The progression of a line that is traced by 500 people where each person can only see the line drawn by the person before them. Crazy what it ends up looking like!

A Sequence of Lines Traced by Five Hundred Individuals from clement valla on Vimeo.

Drawing lines to do multiplication. Weird how this works!

How to trap a kid

Cello duet for Smooth Criminal

Wow…posts out here are just getting sparser and sparser huh? I still love blogging, but I guess my time has been consumed with other hobbies. I was just thinking about how it’s been a really long time since I wrote a personal blog about what’s up with me. To be honest…not much that’s too interesting. But I thought I would write down some stuff as a written account of what I’ve been doing lately so when I’m old and go back to read old posts I can see what I was like then.

So I think my life right now has just been consumed with food. Eating it, making it, buying it. I’m just so obsessed with it right now. Mind you, I am a HORRIBLE cook unlike my sisters and mother but I am trying really hard to learn. I am still in the beginning stages so for now I just like following recipes and try cooking new techniques. I am definitely not at the level yet where I make up my own recipes or tweak other recipes to make it better. Maybe one day.

I have also started baking more. I feel like every time I bake I learn so much and it’s so fun! I have a bad feeling that I am going to want one of those kitchenaid mixers soon. You know those huge ones that cost several hundred dollars. For now, I am content with the hand mixer my sister gifted me. But my arm sure gets tired especially when you try to get “egg whites to stiffen”. I have mostly been experimenting with cookies and cupcakes. But the other day I bought my first cake pan so I can make my first cake FROM SCRATCH! I think I am going to try this recipe for grown up bday cake (grownup because it has wine). I also want to try making a cheesecake. Not the normal american kind but the kinds that are more fluffy and airy. I think the Japanese make them like that? I seriously can’t wait!

Anyways, I could talk about cooking and the food I’m going to make all day but I won’t bore you guys anymore with that. If you want, you can check out my other blog (yes, another one ha ha) that is all about my obsession with food: eat snap love

My other interests right now include gardening (in theory) and photography. Gosh….I think I am turning into my older sister Quynh ha ha ha.

Boyrobot and I are still doing well and have been filling up our time with our usual hobbies: poker, shopping, movies. We’ve actually cut back on boardgames sadly but are always down for a game if anyone wants to play. We’ve replaced our show from Lost to Jersey Shore. I know…big step down ha ha. Doesn’t seem like there is much on tv nowadays though. Boyrobot spends a lot of time reading up on stocks and investing. While I spend a lot of time doing crossword puzzles and playing Hearts. Yes, crossword puzzles are pretty much my favorite thing right now and I do one every night before I go to bed.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot I also signed up for swimming lessons. They start next week. Maybe I will finally learn how to swim!

Upcoming trips include Vegas in April (canNOT wait!) and I really hope to visit Seattle this summer. But for once, no big trips. After barely being home last year I kind of welcome it though.

And that pretty much concludes what I am up to nowadays. Mental note: I should start taking more pictures of things I do and not just of food. I will try to share them on here when I remember!

If you’re a fan of buying things from Craigslist, you will love this site: Todd’s Alerts

I remember when I was looking for things for my wedding or even furniture for my house, I would constantly visit Craigslist and hit refresh hoping to score an awesome deal. Many times if I wasn’t fast enough, the deal would be long gone.

This will be great for when boyrobot and I are looking for discounted concert tickets. We always use Craigslist to buy our tickets cuz it’s way cheaper!

Make your connections to Facebook always secure – it takes like 1 min to do and is worth it!

Start reading Makes Me Think or add it to your rss reader. It’s not usually funny or anything and some of them are lame/cheesy but sometimes you’ll read one that actually “makes you think” and feel lucky to be alive and healthy!

Eat fish no more than twice a week and sometimes not at all according to this chart on when it’s safe to eat fish (click on pic to view larger size):

Clean up your house in preparation for the lunar new year. It ensures the new year will be a clean and healthy one. :)

And lastly, eat slower…it will help you lose weight!

This funny map shows what each state is worst at:

Scary to think my state CA has the WORST air pollution :( And my home state of Oklahoma has the most female criminals which isn’t so bad but they are also tied with Alabama as having the highest rate of strokes (my dad had a stroke! :()

My sister’s state of Washington has the highest rate of bestiality lol.

I’m surprised NY has the highest daily commute…I thought for sure it would be CA!

I think the most boring statistic on there has to be the oldest state for Iowa. Really?? That’s all you could come up with? :)

check out the whole list at the pleated jeans.

I was just thinking about how I can get more greens into my and boyrobot’s diet. Boyrobot barely eats any veggies and although I don’t mind it, I’m almost always caught choosing french fries rather than steamed veggies as my side :P (So bad I know!)

And then I started reading about all of these veggie smoothies and how detox smoothies are all the rage these days. Then I found the green monster movement!

Basically it’s a page full of recipes of “green smoothies”. Green because it has either kale or spinach which are both super healthy for you.

I remember my parents made me veggie drinks with their Juicer using carrots and apples. Surprisingly the fruits did a very good job of masking the veggie taste! I am expecting the same result with these (I hope). I’ll try it and report back to you guys. I’m hoping to start making these as part of my morning routine.

I am going to try the Blueberry-Banana Green Monster first:

Blueberry-Banana Green Monster
Ingredients:
2-3 cups organic spinach
1-1.25 cups milk (your choice of cow’s milk, soy, hemp, almond, rice, etc)
1 tablespoon flax (optional)
1 banana
1/2 cup blueberries
ice
Directions:
Place the ingredients into the blender and blend like a mad person! Pour into a fancy glass and gulp down the delicious antioxidants. There’s no better way to start your day!

And for the milk, I am going to use Almond milk. After reading up on all of the milk alternatives, it seems like almond milk is the most healthy choice!

Do you guys have any favorite “green” smoothie recipes to share?

Just wanted to highlight another blog I love reading. Actually it’s an advice column that’s funny, poignant, and very well written. I just discovered it a few months ago and I look forward to reading her letter every week!

Dear Sugar

Some of my favorites:

Dear Sugar: How you get unstuck

Dear Sugar: Beauty and the Beast

Dear Sugar: The light that just entered the room

Every week is pretty good so just make your way through her archives or subscribe to read her future posts!

I love lists. And I especially love FOOD LISTS! I am totally saving this next one I found called 50 Meals to Eat in 50 States Before the Apocalypse

Sadly, I have only eaten at ONE of these places and that is Lotus of Siam in Nevada. Which is reallllly good!

My top restaurant that I want to eat at is also on here representing California: The French Laundry. Oh one day you will be in my tummy!

And I can’t believe this but I have never eaten or heard of the pick for Oklahoma which is where I was born and raised for 18 years: Ike’s Chili

What state do you live in? And do you agree with their pick?

Ok it’s time for another tip dump. In other words, I have tips flowing out of my ears and I need to share them with you all so you too can live an easier life!

Clean (and sharpen!) your garbage disposal with vinegar ice cubes – ingenious

avoid all of those toxic cleaners and return to baking soda for all of your cleaning needs

stop “warming up your car“. it wastes gas and decreases performance over time

need to get rid of the smell of garlic or onion on your hands? try toothpaste (and some other interesting tips!)

clean irregular sized bottles by putting rice, soap, and water in it and shaking

keep those silica gel packets to help protect your camera, jewelry, and even clothes! (also includes tip on how to “renew” them)

how to remove tough stains from clothing like red wine (oh how i could have used this a couple of months ago!)

the best time to drink water for a workout is 2 hours before – now i just need to get myself to work out!

change your font to century gothic to save money on printer ink

drink milk to stop garlic breath

how to convert from miles to kilometers using fibonacci numbers – you know…this would be a lot more useful if i actually knew the fibonacci numbers :P still cool nonetheless!