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!