365great Day 134: homegrown

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365great challenge day 134: homegrownFew things are as rewarding as the products of your labor or knowing the creator of something. When you know where something came from, it gives it greater meaning and when you happen to know the person behind it, you feel a special bond. I think this is why homegrown is such a nice concept. You cut out any middle men and go straight to the source (or you are the source). It feels more trustworthy, more connected, more real. Whether it’s actually better is not the point, but often what you plant is probably better grown locally, where you can control the conditions. Some of the best fruit I ever tasted was from the trees that my mom planted – these peaches are a prime example. Just look at how fantastic they look! They were even better tasting. 🙂 Part of it is also the absolute freshness of the food – you can’t get any fresher than picking it and eating it straight from the plant! If you get a chance to pick your own food, do it! It’s a fun experience and the food will taste so much better. How great is that?

Attention to detail

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I’m generally very good at noticing slight changes in details. If something is misaligned, if a font has changed, or if something is happening in the background, I’ll probably notice it. Sometimes this is a bit of a curse, since it makes the perfectionist part of me cringe and then I can’t help but focus on that slight imperfection. I’ve learned to tone it down over the years so that I notice, but don’t mull over the details too long. After all, in day to day life, who wants to spend their time constantly nitpicking what’s wrong?

mini boot camp platoon formation with drill instructor yellingThis served me well in ROTC days, when we were often berated for inattention to detail. Hospital corners had to be perfectly 45 degrees, uniforms had to be perfectly creased but not wrinkled, hair had to be perfectly groomed with not a strand out of place, and the head had to be perfectly cleaned. Everything spotless, in its place, and perfect. Every minute detail was critiqued and criticized, from how you held your hands to where you placed your feet to what your facial expression was. I loved my time in military training, particularly the boot camps I attended. I think the discipline and focus on details was just the environment where I could succeed relatively easily, so that made me feel good. It makes me think of when I took shop class in middle school and the teacher singled me out as having great writing skills, because I could follow his instructions to a tee and write the letters and numbers exactly like him. I’m very good with instructions.

In my personal life, it makes me notice so much around me that my mind is constantly racing. A slight chip in my nail polish, that mark on my wrist bone where it rubs on the computer all day, my slightly uneven features, the way I tend to use one side more than another… these are the things that are in the back of my mind even as I’m working, resting, or interacting with people. Sitting here now I’m thinking about how my ankles don’t bend the same way (one is more flexible than the other), how the sheets don’t fit just right on the bed, and how a new purse I’m breaking in doesn’t stay perfectly centered. I can now think the thought and put it away until I notice it again, but imagine how insane it’d be if I had to try to fix everything! Thank goodness that’s not the case, or else I might go insane.

new facebook toolbar with larger search bar and font

I actually thought of writing about this because recently Facebook changed their toolbar – did you notice? That was a pretty big change, but there are other things like font changes that I can pick out too. I use a tool called Reachli, which has changed nearly half a dozen times in the last month, with small tweaks to the font, font size, menu, etc. Most recently, I was watching a video today and saw that one of the guys in the background was sitting at his computer, typing away when everyone else was paying attention to the speaker (President Obama). If you’re that person in the background yawning or picking your nose or looking away, I’m the person who sees it. With each of these cases, the details were glaringly obvious to me, but I wonder if some people never even noticed a thing. Of course, I don’t notice everything and I certainly fell for the basketball passes trick, but I do feel like I have a much higher awareness than most people. Are you the same?

 

365great Day 133: flip flops

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365great challenge day 133: flip flopsMy favorite form of footwear has to be flip flops. They let me feet be as free as possible, I get to enjoy any nail polish I may decide to decorate my toes with, and they’re so easy to slip on and off as needed. I don’t like the dry heels that seem to come with, but there are scrubs and lotions for that! I didn’t really start wearing them until I moved to California. Who doesn’t flip flop it in sunny SoCal? It’s the perfect environment to do so since your feet rarely get too cold. It also absolutely fits the laidback vibe. Flip flops are no fuss and you can go anywhere from casual to dressy with different styles. I do wonder how anyone ever came up with the concept – just two straps to hold that flat thing on your feet? Seriously, would you have been an early adopter? I’m glad that they were invented and so widely adopted though (at least in the US), because I think they’re great.

On My Mind, episode 8

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Thursday Thoughts

Been awhile since I last linked up with Jennifer of Ramblings of a Suburban Mom, so let’s do this!

brand new condos with now selling sign

Our future home?


a. ~A lot has been on my mind lately, mostly related to where I want my life to go in the next couple of years. Panda and I have been house hunting (more like condo hunting) and we found a place that is basically our dream home. We love the layout, it’s brand new (not even built yet), it’s super spacious, it’s a nice neighborhood, and it’s on the higher end of our budget but totally manageable once I get a job. The one thing I don’t love is the location in relation to where I might work. It’s looking like I will have a 40-60 minute commute each way, based on the jobs I’ve been applying for. Am I willing to make that commute every day? I was hoping for something less stressful, but we’ll see! If I love the job and my home, a commute isn’t so bad.

b. ~I’m still grappling with the idea of my new life “out east.” I’ve had to resist looking at some very appealing job opportunities in the SF and LA regions, where a lot of cool start-ups are. I really want to find a company culture that I would fall in love with, where they take care of their employees and offer great growth potential. Oh, and I’d really like a job that involves around 25% travel. I don’t need all the crazy cool perks of some companies I’ve seen, like free massages or no dress code or no set hours, but I do want a somewhat laidback vibe. I don’t mind business casual dress or having to show up at a certain time each morning so long as the people are chill and there is room for a ton of learning and evolution of my role. So many companies on the west coast offer that and it’s a little harder to find here, but I have some promising leads.

small round glass table with blue star pattern designc. ~The other day I was at Target exchanging a tripod when I happened upon a super cute table. When I checked, it was on clearance for 50% off, which is not ideal, but still a steal! I mean, with something this adorable I just had to snatch it up. Initially it looked like the perfect little thing to put out on the porch, but now that I’ve field tested it in my room I can’t bear to put it outside. We’ll see where it fits in when we move to our future home! I may not be as good as Jennifer when it comes to Target clearance shopping, but I’m learning from her!

d. ~I started looking at laptops today, since that will be my reward for landing a job (in addition to getting a car for myself!). My absolute no-compromise criterion is that it is QUIET. Like, tablet quiet (aka silent). I determined that that basically means I need a solid state drive (SSD), so that’s what I’ve been focusing on. My tier 2 criteria include having a touchscreen, backlit keyboard, 3 USB ports, and 2-in-1 media reader or better. An added bonus would be a button that can turn the display off so I don’t have to wait for it to go idle on its own. Oh, and I was hoping for an ASUS but the only one fitting my specifications is $2250 with a student discount! DANG! Depending on how happy I am with the job I land, I might spring for that just because it really satisfies my needs, whereas all other options are missing this or that.

e. ~Is it just me or do you marvel at how freakin’ perfect Kate Middleton always looks? I mean, she just gave birth and she’s coming out looking like any other day? She’s so composed and elegant and graceful and personable all in one. I doubt we’ll ever see her trip or yell or mess up at all. It’s amazing because I think of how I’d be and well, quite frankly I’d never be accepted into royalty! They’d cringe at the casual wear I go out in, how I don’t wear makeup or do my hair, and all my other imperfections. I am perfectly happy being out of the limelight and I don’t understand how famous people manage; then again, I guess many of them don’t, what with those in rehab and lashing out and whatnot. You won’t be seeing that from the Cambridge royalty though! Always so poised it baffles me.

f. ~I started watching Once Upon A Time as my first deviation from my “normal” shows (crime dramas) and it is tangling up my mind quite well. The relationships are suuuper complex – [possible SPOILER ALERT] I mean, your step-great-grandmother is also your adoptive mother and step-great-great-grandmother was once in love with your grandfather (on the other side of the family) and a bunch of them are trying to kill each other? It’s all sorts of weirdness that I can barely keep up with. No wonder I stick to shows where each episode brings on one less-complicated mini-drama generally not related to previous ones.

country junction soy candle in macintosh from gettysburgg. ~Tonight I finally decided to break in my super cool soy candle from Gettysburg and I love it! This is my first time with a soy candle and I’m pretty sure I’m a convert now. I’ll have to test out other brands, but it burns sooo clean!! I usually have a little reaction to a candle burning due to my over-sensitivity to particles in the air, but I couldn’t even tell this one was burning. This particular candle is also super cool because of the little mug it comes in. I can’t wait to find a way to use it once my candle is all burned up.

That’s it from me for now! What are your thoughts on this fine Thursday?

365great Day 132: ice cream

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365great challenge day 132: ice creamWhoever invented ice cream should be immortalized. What a satisfying treat, whether in a cone, as a scoop, or made into other crazy shapes! You can get it soft serve or “normal” (is there a term for not soft serve?), in varying degrees of firmness, creaminess, and/or added-flavorness (yeah, yeah I’m making up words now). Sometimes there are delicious morsels mixed in for you to chew on and sometimes it’s just a smooth finish. It’s one of those sweet pleasures in life that just about everyone enjoys as long as you’re not lactose-intolerant. Even then, there are other options out there now, though I don’t know if any are quite as good as the original thing. What other desert makes you scream for it? 😛 As a kid, one of the coolest things was running up to an ice cream truck. Now that was great.

June Favorites 2013

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I’ve been meaning to put together my June favorites for quite some time, but I kept putting it off because I wanted to try creating a cool professional-looking collage with Polyvore. Alas, many of the items didn’t come with pictures or had ones I didn’t like, so I decided to just make my own collage with Picasa. I can always try again next month, right? So anyway, here are some of the things that I really loved using/doing throughout the month of June.

collage of june 2013 favorites including nyc new york color glossy lip balm, trade/swap, spring sing tank top, juice beauty lip gloss and hydrating mist, seabuck wonders facial cleanser and cream, cat it senses feeding maze and play circuit, and graze snack container

1. NYC New York Color Glossy Lip Balm – This came in my Influenster Spring VoxBox and I’ve been using it frequently! I love the light apple scent, the slanted design, and the cute apple design creating a two-toned lip balm. It’s my go-to lip product now and I’ll definitely look out for another one when I finish this one. I’ll probably go for a slightly more subtle color though, since every time I put this on, Panda can tell and I don’t want it to be that obvious!

2. swaps/trades – My newest addiction, thanks to Ipsy, is trading or swapping products. It all started when I decided to subscribe to Ipsy, but found that they sent me my least favorite color nail polish. In the hopes of trading it for the purple one I so desired, I began to explore trade forums and groups. I also had a ton of things from other subscription boxes as well as items I’ve accumulated that I didn’t plan on using, so I decided to create a trade list. Now I’ve done over a dozen swaps and I’m loving all the products I get to try!

3. Spring Sing tank top – When I heard that there was going to be Spring Sing apparel, I got pretty excited. I’m a sucker for anything branded with UCLA-related stuff (<3 my alma mater!) and I didn’t have a Spring Sing item. Then I saw it and fell in love even more! I love the design and that it’s a tank top. It didn’t look so great on the racks, but gosh once you put it on it’s perfect! I just had to get it when I was at UCLA for Alumni Day and I have been wearing it all the time. It’s exactly what I needed for lounging around on the hot summer days. I hope they keep making more designs each year so I can start up a collection. 😉

4. Juice Beauty lip gloss & hydrating mist – I believe it was through subscription box bloggers that I first learned about Juice Beauty. Something about the brand caught my eye and they quickly made it on to my wishlist. When I found out that Juice Beauty lip gloss was being offered in the May Ipsy bag, I really hoped I would get it! Unfortunately that didn’t happen, but I did manage to get it in a trade. It smells wonderful and goes on well. It’s not too gooey and just the right amount of glossy. Then there’s the hydrating mist, which I thought would be nice to have whenever my skin needed a little freshening boost. There’s something very relaxing about spraying yourself (particularly your face) with a gentle, soothing mist.

5. SeabuckWonders facial cleanser & cream – I won these from a blogger’s giveaway and I’m really glad I got to try them! I love a nice scrub and you need so little of this one to cleanse your face that this will last me a long time. I’m also fascinated by design and the spout of the facial cream is so cool! I love the way it pumps out the cream and you barely need to press it to get plenty for your entire face. I was already obsessed with sea buckthorn products and this has just fueled the interest.

6. & 7. Cat It Design Senses feeding maze & play circuit – Once I got my Amazon gift card for participating in a focus group, I immediately ordered these two cat toys for my furries. The feeding maze is fun because it makes your cat work for their dry food and you can change the difficulty to help control portions. Unfortunately it seems that their overall laziness is not enough to overcome their hunger so they stopped using it after a few days. The play circuit can be assembled into a circle or other squiggly shapes and Missy has really enjoyed playing with it. It’s nice for her to have something to be active with indoors so hopefully she doesn’t go out as much.

8. reusing Graze containers – For a long time, I’ve needed something I could place tea bags on (or in) in between steeps. Once I started getting Graze boxes, I found that they made the perfect little container! I could place my tea bag there without worrying about it staining something, drink my cup of tea, then reuse the bag for more steeps! It was just the right size to hold the tea bag without being too large. Then I started to use some of them for my solid shampoo and conditioner bars, as well as soaps. Once my bars start breaking into little pieces, I keep them all in a Graze container so they don’t go to waste. I love it!

So those are some of the things I’ve enjoyed most in June. Stay tuned for a new July list once the month is over! Have you tried any of my favorites too? What would your June list consist of?

365great Day 131: Kiva

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365great challenge day 131: kivaIt’s been years since I first started loaning on Kiva and it has been a rewarding experience. How cool is it that through the power of crowd-sourcing, we can help fund an entrepreneur or small business owner’s dream? At the same time, we’re not just giving handouts and the money will (usually) be paid back in full. So we empower them to improve their lives while ensuring they work hard to earn their keep. I’m so glad micro loans exist and they’ve become an important part of the world economy, supporting so many small businesses out there. Not everyone can get a loan from an institution like a bank, but that doesn’t mean they don’t deserve a hand. Plus, once you get your loan paid back, you can recirculate the money to help someone else. For a mere $25 I’ve been able to help out 5 people already and I know that number will only continue to grow. That’s really rewarding! It’s a great system that I’m proud to be a part of.

Frolicking in Orlando

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Many months ago, I was trying to change a hotel reservation for my uncle when I unwittingly agreed to a discounted vacation in exchange for a timeshare presentation. I chose to go to Orlando since it had been so long that I don’t remember last time I was there. Everything actually worked out really well – Panda and I got a nice little vacation out of it and right before we went, he was able to earn some free Disney gift cards that we could use on our trip. Plus, he actually had some training out there a few weeks before we went so he got to scout out the area first. Here’s a picture tour of our trip:

annie's mini hot dogs wrapped in pretzel bread

Our trip started with a snack I’d never tried before! Hot dogs + pretzel bread = delicious!!

old school united plane design

Our plane had a cool retro look.

rainbow arching over planes at iad dulles international airport as seen from window seat of plane

As I buckled in for takeoff, I saw nearly a full rainbow!

planes stuck on tarmac waiting for storm to pass

After leaving the gate, we found ourselves stuck waiting for a storm to the south to pass.

sitting waiting on plane with other planes on tarmac grounded due to storm

We waited for nearly three hours! I was lucky Panda gave me his first class seat so I got served drinks the whole time.

united first class meal collage with shrimp salad and hot tea

Once we finally took off, I got a nice meal to tide me over. The pattern in the tea reminded me of cirrus clouds!

collage of dragonfly on ground right side up and upside down

The first thing we saw upon arriving at the hotel was this dragonfly! I went to poke it and it flew off only to land upside down. That can’t be good.

tiny frog blending in with wood chips

Then we nearly stepped on this little guy as he hopped on by!

bright moon over hotel in distance

The moon was super bright and our parking spot was rather far, but it was a nice walk.

collage of anole lizard on porch

The next morning, I found myself a new pet!

square outline created by mirror light in pupil of eye

The mirror in the bathroom made square outlines in our pupils. Fun!

lush green grass growing thickly

I haven’t seen such thick grass in years! I miss that.

downtown disney marketplace entrance

Off to Downtown Disney!

taking a go at the t-shirt designing machine

The first shop we stopped in had these t-shirt designing machines! We just had to play around with one.

giant mickey face rice crispy cake

Goofy’s Candy Shop included all sorts of yummy sweets.

giant world of disney store at downtown disney orlando

Here we go into the Disney store, gift cards at the ready!

testing out the basin lip scrubs

I loved the Basin store with all its skincare goodies, like these lip scrubs that I tried.

collage of basin store products

Panda knew right away I would love this store! Can I bring it all home??

collage of various bath bombs at basin store

They had so many bath bombs, including adorable mini ones!

basin sinks with body scrubs and body butters to test out

Everyone enjoyed the sinks the middle, where you could try out their body scrubs and butters.

caffeine and mosquito fighting soaps

I found some pretty cool soaps with other purposes too – one with caffeine and one to ward off mosquitos!

large soap logs stacked up

I wonder if they ever sell their soap by the log.

basin products including solid shampoo, conditioner, and facial soap

I got two solid shampoo bars, two solid conditioner bars, and a charcoal facial soap.

bird standing by waterfront with wings outspread

That random bird stood motionless with wings spread out for so long I started to think it might be fake.

collage of fulton's crab shack in day and night

Panda made a reservation weeks ago so we could eat here. 🙂

view of sunset, clouds, and water from fulton's crab shack

A great view where we sat!

collage of bread, crackers, seafood pasta, and crab leg meals

The bread and crackers with dip were delicious! I also gobbled up my crab legs. NOM

collage of bird on tip of pointy tree and bird poo on table

The area was plagued by birds. They even attacked a squirrel!

string of lights at dusk on boat

These lights are so nice; I want some for my own home!

collage of pleasure island area of downtown disney

The Pleasure Island part of Downtown Disney is much more adult-oriented.

la nouba cirque du soleil mug

Love the pattern on this mug. If we actually saw La Nouba I probably would have gotten it.

twinkling lights in trees at downtown disney

They had twinkling lights in the trees to make it feel like there were fireflies. I wish there actually were some!

disney institution graduation mickey ears cap with tassel

We brought along Panda’s graduation cap that he got just a week or two before.

minnie mouse red and white polka dot bow tank top

One of the very first items I decided to buy. So cute! See what else we got.

comparing murano glass on tous ring to disney mickey ears

I just had to compare my Murano glass to theirs. I like mine. 🙂

sonic's chili cheese tater tots and hot dog

I love all things chili cheese. I’d never had chili cheese tots before and they are my new fav!

bright sun shining over dark cloud

You never know when you’ll get sun or clouds around here.

red car with crazy air fresheners

That red car strung up like 50 of those tree air fresheners. Can you see it? Hilarious.

disney boardwalk lake

We arrive at the Boardwalk area and explore the stores overlooking the lake.

small turtle in lake among plants

I found some fish and a turtle to feed!

disney tugboat on lake

As we crossed a bridge, this tugboat came scootin’ along.

collage of girl feeding ducks bread

On the tiny beach they created, there were ducks eager to eat my bread. I had so much fun feeding them!

mickey golf globe

These fun globes tested your ability to get the ball to balance on the peg.

disney character pens with ends bent into head shapes

Such cute pens!

disney credit card swiping machine

Even the credit card machines have Mickey’s head on them.

collage of handicapped room features including automatic door, bars in restroom, and no closet doors

We got a handicapped room, which I quite liked – our door had an auto open button!

collage of buena vista palace rooms

We stayed at the Buena Vista Palace and our suite was nice and spacious.

collage of buena vista palace public areas

Here are some of the public spaces at the Buena Vista Palace.

collage of exterior spaces at buena vista palace

And here are some of the exterior spaces at Buena Vista Palace.

large three-row golf cart outside buena vista palace

That golf cart is practically a tour tram!

ming court dim sum

Before heading to the airport, we stop for some dim sum at Ming Court.

anole lizard blending in with sidewalk

Tons of lizards around here (or anoles). Masterfully blending with the sidewalk.

silver tea pot with spill-free spout

This tea pot’s spout is perfect for spill-free pouring!

long escalator going up multiple floors

After returning the rental car, we took a super long escalator up to the gates.

collage of disney character-shaped crayons and green turtle t-shirt

We did a little more browsing at the airport before checking in.

disney tron-themed airport tram terminals

The tram terminals were Tron-themed, I believe.

hangers in first class seating

If you need to hang up your coat in first class, they’ve got that handled.

reflection of sunlight on ring

As I wait for takeoff, I admire how my ring catches the light.

jetway outside airplane viewed from window of plane

Back in Dulles, I actually see the jetway from my seat. And soon enough we were home!

365great Day 130: Square

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365great challenge day 130: squareA long time ago, I came across this cool gadget and became obsessed. It’s such a fun concept! For years I’d been dreaming of a solution that would allow businesses to email receipts and not have to print out those annoying paper ones. In fact, I was hoping for an entire system that would send the receipt automatically to the credit or debit card you used so when you check your statements, the corresponding receipt would be there for you to review. That way you’d be able to match up those charges much easier! Square doesn’t quite accomplish that, but it got so much further than I thought anything could at that time. Since then, a bunch of copycats have surfaced and it’s more and more common to see digitized transactions occur. I love the change and I look forward to my vision becoming a reality soon! So thank you Square, for bringing to life what I had only dreamed. That’s truly great.

Goodies Co. July Taster’s Box

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The July Goodies box came in new packaging! Here it is, along with the contents of Taster’s Box #4.

collage of goodies co new green box smaller size and july contents

The box came with Glaceau fruitwater orange mango sparkling zero calorie drink, Cosmos Creations Cinnamon Crunch baked corn, Crunchmaster Multi-Grain Crackers in Sea Salt, The Better Chip jalapenos with sea salt corn chips, and Gimbal’s Cherry Lovers fruit chews. You can watch me unbox it and then read my thoughts below!

The Glaceau fruitwater is a yummy drink with delicate fizz bubbles and a good fruity soda taste, so it’s perfect for someone who wants to feel like they’re drinking soda but don’t want the calories. The Cosmos Creations corn surprised me with its odd shape and texture, similar to Cheetos and kettle corn combined. The cinnamon flavor is amazing with it and I want more! It’s very sweet and fragrant with a soft crunch. The Crunchmaster crackers are super crispy and I can feel them grinding in my digestive tract. I’m pretty sensitive to foods made with grains! The taste is a nice light salted flavor, perfect if you don’t want a super salty chip but want that sort of crunch. The Better Chip chips are quite spicy for someone sensitive like me. I can only eat about one chip at a time, but they are good! I love that it feels like eating a tortilla chip but there’s no need for any dip because so much flavor is already packed in. As for the candy, the Gimbal’s fruit chews are sort of like heart-shaped jelly beans. I’ve never been a fan of cherry-flavored things so I’m not a good judge of the taste of them – the only one I liked was the cherry daiquiri, which had a nice fruity flavor to mask some of the cherry. The texture is nice though, with a shell that crumbles just right and an interior gumminess that is easy to chew and doesn’t stick to your teeth.

This month’s Goodies Co. box introduced me to three new products that I would absolutely buy again!

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