Day Off, Day 3

I did a lot of running around today to see if I could get my cousin's birthday present in-store rather than buying it online.  I went to 3 stores and had no luck.  Wrong color, wrong size, wrong color and size.  Blah.  I went to a thrift store and Goodwill during my travels.  I didn't get anything at those places either.  I did see a Wii Balance Board at Goodwill, which I thought was weird.  Why would anyone just give it away?!  The one thing that I did buy was a very berry sundae when I came out of the mall, so that my trip wouldn't have been a total waste.  I also baked some brownies to share with my sister and cousins.  I also took the remainder of the cookies that my big boss gave me to my family because having them at my place is dangerous.  At least someone else is enjoying them.  I already ate enough of them!

Off to the Baltimore Aquarium with Meg and Robyn tomorrow!

Day Off, Day 2

Shopping: I went to a new thrift store, as recommended by a coworker.  I wondered why there were so many people there on a weekday morning, and then I quickly realized that it was because it was 25%  off customer appreciation day with a member card.  I didn't have a member card, but I figured since the prices were cheap and reasonable, I'd be happy with paying without the discount.  I ended up getting 50ish A2 size envelopes for $0.99 (perfect for sending cards out to friends) and 3 shirts (2 for $4.99 and 1 for $5.99).  I went up to register to check out and the cashier asked if I had a member card.  I told him no.  "Well, don't you want the discount?"  Well, yes, but I don't have a card.  "That's okay.  You can use someone else's card."  Oh, what, really?  I looked around to see if there was someone kind-looking so that I could awkwardly ask them if I could use their card.  The cashier asked a woman in the next line over if I could borrow her card.  She said...yes!  I hope good karma comes her way.

Nails: I tried out one of the nail polishes that I bought on Tuesday.  This is 2 coats of China Glaze's Hot Lava Love.  For some reason, I thought it'd come out a tad darker, but that's okay.  I think it'd work for all seasons.

Cookies from the Big Boss

These two big bags of cookies were waiting for my at my desk this morning when I came in.  My big boss's wife made them for me as a thank you for watering their outdoor plants recently.  It came with a note that said "Payment in Full?"  Ha ha.  Since it wouldn't be a great idea to eat them all myself, I shared the chocolate ones with my collegues and stored the other bag in my freezer.  :)

Day Off, Day 1

I'm taking a few days off this week to just relax, specifically Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.  I figured I'd get stuff done at the beginning of the week and then check in mid-week.

Despite a day off from work, I got a lot of things done today.  Let me count the ways...

• Picked up my vase from the pottery class that I took at the end of June.  They had trouble finding it because it was labeled "No Name."  I guess the business card that I left with it got separated from it.
• Bed Bath and Beyond for a new water bottle.  
• Tuesday Morning to check out their crafty items.  Came out with a 50 cent floral stamp.
• TJMaxx...found 2 new redish China Glaze nail polishes, perfect for fall.
• Target to pick up some pictures that I printed from Sunday's dinner for my uncle to put in his photo album.  I also picked up 2 pairs of earrings on clearance and 2 shirts on sale (I actually went back to another Target after going to the gym tonight because I forgot to use a coupon.  The lady was nice enough to give some of my money back).
• Goodwill for some "treasure hunting."  I bought 3 DVDs for $1 each (Gladiator, Remember the Titans and Cinderella), 1 GameCube game for reselling, and 3 mugs for reselling (1 Baltimore Orioles vintage beer mug, 1 EMT beer mug, and 1 Boynton hippo one).  I haven't tried to resell mugs before, but for about $3, I figured it was worth a try.  My sister thinks I'm being silly.

I stopped by my parents' house, hoping they'd be home and I could show them my vase, but sadly, they were not home.  I found out later from my cousin that a bunch of my family members were at Costco and provided picture evidence of my mom with her very berry sundae.  It made me want a very berry sundae too, but by the time I went there tonight, the eatery was closing up.  Oh well, I didn't need the calories anyway!  Hmph.

Family Dinner (Part 2)

The big event today was a BBQ to celebrate my uncle's birthday.  Both my uncle and Julie made steaks.  My cousin Erick made salads.  My aunt made pasta salad.  Julie also made 2 blueberry cheesecakes so that there would be enough dessert for everyone.  The cousins all pooled together money to buy my uncle a computer, an upgrade from his clunker.  My cousin Peggy bought some photo albums so that we could put some pictures in it.  I combed through my hard drive and came out with 30 photos to print at Target.  I had to laugh because 90% of the pictures had food somewhere in it.  I also made a card for people to sign.  Watching my uncle beaming with happiness that his family was celebrating with him was very heartwarming (some family members traveled from Taiwan and Japan for this event).

With Julie

 

 

 

 

With Pai-Han

Mom and Julie cutting and serving the cake.

With Emily

Ebay Sales Update and Family Dinner (Part 1)

Ebay sales update: I sold the Mario Kart Double Dash GameCube that I bought last week.  The final bid was $19.49.  I was surprised it went that high since the case showed a little wear and the instruction manual wasn't included.  Not too bad for paying $3 for the game.  I should have picked up more games at that yard sale!  I also sold the handheld Monopoly game that I bought 2 weeks ago.  The final bid was $9.99, and I spent an initial $0.50 on it.  Whee! :)

Yard sale finds: I found a bunch of vintage Pyrex ($20 for the 4 pieces).  I'm undecided on whether I'm going to resell it or not.  The pink Pyrex is especially pretty.

 

I spent the majority of the day inside working on a custom Etsy order (34 cards!), which was fine with me.  The mosquitoes and humidity were icky outside today!

I went to a family dinner tonight, and the group was so big that we had to separate into the adults table and kids table.  My favorite dishes of the night were the sticky rice dessert, the noodles, the smoked fish, and the shrimp balls.  I didn't eat any of the red bean filled pastries (below) because there will be bigger ones available tomorrow at the family BBQ. 

 

After the dinner, most of us came back to my parents' house to divide the leftovers and the adults talked some more. Julie prepped the steaks for tomorrow (she already made 2 cheesecakes earlier in the day). The adults wanted to dig into one of the cheesecakes for a "taste test." It was too yummy looking to pass up!

Etsy Sales Milestone

A repeat buyer bought quite a few cards from me today to bring me over the 800 sales mark and put me at 810 sales.  She also wanted a custom order of 22 cards, so I'm happy to have a project to work on over the weekend in between time that I'm spending with visiting family members. :)