Sounds Wacky but it's yummmmmy!

Read about it at Rita's. I was laughing my head off over the weird combination but I was sold. Cheese + Egg + Potato chips? So fun and funky!

I made it for dinner last night. Its unhealthy, I know. We only have instant noodles occasionally, it's true ........ :)

My dh came home from work and asked, "What are we having for dinner tonight?" I told him Shin Ramyun noodles. He gave me that oh-one-of-those-nights-again look but he was too hungry to argue.

Everything changed after his first mouthful. He was nodding his head and went, "This is fine dining Shin Ramyun!"

Even the girls (not fans of spicy food) loved it. Must be the cheese and chips. Erica said that its tasted like Italian, think she meant pasta.

Thanks my dear Rita for sharing ..... and yes we are addicted to it!

Sleep deprived

I had problems sleeping last night. I tossed and turned on the bed wide-awake wishing in vain for sleep to come. Its one of those nights again where my mind just refused to "wind down" and rest. It must be due to all the "reaction" from my previous post. I find it so weird that people are writing to me to justify that they are not copycats. If you did not copy, why is there a need to justify? It's funny how the copycats are coming foward to own up (by justifying) as I did not call out to anyone in particular and no names were mentioned.

Anyway I was tired of tossing on the bed and listening to my dh's snoring. I got up and started my day earlier than usual. I did my routine morning chores and got the dinner preparations done. As I was cleaning up the kitchen, I noticed that there were three over-riped bananas sitting on the counter. I took a look at them and thought to myself, its either I used them up real quick or they are going to the bin. Images of my mom lecturing me on wasting food appeared! Yikes .....

I decided on the spot to end my girls' no cakes and cookies diet. I used the bananas and baked some muffins. This recipe is one of their all time favourites. Its from Happy Home Baking, a well known amazingly talented and nice baker from Singapore. If you have not heard of her, do hop over to her blog now. She is an inspiration.

Ingredients:
(makes 12 muffins)

120g plain flour [I used cake flour]
94g oat bran
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 box (net wt. 42.5g) Sun.Maid raisins [ I used 40g] **
1 egg, lightly beaten
100g sugar [I used 80g brown sugar]
1/4 cup oil
1 teaspoon vanilla essence [I omitted this]
3 medium sized bananas, mashed [I used big Mondel bananas]

Method:

1. Mix flour, oat bran, baking powder, baking soda and raisins in a bowl.
2. Combine egg, sugar, oil, vanilla essence and mashed bananas in another bowl.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture. Stir until just blended.
4. Fill muffin cups/liners till almost full. Bake in preheated oven at 200 degC for 20 to 25 mins. [I baked at 200degC for 10mins then turn the temperature down to 180degC for 8mins]

** I soaked the raisins in warm water for about 10 mins. Then I squeezed out the water and tossed it through some cake flour. I did not add the raisins in step 1, but only added it in halfway through mixing the wet and dry ingredients in step 3.

When the girls woke up, they came running to the kitchen. The aroma of the freshly baked muffins gave the surprise away. It was supposed to be a snack time surprise at school. Both were grinning from ear to ear, kept thanking me for making the muffins. Erica was very happy this morning. Its the last day of her examinations. She just could not wait for the day to be over!

Do What I Like

I was at my old blog today reading through all my posts there for a last time before deleting the blog. I found this picture and it brought back lots of memories of my friend Florence of Do What I Like. Her blog was the first I read and liked when I became a homemaker 7 years ago.

I have always been intrigued by baking especially bread-making but never found the courage to actually do it. It seemed so difficult from the books that I have read. But Florence makes it sound so simple ...... just dump all the ingredients in the bread-maker, take it out for a second round of proofing and bake it in the oven! I found myself reading through her posts on bread-making many times and virtually baking it in my head. Finally I could not take it anymore. I got myself a bread-maker and the many months of virtual baking became a reality. My first attempt was her Wonderfully Soft Bread and it was a huge success! That success was a huge confidence booster for me. It led to many of her other recipes, Hokkaido Milk Loaf, Instant Oats Loaf, Buttermilk Sesame Buns, et cetera. My family was thrilled with the freshly baked bread that they were getting at least twice a week and I had so much fun in the entire process - handling and kneading dough is pretty therapeutic.

From making bread I moved on to cakes and cookies, and continued to have a blast. This is a hobby that I never imagined that I would pick up and love doing it SO MUCH. Thank you Florence! My baking frenzy continued for quite a while until I noticed that the girls were piling on the pounds at an alarming rate. Who wouldn't? I was baking "treats" for them every other day. I panicked and stopped all baking (except bread) immediately. That was in January this year. Everything is under control now. Thank God!

Lesson learnt - Do What I Like but in moderation.

Let's Support ORIGINAL Work!

Sometime early March, I wrote a pretty insensitive comment on this fan-page, CourtneyCourtney (CC). I felt that her fans were being unreasonable for bashing an up and coming seller for copying CC's work. I defended the so called copycat. My opinions then was purely based on the few recently sold dresses that I saw of CC's. I just could not see the similarities and felt that the accusations were unfair. My comments were subsequently deleted and I was banned from her fan-page. I was so upset then, totally did not understand her childish action.

Since then, I never saw her work and totally forgotten about her existence until I stumbled on her blog a few weeks back. Her post detailing the evolution of her clothing line got my attention. I had no idea that this super-talented lady is a full-time designer and her clothing business is something that she does after work since 2007. When I saw the collages of some of her favourite pieces over the years, my heart sank, I knew for a fact that her work was indeed stolen. I remembered my comment in March, and felt horrible. I was so disgusted with myself for defending a COPYCAT!!! No wonder CC was so upset and booted me off her fan-page.


She did a couple of collages of some of her work on her evolution post. This is the collage for 2010. Truly OOAK (one of a kind) stunning pieces, right?

I just couldn't get over how I insulted CC's creativity, shame on me! After mopping around for a few days I decided to send her an apology via email. That was the least I could do. I was thrilled when she wrote back and we made peace. She removed the ban and I am now back on her fan-page. Thanks CC, once again, for accepting my apology.

Honestly I think a lot of people misunderstood CC. Many view her as rude the way she bans people from her fan-page. I used to think she is an oddball too, haha! I can understand her actions now. How horrible must it be to have your work stolen. If people copies your design and claim it as their own just by using a different fabric, is it justifiable? For me it is not! I know times are tough and all of us need to make a living, but stealing others' work is so wrong!

Let's all respect ORIGINAL work and STOP BUYING FROM COPYCATS. We need to work together to kill them off.

“Taking something from one man and making it worse is plagiarism.” ~George A. Moore.

The Woman in Black

Do you see the woman in black on the right? She is my MOM! This wonderful woman single-handedly brought my sister and I up when my dad left us (kinda of) many moons ago. Think I was 5 then, not sure. My mom concentrated in our upbringing the best she could, with extra emphasis on education and our faith in God. She ensured that we had stability and continuity in our lives. Without her I would never be who I am today. She trained me well. I am fiercely independent, highly opinionated, a go-getter and irresistibly attractive, haha!

Even though my mom and I have very different outlook and priorities in life, she will always have a special place in my heart. I am glad that life turned out pretty well for her. She is enjoying it with her four grandchildren. One is missing from the photo above. She is stressed-out in Kuala Lumpur preparing for a major examination.

The Cousins

Arianna was VERY excited about staying over at her Aunt's place in Singapore. She was curious about meeting her cousins who had just turned three. Even though she has seen lots of photographs of them, she just couldn't imagine the once wailing non-stop babies has grown into fun loving and talkative 3 year-olds. Of course, it is her mommy's fault for not visiting them for 2 years :(

After the initial getting to know each other stage, the three cousins very quickly became friends. Both mommies were amused that despite their 6 years age gap, they played happily together. Well I shouldn't be surprised as Arianna gets along with any kid who is active and loves to play chase, haha!

This cheeky fun-loving little boy very quickly became my dd's favourite. He has an adundance of energy and is always on the move, two important criteria to be Arianna's pal. This naughty (but adorable) little cutie even came up with a nickname for me, Aunty Aircond! Why? I can't stand the heat, so would always turn on the air-conditioner at the lowest possible temperature the minute I got home.

His twin sister has a fiesty temper but everything is forgotten the minute she smiles. Its the kind where the entire face lits up and the eyes sparkles. Not sure whether I am making any sense but I call it "smiling with the eyes". I like how she is extremely opinionated even at such a tender age. When she is in the "right mood" she would sing in her sweet voice that is pitch perfect. I was so captivated by her rendition of "When You Wish Upon a Star" that I downloaded Billy Joel's version onto my playlist when I came home.

The long overdue visit

I have not seen my sister and her family for 2 years. Yeah, its the longest ever ..... and it is all due to my pure laziness and silliness. I am a conflicting character. I love outdoor activities but I am a total home-body as well.  I love my own company and enjoys my "me time" very much. And I am someone who is very attached to my bed, pillows and comforter, and now Nikki, Nicole and mini-Arianna just make it more difficult to go away, haha! Oh, I love my sister and she means more to me than I ever expressed. If it was someone else, I would not be making this "huge" effort to visit.

My friends often teased me about my "double standards". I love going for holidays but I don't like visiting family members. I enjoy going for friends' gatherings but don't like family related ones. I love my family members but ...... I am an extremely private person who hates talking about myself. The share about yourself sessions seemed to be always required where my family and relatives are concerned. Oh, I have no problems talking about my love for art, shopping, movies and reality TV, but when it comes to me, my life and my feelings ....... I suck big time. I would tensed-up and be tongue-tied. I am weird, I know........... but I am happy being me. :)

I left by coach with Arianna to Singapore two Sundays ago to visit my sister. I was there for a couple of days and was glad that I managed to spend some quality time with my sister. It was good seeing her after 2 years. For me it was the best trip ever..... no family gatherings, just happy moments with my sister and her family. I am just a spoiled-brat, I know.

Arianna stayed back with my sister for 2 weeks while I came back home. She was very excited about the trip. Her first away from home (with Jade) without us.