Bulu Box review, ohana, and RW streak

I've heard a lot about the box subscriptions where each month you receive a box of themed goodie samples. There are all kinds of these boxes out there covering dozens of themes - food, health, fashion, art, sports, pets, you name it. I happen to love getting packages (or really any kind of mail other than bills, advertisements, or dumb product solicitations) so I was looking for an opportunity to try a box subscription.

A few months ago, I saw a Living Social deal for 50% off a 3-month subscription to Bulu Box (premium health products). Bingo! I signed up and was never so excited for those little boxes to arrive. I had a choice between a standard Bulu Box or a Weight Loss Bulu Box, and I chose the standard box.

I wanted to share some thoughts on my subscription. Here's a picture of the contents from my November box (my third and final one):

To summarize, the box included some kind of coupon for workout DVD products, a code for a one-month virtual assistant membership, some "energy" chocolate, a hangover preventer, PMS treatment pills, and two energy bars.

Out of the entire package, the only things that I will consume are the two energy bars. The "energy" chocolate is borderline, since I am sensitive to caffeine and try to avoid it where possible. I don't intend to use any of the remaining products.

Even so, for me this month's box is actually probably the best assortment of products out of the three boxes that I've received. For the prior two boxes, I might have tried just one item out of the entire contents. One month I think there was some sour-gummy vitamins that I tried, and another month there was some pocket protein fruit thing. But other things that were sent in prior months included some nasal health package, some super-caffeinated energy gel, some antacid, and a couple of metabolic pills. All of these things are just sitting in a bin on my kitchen counter right now collecting dust.

The Bulu Box subscriptions are definitely not for me. I've found very few of the samples pertain to me, and some of the samples (like the metabolic pills) were so small that you wouldn't be able to ascertain how well they worked for you even if you did try them. I will not be renewing my Bulu subscription.

I don't have mail.

Despite being disappointed in my Bulu Box experience, I am open to trying other box subscriptions. Any recommendations?

No More Jane Doe
After first mention here of needing a runner's identification, I finally ordered a Road ID via some pre-Black Friday sales!

I debated for awhile on what color to get, but finally picked orange (one of my alma mater's colors). I also debated what info to include on it in addition to my name. Based on recommendations, I went with my birth year, city/state/country, and two emergency contacts.

There was one more line that you could personalize with "a meaningful quote or slogan." Suggestions included the usual things like "One more mile" and "Believe in yourself" and "Practice makes perfect."

I decided to go with something a little different: "Ohana means family." This was inspired by one of my favorite Disney characters - STITCH! =)

And finally...
My Runners World Run Streak (first mentioned here) has been going well. I completed Day 6 of the streak today.

Thus far, I have done every run on the treadmill purely for convenience. Two out of the six days I've done the bare minimum - exactly one mile. One other day I did a whopping 1.3 miles (woo hoo!). Nonetheless, the 6 consecutive days of running is already longer than I've ever maintained in my entire running life.

I won't kid you, there have been days where I've gotten out of bed and the thought of trying to find a time to run that mile sounded awful. But I've found that the single mile really isn't very much of a time commitment. My hips and knees seem to be holding up okay, as well. So right now, the goal of maintaining this streak through the new year seems like it will be reasonably attainable.

We'll see how things go as we enter some of the more challenging days next week. (Thank goodness for Turkey Trots!!!)