On the knitting front, I completed three scarves this week, two of which are going to be wedding gifts, and the lacy one might go to my mom if she wants it.



The beautiful ball of yarn below is attached to the beginnings of my first sock...I am so excited, i just want to finish it. It is a toe up pattern that may be a bit big for my dainty size 6 feet, but I figured that I should just follow the pattern for my first sock, and fix it on my second attempt. Look at how gorgeous the colors are...

And underneath is an exam I am correcting...freedom is so close yet so far away....

A goodbye to a good and faithful friend...

...and maybe someday you will jump into my arms again.

Everyone seems to have caught the survey fever (I STARTED IT, MWAHAHAHA!)...since I have really nothing else to post for today...and then maybe we can do Spot's survey next...

Participate with me on this. I only sent this to folks whose answers are bound to be clever! This is what you are supposed to do, and try not to be LAME and spoil the fun! Just give in and do it. COPY, not forward, this entire e-mail and PASTE it into new email. Change all the answers so that they apply to you then send this to a whole bunch of people you know including* the person who sent it to you. Put your name in the subject. The theory is that you will learn a lot of little known facts about your friends. It is fun and easy 48 questions to answer.

1.FIRST NAME? kristine

2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? --i was born on christmas eve...my parents added angela in the hope that i would grow up to be a good girl, and changed the spelling of christine to kristine to match the first letter of our last name

3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? when i hurt someone i love very much

4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? i don't really have a choice, do i?

5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? roast beef

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOURSELF? i tend to dislike know-it-alls like me, so probably not

7. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? just my blog...now that i know dinah is on her sixth book, i am making it my mission to find those books

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? yes

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? never...capricorns like their feet on the ground

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? post blueberry mornings and banana nut crunch

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? never

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? i'll let you know when i can do the headstand on my own

14. SHOE SIZE? 6 - 6.5

15. RED OR PINK? depends on the red and depends on the pink

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? that i weigh a ton

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? scooby

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? of course

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? red, fuschia, green, teal and mint pajamas

20. LAST THING YOU ATE? rice and nilagang baka

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? desperate housewives is my background noise

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? turquoise...it can be serious or fun...depending on what other colors are paired with it (I guess I would need the box with 64 colors)

23. FAVORITE SMELL? coffee, bond no. 9 new haarlem

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? someone else's voicemail

25. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? i'm a sucker for tall skinny guys who wear glasses (if Yao Ming wore glasses, papatulan ko sya)

26. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? of course! blood is thicker than water

27. FAVORITE DRINK? water

28. FAVORITE SPORT? love watching hockey, love to swim, and starting to learn tennis

29. EYE COLOR? very dark brown...like looking down into a muddy well

30. HAT SIZE? must be below 20 inches in circumference coz the beret i knitted is loose

31. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? no

32. FAVORITE FOOD? paella. muy bueno.

33. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? happy endings, especially if a dog is involved

34. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? pale green

35. SUMMER OR WINTER? summer

36. HUGS OR KISSES? not very affectionate...a nod will do : )

37. FAVORITE DESSERT? leche flan, bar none

38. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? noel!!! even if it is late!!!

39. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? justin, but i want him to prove me wrong (edit: si kevin pala ang ayaw sumagot!!! hoy kevin!!!)

40. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? intro to statistics, mwahahaha!

41. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? what mouse pad? i have an optical mouse!

42. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV? PEYTON MANNING on snl! i love you, peyton!!!

43. FAVORITE SOUNDS? i can't sleep when the electric fan is not on...need the white noise

44. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? beatles, i guess

45. THE FURTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME? i have never been far away from my laptop

46. WHAT'S YOUR SPECIAL TALENT? tripping and skinning my knee...it's a skill when you are 30 years old

47. AND WHERE WERE YOU BORN? cebu city, philippines

48. WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? cookie dunne!!! : ) hee

Update on Dancing with the Stars...Heather Mills got booted off despite being able to do backflips inspite of having one artificial leg. It is very hard to pick a favorite now. I want to root for them all. Anyways, if you check the video section of my multiply webpage (kristinesync.multiply.com), I posted a video of the group dance the remaining stars did last Monday.

Okay, this is from noelmnh’s site…and I thought I would give it a go…

This is going to be one weird survey given the rules which are -->Put your ipod on shuffle. Press forward for each question. Use the song title as the answer to the question even if they don't make sense. You'll be surprised though.NO CHEATING.

*How am I feeling today?
(If you love someone) set them free – Sting. HUH.

*Will I get far in life?
Gayatri mantra – Deva Premal. Hmm…must meditate on that. Ohm.

*How do my friends see me?
Together – Atomic Kitten. I feel it in my heart that we’ll be…together. HUH.

*Where will I get married?
Pres des remparts des Seville – Carmen by Bizet. Apparently in a police barracks in Seville. Dammit.

*What is my best friend's theme song?
Celebration – Kylie Minogue

*What is the story of my life?
My favorite mistake – Sheryl Crow. How appropriate.

*What was high school like?
Bring Him Home – Les Miserables Broadway Cast. Ok, so does not make sense.

*What is the best thing about me?
Milonga del poeta – Il Postino Soundtrack. Lyrics of a poet. How…poetic.

*What was today like?
I’ll be good for you -- *NSYNC. HAH!

*What is in store for this weekend?
Ah! Per l’ultimo Volta – Turandot, by Puccini. The final turn. So not going there.

*What song describes my parents?God only knows – Beach Boys.
They are so different from each other, and yet, they still haven’t killed each other. God only knows…

*How is my life going?
Say you’ll be mine -- Amy Grant

*What song will they play at my funeral?
Don’t go breaking my heart – Anne Hathaway and Jesse McCartney. Wow. Cute and upbeat.

*How does the world see me?
I should be so lucky – Kylie Minogue. Again, cute and upbeat. Hee : )

*Do people secretly lust after me?
The hands that built America – U2??? I guess it was the theme song of Gangs of New York…maybe Leo di Caprio secretly lusts after me…

*How can I make myself happy?
Lothlorien – Lord of the Rings Soundtrack. Great. Now I have to go live with the elves…then again…

*What should I do with my life?
Caravan – Harry Connick Jr. I guess I must pack up and go (to Lothlorien, MWAHAHAHAHA!)

*Will I ever have children?
In un coupe – La Boheme by Puccini. Did he just say in a bowl? I gotta get rid of my foreign language titles…

*What will you name them?
Ce n’est rien – Les Miz concept album. Dammit. Nothing.

*Who will you marry?
French horns – Britten Young People’s Orchestra. Great. Explains previous entry.

*Do you have a gf/bf?
Road to ruin – The Libertines. I guess not.

I was never a true fan of avocado. My grandmother had a giant tree right beside the large bedroom of her house, and during the avocado season (I'm not even really sure that there was an avocado season, but that tree only bore fruit in certain months) it would be chock-full of huge green fruit. I guess it wasn't the Haas variety, which has a rough, purply skin. Our avocados were large, green and smooth to the touch.

My obsession with avocados began when a friend expressed a hatred for the fruit (yes, it is a fruit, because the tree flowers and bears seeds, duh). His mother was from California, and apparently loved having it in every other thing. He couldn't bear to touch anything that had touched an avocado. Somehow, I wanted to prove that he had the wrong attitude to avocados.

So I began to explore the potential of avocados. A Jamaican roommate once said that back in her country, they ate avocados like mashed potatoes, with meat or fish. A classmate from South Africa talked about avocado sandwiches, with the avocado mashed with lemon juice and spread on sandwich bread. In the US, California maki is made with avocado while back home it is made with mango -- I like the avocado version better. Of course, back home, we have avocado ICE CREAM...my American classmates positively cringe at the idea.

I am trying to find a picture of avocado ice cream, but no success. In the absence of an ice cream maker, my mother mixes avocado and condensed milk (I think,) and chills the mixture.

Mostly, I love avocado in anything that isn't sweet. Like this...

Or this...

Or this...

But today, I am going to share my favorite sandwich recipe. I must have culled it from a Martha Stewart recipe, since I believe in all things Martha. Or possibly a Food Network or Real Simple recipe. I have made a little bit of tweaking as well.

The recipe calls for a salmon filet, one avocado, juice of half a lemon, a tablespoon of butter, bread (I like garlic pita or pumpernickel the best), a bunch of arugula, dill or fresh oregano, salt and pepper to taste.

Poach the salmon till it is cooked through and flakes easily (you can add dill to make the salmon more flavorful). Make the avocado butter by mixing avocado, butter, dill OR oregano (dill has a more subtle flavor, but oregano gives a great kick), lemon juice, salt and pepper. Toast the bread. Assemble the sandwich by flaking the salmon and spreading it on a piece of bread. Top with arugula. Spread the avocado butter on another piece of bread, and place on top of the arugula. Be generous with all the ingredients...this is meant to be a hearty, overflowing, messy sandwich.

So what are your favorite avocado or favorite sandwich recipes?

I was in Soho yesterday for a little yarn shopping. A friend is getting married in July, and I thought that matching scarves would be a good gift, even if they are going to settle down in Singapore. I'm sure that they will be doing a lot of travelling, and I am hoping these little things will keep them warm.




As you can see, I was so excited to start the scarves. There is a little bit of mohair in there to make it all nice and fuzzy, and I am thinking I should do the same with the purple scarf.

I am too sleepy to elaborate, so I'm gonna just post it right now.