🙂 As for the iPhone 4 cases, I hope that this streak continues! You can check out my listings in my personal account and my business account. Feel free to start bidding! 😛
Tap away
laelene Posted in photo blog，Tags: pictures, products
28
August
2012
I got a wonderful surprise in the mail! I had ordered a phone clutch from Koshi (coming soon) and then discovered they were giving away stylus pens for those who liked their Facebook page. Of course I had to jump on that offer!
Air pollutants
laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: china, flying, observation, opinion, pictures, plane, pollution, travel
25
August
2012
I remember when I was a kid, flying was a great way to admire the beauty of the world. I adored looking out the window as landscapes passed us by (well, more like we passed them :-P). It was so peaceful and gorgeous! Now whenever I fly, I’m reminded of the massive change that has happened over the past two decades. I look outside the window of the plane and see a hazy horizon. It’s like I can see the heat rising from the earth. Gone are those pollutant-free views of centuries past.
I don’t recall ever noticing air pollutants when I was young, except in certain parts of the Midwest where it was so hot the air couldn’t be clear and crisp. Lately it’s become apparent that those childhood memories of looking clearly into the horizon were either far rosier than reality or the world’s atmosphere has really changed that much. Back then, it was literally “as far as the eye could see” without all this smog or haze or whatever. High up in the air, it was a treat to look down at our planet and enjoy its natural beauty.
In China, it’s even worse. It feels like there’s a thick blanket of blurriness hanging over everything and sometimes it’s bad enough to be noticeable from the ground too. At 30,000 feet I can barely make out what’s below us at times. In fact, even on the ground taking a train ride made me wonder if the winters had always been so dreary. I can pretty confidently say that that’s not the case – we as humans have just managed to cover our world with pollutants, haven’t we?
Case in point: you can barely make out the winding path and rolling hills below.
I think I’d find it depressing if I was a pilot, having to watch as year after year the sky got murkier. But then again, if you saw the gradual change, maybe you’d get used to it and not even tend to notice the way that I have after years of not flying much. Still, it’s sad that things have gotten to this point and I hope that the future brings initiatives to restore the beautifully clear skies that I once enjoyed.
Yellow lifesaver
laelene Posted in video blog，Tags: firetrucks, observation, travel, videos
24
August
2012
So bright and so loud! They totally took up half the road, all for some random vehicle that was pulled over to the side.
honolulu firetruck from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
Cat’s life: summer lounging
23
August
2012
My cats sure know how to enjoy themselves in the midst of these summer days. 🙂
Hehe, they often mirror each other when they sit or lay around.
Oh she knows how to get comfortable alright.
She owns this sofa!
Blissmobox: Blissful Bites
laelene Posted in reviews, subscriptions，Tags: blissmobox, eco-friendly, food, green, health, pictures, products, review, snacks
22
August
2012
After much anticipation, I’ve finally gotten to enjoy my very first blissmobox! This is the July box and I chose the Blissful Bites option to get my snack on.
blissmobox is just under $25 per month with shipping (or as discounted as just under $120 for 6 months) and comes with eco-friendly products in themes like beauty, snacks, home, pets, and more. Each month you choose from two or three themes, or skip if none of them appeal to you. They do not offer a referral program.
The three choices for the July blissmobox.
Inside, I found seven great items: 479° Popcorn, Beanitos chips, Crunchmaster crackers, Betty Lou’s cereal bar, Braga Farms pistachios, Giddy Up granola, and Panda licorice. It’s a nice mix of sweet and salty, crunchy and chewy, all with plenty of flavor and goodness to boot.
479° Popcorn, Black Truffle & White Cheddar – I’m actually not a huge fan of popcorn, so it’s a feat that I actually liked this one. The flavor hits you after you eat some and inhale… it’s very rich and a bit overwhelming, but strangely addicting. I’ve never really cared for truffles but this gives me just enough of the flavor without making me queasy.
Beanitos black bean chips, Chipotle BBQ – These are so much like corn chips I’d never miss the old stuff. Great taste and crunch factor, though the chipotle BBQ flavor was a bit spicy for my sensitive taste. Still, I enjoyed them and would eat them despite the stomachache.
Crunchmaster multi-seed crackers, Original – Talk about extremely crunchy! These rice crackers offer a satisfying crackle as you eat them. They are tasty on their own, and probably awesome with dip.
Betty Lou’s JustGreatStuff cereal bar, Superberry Açaí – Moist and luscious, with bits of fruit to chew on and a gentle sweetness. These are so much better than other cereal or energy bars! If I needed an on-the-go snack I’d totally have to get these.
Braga Farms organic pistachios, roast & salted – I’ve never been particular to pistachios so I don’t lean either way with these. They taste much like other pistachios I’ve had and they’re organic, so that gives them bonus points!
Giddy Up & GO granola, Notoriously Nutty – Wow! I have never actually been excited to eat granola, but one bite of this and I was shocked into a smile. I think it’s the cinnamon that gives it a delicious sweetness, coupled with the slightly soft chewiness that makes this so good. This isn’t the dried-out, washed-up granola you may be used to.
Panda licorice, Blueberry – I took a bite and was surprised that this was a rather dry treat. I despise normal black licorice so I was reluctant to try this, but then I love blueberry-flavored things, so I gave it a shot. It has a nice mild flavor and kind of reminds me of a blueberry fruit strip or soft granola bar. There is a slight lingering taste of licorice but nothing too strong.
If you’d like more info on these brands, you can click below to enlarge the photo and read more.
Hanging with dolphins
laelene Posted in video blog，Tags: animals, hawaii, travel, videos
21
August
2012
From racing with the wind to cruising along to just floating in place, these dolphins kept pace with us and came to play for a good 20 minutes!
hawaiian spinner dolphins from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
spinner dolphin jumping from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
spinner dolphins surfacing from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
spinner dolphins cruising from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
racing spinner dolphin from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
Bucky Balls in purple
laelene Posted in photo blog，Tags: pictures, products
20
August
2012
A long time ago, Panda got me a set of Bucky Balls. I took them to work and played with them often, and then the office got a set that everyone played with. I’m pretty sure that somewhere along the way my Bucky Balls got mixed up with those and eventually were distributed all around the office, stuck to metal cabinets and poles. Lately, I’d heard news of some consumer board trying to get them banned so I wanted to make sure I have a set in case they are forced out of business, plus they were encouraging us to buy to support them. By this time, they’d expanded into so much more than the original set I got – they had colored ones and large ones and even cube ones. I couldn’t resist the purple set since it’s my favorite color, so that’s what I ordered.
