Ginger lives in a cage right outside our sliding door. She loves it there as she can see the world go by when we are at work. She hates being in there when we are home though. She wants to run around the garden, run around the car at the porch, gnaw at her chewy bone just outside the main door, terrorize the grass.. the works.
So we do let her out when we are back. But we put her back in when we go to bed. We don’t trust her being alone FREE for such a long period of time. Previous attempts resulted in a porch scattered with organic fertilizer, uprooted plants, torn up rags, pots broken, .. erm.. you get the idea.
Lately however, she started an evil scheme. She yelps at precisely 4.30 am to get me to release her. How did this come to be? Well, one morning it rained heavily.. and water was being splattered into her cage. So she started yelping.. and Hallelujiah.. here comes Mummy to release her. Since then, she’s testing my patience.
Anyhow, this morning I released her again at 4.30 am. It’s a God forsaken hour, so I went back to bed soon after.
2 and a half hour later, while I was happily (NOT) getting ready for work. I heard the neighborhood dogs barking.. but hey.. our yelper (aka Ginger) was quiet. “What a good girl” VIH* said. It was at that VERY MOMENT I got an SMS from my neighbor. It read
“I saw your dog running around outside”
SHIT
Grabbed my stuff, yelled to hubby, ran downstairs, opened the door.. dog missing.
“Ginger!” I called
She came bounding through the gaping hole. Thank goodness!
Can’t imagine where she’s been or what she’s been up to. She looked at me like a teenage kid caught playing truant.
“Where have you been?” I inquired.
“Roof!”
“Well young lady, don’t you get so pleased with yourself. Go back into the cage.”
In she went. (Yes she obeys to that command)
I examined the hole.. the plank we used to cover it must have fell during the heavy rain last night.
What a fright. Thank goodness she knew her way back home. Wouldn’t have fancied running around the neighborhood yelling “Ginger!”
Our neighbor (on the right), is a special end lot with a big land area. When we moved in, it seemed abandon and unoccupied. Few months later, renovation work started. As you can imagine...it was havoc for us. Dust and debris falling onto our side of the fence.. It’s ok, Love Thy Neighbor...they won’t be renovating forever.
When nearly ALL the walls were torn down on their side, we thought the worst was over. THEN, they took down the chain fence dividing our houses WITHOUT our knowledge. Never mind, Love Thy Neighbor...they are putting up the wall without asking us to pay for it.
True enough, the dividing wall came up...but hey...why is there a gaping hole in the middle? Oh, it’s their design thing and wrought iron bars were supposed to be put in. *smile* soon it will all be over. Next thing we know...WHERE ARE THE WORKERS? All halt with works…. the house is not even done yet...heck ...I don’t care about the house.. what about the gaping hole?!!? WHERE IS THE LOVE ??
It’s been over 6 months now..and the situation is the same (in military terms probably it will be SNAFU). That’s it... I think we’ve tolerated enough… something must be done.
In fact something happened this morning! But that’s another blog post. So Watch This Space!
Have a friend who is forever 16, took a test and it verified that she's 16! She emailed me the test ... Then I thought... "Hey, maybe I should have a go". Times like these I wish I had a cricket thumping my head and telling me it's a bad idea... but NOoOooOO I had to take the test....
*Weep*
| You Are 30 Years Old |
Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe. 13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world. 20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences. 30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more! 40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax. |
First, some background
Now the good part!
I stepped out to the ladies. Came back in, a colleague said out loud
"Cyrene, you know someone by the name of Hook?" With a weird look on her face. Coz obviously, Hook is a weird name to have.
"He sounded European-lah" She must have thought it was our Overseas colleague.
I couldn't help but laugh and blurt out "It's KK-lah"
"Sei Jai ar.... tricked me!" She exclaimed (Sei Jai = endearing way of saying ... bugger)
LOL ......
What happened next? Read it here
Hubby's mouse died. Well, comatose actually. The infrared light is still there, but the mouse ain't budging on the screen. So he proposed we drop by 1 Utama after work to get a new mouse. Thus, he pulled the life support out of the comatose mouse. *looks left and right... nope, no pro-life protesters*
We decided on dining at "Wong Kok Cha Chan Teng". "Wong Kok Cha Chan Teng", I just like saying it... the way it rolls out of my mouth. "Wong Kok Cha Chan Teng".. hehe The name is in Cantonese, and it should mean "Wong Kok Cafe". "Wong Kok Cha Chan Teng"... hehe ok I'll quit it.
This place is a sudden hype.. partly because of the semi tongue twister name... and partly for their humongous Iced Milk Tea. They serve that on the house, if you produce proof that it's your birthday. No kidding!.. the container is the size of a planting pot!
OK anyway, we were a little zany and decided to try a weird concoction of toast that they have on their menu. Banana, sweetcorn and mash potato toast. I know, weird combo... but we decided to try it nonetheless.
Soon a waiter brought the dish over, with a queer look on his face. It had banana and canned sweet corn on a thick toast, drizzled with mayo and thousand island sauce. The mash was on the side. The mash tastes like those Nestle instant mash... and very salty too.
The toast with banana, sweet corn, mayo and thousand island (yes I have to repeat all the ingredients to emphasise how weird it was) tasted not too bad amzingly... The sweetness of the banana, the sour saltiness of the condiments. Hubby twisted his face though... it was too weird for him to handle.
He said they probably added that into the menu after a few kegs and pissed drunk. I'm sure the kitchen staff was peeping through the door to see which wierd bugger ordered that concoction. It's probably the FIRST time they actually sold that dish.
Perhaps they even secretly took a picture of us, blew it up and hung it in the Kitchen's hall of Weird Eaters!
Shoots! I actually am gonna believe that happened!
And nope, we didn't finish the dish! We're not that weird.... well, at least not hubby coz I ate half of it by the time we left. Hang on, does that mean I'm weird?
My Sis-In-Law (SIL) was having a bit of a bad week last week, with the nasty doc and the oups incident with the Camry. So, I thought of cheering her up a little.... Actually an excuse for me to try the "Steamed Egg Cake" recipe hehehe...
So here's how I started....
Some simple ingredients (Sugar, Flour & Eggs)
The recipe's simple, a bowl of eggs, a bowl of plain flour and a bowl of sugar. However, because I'm not ready to succumb to diabetes just yet, I halved the sugar amount. Also, I added a dash of Sodium Bicabonate into the plain flour. Next...
I whisked the sugar and eggs till it's pale and fluffy. Notice I'm using an old school hand-whisk, I swear my right arm muscles bulged after the process. Good workout though hehe... Then gently fold in the flour till well mixed. Next stop, tart moulds....
The batter filled up 6 of these tart moulds (filled to 3/4). However they should've filled up more.... I didn't whisk the egg and sugar up enough. Then put them into the steam machine.... a.k.a a big wok filled with water and topped with a platform for steaming.
Put on the wok cover and let those babies enjoy the sauna for 15 minutes.
The result.....
Played with some food coloring for deco
And for my dear SIL .....
Hehehe I had so much fun doing it, I whipped up another batch. (This time I made sure I whisked them eggs good!) The result? .. the cakes were fluffier .....
Another 2 ended up into hubby's tummy.
I've always been meaning to Blog about our pet doggy. How she brought cheer to our lives, how she does the cutest things, how smart she is.... and last but not least how much she makes our blood boil. hahaha. OK, let me begin the story again.
We've always talked about having a pet dog when we move into our home. We've always envisioned walking the park with our obedient dog. Oh what a serene scene that painted. So somewhere in December last year, I scoured an online forum for puppy adoptions. These are mainly stray mongrels, and some kindred spirits, finding a loving home for them. Fate has it that I stumbled on a posting about "GirlGirl". This poor little mongrel was adopted, but the owners were irresponsible and left her to roam the streets again. So a kindred guardian, took her in and tried to get "GirlGirl" a responsible, loving home.
I was curious and I clicked on the link to view her image. This was what I saw.
Now tell me that's a look you can say 'no' to! She has an uncanny way of tugging ye olde heartstrings. So I offered the guardian to give a home to "GirlGirl". Weirdly though I felt excited and nervous. I began to wonder if I am responsible enough for this lil' pup (she was about 9 months). But the moment we met for the first time.... I knew she was right for us!
We hereby knight thee - Ginger.
Ginger making herself at home in the Garden
The first weeks were quite exhausting. Very much like first time parents, we fret about her food, we fret about her wellbeing, we fret about keeping her welcomed..... while she fret about separation. Ginger had quite a bad run of separation anxiety. She would shadow us ALL over the place! Even to the washroom!
We decided that we need some support in parenting Ginger, so we named my Sister In Law Ginger's Godmother. Funny thing is, it was as though Ginger knows.. coz she ALWAYS runs to my Sister In Law when the family comes to visit.
It's been 7 months now, and we're happy to say that, we can't imagine our home without her. That lil bundle of fur, joy and yelps!
All that Fur on a small dog!
She is shaggy all over. She likes to roll about in the garden. She loves to garden (aka dig up the plants). So, I'll let you draw the conclusion on how icky her fur can get after a week. So last weekend, we decided to treat her to a grooming session at a newly opened pet shop nearby.
The time came, we bundled her into the car. She didn't suspect a thing.
We brought her to the grooming room, and she wasn't the slightest worried. In fact, she was excited! "New doggy friends" I can almost hear her say.
"How short do you want to cut her fur?" Asked the groomer. "Erm, short but not too short?" Uh oh.. did I make the right decision? "Means how short?" The groomer asked again. "Erm... Ok short", "Don't hate mummy, Ginger" I whispered. Ginger was nonchalant.
So we left her there for 2 hours..... she came back to us smelling like baby powder. Is she still cute? Well... why don't you judge for yourself...
It all started when I was surfing through the blog of Schweeney (btw, just added her into my friends with blogs roll), and came upon this Coffee Quiz.
| You Are an Iced Coffee |
 At your best, you are: hyper, modern, and athletic At your worst, you are: cheap and angsty You drink coffee when: you're out with friends Your caffeine addiction level: medium |
Yesterday the world was again shocked by acts of terrorism. A string of what seems to be choreographed explosions crippled the London underground network and a bus. At least 38 people perished and 700 injured.
Reading the news and looking at footage of the explosions, one can't help but think of how vulnerable we are. All these carnage.... what better cause could justify it?
Looking on with horror, I thought to myself "Thank God it's not here". Then I felt guilty. Terrorism knows no boundaries, we will never know if it WILL one day be here. I find myself trying to understand how someone can deliberately cause such violence, walk away with a clear conscience. How?
What's the price of human lives nowadays?
I couldn't look, it was so horrific
Scott Wenbourne(Witness at Aldgate)
Weekday mornings are never easy. I make a pact with my inner-self every night to wake up earlier the next morning (in fact we make a pact with the freakishly loud alarm clock too). But you and I know it never happens. I end up breezing through the shower (aka Mandi Kerbau), put life onto face (aka Make-up), make breakfast (this can sometimes be optional when I’m super late) and finally hang out the clothes to dry.
Why the rush? Simple, to beat traffic. We live very far from where I work (playfully nicknamed “Jungle” by a colleague in fact), and my hubby would drop me off at the LRT station for my daily homage to all 14 LRT stations to my destination. Most of the time, I get a seat…and the trip would be uneventful. I guess someone out there didn’t want me to get bored of my trips… and thus begins the story of my morning.
Approaching the entrance of the LRT station, I noticed that the shutters were half drawn. “Now that can’t be a good sign” VIH* said. Indeed it wasn’t. A notice was displayed at the entrance announcing a technical fault on the tracks, causing trains to be delayed.
“Just wonderful” I sighed. Seeing that commuters still duck their heads and proceeded to the gantry, I did the same. The platform was packed with anxious commuters, constantly checking their watches and I presume all saying a little prayer that they won’t be late for work.
More announcements blared over the PA system “Your attention please. Due to technical issues, trains will be delayed. Thank you.”
“Thank you”? Don’t thank us; I’m quite sure the technical issue was not caused by us the commuters! Hah!
Few minutes later (thankfully, coz the sun – being very cynical – decided to bake us at the platform), a train arrived. Needless to say, we all transformed into sardines and did what was natural to us, PACK IN!
“It’s not all as bad as it sounded out to be” I thought. Ok, other than the fact that the guy standing behind me about 30 degrees to my left decided to raise his right arm to hold onto the support beam, resulting in me having to keep my head at a 40 degree angle throughout the journey! (No, I couldn’t move.. and if you asked that question, you clearly have not transformed yourself into a sardine before).
A few shocking moments happened when the train had to pull a few
50 minutes later, 20 minutes longer than usual, I finally exited the train. Phew!... It’s nice having a little personal space again.
"Love vanquishes time. To lovers, a moment
can be eternity, eternity can be the tick of a
clock."
--Mary
Parrish.
Indeed it does... it still feels like just yesterday I was walking down the aisle with my dad. The beginning of a new life...
How did we celebrate?
| 8.00 am | : | Woke up and hung clothes out to dry |
| 9.00 am | : | Went for breakfast (oh I of course put on the pretty pink blouse my hubby bought) |
| 10.00 am | : | Arrived at church. We were 30 minutes early... So we spent some time at the Grotto ... |
| 10.30 am | : | Mass begun. Today we were asked to help out as "Wardens".. First time :D.. Hubby made sure to look each person in the eye to make them cough up the cash LOL (just joking) |
| 11.40 am | : | Had tea with V&V.. It was nice to catch up after a long while |
| 1.00 pm | : | Indulged in a foot reflexology session with hubby. (my treat) |
| 3.00 pm | : | Lepak-ed around at home |
| 5.00 pm | : | Cooked a simple dinner. Pasta with tomato and cream sauce... Accompanied with a bottle of Ice Wine ..... followed by a slice of cake. Yum Yum!! |
| 7.00 pm | : | Took Ginger out for a walk in the park. Wished I brought my camera... The sight of Hubby and Ginger walking in the park was so adorable. |
| 8.00 pm | : | Watched some tv... |
| 11.00 pm | : | Retired for the day |
I hear you guys exclaiming "WHAT?!" hahaha... but it just felt right. We've reached the ONE year mark... yes, it's special... but what's most special is that we found each other and that we strive towards making our marriage work. I don't mind forgoing the fine wine and silver dining for an evening stroll with my love in the park.. just quietly enjoying each other's company...
Happy Anniversary Darling ... *lift up wine glass* And here's to many more!
Thank you very much for all the well wishes.. and especially to Babe for her dedication post. It was really really sweet of you.
