Travel Scrapbook: Europe
Posted on | March 9, 2010 | No Comments
This is a project I started a few years ago. During my recent winter blues, I was finally able to finish it. It’s a scrapbook of a vacation I took in Europe with my mom, brother, sister, and Mica. (Mica was only 4 years old then.) We visited about 18 cities in 30 days – that in itself was an experience!
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The scrapbook consists of three 8-1/2 x 8-1/2 albums. I like working with this album size. It limits me to only two 4×6 photos on each page but it challenges me to think of ways to make the pages interesting. Most pages have a repetitive pattern – makes it faster to finish the project. Here’s a quick look at some of the pages:
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From left to right, top to bottom: (1) Cover page; (2) Journal page with little Mica on the photo; (3) Most pages look like this – two photos with a circle journal block; (4) I had leftover coins from each country so I added them to the pages (We went just before they shifted to Euros.); (5)My country page looks like this (I used photos from brochures.); (6) Another journal page (I used masking tape on the photo.)
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From left to right, top to bottom: (1) My city pages look like this; (2) Sometimes I would just group several small photos on the page; (3) Another journal page; (4) A variation of my standard two-photo page; (5) A variation on my city page; (6) Another two-photo page.
Speaking of vacation, I’m off to California tomorrow. I will be back in two weeks.
Weekend Fun
Posted on | March 8, 2010 | No Comments
1. Lunch out with Troy, no kids. (Very rare!)
2. Been searching for fabrics for my sewing project and finally found some I like – and they were on sale!
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3. Watched an evening showing of Alice in Wonderland with family and some friends. I’m a big fan of Tim Burton and Johnny Depp. Have you seen it? What did you think?
Fab Find: Graphic Drawing Tablet
Posted on | March 3, 2010 | 1 Comment
Yesterday afternoon, I saw light spilling from the sidelights of our front door into our foyer. It made me happy. This morning, the weather was warm enough that a light jacket sufficed when I went out to see my dentist. It felt really nice – not having to lug my 5-pound winter coat, I mean, not the visit to the dentist – although my dentist is really nice. {I’m digressing.} Spring is definitely near and I love it. I read in another blog last night that one thing the blogger doesn’t like about spring is the cleaning. I’m actually looking forward to it. My house can benefit from shedding a few pounds.
Anyways, on with what I really wanted to share. For those wanting a pen tablet but waiting until you have enough money to splurge and realizing you might have to wait until your kids are all grown, married, and out of the house before that happens, I have a fabulous find for you – the Monoprice Graphic Drawing Tablet. The 8×6 is only $37 and it comes with 2 pens, each with over 1000 pressure sensitivity levels, and 3 extra pen tips. Or for around $3 more, you can get the 10×6.
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| {I hope Monoprice doesn’t mind that I stole their image since I’m endorsing their product.} |
Troy said he was going to surprise me with one last Christmas but it was out of stock. Last month, it went back in stock, and so he bought me one. {So sweet, right?} I haven’t really used it enough to give a valid review – I usually wait several weeks before I use new things, it’s just the way I am. But so far I’m satisfied with it. Troy played with it last night and he loved it. I was going to show you this quick awesome flame drawing he made but I just realized that Mica drew and saved over it. {Shhh, he doesn’t know it yet.}
I think it’s worth $40 to try Monoprice before you end up spending hundreds of dollars. It does have good reviews online. If you’re not satisfied with it, then you can put Wacom back in your wish list.
Wrapped in Duct Tape
Posted on | March 1, 2010 | 3 Comments
It’s almost spring. {Hurray!} Time for a wardrobe change for Mica and Rinoa. Problem is Rinoa has an unusual body shape – thanks to Troy! It’s really difficult to shop for her. So while I was at the bookstore one evening, I decided that I would try and make clothes for the girls. {Operative word being try since I’ve never sewn clothes in my life – except maybe an apron for my Sewing Class in grade school.}
I bought this book, Sewing Clothes Kids Love by Nancy Langdon and Sabine Pollehn. I fell in love with the clothing designs in the book – whimsical enough to tease kids’ imaginations but practical enough to wear everyday. I’m actually excited!
Now the author proposes making your own dressform. {Here comes the duct tape.} The author calls it kinderquin, and it is made from duct tape and old snug-fitting T’s and leggings.
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Rinoa took about 45 minutes to wrap since Troy (and Rinoa) laughed like a maniac the entire time, as I took pictures. I helped with Mica, so she took less time, but a lot more tape, than Rinoa.
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Here they are in all their superhero and sidekick looking glory.
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Here’s me releasing Mica from confinement after she’s had enough of being wrapped up (which is really just a minute or two after we’re done). After retaping the form, we filled it with styrofoam peanuts, old clothes, and random garbage we found in the basement.
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Here they are! Custom fit dressforms for 10 bucks worth of duct tape. When the kids have outgrown this size, they’ll make great Halloween props or scarecrows!
Vietnamese Pho Party
Posted on | February 28, 2010 | 4 Comments
I got introduced to pho when a Vietnamese restaurant opened a few blocks from my home last October. I found this dish so comforting that lately, it’s been a staple in my diet. My dear friend Lar taught me how to prepare this comfort food at home. And let me tell ya, it’s perfect for a get-together among friends or family.
All you need to do is make the stock ahead of time and prepare the fixins so that your guests can build their own pho. I’ll guide you on what you need so you can give it a try in your own homes.
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| This is Lar’s pho after she built it up with the fixins and the condiments. |
The beef stock, in my opinion, is the heart of this dish. If you’ve never made beef stock before, it is really simple. (Of course if you’re vegetarian, you can substitute vegetable stock for beef stock.)
Basic Beef Stock for Pho
About 5 lb soup bone with marrow
About 8 quarts water
1. Combine soup bone and water in a large stockpot.
2. Bring to a boil. If foam starts to rise, skim it off.
3. Partially cover and simmer for about 2 to 3 hours.
If you want to keep it lean, prepare the day before. Refrigerate overnight and when you’re ready to use, skim any hardened fat from the surface before putting it back on the stove to reheat. (The soup bones I use are so lean, I barely get any fat at all.) You can keep the beef stock in the fridge for 4 to 5 days.
Now, when you go to the meat market and ask for soup bones and get ‘dog bones’ instead, don’t wreak havoc. They’re the same thing. Of course, it won’t hurt to verify with the meat market guy … or gal.
A few minutes before the party, you can prep the fixins. I have fixin suggestions to make either a beef pho or a seafood pho … or a combined beef-seafood pho. It’s a really flexible dish!
Pho Fixins and Condiments
1 lb rice stick (Banh Pho Thuong Hang)
Medium to large onion, sliced
For Beef Pho:
About 1/2 lb beef sirloin or New York strip, thinly sliced
(To cut it nice and thin, leave in the freezer for 20 to 30 minutes.)
For Seafood Pho:
About 1/2 lb shrimp, cooked
About 1/2 lb squid, cooked
About 1/2 lb crabmeat, cooked
A handful of Thai basil
A handful of cilantro
A handful of spring onions, sliced
About 2 cups bean sprouts
Lime wedges
1 to 2 tablespoons sugar
2 to 4 tablespoons soy sauce
2 to 4 tablespoons fish sauce
Bottle of oyster sauce, served on the table
Sriracha hot chili sauce, served on the table
1. Keep the beef stock simmering. Add sugar, soy sauce, and fish sauce to taste. Add the onion slices.
2. Soak the rice stick in warm water for 5 to 8 minutes or until softened.
3. Cook the beef in a colander submerged in the stock just until it changes color. Transfer on a serving plate.
4. Arrange the basil, cilantro, spring onions, bean sprouts, and lime wedges on a large platter.
5. Arrange the condiments, platter of fixins, and various meats on the dining table.
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| Lar cooking the beef in the stock with a colander and chopsticks. |
Assembling the Pho
Time for the party! Soak the rice sticks again, for each serving, in boling water for a few seconds. We like to use 2-quarts serving bowls as soup bowls. Transfer the rice sticks in the bowl and pour 2 or 3 ladles of beef stock over it. Let each person assemble his own pho, according to his liking. Then eat with chopsticks, slurping is encouraged!
Lar, and her husband Dave, introduced me to Moscato. My favorite, so far, is the Gallo. Pho and Moscato with great friends – good times!
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| Our bottle of Gallo Moscato and Troy grabbing some basil from our fixin platter. |
Lar also taught me how to make Vietnamese Spring Rolls. I’ll share that next week :)
Friday Art
Posted on | February 26, 2010 | 1 Comment
Fridays are dedicated to art and music in our house. Here’s what Mica and Rinoa have been busy with in art class.
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| This is a charcoal drawing that Mica made. A perfect example of patience and persistence paying off – over the past few months, I’ve seen her drawing skills progress from being haphazard to having more details. |
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| While Mica was doing her charcoal drawing, Rinoa worked on her lion – one of the many great project ideas we found here. The site shows step-by-step instructions for this lion – perfect for my 5-year old. Rinoa traced her pencil drawing with a black Sharpie and colored it with regular crayons. |
When they were done with the above projects, they wanted more and decided to draw cupcakes – an idea we found here. The cupcakes were rendered in oil pastels.
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| Cupcakes by Mica Redington |
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| Cupcakes by Rinoa Redington |
Back from Slumber
Posted on | February 25, 2010 | 3 Comments
I’m sorry I haven’t updated in a while. After the excitement over the holidays has subsided and the cold, cruel winter kicks in – short days, dead outdoors – I get sporadically pulled in this dark abyss where personal demons try to devour me. And no matter how prepared I think I am for it (armed with all the positive attitude I can muster), I can’t escape it. I get drawn in and it becomes a constant struggle not to get fully consumed. It’s like a monstrous, giant leech that sucks the color and life in my everyday, leaving me in a Tim Burton dream world – drab and strange.
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| Art Journal 2010: Slumber by Johwey Redington |
In this dark place, there’s a sliver of light – where my family resides plus the fantastic virtual realities I engaged in to distract my mind and shut off the engulfing darkness. The new Zelda: Spirit Tracks for the DS was an enormous haven, and so was the Legend of the Seeker in Neftlix Instant Play.
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I tossed between publishing this and not but I wanted to keep it real and share the bad together with the good. This is my tenth winter and it just doesn’t get better. I can’t imagine how other people can survive experiencing winter every year. Just the reduced amount of daylight during these months can make one go insane. How does winter and lack of enough daylight affect you?
Peanut Butter and Banana Wrap
Posted on | January 12, 2010 | 4 Comments
Here’s my version of a kicked-up PB&J sandwich. It’s great for an afternoon snack or for lunch, served with fruits or vegetables. It only takes a few minutes to prepare – perfect for busy schedules. Mica and Rinoa love it!
Peanut Butter and Banana Wrap
1. Spread peanut butter on a flour tortilla.
2. Place a banana, sliced in half lengthwise, on top.
3. Drizzle with honey.
4. Fold like a burrito.
5. Toast or pan-grill on the stove.
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Pater Noster
Posted on | January 11, 2010 | 2 Comments
For this post, I wanted to share a video of Mica reciting the Lord’s Prayer in Latin, which I had her memorize. (Latin is part of her foreign language course, the other part being Spanish.)
“Foreign language provides one with entry into a worldview different from one’s own. If it is important that our young value diversity of point of view, there is no better way to achieve it than to have them learn a foreign language.” – Neil Postman in The End of Education
Christmas Weekend
Posted on | January 8, 2010 | 3 Comments
Here are a few photos from our Christmas weekend with my brother’s family who visited us from New York.
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| A happy reunion of the cousins. (Mica with Jessi and Rinoa with Jessi) |
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| We had a huge amount of snowfall that weekend, with snowflakes the size of dimes. The cousins couldn’t resist playing in the snow. |
That weekend, we also celebrated Jessi’s 8-month birthday. As always, there had to be cake.
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| Baby Jessi with her Mommy and Daddy, after the candles were blown. |
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| Mica, Rinoa, and Jessi |
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| Goofing around again. |
