Thursday, November 21, 2013

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!!!)

19 comments:

  1. I haven't had an interest in the "boxes" because I don't use/eat a lot of processed things so I was thinking it probably wouldn't be for me either. Your post pretty much confirmed that but PLEASE pass that energy chocolate!! LOL!

    Love Lilo! And we use the word "ohana" all the time. :)

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    1. Amanda, I am right there with you in trying to avoid processed goods as much as possible - and some of the Bulu Box items are pretty terrifying to me! But I am more than happy to give you the energy chocolate the next time I see you. =)

      Yay for Lilo and Stitch! Such classic and lovable Disney characters! I can just hear Lilo's voice in my head right now: "WHAT ABOUT OHANA?!?!?!?!"

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  2. That box thing seems like it was a dud for you. Hopefully, you can find a better one next time. That Road ID is a good idea, I usually use the Fleet Feet plastic ones, but they tend to rip and tear after a few months. Congrats on the streak. Which Turkey Trots are you doing?

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    1. Pete, I don't think you would have liked the Bulu Box if you had tried it either. I am not sure what audience they are targeting with the products, but a lot of the items seem very niche. I didn't know that Fleet Feet had IDs! Do they just sell them at the store? I'll have to take a look the next time I stop in to one. Thanks for the encouragement on my RW Streak! I am running the PNC YMCA Turkey Trot 5-miler in Pittsburgh (my second year doing it!) How about you, are you running the Lincolnwood Turkey Trot?

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    2. Yes, they are simple IDs that you need to fill out with a pen. Like I said, they might last a few months but they are only like $1 or something around there. Good luck at the Turkey Trot in Pittsburgh. Yes, I'm doing Lincolnwood with about 5 other bloggers! :)

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    3. Good to know! My RoadID cost about $15, so a $1 semi-disposable ID is a good deal. =) Yay for Lincolnwood! I wish you and all the other CRBs a FANTASTIC race! The weather is looking good for this weekend, too!!!

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    4. Thanks! I'm looking forward to it!

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  3. Hooray - you got a runner's ID band! Good job!

    I have seen those boxes, but they never seem to interest me. First, everything is so processed or chemical based (IE the PMS and hangover stuff you mentioned weirds me out, and I don't eat power bars and stuff like that). Second, I like to know what I'm spending my money on to know it's a value. The mystery loses the fun for me if I'm not sure it's worth my $19.95 or $29.95 or whatever the cost is (channeling my inner as-seen-on-tv goddess).

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    1. Thanks, Shinianen!

      I agree, I found some of the products slightly terrifying, and I have no idea what the retail value is of the products included. The Living Social deal was for 50% off the regular price, so for that kind of a deal I figured it'd be worth experimenting for 3 months. But you are right about the as-seen-on-tv considerations. Btw - my husband and I talked about how all of those infomercials are so similar. We were debating if people take, say, infomercial acting classes or infomercial advertising classes in college? LOL

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    2. You'll die when I say this - but I used to work at ShopNBC. A lot of the on air talent acted the same... I think maybe because they hang around with each other a lot and just get into a rut??

      Today only! Only $29.95!!!

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    3. BTW, I didn't work on air. I was in merchandising, buying...

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    4. NO WAY. That is HILARIOUS!!! I can only imagine the how the personalities would feed off of themselves when many of them were gathered together!

      "BUT WAIT... WE'RE NOT DONE YET!!! IF YOU CALL WITHIN THE NEXT 30 SECONDS, WE'LL THROW IN ANOTHER CHIA PET FOR ABSOLUTELY FREE!!!"

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    5. One day, I just died. There was a watch show on, and the two women were like "oh, this watch is fantastic, it's got such a non-traditional face... in a hexagon shape... that's what that is, right, a hexagon?" and the other lady was like "oh yes, it really is beautiful with it's 8 sides. Yes, that's a hexagon" *Face palm*

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    6. Oh. My. God.

      But, I guess you could play up anything on an infomercial, right? "IF YOU BUY THIS HEXAGONAL WATCH TODAY, WE'LL THROW IN TWO EXTRA SIDES FOR FREE!!! THAT'S 8 SIDES FOR THE PRICE OF 6!!!"

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  4. Bummer that Bulu seems like a dud. I had a sample of one maybe a year ago that contained a full size bottle of Vitamin D3 that made the box worth it. My fave box is Bestowed because it's put together by a nutritionist. Much if not all of it is gluten-free, non-GMO, which I love. Love the saying you chose for your Road ID!

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    1. It seems like these boxes are very hit or miss. A full-sized bottle of Vitamin D3 would have been terrific, and certainly would have changed my opinion had I received one. Oh well, you live and you learn! Thanks for the tip on Bestowed, I am enjoying seeing the contents of those boxes that you share on your blog. That seems like a great subscription!

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  5. I also bought the Living Social deal and was not impressed with Bulu. Boo. Oh well, at least I tried it.

    Yay for the run streak! I want to do it too. Maybe we can motivate and encourage each other. Last year I started it but somehow did not finish it. Big fail. :-(

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    1. Boo, indeed. I know that you subscribe to at least one other monthly box - which one is it and how do you like it in comparison?

      Yay for run streaking! Absolutely we should motivate and encourage each other to keep streaking. And definitely not a big fail for not finishing it last year. I can certainly see why it would be challenging to see it all the way through!!! For someone like me who usually just runs two or three times a week, even getting to five days a week is a big deal. =)

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