The Nibbletron: Nibble Your Way to Happiness

You know those days when you come home from work and you're super tired and just not feeling like you can even muster up the energy to do anything except pass out. Well...all you need is The Nibbletron!

Okay, all you need is someone to come at you really fast and nibble at your face, neck and ears. It's literally the most hilarious thing. It will give you energy, make you laugh, make you smile, and probably make you giggle.

Imagine how nice it would be if instead of greeting people with a handshake, we could nibble each other!
"Oh hello madame!" *nibble nibble nibble nibble*

Sometimes I want The Nibbletron more than anything. I want it more than a bowl of popcorn, I want it more than my favorite Chanel eyeliner, I want it more than double smoked bacon, and even more than an online shopping spree with Forever21.

If you want your life to be simple and happy and fun and perfect, get nibbling.

Goodnight future Nibbletrons!

How Do I Know How Much You Care?

  

As I sit here in my bubble bath with candles and a warm cup of tea, I wonder "how do people show they care towards others?" Do I have a certain way that I show affection? Do I like certain things over others, or is it just about the thought that counts. Do I like material things or is it more about the gesture?

I have to say that if you asked me this question 10 years ago my answer would be very different than what it is now.
I truly appreciate the small things. And I know it's such a cliche, but it's so true.

When my dad picks me veggies from his garden and puts them in a bag for me to take home, I know he cares.
When my mom tiptoes around the house in the morning so that she doesn't wake me up, I know she cares.
When my grandma cries on the phone just from hearing my voice, I know she cares.
When my brother gives me advice for building my future, I know he cares.
When my roommate wakes me up with coffee in the morning, I know she cares.
When my best friend invites me to her annual awards gala, I know she cares.
When my best friend talks to me for hours on end, I know she cares.
When my friend comes over to make me dinner because my attempt was absolute garbage, I know he cares.
When my man makes me a bath with candles and tea, I know he cares.
And when he gets me a toothbrush, I really know he cares.
When my favorite coffee shop has almond milk, I know they care.

I just find that having little loving gestures means a lot more to me than having one grand gesture. I feel more safe and happy. I feel cared about and loved. I feel calm and content.

This is probably the sappiest writing I've done but I feel like I don't tell these people how much I appreciate what they do.

We all hear the saying, "tell the people around you how much you love them", and it couldn't be more true. But you don't have to literally tell them that. You can do it in little ways to make them feel loved.

Whatever it is. Show your love.

Love.
Kitten.

Whose Life Is It Anyway?

The more and more you live your life, the more and more you realize how precious it is. We want to live our lives to the fullest because it can be so easily taken away. So do you live your life more aggressively because what have you got to lose, or do you try to be as safe as you can because you'd rather not take the risk?

I like to think that I live my life the way I want to live it. I have the job that I want to have, I eat the foods that I want to eat, and I spend my time with people that I want to be with. I would say yes, I am the ruler of my life.

But then I meet someone who completely blows me out of the water. I have a friend. His name is Yashar. He is that guy who has completely taken over the direction of his life. He is that guy who quit his job to pursue his passion. And now he is literally doing what he loves. He has Yummus, Chinatown Experiment, Midtown Experiment, and I'm sure so many other projects that I don't even know about.

I imagine that it must have been so hard to make a change like this. Not only to make the initial decision, but to follow through with it and really go for it. I'm sure it was really hard, and I bet it still is. But wow, what a feeling it must be to create something and make it yours.

I admire and am motivated by people like Yashar. Although I don't really see myself following his path, it still makes me reflect on the decisions that I make.

It reminds me of a South Park episode. When Cartman is on Maury Povich and he says "Whateva, I do what I want!!"

Well hell yeah. It's literally your life. We each get a life. So make sure it's actually yours.

Warning! Don't Take Tylenol When You Have a Hangover.

One of the most distinct memories that I have of nursing school is some advice that my instructor gave me on our first day. She said:

“If there’s one thing that you take away from this program let it be this. Do not take Tylenol when you have a hangover."

So the reason is that when you drink alcohol your liver becomes very irritated and inflamed because it has to process all of that alcohol. And when you wake up in the morning your liver is under a lot of stress, so the last thing you want to do is give it more stress by taking Tylenol. 

Tylenol is metabolized by the liver. 

Advil is metabolized by the kidneys.

But how can I deal with my headache? Well here's the thing. You can take Advil because it does not get processed by your liver.

Unfortunately this information isn't common knowledge. I'm sure we can all admit that we tend to drink more than a couple glasses of wine. Over your lifetime this adds up to a lot of liver damage and can take years off your life. So this is a simple way to give your body a fighting chance.

Make the switch. Get rid, hide, give away, or just ban Tylenol from entering your house.

The recipe below was given to me from my dear friends Stephanie and Rick. Always on the cutting edge of hangover technology.

Hangover Smoothie

Ingredients

2 Bananas

1 apple

1/2 lemon

1 bunch kale

1 cup coconut water

4 liquid Advil gelcaps

Add all ingredients to blender. Blend. Enjoy. Take a nap.

A love story

This summer has been a summer of love. Whether it was new friendships, new favorite beaches, or love aches, it is safe to say that love has played a major role. 

One love story is that of my best friend Melissa. I have known her since the 8th grade. We have been through really significant events in our lives together, and coming up is one of her most significant events: her wedding day. I remember when we were in high school and my mom would always console Melissa on the phone after a break up. My mom would say “Melissa, you are beautiful and smart, and he’s not the one for you”. Well my mom was right. Because she’s marrying Sean. He’s the one for her. 

My idea of true love has changed a lot since high school. I remember thinking that I was in love with Kevin from the Backstreet Boys. Love used to be an infatuation, a complete obsession. Now I think of love as this really special thing that I hope to feel one day. I mean to be honest, I have not had the most success with love. But that’s okay, because I have been able to spend a lot of time with myself and now I know what I expect of my future lover. 

Back to Melissa’s wedding. It is this weekend and I just can’t believe it’s already here. Melissa is my babe. She’s so sweet, generous, kind, and loving. One of my favorite memories is going shopping together for 9 hours. My mom didn’t believe that we were actually shopping for 9 hours, she thought we had gone somewhere else and drank, and no matter what we said, she never believed that we were in a mall for 9 hours. I also remember going to get pizza after the bar in Victoria, and we would go right behind the counter, say hi to Yash, and take some pizza, and head out. And our infamous trips to Vancouver where we would stay at the Landis and once again, go shopping for hours. 

I’m so excited to spend the night before her wedding with Melissa. I know she will probably get really emotional, really happy, really sad, really happy again, and then probably fall asleep. I’m glad that I will be with her through all of it. And then on her wedding day we are getting up at 5:00am to get ready! 

I just can’t believe my love is getting married. But I know she’s marrying the right guy because I know she will not change when she’s married. Sean lets Melissa be herself all day every day. I love them both so much. 

Love. Laugh. Beauty. 

A Blog Like They Used to Be

I’m 28 years old. I am sitting on a bench in Olympic Village in Vancouver BC and I am typing on my MacBook Pro. I have a great apartment with a great roommate. I have a full-time and part-time job. I have a great family that I love. I have great friends that I love. And yet I sit here, feeling like someone who still has to figure things out. 

The truth is, my life is basically perfect the way it is. 

There’s an asian girl sitting on a bench next to me talking on speaker phone with her friend. It sounds like her friend is having guy problems. She doesn’t really seem to care, but I guess her friend just needs someone to talk to. 

There’s an ice cream truck that just pulled up. An ice cream truck in Olympic Village? I wonder if anyone would actually admit to that fact that they really wanted an ice cream. I  am lactose intolerant, so it doesn’t entice me at all, but I wonder if some wealthy person who loves ice cream, would hail down the ice cream truck and get one. Or would they just go to Urban Fare and get an ice cream. 

I wonder a lot. 

I always wonder where people are going. Maybe they’re going to work, or maybe they are going to pick up a new pet, or maybe they are going to buy a dress for their boyfriend’s birthday party, or maybe they are going to the beach, or maybe they are going to meet with a person that they met online, or maybe they are new in town and want to go somewhere for lunch, or maybe they are going to a museum, or maybe they are going to meet with someone to develop their website for a new company they started. 

When I go somewhere, sometimes I am going nowhere. Sometimes I just go out for a walk to the beach to watch people and wonder where they go. 

I wonder if I got naked right now if anyone would do or say anything. I bet people would just walk by and pretend I wasn’t naked. It would make them feel so uncomfortable that they’d rather just walk away and ignore. Or maybe someone would take a picture and post it on Twitter. I guess I should keep my clothes on. 

I’m thirsty. 

Okay. 

Bye.