adorable cookie boxes

love it!

clipped from www.thedieline.com Mambajamba is a new kind of animal cracker that pairs two fun flavors together. Cinnamon & Honey, Caramel & Vanilla or Original & Pink frosted are a few of the varieties. The cookies are packaged in two separate compartments that flip backwards to reveal a pop-up animal. The packaging also aims to educate kids about different species of animals. The different eyes on the front of each box as well as the fun facts on left side of the box act as hints to indicate which animal will pop-up on the inside!"

marshmallow boxes?

cute...wasteful and unnecessary, but cute O_o

clipped from www.notcot.com Ford & Ching + Marshmallows- 06.26.09 Ford & Ching (Previously FordBrady, but Brady has moved on and Ching has joined Ford) ~ while at Dwell on Design this morning, i got a branded marshmallow in a box ~ a very cool little wooden box cut to perfectly fit a single marshmallow.

Learn To Take Time Off

(a forwarded email ü)

Learn To Take Time Off

On the seventh day He rested from all His work. - Genesis 2:2 NIV

Are you tired all the time? Even after sleeping? Do you keep going to the doctor but he can't find anything wrong with you? You may be experiencing the symptoms of burnout. Long periods of overexertion can cause fatigue, sleeplessness and stress. Some other signals of burnout are crying for no reason, being easily angered, insecurity, negativity, irritability, depression, cynicism and resentment toward the blessings of others. Recognise any of these in yourself?

One reason God established the Sabbath was to keep us from burning out. The law of the Sabbath simply says that we can work six days, but on the seventh we need to rest; also to spend time worshipping God and having fellowship with His people. Even God rested after six days work. Now since God doesn't get tired, clearly He's giving us an example we should follow. In Old Testament times the land had to rest after six years. No sowing and reaping was permitted in the seventh year (See Exod 23:10-12). During this time everything recovered and prepared for future production.

We argue that we cannot afford to take time off. The truth is, we can't afford not to! You say, "But I would never get anything done if I did that." Then you're too busy and something needs to change in your life. When you're too busy to obey God's commandments, and even follow His example, you'll pay the price. What you sow, you reap. If you sow continual stress with no rest to offset it, you'll reap the results in your body, your mind, your emotions, your health and your relationships.

So, rearrange your priorities and learn to take time off!

Gianni Berengo Gardin: Photographer

interesting read today...

clipped from www.auspiciousdragon.net My most famous photo is the one of the vaporetto in Venice, with all those reflections…. Actually, for a number of years I didn’t even think it was a good photo. The problem with photographers is that you tend to measure the importance of a photograph by the effort needed to take it. If it requires a great effort, like climbing a cold and wind-swept mountain, you think that you have created a masterpiece, when really it ought to be scrapped. When Bischof returned from his travels, he didn’t choose his photographs personally but asked his wife Rosellina, who had stayed behind at home, to do it for him, saying, ‘She sees the image and judges that alone. She does not consider all the factors that lie behind the image, all the sensations I felt. There may be a place, a house, with a beautiful melody that still haunts me, but she can’t hear that piece of music, and therefore she isn’t influenced by it.’

CHOCOLATE apple pie...?

i think Gabe will want to try this one... =P

clipped from www.kayotic.nl Chocolate Apple Pie I asked the baker/poster about it, and she mentioned something about having combined several different recipes. It still didn’t explain the name “Dutch apple tart’ to me. I was intrigued. And I still am. Especially because I’ve seen it all over—anywhere from Dutch apple tart and Dutch meatballs to Dutch split pea soup. It confuses me as much as it intrigues me. Is it a trend or something, to name a dish/recipe Dutch?

who wants to be an explorer?

clipped from www.swiss-miss.com

i want...

i've been itching to try and make homemade pizza for the longest time... (but how to get the 450+ degree heat! *groan* the best NY and italian pizzas go up to 800...wah!)

clipped from www.thegoodmoodfoodblog.com :: RAINY DAY MEDITERRANEAN HOMEMADE PIZZA Getting homemade pizza right is a real art, I used to make it a lot when I was a kid and slowly perfected it over the years! One of my favourite things to do was to try different topping combinations from Asparagus and Spinach, to Feta and Rocket. One of the great things about pizza is that it's just so customisable. I also recommend experimenting with the tomato sauce as it can really enhance the overall flavour. The main thing I find when mixing is always to make sure your dough is not too moist as this creates a really unpleasant doughy taste when cooked. Here is my standard recipe for a great pizza dough, I'm not sure where the original came from as I know it by heart!

mmmm...

...something to try =)

clipped from www.thekitchn.com Recipe: Easy Ethereal Popovers At the risk of waxing overly rhapsodic, popovers might just be the ideal winter food. In spite of their reputation as fickle and disaster-prone, these quick breads couldn't be simpler to make - and the reward of a piping hot, crusty bun will be worth 10 times the effort. In the morning, whisk together a short list of ingredients, pop the pan in to bake, and finish getting dressed. Before you step out into the cold winter air, pull the steamy buns from the oven and spoon a dollop of good jam on top, or just eat them as is. They're also great dipped in a bowl of comforting winter soup. We pull the layers apart slowly, starting with the flaky and crispy outside, and finishing with the moist middle. A variation of Yorkshire pudding, popovers are hollow, eggy, muffin-size breads. They "pop over" the sides of the pan as they bake, forming tall crowns with airy yet slightly custardy insides. Check out how easy the recipe is:

March 7, 2008 ... will remember this day forever. my mom, my ate and i planned it all out...we were going to have a surprise baby shower that day for my younger sis, roselle. we planned everything, then i emailed my titas and cousins, and my mom even booked the hotel 2 months ahead. the plan was to make it seem like my sister had a client appointment at the penn, and there we would surprise her. perfect right?

thursday night, 11pm, the night before the shower,...i got a call from my mom...my sister was on her way to the hospital, she was bleeding..! i prayed nothing was wrong. my ate and i drove to the hospital sometime past midnight, and we spent the night in the cold cold hospital (waaah)...and to think all week i hadn't slept more than 2 hours each night because of work! sleepless freezing hours later, at 5:40 am on friday my baby sister gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. physically drained yet emotionally on high, i can't even begin to describe what i was feeling when we were allowed to finally peek through the window to see her. (well...as best as i could see through sleepy-barely-open eyes anyway..O_o) she was so cute! (will post pictures soon as i get them)

as we prepared to leave the hospital and go to work (ugh)...my ate, in her usual bossy voice, quipped,
"o ha...don't forget yung baby shower mamaya"


Ingrid Calla Sipin-Natanauan...you're going to be just full of surprises, aren't you?

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven... He has made everything beautiful in its time.
-- from Ecclesiastes 3

surprise!

March 7, 2008 ... will remember this day forever. my mom, my ate and i planned it all out...we were going to have a surprise baby shower that day for my younger sis, roselle. we planned everything, then i emailed my titas and cousins, and my mom even booked the hotel 2 months ahead. the plan was to make it seem like my sister had a client appointment at the penn, and there we would surprise her. perfect right?

thursday night, 11pm, the night before the shower,...i got a call from my mom...my sister was on her way to the hospital, she was bleeding..! i prayed nothing was wrong. my ate and i drove to the hospital sometime past midnight, and we spent the night in the cold cold hospital (waaah)...and to think all week i hadn't slept more than 2 hours each night because of work! sleepless freezing hours later, at 5:40 am on friday my baby sister gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. physically drained yet emotionally on high, i can't even begin to describe what i was feeling when we were allowed to finally peek through the window to see her. (well...as best as i could see through sleepy-barely-open eyes anyway..O_o) she was so cute! (will post pictures soon as i get them)

as we prepared to leave the hospital and go to work (ugh)...my ate, in her usual bossy voice, quipped,
"o ha...don't forget yung baby shower mamaya"


Ingrid Calla Sipin-Natanauan...you're going to be just full of surprises, aren't you?

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven... He has made everything beautiful in its time.
-- from Ecclesiastes 3

let us moodle!

"the imagination needs moodling, --long, inefficient happy idling, dawdling and puttering." ~Brenda Ueland
"moodle, verb., to allow procrastination to take over to the point where your imagination is fully engaged and does whatever it wants to." - Keri Smith, wish jar journal

are we getting too techy for our own good?

clipped from www.frogdesign.com With gigabytes of storage and super zoom, with blogs and message boards, I believe we have lost some of that closeness of the family identity, some of that creativity. We have become so focused on capturing the facts – who was there, what was said – that we have forgotten the pleasures and benefits of creating a subjective oral history. Rather than share within our families, we have become too focused on sharing with the world.

what i learned playing polar bear...

in a polar bear game,

:: i am not a small group leader (or worship team-mate, or KC teacher, or friend...)



:: smiling sometimes works, sometimes it doesn't. learn how to put on a polar bear face.



:: don't challenge hilary-real-chieftain or gayette-real-chieftain. it's scary O_o it makes your hands shake .. wahaha



:: listen very, very carefully. watch out for the "i think"s. verrrry important to not say "i think". kahit villager ka lang...don't say "i think"



:: BUT ... think before you speak. if you talk too much...you're a polar bear. if you don't talk at all...you're a polar bear. good luck.



:: you can be exposed as an undercover polar bear...but if you're cute enough, they won't vote you out yet (thanks yas!)



and lastly, what i learned about playing polar bear,

:: iya and i suck at being a polar bear chieftains



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photos courtesy of
gayette, a beary beary fun evening
hilary, of maya birds and polar bears / singles reunion
veejay, singles night
mai hern, sg photos

carpe diem?

sometimes an unplanned tuesday is the best day in the week for discovering fresh ideas, new faces...and good chocolate cake :P




There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want. ~Bill Watterson, Calvin and Hobbes
You will never find time for anything. If you want time you must make it. ~Charles Buxton
Enjoy yourself. It's later than you think. ~Chinese Proverb

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pictures at lambert's site, the day we kidnapped ms polly pocket

10 Largest Malls in the World

of the 10... 3 of them are in the Philippines (Mall of Asia, SM Megamall, SM North)



wow...considering we're so much smaller than Canada and China, where the others are located.

[edit]

check out the photo slide at Forbes.com