RIP, Grandma

RIP, Grandma.  While you weren't of blood, I lived with the family long enough to think of you as so.  Though miles apart, I'll always be the older sister to C1, C2, C3, and T.  And I'll be sure to be there for Mom and the kids.  Y'all were there for me when I was younger, and I'll never forget that - it's time I grew up and took care of you all.

I'll never be able to make the "grape joke" with you again.  That's something I'll never forget.  'Cause "fresh grapes are great," right, Grandma?

I'll make the effort to come out to TX more often to visit the family.  I wish I had made the trek out earlier last year, for C1's graduation and to see the family.  Have fun with God.  You'll be in my thoughts and prayers.  Please look after us from up there.  You'll be missed.

365 No More

Yeah... after much self deliberation, I've decided to no longer continue with this 365 project.  While it did help me get used to blogging, I just didn't like (after a while) feeling forced to write up something, especially when they're meaningless posts.  For friends, it's nice for them to keep up with my daily life (considering I don't do Facebook), but other than that, I didn't find meaning in my posts.

On top of that, I've found that between work, school, and volunteer work, I had to post up quite a few hiatuses in the time that the 365 project started, and a few times (such as this week), I fell behind in my posts.

I think I'll stick to posting up EDC updates, random DIY/experimentations, and small life updates for the time being.  Perhaps do weekly roundups of the week's highlights - that would probably work better for me than daily updates.

Take care!  Thanks for reading.  :)

February Carry Update (185/365)

I don't think I've ever posted an EDC carry before, let alone an update.  My carry definitely has changed over this past year.  I've definitely streamlined my carry and below is my most current:

This has been the most static carry in the past couple of months.  Not too much changes from day to day and I'm really happy with it.

I'll try to be in depth as possible with everything since I'm certain this is my first EDC dump that I can recall of on this blog...

1. Wallet:  Big Skinny's Leather Open-Sided Skinny Mini
• top slot:
• Fresh & Easy Friends card
• credit card
• Starbucks Gold Card
• bottom slot:
• Costco card
• debit card
• inside: 
• receipts (gets emptied at the end of the day)
• HFT freebie & 20% off coupon
• some cash ($20.00; that usually gets me out of most situations)
• ID window:
• school ID
• work ID
• driver's license
2. Notebook:  mini composition notebook from Dollar Tree (I hope they never stop making these!)
3. Flashlight:  Olight i2
4. Phone:  Motorola Atrix (first generation) w/ generic case
5. Knife w/ lanyard:  Blurple :)
• Benchmade Mini Griptilian (custom)
• light blue + purple scales
• N680 steel upgrade
• all silver components
• silver arrow clip
• engraved w/ EDCF logo and username
• WillyDigger's custom medallian - purple ninja
6. Lip balm:  Burt's Bee's tin.  My favorite!  :D  Nice and minty.  There's just something about tins that I like.  :P
7. Pen:  Zebra F-301, black ink, fine point
8. Watch:  Skagen.  I'm not sure what model it is.
9. Jacket:  TAD Ranger LT Hoodie w/ Affonso mini PVC patch
10. Keys:
• Nite Ize Key Rack
• car key
• home keys x 4
• safe keys x 2
• TEC SS glow fob
• Affonso
• USN tag
• SteelFlame tag
11. Other:  vial w/ chew sticks (this one happens to be tea tree flavored)

:)  I think that about covers everything.  This setup is usually what I check my pockets for before I leave the door.  Occasionally the knife will be switched out.  Other times, I'll add on the Goal Zero Guide 10+ and respective charger cable if I know that I'll be out long enough to deplete my phone's batteries.

Cheers!

Surprise! (184/365)

Brother S sent me a surprise package yesterday!  :D  I got:

1. a purple/blue dyed EDCF Buff
2. a vial of doTERRA's peppermint oil beadlets (remember those Ice Breakers Liquid Ice from like 2003 or something? That's what these are like!)
3. 2 packages of Eiffel bon bons.  :D  The first time I had these were back in grade school when my tutor (high school age) sold them to our tutoring group to fundraise for her trip to Europe.  The last time I'd had these was when I was in high school, also fundraising for my own trip to Europe.  :D  Fun times.

Mad Props for CPK Fundraiser! (183/365)

I got this in my e-mail today and wanted to share:

I give mad props to CPK for holding a state-wide fundraiser for the families of our fallen heroes.  When I'd first read my e-mail, I thought it was a local thing since I'd seen the address of our closest CPK.  However, when I read the e-mail in its entirety, I realized that it was a CA state-wide fundraiser in support of the families of Officer Crain and Detective MacKay.

My friends and I will definitely be stopping by.  Thank you, CPK, on behalf of these families.  Best wishes.

Vietnam Memorial (182/365)

Today's visit to the Vietnam Memorial...

I've been here a few times in my childhood. But I never really took it all in until today. After work, I had met up with a friend who wanted to take some pictures in and around the area of the memorial. The Vietnamese heritage is important to me; I'm a first generation Vietnamese-American, born of parents who left Vietnam during and after the war, whose father fought for our freedom. I guess I kind of took that for granted. But today was different. In my later years of life, I started to see the world differently and had a completely different understanding and gained much respect for those who have fought for what they believed in, particularly those of military and law enforcement background. I live and grew up in a Vietnamese community, whose residents still remember the pains of their childhood, living as refugees and as children of the war - you see and feel the passion that they have to continue to fight for their freedom at every rally that is held in the city and beyond.

Today, as I approached the steps of the memorial site, I noticed dedications that I've not seen before. It brought tears to my eyes, to see the names of family members who have passed - who gave their lives for the chance at freedom for their country.

The one that I choked up on was this:

I just stood there... tears in my eyes. I knew many of the soldiers must have been younger than I am today. My own father, who I now have a deeper respect for, was a soldier at the tender age of 17. It was mindblowing. And I couldn't stop the tears.

Looking at the memorial as a whole now, I notice the "eternal flame." It's since been shut off and I was a little disappointed to see that. But what it stands for, still lives on in all of our hearts, and seeing it today rekindled mine.

Making my way closer still, I notice that many people, from near and far, travel to this memorial to pay their respects, leaving offerings of flowers and food. Shortly after this photo was taken, I noticed 2 parties come by. One with a man and wife taking photos and leaving offerings. The other, a man touching one of the name plate dedications, silent, and thoughtful. I stood there, not knowing what to do. I did nothing but stand there feeling sadness that I've not experienced before.

Before my friend called me over, taking me out of my trance to help her take pictures, I was left with this reminder at the base of the sculpture. This reminder too, is where I will leave you.

Thank you to all who have served, are serving, and will serve.

Chewing Sticks/Flavored Toothpicks (181/365)

I love chewing on toothpicks.  :)  For the past few years (I think about 5 years now), I've been buying the Thursday Plantation and Tea Tree Therapy brand chewing sticks from my local market (Whole Foods and Sprouts).  But it gets pretty costly, at $4.00 per pack of 100 toothpicks... and I go through a pack a month or so.

I also got tired of the same Cinnamon and Tea Tree Oil flavored ones.

And while these toothpicks are of great quality, it just didn't have as satisfying a feel as I would have liked.

So then I started making my own.  :)

Yeah, this picture still has only Tea Tree Oil and Cinnamon Oil, but not shown are the peppermint, orange, lemon, clove, and anise oils that reside in my kitchen.  :)  That solves the flavor problem.  But what about the unsatisfying feeling of the original toothpicks?

:D  Cut down bamboo skewers were the solution!  Because the skewers are thicker than the toothpicks, I end up soaking the skewers for longer than I would the toothpicks.

That also solves my spending problem.  Kinda.  hahaha  It's not a huge savings, but I am happy that I get to mix and match my flavors and that the skewers are more satisfying than the skinny toothpicks.  :)

Cheers!

Update Roundup (165 - 180/365)

Holy moly.  It's been one heck of a hiatus.  Let's see if I can recap the past couple of weeks day-by-day...  There will be a few days' worth of writing missing since I can't remember what I wanted to write about those days.  I should really note those topics down in my notebook...

04 February 2013 - 10 February 2013:

I couldn't break these dates apart.  Not really.  Things were crazy that week - I spent all of my time prepping with the Joes for the annual Tet Festival.  If I wasn't at school or work, I was at Sis's to prep food or shop for food prepping.  The weekend of the festival (08 - 10 February 2013), I spent 12 hours of each day doing nothing more than driving back and forth between the festival and the shops to stock up on supplies.  It was crazy.  I'm glad that's over...  Seriously.  The most down time I had was about an hour to grab a bite to eat throughout the entire weekend.

07 February 2013:

This date deserves a special notation.  :)  *mwah*  I love you, Hubby.  :3

11 February 2013:

Class was freaken chilly!  Good thing Hubby gave me his TAD Ranger LT to wear.

12 February 2013:

On one of the days during the festival run, I made use of my Goal Zero setup.  :D  It worked out very well for me!  Considering that I was running back and forth all day, phone constantly ringing, I needed a way to keep my phone charged without access to an outlet.

To remedy this, I had my Nomad 7.0 sitting on the dash of my car, connected to my Guide 10+.  :)  So it was charging all day while I was doing my stocking runs... :D

14 February 2013:

 Happy Valentine's Day!   :3  Hubby got me a Titus.

 15 February 2013:

I made breakfast for the first time in a long time.  :D  There's Titus again.

*****  That's pretty much it for this update.  I can't remember anything else.  ;)  I do know one thing though... I love my Hubby.  :3  *****

Hiatus... Again

I've got to put this blog on another hiatus.  This week is going to be back-to-back chaos!

"Not Buffs" (164/365)

After a month, my order from dx.com finally came in.  :)  Well actually, half of my order.  The second half was backordered, but was shipped out a couple of days after this one.

I got these "Not Buffs" from dx.com to supplement my EDCF Buff's almost daily usage.  The EDCF Buff branded one is great; I like the color scheme and all, but I just wanted more.  I just couldn't justify the $20.00 price tag on them since I wanted more colors to accessorize with.

The ones from dx (and other similar sites) could be had for <$3.00 a piece, shipped.  Aliexpress actually has them in bulk for about $1.00 a piece, in lots of 30, shipped.  I was tempted, but since Aliexpress doesn't take PayPal, I didn't want to mess around with that site.

I'm not sure how they'll hold up after time and over many washings, but I'm extremely happy with them so far.  They're super soft (dare I say... softer than the Buff brand ones?) and very warm.  In total, I believe I ordered 8; some I gave away to family and others I'm giving away to friends.  I hope one day they'll catch on so that I can find them more locally.  The last time I saw these in person (in lieu of having to purchase over the Interwebz and the Buff brand ones at REI), they were being sold for $6.00 or $8.00 each at the county fair last summer.

It took one heck of a time figuring out how each website labels these though.  It took a round-about way of searching.  The ones at the county fair was just labeled as "12-in-1 scarf!"