On My Mind, episode 3

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(Linking up with Jennifer of Ramblings of a Suburban Mom for Thursday Thoughts again!)

I was just thinking that perhaps On My Mind/In My Life would be slightly more appropriate for these posts, but that title’s too long, eh? You get the point, right?

gogobot cartoon bear with sunglasses

Gogobot bear!

~Some totally awesome things have happened lately!! For one, I was happily surprised to find that I became a Gogobot Pro 2013! I only joined the site in late February so I certainly didn’t expect that so soon. Granted, I did spend a ton of time ramping* up my reviews past 100 so I could get that free swag I shared previously. As a Gogobot Pro, I get even more awesome stuff, which is on its way, yay! Can’t wait to show you what else I get AND to plan a trip to take advantage of it all. 🙂

~Sometimes you get what you want just by holding out hope and having some luck. That’s what happened with a recent eBay auction, where I bid around $2.50 and the ultimate winner of the auction bid around $7.50. I was not willing to pay that much, but I held out hope that I’d eventually get the product at the price point I wanted. AND THEN I got a second chance offer! If you’re not familiar with eBay, sellers can choose to give a “second chance offer” to any of the bidders who didn’t win the auction. As long as they have more product (or the auction winner doesn’t pay up), they can extend that offer to you if they feel your highest bid price is acceptable. I got a pretty great deal.

glass jar with fold over elastic band hair ties

source: lilblueboo

~Wondering what I got for that eBay auction? Well, it’s some foldover elastic – which may mean nothing to you – and it’s what you use to make those hair ties you probably know as Twistbands. I was certainly not about to pay $2 for ONE hair tie, but I do want to try them to see if they’re more effective. Once I figured out the “technical” term for them, it was pretty easy to find on eBay. My long, desperate searches in the aisles of Joann’s, Michael’s, and Walmart are thankfully over. I’m excited to make my own!

graze box congratulations welcome screen

The coveted welcome screen.

~As of last night I FINALLYYYY got a working code for Graze! Thanks to a lovely reader posting on Jennifer’s Ramblings of a Suburban Mom Facebook page, I have signed up for my weekly snacks. The default is every other week, but with just four snacks per shipment, that’s not enough for my snacking habits so I increased the frequency.

~If you’ve never won anything, let me just say that you just gotta try a lot and set your heart to doing everything you can to win. So many people complain that they never win… and you know what? They never even enter. Beyond that, you can still win at times if you don’t give up and stay positive! Check out the time I won a $150 UCLA rug because I tried really hard.

~So for the past two or three weeks, I’ve been having this strange thing happen to me; whenever I eat small bits of food, inevitably one piece will get stuck in this extra space in my throat. I swallow and swallow to no effect, but a rush of water usually flushes it out. Is this normal?? Shouldn’t my throat be one straight tube? Maybe these pieces are somewhere in middle ground between “throat” and “windpipe” territory. :-/

~Last week it was reeeeeally windy! I seriously thought that a palm tree might come crashing down into the house. Thank goodness they’re sturdier than the more “branchy” trees. I believe these are the Santa Ana winds, which I first learned about when I arrived to SoCal 10 years and read a passage in English class, telling me that these winds cause scenes in which “Meek little wives feel the edge of the carving knife and study their husbands’ necks.” Talk about mildly traumatizing. I didn’t get it then and I still don’t get it now, but it sure did stick with me all these years.

hotel maya guestroom restroom

With a toilet paper holder between the toilet and sink, how am I to reach back there??

~And finally, a pet peeve of mine: why do so many places put the toilet paper holder in an inconvenient location? I don’t want to have to do some sort of contortionist act just to reach it. I know that due to the design of the space, sometimes that’s all that works, but you’d think they might take that into consideration when drawing up the blueprints. I guess I could retrain myself to get the toilet paper first, but old habits die hard.

*as a side note, I realized the way I work is in “binges” – more on that in a later post

365great Day 27: micro-entrepreneurism

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Learn more about 365great here.

I’ve written about micro-entrepreneurism before and I’ll say it again: I love that new business models are popping up all over the place (on the web), empowering people to be small-time entrepreneurs. Whether you want to pet sit, run people’s errands, do freelance projects, give tours, rent out your space, teach a private lesson, or cook/bake for hire… there’s probably a site out there for you. What a great way to take your skill sets and/or passions and turn them into income-generating gigs! While it’s definitely challenging and takes a lot to be able to live off odd jobs like that, the experiences are extremely rewarding and satisfying. And hey, for most people, it’s just a nice way to supplement your income by doing what you’re good at.

365great challenge day 27: micro-entrepreneurismIn this picture I was demoing food at the Whole Foods in Westwood through my employer, Natural Selection Promotions. I really enjoyed that job since I requested shifts only when I wanted, had an everchanging work environment, and got to get out from behind a desk. At first it was a summer job and then it was an in-between job once I graduated college and was looking for work. I liked that I got to move around in the day, meet new people all the time, and only work when I decided to. The pay was pretty good and I even got extra food samples to keep much of the time! Since then, a far more robust industry has grown to allow people similar experiences. It’s easier than ever to take what you love or know and turn it into an income-generator. This sort of empowerment is truly great.

Snow cream

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It was about a year ago when I was first introduced to Blockheads, this mysteriously new dessert place that was all the craze. Maven took me there upon discovering that I, his foodie friend, hadn’t tried it yet!! This whole “snow cream” idea was something new to me – I knew ice cream and I knew shave ice, but shaved ice cream?? I had to see what the fuss was all about. The moment I tried it, I was blown away. From then on it was a long-distance addiction for me. I live too far to justify going there whenever I want, but when I get a chance, I always stop by.

black sesame snow cream with toffee crunch and condensed milk drizzle from blockheads shavery

My very first Blockheads order! What a cute mascot they have.

green tea snow cream with boba and condensed milk drizzle from blockheads shavery

I love how you can see the delicate, intricate texture of the shaved ice cream that makes up “snow cream.”

strawberry and green tea snow cream with boba, rice cakes, and condensed milk drizzle from blockheads shavery

Digging in to my half-strawberry, half-green tea snow cream topped with boba and rice cakes.

cantaloupe snow cream with boba, rice cakes, and condensed milk drizzle from blockheads shavery

I just had to try the seasonal cantaloupe flavor! It was great.

strawberry and green tea snow cream with red beans, chocolate sauce, and chocolate sprinkles from blockheads shavery

My cousin gets bold flavors!

strawberry and original snow cream with strawberries and mango puree from blockheads shavery

My friends opt for a very fruity combo.

365great Day 26: scented pens

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Learn more about 365great here.

365great challenge day 26: scented pensEver write or doodle (maybe even scribble around) just so you can use up ink? Yeah, you’ll want to do that with these amazing pens. The lovely fruity scents that waft up from the paper are deliciously reminiscent of the produce these pens are meant to emulate. Plus, with fun colors covering the whole spectrum, you can represent just about anything with these pens. I’ve always loved writing things down, just for the feeling of pen on paper and with such fun writing instruments, I only enjoy it more! Pens that not only engage your sense of sight and touch, but smell as well? That’s pretty great.

How to: Create A Facebook Page (original)

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104

pinnable quote image for how to create a facebook page blog post on maryqin.com

I decided it was time for me to create a Facebook page for my little blog, so I can really try to build it out and maybe get some followers! I’d like to think that what I’m putting out there is educating or entertaining someone, but I’ve never really promoted it so it’s time to take action.

When I went to create the FB page, I (for the life of me) could NOT find where to choose the “Personal Blog” category! And that’s what spurred this entry. Read on to learn the basics for setting up a Facebook page and how to select a category like “Personal Blog,” “Personal Website,” and more!

Creating Your Facebook Page

webpage to create a new facebook page First of all, here’s where you can create a new Facebook page. As you’ll see, right away they want you to choose a category. Your desired page may fit multiple categories, so it’s up to you to decide which one is best for your needs. Of the 6 types they’ve laid out for you (1. Local Business or Place; 2. Company, Organization or Institution; 3. Brand or Product; 4. Artist, Band or Public Figure; 5. Entertainment; 6. Cause or Community), all but the last one have a dropdown menu with category choices. Don’t worry if your desired category isn’t there – just pick what’s closest or tickles your fancy. In my case, I went for “Brand or Product”and chose “Website” from the dropdown.

You will be asked to enter your page name, which should be the title of your blog, the name of your business, or whatever you want the world to know your page by. Note that Facebook has certain rules in place about what is allowed in a name – for example, I tried to enter my blog name, ((little fat notebook)), but it was immediately rejected because I’m not allowed to use symbols. You are allowed one set of parentheses, but there can only be two words in it (like this) and obviously I’d have three if I went for (little fat notebook). Alas, I then tried just plain little fat notebook and that’s not allowed because the name must start with an uppercase! I didn’t like how Little fat notebook looked, so I went for the boring old Little Fat Notebook. Luckily, you can change it after the fact!

Setting Up Your Facebook Page

Once you agree to their terms and click Get Started, you’re prompted to fill in a description and add links to your site(s). Next upload an avatar/profile picture to represent your page. You’ll then be taken to your brand new Facebook page! A quick 3-step tour is given and then you’re given free reign. Feel free to add a cover photo, invite friends to like your page, and share your very first post!

screenshot of page to set up about section of new facebook page

Adding a basic description.

uploading profile picture to new facebook page

Uploading a profile picture.

Changing To A Better Category

dropdown menu to edit facebook page infoNow here’s what you’ve been waiting for: how to make the page exactly as you want it! At the top, you’ll see an option to Edit Page, with a dropdown. The first option is what you want: “Update Info.” Here you’ll see that the category and subcategory choices are far more plentiful than they let on earlier in the process! That’s where I found a previously unmentioned category called “Websites & Blogs,” which contains the subcategory option I had been hunting for: Personal Blog. The nice thing is that you can change this at any time, so as your site/brand evolves, you can update the category accordingly.

dropdown menu for facebook page categories

 

dropdown menu for facebook page subcategories

 

A few other tips:

Once you get 25 fans, you can reserve a vanity URL (or username, as Facebook calls it). This means that rather than an ugly URL like https://www.facebook.com/pages/little-fat-notebook/457453117668145, you can get a pretty one like https://www.facebook.com/littlefatnotebook, which is much easier to direct fans to. I still need to claim mine! (So hey if you don’t mind, please like my page so I can claim my vanity URL soon!) [Update: I was actually able to claim it when I had just 16 fans – check out my post on claiming vanity URLs to see how.]

When you reach 30 fans, Facebook will provide “insights” about your page, which includes data about the reach of your page and each post (how many people see it, pretty much), how many people are talking about (sharing) your posts, and how many posts you’re putting up daily.

Also note that I was able to update my page name from Little Fat Notebook to all lowercase. Unfortunately you still can’t add symbols, but as mentioned before, you can use one set of parentheses.

I highly recommend putting your website URL in the Short Description so users can easily click to your site from your FB page. Just be sure to input the “http://” so it becomes a clickable link, as shown. (Click for full size.)

screenshot of facebook page short description with embedded link

Now that you have a Facebook page, check out my tutorials on:
~how to manage your Facebook page
~how to link your social media accounts
~how to claim your vanity URLs, and more!

You can find all my “how to” posts for useful tips like how to make a favicon and random things like how to set your iPhone/iPad to stop playing music at a certain time or even how to win a Facebook contest!

If you have any questions or tips of your own, I’d love to hear them! Please do share. 🙂

365great Day 25: foaming cleansers

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Learn more about 365great here.

365great challenge day 25: foaming cleansersMaybe it’s just me, but foaming cleansers bring a smile to my face every time. Whether it’s hand soap or face wash, there’s something really fun about pumping out a handful of suds. It might just be a gimmick since they can get away with a lower concentration of cleanser to water, but for the enjoyment, I’m okay with that. Supposedly, foaming cleansers give you a deeper clean? I guess I do feel “squeaky clean” after using one, but I get the same feeling with a bar soap. Anyways, this made my 365great list purely for the fun factor! After all, a basic skincare product that can make me happy just by pumping it? That’s pretty great (and rather cheap entertainment).

Fit furry fellow

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I’ve never seen a caterpillar move quite so fast before!

caterpillar run from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

365great Day 24: Korean BBQ

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Learn more about 365great here.

365great challenge day 24: korean bbqAfter a fantastic dinner tonight, I just had to make Korean BBQ today’s 365great. My all-time favorite place to go is Tahoe Galbi because of their delicious salad, sauces, and rice paper. KBBQ in general is awesome for many reasons: first of all, it’s all you can eat (ok, usually)! Secondly, they have wonderful side dishes to go with all the meat you’ll be having. Then there’s the really tasty meats they provide, along with sauces and whatnot to ensure you get the most flavor possible. Plus, it’s pretty fun to grill things up yourself and enjoy the cooking and eating process all in one. Not only are you enjoying a meal, it’s an entire experience. It also helps that you can stuff yourself until you can’t move, if you choose to do so. Between all the wonderful flavors and the fun times, Korean BBQ is the type of dining experience you don’t want to miss – and that’s what makes it great.

Kitchen chillin’

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Missy was really loving that seat in the kitchen!

cat sitting on chair looking up at camera on tripod

Watching me as I filmed.

cat sitting on chair leaning against metal railing

Doesn’t that hurt?

cat sitting on chair in "loafing" position to fit without falling off

Loafing so she can fit.

365great Day 23: handmade

laelene Posted in 365great,Tags: , , , , ,
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Learn more about 365great here.

365great challenge day 23: handmadeThere’s something very rewarding about creating something yourself. I always wished I was more crafty and even joined a cross-stitch club in middle school to try to gain some skill. The only other things I’m good at are origami and paper cutting, so when I thought of what I could make, one of the first things I tried was origami earrings. You can see more designs over at Panda Loves! I had a lot of fun with these and I wish I was more skilled with making higher end stuff like Stone Rush Jewelry. Still, it’s really fulfilling to be able to create something.

I admire all those sellers on Etsy making really cool stuff. Whether it’s soap and candles or jewelry and accessories, I love anything handmade. Usually it’s super cute and the personal touch is something you just can’t get from mass-produced items. Craft fairs are a great place to find these kinds of things and I love supporting local artists & artisans! I’m totally envious of their abilities. I wish my creations involved a bit more hands-on activity beyond typing or wielding a pen. If you make your own crafts, I’d love to learn more – please do share. 🙂 The rich stories and hard work behind handmade items are what makes them great.

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