These are a few of my favorite things

Hello readers! Today I wanted to share a few of my favorite products that I have discovered . I love it when I can find a great product and want to share with you guys. Who doesn’t love finding great products? This list will include a variety of products. Note: This post is Not Sponsored by the brands mentioned in this post.

• Milk Bones : minis. One box is around $4 and you get like 200 treats. I love using them for obedience training with my dog.

• A selfie stick. Yes I know this sounds a little selfish ( no pun intended). You can do more with a selfie stick than just take selfies. Selfie sticks can be used to record videos. 

• Bluetooth earbuds. I recently got a pair for my birthday and I love them. They were $21 at target. 

• To All the Boys I’ve loved before series by Jenny Han. I checked out the series at my library and I loved it. I also watched the movie. It is nice to see an Asian American girl as the main character and she isn’t portrayed as stereotypical Asian girl. 

• GRE: prep, practice, flash cards. This app is really helpful and free. It gives explanations to problems, see results , and it has review concepts. You can do practice tests and mini quizzes by subject ( quantitative and verbal). The only bad thing is the app doesn’t include help in the writing section. 

• Canva app. I use this app to create images for my blog and Instagram. You can create flyers, posters, images for Twitter (cover) ,Facebook (cover) YouTube, business card, logs, kindle image, album covers, Instagram stories filters, and Snapchat filters. There are different templates or create your design. There are something things you can buy but you have so many free options in the app.

I would love to know what your favorite products. Have a great day.

~Liu Miao~

Snacks to bring to college classes

Snacks for college classes.

Hello readers!

College classes are starting soon. Some students may have started already depending on the university. Who eats in their college classes? I eat in most of my classes because my classes are during times I would normally eat. It is important to be considerate of others when eating in class. Foods that are noisy for example chips or foods with a strong aroma can be very distracting.

• Fruit. I love eating grapes or melons. It is helpful to have the fruit cut up in smaller pieces.

• Chocolate is also another great snack to have. It is helpful to open your chocolate before class so you won’t make too much noise. Sometimes I put my chocolate in a small container with a lid so I don’t have to deal with wrappers from the chocolate.

• Smoothies is a great snack. It isn’t to noisily. This is also a healthy snack option. Please don’t slurp with your straw when you get to the end of your drink.
• Peanut butter sandwiches or other types of sandwiches are good options. Sandwiches are generally not noisy when eaten.

I hope that everyone has a great year. What are some of the snacks you bring to your college classes? 

Have a great weekend

~Liu Miao~

Life Update

 

Hello readers. Today I thought that I would share what is going on  in my life recently. It has been awhile.

 I finished my Junior/Third year of university. Time has flown so quickly. I started blogging towards the end of my first year of university. Now I only have two semesters left! This summer I am studying for the GRE and looking at schools to apply for graduate schools. IF you have any tips for the GRE or graduate school application, please let me know.  In the fall, I will continue with a research project and we hope to get a paper in the process of publication in the spring. I love the field os psychology and learning Spanish.

I am also training my own service dog. Her name is Mi Gemela Dulce which translate as My Sweet Twin. Currently she is learning basic obedience and doing good with house training. I am also working on teaching her tasks that she will need to learn. We are working on retrieving things.(Future tasks will include: Retrieving things, helping with shoes and clothes, pushing buttons, pulling doors, finding someone when I have a bad fall. I hope to get her approved for light mobility when she is old enough.) She enjoys going to puppy class and she is almost 14 weeks old. The puppy class helps socialize her with unfamiliar dogs and gives me tips on how to better train my dog.

Isn't she the cutest? She is not hyper but does have moments of energy. Whenever she is very tired, she will lay down wherever she pleases and does not move. I would love to know your tips about training dogs for service work.

What are you doing this summer? I would love to hear about it.

~Liu Miao~

What's in my purse: Spoonie Edition

Hello readers! I hope all of you are well.. Today I will share about what I keep in my purse as a spoonie. Remember every Spoonie is different and what to carry in their purse/bag will vary. I like to use a tote bag or a medium size crossbody bag. Here is what I keep in my bag:

• Water
• Tylenol
• A snack (sometimes more depending how long I will be out)
• My insurance card
• A pen and sticky notes
• My phone
• Socks
• Hand sanitizer
• Wipes
• Kleenex
• Something to fidget with if I am in a lot of pain. Like a stress ball to use during classes.

I would love to know what you keep in your bag as a spoonie?

Have a great day!

~Liu Miao~

What's on my iphone?

 



Hello readers, I thought this would be a fun post to write. I love seeing what kind of apps people have on their phones. I have an iPhone because my friend gave me her old iPhone when she upgraded to a new phone. I have the IPhone 5s. Even though it’s an older phone , it works really well. I currently do not have it connected with data. I just use wifi and most places have wifi. I have phone that is connected to a phone plane so I can call and text without needing wifi. My real phone does not have the ability to have apps nor is it touch screen. (None smartphone aka dumb phone)So I use the iPhone to use apps. It is cheaper to pay for a none smartphone than it is to pay for a smartphone. Now on to the fun part.

I have all my apps on two “pages” on my phone. I like to keep my phone screen neat and organized.

 

Here are pictures of the apps in the folders. PicsArt is my favorite app to edit pictures because it doesn’t leave a watermark on your pictures after editing. I love spanishdict because I can get word of the day and learn new Spanish words. It also comes in handy when I need to look up a word in Spanish. Blackboard is used by my university. Yes I know that I have a lot of messaging app but I use all of them. WhatsApp, WeChat, Messenger,and Kakao Talk are great apps to message friends that are international or if you are traveling internationally.

I would love to know what apps you have on your phone. Have a great day!

~Liu Miao~

My Spoonie Story

Hello readers! Happy Spring Break and I am so excited to be on spring break. Now I have time to write and relax. Today I share my spoonie story. 

The spoonie theory was created by Christine Miseradino and here is summary of the theory. She explains how some people have more spoons to get through the day. People with chronic illness or disabilities have limited spoons and have to use their spoons wisely. Doing things will cost you a spoon. Sometimes the activity will cost you more than one spoon. I really this theory because it is a great picture for people to understand people with chronic illness and disabilities.

I have a disability and a chronic pain. My disability is severe bilateral hip dysplasia which includes atrophied muscles near my hip area. I have had this disability since I was really young( from the age of 2 that we know of). My disability really didn’t really cause to much physical problems. I had surgery around the age of 4 and the surgery helped me walk a little better. During my senior year of high school, I started having a lot of pain. I went to a lot of doctors. All the doctors say that i have a lot of pain because the structure of my hips and it causes stress on my hips(That’s why I didn’t really have a lot of pain while I was growing up). So it has been almost 4 years since my chronic pain has started. I can feel by bones get worse. I have not been diagnosed with arthritis, but I do have a lot of joint issues.

In conclusion, it is hard to be a spoonie. For me, I have pain most of the time, but I do have Good days. I like to celebrate my good days. I have been able to relate to others since joining this community of spoonies.

If you are a spoonie, I would love if you consider being on the #SpoonieSeries. This is a series on the blog that allows spoonies to have a voice. These posts can be informational, be a story(encouraging, funny) about being a spoonie.

Have a great week and May the Spoons be ever in your favor.

~Liu Miao~

My Adoption Story

*Hello readers! Today i share my adoption story so far. This is not my whole adoption story because i continue to live in the adoption journey. * This is a very long post

It begins the year 1996 and in Changsha Hunan China. I was born between April-September. My papers say that I was born in September and found near a bridge in November.I lived in the orphanage for about 4 years. I lived in a good orphanage and the ayis (aunties-care takers)loved the children. There is an organization that works with the Changsha 1 social welfare centre and I lived under the care of them for some time. I was adopted in June 2000 by an American family. Almost didn’t get out of Guangzhou ( this is where Americans finish up the adoption process and can leave the country)because of some mistake with paperwork. My mom said that I was somewhat bad on the plane but she wasn’t upset with me because she knew that I was going through a lot of changes. It was a very long flight home because we had two layovers one in South Korea and L.A California (USA). We got to Texas around June 21. Family and friends greeted me and my parents as we came off the plane.( this is prior to 9-11 ). I do not remember a lot from this time probably because it was traumatic with all the changes. Most of this information is from what people told me. I didn’t like dogs at first and my family had a lot of dogs at the time. I have one older sister adopted from China and 5 older siblings ( my parents biological kids)The next year I had major surgery to help me walk better. I remember going to the hospital a lot. I was homeschooled from k-12. We did activities with other homeschool families and I volunteered at a children’s hospital in high school. My high school graduation was just me.My life was pretty normal. I grew up meeting people of different ethnicities or people who lived in different countries ( my dad is a pastor and we would have missionaries come talk about the work in that country). I also have a couple of friends who were adopted. While growing up , I struggled with being adopted and having a physical disability. My parents , family and friends helped me through these struggles and still help me when I have struggles. I did grow up in a Christian home and went to church. I became a Christian around 7-8 years old and continue to grow in my relationship with God. I think of becoming a Christian was my second adoption. I am not afraid to share my thoughts with people but I will be kind when i share my beliefs. There is one more part of adoption story that I want to share. Early 2016, I try to find one of the ayis in a picture. she is in several pictures and my parents remember her. This ayi meet my parents because she took me to the hotel to meet my parents. I contacted the organization that works with Changsha 1 social welfare centre. The organization was able to find her contact information and I was able to email her. I was able to thank her for being a part of my life and helping so many children. She email me back and we continue to be in contact. She also helped me get in contact with other kids from the orphanage ( those around my age or older).Last summer I was able to visit her in Switzerland. It was a very nice trip and it was great too see her. I was able to visit a girl in Switzerland who lived in the orphanage at the same time as me. I am happy to build a friendship with them and get to know them again.

This is my Adoption story. What is your adoption story?

~Liu Miao~