Argh, these rain boots are prettier

http://www.colehaan.com/colehaan/catalog/product.jsp?catId=100&productId=396177&productGroup=396178

Argh, I just saw these online today, these rainboots are prettier than the ones I ended up buying....I haven't gotten around to try them yet, but they look really nice.

Instead, I bought the Rah Rah Rain Boot by Dirty Laundry, which look like these

They are not bad, but only works well with casual clothes and not good for dressing up Friday night :(. http://www.endless.com/dp/B003TIYGE6/ref=asc_df_B003TIYGE61396424?tag=endlesscj-20&creative=395033&linkCode=asn&creativeASIN=B003TIYGE6 I bought mine for 39.95 through ShoeDazzle's one day sale. They are out of my sizes elsewhere.

Get Your Water Flowing!

One of the best things I've ever gotten for myself is this device

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?SKU=16883581 (note that I posted the bed bath and beyond link because with the 20% coupon they offer, it's the cheapest deal)

I don't think I would ever floss on a regular basis if it's not for this "oral irrigator", yes, that's what these water jet floss things are called, as if I'm growing farm crops in between my teeth. Despite the stupid name, it's extremely convenient, fast, and does an excellent job knocking out food scrap in between my teeth. Note that I didn't floss before this, and after I started using it, my oral hygienist was happy with the improvements.

I liked water flossing so much that I just ordered this one

http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-EW-DJ10-A-Oral-Irrigator/dp/B0027LSEPS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1300295855&sr=8-1 for when I travel out of town. I'll update on how I like it when it arrives.

Also, to improve my brushing, I purchased http://www.amazon.com/Philips-Sonicare-FlexCare-Rechargeable-Toothbrush/dp/B002CVTVVY/ref=sr_1_3?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1300296144&sr=1-3 which works extremely well. My advice? Get it on ebay. They hand out samples to dentists that end up on ebay for a lot cheaper.

The Rain Boots Search

I want a good pair of rain boots to defend me from the endless San Francisco rain. So far it's been a failed search :(. I'd like to find something that looks like real boots but serves as rain boots anyways, something close to the Banana Republic rain boot in the picture. The Banana Republic rain boots are really uncomfortable though, unfortunately. The calves are too small and shoes are too narrow. Too bad :(.

I'm currently looking into this pair http://www.westernchief.com/product_info.php/cPath/83_93/products_id/691 and this pair http://www.aldoshoes.com/us/women/boots/spring-boots/82635973-golka/98

might consider this pair if they get my size in http://www.amazon.com/Chooka-Herringbone-Dual-Buckle-Charcoal/dp/B0025VLGWI/ref=sr_1_30?ie=UTF8&qid=1299650508&sr=8-30

and also might consider getting a pair from Taobao like this one http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=8274504392&ali_refid=a3_420435_1006:1102255123:6:%D3%EA%D1%A5+%C8%D5%B1%BE:e51d81010cbc355756ce014df6e98b64&ali_trackid=1_e51d81010cbc355756ce014df6e98b64 Hmm the possibilities.

I'll post pictures here if I finally find a good pair :).

I totally have that somewhere!

This outfit is so damn cute!! The best part, I think I can totally pull it off since I have a bunch of pieces somewhere that look similar to the ones in the pictures :). Just gotta get that hat somewhere and I'm all set :D.

http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=8127779347

Chinese Hawthorn Tree 山楂树

This is one of those I'm Chinese and I'm addicted to stuff that I can't find in the US things. I LOVE Chinese Hawthorn Berries. Chinese Hawthorn Berry Kabob is a stable snack for Chinese kids and I grew up with it. The fresh berries are not available in the US, which has been a really big annoyance for me for years. Now I have some outdoor space, I'm thinking that I can plant one myself. Instead of waiting for 4 years for it to flower and fruit, I found a website that sells the semi-grownup tree. Well, we have to wait until spring for it to be available, but hey, at least I know I can get it somewhere :).

Here's the medicinal effect of Chinese Hawthorn Berries, it's good for high blood pressure (lowers blood pressure). If you don't like eating the fruit, you can dry them up and make tea with it too, which also tastes excellent :).

Finally, Shu Shu Clean!! 超电水

http://www.yf.com.tw/cleanshushu/

Alright, so I was in Tokyo walking around Tokyu Hands and got sucked into a demonstration by a Japanese sales man for this cleaning product 超电水 (translated to "Super Electric Water"), and the English name is apparently Clean Shu Shu (so cute). The demo looked something like this one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqg5myRtkdM&feature=related. The product looked amazingly effective (of course it cut the grease right off the old kitchen vent fan since it was a demo!), but the most convincing part is that after all that, the guy sprayed it into his own mouth--it's supposedly completely healthy and chemical free. I did some research online later and found that alkaline ionized water (which is what this product is, relatively stable alkaline ionized water with an expiration date of about 6 months) is an amazingly effective cleaning agent and disinfectant and it's chemical free! Well luckily, I bought a bottle and smuggled it back from Japan, and it had been really great in the kitchen and it saved my cat pee stained rug--yes it removed dried up cat urine like a miracle with no odor left behind--much better than Nature's Miracle. Oh yeah, in Tokyo Hands, this random clueless white tourist girl handed her metal watch to see if the watch demo is for real, the towel came off disgustingly yellow and black--worse than the original demo watch, and she turned beet red, lol.

Well to make a long story longer, I used up my bottle and can't find more in the US. After a lot of research, I realized that they sell it in Taiwan, and I E-Mailed the Taiwanese branch company to see where I can buy this product in the US. Apparently it's has a name change (PH12.6) and an uglier bottle in the US, but you can buy the same thing here http://www.ph12-6.com/store/. Talking about shady looking and no marketing...

Well, time to restock on Clean Shu Shu!