Wednesday Review: Everything On a Waffle

Author: Polly Horvath

“Haven’t you ever just known something deep in your heart without reason?” – Primrose

Everything on a Waffle was one of those children’s books I randomly picked out from the shelf. It was also a book that deserves its Newbery Honor Book award. I love everything about this book – the title, the cover, the story, the format, and the characters, especially Primrose Squarp.

The story opens with Primrose introducing herself. “I live in Coal Harbour, British Columbia. I have never lived anyplace else. My name is Primrose Squarp. I am eleven years old. I have hair the color of carrots in an apricot glaze (recipe to follow), skin fair and clear where it isn’t freckled, and eyes like summer storm.” Seriously, who wouldn’t be charmed by her?

Actually, I see myself in Primrose, for she is both funny and inquisitive. I am Primrose when I act like a five-year-old. (Oh wait, she’s eleven. Haha.) When asked whether her Uncle Jack is home, Primrose “shook [her] head. Uncle Jack rarely appeared before six. Miss Honeycut shoved a plate under my nose. ‘I baked him these.’ On the plate there were a dozen cookies (recipe to follow). It was hard to imagine her reptilian hands in the flour sack.”

Primrose lost her parents at sea. Everyone claims that they’re dead, but only Primrose believes that they’re still alive, probably swept into a far off island. So everyday she goes to the beach and awaits for their return. For the time that her parents are gone, Primrose is an orphan, and the town council puts her under the care of a mothball-loving old woman named Miss Perfidy. In no time, Uncle Jack, Primrose mother’s brother, retires from the Navy and decides to adopt Primrose. She finds comfort in a local restaurant called The Girl on the Swing, “where everything – including lasagna – is served on a waffle.” The rest of the story revolves around Primrose’s adventures as she waits for the day when she will see her parents again.

If you like to cook, you might find this book interesting, not to mention helpful. This is because each chapter ends with a recipe that Primrose incorporated in the story. One of the recipes that I like is the one for caramel apples. She concluded with, “Do not muck around with chocolate or nuts or anything else fancy that may tempt you. It will only gum up the works. Sometimes you get tempted to make something wonderful even better but in doing so you lose what was so wonderful to begin with.”

I think that the waffle represents both ourselves and our experiences. Like a waffle that comes with everything, people take in so many experiences in their lives. These experiences, no matter how trivial they are, mold them into different individuals. It didn’t matter how much or what kind of food you put on the waffle because it’s the waffle that makes your food unique.

Primrose makes a final point when she said, “All my life I had wanted to travel but what I discovered that year was that the things that you find out become the places that you go and sometimes you find them out by being jettisoned off alone and other times it is the people who choose to stand by your side who give you the clues. But the important things that happen to you will happen to you even in the smallest places, like Coal Harbour… So I stopped envying Miss Honeycut who traveled to so many places with eyes wide shut…”

I have nothing else to say except repeat what Booklist review said. Everything on a Waffle is witty, clever, and involving.

5 of 5 Stars

-timmy

Creative Tuesday: Tigers and Designers

Climbing Down the Ladder of Books

I could do better with my creative endeavors, but currently I’ve been focused in two areas—Amigurumi and ‘Graphic Design.’ My other activities such as painting and scrapbooking have taken the back seat. I shall return to them soon enough.

Tommy the Baby Tiger

My nephew had requested I make him a Tiger. This posted a big problem: I DIDN’T KNOW HOW. I searched the internet and found that there were very few free tiger patterns and I didn’t like them.  So, I decided to use LION BRAND’s Tommy Tiger Pattern and add some variations to the pattern.

THE VARIATIONS were simple:

1. I used a rust colored acrylic yarn. Lion Brand required a gradient yarn.
2. Rather than using the usual eyes, I made use of the ‘moving’ eyes as requested by my nephew.
3. I cut felt into imperfect stripes and sewed them unto the tiger. I do suggest that you lay it out all the stripes before sewing, this would give you an idea how your tiger would look like.

I’m happy with the results. My family kept teasing me how it does not resemble a ferocious tiger, but a nice tiger. I told them it’s a BABY tiger and well, the ferocious tiger might require a little bit more than a simple pattern.

My Sister Modeling the Book

 

I have been staring at wall in work these days. Inspiration has been difficult. I can’t seem to get myself to start the company’s new brochure. The current books on my desk —See Design, Hear Design, Speak Design by Supon Design and  The Everything Guide to Writing Copy—weren’t helping. I tried doing the usual internet browsing, despite inspiration I still couldn’t get myself to start it. Since I’m mostly self taught I decided to check the bookstore and get some reading on the fundamentals. I found two books, but only had money for one. I bought Graphic Design for Non-Designer. It’s a very good book. It’s simple and understandable. It doesn’t promise instant graphic designer god-levels; but it does teach you about the fundamentals. And yes, fundamentals matter. You should get a copy of this book if you’re self-taught like me. I’m getting the other book next time, its also on design principles.

I hope this post offered SOME inspiration and help.

Until tomorrow, see you!

Random Monday: Books, Cupcakes & Tigers

I’m starting another semester of my graduate studies today. I hope that this semester would be better than last semester. So, during my short break from school I was able to spend time on some of my interests. I finished reading two books, namely:

1. Everything on a Waffle by Polly Horvath
2. The Mysterious Benedict Society By Trenton Lee Stewart

I haven’t written a decent review about this, Timmy hasn’t either. But I do recommend reading both books. They’re interesting and moving enough even for adults. I read young adult literature once in a while as I am part of book club with gifted kids.

Aside from reading, I finally got to working on my nephews Tiger. He requested an amigurumi tiger. I made one based on a pattern I got from Lion Yarn and added stripes using felt. I’ll talk more about this tomorrow.

"Baby Tiger"

I’ve also been doing Marketing full time for the company I work in. So recently, I’ve been obsessing AGAIN with typography, graphic design and copy. Every time I hear an Ad, I listen and determine what marketing position a product has based on their copy. I’m weird, I know.

Over the weekend I got to eat at C2 in Rockwell, try my friend’s pumpkin cupcake with dulce de leche frosting and Red velvet cupcake with cream cheese frosting. Yum!  Pictures and thoughts on the food on Friday.

Also, our stats has been overwhelming this past week. We actually reached more than 100 clicks in a day. Thank you! If you ever make us part of your blog roll please let us know, we’d love to let the world know about your blog or site.

I hope we all have a great week. Until tomorrow, see you!

Food Friday: Breakfast Friday

I usually have a piece of toast and a cup of coffee every morning. It’s standard fare. I have a heavier breakfast on weekends. But today’s breakfast made me smile from end to end.

Coffee & Champorado

Champorado (recipe to follow) is made of rice and dark chocolate. It’s like porridge with chocolate.  But the chocolate isn’t some syrup, it’s usually baking chocolate powder. What’s even better if you use spanish chocolate tablets, the kind they use to make hot chocolate. It isn’t suppose to be sweet. Some add sugar and milk. I try to control the sugar to make the chocolate come out more.

I know, just looking at today’s breakfast you can safely assume I’m caffeine powered. It’s comfort food. The only thing missing is rain. I usually have this when it’s raining.  I’m thinking of spending the next weeks taking pictures of my Breakfast every Friday. What do you think? I’ll make it more appealing. Haha.

I’m curious, what did you have for breakfast today?

Hope you have a lovely weekend. Until next week, See you!

 

 

Make-Over Thursday: Shopping Time!

Yup! October is over and Christmas is moving into the viewable part of the corner. If some of you are like me, who, as early as November, are beginning to think of gifts for the holidays, then maybe (I hope) you would appreciate today’s post.

If you have any friends who are beauty-addicts, you might want to take a look at these gift ideas for them. I thought it would be nice to do a favourites list, for the month of October, like a lot of the beauty gurus on you tube do.

Warning: Long Post.

So what beauty products make it to my list of favourites this month? In no particular order…

Drum Roll Please.

1)      NYX Round Lipsticks: They’ve been in the market for some time. I have not been much of a fan of lipsticks in general. I own very few which I hardly use. Lip glosses are just easier to use. But these lipsticks come is such pretty colors! They are creamy and easy to apply. Perhaps the only downside, albeit an important one, is that it doesn’t really last too long. Still, for the price, I would say they are worth getting.

I got mine from Lin and from Nicole but I think they sell them here too at a pretty competitive price. Availability of colors may be limited, but if they do stock up, make sure to be the first in line.

2)      88 Earth Color Palette: I got this from Pearl of Dollface Cosmetics for only P950! It is very, very, very similar to the Coastal Scents 88 Warm Palette but at a very friendly price. Since I got this palette, I have been using it every single day. The fact that the palette is largely neutral makes it very usable and practical. Don’t ask me for a favourite color in the palette. It’s impossible to choose. Let me just say this though: I don’t need any other neutral eye shadow. Love this.

88 Earth Palette (Photo Courtesy of Dollface Cosmetics)

(And by the way, I got this palette the day after I paid for it, expertly wrapped in bubble wrap. This is pretty quick since the product comes all the way from Cebu. Shipping is now a flat rate of P50 so, it still is much cheaper than any other seller out there.)

Photo from Prestige Cosmetics Website

3)      Prestige Liquid Eyeliner: I have mine in Azure (navy blue) and Legend (bronze-y). I started using liquid liners in the pen form, since I felt like it was easier to control and to handle. After a while I felt like the pens delivered color in such a thick line. So I ventured into the traditional liquid eyeliner. For the most part, long liquid liner applicators were more difficult to use. It’s even more difficult if the applicator that came with the liner was an actual brush. I considered buying Prestige Liquid Eye Liners from Fafinettex3, or more accurately, her best friend. I checked out MAC’s and saw that the applicator was similar. For only P375.00 at Beauty Bar, what’s there to lose? When I tried this, I understood why there were avid supporters of this product. For the quality it delivers, the ease of application it provides, and the fact that it doesn’t burn a hole through your pocket, it has made its way to my October list…or even, my absolute favourite list.

4)      NYX Creme Rouge Blush: I already did a review on this product. And since then, I’ve acquired one more shade: Tea Rose. And you know, my feelings haven’t changed. If anything, I must say that my feelings have in fact been justified. I won’t say any more but this: Loves it! Hahaha.

5)      E.L.F. Blending Brush: I got mine from the Makeup Mix Shop for a dollar, along with the other E.L.F. stuff I featured previously. Again, this product, for the price I got it for, is absolutely remarkable. I have heard reviews that say otherwise…which is probably why I was extremely surprised and delighted at how soft it was and how usable it was. I use this to deliver very light color along my crease or just to blend in the colors I have already applied. I love it.

I noticed I kept writing “I love it” for the products in the list, but then, I really do love these products, which is why they are included in this list. Haha.

I’ve selected products that I feel are practical, especially in these times. There are of course more expensive products out there that promise better quality. But beauty need not make any one poor. And these are products that are well worth your money, beauty-wise.

-Leigh

Wednesday Review: Throwing Shadow

Author: E.L Konigsburg

“While I waited, I figured out my life. I realized that the world is made up two kinds of people: the catchers and the catchees. I was a catchee.” – Avery

Throwing Shadows is the first Konigsburg story collection I’ve read. Made up of 5 short stories written in the first-person point of view, this collection focuses on chance meetings of two people (or parties, as in the case of one story) that changed their lives forever.

Friendship will always be part of Konigsburg’s works. But beyond this seemingly overrated theme in children’s books, there is more to see in this collection. It subtly discusses ingenuity, perseverance, honesty, one’s love for family, appreciation for elders, and pride in one’s culture.

Similar to Spinelli’s The Library Card (for review, see Iphiosfirebird’s site), stories are told by different people: On Shark Tooth’s Beach by Ned, The Catchee by Avery, In the Village of the Weavers by Amparo, At the Home by Phillip, and With Bert and Ray by William. Each story presents how the characters evolved after meeting other people.

Of the five, my favorite story is The Catchee. Aside from its slight resemblance to a psych article entitled What Not to Name Your Dog (Or the Case of An Unoperationally Defined Term), Avery is such an adorable character. From the way he narrates his story, you’ll find him as innocent as a child, yet he always ends up getting caught by authorities thinking he did something on purpose. And I liked what his older brother, Orville, said. “Being a catchee can make you two things. It can make you honest… and it can make you brave… Most guys never know whether or not they’re going to get caught… and they live in fear of it. But you – you being a catchee – never have to worry about whether. You just don’t know when… You are never afraid because you are always prepared for the worst…”

The title of this collection – Throwing Shadows – is very appropriate. First, because it is about chance meetings of people who eventually become friends. And a shadow is just that: a companion and a protector. Just like a bodyguard. Just like a friend. And second, it sheds light on what happened before and after that chance encounter. After all, one cannot throw shadows without light.

4 of 5 stars

-Timmy

Creative Tuesday: Christmas Vases

Sorry for the lack of post yesterday. We just came from a long nonworking holiday. Today’s post won’t be long either. I’m currently not in the best of health and can barely think straight. Anyway, I made a few Christmas Vases for the house i mentioned a few posts ago. Here they are:

It took a while to finish the last vase. I had to redo it a couple of times. The first one was fairly easy to make. I hope you gather some inspiration from this Christmas vase attempts.

 

Until tomorrow. See you.

Food Friday: A Trip down Singapore Food Lane

I owe you a few other recipes from previous parties at my house. Unfortunately, the picture’s are in with my brothers. So, I delay. However, I’ve been meaning to talk about some of my favorite food experiences. My most recent travel was in Singapore. It’s not really recent, as the last time as I was there was a year ago. However, I was feeling nostalgic. A friend of mine went to Singapore a few weeks ago and I had her buy me some KAYA, having it for a few breakfasts has made me miss a few things about Singapore.

I’m no connoisseur of food, but there were some meals in Singapore that I thought was worth experiencing.

Singapore Breakfast. Image from FlattireTribe at Flickr

One of the first things I tasted in Singapore was their typical breakfast of Kaya toast, soft boiled egg, and coffee. It sounds simple and familiar, but don’t be tricked. There are a few differences. The toast is spread with butter and Kaya. The egg served on its own in a small dish; eaten with a bit of soy sauce and on its own. And the coffee, may seem bitter, but don’t forget to stir it, as the sweet condensed milk is at the bottom. For coffee drinkers like me, this won’t be much of a coffee. But it’s worth tasting.

I keep mentioning Kaya. What is Kaya? Well, it’s coconut based, mixed with egg and pandan. It may seem sweet, but it isn’t if you eat it properly. Slather your toast with butter, then with just the right amount of Kaya. It can be addicting, I tell you.

Kaya Jam

On our way back from Sentosa, we stopped by Singapore’s version of a food court—an array of street hawkers. As we moved up and down the aisle, I decided to have Prawn Noodles.

Prawn Noodles. Image from foodie.parisbeaverbanks.com

The moment I tasted it, I was in heaven. I LOVED it. It might be for everyone, but I dare say you should try it. I’m trying to recall the name of the particular hawker stall we got it from. All I could come up with is the “eight”. It had the word ‘eight’ in its name. I’m sorry. I should recall it right now, but I can’t. Though I can accurately remember the taste of those noodles.

Stree Ice Cream. Image From The Travelling Blog

And lastly, the street ice cream. I’ve eaten street ice cream all my life. Growing up in the Philippines it’s fairly natural to have tasted the non-commercial version of ice cream. But in Singapore they don’t SCOOP the ice cream, they slice it. You have a choice of eating it in between bread or wafer. We chose the wafer. I had taro-flavored ice cream. Yummy. That is another thing about their ice cream; some of the flavors are unique. It’s a nice thing to eat while strolling the streets of Singapore. A lovely treat for one Singapore dolla (dollar).

Cheese Prata. Image from The Travelling Hungry Boy

I almost forgot the Cheese Prata. I was staying with my former professor at NTU for my vacation. She brought me to one of the cafeterias in NTU and had me taste the famous cheese prata. YUMMY! The curry sauce and the chewy prata was to die for. So I do suggest you try some of it. It’s not too heavy and easy on the pallete.

So before I get into hunger pangs that will lead me to Singapore, I better end this here. Hope you enjoy this short food tour.

Have a lovely weekend. Happy Halloween.

Until next week, see you!

Make-Over Thursday: A Cup of Coffee and Me

 

Photo from Carmel-Coffee.com

So I haven’t been too well in the past week. It has been horrible for me to be honest. I’ve been having palpitations for over a week and I have been scared for my life! I went to the doctor and they tested both my heart and my thyroid (for possible hyperthyroidism) for any abnormality. Apparently, I am normal (being normal never really sounded this good to me!).

So why is my heart beating way out of place?

Could I be in love?

No. Not in the least. Unless I do not know who I am in love with. Is that possible?

Apparently, I have been taking out all the stimulants in my life way too quickly. The palpitations are withdrawal symptoms.

Because I went cold turkey on nicotine and smoking…

…and coffee.

AND COFFEE.

When the doctor told me to drink coffee, I was in heaven. Like I shared with everyone in an earlier post, my desire or need for coffee has declined in the last few months. Apparently, my body can’t handle being without caffeine just yet.

My body needs me to slow down. It seems that I keep catching myself pushing when it seems all my body needs is time to adapt.

Note to self: It is unhealthy to completely just turnaround all the negative stuff that you have been doing to yourself. It is important to wean yourself away from it.

And it seems, making over is best when the transformation is done gradually.

My sister was telling me that everything is telling me to slow down.

My entire life is telling me to slow down. Stop and smell the flowers perhaps.

But, I should tell you this: A cup of coffee, literally, never felt better.

Share a cup with me. Keep healthy and sane.

Wednesday Review: The Higher Power of Lucky

By: Susan Patron

“If she could only find [her Higher Power], Lucky was pretty sure she’d be able to figure out the difference between the things she could change and the things she couldn’t, like in the little prayer of the anonymous people. Because sometimes Lucky wanted to change everything, all the bad things that had happened, and sometimes she wanted everything to stay the same forever.”

This follows the story of ten-year-old Lucky Trimble whose goal in life is to search for her Higher Power. Everyday, during the twelve-steps anonymous meetings (of alcoholics, gamblers, smokers, and overeaters) in Hard Pan’s Found Object Wind Chime Museum and Visitor Center, Lucky would eavesdrop on the anonymous people’s stories about how they hit rock bottom and how they found their Higher Power. Yet, Lucky still couldn’t figure out how to find hers.

“She didn’t get why finding it was so hard. The anonymous people often talked about getting control of their lives through their Higher Power. Being ten and a half, Lucky felt like she had no control over her life – partly because she wasn’t grown up yet – but that if she found her Higher Power it would guide her in the right direction.”

Moreover, Lucky was convinced that her French guardian, Brigitte, would leave her and return to France. In order to stop Brigitte, Lucky decided to run away with her dog HMS Beagle and “the world’s heaviest survival-kit backpack.”

Newbery Medalist Susan Patron received numerous violent reactions from educators, librarians, and parents. As I was searching for the book’s cover, I came upon articles talking about the controversy involving the book. In the first chapter, one of the anonymous people told a story about a rattlesnake that bit his dog on the scrotum. The people mentioned above claimed that it was a pitiful thing for Patron to mention scrotum for a book intended for kids between ages 9-12. The other side of the argument claimed that there was nothing wrong with what Patron did. That kids within that age range are, after all, starting to question things around them.

My initial reaction upon reading the scrotum part in the book was shock. Patron amazed me for having the courage to put it there. “Scrotum sounded to Lucky like something green that comes up when you have the flu and cough too much. It sounded medical and secret, but also important, and Lucky was glad she was a girl and would never have such an aspect as a scrotum to her own body. Deep inside she thought she would be interested in seeing an actual scrotum. But at the same time – and this is where Lucky’s brain was very complicated – she definitely did not want to see one.”

Later, Lucky would mention scrotum again. When Brigitte explained to her what it was – “it is a little sack of the man or the animal which has in it the sperm to make a baby” – I figured that the whole scrotum idea was insignificant. I haven’t yet figured out what role it played in the story other than contribute to Lucky’s curious personality.

I initially thought that this book was dragging. I wondered if it would take me ages to finish a 134-page children’s book. When I met Lucky’s friend, Lincoln, the boy whose brain, when he was seven, “had begun squeezing out a powerful knot-tying secretion that went through his capillaries and made his hands want to tie knots, I started liking the story. (Okay, so maybe I find Lincoln cute. Hah.)

In spite of the controversy, The Higher Power of Lucky talked about important issues of a pre-puberty child – issues that dealt mostly with defining a “family,” the feeling of abandonment, the idea of belongingness, and finding one’s worth – one’s Higher Power. Through Lucky, readers are shown that one does not need to hit rock bottom to find one’s Higher Power. That the important thing is to recognize that the Higher Power exists within us the moment we are born.

4 of 5 stars

-Timmy