Apple I-Pad

Apple fans are getting crazy by Apple's latest product - i-Pad - A 9.6 inch big I-phone.

I'm debating if to get one because I've got an i-Phone, a Macbook Pro, an i-Touch, and 3 i-pods. The price is really appealing:
16G Wifi - $499
64G Wifi+3G - $829
I-pad itself is stunningly sleek, thin and elegant. I was most amazed at its battery life - 10 hours running and 1 month standby. OMG! Hard to believe. 
Some lucky folks from Engadget got to try this new toy before it was released. here are some of their reviews. They may help you decide whether to get one or not.

1. It’s not light. It feels pretty weighty in your hand.

2. The screen is stunning, and it’s 1024×768. Feels just like a huge iPhone in your hands.

3. The speed of the CPU is something to be marveled at. It is blazingly fast from what we can tell. Webpages loaded up super fast, and scrolling was without a hiccup. Moving into and out of apps was a breeze. Everything flew.

4. There’s no multitasking at all. It’s a real disappointment. All this power and very little you can do with it at once. No multitasking means no streaming Pandora when you’re working in Pages… you can figure it out. It’s a real setback for this device.

5. The ebook implementation is about as close as you can get to reading without a stack of bound paper in your hand. The visual stuff really helps flesh out the experience. It may be just for show, but it counts here.

6. No camera. None, nada. Zip. No video conferencing here folks. Hell, it doesn’t have an SMS app!

7. It’s running iPhone OS 3.2.

8. The keyboard is good, not great. Not quite as responsive as it looked in the demos.

9. No Flash confirmed. 

Besides, click on the video below, and have a closer look at the new i-Pad.
http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/27/apple-ipad-first-hands-on/


I might wait till it comes out with a built-in camera. What's your decision, folks!

Valentine's ideas

Valentine's Day is coming up. Are you thinking of warming the hearts of your loved ones with your handmade crafts? I love crafting. I love the smile of my hubby receiving special gifts I designed just for him! 


1. Photo collage: Most if not all couples have millions of photo. Thinking of creative ways to put pictures together. Try this amazing software Shape Collage, which works on Mac and windows computers both.

Here is a heart shaped collage composed of pictures. You can also get more creative and customize your own shape, or words. Just like these two below:

Cover the world with your world pictures!!

Like it? Get started!!

2. Candy boat

Every person has a little sweet teeth deep inside. Valentine is all about candies. So go creative with your candies.

Here are some Candy boat designs. 

What do you think to make it happen? Some colorful paper and wooden stick. How long does it take? 10-20 mins top. Here are step-by-step paper boat making instructions! Have fun. Go sailing your love boats!

http://www.mathematische-basteleien.de/paper_ship.htm

3. Vacation keepsakes composed of letters, tickets, maps, souvenirs...

I know my heart would melt, if I receive a gift like this!

4. Make a Valentine's Tree

Can you sew? If so, SEW! :)

Oh, isn't it beautiful!! Great to anniversary too. Make one each year. Sew a love not from your both inside. Imagine how the tree will look like in 50 years time. and what great family heritage to give to your children!

5. Heart-shaped book mark.

For your loved ones who love to read. 

It's really easy and pretty, isn't it? 

6. Heart shape tea bag tags

For your loved ones who love drink tea... Just like me...

Replace some tea tags with hand made hearts with your personal notes. How sweet is that!

7. Felt Fortune cookies

Tell your loved ones how fortunate you are with a fortune cookie. It's easy to make too. 

Happy Valentine's Day, Everyone! Happy Crafting!

Aha, check out Living Stone Rock Pillows

Perfect decoration for a playroom, poolside, balcony. The pillows are super functional as well. They fit in the playroom of our Winthrop cabin super well.

I can imagine myself rest in the middles of these rock babes. 

Unfortunately, these handsome rocks come with handsome prices. Smaller ones start from $135, and bigger ones are around $750. Ouch!! I'm thinking to talking to some customized couch companies to see if they can make some for me for less, Much Less :)

Easy Photo Merge with Photoshop

A vacation for two - GREAT! but what about no one taking pictures for you - not so great. Hubby and I had a fabulous weekend in Winthrop. We built a gorgeous snowman and we wanted to document it. But couldn't find anyone taking photos for us. With Photoshop, you ca do it yourself AFTERWARDS. We took pictures for each other, and I followed the steps above and made this flawless picture of two. You can do it too!

Directions:

1. Under File,  click on Automate, choose Photomerge

2. Upload the pictures you desire to merge
3. Drag your pictures and MERGE

Done!

Barbecue Baby Rib - Oven Style

The person who invented oven is a total genius. Cooking is never so easy and clean with an oven. We made barbecue pork this week. It takes only 1 hour and 30 minutes, and tastes totally yummy! Try it yourself. 

Directions: 
1. Pick some handsome baby pork ribs, clean and dry them.
2. Sprinkle both sides with a thin layer of the mix of salt, blackpepper and brown sugar (yes!! it's awesome!) (Portion at 2:1:1). Keep them in the fridge for 4 hours.
3. Preheat the oven to 400F. Wrap the ribs with aluminum foil. Put on the oven rack, meaty side down and bake for 1 hour and 20 mins. Put a tray under the ribs to avoid meat juice contaminate the oven. 
4. Open the aluminum foil, flip the meaty side up and spread the meaty side with some barbecue sauce. Broil for 10 meats! 
Done! Juicy, easy, yummy pork ribs~ Have a great dinner!

Fun of Snow

We just had Martin Luther King weekend here in the US. It was too short to go somewhere far, yet was too long to just stay in Seattle watching the rain :) Luckily, we have a cabin 4 hours away from Seattle in Winthrop. It's in the valley of Cascade mountain range, hot and dry in Summer, sunny and snowy in winter. That was where we decided to go! Pack and go! 4 hours later, we escaped the rainy Seattle and were welcomed by a whole sky of beautiful stars and 10 inches of pure white snow. 
We relaxed and refreshed; we cuddled by the fireplace and laughed at each other's jokes; we played board games and read book... it was a fabulous weekend! The most fun thing we did was - building Chunkie~
Meet Chunkie everyone ~ the one on the right!!!! :) 

What a beautiful snowman he is! See the hard work behind Chunkie~~Tee hee hee. But I would do it again without any hesitation. 

If you are looking for snow fun, give me a shout. Welcome to our cabin in Winthrop.