GongXiFaCai&HappyChapGohMei!!

A really quick post here! Will come back later to reply to all the previous comments! Thank you so much for all your wishes! So busy until my greeting is just one long sentence with no punctuation!!

A beautiful, very authentic yee sang made by the talented ms kitty.

What a whirlwind of activity since I resumed chauffering duties! mrkat has been very happy to relinquish his car to me, and this being the first time I am driving an automatic (I have always believed that automatic cars are never as powerful as manuals, but that was before I drove a 2.4l car..), it is an absolute joy to be able to drive with just one hand and one foot..

It’s been my tradition to give away homebaked cookies every CNY and this year is no different.

So what do we have in store for the Year of the Rat? Well first of all, we started with two..

This is Dotty, H’s baby in her exercise ball. Hamtaro, which is K’s is not in the picture as he is quite a nippy little fella which makes it extremely difficult to shoot him without his appearing as a blur..

..which soon quickly multiplied to 6!

Initially we thought Hamtaro was the dad as gestation period is about 2 weeks and Dotty delivered on the dot! (pun intended.. ) But Hamtaro is brown and white and these little fellas.. well it’s obvious that Dotty got banged up by some other dude in the petshop. And to think we just thought she was fat and cuddly!

So I guess it is going to be a bountiful year for us then!

Not too shabby, eh? My first attempt in decorating a cheesecake..

GongXiFaCai&HappyChapGohMei!!

2007 Year End Bonus

The dark clouds of gloom and despair have blown away. It’s all sunny skies and clear weather.

On a happier note, kat is tremendously cheered up by and very proud of her little girl. Despite this being her first term in an international school in a foreign land, she has done us proud by having her name up in the school’s academic honor roll list. We certainly did not expect this, as she is a new student and she is studying French for the first time too (incidentally she had a higher average score for French than English! I was so tickled by that!! Ma petite fille.. )

Only three students in Grade 3 made it to the list!

And of course with such a clever little girl, I cannot be an embarrassment and not do well myself..

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My ticket to freedom!! I was quite impressed with the efficiency of the Traffic & Licensing Department at the General Directorate of AD Police. Within 3/4 hour of my arrival at the testing centre, I had sat for and passed my driving exam. And if I had brought my passport, I could have gotten my license within the next hour. By the time I returned to the dept, submitted all the necessary documents and went to the photography room (Had I had known we would be taking instant digital photos for the license, I would have taken more pains with my appearance or brushed my hair at the very least.. ), my license was ready for collection in less than 30 minutes. Valid for 10 years too. All in all, it was a rather fast and painless affair, thankfully!

And to celebrate his freedom from being driver my getting my license, what do you think he got me?

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Yeah, I wish…

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Well, you must admit it is quite a cheery shade of yellow, isn’t it? (grumble, grumble, mutter, mutter..)

Toodles… I’m off the explore the island on my own!

انا اسف

Do you realise the brutality of words?
How deeply they can cut.
How much pain they can inflict.

The thin line between love and hate
Emotions with equal intensity,
so easy to cross the line..

It’s unbelievable how unrelenting you can be
How you can dredge through everything I’ve told you
and pick up the things that hurt the most

I hate how you make me feel
Hurt from accusation
Anger from reproach
And most of all,
Pain from the truth

Ode to yue-dan

Fishball, fishball
How I yearn for thee
Frozen ones, mushy ones
Nothing’s right for me..

Get the fish, blitz it up
Make your own*, shape it round
Big or small, smooth or rough
Balls they become, steamer bound

Ahhh.. fishball so springy,
swimming with noodles
Slurping brothy goodness
To cravings, I bid toodles..

So satisfying but yet not so..
You forgot something, silly
The pre-requisite platter
of soy and fiery chilli..

* For full recipe, please see here

Idle musings I – Fluff and dust

I mind blog all the time (which blogger doesn’t, eh?). Every time I am doing some mindless house chore, I am blogging away in my mind. Every time I go somewhere or eat something, I am blogging in my mind. Each time I am stuck in a traffic jam or waiting at the traffic light junction to cross, I am constructing sentences in my mind to put it in my blog. Every funny, interesting, weird thing I see, I am already mind blogging it. So why the heck when I am in front of the computer, I cannot find anything to blog about???

Some random thoughts which I am managed to muster out:

1. I am online too much (understatement of the year..)
I picked up a book the other day (it was a Sunday, and a slow day for the blog-reading). It felt nice, holding a hardcover tome instead of a keyboard and it made me feel good, like how you feel good when you order a fruit salad instead of the some creamy dessert concoction after a steak dinner. I was into the second paragraph and I came across a phrase in blue. My first instinct was to mouse over it and see the link to that phrase…

2. Weird habit #1 (more of this to come in the future..)
I like to buy clothes that come in a set for my kids (eg. pyjamas with matching tops and bottoms, t-shirt and shorts). And I never, ever let them wear that particular outfit with any other combinations other than the one it came in. Meaning, I never match top A with trouser B even if they match perfectly. Top A is always worn with trouser A and top B is always with trouser B. And even if I buy the outfits separately, I will always end up pairing blouse C and pants D all the time because they are a perfect match. I will even fold or hang them together so that even if I am not the one dressing them, the other person will always know that this two clothings go together. (obsessive control freak!!)

3. I don’t like shopping that much (sure or not??)
I mean it’s not a favourite past time. I buy when I need to. Just yesterday I bought my first pair of sports shoe in 10 years. And it was because it had been raining for the past 48 hours (really, it rained here!! A continuous light drizzle that lasted for ages!). I didn’t bring any closed toe shoes, all I had were my crocs, sandals and slippers and it was no fun getting my feet cold and wet. So on my way to running some errands I picked up a pair of sneakers and some socks from the store of 3 stripes (and this is not even my favourite brand!) which happened to be on my way to the store I wanted to go to. Lucky for me this time, the sales are on. You wouldn’t believe the number of times I have had to pay full price for something just because I needed it there and then or was worried I wouldn’t be able to find it again, only to find it on sale few weeks later!

Anyway, the only time I will shop is when I need a dress, or shoes, or whatever. Other than that, I am very malas to go shopping. And when I do, I like to do it alone and get it over and done with ASAP. So rest assured, I will never call you up to go shopping. Nor ask you if my butt looks fat in those pants..

4. Cleaning the vacuum cleaner dust chamber is therapeutic
I have a bagless vacuum cleaner. And it needs to be emptied after 2-3 rounds of vacuuming. Now this is not as simple as removing the dust chamber, opening the cover and pouring out the dust. After the dust is removed, I need to clean the dust filter as well, as it gets pretty clogged out too. And this is the therapeutic part – the unclogging of the filter with a toothpick. And why do I have to clean the filter with a toothpick? Because my dust filter looks like a car air filter (see right). And I have spent many a peaceful and contemplative moment squatting in front of the dustbin mindlessly removing all the hair and dust from each and every single fold, as the sight of hairy dustballs drives everyone away..

Hmmm…pause.. think.. think.. think..

I think this is about all the post-worthy thoughts I have for now that I would like to remember one year from today. I’ll probably have more as soon as I switch off the computer and start washing the dishes.

Oh well, to quote paris beaverbanks, “The fluff must go somewhere“… till the next time I need to de-fluff… tataa!

Kissy Krissy Krispy

Do you think it’s open?

I think I see the neon sign is lit!

Let’s go in and have a look.

Hope there’s no queue.

Yippee!

It’s open!

And no queue!!

Really, no queue at all!

left to right : Choc custard, Sugar, Vanilla cake, Strawberry jelly,
Original glazed, Choc ice, Caramel Kreme Krunch, Lemon jelly
Choc ice custard, Cinnamon apple, New York cheesecake, Choc cake

We went a bit ballistic and got a dozen donuts. Esp when you save slightly more than RM1 per donut. As you can see, they are nowhere as colourful and decorative as J.Co’s or B.Apple’s or even Dunkin’s. I was a bit disappointed when I first saw them, but hey it’s the taste that counts! So on with the review!

Sugar – I love this!! Soft and fluffy, even when overnight. Not as dense as Dunkin’s but has more ‘bite’ than B.Apple’s. Would have been even better if I had heated it up a bit.

Strawberry jelly – very generous with the jelly (take a couple more bites and the jelly spurts out), soft and fluffy like the sugar one. The icing sugar does get a bit messy though. And because there is a jelly filling and icing sugar, they made the donut less sweet. Thumbs up!

Choc cake – it’s like a donut-shaped chocolate muffin with a sugar glaze. Didn’t particularly like it as I don’t like dense donuts (which is why I am no fan of Dunkin’s).

The little fella enjoying his donut. He’s a visual little guy – zoomed in right at the ’snowy’ one. Left him with a sugar moustache..

Of course the 4 of us can’t finish 12 donuts! He took 6 donuts to work, so I’m afraid I will have to visit the store again to get some more so that I can taste them…

And after the kids took their share to school, I am left with the NY cheesecake and original glazed. The cheesecake is topped with biscuit crumbs and filled with a sweet cheesy cream (which I felt wasn’t cheesy enough). The glaze was incredibly sweet, even more so than the sugar coated one. But both were still soft and fluffy even though I had them cold the day after I bought them. Very nice.

Good offer, no? Especially when you see the price of these babies..

It’s RM4 per original glazed donut, RM5 per assorted donut (the ones with fillings and toppings), RM30 per 1/2 dozen, RM45 per dozen and RM55 per double dozen! And there I was grumbling about the price of B.Apple donuts at Rm17 per dozen (RM2 per piece)…

Verdict: Excellent donuts – soft, fluffy and yet not hollow.

Now I must find out when they roll these out, as I must have one piping hot without any glaze or sugar on it..

Another New Year.. soon!!

Each time I want to post this, someone comes back and says,
“You have mail.“
“Where is it?”
“Oh, forgot to bring back.“

After a few reminders, he brings some envelopes home.

Couple of days later he sees me snapping some shots, and says,
“You have mail.“
“Some more?“
“Yes.“
Where is it?”
Pause.
“Forgot to bring back.“

Scene repeats back and forth over the next few weeks, and by now I guess we won’t be having such conversations any more..

Many many thanks to angel, AhMay, Unker Cocka, Wenn and LL (saving the sausages for CNY!!) for your thoughtful gesture. It’s lovely to still be able to receive cards and such. And I thought with such a ‘revolutionary’ postal system here, I wouldn’t be able to! Perhaps there is still hope yet for my white kopi… ^-^

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On another note, the coming lunar year is going to be a special one. It is going to be the start of a new cycle as the mouse is the first of the 12 animal signs. (I‘m sure there must be some kind of special significance here, but too lazy to google for it..). And it is also a leap year, which means all those people born on 29 Feb will have a chance to celebrate their birthday on the actual day itself!

We received this extremely red, extremely auspicious calendar from the Chinese restaurant we had hotpot in (the hotpot was fabulous! On a chilly winter night, the ma-la Szechwan soup after we cooked the meat and seafood, was divine with noodles! I forgot to take pictures, and what is a food review with no pictures? Boring. So no writeup on that!).

Anyway, it was just the right thing to put up since CNY is coming, and we needed to cover the unsightly electric circuit board right smack in front of the entrance. Should be propitious to see it as we enter and leave the home, right?

I am standing at the entrance foyer, the living hall is in the door on the right while the bedrooms are on the left. The thingy on fore front of the picture is the guest toilet.

I should be putting up more CNY decorations over the next few weeks. Will be going to Dragon Mart (Dubai’s Chinatown) over the coming long weekend to see if there are anything interesting to pick up. Maybe some pussy willows or kumquat trees?

I did bring over some wall decorations from Msia, but I forgot the angpow packets! I doubt if AD Islamic Bank or National Bank of Dubai is giving out any this year. Is there anyone kind enough to spare me some and send them over?

*looks hopeful*

祝我身邊的每一位朋友都能幸福！快樂！富足！
Bless all my friends with good fortune, happiness and prosperity!

Mall hopping

The malls in Dubai are quite interesting, architecturally. We visited 2 of the more elaborate ones over the recent Eid Al Adha holidays. They aren’t very big (1Utama and MidValley win hands down), and the tenants aren’t that any more different than the other many malls in Dubai or AD. But visually, they are stunning, and worth at least one visit. So we obediently did our touristy duty, lest we get questioning looks when we shake our heads upon queries on shopping in Dubai..

Souk Madinat Jumeirah – traditional Arabic design, a bit surreal actually to see shops like Rodeo Drive and Oxbow with modern advertising banners amidst such ancient architecture. It really is a gorgeous piece of work, I liked it very much. Even the toilet looked ancient, but luckily it comes with modern sanitation and plumbing. It looks even more beautiful at night (Kenny has very good shots of the buildings lit up).

The shops and stalls there are very touristy with plenty of (expensive) souvenir shops to get your usual mini shishas and brass lamps, camel paraphernalias, Persian carpets, Kashmir shawls, etc. Meandering walkways everywhere, we were done within 2 hours.

Next stop, is the Renaissance-style Mercato Mall. Walking in was like entering an Italian town square. Another visually stunning building, again it was a bit strange seeing the familiar green logo of St*rbaks, the stark M of Mango (MNG) and omnipresent golden arches of McD against the traditional architecture of olden-day Italy. For some reason, I kept thinking of Romeo and Juliet as we walked through the corridors and half expected to see men with bouffant sleeves in tights strolling about with ladies in long dresses and conical hats..

All that walking has worked out our appetite, so we indulged in the next favourite past-time of Malaysians… FOOD! Particularly of the non-halal kind…

BBQ Pork Ribs, Baked Sausage Roll and Bangers & Mash with Peas. From Harvester’s Pub in one of our favourite hotels, the Crowne Plaza Dubai (yup, many hotels here served porcine delights). Washed down with a pint of German beer.. *burp* Oops! Excuse me!

It was a pleasant outing. Rather like KL on a major festive holiday, as most of the expats took the opportunity of the long holiday (this was a few of days before Christmas) to return home for the festive season. So we managed to avoid the crowds and usual horrendous traffic jam Dubai is infamous for.

In the meantime, I am eagerly awaiting the opening of this place. After reading countless postings on Big Apple and J.Co and not getting to try any, it’s only fair I get to sample the king of them all. Dang! I hope there won’t be any queues!!

My reasons for being

Updated 05 Jan 2008:

Thank you for all your kind and lovely comments.
Our children is the beautiful outcome of 2 imperfect people coming together and loving each other perfectly..

Postings of an indulgent mama…

New Year Wishes 2008

Firstly, I would like to wish everyone a very HAPPY NEW YEAR of 2008! May all of you be blessed with good health, peace and contentment.

Genies have been flying around offering wishes (I say offering because I don’t know whether those wishes have been granted or not!). Not surprisingly, these genies showed up on my blogstep a long while back, courtesy of this Asianised yank, seeing that I am now in the land where flying carpets and genies have originated from!

Mariuca would like to wish for happiness and success.
Adrian would like to wish for good health and happiness.
Emila would like to wish for happiness and success.
Trinity would like to wish good health for Jan’s brother and Yah and Wan and success
MPG would like to wish for love and peace
Jean would like to wish for stress free work environment and happiness
Cbenc12 would like to wish for health, happiness and luck for my family and friends and me too!
Paris Beaverbanks would like to wish for more publicity! Hooyah! (taps swollen head)
Giddy Tiger would like to wish for longer weekends and never-ending holidays!
Shooi would like to wish for peace on earth, love, good health and happiness.
Chinnee would like to wish for happiness and good health forever!
SA’s wish is for more time to get the things done and rest.

You know, there is a lot that one can do to change the world. You don’t need to worry about what other people say or do. You don’t have to perform great feats or preach to big crowds. All you have to do is change yourself and be responsible for what you say and do. If you say you are going to do something, do it. If you are going to do something, do it properly. That’s it. It’s as simple as that. And if you take care of yourself, the world will take care of itself.

For the year of 2008, kat wishes for everyone to take responsibility for their actions and words.

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And while I’m on a tag roll, I may as well submit LB’s assignment and offer my tiny nugget of wisdom on blogging!

1. Look, read, and learn. http://www.neonscent.com
2. Be EXCELLENT to each other. http://www.bushmackel.com
3. Don’t let money change ya! http://therandomforest.info
4. Always reply to your comments. http://chattiekat.com
5. Blog about what you know & love. http://sugar-queens-dream.blogspot.com
6. Don’t use filthy language – buy a dictionary. http://shinade.blogspot.com
7. Blog about something educational http://climateofourfuture.org
8. Be yourself; others will follow http://sfgirl-thealiennextdoor.blogspot.com
9. Don’t have too many blogs that will become a chore to maintain
http://cubicledenizen.blogspot.com
10. Keep it simple, user-friendly, interesting & organised! http://erishaling.blogspot.com
11. Keep the blog simple and sweet!! http://www.leslieho.com
12. Share with others your thoughts and don’t be shy! http://groovy-olives.com/blog
13. Never ask for link exchange. Blog hop to increase traffic. http://www.jessieling.com
14. Blog about something uniquely you. Or post some unique pictures.
http://bernardchan.net
15. Avoid too lengthy posts e.g. less than 200 words if you can help it.
http://www.mylongkang.com
16. Avoid Doing Tags.. http://clementwongpy.blogspot.com
17. Remember to go to the toilet when nature calls, don’t just sit glued to the computer or you’ll shit in your pant! http://wuching.blogspot.com
18. Blog hopping is fun. You’ll never know what gem you’ll find in the blogsphere.
http://che-cheh.com
19. Do Not Plagiarize. http://narrowband.org
20. Don’t put pressure on yourself to blog. Blogging should be FUN!
http://rinnah.blogspot.com
21. Love yourself, love your blog, love your readers, and keep sharing your love through your blog. http://yeehon.blogspot.com
22. Be prepared to receive brickbats when you open your comments area to the general public or friends. http://angelestrix.blogspot.com
23. Do not take things too seriously, it’s just a blog. http://mistipurple.blogspot.com
24. A picture speaks a thousand of words. Avoid lengthy post. Keep your post short and sweet with picture(s). http://chen22.blogspot.com
25. Salt + Optimism. Look on the bright side of blogging. http://albiewong.com

I have observed that many popular bloggers connect with their readers in a positive way. You enjoy reading what they write as you feel they are genuine in wanting to share part of their life with you. And they are always gracious and polite in replying to comments, whether they agree with you or not.

I would love to invoke that kind of reaction from my readers and make them feel welcomed to my blog. Most of the time I try to ask myself, does pointing out something make a positive difference if I say it? If it doesn’t, then don’t say anything (of course that flies out of the window when I want to rant about something or someone but I try to keep that as vague as possible.. *wink*). And it’s always better to be kind than right. And it would be an honour if someone feels good after reading my posts, so hopefully my tip works!

kat’s blogging tip.. no make that my New Year resolution (no, I don’t wish to lose weight.. I like to make sure my resolutions are kept! *grin* ) would be..

26. Be sincere and genuine in your postings, be gracious in your comments, and most of all, be kind.

Have a lovely day all, and thank you for stopping by!