Showing posts with label My Subscription Addiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label My Subscription Addiction. Show all posts

September 18, 2015

What's This? Another Post? Weird.

This blog shifts a little, sort of like life... it started in college when I was writing mostly silly, humorous posts, then I abandoned it for a bit and started again by sort of trying to review subscription boxes, but I realized I'm way too lazy to keep up with that nonsense. My credit card is far larger than my interest in writing. Or something like that... sigh. Now I'm writing something personal with some other stuff! Yay for evolution. And to think, I was inspired after drinking some boxed "Delicious White" and reading my favorite new blog, Subscriptionista. Strangely enough, I found it when the creator of Eucopia was researching bloggers he should reach out to for his new box, and I was like dude I've never heard of any of these sites but that one site has cats and funny. Plus, while I love My Subscription Addiction, I really don't like how negative some comments get, and Subscriptionista commenters mostly manage to stay humorous. Basically, I want to be their friends [hands a glass of Delicious White to the internet, and invites the ladies outside for scones and sunshine].

Anyhoo, you know that feeling when you're unemployed and yet life still just speeds by and you're like... wtf did I just do with the last many weeks of my life?? and what should do I with this pile of woven wall hangings, half sewn t-shirt rugclay marbled bowls, and clay beads? I have that feeling almost every summer because I usually work in schools, and, in case you were unawares, non-teachers don't get paid whilst not working over the summer. I generally lay out in the sun, drink a nice hefewizen, and do some crafting or reading between napping with my tiny kitty [see figure 1]. However, for the last year I was finally employed at this job that I semi-loved, but was never confident enough to put it on my Google calendar for more than a month ahead.

Figure 1. Left: Bella thinks she is a parrot and spends much time sleeping on my shoulder/back; Top Right: Bella thinks she is a shirt; Middle Right: Bella hates wearing shirts; Bottom Right: Bella thinks she is more important than my homework.
My office job was somewhat sketchy, and I knew it wouldn't last long, but I was sad when it ended. Some days I felt all Veronica Marsy because I got to go dig through files, research employees, look at Pinterest, and then make phone calls to my associates. Okay, like a really boring Veronica Mars, but whatever. Anyway, a couple of months ago my boss decided to fill my position and the bookkeeper's position one day by just showing up with a new employee. It was awkward and a shitty thing for my boss to do. But, despite being replaced by a sexier older woman, I felt she was very capable and intelligent, and I actually wished we could have worked together.

Finally, I've found a new [and hopefully stable] job. I don't work well with other people, I've realized. I would like to though! I sometimes like people, but from what I've read about people with ADHD is that we sometimes scare people away. RAWR!! So, now I'll basically have 0 coworkers, unless you count when I call one of the four employees to get their timesheets in. However, I'm excited to start, and though it will be similar to what I was doing it sounds like I might also get to do some bathroom/kitchen designing if I want to! And I so want to.

I'm one of those people who wants to be a swing dancer, artist, writer, interior decorator, DIY blogger, standup comedienne, librarian, UX researcher/designer, and in my free time a person who sleeps inside of giant cozy cocoon-esque sweaters* whilst eating warm, buttery pumpkin bread with raisins, sipping on some sort of Bailey's chai cocoa latte concoction, and playing phone Scrabble while watching my favorite show of the moment [ie: Mindy Project, Witches of East End, Young & Hungry, Revenge, etc.]. However, then my anxiety/reality catches up to me and I'm like, yo your joints hurt too quickly to become a dancer, your art is sub-par, your stories generally involve everyone getting killed off because you can't end things, your decorating skills are college-thrift chic at best, you get anxiety-induced memory loss in front of people, and you're not a small blonde mom with time to hot glue amazing things together. BUT! I am getting my Master's in Information Science, which means I can definitely do the UX/librarian thing.

Finally, in addition to trying to get my life back on track by deep cleaning the kitchen at midnight, landing a job, cooking more, crafting more, and turning in homework on time, I would also like to write more. I write and exercise in my daydreams a lot, and if I only do those things for realsies, I'll be grand!

Blogging the depths of the abyss,
[a]


*In case you're like, I totally want to see what that giant cocoon sweater looks like, I actually drew a picture of my dream sweater a couple of years ago while I was substitute teaching. The students had to write some sort of poem, and I did the assignment with them and attached the drawing. Obviously the sweater would have a cup holder, a built in chair back, and a heating system, while still maintaining incredible softness.

May 11, 2015

Awesome Pack: Big Kids April Box

I read the My Subscription Addiction newsletter every day--it's my morning ritual. There are several boxes that I've found out about and tried because of the site. McBoyfriend took a look at MSA and said there were no subscriptions on here for him, and I had to agree! He's an electrician who does yardwork, doesn't cook, is picky about his tools, prefers hoodies and t-shirts, and paints and plays miniature tabletop games. Finally, a box appeared that sounded perfect, and there was a lot of customization available. We both love board games, so  I was super excited to sign him up for the big kids box from Awesome Pack!

To McBoyfriend, I get a box every single day. Not really, but when Awesome Pack arrived with his name on it, he didn't even bother looking at it, and just threw it in the house and went off to do yardwork. It was really hard to keep this a secret, but when it arrived my cat was going nuts on the box, and he stood there and filmed it for a while, not even realizing it was his box. I got home and asked why it was on the floor unopened, so we opened it together. When he pulled everything out I realized Bella was going nuts because there were two cat toys for her =)

March 2, 2015

Darby Smart: Stone Pebble Terrarium Review

In January, I got back into my crafty pants, and started Pinning several cool ideas. I also perused My Subscription Addiction for cool crafty/DIY boxes. Darby Smart's site looked interesting, so I signed up [apparently with three different email addresses on three different days, because I apparently kept forgetting I'd signed up!]. The item I was most drawn to was the Stone Pebble Terrarium [$24 and currently sold out; you might not be able to see it anyway because you have to join the site to see anything].

Once this box came, I immediately got to work and set up my supply table. I did not like the boring white of the planter, so I purchased gold spray paint and a glossy clear coat.
Included in the box: Ceramic Vessel, Airplant, Stonewhite Gravel, Reindeer Moss.
My supplies: Schöfferhofer Hefeweizen, Thin Masking Tape, Sandpaper, Towel, Gold and Clear Coat Spray Paints.

January 30, 2015

My Shopping Addiction...

Welcome! I just spent five minutes revamping my blog--which is a miracle for me. I won't go into again, but I wrote a class post lamenting the loss of Xanga, which allowed users so much freedom to edit their sites that I was immediately spoiled and haven't been blog-satisfied since.

Over the past week I've been crafting up a small storm! [see next post for what I made] In addition, I checked out some bead stitching books from the library for inspiration and lessons, received several packages in the mail, and of course did more shopping.

I'm a little addicted to shopping. But, after reading the first couple of chapters in Delivered from Distraction, I decided I'd rather be addicted to shopping than alcohol, drugs, or gambling. Though, I do have a drink a few nights a week and I sometimes buy scratch cards, thankfully I am not addicted. Back to the shopping... I'd like to show you some of the neat things.

  • These bronze elephant clasps finally arrived from China, and I am super excited about putting them on my bracelets and necklaces as a fun little element. But they're stubborn to open and close, so, I will have to do a wee bit of sanding to make them suitable for others! I plan to eventually start selling some of the items I make. The last items I made were feather fascinators, and they just sat on Etsy month after month accruing fees and dust. I have more hope for my bracelets! [pictured later]
  • While I do love Birchbox's website, customer service, and the variety of products they sell, I always felt a little disappointed by what I got in my box. Many months I would get hair products like dry shampoo [I can't comb my curls] or foil packets, perfumes from Harvey Prince [which I haven't liked yet], or another primer/lotion for my face that I added to the pile to swap with my sister. I ended up canceling after my January box, and after reviewing my products I had $10 to spend. Most of their items are pretty spendy, and for some reason their site just overwhelms me with products so I was super happy to find a body butter for $15, of which I paid $5. The site did not provide any description of the scents, but I liked the container and found the Camille Beckman website with descriptions. Amazingly, the No. 25 is a smell I approve of! [have I mentioned I am picky?] The smell is faint and lovely--sort of a baby powder, fruity... oh just read what the site says
  • One of my shopping addictions is all the fault of Liz from My Subscription Addiction =) When I started working in an office this past summer, I mentioned subscription boxes to my male coworker who also has anxiety and ADHD in addition to his gambling/shopping problem. He immediately signed up for three boxes and hated all of them. I have to say, after subscribing to the MSA newsletter for six months, guy boxes and food boxes aren't great.
    Anyway, it has become my morning work ritual to get straight to work open up my MSA email and see what sort of neat boxes there are. Food, baby, clothing, exercise, pay-to-keep, and more makeup/sample boxes are of least interest to me. Conveniently, those also tend to be the more expensive boxes. This week I found [and subscribed to] the following boxes: 
    • Little Lace Box--a lifestyle, home, product box. Not lingerie, as I had originally thought. It's $39.99, but there are several blogs that provide a coupon code for $10 off your first box. I am super excited for this one! January was The Dining Car [Downton Abbey themed], and I was pretty impressed by the contents of the box for the price. 
    • Darby Smart Mystery DIY Kit--this box is $19/month. While some of the boxes look a little lame [the crocheted cotton ball scarf in particular], I was pretty impressed with the variety of kits the site sells as one-offs. I signed up for the monthly kit anyway, because why not? I also purchased some agate stones, but sadly I didn't realize they weren't pre-drilled so now I'll have to do something other than make a necklace. The other item I purchased was a DIY Terrarium Kit, which I'll post soon with other items I've made this week. 
    • Blueberry Cove Beads--I think I am most excited about this box. Because I just got into jewelry making, and have been going into a bead-buying frenzy, I thought this would be a nice way to just get a box of curated beads and products every month. This box is $22 with $5 S&H, and ships from Nova Scotia. So far there have only been two boxes, and I was their 100th subscriber [yay!]. The boxes were Woodland Themed and Art Deco. Both of which I wish I had gotten! Hopefully she decides to sell old boxes, if there is product leftover, because I love both. I look forward to the challenges and inspiration this box will feed to my creativity.  
    • Wantable--actually, I've had a subscription to Wantable for several months and I LOVE them! My box arrived this week so I'll post a picture of it soon. I just love their customer service, their Instagram pictures, the variety of items, and the ability to take the styling quizzes each month and change what sort of box or items you want to receive. While I don't always love the contents of my box, returns are free and then you can decide if you want to buy another box that month or wait till the next month. I usually do jewelry or intimates, though I did try makeup once and while I was impressed [and actually ended up winning their Photo Fridays contest] I already have a lot of makeup that I don't wear. 
That's all for now. I am supposed to be reading my ADHD book before I meet with my counselor tomorrow. I've had like two months to read five chapters, and not surprisingly I just cracked the cover yesterday. Don't get me wrong, I love to read, I just don't like non-fiction. Let me leave you with a bit that I was surprised to see people with ADHD commonly struggle with [I thought I just sucked at making and keeping friends]. It's been on my mind all day, and something I've struggled the most with my entire life. I've also provided a quote that my mom used to say about me:
  • "Disadvantageous characteristics: ... Difficulty in reading social cues, which can lead to difficulty in making and keeping friends." [Hallowell, p 7] 
  • "Hillie has friends; Aundie has books." [my mom talking about my sister and me--she didn't have anything to ground me from]
Blogging the depths of the abyss, 
[a]