LASHES Tricks

 My daughter have full and dark eyelashes.

 Although she is gifted with a thick lash. 

 Hers were straight like mine. Mine wasn't as thick as hers.

How do we fix this straight eyelashes? We CURL them!

It helps to open up your eyes and make those lashes more visible.

Your eyes are the window to your soul. It probably is one of your best features.

Therefore you have to frame it beautifully!

One of our morning routine is spent perfecting our eyelashes alone brushing the clumps otherwise we will end-up with a spidery eye.

We curl it, apply mascara, clean those smudges and at the end of the day removing them or wake-up looking like a raccoon.

One of the tricks I have learned years ago is what I will share with you today.

 Many of you probably when you curl your eyelashes counts from one to forever.

 This tricks will help curling a lot easier.

Chopstick trick:
Apply Mascara
Get your chopstick and heat it up with a lighter
Brush it on your lashes (make sure the temp wont burn your lids)
Now you wont need a curlash

Here is a video tutorial:

The tutorial (go to 4.25)

Spoon trick:

Curling your lashes with spoon is an old trick used by women for hundreds of years.

So If you ever forget your curlash Dont worry, you can always use spoon.

 With the spoon's back facing ur lid.

Simply position the outer edge of the spoon against your lashline and use the force of your thumb against your lashes to create a curl. Starting from one end, press the underneath of your eyelashes firmly with your thumb against the edge of the spoon for about 10 seconds. Release your thumb, and then repeat the step until all sections of each eyelash reach the desired curl. Do not move the spoon while you press your eyelashes with your thumb in order to avoid any accidental pulling or breaking of your eyelashes.

 Things can get tricky and its all too easy to grab lid instead of lashes.

Warming-up the spoon with a blower or lighter will make the lash's curl stay longer.(Make sure you check the temp)

Apply mascara.

Here is a very entertaining video tutotial on the spoon trick, eyeliner application using spoon and mascara application:

If you find the first two tricks hard, here is another one that would definitely help.

Heat-up your Curlash:
Before curling your lashes, take your blow dryer and heat-up the curlash.
Check the temperature on your wrist so you don’t burn your eyelids!
A warm curlash gives a long-lasting curl effect on your lashes.
Just like our hair tools.
Works on false lashes, too!

Now your windows are framed beautifully!

What simple beauty tricks can you share with me?

Sauteed Ground Beef with Quail Eggs

Howdy Ladies! 

It is nice and hot outside, a very beautiful day to spend the day out.

As hot as the day...is my partner's head. 

We just found out that our electric bill is $388!!

We checked the website on w/c hours have the most usage.

From the month we moved here up until this month, the graph kept climbing.

The same appliances plugged in since the day we moved in, is the same ones that are running.

We figured the first couple of months would be highest bcoz that is when we will do some building/carpentry, running table saws, pressure washer etc...

Low

CRAZY SPIKES!!!

We sat and talked about it this morning and couldn't figure out what's causing it besides the fact that electricity is highest in summer....

It is a mystery yet to be solved...

(If Im still in Manila I would certainly think that our lines have been tapped.)

Now to the main course we go!

Sauteed Ground Beef. It is a version of Pork giniling (Sauteed ground pork) but this time I used ground beef mainly because ground beef is commonly used here in US than ground pork. The ground beef (or pork) is stewed in tomato sauce and water to bring out the taste and for additional nutrition we also add vegetables such as carrots and potatoes (sometimes I add green peas, red bell peppers and raisins to make it more nutritious and colorful, but this time i will do it simple). It think this is similar to Pork Picadillo.

It is a  dish easy to prepare.

Pre-boil and peel your quail eggs. (You can also use chicken eggs)

Sauteed Ground Beef Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb ground beef
• 1 1/2 cups potatoes, diced (you can also opt this out bcoz you will already get enough starch from the rice which this dish is served with)
• 1 cup carrots, diced (I prefer shredded)
• 8 ounces tomato sauce
• 6 cloves garlic, crushed or minced
• 1 medium-sized onion, minced
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar (optional)
• boiled eggs, shelled (optional)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup water (if using 1 piece beef, chicken or pork cube) or 1 cup chicken broth

Cooking Procedure

 --Heat a cooking pot and pour-in the cooking oil. Use just a little bit just to grease the pot because the beef will give out a lot of grease as the dish is being cooked.
 --Put-in the ground beef and cook for 5 minutes. Remove excess oil.
 --Put-in the garlic and sauté until the color turns light brown.
 --Add the onions and sauté until the texture becomes soft.
 --Put the carrots and potatoes in then stir until every ingredient is properly distributed. Simmer for 10 to 12 minutes.

 --Add the beef or pork cube, tomato sauce, and water and let boil. Simmer for 20 minutes. (Or add tomato sauce and chicken broth.)

 --Add salt, ground black pepper, and sugar(optional) then stir.
 --Put in the boiled eggs and turn off the heat.

 --Transfer to a serving bowl and serve.

Great with Hot and steamy rice!

Enjoy!

 Left over is good for empanada filling!

Im now going back to further investigate this electric matter. I will help the redneck's move the swamp cooler to the dining area (which I dont think will help resolve that problem but whatever!).

LATE!

Praise in Trials...

Psalm 34:1 - His praise will always be on my lips

I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.

Article: Colorado Shooting

I just got done reading Marie @Miniature Claypot's post about her experience on the shooting that happened @ a theater in Colorado. Her post have been controversial in blogland after the horrifying incident. Her blog is very inspiring because instead of blaming God, she chose to give praise, but ofcourse we cannot always please our readers, we do not all think alike....some people even tried twisting the whole intent of her writing.

Her post reminded me of a facebook post "You just can't stop some people from shining no matter how their situation or others bring them down" from ELEVEN blog followers and 30 facebook friends, it sky rocketed to a thousand plus....I believe it is one of God's way of comforting her.... 

Matthew 5:10-12 “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

These days you would see very few people praising the Lord while/after going through a painful experience. You would rather hear whinning and them questioning God. Asking Him why it has to be them to experience the pain. But the bible says in James 5:13 Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise....And in Romans 5:3-5 (NIV)  ³ Not only so, but we^[a] also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴ perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵ And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

 Anyone who has a very intimate relationship with the Lord CAN praise his name in the midst of crisis. 

 Romans 5:3-5
"We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love." (NLT)

 1 Peter 1:7
 These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold--though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.

She wanted to give comforting words and encouragement to others who may have been going through the same phase in life....2 Corinthians 1:4 ...who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.

She is lucky to have survived the shooting with her children and it made her draw closer to God.

She helped me be reminded of how Big our God is compared to our troubles. That as a daughter of God, Praise should ALWAYS be on my lips.

GIVEAWAY!

Angel's At My Door is having a Giveaway!

Cindy of Whimsical Musings blessed with wit and creativity, the author of one of the bestseller e-book in Amazon, with her latest book written "Angel's at My Door", is giving away one of her beautiful creations.

Pretty!

Please check out Angel's at My Doors on facebook. Hit SHARE for the giveaway and leave your name on her facebook post. A winner will be picked at random on Sat. night, July 28.

Good luck and keep inspiring everyone like Cindy does!

Battered Quail Eggs

Back from church!
Posting this for you and killing time for musician's fellowship later this afternoon....

Finally! Here is the recipe for kwek-kwek that I mentioned in my earlier post about raising quails.

Kwek-Kwek, is a Filipino delicacy made of hard-boiled quail eggs and orange-tinted batter which is deep-fried until crispy, best with vinegar dip, sweet gravy sauce or sweet&sour sauce. It is a food commonly sold in streets of Manila and everywhere in Philippines. It is one of the famous snacks in the afternoons after siesta, quick-bite if you are in a hurry. It is a good comfort meal after a long day of activity. Kwek-kwek along with adidas, isaw, grilled pork blood, okoy, bananaQ, kamoteQ, fishballs, squidballs and many others, are mostly sold along schools and universities. Kwek-kwek have a mommy version called Tokneneng, hard-boiled chicken egg cooked the same way.

This is very easy! 

Tip: Pre-boil the eggs so it doesnt consume all your time becoz you have to let it sit to cool and peel the eggs. 

Ingredients:
 12-18 pcs hard-boiled quail eggs
 1 cup flour
 3 tbsp cornstarch (Very IMPORTANT!)
 1 tbsp Anatto powder or you can use a couple drops of orange food tint (or any color really) or just the batter itself is still good. It has just been popular in orange shade.
 1/2 tbsp salt
 1/2 tbsp ground black pepper
 2-3 cups cooking oil


Cooking procedure:
1. Place the cornstarch in a container and dredge the boiled quail eggs. Set aside. (Very IMPORTANT! I made it last time and ran out of cornstarch and the batter didnt stick well to the eggs.)

Batter didnt coat the eggs well but its still good!

 2. In a mixing bowl, combine flour, salt, and pepper then mix thoroughly.

3. Dilute the anatto powder in warm water then pour-in the mixing bowl with the other ingredients or few drops of orange food coloring. Mix well.
4. Place all the quail eggs in the mixing bowl and coat with the batter.
5. Heat the pan and pour the cooking oil.
6. When the oil is hot enough, deep-fry the quail eggs by scooping them from the mixing bowl using a spoon. Make sure that each is coated with batter.

7. After a few minutes, remove the fried quail eggs from the pan and place in a serving plate.
8. Serve with vinegar, sweet gravy sauce or sweet&sour sauce while still crispy. Share and Enjoy!

Hope you are having a great Sunday! I'm signing off to get my potluck dish going!

BRUSH TIPS & GiveAways

Have you ever wondered why on earth there's tons of brushes used
for make-up's?
Who in the world uses that many?
Well...each brush have different task to perform...Just like
painting.
There are different tools used to make the application
smooth orrough to create the texture you want.
Just like make-up.
You cannot use a blusher or kabuki to put your shades on,
it is just too big....
For professional make-up artists, these are must-haves....

Photosource: Coffee Cup Beauty

Learn more about make-up tools from Michelle Phan. She talks about eyeshadow brushes on her post. Coffee Cup Beauty's page features different kinds of brushes too. Check them out and learn what tools you must have, which would help sculpt and enhance your beauty.

Michelle is giving away items for her subscribers. Check out her youtube & Fawn channel and be one of her subbies...post a million comments for better chance of winning!!! Winners will be announced on her Blog.

Good Luck!

My Busy Nest...Farmville application

 Im back! I have been a little too busy and lazy lately. It has been 5 months and it still feels like we have just moved. I am not done arranging things yet and it seems like forever. Everytime I turn around there are still tons to do and more mess to clean. My house is still a chaos!

While everyone hits the road and head toward the beach.......

 We have been busy with our microfarm....

Those are corn behind her.

On her right are lettuce plants. They are already bolting.

We have giant pumpkins too!

Before.....

After...but not ready yet.

The pumpkins are supposed to be in the fence!! We didnt know how big they are gonna be until we saw how huge the leaves were! It was just a TRIAL vegetable garden. Atleast we know that the soil is good and suitable for planting!

I told hubby to make me a lil vegetable box bcoz I figured it will be easy to maintain. Then when I went outside after a couple days, he is digging a big 'ol section of dirt!!!! I ended up with a big garden which I helped him plant and he maintains...

 Raising quails.... (And it is so amazing to watch them hatch!)

We took a video of one of them hatching.

I think there's 8 of them on hubby's hand.

1 or 2 day old quail.

 Hubby decided to raise quails for his love of kwek-kwek. (I will make a different post for that recipe)

Size of quail egg

Our first set of quails

Our small brooder box (small fish tank). From incubator we transfer them here.

The big brooder box (90 gal fish tank). When they get a lil bigger we put them in this one so the lil ones dont get trampled on.

The incubator, with a hatching area where they can get food and water after coming out of their shell.

The inmates in the big brooder.

We had a hard time finding Jumbo Quails. We heard about Bird Expo in LA, Drove there and picked-up some more.

Our newest hatchling is blonde! From the tan Hens we got @ the Bird Expo.

The Quail hen's are laying 5-8 eggs a day.

We are also raising a couple chickens.....

When they were still chicks.

This is them now.

That is a naked neck turken...Hers died that is my son's turken.

A Naked-neck Turken.

She looks like an ostrich, doesn't she?

My daughter messing with the turkey.

.......And a turkey, which was named "DINNER" by the kids.

Meet DINNER!

She's very tame and would come to you when you snap your finger.
I do not know if hubby will ever have a heart to butcher her for Thanksgiving :(

 We are also going to try to breed finches....

We also got them from LA fairflex BirdExpo.

So far we have harvested...

Radishes.

                  

Left: Lettuce of different kinds                     Right: Spinach

Lots of Corn.

Dried Peas

My daughter helping daddy.

Getting peas out of dried pods.

Grape harvest.

....A friend came over and picked-up some of our bokchoy and leeks too...

Plus I have broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, onions, tomatoes, bell pepper to harvest still!

It's a little bit work. But the garden is bountiful!! Helps stretch your budget.

We spent summer nights outdoors BBQ'ing whatevers...Smores, Burgers, Hotdogs etc....

We also welcomed a NEW PAWmily member!

Meet Queen.

We named her after my royal dogs Duke, Prince & King.

We're pretty busy huh?!

How are you keeping yourself busy this summer?

I am sure you are all having a blast and finding different activities for your family!

Have fun beating the sun!