Posts Tagged ‘fun’

365great Day 20: packages

laelene Posted in 365great,Tags: , , , , , ,
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Learn more about 365great here.

365great challenge day 20: packagesWho doesn’t love receiving a package? (Assuming of course, that you’re not the target of some crazy bomber.) Whether it’s finally getting to open what you ordered or the surprise of a gift from someone, packages have a sort of magical quality. They can make just about anyone smile with anticipation. Gift or not, the process of opening a package always feels like you’re opening a gift and that makes you special. This is probably why I’m enthralled with subscription box services – not only do you get a package every month, but what will be inside is a lovely mystery. It really is like having your birthday every month! (More on those later – they deserve their own 365great day.)

Packages in general, whether mailed to you, handed to you, or discovered by you, are the type of thing that bring a bit of joy. Just think of the delight of a child digging in to a present on a birthday or holiday! Those sparkling eyes, the excitement, and that wide grin before the gasp of “oh my gosh I love it” as they run to hug you. Of course, not all packages are so well-received, but I think secretly, each time we see a package, we can imagine a scene like that. Even with products bought online, there’s joy in finally getting to open up that box, assemble the item (if appropriate), hold it in your hands, and try it out. The potential for that sort of happiness in each package is what makes them great.

Accessories galore

laelene Posted in photo blog,Tags: , , , , , , ,
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My dad recently brought me some sweet items my mom got for me to sell! Soon to be listed on PandaLoves.com and eBay. Check out a sampling of some of my favorites.

shiny yellow gem metal phone jack dust plug

Simple, elegant dust plug for any device with a headphone jack!

shiny metal ballerina dust plug with red gems

Dangling, swinging ballerina dust plug.

giant metal panda face ring with gem eyes

Big, bold, and adorable ring.

plastic brown bear head dust plug

Cute little bear head topper.

plastic grey wolf dust plug

Little wolf perched up top.

metal fox wraparound ring with red gems

Sweet little fox curled up around your finger!

metal turtle ring with blue gems and red eyes

What a fun turtle ring, complete with moving limbs!

fuzzy black fox ring with gems

Hahaha, fancy fox. 😉

Cartwheeling fun

laelene Posted in video blog,Tags: , ,
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Let’s kick off 2013 with a fun video of me cartwheeling by the Potomac this fall! Wheeeeee!

cartwheeling by Potomac from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

(Here are the pictures to go with that day.)

Surfing Waikiki

laelene Posted in photo blog,Tags: , , , , , , , ,
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When Panda and I vacationed in Hawaii this summer, I was determined to finally get around to surfing.  I found a great instructor via Yelp and lucked out with my timing by being able to join two sisters of similar physical abilities and experience, so our skill levels were basically the same.  That allowed us to progress at about the same pace, with nobody holding the others back.  Perfect!

dcx surf school instructor erik, photographer ray, and dog malu

Meet Erik the surf instructor with his dog Malu (who used to surf with him but is a bit old now) and Ray the photographer!

happily carrying surfboards to waikiki beach

The day started with an intro lesson at Erik’s surf shop, and then we were off, carrying our surfboards to the beach!

posing with jellyfish warning sign at waikiki beach

Apparently there had been jellyfish spotted earlier in the morning, so there was a warning sign up.

jellyfish caught from waikiki beach

Erik showed us the jellyfish that had been caught and was being kept in a cup at the lifeguard station until it could be released back to the ocean.

laying on surfboard paddling out into ocean

We then got into the water and started to paddle out towards the waves.

surfing small wave at waikiki beach

Before I knew it, I was catching my first wave! I lost my balance pretty early on but got much better after a few tries.

catching wave with arms by side for balance

Out in the water, Ray accompanied us so we could get some awesome close-up shots on his pro camera. As you can see my first try was just me trying not to fall off.

surfing with knees bent for better control

By the second or third wave, I had figured out how to squat a bit for better control.

chillin' on surfboard getting pictures taken

After catching a few waves, Ray had us pause for some pics on the water. That’s him on the left with the camera, one of the girls in the lesson getting her pics taken, and me sitting around waiting my turn.

laying on surfboard in ocean enjoying sun and water

Then it was time for me to get a posed shot on the surfboard out in the gorgeous ocean waters.

laying on surfboard in ocean giving hang loose hand sign

Feeling in the surfer spirit, I threw up a “hang loose” sign for Ray.

surfing waikiki confidently

By the end of the lesson, I was pretty confident on the kind Waikiki waves and even had people watching me! The wave looks bigger than it felt.

Next time I’ve got to convince Panda to join me in a lesson too.

Rainbow steps

laelene Posted in video blog,Tags: , , , ,
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If you’re ever in Times Square, check out the American Eagle shop and head down to the kids’ floor!

colored light steps from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

Cartwheeling panorama

laelene Posted in photo blog,Tags: , , , , , ,
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You know the first thing I thought of when I found out you can do panorama shots within the iPhone’s native camera app?  Cartwheeling.  I was curious how it’d turn out, so this weekend, Panda and I gave it a try and it turned out to be pretty hilarious.  I guess next time I should go for burst mode with a 3rd party app instead.  Click on images to enlarge!

cartwheeling stitched together using panorama camera

cartwheeling stitched together using panorama camera

cartwheeling stitched together using panorama camera

panoramic shot of potomac river

Picture perfect timing – in pursuit of that great jump shot

laelene Posted in photo blog,Tags: , , , , , , , ,
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So recently I went on a vacation to Hawaii and got to go snorkeling.  When we got off the boat into the water, there was the option to jump in, so of course I jumped (haha) at the opportunity.  Unfortunately, in my quest for that perfect jump shot, I only got a bunch of almosts and a couple of utter fails.  I guess not everyone has a knack for awesome timing like me.  😛  If only I could shoot pictures of myself jumping… I guess I could get a tripod, but I was really hoping that Panda could get the shot for me. Oh well, here’s what we ultimately got:

big splash in ocean where i jumped in

First attempt at the jump shot – got one big splash in the ocean instead.

floating in ocean with vest and waterproof camera

This is my “so did you get it?” look. And the answer is no. 🙁

in a pose ready to jump into ocean

I climbed back up after snorkeling for about an hour and we tried again.

floating under boat as seen through netting, giving two peace/victory signs

After that fail, I came back up under the boat for another try.

waving while floating in ocean after jumping in

Once again, it was “oops I missed it but I got you in the water.”

standing on boat leaning past rail ready to jump into ocean

This time he got me prepping to jump.

standing on boat knees bent about to jump into ocean

Well, this is when I was starting the jump… the closest we’d gotten so far!

outstretched jumping into ocean

Finally, some semblance of me jumping!! While I wish my feet were off the boat, this was good enough. We’d tried half a dozen times already!

Fun photoing

laelene Posted in photo blog,Tags: , , ,
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I don’t consider myself that great with creative stuff in the artistic sense, which is why I never really got into Instagram and other photo-editing tools like it. However, I decided to give it a shot last night and had some fun with it so I might try doing it more. It’s so much effort though!

large plane landing as shot from interior of car

The original.

large plane landing as shot from interior of car, photo edited with instagram

And the edited version.

Watery footprints

laelene Posted in photo blog,Tags: , ,
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poolside water footprints

Panda and I compared footprints by the pool. Guess which belongs to me!

Magnetism

laelene Posted in video blog,Tags: , , , ,
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Having fun with magnets!

magnet power from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

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