What is LAVE?

My friend told me this once...

Q: What did the mommy volcano say to the baby volcano?
A: I lava you.

Once upon a time...
She wanted to go shopping. He said sure. Anything for her. The red bean prince turned to his princess and asked in his shy, curious voice, "lave me?". His peanut butter princes looked up and her sweet, innocent eyes widened in wonder. "whats lave?" Her prince chuckled. Flashing his glowing smile, the red bean prince replied, "like love, but overflowing love like lava from a volcano."

"oh......", she reponded hesitantly. "like this..."  

He nodded and planted a pb&b (peanut butter and bean) kiss on the tip of her nose.

Growing up is hard to do

There is...
responsibility, taxes, rules (minors can get away with so many things, of course the parents get blamed...), no safety nets, more temptation, more confusion, more politics, no recess, people want to sit around and eat all day instead of playing at the park, more work, less play, no more chauffeurs/people to carry you everywhere, the realization you don't know everything, less naps, decreased metabolism, lactose intolerance, more coffee, less fruit roll-ups, more gray areas, less color, the fact strangers don't smile at you if you do something silly or your clothes do not match- they look at you like you're a weirdo, more sitting, a greater distance to fall and requires more effort to get up, less pajama parties, less simplicity, more news, less story time,

and most of all...

it is easier to lose the

innocence 

of 

childhood.

Listen to the sermon from this past sunday.

  I recommend it.

Dressing Up

I'm still trying to get used to this blogger stuff. I kind of miss the xanga community and the smiley faces and listening/reading/watching OTM ease. But on with the new! I played around with templates and if you look to the left
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EVENTS!!!
These are events I would be totally down to attend. I can't always make them but let me know if you are ever interested and maybe I could have company. =)

Rainy Day Solution: Stay In

Today was a cold, rainy day.

The perfect day to stay under your covers and deny the fact that a weekday means driving through rain to go sit in a cubicle.

How to make the most of such a day:

1. Yummy Food

I tried Taqueria El Adobe on Fair Oaks + Old San Francisco. 

$1.50 tacos!

Now I no longer have to track down taco trucks nor wait till midnight for the party people at Club Parranda.

Plus, unlimited chips and salsa.

(Good for my tummy. Not good for my canker.)

2.  Good Reading/Company

I finally picked up a copy of Intellectual Devotional from Half-Priced Books.

Day 1 was the history of the Alphabet.

(Conversation about the history of the alphabet.)

(After 10 minutes reading about the alphabet and tying in our current study on the book of Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar's dream of the statue and the different mighty kingdoms that would arise after Babylon and how the idea of the alphabet was probably passed on to the Romans - Daniel 2. JP and GW would be so proud.)

Me: ... and that was how the Egyptians created with the first alphabet.

JBear: Oh. Well did you know that the pilgrims gave the Native Americans VD?

Me: (O_o) What?

3. Indoor Activities

Today I learned how to curl.

My toes were freezing and felt like they were going to fall off any moment. 

I felt the gallon of salsa in my tummy make waves everytime I lunged. (darn you unlimited salsa bar.)

But... 

I did fall over 3 times.

Get 2 stones in the house.  

And had 1 marvelous night!

 

New knowledge: Each granite stone weigh 42 lbs and costs $500. Curling is a Scottish sport. 

My instructor was Canadian and somehow everything began smelling like maple syrup, eh?

(check out San Jose Curling Club - Intro to Curling Clinics)

I Love Free #1

I am a coupon/good deal addict. My heart flutters at the words "Sale" and "Free Gift".

This past weekend my small group was gracious enough to stop by Bloomingdales after our hike so I could pick up a Clinique Milly gift with purchase. So springtime. So pretty. I needed a new foundation anyways. (Apparently all this working indoors has turned me a pasty pale.) Clinique is my current favorite for foundation and lotion for my sensitive skin and they always seem to have fantastic gift bonuses.

Although the offer is over I figured I would share some of my current favorite deals.

//Food//

Pinkberry ... BOGO
print and bring in the coupon. ends 2.19.2010.
closest locations for me are Santana Row, San Jose or Stanford Shopping Center, Palo Alto.
(I tried original tart + raspberries + dark chocolate crisps = delicious on monday. My usual is original tart + kiwi.)

IHOP ... free short stack of pancakes
2.23.2010 @ 7am-10pm
check for participation. donations taken for local local children's hospitals.

Ben & Jerry's ... free cone day
3.23.2010 @ 12pm-8pm
no purchase necessary.

//Personal//

Elizabeth Arden ... 8 piece deluxe gift
code: Love35 (expires 2/18) any order over $35
code: VALENTINE (don't know when this expires) any order

ULTA ... 15 piece gift
3 different color collections. only for ULTA products.

I Too Worry About My Farmville. MLIA.

If you've ever read My Life is Average you must have seen atleast a handful of posts regarding a certain game called Farmville. Some people's sole goal in life to reach some ultimate farmer status OR someone sick in the hospital's only request is that someone watch over their farm until they are well enough to leave the hospital to go home and tend to their virtual farm from their computer.

I thought what is this nonsense? Don't people have better things to do? Then again, I was the one sitting their reading these people's posts about this game.

Well I have finally been sucked in once again. I thought I was done with facebook gaming. Once I realized my brother's brain is bigger than mine or that he has a numberpad on his keyboard that my laptop lacks, I gave up Who Has the Biggest Brain?. Trying to beat his score became a futile goal.

I stayed away from fb all together. Over a year's worth of birthdays missed. Pokes unreturned. Events invites never opened. But then a friend told me to start a farm. Lo and behold probably the ugliest farm in the game.



My patchy, haphazardly placed crops were originally part of a plan to make some zen-like formation but I ended up being greedy and trying to plot more and more within my farm area. First it was a bit of everything, then only soybean, then only squash and now with the limited time roses costing only $20 with a selling cost of $200. What ROI! And its a limited time! I need to plant up!

I am reminded of the time I attempted to read Omnivore's Dilemma. Michael Pollan dedicated the first section of the book to industrial farming. With promised greater crop yields and better GMO technology, more farmers were solely planting corn. No longer rotating the crops like old-times but dumping tons of fertilizer to ensure growth. Tons of fertilizer that ends up in our water systems. And they aren't growing just any corn. The latest corn technology with greatest yield. It didn't matter the farmers were flooding the market with corn thus driving down prices, driving private farmers broke to sell their acres to the big corps, and forcing America to find something to with the new availability of cheap corn (hence all the mess in farm economics, ubiquitous presence of high fructose corn syrup in almost all processed foods, how we force cows and livestock to change from the diets they had eaten for centuries to the cheap available corn)- no it was a matter of pride and greed. How could they!?!

I was FURIOUS. I put that book down in a huff and never picked it up again. Perhaps ignorance is bliss? And why do spicy cheetos have to be so darn good?

Now I find myself in the shoes of one of those so-called greedy farmers. I am thrilled when a good neighbor has fertilized my farm - it ensures a perfect bunch of flowers. My limited-time roses are probably GMOs. I've given up farming anything else besides the latest money-guaranteed crop. Maybe I'm not so different. I shouldn't be so angry. We brought it on ourselves. If there's a market for it, someone will plant it.

What would Michael Pollan say?


(Sidenote: I'm now reading In Defense of Food. We'll see how that goes...)

Gilt Rhymes with Guilt

I'm a bit impulsive sometimes when it comes to shopping. Online sample sales are perfectly positioned for people like me.

...It's cute? It's on sale? There's only a limited number? And this sale ends in 48 hours?!? I NEED TO ACT NOW!!!

Every week they send you emails telling you what awesome sales are coming up this week. Then they send you an email every morning saying which sale is now open. Its the equivalent to sitting idle at the mall, seeing a giant sale sign being put up and the doors being opened... just... for... you. Yup. That's how they get you.

I think I've been pretty good so far. I've only purchased things I had already been wanting for awhile. But the thing about shopping is its like reading, the more you discover, the more you know what else is out there. I've stopped emails from certain sites I know I probably won't buy on (when did Gilt get so expensive?). What's the point in browsing a store you know you can't afford even if it is on sale.

Here's a list of my favorites.

• Hautelook (probably my favorite.)
  
• Ruelala (i bought a betsey johnson watch here. no complaints.)
  
• Ideeli (i like looking here. i see their ads everywhere.)
  
• Gilt Groupe (good brands, recently more pricey)
• Editors Closet (not as many sales. occasionally good handbag sales like gucci, etc.)
  

Warnings:

• They take a bit longer to ship and no free returns like some regular sites on the web.
• Clearance/blowout sales are good prices but no returns and things go quick.
• Prices aren't always as cheap as other non-sample sale sites. Don't be too impulsive.

Regular sites I like to browse/shop at that fill my inbox.

• ulta (middleground between riteaid and sephora. yay for free gifts and coupons.)
  
• bananarepublic (their petite sizes actually fit me. no hemming necessary. awesome!)
  
• threadless (cute shirts. wait for $5/10 sale.)
  
• borders (good coupons. i use them for moleskins b/c they never go on sale. please stay in business!)
  
• goldstar (discounts on local events/shows. seriously sign up for this!!!)
• travelzoo (oh the places i COULD go.)
• christianbook (their midweek markdowns totally get me.)
• SHN (i love musicals!)

Tip: To curb being distracted by all these marketing emails I have them filtered directly to a folder, not my inbox, which is to only to be looked at when I have free time. =)

Do you think she's hot?

I read an article this morning about how males and females communicate and misinterpret messages from each other.

The article was very insightful about how women will hint at things instead of saying exactly they are thinking and guys tend to miss out on these cues. Females tend to build up these emotions of disappointment which ends up being an explosion over the last straw, which tends to be something seemingly petty.

Some guys do this too.

Examples in the 'Lost in Translation' part were hilarious yet totally realistic. My favorite:

She says: "Do you think that woman's hot?"

She means: "Tell me that I'm hot."

He hears: "DANGER! DANGER! DANGER! DO NOT ANSWER!"

FOR THE GUYS

I say the answer is just tell your girlfriend or wife you think she's hot. We're just having a moment of insecurity OR just interested in what you're interested and wondering if we match up. Either way, complimenting us and reassuring us is always a good thing.

I put this in my gchat status and received a variety of reactions.

Girl 1: This reminds me of something that happened last week...

Guy 1: Girls are evil. Guys don't play those games.

Girl 2: haha.

Guy 2: This is a loaded question. What if its a lie to tell the girl she's hot?

[uhhh? why are you with her? i think if you really like someone, they end up seeming more and more attractive to you... he went on to explain attractiveness comes in- hot, pretty, cute. to him, hot, is a bit degrading. i say just use whatever adjective she used and give her some affirmation. we may blush and deny it. but its still flattering, in that giddy, "teeheehee he thinks i'm cute" way.]

Guys no longer need to fear the above scenario, the dreaded "Does this make me look fat?", and other similar questions. Now you know the answer.

You are welcome.

FOR THE GIRLS

Cut him some slack. Quick to forgive and slow to anger.

It's easy to get caught up in emotions.

I try to take a break to calm down in an argument because it's easy to say something harsh you don't wans to say. Guys like to problem-solve, like challenges and want to start fixing things right away- cars, computers, arguments, etc. (maybe that's why mechanics and engineers are predominately guys...) I tend to need more time to process information. Each person is different.

Also, females tend to do lots of comparing with other females. We care what others think of us and since from a distance you can't see a stranger's thoughts, dreams, goals, integrity, intelligence and inner beauty, we settle for comparing appearance. I admit I dress up more going out with girlfriends than going out with my boyfriend. He doesn't need to worry about me dressing up to impress some random guy I bump into because I'm just trying to fit in, look as lovely as everyone else, and feel confident while having fun.

I am reminded of something I read in Every Woman's Batttle (I still need to finish this book) about how a great amount of dissatisfaction in relationships (that volcano of emotion building up that suddenly erupts over how your boyfriend/husband did not hold open the door for you) stems from females habit of comparing themselves and their significant others to other people. No matter what you decide its a terrible habit.

...our definition of a woman of integrity: Her thoughts, words, emotions, and actions all reflect an inner beauty and sincere love for God, others, and herself. When we compare ourselves to others, we put one person above the other. We either come out on top (producing vanity and pride in our lives), or we come short (producing feelings of dissappointment with what God gave us). Regardless of how we measure up when we make these comparisons, our motives are selfish and sinful rather than loving. ...

Not only can we attract unhealthy relationships with men when we feel intimidated or superior to other women, we also miss out on something we all desperately need: intimacy with our sisters.

A bit of a tangent, but I really liked what she had to say about comparisons.

We really aren't as evil as some guys tend to think.

We can be darn right sweet sugar and spice. And smell nice.