Info AquaScape

I can't believe I get to stay home every day and take care of this bundle of joy! I did it! I took a leap of faith and told my boss that I'd like to extend my 3-month maternity leave for at least 1 year until I finish nursing Rosalina. K's job seems somewhat stable at least for the next 6 months (they're looking to hire him on soon, which means health insurance benefits, baby!). Plus, my mother-in-law isn't able to babysit as much anymore, so it just wasn't worth it to pay for childcare when I really, really  want to be there for my kids when they're younger. I love having a little girl... she's literally my living doll that I get to play dress up with. While it may have seemed nerve-racking to pull the plug with my company, I was scared to death about telling my parents. Yeah, the same parents who both worked their entire lives and paid for my engineering bachelor's and master's degrees. The same mother who told me when I got marrie...

It's that time of the year again! Traditionally K has been the one that does both of our makeup jobs for the zombie crawl , but since I've been experimenting with makeup more this year, I decided to give it a shot myself. I'm not into the gore factor as much, so I looked at "glam zombie" examples for inspiration. Based on some tutorials, I simplified the makeup to 7 easy steps that only cost me $4 in white face paint from a Halloween costume store (since I already owned everything else). Can there be such a thing as a glamorous zombie? (Sources: Beautylish ,  Sccastaneda ,  Marie Claire ) Materials $4 white grease paint or clown white paint Eyeshadow: charcoal black, plum red or brown Black eyeliner Red lip gloss Makeup brushes or sponges Black nail polish (optional) Makeup fixer spray (optional) Baby wipes Eye makeup remover Baby shampoo Step 1: Foundation After washing your face, put on the top of your outfit and trace or dot the n...

When Dexter was 2 weeks old, I had a Groupon discount for a studio photography session for a disc of 10 digital, retouched images. It was a really good deal and the photographer did decent work, but in hind sight, I feel that Dexter came out looking kinda... weird. Above: newborn Dexter taken by a professional with studio lighting and heavy editing Below: newborn Rosalina taken by me with natural lighting and minor editing Since then I have paid for a photo session of our entire family (this time in an outdoor setting), and again, I feel like most of the images didn't have us looking our best. Maybe I'm just super picky or there wasn't enough time to get our kid in the best of moods. Then I saw this article on DIY newborn photography . Wow, if I could make my own setup at home and take pictures over the course of many days to get that perfect pose, maybe I could produce results that looked professional (and several hundred dollars cheaper). Materials The only...

We're happy to announce the arrival of our beautiful baby girl! Huge props to God for such a smooth pregnancy, easy delivery, and healthy baby. Plus, she's the first female to be born in K's family for the past 2 generations. We are so blessed indeed! Even though this was my second pregnancy, I got to experience many things for the first time with Rosalina's birth. I wasn't induced so I was able to count contractions at home, and my water broke naturally on its own. I got the perfect epidural and was able to feel each contraction without pain. When it was time to push, K put on the Castlevania: Lords of Shadow soundtrack so that I could have some epic, adrenalin-pumping battle music in the background. Four contractions later, and she was born! All in all, I was in Labor and Delivery for just 4 hours, and because of my fast recovery, we only stayed one night on the hospital. It was absolutely the best birth I ever could have wished for! We had a hard time c...

As you may have heard, K wrote a script for a feature-length comedy and we're currently in the fundraising phase. Lots of people experienced in the film industry have said it's one of the funniest scripts they've read in a while. Of course that makes me very proud of my husband's work, but also slightly puzzled. Because I know for a fact that K has a rather... offbeat sense of humor that I would not consider very conventional. For example, the kind of shows he finds hilarious include: Tim and Eric Awesome Show Old Spice commercials Impractical Jokers hidden camera show If I had to put my finger on a common theme, it would be that K loves unpredictable, awkward situations and non sequiturs. In fact, he finds conventional comedies to be super boring. Like most film buffs, K and his brother love overanalyzing what makes a movie good versus not. And something that they find lacking in modern-day films is the usage of visual gags. Here's a delightful montage/analysi...

Everyone has their guilty pleasures that make no sense. I consider myself to be a pretty practical person, and yet I indulge in wasting time with task-based games (like Farmville and Animal Crossing ) and reading celebrity gossip. Combine the two of these idiotic interests, and you've got the Kim Kardashian: Hollywood mobile game. Ack! There was no resisting... How can working a pretend retail job even be remotely interesting? Hilariously enough, it's become one of the most-downloaded and highest-rated free games on iTunes, so I'm apparently not the only one caught up in its addictiveness. They've definitely got the balance right because the #1 complaint in the reviews is how slowly your character's energy level refills, which of course compels people to spend real-world money (even up to $500 in some cases). Given that I'm not willing to let go of a single cent, I've found that the best way to play this game is in frequent, little bursts rather tha...

Welcome to the second tutorial in the Home is Where the Console Is series! I made a short 3-minute to show you a nifty way of wrapping cables without using any extra ties or straps (because who ever has those lying around?). It's great for temporarily storing or shortening power cords, headphones, and other electronic cables. If you'd like step-by-step pictures of how to do this, here's an Instructables tutorial I found that explains the same thing. As a simpulan note, the over/under method of cable coiling is the most recommended for long-term storage since it preserves cable longevity and allows the cord to lie flat when uncoiled. So if you've got some expensive, high-end equipment, like video or audio cables, it'd be best to use the over/under technique. Question: How do you store your cables at home? I've seen everything from twist-ties and rubber bands to tape to... nothing at all. :)