Snippets of My Life

Bye PA and Gong Xi Fa Cai!!

2012-01-26T06:09:00.000-05:00

First of all I would like to wish my blog readers (if there are any left ... ha ha) Gong Xi Fa Cai and may the year of dragon brings you health, wealth, joy and prosperity. Sorry for not updating for so long as I’ve been really busy with the move. As most of you known by now we are moving out of PA to San Francisco. We just arrived in SF late Sunday night and all our things are on the way here. Hopefully it will arrive this week but that depend on the weather too. In the meantime here are some pictures I took during the move to share it with you.

Our super huge moving truck

All the packing!

Boxes and boxes everywhere.

Loading up!

Super strong guy!

Can anyone guess what is in this box?

In goes my car.

Our SUPER moving crew! Thank you Steve, Luis, Pepe and G.

Bye PA. See you in SF. ooops!! not so fast. Another round of snow for us to shovel before we leave. *sigh*

Coming up next will be the arrival of our things to SF.

Hello!!

2011-10-23T22:48:00.001-04:00

I can’t believe that I’ve neglected this blog for the longest time. It was over 6 months since I last posted. I lose my mojos to post anything here. I guess once you stop it is hard to get into the momentum to write again. A lot of things happen during this period. Some are good and some not so good. I am going to start posting here again to record our journey moving back to California. Yea we are moving back there again. It is already 6 years since we moved to Pennsylvania. It took us a while to get used to PA, especially the warm summer and the super cold winter. We were hoping that one day we get to go back to CA again. I guess God heard our prayers and Carlos got a job offer there. So we will be moving back there but this time it will be San Francisco. The last time I was there were in 1996 for vacations and really love it there especially the beautiful weather. I can’t believe that we will be moving there. Part of me is really excited but part of me is sad to leave this place where we call home for over 6 years. It is not easy to uproot ourselves again especially leaving some good friends behind.

So I will update this blog as often as possible. In the meantime, we will be on a road trip to the West. We will cover 8 states during this period of time. I hope we survive the long journey and don’t kill each other ha ha… Adios!!

Flock of Birds

2011-04-11T23:36:00.003-04:00

I captured this scene early one morning from our deck. They were looking for insects and worms. Early bird catches the worm.

Having Lunch with God

2011-04-05T10:53:00.000-04:00

A little boy wanted to meet God. He knew it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed his suitcase with a bag of potato chips and a six-pack of root beer and started his journey.

When he had gone about three blocks, he met an old woman. She was sitting in the park, just staring at some pigeons. The boy sat down next to her and opened his suitcase. He was about to take a drink from his root beer when he noticed that the old lady looked hungry, so he offered her some chips. She gratefully accepted it and smiled at him.

Her smile was so pretty that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered her a root beer. Again, she smiled at him. The boy was delighted! They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling, but they never said a word.

As twilight approached, the boy realized how tired he was and he got up to leave; but before he had gone more than a few steps, he turned around, ran back to the old woman, and gave her a hug. She gave him her biggest smile ever.

When the boy opened the door to his own house a short time later, his mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face. She asked him, "What did you do today that made you so happy?" He replied, "I had lunch with God." But before his mother could respond, he added, "You know what? She's got the most beautiful smile I've ever seen!"

Meanwhile, the old woman, also radiant with joy, went back home. Her son was stunned by the look of peace on her face and he asked, "Mother, what did you do today that made you so happy?" She replied! "I ate potato chips in the park with God." However, before her son responded, she added, "You know, he's much younger than I expected."

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. People come into our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime! Embrace all equally!

Have lunch with God ....... bring chips.

God still sits on the throne. You may be going through a tough time right now but God is getting ready to bless you in a way that only He can. Keep the faith. prayer is one of the best gifts we receive. There is no cost but a lot of rewards. Let's continue to pray for one another.

Being A Little Lazy!!

2011-01-22T18:29:00.000-05:00

I know it is kind of late to wish all of you but Happy New Year everyone. I’ve been neglecting this blog for the longest time ever. The last posting was in September 2010. The only excuse I have is I’ve been lazy. I am actually looking forward to 2011. I hope things will be better for the country and all of us.

CNY is just around the corner and I won’t be going back home. That too makes me feel kind of down. I am missing my family and the hopefully by next week I will get my mood back to celebrate.

Thanks to all of you who keep coming back to check on this blog. I promise to update it as often as possible. In the meantime do check out my cooking blog.

True Friends

2010-09-16T15:13:00.001-04:00

I saw this at FB and I just feel like posting it here.

They say, true friends can go on long periods of time without speaking and never question the friendship. These types of friends pick up like they just spoke yesterday, regardless of how long it has been or how far away they live, and they don’t hold grudges. They understand that life is busy, but you will always love them no matter what.

I would love to say that this is true but sometime this is not the case. Sad but true!!

Beautiful Blooms

2010-06-30T21:34:00.000-04:00

Here are some of the beautiful blooms I took at my friend Choy's garden. Enjoy!!

Yard Sale Find!

2010-06-20T20:27:00.019-04:00

Summer is here and everywhere you will find people having yard sale and garage sale. I’ve never been to one until I came to the US. I’ve heard of it back in Malaysia but it is never popular. I guess in our culture it is never a good thing buying other people old and used stuffs. I think there is a misconception that only poor people go to yard sales or have them. I am a firm believer in one person’s trash is another person’s treasure. Besides saving money, yard sale shopping helps the environment, since you don't get all that excess packaging. You also find unique items you can't just pick up at the mall. Even when you do buy something brand new, the next day it will be considered "used". We actually had a garage sale in CA just before moving to PA. We can’t bring a lot of our things with us so we decided to sell some of it and those unsold were donated to Salvation Army. I actually enjoyed it very much besides making some money from our unwanted things.

I like going to yard sale or garage sale as I enjoy looking at what people are selling and occasionally find some nice and interesting things. There was once we found a gently used love seat for Diana new apartment for $25.00. If we buy it new it will cost us around $300.00. I like buying books, recipe books, kitchen utensils, baking pans and most of all old and unique serving plates, cups and saucers. If you come to my house for afternoon tea you will find me serving you with all the mismatch pieces ha ha…

Bandit was at the yard sale too. Kids just love him.

Anyway, we went to a church yard sale last weekend. Just look at what I found there? All these for less than $15.00. Is that a good bargain or what?

3 very nice and unique ramekin.

1 set of Kaiser small muffin pans (new still in box)

A large Kaiser La Forme Bundt Pan (new with box)

5 recipe books, William Sonoma serving tray and wooden spatula.

Most Annoying Types of People at Facebook

2010-05-25T08:04:00.007-04:00

This is funny as I think I'm guilty to one or two of them. Here are 9 of the most annoying types of people you will find on Facebook. Are you one of them?

I truly can't stand this!! Their updates have nothing but them playing Games.

Frendship

2010-05-20T21:02:00.002-04:00

There once was a little boy who had a bad temper. His Father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence.

The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence. Finally the day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all.

He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper.

The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone.

The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said, 'You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. But It won't matter how many times you say I'm sorry, the wound will still be there. A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one.

Remember true friends are rare jewels indeed. They make you smile, they encourage you to succeed; They lend an ear, they share words of praise and they always want to open their hearts to us.

YOU ARE MY FRIEND AND I AM HONORED!

Family Dinner at Elegant Inn – Hong Kong Cuisine

2010-03-28T18:52:00.017-04:00

This post is long overdue. I am not a food critic or whatsoever but I just have to tell you about this restaurant. We had our family dinner on the 7th day of CNY. This is the first time I dine here but not my family. They frequent this restaurant often as they just love the food here. I was impressed with Elegant Inn. It was one of the best Chinese restaurants. Quality of food is excellent and the service was superb. I have no idea how much this meal cost but I understand it was on the higher side because of the quality of the food they served but it is all worth it.

Naturally, we started off with yee sang, the unique Malaysian CNY tradition. Of all the yee sang I tasted this is the best. They used only fresh ingredients like radish, cucumber, pomelo, carrots, Asian pear, salmon, abalone, etc. No fake colored preserved vegetables here. The taste was refreshing and not too sweet like the commercial ones.

Next was the impressive double boiled kampong chicken with ginseng (I think) for a few hours. End result a bowl of super rich tasting soup.

Next the most anticipated dish…CRABS!! I think it was cooked the egg yolk style. Super sweet and check out the super size claw…Delicious.

I was not very impressed with the next dish. It was steamed kampong chicken. The taste was just so so…
Prawns cooked in Foie gras sauce (goose liver). This dish is to die for especially the slight bitterness of the sauce. Rich and sinful.
A simple yet refreshing vegetarian dish that have lotus roots, with pine nuts. Simple yet refreshing.

Stir fried pig’s cheek with ginger and green onions.

Next had two rice dishes. I don’t know why I didn’t take a picture of the lotus leave rice with wax meat. Maybe I was too busy eating this fried rice. One of the best fried rice I’ve eaten. I forgot what was in the fried rice. This dish is a must order each time my family comes here. My nieces just love to watchthis handsome chef in actions (cooking the fried rice)

We end our dinner with pan fried nian gao and almond cookies.
Please call first before you go to the branch at Taman Connaught as I understand they only open for 3 days a week, that is, from Friday to Sunday.

Elegant Inn
No. 16, Jalan Waras 1,
Taman Connaught, Cheras
56100 Kuala Lumpur. (Tel: (603) 9130 2626)

2.01, 2nd Floor, Podium Block
Menara Hap Seng
Jalan P.Ramlee
50250 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-20709399

A day at Tanjung Sepat

2010-03-17T19:33:00.047-04:00

Without realizing it I was back from Malaysia for a week already. I tried to extend my stay there but I can't get a seat on the airline for the date I wanted. So I came back as scheduled. I have tons of pictures I took during my trip but have yet to find the time to sort it out. Here is the first batch that I managed to upload to share it with you. It was a trip to Tanjung Sepat with my family on one weekend

Tanjung Sepat, a small fish village located at southwest part of Selangor. Tanjung Sepat becoming a tourist attraction after commercializes seafood restaurants open in this area. Nowadays, people came here for fresh seafood, visiting various orchards farms like Dragon Fruits Longan, mushroom and Ganoderma (Chinese Ling Zhi) farm and not forgetting the famous paus (steamed buns)

We start our journey early at 9.00am. First stop at for a quick dim sum breakfast at Seri Petaling. This was the first time I tried out the famous Phoenix baos. It was a unique shape pau with meat and glutinous rice in it. Taste wise it was ok.

The famous Phoenix bao.

After our breakfast we proceed to Tanjung Sepat and we drop by the Buddhist Temple. Jenjarom, Selangor

2nd stop was the famous Hai Yew Hin to collect the steamed buns (Bao) that we ordered a few days earlier. They were famous for their steamed buns and if you just drop by to buy it you might be dissapointed as their buns were always sold out. You have to order them in advance. You can see many people carrying bags and hags of buns in their hand. Tourists come in bus loads just for this. I tried the famous ‘mui choi’ and vegetables bao and they were pretty good. Our local Astro TV station even features them and I understand it boost up their business tremendously.

Astro featured them recently.

Next we proceed to the Mushroom Farm. Not much mushroom there as the farm were under renovations.

We wanted to visit the Dragon amd Longan Fruits farm but our visit falls on the 15th day of CNY so many of farms were closed. We managed to find a dragon fruit opened but not much fruits there as it was off season. Even the dragon fruits were pretty small. We managed to buy some though.

Sepang Gold Coast! Wow.. I didn't know that Malaysia had a 'Gold coast' but now I do..

Chalet on the beach, still under construction and will be officially open in April 2010.

The next stop was the Cassava/Tapioca Chips factory. When we arrived the chips were not in productions but the supervisor was kind enough to show us around their factory.

Start with the ubi. This will be peel.

Peeling the cassava/ubi kayu.

The cutter

Freshly sliced cassava/ubi kayu.

All fried up and ready to be pack.

The end product

We had our dinner here.

Nasi Lemak, grilled sotong and fish and stewed duck.

Stewed duck all ready to be serve to customers.

Grilled sotong

Grilled fish
Stewed duck.

The famous longan plant here at Tanjung Sepat. Too bad we didn't get to go to the farm. Maybe some other time.

It has been a while.

2010-03-04T01:55:00.000-05:00

It is over a month since I last update this neglected blog of mine. As some of you might know I am in Malaysia now and having a great time with my family. Before you know it I will be flying back to US soon. I am hoping that I can extend my flight ticket for a another 2 weeks but when I called Cathay this morning they told me that all their flights are full all the way until end of April. Man, they must be the only airline who is doing well in this bad economy. So now I am on their waiting list and if it goes well I will be flying out of here on the 22nd and if not I will be flying out of KLIA on the 8th as schedule. The reason I am extending my stay is my mom will be having cataract surgery on her eye and I like to be around during that time to take care of her for a few days before flying home. So keep my fingers cross that I will get to stay.

In the meantime I’ve taken tons of pictures in Malaysia to share with you but have yet to find the time to sit down and do it. Maybe when I am back to the US soil. Take care everyone and will keep you posted on the latest on my flight.

Lifebook for 2010

2010-01-01T21:12:00.007-05:00

Health:

1. Drink plenty of water
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants, and eat less food that is manufactured in plants
4.. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy
5. Make time for prayer
6. Play more games
7. Read more books than you did in 2009
8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day
9. Sleep for 7 hours
10. Take a 10-30 minutes walk every day ---- and while you walk, smile

Personality:

1. Don't compare your life to others'.. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
2. Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment
3. Don't over do ; keep your limits
4. Don't take yourself so seriously ; no one else does
5. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip
6. Dream more while you are awake
7. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need..
8. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with his/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
9. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.
10. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present
11. No one is in charge of your happiness except you
12. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
13. Smile and laugh more
14. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

Community:

1. Call your family often
2. Each day give something good to others
3. Forgive everyone for everything
4. Spend time with people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6
5. Try to make at least three people smile each day
6. What other people think of you is none of your business
7. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your family and friends will. Stay in touch.

Life:

1. Do the right things
2. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful
3. GOD heals everything
4. However good or bad a situation is, it will change
5. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up
6. The best is yet to come
7. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it
8. Your Inner most is always happy.. So, be happy

Winter Wonderland II

2009-12-20T15:27:00.012-05:00

The nor'easter dumped a December record snowfall of 18" inches on us and it finally stop early this morning. So there is a lot of shoveling for us. Here are some pictures I took while shoveling. Enjoy!!

Total of 18"

Where is the cars?

Aren't this beatiful! So peaceful and quiet.

Bandit enjoying the snow.

My shovel taking a rest ;)

Carlos hard at work.

Too bad I don't have a sled to go down this slope.

Putting some of the snow in David's truck and dump it somewhere else.

I think we did a pretty good job.

Man, I am tired so it is time to make myself a cup of hot chocolate, put up my feet and watch some TV.

Winter Wonderland in PA

2009-12-19T12:32:00.010-05:00

Woke up this morning and this is the scenes that greets me. It's definitely a winter wonderland in the PA area today! This is the most snow that we've gotten in a LONG time. We still can’t go out to shovel yet as the snow continues to come down fast and furious. Anyone care to help us?
Happy weekend everyone!!

I will be posting more photos as the snow continues to accumulate. Part of me are excited that we will be having white Christmas but part me worries that I will be stranded at home for days as I still have a lot errands to run before Christmas.

Early Christmas

2009-12-11T09:17:00.002-05:00

Christmas came early for us this year. A few weeks ago there was a huge package waiting for us at the front door. The package was from New Zealand and I knew right away who is it from. They were gifts from my good friend Shereen, her husband Simon and son Justyn. Just look at what was inside the box. It was full of my favorite cookies Tim Tam. And also Manuka honey and some browning sauce (I can make Sarawak cake with this) Thanks Fielden family for being so thoughtful!

For those of you who are in the US and interested in buying the original Australia Tim Tam you can get it at Pepperidge Farm. I understand they will be selling it only for the holiday season.

Winter is here

2009-12-05T23:02:00.011-05:00

Our first snow this season came pretty late this year. We had our 1st snow last year in November . Many people told me this winter will be bad as we have not had one bad one for 5 years. My neighbor Nancy told me one of the tell tale sign is the deer fur are much thicker and darker and also the beetles are huge. So we have to wait and see if this is true or not. I might not have to shovel much snow this season as I will be going back to Malaysia for Chinese New Year. I can't wait to go home for some warm weather ;)

All my potted plants are death.

Except for this one in the house given to me by SC. Just look at the beautiful flowers.

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T15:34:00.002-04:00

I have been neglecting this blog again. Actually life is pretty much the same so nothing much to write about. Fall this season is terrible. It has been sunny for a few days and then raining non stop for the rest of the week. I never like this kind of weather. I have been hibernating at home and go out only once a week. We went out for lunch today and stop by the grocery store to get more chocolate and candies as the neighborhood kids who will be here for Trick or treating this evening. I will take some pictures of the kids and their costumes and post it up later.

My Beloved Husband

2009-09-28T00:01:00.002-04:00

Thank you for walking into my life

You are an angel whom guide me along
With your love and patience
To travel this path together
Today, Tomorrow and Forever!!

Feliz Aniversario Sweetie. I Love You!

WHAT LOVE MEANS TO CHILDREN AGE 4 TO 8 YEARS OLD

2009-09-23T13:45:00.003-04:00

I received this forward from a good friend of mine and I want to share it with everyone. Slow down for three minutes to read this. It is so worth it.

Touching words from the mouths of babes. What does 'Love' mean? A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, 'What does 'love' mean?' The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined. See what you think:

When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love.'
Rebecca- age 8
________________________________________

When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different.
You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.
Billy - age 4
________________________________________

Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.
Karl - age 5
________________________________________

Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.
Chrissy - age 6
________________________________________

Love is what makes you smile when you're tired.
Terri - age 4
________________________________________

Love is when my Mummy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.
Danny - age 7
________________________________________

Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mummy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss
Emily - age 8
________________________________________

Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.
Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)
________________________________________

If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate.
Nikka - age 6
(we need a few million more Nikka's on this planet)
________________________________________

Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, and then he wears it everyday.
Noelle - age 7
________________________________________

Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.
Tommy - age 6
________________________________________

During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore.
Cindy - age 8
________________________________________

My Mummy loves me more than anybody. You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.
Clare - age 6
________________________________________

Love is when Mummy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.
Elaine-age 5
________________________________________

Love is when Mummy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford.
Chris - age 7
________________________________________

Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day.
Mary Ann - age 4
________________________________________

I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.
Lauren - age 4
________________________________________

When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you. (what an image)
Karen - age 7
________________________________________

Love is when Mummy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's gross.
Mark - age 6
________________________________________

You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.
Jessica - age 8
________________________________________

And the final one -- Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge. The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child.

The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife.

Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there.

When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said,
'Nothing, I just helped him cry'
________________________________________

When there is nothing left, that is when you find out that love is all you need. Take 60 seconds and give this a shot!

Peach Picking

2009-08-28T21:22:00.028-04:00

Autumn is drawing near and it is time to pick some sweet local peaches. Diana and I went to Highland Orchard about 15 minutes drive from home. The day was cloudy but for me it was just perfect. We went really early to avoid the crowd and when we arrived we were the only one there. We had the whole farm to ourselves. One thing about fruit picking is you’ll feel like you’re a kid all over again. The feeling of seeing all those ripe fruits on the trees were awesome! They provide us with a box to put our peaches and it got filled up pretty fast and we had endless peaches as we picked (yes you can eat as much as you want while you pick. They are the juiciest peaches I've ever had. It was so juicy that you have to stand over the sink when devouring them. I found out that pick your own peaches were much cheaper then the supermarket peaches. I paid $1.99 a pound at the supermarket and over her I paid only $1.49.

After a couple of hours at the farm we picked around 15 pounds of peaches, with a dozen of apple cider donuts and a few slices of cakes it cost us less than $28.00. Next will be apple picking in November

We had the whole farm to ourselves!

mmmm let me try this first!

Wow, it's juicy!

Let me take another big bite.

Me as usual busy taking photos.

Wow, lots of peaches. Better start picking.

All the ripe and big ones are so high up on the trees.

Let see if I can reach that.

Yes, I got it.

mmmmm is it ripe yet?

Do you think I am to reach those fruits?

Yeap, I got it!

Are these good?

I think there is an insect bite on it.

Enough for the day.

Off we go.

Man, this is heavy!!

We made a quick stop at the raspberry farm but the fruits were too small for us to pick. So off we go.

Look at the size of the peach. There are huge.

Now I got to think of what to do with all those peaches. Maybe Peach Cobbler, Peach Pie, Peach butter?

Tomatoes for 2009

2009-08-03T09:58:00.004-04:00

Our tomato plants are giving us a lot of fruits. With all the rains for the past one week it’s growing and ripens at record rates. Here are some of the pictures of what I picked today and also last week. Aren’t they beautiful!!

Picked on 08/03/09

These funny looking tomatoes are sweet and meaty. Really good in salad.

Picked on 07/26/09

Planting Season for 2009

2009-07-20T18:52:00.018-04:00

This year Nancy and I decided to plant some tomato plants together. Some of the plants were doing well and some are not. There were a few plants that turn yellow with brown spots on the leaves and for one plant the fruits rotten before they were ready to be picked. Not sure why is this happening. I guess it might be the unsettling weather and temperature here in PA. Hopefully someone can enlighten me on how to treat the problem with the tomato plants.

Some of the plants leaves are turning yellow.

Can someone enlighten me on what type of tomato is this. This is the first time I see tomatoes with such a weird shape. Carlos and I think it looks like a person 'behind' ha ha...

See what I mean ;)

Some of the tomatoes are ready to be picked.

Here are some of the rotting tomatoes. I must find out what is wrong with it.

Not looking good at all.

Can't wait to try out these Heirloom tomatoes.

Beside tomatoes I too planted some herbs and a few other types of vegetables.

Eggplant

Parsley

Chives

Mint

Kaffir Lime given by S.C which she plant from seeds. See how well it is growing.

Rosemary given by S.C too.

Beautiful flowers from one of the plant. Can anyone guess what plant is this?

Here is another view of the flowers. I will be having a lot of seeds for the next season.

This year I planted some mix lettuces.

It's too crowded for them to grow properly. I should have plant them in a bigger pots.

BBQ Weekend

2009-06-29T21:10:00.019-04:00

My sisters will be flying home this weekend. How times fly when you are having fun. I am feeling a bit sad now as I am not sure when I will get to see them again. Maybe next year either I will go back to Malaysia or they will come to visit again. The weather was sunny and warm for the past two weeks and we had BBQ over the week end. We grilled ribs, chicken, hot dogs, satay and corn with a few side dishes to go with it. Here are some of the pictures we took to share with you.

Carlos busy at the grill.

Elizabeth taking over :)

Ribs perfectly done. Juicy and tender.

Chicken breast and thigh.

Carlos cutting the ribs.

Not forgetting our favorite satay. Complete with peanut dipping sauce and nasi impit (pressed rice)

All ready to eat.

Nancy's dog Bandit.

Shopping, Shopping, Shopping

2009-06-25T17:59:00.006-04:00

My two sisters are here on vacation for 3 weeks. So, where have I taken them so far…no where except for shopping? Well, that is what they wanted to do. Actually this is the 3rd time they visit us here in PA so there is not too many places to take them. All they want to do is shopping. So far I took them to the factory outlet twice and also Marshall and HomeGoods. Just look at the things they bought. As usual both of them need to buy extra suitcases to lug all their loots home. Are they done with their shopping yet…..NO…………. more shopping next week ;)

Just look at all the stuffs they bought!

mmmmm I think I spent too much money ;)

Neglected Blog

2009-06-10T21:28:00.000-04:00

I have been neglecting this blog again. The past few weeks have been busy, exhausting, stressful and terrifying. But I am doing ok now. Nothing much going on at the moment except looking forward to my sisters visit this Saturday. They will be here for 3 weeks. It will be great catching up with them as I do miss my family a lot.

I do have a lot of pictures to post here but I just too lazy to organize and resize it now. Maybe I will get it done in a day or two. So take care everyone and see you later.

Diana's Graduation On May 14 2009

2009-05-19T23:19:00.000-04:00

Here are some of the pictures we took at Diana's graduation to share with you.

Daddy's helping Diana with her gown.

Waiting for the ceremony to start.

Diana receiving her certificate.

Dinner at Carrabba's.

A toast to her future!!

Graduation Wishes

2009-05-14T21:30:00.001-04:00

For every ending
there's a new beginning;

for every memory,
there's a dream ahead

The happy times you've had so far,
The people you have met
Will always be a part of life
You'll never quite forget...

But ever better, brighter days
Are waiting just for you,

So dream your dreams...
and start in now

To make them all come true!

CONGRATULATIONS MY DEAREST DIANA

WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU.

DIY Photography Lamps

2009-04-28T08:40:00.001-04:00

I always have problem taking my food pictures especially what I cook for dinner. I depend a lot of natural lightings and during fall and winter that is hard to come by. The sun will set by 4.00pm and my dinner will be done only around 6.30pm. Most of the pictures I took will either come out too dark or too bright if I use the flash.

Amazon.com does sell the Pro Lowell Ego Set but they were too expensive. It cost close to $300.00 for set and it is not worth investing so much money on it since I blog only as a hobby. Carlos went and bought me a small mini studio but I am not too happy with it. I have been nagging him for the longest time to make me a simple lighting since he has all the tools to make it. I show him something I saw on Jugalbandi blog and I am sure he can make it in no time since it’s pretty simple. But knowing Carlos if I want him to make something it is either a proper one or not making it at all.

With some wood and a few other materials this is what he presents to me when I came back from Malaysia. What do you think? Pretty awesome, isn’t it!! THANK YOU SWEETIE.

Getting ready the wood for the lamps

Cutting, drilling, .......

Adjustable height for the light.
Using two different kind of light bulbs. The one on the left is Ego bulb bought from Amazon.

All ready to go.

Here is where I put all my photography props. A permanent spots at the basement.

Sign Of Spring?

2009-04-20T13:33:00.005-04:00

It’s certainly been a long winter here in PA. I think spring is finally here. Over the weekend the weather was sunny with temperature in the high 70’s. What a perfect day to be outside. Flowers are blooming and many people hang out in the nearby park. With this weather I finally went out to clean up all the death plants to get ready for this season planting. I throw away two huge garbage bags of dead plants. I am looking forward to plant something different this season. I plan to plant egg plants, okra, red and yellow peppers, varieties of lettuce and herbs. No more tomato for me. I am still freaking out over the huge worms.

Time for shorts and flip-flops yet? Nah............ Weather forecast. Will be raining for 3 straight days!!!

Trip to Malaysia - Cont'd

2009-04-07T11:31:00.019-04:00

I am so lazy to update this blog of mine. I just don’t have the mood since I came back. My entire joints still aches a lot and the medicine the doctor gave is not helping much with the pain and the cold weather didn’t help either. I have been reading online about this Chikungunya Fever which I suspect that I got from Malaysia. It said that the older you get the longer it will takes to heal.

I better continue posting some pictures of my trip home. My niece Amelia already starts complaining that I take too long to update my blog. Anyway, here are some pictures of the food I ate back home. Amelia, hope it won’t make you miss home too much ;)

The much awaited local Durian. It taste sooooooooooooooooo good.

Yong Tau Foo from Pudu

'Pun Choy'

The famous Cendol from Melaka

The famous chicken rice balls from Melaka

Dim Sum

Japanese Ramen Noodles

Cakes

Mee Goreng Mamak from the Clubhouse

Western food from the Clubhouse

Nasi Campur from KLCC food court

Famous fried chicken from 'Wai Sek Kai' in Pudu

Fried Noodles from 'Wai Sek Kai' with lots of 'kerang'

Yau Char Kwai and other fried Chinese bread

Dumplings

Fresh Spring Rolls
After loading up all the food pictures I am feeling hungry now ;)

What I did In Malaysia

2009-03-19T10:48:00.002-04:00

I didn't do too much during my trip home. It was such a relaxing trip for me. I spent a lot of time with my family. Here are some of the pictures of what I did for many weeks there.

With the hot weather we like to spent hours in the pool.

Teaching the kids how to make Ondeh Ondeh.

We went for cycling. I didn't cycle for over 30 years and I nearly forgot how to do it :)

We went fishing too.

And also feeding the fishes at the lake.

Stay tune for more pictures of the food I ate and also my trip to Melaka

I am Back!

2009-03-08T01:52:00.005-05:00

Time really flies fast when you are having fun. I reluctantly bid farewell to my family and friends after 7 weeks vacation in Malaysia. The journey back was exhausting, as usual. I walked pass the custom and immigration like a zombie and finally reach PA late Thursday. I am still trying to get over the jetlag and man that is not easy at all. I will feel sleepy by 3.00pm everyday and I will take a nap until around 10.00pm feeling hungry and then stay awake until 4.00am. I am still having the sign of the virus I got back home and my bones still aches a lot especially on my legs. I already make appointment to see my doctor next week and hopefully she is able to find out what is wrong with me. For this few days I am doing nothing but sleep and rest.

The trip home was really good (except for the sick part) and I had a great time with my family. This trip for me is more of spending time with my family especially my nieces and nephews. They grow up so fast and one after another is leaving to further their study somewhere. It’s hard for an old lady like me to keep up with them. Another highlight of my visit home is to meet up with some bloggers like Cat, Sue, Ummi and Elin. I had a wonderful time meeting up with all of them.

The eating was fantastic, It is hard to beat the ready availability of SO MUCH GOOD FOOD every where, at any time of the day. One thing I notice about us Malaysian, we eat at every hour of the day. Everywhere you go no matter what time you will see restaurants or stalls pack with people eating. All the eating was a bit intense and after all that indulging my body is probably grateful that I am back to simpler options around here. So you will see some lighter recipes at my food blog :)

I bought a lot of cookbooks and very little food stuffs since I am able get it easily here in PA and New York. I did bought quite a bit of snacks but had to leave some behind as my suitcases were overweight again. I need to seriously think of getting those weightless suitcases. Talking about overweight suitcase, they charged me $50.00 for an access of 4 freaking pounds at PA airport when I depart.

It’s around 2.00am now and I better go to bed. Hopefully life will be back to normal again soon. See ya!

Getting Better

2009-02-17T05:01:00.004-05:00

Thanks you families, friends and my blog readers for your well wishes and concerned. I have been receiving phone calls, text messages for the past few days asking how I am doing. I am feeling so much better today.

I went for my blood test and the result came out negative....phew...what a sign of relief. That means I don't have to admit to the hospital. But the doctor is a bit concerned. The platelets counts in my blood are a bit on the low side so I will need to do further blood test for the next two days just to be sure it doesn't drop any further. Same goes with my white blood and red blood cells. Hopefully this is cause by the fever and nothing else. Anyway, I will do further test on this when I am back in US.

Thanks you once again for you well wishes and hopefully I will be well enough to travel back to US next week.

Under The Weather

2009-02-16T00:22:00.003-05:00

I am feeling under the weather for the past 3 days. It happens on Friday evening when I reach home after meeting up with fellow blogger Elin. She is such a nice lady. She bought me so many goodies from Ipoh, Thank you Elin. Anyway, my whole body was aching so I took 2 panadols and went to bed. The next morning, I can’t even walk. All the joints on my body ache soooooooooo bad and I also have very high fever. Never have I experience such an excruciating pain in my whole life. I can’t even go down the stairs.

My sister took me to the doctor and when he sees me in such pain he gave me a jab right away. He is worried it might be dengue fever but it’s still too early to tell. All he can do is gave me some painkiller and something for fever and told me to wait for another 3 days to take a blood test.

Is the 3rd day today so I will be going for my blood test. Hopefully is not dengue. If its dengue I will need to be admitted. I am still having fever but the pain on all my joints is not that bad now.

Anyway, will keep you update on the outcome of the blood test

Chinese New Year Dinner

2009-02-10T02:18:00.002-05:00

Chinese New Year is over and now I am posting about our family “lou Sang’ dinner at Unique seafood restaurant in PJ on the 7th of February . This huge Seafood restaurant ambience is akin to that of a bustling seafood market where customers can watch their preferred catch being weighed, cleaned and cooked to order.
Our very first dish is the salmon yee sang
Tossing for good health, good fortune, and good luck. with the situation of the world economy we can all only hope for the best.

The Yee Sang was surprisingly good with lots of shredded vegetables. Neither too sweet nor sour.

Here comes the whole lobster. Just look at the size of the lobster!! You choose to have it sashimi style to enjoy the natural freshness and sweetness of the lobster. It also comes with a pot of superior soup for some of us who prefer cooked lobster. It also comes with some fresh tofu, inoki mushroom and fresh vegetable. The soup was so good.

My second brother and the kids waiting patiently for the stock to boil.

My eldest brother and brother in law happily blanching the lobster for us.

The lobster was taken back to the kitchen, cut into small pieces and cooked with some creamy cheesy sauce. It was really good. The kids loves it!

The next dish, fresh steam ‘Soon Hock’ Really fresh and sweet.

Not too sure what is the name of this dish but it's fish paste stuff in chicken skin Top with some almond. Very fragrant and crispy skin. Pure Indulgence!

The next dish, baked fresh Scallops. Top with plenty of garlic! Really fresh!

Buttered Prawns. You can never go wrong with this dish. Very fragrant with the curry leaves and flavorful butter flakes. The prawns were so crispy, sweet and fresh.
A picture of me with my sister, niece and mother.

3rd Day of CNY At Elizabeth's House

2009-02-02T21:06:00.011-05:00

We had another family gathering at my sister Elizabeth house on the 3rd day of CNY. Elizabeth just moved into this gated communities housing not too long ago and I've been staying with her. Angela too bought a house just a few blocks away. This is a very safe area with excellent facilities and security service. After being burglarized, car got stolen right from the car porch, victim of snatch thieves twice this area is a safer environment for them. Here are some pictures of the gathering and also the surrounding area of their house.

My niece Sabrina helping out with the Pizza

My mom and nephew enjoying the food.

Marianne trying to show us she is much taller than Elizabeth :)

The chef and sou chef of the day.

My nieces waiting for their food.

The beautiful surrounding and environment of the area.

I must talk to Carlos when I go back. Maybe we should live here too after he retire :) I just love the environment here.

Reunion Dinner on the 25th Jan 2009

2009-01-27T21:04:00.005-05:00

Ahh! Finally, I am able to sit down to update my blog after all the baking and cooking. I was in charged of the reunion dinner this year. I completed the cookies baking on the 24th Jan. Thanks God my nieces were here to help me out. A day before the reunion I baked 3 types of cakes in the morning and after that I’ve been slicing, dicing, mincing, wincing the whole afternoon getting ready for the big feast the next day. Got up really early to start my cooking the next day and after that packed everything to take it to my mom's house. Here are some pictures I took during the reunions dinner. I am really happy that everyone in the family enjoyed the food.

Some of the dishes

This year organic 'Yee Sang'

Broccoli with mushroom and abalone

Fried wanton

'Eight Treasure' stew chicken

Stephanie busy setting up the dining table.

Rendang

I just noticed somedishes missing from the table. The steamed fish and prawns (it's still at the steamer :)

Tossing the Yee Sang together.

Look at all the happy faces :)

Relaxing after the dinner. Me and Marianne.

Relaxing after the full stomach :)
Another round of prep work today. Everyone will be coming to my sister Elizabeth house for steamboat dinner this evening. I better get going. Have to take a shower and drive to Jaya Jusco for some shopping. See you!!

Bloggers Meeting

2009-01-23T02:21:00.021-05:00

I met up with Cath and a few other Malaysian bloggers at KLCC on Wednesday around 6.00pm. I was so anxious and eager as this will be my first time meeting all of them except for SueSue. After years of knowing Cath it will be my first time meeting her, Robert and their cute daughters. After seeing their photos for years it's time to meet them in person. They were as cute and adorable as ever! Here are some pictures I took during the meeting.

Front : L to R Laracroaf74, Kak Sya, SueSue, Me
Back L to R Zareda, Ummi, Cath, Tulipurple, Kak Anie

The ever pretty Miss Annabel

The cute and adorable Miss Emma

Annabel with my niece Stephanie

Popular Cath so engrossed talking to her fan :)

Me and Miss Annabel (she look pretty sleepy and tired here. Cath said they were up since 4.00am that morning)
Me and my favorite blogger Ummi
We got a long so well even though some of us met only for the very first time. It was too bad that I didn't get to talk much with a few of them as they arrived late because of the heavy rain and traffic jam and Cath need to leave early because the girls were tired and sleepy. They were up since 4.00am that morning. We had a great time and hopefully I will get to see some of them again before I leave. Thank you ladies for the great time.

What have I done so far in KL?

2009-01-15T09:49:00.015-05:00

I arrived home safely on Monday morning. The journey back was exhausting, as usual. The flight from Detroit to Japan was pretty bad and I nearly miss my connecting flight back to Singapore but it got a bit better from Japan to Singapore. So yes, life is nearly back to normal. I am almost fully recovered from the jet-lag, having taking cat naps every few hours. From the moment I arrived I was so well taken off by my family. My tummy has been filled with so many yummy foods. My nieces and nephews grown so much and all of them were much taller than me.

I started baking today and my nieces came to help me. I baked a few types of cookies today and a few more to go before Chinese New Year. I had a chance to meet up with fellow blogger Sue Sue and her children yesterday. Spoken to Ummi and also Jun and planning to meet up with them soon.

My nephew was absolutely right when he warned me about the internet service here. My Streamyx connection is super duper S L O W and it’s literally driving me up the wall

Anyway, here are some pictures I took the past few days.

My first breakfast in Malaysia

ABC

Kueh Kueh

I am so looking forward to my baking in this spanking new kitchen :)

Cooking will be done here.

Kids came over the first day I arrived

All set for my baking today.

Kids helping me out with the baking.

I will try to update this blog as much as I can. See you!!

My Bags Are Packed!!!

2009-01-06T08:20:00.002-05:00

All my bags are packed and I'm ready to go....... this song has been playing in my head for the past few days. I am busy packing and unpacking my suitcases. Putting in things and taking it out again. I have so much space left in my suitcase but guess what....they were overweight!! That damn stupid airline only allows 2 suitcases with 50 pounds each. Each empty suitcase itself already weigh over 15 pounds! I have to leave some stuff behind and let my two sisters who will be visiting in May to take it back with them. Anyway, I am looking forward to go home to see my family and friends and on the other hand I am not looking forward to being apart from Carlos for so long. You know we never been apart for more than 3 days since we got married. It will be pretty difficult for him too since he will be all by himself here but thanks to Skype we get to call each other everyday or every other day.

Hopefully, the internet service back home will be good so I can update my blog regularly and go blog hopping too.

*************************************************************************************

See what came into the mail for me a few days ago. Lesley sent me some cookies and 'Chang' I've been craving for chang since I saw her posting at her blog. Thank you Lesley for being so thoughtful and I can't wait to learn how to wrap 'Chang' from your mother. And thanks for the cookies too.

Christmas Morning!

2008-12-27T09:01:00.015-05:00

We woke up real early to get ready for Church. Came home around 10.30am and the first thing we did were to open all our presents. We take turn for each of us to open up all our presents first and I get to open last because mine was huge.

Diana looking for her presents.

She was happy with what she got :) We also got her a huge suitcase for her to take with her to Germany.

Next is Carlos turn
The most anxious moment for me. Wondering what he got for me! You know what I was saying here "why so much garbage in here"
Still have no clue what is in there except a whole bunch of paper! Keep digging!!
See what I got!! Can you guess yet?

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A NEW CANON REBEL XSI CAMERA!!! This is my dream camera. I was hoping to get another digital camera from him but not this but I am so glad he got it for me as every food bloggers dream of having a DSLR camera like this. Now he said he must send me for some photography lesson in order to use this camera. Thank you Sweetie.

Ok, time to make some waffles for breakfast!

Happy Holidays!!

2008-12-24T09:19:00.001-05:00

Christmas is just a day away and I am finally done with my Christmas shopping. I waited until the last minutes because of the awful weather. We have been having rain, snow and frigging cold for the past weeks. This is the kind of weather that I hate and I prefer to stay at home. Since Diana is home, both of us went out shopping the whole day. Finally we are done! Everything is wrapped up and waiting to be open on Christmas morning.

Can you guess who is getting the BIGGEST box in that pile of presents? MEEEE.. I am really curious what Carlos got for me. The box is really heavy and I can't shake it!! The suspense is killing me now but I guess I have to wait until Christmas morning.

Here I would like to wish everyone Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Baking Lesson II

2008-12-14T21:49:00.024-05:00

I went for another baking lesson today. Since its around Christmas we learned to make Yule Log and also Chocolate. To make the yule log we learned to make the sponge cake, Italian butter cream, Hazelnut mousse and also sugar syrup.

As for the chocolate we learned how to tampered the chocolate and also to make the dark chocolate hazelnuts filling. I am not sure if I will make my own chocolate as it's a messy job.

Sponge Cake Batter

Brushing on the sugar syrup on the sponge cake.
Applying the Hazelnut mousse.
Rolling up the sponge cake.
Cut into individual log.
Decorate the sponge with Italian butter cream.
The finished Yule Log.
Filling up the Hazelnut filling in the chocolate moulds.
The decadent chocolates.
This was what I took home. They were so good!
The next month lesson will be Puff Pastry. Too bad I won't be around to take the lesson until in March 09.

Don't Forget To Smile!!

2008-12-11T08:46:00.005-05:00

A little girl walked to and from school daily. Though the weather that morning was questionable and clouds were forming, she made her daily trek to the elementary school. As the afternoon progressed, the winds whipped up,along with thunder and lightning. The mother of thelittle girl felt concerned that her daughter would be frightened as she walked home from school and she herself feared that the electrical storm might harm her child. Following the roar of thunder, lightning, like a flaming word, would cut through the sky. Full of concern, the mother quickly got into her car and drove along the route to her child's school. As she did so, she saw her little girl walking along, but at each flash of lightning, the child would stop, look up and smile. Another and another were to follow quickly and with each, the little girl would look at the streak of light and smile.

When the mother's car drove up beside the child, she lowered the window and called to her, "What are you doing? Why do you keep stopping?"

The child answered, "I am trying to look pretty, God keeps taking my picture.

May God bless you today as you face the storms that come your way and don't forget to SMILE!

Black Friday Shopping

2008-11-30T19:15:00.005-05:00

After the turkey meal, cleaning up, keeps away all the leftovers and putting all the dirty dishes in the dish washer I was poof. We went to bed early as we wanted to get up early for our Black Friday shopping. The 3 of us (Diana, Robin and I) start the day at 5.00am and Carlos went on his own shopping much later. He thinks we are crazy. Oh well, not as crazy as last year as we went at midnight. We finally finished with our shopping at 3.00pm. We went to the outlet first and later we hit the mall. Reach there very early in the morning and there were not many shoppers as most of them already done with their shopping at midnight. Here are some of the things we bought.

Relaxing in front of the TV after the heavy meal. All gear up for shopping later.

We went to Lancaster Tanger's Outlet.
After all the hours of shopping, just look at the trunk of the car.
Look at Carlos reactions when he opens the front door for us. He was shock to see all the bags we had on our hands.
Some of the things we bought. Let me recap the bargain we got. All clothing from Banana Republic 50% off, Gap 40%, Shoes buy one and get the other one for 50% off, Tommy 50% off, Polo less 25% for purchase above $150.00, Coach handbags at 50%, 40% and 30% and on top of that another 10% off for shopping before 10 am, Kenneth Cole briefcase 30% off. Waffle Maker less 50% and Carlos bought some electronics which I am not sure how much he paid for.

Coach addiction.

We stop by at this little diners for our Breakfast/ lunch
The little jukebox on the table.
All happy and contented with the shopping.

We mostly shop for clothing when there is good bargain especially on Black Friday so we went a bit overboard :)

Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T21:11:00.013-05:00

Our thanksgiving is a small family affair. I prepared a 10 pound turkey, stuffing, green bean casserole, roasted potatoes, agar agar , and baked some dinner rolls and a pumpkin pie. Started cooking and baking from 8.00am and we had our meal around 4.00pm. Man, I was tired but am glad that everyone enjoyed the delicious meal.

This year the turkey turn out pefect. Nicely brown still moist and juicy on the inside.
Bread stuffing
Roasted potatoes

Green bean caserole

Freshly baked dinner rolls

Homemade pumpkin pie

Agar-agar

After the heavy meal we are all geared up for Black Friday shopping. Stay tune to see what we bought.

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow

2008-11-21T11:45:00.006-05:00

This is what we woke up to this morning. The snow is still coming down fast and furious now. Carlos is taking some vacation time all the way up to next week and we thought of going down to the Philadelphia Museum of Art this morning. So, there goes our plan as we don't want to drive around in this weather. I remember the last winter we had our first snow on the 7th of January and for this winter we had it as early as November.

Touching Story of A Little Boy

2008-11-21T11:18:00.003-05:00

I received this touching story from one of my friend and thought I should share it with you. This story really touched me and I hope it will touch your heart too!

I was walking around in a Target store, when I saw a Cashier hand this little boy some money back. The boy couldn't have been more than 5 or 6 years old. The Cashier said, ' I ' m sorry, but you don't have enough money to buy this doll'

Then the little boy turned to the old woman next to him. "Granny, are you sure I don't have enough money?" The old lady replied "You know that you don't have enough money to buy this doll, my dear". Then she asked him to stay there for just 5 minutes while she went to look a round. She left quickly.

The little boy was still holding the doll in his hand. Finally, I walked toward him and I asked him who he wished to give this doll to "It's the doll that my sister loved most and wanted so much for Christmas. She was sure that Santa Claus would bring it to her"

I replied to him that maybe Santa Claus would bring it to her after all, and not to worry. But he replied to me sadly. " No, Santa Claus can't bring it to her where she is now. I have to give the doll to my mommy so that she can give it to my sister when she goes there."

His eyes were so sad while saying this. "My Sister has gone to be with God. Daddy says that Mommy is going to see God very soon too, so I thought that she could take the doll with her to give it to my sister."

My heart nearly stopped. The little boy looked up at me and said: "I told daddy to tell mommy not to go yet. I need her to wait until I come back from the mall."

Then he showed me a very nice photo of him where he was laughing. He then told me " I want mommy to take my picture with her so she won't forget me. I love my mommy and I wish she doesn't have to leave me, but daddy says that she has to go to be with my little sister."

Then he looked again at the doll with sad eyes, very quietly. I quickly reached for my wallet and said to the boy. "Suppose we check again, just in case you do have enough money for the doll?"

"OK" he said, "I hope I do have enough" I added some of my money to his with out him seeing and we started to count it. There was enough for the doll and even some spare money. The little boy said: "Thank you God for giving me enough money!"

Then he looked at me and added," I asked last night before I went to sleep for God to make sure I had enough money to buy this doll, so that mommy could give It to my sister. He heard me!. I also wanted to have enough money to buy a white rose for my mommy, but I didn't dare to ask God for too much. But He gave me enough to buy the doll and a white rose. My mommy loves white roses"

A few minutes later, the old lady returned and I left with my basket.I finished my shopping in a totally different state from when I started.I couldn't get the little boy out of my mind. Then I remembered a local news paper article two days ago, which mentioned a drunk man in a truck, who hit a car occupied by a young woman and a little girl. The little girl died right away, and the mother was left in a critical state. The family had to decide whether to pull the plug on the life-sustaining machine, because the young woman would not be able to recover from the coma. Was this the family of the little boy?

Two days after this encounter with the little boy, I read in the news paper that the young woman had passed away. I couldn't stop myself as I bought a bunch of white roses and I went to the funeral home where the body of the young woman was exposed for people to see and make last wishes before her burial. She was there, in her coffin, holding a beautiful white rose in her hand with the photo of the little boy and the doll placed over her chest.

I left the place, teary-eyed, feeling that my life had been changed for ever.. The love that the little boy had for his mother and his sister is still, to this day, hard to imagine. And in a fraction of a second, a drunk driver had taken all this away from him.

DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE !!

Brrrrrrrrrrrrr..Winter Is Here!

2008-11-20T14:00:00.001-05:00

We have been having some cold snap of winter here in PA and its not even winter yet. It’s dark by 4 pm and rains all the time and this morning the temperature hovered just below 25 degree and its so freaking cold. We have frost and some snow on top of the car and it’s snowing now. I can’t imagine what this coming winter will be like. I hope we won’t have too much snow to shovel. On the lighter note I will be going back to a warmer weather back home which I am not looking forward to either. I guess I can’t have it both ways!

Baking Lesson I

2008-11-16T17:04:00.001-05:00

I went for some baking lesson over the weekend with a famous French Pastry Chef here. His bakery served cookies, cakes, pastries, handmade chocolate and their croissant is the best. It’s so light and buttery. We will stop by his bakery each time we drove by this area and so happen I saw a sign saying that there will be lesson over the weekend and without hesitation I signed up for it. This French guy is funny and excellent teacher and I enjoyed his class a lot so much so that I sign up for his class again next month. He taught us Crème Brulee, Lady Fingers and two types of Mousse cake. Here are some pictures I took during the lesson.

Piping the lady fingers

The base of the Mousse Cake
He is such a happy guy that he even posed for me with the baked lady fingers :)
Lining the lady fingers to the baking pan
Mixing the Strawberry Mousse
The cakes all ready for the Chocolate Mousse topping. We took one of this cake home.
All ready to be eaten. We ran out of time so we didn't decorate the top with chocolate shaving or fresh fruits. This cake was cut and share among us in the class.
Pouring the Crème Brulee mix into the baking dish. All ready to be bake in the oven.
All ready to be eaten.

We were so busy taking our share of cakes and Crème Brulee home that I forgot to take a picture of the final cake.

A Day To Remember

2008-11-05T09:25:00.000-05:00

Today, on the 5th of November I am happy to be in America to be witness of this American history. Yeah....something unbelievable has happened. It has brought about renewed feelings of hope in the hearts of everyone in the world. During his victory speech I shed some tears, along with millions of spectators who either watched him live on stage in Chicago or on TV like me. I have such an overwhelming pride for this black-American man who has made it this far. His arrival at the helm of the US Presidency has brought change to a country which really needs lots of doses of that.

I wish him and his VP all the best in the next four years - hoping that the changes he promised especially ones that affect the world in general, shall come.

Congratulations Barack Obama, Mr. President-Elect!

Trick Or Treat!!

2008-11-03T20:55:00.000-05:00

We have more kids knocking at our door this year for trick or treating. Last year I had half of the candies left but this year I've given out everything within an hour. They were all so cute and everyone dress up for the occasion. Here are some pictures I took of them.

Lazy Fall Season!

2008-10-27T14:18:00.000-04:00

Not much has been going on lately so there hasn't really been much to write about. Weather is getting extremely cold and the day is getting shorter so I've been home, curled up on the couch enjoying it. What is it that makes the fall such a beautiful season? Is it the cooler air or the shades of red, yellow, orange and pink coloring the world around you just come to life?

Household Tips

2008-10-24T06:48:00.000-04:00

Take 2 minutes and read through this; you will be amazed at what you can learn!

Bed Sheets
After drying sheets, put both sheets and one pillowcase in the other pillow case. Fold neatly in a square. Next time you change sheets, you just take the one pillow case and all the sheets and pillow case are inside. No need to look for matches.

Reheat Pizza
Heat up leftover pizza in a non-stick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro pizza. I saw this on the cooking channel and it really works.

Reheating refrigerated bread
To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place them in a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the food moist and help it reheat faster.

Broken Glass
Use a dry cotton ball to pick up little broken pieces of glass - the fibers catch ones you can't see!

Easier thank you's
When you throw a bridal/baby shower, buy a pack of thank you cards for the guest of honor. During the party, pass out the envelopes and have everyone put their address on one. When the bride/new mother sends the thank you's, they're all addressed!

Name tag
If you purchase a new bike for your child, place their picture inside the handle bar before placing the grips on. If the bike is stolen and later recovered, remove the grip and there is your proof who owns the bike.

Reducing Static Cling
Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip and you will not have a clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling when wearing panty hose. Place pin in seam of slacks and -- voila -- static is gone.

Measuring Cups
Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill it with hot water. Dump out the hot water, but don't dry the cup. Next, add your ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out.

Foggy Windshield?
Hate foggy windshields? Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the glove box of your car. When the windows fog, rub with the eraser!
Works better than a cloth!

Reopening envelope
If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include something inside, just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an hour or two. Voila! It unseals easily.

Conditioner
Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's a lot cheaper than shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth. It's also a great way to use up the conditioner you bought but didn't like when you tried it in your hair...

Good-bye Fruit Flies
To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass fill it 1/2 with Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dishwashing liquid, mix well. You will find those flies drawn to the cup and gone forever!

Get Rid of Ants
Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it 'home,' & can't digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so, esp. if it rains, but it works & you don't have the worry about pets or small children being harmed!

Take baby powder to the beach
Keep a small bottle of baby powder in your beach bag. When you're ready to leave the beach sprinkle yourself and kids with the powder and the sand will slide right off your skin.

Hope you learn something new today ;)

May I Borrow $25.00

2008-10-16T08:54:00.001-04:00

I received this very touching forward from a friend of mine and I would like to share it with you. I got a little choked up about it.

A man came home from work late, tired and irritated, to find his 5-year old son waiting for him at the door.

SON: 'Daddy, may I ask you a question?'
DAD: 'Yeah sure, what it is?' replied the man.
SON: 'Daddy, how much do you make an hour?'
DAD: 'That's none of your business. Why do you ask such a thing?' the man said angrily.
SON: 'I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?'
DAD: 'If you must know, I make $50 an hour.'
SON: 'Oh,' the little boy replied, with his head down.
SON: 'Daddy, may I please borrow $25?'

The father was furious, 'If the only reason you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you are being so selfish. I don't work hard everyday for such childish frivolities.'

The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door.

The man sat down and started to get even angrier about the little boy's questions. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money?

After about an hour or so, the man had calmed down , and started to think:

Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that $25.00 and he really didn't ask for money very often The man went to the door of the little boy's room and opened the door.

'Are you asleep, son?' He asked.

'No daddy, I'm awake,' replied the boy.

'I've been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier' said the man. 'It's been a long day and I took out my aggravation on you. Here's the $25 you asked for.'
The little boy sat straight up, smiling. 'Oh, thank you daddy!' he yelled. Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some crumpled up bills.

The man saw that the boy already had money, started to get angry again.

The little boy slowly counted out his money, and then looked up at his father.

'Why do you want more money if you already have some?' the father grumbled.

'Because I didn't have enough, but now I do,' the little boy replied.

'Daddy, I have $50 now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you.'

The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little son, and he begged for his forgiveness.

It's just a short reminder to all of you working so hard in life. We should not let time slip through our fingers without having spent some time with those who really matter to us, those close to our hearts. Do remember to share that $50 worth of your time with someone you love.

If we die tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of hours. But the family & friends we leave behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives.

What's In Your Handbag Meme

2008-10-10T10:23:00.000-04:00

Ching of Little Corner of Mine tag me with this unique Meme and I think its kind of cool to play along. One thing for sure my handbag don't usually look like that. I will have a lot of junk like receipt, coupons and all kinds of paper in it. It's just so happen I change my handbags a few days before I got this tag and I already clean it up.

Here are the rules:

Find a safe quiet place free of significant others, nosey meme makers, priests, nuns, all things religious and men in general. (If you're a guy just reverse this process to male and tell us about your wallet, tool box, briefcase or metro sexual accessory.)
1. Dump the contents of your handbag in a pile
2. Take a photo of your handbag and the contents
3. Be brave and explain to your fellow bloggers what lurks inside the handbag.
4. Tag others who might want to embarrass themselves
5. Answer these questions: Describe the contents of your handbag. What's the most important thing in your handbag? What's the most embarrassing thing in your handbag? What's the smallest thing in your handbag? Is there anything illegal in your handbag? This meme was started by Mimi, Queen of Memes who thinks up brilliant memes. Here are the answers to the questions..

Describe the contents of your handbag?

Purse, coin purse, keys, reading glasses, sun glasses, camera, cellphone, tissue, train schedule, carmex, nail cliper, and tampons.

What's the most important thing in your handbag?
Driving License - need that for my driving.
Money, debit card, credit cards - need that for all my purchases.
Cellphone - to call and receive call.
Reading glasses - Getting old so I need that for reading.

Camera - need that for taking pictures for blogging :)

What's the most embarrassing thing in your handbag?
Tampons - Not sure if this is embarrassing but for me it's for emergency.

What's the smallest thing in your handbag?
Carmex and nail clipper.

Is there anything illegal in your handbag?
eeerrr... I don't think so.

Now I am passing along this meme to:

Pinky
Cat
Zue

Birthday Celebration

2008-10-07T19:35:00.000-04:00

We celebrated Carlos birthday at home this year. Since we went out for dinner on our anniversary and spent so much money eating at Outback (food was just so so) I thought maybe I should prepared his birthday meal at home. I plan a steak meal for him since he like steak at lot.

Ribeye steak with roasted potatoes and asparagus.

Birthday cake

Birthday boy blowing out the candle

Later in the evening we went for a movie. This is a very good movie.
The next day Diana and her Bf came home to prepared us a Japanese meal. We had DIY hand rolls. Robin trying to cool down the sushi rice outside the cool temperature :)

Our spread!

How To Save Money On Groceries

2008-10-07T19:27:00.000-04:00

With the situation with the world economy here are some tips to keep your food budget in check.

• Buy store brands. The quality of store branded food items has improved dramatically in recent years, and many now compete with major national labels, according to Tom Marks, senior editor at Consumer Reports magazine. Some consumers may want to stick with name brand detergents or soaps, for example, but buying store brands for a broad array of products from fruit cups to cereals and pastas can save anywhere from 20 percent to 50 percent, Marks said.

• Evaluate unit prices. Buying in bulk is traditionally more economically, but that's not always the case, Marks says. So he and other experts recommend shoppers look at the item's cost per unit, which is found on the shelf sticker next to the item. Marks added that when items go on sale, shoppers should always compare the cost per unit on both the big and small packages to see which is a better deal.
But experts also say shoppers should keep in mind how much their families are going to consume. It's not economical to buy a big bag of fruit if it's going to end up rotting in the refrigerator.

• Compare prices of the same product in different areas of the store. "Where things are placed in a store can make a big difference," says Challagalla. For example, cheese is often cheaper in the dairy aisle than the deli because shoppers have to pay extra for it to be sliced.

• Clip coupons. Shoppers should look through circulars for special deals, but Marks warns them not to assume that all items in a supermarket's weekly flyer are on sale. He noted that manufacturers could have paid to have the item featured.

• Obtain a store card. These loyalty cards allow shoppers to get extra discounts on items without having to clip coupons.

• Consider frozen foods. Frozen peas, fish and other items are cheaper than fresh because they have a longer shelf life."Anything that is perishable, shoppers are going to have to pay higher prices because stores have to build it into their (profit) margins," said Challagalla.

• Ignore precut fruit or vegetables or other prepped items. While it's nice to have that pineapple cut up in chunks, that extra convenience costs money.

• Avoid items displayed at the checkout counter. Stores feature single serving pies, cans of soda and other items at the checkout that are often more expensive, but can be tempting to shoppers, particularly hungry ones.

Article from CNN .com/living

Happy Birthday My Dearest Husband!

2008-10-03T09:26:00.000-04:00

I feel so lucky to share my life with someone as loving, caring and understanding as you. Here's wishing your special day lights up your heart and happiness. Happy Birthday, Sweetie!!

Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri

2008-09-29T12:01:00.000-04:00

See what I received on Saturday. Zue sent me some Hari Raya cookies with some sweet peppers. Thank You Zue. Carlos and I love the cookies.
I’d like to take this opportunity to wish all my Muslim friends and blog readers Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri and have a safe journey home to be with your family.

To My Special Man

2008-09-28T03:02:00.000-04:00

I know I've told you many times how much I love you, Dear
And how it seems to me you grow still sweeter every year,
I love you for your thoughtfulness and your understanding way
For the countless little things you do for me each day
I love you for the hopes and dreams you've helped to make come true
But most of all I love you, Just for being you
Happy Anniversary Sweetie!

Pantry Cleaning

2008-09-24T12:00:00.000-04:00

I am such an unorganized person when it comes to my pantry. I just throw everything in there when I come home from grocery shopping. I just pile it all in there. I know its time to clean up when I have to rummish through it to look for something. Oh, the many times I thought I had something in there when I really didn’t or when I might buy something I thought we needed but didn’t. I've also bought certain grocery items which I totally forgotten and only to find out later they were hiding somewhere at the corner of the pantry.

"Before"It look like a war zone in there!

So I decided that Sunday was the day I would organize it. First, I took everything out of the pantry and grouped the items together into a few categories like Asian, Western, Baking, Snack, and Misc. I also got rid a whole load of expired stuff that no longer good and throw away a lot of plastic containers.

"After" Look so much better now.

This is where I kept all the packet sauces, Asian ingredients, flour, sugar and all different kind of rice

Not to toot my own horn, but I think it looks pretty good now, plus the pantry is much more functional. I will have to make it a point to clean it up every six month. There is more space in there and I actually know what is in the pantry. My next project will be my refrigerator and my spice cupboard.

Tomato Plant 4

2008-09-21T00:15:00.000-04:00

Finally my other tomato plant is giving me plenty huge tomatoes. It’s about time!! I don't know why this year of all the 4 plants, 3 of them cherry and grapes and only one produce the big ones. I thought I bought 2 big tomato plants. Anyway, may be it got mix up. Hopefully the weather doesn’t get too cold too soon so I can continue to enjoy the fruits of my labor. By the way Nancy's plants are all dried up but mine still looking really good.

This is what I picked yesterday. What do you think I should do with it? Maybe some salsa or some pasta with fresh tomatoes.

I Am Going Home!!!

2008-09-10T10:00:00.000-04:00

I finally bought the ticket for my flight home early next year. I know it's kind of early but I've heard that the prices will be much higher after October. I've been looking around for the best deal but every airlines seem to be charging a lot of money for it. I wanted to fly Singapore but too bad they don't fly economy from Newark anymore. They only fly Business and 1st class. MAS is charging arms and legs their ticket and cost almost 2K. I am glad I found a pretty good deal through Zue's agent but I have to transit in so many places and by the time I reach Kuala Lumpur I will be like a zombie. I am praying hard that this airline don't give me any problem when the time comes as they don't have a very good track record with the consumers.

I can't wait to be home with my family to celebrate 2009 Chinese New Year. The last time I celebrate CNY back home was 9 years ago. I am so looking forward to the reunion dinner and meeting up with relatives and friends. Hopefully I am able to meet up with some of my blogging friends too. Those who are interested please let me know o.k. Kuala Lumpur here I came!!

10 Factors That Drain Out Money

2008-09-10T09:00:00.000-04:00

A lot of people are facing financial and have difficulties in budgeting their money to last for the next paycheck. It's easy to fritter away money on daily expenses. If you fall into these money traps, learn to avoid them and pocket the savings. Below is the 10 money drain.

1. Coffee -- According to the National Coffee Association, the average price for brewed coffee is $1.38. There are roughly 260 weekdays per year, so buying one coffee every weekday morning costs almost $360 per year.

2. Cigarettes -- The Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids reports that the average price for a pack of cigarettes in the United States is $4.54. Pack-a-day smokers fork out $1,660 a year. Weekend smoker? Buying a pack once a week adds up, too: $236.

3. Alcohol -- Drink prices vary based on the location. But assuming an average of $5 per beer including tip, buying two beers per day adds up to $3,650 per year. Figure twice that for two mixed drinks a day at the local bar. That's not chump change.

4. Bottled water from convenience stores -- A 20-ounce bottle of Aquafina bottled water costs about $1. One bottle of water per day costs $365 per year. It costs the environment plenty, too.

5. Manicures -- The Day Spa Magazine Price Survey of 2004 found that the average cost of a manicure is $20.53. A weekly manicure sets you back about $1,068 per year.

6. Car washes -- The average cost for a basic auto detailing package is $58, according to Costhelper.com. The tab for getting your car detailed every two months: $348 per year.

7. Weekday lunches out -- $9 will generally cover a decent lunch most work days. If you buy rather than pack a lunch five days a week for one year, you shell out about $2,350 a year.

8. Vending machines snacks -- The average vending machine snack costs $1. Buy a pack of cookies every afternoon at work and pay $260 per year.

9. Interest charges on credit card bills -- According to a survey released at the end of May 2007, the median amount of credit card debt carried by Americans is $6,600. Rate tables on Bankrate.com indicate that fixed interest rates on a standard card average 13.44 percent. Making the minimum payment each month, it will take 250 months (almost 21 years) to pay off the debt and cost $4,868 in interest. Ouch!

10. Unused memberships -- Costhelper.com reports that the monthly service fee at gyms averages between $35 and $40. At $40 per month, an unused gym membership runs $480 per year.

Sorry!!

2008-09-05T15:59:00.000-04:00

Sorry for not updating my blog. I am a bit under the weather since coming back from New York. Will post some pictures of our trip to Long Island next week. Take care and have a good weekend.

I Am So Lazy!!

2008-08-27T08:32:00.000-04:00

If laziness is a punishable crime under the law, I would never get a parole even... I feel like a vegetable. Laziness is a worse malaise than malaria. Medicines can't cure it. I've been lazy around for so many days watching the Olympic and now it’s all over and I have to get my butt up and do some housework. Laundries, ironing, vacuuming, wash my car, clean the bathroom, and update this blog...... I am already tired thinking about all the things I need to do!!

Actually I am looking forward to the long weekend as Zue and I will be visiting Lesley at Long Island, New York.

Aging of Our Body

2008-08-22T15:58:00.000-04:00

WE all accept that getting older is inevitable, and now leading clinicians have revealed the exact age when different body parts start to decline, most alarming being the brain and lungs.

French doctors have found that the quality of men's' sperm starts to deteriorate by 35, so that by the time a man is 45 a third of pregnancies end in miscarriage.

Here, with the help of leading clinicians, Angela Epstein tells the Daily Mail the ages when different parts of the body start to lose their battle with time.

BRAIN - Starts ageing at 20. As we get older, the number of nerve cells - or neurons - in the brain decrease. We start with around 100 billion, but in our 20s this number starts to decline. By 40, we could be losing up to 10,000 per day, affecting memory, co-ordination and brain function.

GUT - Starts ageing at 55. A healthy gut has a good balance between harmful and 'friendly' bacteria. But levels of friendly bacteria in the gut drop significantly after 55, particularly in the large intestine, says Tom MacDonald, professor of immunology at Barts And The London medical school. As a result, we suffer from poor digestion and an increased risk of gut disease. Constipation is more likely as we age, as the flow of digestive juices from the stomach, liver, pancreas and small intestine slows down.

BREASTS - Start ageing at 35. BY their mid-30s, women's breasts start losing tissue and fat, reducing size and fullness. Sagging starts properly at 40 and the areola (the area surrounding the nipple) can shrink considerably.

BLADDER - Starts ageing at 65. Loss of bladder control is more likely when you hit 65. Women are more vulnerable to bladder problems as, after the menopause, declining oestrogen levels make tissues in the urethra - the tube through which urine passes - thinner and weaker, reducing bladder support. Bladder capacity in an older adult generally is about half that of a younger person - about two cups in a 30-year-old and one cup in a 70-year-old.

LUNGS - Start ageing at 20. Lung capacity slowly starts to decrease from the age of 20. By the age of 40, some people are already experiencing breathlessness. This is partly because the muscles and the rib cage which control breathing stiffen up.

VOICE - Starts ageing at 65. Our voices become quieter and hoarser with age. The soft tissues in the voice box (larynx) weaken, affecting the pitch, loudness and quality of the voice. A woman's voice may become huskier and lower in pitch, whereas a man's might become thinner and higher.

EYES - Start ageing at 40. Glasses are the norm for many over-40s as failing eyesight kicks in - usually long-sightedness, affecting our ability to see objects up close.

HEART - Starts ageing at 40. The heart pumps blood less effectively around the body as we get older. This is because blood vessels become less elastic, while arteries can harden or become blocked because of fatty deposits forming on the coronary arteries - caused by eating too much saturated fat. The blood supply to the heart is then reduced, resulting in painful angina. Men over 45 and women over 55 are at greater risk of a heart attack.

LIVER - Starts ageing at 70. This is the only organ in the body which seems to defy the aging process.

KIDNEYS - Starts ageing at 50. With kidneys, the number of filtering units (nephrons) that remove waste from the bloodstream starts to reduce in middle age.

PROSTATE - Starts ageing at 50. The prostate often becomes enlarged with age, leading to problems such as increased need to urinate, says Professor Roger Kirby, director of the Prostate Centre in London . This is known as benign prostatic hyperplasia and affects half of men over 50, but rarely those under 40. It occurs when the prostate absorbs large amounts of the male sex hormone testosterone, which increases the growth of cells in the prostate. A normal prostate is the size of a walnut, but the condition can increase this to the size of a tangerine.

BONES - Start ageing at 35. 'Throughout our life, old bone is broken down by cells called osteoclasts and replaced by bone-building cells called osteoblasts - a process called bone turnover,' explains Robert Moots, professor of rheumatology at Aintree University Hospital in Liverpool. Children's bone growth is rapid - the skeleton takes just two years to renew itself completely. In adults, this can take ten years. Until our mid-20s, bone density is still increasing. But at 35 bone loss begins as part of the natural ageing process.

TEETH - Start ageing at 40. As we age, we produce less saliva, which washes away bacteria, so teeth and gums are more vulnerable to decay. Receding gums - when tissue is lost from gums around the teeth - is common in adults over 40.

MUSCLES - Start ageing at 30. Muscle is constantly being built up and broken down, a process which is well balanced in young adults. However, by the time we're 30, breakdown is greater than buildup, explains Professor Robert Moots. Once adults reach 40, they start to lose between 0.5 and 2 per cent of their muscle each year. Regular exercise can help prevent this.

HEARING - Starts ageing mid-50s. More than half of people over 60 lose hearing because of their age, according to the Royal National Institute for the Deaf.

SKIN - Starts ageing mid-20s. The skin starts to age naturally in your mid-20s.

TASTE AND SMELL - Start ageing at 60. We start out in life with about 10,000 taste buds scattered on the tongue. This number can halve later in life. After we turn 60, taste and smell gradually decline, partly as a result of the normal ageing process.

FERTILITY - Starts ageing at 35. Female fertility begins to decline after 35, as the number and quality of eggs in the ovaries start to fall. The lining of the womb may become thinner, making it less likely for a fertilised egg to take, and also creating an environment hostile to sperm.

HAIR - Starts ageing at 30. Male hair loss usually begins in the 30s. Hair is made in tiny pouches just under the skin's surface, known as follices. A hair normally grows from each follicle for about three years, is then shed, and a new hair grows.Most people will have some grey hair by the age of 35. When we are young, our hair is coloured by the pigments produced by cells in the hair follicle known as melanocytes.

I am already experiencing some of it now.

1. My memory is not as good as before. I need sometime just to recall what I did yesterday.

2. Having indigestion if I eat too much meat or not eating at the right hours.

3. Showing sign of sagging and everything going down South :(

4. I need two type of eye glasses now. One for long sighted and one for short sighted.

5. Having aching bones and muscles when I wakes up in the morning. All my bones went to sleep too :)

6. I have to ask Carlos to repeat what he said many times. Is this the sign I am losing my hearing?

7. My skin is so dry at times especially during winter. The skin of my feet just crack on its own.

8. My hair is getting thinner by the day. I wish my body is like that :(

How about you guys? Any sign of aging yet?

Busy Weekend

2008-08-19T15:40:00.000-04:00

I had a really busy weekend as Zue came over to our house. She stayed for a night. The two of us went for shopping and as usual I bought a lot of kitchen stuffs from Ross. That is my favorite place to shop for kitchen stuff. I end up buying all the cute kitchen gadgets for my sister Elizabeth new house and some clothing for myself. After that we had Indian food for lunch.

The next day we went out again to a few places and later busy preparing for our evening BBQ. Yes, we had BBQ again and this time we didn't grill pizza but we grill steak, hot dogs, sausages, chicken drumstick and corn. I forgot to take a picture of our BBQ.

It's so nice to have the company of Zue and her husband Murphy and also Diana and her BF Robin. Two of them will be leaving for England and Paris this evening for two weeks long vacations. Kids now are so lucky. Get to fly here and there for vacation. Hope they remember to bring home some Macaroons for us.

P/s I can't load up any picture because something is wrong with my server. Its sooooo slow. Not sure if it is my server or blogger problem.

Sunflowers

2008-08-13T06:35:00.000-04:00

These pictures was taken at Zue's garden when we visited her two weeks ago. Aren't they beautiful. Even Mishu can't resist taken a snif of it.

Grill Pizza and Tomato Plants

2008-08-04T06:23:00.000-04:00

One of my blog reader was asking to see my tomato plants the other day. So I am posting some latest pictures of it here.

The huge plant on the right just produce one fruits. Can you see it?

This is the one miserable fruit

This cherry tomato plant has given me quite a few fruits each week.

As for this plant it giving me over 50 tiny grape tomatoes a week. Look at how many fruits in a bunch.
This plants belong to my neighbor Nancy. Just look at the size of her plant and the amount of tomatoes she got there. I am so jealous of her plants. Anyway, I got to take care of it as I water it for her everyday.

Just look at all the fruits!!
Over the weekend we were trying out something new. We made fresh 'Grill Pizza' It turn out so good as the skin of the pizza were so crispy and it tasted so much better than the oven bake ones. No more bake pizza for us and from now on we are going to grill all our pizza.

Carlos went overboard with the toppings of tomato, prosciutto, olives, onions, salami, Swiss and mozzarella cheese.

Don't they look yummy!!

10 Rules For A Happy Marriage

2008-08-03T14:31:00.000-04:00

I saw this while blog hopping sometime ago but I can't remember from which blog. I hope the owner don't mind me posting it here. I am no expert in this so I let you be the judge. Let me know what do you think of it.

1. Never both be angry at the same time.

2. Never yell at each other unless the house is on fire.

3. If one of you has to win an argument, let it be your mate.

4. If you must criticize, do it lovingly.

5. Never bring up mistakes of the past .

6. Neglect the whole world rather than each other.

7. Never go to sleep with an argument unsettled.

8. At least once every day say a kind or complimentary word to your life partner.

9. When you have done something wrong, admit to it and ask for forgiveness.

10. Remember it takes two to make a quarrel.

What A Great Love Story!!!

2008-07-31T15:45:00.000-04:00

What a great love story between humans and animal. I bet you will get teary eyes watching this video clip.

Tomato 3 (2008)

2008-07-30T08:01:00.000-04:00

This is the very first bounty from this year tomato plants. Only one plant (from last year seeds) producing a lot of fruits but the other 3 plants only have miserable few. One of plant which is 6' tall but only produce one fruit and I am so tempted to cut it off. I am really disappointed with them. Actually it’s my fault. I bought another brand of tomato plants from Home Depot this year as I wanted something different. Oh well... next I will stick to the regular ones.

Can you guess whose little hand is that?

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Yes, is Mishu. She and her mom came to visit me last week. She really had a good time picking the tomatoes.

Update On The Sofa

2008-07-23T01:30:00.000-04:00

Set 1

We like this set a lot, very comfortable, with neck rest but too bad no arm rest on the side so It won't be comfortable for me laying there watching TV ha haa...

Set 2

Look very similar to our living room set.

Set 3

Very comfy, good price but we don't like the material

Set 4

Good size, very comfortable and I really like the color but its a bit expensive because the whole set is leather.

Set 5

Don't like the color and not comfortable.

Set 6

Too masculine for my taste but very comfortable and expensive

Set 7

My favorite, right color, comfortable and good price a bit too big for our TV room.

So which set we choose ...........................

....

We choose this set because it's really comfortable and just the right size for our TV room. Our TV room is much smaller then the living room so we have to get a smaller set. Most important it's my kind of color "RED" very auspicious color for Chinese ;)

The Hunt Is Over!!!

2008-07-20T10:01:00.000-04:00

Phew!!! We finally found the sofa we wanted. It's the right size, right material, right color but not the right price. It's a bit more than what we wanted to pay. We've have looking for the sofa for the past few months. We went to Delaware, New Jersey and even in California but some of them are too expensive, not the right color, way too huge and chunky or not the right material. The ones that we like were like was $6,000.00 which I think it was crazy. We found a very nice set at Plummer's in CA but the company don't do out of state delivery. Carlos even thought of renting an UHaul and hauls it back to PA. I think he is crazy.

Let me tell you all something about my husband. He is really fussy when comes to buying furniture. It's has to be something that he likes, the right leather, the right size, the right price and most important it has to be comfortable. This time I was surprise and still am that he let me choose the color I like. But one thing for sure he has very good taste when come to choosing furniture. For me, as long as it's comfortable and not too expensive it will be good enough for me. I guess is typical of women. We always watch the money part ;)

Finally we found the right set at Macy's. We should have check there first to save all headache and trouble and not to mention the expensive gas money. Macy is just 10 minutes drive from our house.

Let me show you some of the pix I took at Macy's. Can you guess which set we bought? I just can't wait to sit on it but we have to wait till the 1st week of August for the delivery. Now, how are we going to get rid of the old sofa? Any takers??

Passion or Obsession?

2008-07-13T20:23:00.001-04:00

I love cookbooks and I start buying them since I was in my secondary school. I have to admit that I have too many them. You can never let me go near a book stores and I will go crazy. Carlos is so scared of me especially if I go to Barnes and Noble. I will come out of the store with at least 2 to 3 cook books in hand and that doesn’t include food magazine yet. I subscribe to Bon Appetite, Gourmet, Cooking Light and also Everyday food magazine. I even have the habits of buy online now which is not good.

Do I refer to the all cook books for my cooking and baking? Maybe 20% of the time and mostly for my baking. As for cooking I will put whatever I want in a dish and never refer to an exact recipe. I just like to spending hours flipping through all of them and drooling over the beautiful photos. You will find more books on the shelves, my coffee table, night table and even bathroom.

What you see here is just my collections since moving to PA and the rest of the books are still in boxes at the basement. I can’t even remember what I have in those boxes. You won’t believe if I tell you I even bought the same baking books a few times and now I have two of it.

Back in Malaysia I have about 3 big boxes of the books in the storage. I am not sure how am I going to bring it all here. I wonder if it’s a good idea to ship it over here but I am pretty sure it is going to cost me a lot of money.

What I will do now is to avoid the book stores in order not to buy any more books. Carlos had been complaining that I am running out of space on the shelves for my books.

Great Advice!!

2008-07-11T16:25:00.000-04:00

I received this forward from a friend of mine and I think its a great advice. You can never be to safe anywhere. Recently my sister SUV got stolen right inside the house. How the thieves open the automatic gate and drove the car away without anyone knowing or the neighbours dog barking still puzzle us!!

Put Your Car Keys Beside Your Bed At Night!!!!!!

Tell your spouse, your children, your friends, your neighbors, your parents. Put your car keys beside your bed at night. If you hear a noise outside your home or someone trying to break into your house, just press the panic button for your car. The alarm will be set off, and the horn will continue to sound until either you turn it off or the car battery dies. This tip came from a neighborhood watch coordinator. Next time you come home for the night and you start to put your keys away, think of this:

It's a security alarm system that you probably have and requires no installation. Test it. It will go off almost everywhere inside your house and will keep honking until your battery runs down or until you reset it with the button on the key fob chain. It works if you park in your driveway or garage. If your car alarm goes off when someone is trying to break in your house, odds are the burglar or rapist won't stick around... After a few seconds all the neighbors will be looking out their windows to see who is out there and sure enough the criminal won't want that.

And remember to carry your keys while walking to your car in a parking lot. The alarm can work the same way there.... This is something that should be shared with everyone. Maybe it could save a life or a sexual abuse crime. It would be useful for any emergency, such as a heart attack, where you can't reach a phone. One Mother has suggested to her husband that he carry his car keys with him in case he falls outside and she doesn't hear him. He can activate the car alarm and then she'll know there's a problem. This is good for the elderly or anyone who lives alone, use as a signal for the neighbors to get help.

Tomato Plants 2 (2008)

2008-07-09T06:47:00.000-04:00

It’s already been a month since I last update on my tomato plants. I took the first two pictures just before we went for our vacation and the last two pictures were taken when we came home. The plants grow really fast and tall until if snap and I have to cut some of the branches off.

I am not sure what happen this year but I found out there were not many flowers and fruits on the plant. I spoken to Zue and she advised me to cut off some of the leaves. I did that yesterday and hopefully it will bear some fruits. And guess what!!! I found some hornworms chomping away on the leaves. It's just freaking me out and Carlos helps me to remove some of it. With this kind of wet and humid temperature I am sure there is more hiding between the leaves.

Friendship Tag

2008-07-08T13:02:00.001-04:00

I received this very special award/tag from Lesley and Yatie. I really appreciate their friendship and it is through blogging I found so many new friends and some even became good friends. As it is difficult to name each and everyone I want to pass this to so I am passing this along to everyone whom I know.

California Vacations IV - San Juan Capistrano (2)

2008-07-04T15:23:00.000-04:00

After lunch we hang around the San Juan Capistrano train station. Just watching the people waiting for the train and we just relax and enjoyed the beautiful weather. On the way home instead of taking the 5 freeway we took the Pacific Coast Highway or known as the PCH. We took that route because we wanted to stop by the beautiful beach. Here are some of the pictures we took along the way

San Juan Capistrano Train Station

The vacation homes along the PCH

California Vacations III - San Juan Capistrano (1)

2008-06-30T18:04:00.001-04:00

San Juan Capistrano is a city in the southern part of OC. Is about 23 miles from Santa Ana. The city was created around Mission San Juan Capistrano, and many of the homes and strip malls there resemble the Spanish architecture. Famous for their beautiful gardens and it is also the spring home for thousands of Cliff Swallows that annually migrate from Argentina to the Mission SanJuan Capistrano on March 19th, Saint Joseph's Day. For more information click here

Look at the hanging grapes!!!
I wish I can have some :)
After all the walking we had lunch at this little restaurant called Ramos House
We had Hush Puppies in pepper sauce
Sweet potatoes fries with dip
Mushroom Scramble
The very few orange trees left in Orange Country

to be continue.....

California Vacations II

2008-06-26T08:00:00.000-04:00

We woke up really early the next day around 3.00am. I guess it's the change of time and also we missed our bed and pillows. We were trying so hard to get some sleep. Finally we got up and make ourselves some coffee, go online and also watch some TV. It's another fun and easy day for us. We decided to visit the Orange County Market Place at Costa Mesa. Orange County Market place is the biggest swap meet in the County. It is in the parking lot of the Orange County Fair grounds. More than 1,100 vendors selling everything from fresh produce to homemade jewelry to thing you have seen on TV. It is so fun to walk up and down the aisles looking at the all wares. The admission price is just $2.00 and this place only open Saturdays and Sundays from 8am to 4pm.

This place is huge and you need the whole day just to cover everything. We used to come here every 2-3 month to stock up our toiletries, perfume and also fresh produce. We even got ourselves a cart as there is no way we are able to carry everything in our hand and trying to cover the whole place. I wish to have this kind of market in PA.

Here are some random shots I took when we were there.

This is what we came here for. Carlos bought so many bottle of Paco & Cool Water

This guy sounds like Nat King Cole

Undergarments, anyone?
They even had a booth to register aspiring actors and models.

All kinds of apron for the chef

Smart car, anyone?
What about pets?
What about a Porsche. That is Carlos dream car. He used to own one of this a long time ago :)

What about a House?

I was in heaven looking at all these fresh strawberries. Dirt cheap too!! We paid $3.99 for a box

This is for $7.99 a box. How can you beat that?

After that we went for our favorite juicy burger at 'Carl's Jr'