βαвʏ Ɔнαяℓɛƨ...

"Wei..." there was a gentle, meek voice coming from the phone. That was mom.

Kim Poh (My super-talkative yet friendly grandaunt) will be visiting my home! That was the end of silence at home!

That was what she did. Oh wait, guess who was along too?

BABY CHARLES!!!

He is kim poh's first grandson, who came to this world in 2010. Born in the year of Tiger, He was an unstoppable, super-active and cute little cub as well! My goodness, he was just simply cute and cheerful! However, he could never sit still. Carrying him around was by no means easy!

Come here, cutie boy...

I just saw something...

Arrow root chips, and nothing else!

Budding musician.

He is slightly over a year old, and here, he craved for nothing but ARROW ROOT CHIPS! When my parents and kim poh ordered him to sit still on the rocking chair, he sat-but for merely three seconds! He would pick up almost anything to play and eat-but biscuits. Getting him was like playing hide-and-seek, you can never fathom where will he be next. That was little wonder that kim poh was as fit as a fiddle!

Well, had I been given the responsibility to look after baby Charles, my diet plan would have succeed! Wait, he would have drive me mad! 

Boys will be boys, and so do babies. Babies messing up the house-that was just oh-so-normal! His infinite cuteness has awed every member in my family! 

By the way, he is left-handed.

I cannot wait to see him again in the future! Hopefully, by the time he would have grown and pushed asifde his mischievous antics, but remain as cute as before! Plus, I would like him to visit my family more before he leaves for Australia...

Ѧα Ɔнιиɛƨɛ Иɛω Ƴɛαя...

English Post.

Sorry for being on the other side of the Internet for a few days! Besides visiting my relatives during Chinese New Year, I was terribly under the weather these days, perhaps due to excessive overeating, being a darn couch potato and, oh whatever. 

Anyway, Happy Chinese New Year everyone!!!

22 January 2012

It was the Chinese New Year Eve. Just as most Chinese families will, my family had thrown a sumptuous Chinese New Year feast to usher into the new lunar year-the year of the Water Dragon. Frankly, we do not have much guests then-my paternal grandparents and an uncle. Anyway, that was enough to make up a REUNION...

Have a look! Disclaimer: It is just a feast for your eyes! Do not lick the monitor screen yeah, ha ha!

Purely homecooked reunion dinner.

Here the menu went in random order: Roasted pork, mixed vegetables, steamed fish, steamed chicken, braised mushroom with sea cucumber and "koh dao". Yum! Simple as they seem to be, it was a totally different feeling as you savour every bite of the food infused with dilligence and love.

Unless if you are a vegetarian, this feast is bound to make your mouth water, and even the most hardcore dieter will be off the track! *evil laugh*

By the way, no Chinese New Year is complete without decorations around the house. Thus, my home got a total makeover! Heck, it was just some decorations here and there. A total makeover costs a BOMB, man! Initially mom wanted the house to be repainted, but that was difficult to justify the cost.

Biscuits and pomelo, anyone?

Come midnight, mom prepared for the daily prayers. as for me, well, exhaustion crept on me, thus I could not stay up for the Spring Gala Show as usual, which aired on midnight. Sigh, I missed out everything...

23 January 2012

"gong Xi Fa Cai!" (Congratulations for gaining wealth!)

Real common. That is the first phrase coming out from my mouth whenever I wish my relatives during Chinese New Year. Till today, I am still wondering any suitable auspicious phrases besides "Gong Xi Fa Cai".  Frankly speaking, not all of us are working or earning money, please...

Money, is important. Yet, health, studies, life... they are equally important too!!! Any phrase besides that, huh?

No more rantings, Sharon. This is Chinese New Year, okay???!!!

Okay, OKAY!!!

Paternal grandparents' house-that was my family's first destination. Later, my mom's old classmate dropped over to my family's. They were from Ipoh....

(Maybe, I got to skip this. Visit, Visit and Visit, it was very monotonous, really! It was only the adults who chat till the world ends; we children and teenagers did nothing but kept our mouths sealed)

24 January 2012

I can tell you're looking at me
I know what you see
Any closer and you'll feel the heat

That was my alarm tone, by the way. It was "The Boys" by Girls Generation. I fell in love with this song...

Yawn~

4.00 a.m.!!! It was time to rise and shine for "Balik Kampung"! Wait, what "balik kampung"? To be precise, it was "balik bandar" because we were heading to Kuala Lumpur. To arrive there early, we had no choice but to begin the three-hour journey at the break of dawn. The entire road was virtually OURS!!! Yes, the best time to go to Kuala Lumpur is during the festive season. The road is yours!!! No more traffic congestion and whatsoever nonsense!

After unpacking the bags at my first aunt's house, off the entire family went to visit Seng Koo Kong's(Youngest granduncle) and Chit Koo kong's families. Their houses were just ginormous and elegant.

Seng Koo Kong's was just large with a flair of sheer elegance. I could not tell if it was just a house, a library, or a hotel! Bookshelves were everywhere, and there were almost THIRTY fans in the ENTIRE house!!! At there, Seng Kim Poh (Seng Koo Kong's wife) and me chatted about my career choices. 

This is how seng kim poh talks.

She talked as though as she was hurrying for a...

Anyway, it was a precious talk. From a seventeen-going-to-eighteen full of delusion and confusion, I am now quite enlightened about career choices. Maybe, I am better off as an accountant, or computer programmer, or to dwell myself in the fascinating world of multimedia?

Later, there we went-Chit Koo Kong's house. His house was much more simple-a sweet green bungalow amidst the healthy green pasture. (Sorry no pictures) Uncle Daniel (Chit Koo Kong's eldest son) even advised me about jobs (once again)-Mass communication this time, due to my passion in languages. Maybe, I should just devote myself into journalism? 

I am just-mystified. Here are my choices...

I simply cannot make decision easily.

Time to ponder. No more honeymoon! 

SPM wannabe announced on 22 March...

Anyway, my Chinese New Year was okay, but a little boring though... :(

By the way, this year is supposed to be the WATER DRAGON YEAR. However, the days were just freaking hot, so would it better if I call it as the YEAR OF THE FIRE DRAGON???!!! Ha ha!

做饼记

农历新年的脚步跫近，而制作过年饼是我家的传统啦！除了制作过程较繁杂的如番婆饼、Kuih Ros、蛋卷等等，其他的，一律独家精心烘制的哦。。。。。。（其实，我们参考食谱的。。。。。。）




说真的，这是我第一次尝试烘烤饼干！我平时看妈妈烘制过年饼时，总是暗自嘀咕、发窂搔，埋怨妈妈为何不让我这个大冬瓜代劳就好了。反正，它又简单又好玩，即打发牛油和幼糖，然后再逐粒拌入鸡蛋并分批拌入面粉，加入适当配料如巧克力粒、蔓越莓、葡萄干等等。搓匀面团后就整形，再把那些生面团儿送入烘炉就Okay啦！


不试不知道，试之方知味。做饼，其实并非任何芝麻绿豆小儿科！为何？

1. 搅入面粉时，面粉会喷得滿处都是，还得用九牛二虎之力才能拌匀的叻！
2. 整形生面团儿时，面团儿多到爆！挫饼团儿搓到腰酸背痛的那种。。。。。。
3. 当然，过后还要Clean Up的，（超彻底的说）否则就会有“好朋友”光顾！

不过，只要高兴, 再辛苦也值得。天下哪有白吃的午餐呢？

玉米饼干-蔓越莓，葡萄干和花生味。

青豆饼。放心吧，鲜艳的绿色来自青豆，没有人造色素，百分之百的天然!

Cranberry and orange cookies

巧克力核桃曲奇。

还有，还有白杏仁饼干和凤梨饼,当然不乏我家最爱的Muruku啦！（显然,我家不做Muruku，是买回来的。1Malaysia 嘛!)

无论如何,我永远不会放弃烘焙。何况，我爱上它了啦！！！！！！

New Baby! So What??!!

Baby is God's gift to families. Which married couple does not rejoice when a baby was born to them?

Yet, what I am trying to say here is that: You have a baby, do you need to create a SCENE???!!! Parents having a baby-well, that is a NORM, you KNOW???!!!

due to this as well, I lose all admiration to a singer recently. You know who is that.

These stars have babies too. Yet they manage to stay in shape.

Natalie Portman when pregnant. 

 

Jennifer Lopez. She has twins, yet she still looks beautiful and you cannot even guess that she's in her 40s at a glance!

   

Heidi Klum. She has FOUR kids. Yet, she manages to look sensational.

What about this star? (I think you all know about it.) She made a scene during the 2011 VMA Awards, apparently a baby bump. Soon, in a television programme, her belly seems to FOLD. 

In 7 January this year, her daughter was born. Yes, it is joy to the world-buy hey hello, do you really NEED to rent the ENTIRE floor of the hospital-just for childbirth? For 1.3 million dollars? (That is a handsome sum for we laymen, ha ha! )

 What about the other parents-to-be, huh?

@%%%@&@$*@$^~#%@%^!!!

Pity to the other parents!

Further news, I will say no more. They are all in the newspapers. I'm getting heated! (Very kay-poh, right? XD )

Cooking Up a Storm

Cooking is among my new hobby which I had picked up after SPM. Well, the holidays are long-a golden privilege for us high school leavers. I bet this privilege will only come to me again after retirement. Thus, there is absolutely NO REASON for me to waste this vacation by being idle,

11/1/2012

Fried rice.

My mom went to the temple. Thus, I was to prepare my own lunch. Being a greenhorn in cooking, I prepared fried rice, which, I must say, among the easiest lunch in the world!

Leftover rice, frozen mixed vegetables, small prawns, an egg, chopped garlic, dash of pepper, light soy sauce, some cooking oil, and of course, patience, these were just all that were needed for this easy-peasy daily laymen's fare. Likewise, ANYBODY can prepare it as the dish is not expensive, except for the prawns. (Yes, seafood is outrageously expensive these days) 

Here are the steps on how to prepare fried rice (Well, it is SO EASY that it does NOT even need a recipe! ) I will show the steps anyway.

Stir-Fry the garlic till fragrant but not too brown.

Add in the prawns and stir-fry together with the garlic till the prawns are cooked (curl up into a "C" )

Separate the mixture into one end of the wok, then fry the egg while mashing it up.

Add in the rice and mixed vegetables. Stir fry the rice till well-mixed.

Add pepper and light soy sauce to taste.

Dish up and serve hot.

Well, it is freaking easy, right? Not if you are impatient (That is me!) 

My mom wanted me to leave some of the rice for her to taste. Guess what? She commented that my rice was fragrant and that it was better than my grandaunt's (heart blossoms...) but it was too oily. (Yurghs!)

I must admit that my fried rice was damn oily as well. 

Anyway, it was quite a good try. (Being narcissistic, again, huh? ) Nobody learns without doing mistakes anyway.

12/1/2012

正月初一头一天 
家家户户过新年 
大街小巷悬灯彩 
炮竹响连天 
七个隆咚锵咚锵 
炮竹响连天 
小妹过年真高兴 
换上心鞋穿新衣 
从头到脚打扮好 
上街去拜年 
七个隆咚锵咚锵 
上街去拜年

Ehem. Maybe it is too early to sing this traditional Chinese song yet. Well, nine days away. However, I am completely geared up in the festive mood,all-out for Chinese New Year. (That does not mean that I crave for a crazy party yeah. Festivals are precious moments for FAMILY MEMBERS AND FRIENDS to REUNITE, right??!! Festivals are definitely not moments for you to become a skanky party animal! ) ***cruel laugh***

As a matter of fact, to me, everyday is Chinese New Year. Everyday is moon cake festival. ***winks***

For this upcoming festive season, my mother is going to offer a myriad of biscuits as usual. Personally, I prefer homemade cookies to the bought version because they are cheaper. (Actually, the ingredients are quite costly as well, especially cooking chocolate and nuts.) Besides, the ingredients are guaranteed to be the best and that the biscuits are loaded with REAL ingredients (e.g. fruits and nuts), and are preservative and stabilizer-free.

Of course, it is a back-breaking effort to bake biscuits. I used to think that baking biscuits is child's play and sulk whenever mom turned down my request for biscuits. Now, I got to taste the experience in baking biscuits. Awww! Unless you are physically strong, this task is bound to beat you.

Nevertheless, mom and my effort definitely pays off! As the saying goes, "No pain, no gain".

These are the first batch of biscuits: Cornflakes cookies.

Initially, we decided to make only cornflakes cookies with raisins. However, due to the lack of raisins, we soon turned to peanuts. I regret using peanuts as they do not taste good at all. :(

Thus, my mom suggested that we switch to cranberries. Obviously, the end product tastes a thousand times BETTER than those with peanuts! However, the cranberry variety and the raisin variety taste almost the same.

Happy baking to me yeah. I will be helping my mom to bake GREEN PEAS COOKIES soon!!!

Just Too EPIC...

I recently subscribed to this channel, Epic Meal Time. Please do not get me wrong- I liked this channel simply because I find this amusing and hilarious, and not for promoting meaty eating habits. Enjoy!!! :D











To be frank, I really salute the hosts for being able to eat food WITHOUT ANY VEGETABLES! What is more, they are not at the least plump! Had I been eating like that, I will be growing horizontally-like THREE times. Plus, I may not be able to swallow any of them (since I love vegetables- A LOT!)

No offence to them though.

However, the humour which is cleverly infused into every single video in this channel has outweighed its downsides. The procedures on the preparation of the food are sure to tickle your funny bone! (Imagine putting in endless streaks of bacon and pouring in huge bottles of Jack Daniels in EVERY dish... )

Enjoy!! :D

(Obviously I am not into scoffing on meat like that, but the videos definitely gave me a hearty laugh. :p )

Lady Antebellum-Just a Kiss

I must swear that this is among the most beautiful country song ever...!!!



Lyin' here with you so close to me
It's hard to fight these feelings when it feels so hard to breathe
I'm caught up in this moment, caught up in your smile

I've never opened up to anyone
So hard to hold back when I'm holding you in my arms
We don't need to rush this, let's just take it slow

Just a kiss on your lips in the moonlight
Just a touch of the fire burning so bright
And I don't want to mess this thing up
No, I don't want to push too far

Just a shot in the dark that you just might
Be the one I've been waiting for my whole life
So baby, I'm alright with just a kiss goodnight

I know that if we give this a little time
It'll only bring us closer to the love we wanna find
It's never felt so real, no, it's never felt so right
{ From: http://www.elyrics.net/read/l/lady-antebellum-lyrics/just-a-kiss-lyrics.html }

Just a kiss on your lips in the moonlight
Just a touch of the fire burning so bright
No, I don't want to mess this thing up
I don't want to push too far

Just a shot in the dark that you just might
Be the one I've been waiting for my whole life
So baby, I'm alright with just a kiss goodnight

No, I don't want to say goodnight
I know it's time to leave
But you'll be in my dreams
Tonight, tonight, tonight

Just a kiss on your lips in the moonlight
Just a touch of the fire burning so bright
And I don't want to mess this thing up
I don't want to push too far

Just a shot in the dark that you just might
Be the one I've been waiting for my whole life
So baby, I'm alright

Oh, let's do this right with just a kiss goodnight
With a kiss goodnight, kiss goodnight

School is here! Wait, Who cares?

Well, that is in my case as a high school leaver.

Witnessing my sister smartly donned in her school uniform and got geared up for school to get her textbooks for Form Four lessons which are about to kick start tomorrow, I reminisced on my gloomy Form Four days. Those struggles with the complicated lessons, endless tuition classes... Which were actually OVER!

Unfortunately, being stuck amidst the crossroads and thick clouds looming over my head, I view the future with infinite angst. Where to further my studies? should I go for Matriculation? Teacher's Training? Polytechnic? Form Six? Being born and raised in a middle-class family, I have definitely crossed private college out of my list. I am highly passionate in multimedia, but alas at the same time, languages and accountancy are my loves as well! 

My parents constantly remind me to follow where my heart belongs. Meanwhile, my friends suggest that I take up Teacher Training as I am okay (well, really?) in languages. I, on the other hand, am fascinated with the colourful graphics and a sea of information across the cyberspace.

Sigh, I really do not know where is my destiny, my life path.

Seriously, the post-SPM days are no child's play. Yes, I may regard it as honeymoon, but in fact, it is all about future planning and pursuing my hobbies and all. As I look at the promotion campaigns in the supermarkets and my Alma mater, I start to remember those school days. (Well, I will not repeat all these. Lazy, right)

As the days dragged by, I cannot help but sigh and pray. The long-awaited yet heart-thumping SPM results are to be announced not long soon, maybe on the end of February, maybe on March. Now, I will just leave these to God!

Now, it is a long holiday (I am not chosen for the National Service, ha ha!!!), but it does not mean that my mind will be allowed to rust. I hate to be lazy, really!

To fellow students out there, Happy schooling! Schools are not just merely about studies and homework; it is about cultivating a wholesome life for a bright future ahead. Who knows, you may be the next Nelson Mandela, Albert Einstein, Thomas Alva Edison or Confucius? Live up your school life! Good luck!!!

As for school leavers like me, enjoy this holidays but do not go overboard. To those who:

attend 

National Service: Good Luck and remember to take care of your safety! It is a chance to gain experience, do loads of extreme activities and make friends.

Work: Grab this golden chance for work experience and social skills.

Stay at home (That's me!) : holidays are never drab, if you can utilise your holidays well. Honestly, it is a golden privilege for us school leavers to enjoy long vacations for almost five months! (If I am not mistaken) Do whatever you like but cannot be done during school hours, however, bear in mind that do not go too crazy and wild.

Happy School days and advanced Chinese New Year!!! :D