The great thing about fantasy football is if your football team is doing poorly, your fantasy football team can make you happy. Or vice versa. Of course that means the worst is when your fantasy football team and your football team are both terrible. Those are the worst of times. I know because I lived through them.
Right now everything in my football world is good. I'm presently second place in my fantasy football league. The Chargers won a nationally televised game last night. I know this to be a good day, so I'm trying not to think on the past or the future. I would just like to marinate in today's goodness.
This is, of course, pretty impossible for me to do. Fantasy football revolves on luck (injuries, whims of coaches, and not just Andrew Luck) and thinking you have control over anything is just silly. Actually being in second place means I'm low on my totem pole waiver wire. It was suggested to me last week that I pick up Keenan Allen. The main reason I didn't (beside the fact that I already had two wide receivers playing at that moment) is because I hesitate adding any Chargers to my fantasy football team. I like keeping the two entities separate. The exception is the Chargers kicker (Nick Novak) who I like having on my fantasy team because if the Chargers do not score on 3rd down near the endzone, I can't be too mad since Novak will get me 3 points on my fantasy team (though I'm still plenty irritated). I'm pretty sure I'll regret not adding Allen to my team because at least the Chargers would have helped my fantasy team while stagnating in their own division.
So why are the Chargers destined to fail? They are presently 3-3 which would make them contenders in every division except their own AFC West. The remaining two undefeated teams in the entire football league (The Denver Broncos and The Kansas City Chiefs) are also in the AFC West. Of course the Chargers are not mathematically eliminated, but it seems unlikely the Chargers will win the division or the wild card. I'm too pragmatic not to think of this.
However, I will enjoy today. Mostly because as a Chargers fan I deserve it and as a fantasy football player I know these days are rare. So yes, today is a good day for football.
*This post honored two books from high school English: A Tale of Two Cities and One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
My favorite things from a 12 month Birchbox subscription: Part One
I'm 10 months into my 12 month Birchbox subscription. I've received some great things, some not so great, and some "what is this?" confusion. Let's concentrate on the positives! I've fallen in love with some items through my monthly Birchbox or the Birchbox website. Here are a few.
My favorite lipgloss: Benefit Ultra Plush lip gloss. There's a reason why this is so rated so well. It is a perfect lipgloss. A nice sheen without being too sticky. Easy to apply with just the right amount of color. I'm a big Buxom fan, but I will buy this lipgloss when my present supply runs out.
My favorite hand cream: Le Couvent des Minimes Gardener's Hand Healer. Another item that is highly rated. I'm a big proponent of the Neutrogena Hand Cream which has a gel consistency. However, the Neutrogena hand cream is more effective in cold weather than warm weather. For a moisturizing hand cream, the Le Couvent de Minimes Gardener's Hand Healer is truly amazing. The scent is lightly lemon, fresh without being overwhelming. It really is a hand butter which melts into the palms and the regular dermis of your skin. Unlike some other hand creams, any male would use this product.
My favorite hair product: Klorane Gentle Dry Shampoo. I'm not sure how I survived without this product, some things are just that life altering. My hair always looks amazing after using this dry shampoo. Besides absorbing oil, it somehow revives hair by adding volume and shine. I was a skeptic of the dry shampoo fad...but it is real and this product is the best. This remains the only item I've actually bought from Birchbox after sampling.
My favorite indulgence item: Caudalie Divine Oil. One of the biggest beauty misconceptions is the idea oils are bad for skin. Oils are the best thing for skin, as long as they do not clog your pores. I can't really describe this product except to say it really is divine. The scent is a faint mixture derived from 4 oils (grape, hibiscus, sesame, and argan) but truly uplifting. In addition to the oils, proprietary anti-oxidant polyphenols (which may give it anti-aging properties) are added. It is a dry oil (I don't really know what that means) but it does have a lightness to it and is readily absorbed into the skin. This is one of those products that you really need to experience in order to understand. Or maybe not, it is kinda expensive.
This is the first of at least two posts regarding items from Birchbox. I'm undecided about my favorite eye cream. I still haven't gotten through my Nuance box. Some of my favorite things from Birchbox which I have yet to describe were from the CEW Mass Appeal box. I also have two more Birchboxes to go! The year of Beauty is coming to an end, but I'm glad to have found products which I'll be incorporating into my everyday routine.
My favorite lipgloss: Benefit Ultra Plush lip gloss. There's a reason why this is so rated so well. It is a perfect lipgloss. A nice sheen without being too sticky. Easy to apply with just the right amount of color. I'm a big Buxom fan, but I will buy this lipgloss when my present supply runs out.
My favorite hand cream: Le Couvent des Minimes Gardener's Hand Healer. Another item that is highly rated. I'm a big proponent of the Neutrogena Hand Cream which has a gel consistency. However, the Neutrogena hand cream is more effective in cold weather than warm weather. For a moisturizing hand cream, the Le Couvent de Minimes Gardener's Hand Healer is truly amazing. The scent is lightly lemon, fresh without being overwhelming. It really is a hand butter which melts into the palms and the regular dermis of your skin. Unlike some other hand creams, any male would use this product.
My favorite hair product: Klorane Gentle Dry Shampoo. I'm not sure how I survived without this product, some things are just that life altering. My hair always looks amazing after using this dry shampoo. Besides absorbing oil, it somehow revives hair by adding volume and shine. I was a skeptic of the dry shampoo fad...but it is real and this product is the best. This remains the only item I've actually bought from Birchbox after sampling.
My favorite indulgence item: Caudalie Divine Oil. One of the biggest beauty misconceptions is the idea oils are bad for skin. Oils are the best thing for skin, as long as they do not clog your pores. I can't really describe this product except to say it really is divine. The scent is a faint mixture derived from 4 oils (grape, hibiscus, sesame, and argan) but truly uplifting. In addition to the oils, proprietary anti-oxidant polyphenols (which may give it anti-aging properties) are added. It is a dry oil (I don't really know what that means) but it does have a lightness to it and is readily absorbed into the skin. This is one of those products that you really need to experience in order to understand. Or maybe not, it is kinda expensive.
This is the first of at least two posts regarding items from Birchbox. I'm undecided about my favorite eye cream. I still haven't gotten through my Nuance box. Some of my favorite things from Birchbox which I have yet to describe were from the CEW Mass Appeal box. I also have two more Birchboxes to go! The year of Beauty is coming to an end, but I'm glad to have found products which I'll be incorporating into my everyday routine.
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Being a San Diego Sports Fan
I watched the Chargers/Cowboys game last weekend with one of my oldest friends. We started talking about sports fandom. Specifically, kids' allegiances and whether or not kids' should have a choice on which teams they should support. Like most things in life, it is complicated.
I grew up in a sports obsessed family. The most important holiday in my family is not Thanksgiving or Christmas, it is Super Bowl Sunday. However, being a San Diego Sports Fan is tough. I wouldn't wish it on anyone who didn't grow up in San Diego (mostly because the nice weather off-sets the last minute losses the Chargers subject onto their fans), related to someone from San Diego (because that person is probably nice and you want to support him/her), or are a San Diego transplant from a place that actually has weather (transplants are partial to the Chargers and Padres out of solidarity). I appreciate anyone who becomes a Chargers or Padres fan out of choice because that choice was not made logically. The Chargers have never won a Super Bowl. The Padres have never won a World Series. Becoming a San Diego fan does not make sense.
I wouldn't encourage anyone, especially a child, to become a San Diego sports fan. There is a tremendous amount of heartache in being a Chargers and Padres fan. These days, I can only watch Chargers game with other Chargers fans. Sometimes I don't even like doing that and prefer to watch the game at home with the tv on mute. The only sounds are the vitrolic words that leave my mouth. I actually only cuss during Chargers games, they make me so mad! However, I do feel like being a Chargers/Padres fan is a badge of honor. I was in a Chargers bar in NYC two weeks ago and shared stories of where I was/what I was doing during horrible Chargers losses. Even when we were up against the Titans that week, I never felt we were going to win the game. It is a good thing because we ended up losing! After the game, I visited Eataly and drank amazing coffee. Afterwards, there was shopping in Soho. You know, that is probably why I have such an amazing wardrobe. I go shopping after a Chargers or Padres loss! Maybe that is a selling point to potential San Diego Sports fan: think of all the shopping you will be doing to drown out all the devastating losses.
I grew up in a sports obsessed family. The most important holiday in my family is not Thanksgiving or Christmas, it is Super Bowl Sunday. However, being a San Diego Sports Fan is tough. I wouldn't wish it on anyone who didn't grow up in San Diego (mostly because the nice weather off-sets the last minute losses the Chargers subject onto their fans), related to someone from San Diego (because that person is probably nice and you want to support him/her), or are a San Diego transplant from a place that actually has weather (transplants are partial to the Chargers and Padres out of solidarity). I appreciate anyone who becomes a Chargers or Padres fan out of choice because that choice was not made logically. The Chargers have never won a Super Bowl. The Padres have never won a World Series. Becoming a San Diego fan does not make sense.
I wouldn't encourage anyone, especially a child, to become a San Diego sports fan. There is a tremendous amount of heartache in being a Chargers and Padres fan. These days, I can only watch Chargers game with other Chargers fans. Sometimes I don't even like doing that and prefer to watch the game at home with the tv on mute. The only sounds are the vitrolic words that leave my mouth. I actually only cuss during Chargers games, they make me so mad! However, I do feel like being a Chargers/Padres fan is a badge of honor. I was in a Chargers bar in NYC two weeks ago and shared stories of where I was/what I was doing during horrible Chargers losses. Even when we were up against the Titans that week, I never felt we were going to win the game. It is a good thing because we ended up losing! After the game, I visited Eataly and drank amazing coffee. Afterwards, there was shopping in Soho. You know, that is probably why I have such an amazing wardrobe. I go shopping after a Chargers or Padres loss! Maybe that is a selling point to potential San Diego Sports fan: think of all the shopping you will be doing to drown out all the devastating losses.
Thursday, September 26, 2013
Bringing Meditation into my life
I'm a huge fan of yoga. I started doing it through a work sponsored event over ten years ago and immediately experienced results. The physical assertion of a yoga practice creates a stronger body and may lead to health benefits. However, the aspect of yoga which really affected me is the mental component. Yoga allows calmness to overwhelm me through specific concentration. I always feel stronger after a yoga class, physically and mentally.
Everyone knows about meditation. How you perceive it is directly related to whomever you know who does a meditation practice. Personally, I never thought I needed meditation. I do yoga fairly regularly now and am grateful for the mental strength it gives me. However, a few people have recently asked me if I mediated. One was going to do a Oprah/Deepak Chopra 21 day meditation challenge in August. She, a person whom I once dragged to yoga and subsequently hated it, had done a similar meditation challenge earlier this year. She claimed it helped her immensely. The only reason this intrigued me was because she hated yoga. How is meditation really different from yoga? The obvious answer is the physical actions of yoga differ from the physical relaxation of meditation. Knowing my friend is an active person by nature, I was even more curious.
So I started to meditate. I used the Oprah and Deepak Chopra 21 day meditation challenge as a guide mostly because I started after August 5th. Well, I should say I tried to start meditating. The more I learned about meditation, the more I realized it is quite naive to do it without a teacher. Yet even without guidance, I felt myself, for a lack of a better word and believe me I thought it, enlightened. If yoga makes me calm, then meditation makes me purposeful. I really can't explain any other way.
I recently read a GQ article about transcendental meditation. The article inspired me to try other types of meditation and to write this post. Meditating requires 2 sessions of 20 minutes every day. Some days, this also happens to the writer of the GQ article, meditation is easy and other days it is hard. Some days I completely forget to do it and other days I can't wait to meditate. I encourage everyone to try it because everyone should experience meditation. Overall, I'm glad to have started something that will only benefit me in this existence called life.
Everyone knows about meditation. How you perceive it is directly related to whomever you know who does a meditation practice. Personally, I never thought I needed meditation. I do yoga fairly regularly now and am grateful for the mental strength it gives me. However, a few people have recently asked me if I mediated. One was going to do a Oprah/Deepak Chopra 21 day meditation challenge in August. She, a person whom I once dragged to yoga and subsequently hated it, had done a similar meditation challenge earlier this year. She claimed it helped her immensely. The only reason this intrigued me was because she hated yoga. How is meditation really different from yoga? The obvious answer is the physical actions of yoga differ from the physical relaxation of meditation. Knowing my friend is an active person by nature, I was even more curious.
So I started to meditate. I used the Oprah and Deepak Chopra 21 day meditation challenge as a guide mostly because I started after August 5th. Well, I should say I tried to start meditating. The more I learned about meditation, the more I realized it is quite naive to do it without a teacher. Yet even without guidance, I felt myself, for a lack of a better word and believe me I thought it, enlightened. If yoga makes me calm, then meditation makes me purposeful. I really can't explain any other way.
I recently read a GQ article about transcendental meditation. The article inspired me to try other types of meditation and to write this post. Meditating requires 2 sessions of 20 minutes every day. Some days, this also happens to the writer of the GQ article, meditation is easy and other days it is hard. Some days I completely forget to do it and other days I can't wait to meditate. I encourage everyone to try it because everyone should experience meditation. Overall, I'm glad to have started something that will only benefit me in this existence called life.
Friday, September 13, 2013
My Dillon Panthers
My fantasy football team name is Dillon Panthers. This is a tribute to Friday Night Lights, the tv series (I haven't watched the movie which lead to the tv series). Though I do like tv, I'm not into serious tv. This means I haven't watched The Wire, The Sopranos, Mad Men, or Breaking Bad. I know, I know...what can I say? I've never had HBO and for awhile, I didn't even have cable. I've seen every single episode of Sex and the City because I bought my sister the Sex and the City collector's edition for her birthday one year (her request). I eventually made it through the entire series.
The only reason I've seen Friday Night Lights is because my oldest friend became obsessed with it. She then got our other best friend (we've known her since second grade) into it and then it was just peer pressure. They encouraged me to watch it (all five seasons which just sounded like a huge time commitment) because I like football, it is well made, and the story-lines were superb. Also between the two of them, they had all five seasons.
Friday Night Lights is a tv series about football, but really about family. Every Friday night, the people of Dillon, Texas are bonded by football to become family. The core family is the Taylor family which is comprised of Coach Taylor, his wife Tami Taylor, and their daughters. The best part of Friday Night Lights is they took a risk with Coach Taylor and Mrs. Taylor as a couple with a strong marriage who genuinely care for each other. Everyone I know who has watched the series, admires the Taylors. Individually, the Taylors are strong. I often think all NFL coaches would be better if they tried to emulate Coach Taylor. Once I told a friend I was 90% sure I could coach better than Norv Turner just because I had watched every single episode of Friday Night Lights. I also know there is huge following of women who live by "wwttd" which stands for "what would Tami Taylor do" when faced with a huge decision. She is one of the strongest female characters ever written. The fact they are a married couple who lean on each other out of respect and love would make anyone envious if they weren't so admirable. The drama from the series mostly stems from the high school players who see football as glory, a way out of poverty, an alternative to a prison life, or even a replacement for the family they never really had.
With the end of Breaking Bad near, everyone has been talking about tv series that ended well. I can personally attest that Friday Night Lights has a pretty perfect ending. You will feel warm-hearted by the end. You may also want to move to Texas. So you won't be disappointed once you make it through all five seasons. Though season 2 is weird and cut short by the last writers' strike. Friday Night Lights changed the way I live my life. How could it not when the most pivotal words from the series is Coach Taylor's favorite saying of "clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose!"
The only reason I've seen Friday Night Lights is because my oldest friend became obsessed with it. She then got our other best friend (we've known her since second grade) into it and then it was just peer pressure. They encouraged me to watch it (all five seasons which just sounded like a huge time commitment) because I like football, it is well made, and the story-lines were superb. Also between the two of them, they had all five seasons.
Friday Night Lights is a tv series about football, but really about family. Every Friday night, the people of Dillon, Texas are bonded by football to become family. The core family is the Taylor family which is comprised of Coach Taylor, his wife Tami Taylor, and their daughters. The best part of Friday Night Lights is they took a risk with Coach Taylor and Mrs. Taylor as a couple with a strong marriage who genuinely care for each other. Everyone I know who has watched the series, admires the Taylors. Individually, the Taylors are strong. I often think all NFL coaches would be better if they tried to emulate Coach Taylor. Once I told a friend I was 90% sure I could coach better than Norv Turner just because I had watched every single episode of Friday Night Lights. I also know there is huge following of women who live by "wwttd" which stands for "what would Tami Taylor do" when faced with a huge decision. She is one of the strongest female characters ever written. The fact they are a married couple who lean on each other out of respect and love would make anyone envious if they weren't so admirable. The drama from the series mostly stems from the high school players who see football as glory, a way out of poverty, an alternative to a prison life, or even a replacement for the family they never really had.
With the end of Breaking Bad near, everyone has been talking about tv series that ended well. I can personally attest that Friday Night Lights has a pretty perfect ending. You will feel warm-hearted by the end. You may also want to move to Texas. So you won't be disappointed once you make it through all five seasons. Though season 2 is weird and cut short by the last writers' strike. Friday Night Lights changed the way I live my life. How could it not when the most pivotal words from the series is Coach Taylor's favorite saying of "clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose!"
Saturday, September 7, 2013
Rue La La has figured me out
Since I do like fashion, I subscribe to all sorts of fashion email lists. I don't open every one of them. However, there are pockets of time where I just want to look at pretty things. I've always enjoying the physical act of shopping: going into stores, walking around, browsing, searching for deals, and getting cute bags with your purchase. As I get older and perhaps becoming better at internet shopping, I am buying more things on-line. Sometimes, it is just easier. Sometimes, there are good sales. Sometimes, a shopping website knows you so well...rewarding them with a purchase just seems like the right thing to do.
Rue La La understands me, at the shopping version of me. I subscribed to Rue La La through a friend's link. If I bought something from Rue La La, she would have gotten a $10 credit. However, I never bought anything off the site. Rue La La has nice things, many times I have been tempted. I just never clicked the "complete order" tab. I'm not a person who "needs" things and I usually forget stuff I didn't buy. I do like a good deal and this is where Rue La La gets me. Instead of offering discount codes, Rue La La gives credit. It happened after I had subscribed to Rue La La emails for about 4 months without buying anything. I got a friendly email from the CEO of Rue La La who said he "noticed" I hadn't bought anything. He thought I would really like their company if I would give them a chance, and offered me a $30 credit. Basically free money I could spend on anything. How could I not spend free money? I ended up getting a BCBG purse which cost $30 and I only had to pay for shipping. Since one of my internet pet peeves is paying for shipping, what Rue La La does for shipping is kinda marvelous: you pay $9.95 once and everything you buy for the next month is shipped for free. Seriously, Rue La La just gets me. I didn't order anything else after buying the BCBG purse but the free shipping was very tempting.
This leads us to last week, where I got another email from the Rue La La CEO commenting on my lack of purchases. He wished I liked their company more (I do like their company!) and offered me a free $25 credit towards my next purchase. More free credit? Because I haven't bought anything? Well if you insist. So of course the last couple of days, I've been trolling the Rue La La site. I'll probably use the credit for something (I keep looking at shoes....) and will be completely happy with my purchase. Of course I will be tempted again by free shipping the month after I make my purchase.
So Rue La La has done enough to win my allegiance. I'm obviously not their ideal customer, but I do appreciate their attempts at trying to win me over. And it is working! At least well enough for me to write a glowing post about them.
Rue La La understands me, at the shopping version of me. I subscribed to Rue La La through a friend's link. If I bought something from Rue La La, she would have gotten a $10 credit. However, I never bought anything off the site. Rue La La has nice things, many times I have been tempted. I just never clicked the "complete order" tab. I'm not a person who "needs" things and I usually forget stuff I didn't buy. I do like a good deal and this is where Rue La La gets me. Instead of offering discount codes, Rue La La gives credit. It happened after I had subscribed to Rue La La emails for about 4 months without buying anything. I got a friendly email from the CEO of Rue La La who said he "noticed" I hadn't bought anything. He thought I would really like their company if I would give them a chance, and offered me a $30 credit. Basically free money I could spend on anything. How could I not spend free money? I ended up getting a BCBG purse which cost $30 and I only had to pay for shipping. Since one of my internet pet peeves is paying for shipping, what Rue La La does for shipping is kinda marvelous: you pay $9.95 once and everything you buy for the next month is shipped for free. Seriously, Rue La La just gets me. I didn't order anything else after buying the BCBG purse but the free shipping was very tempting.
This leads us to last week, where I got another email from the Rue La La CEO commenting on my lack of purchases. He wished I liked their company more (I do like their company!) and offered me a free $25 credit towards my next purchase. More free credit? Because I haven't bought anything? Well if you insist. So of course the last couple of days, I've been trolling the Rue La La site. I'll probably use the credit for something (I keep looking at shoes....) and will be completely happy with my purchase. Of course I will be tempted again by free shipping the month after I make my purchase.
So Rue La La has done enough to win my allegiance. I'm obviously not their ideal customer, but I do appreciate their attempts at trying to win me over. And it is working! At least well enough for me to write a glowing post about them.
Monday, September 2, 2013
Nothing like a mini-heat wave to make you anticipate fall
Last Friday, it was so hot...I didn't eat anything until dinner. The whole day I just consumed liquids. Water, juice, water, iced coffee, and more water. Presently the daytime is still warm (low to mid-80s), but definitely manageable. I'm back to normal eating though I did have ice cream for dinner.
Today is Labor Day which signals the end of summer. This means fall, my favorite fashion season, is upon us. I mean who doesn't like sweaters, tights, and boots! Then fall has my favorite hues. I would say about 70% of my wardrobe is composed of blue and grey. I'm getting excited just thinking about it.
Of course fall brings back my favorite tv shows. What am I most excited about? New Girl (15 days away!), Scandal (Scott Foley is now a regular!), How I met your Mother (cautiously optimistic), and other shows I can't remember because it has been too long.
Then there is football. All predictions suggest the Chargers will be terrible this year. I begrudgingly agree because there is no evidence to suggest otherwise. However, I'm hopeful they will at least be watchable. After enjoying the Super Bowl last year (a superb football game where two brothers coached against each other using an impressive amount of psychological warfare), it made everyone wish great football games could happen every week. That will never occur, but the possibility makes the return of football most welcome.
Finally, I have a couple of trips planned. The first is going to Las Vegas for Life is Beautiful Festival. My favorite band is The Killers and I've always dreamed of seeing them in Las Vegas. Throw in Imagine Dragons (whose song Demons is currently my favorite song) and Capital Cities it becomes the perfect 2013 festival lineup. It may also be a grand foodie experience with its culinary village. The festival is in downtown Las Vegas which I've never experienced. This will probably be the best way to enjoy Fremont Street. My second trip will be to NYC to visit my oldest friend. We met in kindergarten and need to celebrate 30 years of being friends...one year late. I haven't bought that ticket yet, but I will definitely fly out to see her this fall. We'll toast 30 years of friendship over some wine and delicious food. Maybe even a cronut or two.
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