How To Add A Pretty Title On Your Blog

Disclaimer:
(1) First of all, I apologise for the appalling photographs. For some unknown reason, my "print screen" key doesn't work so I had to take pictures of all the steps with my equally appalling phone camera.
(2) I'm sure there's a more professional way of doing this, but as I don't have legal any photo editing software, I had to resort to using Microsoft Word and Microsoft Paint. If you have Adobe Photoshop, stop reading! You will just roll on the floor in laughter at my rudimentary attempt. Please help me save my dignity.
(3) This works only if you are using the new blogger that allows you to add gadgets and customise your layout. If you're using an actual template, you could possibly host your image on photobucket and then add a HTML code to your template. But that's too much thinking for me. Pass!

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1. Open a word document and insert a text box. Inserting a text box allows you to copy the entire thing and paste it onto a Paint document which is saved as a jpeg file that can be uploaded onto blogger. Size your text box to the exact size you want it on your blog and type in the title.

2. Add images around the title. For a seamless look, the images should be all landscape or all portrait. For DN's blog, I chose only the portrait images. For my sister's blog, I chose only the landscape images. Resize the images so they're all the same size.

3. For this header, I decided to have 2 rows of images, with the title in between. You can adjust the size of the text box as you go along.

4. Once you're happy with your basic title piece, highlight the text box, right click and select "copy".

5. Open a Paint file, select "edit" and click on "paste".

6. If you want, you can start filling the background in with colour. Click on the paint can icon, choose a colour from the bottom and click on the area you want filled in with colour.

7. I only filled in the top and bottom with colour because I wanted to manually spray in the rest for a graffiti effect.

8. To spray in colour, click on the spray can icon ("airbrush").

9. Because Paint only allows you to undo the LAST command, be very careful when "spraying". The minute you make a mistake, quickly undo it. To be safe, I did the outlines first (slowly), then sprayed in the colour.

10. If you look closely, my images were of different sizes. Ugly! So I used a black spray to cover it up.

11. Done! The outline also makes everything look less stark because you can't see the harsh lines.

11. The rainbow effect came out quite well I think. Don't forget to save the file!

12. Log in to your blogger account and go to your dashboard. Click on "layout".

13. You should see the "page elements" page. Click here to "edit" your title bar.

14. Under "image", click on "browse" and upload the completed Paint file.

15. Under "placement", click on "instead of file and description". This means your image will replace your old title and/or description.

16. Once blogger has uploaded your image, it should look something like this. Click on "save" and go check it out. You're done!

And this is how my sister gets a *new* header for her blog! Click here to see it for real.

If you do create your own header, I would be thrilled to have a look at it. Absolutely thrilled. Please drop your blog link in the comments box when you're done! :D

Can we eat Bob?

Yes you can! (chanted to the Bob the Builder tune of "Can we fix it?")

I didn't buy a pack for DN because he's a real china boy. He likes his rice. :)

Snail Mail

I don't think there's anyone on this planet who doesn't like receiving letters or packages in the mail. (except bills of course) What's even better than receiving a letter/package is not knowing it's coming and then a nice surprise lands in your letter box. Sweet. But what's worse is knowing that something is on its way, and opening the door eagerly when you get home everyday, hoping to see a package on the floor because it's been almost two weeks and why isn't it here yet, arghh!

errr... I'm not saying which one happened to me...

But here's the package!

I squealed when I opened it. *squeak!*

And immediately set about "decorating" the room. Here's the "before" shot...

... and the "after" shot. 

What do you do with YOUR broccoli stalks?

I googled "what to do with broccoli stalks" and got this - soup, pickles, stir-fry and nutty mash. And I found out on this website that broccoli stalks are 64% carbs, 10% fats and 26% protein. Of course, the next thing I do is check "krispy kreme doughnut (glazed)" and immediately regret it - 240 calories, 40% carbs, 55% fats and 5% protein. Do I learn my lesson? No. I check "krispy kreme crueller", "krispy creme chocolate doughnut" and "krispy kreme jam-filled doughnuts" next. All I can say is, thank goodness my favourite ones are the original glazed ones! Because we all know that carbs turn into fat if it's not burned off, so technically, eating a krispy kreme doughnut is equivalent to downing a vat of lard.

:(

Okay, back to broccoli. How many times have you thrown these away?

Well, don't because they are perfect for Kinpira, a very popular Japanese side dish. Kinpira means "saute and simmer" and that's how you cook the vegetables, by sauteing them over high heat and then simmering them to tender perfection. According to Just Bento, hard vegetables are the best for making kinpira because they lend that added crunch. Yums. Think cabbage centres, celery and turnips.

I decided to try it out.

- First I sliced up carrots and the stalk into strips.

- Then I added some olive oil (use sesame oil if you have it) into a pan and started tossing them about (4-5 mins).

- Next I added some soya sauce (1-2 tsp) and tossed some more.

* At this point, Just Bento recommends adding some red pepper flakes too, but I'm sure you can add whatever dry spices / flavourings you want too. I only added soya sauce.

- At the end, I added the sesame seeds.

And that's it. Sweet!

Verdict? I'm definitely cooking this again when DN is here because I know he will LOVE this.

Preparing for the arrival of HRH

Not only am I preparing for HRH's amusement for the duration of his stay here, I am also preparing his habiliments. Ahhh, such is the life of the subjects of His Royal Highness.

But it means I have a valid reason to go shopping, heh heh.

DN will be here during winter so he needs to be appropriately garbed. It's predicted to be colder than last year, but milder than the long term average. It's probably going to hover just above 0 degrees I think. I'm just grateful I'm in the South of England, not the North, brrr... I'm a wimp when it comes to the cold. But DN is probably not. That boy has an insane metabolic rate. He sweats even during sedentary activities in an air-con room. (i.e. Sleeping!) As for me, the only activity happening in my body during sedentary activities is the movement of fats to my posterior.

Ho hum. -_-

Anyway, I've been looking out for warm clothes for DN. Sainbury's had a 25% off all clothes sale recently and I picked up footed jammies for £4.50 (yeah, it came with a matching hat!)...

... a hooded fleece jumper (£3.75)...

... and a 3-piece set for £9.75 (look at those funny ears, heh heh)!

I also picked up some stuff at the charity shops - a Gap lined long-sleeved shirt (£1.49), a Next jumper (£1.75), padded puffy trousers (69p) and a beanie (49p). Just 2 cycles in the washing machine and they're good to go!

I :heart: charity shops!

Duh!

When PF and DN get here, I'll still have 2 weeks of school, and that's 9-5pm Mondays to Thursdays and 9-12pm on Fridays. So I've been in a tizzy over what they're going to do while I'm in school. Winchester isn't exactly hip-central (read : there's only 1 fastfood outlet here - McDonald's) and the weather isn't exactly balmy here. (read : it's freakin' cold!) so they'll probably be spending a lot of time in the tiny, boring flat. That's why I bought the ELC toy, those books and have been keeping junk for art and craft. I don't even have a TV! So for two days, I was going about a happy, oblivious life while the financial world collapsed around me... but don't write me off just yet, I know who the new US president is!

Okay sorry, that was quite lame. Even a mushroom knows who the new president is. -_-

Anyway, I'm no longer freaking out about DN being bored out of his pants while he's here. And the solution was (literally) right in front of me all this while - my school library! I was there a few days ago to borrow some musical instruments for one of my projects and when I got to the floor with all the instruments, it was like stepping into second-hand ELC heaven.

Woot! Woot! Woot! Woot! Woot!

My hands were literally shaking with joy as I took these photos. When I found out that I could borrow up to 30 items on my library card, I wanted to leap around the library. And when I found out I could loan out items for up to a month, it made my goddam fees seem worth it! Almost. Erm, okay, NO. But it will help me feel (a little) better about my fees, knowing that I can stock up a play room at home, for FREE!

I can borrow big books. And these are literally BIG books. I remember using these when I taught in a primary school, but using them as the teacher was quite tricky. They're HUGE! And because I'm so short, the minute I sat down on the chair in front of the kids, the book came up to my eyebrows. But the little ones used to love them, so oh well.

I can borrow lego out too! *tremble*tremble*

Water toys! Okay, these might not be that ideal for 10 degree weather. Next!

Big-piece jigsaw puzzles! Sorry DN, but mommy is going to stimulate that brain of yours. Big time!

Ah... these I know DN will love. Fake food! There are bags and bags of fruits, vegetables and meat and there's this pizza set that I want to borrow for him. According to PF, he "makes" pizza every night now and strangely enough, it's become a bedtime routine. He puts all sorts of things onto his pizza - chicken, pork, eggs, carrots(!!). He then puts it in an imaginary oven (under the pillow) and PF will count to 10 before allowing him to take the pizza out. Then they feast! What a simple activity yes? But it's taught him his numbers, believe it or not!

There're other toys I can borrow out too - maths toys, geography toys, musical instruments. I'm going to make the most out of my school fees!

* My university happens to be a teaching college too. :)

Yes, the page HAS changed!

I'm usually very careful when making changes to the template (saving the entire thing first on a word doc) , but 2 days ago, I forgot. -______-" And because it's all in HTML (read : greek), I can't do anything about it until expert help arrives. James is trying to sort it out as we speak, so hang in there!

I think the damage I did to the blog was as bad as a surgeon leaving a boot in his patient. *sniff*sniif* I think DN's old blog is gone. Sorry Roxane (my cousin who designed the whole thing), it's totally my fault. Sigh, the things I do in my moments of "glory", erm, "stupidity".

So I guess we'll have to live with this current page. It's the best only thing I can put together with 7 photos and Microsoft Paint!

Countdown... to DN's arrival!

Woot! We finally fixed a date for DN to join me here! I won't be seeing him for another 4 more weeks (ugh...) but this is good news because we've never fixed a date before. A long long long time ago (August), the original plan was for DN and PF to fly up together with me. It was going to be a BIG MOVE for all of us. "Was" being the operative word here.

As you already know, I ended up coming here alone, and have been here for just over 6 weeks. It'll be another 4 more weeks before I see DN again. 10 weeks! 10 weeks! Golly, I never signed up for 10 weeks away from DN. The first 2 weeks were just awful. I missed him every night, his smell, his snores and how he'd half-shuffle and half-snuggle up to me at night. I was quite depressed and moody and even flared up with PF, by typing in ALL CAPS while we were chatting on MSN once. Ha!

And do you know what I literally missed? I missed DN's speaking explosion! Grrr... Apparently, he's been talking much more now and is quite the parrot. And I missed all of that. -_- So how have I been coping with the moping?

By shopping!

This was on sale at ELC for £16 (20% off). I know both boys are going to have fun with this one. I too, had to restrain myself from ripping the box apart to play with it.

I've also been making my rounds around the charity shops and I picked up these books for DN. I was so pleased to find the book "Going on a Plane" because he would just have been on a plane and will probably recognise everything. That book only cost me 35p I think.

And I've been keeping my empty toilet rolls, egg cartons and containers. Don't ask me what we're going to do with them, I don't know yet.

Yew Char Kuay Thief

Remember when DN sneakily ate some yew char kuay that was sticking out of a plastic bag? (See this post.) Here's the culprit!