Sick

I'm sick... shopped too much, travelled back to Penang, had to clean the whole apartment because of the huge mess the dogs made, slept late because too excited on planning where to hang all the Ikea stuff... managed to hang one photo frame, then finally fell sick... :(

But at least I'm doing better than the poor unfortunate plant I gave to Looi during Chirstmas. It died during the long holidays and has no chance of revival... so sad... yet it was so funny when I saw it... The plant looks like it was so depressed it just gave up on life.

Next time, I'll get him a fake plant. :)

Mash Potato recipe

I've got a recipe request from WY.


Hi Mindy
I am thinking of trying out mashed potato this weekend. And that reminds me of your mashed potato… I love yours very very much, do you mind sharing the recipe with me…? *evil grin*
Or, you can share it in your blog as well
wying


Hehe, first time somebody has requested me to share a recipe. Below is roughly the one I used. I actually didn't refer to the recipe, my sister taught me how to make it so I just followed her instructions.

I didn't add in the beef stock granules and mustard into my gravy. And when you make the gravy, it will look very pale so a trick is to add a few drops of thick black soy sause just to give it the color.

If you want the mash pototos to be really creamy, be generous when adding the butter and milk to it. Because I didn't rely on the recipe, I kept tasting the mash potato and the gravy as I made it to check whether I needed to add more milk, butter, or chicken stock.

Just talking about mash pototoes makes me wanna eat it... I think I'll make myself some this weekend as well. :)


http://kuali.com/recipes/viewrecipe.asp?r=2229

Ingredients
800g potatoes, unpeeled
40g butter
100ml hot milk
1/4 tsp salt
Pinch of salt and dash of pepper to taste

Gravy for the mashed potatoes
30g butter
30g plain flour
300–320ml fresh chicken stock
1 tbsp beef stock granules
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp prepared mustard

Method
Put potatoes in a large pan. Add enough water to cover and add in 1/4 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 25–30 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Drain and leave aside to cool.

Peel the potatoes then put them into a pan. Add butter and heat over a low fire. Use a potato masher to mash the potatoes until smooth in texture.

Gradually pour in the hot milk and beat until mixture turns creamy without any lumps. Add in a pinch of salt and a dash of pepper to taste.

To prepare the gravy, heat butter in a non-stick pan. Stir in the flour and allow the roux to brown gradually over a very low heat. Stir constantly to prevent the roux from burning. (It will become like a doughy texture, so be careful not to let it burn. Just keep adding a little butter, then flour, then stir, then butter, then flour, then stir...)

Blend in the stock and allow to boil. (To make the stock, just add 1 tablespoon of the liquid chicken stock into one cup of water. I added the stock bit by bit into the doughy texture, stirring it first until it thickens, the adding more stock. Once you add in the stock, don't try to add it more flour to thicken it, else it will turn lumpy. Just let it boil and it will thicken eventually. Make sure you use a very low heat).

Add salt and pepper to taste and beef stock granules and mustard. Cook until the mixture turns thick and smooth.Serve the gravy with the mashed potato.

I love Ikea

I don't dare to go online to check my credit card bill statement. I know it's gonna be a lot. Because I went shopping in KL. Honestly, I don't know how KL people can save money. There's just so many things to buy.

This is the first time Yin How and I went down to KL together since we moved into Bayswater. So the very first place we went to was Ikea. And we went again before we left. Ate the RM2 hotdog twice. Should have ate more :P

We were throwing stuff into the basket like it didn't cost anything. Keeping telling myself, it's not like I can go to Ikea when I'm back in Penang so better to buy it now. My little Kelisa was stuffed with so many things until I had to squeeze into the passenger seat in a very uncomfortable position.

When I reached home and looked at the stuff I bought, I was thinking, "crap.. i shouldn't have bought this...", "oh no, i can't use that...". Ikea has turned me into an irrational spending monster. Despite that, after looking through the catalog again, there were a lot of, "Oh no, I should have bought that... darn why didn't I see that..." Almost felt like going down to KL to go to Ikea again.

Though I always wish there is an Ikea in Penang, I think it's better that it doesn't come here. Else I'm going to be so darn broke every month. Though, I would have a very wonderful home with lots of wonderful stuff. Sigh....

Pigging out

Ahh... there's nothing like pigging out at home the whole day and still wearing my pink pajamas at 3pm in the afternoon. And it's especially enjoyable when I know everybody else is working. >:) Sigh... days like this are so few and so rare.

The holidays have made me so lazy that I prefer to stay at home, surf the net and become a couch potato. I'm even too lazy to get myself lunch, so I ate 2 bananas, 2 butter biscuits, a bag of chips and the candy that Looi gave me for Christmas for lunch- anything which I managed to dig out at home to eat.

I'm so gonna miss the holidays when I'm back at work next week. But I guess going back to work is good for me, else I'll eat junk food everyday for lunch.

Can't wait to go to Ikea tomorrow. Yay yay!~

Goodbye 2008

It's been some time since I wrote here. Got lazy during the holidays. But I have to write one more post before the year ends. 2008 has been a great year for me. And if I look back, this will be what I remember and what I've learnt...

1) I settled down in my new home. I get to see Yin How every night before I sleep and every morning when I first open my eyes. I fully utilized my kitchen, learning new recipes. I formed a new routine and began a new life.
Lesson learnt: Marriage is a commitment from both partners which involves a lot of work but results in absolute happiness

2) My baby sister has finally started university. Made me feel so old but excited and relieved at the same time. She's now a step away from being independent.
Lesson learnt: Oh gosh... I'm getting older

3) My team of originally 2 people has now grown to 8 people. A lot of new challenges to face at work.
Lesson learnt: Try not to takes things personally, focus on what's important and ignore what is not

4) My childhood friend, Soma, finally got married after being together with Raj for 12 years. We had a crazy Hen's night and it was a great grand wedding celebration.
Lesson learnt: Having a friendship of 12 years, then being there to witness her marriage is one of the most priceless experiences ever

5) I found freedom and broke free from my personal family problems. I started warming up to relatives and went to see my grandparents whom I have not seen for over 5 years.
Lesson learnt: Just because my parents are screwed up, doesn't mean that everybody else in the world is the same

6) The Hen's night my friends organized for me. Too bad I can only remember the first few hours of the night. I just remember being the happiest girl in the world. Of course, my dear friends enjoyed the night since I was their main source of entertainment, babbling the most embarrassing things which I couldn't remember the next day. But hearing about what I did that night from them was hilarious.
Lesson learnt: Never get drunk to the point I can't remember anything.

7) And of course, the thing that I will remember the most from 2008 is my wedding dinner. I spend the first half of the year planning for it and everything turned out exactly like how I wanted it to be. I broke almost every Chinese tradition there is about weddings and the wedding dinner turned out the be the craziest wedding dinner with an unexpected dance at the end. :)
Lesson learnt: Weddings are about celebrating the most important day of your life with the people you love. If you want to do something your way, don't bother what other people say, don't bother about the traditions, don't bother about the rules, just do it exactly how you want it to be and it turn out to be the best thing ever

Looking back at this year, I feel that it was really a great year so I am a little sad that I have to say goodbye to 2008. But I'm eager to say hello to 2009, another new year with new experiences and new lessons to learn. So before the year is up, I would like to say...

Happy New Year!~~

The first thought in my mind when I first woke up in the morning today is that, "There's work tomorrow.. sob.. sob...". I wish I took the whole week off. Why, oh why do the holidays pass by so fast?

What is Christmas?

I recently heard an advertisement where a little boy asks, “Mummy, how magical is Christmas?”. His mum replies, “Christmas is so magical, that fairy tales come to life in a wonderland”.

First of all, I absolutely hate advertisements where a little boy will ask his mummy a stupid question, and his mummy will reply him with a stupid answer. Secondly, now there are FAIRY TALES involved in Christmas? How much more can Christmas be distorted?

I love Christmas season. I love Christmas decorations. I love Christmas carols. I love the whole feel of Christmas. But deep down inside I’m wondering whether people actually know what Christmas is about. To most people, it’s about Santa Claus, a red nose reindeer, a frosty snowman and receiving lots of presents. It the time of the year where shops offer crazy sales, and people overspend on shopping. A time when restaurants charge super expensive Christmas Eve dinners which for some reason, people are willing to pay. It’s a time when people wear santa hats and go crazy on Christmas Eve, partying the night away.

But why are these people so happy that Christmas is coming?

Christians believe that Jesus came to this world to save mankind. And Christmas day is supposed to be the day when Jesus was born. As told in the Bible, Mary and Joseph traveled to Bethlehem and because there was no more room in the inns they had to stay in a stable and that's where Jesus was born. He was wrapped in cloth and placed in a manger.

After Jesus was born, a group of shepherds led by an angel and 3 wise men led by a star came to visit Jesus to give their offerings to the new born king. This is why a star or an angel is usually placed on top of a Christmas tree.

I remember when I went to school in England, there will always be a play about the story of Christmas and I would hope to get the role of one of the angels because they looked so pretty. Instead I got the role of one of the shepherds (as you can see, the costume wasn’t so pretty :P).

Anyway, that is the real story of Christmas… or is it?

There’s actually no evidence of Christmas celebrations in the Bible or in the history of the early church. Christmas day actually came from pagan origins. I was quite shocked when I found out. I knew that 25th December isn’t the exact day that Jesus was born but I never knew that Christmas day came from pagan origins. Ancient Rome used to celebrate the 25th of December festival honoring the sun god Mithras. As a way to spread Christianity and to compete against the pagan festivals, the Roman Christians chose 25th December to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, proclaiming that Jesus is the true light of the world.

However, no matter how Christmas originated, the meaning of Christmas still stays the same. It’s not just about receiving gift that you wanted, or partying until you’re drunk on Christmas eve or an excuse to go on a shopping frenzy. The original message of Christmas is about giving unselfishly to others, just has how Jesus gave his life to save us. Christmas is about sharing and forgiving others (and maybe even yourself) and remembering those who are less fortunate than us. And to the Christians, Christmas is in a way, is saying a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Jesus (whatever his real birthday may be). :)

So whatever Christmas means to you, I wish you a very Merry Christmas!~

How to clean a dirty home

Takes approximately 2 and half man hours (done by one person)

1. Start by cleaning the laundry area a.k.a. the dogs toilet


2. Use the feather duster to dust away all the dust on the shelves, cabinets, tv, etc...


3. Vacumn the whole place (it's encouraged to do this before Step 4 because Step 4 drains a lot of energy)


4. Trick the dogs to go into the laundry area using dog biscuits, then bath both of them one at the time (you can try bathing both together at once, but they will gang up against you)
   
   
5. Lock the two wet crazed dogs in the balcony to dry them in the sun


6. Mop the whole place. (Step 4 & 5 must be done before Step 6 to ensure no dirty doggie paw prints on the freshly mopped floor)


7. Clean the dining table and the coffee table


8. Make yourself a drink, sit on the sofa and marvel at how clean the place is, while the dogs look at you miserably through the balcony door



9. Open the balcony door and sigh while watching the dogs make new doggie paw prints on the clean floor


10. The clean effect will last for only a day. Repeat steps 1 - 9 again the next weekend.

Christmas shopping - done

Just came back from Christmas shopping. I've finally finished all my Christmas shopping.. yay!~~~

Yin How's colleagues are visiting the orphanage for Christmas and they are all buying presents for the orphans. I helped Yin How buy presents for 5 of the orphans. And I have to say I enjoyed buying their presents the most. We were wondering around the toy section in JJ for half an hour, picking all sorts of toys. Yin How was following me behind carrying a big stack of toys, while I looked around to pick out more toys.

I think the feeling of buying toys for the orphans makes me a lot more happier then me receiving presents from others... I really encourage everyone to remember those who are less fortunate then us and that they too deserve a little Christmas joy. It really doesn't take much effort to do a little charity and feel good about it. :)

Can't wait for Christmas to meet up with everyone. :)

Wish List

Mindy's wish list

1. More hugs and kisses from YH
2. For Genny to clean up her darn messy bedroom
3. iphone
4. Dell Mini 9
5. A pair of big black rim sunglasses
6. Big loopy earrings or dangly ones
7. A pair of nice white pants
8. A cool bead necklace
9. More shoes
10. A small adorable obedient dog in exchage for my two monsters
11. Still thinking...

My dogs refuse to leave me alone, they want their dinner and they want it now... gotta go and feed them now. Sigh...