Happy 2010

Another year is going to be over soon! I couldn't believe that time actually flies that fast. 2010 seemed so faraway when I was in University but now even our Wawasan 2020 feels so near... *scary*. :)

Few days ago it was raining at night, and EG was standing at the car porch, crossing his arms, watching the rain. I asked him what he's doing and he said it's comfortable to watch the rain & enjoy the breeze. And it just remind me of my dad. He's behaving exactly like an old uncle reminiscing his old times. Even he himself thought the same!

OK joke aside.

2009 has been a real busy year for me, but it was a good year. EG always says I'm a very simple and easily satisfied (and very low maintenance too) wifey and I thought there's nothing wrong with that. I just tend to thank God for everything that happens in our lives, looking at the brighter side and make ourselves feeling more contented & happier. Being happy is the most important thing in life - at least that's for me.

I read through my thanksgiving blog entries for the past few years and I never fail to thank God for His wonderful plans for me and EG all these while. I'm just very thankful that we're blessed with our smooth sailing life and with many things that we wanted in our lives. Anyway, the most important thing for us is to have each other side by side, and together with God, we have no fear to face any challenge in life. :)

God placed Jeremiah 29:11 in my heart this year and I truly believe that He has been blessing us MUCH with great plans this year. And for the coming year, the verse that I have in my heart is Matthew 7:7-8 - Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

I'm getting old so I'm not going to brag what my achievements are for 2009 and what's my new plan next year but 2010 definitely marks a NEW YEAR for both me and EG, and I'm sure we're going to enjoy it to the fullest together like many previous years that we have been.

Finally, HAPPY NEW YEAR to all my friends! And may all of you stay happy & healthy all the time! =)

Happy Birthday to Me =)

EG asked me how I'd want to celebrate my birthday this year. And as usual, I told him no need. =)

My mum used to cook some nice food on each of our birthday - like our favorite fried chicken wings, or fried golden boiled eggs. And when my dad saw it, he'll ask why the special food and normally make this funny comment:"Everyone also has birthday, so what so special about yours?" :P... I thought it's quite funny.

This year, I told EG I wanted a quiet birthday. Just two of us - as usual. We again went to Blue Reef for a nice dinner, ordering the same food :P. And before we went back Taiping for the long weekend, we got two small slices of cakes from Secret Recipe. EG sang me a birthday song, gave me a kiss on the cheek (and gave another kiss on my tummy :P). Then we had the cakes while watching the Lord of the Rings in TV8 (with no ending =.=).

My 1st birthday cakes

EG asked his parents to order my favorite pandan layer cake. But I insisted that there's no birthday song or cake cutting ceremony.. I shy... :).. So i just cut the cake and whacked half of it... Yummy! :)

My 2nd birthday cake

This is my last birthday with starting with number 2. I don't feel anything special, but just feel that time really flies. And as usual, I just feel happy and contented with my life. For me, that's the most important thing of all. :)

Happy Birthday, Penguin~!

Healthy Carrot Cake

My interest for baking suddenly increased during the last few months when I found that baking is actually not hard - provided you get the amount of the ingredients right! All you need to do is mainly mixing everything and bake them. The only hard thing is the washing part... argghh....

I tried to do this cake last month using the baking instead of the steam method, and it turned out not bad! I didn't blog about it as the steps are very simple and you can just follow the steps in the website. Anyway, the successful attempt definitely gave me a strong motivation to try baking again using my oh-so-lovely oven!

My mum taught me a healthy carrot cake recipe when I went back to Miri during CNY early this year. I thought since my sister who NEVER cooks can also make it successfully by her own, it shouldn't be too hard for me.. :P

Below is my mum's recipe (don't know where she got it from):

Ingredients:

Wholemeal mix flour - 200gm

Baking powder - 2 teaspoon

Bicarbonate of soda - 2 teaspoon

Brown sugar - 120gm (we reduced to 80gm as we don't like it to be too sweet)

Eggs - 2 nos

Natural Oil - 10 tablespoon

Carrot - 250gm - 300gm

Orange - 1/2 no

Raisins - 80g (optional)

Steps:
1. Beat brown sugar, oil, eggs together with a wooden spoon.

2. Add wholemeal flour + baking powder + bicarbonate soda (sieved), carrot (grated - this is the hard one), raisin. Stir evenly.

3. Bake at 170 degrees for 50 minutes. If the top of the cake is too wet after 50 minutes, bake at 120 degrees / 130 degrees using top fire.

4. After baking, poke the cake with "satay stick" and pour 1/2 no of orange (extract its juice) mix with 1 teaspoon of brown sugar.

Done! Easy right? And it's healthy too!

I tried it tonight. And I made it really healthy by using organic wholemeal flour (actually it's because I can't find the normal wholemeal mix flour :P), and organic raisins (which my mum bought for me but I didn't really like to eat). It didn't turn out as nice as my mum's. I used organic wholemeal flour and I think that's why it's more dry than my mum's. Hers is more moist. But anyway, it's edible. I shall try it again next time to improve it! =)

Note that I doubled the portion to yield the cake of the below size.

My first attempt of healthy carrot cake

The Hungry Hog

Previously I wrote an entry to promote The Hungry Hog 6 months ago. And now, our dear friend aka the boss has decided to extend his business to 7 days a week! And he also added another item into his Menu aka Homemade Sausages....


Check out the website for more details.

And if you wish to know more about the porkie, or the leng cai boss, you can also check out @ thestartonline.tv. He's kind enough to share the recipe on the yummy roasted pork belly...! And remember to listen to the crispy skin sound when he cut the roasted pork in the end... oh it sound heavenly! =)... And you'll know that you're definitely paying for great stuff! =)

Argh... Too bad he still doesn't send it to Penang... Lucky for those in KL!

Enjoy! =)

A Good Sunday

A good day always starts with good breakfast...

It's a Good Sunday! =)

Bear & Cat Talk

This has to be written in Chinese then only it'll sound funny, else it wouldn't make any sense.... So for those who can't read Chinese, sorry... =)

Bear: Eh Cat, 你知道吗，有一种baby blanket 可以用来带贝比从医院回家。那天我们在医院看到，remember?
Cat: 哪个不是毛巾么？
Bear: 不是，它可以从头抱到脚的，很可爱的咧。。。
Cat: 什么shape的？三角形？四角形？五角形？六角形？
Bear: 我不知道咧。。。 我也没有看过。。。btw, 人家通常讲四方形，不是四角形。
Cat: Why咧？这样。。。是五方形？
Bear: 不是。。 不是。。 是五角形。。。
Cat: Huh why...?
Bear: 因为四方形是 square 嘛。。。 华语 - 方 means square。。。
Cat: 啊。。。 This is so confusing... so, it's 四方形，五角形，六方形，七角形？
Bear: Err... 其实我也不知道。。。
Cat: 这样你应该是 “猪脚形”。。。 哈哈哈哈！
Bear: =.= .... 你的华语最近很厉害ho...
.
.
.
.
.
.
Cat: (**with cheeky grin**) Eh Bear, 有没有两角形的？
Bear: =.= 。。。 不要吵啦。。。

Our Dinner

It has been a long time since I made Aglio Olio.... Tonight I gave it a try again combining with all the recipe posts that I have read online, and with my slightly more improved cooking skill *shy*... and it tasted much better than the previous one!

Domino's Chili Flakes is good! Two little packet actually is quite spicy for two big portions!

EG's dinner

My dinner

It's always easier to prepare spaghetti for dinner. I started preparing at 6.30pm and by 7.30pm we're done with eating and washing can also be done in 15 minutes since there's nothing too oily to wash.... :)

Bear & Cat Talk

On one fine Saturday, while Bear is cooking lunch...

Cat: Bear, your fridge very messy. Let me tidy it up for u...

Bear: OK!

...After 15 minutes....

Cat: Done!

Bear: (Looked into the fridge) Gosh, my fridge is so empty now!

Cat: Yeah, I have "defragged" your fridge for you....

Bear: =.=... And what's my kiwi doing up there with the eggs?!

Cat: It's Dinasaur's egg... with hair!! Kekeke!!

Bear: Very funny... so the one next to it is the Ostrich's egg?

2009 Raya Break

This year, I looked forward for Raya break eagerly as it's a LONG weekend! And for the first time I was eagerly waiting to go back to Taiping - because it means I can sleep, and eat, and watch tv, and don't need to cook and do nothing. :D

Before we went back, I have told EG that I want to eat as much as I can during this holiday. And I had this strong craving for Taiping Ipoh Bakery's Pandan Layer cakes. Being extra loving these days, he promised to buy the cake for me, and on top of that, he'll also bring me to Ipoh to makan-makan! Yay! :)

True enough, the next day after we went back to Taiping, we dropped by Ipoh Bakery and found out that we had to order Pandan Layer cakes and can only pick up on 5pm in the evening. And they are going to close for Raya break. So, we placed our order, and seriously, it's so hard to resist all the cakes inside the bakery as everything smells so nice. We bought an Almond Cake and wanted to have it for the next few days. But guess what, it tasted SO GOOD that EG and I finished the whole thing after lunch in less than 1 hour time! Gosh! It tasted heavenly (for me laa)! It's not too sweet and we think it's made of wheat flour that makes the cake with very good biting texture. Ahh... I'm definitely going to eat it again when I go back next time.

Almond cake

EG's mum picked up the Pandan Layer cake later in the evening. I'd be crazy if I tell u that we finished that too! We kept it in fridge for the next day as we couldn't fit it into our tummy anymore.

The next day, we went to Ipoh for lunch + dinner. EG's colleagues were kind enough to be our tour guide and brought us go makan something else rather than the usual Bean Sprout Chicken rice. :P... We went to Pasir Pinji for the famous yong tau fu. Apparently they said it's very famous because it is very cheap and many ppl have been blogging about it. I didn't take any picture there as it'll be very obvious that I'm a tourist if I were to do that. :P. I guess u can just find many pics if you google about it. The yong tau fu serving there is HUGE, and VERY CHEAP. I think averagely 50 cents per BIG piece.

Then, we went to buy Ipoh famous salted chicken. We had to wait for 1 hour after placing our order so we walked around the place to buy some other cookies and biscuits and mooncakes.

The famous Ipoh salted chicken

After lepaking around, and we went back to the shop for our chicken. While waiting, Eg and I snapped some stupid pictures. One thing funny I observed there is, there are many shops selling salted chicken, but people will rather wait for 1 hour for THIS PARTICULAR shop. Well, even EG's colleagues who are the locals also recommended that shop. Some other shops had MANY nicely wrapped chicken but no customer - all are at the famous one waiting. Guess they must be really good. Anyway, we bought 4 chicken back. :P. Not all of myself la crazy - 1 for all of us including EG's family, 1 for EG and I to bring back Penang, 1 for EG's aunties, and 1 for EG's parents. ;)

Oh, almost forgot about the Pandan Layer cakes. We had it after dinner. Tasted as good as before. Not too sweet and the cold pandan jelly tasted fabulous! =). We finished it the next day after lunch.

Pandan Layer Cake

After I came back to Penang, first thing I did of course is to weigh myself. And gosh, I grew and put on 1kg just during the weekend..! But it was really good food. I'm definitely going to buy the cakes again next time! :P

简单的幸福

我们的午餐

常常问老公要吃什么

答案通常是 - 要吃你煮的

他总是觉得吃老婆煮的是很幸福的

有时觉得煮的很累

可是看到老公吃的津津有味

却觉得累一点是值得的

有时 快乐可以很简单

幸福也可以很简单

:)

痞子英雄

最近，生活忙得可以。忙工作，忙教会，忙生活。唯一的娱乐，就是看看连戏剧。


上个月，在Astro看到痞子英雄的宣传，第一个反应是：仔仔能演这么man的戏吗？过后，宣传越来越热，跟听说这是台湾第一部动作偶像剧 - 不是那种传统的超有钱男子喜欢上穷女生的悲怜爱情故事 或 vice versa - 看了几个片断, 就心痒痒, 找朋友找来了几个link, 在周末download 全套24集, 开始我一个星期的"追戏生涯".

看完后,真的给两个大拇指.

故事情节出人意外, 从一个小小的毒品追踪案, 慢慢揭发一幕幕惊人的阴谋. 故事情节也不会太夸张. 在戏里的查案工具也很有standard, 不像一些香港戏剧里, 用power point 来做人面比较, 随随便便就show一个98%. 至少这个很有一些美国CSI的feel. 演员方面, 至少我又爱上仔仔了. **shy**. 当然, 一定有爱情故事, 让我感动了一阵子. 仔仔痞痞的性格, 让人有一点哭笑不得. 赵又廷这个新人, 也演得相当有水准. 其他的演员也很不错. 美中不足的是 - 他们说话还是有一点模糊不清. 如果没有 subtitle, 我应该也是看得8个耳朵.

很喜欢痞子英雄里的插曲 - 放逐爱情. 很好听. 很感人的歌词. EG说在我的心深处,还是一个无知小女孩. 不知道这是不是official的MV, 可是可以和大家share share 一些戏里的情节.



很期待痞子英雄Part II.

Mum A-Like

Some said before you marry a girl, make sure you check-out her mother first. Because very likely that the girl will behave similar, or look similar like her mother when she grows old.

My age number is going to change its first digit soon in another year. And I slowly discovered that I'm behaving more and more like my mum.

Case 1:
While EG was packing to go US last month...
Me: "Please make sure you buy a gallon of distilled water from the grocery shop when you touch down - I heard ppl say about the water in US when I was in Phoenix last time but not sure of your area but better be safe than sorry. Then, go buy phone card to call home and don't use your handphone to call, it's going to cost you a bomb. And for the breakfast, if you feel jelak with their food, they normally will serve fruits for breakfast as per my experience. On the plane, remember to make sure you check your time and adjust your sleeping time so that you won't have so much jetlag. And remember when you're coming back don't wear so much belt or any metal thing that will make the sensor rings to save any hassle being questioned. And remember to be careful with your spending as the price numbers there look so small, USD10 seems like nothing but after tax it'll cost u about RM40++... Watch out your expenses, don't overspend. And remember to put some cream on your hands / face so that you don't get flaky skin - the weather there is dry... And remember to take ur vitamin C, and bla bla bla bla bla .... " i can go on for another 10 minutes....
EG: "Hehehehe... I can imagine how you nag your children next time......"
And suddenly I realised, that's how my mum talked to me whenever I'm traveling last time. =.=

Case 2:
EG said our new place really looks like a home because there are clothes (clean or worn) scattering on the sofa or everywhere. I tried to tidy up the living area and make it clean & tidy but just can't. And I have been complaining that the kitchen counter is never clean and there are forever so many things on the kitchen counter and dining table.
And suddenly I remembered: My mum always complained saying that our house can never be clean & tidy when we were young. There are things everywhere in the house always!

Case 3:
It has been raining like cats & dogs (or quote from a friend - cows & horses!! Imagine how heavy the downpour is) in Penang and I can't do my laundry!! :( ... I like the sunny smell after the clothes are dried under the hot sun but now I only get the damp smell. :(. And I was complaining again.
And suddenly it reminded me: My mum used to complain that during rainy season that her clothes can never be dried and I was feeling nothing as I thought it's so nice to sleeep.

Case 4:
I have been cooking quite a bit, and very hardworking in housework ever since we moved to the new place. And so, my hands are having some new scars / marks that's caused by frying oil, hot iron, cutting knife. :P
And one day, EG told me: Your hands & arms are looking more and more like your mum's.

When I was young, I always didn't understand why my mum did things or said things certain ways. But when I grow older, then only I understand how hard her works were last time. Guess it takes time to realize and to appreciate.

Days when you're not around

I have not been blogging for long, due to many reasons - I sleep latest by 11pm everyday, too many tv programs that get my attention, lazy to use EG's computer in the study room since I have no laptop now and I prefer to blog & watch tv at the same time (:D)...

Another main reason was because EG was on business trip for 3 weeks since Mid July all the way till August. A friend reminded me that I shouldn't be posting this much in internet for security purpose since I'm all alone, a little small size girl, in the house all by myself. So I abide. =)... And then, I have nothing much to blog about since I'm just going work, watched tv, cooked for myself, sleep at 11pm.

It must be very obvious that we have been sticking together always. When he's away, almost everywhere I go, be it in church or office, ppl will be asking me - "Eh, how come alone? Where's your hubby?". I wonder if that's a good thing actually. Church friends are being tactful too by inviting me out for lunches or dinners since they know my usual lunch / dinner mate is always my hubby..

During my previous job, I used to travel more. And being an extrovert person, I have no problem travelling, be it with friends or alone. But, in my current job, my boss told me clearly that there's no travelling opportunity and I have no complain because I thought as a woman, it's now time to settle down and concentrate in what a wife or a future mum should do - just like my mum (ya, ya, u can say I'm old fashioned but I do think & agree that that's a woman's job :P).

Having EG leaving me for 3 weeks, or to be exact, 23.5 days - this is a total new experience for me. I was happy that he finally could travel and see the other side of the world, but was also sad that I'm going to be all alone when he's away. He must be feeling the same when I travelled last time.

EG used to say that he doesn't need a tv when I'm at home as I'll talk and talk and talk and talk and make him laugh most of the times. And he'll be disturbing me or cracking some stupid jokes when we're together and we always enjoy each other's company. When he was away, when I reached home, there's no one cracking stupid jokes. I drove to work myself with the radio on, watched tv but with no one to share when there's new funny advertisement or new trailer on anything, cooked for myself but with no one to enjoy the food together, did my own dishes & cleaned the kitchen myself with no one telling me what happened in the day. Everything in the house was quiet - except with the noise from TV. Timezone difference made it even harder for us to talk on the phone. When I'm sleeping, he's working and vice versa.

I have been planning many things to make sure my days passed faster. And finally my dear came back safely after 3 weeks. Though many warned me about H1N1 in airport but heck, I'm more excited that my hubby is finally back. =)... But I did pray before I entered the airport. Hehe...

The 3 weeks separation actually made me realised that how much I enjoy EG's company. Though sometimes we fight and argue but his company couldn't be replaced by any other things. I remember during our pre-marital counselling in church, my pastor asked us what's the main reason that we want to get married and both of us had the same answers - to have each other's companionship. =)

Now that EG is back, we tend to appreciate each other's company now more and often telling each other how bad life is without each other by our side. Hopefully this can last longer before our usual fight & argument start again. :P

Devilled Chicken Wings

I always love chicken wings, but not for EG. So, since I'm only cooking for myself tonight, I decided to try out the devilled chicken wing that I copied from a recipe book when I attended CG @ a friend's place. I bought my chicken wings from Tesco Extra after church today.

The recipe is rather simple. My first attempt was good and I felt so good that I can't don't write it in my blog to remember this. :D

Ingredients (my version - for 1 person)
2 chicken wings
Corn Flour (Original recipe is normal flour)
Chopped garlic
1 stalk of celery - cut into slices
1 tbsp of dark soy sauce
1 tbsp of black vinegar
1/2 tbsp of brown sugar
Water

Marinade
Few slices of gingers - you can cut them into small pieces
Salt to taste
Pepper (I used black pepper from Sarawak baru best.. :P)

First, marinade the chicken wing. I coated them with corn flour (i don't have normal flour :P). Heat oil in the pan and saute the chicken wings in low heat. Note that it's not deep fried chicken wings so I don't use A LOT OF oil, but just enough to saute them until they turned brown & cooked - checked by using a fork to poke parts of the chicken wings and make sure it can go through. Take out & leave the chicken wing aside.

With little oil, fry the garlic till goden. Add in celery and stir fry for a while. Add in combination of soy sauce + vinegar + brown sugar + water. Stir over gentle heat until sugar dissolve. Add in corn flour to thicken the sauce. Leave it simmer under low heat for 1 minute.

Lastly, add in the chicken wing, coat them evenly with the sauce and heat through before served.

It's quite messy to fry the chicken wings due to the shape since i didn't put a lot of oil. But I'm very surprised that the result turned out really good. Oh, i love the sweet + soury taste of the vinegar + sugar. Next round, I'll try with drumsticks only since it's easier to fry that than the whole chicken wing. =)

PS: Sorry, there's no picture as EG is having the camera. I used my phone camera but it turned out real bad.... So till i cook it again, i'll take some better pics to update this post.

Cantonese Steam Chicken

As a working lady, cooking dinner is always a challenge. By the time I reach home, I already don't have the luxury to slowly prepare my dinner, else, it'll be supper instead. I always look for fast meals so that I can get my dinner done in shortest time that I can, and make my kitchen least dirty / oily. I found this recipe few months ago and it's so easy, hassle-free and most importantly - fast!

The recipe is simple:
1. Chicken - I get the chicken thigh from Giant / Tesco and get them to cut into half for me. And I remove all the skin when I am home. Put them on a plate.
2. In a bowl - mix a tbsp oyster sauce, 1/2 tbsp of soy sauce, 1/2 tsp sesame oil, 1 tbsp chinese shaoxing wine, 1 tsp of sugar, 1 tbsp of cornstarch. You can put some salt too if you want it to be saltier.
3. Pour the mixture over the chicken.
4. Soaked & slice some mushroom (optional), dry sherry, ginger, garlic and spread over the chicken.
5. Put them into a pot and steam for 15-20 minutes. DONE!

Before

After

Today I cooked 3 dishes for dinner. We normally eat 2 dishes on weekday but today I was in good mood so I made another omelette. But the main point is, we do eat for dinner... but I am not sure why everyone says we are thin / lost a lot of weight - especially to EG. Everybody was telling him that he has lost weight AFTER the wedding. Hmm... I wonder what does THAT mean... =.=. Anyway, this is the proof that I do feed him OK?! :P

Our dinner

Too bad, the boss said today's dinner was so-so only and it was too much!! So, again, it's not my fault that he can't eat much and can't put on weight... alright? :D

For DoDo

I wrote a long long letter for my dear sis before she left for UK, but someone said it sounded like a creepy suicidal note, so I repost.

Dodo, Remember:
1. Drink a lot of water in the flight to prevent dehydration, and walk a bit on the flight to prevent water retention
2. Don't miss home so much... (not easy for someone who has the record of flying back Sarawak from KL 7 times a year)... Enjoy yourself there!!!!
3. Watch your food - control the cheese, milk, bread, dairy products (it's hazardous for Teng's girls!!!!!)
4. Learn to cook....
5. Travel around and post pics in Facebook.....
6. Buy souvenirs for me (like what i did everytime i travel ok?? ok??).... <-- this is very important....
7. Stay prayerful, FIND & GO church. :P
8. I don't mind LV, Gucci or Coach that you mentioned last night though I am not exactly a bag person....
9. Go online in MSN more often.
10. Send your pics so that I can tell if you should go on diet... :P

Most useful present for you:
Joshua 1:9 - Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go

Will miss you dearly, and take care of yourself for the next 365 days! See you next year! And come stay my new place! =)

PS: Hopefully you're a yee yee when you're back. *wink*

The Hungry Hog

Note: This post is non-Halal...

During my visit to KL during Raya Holiday last year, we stayed at our good friend's aka EG's best man aka our wedding dinner emcee's place in Subang. And as usual, we'll meet up with the rest of the gang for some makan and catch up session.

We were running out of ideas on where to eat, and Yeng (the host) suggested to cook for us. YIPPIE!!.. I remembered there were homemade sausages, pastas, and ROASTED PORK. It has already been >8 mths since I ate the homemade roasted pork but I still miss it dearly!... It's crunchy and juicy, and unlike those out there (full of fats), this is definitely healthier - I saw the cook made it in front of me..! Should have copied down the recipe.... argh!!

Yummy yummy siu yuk...

And now, lucky for those who're in KL or Klang Valley!! Now the great cook has started his weekend business to serve siu yuk!! Drop by The Hungry Hog for more details. You should really try this, and I am sure you'll just love it!! =)

And if you think that the cook will be like "zu yuk weng", then you're wrong! Don't believe me? Order it and go collect from the leng-cai cook and see it with your own eyes!! =). Am sure you won't regret - both of the pork, and the cook! :D

Enjoy!

PS: How I wish he could courier it to Penang too....!!

Forgiveness

I stumbled into this blog today and found out this article is so right.

I love the last part:
“Forgiveness is above all a personal choice, a decision of the heart to go against the natural instinct to pay back evil with evil. Forgiveness may seem like weakness, but it demands great spiritual strength and moral courage, both in granting it and in accepting it.” ~Pope John Paul II

It doesn't only apply in marriage life, but it also applies in our daily life to everyone around us...

Best way of spending money

I realised, the best way to spend money is to spend FREE money. :D

Weeks ago, we have some left over Popular vouchers (around RM190) to spend before they expire. So, EG and I went Gurney after work and spent almost the whole night in Popular to find things to buy, also need to make sure it's worth the values!! (kiasu-ism) And finally, we got 1 CD, and few books, and paid extra RM0.80 on top of the vouchers. Feel good! :D

Last Saturday, I woke up and suddenly remembered that I have more vouchers from the awards from my previous company which are going to expire soon (like in the next 1 or 2 days). 1st is my RM50 Haagen Dazs Vouchers - So, EG and I went Queensbay Mall and ordered two ice creams for ourselves. Sometimes I wonder how could ice cream cost so much, but guess it was really really gooooood and ricccccchhh and it's even BETTER when I don't need to pay from my own wallet but paid with vouchers... Kekekeke... Well, got la top up RM12. But it was so worth it! :)....

EG and his favoriate chocolates flavor

I wanted to try something different so I ordered Tangy mango

Next, I went to Body Shop and spent the RM50 vouchers with their foundation - the only thing that I think is useful for me. I have too many of those lotions and most of them ended up in the trash when they reach their expiry date. So, got my usual foundation (which i don't use often now) and top up another RM8+. So nice!!

We wanted to go to coffee bean to spend the other RM10 voucher but the ice cream was sweet and we wanted something salty instead, so that didn't happen, but we went KFC and shared a plate of snack plate to fill our tummy before going for a wedding dinner later on the night. And no, this round no voucher - using our own money from our wallet. Hehe...

It has been a long time since we can stroll in shopping mall relaxingly with no worry. I wish more relaxing weekends coming for us to rejuvenate after a long, tiring working week... *only if i don't need to do housework... bleah....

Paradox of Life

I heard this from Pastor John's sermon in EPCC this morning and thought it was really meaningful.... Then found it in internet later...

The paradox of our time in history is that
We have taller buildings but shorter tempers,

wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints.
We spend more, but have less,

we buy more, but enjoy less.
We have bigger houses and smaller families,

more conveniences, but less time.
We have more degrees but less sense,

more knowledge, but less judgment,

more experts, yet more problems,

more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values.
We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.
We've learned how to make a living, but not a life.
We've added years to life not life to years.
We've been all the way to the moon and back,

but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbour.
We conquered outer space but not inner space.
We've done larger things, but not better things.
We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul.
We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice.
We write more, but learn less.

We plan more, but accomplish less.
We've learned to rush, but not to wait.
We build more computers to hold more information,

to produce more copies than ever,

but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods, and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships.

These are the days of two incomes but more divorce,

fancier houses, but broken homes.
These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers,

throwaway morality, one night stands,

overweight bodies,

and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill.
It is a time when there is much in the showroom window

and nothing in the stockroom.
A time when technology can bring this letter to you,

and a time when you can choose either

to share this insight, or to just hit delete.

Remember, spend some time with your loved ones,

because they are not going to be around forever.
Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe,

because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.
Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you,

because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent.
Remember, to say, "I love you" to your partner and your loved ones,

but most of all mean it.
A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt

when it comes from deep inside of you.
Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment

for someday that person will not be there again.
Give time to love, give time to speak,

and give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take,

but by the moments that take our breath away.

Encouragement

There is an Arm that never tires
When human strength gives way;
There is a Love that never fails
When earthly loves decay.

—Wallace

Bear & Cat Talk

Life has been very busy and stressful. Bear & Cat now work in the same company so they take heavy breakfast at cafe sometimes together, and will skip lunch and use lunch time to sort out things.

Last week after office hour
Bear & Cat skipped lunch.
Bear: Cat, are you hungry?
Cat: Not really. I ate something during tea time.
Bear: Really?! Why never call me...
Cat: Err... I just went down to grab a piece cake.
Bear: =.=
Cat: But I was sceptical and checking out if the Bear is in the cafe too.. I look see look see no bear, faster buy something and run back to my cube. **LOL**
Bear: STUPID!

Yesterday Lunch Time
Cat: Today I'm very full. Let's skip lunch.
Bear: OK.
Cat: Are u hungry?
Bear: A bit, but I think still OK la.
Cat: Maybe later we go eat tea time la.
Bear: See la, if I'm busy.

After work
Bear: Cat, did u take tea time?
Cat: Ya I did.
Bear: Really?! Why never call me? What did u eat?
Cat: Err.... I ate the blue pulut with Kaya.
Bear: Why never call me!! I iz hungwee.....
Cat: Err... Actually hor... I got something else to tell u... actually hor... After we came back just now, I went to cafe and wanted to grab something. Then I see still got fried rice, so I tapao fried rice with some omelette.
Bear: HUH... HOW COULD YOU?! And you never call me..?!
Cat: *laughing all the way*.. I tot u said u are not hungry... I never thought they have left over fried rice (explaining, explaining)
Bear: HMPH! And now I am very hungry now. I am going to cook a lot tonight. I'll do an egg for myself.
Cat: Bear U are so funny! Oh, Egg again? This week we ate quite a bit of eggs.
Bear: I never say I wanna cook for u.. You got omelette already during lunch.
Cat: Huh......?!.... Please.......
Bear: NO WAY! :P

Zi Mui's Weddings

If you ask me what's the most memorable time in my life, besides my own wedding day, the next will be my life in university - there's the place where I met most of my good friends. :)

Our innocent looks in MMU @ 1998
more pics here

Somehow, fate brought us together, and we grew up together in the Uni's pathetic hostel. We spent most of our time together esp. since we are not local. We explored mamak (yah, called us sua-gu :P), explored the public transport to get to town and etc. It was funny though it has been almost 7-10 yrs ago, but we still laugh like nobody's business whenever we talk about the past stories whenever we meet up.

I thank God that all of my friends are doing very well in their life, and most of us have moved on to the next stage of our life, i.e. promoted to wifey (and some already are mothers :P). I was recalling my ji muis wedding and to my amusement, all of us got married in sequence since 2006 to 2009 non-stop! :)

2006-07 SF's wedding @ KL

2007-09 Papakochan's wedding @ KL

2008-01 My wedding @ PG


2008-12 Shizuka's wedding @ PG

2009-03 PC's wedding @ KL

So, I guess the next wedding to attend will be 2010?! Kekekeke... *hint* *hint* :D. It's just a very happy thing to see good friends to have a healthy, good, and happy life, don't you agree?

My Big Potato

This month - is a month to remember. I have finally paid off my car loan with EON bank after 5 years. EG called it big potato as he always complains it's heavy. But I still love it to bits. Everytime when people asked about my car, I'll gladly tell the "touching" story of how I got my lovely potato. =).

Working in Cyberjaya without a car is a total nightmare, things were even worse with me staying @ USJ. There is no public transport to Cyberjaya and no one could give me a ride. I have no choice, but I had to buy a car. I am the eldest in my family - so this buying car thing is quite a hoo-haa as my parents doubt if I know how to get a proper car. And since I am the only working "adult" then, and looking at the fact that my brother & sister in KL were going to depend on me to fetch them to/from KLIA, or moving house, or go shopping or prom night (?) (:P), and with my parents visiting us kinda often, I need to get a saloon car that can fit easy 4-5 ppl (and actually, if my whole family comes together - still cannot fit :P.. we have total of 6 :P), and with boot space to fit the luggages.

There weren't much choices then. Waja is too big for me to handle, and I was really really bad in parking. And imported cars are out of my budget. With my dad's help & some limited $$ in my piggy bank (since I only worked for 2 yrs then), I "wanted" to buy Proton Wira SE (Special Edition *ahem*) Automatic. I got scared a bit when my friends keep complaining to me how hard it is to drive in KL with manual car.

Note that I said - "WANTED". Of course, it didn't happen. The stooopid salesman, which is also the manager of the shop, actually gave supposingly-to-be-my-car away to another customer, and requested me to wait for another 3 months! I asked for my deposit refund, and called up Proton HQ to lodge a complain. The region manager called up and told me this is the first complain in 10 years, like I care. Duh!! I was just too angry and too pissed off. And I actually cried over it. =.=. I am not sure what happen to the sales manager after that (though I hope he got fired :P) but I think anyhow he deserved that - no credibility how to be manager. =.=.

To cut the story short, out of real desperation, I called up one of my MMU friends working in EON, "crying" for help. And he told me, OK Winnie, I'll settle for you. Wait for my call. True enough, after 1 week+, he called and told me - Winnie, your car is here. Come and take. Then, I went over to pay my deposit, sign loan agreement, and took my car.

Before that, I didn't see how the car look like. I was very lucky that the car was actually the latest model of 2004, with sport rims & air bags. But one thing - it's manual. But heck, I need a car. I drove manual all the time in my hometown - don't see a problem with that. And the car plate number is my name's initial + my birth date day. Mind you - I didn't choose the number or ask for anything. The only thing I told my friend is, I want the Wira SE - black one. That's all.

That's why I always believe my car, is God's gift to me.

I could never forget the first day when I drove my car from EON Glenmarie back to USJ. The touch of the car, and my anxious feeling of owning something that belong to myself (Well, not fully owned yet, since I was still on loan). And the first one that I showed off my new potato then to was of course, my brother in Sri Petaling, and let him tested drive a bit. Though in these 5 yrs, I have changed quite a bit of the spare parts and etc, but my potato has been going through a lot with me (and my family) . It has done what it should. And with EG's help it's well maintained too.

EG always tells me next time we should sell off one Wira (since he's also driving the normal Wira) and get a better car - but I never agree to sell my car. He said he has a lot of memories with his car, but hey, I have A LOT of memories with my potato too! =). So, no mutual agreement was made, and we're still having two wiras with us.

We're going to KL for my friend's wedding this weekend - and I told EG, I'll want to drive this round since we're driving my potato down. I'd love to reminisce the day when I got my potato. It's going to be our 5th Year anniversary. :)

There's a funny conversation about my potato when EG and I were driving down to KL somewhere last year (yah, we have too many friends' weddings to attend :P)

W: (driving & speeding a bit :P) Hey, my car is Wira SE. It's Special Edition, but it also can be Sports Edition eh... :D
E: Ya ya.. and u know, it also can be Slow Edition or Silly Edition or Stupid Edition...
W: =.=

CNY 2009 in Miri

I know Chinese New Year is already over for almost >1 week now - But work has been really busy since I am picking up new things so I can't blog in office, and life is also busy with many other things - especially since now I am sharing computer with EG - I am just too lazy to blog.

EG and I had an agreement that we'll take turn to celebrate Chinese New Year at our respective hometown alternatively - i.e. 2008 in his house, so 2009 in my house. So this year, we went back to Miri for CNY.

EG had his 3-colored-special-teh-C in Miri as showns in TV8 Hochiak!. We didn't go to the same restaurant as recommended by TV8 but we went to another place - thanks to my sister. EG loves it. What so special about this Teh-C? Go watch the video clip @ the above link. :P

The 3-Colored-Special-Teh-C

My best friend - Shizuka - was in Miri for CNY this year too. I think she feels that Mirians are really nice (just like me!!! :D) so she chose & married a Miri-man. What a coincident!! The funniest thing is, another zi mui of ours also married a Borneo-man but she's @ Sabah. We always find it funny but anyway, I am not going to discuss that now. :)

Since both Shizuka & EG have been complaining about the not-so-nice kolok mee & laksa that they had at home, so this round, I did some survey and we went for breakfast together @ a newly open coffee shop (maybe not too new also) - Mdm Wee - who made her own noodles for both kolok mee & laksa.

Both the non-sarawakians took the famous Sarawak Laksa

Another view of the laksa.

Glad that the two non-Sarawakians said it's nice. :D

We waited for 45 minutes for the food to arrive. Well, it was long, but since we had quite a bit to chat with each other, we didn't feel that it was too long. But my mum gave a not-very-happy remark when she knew it as she said the coffee shop always has this problem.

All the Sarawakian ordered their kolok mee.

Mine is with soy sauce + chili sauce.

EG and I reached Miri nearly on the midnight on Thursday. And on Friday, we went to airport 3 times to fetch my sister and my two brothers, coming back from KL & Sibu, all different flight schedule. It has been a real long time that 4 of us got together. The last time I think was during my wedding?! That's already >1 year ago!!!

After our breakfast together with Shizuka (yeah they all tagged along :P), we went to Marina Bay as konon-nya it's going to be one of the high class area in Miri (?!) after x years (????). Me not sure but since I have never been there, we just stopped by to have a look, and took some pics.

The 4 Tengs

EG and I

This year, our parents didn't cook all the dishes for the reunion dinner after our persuasion as it just took too much work and time to do that. We catered half, and cooked the other half. Both my parents started to get busy in the kitchen at 2pm+, and all dishes were ready at 4.30pm. So, we had our reunion dinner @ 4.30pm. How bizzarre right?! But like my dad said, eat slowly, and later 9pm we'll have another round of supper if anyone is hungry. :D

>10 dishes for reunion dinner.

We didn't even finish half of them!!

It's also our tradition to play fire crackers at 12am on the 1st day of CNY. Almost all the houses at our street - Jalan Baiduri 1 - lit up the fire crackers. And No, no police dropped by. :D

It's too loud for a cat :P

Gong Xi Fa Cai !!

Though there are quite a lot of people visiting our place during CNY as usual, this year, we have booked our time to go to Brunei for the famous and cheap Sushi in Escapade on the 3rd day of CNY. My dad was quite reluctant to go but since the whole family planned to go, he wouldn't want to miss out the fun too. I'll blog about that next time soon (I hope!) :D

My family @ Escapade Sushi, Brunei

Last but not least, ever since my brother took up photography as his hobby, we never go studio for our family shoot anymore. This year, since we had a new member - EG - joining us in our CNY celebration, of course we won't miss the chance and snapped our family portraint on the 2nd day of CNY in our house.

Family photo 2009

Going home.... is always the BESTEST of the BEST!

E

Happy Valentine's Day Supercolossal

My Quillling

During Christmas, Karen from my church (Note: She's also the one who designed my wedding invitation cards that received countless good comments) gave us a fridge magnet as Christmas gift. My first response was just amazed + astonished looking at this cute stuff. It's so simple, and yet, SO NICE!.... It came with a custom made bag with no glue.... But I forgot to take a pic of that.

When I was making some invitation cards for a church event in Karen's place, she told me this is called Quilling. And then she showed me those that she did for the Pastors in church, I was even more speechless looking at her work. Then, I started to have itchy hands to try on quilling too.

Since CNY is coming, Jireh U CG had a small celebration during CG time. I have decided to make a simple bookmark for all my CG members.

So, firstly, I have to cut the paper into 0.3cm size, and it's not as easy as I thought since I don't have proper tools.

Paper strips

Next, I started to roll the orange paper to be the mandarin orange, and the green ones to be the two small leaves. There are supposed to be the right tools to do the rolling but I don't have. So I have to use toothpick / hairpin to help me in the rolling. Lucky thing is my fingers are rather small, so it does help a bit. :P...

When I started rolling, then I found out my mandarin oranges are not in even sizes due to the inaccurate measurement during cutting. Gee... Now I really admire Dr. Andrew & Karen's steady hands since they will do the measuring & cutting by themselves if the quantity is not a lot.

My cacat mandarin oranges :P

Since it's Chinese New Year, I purposely bought some RED paper as the base. At First, I cut them into rectangle but EG said it looks weird. So after some trials, EG suggested me to cut off the edges on the top, and stick my mandarin oranges & their leaves on top.

My halfway done book mark

Then EG helped me printed my favorite verse from Jeremiah for 2009, with nice fire crackers as clipart (Chinese New Year maa....). Then, stick them slightly below the mandarin oranges, and ta-da..... here's my final piece of "art"... :P

My bookmark

In total, I made 25 pieces of book marks for my CG members, including 5 for myself and EG and I wanted to give my siblings too. Seriously I don't think it's VERY VERY nice but it's a good start for my little interest in quilling. I am still looking for the proper tools to do this.

Bookmarks for JirehU members

The bookmarks were given out on last Friday and I wasn't in the CG as I was on my way back to Taiping. At 10pm, my handphone was bombarded with thank-you SMSes -- That's how we thank someone when they are not around in CG.

I am inspired to make better ones next time. :)... But anyway, CNY is just around the corner. So, Gong Xi Fa Cai to everyone! And have a great time with your family and your love ones!!

Anniversary Presents

I have been looking for a new watch since both my current watches are at least >6 years old now. All girls like new things ok? :P.... Anyway, after looking for weeks, finally EG bought the Casio Sheen for me.

My new watch

I asked EG what he wants for anniversary. Funny, he asked for a bottle of potato chip for his anniversary present. Kakakaka!!! Ok here's the background - I once read in some magazine that potato chips are bad for health and are cancerous. I am not sure how true this is but EG used to eat quite a bit of potato chips at home - especially when he's reading his novel before he sleeps. I think that's a bad habit so I strictly prohibited potato chips @ our home.

Anyway, since it's anniversary - so I got his favorite Jacker's potato chips for him. :P

Jacker Potato Chips - EG's anniversary present

Ya, I know. It's unfair right? But then, nothing is fair in a relationship, right? No? :P. Kekekeke... **evil laugh**