Kat Kuan

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Kat

December Favorites: Holiday and Winter-Themed Kids Books

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Holiday season is in full swing! I have been checking out handfuls of kids books from the nearby libraries on anything winter / holiday themed. Here are my favorite finds of this month!

1. Tacky the Penguin

2. The Mitten

3. A Hat for Mrs. Goldman

4. Why Christmas Trees Aren’t Perfect

5. An Orange for Frankie


6. A World of Cookies for Santa


Okay the below books are not holiday themed, but they’re so adorable, I had to include them! 😉

7. I Love You Through and Through


8. The Big Orange Splot

9. The Jolly Postman

And for my random item…

10. KitchenAid Blender

In the last few months, I have been using my blender A LOT – like several times a week. I’ve been making green smoothies in the morning for breakfast or for a snack. I have an older model with 4 speeds that they don’t sell anymore, but this one looks closest to it. I heard Vitamix is great too, but out of my price range for now, so I’ve been happy with my KitchenAid one!

Alright, hope you discovered something new in the list that you didn’t know about before! Happy Holidays and enjoy the rest of your December!!

Disclaimer: This post contains some affiliate links, but I would recommend these things regardless. I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Thanks for your support! 

Love Warrior: The Most Soul Baring Book I’ve Read

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I could not put this book down. It usually takes me months to finish this book, but I zoomed through these pages in about a week. I read at every spare chance I got, early in the morning or late at night. I had wide eyes at what the author was saying as I turned each page of the book.

LOVE WARRIOR BY GLENNON DOYLE MELTON

This is a memoir of the author’s life. She writes about growing up and wanting to fit in. She describes the first time she stares down at her thighs as a pre-teen and is uncomfortable with her body. She talks about these insecurities and flashbacks from school as if they just happened yesterday. She pretends to fit in with all the makeup, clothes, and parties through college and her early 20s. But they lead her into a downward spiral of bulimia and alcoholism as she desperately tries to escape her pain.

She goes through an abortion and then finds herself pregnant again. But this time, it’s different. Lying on the bathroom floor, she decides to take the pregnancy test as an invitation from God. An invitation that He trusts her enough bring a child into the world. She gets married and has her first baby, followed by two more children.

On the outside, it looks like she “has it all,” but on the inside, she grapples with feeling like her life is in shambles. If people ask her what’s wrong, she continues to say “it’s okay, I’m fine, really.” She admits a lack of connection with her husband. She starts to hole up in her closet and finds freedom in writing her true feelings on her blog – feelings she can’t verbally express to her husband face-to-face. One day in a counseling session, her husband confesses to being unfaithful throughout their marriage. It sends her into another downward spiral. She hits the bottom-est bottom there ever was. She questions the fundamentals of her identity – “Is my marriage a sham? Is my life a sham?” She is angry, hurt, and all the emotions that ever existed all at once.

But this time, she learns to face the pain. In a winding and messy path, she becomes reacquainted with her true self, which is buried miles beneath all the years of pretending. It’s underneath all the lies from society that is piled on top of her about what a successful life is supposed to look like. Her path to healing is full of false starts and stops. She learns to connect her mind and body through yoga (even learning to breathe again) and attempts to rebuild a life on her own terms.

I don’t think my description of the book can do it justice. Numerous times throughout the book, tears would well up in my eyes because the story was deeply touching. Glennon is able to capture into words the most gut wrenching feelings of isolation, loss, and hurt that is so core to the human experience.

The book is about what happens when we get stuck in the most stuck places of all, and how we manage to crawl out of those dark places. There are certainly very beautiful moments as she rediscovers herself and what unconditional love feels like. Because there is a God that loves us for every ounce of who we are. Whether or not we feel like we deserve it.

I loved the book and it made me feel like I’m not alone in how I feel, even in my darkest, most selfish feelings. Because paying attention to our needs can actually nurture our souls and lead us to a more beautiful authentic life.

If any of the story sounds interesting, Love Warrior may be worth a read for you during the holiday season. You can get it online, at a bookstore, or your local library, which is how I picked up the book.

If you’ve read any other good books lately, I would love to hear about them too!

Lots of love,
Kat

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links, but of course, I would recommend this book regardless. I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

November Favorites: Kids Books on Family, Food, and Gratitude

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The holiday season is upon us! I wanted to do this month’s favorites on children’s books in the spirit of Thanksgiving. I chose books that reflected the themes of family, food, and/or gratitude. So hooray, here we go!

1. THANK YOU BEAR


This is “for anyone who ever thought they had something great,” as described on the dedication page. This endearing story is about a little bear who comes across a box. He thinks it’s quite awesome, but as he shows it to the other animals (monkey, fox, owl, etc…), they scoff and say that the box is nothing special. I could empathize with the poor bear as he got sadder each time. He starts to think that the box may not be so great after all. 🙁 I won’t spoil the ending, but I think the book has a great lesson in gratitude and in staying true to yourself when you see the value in something – despite what other may people think.

2. THE BLESSINGS JAR: A STORY ABOUT BEING THANKFUL


A little girl starts off her day feeling bummed and thinking that the day will be no fun. Her grandmother grabs a jar that they call the blessings jar and they set out on an adventure to make the most of their day. Along the way, they gather little reminders of God’s blessings to put in the jar. It’s an adorable story of counting your blessings even in the smallest details of every day life.

3. COOKIES: BITE-SIZE LIFE LESSONS


In this clever book, the author explains life lessons (or rather character development traits) in the context of cookies! For example, “patience” is explained as waiting for the cookies to finish baking. Oh I definitely know that feeling. “Generous” is described as sharing cookies with others, while “trustworthy” means not eating someone’s cookie when they briefly leave the room. Ha! I love how everything is described as it relates to cookies because who doesn’t love cookies?! And the book ends with a recipe for chocolate chip cookies!! I think that would be a perfect activity to do with a child after reading this book. I love when you can feel and taste the story! 😛

4. CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS


Ah, such a classic. I remember reading this growing up and loved reading it again recently. The story stretches your imagination to the extreme. Unrelenting torrents of food. Yup, that appropriately describes Thanksgiving. I get hungry thinking of hamburger storms and a pancake big enough to cover an entire school. P.S. Apparently there’s a movie and a sequel out too!

5. THAT IS NOT A GOOD IDEA!


From the author of the Elephant & Piggie series, Mo Willems brings another entertaining book. This is a silly and fun book about a tricky fox who tries to invite a goose over for dinner. Uh oh, be careful! 😮

6. YOU GET WHAT YOU GET


Melvin the squirrel doesn’t deal well with disappointment. (Who can relate?) He throws a tantrum if he doesn’t get what he wants. But at school, his teacher has a rule, “You get what you get, and you don’t throw a fit.” Melvin tries to outsmart his family, who doesn’t know the rule… or will they find out? This is a fun story of learning to accept how things turn out, without complaining! And wouldn’t that make the world a more pleasant place… 🙂

7. THOSE SHOES


This is a touching story of a boy who really wants a pair of shoes that the other kids at school all have, but his grandmother can’t afford them. As he navigates the embarrassment of having to wear hand-me-down shoes, this story about wanting something badly turns into a story of generosity. The author and illustrator do a great job of showing diverse characters and providing a glimpse of poverty from the eyes of a child.

8. SYLVESTER AND THE MAGIC PEBBLE


Sylvester the donkey loves to collect cool looking pebbles. One day, he finds a fantastic magical red pebble that grants any wish you want, as long as you are holding the pebble. He get into a little predicament when he gets startled by a lion and accidentally wishes to become a rock. The pebble falls on the floor beside him, so he cannot reach it to make a wish to be his old self again. The book goes into how he tries to deal with that problemo! Ultimately, I like how this fanciful story shows that the love in a family can be worth more than a silly pebble, even if it can grant you any wish you want.

9. UNIQLO ULTRA LIGHT DOWN JACKET

Source: Uniqlo

And for my last random favorite, I would say that I can’t survive without this black puffy jacket. I get cold easily and Bay Area weather can get unexpectedly chilly (I know, I’m a pansy.). I’ve had this jacket for so long and worn it everywhere. If it’s summer time, I’ll will wear it. If it’s winter time, I’ll wear it. It’s washable and you can squish it into a teensy bag for travel purposes. This one time, I was wearing it, and my 2 friends decided that they needed one too, so now the 3 of us have the same jacket! You’re welcome Uniqlo for being a walking ad.

Alright, that’s a wrap! Do you have any favorites that you discovered this month? Leave them in the comments below!

I hope everyone has a safe and happy Thanksgiving holiday! Eat until your eyes and hearts are satisfied. 😀

And keep reading! Perfect weather for cozying up with a book, magazine, or anything with words. Cheers!

Disclaimer: This post contains some affiliate links. I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. At no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase, I will receive a small commission. Regardless of this, these are books that I honestly enjoy and would recommend anyways. Thanks for your support! 

October Favorites: Children’s Books & More

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Lately, I’ve been reading more children’s books for inspiration.

It’s become a bit of scavenger hunt to find great books. They’re like hidden gems – hidden among the stacks of books available in libraries / bookstores, or even buried within random book discussion threads on the internet.

And when you find a magical book, it feels amazing!!! So here goes my favorites for the month of October.

1. You are Special by Max Lucado


This is the book I’m the most excited about!! Thank you to my dear friend Ines for suggesting this gem to me. So touching, with such an important message for kids and adults. The symbolism in this book runs deep (Max is a talented Christian author), and his writing here is quite masterful. I hope that you get a chance to read this one at some point in your life.

2. Toot by Leslie Patricelli


On the opposite end of the spectrum, this book is completely silly and fun. Toot is a book about farts, which is always a topic that makes people laugh. The format is in a board book for babies. Warning: the word “toot” will get stuck in your head. 😛

3. The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn


Little Chester the raccoon doesn’t want to go to school. He would rather stay home with his mother, but she tells him a family secret to soothe his worries. 😉 This book gave me warm fuzzies. Would be perfect for kids who are feeling anxious about leaving home to go to school.

4. Doctor De Soto by William Steig


This book turned out to be a suspenseful page-turner for me, haha! Doctor De Soto is a mouse and he’s a dentist for other small animals. One day, a fox comes for help with his toothache, and the dilemma becomes: if Doctor De Soto fixes the fox’s tooth, will the fox eat the doctor and his wife??

5. Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes


Turns out that this is another story about a mouse! There’s just something endearing about them – in paper form (not in real life). From the time she was born, Chrysanthemum loved her unique name. Until she went to school and the kids relentlessly teased her about it. I could feel her blushed cheeks and embarrassment, poor girl! The charming book uncovers how she deals with this and comes to terms with her name / identity.

6. I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen


This is an entertaining tale about a bear looking for the hat that he’s lost. Even though the bear is in such an unfortunate circumstance, I couldn’t help but laugh at his expressionless face. 😆

7. Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson

Harold has a purple crayon that he wields with great power! (Don’t you just love crayons?) On his walk in the moonlight, he is able to draw what he imagines and wants. Oh the possibilities! This is a fun bedtime story about the power of imagination. Thank you to Chris and his aunt for the book recommendation! And P.S. this makes me want to draw on my plain boring walls. 😛

8. My last favorite for the month are my pink slippers! Fall is upon us and it is getting chill-ay! I like to keep my feet cozy as I read books, hang out on the couch, cook, or write this blog post. And despite this image, note that they come in a pair, not just one slipper lol.

Alright, that’s a wrap! Hope you enjoyed this post! Did YOU discover any new favorites in October? I’d love to hear about them in the comments below.

I also want to mention that I am part of the Amazon Affiliate program, so if you make a purchase from here, at no extra cost to you, I will receive a small commission – which I’ll be using towards my living expenses as I write my first book! Regardless of this though, I would honestly recommend these items. Thank you for your continued support and awesomeness!!

Official Disclaimer: I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Favorite Children’s Books

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As I write my own children’s book, I am continually inspired by books that others have written and illustrated. Here are 10 of my favorite ones! For a description of these books, check out my latest YouTube video!

1. What Do You Do With An Idea? By Kobi Yamada and Mae Besom

2. Indestructibles: Baby Faces By Amy Pixton and Kate Merritt

3. Indestructibles: Baby Peekaboo By Amy Pixton and Kate Merritt

4. The Family Book By Todd Parr

5. Dragons Love Tacos By Adam Rubin and Daniel Salmieri

6. There is a Bird On Your Head! By Mo Willems

7. Can I Play Too? By Mo Willems

8. Green Eggs and Ham By Dr. Seuss

9. The Giving Tree By Shel Silverstein


10. Love You Forever By Robert Munsch and Sheila McGraw

Many of these authors have written other books, so I’ve included links to related books from them. Not all sequels are as great as the original 😛 but I wanted to include them in case you’re curious. Especially for some of the series like Elephant & Piggie and Indestructibles, I haven’t read all of them yet, but I’m sure there are some other good ones in there too!

Anyhow, hope this list was helpful!

And I’m curious, what are some of your favorites? Leave them in the comments below and I’d love to check them out! 😀

Disclaimer: I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. At no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase, I will receive a small commission. Regardless of this, these are books that I honestly enjoy and would recommend anyways. Thanks for your support! 

My YouTube Channel: Writing a Children’s Book

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Hey y’allz! I forgot to update this blog with the fact that I started a YouTube channel! It’s a vlog series documenting my journey to writing a children’s book – which I have wanted to do for SOOO LONG!!

My motivation always went up and down. One day, I was all gung ho about starting it. Then I would get overwhelmed by the fears of all the worst possible outcomes or overwhelmed by all the things I didn’t know how to do (self-publish, illustrate, market a book, etc…). I would get discouraged. I would get distracted easily. Or I would just get plain lazy and go to the mall instead. 😛 Anyhow, it was a nonlinear process to say the least.

About 2 months ago, I FINALLY got the guts to seriously buckle down and work on the book, and by announcing it on YouTube, I feel like it’s going to keep me accountable to keep making forward progress. ONWARDS!

Here are the videos I have so far, Episodes 1 through 4. You can click each one individually or I’ve combined all of the videos into a handy dandy playlist!

If you enjoy these videos, subscribe to my YouTube channel to follow along!

Also, what are some of your favorite YouTube channels? I’d love to find new awesome channels for inspiration! 😀

Open Paint Night

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Earlier this month, my friend Jodie and I dropped by a free Open Paint Night in downtown Redwood City at a cute little bicycle themed cafe called Cyclismo Cafe. I found out about it on Facebook and the concept sounded really cool! The event was put on by CATA (Community Advocacy through Art) which creates public art spaces and street art murals throughout Redwood City. Next up, I think they’re going to create a mural on the side of a local Whole Foods store. I love the idea of more street art, adding more flair to our neighborhoods!

At each paint night, they promote a local artist and a local nonprofit. That night, an artist named Cristal Chen (@sweetbloomsco) was being featured. She had her artwork and prints in one corner of the cafe by the window. Super cutesy flowers and plants and some abstract design elements. Sorry it’s a bit hard to see in this picture, you can check out her Insta page for a closer look!

She also designed some large canvases as a color-me-in, so anyone could go up and just paint it. It’s kind of neat for random strangers to just build on each other’s work in an art piece – sort of like the graffiti messages you find on the walls of bathroom stalls. 😛

Cristal also made some kokedama – these little plants that were hanging off the spokes of the bicycles that lined the cafe walls. I never knew such a thing existed! You can spot a tiny one hanging in midair in the picture below.

Some other people doing cool things were from Incredible Edible Peninsula, the featured nonprofit of the night. Apparently, they have planted over 20 fruit trees in a local park for community sharing. Anyone can basically go up and grab a fruit. How awesome is that! A snack in the park if you’re feeling the grumbles in your tummy. In addition, they have garden shares, where people can share the excess fruit/veggies they have grown in their backyards by swapping with what others have grown in their homes. Too bad I have nothing to offer. 🙁

Anyhow, I loved the vibe of the event. It was a great place for people, young or old, to come and create, and learn about some new things happening in the community. The cafe was quite packed, people were sitting on the tables inside and also outside on the patio. Jodie and I managed to find open seats to sit down and paint. Here’s our finished Picassos! 😛 For some reason, I really like painting leaves.

Here are some shots from outside on the patio. This woman was painting a horse and it was so amazing, it blew us away.

If you’re interested in attending a future Open Paint Night, they’re held on the first Thursday of every month (link here).

After we had our fill of artist time, Jodie and I headed over to our favorite Indian restaurant for dinner. On the way, we passed an outdoor movie night in the courthouse square. There was still daylight, so people were staking out a good spot with their lawn chairs in front of the outdoor screen to watch the movie of the night – La La Land! Haven’t seen it yet, but we were hungry, so we kept on moving!

We headed into Broadway Masala. It’s finally reopened again after the remodel, hooray! They even have fancy tablets with photos of the menu dishes on them (see below). We had the butter chicken and a lamb dish, and of course GARLIC NAAN, as well as some chai tea and mango lassi. No pictures of that, we were too busy stuffing our faces. We were so happy and full afterwards.

Overall, it was a great night in downtown Redwood City, seeing people out and about enjoying themselves. I love living in the Bay Area!

 

How I earned $100 in Amazon credit with an app

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When I see a hiring sign in a local business (at the supermarket, a restaurant, or at the mall), I take a photo and submit it via the JobSpotter app. Each submission earns me points, and the points get redeemed for Amazon gift cards. Over the last 8 months, I’ve earned over $119 in Amazon credit!

Below is my list of submissions within the JobSpotter app. Each submission gets manually reviewed and assigned points based on how valuable that posting was – anywhere from 5 to 150 points. 100 points equals $1 of gift card credit.

As you can see, I earned around 70 points to 80 points for these locations. From my personal experience, taking pictures of generic hiring signs at big commercial banks or Starbucks yields a small number of points (maybe 10 – 20 points). However, taking a picture for a very popular local restaurant (that’s not a chain) can earn you a lot of points (70 points or even over 100 points). That means, on some occasions, I’ve earned over $1 for taking a photo!

Okay, it’s actually two photos. Each submission requires 1) a photo of the hiring sign and 2) a photo of the store name. The app uses your location as well to verify that you physically located at that business.

(Yup, there’s a palm tree at the grocery store. What can I say, it’s California.)

Anyhow, here’s the wallet view within the app. It displays the amount of credit you’ve accumulated. At any point you want to cash out, just hit the “Redeem” button, and an Amazon e-gift card gets emailed to you.

With this money, I purchased a journal, a keyboard wrist pad, slippers, a massage ball, and some other random stuff. It’s fun to go shopping when you have free cash in your account! Unfortunately, it’s almost TOO easy to spend the hard earned money that your legs worked hard for – wandering around the whole city looking for those signs! 

Within the app, there’s also a leaderboard that ranks users by number of points they have. The top 3 users each month get an extra bonus gift card ($50 – $300). Pretty sweet! But I will never make it into the top 3 – those people are super serious. I have no idea how they have so much time to take all those photos!

At one point, I was REALLY into this app. I would go out of my way to drive to different shopping center plazas around the Bay Area, get out of the car, and start looking for hiring signs to take photos of. Even in the freezing cold! Well, whatever “cold” means for us here. 😛 It’s similar to Pokemon Go, except instead of looking for Pokemon, I was looking for hiring signs, and getting paid to do it! It was a game that I wanted to WIN! Anyhow, I have calmed down since then. If I see a sign when I’m going out and about in my daily life, I’ll take a photo. If it’s a chain restaurant that probably won’t give me a lot of points, I probably won’t bother.

In case you’re wondering, the app is run by Indeed.com, a popular job site with tons of job postings. I think that this is a great use case for a mobile app. They’re crowdsourcing information from everyday people about who’s hiring in these little suburbs and towns, and giving out rewards as incentive. 

Once your submission is approved, you can see it on the Indeed.com search engine by searching “Help wanted” and the city you took the photo in. It should look something like this example. All the fine print and legal details are here. Note: If someone else already submitted a particular sign to JobSpotter, then your submission will be rejected as a duplicate. Within a month though, the online posting will expire, so it’s fair game to go back and take the same photo later. Thus, ideally, you’ll be more successful in a neighborhood where other people don’t use the app. 

If you want to try it out, download the app for free from Android or iOS.

Have fun, but stay out of my territory! 😛 Kidding! Good luck!

Measuring Our Success

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As I ponder about the type of career and life I want, I wonder: At which point will I feel satisfied, like I have “made it”? Or to put it another way, what are my metrics for success in life? Honestly, I don’t know.

Too Many Numbers

I grew up having my life quantified into numbers, so I could be stack ranked against others to see if I was good enough to admitted into an elite institution or a Fortune 500 company. My high school GPA, SAT test scores, college GPA, interview scores, a salary at work, etc… Everything boiled down to numbers.

I know, I know. We need a way to standardize performance to add some organization to the chaos. As a society, we’ve decided to standardize by using numbers to approximate the real things we’re measuring – character, hard work, talent, effort, growth, impact, etc…

But the problem is when we identify so strongly with those numbers that we start to believe that those numbers define our worth.

We start to strive for higher numbers – a higher salary, a higher level on the corporate ladder, so that we can be better, be more “successful.”

When we add numbers to a goal, it can give us a great deal of motivation and hustle to try to reach those targets. But falling short of those targets can also be a constant source of inadequacy, shame, or stress. Adding numbers to deliverables can also make the process of work feel like an obligation and chore, being chained to some arbitrary target number. That mindset quickly drains away creativity and the very humanity which made us choose that work in the first place.

Do the Numbers Mean Anything?

On social media, it also seems like we are quick to judge people based on the number of Instagram followers and subscribers they have on YouTube. More numbers mean more impact on the world, which should make them successful and happy, right? Except for some of the most popular influencers, they weren’t. They were extremely miserable. Selena Gomez, Michelle Phan, and Essena O’Neill, all went on digital detoxes to take a break from social media to discover their deeper identity.

The numbers mislead us. We foolishly believe that a bigger one will deliver happiness. However, when we finally reach that target number, we feel happy for a day, and then return to feeling discontent. Then we set a new goal for an even higher number to wait for happiness. Why do we let numbers have so much power over us?

At my last job, we had performance reviews, where we had to list out our recent accomplishments. I was making videos and online courses, and I realized how hard it is to measure the impact of my work as a teacher. How do you measure if a student has truly learned? Maybe the way the concepts were presented were completely confusing to the student. Or maybe they gained skills that boosted their confidence and opened their eyes up to a new career path. I struggled with writing those self-assessments. I felt like I had to fall back on the crutch of numbers that were concrete – number of students enrolled, completion rates, video views, number of lessons I churned out, etc… But I was disappointed that those metrics could not adequately capture something as abstract as the impact of education.

Right now, all I know is that I’m tired of measuring myself with numbers.

As I brainstorm future career goals, I don’t want to add numeric metrics to them. For example, does it matter if I reach a certain number of views or subscribers on this blog? I’m growing accustomed to the idea that the greatest satisfaction from having a blog is having an outlet to express, refine, and share my ideas. And to rant as well. 😉 

Things That Can’t Be Measured

The other day, I attended a hip hop dance class and saw this sign on the door.

It made me smile because it showed true appreciation for the intangible things that bring value to our lives.

Love is undoubtedly one of those things that is hard to measure. But it can be captured and shared through anecdotes, as seen on this Instagram account Love What Matters (see this cute example). Even reading these stories can uplift our spirit in profound ways.

Similarly, kindness is invisible. The impact that it has on someone can stay with them throughout their day. It can affect their interaction with the next person they meet, which can in turn impact the next person, and so on. Kindness can just ripple out across the world.

Perhaps we should give up trying to assign a number to these concepts.

Perhaps the only way to “measure” them is to use an internal barometer – how our minds and bodies feel. And to keep returning back to the people, places, and activities that fill up those barometers until they’re overflowing. That can be vague though. And sometimes messy. But it feels more real.

“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched – they must be felt with the heart.” – Helen Keller