last week, i've been to london. my sister thought i would be going back last week, but thankfully my stay was extended (thanks to my company), so she brought me here. we spent 3 days there.
these pictures were taken last tuesday. monday wasn't a good day to take pictures of the park, so thanks to the good weather, now let me share these photos. i couldn't help but stare thinking is this for real? the scenery looks as if were just painted. lovely.
these were taken at St. James Park, near Buckingham Palace at Westminster.
this commercial really got my attention -- if only everyone can see the world this way, then it will be such an interesting and happier place to live at.
2:27am, and i am still awake.
for the past few weeks, i have been having a hard time falling asleep, and today is not an exception...
my ate is currently at work and being alone once in a while is one of the things i truly treasure. i have been playing mafia on facebook, and i felt so hungry. i have no idea what to eat, since i don't want to load myself too much.
i went down and made a cup of hot choco, and some biscuits
the least i have expected to get from this "tiny snacking" is this "wine" taste on my tongue. now another dilemma is to look for something else to eat to get rid of that awful taste.
i guess, i have to end up eating some of this:
i'm so sorry for the amaretti biscuit fans, no offense meant.
hopefully i'll fall asleep after this.
| Category: | Baking | |
| Style: | Other | |
| Special Consideration: | Quick and Easy | |
| Servings: | 12-16 cookies |
Prep time: 30-40 minutes
Baking time: 8 minutes
got this recipe from Yummy magazine, December 2007 issue (page 38)
Ingredients:
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons water
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
1 cup walnuts
1 cup crushed candy canes
Directions:
1. preheat oven to 375° F
2. cream together butter, sugars, and salt.
3. combine eggs one at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl after every addition.
4. combine flour and baking soda. add this mixture to the creaming batter. then add the chocolate, walnuts, and candy cane bits.
5. with an ice cream scooper, scoop out the batter onto lined (with parchment paper, baking paper, or wax paper) baking sheet pans. bake for 8-12 minutes.
* i reposted this from my multiply site.
just sharing the recipe that made my officemates crave "mint cookies" even though it's not Christmas anymore, lol.
just after our family's advance-happy-birthday dinner for me, i happen to see a kid crying on cnn channel while my dad is watching tv. it was just in time for the news to end, so i just got his name and i googled what happened to him and why he was crying.
his story is about a boy who did not make it (i just did not use the D word, as it might trigger some sad emotions) and his last wish.
meet Brenden Foster, and read his story here.
it's just so ironic to think that while i try to come up with a list of birthday wishes (this time i decided to really make some, not just let the yearly occasion pass), this boy's "last wish" came to me.
it seems just like yesterday you were here…
i saw you last May struggling,
with all the tubes on your body,
making me feel helpless.
if only i can take your place then,
breathe for you, be strong for you,
i would have.
come November 2,
i won’t be able to visit you
on your grave.
and this is how i want you to be remembered,
eating your favorite ice cream,
wearing your favorite dress,
holding that favorite abaniko...
i'm sorry i failed to visit you frequently before when you're still alive...
i miss you Lula, i really do.
you’ll always be my beloved grandma...
i love you.
Why do you make some purchases online and others in-store? What ultimately prompts you to go in-store?
Sponsored by Best Buy.
i would prefer going to the store to see it for real.
i would only purchase something online if it's a book, album, magazine, dvd, software, for example.
but if it's something that needs further scrutiny, other than the picture presented on a website, i'd rather drop by the store and see it for myself before buying it.
^_~
Inverted Jenny' Stamp on Auction Block
by Margot Adler
Correction: Some versions of this story incorrectly described the "Inverted Jenny" as "a red and black stamp." It's actually red and blue.
In 1918, stamp collector William Robey bought a sheet of 100 stamps for $24 at a Washington D.C., post office. The sheet featured what turned out to be a very valuable mistake. He sold the "Inverted Jenny" — named for the upside-down biplane — stamps for $15,000.
(see the bigger image here)
All Things Considered, October 28, 2008 · Many of us who collected stamps as kids were drawn by their beauty and variety. But for real collectors, it's the rare stamp — the mistake — that gets the excitement and the money.
At Robert Siegel Auction Galleries in New York — the largest stamp auction house in the country — there's a three-day auction of early American stamps that includes the most famous among them: the "Inverted Jenny."
It is a red and blue stamp with an upside-down image of a Curtiss JN-4H biplane.
It was in 1918 that stamp collector William Robey went to the New York Avenue post office in Washington, D.C., to buy a sheet of the first airmail stamps. He paid $24 for 100 stamps and was handed a sheet of stamps that featured the upside-down aircraft. It's the only sheet with the mistake to survive.
And it was an instant windfall. Robey sold it for $15,000.
A year ago, the Robert Siegel Auction Galleries (no relation to the NPR host) sold a perfect inverted Jenny for close to $1 million. The stamp at this auction is expected to fetch much less because it is not perfectly centered.
Economy Of Stamps
The most expensive stamp being auctioned in the collection is the first U.S. postage stamp ever printed. It is a five-cent stamp from 1847 with a picture of Benjamin Franklin, the first U.S. postmaster general.
Scott Trepel, the president of the auction house, says the Franklin stamp could go for between $500,000 and $1 million. He says that the limited number of these stamps and the wealth and determination of many collectors cause the price to rise to "new and much higher levels."
Trepel says it's unclear how the uncertain economy will influence auctions in the future. Inflation could cause stamp prices to rise; a lack of easy money could cause them to fall.
It's almost impossible for a new collector to amass a complete collection of American stamps, Trepel says. Such a collection would now be worth between $15 million and $20 million.
Scoping Out Stamps
The day before the auction, several collectors and dealers peruse little black books filled with stamps, looking at them with a magnifying glass under bright lamps.
Richard Sachs, a dealer from Scarsdale, N.Y., is looking at an upside-down stamp of a locomotive printed in 1869.
"They are the first U.S. stamps that didn't have boring president's heads on them. They actually had pictures," Sachs says.
He started collecting as a kid and started seriously collecting in high school.
Sachs says he thinks the hobby "attracts people with obsessive personalities and a certain mentality that people who don't collect can't understand."
"It's kind of like a bug," he says. "You either have it or you don't."
*this article was copied and pasted from this website:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=96228893
there is no better word that can describe what i am feeling right now.
sadness, definitely.
frustration, maybe.
gratitude, of course.
perhaps it is a combination of all these, and perhaps, more.
the only thing i am very sure of is that 2008 is such a painful year for our family.
personally, i gained some, but i lost A LOT. big deal.
first, our "Lula" (grandma) passed away last May.
then my youngest sister did not pass her board exam.
i lost a very close friend (with whom i believe i'll never be in good terms with again)
my eldest sister got operated and is still recovering.
and just yesterday, my uncle died of heart attack.
"Choyie" (short for Tito Oyie), as we fondly call him, was found faced down on the floor of his piggery yesterday, after probably 30 minutes of having a heart attack.
i feel like a big chunk of me has been ripped and torn apart, strewn all over.
why does it have to happen? i really don't know.
i am frustrated because he could have been found earlier and he could have been rushed to the hospital. but that did not happen.
beyond all these, i am still grateful.
the fact that i was still able to stay awake, pondering over what happened, spending time blogging about this means, i still have the gift of life.
i chose not to dwell on the past nor live the future --- i choose to live on the present.
life goes on -- be it painful or not, fair or unfair.
all i need is a little more faith, and of course, HIM.
