Goodwill SWCI Marketplace Mystery Jewelry Box | Day 1 | ShopGoodwill.com

I was not sure when I ordered this box, or even when I recorded the video that the Goodwill SCWI marketplace was a part of shopgoodwill.com. I was actually looking for the Goodwill Blue Box, and ended up googling 'Goodwill Mystery Box' and ended up here. And, boy am I glad that I did!

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If you are interested in purchasing any of these pieces, please email me at palsliveslife@gmail.com and include 'Goodwill SWCI mystery Jewelry box - part 1' in the subject line. Mention the item number, a brief description, and timestamp. I will create a listing for you on Mercari @palsliveslife and send you the link.

If you would like me to create Mystery Jewelry bags with jewelry, I can do so as well. For my subscribers, it would be $15 for a 10-piece bag and $35 for a 25-piece bag, plus the cost of shipping. Pieces from mystery bag openings, as well as pieces from my personal collection, will be included. Just send me an email.

I am also selling some higher-end pieces I have sourced from Estate sales through Mercari and Poshmark with handle @palslivelife. 

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00:00

02:26 1. Rhinestone and leather choker

02:46 2. Adjustable golden bracelet with blue stone

03:07 3. Wooden and silver bead bracelet

04:33 4. Brick colored plastic bead necklace

04:53 5. Golden cuff bracelet

05:56 6. Adjustable rosegold bracelet with pink stone 

06:09 7. Long chain necklace with charms on a circle pendant

07:02 8. Brown glass pendant on a leather chord

07:22 9. Necklace with small pink cabochon pendant 

07:52 10. Two layer necklace with ring pendants

08:16 11. Charming Charlie orange crystal necklace

08:56 12. Art deco style bracelet with pink rhinestones

09:26 13. Blue rhinestone stretchy bracelet

09:52 14. Silver bracelet with black enamel and rhinestones by The Limited 

11:28 15. Drawstring bracelet with yellow crystal

12:08 16 & 17. Broken heart pendant & long chain

12:33 18. Dainty rose gold heart necklace

13:06 19. Double heart necklace

13:31 20. Oxidized silver tone filigree earrings

13:43 21. Light gold tone chain bracelet

14:10 22. Wood and black pompom earrings

14:35 23. Colombia drawstring bracelet

14:53 24. Multi-strand pearl and glass bead necklace

15:30 25. Hammered metal golden pendant

16:13 26. Time and True tree pendant necklace

16:35 27. Star bracelet with rhinestone star charms

17:04 28. Blue plastic bead necklace

17:55 29. Silver (tone??) chain

18:14 30. Acrylic opal wave pendant with tone loss

18:45 31. Silver tone chain with bead and heart charms

19:02 32. Silver tone stretchy bracelet (x3)

19:17 33. Swarovski rhinestone bangle bracelet

19:50 34. NY&Co. two strand silver necklace

20:15 35. Vintage Avon Silvery Sands cuff

21:02 36. Silver black rhinestone earrings

21:18 37. Silver cuff bracelet with glass bead charms

21:39 38. Pink ombre rhinestone bracelet

23:10 39. Stretchy clear rhinestone bracelet

23:15 40. Stretchy bracelet with dark brown beads

23:22 41. Acrylic ring

23:57 42. Constume rhinestone ring

24:44 43. Itachi Uchiha Akatsuki ring from Naruto

25:08 44. Golden heart hoops

25:33 45. Stretchy blue, teal, and silver bead bracelet

25:41 46. Circle earrings

26:33 47. Long white diamond shaped bead multistrand necklace

27:06 48. Blue pour painted bead necklace

28:09 49. Pink strap 'M' bracelet

28:14 50. Metal bead drawstring bracelet

28:34 51. Light blue rhinestone dangle earring

28:45 52. Wooden and silver bead necklace

29:03 53. Golden earrings with pointy dangles

29:41 54. Golden magnetic clasp bracelet

30:08 55. Silver tone bangle

30:15 56. Silver O bracelet with giraffe and heart removable charms

30:47 57. Silver disc earrings

31:08 58. Barrett with a pearl

32:42 59. Brushed silver tone ring with rhinestones

32:57 60. Silicone mountain ring

33:16 61. Blue rhinestone butterfly pendant

34:04 62. Pearl hairclip/barrett

34:08 63. Lia Sophia 'Spotlight' earrings

34:40 64. Pair of small black enamel hoop earrings

35:03 65. Deep green malachite mask pendant

$2 Antiques Fair Jewelry Haul | sterling silver, brighton | PalsLivesLife

I finally made it to the Niles Antique Fair after constantly missing it for more than three times. I had decided that I am not going to go crazy and only purchase things if I get a great deal or a mind-blowing piece. Though the second didn't come true, the first did. 

Goodwill Jewelry Bag #4 - Actually the very first bag I got, but refused to open till now.

 Giveaway: To enter, please follow the rules mentioned in the Goodwill Jewelry Bag #3 video. 

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If you are interested in purchasing any of these pieces, please email me at palsliveslife@gmail.com and include 'Goodwill Jewelry Bag 4' in the subject line. Mention the item number, a brief description, and the timestamp. I will create a listing for you on Mercari @palsliveslife and send you the link.

If you would like me to create Mystery Jewelry bags with jewelry, I can do so as well. For my subscribers, it would be $15 for a 10-piece bag and $35 for a 25-piece bag, plus the cost of shipping. Pieces from mystery bag openings, as well as pieces from my personal collection, will be included. Just send me an email.

I am also selling some higher-end pieces I have sourced from Estate sales through Mercari and Poshmark with handle @palslivelife. 

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00:00

01:03 1. Turquoise bead braided necklace $20

01:27 2. Pink & white rhinestone bangle $4

02:28 3. White flower c-hoop earrings $5

04:08 4. Silver chain with golden triangles $4

04:26 5. Oxidized silver-tone hoops $2

04:45 6. Golden chain with tiny black crystal(TBD/Open to offers)

05:17 7. Smokey rhinestone statement necklace $12

05:39 8. Really shiny adjustable solitaire ring $5

05:54 9. Turquoise & white rhinestone bangle $4

06:19 10. Silver filigree dangle earrings $4

06:27 11. Faux pearl and golden bead necklace $8

06:44 12. Stretchy white pearl broad bracelet (x2) $2 each

09:01 13 & 14. 2 rhinestone bangles $4 each

09:25 15. Anne Klein watch $4 (But mostly for watch bag)

09:48 16. Black bead and light orange stone ship necklace $12

10:15 17. White, silver, and wood bead long tribal necklace $12

10:49 18. Tri-color metal bracelet $5

11:05 19. Retro orange bangle $5 (OBO)

11:18 20. Black and white stone bead necklace $12

11:42 21. Hawaiian Wiliwili seed lei $50

12:06 22. Golden chain with hematite stars $4

12:59 23. Heart shaped pink beads stretchy bracelet $2

13:21 24. Pink elongated bead necklace $3

13:32 25. Heart bracelet AV 925 silver $30 (Not for sale)

13:55 26. Millefiori bead necklace $4

14:24 27. Silver threader drop earrings $2

14:30 28. Wooden bead necklace $3

14:55 29. Hand-knotted drawstring necklace $4

15:12 30. Long string of faux pearls $4

15:43 31. Flattened spoon pendant (possibly silver) on a dog chain (TBD)

16:18 32. Dichroic glass sterling pendant $35

17:03 33. Spring bracelets $3

17:28 34. Purple and golden dangle earrings $2

18:00 35. Liz Palacios blue rhinestone dangle earrings $30

18:44 36. Julie Vos 24K gold plated earrings (SOLD for $70 on Poshmark, we made $58)

19:53 37. Blue oval bead necklace $12

20:44 38. Grey crystal dangle earrings $4

21:08 39. eve mon crois watch $10

21:17 40. Rhinestone guitar pendant $8

21:30 41. Ireland eire 10cent coin from 2002 $2

21:51 42. Chunky golden chain $5

22:03 43. Large abalone shell flower pendant $5

22:22 44. Anne Klein Watch without watch back (To the watch bag)

22:40 45. Handmade Mexican palm garlands (x2) $10

22:54 46. Shawl type seed bead necklace $10

23:25 47. Large teardrop rhinestone necklace with fringe $15

23:47 48. Woven wood strip bracelet $5

24:09 49. Green rhinestone dangle earrings $5

24:18 50. Gray Kukui nut necklace $10

24:26 51. Lisa Leonard inspirational necklace (SOLD for $23 on Mercari, we made $20)

24:50 52. 925 dolphin ring $8

26:10 53. Crystal cuff bracelet $18-$25

26:42 54. Silver and rhinestone evil eye necklace $5

27:03 55. Vintage wooden beads $10

27:38 56. Golden chain $5

27:54 57. Crayo men's silicone watch $15

28:29 58. Costume ring with blue rhinestone $3

28:40 59. Green & white rhinestone bangle $4

29:23 60. Silver chain and faux pearl necklace $10

29:38 61. Yellow & white rhinestone bangle $4

This thrift store is the best spot to find treasures at crazy low prices

We went on a long road trip during the 4th of July long weekend. I was on a mission to find treasures where I least expected them. After a long day of driving, we ended up eating at a local BBQ restaurant. And then on our way to the hotel, I had to force my family to stop at this store. The kids were tired and wanted to stay in the car. So, it was just me. I can't believe that I found all these things at this price! 

It was also not because of lack of other buyers. There was another man looking into the glass shelf, and I heard the store manager tell him that there were no new items since the day before. I mean, if I found all this, I wonder what treasures he is finding! So, if you are in this area, definitely do not skip this thrift store. 

If you shop in a thrift store, your money is used for a good cause. Earnings from this particular store help fund shelters for women as well as men, and many other programs. So, it is a win win. I mean check out my haul.. and pssst...I pain under $15 for all this!

GoodwillJewelryBag3_3of3_Giveaway

Goodwill Mystery Jewelry Bag 2 - I can't believe this had a Tiffany piece

Check out what my son found in his jewelry bag! I am still in shock that we found a Tiffany piece.. I mean, this kind of thing just does not happen to people like us, right?

If you would like to purchase any of these pieces, mail me at palsliveslife@gmail.com, and mention 'Goodwill Jewelry Bag 2' in the subject, and the timestamp of the pieces you are interested in. We can figure out the total cost, including shipping. Mercari and Poshmark handle @palslivelife.

Here are the time stamps for all the pieces in the video
There are over 120 pieces in this bag. 01:11 1. Dragonfly beads (Craft jar)
01:26 2. Seashell Phoenix Necklace $25 (SOLD for $15)
01:49 3. Silver Cuff Bracelet $5
02:28 4. Long faux pearl and black bead necklace $5
03:25 5. Long faux pearl and clear bead necklace $5
04:01 6. Christina Collection Rhinestone bracelet $5
04:42 7. Gold Tone Spring Loaded Cuff $2
05:01 8. Rhinestone Knot Brooch $8
05:20 9. Turkish Bracelet (TBD)
05:57 10. 'Mother' Bracelet $5
06:58 11. Crystal Helicopter Pendant (Only) $8
07:23 12. Blue Rose Brooch (NFS)
08:21 13. White Enamel Flower Necklace $10
08:40 14. Viser Brown Leather Strap Bracelet Watch $10
10:14 15. 'Little Sis' bracelet $5
10:55 16. Turquoise and silver necklace
11:18 17. Marvel Spiderman watch (Open to offers)
11:53 18. Vintage Angel Fish pendant (NFS)
12:05 19: Golden chain with tiny ring charm (TBD)
12:36 20. Long golden necklace with butterflies in the tassel $8
13:13 21. Long golden necklace with fringe $8
13:50 22. Champagne pearl necklace $25
14:06 23. Two tone metal heart pendant $4
14:39 24. Black silk thread bead necklace $8
14:54 25. Faux pearl necklace $10
15:12 26. Necklace with tiger's eye chips and golden beads $12
15:28 27. Wooden stretch bracelet $2
15:38 28. Wooden 3D cube illusion necklace $10
16:04 29. Lapis lazuli chip necklace $15-20
16:30 30. Wooden bead beach necklace $4
16:46 31. Pearl stud earrings $5
17:18 32. Golden clover leaf and green bead necklace $25 (NFS)
17:32 33. Silver belt $5
18:09 34. Pink rhinestone pendant $5
18:51 35. Sun Valley 50-year celebration brooch $25
19:12 36. Metal feathers and black chord necklace $5
19:30 37. Murano beach cha-cha bracelet $6
20:33 38. Mother of pearl totem pendant $2
21:30 39. Large flat rhinestone studs $1
21:48 40. Aspen Highlands pin $5
22:03 41. Peacock pendant on long chain $10
22:47 42. Rhinestone flower earrings $3
22:55 43. Small flat rhinestone studs $1
23:02 44. Large black rhinestone stud $3
23:35 45. White stone wrap bracelet $5
23:53 46. Candy cane brooch $5 (NFS)
24:12 47. Pink enamel flower necklace $10
24:53 48. Fresh water pearl earrings (TBD)
25:15 49. Faux pearl stud earrings $2
25:35 50. Golden enamel flower pendant $4
25:52 51. Lapis lazuli chip bracelet $10
27:26 52. Small pearl stud earrings $1
28:56 53. Teal flowers and rhinestone necklace $10
29:15 54. Red and blue bracelet $10 (NFS)
29:38 55. Golden large pearl and rhinestone brooch $5
30:01 56. Gold tone cutout bracelet $5
30:16 57. Silver tone locket necklace $5 (NFS)
31:33 58. Rhinestone snowflake brooch $5
31:42 59. 1960's Winter Olympics pin $75
32:12 60. Blue bead dangle earrings $5
32:18 61. 'Nana' brooch $8
32:35 62. Savvy Bling stretchy bracelet $5
32:54 63. Carved bone/plastic chunky ring $8 (NFS)
33:17 64. Russian possibly WWII Insignia/Brooch $15
33:28 65. Aspen vintage pin $5
33:34 66. 'S' drawstring bracelet $4
34:18 67. Geneva golden watch pendant $8
34:34 68. Cream bracelet with tree charm and magnetic closure $5
35:26 69. Mother of pearl multi-strand wire necklace $8
35:46 70. 'VAIL' ski pin $5
35:57 71. Multi-layered rhinestone ring $5
36:19 72. Set of 4 Mother of pearl buttons $2
36:34 73. Silver tone triangular pendant on black chord $3
36:43 74. Men's leather and brass bracelet $5
37:08 75. Vintage rhinestone screw-on earrings $8
37:17 76. Viser navy blue leather strap bracelet watch $10
38:05 77. Copper wire wrap earrings $3
38:22 78. Tiny hoop-like plain earrings $2
38:31 79. Gold tone sterling silver chain with rhinestone cross $25+
39:12 80. Vintage Sunshine Valley ski pin $5
39:23 81. Vintage Sun Valley ski pin $5
39:42 82. Vintage Northstar at Tahoe ski pin $8
39:47 83. Rectangular Aspen ski pin $5
39:52 84. Sunshine, Norquay, Lake Louis Canada Ski pin $10
39:59 85. Cortina M. 1224 Italian Alps pin $30
40:25 86. Barbara Lavallee Alaskan Art pin $10
40:37 87. Vail Beaver Creek Skis pin $15
40:57 88. Rhinestone hoop-like earrings $3
41:06 89. Silver tone snowflake pin $4
41:18 90. Silver tone shield ring (SOLD for $2)
41:30 91. Silver tone oval bangle bracelet $5
41:36 92. Sterling silver and amethyst earrings $35 (NFS)
41:41 93. Three more Mother of pearl pendants $6
42:02 94. Sterling silver eye stud earrings $5 (NFS)
42:38 95. Olympics Memorabilia watch $10
43:25 96. T & Co. 925 hoops (TBD and NFS)
44:10 97. Glass beads for earrings $1
44:21 98. Brass ball marker from 100th US Open from Pebble Beach from year 2000 $15
44:47 99. Faceted bead bracelet $5
45:10 100. Long golden necklace with faceted beads $5
45:22 101. Golden and green collar necklace $5
45:38 102. Silver tone necklace marked 18kGP with golden pearls (TBD)
45:45 103. String of spotted peach beads $2
45:54 104. Silver disk dangle earrings $2
46:15 105. Black stone pendant on silver chain $5
46:27 106. Large half pearl bracelet $4
46:36 107. Vintage green and Amber glass bead necklace $20
47:06 108. Dainty black bead multistrand necklace $5
47:18 109. Tiny turtle necklace $2
47:42 110. Pearl and gold four strand necklace $15
47:52 111. Long multistrand gold chain with leaf dangle $5
48:00 112. Long multistrand necklace with black beads and silver filigree beads $5
48:10 113. Teal faceted bead necklace with magnetic closure $10
48:20 114. Cookie Lee soda can tab necklace $5
48:27 115. Silver toned bracelet with pink rhinestones marked 18KRGP (TBD)
48:48 116. Silver-tone necklace with a name (Craft pile)
48:55 117. Long golden necklace with light green beads $8
49:00 118. Short golden necklace with purple & teal beads $5
49:05 119. Long golden necklace with purple & red beads $5
49:10 120. Long golden necklace with filigree beads & pearls $8
49:16 121. Black bead long necklace $5
49:25 122. Silver flower and pearl bracelet $4

Goodwill mystery Jewelry bag #1

The mystery jewelry bags have been super hard to find now a days with people snatching them up the moment they get put on the shop floor. I have been trying to get one for D for over a month when I finally got my hands on not 1, but 4. Three in my regular store, and one before those three at a store 20 minutes drive from us. Here are more details of how I landed these 4, and what I found in the very first bag.

Spoiler: (STOP READING RIGHT NOW IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW) . . . . . . . So, if you want to know the final count, I found $465 worth costume jewelry, and some silver pieces. It was so much fun opening this bag, that if you are having a hard time finding one if these mystery bags, I can create one foryou. Check out the details in the video description on youtube.

02:01 1. Rhinestone head pieces 02:27 3. Black fitness watch 02:34 4. Purple rhinestone stretchy bracelet 03:04 5. Double chain gold tone necklace with flat pendants 04:13 6. Magnetic beads (NOT FOR SALE : NFS) 04:31 7. Rhinestone necklace 04:54 8. Stretchy pastel bead necklace 05:22 9. Gold tone chain for craft 07:11 10. Turquoise and orange dainty necklace 07:51 11. Sajen S925 ring (NFS) 08:20 12. Long gold-tone dangle earrings 10:43 13. Silver tone chain 11:52 14. Pearl and glass bead Mother Mary necklace/bracelet 12:21 15. Silver tone chain with seashell pendant 12:45 16. Polar watch 13:27 17. Casio watch (SOLD for $18 on Mercari, we made $15) 13:40 18. Gold tone chain with donut-shaped stone pendant 14:01 19. Double dangly earrings with little pipes 16:11 20. Gold leaf necklace 16:54 21. Gold tone chain 17:43 22. Double dangly earrings with rhinestones and a heart 17:48 25. Leather Bracelet 18:00 26. Charm for craft pile 18:10 27. Silver tone bracelet with attached ring (SOLD) 18:27 28. Native American style turquoise pendant necklace (Gifted, NFS) 19:23 29. Kids Bangles 19:57 30. Pearl bangle 20:45 31. Rhine stone earrings 21:54 32. Blue rhinestone and black chain tassel earrings (NOT FOR SALE) 23:06 33. Gold tone Monet chain 23:35 33. Chunky silver and turquoise necklace (SOLD) 24:11 34. Multistrand beaded necklace 24:24 35. Red stretchy bracelet 24:45 36. Gold-tone shawl-style/wrap-around necklace 25:51 37. Black dog chain 26:23 38. Chunky ring with orange beads 26:37 39. Black analog watch 27:00 40. Silver necklace with black teardrop beads 27:23 41. Gold tone necklace with purple beads (NFS) 28:00 42. Seashell chip bracelet for craft pile 28:58 43. Natural stone stretchy bracelet (NFS) 29:17 44. Multicolor seed bead ZAD necklace 29:51 45. Fitbit with orange strap 29:45 46. Glass bangles (NFS because of the risk of breakage) 30:52 47. Wooden bead necklace 31:29 48. Black shiny chunky bead double strand necklace 32:01 49. Black and white faux pearl chacha necklace (NFS) 32:22 50. Wood and bone bead bracelet 32:41 51. Large greenish-yellow enamel hoops 33:30 52. Silver cuff bracelet 33:55 53. Gold tone chain and pearl bracelet 34:19 54. Gold tone cuff necklace 34:42 55. Broken chain for craft 34:54 56. Teal faceted bead necklace 35:11 57. Broken green and silver necklace for craft 35:29 58. Teal multistrand bracelet 36:21 59. Pink bow and rice pearl earrings 36:32 60.Gold tone oblong hoops 36:51 61. Blue rose and pearl hair clip 37:01 62. Mother-of-pearl/abalone shell disc earrings 37:05 63. Vintage enamel flower screw back earrings 37:41 64. Rhinestone clip for craft 37:45 65. Strechy teal bracelet 37:53 66. Talbots Teal faceted bead statement necklace 38:23 67. Reebok watch (SOLD) 38:42 68. Black bead earrings that match 48 necklace 38:47 69. Black faceted bead stretchy bracelet 38:52 70. Stone bead stretchy bracelet (NFS) 39:03 71. Express rhinestone pendant chain necklace 39:37 72. Gold-tone statement earrings 40:20 73. Meru brand green bead bracelet 40:32 74. Fish earrings 41:03 75. Stretchy pearl bracelet 41:22 76. Chunky tribal earrings 41:44 77. Unisex black bracelet 42:12 78. Shell clip-on earrings 43:28 79. Rhinestone brooch 43:39 80. Gold woven choker 43:55 81. Six stretchy pearl strands 44:06 82 Turquoise bead necklace 44:31 83. Pink pearl earrings 44:39 84. Ring for the craft pile 45:13 85. Shiny bead earrings 1 45:31 86. Shiny bead earrings 2 46:02 87. Kid's watch 46:16 88. Christmas tree charm 46:36 89. Shiny bead earrings 3 46:44 90. Peace earrings 47:06 91. Vintage rhinestone earrings 47:16 92. Timex Kids watch 47:34 93. Rhinestone heart hoops 47:50 94. Glitter heart earrings 47:57 95. Lizas brand red bead bracelet 48:55 96. Foreign coins 49:50 97. Shiny bead earrings 4 50:24 98. Vintage white lucite flowers Screw Back Earrings 50:35 99. Broken sweater brooch 50:55 101. Moana-style Hawaiian necklace 51:10 102 - 105. Silver chains (NFS) 52:05 106. Minnie Mouse earrings 52:19 109. Heart and ball sterling earrings (NSF)

Big Baloon song

Water wasting lawn to waterwise garden

Whatch the video here We recently converted our dead ugly lawn to this beautiful waterwise, money saving, native garden and our city paid US to do this. Happy New Year everyone and in this video I'm going to share with you the steps that you need to take to convert your lawn that consumes tons of water and needs a lot of work, but does nothing for your environment. You can't really use it because it's on the front side of the house. To this beautiful native garden that you don't even have to water that often, so saves you money. You don't have to mow it or take care of it, so saves you time, And you can take a walk through it, it serves ton of native species of birds and bugs in providing them food and shelter. And you don't have to spend a dime on it. And on the contrary, with just a little bit of patience, you can get your city to pay you for it. So this was our lawn and when we moved in. And as you can see it did not look that bad. It actually looked pretty plush. But very soon we learned that it did so because the sprinklers were set to water it for almost 15 minutes every single night. There were 5 sprinkler heads and each residential sprinkler head is designed to spray between 1 to 6 gallons of water per minute. So if you do the math we were pouring atleast 75 gallons of water into that lawn each day, or a minimum of 2250 gains of water each month.. and then we had to mow it atleast once a month. It was expensive and time consuming, and then the drought in California led to a city issued a mandate that we should not waste water on land, and our front yard became and eyesore. I had heard about native plants that do not require as much water, and while researching them, I came across a program by our city called Landscape rebate program, that pays residents up to $3000 for converting their lawn to a garden with water wise native plants. Our county has an online portal that you can submit your application through. So I created a profile. It is important that you still have your lawn when you submit your application and until they come and do their inspection. They won't pay for any work you have started before the inspection and approval. So if you want your garden to be paid for, you will need to be a little patient. Take ton of pictures of your lawn, dead or alive. they don't care. And measure the area you are playing to convert. They also want you to give them a list of native plants you are planning to plant that will eventually cover half of the area you are planning to convert. The portal also provides you a list of plants and shrubs they prefer and the area of coverage for each. This is just a tentative list. So don't stress over it. Just make a list. here is a list I submitted initially. Don't worry, you don't have to stick to this list. Once they receive your application, and they send someone to your house to inspect, and measure the area for you. After that they approve the application, and give you a Motion to Proceed. This is what you have been waiting for, and now you can start the actual work. The approval initially gives you 90 days to complete the project, but later you are allowed two 45 day extensions on the deadline. So all in all, you have about 6 months to complete your conversion. Now the first step of conversion is to kind of plan out where you want your garden beds to be and which parts are going to be your paths to walk through. You want to remove any sprinkler heads and pipes from areas you might not want them in. You can buy some garden edging, I bought mine from Amazon, and put it around the pathways and garden beds. At this stage, if your lawn is still alive, you can just cover the garden beds with cardboard. I, however, had to find some wet material to add to those areas because my lawn was very very dead and almost completely dry. The idea is that the cardboard is going to prevent any lawn from growing back, and the decomposition of the wet material is eventually going to lead to decomposition of the old lawn roots, killing the lawn and fertilizing the soil in the process. So, I went to the local Starbucks, and asked them for used coffee grounds. Unfortunately, Starbucks has stopped their used coffee grounds program, and now they kind of give you their used grounds in these large plastic bags, if you request. I had to make several trips to my local store to get enough "grounds" to cover the ground I wanted to convert. We spread the coffee grounds around, and splashed the area with water. The soil in my front lawn was so compacted and dry, that the water was not selling in at all. So, I drilled some holes in it with my largest drill bit in hopes that the water can actually get to the soil. I then covered the garden beds with cardboard from boxes I had been saving for this project. If I was sure of location of where I wanted a particular plant to be, I dug a hole there before laying the cardboard down and put the plant with the pot in it as a marker. But then, I did dig other holes afterwards as well. So either ways is okay. Then we added some horse manure compost we got from a local horse farm on top of the cardboard, and then added some mulch on top of that. The Boganvillas you see here were just a place marker for two crape myrtle pants I had ordered. And then the rain started and I could not work on this project for a couple of months. So I applied for the extension, and waited for some clear days. Once the rain subsided, we covered the pathways with some garden cloth I had ordered from Amazon. I know I know, garden cloths are not exactly great for the environment, but I wanted to add mulch here, and wanted some material underneath that would not just compete disintegrate within a few seasons. The plan is to change the mulch and the garden cloth out for some stone tiles after a few years. But here it is now. All finished. We bought these paver stones and black mulch from Home depot. We already had these gray tiles in our backyard, and I love the contrast between the black and brown mulch, and the red and gray tiles. My kids love walking through it. Oh, and for the rebate, all I had to do, was create a list of the approved plants I finally planted and submit that on the portal along with pictures of the finished conversion. We had also applied for and received rebate for converting the back yard lawn, converting the sprinkler system to inline drip, and for changing out our old sprinkler controllers to these nice new weather controlled Rachio controllers. The rebate amount covered all the plants and material we purchased, and would have covered for over 50% of the labor if we had hired someone to do the work. But I personally love gardening and totally enjoyed the process. And in a way got paid to do so, you can say ;). Ayways, if you are thinking about doing a similar conversion, check if your city offers any such rebates before you start any work. And even if it does not, I would still recommend the conversion. The money and time you save is totally worth it. I don't know what to do with my lawn mower any more, and our water bill has reduced substantially.

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Temu Vs Amazon : #temufinds & Review #PalsLivesLife

Can they reach the temperatures? Ninja Foodi XL Pro Air Oven Vs Instant Omni Plus

Since my breads did not bake as expected last week, I bought an oven thermometer and tested how long it takes all the ovens to reach the temperatures. And unfortunately, the Ninja Foodi XL Pro Air oven completely failed the test.

Sourdough Bread Battle | Instant Omni Plus Vs Ninja Foodi XL Pro Air Ove...

 

My very first attempt at baking in these two ovens. It definitely did not go as I thought it would. Check it out. #InstantOmni #InstantPotOmni #NinjaFoodiXLProAirOven #NinjaFoodiOven #AirfryerSourdough #SourdoughBread #SourdoughFocaccia #InstantOmniVersusNinjaFoodi #InstantOmniPlusVersusNinjaFoodiXLProAirOven #PalsLivesLife

My lil helper

Today I asked Dhruv to pick up one of his shirts, that he had just changed out of and was lying on the floor, and take it to the hamper. He said, 'No no', as he has started saying now a days, and started playing with his car again. I went back to watching TV. In a few minutes he disappeared. I asked J where he was, and J didn't knew. I noticed that the shirt I had asked him to pick up had disappeared, as well. Just then, Dhruv walked back into the living room, saw a pair of his pants on the floor, and took those to the hamper as well. He then came back, and walked towards me clapping his hands, with a smile on his face. I know, it's such a small thing. But, he really made my day. He is not even a year and a half yet.

Feeding the hungry children, instead of the stone gods

India is a country of extreme contrasts. On one hand, we are almost out of the 'developing countries' list,  while on the other there are thousands of children on our streets that go to bed hungry at night, while alost 3000 won't even make it through the night. And while that is happening, precious food resources like milk, oil, and money that could have fed these kids gets poured down on stone statues by God fearing people.
The sight of begging kids has always bothered me. But now that I have a kid, who I see almost loose his mind when he is hungry, makes it even more personal.

This picture, posted on Facebook, especially struck a nerve. Both J and I felt that, the little one even looks like our baby. The Gods are our patents. And if that is the case, will I ever be happy, if my baby was crying away with hunger, and someone was bathing me in food? Then how can Gods be happy with the same? I need to do something to get the food/money to these hungry mouths. God forbid, if there is ever a situating, a worldwide natural calamity, something devastating, that lands my babies in a situation like the ones in the picture above, I want to feel like they will atleast have food. I don't want to add to the list of things that people do. I don't want people to give to god and then give to these kids. I want them to give it to these kids, these flowers from God's garden as they are called in my native Marathi language, knowing that it is infact reaching the God. I need them to feel the same satisfaction/ happiness/security they feel in giving to God, knowing that they did what was needed of them. I know that I am talking about a massive change in outlook, which is usually very difficult to bring about. That is why this needs to be done in conjunction with the temples. Either have a deal with the temples, which I doubt if the priests would be willing to let go of a major chunk of the hundi, or separately collect the donated food items; or have booths right outside temples, which I am afraid would simply be ignored by most devotees. I would like suggestions. I would like to hear from some hardcore devotees out there.

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/1517098

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/02/16/10424930-indias-hunger-shame-3000-children-die-every-day-despite-economic-growth?lite

Blowing bubbles

Today my baby, who is just one day short of his 16th month birthday, pulled out the top from a small empty spray bottle. Held the little spray tube close to his lips and blew. Then with his little hands he gestured something flying upwards. It took me a minute to understand that he was pretending to blow bubbles, the activity he loves so much, and we haven't done for over a month since we got back from India. Oh, bless his little heart and imagination. Love him so much! 

Baby on the way

Week 32, here I come.. says the notification from my pregnancy app. Can't believe we are here for the last haul of this pregnancy. 8 weeks to go, at the most!

The past weekend J said, "I can't believe, the four of us are going to be home full time for atleast 14 days straight after the delivery!" And I found myself thinking, four? J, my mom who will be visiting to help us and myself.. who else?

OH! The baby, ofcourse! (We still do not have name for him, so he is still just baby. )

A mini panic attack sets in.. like it has a few time over the past two months.. the realization that we are going to have a little one living with us, full time, not visiting, not for a few hours like my nieces or nephews, not even for a few days.. but for ever.. 24 - 7.. and I am the main person who is going to be responsible for his everything.. feeding, cleaning, soothing.. everything! EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!

After the overwhelming feeling subsides, I usually follow up by going into the action mode. I go ahead and order the cloth diapers and covers as we had discussed, or rather I have insisted after learning that regular disposable diapers take 500+ years to degrade in a landfill and one kid generates about a ton of disposable diaper waste till they are potty trained!

We place the order. I spend the rest of the weekend watching cloth diapering videos.

As it turns out, for our diapering system we are going to have

• Diaper covers
• Diapers/diaper inserts
• Diaper liner, which catch the solid portion of the poop and which can be flushed away in the toilet
• Flushable wipes
• Changing pad
• One large diaper bag/pail to hold the soiled liners
• One medium size diaper bag/pail to hold soiled covers
• A small tub to hold one soiled diaper-liner combo near the changing station till we are done changing the baby
• Special soap like Charlie soap
• And possibly a drying rack to dry the covers, and liners if we decide to do that.

When the diapers first arrive, I need to wash and dry the liners 4-5 times to remove any natural fiber oils/residue from them and make them more absorbent.

After that, we will have to do

• The liner-laundry every two or at the most three days,
• With one cold rinse cycle.
• Followed by one full wash and rinse cycle with detergent with hot water.
• Again followed by one cold rinse cycle.
• The liners need to dry on high heat or in the sun.

• And a separate cold wash and rinse with detergent cycle on the covers.
• The covers need to be dried on low heat or on drying rack.

This is on top of everything I have seen other parents around me do!

And (yep, it does not end there), I am hoping that I can start potty training my kid like they do in India.. I have seen it a few times with my own younger brother and cousins, and neighbors kids growing up. According to my grandmother, you can hold a baby as young as a month old over a sink, sprinkle some cold water on his/her feet which makes them pee, and pair it with the pee sound like 'Shhh'.. and soon they learn the association between the sound and action of peeing and learn to hold the pee atleast for a while..

Also, I remember growing up, uncles and aunties joking about weird faces babies make before they want to poop or pee, which can be taken as cues to bring them to the toilet. Ofcouse, back then, there were no absorbent diapers, and it was essential to know these cues if you yourself wanted to stay dry, or they would soil over you..

But right now, all of this sounds nothing but overwhelming! So the normal doctor of philosophy within me goes online to do more research, and I came across this quote by Pursuing Titus 2, who has done the Western version of the same thing called Elimination Communication with her young ones, which makes me instantly feel better:

"If I were unable to walk myself to the bathroom, I know I would much rather have someone take me than put me in a diaper and change me at their convenience (like I did with my first three children). That’s a big thing that keeps me going on this strange path. I’m treating my baby the way I would like to be treated myself."

So true for a little little life that can't walk or even talk for himself, that I am bringing into this world because I want to be a mom!

Get geared up Pallavi, you singed up for it. Now, you have to do your part!

Growing up

I recently got a very disturbing call from one of my aunts. The first thing she said to me when I picked up the phone was, "I know you have always hated D (her daughter, my oldest cousin)!". Needless to say, I was shocked. So shocked that the only reaction that came out of me was a downpour of tears. I was confused. I had always prided myself to have not hurt anyone and being able to see the other's point of view in order to ignore their idiosynchrocies. I know I have my own set of those. And given that everyone in my family still seems to love me, I always assumed they did the same as well. But this statement from my Aunt, and a few others that followed it just didn't make sense.
As it turns out, I had forgotten to call D on her 42nd birthday the day before. And to add insult to injury (I guess?) I called my Aunt to wish her on her birthday a week before, right date, wrong month! I know it's not good. But all I did was to wish her well, didn't l? And I wouldn't have minded receiving a call from my aunt complaining that I didn't remember her birthday correctly or from D that I forgot to call her. But making a leap to it being a twisted way to taunt D? Given me, anyone who knows me knows that I get dates and months confused, I do not call people even if I really really want to, and I most definitely do not go out of my way to hurt people. And even if you don't know me, how do you turn wishing someone into an intentional act of hurting them? One needs to be really screwed up to make that jump. And even if you do, how long can you have your parents fight your battle for you? How long can you fight your children's battles for them? Aren't you actually hurting them if you are still doing that past their 40s? D has always taunted people and insulted the elders including her father and my father in public, and my aunt has always supported D. How I wish I had the guts to call and tell my aunt that she actually needs to correct D when she does this. Tell her that she is not always correct. Tell her that by blaming and insulting everyone around her, she is alienating people who once cared for her. Every single one around her is actually scared of her outbursts and she is going to end up alone and lonely if she does not change her ways. Harsh as it may sound, isn't that a parent's job? Shouldn't you prepare your children so that when you are gone, you know they will be ok?

As I see my little neices and nephews grow up, I can't even imagin doing to them what my aunt did to me this last week. She chose her daughters feelings over mine. 

I know I want to have my own children one day. I hope I love and pamper them, but prepare them for their own battles. I hope I am a stable support, but make sure that they do not crumble without me. I hope they remember me as a loving mother who taught them to love and respect themselves as well as others. And I hope I teach them to steer themselves clear of people who do not do the same.

I think it is time for me to follow my own advice and steer clear of these people week clearly do not love or respect anyone's feelings besides themselves. I guess this is a vital part of growing up as well. 

These are paintings?

I recently came across a blog by Brad Teare. He is a landscape painter with beautiful work who also teaches through his videos.

After listening to him refer to his wife a couple of times in his videos, I for some reason presumed that she was a photographer and wanted to check out her work as well.. Her work is beautiful. Rustic, antique-ish and colorful.. a good combination of what I love..

But her prices were crazy! $7000+ for just a 18 x 24 print???

And then I realized, the description said "Oil on board"!

These are painting? These are PAINTINGS?????? 

 

 I could not believe my eyes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Any number of exclamation marks I put would not be enough!

Apparently there are Trompe L'oeil paintings, which is the art of illusion. Like the ones you see on street art.

   

But her work is just amazing! Do check it out.

Shutting off the left brain..

Recently, as I am trying to get back into drawing and painting, I am realizing more and more how important it is to shut off your right brain to not just create art, but to actually see it in the first place.









I have always had this issue... I start drawing/painting something... initially it looks like it is going well, I am making progress.. and then suddenly, something will go wrong. As I step back from my work, the eyes will look out of place or incorrect in size or looking in a completely different direction as compared to the rest of the face!




I always thought the main reason was that I would start getting tired or bored and would want to finish the project.. basically lack of patience. In a way my did say that a couple of times that I lacked patience.. and I did.







But, because of internet and the rich resources available on it, and the two classes I have taken at WAM, I am realizing that that is not the only issue. I am an engineer and my analytical brain is always ON. After I start to see some form on the paper, my left brain automatically completes it, pushing aside anything my right brain has to say and despite what I am actually seeing.

So, after learning about your brain's auto-complete feature, I have been trying to shut my left brain off consciously. Every time I feel an urge to just draw a line or fill up a shape, I ask myself, do I really see it?

And I have to say, it does help. When I step back from my work, my left brain realizes that it actually looks more like what I am trying to achieve. Here is the latest sketch I did based on a live model.

 

Check out my other works at http://arainbowfortheheart.blogspot.com/