My Valentine's Day 2016!

It's almost the same every year but this time around, hubs surprised me with an additional gift!

He had given this initially as I wanted it for the convenience of my bloging/ writing. Hence, I wasn't expecting anything else aside from me planning what to cook for dinner :-)

And then he surprised me with a Starbucks paperbag on my pillow on Saturday night! I was so overjoyed and speechless!

Imagine that a mere tumbler can bring me so much joy! LOL! I definitely slept pretty well that night... with a smile etched on my face, I think!

Aside from a home-cooked spaghetti dinner, I have yet to get him a gift though... I wanted to make another MU inspired beanie but couldn't find the correct pattern yet. So, am still pondering on this... *fingers crossed*

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

A very Happy Chinese New Year to all who celebrate this auspicious day!

Image Googled

May the year of the fire monkey brings you lots of luck and prosperity!

2015 Diwali @ Adrianne's!

Visited Adrianne and Sugen's for Diwali with Joyce and Amran. Lunch prepared by Sugen's grandmother was so yummy! We actually went for second serving :-)

For the album, unfortunately, we didn't have a good one... also, the hosts were not in it! Well, at least I'm able to remember the food :-)

Oops! Accidentally took with Amran's head off

Adrianne's shot of us but not in a good pose though

Deepavali greeting and a peek in my small garden

Firstly... a very Happy Deepavali to all who are celebrating this auspicious festival of light! Also a Happy Holiday to the rest who are enjoying this public holiday!

Secondly, here's a look into my small garden. I'm happy and proud of my babies though much effort had been put in so that they look marvellous! All thanks to the masters in Malaysia Gardeners Facebook group! Oh yes, learnt many tips especially in reviving my plants and now hoping for more blooms. Also added a small edible section which I'm so proud of *grinning widely*

My edible section is on the right, on the rack

My semi-shade area plus seedlings

I definitely would not have a flourishing garden if not for all the tips I've learnt. Joining this group has been a real blessing and inadvertently got poison a bit lah... i.e. the beginning of my edible section. Also, I'm in the midst of making my own organic compost! *pats on the back* It is actually very easy so my next target is to make my own Fish Amino Acid which is also as easy! Taking 1 step at a time *fingers crossed*

Selamat Hari Raya!

Raya greetings to all... have a nice holiday! Please drive safely for those balik kampung! Don't drink and drive ya!

Happy Birthday Everyone!

Today is the 7th day of the lunar calendar which is also known as "yan yat" meaning 'everybody's birthday'. It's a day to eat 'sau meen' aka longevity noodle for the obvious reason and toss 'yee sang' for wealth and prosperity.

However, I have fallen sick again! Darn! How to rid of sore-throat, cough and fever permanently? It's tiring and being in a frozen working environment, definitely not helping unless I quit which I can't due to the mounting debts and responsibilities. Sigh!

Oops! Choi! Sorry for the negative rants which shouldn't happen during CNY... pantang (abstinence) a bit...

Anyway, just a recapped of hub's birthday recently which I want to journal it here:

An early treat at his favourite Bar-B-Q Plaza! Yummy!

Also cooked a special for him on the actual day. Recipe from Jamie Oliver but amended a bit due to limited ingredients LOL!

Tadaaa! Spaghetti with tomato and tuna ready for nom nom!

I wished that the year of the wooden goat will treat hubby fairly and fulfil his wishes what the horse has forgotten last year. May he be healthy, wealthy and wise!

Also, Happy Birthday ya all!!!

Kung Hei Fatt Choy!

It's the year of the wooden goat, may it shower you with abundance of wealth and bless you with good health! For those traveling, be safe. Don't drink and drive!

Sickly rants

Been sick for the past few days...
Bouts of fever and sore throat last week.
Runny nose, coughing non-stop with phlegm at my voice box this week.
Damn irritating as I'm losing sleep to coughing and feeling more stressed out especially waking up voiceless.

Due to this, I've missed out Thaipusam greeting and Lap Chun posting. Sigh!

Anyway, just a summary of these celebrations:

Thaipusam "Thaipoosam" (Tamil: தைப்பூசம், Taippūcam) is a Hindu festival celebrated mostly by the Tamil community on the full moon in the Tamil month of Thai (January/February). It is mainly observed in countries where there is a significant presence of Tamil community such as India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Mauritius, Singapore, Guadalupe, Reunion, Indonesia, Thailand and Myanmar.

The word Thaipusam is a combination of the name of the month, Thai, and the name of a star, Pusam. This particular star is at its highest point during the festival. The festival commemorates the occasion when Parvati gave Murugan a Vel "spear" so he could vanquish the evil demon Soorapadman. There is a misconception among people that Thaipusam marks Murugan's birthday; however, it is believed that Vaikhasi Vishakam, which falls in the Vaikhasi month (May/June), is Murugan's birthday.

You can read more of it here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thaipusam

Believe it or not, I have not been to Batu Caves and not even during the Thaipusam celebration as I worried about the crowd and also THE climb! LOL! Perhaps, 1 fine day when my guts dare to climb those flight of stairs!

The traditional East Asian calendars divide a year into 24 solar terms (節氣). Lìchūn (pīnyīn) or Risshun (rōmaji) (Chinese and Japanese: 立春; Korean: 입춘; Vietnamese: Lập xuân; literally: "start of spring") is the 1st solar term. It begins when the Sun reaches the celestial longitude of 315° and ends when it reaches the longitude of 330°. It more often refers in particular to the day when the Sun is exactly at the celestial longitude of 315°. In the Gregorian calendar, it usually begins around February 4 and ends around February 18 (February 19 East Asia time). It's also the beginning of a Sexagenary cycle.

You can read more of it here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lichun

This is always associated with the egg standing stance as it seems eggs will only stand during this day. Not sure how true it is but it is always a wonderful experience trying to get the egg stand on this auspicious day yearly LOL!

CNY preparation

Chinese New Year (CNY) is just around the corner hence this is my 'growing check list' LOL! Well, it will be added and amended as and when required :-)

• Greeting cards - checked
• Spring cleaning
• New clothes and undies
• Praying stuffs
• CNY groceries
• Trim hair
• Manicure & pedicure
• Red packets
• Minnie's grooming

Anyway, this year, CNY falls on 19th February 2015, year of the wooden goat. With less than a month to go, there is still no festivity mood... everything is quiet so I felt that this time it would be a quiet celebration. No frills, no loud bangs. With so many unfortunate incidents from the start of 2015, I noticed many people have tied up their banks, not willing to overspend with many saving for rainy days. I don't even feel the mood anywhere! No music, no decorations, nothing. Sad, right?

Well, lets hope the year of the goat will bring more prosperity and good omens to all. Everything will be alright. Fingers crossed!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Here's wishing all my dear readers, friends and families who are celebrating this auspicious season, a very Merry Christmas!

For those who are not, Happy Holidays!

Diwali greetings

A day late but nevertheless...

A very Happy Diwali to all who are celebrating this auspicious festival of light!!!

Had a fun time at Adrianne & Sugen's open house with Joyce... nice and airy condo... with lovely home-cooked dishes by Sugen's grandma! All from scratch! Such a talented lady who can also crochet and cross-stitch!!!

Yummy sweet savoury and murukku!!!

Yummy home-cooked dishes!!!

Joyce trying out Adrianne's shawl... crochet by Sugen's grandma... so talented right?!!!

All good things just had to end early... well, we can't stay the whole day and 'chi chan' right?!!! LOL!!!

Mother's Day & Sis' Birthday

Killing 2 birds with 1 stone so to speak since Mother's Day is nearby sis' birthday so we celebrated a double whammie last Sunday ^.^

Our dinner was at Restoran New Paris but this time around, the service was bad, waited for ages for the food to come and when it did arrived... totally not fresh and cold. Not sure what went wrong when the place was not even packed. Anyway, we had a fun time catching up, chatted all the way and enjoyed a memorable moment *happy sigh*

A very Happy Birthday sis... may all your wishes come true!

10 scientific ways to be #HAPPY!

By the way, today is Earth Day!

Our planet is at a turning point. The massive global migration underway now from countryside to cities will demand huge investments in energy, water, materials, waste, food distribution, and transportation over the next 25 years. If the right investments are made now, this unique opportunity will be the catalyst for dramatic changes in the built environment and the fight against carbon emissions and climate change.

You can find out more from here:
http://www.earthday.org/

Happy Easter Sunday!

Taken from www.homeaway.com.au

Happy Easter my Christian family, friends and readers!

The symbolic language of the crucifixion is the death of the old paradigm; resurrection is a leap into a whole new way of thinking: Deepak Chopra

Happy International Women's Day!

For more details, you can read it here

My CNY 2014 in a glimpse

This year's Chinese New Year (CNY) is indeed low-key... don't feel the festive mood until the very last day i.e. 15th day aka Chap Goh Meh. Even the Yee Sang was incomparable to the previous years as it was not as tasty, in fact the quality has dropped a lot and yet cost a bomb! Whatever the reason, lets hope that it will be more festive and better next year. Anyway, here's a glimpse of mine, nothing biggie and very simple...

My first Prosperity Toss aka Lou Yee Sang was with my colleagues during our company dinner at Connexion @ Nexus Bangsar South. Only managed to snap the first few and last of the dish served, not because it was yummy but busy yacking away with my colleagues:

Yee sang

Honestly, never tasted anything like it... this was really a disappointing dessert

2nd toss was with my angels at LFF Restaurant OUG:

It was disappointing and expensive

3rd toss was on CNY eve at mom's house:

From Sushi King

Disappointed as there's spaghetti!

Offerings for our ancestors

Yummylicious mom's home-cooked food!

Mom's open house on 1st day of CNY:

Happy to see all my uncles, aunts and cousins from mom's side!

4th toss with my in laws at hometown:

The best Yee Sang amongst all!

5th toss, which was my last, was with hubby's colleagues at Restoran 88 Kuchai Lama:

Honestly, cheap and good, traditional style

Will blog this fantastic place next

This time around, hubs made these!!! 2 of my favourite heaty junks!

Fried crabstick

Fried ngaku (arrowhead) chips

Easy to make yet yummylicious albeit time-consuming! Adding on to the many home-made cookies from MIL, sis Alvina and grandma! There were other cookies too but forgotten to snap and it's all in my tummy... damn... how to lose these CNY fats now?

Cornflakes from sis, traditional kueh kapit & kuih bangkit from grandma, sweet peanuts & muruku from MIL, chips from hubs and yummy dried meat all the way from Singapore!

That sums up my Chinese New Year for 2014, year of the wooden horse. Lets hope the wooden horse will bring us galloping ahead with power and fame! Yee har!!!

Happy Birthday!

What a coincidence! Today is 'Yan Yat' which falls on the 7th day of the lunar calendar, meaning everybody's birthday! It also happens to be hub's birthday today! You can read a brief summary of 'Yan Yat' which is accurate here.

Here's wishing everybody a very Happy Birthday! May all your Gong Xi Fa Cai wishes come true!

Pasta Zanmai, TCM

Also a very Happy Birthday to hubs! Had a wonderful dinner last night albeit small portions o.O
Love you lots, lots, lots... muaks xoxo