i've been in a funk all day. not sure why...just feeling very...off. can't put my finger on it either. wish i could then maybe i would know how to get out of said funk. it's weird. i don't want to be at work, i don't want to go somewhere else, and i don't even want to go home. i just want to be somewhere else. it's like i want to run away...but with no where to go. my stomach has been weird all day...not hungry but wanting to eat. feeling anxious but for absolutely no reason. to be very honest, it was a really laid back day. no stress, no crazies, no impossible questions or task. just a day at the office.

weird huh?

so now what? what do i do? maybe i should just sleep it off...but i think i'm to anxious to sleep. a glass of wine? go for run? none of those things seem right. i'm starting to think this is a vicious cycle...let's hope this all goes away by tomorrow morning. i am going to resort to what works best...vegging out in front of the tv and turning my brain off.

happy earth day! over the years, b and i have become more aware of how my actions impact our environment. my parents have always good about recycling and using what we have (that was mainly because we were thrifty!) they are also big on growing their own food. my parent's backyard is like a jungle...fruits galore! my mommy also compost, she also does it b/c it is good for her garden. in our daily lives we know there are many more things i can do, but here's a couple things we try to do consistently.

• even when buying coffee, i bring my own travel mug. it decreases trash and keeps my coffee hot longer (my favorite is the contigo autoseal mug...coffee stays hot for 6+ hours!).
• polycarbonate/aluminum water bottles...especially at work since they only provide Styrofoam cups.
• packing lunch in reusable containers and using non-disposable utensils.
• reusable shopping bags when going to the grocery store.
• instead of buying trash bags, we use the supply of plastic bags we get when shopping at target. they are just big enough for our under sink trash can
• we shop in bulk
• this one belongs to b...he installed an reverse osmosis water filtration system so we could stop using our Britta filters.
• reuse file folders at work
• trade supplies in the company
• recycle junk mail, envelopes, magazines and packaging.
• b rides the bus to work - i'd love to but public transportation in austin is not so great.
• shop local. i like visiting the farmer's market when i can

so what do you do to help keep our earth green? are you taking part in any earth day activities?

chocolate and zucchini's blog is doing something awesome (and really easy) with flip & tumble for Ripple Africa. here's the deal: for every person who leaves a comment* at the bottom of today's post on the c&z blog, flip & tumble will fund the planting of a tree in one of the community nurseries that Ripple Africa is working to build, and c&z will match that donation! So just go to the comment box, type "Plant trees for me!" (and whatever you want to add) and two trees will be planted. there's also a give-a-way on that post so go check it out and help plant trees in africa!

cartoon was leaked on the official ACL lineup page ...do you know who it is? now i think i have to get tickets...rumor has it headliners are Dave Matthews Band, Kings of Leon, and Beastie Boys. now as long as they finish the "renovations" to the park...

okay...so technically it did not land in hong kong. the city's three billionaire kwok brothers built the world's first life size replica of noah's ark. they even built it to the biblical specifications. as stated on wall street journal's article, "The message in its 450-foot-long hull, its rooftop luxury hotel and 67 pairs of fiberglass animals: "The financial tsunami will be over," says Spencer Lu, the Kwoks' project director at Noah's Ark, which is opening soon. The land-bound ark wasn't built in response to the current global turmoil; it has been in the planning for 17 years. But the financial storm provides a nice marketing hook for the Kwoks' ambitious project, which will probably need to lure visitors from beyond Hong Kong's city limits to be an economic success." the kwok brother's also tried to install a permanent rainbow but apparently the science became too difficult.

the project reflects thomas kwok's christian faith. in the 1990s, he set up a church in the top floor of the sun hung kai's central plaza office complex. the noah's ark project was initially conceived as a theme park with rides, until Mr. Kwok decided the project should be something more. the construction on the ark's foundations started 2004. the kwoks' version of the ark, which sits on 270,000 square feet of space and was developed in conjunction with five christian organizations, houses a restaurant, exhibition hall (important: which will have a full presentation of the gospel) and children's museum in addition to the noah's resort hotel.

i find it impressive this group of businessmen and pastors have completed the project and especially in hong kong. with hong kong being part of communist china now, i am very surprised that the government approved the project, which i partially a christian education theme park. maybe in this time of economic turmoil, the citizens of hong kong, china and asia will discover god's grace.

b & i have been discussing a trip to asia/hk soon. we'll have to make a stop to see noah's ark and the 67 pairs of fiberglass animals. looks pretty darn cool to me!

click here for the complete article and more images of recreated arks. for more photos, check out flickr.com's tags.

courtesy of pawnation.com and wsj.com

Easter bunny bao (steamed buns), originally uploaded by maki.

must try and make these... (recipie can be found at justhungry.com)
would it be wrong to fill them with bbq pork?

Flopsy Bunny :), originally uploaded by markfftang.

too freakin' cute. can't wait for the bunnies to start showing up in the yard...