The possibilities in a square of paper

It's amazing what a square of paper can become. Thanks to the art of origami, a square of paper can become a flower, a frog, a fish, a hat, a bird, a box, and practically anything else you can imagine. It can become a way to teach kids about proportion and spacial relationships and following directions. It can become a way to spend a fun afternoon with your kids. It can become a beautiful work of art.

Summer Movies I'm looking forward to

Summer is shaping up to be a low-key affair for the Bongga family this year. Next year we plan to be in the UK for the 2012 London Olympics (fingers crossed that we'll be able to get tickets to some of the events!), and we'll probably be flying to Manila for the holidays, but the only things we've got planned this summer are a couple of summer camps, visits to Great America and a camping trip or two that I haven't booked yet. We'll be enjoying lots of long, lazy summer days at home, at the pool, in the car (for some day trips) and in the cool confines of the movie theater. And thanks to Megan Smith's latest movie post on BlogHer, I've been given a rundown on all the hot summer movies of 2011. Here's what I'm looking forward to:

An Easter Puzzle

In the past, Easter has been a pretty big deal. Every year we would take the kids to at least two Easter egg hunts, and we'd usually organize a third egg hunt at our house for the kids and their cousins, accompanied by a fancy Easter brunch. But this year our Easter celebration consisted of handing the kids a couple of chocolate eggs and bunnies. Granted, the eggs were the size of babies' heads and came all the way from the UK, and everyone got to stuff themselves with chocolate for breakfast for the first time ever, but still, it was a subdued affair. I didn't even take the time yesterday to greet everyone a Happy Easter on Facebook, Twitter, or this blog!

Photo Hunt: Dusty

This is one day during last year's UK summer vacation where I wouldn't have minded a drizzle. It was as hot and dry as Manila in April. The dust kicked up by these bikes was incredible! I think most of it ended up on the spectators cheering from the sidelines...

This post and photos were inspired by the Photo Hunt theme of the week: Dusty. Feel free to leave links to your own Photo Hunt entries below.

Old or young?

I don't think about aging much. Why should I? I don't consider myself old. But sometimes I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror, or come across and old photo of myself, or look at The Pea, and I realize how I'm not the girl I used to be. All of a sudden I find myself slathering on heavy cream every night, making sure I don't sleep on my side so that I don't get "pillow wrinkles" on my face the next morning, and wondering how much better I'd look if I had a neck lift. Here are ten signs that remind me I'm getting old:

Photo Hunt: Road

A clear, blue sky, an English country road, a pair of doting aunts and horses to ride. For a child, a summer day doesn't get any better than this.


This post and photos were inspired by the Photo Hunt theme of the week: Road. Feel free to leave links to your own Photo Hunt entries below.

A life well lived, a life well loved

On March 31, 2011 a cousin of mine passed away. It was a great shock to his whole extended family; he was just 26. He is the first relative of my generation to go. The wake and funeral was held in the Philippines. I was asked to say something on the last day of the nine-day vigil; since I could not be there, I wrote something and asked my sister to read it. I've been crying off and on since he died, so I've decided to publish what I wrote, as kind of tribute to him, and closure for me.

Photo Hunt: Trees

The redwoods around Bear Mountain in Felton are spectacular, and there's no better way to see them than by riding through them on an open railroad car pulled by a narrow-gauge steam train. We rode the Roaring Camp Railroad two years ago and thoroughly enjoyed the one-hour trip and the barbecue lunch at the train station. They have great themed events for Easter, Halloween and Christmas -- and I'm hoping to get press tickets for their Day Out With Thomas event!

This post and photos were inspired by the Photo Hunt theme of the week: Trees. Feel free to leave links to your own Photo Hunt entries below.

Ten Years of Memories

Wow. The Pea's age is in the double digits now. She has lived a decade. And I've been a mother for a decade.

Ten years is a long time. It's long enough so that we remember events, but not the details.

Photo Hunt: Closed

It has been 2 weeks since we drove to Lake Tahoe and back in a snowstorm, and already it seems like a long time ago. We've had a whole week of temperatures in the 70's and 80's and it seems impossible to think that so much snow could fall from the heavens. But I only have to look at this photo to remember the treacherous conditions that closed so many roads and highways, and caused so much trouble.

This post and photos were inspired by the Photo Hunt theme of the week: Closed. Feel free to leave links to your own Photo Hunt entries below.