These are such a useful way to get rid of nasty blackheads and whatever else is lurking in your pores. For someone like me with an oily t-zone causing all kinds of issues, they’re pretty amazing. It’s just what I need to stop picking at my face and feel better about my skin. Plus, there’s a morbid satisfaction in seeing the gunk that gets pulled from my pores. It’s really rewarding to see how much smoother my skin looks afterwards and not feel the need to try to squeeze out the blackheads. Certainly not pretty business, but great when it comes to functionality.
365great Day 206: pore strips
06
October
2013
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Tricky time zones
laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: pictures, work
06
October
2013
Image credit: WorldTimeZone.com
I was setting up a phone call with a potential partner last week and I wanted to make sure I chose a time that was good for them (in India) and us (on the east coast). The first time I searched, I got an answer that 9 am EST was 6:30 pm IST. I thought I misread or found a faulty source of information, so I checked a few other sites. As it turns out, India really is on an “offset time zone” from most of the world. Whaaat?! I couldn’t believe I’d never heard of this before. You’d think someone would have mentioned it at some point in my education.
Up until that point, I thought the strangest thing about time zone breakdowns was that China, despite spanning a good 4 or more time zones, is on a single time. That means that sunrise may be around 6 or 7 for people in Beijing, but it isn’t something like 10 for those out in the western parts of the country. It makes things easier since you don’t have to convert between times, but boy is it strange to have people starting their work day when it’ll still be pitch black outside for a good 2-3 hours. Then again, for the majority of the population it’s not a big deal, since everyone crowds towards the eastern border where all the major cities are.
This of course got me thinking about what other strange nuances there might be with time zones. Turns out that not only do countries like India, Venezuela, Afghanistan, and Australia have time zones that are off by 30 minutes, there are even a few places that decided to take it one step further with a 15-minute increment difference. Nepal is one of the few places in the world that is one on of those random time zones, which is +5:45 from GMT. I also came across this fun artistic way of showing some of the stranger time zones that have existed throughout history. Imagine being 4:51 off GMT… is that 1 really necessary? Wouldn’t being 9 minutes later for a full 5 hours be just fine?
They really should have taught this stuff in school. It’s pretty interesting.
365great Day 205: Target
05
October
2013
I didn’t really shop at Target until I met Panda. A few years ago, he started to introduce me to it. And as I began to see all the different deals and offers I also began to hear about how all these people love it. I began to follow some bloggers who happen to be huge fans and I slowly started to learn the ins and outs of Target shopping. I love using my RedCard, bringing a bag to get that 5-cent discount, and compounding Target coupons with manufacturer ones. Oh yes, I’ve certainly enjoyed adopting Target as my new store of choice. There are some fantastic products to be found and if you’re patient you can get them at absolute steals! Just check out the deal I got on some shampoo. 🙂 Not only do they offer products I like at good prices, there are so many discounts to take advantage of! Makes for a great shopping experience.
Hello Fresh Week 37 Delivery review
laelene Posted in reviews, subscriptions，Tags: boxes, cooking, experiences, food, panda, pictures, reviews, subscriptions
05
October
2013
Towards the beginning of last month, I finally got around to trying the Hello Fresh deal I’d gotten on LivingSocial. The delivery came one day when Panda was still out on a business trip, so I saved everything and hoped it would all last in the fridge. Lesson learned: next time freeze the meats right away. I was pretty surprised when it showed up on my doorstep because it wasn’t due until the next day. When it comes to planning for cooking, sometimes that can make a big difference so I sure hope that doesn’t happen all the time. They were right in the middle of changing up their shipping schedule though, so I’ll let this one slide.
Watch the unboxing if you’re interested! (Interested in trying Hello Fresh? Use my referral code to get $20 off your first order: 9CAMJS)
Hello Fresh is just under $70 per box and comes with 3 meals of 2 servings each. That’s less than $12 per meal serving. Boxes are sent weekly unless you choose to skip (which is very easy to do). They offer a referral code that gives $20 off to both the person you referred and for your next order.
It’s a pretty large box!
The inside is well-insulated with a ton of frozen packs to keep things chilled.
I got a nice welcome card, the three recipe cards, and a promo card from one of their partners.
The ingredients for the chicken dish.
The ingredients for the beef dish.
The ingredients for the shrimp dish.
The first dish we decided to cook was the Chili Rubbed Chicken.
It was fun to cook chicken for the first time – I never knew it cooks so fast!
The salad was something I never would have thought to piece together myself.
The final product! Pretty good, eh?
The next night we went for the meatball recipe.
All kinds of stuff I like to eat!
And the end result with a nice mix of veggies and meat.
And finally, it’s shrimp and pasta time!
Oh yum. My first time making pasta with more than just tomato sauce!
I really enjoyed this dish, though I’d probably sub spinach for the peppers next time.
Overall I found all the dishes pretty easy to make, though the instructions assumed a bit more knowledge about cooking than we had. 😛 I enjoyed the shrimp dish the best, partially because I’m a seafood lover and partially because it was the least adventurous dish. While it was cool to try something like the barley avocado salad, I don’t know if I’d ever really look to make it again. I do like that I have more experience under my belt and got to a try a variety of dishes. I’ll definitely get Hello Fresh again, but maybe only once a month or so. Thankfully, they make it really easy to manage deliveries within your account so it’ll be smooth sailing from here.
[This post contains affiliate codes. Signing up through them helps support my subscription and I’d be ever so grateful. 🙂 All opinions are my own and I received no compensation for this review. I just purchased this box and wanted to share what I got!]
365great Day 204: persimmons
04
October
2013
I think the first time I came across persimmons was somewhere in southern China. My mom loves these fruits and for the longest time I got them confused with tomatoes. You see, in Chinese we call them a term that also happens to be the casual way we refer to tomatoes – my mom happens to be obsessed with both, so whenever she referred to them I thought she just meant tomatoes. Little did I know about this fascinating fruit until years later. I enjoy them at various stages of ripeness, from the crisp and slightly drying flesh to the super sweet and mushy flesh. They’re a wonderfully tasty food with a hint of spice or something I can’t quite place. Totally fascinating and yummy, which makes them great.
Exhausted sleep
laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: behavior, experiences, pictures, sleeping
04
October
2013
Are you ever so exhausted you lay down on the bed, fully-clothed with the lights on (maybe even the TV blaring) and pass out?
I don’t know what it was about this week, but I am worn out! I totally collapsed into bed even as Panda was trying to drag me out to shower for the night. I mean, I was even sleeping with my mouth open. Sometimes you just need to shut down… and I’m feeling a lot better now, though still weak. It’s crazy! I hope the weekend will offer me the recovery I need. So for tonight, you get this lovely picture of my purely worn out sleeping self.
365great Day 203: 30-day challenges
laelene Posted in 365great，Tags: 365great, challenges, improvement, personal, pictures
03
October
2013
I’ve been doing a couple of monthly challenges as each month passes by and it’s been cool seeing all that happens within that time frame. Most recently I’ve stuck to photo challenges, with themes I’ve been choosing myself, but I think I’ll attempt more ambitious ones aimed at changing behavior, like walking half an hour every day or taking time to read at night. I did manage to do 30 days of using my Juice Beauty products awhile back and I definitely saw improvement in my skin from that. I’m taking on some other challenges that are less frequent, like cooking at least 3 days out of the month and applying a face mask at least once a week. All of these are a great way to systematically change habits and behavior patterns. It’s a nice way to tackle self-improvement goals!
Photo A Day Challenge September 2013
laelene Posted in photo blog，Tags: photo a day, photo challenge, pictures
03
October
2013
Yikes, what happened to September?! With work keeping me busy, it kind of just flew by. Here’s the roundup of my #upandout theme. October shall be the month of #footseyeview! Whether looking down at what my feet are on or in, or even where they may be propped up, it’ll definitely be a different type of look from always looking up and/or out.
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- Excellent view from our hotel window. So nice to revisit York. 🙂 {Sutro filter} 9.1.13
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- Magnificent castle on the hill. {Lo-Fi filter} 9.2.13
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- What a lovely coast line out the window. {Lo-Fi filter} 9.3.13
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- Silhouette of a landmark. {Kelvin filter} 9.4.13
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- Endless sea of clouds. {Hefe filter} 9.5.13
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- Our condo almost has walls! {Sierra filter} 9.6.13
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- Staring contest with deer. {Valencia filter} 9.7.13
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- Been years since I did a drive thru car wash. {Sutro filter} 9.8.13
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- View from my new office! {Kelvin filter} 9.9.13
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- Outside my door standing up. {Valencia filter} 9.10.13
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- The building next door is really coming together fast. {Nashville filter} 9.11.13
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- All grown up and time to come out. {Hefe filter} 9.12.13
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- Yay, commuting home after my first week. {Sutro filter} 9.13.13
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- Took some time to enjoy my moonroof today. {Kelvin filter} 9.14.13
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- Looking out longingly. {Hudson filter} 9.15.13
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- Always seem to be emergency personnel out here. {X-Pro II filter} 9.16.13
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- Driving straight into the blinding sun. {#nofilter} 9.17.13
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- Out with the old and in with the new. {#nofilter} #ios7 9.18.13
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- Happy mid-autumn festival, moon. {Hudson filter} 9.19.13
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- Exhausted tonight staring at the ceiling. {Brannan filter} 9.20.13
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- Green Festival time! {Rise filter} 9.21.13
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- Sometimes, you gotta stop and take a moment. {Mayfair filter} 9.22.13
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- Flying on in. {Sutro filter} 9.23.13
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- Can you spot the swinging monkey? {Sierra filter} 9.24.13
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- I park in the middle of a lot and the bird decided this is where it will make its mark. Greaaat. {Mayfair filter} 9.25.13
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- License plate read Batman. {Earlybird filter} 9.26.13
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- Anniversary dinner! Chicken in the egg. {X-Pro II filter} 9.27.13
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- All you need is a window for a fabulous cat nap. {Walden filter} 9.28.13
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- Most excellent weekend weather. {Mayfair filter} 9.29.13
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- Hi future office building! Looking forward to the move. 🙂 {Sutro filter} 9.30.13
365great Day 202: The Homegrown Collective
laelene Posted in 365great，Tags: 365great, boxes, eco-friendly, green, household, pictures, products, subscriptions
02
October
2013
I just got my second Homegrown Collective greenbox yesterday and I cannot wait to do an unboxing video and get pictures. Once again, I just love the theme and all the cool products they helped put together. It’s exciting having mini projects that aren’t too hard or time-consuming, but can make a good impact in how you do things at home. There’s really no easier way to start greening your household, with everything from skincare to snacks provided for you. I also really enjoy the materials that projects come with, like mason jars and muslin bags. I will most certainly be reusing them! The Homegrown Collective is a fantastic subscription box service that is a great blend of going green and DIY – so much fun!
[This post contains affiliate links. Signing up through them helps support my subscription and I’d be ever so grateful. 🙂 All opinions are my own and I received no compensation for this review. I just purchased this box and wanted to share what I got!]
iOS 7 review
02
October
2013
I’ve been running iOS 7 for about two weeks now and it’s been quite a change. Overall I really enjoy it, but there are definitely some issues that need to be worked out and new things to get adjusted to. Here are some of the highlights:
Geotargeting with the radius of your choice! Anywhere from 328 to 7.92 million feet, haha. I wished for this back when iOS 5 came out and now I have it!
New, more gentle and pleasant ringtones.
Liking the new graphics – simpler, cleaner, brighter.
New organization of photos into collections, more useful multitasking view with easy swipe to close, and better view of Safari tabs. All nice changes, but take some getting used to!
The Control Panel makes it easy to get to useful features. Finally, convenient access!
I like knowing when sunrise and sunset are.
Being able to block callers will be helpful.
If you pull to the left on the text messages, you can see the time of each, thank goodness.
It’s great to be able to correct Siri’s pronunciation.
The compass now offers a hidden feature: inclinometer! Now you can figure out what perfectly balanced is.
And a few things that aren’t so great:
For some reason the new keyboard is different enough to make my typing worse.
The apps keep having to reload when I move between them. I thought they were supposed to work in the background…
The screen fades too fast and I never tap it in time. Of course when I tried to get a screenshot of it fading I got the full brightness instead, but you get the point.
Have you updated to iOS 7? What do you think? Or what’s keeping you from making the change?
