A package of clothes, Hair package, Facial package, Gym package...

Yesterday, I heard some high pitched "Yes!", "On la, set!".

Busybody me naturally got up from my seat and asked what were my female colleagues talking about.

Dawn and Juslin asked me if I had the UOB Ladies Card. "Yes! Why why?"

This is their new promotion.... (To Hunks and Hunkettes: Be excited!)

True Fitness
Complimentary access to the fitness centres and usage of fitness facilities only, with the exception of VIP Black Card Lounge and Pilates Reformers Studio

And one of the outlets is right smack @ 3 Temasek Boulevard, #07-001 Suntec City Mall.

And so my colleagues are wanting to go to the gym (FOR FREE!) together! How fun!

Then Sandra commented that I and her CANNOT go together alone. Cos our hearts are easily softened and our purse-strings are easily loosened by the coaxing words of the saleswomen.

Flashbacks...

• Me @ Osmose clothes boutique

I was trying so many pieces of clothing, none to my liking. But because the saleswoman attending to me so nicely allowed me to try on the many many possible pieces... I actually felt BAD not buying anything! I ended up buying ANOTHER black tube (I already have 2 at home...) since it was the cheapest item I could find in the store that I could buy without leaving the store empty-handed....

Boy... I am every saleswomen's dream...

• Me @ Esthetica Facial

"Miss ah, this eye package will be cheaper (still not THAT cheap!) for you if you get it along with your main facial package..."

"Umm it's ok... no thanks..."

"Miss ah, if you don't care for your eyes now, next time, BIG eye bags and crows' feet become PERMANENT you know? ..."

Hai... okok, I sign....

• Me @ Jean Yip Hair Salon

I wanted to do a normal hair treatment here. But the salesperson asked me to do a scalp analysis for FREE.

Free? Ok then! 

The conclusion of my analysis was "oily scalp". And the worse thing was that the salesperson said in years to come, people with oily scalp might experience hair loss.

HUH?! Are u serious??!! Deep deep deeeeeep down inside, I really DON'T believe.

But... better be safe than sorry? Arrgghhhh.... sign sign....

Ladies out there, are you like me?? Or am I the rare soft-hearted, easily 'deceived' one? *Sob sob...

So this time (if we are really making our way) to the gym, San and I are going with the more cold-hearted Juslin, Dawn and Lixia. HAHA! This time, WE WILL NOT SIGN. :)

Slumdog Millionaire – MUST WATCH!

It was a Sunday night and Jared had to work the next day. We badly wanted to catch an award winning movie. Actually, I think this is 1 of the best movie seasons with the many award winning movies available!

Our obvious choice was Benjamin Button but the show was due to start at 8.30pm. By the time it ended, it will be almost 11.30pm!

The other choice was Slumdog Millionaire which will start at 7pm and last for 2 hours.

So 2 tickets to Slumdog Millionaire… and India, Mumbai. Here we go!

We didn’t regret watching the movie at all! In fact, we loved it! I won’t tell you the story (so you can go watch it yourself). But here are 3 reasons why I loved the show. :)

1. It showed the real India with it’s poverty-stricken slums and people… at least I thought it did.

 

I particularly liked the part where the movie depicted men who kidnapped or ‘bribed’ the poor kids and then purposely crippled, blinded them to become beggars. It was heart-wrenching…

Jared also excitedly pointed out the native food that they ate in the movie cos he ate them while he was working in India too!

2. The cinemagraphy… Excellent!

I loved the scene when the 2 indian kids were running away from these men who wanted to harm them. The scenes showed the ‘beauty’ of the slum areas…. You know what I mean if you watched the show…

3. The plot

The story was unfolded in a very creative way. And it had a happy ending, which I really liked! Don’t you like ‘happily ever after’? :)

So, go catch the movie if you haven’t! You should like it!

BTW, it’s mainly in English. The kids speak Hindi but there are English subtitles!

Fairy Godmother

Ever seen a Fairy Godmother?

Well, my Fairy Godmother visited my place today. And I knew she came even though I was not at home and I was not informed...

She left her 'footprints' behind! When I walked into the house tonight... I sensed somethings amissed....

Hangers stacked neatly in 1 place...

Coffee table cleared of other days' newspapers...

Clothes miraculously folded... Hallelujah praise God!

Soup recipe book?!....

Tangerines, strawberries and honeydew in my fridge....

I thank God for wonderful surprises... for a wonderful Fairy Godmother! =)

L.O.V.E

Love was in the air this weekend at City Harvest Church. :) Ps Kong preached the Part II of his Relationship sermon. It was really light-hearted and funny especially whenever we could identify with the drama/sermon.... And the Word was much needed. It was a light-hearted but strong message to married couples in our church.

We just can't assume that since both parties are strong in God, or are Christians, or have strong moral values, the marriage will be strong. LOVE cannot be taken for granted!

I think that's so true. You can't do NOTHING, and expect something... right??

Maybe because of my experience with losing my loved ones at a young age, I feel it's so important to treasure your loved ones around you. The time spent, the words said, the actions used, the money spent, the energy expended... All counts!

Back to church, Ps got all the married couples to exchange our vows once again and each couple even had rings to exchange as a token of our vows made! How beautiful especially for the couples who had been married for a long long time... 

So, Happy V Day to all the couples!

Happy V Day Jared! :) I love & treasure U very much!

Jared the Baker :D

Jared, yes, JARED has been bitten by the culinary or rather baking bug! He bought many sophisticated baking equipment last night including a $36 electronic weighing scale. At 11pm....

Mixture going into the oven.... A wonderful aroma filled the place...

Oh my gosh! Is that Jared??!!

Bread & Butter Pudding!!!

Me: "Wah dear! What's the special occasion? You making this for your CG tomorrow??"

Jared: "No lah... I baked it for you. Tomorrow I make heart-shaped strawberry cheese cake for you."

Me: "Awwwwwww......."

:)))

BTW the dessert was DELICIOUS...!!!

Morning Prayer Meeting

Time check: 8.43AM. I am in the office getting ready to work. This is NOT the norm.

Before I came in to office, I went to buy breakfast... and before that, I, together with thousands, were up praying!

OK. We are not as 'powerful' as the S. Koreans, who start their day praying at 4am (*gulp), but we have set our own personal best by starting to pray at 6.30am!

Even though it's a little difficult to wake up in the early morning (Tip for waking up a little later in the morning: If you are like me who wash your hair in the morning, you can change your routine this week by washing it in the night instead)... but during and after the PM, it feels so good to fellowship with the Lord, lift up the day's/week's work and burdens to Him!

Here's a picture that reflects how I feel!

Watered     Refreshed     Strong     Growing

Ok, gtg now and start my day! Have a great day everybody! :)

Chicken Chow

Last Sunday, I suddenly felt inspired to cook Chicken Chow (Porridge) for my hubby.

On Monday, I was really excited as I went Sheng Shiong to do my supermarketing.... Here's what I got:

1. A whole chicken

2. Fishcake

3. Shallots

4. Carrot

5. Mapo sauce

6. Tofu / beancurd

Our dinner costs only $10 (Less the milk and drink that I also bought)! I eventually fed 4 persons (Jared, Jasmine, Daniel and myself)! Cooking is indeed cheaper than eating out for a family.

I remember in the past, my mum would do marketing in the morning before she goes to work so that she could cook dinner for us EVERYDAY after her work. She is a SUPERwoman, and I am really inspired to provide for my family the way she did. :) (Then again... Maybe not as ON as her.... )

When I reached home, the 1st thing I endeavored to do was to de-skin / de-fat the whole chicken. This, is my 1st time doing it.... *How exciting! Here's my chicken... complete with the head, the feet, the butt... and EVERYTHING!

I think the most HORRIFYING moment was the 'toe-cutting'. Cos the chicken feet had toenails! YUCKSYUCKSYUCKS!!! I really had a difficult time....

Let me show you the cut toenails!

SO GROSS RIGHT???!!!

Finally, not too difficult at all, I finished de-skinning my chicken.

Not bad right? :)

I pounded 2 garlic bulbs and threw it into a pot of water, together with the chicken. I boiled this for TWO long hours to get home-made chicken stock.

When the aroma of the stock filled my house, I felt so proud of myself... The 'inexperienced cook's joy'! :)))

After 2 hours, I took out the chicken. And from this

...it became this!

I lovingly and patiently used my BARE HANDS to 'peel' the chicken into delicate shreds... Applause please....

Next, I measured out my rice and added the chicken stock (instead of water) to cook the chow. I boiled it for 1.5 hours on small fire. During this time, I stirred and tried to grind the rice with a ladle and a spoon to achieve the smooth effect. Added salt to taste.

#Lesson learnt from here. I should not have measured out the same amount of rice grains as I would have needed if I wanted to cook rice. Cos in the end, my chow was quite thick and I had to keep on adding stock. Eventually, I used up my whole pot of stock!

Next, I peeled and sliced shallots.

 

It was an awfully teary process...

Finally, I endured the process to get this...

Then, time to deep fry it! *Exciting!

#Another lesson learnt. When deep frying, you need to be VERY generous in the amount of oil you use. I thought I was generous but apparently not enough. I ended up with a fair bit of 'chao tar' shallots. :(

Next on, I fried an egg omelette. A thin one. Then cut these into long strips.

I lightly fried a piece of fishcake and cut it into cubes and stirred it into my chow. Finally, everything was ready!

I scooped a bowl of chow and sprinkled 1. Shredded chicken 2. Sliced egg 3. Sliced fishcake 4. Shallots 5. Sesame oil 6. Soy sauce 7. Pepper

Presenting my Chicken Chow... cooked with lotsa love!

I also cooked a plate of Mapo Toufu which was simply - throw in diced tofu, cubed carrots, shredded chicken and mix in the Mapo sauce, cook for some time.

Nice! But too bad, not to Jared's liking... :( Never mind.

Anyway, you can try my chicken chow recipe. It's simple but good! :)

Hot Dog Jumping Frogs!

No, I did not eat or cook the above.

I sing it.

Ok, I know this is a bit stupid... But after years of humming this song, I finally found the song! On youtube!

When Val and I were in kindergarten or primary school I can't remember, we would be in Dad's car and his radio would blast this song. We cannot remember all the lyrics for nuts, but we know the chorus very well!

Hot Dog, Jumping Frog, I Love Cookie! (sing v v loud together)

And we will sing it whilst sticking our heads out of each side of the car window. Those were the days... HAHAHAHA!

I also found out today that the lyric we believed it to be, is WRONG. It's actually

Hot Dog, Jumping Frogs, Albuquerque (Definition: The largest city in New Mexico)

So sharing with you.... one of my favorite childhood songs. Have u heard it before???

(BTW I've never seen the MTV before this... It's rather... corny...)

Food Glorious Food!

I recently tried 2 DELICIOUS foods!

#1 SOUPERLICIOUS

Type of foods: Soups, sandwiches and salads

Prices: Below $10 for each food item. Sightly above $10 for a set meal comprising of a soup, half portion of a sandwich or salad and a drink.

Venue: Suntec City Mall, Tower 4, #01-152 (Just beside Coffee Bean, opposite Carrefoure)

Last week, Sandra, Juslin and I went for lunch and decided to have something different from our usual foodcourt fare. So we settled for Souperlicious which was situated just below our office. We ordered a set meal each.

Here's the hearty and healthy lunch sets...

SALADS:

Yes yes... This was my Caesar's Salad. It had loads of lettuces, cherry tomatoes and raisins... and aplenty of cheese flakes which made the whole salad a little TOO tasty!? But I am a cheese person, so I liked it v much.

This was San's and Jus's Ham and Macaroni Salad. For the non-vege eaters... they can now say salads are edible cos there's not even a hint of green in this salad!

SOUPS:

Sandra's clear Chicken and Corn Broth. Nutritious... I didn't taste it. Sandra didn't rave about it, just said it was 'nice'. No complains...

Mine and Juslin's Chicken and Corn Chowder. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! It's super yummy and you won't feel je-lat even till the last spoonful!

Overall rating: ***+1/2**

(It meant 3.5 stars out of 5! ;p)

#2 SAYBONS

Type of foods: Crepes and Soups

Prices: $4+ for each crepe... I forgot to check out the price of the soups... but everything below $10!

Venue: Plaza Singapura shopping mall, #B2-32 (only for take-away!)

Jared and I were rushing for a movie last night. We had a heavy steamboat lunch and decided to grab a small, quick bite.

I stumbled upon this stall selling crepes. The sign which kind of attracted me was....

HAHA! Anyway, I am REALLY not so health conscious ever since I got married (I wonder why...) but today's lunch was really filling!

I wanted to order the healthy option - Mushroom & Cheese Crepe. But the mushrooms were sold out... so sad... And so I had to settle for the Ham and Cheese crepe instead...

The 'chef' started cooking on the spot. She carefully poured the crepe mixture onto this hotplate and carefully placed the pieces of nicely cut ham and lastly sprinkled LOTS of shredded cheese all over. She looked very 'C'!

I waited for +/- 5 mins for my crepe. And while waiting, I looked around the shop.

I realized the 'chef' and her food appeared in various newspapers before. She was trained in the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu! And her crepes are supposedly touted to be 1 of the best you can find in Singapore! *Excited!*

Soon, my crepe was ready!

Ta-da! The crepe was thin and almost crispy... it's really very nice compared to the other crepes that are too floury and thick. Every bite was very tasty and not too salty at all (even with all the generous amounts of ham and cheese inside). And the cheese... ooh... it looked like the cheese in the old pizza hut advert, where you had to bite and pull the 'strings' and 'strings' of cheese away! Give me another one anytime!

Overall rating: *****

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