Another Wandering Heart

I'm so thrilled to find out another submission of my wandering heart is featured on Pia's blog. Thank you Pia for the wonderful encouragement. I cannot wait to see more of other works.

Wandering Heart II

I was so thrilled to find out that Pia has featured my submission to the wandering heart project on her blog. Thanks for her wonderful words too!!!

Update (3.14.08): My three images have made the first round of selection along with some gorgeous pictures from others. Pia has announced the final deadline for the project to be June 15, 2008. There are still plenty of time; go hunting!!!

Wandering Hearts I

Things have been hectic at home but I still managed to squeeze some time to chase my wandering hearts!! I had a great time taking the photos and cannot wait to see what others have come up with.

Winter Yosemite II

This was my second attempt with the paper doll idea. I made the dolls the night before the Yosemite trip and was struggling with their winter outfits until two O'clock in the morning. I'm pretty happy with the way the outfits came out. They look warm and playful in my opinion; probably more stylishly dressed than we actually were on this trip. 8-)

Last-minute Christmas Tree

This is our X’mas tree number two for the season. I made a chocolate dipped strawberry tree earlier this month, which lasted only for a day because of its popularity. I thought that was it for this year since we’d be spending most of the holidays at Yosemite Park. It turned out we would have some friends and family over right after our Yosemite trip. In order to greet our guests with some holiday festivities, I made this last-minute tree by cutting the plum branch from the backyard, stuffing the jar with holly berries from the trees and hanging some ornaments and X'mas wish notes. Viola- it’s an instant booster for holiday ambiance.

Given the time constraints, I’m quite pleased with the way it turned out. Perhaps we should keep this as our holiday tradition since it’s easy to assemble and environmentally friendly. There is no more fuss of transporting the tree from the shop and tons of waste after the holidays.

Christmas Tree

We decided not to get a living Christmas tree this year because we would be spending most of the Christmas week at Yosemite Park. But in order to surround ourselves with holiday spirit this season, I decided to make a miniature tree for the tabletop. As it turned out this tree was obviously more appreciated by everyone than those we had in the past, it didn’t even last long enough for the weekend……..

New Banner

Old banner is out, new banner is in: hours of cross-eyed work with Photoshop, finally it’s done…

I really feel I lost quite a bit of brain cells with the placenta. That is the only reasonable explanation for my ridiculous forgetfulness and my frustrating struggle with any learning for the past two years. The banner was my first attempt with Photoshop. I couldn’t even follow the simple instructions on the book. It’s sad to see my learning ability, which served me so well up until Ryan was born, beyond my reach now. But after numerous evenings of persistence and lastly Warren’s help, I finally got the new banner….

PS: Thanks to Two Straight Lines for the paper doll idea. The doll garland is now secretly sandwiched in the book on the high shelf. Because I still have a few more ideas to experiment with it, I’m not ready to share it with Ryan. Hopefully it will not end up in his toy/garbage box anytime soon. He always seems to have a good sense of where I hide my "treasures".

Happy Halloween 2007!!!

Ryan had been looking forward to trick-or-treating for days. He’s been practicing saying trick-or-treat ever since he was told it is the secrete code for getting the candies. However, it took quite some convincing for him to put on the kangaroo costume before leaving for the evening. As always, he is very opinionated about his clothing choices....Despite some delay, we still had a blast. It was especially fun this year with Grandma and Shannon with us.

PS: The spider sunglasses was a last-minute Halloween craft. It only requires some black pipe cleaners and a pair of sunglasses to finish the look.

Spiderweb Eggs

I’m in a super crafty mood lately. I couldn’t resist the urge to make these spiderweb eggs when seeing the recipe from Martha Stewart living. Plus, it’s also a good way for Ryan to show off his significantly improved dexterity by helping peeling the eggs.

For those who are interested, here is the instruction. Enjoy!!
1 dozen large eggs
8 cups water
2 cups frozen blueberries
Freshly ground black pepper, for serving

1. Place eggs in single layer in large saucepan, and cover with water and blueberries. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Cover; let stand 10 mins.
2. Remove eggs and place on a folded kitchen towel. Lightly crack shells on side with the handle of a whisk or a wooden spoon. Transfer eggs to a bowl; cover with cooking water. Let eggs cool completely in water in refrigerator.
3. Carefully peel shells from eggs. Serve with salt and pepper.

The eggs are soaked in blueberry water.

Ryan is helping peeling the eggs

Busy helping setting up the shots.

Got BOOed !!!

October is full of Halloween celebration and decorations. For us, the holiday is officially kicked off by me being “Booed” at work. It’s our office tradition. Each year, one of us will start the BOO game by secretly delivering nifty treats to two coworkers and the recipients have less than 48 hours to spread the tricks on. Otherwise, they are warned that “ZAP will strike the tail”…. I found the game to be a cute way to spread the holiday spirits. This year, I made several goodie boxes by using Chinese take-out boxes, florist tapes/wires, and construction papers. My only remaining challenge is to find off-hours to secretly deliver my sweet gifts…..

Happy Autumn Equinox!!!

Today is officially the first day of autumn. With the change of season, different varieties of flowers are making their appearance at farmer's markets. This weekend, I saw a great variety of chrysanthemum. I'm usually not a big fan of it but was appealed to this dual layered orange-yellow specie for its bold color and intricate flower pedals. As usual, Ryry was eager to participate in both the flower arrangement and photo shooting sessions.