365great Day 135: soy candles

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365great challenge day 135: soy candlesI’ve heard about soy candles for quite some time now, but never pulled the trigger to get one. Then I came across the cutest one in Gettysburg and I couldn’t pass it up. I finally started burning it a few days ago and it’s amazing! Ever since my tunneling experience at UCLA (which I talked about here), I’ve been slowly recovering from an extreme sensitivity to particles in the air. It was so bad for a while that whenever I stepped outside, I’d know how bad the smog was in LA depending on how bad my hacking cough was. A few months ago I started to get back into candles and got a super cool aromatherapy one at Bath & Body Works. While I loved the scent, it did slightly irritate my throat. I’d been told that soy candles burn super clean, but I was skeptical until I tried it myself. I don’t even notice that a candle is burning! My throat is saved! Between that and being able to enjoy the fun flickering flame and aromatic scent of a candle, I’m pretty excited. Totally great!

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

365great Day 129: seaweed

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365great challenge day 129: seaweedI love seaweeds of many types prepared in many forms. There’s the crispy, crunchy, slightly sweet taste of seaweed salad as shown or the dry, flaky, airy crunch of dried seaweed snacks. There’s seaweed that is long like strands of spaghetti and seaweed that is flat like paper. Sometimes it’s green, or red, or brown, or black(ish). I enjoy it as a snack on its own or as a topping for a soup. It’s pretty versatile as a food and I’m a huge fan. It probably has something to do with my Asian upbringing, since I grew up viewing seaweed as just another snack, much like carrots or cucumber. I’m especially a sucker for the kind of seaweed salad that is offered at Japanese restaurants. You can’t tell in this picture, but this plate is actually shaped like a fish! I was amused by that. A food that can be eaten in so many forms is less likely to bore me and that definitely is great.

365great Day 128: fortune cookies

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365great challenge day 128: fortune cookiesHowever they were invented, fortune cookies are quite amazing. Have you ever watched them being made? It’s a skill that is fascinating. Only during a few key seconds can you form them into their unique shape. Even more interesting beyond that is the idea of a slip of paper inside with a little nugget of wisdom or vague statement printed on it. Who doesn’t enjoy a bonus in their treat? It’s really a simple, but brilliant concept and it’s no wonder it has lasted so long. Truly good fortune cookies are tasty treats in their own right, but turning them into a treasure is even more satisfying. I always enjoy eating a fortune cookie at the conclusion of a meal; it wraps things up so nicely and warms my heart every time. For such a simple pleasure, that’s pretty great.

365great Day 127: white Pomeranians

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365great challenge day 127: white pomeraniansWhile I love animals of all types, I never really considered having dogs as a pet. I’m much more of a cat person. Dogs are the ‘fun to play with, cute to watch, but too needy to bring home’ kind of animal to me. The same loyalty and attention that most people love is what makes me feel overwhelmed and suffocated. I certainly didn’t want to have to walk it and pick up after it all the time. But beyond that, a very basic reason I never begged for one as a kid was the smell. I didn’t really meet a dog that didn’t smell strongly to me until 2010. Perhaps I’m just more sensitive to that sort of thing, but when I finally found a breed that was super cute AND relatively scentless, I was enthralled. Enter the white Pomeranian – sometimes they can be yappers, but the ones I’ve met were pretty good about just panting rather than barking. Their fur is so fluffy, they’ve got adorable little button noses, and they don’t make me gag, even a little. Amazing! They’re the first breed of dog I’ve actually wanted to own! To me, that makes them great.

365great Day 126: blossoming tea

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365great challenge day 126: blossoming teaThese amazing balls of tea leaves, flowers, and other plant parts are truly fun to watch. Hand-created with care, they’re designed to unfurl as you steep them in hot water. There are endless designs giving you both varying visual styles and a multitude of tea flavors. What’s better than being able to enjoy your drink for its taste, smell, AND look? That’s pretty awesome. Blossoming teas come in a ton of shapes once unfurled, like this one with a flower “bridge” strung together. It’s a beautiful surprise each time and the different flowers/tea leaves used with each ball is what determines the flavor you get. Drop one in a glass teapot and you’ll be fascinated to find what it becomes. Nourishing and entertaining, now that’s great!

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