A toast...

(photo taken from the gf's hen's night actually :P)

to 2008.

Happy New Year!

May 2008 will be even better for all of us :D

ATV adventure

My holiday back home will never be complete without going for an adventure trip ever since my very first one not too long ago.

This time round i opted for the atv biking adventure over the others cos it looks so much fun annnnndd it was!

The trip lasted for only half a day. Too bad my second sister's schedule didn't coincide with mine for this holiday - she's only going back mid of next month - so what she did was to call us twice when we were in the jungle. Heh.

She was like bad bad me! For organizing one without her. Lol :P

Sorry sis!

Anyway, the atv looks pretty easy and not challenging at all.. at least, that was what i thought initially and bet you feel the same too but it is so not.

Before we embarked on our adventure, the guide had to trained us for 15 mins on how to operate the atv [very complicated but once you get the hang of it, it's pretty ok], which has a manual gear - that means, we had to adjust the gear accordingly just like a car or a motorbike - and also, we had ride on it for many many rounds in the training area for us to feel comfortable and confidence.

The trainer would watch each of us to see how we fare.

If he feels that we couldn't make it, he will not allow us to continue on with our trip... Safety always comes first.

Unfortunately, my mom didn't manage to pass the test. Yep, mom came along too! She's one sporting mom yeah? She loves outings like these in fact. And my youngest sister almost couldn't make it too! That baby.. ha!

So the mother was not allowed to ride on her own atv. She was told to follow the trainer as a pillion rider instead.. very much to her relief. Yes yes. She was relieved to know that :)

Because the whole thing sounds pretty scary to her.. and to most of us too especially the going up the hill part which the steepness is around 60 degree!

There were so many stuff to remember especially when we are on the slope. Eg :

. No putting our feet down when the atv is not balanced - one or two wheels are not on touching the ground due to the unevenness because it's a jungle track after all. According to the trainer, such reaction is a reflex. But we have to counter it. We have to keep our feet on the atv at all times

. must lean forward at all times else we'll really feel like we are gonna topple

. must accelerate gradually. Sudden acceleration = backward summersault and we definitely would not want that, would we?

. no avoiding holes on the track. So that's back to point 1.. which means the atv will have one or 2 wheels in the air

. no stopping in the middle of the slope. We have to keep on moving no matter how scary it is

Honestly, we were all pretty scared and the guide was worried for us too!

Even though the very nice guide wasn't oblige to come with us, he actually followed us till the slope and helped out through the riding up, holding on to our atv so that we really wouldn't do a backward summersault.

When we first saw the slope, we all wished we were in our mother's position, that is.. as the trainer's pillion rider. I felt giddy by just looking at it. We all went 'oh shittttttt...' ahahaha. I had tons and millions of butterflies in the stomach i tell you and i am so not joking about it.

All ready to go.. see the big rock? We went round and round around it for more than 30 times!

My heart beat darn fast.

I was scared. So were the sisters. Hehe... All of us were worried about 1 thing only. Which is - sudden acceleration = backward somersault. Heh.

Anyway, we turned out doing exceptionally well. We made it! Woo hoooo~

The trainer was really pleased. So was the guide.

In fact, the trainer was pretty taken by us that at the end of the journey, he actually told us that we were alot more skillful and 'terel' than he had first anticipated. He thought it was his doomed day that day when we 5 ladies went marching in to his shop that morning. Lol.



After the first slope, we rode a little while before the slope no.2 came.. a more dangerous one definitely.

The thing is, usually after you managed to go through the first obstacle successfully, the second one doesn't seem so scary anymore though the fear is still there. We were definitely more confident compare to our first attempt on the slope.



The ride through the jungle was a pretty scenic one. Not sure what type of jungle it was but we sure saw many bamboo trees or rather, we were surrounded by them. I almost could imagine myself in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon". Heh.

For our final adventure, we were asked to leave our atvs and hiked for a good 10 minutes ONLY to the waterfall.


Hiking time!

The short hike wasn't tough but there were some difficulties eg; crossing a wobbly handmade bridge. However, it was good fun!

I wish the hike could be longer. I enjoy leisure walking in the jungle tremendously [sans leeches that is].

Finally..



The waterfall!

From here, we hiked up further, to almost the top of the waterfall at about 2 storey high.

But not before the sister spotted my bleeding leg.


Initially, the sisters thought i had hurt myself during the ride, scratched against something etc but i was VERY sure i didn't.

Then.

Almost simultaneously, our heads screamed LEECHES!!!

The sisters, especially the eldest sister and my mother instructed me to pull up my pants further to check if the leech was still there. It wasn't.

I tell you, i almost wanted to strip down to butt naked if not for the 2 men there. I cannot imagine how high up the leech could have gone!

Not to mention holes >.<
Then, the sisters and mother started to squeeze my whole upper thigh damn hard and did the rub down motion, hoping they could squeeze the leech to death and bring it down too.

Guess what?

It worked!

The sister got the leech but alive, stucked to her finger. Now.. it was her turn to scream. Hehe... The very amused trainer [after witnessing the whole incident] offered his expertise then. Just dip the finger to the water and the leech will let go. Easy peasy.

Yeah, so the sister saved my life! *phew*

Just before we leave the waterfall to resume our atv biking, the sisters spotted this.

Aarrrrggggggggggghhhhhhhhhh~

Why oh why?



Me again!!!

That #$%^&* leech!

This time, the trainer came forward to save me by offering his finger to the leech. By then, we were pretty cool by these leeches already which explained the photograph. The sister told me to hold still and snapped a couple of photos of it before the trainer stepped in and told us that if i don't want any scars on the leg, i better get it out fast.

He proceeded on to show us his 10cent scars on his legs.. due to scratching.

This, i can attest to it.

The first bite on the leg near the shin that i had on this trip?

Until today, the little punctured hole is still there and i scratch it like nobody's business but still with a little conscience thankfully. Extremely itchy. Sigh. I wonder when it will stop itching and go away forever... grrr.

Nevertheless, the trip was a good one. Everyone enjoys it and so did i.

If you need more information, go here.

ppssssstttt : the guide is quite a cutie! Reminds me of my Hyun Bin.. hahaha. Sshhhhhh.. don't tell the husband!

For first timer, it's advisable to do the Khamisah Waterfall Adventure first. No kidding. You will need the basics and familiarity before embarking on the tougher trails. I almost wanted to take up the harder trail initially and i'm glad i didn't :P

It's a fun fun day!

One of the programs that i had lined up for the boys to do during the very long break was to bake.

I have seen schools offering baking classes to the young ones, so i thought why don't i conduct one myself instead of paying the school to do what i know though there will be some difference of course. [between baking in the school and baking at home with mommy]

What i did was to prepare the dough in advance minus the boys' help.

After that, it was hands off for me.. totally.

And it meant just that, totally hands off for me.

The boys did the kneading [slightly], rolling, stamping etc themselves.

All by themselves.. with a little help from the helper though.

And i?

Just standing around, trying NOT to give any instructions at all which i managed to successfully *grin*, carrying the baby and watched the boys have fun or rather, watched the boys fret mostly over their difficulty in stamping the cookies and trying to get the dough out in one piece. Heh.

Nevertheless, i was rather impressed with the results.

Orange butter cookies

Not too bad aye? ;)

Sure. There were some disfigured Hello Kitties. There were also some disfigured Stars, Hearts and not to mention.. the broken giant Star and Gingerbread Man.

But what matters more is that the boys had fun which they claimed they did and they loveeeeeeeed the cookies to bits!

The hint of the orange zest in these butter cookies was very refreshing.

Initially, i wanted them to continue on with decorating/piping using the icing with colours but by the time the cookies were baked, all of us were very much worn out.

So, that was that. No further decorating/piping.

While i was away...

my garden angel has been taking care of my precioussssss...

Not only the plants did not turn brown and wilt, they are thriving!

LOOK!


Remember my poor tarragon which died on me few weeks back?

The last stalk standing is now flowering!

Yellow flowers...

Ahhhhh... :D

And then, i have other surprises too!

To my delight of course... Yes yes, i cannot stop gushing and smiling! :P



The died-ed tarragon is re-growing again.

See the baby tarragon?? ^.^

However.

Unfortunately.

Although all other plants are doing very very well, in fact.. the husband has harvested more than 10 bright red and very spicy chili padi when i was away, there is this one plant that isn't doing so well afterall... :(

My poor poor mint.


Hopefully now that i am back, i can nurse it to its healthy self once more [and not the reverse i hope!]

*definitely keeping my fingers cross*

Anyway... thanks heapsssss, garden angel *muaks* for your time and effort spent although you came home at 9pm daily but still took time to sayang my plants as instructed *ahem* :P

Away~

Will not be blogging for the next 2 weeks.. :D

More friends...

Added more plants to what i had initially.

This is how my corridor looks like now.. still waiting for the husband to weld a few of the hanging racks for me.



However, after a couple of days.. most of the plants got moved to the balcony where the morning sun shines.

The corridor gets no direct sunlight at all :(

Some of the new plants i got :



My prized possession : rosemary

I never get bored from smelling it. In fact, i do that almost every morning! :P



Then, my not so stable tarragon.

I can't a bigger, stronger pot apart from this pot.

Other plants that i got are mint and spearmint[for the boys' cough].

Then, i planted some of my own. Those are roselle [from seeds where the fruit was given by the guy who attended to me] and spring onion [from shallots -my own].

Check this out!!


One of my chili padi turning red!

A few days later, which was yesterday...



I harvested 4 of them from the plant.

Super duper red! *yay*

But i haven't eaten them yet though.. so not sure how they taste like. Heh.



Then... *sniffs* i found out that my tarragon is dying on me :(

Not all though, 3 stalks died and one still thriving. Hopefully the thriving one will survive.

Run Lola Run!

If you ever see a couple sprinting towards a car, laughing and screaming like a madman, you can be very sure that the couple will be the husband and i.

Because both of us are always running to the passenger door, not wanting to be the driver whenever we go out for some quality time.

Unauthentic German pork knuckles

The first time i had real German pork knuckles was when we were invited by a German couple friend for dinner over their house.

They specially flew the pork trotters here just for us when they went home for holiday. Man, it was enormous!!

However, it didn't quite leave an impression except the crispy crunchy skin which i didn't get to eat much then due to my then-braces.

Feeling a little adventurous these days, so i decided to try baking my own German pork knuckles. Usually, whenever i have pork trotters in the fridge, it'd be used to make Teochew braised trotters but not this time round! ;)

My very first attempt of baking pork knuckles..



After doing some recipe reading online, i decided to adapt my own version, remembering well what i dislike when i had the friend's authentic knuckles.

For one, mine was a little more flavourful.

I didn't just roast it like that with salt and pepper.

What i did was to boil it with a pot of chicken stock together with some root vegetables for over an hour + salt. Then, it was roasting time for 30-45 minutes but not before i rubbed the skin with lots of oil and salt to make it real skin.

While roasting, i didn't baste the skin even once with the good gravy to keep the skin dry and crispy. For the last 15 minutes before it is done, i switched my oven from roasting to grilling simply because i was kiasu! I really wanted a to-die-for skin! Heh.

Verdict : awesome! The skin was done exactly what i wanted. As for the meat, ooh la la... moist, soft and tender + full of flavour, from the chicken stock with root vegetables. Not even a single piece of meat could be found on the bones at the end of the dinner.

It was a total hit!

Everyone loves the skin to bits, especially the kiddos.

Will i cook this again?

You bet!

Despite the many many work.

p.s : wanted to take more photos but unfortunately, as USUAL, the camera battery died on me on my very first click. UGH!

Fudgy chocolate cream cheese swirl brownies

My second time baking a brownie. The first time i baked one was years ago and it didn't turn out that fantastic.

This time, i made it again but using another recipe because i simply couldn't resist the very tempting looking brownies anymore!

~These incredibly fudgy brownies have a chocolate cream cheese layer sandwiched in between. Crave.



It was truly deeply wicked.

Mind blowing!

I couldn't.. or rather, we couldn't stop eating it. It was gone on the day i baked it.



The amount of good chocolate used for this brownie was HUGE. Given its not so big size, imagine how super chocolate-y it is!

And that chocolate cream cheese swirl in the centre?

I must say, it complements perfectly with the fudgy chocolate brownie. At first, i wanted to do some chocolate ganache to top it off but after trying the first square, i decided it'd be wiser not to coz i really don't wanna get constipated the next day and the day after too! :P



The brownie was good enough to eat on its own but i like to eat mine the traditional way ;)

Warmed brownie topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream + a little drizzle of chocolate fudge.

It was 'MMmmmmmmmm....' throughout no joke.

I was a very satisfied girl that day :D

Apom balik

Last Sunday was not the usual Sunday we have because we were bringing the boys for Scrooge in the afternoon. At last...

I think i was more excited than the boys you know.. Grin.

And just so you know, Scrooge was very good. I was entertained silly! So did the boys.. but hor, the doink husband actually fell asleep!!!

Lol.

Terrible man.

So yeah, the Sunday was not the usual Sunday hence our normal routine wasn't being followed. Which means, i could make apom balik for hb to try finally... freshly made apom balik!

And mostly, can clear the peanuts liao *yay*! :P

The first piece i did was for the boys and helper. I wanted to do the Malaysian version as i like them better but unfortunately, the creamy corn that i bought didn't turn out as what i have been anticipated.

The creamy corn from Mili looked darn funny. Maybe because i haven't bought any before but i don't think it was supposed to look like what it did. So in the end, i picked a few corns here and there instead of spreading half the can like that the usual apom balik sellers back in M'sia do.

As for the remaining corn [roughly 98% left], it ended up in the rubbish bin.



The first piece i did didn't turn out nice, be it the taste or the browning of the skin.

It wasn't sweet enough.

The apom balik's skin wasn't browned evenly and i suspected it was because i used oil.



Hee.. i think it looks more like roti prata than peanut pancake yeah? Kekeke..

So, for hb's piece, i made some changes.

i - no more using oil before i pour the batter in
ii - more sugar was added to the peanut mixture
iii - definitely no corn as the few corns that i put in earlier didn't taste nice at all
iv - butter was spread on the apom balik before the peanut mixture is added in

And this is what i got :)



Nicely browned throughout!

I was pretty satisfied.



As for the taste, it turned out good!

Everything was nicely balanced out, the sweetness and the peanut mixture sans corn.

And oh, the texture was wonderful too! As you can see from the photo above, the texture was springy and chewy, not too hard, not too dry, not too soft but just nice .

Very very nice. I like very much.. :P



The fussy pot husband who initially went 'ugh' at the thought of eating my apom balik had to swallow back his own word after eating it. Heh.

In fact, hb likes it so much that he actually finished the whole 4 sub-pieces for the second piece that i made and the photo taking was done in a lighting speed because the husband was simply too impatient to eat again.

Real pig ah.. *kabish*

Tak boleh tahan! :P

Mexican chocolate delight

Initially, i wanted to bake a nice looking cake for my gynae and the nurses because the gynae was nice enough to prescribe me some medication [which other docs wouldn't wanna give me] without having me consult her first, which means.. i saved more than $50+! *yippee*

Then i realized i've got no eggs. And the egg auntie can only deliver it in the evening. My bad~

Again, i flipped through some recipes and discovered one nice looking dessert which doesn't need eggs so, here it is..

Mexican chocolate delight :)



"Mexican chocolate delight, commonly used in hot drinks, consists of dark chocolate flavoured with cinnamon. Occasionally, they are flavoured with other spices and include nuts~" Crave.

It was supposed to be nice looking but sadly, i didn't manage to do it that nicely due to 2 reasons.

i - my choc mousse was stiff though i beat it to medium peaks form. How? After folding the medium peak's mousse a few times to combine other ingredients, it became stiff! Hence, i couldn't just pour the mousse in and let it level nicely itself. I had to pipe it out and level it with the back of the spoon :(

Note : will beat the cream till soft peaks next time round.. Or less than that..

ii - the prepared mousse and chocolate not enough although the recipe says 'makes 6'. I actually did 1.5 portion which means i should get 9 cups instead but i didn't even get 6 cups. So, the chocolate ganache was really not enough to have me cover the first layer of mousse nicely and not enough choc mousse for the final layer too :(

Note : ha! I just, JUST saw that the cups used in the recipe are smaller than my fist! No wonder... *smack forehead* Aiyoh.. me the champion! Heh.

So not nice looking hor.. :S

BUT, they taste awesome!

So that's abit consoling. Grin.

I'm not a big fan of mousse but the combination for this small cup is pretty impressive. Chocolate mousse infused with cinnamon, chocolate ganache with 4-5 tsp of Grand Marnier [added the 3 extra tsp myself], then topped with fresh cream infused with cinnamon again + some cocoa powder on top.. one word, power!

Especially the chocolate ganache. Hee hee hee... and oh, the slight hint of cinnamon rocks my boat too!

Nice.

I am very certain that my throat was warmed throughout the night after i had it and i was slightly, slightly high.

I find that eating all 4 layers together is the best. Eating layer by layer isn't exactly that exciting. So the spoon must scoop deep deep for that power ummmppphhh! ;)



Because of the not-enough-mousse-and-ganache, some of the cups are filled to half only.

And the thick skin me included them as well in the box of 6 that i gave. Lol. I was too lazy to make another more presentable dessert ah.. Heh.

Where are ears..

I have always been a listener.

And i like being one too.

But sometimes, once in a bluemoon.. i need a listener too.

Gardening

I finally did it!

After months of talking about planting my own herbs, flowers and other edible plants, i finally bought 2 pots 1+ week ago when i was at the wet market with the husband on the morning i was gonna do my lasik.

It wasn't planned.

We were walking around after our breakfast when we came across a small section where potted plants are sold. Perhaps because they just sprinkled some water or perhaps it was the morning dew, the plants looked too good to resist, as though they were screaming 'bring me home, bring me home' to me.

After looking through at some 30+ pots of different plants, i picked only 2.



Thai basil and chili padi plant.

I almost couldn't make up my mind. Initially, i wanted 4-5 pots but the husband was like.. wah, how to carry ah?

Fineeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee...~~~~

Furthermore, i know nuts about growing plants, so it's wise to buy only 2 and see if they'll die on me. 2 pots will be my first baby step :)

Up close with my new friends.. :P



My chili padi plant.

Currently, they are flowering and all the chilis are still green in colour.

I read through some gardening forum and it seems that i'll need to pinch the flowers away to make way a better looking bushy plant.

But, er.. how to pinch??

Additionally, it's like so sayang to pinch the pretty flowers away.. Hee.



Then, my thai basil.

Hmm.. no flowers yet. Actually, i didn't know that thai basil will flower until i saw some at a farm/nursery last Saturday. The flowers are purple in colour.

Hou leng ah!

I can't wait till my basil flowers but for the time being, let's hope the plants won't die on me first! *fingers cross* :D

Ccrrrrooooaaakk~

Boy1 is currently attending a 1 week holiday programme with an enrichment school. Everyday, the students will go places, doing really fun activities all day long from 9 to 5.

2 days ago, the boy was brought to a frrrrrrrog farm and he brought this home!


Huge tadpole!!!

I've not seen one this big before. All along, the ones i saw were small, cute and swim really fast, here there everywhere. Huge ones are so not so!

Boy1 didn't only brought 1 home, he brought 2.



Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee...

They do gross me out. I want nothing to do with them at all. But in the end, I relented and decided to keep them because the boys seem really thrilled with it. Furthermore, they promise that they'll take good care of it.

Every morning and evening, the boys will go outside the corridor to feed the tadpoles, wake them up and even talk to them. The 2 elder ones will just squat down right there, have small discussion between them and occasionally, laugh out loud.

It's rather heartwarming :)

And then yesterday when i was tending to my new plants, i saw this!!!!!



OMG!

Legs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The tadpoles now have legs!!!

Shit.

They are transforming.

Then, on the very night, i dreamed about the tadpoles turning into frogs overnight and jumped right into the house, causing a huge havoc.

Oh no!!

I think the next time when i see them having 4 legs, i'll tell the boys to bring their new pet to the canal downstairs to set them free.

Me shouting and screaming like a mad woman when the tadpoles really turn into froggies and start jumping and hopping around the house and corridor ain't gonna be a pretty sight. And i think the boys will definitely join me when that happens.

What i want..

** very personal and long. Not suitable for the unkind ones.

Friends, relatives, family always ask me this but friends especially.

As some of you might know by now, most of my very close girlfriends are quite something in their career. High achievers and have very good jobs.

So naturally, because they care.. they kinda worried for me, me being a stay at home mom - full time, no working experience, no 'real-world' experience, no nothing, basically, still quite naive and very much the same old girl they know back in Secondary school [which is why they are very protective of me in a lot of situations eg ; when i accidentally got drunk last year].

They'll go..

What if something happens to my marriage? What am i gonna do? Financially?

Will i ever work? What? Where? When? How?

Yada yada yada.

The girlfriends even discussed this issue once among themselves and then talked to me on a very serious tone over dinner one time when we had a chance to meet up. Yes, they care that much. But mostly, because they don't want to see me wasted just like that, they say.

Because they think if i do go to work, i can do quite a bit, according to them of course *ahem*.

But the thing is.. i had already let it go, albeit a bit reluctant in the beginning.

If i have only 2 choices, family/love or career.. i pick family/love. I know i wasn't like that long ago but i guess my priorities changed as i age, even though i was only 19. I don't just fall in love blindly and take the next big step. I know what i want and till today, i still know what i want.

And i think. A lot.

You'd be very surprise that i actually have almost all the answers to everything that has got to do with my life, even in awkward situations.

But as for now, what do i wanna do with this life of mine? [provided if all goes well lah *fingers cross* :P]

I'm gonna continue to do what i'm doing, a full time homemaker. Believe it or not, i love my life now... more than any other lifestyle i could think of.

After that when beep is 3 and start going to school, i'm gonna start working part time. Because i didn't have that piece of paper, it'll be hard for me to look for normal jobs and man, i'd be 30 then! Who in the world would wanna hire a no experience, no everything 30 years old mother?!

Yeah, i have thought about that too, quite embarrassing actually.. so, what's left for me to do?

Sell property/ insurance/ join MLM?
Hb will be the first to say NO.

Sell my bakes?
Hmm.. as much as i like baking, i realized i won't be able to sell my bakes for long term after my short stint of doing so few months back. I dislike the inflexibility to bake what i want to, what i feel like. I dislike baking something over and over again when what i really want is to try out new recipes. Unless i'm like super famous and have strong customer base who trust me 100% and let me pick what i wanna bake for them instead of being asked what to bake for them, then it's another story aye? But that is like so so impossible because to achieve that and if it's indeed possible, i will still need to do the conventional way first to earn my customers' trust.

Help the husband out?
That, is an option. But if possible, i think the husband will not want me to.

Then, i thought of being a yoga instructor.

Ooooo yeah!!

I love practising yoga. It's another passion of mine. And i think i'm pretty good at it. Uh huh.. i am! :P

I dare not say and will never say i'm good in baking because i don't think i am and honestly still think i'm an amateur, but when it comes to yoga, i dare say i'm pretty good :Pp

Of course, i haven't mastered everything yet and i still have a lot more to improve which is why i only thought of teaching when beep is 3. I have 2 years more to further improve myself.

I did consult my instructor before on this and it seems that if i want, i can actually take up the yoga instructor course now!

But but.. cannot lah! I don't think i am good enough yet and secondly, can you just imagine if my students can do better than me? What will they think?

Just like how i can do most postures better than my relieve instructor. If it's just 1 or 2 postures, it's totally fine because everyone has their own weakness but most postures? Hmmm.. But then, admittedly.. she's good at teaching and i do enjoy her class quite a lot :)

Guess i am quite a perfectionist when it comes to issues like these. I just don't wanna do it now knowing i'm not that good yet and furthermore, beep is only 1. I still wanna be with him 24/7 =)

So yeah, yoga instructor it is - what i want.. though it's nothing much if were to compare to the gfs but i like. I'll do it on part time basis so that i'll still have time for the boys. And nope, i will not open a small yoga school, like what my mom has been hoping for because it's too much of a commitment for then and even for the next 15 years to come.

Perhaps when the boys are married.. then i'll think again. Heh.

p.s : i just realised that i've got 5 classmates [including bestie] who became a doctor, out of the 20 odd classmates whom i still keep in touch with. Not sure if there are more [total : 39 students].. Shites! I'm so not gonna go for any reunion man... I never did actually. Hee..

Peanut butter cupcakes

Everytime when i received a notice from the boys' school saying they'll be having party and food needs to be contributed, i'd start having headache.

Because the party isn't just once a year, it's every term and it could be twice a term sometimes!

Term 4 just finished last week. The last day of term 4 usually means X'mas party for the boys and parents are asked to contribute food if possible. This time round, i feel i should make something nice for the teachers as well instead of just for the the children hence, more headache!

I have to come up with something that will entice the old and young. Chocolate is out of the question because i bake chocolate cake too often for the parties. So, what's left for me to bake?

Orange cake?

Not sure if the kids will like them.

Oreo cake sounds good.

But i didn't have the ingredients on hand.

Then, i went browsing.. looking through my handwritten recipes and cookbooks for ideas and i finally came up with something.

Peanut butter cupcakes!

I like the way the peanut butter came oozing out a little. Biting into these babies are totally orgasmic especially when they are fresh out of the oven.. Very very yummilicious.

Which is an excellent choice.

i- it's simple and easy
ii- i can finally clear my peanut butter which will be expiring end of this month!
iii- not many adults and children will say no to peanut butter, right? *i hope*

But as they were cooling on the rack, i thought they look a tad too plain for the children to fancy it. For one, i know my boys will not go 'wahhhhhhhhh' when they see it so, i decided to play dressing up!

Keeping in mind that i need to finish the decoration within 15-20 mins, i came up with something really simple again.

Peanut butter cupcakes with Nutella. Should be quite a nice combination me think.



Nutella, right from my unopened bottle.

Then, with some variety of toppings ; rainbow sprinkles, heart shapes, candies.. the boys were all ready to go!

And of course, i left some naked.. for the teachers who might not like them dressed up :)

Beef III

And then, the very next day..



for dinner.

See what i mean about me being wild on beef last week? ^.^

Sirloin steaks with creamy worcestershire + fresh tarragon sauce served on top of a bed of creamy mashed potato together with grilled portobello mushrooms [again] and green peas.

Because of my lack of skill, the steak was either medium done** [when i followed the Cold Storage's recipe] or almost rare [when i followed my cookbook's recipe]. Haha.. Lousy me! I simply cannot gauge leh. Think i need to cook this dish more when i have the extra $$ to spare.. :P

But one thing i noticed is that even though the steak was almost done, it wasn't tough to eat, unlike the ones sold outside. It was still nice to chew, juicy and.. well.. nice. I wonder why.

And yes, i got a tad wild on fresh herbs these days too!

**medium done - opps, i mean medium well!

Beef II

I was wild on beef last week.

First it was the Wild Rocket burger.

Then i just have to have pasta bolognese but with extra special ingredient.

Fresh basil leaves!



Gorgeous!

I have never never bought / cooked basil leaves before. This is my first. I got pretty excited. I wonder how the pasta will taste like with basil leaves.

Will it taste awful?

Will it taste yummy?

Or simply, indifferent?

Bad picture, bad bad picture! Not enough lighting!

Easy peasy pasta bolognese.

I must say, the basil leaves did make a different. I like the distinct taste and smell of the basil in my pasta. Very nice. Very herb-ie.

Cute.

:P

I like mine [the pasta] abit wet, from the pasta's cooked-in-water so that i can slurp and slurp and make a mess out of myself. Grin.

Creamy bolognese ones? I like them too.. but since it's home cooked, i prefer the healthy version. I like the good feeling it gives in the tummy ;)

Saturday is the fun fun day!

Not the previous Saturday but 2 Saturday ago of course!

After the boys' art class at UE2, i decided to just chill out a little and let the boys have some fun before dinner.

But before that, it's hair cutting for the 2 younger ones. A very much needed cut! Now i don't have to keep repeating that beep is a boy, not a girl.. :P

Beep who refused to be cooperate. It was real tough! U can never imagine man... The amount of silly entertainment i did was enough to last me for 1 month! Lol.

After the painful hair cutting session, i took the boys to Laurent's Chocolate bar and cafe at Robertson Walk.

Our Chocolate Truffle cake!



It was really good. The chocolate was awesome but i think they could be slightly more generous with the chocolate for the in between layers... The chocolate sponge was really good though. However, it didn't quite feel like chocolate truffle cake. More like just a very rich dark chocolate cake?

The 3 piglets and the mommy pig.. See didi's new hair cut? So boy!

The abit garang + ah beng beep with his new hair cut. No more girlie beep yay!

I like Robertson Walk. It's a very nice place to go on a Saturday evening. Quiet, breezy, cooling, peaceful and plenty of space for the kids to just run wild and not having me to worry about them bumping into things or being out of sight.. very very nice.

It's a place where i can bring a book to read while the helper sits down and help to look after the boys.. and the plus point will be good cakes!

I like.

The boys who got recharged after downing the chocolate cake + a cuppa ice chocolate but then, they never really ran out of battery before y'know..

It was a lovely Saturday.. and i'm pretty sure we'll do more of this very soon :)

Lasik-ed

I'm up and about again, well.. almost :)

Thank you for all the well wishes.. they made me very happy :P

The minor surgery said is actually lasik. I finally went for it after a year of procrastination! Now i'm specs free *yay!!*

It feels great waking up having a perfect 6/6 vision everyday.

No need to go look for my specs in an almost a blind state anymore. No need to keep asking my helper to look for my specs when i can't find it myself. No need to ask the husband for help to look for my specs when my helper can't manage to locate it. No need to ask the boys for help to look for my specs when the husband can't find it either. Now i can spare everyone the agony already. Grin.

And most importantly, no more looking like ah soh at home ;)

The only downside i have for the time being is halos and glares at night which means, i have difficulty driving at night. When i do, it seems like all the cars are having their high beams on!

Terrible.

However, the doc said i will get better as days pass. Halos and glares are worst for me than for others because, according to the doc.. i have bigger pupils than others [mine's 8mm]. If you have the normal size pupils, it won't be as bad.

Anyway, the whole surgery was s.c.a.r.y. albeit short. Actually, make that very scary. I had so much difficulty to concentrate as instructed. I think it was the calming pill that i took. I just wanna die in there.

And don't even get me started on after surgery condition. I had it bad. I had ALL the side effects which is not common. I couldn't open my eyes and when i finally could, i cannot keep it open for more than 3 seconds. I kept tearing. Then i cried, occassionally. It was painful. I felt as though there was chili in my eyes. It stings! Sunglass wasn't enough for me. The glare was really bad. I had to cover my whole head with my jacket, like a bandit, even in the building. I was very giddy.

I really didn't see all these coming.

Because the last time the husband had his lasik done 2 years ago, we actually went shopping at Orchard after that! The husband didn't have what i had. My sister in law who had her surgery done half an hour after me didn't have what i had as well. We actually planned to go for a nice lunch after the surgery but because of me.. we had drive thru McD and i didn't even eat my burger till i woke up in the late evening.

I wonder if it has got anything to do with my pupils' size.

But i tell ya, the doc is really good and nice. I totally recommend him.

And hor, i don't even have astigmatism now. How cool is that? ^.^

I'm very nervous and scared.

Will not be blogging until i feel okay...

Going to the hospital in 5 mins time!! *cold sweat*

Concert 2007

It's the time of the year again!

Boy, was i excited or what! :P

Shy boy2's 1st concert!!!! And the boys looked awfully awesome in their costumes.. Hee hee hee.

Don't ask me why that expression on boy2... I dunno either!

Boy1 is the supposed to be dancer.. and he really looked like one too, doesn't he? Lanky and tall.. i just cannot imagine didi in that costume. Hahaha.. it'd be darn funny!

And didi is the tin soldier from UK. Wait till you see his full costume.. so very adorable! Together with the hat, white gloves and drum... I tell ya, i was swelling inside! *thick skin mommy*

On the way to the concert.. i did the make up! Compulsory.. Again, the funny face from boy2! Hee..

We were extremely late this year... didn't have the chance to take any photos before concert. Something that i do every year without fail :(

Anyway, korkor performed first surprisingly. Usually the performances start from the lowest level but this year, it's random. I must say that this year is boy1's best performance so far. He was well behaved. Unlike last year, he was looking everywhere and anywhere, not really concentrating.

Then it was didi's turn. The shy shy boy2 was fantastic! I was extremely proud. Don't know why but everytime when i see then boy now boys on stage performing year after year, i still feel overwhelmed with emotions... i simply couldn't stop the tears from flowing.

Silly billy me!

Finale, together with other students

Then some post concert shots..

Can't leave him out, can i? :P

And then of course the little stars of the day :)

As a reward for the boys' hard work, we had pizza for dinner! Something which excites the boys to no end at all times =)