365great Day 119: Massage Envy

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365great challenge day 119: massage envyMy favorite part about Massage Envy is the convenient booking – I’ve gotten appointments within half an hour from calling, which is just what my sore muscles need sometimes. The monthly membership offers a reasonable rate and I’ve found some real gems in the massage therapists there. I’ve gone to at least 4 different locations and with most, I already have a favorite or favorites who I know will give me the kind of massage I’m looking for. I also like that they have so many massage therapists, because sometimes I just want to mix it up and try out many different styles. They also offer really nice facials that have always left me feeling refreshed. They use Murad products for their facials, which is a nice brand. I always look forward to my visits and having a membership encourages me to take care of my body more! That’s always a great idea.

Ralph’s produce finds

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There’s some really pretty shots to be found at Ralph’s groceries.

colorful heirloom tomatoes ranging from green to red to yellow to orange at ralph's grocery store

Wow, at first I thought these were pumpkins and squash, but they’re all heirloom tomatoes! They’re just about every color you can imagine.

pile of baby pineapples at ralph's grocery store

So cute and petite! I wonder how much meat is edible though.

exotic fruits found in ralph's grocery store

There’s passion fruit, dragon fruit, kiwano melon, pepino purple melon, and manzano bananas.

365great Day 118: first class

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365great challenge day 118: first classWhen I was a kid, traveling by myself to China once, I was allowed to go sit in first class for a bit. The seats were huge and it was quieter, but I didn’t notice much difference. Over a decade later, I got my first chance to sit in first class when Panda got an upgrade (he’s got a lot of miles under his belt so they upgrade him whenever there’s an open seat) on our trip to Hawaii. We had booked the tickets separately because he was flying from the east coast in before I joined him on the second leg of the trip. So, when he got the upgrade, he gave it to me. 😀 I had no clue that they serve meals on the flight, give you alcohol for free (wasted on a teetotaler like me), and provide all around better service. I mean, I knew the service was better and there were perks, but I never really gave it much thought. As you can see though, I was pretty excited about my flight. I ate a delicious meal, had a fantastic dessert (whaaat they have ice cream sundaes?!), and got tons of space. It’s so much better flying this way! Great in many ways.

 

And on a side note – have you been following the Asiana flight story? Absolute insanity. I am glad that it wasn’t worse, but I feel for the parents who lost their daughters. Hopefully there are no more fatalities, though I believe there are some paralyzed? My thoughts are with them all.

What’s in your fridge?

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Much like finding out what is in your purse or your medicine cabinet, seeing what is in your fridge can be an interesting insight into your life. I know one thing that distinguishes our household’s fridge from most others in the modern world: the lack of alcohol. I’d imagine most homes have at least a wine or a beer chilling in there, but not us. My dad’s the only one who drinks alcohol at all and not all that much. In fact, I don’t think we ever had alcohol in our household until I was in college. Neither Panda nor I drink, so if you ever see alcohol in our fridge, it’s someone else’s (or we got it for them).

Well, what is in our fridge? Let’s take a look:

fridge door open with contents showing

Let’s start with the door, which has eggs, salad dressing, soda, marinated mushrooms, pickles, and peanut butter. I don’t think there’s ever a time that we are without eggs. They’re a great food item to eat in the mornings, throw in a soup or noodle soup to add protein, or boil and use as a snack. Definitely a staple in my household. Also very important are the mushrooms and pickles – I love love love just about anything brined, salted, preserved, etc. Usually this meas pickles and marinated mushrooms, but I also enjoy kimchi, preserved radishes, and more. This particular bottle of soda was actually free due to a promotion Pepsi is doing for their Pepsi Next product – usually I’d have real Coke or Dr. Pepper and Pepsi cans. The peanut butter is not mine… I’m not a fan.

Then you can see in the body of the fridge, it’s pretty empty. At this stage, Panda and I still eat out quite a bit so there are a bunch of takeout boxes from the leftovers we had at Olive Garden. We love their 2 for $25 deal! You get so much food to eat while there AND there’s plenty of leftovers for the next meal and the next next meal. I also have a bag of black pepper turkey from the deli section, since I don’t eat much meat and Panda thinks I should consume more. We’ve got a nice half of a watermelon left, plus some oranges at the bottom (you can see one peeking through). I don’t eat fruit nearly as much as I probably should and watermelon is just about the only fruit I can eat a ton of. We’re also not so great on the vegetable side of things, so the corn helps out. It’s so easy to gobble down one of them and feel good that you’ve eaten something vegetable-like (I mean, is corn actually a vegetable? Close enough!).

And now let’s peek into the freezer!

looking into open household freezer with contents showing

Ice cream is a must, no matter what the season. You never know when you might want some chilled goodness. Other than that, we like to fill up with various microwavable items that I can easily heat up for a snack or lunch. We recently stocked up on these and got some taquitos in addition to the Hot Pockets, pot pies, chicken kebabs, and (hidden) bowls of wonton noodles. When you’re lazy and not a very skilled cook, the microwave is your friend. I sure wouldn’t know what to do without it!

So what do you have in your fridge and freezer?

365great Day 117: Flickr

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365great challenge day 117: flickrAwhile back, I began to compare photo sharing and storing options because I didn’t want my hard drive to be my only backup. I wanted a place where I could easily store the gigs upon gigs of photos and videos that I’ve taken over the years (for free). This way, I can also access it from anywhere in the future, so I don’t have to lug around the hard drive whenever I want to gain access to old pictures. Since I wanted to be able to use old photos as if they were on my computer already, I needed a site that would let me store and download the images at full resolution. In Flickr I found the perfect solution. They offer a great interface, full resolution downloads, and 1 terabyte of storage! They also have a social component that might be a nice bonus feature to use. How can you go wrong with free online storage of your media? I’ve been uploading hundreds of pictures and I’m still at less than 1% of my limit. That’s unbelievably great.

Graze snacks (next two boxes)

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You can learn more about the background of Graze in my first post about the boxes I received. As I post more reviews up, you can find them under the graze tag.

Graze is $5 per delivery (you choose the frequency of deliveries) and comes with four pre-proportioned, nutritionally-balanced snacks. Choose from the regular nibblebox or the low calorie caloriecounterbox with a default frequency of every 2 or 4 weeks. You can always increase or decrease the weeks between deliveries to fit your needs, thereby effectively “skipping” weeks as you please. They offer a referral code and link program that gives your referral their 1st and 5th boxes free and earns you $1 off your next box (or you can choose to donate it).

my third graze box with cracking black peppercorn, honeycomb flapjack, garden of eden, and bonnie wee oatbakes

My third Graze box with nutritional info.

graze cracking black peppercorn collageAs soon as I saw the Cracking Black Peppercorn, I had to dive in with them. I loved the crispness and the slight kick from the pepper. The shape and size of these crackers makes it easy to chomp down and I easily could have eaten much, much more. Verdict: LOVE.

I totally forgot to take an individual photo of the Honeycomb Flapjacks. I was disappointed in getting so many flapjacks right off the bat, so I haven’t even tried these yet. Just looking at them makes me feel fuller. They seem very dense and I doubt I could eat more than a bite or two. Verdict: TRASH.

graze garden of edenGarden of Eden was a nice blend of apple, strawberry, and blackcurrant. The varying levels of sweetness were nice and the different chewiness was a good mix too, ranging from sticky to soft. I don’t always want a sweet snack like this, but when I want a fruity mix this is one I quite enjoy. Verdict: LIKE.

graze bonnie wee oatbakesAt first glance, the Bonnie Wee Oatbakes didn’t look that appetizing. However, once I actually got to tasting them, I was surprised that they were pretty good! The oatbakes on their own would probably be too bland for me, but the caramelized onion marmalade they included was an excellent dip to use with the oatbakes. Pairing a mostly tasteless cracker with a strongly flavored dip resulted in a harmonious combo! I also liked that the oatbakes weren’t too hard. Verdict: TRY (since I don’t think I’d want it frequently enough for it to be rated a like).

my fourth graze box with sweet goan curry crackers, hickory smoked nuts & seeds, summer berry flapjack, and hot cross yum

My fourth Graze box with nutritional info.

graze sweet goan curry crackersOnce again, I was happy to see more rice crackers. The Sweet Goan Curry Crackers are sweeter than the black peppercorn ones I love so much, but they are tasty in their own right, with the fragrance of curry. I like the My Thai and Cracking Black Peppercorn more, but these still get a verdict: LOVE.

graze hickory smoked nuts & seedsHickory Smoked Nuts & Seeds were pretty boring to me since I don’t really like nuts or seeds. This combination was meh to me – I mean, it’s a good mix but it is inherently filled with food I’m not excited about. I didn’t even eat it all. Since then, they’ve actually taken this off their menu of options; perhaps most people felt the same as me. Verdict: TRASH.

graze summer berry flapjackOf all the flapjack flavors I got, Summer Berry Flapjack looks most promising, though I’m afraid I’d find it too sweet. So, yet again I’ve let it sit around and don’t want to open it since I know I wouldn’t finish it. Verdict: TRASH (but I might change to like after trying it, if it tastes anything like I imagine).

graze hot cross yumFinally, there’s Hot Cross Yum, which includes cinnamon almonds, raisins, and “sponge pieces.” The raisins are orange-infused, which is pretty cool. I guess I would call the sponge pieces cookies – they’re rather porous but still crisp. The combination of all these was interesting, but not amazing so I giving it a verdict: TRY.

This time around I found some more delicious snacks that I really like, and continued learning the lesson that I should have been harsher with my original ratings of these since I’ve gotten too many that I don’t like enough. In fact, I just went through and trashed a bunch that don’t seem very appealing – I’ll change them back to try one by one, once I’ve tried all the other ones that look good.

365great Day 116: real Coke

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365great challenge day 116: real coke“Real” Coke, or Mexican Coke as it’s sometimes referred to, is a previously phased out formula for Coke that uses real sugar. When it was brought back a few years ago (in those classic, iconic glass bottles) it became known as Mexican Coke because that’s where it’s produced. Back in the earlier days of Coca Cola, this may or may not have been the case. They originally stopped producing them because it got too expensive to make the soda with real sugar. I’m glad they brought it back! I love it not only for the difference in taste, but also the experience of drinking from a glass bottle. Even the opening of the cap with a bottle opener is an extra step that makes me feel like I’m having a more authentic product. I swear even the carbonation bubbles are different – they’re a finer texture, like the bubbles are smaller. I find it great!

Those artsy folk

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collage of four different blogs with white backgrounds and bright colors

A few examples of those bright blogs with pretty pictures.

I’ve been following a lot of bloggers lately and they all seem to be so similar – happily married women enjoying life as a wife and mother, with loving husbands who may not get their blogging but support it, and a keen eye for design/fashion/beauty. They tend to have very nice, clean-cut, fresh-looking blogs with white backgrounds and cute, colorful themes/icons. Oh, and I don’t know if it’s just coincidence or what but they’re pretty much all Caucasian, with a few exceptions. More recently I also stumbled across a subset of these who are expats living and working abroad, usually with their spouse.

Then there’s me. I travel a good amount, but I’m not living abroad (unless you count China as my home base). I am not married nor do I have children, though I am engaged and will probably reach that stage in a few years. All of my blog themes of choice have been darker; I don’t think I ever had a white background. My space feels more “crowded” and less clean (much like my room). Generally there are some Asian-inspired elements as well. I’ve yet to see any other blog quite like mine and I’m not sure I’d ever want a blog just like those gals. On the other hand, I’m similar in that I’m also in a good relationship (but I’m only beginning to learn about all this domestic stuff – I don’t do home improvement projects or cook or do crafts like most of these ladies).

In a way, I’m jealous of these women. They’re so good at photography and portray things so beautifully, in ways I may never. But at the same time, I like being different. I like how my blog reflects my Asian heritage. I like that my look is more distinctive from all those others. I don’t mind that my pictures aren’t beautiful DSLR masterpieces (but I wouldn’t mind if they were!). I guess in not being so perfect, people can see that I’m just another person figuring her way through things. At least that’s what I hope! Maybe it just makes me seem less serious or more of an amateur. That may very well be true…

Whatever the case, I tried searching for Asian bloggers and came up with a few non-English ones or semi-famous Asian ones. What about Asian-Americans like myself, just the average Jane/Joe sharing random thoughts and experiences? If you know of any, please do share. I’m still trying to find bloggers who fit my own life experiences more and I’m coming up pretty empty. Not that I don’t enjoy reading the blogs of all the other ladies I’ve seen, but I want to find some that I am more similar to and can connect with more.

365great Day 115: thunderstorms

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365great challenge day 115: thunderstormsOh how I love a non-severe thunderstorm. I’m not exactly sure why, but ever since I was a kid, I loved when a thunderstorm darkened the sky. I’d sit by the window with my books around me as I snuggled in with a blanket and read to the pitter patter of the rain, the flashes of lightning, and that deep rolling thunder. Sometimes I’d get some hot water or hot chocolate to warm up with as well. When I got tired of reading, I’d stare out at the rain splashing on the leaves of the trees or the blades of grass. I’d look into the varying shades of gray of the storm cloud and get lost in my own thoughts. It was also a great time for me to write in my journal as well. Thunderstorms create a sort of meditative environment for me, which is great for capturing thoughts. I find them to be so great for finding peacefulness.

Mobile phone: naked or covered?

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collage of white iphone 5 on left vs iphone 5 with purple glitter case on right

I had a friend actually gasp out loud when he saw my iPhone, bare and unprotected. “How could you leave it naked?!!” he asked in shock. Well, I like to use my devices just the way they were designed, without all this other bulk in the way. Sometimes I like to dress it up with a case, but I would never want one of those ugly Otterboxes unless I was planning a trip to the jungle. For normal use in a metropolitan or suburban environment, the phone itself suffices. After all, it was created to be able to hold up to average wear and tear. A few drops and scrapes won’t ruin it (though it might create some heartbreak for those who like their devices to remain pristine).

corner of white iphone 5 with scratches and dents on corner

My phone’s battle scars.


This is not to say that I’m really good with handling my phone carefully. In fact, I regularly drop it at least a few times a week if not a few times a day. Surfaces range from carpets to cement and drops as high as two or three feet. Amazingly, I’ve never shattered the screen of my most recent model, the iPhone 5. People may go crazy putting on protective cases and screen covers, but they wear down so fast you have to keep replacing them. I mean, I still have a ton of each for when I do feel like protecting my phone a little more, but generally I just let it be. I figure I’ll only have it for 2 years so how much damage could I possibly do?

I guess another factor is that I seem to have a string of bad luck with a new device within the first few months. I’ve already had to swap out my iPhone 5 some 5 or 6 times, due to a variety of issues (mostly dust specks getting into the camera lens). So really, my last device that I get before the 1 year warranty expires only has to last me another year or so before I can upgrade. Do you think you can manage to not break a phone or scratch it up too bad in a year? Most people can, so to me it’s no biggie that my phone is not encased in plastic. I’d rather have a beautiful slim device as lightweight as possible.

So what about you? Do you prefer to use cases for your devices or do you leave them “naked” too?

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