Three things - Birthday edition

Bad things tend to happen on around my birthday.

But that is okay because since I know which day it is, I can try to prepare myself in advance.

Luckily, there are some good things associated with birthdays - like free stuff!

Not the free quantity-over-quality chinese buffet dinners. I mean cool stuff I'd actually want.

Here are some things I took advantage of this year 

(and maybe you could do when it's your birthday)

Sephora - Beauty Insider free birthday gift

Sign up to for Sephora's Beauty Insider free rewards program and receive a birthday gift from them within 14 days of your birthday. Add it to your purchase on sephora.com or pick it up at a Sephora retail store during the same timeframe. No purchase is necessary to receive your gift at a Sephora store.

I've never done this before but happened to be at the mall picking up a rosebud salve tube (did you know it comes in tubes?) and was surprised to get a small bottle of Philosophy's Vanilla Cupcake. This will be perfect for the gym.

Rules.

World Market - Reward Member $10 off coupon

I think my roommates can attest that World Market is one of my favorite stores since I'm always bringing back bags of goodies (I just became mayor of my local store on Foursquare!). They always have those $10 off $30 coupons that suck me into think I'm getting a great deal when in reality their food is rather overpriced. I don't care. I love their blood orange soda, international snacks, 99 cent spices and colorful kitchenware. 

Sign up for World Market Explorer free rewards program. For your birthday you get $10 off your purchase (no $30 minimum). I bought two tins of nyakers gingersnaps (my favorites!) on sale 2 for $10. I used my coupon. There was no tax. So I basically walked out the store with two free tins of cookies. Happy cookie monster day! Hooray!

Smashbox.com - free birthday gift with order

Use code: BDAY2011

I like smashbox foundation primer. I haven't tried too many of their other products because I feel bad spending a lot of money on makeup and usually go for Clinique when they have their free gifts. My mom used to take me around the cosmetics area of department stores shopping for free gifts rather than the actual products. I am all for freebies.

This is what the email said the birthday gift includes. The email said not to be combined with other offers and deals like "Lets Do Lunch". I am most excited for the cheek color because after I started using Benefit's Posietint I am on friendlier terms with cheek color.

Lets Do Lunch is pretty awesome. Every online order submitted Tuesday and Thursday 9AM-2PM pst you will receive a free full-size product that changes each time. Also with every order you get free basic shipping and free deluxe size samples. Samples is one area where ordering online beats buying something in the store. They also have a clearance section.

Other goodies I have done before:

GAP/BR/ON - if you have their credit card they send you a $10/$15 reward.
Dairy Queen - bogo any size blizzard. they are strict on only allowing you to print the coupon once.

Red Robin - join red robin club and get a free hamburger on your birthday

Loehmann's - insider club members get 15% off your birthday month

A massive list of other birthday goodies:

http://hip2save.com/category/freebies/birthday-freebies

The sweetest thing

Last time I was in Taiwan a woman in the train station was selling these flowers and gum. 

Normally I wouldn't spend my money on something like this.

 

But my mother told me her mother used to sell small things too.

It isn't easy. She bought one for me to hang on my purse. 

Even though we went to the giant floral expo in Taipei, these were my favorite.

Three Things

It's hot. I want to sit indoors and drink banana shakes all day - hot.
Three things that make it better.

1. Beach

An impromptu trip to the beach for boardwalk snacks, enjoying the sun because no ski jackets required, and running barefoot among the seagulls in wet sand. I wish I lived there and could start everyday with sand between my toes.

2. Banana pudding

I made some banana cream cupcakes. A cool dessert perfect for warm weather. Unfortunately, I in lieu of making the frosting I cut corners and bought a can of french vanilla whipped cream. Sounds good. Tastes good. But falls flat into a watery mess within 10 minutes. Next time I shall stick with the original recipe.

Whip cream slowly melting

3. Opera

Lately I've been listening to opera on pandora. I'm not sure why, but it is incredibly soothing. I don't know what they're saying and that doesn't matter. It's the perfect background music for working or stretching or a night of baking.

(FYI: I've also been listening to the soundtrack to The Book of Mormon but it's not good background music because I end up singing along. Hello!)

 

basically an episode of South Park on Broadway

The Prodigal Son

Word puzzle show Say You was on the radio while I was driving a long stretch of road. If you like words (definitions, origins, etc) and a dose of wit, definitely check it out. I should tune in more often. But when am I in the car for an hour at 4pm on a Sunday? Not enough.

One of the questions was the meaning and origin of "the prodigal son".

The first woman who answered was familiar with the parable from Luke and correct about the origin.
Her definition response was the same as I would have given. The prodigal son was the wasteful one that returned home after he had squandered all his resources. The popular parable is most known as "the prodigal son" or "the lost son". In my experience, when the parable is preached/studied the emphasis is on the selfish son that asked for his inheritance early, left home, wasted all his new wealth until he found himself living more poorly than pigs, returns home humbled with a repentant heart and is surprisingly joyfully welcomed home by his father that runs to him with open arms and plans a celebration in honor of the son's return. The emphasis of the passage is either on the repentant son that no longer becomes lost or the compassionate response of the father.

We were both wrong.

Another woman answered that the prodigal son was in reference to the older son that was doing everything as he should and became jealous of his well-received, wasteful brother when he returned. According to the show's host, she was correct.

What?

It was one of those moments when you find you spent your life thinking one thing and then it gets turned on its head.

Wait, so the emphasis of the passage is really for those that think they are faithful and following rules, filled with pride and a feeling of being deserving, to the point that they may lack the same compassion the father exhibited towards someone that didn't live such a pristine life? Could this be?

Webster defines "prodigal" as "extravagantly wasteful" which seems to best describe the younger son. Whether or not the show was correct, it got me thinking about what I had previously downplayed in the passage. People love hearing that despite their mistakes and screw-ups in life, there is a God that forgives and welcomes those who have lost their way. We love hearing it in relation to ourselves. But it is an all-inclusive invitation for forgiveness to everyone no matter how bad the mistakes. The worldly thing to do is to compare and judge and maybe even be happy to hear about those that turn their lives around but only to a point. If for some reason you believe that person somehow has it better than you (however you define it- success, attention, popularity, luck, etc.) there is that jealousy and thinking that they are not as deserving as you.

You know what I mean? People love to compare.
(Especially when watching reality shows- I wouldn't spend my money that way, sigh extravagant rich people, how did that contestant get through to the next round, why does everyone keep voting for this person when they aren't even that talented, I could have designed something better than that in the given time, that person won all that for just doing something I could have done, etc. Exhibit B: Celebrity gossip columns.)

Harsh commentary. Little compassion.

People judge and complain but perhaps secretly wish they could live that way or get that special treatment. In the story, the father points out to the older son that the treatment he received was no different than his lost brother; he had everything at his disposal. The only issue was how he perceived the situation.

This troubled me. Am I an example of that kind of equality in love? Am I compassionate and genuinely joyful for others in their homecoming? This is BIG. Bigger that most things that have been cluttering my focus lately.


Reminds me of the part from "Everybody's Free".
"The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind. The kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday."

 For me it was on a Sunday.

Can you guess?

Can you guess what is coming next?

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Three Things (and then some)

I've been browsing through food blogs (friends and others) lately for inspiration and ideas for my own.
Lots of delicious food, gorgeous photography, and great ideas.

This might be more than three....

Closet Cooking
Decadent Housewife
Delvious
icanhaznom
Just.One.More.Bite.
Orangette
My Madeleine
Smitten Kitchen
Tea & Cookies

This might have been the first blog I ever followed that didn't belong to a friend...
http://www.foodbeam.com/
(tip: don't forget to convert celsium to fahrenheit)

Saturday full

Saturday was a very full day. 

The Wow-what-a-productive-and-fun-day kind of full.

I wish every weekend felt this great!

* There was the epic morning breakfast. Apparently, good things happen when you start the day with mimosas. Jeff picked up a free couch set from a garage sale around the corner.

* Experienced college nostalgia as I passed out flyers at the electronics swap meet and encouraged people to attend our student art show. Not too many electronics junkies were very interested in art... or having human contact. But now I know where to go for cheap electrical tape!

* Jeff/Geoff visited the art exhibition. I'm still a bit amazed how well everything came together.

* Listened to some amazing artists share their passions.


* Snuck out for some chicken verde nachos from Whole Foods. Yum!

* Got to go back to Whole Foods during a late lunch break to get some mint chocolate gelato.

* Came home with paintbrushes and a giant Sharpie paint marker! (FYI: I kind of love sharpies.)

* Went grocery shopping at Maxim and Safeway. Less than $30 for a cart full of groceries vs. $10 for two packages of hot dogs. I am so grateful for Asian supermarkets.

 * Cooked a giant batch of Filipino spaghetti.

* Went out at night and tried some new drinks, even taught the bartender something new. I think I prefer my usual choices though.

* Ended the night with a burrito + orange sauce from La Vics.





All that and I didn't drink any coffee all day!
(I was doing two-a-days at Starbucks most of the week.)

I've decided to practice discipline and started my food blog with the goal of posting a few times a week and forcing myself to learn how to cook. Is it bad I like taking pictures of food more than people? Food doesn't complain when it thinks it looks bad in a picture. An awesome photographer at the exhibition spoke about taking lots of pictures growing up but decided to learn more about the craft and composition through classes. Right now I can only dream of taking pics as beautiful as his. But I hope to learn more.

I'm still debating what to include on both blogs, if I should combine both blogs or turn this one private and keep it as random thoughts. My original intent of this blog was to scrapbook what I was going through in life, lessons learned, stories, travels and crazy dreams.

Thank you if you've been following this rollercoaster of a blog!

bitcoin

Last week my coworker told me about a new alternative online currency called bitcoin.

Image: bitcoin.org

I thought it wasn't very special since a lot of companies/websites come up with their point/coin/credit/etc. system in which users pay USD money for the "currency". Xbox points, D&B tokens, istockphoto credit, gift cards, frequent flyer miles or credit card reward point anyone? But then he told me there was an exchange rate that allowed transfer both ways.

I don't completely understand it still. How do you have an exchange rate with no central regulating authority? But then again, paper money is no longer tied to the gold standard and according to TAL, "money is fiction".

Check it out here: http://www.bitcoin.org/

FYI: Apparently, it's doing rather well.

Three Things - GAP

Did you know GAP has been running a THANK YOU sale in-store?

If you have a ON/GAP/BR card you can get 40% off EVERYTHING!

That includes clearance. Thank YOU GAP!

Apparently, it is baby season. 

I commented to my stepdad before that there sure are a lot of summer babies.

He replied "we get cold".

Being a teenager, I said "ewww, I didn't ask."

I can't wait till my parents are here to visit!

I got some pretty awesome things for a pretty awesome price.

If you know people getting to that phase in life, it's a great time to stock up!

1. Nautical

The nautical look never goes out of style.

GAP baby. Adventurer bodysuit.

2. Knotted hat

This is hard to pull off later in life.

Gap Baby. First knotted hat.

3. Feet

Who doesn't like playing with baby feet?

GAP baby. Logo socks.

Tip: If you are at a store with all the Gap stores connected - check out at the Gap Baby register.

a) there usually isn't a line

b) bags are adorable

c) if you get a gift bag they give you adorable tissue paper and a sticker

Easy excess

i have a lot of "stuff" for one person.

one petite person.

i know this.

but it's not just me.

i love shopping for others.

(my love language must be gifts. i cherish what others give to me. 
if only you could have seen how happy i was when Jbear got me a box of white cheddar cheez-its yesterday. haha.

i especially like giving gifts i know people will use. even if it's someone i don't know.
i know diapers are not as cute as stuffed animals but parents will for sure use them!)

most of all...

i love opportunities to share.
(maybe you are running low in money,
but maybe you have extra time, skills, clothes, childrens' toys, food, etc.?)

if you feel the same, here are some for you!

Hip2Help Tour
A couponing site that April introduced me to is traveling on a mission to help four families! Many families have lost their homes and everything inside those homes to those crazy tornadoes touring the US. Time to clean out those closets. That sweater that has been collecting dust in your closet for a year can be used and appreciated by someone right now. I love how members of the community stepped up to organize for each other. And one of the girls in need of clothes is my size! Score!

Find more here.

Reece's Rainbow
It's easy to take family for granted. There are many orphaned children in the world that have possible new forever families waiting with open arms but must first overcome that initial financial burden. I am shocked by the enormity of adoption fees.

Today, Love is asking each person to donate just $3 for little Anika.
A few dollars from a lot of people can be a BIG help.

Thank you!
Do you see it too?
Changing someone's world can be easy.

Three things - urban outfitters

I try to do this on Tuesday but Memorial Day weekend mixed me up.

Thank you UO with all your very cute random novelties.

(not that I'd actually want one, but there are some very creative product designers somewhere)

Three things that made me smile lately. 

1. These papers are making me hungry

No chopsticks required.

Urban Outfitters. Sushi stapler. $8

2. Hello beautiful

Ready for a night on the town?

Urban Outfitters. Car lashes. $30

3. Not quite the same

Multitasking at its finest.

 

Urban Outfitters. Butt Station. $18

Dancing in the rain

weather forecast says rain

[therefore]

it's a perfect time to dance

Show them how it's done Gene.

Taylor Swift - Fearless