secret addiction to fiction

I've always loved to read, it's probably why I'm near sighted (although that's probably mostly genetics), but my parents blamed inadequate light while I was reading books growing up.  They've always been a part of my life and I would get excited when the newsprint scholastic book sale flyers were handed out and would beg my mom to buy me more books.  Trips to the library were numerous and I even learned to walk and read without bumping into things when I was younger.

But I don't just love to read, I love to read fiction and mainly sci-fi and fantasy.  Books were a way to escape to enter a whole different world and the wonderful thing about books is that you start to paint your own images of who these characters are and what they look like.  Almost making the author's story a little piece of yourself too.

Well after graduating college I stopped reading for awhile, that little thing called work soaked up a lot of time and I just got busy.  But what really stirred up my love for fantasy and sci-fi again was an author named Marjorie M. Liu.  My parents know hers and I had gone to visit them before when we were growing up, imagine my surprise when my dad tells me she went from lawyer to best selling author.  I had to pick up her books, if not just to support her to see what they were about.  It totally rekindled my love for reading again!  I grabbed ahold of everything she had written and even went back to my old friend the library to finish the entire Dirk and Steele series and then she came out with the Hunter Kiss series, which is equally as amazing.  Thanks to reading her twitter feed and blog, I've also come across other authors and found books that are hard to put down.

So if you're looking for some good sci-fi and fantasy reads, you definitely need to check her out!  She's releasing a new Dirk and Steele book tomorrow - In the Dark of Dreams!  You can find more information on her blog or on the online release party over at Bitten By Books.  Check it out and rekindle your love for reading! :)

sustainable gifting

As you start looking at what to buy your family and friends for the holiday season, stop and think if your purchase can give twice!

There are lots of businesses out there that not only create amazing and beautiful crafts, but whose proceeds also go to support people and animals in need around the world!  So check out some of these amazing companies and start thinking about sustainable gifting!

31 Bits  - Helps women in Uganda learn to empower themselves by buying beautiful, hand-made jewelry and bringing it to the US market.  From their website: 31 Bits is a business using fashion and design to empower women to rise above poverty. We believe that business is one of the most powerful and sustainable approaches to turning scarcity into abundance, and eventually, alleviating poverty completely.

krochet kids international - Mission: To empower people to rise above poverty. - This company teaches people to crochet so they can empower themselves towards building a better life.  They sell amazing and beautiful hats, clothing and accessories.  I've got my eye on the bella in cranberry (in case you wanted to know what to get me for xmas). ;)

Three Avocados - Sells Uganda Bugisu Coffee to help raise money to bring clean water into Uganda!  If I drank more coffee (or woke up early enough to make it) I would so be buying their coffee.

Pirate Coast Paddle Company - I "blame" these pirates for my new found love for stand up paddling!  They work hard to not only share their passion for SUP to people, they also put on events and donate those proceeds to do good things (such as build clean water wells in Africa!).  They're also the ones that introduced me to 31bits and krochet kids.  You should really go paddle with them at least once and then gift a paddle session to someone else too.

Deal Gooder - Do you love Groupon/LivingSocial/Deal Perk and all those coupon sites?  Then you're going to love Deal Gooder twice as much!  Because not only are you going to get a good deal, you're going to feel all warm and fuzzy knowing they donated 1/2 of the purchase price to an Orange County non-profit!  Check them out!

Uncommon Goods - Another favorite of mine, eco-friendly and creative gifts too!  I totally would fill my house with this stuff if I had enough disposable income and space. :D

so do some good this holiday season and have a safe and happy one!

jade • heart

I've been asked before, why jadeheart?

Are you jaded?
Have men treated you so badly you're now scorned?
Why not just jade?

No. No. and Because.

jade because it's a take off my Chinese name and heart because that's how I live my life.

while I've also been called frighteningly rational, most of my motivations come from my heart and attempting to create balance in my life. jadeheart has been my online presence since the beginning of my internet journey (minus a really awkward nickname in high school that we'll conveniently forget).  and years and years and years later, when I was given my hawaiian name, part of it was the hawaiian word for heart - pu'uwai (the gifter of my name did not know about jadeheart).

so I am far from jaded, I am not a woman scored and because jade was just too plain for a user name. :)

if you knew what i knew..

if you knew that life can be shorter than you think, especially if you lose someone you love, would you be more open?