Marble cheesecake

Have been really lazy and kinda too busy to blog these days.

Ever since my old helper came back last Wednesday, i've been busy going out, for shopping mostly. Lol. Been deprived of it badly after my old helper went back and now that she is here again, it's all about making sweet comeback with my mil of course despite the fact that i will go into labour anytime anywhere :P

Anyway, when my sis was here 2 weeks ago, we made marble cheesecake with oreo cookies for crust instead of the normal digestive biscuit. Also, this recipe is not adapted anywhere. Thought of it myself based on the ingredients and cravings i had ;)

Marble cheesecake

This entry will most likely be my last entry this year, so i would like to take this opportunity to wish all of you a very Happy New Year! May next year be a great great year for all of us :D

(i know my life will definitely not be the same next year since there'll be another addtion to the the family and i'm pretty sure we'll enjoy his presence to the max since we won't be having another baby anymore *wink*)

Oh, i nearly forgot.. my blog turned 1 on 27th December. I always thought i started blogging on the 29th until i double check just now. I must say, i truly enjoy the time i spent blogging, sharing my thoughts and my days, my passion [shopping + cooking] and most importantly, getting to know some really really wonderful bloggers :D

Have a Blessed New Year!

Greetings!

Have a merry Merry X'mas everyone! :D

Baby at 37 weeks

Just went to my gynae today for my check up and baby's head is engaged but am not dilated yet.

Weighing at 3kg now, another 250g to go before my stomach 'says' stop. You see, both my boys weighed 3.25kg and 3.255kg so i guess that's the max my stomach can stretch up to. Also, been having stomachache very frequently lately, almost like labour pain but the frequency is not there though. So, false contractions might soon, very soon become real? :P

Anyway, doc predicted it'll be anytime after X'mas and before New Year. But to play safe, no X'mas eve plan this year, just in case i pop. Usually, reputable and established restaurants require an upfront full payment to confirm the table so, we decided to just skip the fancy dinner maybe and eat at hawker? Lol.

What do i feel right now?

Scared.

Terrified.

Wish that i'll be a boy in my next life. Lol.

Silly isn't it especially when this is my 3rd child! But you know what? My pain threshold is so so so low that i'd cry when i go for blood test, yes.. that little prick will make me shed tears :(

Imagine, i went through 2 child births without any drugs (mainly because the epidural needle is too huge for me to agree to it :P ) at all.. The pain was extremely excruciating and thinking about it now really freaks me out. I really wonder how i did it for both.

Anyway, hope my coming delivery would be a sweet and short one, happens only when hb is at home with me so that he can send me to hospital asap.

p.s : guess what? As i'm typing this, my stomach is moving up and down, left and right, sudden juts out of nowhere no thanks to the little one inside. Think he's having some wild party inside. Lol. Love looking at my tummy when he's doing 'it'. So alien-ish! Never fails to amaze me. Will definitely miss all these.. since this will be my last child :)

My wish came true :)

Remember my X'mas wishlist this year? (made 2 weeks ago)

Actually, it's not a wishlist at all, more like just 1 wish that's all. Well, the tittle says it all, didn't it? :P

I actually received a call from my helper the very next day!! Unbelievable right? Santa Clause came early to me this year. Lol..

Anyway, guess what? She is here right now, at this very moment as i'm typing this entry, in my house. Heh. She arrived on Tuesday midnight and i've sent the one i had before this back to the agent yesterday morning. Caught her lying to me in the morning as well. Thank God she was to be sent back that very day *phew*.

I'm now definitely a happy to be mommy again :)

Picnic day

Last week, from Tuesday till Friday night, my youngest sister came down to visit her nephews and most importantly, me :)

Even though i was tired and couldn't move much most of the time, i'm glad we still had a blast during her short stay.

Picnic at Botanical Garden was one of the activities i'd promised the kids when their maik maik (aunt) comes down and we did. The kids went fish feeding, duck feeding, kite flying and ball kicking [read:soccer]. The last 2 activities weren't included in the plan though.

You see, when we were there, there was this caucasian man who is 70 BUT very fit and sporty were spotted kite flying with his grandchildren. I guess my boys must have looked real eager, hence, he came over and asked if the boys wanna join and off they went.

It was indeed very very entertaining, seeing my boys running down the slope, trying to fly the kite, especially the younger boy. So FUNNY! We laughed till our stomachs cramped. Heh. After kite flying, it was soccer time. The grandpa seems to have the time of his life, kicking, shouting and laughing with 5 little children. Poor him, but hey, he seems to enjoy every moment of it. Such a nice and friendly chap :)

Been feeling pretty empty, lonely and bored now, ever since sis has left us on Friday night. Sigh. Wish she could stay abit longer to accompany us :(

Can't wait to receive another visitor soon.

Duck feeding

Sz and i

Love this shot even though i look a tad too pale (sans make up)

My sister and her beloved newphews

Below would be (anti clockwise) : i- My sis and i, taken by Sz -- explains the blurness ya? Grin ii- our lunch at Cafe Les Amis - gourmet breakfast, iii- grilled chicken sandwich, iv- our very cute picnic basket -- my birthday pressie from my bestie this year :)

Grilled chicken pasta

Initially, i didn't wanna cook for yesterday's dinner. Was too lazy and tired to go through all the hassle but in the end, i still had to cook because we didn't know what else to eat. Lol.

Take away seems easy but but, there wasn't much choice to pick. We usually call for pizza when i get really lazy :P

After a short brainstorming on what to cook, something easy and appealing at the same time, i came up with the below..

Totally last minute.

Grilled chicken pasta

The pasta was tossed in olive oil with garlic, sauteed shiitake mushrooms, boiled broccoli, milk and parmesan cheese together with dried herbs and little of lemon juice + zest.

Didn't follow any particular recipe, just anyhow used the available ingredients on hand to prepare and surprisingly, it turned out pretty appealing afterall. Lol.

Quite pleased actually because everyone finished off the very last strand of the pasta on the plate in a pretty short time :P

My 1st bundt cake

The other day when Tangs was having 12% rebate, i decided to pop down to take a short skincare shopping spree as my products are running low.

Little did i know that i will actually come back with a bundt pan on top of what-i-was-supposed-to-buy :P

As most bakers who got their new toy, i couldn't wait to try the pan out. Hence, a coffee butter cake in bundt pan in making..

Coffee butter cake

Yummy yum~~

I love the shape of the cake lots. So pretty..

Really glad that the pan didn't give me any problems. Initially i was really worried that the cake might come out black, get stuck here and there or refuse to come out etc.

However, i do have 1 small headache though. The pan is slightly too big for my liking. The amount of batter used to fill the pan is equivalent to amount of batter used to fill in a 9" cake tin. Abit too big for my family to finish at 1 go for breakfast. I wonder if all bundt pans come in standard size?

If anyone sees a smaller bundt pan anywhere, please please, let me know yeah?

Thanks! :)

p.s: i'm so happy! Something happened yesterday but because of its uncertainty, i will only disclose the good news once everything is confirmed. Hopefully everything will go as planned :D


Coffee butter cake by Alex Goh

A -

275g butter
200g sugar ( i cut down to 160g)
230 flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp of coffee paste

B - 5 eggs

C - 60g almond flakes

D - 1 tbsp rum

1. Cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy. Add coffee paste and rum.
2. Add in the eggs one by one till well mix.
3. Fold in the sifted flour and baking powder till well incorporated.
4. Lastly, pour the batter into a greased and lined 9" mould. Sprinkle with almonds.
5. Bake at 180 for 45 mins. Cover the top with aluminium foil half time if you wish to prevent browning.

Note: pardon me for the short and simply instructions. I usually copy my recipes in the shortest sentence possible :P

Christmas wishlist

This year, i only want 1 thing for X'mas..

All i want is.. for my maid (the old one) to call me and say that she is ready to come back to work for me in Febuary 07 and hopefully to work on for the next 4 years or at least 2 years with the same personality and attitude nevertheless.

I do not need any other fanciful presents.

Just that will do and i'll be the happiest person on earth.

Dearest Santa, please let my wish come true. I promise i'll be real good *pray* - been praying everyday actually. Still no news- :(

The husband

bought me this! *smile*

Olympus Stylus 740

Or rather, the husband surprised me with it ;)

Hb knows i've been wanting a slim digicam for the longest time. I have somehow stopped liking our current bulky digicam which was bought 5 years ago that costs us a whopping $1.7k then.. To me, lugging the bulky camera everywhere is really no fun so, yeah.. *grin* the complainssssssssssssss.. :P


Last week when we were at Orchard, we were given by the roadshow girls the Olympus digicam promo flyer. Then casually, hb asked which one i would prefer. After thinking for sometime, i said the one which costs $399 since i am not a pro photographer and i will use it to shoot mainly food, kids and outings, hence, no need for an extra expensive and high end one. Save $$$ ya!

We even went to the booth after our dinner to take a look but that was it.

2 days later, hb came home with my new camera BUT it was not the camera i pointed out earlier. It's Stylus 740 which costs $599.. I really never expected it.. but i did suspect hb would do so though. Hahahaa.

I was of course, touched to no end and couldn't stop smiling that night and the day after. Grin :P

Hmm.. i wonder if this is my X'mas pressie? But hb never says anything leh.. so perhaps, possibly, maybe, i might get another surprise for my X'mas pressie?? Lol! *greedy me*


An overview of the camera..


Incredibly thin. Powerful zoom. Irresistible. 7.1 Megapixels effective. The Stylus 740 is the thinnest 5x optical zoom camera in its class, and it boasts all the quality features you expect from a Stylus. With an amazing 28x total zoom, Digital Image Stabilization (DIS) and Bright Capture Technology, you'll capture near-perfect images every time.

More info?

http://www.olympusamerica.com/cpg_section/product.asp?product=1265

BEWARE..

of bogus/fake monk!

Sad to say, i'm one of the victims who kena conned by the fake monk, yesterday *roll eyes*

It was totally unexpected!

My kids and i were on the way to the carpark from our house, going for my gynae appointment when i saw this monk walking as though he was going somewhere, with a destination in mind. So when he stopped me and curtsy a little, i thought he was just gonna ask for direction and i stopped too but instead, he handed me a small charm in a paper form and said it was for 'ping an'. As it was totally unexpected, i actually took it and he walked away.

However, in less than 1 second, he turned and called to me, as though he has forgotten to ask me to write down my name for taking the charm. He was indeed pretty smart. He actually showed me the paper with the names on it but covered the amount donated part. I didn't feel comfortable writting my real name in Chinese words as others did in that piece of paper so, i wrote my English name instead.

But just as i was gonna finish writting, i uncovered the covered section and saw the amount donated and asked if he was asking for money. He then took out a photo of a temple saying they need money to build the temple bla bla bla, then only i realised that he is one of the bogus monks which i've read in the paper last week!

By then, it was too late. I wanted to cancel my name off but he refused to let me and actually turned pretty aggressive saying once i wrote my name on the paper, i cannot simply cancel it off. It's for my 'ping an' etc in a irritating manner.

I was getting pretty pissed at that point but because of my situtation, pregnant and with 2 young children around plus, it was a very quiet morning in the neighbourhood (i didn't see a single soul at that moment), i decided to just give him what he wants..

$2.

That too, i was too pissed to pass it to him myself. Instead, i asked my son to do it and walked away with him still talking.

It's not the matter of $2 that got me pissed off. It was the way they deal with the whole situation. So cunning and aggressive! Plus, they really ruin the good name of Buddhism. Real monks don't ask for money. Gggrrr...

If not because i was with the kids and pregnant, i would have just ignored him, shoved the so called charm back to him and ran away!

So, word of advice : When u see these monks, do walk towards another direction. They really do not appear as though they'll ask u for donation for they don't carry any donation box or bowl or anything at all. Do be wary of them!

The bogus monk. UGH!

If only the Straits Times article were to publish yesterday instead of today. The monk in the picture looked the same as monk who conned me! Ok ok.. not sure if it was the same person but they definitely dressed in the same clothings, same colour as well and bald :P

Abalone

Every year without fail, mil will give us 3 cans of abalone during Chinese New Year.

Like most of the peeps, i'm the kind who will keep and keep until year end comes not because of any particular reason but mostly because i 'bu she de' to eat them. Lol.

This year is no different than the years before. This month alone, we've eaten 2 cans! Haha.. as for the other can, hmm.. maybe i'll open it when my mom comes *wink*.

Just the other day, mil offered me another can but i declined politely. Really running out of ideas what to eat them with! Lol.. think both of us are trying to clear the old stock before new stock comes in :PpPP

I know nuts on how to cook abalone. Hb usually likes to eat it just like that, without cooking. He likes the original taste. So what i do is, cook porridge or mee sua to go with it and sometimes, even instant noodles! :P

Personally, i prefer the Horse Brand abalone, which we've been eating for the past few years. This year, fil bought New Moon brand instead. I find it a tad too tough for my liking. Told mil this and i was told to cook the whole can (unopened) in the boiling water for 3 hours to get the best out of it.

Hmm.. perhaps i'll try this with my next can aye?

New Moon brand abalone

Abalone to go with minced pork porridge. Splendid!

Minced pork porridge with dried scallops, dried abalone, dried oysters and garnished with fried shallots and tong chai. Too bad i didn't have chopped spring onion nor parsley..

Madness

I've gone mad recently. I think it's because i'm seeing too many advertisements and beautiful window displays on Christmas this and Christmas that until the shopaholic in me has been unleashed, after more than half a year of persevering. Lol.

So, what do i do when i see nice and cheap clothings online and sprees are being held?

JOIN of course :P

Even though i am huge beyond words and still have no idea if i could ever get back to shape after delivery. Kiasu right? But but, i cannot take it anymore *lol*.. and hoping by buying these clothings, i will somehow be more motivated to lose weight and exercise accordingly :)

Below are my recent buys from online stores. Can't wait to receive them in the mailbox!

Gojane olive dress but i got it in brown though

VS Henley racerback tee

VS bra top cami

Mandee pinstripped cropped pants

Mandee O-ring gaucho for sis in law

Smocked waist gaucho in brown

Mandee wide waist gaucho in black

Last but not least, lemming for this top! But the price is slightly on the high side, i'm still thinking about it.. hehe. And i do not know how the front looks like too. Furthermore, i've got a similiar piece which is also in white with a different design at the back.

Should i get it? *blink*blink* :P

VS crochet bra top

p.s: If u have no idea what dress to wear for this festive season, check out Her World Dec 06 issue, the Marina Square shopping little booklet. The dresses are simply droolicious. Aihh.. if only i'm not pregnant now. So many beautiful dresses and clothes now! Eeeshhh.. :P

p.p.s: If u have not changed to Blogger beta, please do not do so. It's really frustrating to use. Definitely unstable and problems keep occuring. I want back my old Blogger! Ugh.

Pregnancy photoshoot

ETA: Would like to thank an Angel (Livia) for her effort and time to do the make up for me. Thank you so much dearie *xxxooo*

Since this will be my last pregnancy, i've decided to go for pregnancy photoshoot to remember how it is like or how i look like when pregnant :P

At first, i was pretty tempted to do a 'Britney Spears' but then later chickened out at the thought. Thereafter, i wanted a semi nude shots and again, changed my mind last minute because of certain issues even though i managed to get myself a lady photographer.

Certain issues consist of :-

i- what would my boys think when they are all grown up and look at the photos? I am very sure that they would be grossed out, as would most children's reactions towards issues like these. Doncha think? eg: parents kissing also they'll be like ewwwwwww.. *lol*. So, i really don't want that to happen

ii- i cannot imagine the look of my in laws' faces or my parents if i were to show them the semi nude shots. Hahaha.. or perhaps, i might not even dare to show them at all.

Anyway, below are some of the photos which i've taken 4 days ago. The ones with the kids will be in the album where else, the ones with me alone will not be in the album.

p.s: must pardon the fat fat me ok? *paiseh*!

Calamari

The freezer has at least 5 squids in it and i have ran out of idea on what to do with them. Anyone who has good recipes for squids, please don't be shy to share k? :P

In the end, decided to do calamari.. my very first attempt :D

Calamari

The recipe i used was actually meant for onion rings but guess they are pretty much the same isn't it? :P

The dish turned out really well.. golden, crispy and yet tender (not tough at all) at the same time. Had to rope in hb to help to cook this though. Thank goodness hb came back just in time to help, else i think my calamari would have been in black colour instead! 1 pair of hands is definitely not fast enough. Or maybe it's just me ah! :P

The sweetest boy

When one has children, a lot of memorable events / moments will bound to happen. They come and go as often as everyday. Sometimes, it's just a silly little moments which put a smile across our faces for a while and sometimes, it'll be something worth remembering for the rest of our lives.

Last night, my elder son did something which i think it's worth remembering for the rest of my life. Especially when he is all grown up, i will be able to look back and go awww... Which is why i'm gonna blog about it, so that i won't forget :)

For the past 1 month, Sz insists on sleeping with me every night without fail. First it was didi, then him. Sz sleeps next to me and didi will be on the floor. Then later, didi agreed to sleep with the daddy in the kiddies' room for the past 1-2 weeks. So that has been our sleeping arrangement currently, didi with daddy and Sz with me.

However, yesterday happened to be one of the nights when didi wanna join us (Sz and i) as well. But not on the floor though, he wants our bed. Imagine, 3 of us squeezed together on a queen size bed, together with some unimaginable number of pillows, bolsters, soft toys and blankets. The space i had was almost the size of half arm length only!

After 10 minutes of being stucked in a non-movable position, i sat up and sighed loudly. Sz saw and this is what took place..

Sz : Mommy, are you ok? Not feeling well? Do you want me to get your medicine?
Me : No, no.. i'm fine. It's just that now didi is also sleeping with us, i've got hardly any space to sleep and that makes me uncomfortable. Nearly fell down just now as well..
Sz : Ohh.. hmm.. why don't you sleep here at my place? (he has half the bed where else, didi and i share the other half)
Me : (shocked) Huh? Really? Then what about yourself? Where are you gonna sleep?
Sz : I'll sleep on the floor then, at where didi was supposed to sleep
Me : (more shocked) Serious? You're gonna sleep on the floor?
Sz : Yeah, seriously. Come, sleep at my place (he started moving his 5 treasures* to the mattress on the floor on the other side of the bed which is my side)

The cat got my tongue for a few seconds. Didn't know how to react to the boy's action. I was simply too touched. Never had i thought that he would be so 'wei da' to give up his sleeping space for me. When he was came over to my side of the bed to put his treasures, i just hugged him tightly and praised him for being such a good boy with a thank you as well..

Later on when i was comfortably sleeping on his place, a couple of tears rolled down unconsciously when i thought of what had just took place..

Seriously, i never thought someone so young could love me that much. It's been quite many times lately when the things he does and says melt my heart. Felt so guilty for telling him that i didn't wanna sleep with him earlier on and he actually cried. Aiyoh.. i'm such a meanie! Sigh.

You know, i honestly think that the person who loves me most in this whole wide world is my 4 years old son.. I think hb's love also cannot match with his. For now that is :P

Hopefully he'll still love me that much when he is all grown up as well :)

p.s: if all my boys are like that, i don't mind having another half a dozen more! The sufferings are worth it. Lol.. Just kidding! 3 is enough *wink*

treasures* = 2 huge pillows, 1 bolster, blanket and his baby (an elephant soft toy)

Tatsuya

This is an overdue entry for sure since the lunch was on last Wednesday and i post it only today :P

Anyway, the lunch at Tatsuya was good. Really value for money. Like what i mentioned earlier, they have 8-10 bento sets to choose from but not $26.80+++ each though. It ranges from 19.80+++ to $26.80+++ for the most expensive. You get practically everything in the bento set.. from appetizer to fruits.

My gf, Tanny was pretty torn between 3 bento sets. Lol. Couldn't decide since everything looks so good but in the end, she had the Unajyu Sashimi set which consists of Unadon, sashimi, variety of tempura, chawan mushi, soup and last but not least, fruits.

Tanny's unajyu sashimi bento set $26.80+++

For myself, i knew almost straight away what i wanted because the night before that, i was having a very bad crave for cold soba or udon. So when i saw the ladies lunch set, i was actually jumping with joy inside. Lol.

My ladies lunch bento set consists of cold taufoo and potato salad as appetizer, cold udon, chawan mushi, 4 pieces of california maki, 4 pieces of raw fish sushi and last but not least, fruits. I was stuffed up to my neck at the end of our meals. Actually, half way through pigging out, i was already full but somehow, i managed to force myself to finish the whole thing. Hehe.. too yummy to be wasted! :P

My ladies lunch bento set $23.80+++ (cold toufoo and potato salad not in the pic)

Up close of my lunch set

My gf and i both agreed that the chawan mushi gotta be the smoothest chawan mushi we've ever tasted. For Tanny, her unadon was normal, just like any other unadon you can get from japanese restaurants. We both love the way the set was presented though. So kawaii! They stacked the unadon and sashimi together and it was covered with lid, you know like a cute lunch box. We like! :D

For me, i really love the cold udon. I've never eaten any cold udon which is this good. Really really smooth and slippery but chewy at the same time. Tried very hard to fight back the temptation of slurrrping the udon out loud. Whoa.. imagine if i could do that. Ssslllluuurrrppp. Total s-h-i-o-k-n-e-s-s. Grin.

Besides the udon, i love the california maki as well. They included something inside the maki but i can't quite figure what it was, which happened to add the zing to the maki. As for the sushi, i personally find it normal. Probably because this was an economical lunch set, the sushi was pretty small in size and of course, the sliced fishes on top were abit small for me to go wow.. juicy and fresh.

Nevertheless, our overall experience at Tatsuya was a fantastic one. You can safely bet that i will definitely go back to savour more in the near future. Have been craving for their cold udon since Thursday already. Lol :P

ARGH!

I'm so gonna KILL myself!!

I can't believe i missed the calls after waiting anxiously for a week now. Ugh!!!!!

For the past 1 week, whenever the phone rings, i will be praying it would be it but it wasn't. I have almost forgotten what it feels like to be waiting for a very important phone call. You know, almost the same feeling when you are waiting for your new found love or rather, the boy that you like but not yet together to call you that kind.

Yes, from time to time, i'll check if the phone is working alright or keep picking up the hp to see if i have missed any calls. I also took my hp and house phone everywhere, to the room when i'm making the boy sleep which i never do, to the toilet when i'm showering, to my bedside table when i sleep at night with the ringing mode on, to the playground in the evening when i usually don't bother. Basically, everywhere and every second. Sad right?

Well, i simply can't help it. You see, my old helper has expressed her interest to return to work and she kinda confirmed it with me before she moved to a place a week ago. Told her to call me when she settles down because she still didn't know where her family and her will be staying yet. Uh huh, no hp or phone number to keep in touch at all. I'm so unsettled by these especially when i desperately want her back at all cost.

So, last Saturday she called, but i was in the cinema watching James Bond. The conversation was kept short as i didn't want to disturb others with me asking her to call back the next day but she didn't till tonight at 11pm. I reckon she has her difficulties in phoning me since she has no handphone and perhaps, the place she's at has no landline as well.

I really really really regretted for cutting the conversation short you know. Sigh.

And just now, when i checked my hp, my heart almost sank to the floor when i saw 2 missed calls from no number. How could i have missed it?? I was in the car when the calls were being made to me. Why no one heard it rang? Hb, my new helper were in the car as well, on the way home and both kids were sound asleep. So, it wasn't noisy at all except for some pianist playing away in the radio but no one heard it? Sigh.

Was it my bag? Sound proof?

Sigh.

Fate.

I really kena played until very ugly this time. Sigh. I really can't wait for her to come back to work again. Everytime i see my new helper, i would wish the old one quickly comes back -- yes, everytime, so it's definitely more than 5 times a day--. I can't stand it anymore. Now i really truly understand why everyone keeps saying, good helpers are very hard to come by. I never knew but now i know.

Sigh.

I'm gonna go insane if i have to wait for another week for her to call.. Think i'm already half way there :P

So please please please, call tomorrow and be answered.. by me :(

Double sigh.

p.s: i have just increased my hp volume to the max, to make sure i'll never miss any calls again from this moment onwards

Braces-less me!

That's right, no more braces for me. Yippee!!

I can't stop staring at my own teeth after the braces was off. Grin. I love the new look of my teeth, totally. Haha.. Unfortunately, not all is well though. My gum has been infected, swollen at certain parts because i couldn't floss for the past few months (the permanent retainer is on) and also the gum is extra senstive due to the pregnancy.

But since the braces is out now, i can jolly floss again. Hope the swell will go off really soon. They are really ugly to look at. Not only that, they bleed profusely when flossed. Really icky!

My next 'project'?

Teeth whitening! :P (okie, hope hb doesn't read this else sure kena liao, my never ending to-do-list lol)

Don't know why my teeth is so yellow even though i don't smoke. I don't even drink coffee you know.. Weird.

Will be getting my retainers next week, on top of the permanent retainers which are already fixed at the back of my upper and lower front teeth for the past months ( which will be for 2 years).

Ma fan hor? :P

But it's worth it. Hahahaha :D

Anyway, something funny took place on Wednesday, the day my braces was out. We were at mil's house and about to go IMM when i untied my hair to simply run through them with my fingers when this conversation took place between my 4 years old boy and i..

Sz : Wah mommy, ni hao mei ya.. (when my hair was down)
Me : Shi ma? Xie xie ni (with me smiling of course)

After that, when i was gonna tie my hair..

Sz : No mommy, don't tie your hair. Not pretty like that. You look prettier with your hair down.
Me : Huh? Don't want. Mommy will be very hot with the hair down. Warm weather today.
Sz : Please mommy please. Don't tie your hair. Putting them at the side very nice.

Mil came out to the lift area to join us. After listening to our conversation which was continuously battled on the tie hair issue with the son insisting that i let go my hair, mil simply shook her head and said, aihh.. your son has certainly grown up..

Lol.

Obviously, i won the battle in the end because it was my hair afterall. The son gave up on me :P

*The conversation was in Mandarin, not English.

Wooo hoo!

I can't wait for Wednesday!

First and foremost, my braces will be taken off on that day after 1.5 years. Hehe.. can't wait to see my naked teeth again and what's more, not only naked but straight teeth.

It's been my dream since young to have beautiful teeth like everyone else and seriously, i can't wait to see mine and i'm really glad that 1 out of 2 of my dreams in this life of mine will be fulfilled very soon, thanks to my dearest husband who initially had lotsa difficulties in understanding why i even need braces in the first place especially that i am married [read: not waiting or looking for suitors anymore *kabish*] and will not be entering any beauty pageants (don't even qualify in the first place ok? Please!).

But slowly, he relented and supported me throughout financially and emotionally, not that i needed emotion support since there was hardly any pain. Yep, i've got magic hands doctor *phew*. However, hb was there when i needed someone to listen to my raves on my dentist and of course, lending me the car whenever i have appointment in town. Hee.. for that, he certainly deserves this --> :*

Lol.

Anyway, another reason to woo hoo about is i'll be lunching at Tatsuya on Wednesday with a gf!

Yes, Tatsuya!

The very well known Jap restaurant at Crown Prince Hotel. But of course, i will not be spending $130 (min for average diner) la because i'm going for their well priced set lunch at $26.80+++. Read that the food is just as good even though for that price, i won't get to taste all that wow pow stuff but i'm more than happy enough already ;)

Picture courtesy of chubby hubby

One of the bento sets which they serve for their set lunch.. There'll be 8-10 to choose from. This time, i will not forget to bring my camera!

School's out, nightmare's in!

Yesterday was the last day of school this year.

As much as i love my boys to bits, i cannot imagine having them at home 24/7 for the next 6 weeks or so which is my most crucial period for this pregnancy where all the 'real' sufferings set in and rest is needed.

With the elder boy at home in the mornings, i'm very sure my usual peaceful morning with only the younger one will be gone. What's in for me one wonders..

Well, for a start, bickering over little things such as, i wanna eat, you cannot eat, i can go, you cannot go, i can play, you cannot play, mommy.. korkor say this, mommy.. didi say this, this is mine, no.. this is mine etc.. well, you get the idea ya?

Sigh. How to survive?

Hmm.. you know, i think i better sign the boy up for holiday programmes :P

Anyway, like i mentioned, yesterday was the last day of school and as usual, it was party time. This is what i made for Sz's little friends and teachers in school. You know, i'm pretty shocked to see the kind of food that parents usually provide for class party. I never knew Twisties, chips, chocolates and sweets could be counted as 'food' especially for breakfast.

Ahem, not that my cupcakes are any healthier though but still.. i think it's better than Twisties anytime!

Worst come to worst if they are working parents, buy hotdog buns lah..

YES, i'm pretty particular over the food my children eat especially these days, the number of people getting cancer or what organ failure seems to be on the rise due to the food we consume. Very scary.

Ok ok.. enough of my complaining :P

My very first attempt on cupcakes with frosting...

Moist chocolate cupcake with vanilla buttercream frosting

Must pardon my ugly frosting ya.. the nozzle used really not suitable. Too small..

Bad natural lighting . Was already half past six then.

This one was for testing only, to see how the design turns out and also for hb's breakfast the very next day.

So what do i think of cupcakes with frosting?

I never thought i'll like them, really. With all the cream and stuff, especially buttercream! So fattening.. but, guess what?

I love it!

I even made it a point to pipe more frosting next time.. lol. The frosting isn't too sweet like what many complained whenever they have their cupcake outside, in fact, i think it goes really well when eaten with the cake. I managed to shock myself by walloping 5 of them at one go! Felt really guilty for the rest of the day lol.

My only consolation to myself is, pregnant ah.. nevermind. Grin. But no more next time definitely, i hope :P

I wanna ..

go SHOPPING!! :P

So many nice clothings on display these days due to the festive season [read : X'mas]. Really cannot tahan esshh.. hands, eyes and legs getting itchier by day!

If only i'm not preggy.. aihhh..

Bet if hb reads this entry of mine, he'll go 'phew.. heng ah!'

Next year, the vengeance is mine! I'll double what i normally buy.. if i manage to lose all those unwanted weight that is.

Ho ho ho :D

Cookies?

Nope nope.

This might look like chocolate chip cookies but it's not :P

Cream scones with chocolate chips

It's actually cream scones. Lol.

A very yummy one too.

But too bad, due to the cream i used, i simply couldn't mould and cut the dough as instructed in the recipe. Too wet to handle. I had no choice but to shape it with my hands.. Hence, the cookie shape looking cream scones *paiseh*

How it looks like in the inside

Despite its appearance, the scones turned out very scone-like though. Slightly harder on the outside, soft, buttery and crumbly in the inside. Best eaten fresh out of oven with fruit jam and butter -- my personal preferance lah-- and if available, with cream too!

What's more pleasurable is that everyone loves it! ;)

Godiva Chocolixir

There, a cup for ya! *wink*




I dare say that everyone i know of goes goo goo gaa gaa over good chocolates. And almost everyone knows that Godiva is of course, the Rolls Royce of the chocolates ya?

So, when i read about Godiva's chocolixir, i knew i gotta try it, even when it costs $8 per cup!

However, i didn't have the chance to try it till last Sunday when i was at CityLink Mall for a short shopping spree. Told hb about the latest creation from Godiva and as expected, hb was game for it.

There were 2 flavours to choose from. One is dark chocolate and the other flavour would be Chocolate milk latte. We had the dark chocolate. I didn't even bother to ask the girl to do mine minus the whipped cream. Since i was already indulging myself, so why not 'max' it? Diet comes later or should i say, what diet? :P

So what do i think of the $8 drink?

Totally worth it.

Simply heaven.

It was really rich, almost like eating the chocolate itself. Very sinful. Not too sweet either, just nice.

I like!

No, wait.. more like, I love! *grin*

Now, what excuse should i use to go CityLink Mall this coming weekend ah? :P

Strawberry shortcake

I had quite a lot of leftover cream from the tiramisu i made earlier so i decided to make this instead of just eating the cream with chocolate fudge like what i did the previous time. Very very sinful i know.. but didn't want the cream go wasted :P

Strawberry shortcake

Hadn't been baking much for the past week due to my big tummy. I think for the weeks to come, i will be baking even more less. Always feeling heavy and tired these days. BUT when the night comes, i'm as active as the bat! *roll eyes*

Funny hor?

I pray or rather, better start praying that this baby will not be an 'owl' baby, meaning, only awake at night but sleep during the day *shudder at the mere thought of it*.

S-C-A-R-Y!

Lelong lelong!

I've got some lobang to these very adorable merchandise below. Yes yes, i'm trying to earn some extra pocket money for myself. Do support me if you can yeah? Thankie! :D

Cookie jar : perfect for X'mas gifts. If you don't bake, you can always get some yummilicious cookies from M&S to fill them in and present as gifts ;)

Another kind of cookie jar but instead of 2 jars, this comes in 3 jars

Below are baskets that are perfect as hampers or to keep your room / house organised :)







They are fantastic as X'mas gifts, baby shower gifts, house warming gifts, baby's full month celebration gifts and of course, birthday gifts too, just to name a few.

But of course, you can get them simply for your own indulgence yeah? *wink*

So if anyone's interested in getting them or if you have any queries, feel free to email me at sherie125@yahoo.com or if you prefer, leave a comment right here :)

p.s: the ones posted are just afew of what i can get hold of. There are, many many more of course, from kitchen dry-hand towel to picnic basket. Real cuties!

I've got date!

Yay!!

I'm so looking forward to coming Wednesday. It's been a long long time since i last went out for leisure lunch or tea or in any case, go out alone to have my own 'me' time. Close to 3 months i'd say.

Yesterday i had sudden strong craving to eat all the Shangri-La's hi tea food especially their bread and pudding. Still remember the last time i went was with Mindy when she was heavily pregnant with her no.3 as well, in Jan 06 to be exact. Gosh, time flies!

I wasted no time to text Mindy and asked her out and guess what she said? She said she almost text me for the exact same question as well and also to Shang's hi tea too! What a coincidence! Lol.

Anyway, who would have thought the next round of hi-tea would be at the same location, almost the same time and me heavily pregnant with my no.3 yeah?

Aiyayayayaya.. i cannot wait to savour my bread and pudding. Maybe i'll have just that throughout. Lol. It is that good! Trust me.. (wonder if they can share their recipe with me lol) But most importantly, hope they still have it on their menu. Maybe i'll give them a call to double check first. Kekeke..

Yes, i'm that desperate!

Was supposed to be a pressie

Yupyupyup, it was supposed to be a birthday pressie to a little boy, my bestie's son to be exact for his 4th birthday.

Unfortunately, after i have made the cake which was a day before the celebration, the plan was cancelled due to certain circumstances. So there wasn't any need for decoration anymore.

Tiramisu

Dissected cake and an eager to eat boy

This is my second attempt making tiramisu. During this time, i put in extra effort and time to make sure it comes out beautifully, especially on the side of the cake. Also, bought a baseless square tin pan, cake board and cake box just for this occassion. Oh well... :(

But on the brighter side, we get to eat the whole cake! :D

I made a couple of modification to the recipe based on my first cake testing to suit kiddies' tastebuds better and mine too. I added more Baileys and cut down on rum.

The result?

The best tiramisu you can get in town! *thick skin me*

For me, that is.. :P

p.s: photos were taken on the 3rd day after the cake was made which was not so ideal due to the soggy bits. Was too preoccupied to eat the cake on the second day you see..