Hello 2012!

What better way to end the year than to take some time out from the busyness of life and join a retreat.
A couple's retreat with the theme...

Time to dissociate from the world.
Time to explore my mind, body, and spirit.
Time to just simply enjoy each other in such beautiful surrounding.

The Lord impressed on my heart the many BLESSINGS we've received as a couple this year.

Family

Our first house

Though I was'nt able to carry my baby to full term, my faith in the Lord has never been stronger.
I know He has our best interest at heart and will grant us our hearts desire in HIS PERFECT TIME.
Besides........good things come to those who wait right? =)

Supportive friends who made moving on a breeze.

Treasured friends

Friends at work

and friends for keeps.

More than these, WAKING UP each and every day is a blessing in itself.
Each day an opportunity for me to KNOW CHRIST and MAKE HIM KNOWN.

Although there's so much trivial nonsense that the world would come to an end in 2012 based on the Mayan calendar, it would'nt hurt to still make a few resolutions.

After all if the world did end, it would be such a shame I was'nt able to do anything worthwhile.=)

It's that time of the year when everyone's planning on how to improve themselves for the next year.
And yes, I'm all for that.

So for 2012, I want to....

EXERCISE.  The only exercise I do is when I'm at work at Asian Hospital and have to climb a flight of stairs from the ground floor to the 7th.
Other than that, my mouth does all the exercising.=)
Which leads me to the next resolution.

EAT HEALTHY.  I love eating.  Who does'nt?
New year is the most celebrated holiday all over the world....everybody's pigging out.
I don't want to be left out!=)
Oh well, food and I have an unhealthy relationship.
This has to stop.
No more snacking on junk! ( Either I cut down if not totally give up. )
More fish and veggies for me and hubby.

DISCOVER MYSELF.
I'm hoping to do something different or do things differently.
I will do things I've always wanted to do no matter how silly or insignificant to others it may seem.

ENJOY 2012 and whatever comes with it.
I will make a difference.
There is always more that can be done to make something a little bit better.
I can probably start by deciding to commit to random act of kindness everyday.
I believe it will not only change my own life but that of others too.=)

And when things get tough, I will not give in.
Maybe laugh through pain and smile when sad.

And bake a lot...

A hobby that turned to a business idea.

Thats pretty much it.

HAPPY NEW YEAR Y'ALL!!!

I wish everyone every blessing that the universe can pour out.

Goodbye 2011.
WELCOME 2012!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Christmas really is the most wonderful time of the year.
I like....no, I love Christmas!

I love the cool breeze of December.
I love the festive lights of every building and house.
I love the joyous feeling it brings - puts a smile on every person I meet.

There's so much to love about the season and here are a few....

FAMILY....a Christmas that is ours.=)

Thank God for SKYPE....a call that completes it all.

FAMILY GATHERINGS......As a child, I look forward to Christmas Eve.  It has always been a tradition in my Mom's side of the family ( from her siblings and partners, my cousins, down to trusted helpers ) to gather for Noche Buena.  There'll be endless catching up, family presentations, gift giving, and just simply enjoying each others company.  But now that we have grown up...some moved to another country, some started their own family - myself included, Christmas gatherings came to an end. =(

 Nonetheless, I started building a new tradition.

 I get to spend Christmas Eve with my family.....

and Christmas day with Ian's....

And I find myself looking forward to it every year.=)

COOKING.....Do you ever feel that there are just too many things you want to do during this season?  Planning the perfect menu is one thing.  December is the only month I do a lot of cooking....and now, even baking. *wink*  ( Orders just kept coming....it sure is a busy month for me. )

Simplicity would be my theme.

Simplicity would be my theme.

After all, sharing HEARTY LAUGHS is more meaningful - whatever food is on the table.=)

Now who would forget GIFT GIVING?

Sure, a lot of us love receiving presents.

I do....so bring it on!=)

But I love giving more.  I get a kick out of thinking about what to give and scouring the mall for gifts to give.
We can never compare the smile on our loved one's face with the value of our gift.

Blessing others by sharing the blessings we received for the year truly warms my heart.
With the recent tragic event that struck our brethren in CDO, let's reach out.
I know times are hard but let's go beyond family and spread the holiday cheer.

In the end, we will feel most blessed.

And no matter how hectic our Christmas gets, let's be reminded of the true meaning of it all.

JESUS CHRIST!

The greatest gift we have ever received.=)

Happy Holidays everyone.

Enjoy!

How to make the Yellow Angry Bird

Hi there.

Christmas is just around the corner.
Been busy with last minute Christmas shopping, planning and of course baking.=)

Took an Angry Birds hiatus to make way for the christmas themed cake and cupcakes.
Yet it still found its way back to my most ordered theme for celebrations.

But hey, you can make these birds Christmas-y by putting on Santa hats in place of the feathers on top of their heads.

It would look good on these yellow Angry Birds.=)

Lets begin.

Get your fondants ready.

Shape your yellow fondant into a triangle.

Roll a small ball of your white fondant and flatten.

Attach at the base of the triangular body.

Get another small amount of fondant and shape it to resemble the beak.

Make an indent in the middle and push the lower part in such a way that the upper beak is slightly longer than the lower portion.

Attach it to the middle of the white fondant glued previously.

To make the eyes, roll a a small piece of your white fondant into a ball, flatten and cut into two equal parts.

 Place each on top side of the beak like so...

Roll a same size ball of the yellow fondant to serve as its brows.

Attach each on top of the eyes.

For the eyeballs, you can either use edible black pen and draw them on or you can roll tiny pieces of your black fondant.  I did the latter.

Make the "feathers" on top of its head the same way as that of the Red Angry Bird (just that the "feathers" were tails for them)

Make 3 indents.

 Poke a small hole on top just big enough for the feathers to fit.

Insert.  And you're done!=)

Easy Peasy.=)

Decorate on top of your cake or cupcake.

Next post will be....the White Angry Birds.=)
In case you missed the other birds, check out the tutorial for the red angry bird here and the pigs here.

Enjoy the holidays!

How to make the Red Angry Bird

Hi there. ( Note to self : Is there anyone reading this blog at all? )

I am often asked how I make my angry birds.
So here is the first installment of the series of tutorials on how I do every one of them.

Let's start making the STAR of them all.
My favorite....the Red Angry Bird.

Get your fondant and tools ready.

Here are the colors you will need :

Roll your red fondant into 2 balls ( a big one for the body and a small one for the feathers which we will be putting on top of the bird's head )

Divide the small ball into 2 pieces and roll each piece into a tear drop shape.

Dab a small amount of water on one and put on top of the other.

Roll a small piece of white fondant.

And flatten ( I used the back of my cake scraper ) or better and easier to cut a circle from a rolled fondant using a round cutter.

Use the water to glue it on the bottom of the red fondant body.

To make the beak, roll orange fondant to a tear drop shape and gently pinch to form a triangle beak.

Indent a line into the beak.

Here's a better picture.=)

Glue beak in the middle.

 Make two small balls for the eyes and flatten.

Place on top of the beak.

You'll need to make dot size balls of black fondant to serve as the birds eyeballs.

Place in the middle of the eyes.

Make two small tear drop shaped black fondant for its eyebrows.

Position on top of the eyes.

For the feather on its back, shape black fondant like so and indent 3 small lines.

Poke a small hole on its back

And insert the feather there.

Lastly, place the red fondant feather on top of its head.

Tada!....now we're ready to place it on our cake and cupcakes.

Next....the Yellow Angry Birds.=)

Enjoy!