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

29 years

That's how long my parents have been married. It was their wedding anniversary two Sundays ago and I decided to cook them a special meal.

One of my favourite chef is Ina Garten also known as Barefoot Contessa. Researched up some of her recipes and looked through my new cookbook "Reader's Digest - Everyday Light Meals". (which mum got at a steal from Groupon)

The 1st appetizer was a Four Cheese Stuffed Mushroom. I learnt this from a different chef during my Pasta & Pizza classes a few years back. Never fails to please a hungry stomach.

2nd appetizer was Crostini with Thyme-Roasted Plum Tomatoes.

 This was what it looked like before it went into the oven for 1.5 hours. 

Voila!

For the main course : Fillet of Beef Bourguinon with Roasted Asparagus. While in the midst of making sure the beef cooked well, I overdid the asparagus. They became so crispy that they literally had a crunchy sound when biting into it. lol.

Dinner was washed down with a bottle of Chianti wine from Italy. 

For dessert, I made a fresh lemon-lime sorbet. Sadly I forgot to take a pic of this. Always a next time for that.

Overall I was pleased with how dinner turned out except that everything was a tad too salty and there wasn't enough gravy for the steak.

But encouragement from parents and J surely motivates me to cook these kinda meals more often.

Chris Botti

Chris Botti.. ahhh I'm officially now a fan!

Nearly 4 months ago I purchased Chris Botti World Tour 2011 tickets for J's birthday present. I didn't know of Chris Botti and have not heard of his pieces before. But I knew that J really wanted to go see him live at the MPO so thought I'd surprise him with it.

And he was pleasantly surprised.

Unlike J, I still was no where near excited to see him.. until the day, 6th Dec arrived. The excitement built up slowly during the day with C posting different renditions and clips of him on FB.

When we reached MPO, we got word that his entire band was here to perform along with him. This was a real treat as we only expected it to be him and our MPO. But to have the whole band.. wow!

Billy Kilson, probably one of the best drummers I've ever seen played.

Image taken from here

I was at the edge of my seats for a few of his numbers and he even brought along 2 guest artist, one of which was Lisa Fischer. She toured with Rolling Stones for 17 years and has been with Chris Botti for the past 1 year. She's one amazing talent!

 Image taken from here

He also brought along Caroline Campbell. This stunning lady has such a wonderful presence when she performs.

Image taken from here

Since S&C had quite a few of Chris Botti's dvd and cds, we decided not to buy any. But paid quite a good sum for a poster of him and then lined up to meet with him face to face and get it autographed. 

Twas a very good night out and I hear that he may be coming to Asia next June again.

Casual Fridays

Got this from a colleague (yes it's ironic I know) but is there is some truth to it? Judge for yourself. Enjoy!

The HR department is well known for their many notes to employees. Here is one below
Casual Fridays:

First week

Effective this week, the company is adopting Fridays as Casual Day. Employees are free to dress in the casual attire of their choice.

3 weeks later

Spandex and leather micro-miniskirts are not appropriate attire for Casual Day. Neither are string ties, rodeo belt buckles or slippers.

6 weeks later

Casual Day refers to dress only, not attitude. When planning Friday's wardrobe, remember image is a key to our success.

8 weeks later

A seminar on how to dress for Casual Day will be held at 4 p.m. Friday in the cafeteria. A fashion show will follow. Attendance is mandatory.

9 weeks later

As an outgrowth of Friday's seminar, a 14-member Casual Day Task Force has been appointed to prepare guidelines for proper casual-day dress.

14 weeks later

The Casual Day Task Force has now completed a 30-page manual entitled "Relaxing Dress Without Relaxing Company Standards." A copy has been distributed to every employee. Please review the chapter "You Are What You Wear" and consult the "home casual" versus "business casual" checklist before leaving for work each Friday. If you have doubts about the appropriateness of an item of clothing, contact your CDTF representative before 7 a.m. on Friday.

18 weeks later

Our Employee Assistant Plan (EAP) has now been expanded to provide support for psychological counseling for employees who may be having difficulty adjusting to Casual Day.

20 weeks later

Due to budget cuts in the HR Department we are no longer able to effectively support or manage Casual Day. Casual Day will be discontinued, effective immediately.

20 days to Christmas

Christmas is probably one of the best seasons for most people.

It definitely is for me. I love every inch of Christmas!

Christmas tree : Checked!
Tags : Checked!
Fruit Cakes : Checked!
Dessert Wine : Checked!
Cards : This weekend and post them out on Monday
Gifts : 2 more and I'm done
Wrapping : Halfway through
Cookies :  Baking start on 21 Dec

Makan sessions are slowly filling up as well.

Christmas Eve Luncheon : Checked!
Christmas Eve Dinner : Checked!
Christmas Brunch : still free!
Christmas Lunch : still free!
Christmas Tea : still free!
Christmas Dinner : Checked!

I'm off the entire week after Christmas but will probably be away in Ipoh to visit mum's side of the family and head up to Fraser's Hill for a couple of nights with J's family.

Ahhh Christmas....

Hand-over

Countdown is now 15 days.

I was asked to start my hand-over and train the person who's going to take over about 60% of my roles at the end of Nov 2011. I've only taught her about 10% so far and have not handed anything over to her yet. Every 2 days I would ask if she has time to learn or when a new request for reports come in, I would ask if she'd like to do it alongside with me so that she could learn hands on. But each time she would either not reply my emails, ask me to do it first and she'll do the next round or keep silent. There aren't many other 'next rounds' coming up. Only 15 days left and there's lot to learn, some of which are quite complicated.

So yesterday I told her to come to me when she is ready to learn. I've done my part.

It kinda annoys me that she's not wanting to learn and there's not much time left. And knowing people here, the rumor would probably be that I just left without doing a proper hand-over.

Capital FM

I've listened to 88.9 for sometime because they play some pretty good music. Moriti used to call it the 'black' channel which I totally agree with him.

Yesterday, they launched it anew, Malaysia's first women's radio channel to go on air. Capital FM - Women The New Capital. Quite a good line up of handpicked celebrity presenters which includes Asha Gill (absolutely love her), Joanne Kam, Xandria Ooi (met her when she was trying out to be a UVJ for Channel 16 on Astro about 6 years back), Patricia K, Sheela Haran, April Kuan, Joey G and our very own Liang.

I've listened to a bit of 2 segments so far - The Jam Break and Talk of the Town. I shall reserve my comments on 'The Jam Break' for now, but enjoyed listening to Joanne Kam and Joey G this morning. They're quite hilarious. Yikes now I've gotto decide each morning if I'm going to listen to them or Noelle Lim from BFM's Breakfast Grille.

And I must say, they've outdone themselves with their selections of songs. They're even better now!

Looking forward to hearing the other segments. 

Betrayal

Hurts the most when it's by someone you love the most.

Polka Polka

Polka dot dresses seem to be coming back into fashion. I wonder if I could ever pull this off.

This one's kinda pretty.. Slightly more fashionable, though I think I probably have to change the top portion a bit.

Travelling

Now that's something that I really enjoy. I feel really blessed to get a partner that loves to travel equally as much as me. But the best part about travelling with him is that the expectations are not high. He's a simple person, much simpler than I am and I always feel at ease when travelling together.

No need to stay at posh hotels - as long as it's clean, we're good.

It's easy to find a partner that enjoys travelling, I mean nearly everyone does. But it's not easy to find a partner that enjoys and appreciates the same things in life that you do. God really is the awesome matchmaker.

We've been travelling together even before we got together, with different groups. And every trip has been memorable! I look forward to a lifetime of more trips with him.

37

Found out some upsetting news last week. Some things in life are truly unfair.

Reminder that I'm here not to please men but to please God and that my providence comes from God and not men.

Singapore Oct 2011

Lion King was just spectacular! I was so impressed with the setup of the props. Definitely worth the trip there. Sad though that J was not able to join in and share this with me, but there'll be other times.

While at MBS, checked out the screening period for Wicked. It's starting in Dec 2011 and only playing for 1.5 months. Doubt I'd be able to make that one as it's too soon.

We stayed with E & E. They were just such lovely host. Appreciate the time they took off from their usual schedules to spend with us. They even took us out for an awesome meal at Sambucca in Pan Pacific Hotel.

This was my main course & dessert. Mum had Wagyu beef - that was the bomb! Just melted in the mouth.

 Butternut squash raviolli with lamb

Strawberry & Passionfruit Pavlova

Roar!

How many of your grew up watching Walt Disney cartoons? I sure did. And Lion King was definitely one of my all time favorites.

So many cousins and friends who have gone to London & US say that Lion King is one of the must-catch musicals. Oh btw.. I'm a HUGE fan of musicals. At that point of hearing all this, my only hope to possible ever watch Lion King is to travel to those countries cos it didn't seem like it would ever come to Malaysia.

Then last year, the crew came over to Singapore and I told myself that I must catch it. Because if I don't, I may never get another chance. Months and months passed by but I didn't have enough cash to go over to watch it. Not to mention that the SGD was just getting stronger. Then the news came from a reliable source that Lion King signed a one year contract and the last show would be on the 30th Oct 2011 because Wicked will start playing in Dec 2011.

Desperate to catch it before it ends, I started hunting for the best dates and flight prices. Managed to get a great deal with AirAsia for a return flight (which cost cheaper than taking the bus), booked my Lion King tickets online and arranged accommodation.

I was still pretty low on cash but received a wonderful early birthday present from J who paid for my Lion King tickets.

So tonight, mum, LY and I will be heading down south for the weekend.. Lion King tomorrow afternoon and a little time to sightsee, catch up with a couple of friends and a cousin.

Weee... best birthday present ever! Gotto brush up on my songs now.

73

In 73 days time, I will be moving out from this 'pot'. Many have had their reservations of me moving into a smaller pot however I feel that it is the right move and have the peace. Prayerfully I've heard right.

Mum's Birthday 2011

We did a big-do for mum's birthday on the 17th of Sept. It's our first time organizing such a big party for her. She was away in US and came back just a day before her birthday. I decided that I wanted to make her birthday cake and starting planning a couple of months before, but it was so stressful! I've made cakes for so many of my cell members and close friends and thought that if it's for my mum, it has to be extra special.

But the problem was, previously when I made those cakes, my mum was always around to supervise and guide me. This time I was on my own as I wanted to surprise her.

So a week before, I still had no solid plan on what cake I would make her. Then decided I'd just go ahead with one of my initial plan of making her a sponge cake filled with strawberries and cream. But.. I've never made a sponge cake before!

Mum was due to return on Friday morning, so I planned to make the sponge cake on Wednesday after work, then fill and ice the cake on Thursday and then hide the cake away in my cousins house for her to be surprised by it on Saturday at the party.

So on Wednesday evening, I started on the sponge cake. I remember mum telling me not to stir the mixture too much because you need the air for the cake. So when I put in the oil, I didn't stir it in enough and it sank to the bottom of the tin. I tried very gently to stir the mixture while still in the tin but unfortunately when the cake came out from the oven, the bottom of it was not so good. That wasn't the only issue, the cake was not high enough! The plan was to make 3 layers of cake but I only could cut 2 layers of this cake and had to throw away one of it.

So I took half day off on Thursday to make another sponge cake because the cake needed to be cooled before I could assemble them.

Then came the slicing on the cake.. I couldn't for the life of me find both the slicers that my mum owned. I looked in all the cupboards and drawers so finally resolved to slicing the cake with a huge knife. Needless to say, the layers didn't come out even but hopefully no one noticed it when they were eating the cake.

Finally when I was done with the cake, I found the slicer! Doesn't that just always happen? It was right at the back of on of the drawers that I must have opened easily 5 times to look for earlier.

I bought loads of strawberries for the filling and topping.

1st layer 

2nd layer 

All 3 layers assembled together.

Also bought mandarin oranges, grapes, peaches, kiwis for the topping.

Voila! 

Mum was so surprised when I showed her the cake on Friday morning. Was not able to keep it in my cousins house because it turned out to be too big. She kept asking me 'Are you sure you made it?' and J had to confirm that it was me who made it. She was so proud of me.

Thankfully the 12" square cake was more than enough to feed all 70 guests. Some of which were just standing around the table where I was cutting the cake to be served to the guests and helping themselves over and over.

I was truly proud of myself. Mum taught me well. All those years of helping her in the kitchen cutting butter, breaking eggs, separating eggs, whisking cream, folding in flour did not come to waste. 

Macaroons anyone?

I finally went for my Macaroon class on the 24th Sept. The voucher expired a couple of months back but the person teaching the class was nice enough to extend the due date for me as we both had a miscommunication on my earlier set date for the class which caused me to miss the class. The new date fell on J's birthday but I decided to still go for it, didn't want to take the risk in case he doesn't organize another class. 

The class was small, only 3 students plus 1 teacher. So we paired up and I was paired with the teacher as the other 2 students were a mother-daughter duo.

I decided to make a strawberry flavored macaroons and the other duo a coffee flavored macaroons. We also made 2 different fillings - chocolate mint and salted butter caramel. 

The process of making the macaroon is simple enough however the trick is to finding the right heat for your oven. My macaroon batch were the first to go in the oven and they turned out well however the 2nd batch of the coffee macaroons cracked as the oven was too hot. I now need to find the right heat for my oven at home to bake my macaroons so that they will come out perfect and not cracked up.

I was not very keen on the fillings that I learnt though, felt that there was too much going on.

Strawberry macaroons + Mint Chocolate fillings = too many flavors blended together

Plus the fillings turned out too watery and I had to put the macaroons in the fridge. This kinda changed the texture and flavor of it a little.

I'm going to try making my mum's recipe for the ganache filling and google up some other cool recipes for fillings.

Will distribute out that batch if it turns out well. 

Stay big or move small?

So I''ve been hunting for my 'pot' for sometime now and there's a possible one around the corner. It's not as big or attractive and doesn't have a lot of flowers compared to the one I currently have. Many have their reservations as well, but I'm pretty comfortable at the sight of this pot.

Although small, it has already bloomed to a certain level and there's still much room for more growth. And who knows, with the right amount of sun, water, TLC and prayer.. it could flourish into a beautiful garden. 

Am going to continue seeking for clarity if this is the right 'pot'.

Image taken from here

Bathing a 3-month old

Babies.. They are such a precious gift from God..

Went to vist my newest niece last week..

She's 3 months old now and it had a been a good 1.5 months since I last saw her. Oh my how she had grown and look at the amount of hair on her head!

She's such a chubby lil marshmallow that I couldn't get enough of her.

Snap snap snap!!

Showered her with kisses.. lots of em! Check out those cheeks!

Then it came time for her bath.. and my cousin's like "Go and bathe her la". My reply "But I've not bathe a baby this young before". Mind you she's only like 3 months. Still a fragile little being. Then my cousin's like "It's so easy la, put her in the tub.. wet her with water.. put the soap... voila!"

So I took her to the bathroom and my cousin showed me where all her bathing stuff were and I figured 'ok lar.. since he's going to be standing there with me, I can do this'. Then... he walks out of the bathroom leaving me with baby Judea and her oldest brother who was such a darling to help.

So scrub-a-dub-dub, few kicks in the tub (I really think this one is going to be a good swimmer) and a few minutes later she's done. All fresh and smelling like Johnsons & Johnsons. Wiped her down and changed her.

Now thought to myself, that wasn't too bad. I mean I've bathe many of my nephew and nieces before, tons of them but none this young. And I enjoyed every moment of it. Am so looking forward to her next bath!

I love my cousins for having such confidence in m.

Naledi Thophego

I've sent many people off at the airport, many of whom I know are going back to their home for good or migrating to a different country. But 1st September 2011 marked the hardest and most emotional send off ever!

I sent her off.

Her name's Naledi Thophego. A Botswana scholarship student who was in Malaysia for 4.5 years, then she graduated and it was time for her to head back to her homeland.

I remember times when we used to talk about her possibly settling down in Malaysia, and trying to convince ourselves that God's call for her was to be in our land. The perfect situation was for her to marry a Malaysian man. And after time, we realised that that was not happening and God affirmed over and over again especially months before she left that her calling was to go back to Africa and beyond to serve.

The entire 2011, I hardly spent as much time with her as I did in previous years, also because I knew she was leaving. I should have spent more time with her but work got the better of me and left me with hardly any time. When realization drew nearer that she's actually going to leave, it was a hard truth to swallow.

I cried so much weeks leading to her farewell and at times would just not want to think about it because it hurt too much.

The day she left, i teared a bit at the airport and stayed at the back watching as she said her goodbyes and hugged everyone. But when it was my turn, sigh what a waterfall.

The ride back was the toughest. I usually have her in my car when we send people off and we would drive back together. But this time, she was not in the car.

Thank God the peeps in my car didn't ask much and carried on with their conversations even though they knew I was just crying like a baby, couldn't help it, couldn't stop it.

But I'm thankful for the assurance that it was not our last goodbyes, and that I'll see her again. At least I know the next I'd see is for my 'big' day.

These past 3 years have been a time of building an awesome bond with a sister-in-Christ. She's someone that I knew I could count on no matter what even if it's just to cheer me up, listen to my dramas and whining or to just cover me in prayer. I can't help tearing even now as I'm typing this as it really brings back all the memories together with her. There have been so many students that have come and gone and that I've also developed a relationship with, but this was extra special.

Planning

I love planning and organizing events. It's one of my passion.

Coming up, I have three birthday parties to plan, back-to-back, or which two are a very big deal. All three parties are going to be held at my house and the earliest one is coming up next Saturday.

I'm still scouting for the perfect caterers because I want to have different cuisine for all three parties. Caterers are now just so expensive, but I don't blame them, with the inflation of food prices I guess it's just a circle we have to go through. For a nice good buffet line, it'll cost easily between RM13-20 per pax.

Then there's the task of coming up with the guest list and calling everyone up to invite them, to get them to rsvp, then to send them a reminder a week before the event. Once the guest list is prepared about 90%, I need to figure out how much food to cater. If I have 70 people coming, it's not advisable to order for 70 because that would just be too much food. But the right number has to be catered because you don't want to have less food as well because that just would just be unacceptable. So usually I break my list down to adults and children and then order about 20% less of the confirmed adults coming.

It's best to book the caterers about a month or two before the event, especially when the date is near a festive season. It's safer to book and then cancel if you found a better caterer or alternative then to end up with no caterer at all.

Sometimes if there are side dishes that are being prepared, then the amount would reduce because not everyone would take a portion of each dish, and we'll just end up having too much leftovers.

With a large group of people coming, there's a need for tables and chairs to be setup in the porch. I'm also looking into putting a canopy up in case it rains, plus it'll add a warm touch to the house.

Paraffin Wax Treatment

I bought this promo from Groupon sometime back and went for it last Monday as it's expiring soon. It's been sometime since my last manipedi session and my cuticles felt like it was overdue for a treatment.

This promo included a paraffin treatment for both hands and legs but somehow I only got it for the leg, hmm feel slightly cheated now.

After they've cleaned my cuticles, scrubbed and moisturized your feet, they then put some on hot paraffin wax.I liked the hot sensation on my feet.

They covered my feet with clingwrap and then with these booties and left it for about a good 30 minutes. It's supposed to whitened and moisturize my feet and has some vitamin benefits too.

The whole mani pedi session took about 2 hours cos there was only one manicurist to tend to me. So after sitting in the chair for about 2 hours, I was kinda glad that I didn't have the wax treatment for my hands too, cos that would have easily taken up another half hour.

The clutz that I am, went and ate banana leaf rice with curry using my fingers and now I have my left hand in pink shades and my right in gold shades.

Assurance

God's assurance is something that is so precious to me.. Even in this season of uncertainties, with many decisions needing to be made, He never fails to assure me that He sees the bigger picture and only has the best in store for me.. He's written out all my future plans in His calendar and everything's laid out well, now only to wait for the right timing and 'pot'..

Such comfort..

Facials

I signed up for a facial package last Monday and I know by the end of next month I am going to be so broke when the credit card bill is due.

Been having nasty breakouts for the past few years and every time I go for a facial, which is only once is every 2 or 3 months, I get the same comments or rather advise from most the beauticians - that I need to come every 2 weeks for about 2 to 3 months to clear my face, then subsequently once it is clear I can go probably once a month. My colleagues and friends were also giving me the same advice. Such consistent info and I've seen the results with my colleagues, so figured I'd give it a try.

Bought this promo last month and it was a steal!

I decided to then sign up for a back treatment and being the first time, I got 50% of the rate. Pretty satisfied after both my treatments at the spa, I signed up for another promo that they set up especially for their Groupon customers.

So for the next 3 months, I'll be going every 2 weeks and hopefully my face will clear up. Of course I still got to watch my food intake.

Didn't sign up for the back treatment package cos that was just way more expensive than the facials and so will treat my back on my own for now, with mum's help.