Celebrate 12-12-12

Since we love math so much, we are very glad to celebrate anything that is mathematically interesting...and that includes today's date of 12-12-12! We learned many facts related to the number 12, such as:

• 12 is the largest number with ONE syllable and the smallest number with exactly SIX divisors
• The human body has 12 pairs of ribs
• There are 12 face cards in a deck
• To date, 12 people have set foot on the moon
• A new museum is opening today in NYC: you guessed it, it's a Museum of Math!
  

We constructed 3D figures with 12 sides - dodecahedrons - and of course had a related snack (everyone had 12 pretzels, 12 M&Ms, and 12 pieces of Life cereal). We also watched an interview with a boy who turned 12 at 12:12 today!

To mark the day, here is a picture taken at exactly 12:12 and 12 seconds.

Celebration of 12-12-12

In addition, we are going to record a soundtrack in Nosaj's original and senior voices so he would be able to say on the next numerically magical day of Jan. 1, 2101 (01-01-01): " I still remember the last magical day back then when I was that young... ... HA Ha ha"

Stitch With Me - Bears & Hearts

My daughter started her first cross-stitch with me, and it was my second counted cross stitch pattern.

They are very cute Bears & Hearts designed by Bucilla, SKU number is 43176, probably discontinued long time ago.

Bear & Heart for child (Age 8+) and Bear & Heart for adult together in the wind.

Stitch With Me - Bears and Hearts

Orange Moon and Blue Moon

The Orange Moon was hanging low when I was walking in our neighborhood at night.

Orange is my favorite color, though an orange moon? Not so sure.

Yesterday, August 1st, was the actual Full Moon, a day for a big project to be done and turned in.

A second full moon will be seen this month, on August 31st, thus it is called Blue Moon.

Look forward to the Blue Moon towards the end of August.

How to Choose Green CFL Bulb for Energy Saving

Green CFL Bulb - Save Energy

Our walk-in closet's CFL bulb went out mysteriously, and I was quite disappointed since this GREEN CFL bulb had not been used long enough and had not saved much of energy and my electric bill. Well, I decided to give this curly light bulb second chance to impress me, I bought four compact fluorescent light bulbs this afternoon at Meijer.

There are choices of soft white, cool white, and daylight CF Light bulbs. There are 13 watts, 18 watts, 23 watts, and more to choose as well. No wonder I was confused what CFL light bulb to choose, and it took me a while to compare and learn the compact fluorescent light bulbs.

• Soft White CFL bulb provides a warm glow which is suitable for the living room, the family room, bedroom or the recreation room. 
• Cool White CFL bulb is brighter than Soft White CFL bulb. Cool White bulb is great for use in the bathroom, kitchen, basement or garage.
• Daylight CFL bulb is the brightest of all three compact fluorescent bulbs, and is great for office, reading rooms or workshops.

I bought the cool white CFL bulbs, and I used one in our walk-in closet. Do you think Cool White CFL bulb is bright enough for the closet? Or perhaps Soft White CFL bulb is a better bet? Please share your thoughts. Thank you!

Warning!  Do not use CFL bulb with dimmers, and it will shorten CFL bulb's life expectancy, which is 11 years long based on 3 hours / day. Some electronic timer and photo sensor switches contain dimming circuity, which is not compatible with CFL bulb.

How to Cross Stitch for Beginner

Cats-Cross-Stitch-Pattern

Yesterday Nosaj brought back home his needlework from school and hanged it on the wall. A new interest in the needlework was awaken finally.

We pulled out those cross-stitch patterns we bought two years ago, and would like to start out as soon as possible.

Butterfly and Flowers Cross Stitch Pattern

A Beginner Cross-Stitcher's First Project

None of us has done cross-stitching before. We are completely beginners for this type of needle work, even though I have some experience with knitting, crochet, and latch hook. I followed the instruction provided by the cross stitch pattern kit and got my hands on the pattern "Butterfly and Flowers" as my first cross-stitching project.

Not a bad start. Still some mistakes, some questions.

So I bing searched online "how to cross stitch" and combined them with my own experience into this "How to Cross-Stitch Guide for Beginners":

1. Prepare the pattern: tape the four sides to prevent falloff.
2. Fold the pattern twice to find the center and mark it with safety pin.
3. Place the fabric in the hoop and set aside.
4. Pick the color of the thread, and separate those six strands.
5. Thread the desired number of strands to the needle
6. Start cross stitch from left to right

We are definitely going to cross stitch more of the cats cross-stitch pattern in the near future once we are more advanced in cross-stitching.

Here is my first finished cross-stitch: butterfly and flowers.

Butterfly & Flowers

My current Work-In-Progress cross stitch project: Dragon Five Blessings - great for fengshui your home - easy and quick with Precision Cross stitch kit

Dragon Five Blessings - Precision Cross Stitch

Next I would be working on fengshui fish cross stitch, another great needlecraft for home decor.


Fengshui Fish for Your Home Decor

iPhone Notable Quote

Nowadays everyone seems to have a iPhone, busy doing something with iPhone: making phone calls, checking emails, reading news, listening music, taking pictures or videos, playing games, and so on.

It is very convenient that you can get almost any information you need by swiping and touching your iPhone. In the meanwhile, it is very annoying that you are so engaged with your iPhone that you ignore your kids, your family, and your surroundings.

Here is an iPhone related quote by Amy Poehler from Reader's Digest (April 2012): "Try putting your iPhones down once in a while, and look at people's faces. People's faces will tell you amazing things. Like if they are angry, or nauseous, or asleep."

I decide I will give away my iPhone and go back to the old-fashioned phone!

Earth Day 2012 & Spring Cleaning Tips

It's that time of year again: Earth Day 2012 is today April 22nd!

This is my first year of having allergy. SAD! Red eyes and red face, sneezes, ...Always feel something in my nose: cat fur? dust?

Time to spruce up the house for spring.

Three ways to get my spring cleaning started:

1. Clean those dirty windows - There's nothing like snow and grime to really get those windows dirty. Make sure to clean the window screens first. Use good old soap and water to get the screens clean with the help of a good bristle brush. Use the hose to rinse and start tackling all those windows.

2. Time to get those leaves out of the gutter - Get that trusty ladder out, put on those work gloves, and get to work. Make sure to get the hose out so you can blast down the sprouts to clear any clogs that may be in there from the Fall or to check for any leaks.

3. Clean out and organize our garage - More often than not our garage becomes a catch-all of unwanted items you don't know what to do with or just don't have room for inside the house. Before you get started, set up different sections in the driveway to separate items into keep, donate, trash, and yard sale sections. Go through everything and organize the items you are keeping so you know where to find them next time. A good rule of thumb for most items, if you haven't used it in a year or two, let it go.

Hope you will the above three tips for spring cleaning useful. Comments are welcome!

New Health Fruit Veggie Smoothie Starts Today

My friend Carol recommends me strongly a new recipe of natural health drink and I tried once but didn't follow up.

Today I started this health drink again and hope I can try at least two weeks.

Here is the recipe of this natural remedy - Veggie Fruit Smoothie:

Ingredients:

• 2 small potatoes, peeled
• half piece of carrot, peeled
• 1 small apple, de-cored

How to make veggie fruit smoothie for your health:

Cut potatoes, carrot, and apple into small pieces, add them to the blender, add water, and puree for one minute. The final smoothie is about two cups of serving. Drink with the pulp for natural high fiber.

This veggie & fruit smoothie tastes a bit sweet.

My natural tendency is to experiment and optimize the veggie fruit smoothie for the best outcome of taste and health effect.

The variables I want to test for a better tasted smoothie are:

1. When to make the health smoothie: in the morning , or in the evening
2. Time to drink the health smoothie: before the meal, or after the meal
3. amount of the must-have apple, carrot, and potato: more carrot or less potato?
4. ingredients to add or reduce: celery, mango, banana, avocado, carrot, and others?
5. time to puree: one minute, two minutes, or more?
6. amount of water to add: one cup, half cup, 1/4 cup

According to Carol, the most important ingredient of this veggie fruit smoothie is the raw potato for its rich antioxidants. I guess apple also contributes lots of antioxidant to the smoothie. I should do some more research on the scientific facts. Later...

The health benefits of the potato smoothie? A lot, at least for people with diabetes to have healthy blood glucose level, less-burdened and well-functioned kidney and healthy heart without side effects, which are usually the outcomes of taking prescribed western medications. More researches needed!

For myself? Just to cleanse my body and replenish myself with energy. That is all!

Leap Day - A Day Devoted to the Earth

Today, February 29, is the Leap Day celebrated every four years. People who were born on this day, also called "Leapers" or "Leapsters", are the lucky ones as they are forever young, and they will never have a Golden Birthday.

Leap Day is all about the Earth and how long it takes to spin on its axis, thus why Leap Day is a day that should be devoted to the Earth. Julius Caesar first adopted the Leap Day concept from the Egyptians in order to make a precise calendar by adding a day every four years.

The Leap Day is also a day keeping us on track. Do something special, reflect on our lives, open our doors to our neighbors or do some kind of goodwill for the day, or simply relax and enjoy this extra day.

Simply Bamboo

Bamboo is one of the fast-growing plants on earth, and a great source for renewable green products such as construction materials, making paper, furniture, and everyday kitchen utensils.

Bamboo shoot is one of my favorite foods, which can be pan-friend with other vegetables, or cooked in soups, or stewed with pork belly meat and shiitake mushrooms. The edible bamboo shoots are available all season long in southern China and Southeast Asia, with many species and varieties to choose from.

Recently I bought a Simply Bamboo cutting board made or imported by a company named Mountain Woods in California. Very nice and green.

Let It Be

Days come when I can sing again and sing out loud and let it be.

Let it be by the Beatles.

Writer: LENNON, JOHN / MCCARTNEY, PAUL

When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be
And in my hour of darkness she is standing right in front of me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be
Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be

And when the broken hearted people living in the world agree
There will be an answer, let it be
For though they may be parted, there is still a chance that they will see
There will be an answer, let it be
Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be
There will be an answer, let it be
Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be
Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be

And when the night is cloudy there is still a light that shines on me
Shine until tomorrow, let it be
I wake up to the sound of music, Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be
Let it be, let it be, let it be, yeah, let it be
There will be an answer, let it be
Let it be, let it be, let it be, yeah, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be

May It Be

Here I am listening to Enya's Only time from Warner Bro. Records' Official YouTube Channel.

Beautiful and soothing zen-like song. May peace and love be with me in the New Year of 2012.

Someone commented Only time gives her hope that things are not always finale.

So true - I mean the life!

Here is THE SONG by Enya I love so much I can't hold back my tears any more.

  May it be.

May it be an evening star
Shines down upon you
May it be when darkness falls
Your heart will be true
You walk a lonely road
Oh! How far you are from home

Mornie utulie (Darkness has come)
Believe and you will find your way
Mornie alantie (Darkness has fallen)
A promise lives within you now

May it be the shadow's call
Will fly away
May it be your journey on
To light the day
When the night is overcome
You may rise to find the sun

Mornie utulie (Darkness has come)
Believe and you will find your way
Mornie alantie (Darkness has fallen)
A promise lives within you now

A promise lives within you now