Hulu Free Movies

The free movies offered on Hulu aren't that bad at all.  I'll admit many of them are the older movies that I personally don't find too interesting, but nestled between them are real gems.  Over the Christmas vacation, there were plenty of Christmas cartoons to be had as well.  It was a great way to keep the little one occupied while my friend and I caught up.

Many of the documentaries are nice.  My brother said he'd watched "I'm Up Next," a documentary about players of Street Fighter.  I'd caught an old film back from when I was in grade school, "Sign of the Beaver."  I'd also watched "Deuce Bigalow: European Gigalo."  I believe the most recent movie I'd watched was "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus," the one from 2005 starring Dylan and Cole Sprouse as Justin.  :)  I think I'll watch "Little Shop of Horrors" next when I find the time.  I recall having that movie on VHS when I was younger, but my brother and I never got around to watching it.  By the time we'd remembered and were actually curious about the film, it was long gone.

See?  The selection isn't bad.  Ya just gotta look.  :)  They should put up "Indian in the Cupboard."  That was a pretty good movie, if I recall correctly.

Christmas Round-Up 2011 :)

It's been an interesting Christmas season this year.  Here's a quick recap of what's gone down so far:

First up, I made my first gingerbread house with Sis.  :)  The first attempt proved futile, as our frosting cement was much too runny.  After tweaking the recipe a bit and creating a thicker sugar glue, our second attempt at building a house took but 5 minutes.

That blog of frosting in the front was supposed to be a snowman, but the piping bag exploded and we had to stop there before frosting got all over.  That to the far right would be my station wagon.  :)

Next up, I opened my gifts from sis early.  She'd made me a stocking and filled it up nice and neat, considering I'd never had a stocking before.  It was even written with "La La" on it.  :)  Yay!  It's now hanging in my room.  Within this stocking, I received:

A cuddly cow (that smells like tea!) that you can microwave and a brand spankin' new journal.  :D  Joy!

And a sriracha shirt!  She knows I love the stuff.  :)  Love herrrrr!

Not shown that were also in the stocking included neat little mitten/gloves and a fluffy purple bird pen.  The gloves are sitting in my drawer and the pen on my desk.  :)

And from my immediate family?  I got socks.  Regular ol' socks.  I thought that stuff only happened in movies.  :(  I'm not even an ankle sock person unless it's summer time and I'm wearing shorts...

At least the Pumas have purple stitching.  :)  I like purple.

For sis, I'd gotten her the Pro Mark II 9000 Canon printer and a boatload of photo papers.  I warned her that it'd be of apocalyptic proportions.  I'm not quite sure if she believed me until she'd seen them all.  :)  Thank you, Staples, for all of your FAR and almost FAR deals.  :)  I'd also given her a GIANT stocking, in which I'd thrown in little piggy items; USB flash drive, note pad, and an Angry Birds King Pig pen.  I don't think she'd opened it yet, but I sure hope she likes it.  It was hidden within a Choco Pie box, buried under Choco Pie and resealed to just look like regular 'ol Choco Pie.  :P

My brother on the other hand, received a Pop phone and a bunch of Hello Kitty items alongside random things I'd found from the Dollar Tree that reminded me of our childhood.  Our toys are making a comeback!  :P

A Simple Thank You Goes a Long Way :)

About a month ago, I'd written a postcard to Starbucks Customer Relations.  It was around the time that I'd gotten my shipment of Vistaprint postcards and was in the mood to send them out.  I can't remember exactly what I'd written, but the gist of it involved thanking the people working there for all of their hard work and mentioning that because Starbucks sends out postcard (coupons) to their customers each and every day, it's high time they'd received one instead.

Fast forward to the present, I'd received a package from Starbucks a couple of days ago.  I didn't open it until today, Christmas day, though.  For what reason, I don't know.  I just wasn't in a rush to open it.  Within the package, I found a ceramic mug that read, "fa la la la la" all over it, 2 cute little ornaments, as well as a letter from one of the Customer Relations representatives.  Keeping his/her name anonymous, it read that they loved my letter and to please excuse their tardiness, as they wanted to show my postcard to everyone.  Upon looking up my account, they'd realized that my birthday was just around the corner and while shopping, had bought me the aforementioned gifts.

My simple thank you resulted in a great gift package from Starbucks.  They will be receiving another thank you letter from me once the holiday season dies down.  :)

This isn't the first time I'd received a gift from corporate.  I think most large businesses truly appreciate genuine thanks from the people they serve.  <3

Dollar Tree Finds - 13 December 2011

I'm getting really addicted to going to Dollar Tree at this point.  I'd stopped by after class yesterday to grab a stocking for my brother.  During this trip, here are the things I'd found interesting:

Holy cow.  1.0L of margarita mix.  Nice.  :)  I didn't try it though.  But margarita mix typically comes fairly cheap anyway, so I wouldn't think it'd be that bad.  

I found these by the cash register while checking out.  They were right next to the Junior Mints, and rightly so.  This is the first time I'd seen any other flavor other than the usual mint and caramel (Junior Caramels).  They're about the size of the theater candy boxes (4.0 ounces).  How weird though, I can't even find it on their site as a product.  The box doesn't state it as being limited edition, nor is it decorated as a seasonal item.  There's no expiration date that I could find on the box either.  Regardless, it's pretty good stuff.  I'm a big fan of those raspberry creme/chocolate items.  Yum.  :)  Same family as the Junior Mints, so it's got the same consistency and all.  Good stuff.  I may stock up on a few more, even though I'm not much of a major sweets person.

I randomly decided to pick up a bag of chips and have been in the mindset of trying "generic" items lately.  These aren't bad.  They're not the most flavorful, but they are quite crispy, as kettle cooked chips ought to be.  The flavor is indeed barbecue... but I think it's somewhere in between mesquite and sweet 'cause it's not really one or the other.  There are a few pieces here and there that I find to be too oily though.  But only a couple out of the entire 5.0 ounce bag (actually, of all the ones I'd eaten so far.  5.0 ounces is a lot).  Not bad.  Though, I'm not sure if I'd ever actually get a craving for these though.  I quite like the design of the packaging though.  :P  Generics that try to mimic name brands make me giggle inside.

This was probably my favorite purchase all night.  I'd picked up a giant stocking (over a meter long) for my brother and friend.  Not bad considering that all of their normal sized stockings go for $1.00 as well as their two-pack of the miniature stockings.  Imagine how many of those you'd have to put together to even come close tot his size.  I've only ever seen one stocking bigger than this one and it was from CVS - but that one costs about $10.00.  I'll stick with this one, thank you.

The stocking is actually filled with more junk I'd found in the "Stocking Stuffers" section.  We've never actually used our stockings in this household so I thought it'd be fun to give my brother a stuffed stocking this year with things he'd remember from when he was younger.  Apparently the same toys that he and I had used to play with when we were little (I'm the child of the 90's! - born in '89, baby~!) are making a come back.  Those toys are starting to pop up everywhere.

Dollar Tree Finds (07 December 2011)

Oh, the Dollar Tree... there's always something interesting to be found there.  This time around, I went to the "nicer" one by campus during lunch time.  This one's great because they've always got stock of everything and all of their products are very neatly organised.

Anyway, I think the first aisle I'd looked at was the toy aisle, just to see if there were any props I could use for my upcoming party, wherein I'll be setting up a "photo booth" for my friends to enjoy.  There, I found a deck of Tarot cards.  I've never done Tarot, but it just seemed like an interesting find.  I guess for a dollar and change, it'd be interesting to look into it.  But I passed.

Next up, I'd gone to the glassware/dishware aisle.  I was looking for some glass mugs to etch for Christmas gifts.  Instead, I happened upon some new Coca-Cola glasses.  I'm sure we've all seen these green ones at both the Dollar Tree and the 99 Cents Only store:

Your choice of 2 smaller ones OR 1 larger one for of course, $1.00.

But they'd just gotten some new stock, I suppose, for I've found 3 more styles that I've never seen before:

Neat huh?  But take note of the middle one.  It's my favorite!

How awesome is that?  It's a glass cup... in the shape of a Coca-Cola 12 ounce can! 

I ended up picking up one of these for myself, but gave it to my brother when I'd come home since he liked it.  I'll probably pick up another on the way home from school so long as they've still got them in stock.  There didn't seem to be very many.  I don't even see it on their site.  Though one of the other three can be found there.

Not shown, since I'd forgotten to take a picture... there's a whole end cap dedicated to Betty Crocker baking supplies at my local Dollar Tree too.  It's pretty hard to miss considering that everything's red.  But anyway, there's some good quality silicon gear to be had if you have a need for some new baking supplies.  The mixing bowls and such I can do without - they're all plastic and I have a preference for metal.

Happy hunting.  :)

Dollar Tree Saved My Heels

The other night, I found myself lying in bed, wide awake, but not wanting to do much more than browse the interwebz on my Atrix.  However, I didn't even know what I wanted to browse for.  Having bought a laundry bag from the Dollar Tree a couple of days ago, I'd eventually, I ended up on the Dollar Tree landing page.

I looked through almost all of the categories they had possible and eventually found myself looking at the "Health and Personal Care," and eventually the Medicine Cabinet > First Aid Supplies sub-categories.  There, I found Premier brand Heel Grippers.  There was only one review there which stated that they loved the product and gave it 5 stars.  The day prior, I had gone hiking with the members of DooyuwannaHike and G.I. Joe Search and Rescue in boots that hadn't been broken in yet.  And my heels hurt!  I figured for $1.00 I could give it a shot.

The next morning, I'd gone to the Dollar Tree with my shopping buddy and picked up a set.  They are a spongy rubber material and the adhesive on the backside is pretty tough, though not as strong as moleskin (I think the ones I'd used prior were from Dr. Scholl's).  At first look I thought they were too thin, but again, I'd only be out $1.00.

The package stated to wait 15 minutes after putting in the grippers before putting the shoes back on.  I did so and after waiting the allotted time, was surprised at how well they worked and how strongly the stuff stuck to my boots!  My heels couldn't have been happier.  Gone are the days that I have to uncomfortably wear two pairs of socks with these boots just to make them fit decent.

Thank you, Dollar Tree.  :P

AT&T Customer Service

Good job, AT&T.  This is the second time I've called them with any problems and they'd resolved it within minutes.  Better yet, I was not put on hold nor was I in a queue to speak to a customer service provider.

This time around, I'd called because at 1228 today, I'd gotten an update on my data plan saying that I'd used up 199.7MB of my allotted 200MB for the month.  I immediately turned off all data usage and background data, only to receive a text at 1324 informing me that I'd gone over my data allottment and would be billed another $15.00 for an extra 200MB for the rest of the month.

That's just wrong.  There's only 2 more days left in this month and it already takes me a whole month to use up 200MB.  At 1542, I'd gotten another update on my data and said that I'd gone over by 0.1MB.  I  was flustered!  There was no way I was going to pay an overage fee for the next two days' use nor for such a small overage.

Within minutes of calling customer service and explaining my situation, I was given $15.00 credit on next month's bill.  Good job.  :) I'm not quite sure whether or not I can still continue using the data considering I've already got an extra $15.00 credit, but to be on the safe side and a good customer, I'll keep it off unless I really need it.

Thanks, AT&T.

Black Friday + Rubbermaid

What have these two got in common?  A LOT.

During Black Friday weekend, Wal-Mart had a sale on 30 piece Rubbermaid container sets at the cost of $6.88 + tax, which included the following (shown in the picture below):

I had come to the Wal-Mart in the "nicer" part of town and the store had TWO whole WALLS built of these things.  I picked up one set for my mom late afternoon on the first day of the sale.  Because there were plenty left, I didn't think to "have" to pick up any more, though I was sure that my mom's friends would want some too.

That night, my mom asked her friends and I was told to pick up 3 more sets of these things.  Because the stores were filled with walls and walls of these, I figured it'd be okay to come back the following day.  Boy, was I wrong!  All of the stores in the surrounding area, within a 50 mile radius, AND online at walmart.com had sold out completely.  DANG.

Seriously.  The stores were filled with these and sold out within a day.  Crazy.  Then again, at that price, I wouldn't blame them; the 20-ish piece sets already sell for $10.00+.

I wasn't kidding when I said there were walls of these.  Yes, I did stop and have my shopping buddy take a picture of the wall for me.  I was decked out in my fuzzy hat (it was a chilly) and combat boots to battle my way through the crowd!  :P

Are Holiday Cards Still a Big Deal?

Or has the role of social media (i.e. Facebook) taken over?

I was never big on sending cards until this year, to be honest.  After I started sending postcards, and later, handmade cards out to friends and family, I realised it was something I just really enjoyed to do.  The act of writing out my thoughts and using pen/paper rather than just typing a message to my recipients is a whole lot more rewarding.  Or something.  It's just nice.

But with Facebook and all that becoming such a big part of our lives and photo sharing being easier than ever, will the holiday cards (with annual family portraits and all that) slowly die out?  I've personally never had a family portrait, but I've seen people take the time and make the effort to do so for the holiday season.  I've read about it plenty.  And of course, it's portrayed in the media as being a big deal for lots of families.

Cost must play a big role as well.  This year, I'm sending out postcards to most friends/family to wish them a great holiday season (postage is about half the price for postcards compared to regular letters).  For closer friends/family (sorry!) they'll be getting handmade cards.

Even More Hand Sanitizers

Oh geez.  So a quick trip to Wal-mart the other day yielded even more hand sanitizers that I was never aware was available.  Here are some pictures I'd taken:

 These are really neat.  They're from Germ-X's "boutique" set.  From left to right, we have: linen breeze, crisp apple, honey pea, and cucumber melon scents.  The crisp apple and cucumber melon were my favorites.  I did not smell anything from the linen breeze at all.  The honey pea reminded me of the sweet pea scent from Bath and Body works.  These are 2.0 ounces and are the typical price of $0.98.

I just decided to add this one in because I've never really seen sanitizers that are cheaper than the ones found at dollar stores.  This one is an 8.0 ounce bottle for $0.88.  The ones typically found at dollar stores are also 8.0 ounces, but on occasion you'll find the ones that have "50% more free!" at 12.0 ounces for $1.00.

These are great.  So I found this a little odd...  The ones on the left are of 1.0 ounce bottles in a triplet pack, each with a jelly wrap.  The ones on the right are 2.0 ounce bottles with the new pump top.  They're both the same price, at $3.77 per pack.  You wouldn't think that jelly wraps would be worth so much more than pump bottles that you'd only get 1.0 ounces of sanitizer with the wraps.

I just thought these were cute.  :)  Hog Wash.  Pretty expensive though; 2.0 ounces for $1.99.

And these are just two 0.5 ounce bottles I'd gotten from E-Promos and 4Imprint, respectively.  I was looking into getting these as promotional items for my group.  The one from E-Promos definitely has a better quality wrap than the one from 4Imprint; it has more material covering the bottle, the clip is more secure and robust, and the neoprene material is thicker and of better quality.  Both companies go with 0.5 ounce bottles of Purell though, which is nice.  They're a little hard to find in retail, I think.  The only other place I've found them at are in 6-packs from Target for $2.99 and it comes with but ONE jelly wrap.

Hand Sanitizer?!

Above would be all of the hand sanitizers in the house... that's not including the small collection in my car...

I've always liked hand sanitizer, but I've never really used it (as you can see, the majority of those bottles are still full other than the large one that sits on my desk and the orange one that's been in my purse for some time now).  Until now.  Why?  I don't know.  It started with all of the free little promotional ones.  Then I got the larger bottles for free after coupons.  Then I thought the little bottles were cute (I'm going after the 0.5 ounce Purell ones next!).  And then the Germ-X brand has the orange and green apple scented ones for kids (those are my two favorite scents).  The collection just built up from there.

Most of what I have are unscented.  Though I do have the orange and green apple as mentioned above as well as lavender.  My mom's a fan of the Bath and Body Works.  I find their scents too strong.  I'd once mixed the Bath and Body Works one with the generic ones from Dollar Tree in a 1:1 and found that it was still pretty strong.  So I guess that's one way of stretching your dollar if you really like the scent of the BBW ones.

A lot of people seem to not like the Dollar Tree ones (Assured brand), but I like them.  Most of the complaints revolve around the idea that it's too drying.  I've found that it works perfectly find.  I did notice that my lavender scented one feels more silky than the unscented one though.  But overall, I'm quite happy with the purchases.  If you want the more portable option though, go for the "bonus" 3-pack.  Each bottle is 2.0 ounces.  There are also 2-pack available, but they're also only 2.0 ounces each.  I don't know why... maybe it's a marketing ploy.  Same company, same volume per bottle, different packaging (the 3-pack ones look more stout, so I guess if you're not looking at the volume, you'd think the 2-pack ones were a better deal).  If you want the larger bottle for say your desk, restroom, or office, go for the "50% more" bottle (12.0 ounces), rather than the regular 8.0 ounce ones.

For the most part, I think I've always had it around, but never really used it because I would have to dig it out of my purse and I don't really like flip-top caps.  Then when I got the larger bottles, they had pumps on them so I would keep one on my desk and found myself using it before meals.

I've since gotten into the habit of using it after using public computers (namely the ones at school), when I'm out eating with my friends and there's no sink available, and after going into stores where I'm touching things that have most likely been touched by a million other people before me.  I don't think I'm addicted to using it as I am forming a little collection.  I think they'll be donated soon enough.  I didn't realise how my collection has grown until I'd rounded them up for that picture.  haha

Meritline $1.51 Firesteel!

Yay!  Another coupon code for firesteel is up at Meritline.  After tax (and free shipping), my total came to $1.51.  The cheapest I've been able to find around here was a 3-pack for $10.00 + tax (and then the gas or shipping cost to get it).  As shown, it's only got a limit of 600 uses (one per account) so have at it.

Check out my "review" on it here.  It's not as cheap as the last time I'd picked one up but it still is cheaper than anywhere else right now.  For $1.50, that's the same as giving up a tall regular at Starbucks for a day.  :)  I'll probably try to stock up on these each time there's a code as stocking stuffers for my hiking buddies.  Great stuff.

New baby!

My chemistry teacher just had his second baby.  A healthy baby boy, little John Hai Mucciaro.  Congrats to the family on their new addition.  :)  He's adorable and I wish the family well. 

Kodak Playsport (Zx5) Review

Like I've said in my preview post, this little bugger can do it all.  I took it on my most recent mission with the G.I. Joe Search and Rescue team and it did fantastic work.  It went through mud, rain, got hit by rocks and trees, came down the side of a mountainside, and it's still working just as great as the day I'd gotten it.

There are some pros and cons, I guess.  But it does exactly what I want it to.  I'm not expecting professional grade photos from this device; that's what my DSLR is for.  Before purchasing, I knew full well that it had would have some setbacks (no flash and such).

Pros:  (starred [**] items were my main focus for purchase)

• **shockproof
• **waterproof (up to 3 meters)
• dust proof
• takes SD cards
• has a tripod mount
• ** turns on and is ready to shoot within a second
• ** extremely long battery life
• On a full charge, the battery lasted me throughout a 3-day camping trip and then some.  I took plenty of photos and videos, using up my entire 4GB SD card.  The battery lasted more than the card!
• This time around, the last I'd charged my camera was a month ago, the first week of October.  Here it is now, a month later, and without charging it prior to the mission and using it throughout the weekend, still has like a 90% charge on it.
• With these specs and such a long battery life, I'd recommend it as an emergency car camera.  You never know what can happen on the road so it's best to keep a quality camera nearby that won't die on you.  Just make sure to charge it every couple of months.  Film cameras work just as well in that situation, but the film can go bad.
• ** uses an almost "universal" charging tip; same one used for my phone, NDSL, etc.  So I don't need to carry around different chargers unless I want to charge all of my devices at once.
• ** price!  ($130.00 shipped a couple of months back)
• Now you can easily find it for about $80.00 shipped or less if you can hold out for a deal to come up.  I've seen it plenty of times at 1SaleADay.
• ** compact
• menu is easy to navigate w/ minimal buttons

Cons:  (Mostly things I knew fully before purchasing but can cope with)

• no flash
• pictures can come out a little grainy depending on the lighting (but at 5MP, they're still good for 4x6" prints)
• I wish the macro setting was quicker to navigate to.  I've been leaving it on auto focus, but when I want that macro setting, it just takes too long to get to so I don't use it at all.

It's got a couple of other options that I don't bother using.  The video setting is great, though I don't use it too often.  I know it's "meant" to be used as an outdoor camcorder or the like, but eh.  My other option at the time was the Fuji XPS since it's also waterproof and shockproof (and comes with flash!) but I wasn't in the market for something with so many options.  I just wanted something almost like a toy camera (point and shoot but turns on and off in a second), but with a name that backs it up and for it to function in the environment I need it to.

All in all, I definitely think it's worth it for the price.  If you're in the market for something similar but do not need the durability of the PlaySport, the Zx8 I believe, has the same exact specifications.

04 November 2011 - Mission: Voorhis

This past weekend, the G.I. Joe Search and Rescue team went out for a mission in Hayward, California.  Though we didn't find any hard evidence, we were definitely able to learn better how to work as a team and got some real team bonding going on.  Seriousness aside, here are some shots from the mission:

All of the photos were taken from my Kodak Playsport.  This little bugger survived quite the trip.  From mud, to rain, to a 1/2 kilometer slide down the side of a mountain, it still performs just as well as the first day.  Not to mention all of the hits it had to take from rocks and trees during climbs.  Battery life and all that is great, but let's keep that for another post.

This is the area we were working with.  Plenty of brush and lots of climbing to do.

Even as the clouds rolled in, we continued the search.

haha This is the infamous giant "Weiner Slug."

Charmander. :)

Salamander Friend.  :)

A quick lunch break after a 400 meter climb straight up the side of the mountain side at a minimum of a 45 degree incline.

Hours later, a quick break and regroup after sliding down the 400 meter mountain side.

Michael's Dollar Stamps!

I LOVE the little dollar bin at Michael's.  I usually pick up a stamp to use with notes and postcards if I can't find anything else I need want for my crafts.  I've got quite a few of the single Studio G stamps, but check this one out!  I hadn't seen it floating around the interwebz yet.

This one's also a dollar, but comes with 3 small stamps (about an inch square) and a little stamp pad.  There were I believe... 4 or 5 different sets, each in a different "color-coded" package.  These weren't found in the usual dollar bin; they were in the "adult finds" impulse buys aisle.  And yes!  They're STILL $1.00!  (Or better yet, $0.50-$0.60 with their weekly coupons.)

I'll probably head back and grab a couple more over the next few weeks when I find myself waltzing in.  They work great for the postcards I've been sending out.  :D

Postcards, Letters, and Vistaprint?!

Ah... it's the holiday season!  Which means it's time to bust out the stationery and write to my out-of-state (and some in-state) friendlies.  I already to write handwritten letters to keep in touch with them, but there's something about sending special holiday ones that makes me extra happy.  I believe that keeping in touch with my friends via handwritten letters is well worth the stamp that sends it.

I'd already received a couple of Halloween cards from some friends.  They're really cute!  One of them was in the shape of a ghost.

Wanting to replenish my postcard and thank you card stock, I decided to waltz on over to Vistaprint to see what I can get.  I love this site!  Though, I should have waiting a few days before placing my order.  :(  It seems that Staples is currently running a deal wherein you can get 100 standard sized postcards and 10 holiday cards (4" x 8") for free in-store (or ~$9.95 shipped if done online).  Why does this make me sad?  Because they have the same templates a Vistaprint.

Anywho, for $17.83, I got the following (via 21-day "slow" shipping, though my orders typically arrive in 10 days...):

(100) postcards w/ 100 envelopes (extra $4.99 charge) & free uploads

(10) holiday cards w/ envelopes

(10) blank note cards w/ envelopes

(10) flat holiday cards

(10) folded thank you cards w/ envelopes

I've been wanting these cards for so long!  I wish they had that design in postcard form  :(  I'm now limited to only 10 of these cards.  I'd much rather not order more of them on future orders simply because I like having a variety of designs on hand.

(1) rubber stamp w/ red ink (extra $1.99 charge)

The holiday cards were the first things I'd ever ordered that wasn't generic.  I wanted to use them for an upcoming holiday party that I'd be hosting.  The stamp will be for a friend who wanted it to stamp her tickets for upcoming shows.  The rest are just generic cards that I'll be using to write thank you letters and notes to friends and family, both near and far.

I'd found a lot of teacher blogs who posted up their creative ideas for using Vistaprint items too.  They're really neat and I think I'll be passing that along to my teacher friends.  If I still taught Sunday school, you'd bet I'd be all over Vistaprint to figure out ways to incorporate their products into my classroom!

Welp!  It's time to head on down to Staples and pick up some more postcards!  I can't wait to have so many more postcards to choose from!

P.S.  Everything was free unless noted as an extra charge; the rest of the total is purely shipping costs.  At $17.83, this has got to be my most expensive order yet.  Simply because of the upgrades... usually my orders are around $6.00 or $7.00.  :)  Yeah, the cost kinda hurts me, but considering all the stuff I got, it'll last me quite some time and satiate my desires for more stationery.  Plus, the only reason I bought these more or less on "impulse" was because my friend needed the stamp for work.  Otherwise, I'm SURE I would have waited a lot longer before putting my order in (as always!).

** UPDATE:  (07 November 2011)
I got an e-mail on 03 November 2011 telling me that my order has shipped early.  It's scheduled to arrive on 10 November 2011.  Yay.  :) 

** UPDATE:  (13 November 2011)
As promised, my package came the morning of 10 November 2011.  Nothing was missing from my order and everything is perfect.  My only gripe is that the back of the folded cards came with "www.vistaprint.com" printed.  I only wish I could go on a Vistaprint shopping spree!  I did however, put in another order a couple of days after for Christmas time this year.  I'd personalised a bunch of items for my friend since she also likes to send out cards and handwritten letters to her friends.  :)

The Floppy Disk "Save" Icon + Other Ramblings (Tinders/Firestarters)

Couldn't sleep.  So by all means, my mind is all over the place!

Ah.  The beloved floppy disk.  I was a 90's kid.  I grew up with those HUGE, extremely floppy, floppy disks that went into the Apple computers at school where we played Word Munchers and Oregon Trail.  Fast forward a couple of years, and we got zip disks, affordable CD burners, and then after that, the beloved flash drives/thumb drives that everyone has now - except that back then, the simple little 64mb ones cost $20.00 and change, at least!  (I wonder if they ever had anything below a 64mb... I don't recall, but I do know that I still have a 128mb laying around.  Actually, not laying around - I still use it for school; essays in MLA format do not take up that much space.)

This has been on my mind for quite some time now.  Though I've never really questioned my contemporaries...  Anyway.  Technology has changed greatly over the years.  But has anyone ever noticed that even though these methods of saving our computer files have changed, that little icon in the corner has not?

Go check.  Your little "Save" or "Save As..." all around you still hold the same icon; the floppy disk.  I've grown up with it and am just used to it.  But the majority of the younger generation who grew up with flash drives and "clouds" have never heard of or even seen a floppy disk (trust me, I've asked).  I'm not sure if they even pay attention to it, let alone inquire as to what that little icon is.  They just seem to accept it for what it is; the picture that means "to save" and nothing more - it has no name to it.  Just the "save icon" at best, I presume.

Will this little icon ever change?  I couldn't think of any other icon to use in place of it should it go in that direction.  A picture of a flash drive doesn't really make sense; we usually associate that with the USB icon.  The new thing now is the "cloud."  Would that ever catch on as an icon?  Maybe add a smilie face to it; I like the ones from Super Mario.  :)

That's it for that topic.  On to the next!

So I've been playing with my firesteel a lot since it came.  I've been looking into different tinders that I could keep in my SAR pack.  The most popular homemade one seems to be the old cottonball + Vaseline trick.  Seems great, but I'm not sure if I want petroleum jelly all over the place; even if kept in an airtight container.  I fear that if I had a smidgen of that stuff on my hands, the sparks from my firesteel might burn me.

Then I read about the whole wax + cottonball trick.  It seemed like a great idea.  But I found a few things "wrong" with it.  For one, if you engulf the thing in wax, then it'll be hard crack open, let alone fluff up, which means the sparks won't catch to create an ember.  For another, we're using this as a firestarter, so having that much fuel on hand just seems to be a waste of wax.

I was watching this video on YouTube in which the guy (Craig) compared commercially available tinders (Tinder Quik, Wet Fire) to the cottonball + Vaseline.

My main focus was on the Tinder Quik and cottonball + Vaseline; the WetFire was of no interest to me.  Basically, what I noticed was that he said that the Tinder Quik worked very similarly to the cottonball + Vaseline and that the Tinder Quik had a bit of a waxy feel to it.  Upon watching the video further into the comparisons of the tinders under wet conditions, I saw that the cottonball + Vaseline fails under extreme wet environments whereas the Tinder Quik did alright under the same conditions so long as most of the water was wrung out.  It seems that the waxy coating allowed it to withstand some water absorption and keep the innards dry enough that you could fluff it up.

With that said, I figured, why not combine the two ideas? 

1. incorporate the Vaseline into the cottonball as normal and shape it a bit
2. dip it into melted wax to create a waterproof barrier

By doing so, in theory, we should be able to create a waterproof version of the cottonball + Vaseline that will still fluff up.  Crack open the thin, waterproof wax shell and expose the fluffy Vaselined goodness inside.  Plus, both the Vaseline and wax will serve as fuel; neither will go to waste.

In my mind, you can still condense the cottonball + Vaseline a bit before dipping into the wax, creating a smaller pellet.  I hope to find a wax that will harden enough that I won't have to worry about it melting in the car or something (I keep my go-bag in the car).  That would kinda suck if it melted and melded all of my pellets together while in the container.  Not the biggest of issues, but something to think about.

I'll be trying this out in the morning after getting some cottonballs and will report back in a later post.  :)

Improving My Firesteel

I love "bushcraft" fun.  There's something about it that just makes me really happy.

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago, while checking my RSS feed for FatWallet, I'd happened upon a posting for a $0.69 firesteel/"ferro rod" from MeritLine after coupon + free shipping.  I figured it was worth a try.  I'd never ordered from MeritLine before, but I do trust the people of FatWallet; when a deal seems too good to be true or if it's a not-well-known seller, there's always someone who is willing to "test" them out and report back with findings.

Anyway, MeritLine is similar to another site that I used to use, DealExtreme.  They are based in Asia (I'm sure all in China) and have very inexpensive items for sale, all boasting free shipping.  The only "downside" (not going to be bringing politics or economics into this, people!) is that it takes a good 3 weeks or so for your items to arrive.

A couple of days ago, I'd come home from school to find that my firesteel had come home.  At first I couldn't get it to strike with the striker that it came with.  So I went ahead and scraped off the black "coating" of the firesteel itself with my knife to get to the sweet metal under.  The striker still had some problems; it would create great sparks on one side (the shorter side) but would not scrape diddily squat on the other (longer side).  I tried scraping the green paint off of it to see if creating a coarse edge would work, but to no avail.**

After a quick nap, for whatever reason, I woke up and decided to run it through my Smith's knife sharpener/honer.  The result?  The striker works like a charm on both sides!  If out in the wilderness, I would much rather use the intended striker with these firesteels than the blade of my knife.  I don't think any of my knives have a usable backside of the blade for the firesteel; much too thick/rounded.

:)  I'd read a lot of people buying the Chinese made firesteels and be happy with their rod but not the striker itself.  Maybe this is the solution?  Happy firesteeling.  :D  Please be careful.

** I think it's intended that you use the toothy end of the striker to strike the rod, but I find that using the straight sides give me better grip and emits greater sparks; heck, I don't think I've ever been able to create sparks using the toothy side.  I'd figure that since you could use the straight blade of a knife (or its backside) to create sparks, there's no reason that the straight side of the included striker wouldn't work.  :)

Rock Climbing Shoes?! :)

The other night, upon arriving at the most recent G.I. Joe Search and Rescue meeting, Sis surprised me with a gift!  The weekend prior was the REI used gear sale.  I hadn't gone for whatever reason... I think I was doing homework.  But anyway, at dinner one night, she told me she'd gotten me something.  I didn't think it was anything REI related.  A couple of nights later, before heading out for a movie (Real Steel, which was AWESOME, by the way!), I'd asked her if she'd found anything interesting at the used gear sale.  She just smirked and said that I couldn't see it yet.

I had no idea that that smirk was referring to my gift.  Next thing you know, she surprises me with rock climbing shoes that she'd found at said sale in my size!  And in red, at that!  Perfect for G.I. Joe training.  :)
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The right one was a little tight in one tiny section, but after stuffing them with socks for a night or two stretched them out perfectly.  The left one had always fit fine.  But sweet!  New rock climbing shoes!  Well, new to me.  But they were kept in pretty great shape; probably only used a handful of times at most.

Green Apple "Moisturizer" Lip Balm from ChapStick!

I'd gone to Walmart after training tonight to pick up some shampoo.  Waltzing down the aisles, I'd noticed the little ChapStick display at the endcap.  I'd recently discovered the awesomeness that is the "moisturizer" I guess, "line" of lip balms from ChapStick.  Upon closer inspection, I'd noticed their "new flavor," green apple!  :D  I was happy considering green apple is one of my more favored scents for almost everything (particularly the hand sanitiser from Germ-X along with the orange scented one).

I'd immediately grabbed it, only to also find vanilla mint flavor.  I took both and went onwards to get my shampoo.  Once I got home, I showed my older brother who, in turn ripped open the vanilla mint one (after taking but then rejecting the green apple in favor of the vanilla mint) after ~ 3 seconds), put it on, and told me it tasted like Christmas.  <_<  Thanks a lot.

I'm not sure how I'll take to the fruity-ness of this lip balm, as I'm so used to the original flavor (with the slight hint of vanilla as mentioned in the previous post).  But I'm sure I'll be happy with its performance if not its flavor.  :)

Lip Balm Addiction???

I've never liked using lip balms before. But I was getting tired if the constantly dry and chapped lips. Putting on tinted glosses or lipstick only highlighted the dry, flaking skin on my lips and it was disgusting.

Over the years, I've used probably the entire line of what Blistex and Carmex had to offer. But none worked for me. They would fix the lips temporarily, for maybe a day, but that's it; out hours back to bring dry and flaky after I stopped using the product. Even so, I fight like the flavor that Blistex imparts either.  It's just weird. The tinglyness of the Carmex was nice, but it always felt so heavy on my lips.

I've also tried off brand balms, vitamin e sticks, Soft Lips brand, among others and none seemed to work.

Desperate for relief from cracked lips one day, I reached for the regular old ChapStick brand "Moisturizer" stick (in the blue label) and it's become my go-to balm since. I'd even bought the multi-pack of the stuff so that I could have out in all of my bags, room, and car. I can't seem to be without it. Best part? Very little reapplication needed; usually only after meals.

My lips have never been smoother. It's very light and not at all waxy. It's even got a light hint of vanilla flavor to it.

Sweet! I'm now a happy child. :) With smooth, soft lips too!

Little Debbie's Fall Pumpkin Delights: Filled Cookies

Ya know... there's just something about these cookies that make me happy.  Perhaps it's the smile (albeit a little ominous looking, some of them)?  The taste of the fall season rearing it's head?  The soft and tenderness that is a Little Debbie's sweet?

Whatever it is, I love it.  These Pumpkin Delights only come 'round once a year.  Their cakes and other snacks merely get a make-over.  (Seriously... their "new" Fall Tree Cakes are merely differently sprinkled Christmas Tree Cakes - both have got the same shape, yellow cake innards, chocolate creme fillings, and enrobed in chocolate flavor.)  But these pumpkin filled cookies... you can only get them once a year.

I recall only ever having this once as a kid.  More than a decade later, at age 21, I see them again at Target and it brings back memories.  I never used to purchase sweets, but it's a good pick-me-up during long lectures courses where food isn't allowed and I had left the house without my usual  piece of fruit or trail mix.

These cookies really hit the spot.  I don't believe I've had absolutely every single Little Debbie's sweet, but I really like this one as well as their brownies (so dense and chewy!) and their oatmeal filled cookies now and again.  Like I said, it's not often that I purchase sweets, but when I do, it's probably a Little Debbie's brand snack (or Oreos, but there had best be milk around).

Oh yeah... and don'tcha think my little cookie resembles Sack Boy from Little Big Planet?  I've also been told one of the characters from the movie 9 and Sam, the Halloween Spirit.  :)  Cute.

Why Purchase Individually Wrapped?

I was at the store a little while back and overheard a mother telling her son to get ONLY the individually packaged snacks to pack for his school lunches.  Really?  REALLY?  In some cases, I can see doing this, but in others, not so much.

For one, the price of getting pre-packaged, individually wrapped, snacks costs a whole lot more than buying in "bulk" and portioning them out yourself.  You're just paying for the extra packing material with the brand name slapped on in pretty colors.  The only time I could find this useful is to keep foods that I know I don't eat too much of, fresh.  Others would argue that it takes too much time out of their morning (WTF???) to pack them.

Anyway.  How do I combat this?  I purchase items that I know will be eaten before their "best by" date and portion them into smaller containers for easy, grab-n-go awesomeness.  I personally use the "Small Rounds" (1/2 cup) containers from Glad.  They hold up pretty well and I find them to be a great size for snacks.  Waste of time?  Nah.  It takes but 2 minutes to portion everything out.  o_O  Don't be lazy.

This week, I have honey mustard pretzel bits and trail mix.  For less than $2.00 for either, I was able to get 4 servings of trail mix (only because I bought the more expensive, non-raisin type of trail mix)  and 6 servings of pretzel bits.

Unfilled Void

It's been six months since Joe Le passed. These past six months have flown by and plenty had happened since. But the pain of not having him around, not seeing him, and not hearing his voice still hurts just as much as the first day of hearing the news, if not more.

The void will never be filled and the pain never lessens as each day passes. Not one bit.

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Sriracha on the Go!

Finally, my wait comes to an end! I can finally have sriracha sauce wherever I go.
I've always bright a small Nalgene squirt bottle with my lunches, but I've always wanted one on my keychain for those unexpected restaurant visits when I just need/crave that extra blast of spicy goodness.
The first time if actually thought about it was during my trip to Arizona when I'd stopped into a kitchen gadget store. There was this little bottle of something on a keychain and I'd just thought it would be perfect to carry sriracha around in. However, at over $6.00 for the thing, I deemed it not worth my purchase and carried on. However, the idea was always in the back of my mind.
When I'd come back from my trip, I kept going on Google to see if there were any keycha with tiny bottles.  No matter how many different search terms I'd tried, none of then populated with what I wanted.
Fast forward to this sleepless morning. I don't recall exactly what I was doing or even thinking about, but my mind eventually rested upon hand sanitizer bottles. Then I recalled making like paracord "caddies" that attached to keychain carabiners not too long ago. (They're also known as "germ grenades around the Interwebz.") For whatever reason, I'm not sure what triggered it, I'd figured the little one ounce bottles of hand sanitizer (in this case the Bath and Body Works one) would be perfect for my long awaited plans to come to life.
Lo and behold, the Sriracha Bomb was born.
It's on a lanyard for now, but if I can find the teenier Purell bottles (I think they're half ounce bottles), I'll throw the Sriracha Bomb on my keychain instead.
I'm quite the satisfied person right now. I think I can finally drift off to sleep. I'm going to have to regardless since school starts in about 2 hours!

Ooh Yeaaaaaah!

I've always wanted my own kool-aid man pitcher. However, they'd discontinued that years, if not decades ago. I think you would exchange kool-aid points our something to redeem one.

Anyway, with all of the glass jars left over from family night cooking, I've been having since fun designing random things. Before going to bed last night, I realized that I can finally have my own kool-aid man!

Very cool. I use out as my cup now. :) I'm looking into getting a glass cutter to make cups out of bottles for gifts this upcoming holiday season.

Glass Etching

So I've been toying with glass etching a lot lately. I'm no professional, but it's great fun! I've been practicing a lot on glass jars I had lying around after Hat Cai's family night the other weekend. There are plenty left over after having to buy enough ingredients to feed 200 people...

My other projects weren't anything to gawk over, but this latest one makes me proud! I'd actually taken my sweet time on this one, making sure that my stencil would come out as perfect as I can make it.  I present to you, the Cereal Killer!