Christmas Packs

Baked 4 batches of Hazelnut Cookies yesterday and today. Made cute little labels and packed them up as Christmas gift packs for my colleagues. Also made a batch for my man's colleagues but didn't take a picture of those. 

Made more than enough for our colleagues as well as for home.

More baking the next few days for the home. 

Recipe : Hazelnut "melt in your mouth" Cookies

2 batches of this 'melt in your mouth' cookies just fresh out of the oven for Christmas. I love simple and yet great tasting cookies. This recipe is mum's genius invention, also published in her second book, Heritage Cookbook.

Ingredients:

175 grams Salted Butter

75 grams Icing Sugar

125 grams Plain Flour

75 grams Cormflour

50 grams Ground Hazelnut

75 grams Roasted & Chopped Hazelnuts

Method:

1. Mix plain flour, cornflour and ground hazelnut together in a medium sized bowl.
2. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar. (tip : use good butter like Anchor or Tatura, the quality of your butter determines the quality and taste of your cookies)
3. Mix in the dry ingredients, followed by the chopped hazelnuts.
4. Keep mixture in the fridge (not freezer) to firm up a little.
5. Remove from fridge, make small balls and flatten a little with a fork.
6. Bake for 15 minutes at 175 degrees Celsius.
7. Remove and cool on rack.

* makes about 64 good sized cookies per batch.

My man's so hot!

One of the dares that James was supposed to do for his 30th birthday was...

30 PUSH UPS IN 30 SECONDS!!

Everyone said he probably can't do it and suggested to reduce the number of push ups.

But boy did my man prove them wrong!

He did it not in 30 seconds, but 25.5 seconds!!!

My man's so hot!!!

No longer a virgin...

to the Big Bad Wolf Sales. 

Check out the plunder mum and I came home with!

Sadly though, the 3 main cooks I wanted to get were not available. But I got some pretty good deals on some other books.

Got mainly cooking, baking, biographies, true stories and some Christmas gifts. Can't wait to start on them. 

Birthday Treat to Myself

When I went to collect Crabtree & Evelyn's free gift of their Cranberry & Orange sauce, they were having a 30% sale for members for ALL items.

Got my man a pre-Christmas gift as well. He's been so stressed up lately, so I surprised him with something small.

And in the process got myself a birthday gift as well! Wisteria Perfume 100ml. Since it was 30% off, figured it was a good deal, plus my current perfume was about to finish.

Verdict : Very pleased with the scent! Although it doesn't last as long because it is EDT. 

My first ever bouquet

The man surprised me with this gorgeous bouquet of flowers on my birthday. I've never gotten a bouquet of flowers before, and to get my first from him is just awesome!

I love love love fresh flowers and these just made my day!

A-3-16

It's cooked!

We bought a home!

After months of going through the processes of buying a home, we got our keys just a few days shy of my 28th birthday. Never thought I would make such a big purchase so young. 

This house is truly a testimony in itself. When house prices are skyrocketing, we managed to get our unit at an unbelievable price. The same price that I initially told God we were wiling to spend before we started scouting for a place together.

It seemed impossible to get any home at the price we wanted initially and after scouting a few places and units, we decided that we would put this purchase on hold. 

Then, A-3-16 just dropped into our laps when we least expected it. 

Some would say it's too small, but to us it is just nice and cozy. We're simple people and starting off small is better than to be bogged down with huge mortgage loans and no savings. 

Now that it is official, we can start looking for ideas to do up our little place we can now call home. 

So exciting! 

God never fails to grant our hearts' desires and has been so so faithful. All glory to God! 

Crabtree & Evelynn Goodness

I've always been one for freebies and contest. There was a season I used to wins lotsa prizes and cold hard cash as well. People used to ask the question, "How is it that you are always winning stuff?" Simple answer is - you gotto participate in the contest. 

But of late there has been lotsa freebies going around.

You can follow the freebies at these blogs:

I-Love-Freebies

Freebiesland

Crabtree & Evelynn has been known to give away gifts with a certain amount spend at their store or small sachets of samples but I've never known them to give away actual size items. 

So when I saw this deal, needless to say I wanted it!!! I mean who doesn't want cranberry & orange sauce goodness.. for FREE!

I managed to sign my mum up as well and collected 2 bottles for our home. 

The deal mentioned that they were only giving out 100 bottles, but when I reached the store I found out that they were actually giving out 200 bottles. The kiasu person that I was, I reached first and was first in line!

C&E were also giving out RM20 vouchers with no limited purchase required.

I've not tasted the sauce yet.. maybe for breakfast today with mum's homemade bread. Yums!

Excited to see the end result!

Source

Something has been cooking for 7-8 months now and hopefully in just under a week from now, it'll be ready. 

Koh Lipe : Sunrise

This is what I will be waking up to in just one week...

Source

Craft : Felt Poppy Flowers

So I've not been one into arts and crafts, in fact when I'm asked to do craft, I get really tensed and stressed up. My cousins and close friends can attest to that. So what motivated me to do this? 

Well, there's a baby shower coming up for a very precious little girl and I got the inspiration from C who made it for another baby. Hers turned out so pretty and I decided to give it a try.

She shared the tutorial with me and I studied it for days and did not have the confidence to do it on my own. Asked a few peeps to help me out but somehow our timings never jived. 

So yesterday, I decided I'd just go get the material and give it a go. 

Voila!

Turned out quite pretty didn't they? I must say I'm quite proud of myself. I actually bought this really rich purple felt but for some reason it turned out blue-ish in the picture. 

The one on the left was my first try which took me just slightly over an hour. I felt that it was too big so made a smaller one for the precious baby, isn't it cute? Once I got the hang of it, the 2nd one took me only about half hour to make. 

I had some issues making the bud in the beginning because one of the pictures in the tutorial kinda confused me. But mum saved the day, as usual!. Thank God for creative mums!

Sewed on the smaller poppy to some stretchable lace.. and there you go - a pretty hairband. 

Since they turned out quite decent, I'm thinking of making a few more other colors. Not sure what I'm going to do with them yet though, either stick on a hair clip, decorate my room with it, arrange it into a spray... 

For those interested in learning how to make these, you can get the tutorial from here.

Jewel's gone...

Remember Jewel? 

Well, she's gone. Sadly!

I went out that afternoon after work to get her a cage and some food (dry bird food & live worms - YES I was driving around with worms in the car). When I reached home, I washed the cage, put her in and filled it up with water. She was so frightened that we decided to just leave her alone for a bit.

Put the cage near the sliding door so she could get some fresh air and sunlight.

Walked to the kitchen and back to her and SHE'S GONE!!

This smartypants had seen how I opened the cage door and when I was gone used it's really strong beak to open the door and fly off.

I spent some time walking out side my house looking for it, because it didn't seem so well and didn't want to fly much. Just hoping that it's ok now and flying high and not sitting on the ground as an easy bait, which is how we found her in the first place.

All in all, I'm thankful for that few hours with Jewel. I absolutely adore kingfisher and it was súch an awesome thing to have one for a few hours, and what more a colorful beauty such as she. 

Recipe : Simple Chocolate Ice-Cream (without egg)

I've made this recipe twice and both times it vanished from the freezer in just a couple of days.

A simple ice-cream which takes only 15 minutes to prepare. A must-try for everyone who loves to bake and loves it easy and fast.

Ingredients:
1 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
*I used Hershey brand
2/3 cup Granulated Sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed Brown Sugar
1 1/2 cups whole Milk
3 1/4 cups Heavy Cream
*I used Anchor Whipping Cream
1 tbsp Pure Vanilla Extract

Method:
1. Place the cocoa and sugars in a medium bowl, stir to combine.

2. Add the whole milk and use a hand mixer on low speed or whisk with a balloon whisk to combine until the cocoa and sugars are dissolved, about 1-2 minutes.

3. Stir in the heavy cream and vanilla.

4. If not freezing immediately, cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

5. Pour mixture into an ice-cream maker and let it mix till thickened. The ice cream will have a soft, creamy texture. If you would like a firmer consistency, place them into a container and in the freezer for 2 hours.

6. If you don't have an ice-cream maker, after point 4 - Pour mixture into a freezer container and freeze until set, about 3 hours. Remove from the container and chop roughly into 3 inch pieces. Place in a bowl of a food processor and process till smooth. Return to the freezer container, and freeze again until firm. Repeat the freezing-chopping process 2 or 3 times until a smooth consistency is reached, then freeze until it is to be served.

Use good cocoa powder and heavy cream for a better taste.

This recipe makes about fourteen 1/2 cup servings.

Vanilla Pods

Source

These are certainly God's creation. The aroma is gives is just heavenly.

I bought my first ever 2 pods for RM25.90. They were from Madagascar. But today I walked into Chang Tung and they were selling 3 pods for only RM7.60. However the ones from Chang Tung are from Indonesia but I'm sure they give just about the same flavour and aroma.

I'm planning to make more desserts with vanilla pods and was super psyched when I saw that I could get them much cheaper. I mean, RM13 per pod is just too expensive!! But now it's only RM2.50.

So look out for more desserts using this heavenly ingredient. 

Recipe : Classic Vanilla Ice-Cream

Nothing beats the creamy simplicity of true vanilla ice-cream. Vanilla pods are expensive, I paid about RM25.90 for 2 pods, but well worth buying for the superb flavour they impart.

This recipe serves 4.

Ingredients:
1 Vanilla Pod
300ml / 1/2 pint / 1 1/4 cup Milk
*the original recipe states to use semi-skimmed (low-fat) milk but I just used regular full cream milk
4 Egg Yolks
75gm / 3oz / 6 tbsp Caster Sugar (superfine)
5ml / 1 tsp Cornflour
300ml / 1/2 pint / 1 1/4 cup Double (heavy) cream
*I used Anchor whipping cream

Method:
1. Using a small knife, slit the vanilla pod lengthways. Pour the milk into a heavy pan, add the vanilla pod and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and leave for 15 minutes to allow the flavours to infuse.

2. Lift the vanilla pod and scrape the black seeds out of the pod with a small knife and add them back into the pan of milk. Bring the milk back to a boil.

3. Whisk the egg yolks, sugar and cornflour in a bowl until the mixture is thick and foamy. You may either use a balloon whisk or an electric mixer (I used a balloon whisk and it took less than 5 minutes to whip it up). Gradually pour in the hot milk, whisking constantly.

4. Return the mixture to the pan and cook over gentle heat, stirring constantly.

5. When the custard is thick and smooth, pour it back into the bowl. Be careful not to overcook the custard as it burns easily in the pan.

6. Leave to cool, then chill in the fridge.

7. Whip the cream until it has thickened but still falls from a spoon. Fold it into the custard and pour into a freezer container. Freeze for 6 hours or until firm enough to scoop, beating twice with a fork or in a food processor.

8. Alternatively if you have an ice-cream maker, you can skip step 7. Stir the cream into the custard and churn the mixture in an ice-cream mixer until thick. If the consistency is not as desired, freeze for a couple more hours.

9. Serve scooped into bowls or cones.

Meet Jewel

Aint she a beauty?'

This morning my dad woke me up at 715am to tell me that there's a beautiful bird in the house and my mum was currently carrying it. Took me awhile to register what he was saying, but as soon as he did, I dashed down.

And lo and behold it was this beauty!

A friend looked it up and said that it might be an Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher. We can't let it go at this point because it doesn't seem to want to fly much and just stays on the ground which would make it a sitting bait for cats and dogs around my area.

Surprisingly though, Bubba didn't go near it this morning. I'm not sure if he was being nice to not wanna disturb it or just too blur to event notice it on the porch.

Heading out to buy Jewel a cage and some food to possibly get her strong enough to fly again soon. 

Places to Visit : Dunn's River Falls, Jamaica

White Chocolate Truffles

I made this for the first time last December for my parents' 29th anniversary. It's the easiest dessert to make, and it doesn't require any baking!

Inspired by Ina Garten aka Barefoot Contessa.

Ingredients

2 tbsps Heavy Cream or Whipping Cream
7 ounces Good White Chocolate - chopped
*you can get 1kg of Selbourne chocolate for under RM15*
2 tbsps Baileys
1/2 tsp Vanilla Essence
1/2 cup Chopped Hazelnuts - lighty roasted
6 ounces Bittersweet or Dark Chocolate

Method

1. Place the cream in a heat-proof bowl, and set the bowl over a pan of simmering water. This is also otherwise known as double boiling.
2. Cook until heated through. Using a wire whisk, slowly stir the white chocolate into the warm cream until completely melted. 
3. Whisk in the liqueur and vanilla. Cover and chill for 1 hour or until pliable but firm enough to scoop.
4. With 2 teaspoons or a melon scoop, make dollops of the chocolate mixture and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
5. Refrigerate for about 15 minutes, until firm enough to roll into rough spheres.
6. Melt the bittersweet chocolate in a heat-proof bowl, set over a pan of simmering water.
7. Drizzle the melted bittersweet chocolate over 10 of the truffles. Roll the remaining truffles in the chopped nuts. 
8. Chill until ready to serve.

This makes about 20 truffles. 

You could also roll the truffles in hazelnut and top it with drizzle bittersweet chocolate.

Best served with a cup of good coffee. Try this the next time you want to whip up an easy dessert without much effort. You surely will not be disappointed. 

Insanity

So yesterday I decided to join 2 buds for their Insanity workout. It was unplanned and a decision made last minute as my original dinner plan got cancelled.

With no shoes or proper attire, I courageously said YES to them.

I did Insanity probably 3 times max about 1-2 years ago. But I never made it past the warm-up session. Yes, lousy I know! Yesterday I was really proud though because despite being so tired, I pushed through. I must admit that I took much longer breaks than the boys or than I was supposed to, but it's much more than I've ever done before.

It was tough, no doubt! But I think having friends to push and motivate you along really does help, plus it is more fun when you're not doing it alone.

Here's how crappy we looked after the workout :)

Recipe : Apple Cream Tart

Been watching Laura Calder lots on AFC and last week I decided to try her recipe on Apple Cream Tart. It didn't turn out the way I expected it to be so tweaked the recipe a little using mum's Tart Shell recipe as well as amended the filling slightly. 

This tart is slightly different from apple pie you're used to eating, but it is just as comforting. 

Goes great with whipped cream or ice cream. 

Ingredients

Tart Shell
200 grams Plain Flour - sifted
50 grams Icing Sugar - sifted
Pinch of Salt
100 grams Butter
Little ice water to bind to a dough

Cream Filling
1 Egg
1/2 tsp Vanilla Essence
8 ounces Softened Cream Cheese
1/4 cup Sugar

Topping
2 Large or 3 Medium Red Apples - peeled and thinly sliced
1/4 cup Sugar
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 cup Sliced Almonds or Chopped Walnuts

Method

Tart Shell
1. Preheat the oven to 175 degrees Celcius.
2. Put flour, icing sugar and salt in a bowl. Rub in the butter till it resembles bread crumbs.
3. Bind to a soft dough with the cold water.
4. Roll out pastry between two plastic sheets and cover a greased 8" pie tin with the pastry.
5. Prick all over with a fork and bake 'blind' for 10 mins at 175 degrees Celcius. Baking 'blind' means baking  it without filing. You may also use beans or rice to prevent it from puffing up.
6. Remove from the oven.

Cream Filling
1. Beat the cream cheese and sugar together till creamy. Add in the egg and the vanilla essence until smooth. Don't overbeat.
2. Make the topping in a separate bowl by tossing the apple slices with the cinnamon, sugar and nuts.
3. Remove the tart shell from the oven. Spread over the cream mixture.

Topping
1. Arrange the apple slices on top, then scatter over the nuts.
2. Bake until apples are tender and golden for about 40 minutes.

Worst Boat Ride

Photo taken from here

I experienced my WORST boat ride ever last Thursday night from Mersing Jetty to Dayang Island. The boat ride was supposed to be 4 hours but we were hit with a massive storm and it took roughly 4.5 to 5 hours.

IT WAS TORTURE!

I sat on the top deck to get fresh air at the early stages of the boat ride because it was too stuffy downstairs. Eventually we realised that it was going to be too long a boat ride to just sit around and we needed our rest for the upcoming dives. So we got out our sleeping bag, spread it on the floor and tried to get some rest. 

About an hour or two later it starts raining and the sleeping bags and us included were drenched.

So the logical move was to move downstairs for some cover.. WORST DECISION MADE!

The moment we went down we were hit by the fumes from the engine. That coupled with the manic rocking of the boat were just the perfect formula to throw up!

The rain subsided slightly and we decided we would go back upstairs because downstairs was just making us feel worse.

It still continued to pour and got really cold about 3 hours into the ride. I decided to bunk in in the Skipper’s cabin along with 2 others from our group.

Sprawled out on the floor, I just tried to get a spot on the floor where I could force myself to sleep.

So many on the boat were taking their turns at throwing up in the toilet or out the side of the boat.

The moment we hit the island, it was such a relief. But the float-y and pukey feeling stayed with me the whole of the next day which unfortunately only allowed me to do 2 dives instead of 4 dives.

Thank God I felt much better the following day and managed to do all the 4 dives I wanted to.

I’ve been on many boat rides before, but this undoubtedly was the worst ever for me. I met some guys on the trip that said this ride was mild compared to others that they have been in. Whoa, I don’t think I can handle any worse a boat ride than this. 

Dayang Island - September 2012

This is where I spent last weekend. Waking up to the sounds of crashing waves and this view is just therapeutic. Sadly it was a really short trip, before we really got into the notion of a holiday, it was time to leave.

Although I wished it was slightly longer, I’d do short trips like this anytime just for this view!

Places to Visit : Cenotes - Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

Don't neglect your teeth

Many say that doing scaling your teeth is bad as it will thin your tooth and hurt your gums.

If you love your teeth, don't heed this advice because it is bad advice! You should go for scaling at least once in every 6 months.

Most people don't even visit the dentist unless they go for scaling or have a tooth ache. When you go for your regular scaling, that's when the dentist would then check your teeth to see if all are in good condition, cavities, etc and also clean your teeth in ways that a toothbrush can't.

Can you imagine if that check is only done once a year??

I recently visited the dentist and got some really bad news! Basically I've now got a cavity in one of my tooth that is so big and deep that the dentist is not sure if she can save it. So she put some medicated filling for me and we'll know the news in one month whether she is able to save that tooth for me.

So don't neglect your teeth. Make that visit to the dentist soon if you haven't for the last 6 months.

Meet the new addition to the family.

He's sweet and shy.
He's 2 months old..
He's still getting to know the family and his new home...
He's yet to be named....

From my garden : Fuschia African Daisies

Day 1

So Day 1 was pretty awesome I must say.

Time to spill the cat outta the bag...

Where am I working?
Ubiq-Group. It's a holding company that currently owns 3 retail businesses and is expanding.

What do I do?
HR, Admin and Finance. Yes am back to HR but now with a touch of Finance as well. Something I'm definitely looking forward to.

It was definitely a step of faith to take up this job as it requires me to really step up my game. More is required, more is expected of me. As much as this may be overwhelming at times, the challenge that is ahead of me is quite exciting.

I'm young, and this is really the time for me to grow my career and I believe that this will be a good platform to learn and develop as the learning curve is super steep.

Reliance on God's wisdom, strength and favour is of outmost importance now, not like it isn't any other day or in any other situation, but more so now for me.

New Job

After 8 days of rest, today's going to be the first day of a new chapter.

How do I feel? Extremely nervous!!! Am relying totally on God's strength and favour as I take these next steps.

Places to Visit : Ko Lipe, Thailand

Hosting instead of Organizing

This Sunday I'm hosting a bridal shower at my home. Feel good to be hosting instead of organizing for a change. Looking forward to just sitting back, relaxing and playing along with everyone else not knowing what's lined up.

Got to now find time to clean up the house and make it look presentable.

I'm in the midst of planning..

1 bridal shower - with a twist
1 baby shower
1 reunion BBQ dinner

I've planning so many bridal showers that some of the ideas are getting a lil stale. Gotto juice it up and change it around a little. Excited to experiment!

For the baby shower, it's only my 2nd one.. so Google's going to be my best friend for a few weeks.

It never stops, and I'm quite glad it doesn't.

As tiring as it may be at times, I sorta enjoy planning all these events.

So we're not sleeping in a tent?

Just over a couple of weeks away from my camping trip...

The excitement builds up...

Turns out we won't be sleeping in tents as well.. but in HAMMOCKS! Hehe I've never slept in a hammock overnight before.. not sure if I'll love it or dislike it.. but I sure am going to do it!

Got myself one of this from Outdoor Dynamics.

I wanted to get the camo hammock with netting at first but then had run outta stock which was good , cos I think I might be a little clautrophobic in it. Got myself the 2 person hammock since I got the man the 1 person hammock for himself. Figured we'd get two different sizes.

6 months and counting...

So it’s been 6 months since I’ve been off antibiotics. This is a HUGE milestone for me. For some, it’s no biggie but for me.. it’s a HUGE accomplishment and I’m proud of myself!

I was so prone before to taking them, at least once or twice a month. It came to a point I would take them at the slightest notion of getting sick just to prevent it. This is a BAD move, don’t ever do it.

But over time, it became toxin and poison to my body as my body grew more and more immune to the antibiotics and I had to take stronger ones or longer courses of them each time. My body also became super heaty, sometimes I would be burning up but with no fever. The effects of the antibiotics stay long in your body.

Now that I’m trying my best to be off it, I’ve realized that I rarely fall sick and even when I do get wet in the rain.. I’m all good. As compared to before when the slightest drop of rain would keep me out for at least 2-3 days.

It’s amazing how antibiotics are supposed to cure you but in my case they work against it and made me weaker.

Well I guess it’s also cos of the dosage and frequency I took them.

Much stronger and healthier now.

Next challenge, cutting down on sugary stuff. Now, that’s a real challenge!!!

Next Waterfall cum Camping Trip

I'm so looking forward to Jerangkang! Friends have gone there a few times and rave about it.

It's located all the way in Kuantan and so we'll need to camp a night there cos it'll make no sense to drive and hike all the way in to only stay a couple of hours at this majestic waterfalls.



I'm really looking the camping experience once again as well. The last camping trip we went to was at Pangkor in Feb 2010. That was by the beach, this would be by the jungle! Hahaha the last I camped in the jungle must have been when I was in high school.

Star-gazing, making smores, chilling in the pool, possible absailing thru the waterfalls, jumping off cliffs... Ooooo EXCITED!!!!

Season for Cooking & Baking

Ina Garten aka Barefoot Contessa is one of my favourite cooks to watch. Prior to her it was Delia Smith but they no longer show her sessions anymore. Barefoot Contessa used to be aired while I was still at work but recently AFC has been showing it at 635pm which is the perfect time for me because I'm back home.

Needless to say that I've not cooked or baked in a LONG time. I think the last time I really prepared a good meal was early this year for my parents and J.

Ina Garten's recipes works! This is crucial as many cooks on TV nowadays don't really reveal their true secret to their meals. Ina Garten however does and she is a fabulous teacher for those who are just starting out.

Watching her shows again recently has inspired me to cook but this time it's going to be an ensemble of appertizers and a dessert. Which one exactly? I'm not sure yet.. Time to research through some of her recipes.

Oh and save up to get her series of books too. Somehow I still like to have my recipe books in hard copy instead of from online.

Part-time Job?

Someone told me last week that I should be a stand-up comedian... Because I'm very expressive when I speak and I guess I'm somewhat funny at times.

Most of the time people are entertain at my expense.. But it tickled to know that I could genuinely be funny at times.. lol

Unplanned

Yesterday was a fun day!

Totally unplanned. Our first haircut together, it was high time that both of us needed a hair cut but funnily enough we both walked out of the shop not really pleased with the result. Oh well, hair will grow back.

Then we went over to a friend's house for Mr. Handyman to fix her light and she then took us out for a yummy Korean meal and Chatime for dessert.

Next was a spontaneous trip to Thai Odessy for a Thai Massage for me and Aromatheraphy Massage for him. This was a treat because we are on a road of saving money and decided to just splurge this one time since our last was in Koh Tao last July. Expensive but was worth it. Next massage probably in 6-12 months time lol.

Then we made our way to Robinsons in Gardens to collect our redemption vouchers which were expiring soon and utilize our birthday vouchers that we got. All in all we had RM170 to finish up and thank God it was SALE season!! The sale in Robinsons is truly a sale. Prices literally slashed down to 70% and we got quite a bit for our vouchers.

The only planned item for the day was a family birthday at night which we then proceeded to.

We should have more of these unplanned dates out cos it was totally fun!

Deeper

I had the most interesting conversation over dinner last Saturday with J and three others. Made me realise that there's still so much I dont know about him, so much to still learn, so much to compromise and definitely so much to look forward to.

I pray that in time his heart's desires will be mine and mine his.

Cheaper alternative to Nespresso

Long ago I use to see this small pot in the malls and had no idea what it was for. Now I own 2 of them  - 6 cups and 3 cups.

I'm not a big coffee drinker, in fact I probably only take like 1 cup every 2 weeks.. With the hype of everyone getting their own coffee machine, I wanted to get one as well. But that was probably the silliest thing to do since I don't drink so much coffee. The most I'd probably do often is to make my own Affogato.

Picture taken at KLIA Cafe Barbera while waiting to board our flight to Kuching

So I searched for alternative espresso makers and came across this. They are so ridiculously expensive here in Malaysia. I regret not getting them when I was in Europe, it was dirt cheap there. But thank God for a friend who introduced my cousin to a shop in Aus where she got it for me much cheaper. The 6 cup only cost me AUD12 and the 3 cup AUD9. Here in KL the 6 cup sells for RM160 - RM250.

I then got myself a small packet of Lavazza coffee powder and tested it out. It worked marvelously and my parents and J love it!

So for coffee lovers who are looking for a cheaper alternative that works just the same as those big coffee machines, try this.

PMC

PMC starts today. 1st of 7 weeks. Not sure what to expect but quite excited and looking forward to it.

Monday Blues?... Not

This Monday was unlike any other.. I didn't feel the notion of having Monday blues at all.. Throughout the day I was just showered with blessings in the form of CNY angpaos from the company, bosses and colleagues..

It was truly unexpected but indeed very pleasant.. and the fact that it kept flowing in at different hours of the day, made it all the more sweeter.

Sing, Dance, Fun, Business

We had our first staff meeting today.

Verdict : Unexpected but interesting events took place.

At first I thought they were joking, but they weren't! There were songs with ACTIONS involved! It was also my first time where we had to sing our national anthem before we start. So patriotic. Reminds me of school assembly once again.

It was quite entertaining seeing the uncles dance to the songs with such enthusiasm.

The first of many more.

Church Etiquette

As in love as you may be with your partner, I think there should be some sort of etiquette when you’re in church.

Just last weekend I was sitting two rows behind a young youth couple. Not sure if they’re newly dating but they were so distracting!

The constant whispers and giggles, lying on each other’s shoulder, kissing the forehead, playing with the hair was just unacceptable to me. They even had to hold hands the entire praise and worship session. I mean, seriously?? How are you to raise your hands in worship when your fingers are wrapped around each other? Before one were to go to the toilet or wherever she was going, they had to have a brief hug.. and another when she returned.

There was even a friend of theirs who was sitting next to them and the poor girl felt so uncomfortable. At least it looked like she was from where I was sitting.

It really irked me a lot. I mean, someone should really sit this couple down and speak to them because their actions are very distracting and to a point slightly disrespectful as well.

New Year, New Job

So it’s been 3 weeks since I started my new job. Been meaning to write about it but just haven’t found the time to.

No complaints so far, everything’s good. Looks promising.

Colleagues are ok, though I’ve not met all of them yet. The one thing that I miss about my old place are my friends. I miss the ‘snack’ and ‘ular’ periods that we had, I miss our lunches, I miss their jokes, I miss them.. Two of them were so nice to drive all the way to this side of town to meet me for lunch last week. Was supposed to meet up with four of them 2 days ago for dinner but decided to stay home and rest instead as I was still recovering.

What I love most about the new place – they RECYCLE! I’m big on recycling and it’s so fresh to be in a place that believes and practices the same.

They’re pretty cool too to give out half day Festive Season holidays. I’m choosing to use mine during the Christmas period and work through CNY.

It’s really quiet in the office now because 70% of them have gone on leave for CNY and will be back only in early Feb. But I’ve got quite a bit of work to complete for next week so that’s going to keep me busy.

Countdown, it’s 2 hours to the loooonnggg weekend!

Fraser’s Hill – Dec 2011

The Lees planned to go to Fraser’s Hill for a week after Christmas and Uncle Edward had invited my family to join. Fraser’s has been their holiday getaway for many years, since the Lee boys were young. The family decided to go ahead with the trip.

After a tough week, the family decided to head over to Fraser’s for a shorter period. I thought it was a good move to go ahead with the short getaway. As tough as it was at times, as memories of Uncle Edward flood back and the overwhelming feeling of how much we missed him, I think the trip was somewhat relaxing for the family, or at least I hope it was.

This was my only 2nd time to FH. The first was in Sept 2007 for our very first YA Retreat.

But this trip made me fall in love with FH all over again. The Lees boys showed me different parts of FH that I’ve not seen before.

This is where we stayed. It was absolutely gorgeous! I really hope that the Lees will be able to book this house again in future. Sadly I didn’t take pictures of the interior, but it was the residence of the Sultan of Selangor’s home many years before. High ceiling, fully carpeted flooring, 2 long dining tables, beautiful window panes with old fashioned hinges and so much more.

 

Just one side of the lavish garden.

We were also served scrumptious food at each meal with appetizers, main course and desserts. And to top that, waking up to the sounds of birds chirping, cool crisp air is just wonderful.

I really hope that we will be able to return here this year.

Demise of Uncle Edward Lee

1 March 1949 – 20 Dec 2011

To many he was YB Edward Lee, but to me he was Uncle Edward. 20th December 2011 marked a very sad day for me. I lost Uncle Edward to a battle of cancer that he has been fighting with for 2 years.

It pains me so much that I didn’t get a chance to spend more time with him, to go out on more trips together, to ever call him ‘dad’ or the fact that he will never be able to play and spoil his grandchildren.

But the one thing that I’m truly grateful for is the assurance of his salvation and the fact that we do not grieve without a hope but cling on to a time that we will see him once again in heaven.

Uncle Edward was truly one of a kind. On many occasions he would share different stories with me and I was in such awe to meet a man of such integrity. He fought for good. He fought for justice. He fought for the people. This is far more than I can say about many other politicians.

A side that some of you may not know about Uncle Edward.

His Official Blog

Remembering Edward Lee