365great Day 186: water pressure

laelene Post in 365great，Tags: , , , , , ,
16 September 2013
0

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365great challenge day 186: water pressureOne of the things I really enjoy is a nice hot shower with good water pressure. It’s so uncomfortable when the water sort of dribbles out and barely covers any area. Similarly, when I wash my hands I prefer a good stream of water to help create some super sudsy action when I use soap. At our current apartment, the water pressure can be weak and I’m really looking forward to moving in to the new condo partly for the stronger water pressure. I totally turned on the shower ever so briefly when I was visiting the model home once, just to make sure the water shot out instead of just falling down. On the UK trip, Panda and I stayed at hotels where the water pressure was awesome. I really enjoyed that and I can’t wait to have that at home! I mean, it’s like getting a gentle massage every time and that’s always great in my book.

UK Vacation Day 2 Recap

laelene Post in lifestyle glimpses, photo blog，Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
16 September 2013
3

Continuing from my UK Day 1 recap, here’s a look at what we did the second day of our UK trip. We did a lot of walking as we went from the Victoria region to Buckingham Palace, through Green and Hyde parks, into the Science and Natural History museums, and back to Victoria.

english breakfast buffet with hash browns, baked beans, roasted tomatoes, mushrooms, and waffles

The day started off with breakfast at the hotel, where we encountered some traditional English items like baked beans and cooked mushrooms. Panda loved it!

roll mops au vinagre platter at hotel breakfast buffet

I also discovered some things I couldn’t quite figure out, like these “roll mops.”

tourist taking picture of buckingham palace guard

We then walked to Buckingham Palace, stopping along the way at a gift shop where Panda found tea towels for our moms.

view of gates to green park and tourists walking around outside buckingham palace

From Buckingham, we went over to Green Park, which was new to me.

red street running along buckingham palace lined with trees photo bombed by pedestrian walking by

As we crossed the street I wanted to get a shot of the thick trees lining the road and it totally got photo bombed.

stoplight with red person riding horse crossing light

Apparently there are a fair share of equestrians around here since they have their own crossing lights!

large tree in park with branches growing down creating cave space underneath

This is the second time I’ve seen a tree like this (the first time was at Hershey Gardens). I want one in my yard!

looking out from underneath tree branches nearly touching ground

I couldn’t resist going into the little tree cave for a moment. I mean, it already had an opening!

squirrel standing on hind legs looking far away

This adorable squirrel looked so forlorn when the squirrel it was chasing went through the fence. Why it didn’t just follow I don’t know.

bunch of pigeons and one squirrel eating on grass

Seems like the pigeons and squirrels get along quite well here.

crowd of pigeons eating in park by people's feet

Pigeons are always pecking, which makes me wonder if they’re ever not hungry…

two baby coons at edge of pond near nest in reeds

I found some cute baby coons nesting in the reeds. Aww!

ruffled pigeon standing at edge of pond with feathers everywhere

Haha! This ruffled up pigeon was cooling its feet in the pond.

black bird with neon greenish yellow feet walking into pond

Click on this pic and zoom in to see the freakin’ NEON feet of this bird.

brown and white duck with black accents swimming in pond

Now there’s an unusual duck with pretty black trim.

swan drinking water at edge of pond with kids standing nearby

There were a ton of swans around and it doesn’t look like I’m that close, but it felt like I could touch it!

kids chasing geese in park

Some of the kids enjoyed chasing the ducks, geese, and swans into the pond.

wooden and cloth lounge seats by willow tree in park

The park provided tons of chairs for anyone who wanted to relax. So nice.

pasta bake and salad with san pellegrino orange soda drink and black pepper and sea salt chips

After the park we went to the Science Museum, where I got a delicious pasta bake lunch.

zoomed in look at purple sapphire engagement ring under microscope

Next up was the Natural History Museum where we came across a microscope and decided to take a look at my ring up close.

red and white street sign with sticker grafitti

On our walk from the museums back towards the hotel, we came across signs that had been tagged with fun stickers.

ton of train tickets laid out on table as they are printed out

Before going to the room, we stopped at Victoria Station to pick up our train tickets for the duration of our trip. It printed out so many!!

bowl of wagamama ramen dish with pork, shrimp, wakame seaweed, fish cakes, and tea egg

For dinner it was Wagamama and I unknowingly went to the exact one I’d eaten at years ago.

365great Day 185: soup

laelene Post in 365great，Tags: , , , , ,
15 September 2013
0

Learn more about 365great here.

365great challenge day 185: soupI love soup. Hot & sour, chicken noodle, egg drop… if it comes out steaming I probably like it. I like that it’s moist and hot so my mouth doesn’t feel dry and my stomach doesn’t get cold. It’s also such a healing type of food – perfect for when you’re under the weather. I also really enjoy noodle soups of all kinds, like tom yum and pho. Perhaps it’s because soups tend to be quite flavorful and salty, which is exactly how I like my food. Or it might just be that it’s less effort to drink than chew, haha. My favorite thing as a kid was always what I referred to as “the family soup” – a blend of tomatoes, eggs, mushrooms, wood ears, yellow flowers, and sometimes other random vegetables. In Chinese my parents and I called it “tomato soup” and we always knew that the family version was what we were talking about. Most of the time when my mom asked me what I wanted to eat, I’d request the family soup. It was one of those things that I loved to drink even on a hot summer day, as I sweated and practically panted through the meal. For the ease of consumption and soothing properties, soup is great.

What I like about iOS 7

laelene Post in general blog，Tags: , , , ,
15 September 2013
0
screenshot of apple iphone 5 showing new ios 7 operating system

Photo credit: Apple.com

I remember learning about iOS 7 a few weeks ago and really looking forward to it. I then kind of forgot about it until my coworker brought up the new iPhone 5C and we started talking about the upcoming changes. Now we’re nearly at the time when it will be released and I can’t wait! There are a lot of great improvements to the operating system and I know my iPhone-using experience is going to be a lot better. You can read more about new features on Apple’s site. Here are some of the highlights for me:

~new visual feel – The entire look and feel of the interface we tap around in on our iOS devices has changed. Things feel brighter, more colorful, more vibrant, and cleaner. I really appreciate their use of transparency to give things a modern and artistic feel. The current clunky toolbars taking up space to make our screens feel smaller have been reworked so that everything we do can take full advantage of the 4″ screens on our phones. It’s a better use of space that really enhances the user experience.

~Control Panel – Ok, so I think this is pretty cool but at the same time I kind of wonder why Apple didn’t already offer this. So in a way, I’m kind of like “about time!” when it comes to this feature. Still, it doesn’t make me want it any less and I’m sure I’ll make good use of it. Basically when you swipe up from the bottom, you get a control panel with function controls for the most common needs like turning on (or off) Airplane mode/wifi/bluetooth, locking your screen orientation, adjusting your screen brightness and speaker volume, and even launching things like flashlight, timer, calculator, or camera. This will save so many steps and offers a much easier way to change these settings quickly.

~swiping between camera modes – It’s a simple little thing, being able to switch between camera modes effortlessly. I love this feature because you can swipe left and right from camera to video or even panoramic. No more trying to tap one small corner of the screen to get video mode launched! They’ve also integrated other nice features to the camera, like photo filters and a pre-cropped square photo-taking mode for you Insta-crazies.

~photo organization – Since your device already knows the time and location of pictures you take, it makes sense that it can group photos based on that data and provide smart groupings of photos. It’s a nice way to organize your photos so you can find that you want easily instead of scrolling through all the photos in your album. They even offer a view of your entire year of photos, though that seems more like a pretty visual effect than a truly functional feature. Still, if you want to quickly browse photos trying to hunt something down, this could be helpful.

~multi-tasking management – Right now you can manage apps running in the background by double-tapping the home button and scrolling through app icons. It tells you little about what’s actually pulled up in each app and to close them, you have to tap and hold an app icon, then choose the little X in the corner. The new way to manage offers a preview of what’s running on each app AND a quick swipe up (and awaaaaay) will close that app. Much more efficient.

~Safari tab overview – If you want to switch between tabs on your Safari browser in iOS, you have to look at one at a time and swipe between them. The new way to view them lets you get a feel for multiple tabs’ content at once and you can also easily swipe away ones you want to close. I believe you can also swipe left or right when you have a tab open to move between tabs, but I’m not sure if I made that up.

~AirDrop – This is a nice way to share content with those who are physically near you. It’s kind of like the app Bump, which transfers files between devices when you “bump” them together. You basically bluetooth things over to other devices conveniently so you don’t have to write up and email or text message and attach files that way. It’s faster and the file is automatically stored in the appropriate place (like contacts in your contacts list or pictures in your photo app).

There are, of course, a ton of other features coming as well, like Siri’s search integration with Wikipedia and Twitter and iTunes Radio. I’ve just listed some of the top items that grabbed me and will make my iPhone experience a whole lot better. What are you most looking forward to in iOS 7?

365great Day 184: backup cameras

laelene Post in 365great，Tags: , , , , , ,
14 September 2013
1

Learn more about 365great here.

365great challenge day 184: backup camerasOne feature of my car that I find really useful is the backup camera. It’s hard to gauge how much room you have left when you’re in reverse trying to back out of somewhere. This is what makes parallel parking such a challenging task for many, since you want to fit into a small area but you don’t always know how close you are to the curb or the cars next to you. I’m going to get totally spoiled by this feature though I’ll still practice trying to see through the back of the car so I don’t get too rusty at doing it manually. I might even try backing up into spots! That’s really popular in some countries (like Singapore) but not as much in the US. I’m thinking about giving it a shot since my head-in parking has been rather crooked with this car so the opposite approach might work out well for me. Whatever I decide to do, I have my trusty backup camera to help me drive more accurately in reverse. So useful it’s great.

Blissmobox: Spring Picnic

laelene Post in reviews, subscriptions，Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
14 September 2013
3

This was the March box and I chose the Spring Picnic one because I had already gotten the Skin’n’Hair Care box and I didn’t need cleaning supplies. It had also been quite some time since I’d gotten a food theme from them, so I decided to take a break from my beauty binge.

blissmobox is just under $25 per month with shipping (or as discounted as just under $120 for 6 months) and comes with eco-friendly products in themes like beauty, snacks, home, pets, and more. Each month you choose from two or three themes, or skip if none of them appeal to you. They do not offer a referral program.

the choices for march's blissmobox: spring picnic, fresh & clean, and skin'n'hair care

The three choices for the March blissmobox.

I totally sucked at taking pictures for these items so I’ll just show you the overall box and share one product picture. I’d go back and take pictures of what I have but they’re not at this location.

opened blissmobox march 2013 with contents and info card displayed

dang foods toasted coconut chip flakes in palm of handDang, Toasted Coconut Chips – Ok, I had to lead with these coconut chips. They are so freakin’ addicting. In fact, now that I am reminded of them I’m totally going out and buying some more. This is the one product photo I do have to share so you can see what the flakes look like. These are bits that are on the smaller size, but you get the idea. It’s so hard to describe this snack – it’s a little sweet and you can feel the coconut oil a bit as you’re eating it, but it’s not greasy. I love the fragrance and the crunchiness that is super crisp. You’ve really got to go try these. I’m developing more and more of a taste for coconut stuff and this product really makes me a coconut fan.

KIND, Dark Chocolate & Cranberry Clusters – These clusters are hard and crisp, so they’d be great with some yogurt. I actually did buy some yogurt cups to eat them with, but I tend to like softer granola so I didn’t end up eating much. The flavor was good but the texture was too hard for my preference. It’s one of those snacks I can feel grinding in my stomach so I can only eat a little at a time.

KIND Plus, Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate + Protein bars – Oh, these look yummy but I’m just not that into peanut butter. I gave them to my dad to eat and I haven’t seen them since so I’m pretty sure they were enjoyed. 🙂 I do want to try their other bars sometime.

Earth Science, Daily Sun Defense Lotion SPF 15+ – This is a nice hefty bottle of lotion that will be great for use on the entire body whenever you’re going outside. I haven’t opened it let since I have so many lotions, but I do look forward to slathering this on after a shower. It’s definitely something I’ll use more in the warmer months so it is currently stowed away.

FoodShouldTasteGood, Sweet Potato tortilla chips – I was really looking forward to these chips, but found them to be somewhat greasy. I didn’t like the texture too much and the taste was very notable. Still, I’d give them another try and I just discovered they have a new Kimchi flavor, which I’m super curious about.

CleanWell, All-Natural Hand Sanitizing Wipes – Hand wipes are super handy to have in a purse or car. You never know when you might not be able to wash your hands and you want to clean them of something. These are a win in my book! I love that they’re all natural and disinfecting.

The snacks in this box were good to try even if I didn’t like them all and I’m so glad the Dang chips were in there because they just rock. I can definitely see these items being brought along for a picnic, along with some fresh food. What do you think of these items?

365great Day 183: Teavana

laelene Post in 365great，Tags: , , , , ,
13 September 2013
0

Learn more about 365great here.

365great challenge day 183: teavanaTeavana offers a wide array of teas and accessories for all kinds of preferences. While they have some delicious teas, what I really enjoy are the products they sell that help me enjoy my tea that much more. My favorite these days is this PerfecTea brewer that makes just the right amount of tea with no mess and exactly the concentration I like. They have this available at the office and I’ve been making good use of it. You put in your tea leaves, pour in hot water, close the lid and let it brew… then when it reaches the right concentration for your taste, you simply place the PerfecTea over a cup or mug and the tea drains out the bottom but the leaves don’t. Then you have a nice steaming cup of tea that isn’t over-brewed and you don’t have tea dripping all over the place. It’s so great I’ve hogged this thing for days in a row.

Yay I’ve officially crossed the halfway point with this series! Stayed tuned for 182 more. 🙂

First week of work

laelene Post in general blog，Tags: , , , ,
13 September 2013
0

Happy Friday the 13th. 😉

Woo hoo! My very first weekend since starting work is upon me and boy am I pooped! Between adjusting to a new schedule, learning A TON, and trying to get the hang of things, I have been worn out at the end of each day this week. When I got home, I barely had enough energy to blog and crash. I think I forgot to have dinner one night, but it’s all fuzzy now. As always, I think I’m picking things up ok but gosh I wish I could be a natural at it and rock it like none other. I get a little impatient with myself sometimes when I feel like I’m “at par” because it just doesn’t feel good enough. I’ll be glad to recharge over the weekend and pick up again on Monday with a fresh approach. Let me share some random moments from this week!

Monday

cup of dunkin donuts iced tea drink with box of three chick-fil-a chick-n-minis breakfast sandwiches

I started my first day off right with a free breakfast!!

panera bread you pick two combination meal with chicken noodle soup and soba noodle salad topped with shrimp and spinach plus french bread on the side

I spent all day training with my manager and then we got lunch together. I tried the new soba noodle salad at Panera and I’ve found a new fav!

view outside office window of street filled with cars and buildings in background with sun obscured by clouds

Looking outside our office you can see parts of the Reston Town Center.

light wood desk with laptop, wooden framed picture, purple purse, black bag, and chococat mug

I’m trying to keep my desk space simple with just my bag, purse, mug, laptop, and framed picture. I’ve since added some snacks and acquired a phone headset.

first day of work care package items with picture in frame, bottle of coke, bag of chocolates, tube of lotion, twenty dollar bill, pen, note, insurance info, band-aids, and bag of chips

Panda was so sweet to pack me a care package. I knew there were snacks but throughout the day I discovered the note and money, then later on the picture frame, and finally the band-aids right before I left for the day!

bright colorful sunset with clouds in sky and trees to side

At the end of the day, I drove off into a beautiful sunset.

Tuesday

yellow and black slow down geese crossing sign stuck in grass by side of road

My second day, I took a different route and came across this sign warning us drivers of a geese crossing. Please disregard my dusty windshield.

giant hangover turkey burger from be right burger

One of the few girls in the office invited me to lunch and I had this fabulous turkey burger with fried egg and bacon, among other things. It lasted me two other meals as well!

I spent much of the morning training again and learning more about what I’ll need to do. By the afternoon, they let me loose on some of the research so I began digging away. We took a break as a company at one point so the CEO could share some awesome news with us – that we’d landed a very large and important account!

Wednesday

noodles and co pasta rosa with penne, spinach, mushrooms, and cheese in spicy tomato sauce

On Wednesday, I asked the trio in the room next to mine to come out to lunch and my manager made it too. I got the pasta rosa at Noodles & Co and I’ve definitely found a winner for future visits.

I had training with another manager for a couple of hours and continued to do research as I touched base with my manager to learn the ins and outs of my role. I got a company t-shirt just in time for the picture we took to thank the new account we celebrated yesterday. Fun times!

building being contructed lit up at night

When I left that night, I was surprised that the building next door had so many lights on.

Thursday

Gosh, I spent nearly the entire day working on getting my first batch of research compiled so I completely forgot to take any pictures. It was 2:30 before I realized I wasn’t really feeling hungry but boy was I getting tired. I spoke to Panda briefly, wondering if I should even bother to get lunch at that point and he encouraged me to do so. I checked in with the folks next door again and the two who were there were such sports that they happily accompanied me out. I decided to repeat my Panera meal and I gobbled it up without realizing I was hungry. I guess tired and hungry are hard to tell apart sometimes. A few times I thought it was Friday already, yikes!

Good news came again as another fantastic account closed a deal with us, so the CEO pulled us all together to share the details and congratulate the efforts of the lead and team.

Friday

The day started off with free bagels the CEO brought in! I helped myself to one, but felt kind of bad when I didn’t see others coming too. Apparently I’m the only one who doesn’t eat breakfast.

bowl of wonton soup at busara thai restaurant

Today I had a wonderful bowl of wonton soup at Busara Thai while chatting with our marketing guy.

green curry chicken dish with bowl of jasmine rice at busara thai restaurant

I tried something different and got green curry chicken, yum.

My morning kicked off slowly when we got me set up with a phone number and headset. Since they’re transitioning to a new system, and I’m one of the first, it took some time to figure out what we needed to do. Lunch ran a bit long so I came back in the afternoon to a ton of work I wanted to do. I hope I did alright performance-wise. I stayed late to make sure I delivered decent results, but was it great? I’m learning what types of lunches are long so I know when to refuse them in the future so I can work through busier times.

teavana perfectea perfect tea maker sitting on chococat mug

To be featured on today’s 365great, this contraption has been amazing for my tea brewing needs.

string of emails announcing shipment and tracking of subscription boxes

All afternoon I got notifications that boxes were shipping! Wow, what’s up with Friday the 13th being so good for me? 🙂

driving on freeway at night with lights dotting road and clouds darkening sky

I enjoy my drives home, relaxing to music and appreciating the features of my car. 🙂

365great Day 182: sea buckthorn

laelene Post in 365great，Tags: , , , ,
12 September 2013
0

Learn more about 365great here.

365great challenge day 182: sea buckthornSea buckthorn is a fascinating fruit. Much like acai, it holds a certain mystique and is purportedly an amazing super fruit. One of my goals in life is to see these berries fresh, since you’ll usually find it harvested for various skincare or supplement uses. I certainly have my fair share of soaps, cleansers, lotions, and oils with sea buckthorn. I doubt many will ever really know what these berries are like in real life and that is fascinating to me. This berry in particular is cool because it survives in harsh climates, which is what gives it a lot of the nutrients that make it so sought after for topical application or consumption. I love the bright orange color with redder hues that make it seem really rich. The coloring reminds me almost of a persimmon. I wonder how it tastes (for some reason I imagine it to not taste so good… I wonder how accurate that is) in comparison. Whatever the case, I love seeing sea buckthorn as an ingredient. It’s a pretty great little survivor fruit.

365great Day 181: remembrance

laelene Post in 365great，Tags: , , ,
11 September 2013
0

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365great challenge day 181: remembranceI meant to get a picture of the flags at half-mast today but it didn’t happen. Sooo here’s a picture of some fantastic hats I got at Leadership Academy back when I was in NJROTC. I wore that hat and every other patriotic thing I could find (including shirt, pants, flip flops, earrings, and more) for the first anniversary of 9/11. By then I had moved from New York to California but my heart was still out east. It was a way for me to remember and honor the heroes of that day and feel a bit more connected to my previous state. I think it’s important even if you just take a brief moment to remember the important events that shape our lives and our histories. That’s why holidays and anniversaries and other celebrations are meaningful to us. While the shock and pain has faded over the years, I hope we as a nation never forget to look back at the people who lost their lives on 9/11. Remembrance is a great (and simple) way to pay respects to those who have gone before us.

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