Fun times with Facebook

laelene Posted in general blog,Tags: , ,
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Yesterday, I decided that Missy should have her own Facebook profile.  After all, she’s got tons of pictures to be tagged and a personality all her own!  I had a lot of fun setting it all up and going through, tagging all the pictures I’ve posted of her.  So far she has friended me and Cousin and Cousin was so amused by the account that she also created one for Molly.  Now both the cats in our household get to run the show on social media too!  They already rule the house, so why not expand their horizons?

I wish there was an easy way to toggle between FB accounts; for now I’m stuck with one account open on one browser and the other open on another browser.  Of course Missy has me doing the grunt work for her, posting up pictures and videos and typing to her dictation.  But hey at least now she can share some of her wisdom with the world.  You can be her friend too!  Find her at http://facebook.com/missy.qin.7 and check out some of the hilarious shots of her sleeping.

A TOUS holiday

laelene Posted in photo blog,Tags: , , , ,
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Panda went browsing at the TOUS store the other day and came back with some free goodies!  Don’t mind Missy, she was just admiring her new toys…

light greenish blue tous gift bag tied with red ribbon

TOUS gift bag!

tous holiday stockings and product catalog

Inside the bag were two TOUS stockings and a copy of their catalog.

Preying praying mantis

laelene Posted in video blog,Tags: , , ,
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This sucker was up for a fight! Between its battle dance and climbing all over the place, it sure made for some fun times (and Missy was pretty entertained too).

cat attacks praying mantis from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

praying mantis dance from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

praying mantis on arm from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

praying mantis rock climb from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

Mealtime browsing

laelene Posted in general blog,Tags: , , ,
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Panda has this habit of people-watching (actually more like people-staring) whenever we’re out and about.  This is especially evident at restaurants, when he’s looking just about anywhere but at me.  Whether it’s a cute kid gurgling on mom’s lap, a rowdy bunch having a blast, or just a couple sitting quietly, Panda will observe every little thing – staring and sometimes even gawking.  It’s painfully obvious to me and I wonder if others notice it too.

Since this seems to be so distracting for him, I’ve taken to making sure that he sits on the side facing the wall, or the least interesting part of the restaurant.  This seems to have helped a bit but I still find myself competing for attention over meals.  I guess that should encourage us to eat in more often, eh?

Drowsy positions

laelene Posted in photo blog,Tags: , , , , ,
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Hehe, Missy sleeps in such funny positions throughout the day.  Sometimes it’s downright baffling that she finds it comfortable like that.

my cat missy napping on bed

my cat missy napping with belly up and head twisted to side

my cat missy napping with belly up and head twisted to side and arms stretched out

Sink water

laelene Posted in video blog,Tags: , , ,
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Molly refuses to drink out of a normal bowl, so we have to fill up the sink for her a few times a day and let her play around like this:

molly playing in sink from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

How to guide: getting a Virgin Mobile iPhone 4/4S

laelene Posted in how to guides,Tags: , , , , ,
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The past couple of days, my cousin and I have been trying to navigate the confusing world of contract-less iPhone usage.  After doing some research, Virgin Mobile USA appeared to have the best deal – as it stands, they’re offering $35/month for 300 minutes and unlimited text & data.  You can then save $5/month and bring it down to $30/month by signing up for automatic billing with a credit card or Paypal account.

screenshot of virgin mobile usa phone plans

From the website, it was unclear if we had to buy an iPhone from them or if we could get it elsewhere and then activate that device.  I called their customer service to ask and was told that as long as it was a new device that had not been activated with any other service, I could buy it elsewhere.  Wrong.  As it turns out, you MUST get an iPhone designated for Virgin (this maybe not be the case for an iPhone 5 though).  This was a hard lesson learned after trying to activate an unlocked iPhone 4 (no-go since it was not CDMA compatible) and even trying to purchase a Sprint iPhone since Virgin uses Sprint towers for their network.

Why all that hassle?  Why not just buy the iPhone from Virgin Mobile?  Well, most importantly it was due to price.  The Apple Store was selling an iPhone 4 for $450 while Virgin was charging $550.  Secondarily, it was due to timing – you get it at a store and the device is immediately in your possession, but you get it online and you have to wait for it to ship.  Since it’s the final weeks of fall semester for my cousin, she needs the phone more urgently so she can figure out why the bus never came or look something up/practice on the go.  Plus, she’s waited so long that she just wants to finally be using her new phone instead of pining for it.

So did we have to buy from Virgin after discovering the Apple Store devices were no use?  Actually, no.  As it turns out, Best Buy (and possibly other electronics stores) carry Virgin iPhones AND they were on sale for $350 a pop!  A quick search showed me that the Best Buy Mobile store in the mall carried them.  Happily, we went to purchase it there.  There was a slight hiccup when the sales associate told us they didn’t carry them, but when I mentioned it said they did online she went to the back and asked her manager, who was aware that they had the device in question.  Plus, we used our Best Buy RewardsZone card to get bonus points.  Yippee!  Make sure you check before going to the store and let the associate know the website indicated that they have the device if you’re rejected at first.

Now if you’re reading this soon after I post it, you’ll find that Virgin has actually lowered their iPhone 4 price to $350 as well, so you can get the same deal from them for now.  I’m not sure if this is just a promotional price decrease for the upcoming shopping craze, or if they might keep that price around longer.  If I were you, I’d snatch it while I can.

Swerving madness

laelene Posted in photo blog, video blog,Tags: , , , ,
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Today while driving to Green Festival LA, I got in an accident.  A car was merging into my lane and I was watching it, letting off my gas so it could get in.  Suddenly, the car behind it decided to also merge into my lane, but then I guess the first car had braked, so it had to swerve and cut in front of me, which caused me to swerve to avoid it.  I managed to narrowly miss it, only to roll off the shoulder into the mud and slide right into the guardrail.  The one good thing today?  Bruins beat Trojans 38-28.  😀

chp officer who arrived at the scene stepping away after talking to some firefighters

First an ambulance stopped to check on us, then a tow truck pulled over but it wasn’t with my insurance, then this CHP officer came along, and then the firetruck pulled over briefly.

A total of three or four CHP vehicles stopped at one point or another, and I had to explain what happened over and over as each batch came. Three of them asked if I wanted to file a report and by the third, I had one thing clarified: the only thing filing a report would do is confirm that I am to blame for hitting the guardrail. Ok seriously, why would I file a report so you can charge me for the guardrail?! So random.

Oh, and while talking to the ambulance ladies, we happened to witness another crash right in front of us as a car got rear-ended. Eventually all the law enforcement personnel migrated between our two sites and finally figured out that we were two separate incidents.

front left of car smashed into guardrail at side of highway

Just as I was reacting that I might not hit the car in front of me, I realized I was hurtling towards the guardrail and the mud was too slippery to stop in. In retrospect I should have stayed on the road more or maybe even swerved again (though that could have caused me to spin out), but alas I hit. Boom.

front left car wheel and bumper smashed into guardrail

Oh my poor car! One of my first reactions was relief that the airbags didn’t deploy. That must mean I had slowed down enough that the impact wasn’t as bad. When I went to open my door, it got a bit stuck and creaked (see video).

creaking car door from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

car pulled away from guardrail awaiting tow

The AAA tow guy couldn’t get my car to start without some serious shaking and coughing from my poor Corolla, so he called in a flatbed and pulled it away from the guardrail in the mean time.

damaged car being placed on tow truck

And there she goes, getting atop the flatbed for the ride to the tow yard.

the damage to the front left part of the car

The tow guy thought the axle might be broken – yikes! We’ll see what the ultimate verdict is.

Blissmobox: Anniversary special

laelene Posted in reviews, subscriptions,Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
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Ah, the anniversary box.  This is what got me into this whole subscription box thing – a fateful email that I received telling me that if I subscribed for a year, I’d get free shipping on the boxes AND a bonus 13th special edition box.

blissmobox is just under $25 per month with shipping (or as discounted as just under $120 for 6 months – as you can see, they used to offer an annual subscription but that is gone) 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.

email from blissmo announcing blissmobox anniversary offer

I just couldn’t resist so I decided to sign up for a subscription.  Here’s what ultimately came in that anniversary box:

contents of blissmobox anniversary edition including eco logical sunscreen, peeled snacks apple-2-the-core, bates water filtration bottle with blissmo logo, all terrain insect repellent, and neutrogena naturals night cream

Not pictured: ecover dishwasher tablets

collage of peeled snacks apple-2-the-core dried fruit snackPeeled Snacks gently dried fruit, Apple-2-the-core – I’m not usually a huge fan of apples, but I ate these up pretty fast!  I love that they’re just apples, plain and simple.  They’re slightly sweet and so light that they’re really the perfect snack when you want a little something but don’t want too much sugar.

collage of all terrain herbal armor insect repellentAll Terrain insect repellent, Herbal Armor spray – As you can see, it comes out a rich milky white, but rubs on clear.  There’s a strong herbal, almost medicinal scent that’s sure to keep bugs away.  Maybe I just haven’t used it enough to loosen up the nozzle, but it always comes out more liquidy than misty for me.

collage of bates water filtration bottle with blissmo brandingBayes water filtration bottle, blissmo branded – This is a fun water bottle with filter built into the cap.  The nice thing is when you’re on the go, you just put tap water in and by the time it reaches your lips, the water has been filtered for you.  That way you can bring an empty bottle wherever you go and just get water from any restroom sink.  Or if you’re particularly impatient, you don’t have to wait and watch as the water trickles through your normal filter – just start gulping!

eco logical skin care sunscreen, for body – I didn’t realize it at first, but this product was actually on my “to try someday” list after I learned about it through Daily Grommet.  I’m looking forward to using it on my day out or vacation since I don’t really get much sun otherwise.  I haven’t opened it yet since I want to preserve it until I’m ready to use it, but I’d imagine its consistency to be something like toothpaste.

collage of neutrogena naturals multi-vitamin night creamNeutrogena Naturals skincare, multi-vitamin nourishing night cream – I’ve been using this every night after I shower.  It’s definitely a thick, creamy face cream that hydrates my skin.  I also love the light, slightly sweet smell it has, which is soothing and relaxing.  I had no idea that Neutrogena had a new line of natural products, so it was cool to be introduced to that and hopefully they’ll expand the line to take over the original products eventually.

collage of ecover dishwasher tablets sampleecover natural cleaning products, automatic dishwasher tablets – I don’t actually use the dishwasher to wash dishes, so I’m still trying to figure out what to do with these samples.  I guess I could use the dishwasher just to try them out, but I’m not sure I even know how to operate the thing.  Maybe I’ll just try dissolving them into the water I use to wash the dishes.

 

Overall this was a random box with no real theme, but it provided a nice introduction to more eco-friendly products in many categories.

 

Butting heads

laelene Posted in general blog,Tags: , , , , ,
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molly the cat lounging on sofa cushion with arm dangling

Molly in one of her calmer moods.


Ok so I’ve got this cat, her name is Molly.  She’s like 13 years old and I’ve had her for about a year and a half.  When I saw her at the shelter, she was curled up on a nice bed and didn’t really move, so I figured she’d be a fun lap pet.  When we brought her home, the first week or so I was afraid that she was going to die just like that – she wouldn’t eat, she wouldn’t drink, and she barely moved.  We took her for her free checkup and the vet said that this and that might be wrong with her… my mom stood firm in her belief that we’re just giving Molly a nice home to live out her life and we won’t spend excess money to save her from this and that disease.  I was super sad but wasn’t about to shell out the money myself so we decided to just see how it went.

I think about 10 days in is when Molly started to move around.  She explored the house and I even caught her drinking from the toilet (aha! so she wasn’t dying of thirst).  Soon enough, she was as spry as any cat and even went around the house acting like she built it, owned it, and ran it.  While I was happy that she was totally fine and actually quite active, I discovered that she actually doesn’t like being held.  So much for my lap cat idea.  Sometimes she gets into these terrible moods, where she’ll growl at you for no reason.  She’ll get mad because you walked by, because she walked by you, because you did this or didn’t do that, etc.  I didn’t want to encourage this behavior, so whenever she got grumpy, I’d keep pushing.  If she didn’t want me touching her I’d hug her.  Sometimes I’d growl with her, or give her a stern finger.  Unfortunately, this hasn’t worked and I think I’ve figured it out – we’re both super stubborn.

The more you push, the more I push back (and the more you push back).  So, our little battles escalate until Molly gets so upset that she attacks or runs away.  I can’t help it though; nothing irritates me more than backing down when she’s the one initiating the negativity.  I was hoping to train her to see that when she got mad, I didn’t leave her alone, so trying to scare me wouldn’t work.  But it seems that all she sees is that she’s not happy and I’m annoying.  It’s a pity!  I’ve never tried to start a fight with her, but that seems to be how it all ends up.  And that’s what stubbornness can get you.

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