Crumbly cheesecake

My first real effort in trying out my culinary skills. I chose a cheesecake as this recipe does not require baking so it should be quite easy. Of course mom had to help... It turned out rather well minus the crumbly base. A good first try (syok sendiri!). I was too excited to have my first bite till i forgot to take a picture of the whole cake!

Me baking??!!

I am now in the mood to do some cooking especially baking and am looking at two particular recipes - a cheesecake and a fruitcake. The irritating bit is that the former requires double cream and the latter muscovado sugar (NL uses this quite a fair bit in her cakes)!! Both of which i have been scouring almost all the supermarkets in Mlk but to no avail (Giant and Cold Storage). I was thinking if CS does not have them, then slim chance the rest might have it. Sigh.. i think there's still hope in JJ.. i hope!

Tis the season to be jolly

My favourite time of the year is here again. Yay!! I love Dec for so many reasons. It's the end of the year and it's time to relax and enjoy the holidays (does it even matter that i only have a balance of one day annual leave?!). The air is full of festivities.. and temptations are abound at the shopping malls.. such fun period to shop hehe! And not to mention the mega sales or as it is now known the malaysia savings sale 2008. Christmas this year would be a merry affair, as hubby dear will be back, plus it's Annabel's first :D Yay, bring out the yuletide cheer!! And I am definitely eager to start a brand new year. What can i say, this year has not been exactly my year for countless reasons. Sudah jatuh, ditimpa tangga. But every cloud has a silver lining, and that would be with the birth of our firstborn, darling Annabel (who is now 8mths old)!

The reading bug

I've suddenly been bitten by the reading bug, which is a good thing. So my time now is mostly occupied with reading (and Annabel of course), instead of facebook and more facebook (i know, i need to get a life)!! So here is a short take on some of my recent reads.

Sex and the City
It is basically a collection of stories on sex and relationships (or rather mating habits) of the different type of women found in new york. The scenes which caught my attention would be the ones with Carrie and Mr Big. Probably because I was (and still am) into the hbo original first rather than the book. Otherwise I found the book boring and without substance. Maybe I am biased. I have been avoiding chic lits for as long as i can remember until now. And I don't think I will be picking up another one anytime soon. Thank you but I'll just stick to the series.

How To Be Good
This is my first Nick Hornby book, although I have in my ever-growing collection (collecting dust), two others (typical me). It is about a london gp and her columnist husband and her two kids. A typical family. One day she got bored with life and had a little affair. She then decided to divorce her hubby but later changed her mind. Then her hubby met DJ Goodnews and suddenly became a good person. I mean, a really good person. A witty read.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
Writes from the viewpoint of an autistic teenager, Christopher. The tale opens with the death of the neighbour's dog. In the process of solving the murder mystery, Christopher discovered much more. Honest and innocent.

The Memory Keeper's Daughter
Tells the tale of an orthopaedic surgeon that was forced to deliver his own twins - a healthy boy and a down-syndrome girl. He at once decided to send her away. To his wife, their daughter was stillborn. It really wasn't fair to his wife, not knowing that their daughter was alive and well. If the husband didn't weave that one white lie, things would have been much happier for them. If only he knew. Bittersweet. More bitter than sweet though.

Tragedi Oct (as darling puts it)

One out of four has it these days. It's not uncommon anymore. And yet why does it feel so much like being handed with a death sentence? It is scary to think of the battle that lies ahead, for so many reasons. Dear Lord, please guide me and give me strength to face the challenges that awaits me.

Carroty goodness

She finished her carrot puree today. Yay, after the third day of carrots, she finally cleaned her little bowl. Although it was only one tablespoon, it gave mommy great satisfaction in watching her eat till the last morsel. Of course la with all the hard work steaming and pureeing it! Tomorrow will be a brand new day.. and spinach puree is on the menu!

Mini me

Then...

And now...

Does Annabel look like mommy??..

Annabel is five

Darling Bel just turned five months on merdeka day. How time flies. It has been about four months plus since daddy last saw her. Looking forward to the short reunion. Will be visiting Bel's paediatrician this Sunday for her immunisation. We'll then know how much she has grown the past month. Here are some recent shots of our little darling, doing what she knows best.. looking cute.

Toes-licking good

Life is like a box of chocolates...

I first came across it in Bali. Then saw it in HK. And now it is finally here. I'm talking about the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co Restaurant and Market. As you can probably tell from the name, the restaurant's concept is based on the movie Forrest Gump - his life, philosphy and love for shrimp. It has it's own retail store too, similar to that of Hard Rock Cafe and Planet Hollywood. You can also get a peek of the menu on its website which is especially useful for those fickle minded, like your truly. I only recently discovered its existence here in The Curve while watching The Firm. No, its not the John Grisham movie, but more like The Apprentice Malaysia version. In that episode, the contestants were required to organise a media event for the restaurant.

Hubby dear, hope we can pay Forrest a visit soon *wink*

Hi mr thieving robber

Dear Mr Robber,

Hi there. How are you keeping since you drop by? I truly hope that you are enjoying urself with all the things that you so casually took during your short but significant time in my home.

I'm assuming that you took quite awhile disfiguring the locks and padlocks on the wooden and stainless steel door. I'm sure you faced quite a challenge with the latter. Sorry for the inconvenience. If I would have known earlier, I probably would have left it open so you could just walk in. Then it would save me from fixing the doors. Also you wouldn't need to climb over the gate with your long sleeved shirt. No wonder you switched on the fan. With the climbing and all you must have been feeling the heat.

But I have to ask you, whatever happened to poor Pepper? Did you charm her into a zombie-like state? Dad would so want to believe that. Though I feel that silly Pepper was too frightened to do anything.

So, did you have an enjoyable looting session? The police identified you as the 'pillow-case' gang, evident with two missing pillow-cases from both rooms. Perhaps that was why you left behind the big stuff - too big to fit into them pillow-cases. Yes, I must thank you for not taking the desktop, printer, tv, radio etc. And it was very thoughful of you to leave behind my one-year old Coolpix S500 and Zire72. But why must you must take my 3month-old Inspiron 1420? I guess it was my fault to place it so conveniently for you to see. You even managed to grab the laptop bag. How nice. But I'm not sure if the laptop would be of any use to you. You might not be able to switch it on. Or worse you might attempt to call Dell for assistance. But knowing your kind of people, I doubt it. Your type are very resourceful so I am sure you would be able to make full use of it. Lucky you.

And imagine all the money you would make with the gold. You could really give yourself and dear family a treat. Go on a holiday perhaps? Also all those crystal accessories! Now how am I gonna find the same little tourmaline bracelet, with the perfect colour and size? Never. Plus I don't think I would ever visit Yangoon again! And whatever you would want with my hairbands? You took everything except for a plain black one! How thoughtful. Are they for your little girl? Also all my nice old purses and wallets.. I doubt I would be able to stumble upon those old Msian notes again.

Well dear sir, I guess you're not much of a drinker. You didn't take any of the liquor bottles except for one. But then again, they were all already opened. You go for the unopened ones.. yes, like the bottle of Dom that you took (which was a gift from a dear friend for my confinement), that was still nicely sitting in the box. I doubt you would sell it as it was only one box. Perhaps your wifey just delivered or you could be keeping it for future use. Or you could even gift it to some relatives or friends. Yes, that would indeed be useful. Err.. but you missed out the box of liquor beside the stack of old newspapers. Or was it too heavy for you?

I guess time was your enemy then as you did not manage to rummage through the last room. Which was rather unfortunate as you would definitely find more stuff that suits your fancy. Well then sir, I'm really grateful that you chose to come when we were all out so to avoid any nasty confrontations. Next time do gimme a buzz so that I could prepare for your grand arrival with perhaps the red carpet?

Yours Sincerely...

The Amazing Race Asia 3

I'm eagerly awaiting the third installment of the amazing race asia. Yes, I'm a TARA addict. What more it's taunted as the toughest race ever. The season premieres on 11th Sept and a special episode 'Racers Revealed' will be aired a week earlier.

I am disappointed though with the chosen racers especially from Msia. Why must they choose 'famous' people AGAIN? With people like Ida Nerina and Bernie Chan submitting their entries, how are we normal people to stand a chance? Why must they always choose abnormal people? Why can't they pick our everyday Joes and Jills (or Ahmads and Minahs) who crave just that five minutes of fame? However I still do look forward to it.

That's me with Andrew and Syeon from the first TARA. This was taken during CNY 2007. Apparently Andrew has relatives here in Melaka *_*

Just my luck

I never thought it would happen to me. Or maybe I was hoping it wouldn't happen to me. But it did. And it is something that happens quite rampantly. You might have experienced it, or at least somebody you know - a relative or perhaps a friend, has gone through it.

Burglary, snatch thief and such are happening every single day and during the broad daylight. Neighbours or people at the scene would just gawk and not do anything. It is none of their business. Better not get involved lest they became the next target. The police are seriously not doing enough. Orelse there wouldn't be these cases day in and day out. Oh, they are doing their job. Upon successfully apprehending (more likely killing) the bad guys, their success story would be plastered in the dailies and all over the news. But that is just one case. What about thousands more? They simply couldn't care less.

I am irritated and heartsick whenever I think about it. I wouldn't list down the things that were taken. It would not mean a thing to you. Being a self-declared hoarder, everything I own has its own story. Therefore all have sentimental value to me. And to think that the things they find useless would just be thrown away.. it's just too much. And the losses not only come from the things that was stolen but also to repair the physical damage. But I must thank them for not taking my desktop or else I wouldn't be able to blog and complain about them!

But I am thankful that it happened when the house was empty, so no one was hurt (emotionally and physically). Things happen for a reason. I believe it is His way of telling me not to be too engrossed in the material world. I am not going to blame Him but instead give thanks.

"In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you" 1 Thessalonians 5:18"

Happy National Day dear Malaysia

Scenario 1
A: I'm a Chinese.
B: So you must be proud hosting the recent olympics and all!
A: Huh?! I'm a Malaysian born Chinese!
B: Opps ignorant me.
(Although I am sure loads of MBCs are proud of their 'motherland')

Scenario 2
C: I'm an Indian.
D: So how's the Taj Mahal? (chessy)
C: Huh?! I'm a Malaysian born Indian!
D: Opps.. ignorant me.

Scenario 3
E: I'm a Malay.
F: So how's the twin towers? (lame)
E: Still standing tall.
F: Duh!

We are taught to differentiate and seggregate ourselves by race and religion since birth. And we have been programmed that way since. I miss those carefree primary school days where we were free to mix with friends from different race. We were all the same once upon a time. Until some of them were whisked away to boarding schools upon completing UPSR. Then one starts to ponder and think. And it was alarming to discover that seggregation among races was the worst in uni. Dinner time means dining with your similar colour. Perhaps things have improved now. I can only hope.

Come this Sunday would be our 51st year of independence from the British. Like hubby dear mentioned before, we should look beyond our differences and unite in what we have in common (a good example in the recent olympics - the relationship between our badminton star that garnered silver and his dedicated coach).. that we are all Malaysians.

Giggling Bel

Scrapping through

I was blog-hopping and stumbled upon some scrapbooking blogs. I too love scrapbooking and cardmaking etc but I haven't unleash my creativity for what seems like ages now. Time is a factor. With the baby it's even more difficult. But I guess if I spend less time blogging and facebooking I surely can make some time.

Then there is the cost factor. The material for this hobby can be rather expensive especially here in Msia (as for everything else also!). But before that, you need to know where to get your material and to my humble knowledge, Melaka has no such shops. In KL, well.. there are a few.. here and there. And of course there's always our friendly neighbour Spore. Then it'll be even more expensive! I know though that I could use recycled stuff, that would surely help with the cost.

Of course if I actually get started on this hobby, I would surely need storage to place all my essentials. As it is I have a few boxes already filled with my craft nonsense and at the moment do not have the luxury of space for more! And this is not even hk!

Bagels anyone?

Discovered something new in the Melaka food scene. Stumbled upon the Vienna Bagel kiosk in Mahkota Parade (somewhere opposite Poh Kong, near the 1901 hotdog kiosk). Now, anything that sounds foreign must be nice. So I decided to get some. And it was my lucky day - they were having a buy-one-free-one promotion for a week (being new and all).

Nice box packing.

So I asked if it is ok not to reheat it. And I was told that it wouldn't be as soft as it claimed. Hmmm...

It was something like pretzels but softer but not as fluffy as doughnuts (yes, even without reheating!). There are two varieties - savoury and sweet. Clockwise from your top left: jalapeno and cheese (the only savoury I took), oreo crumble, peanut-coated chocolate, coffee sprinkle on white chocolate, almond nut-coated chocolate and cinnamon sprinkle on white chocolate.

My verdict? I would go for the savoury type and perhaps the cinnamon. Maybe I'm being biased as the jalapeno had a tinge of spiciness (duh!). And if you know me you would know that I can't live without spicy food (the more spicy the better). Mom said it tasted like pizza. Well, I can definitely live without this one. On second thought, I'll have that jalapeno and cheese again.

Turning and laughing

Annabel experienced a couple of first times end of last week.

17 August 2008

I missed her turning process the first time. I left her on the bed (on her back) and when i returned she was already on her tummy! But fortunately I managed to catch her turning all the way the second time. It wasn't easy for her as she was *eiik*eiik*aink*aink* (her trademark sound) all the way. And when she was done on her tummy but couldn't get back, she would start wailing!

19 August 2008

Then grandma managed to make Annabel laugh by speaking gibberish. Such a cute giggle. She would start slow and we would laugh at her (cos it was just so funny listening to her) and then she would giggle even harder upon hearing us laugh! Such a sweetie! Annabel also would giggle when you drop her hanky on her little tummy (grandma discovered this). For some reasons she found this act amusing, but not for long. We tried again yesterday and she wasn't amused one bit. Well, i guess she woke up at the wrong side of the bed then!

Oh, and I managed to catch her sucking her toes! Like a little gymnast, her right hand went for her right leg and gingerly put it into her mouth. But she let it go soon enough after discovering mommy with the camera! Smart girl!

Happiness is...

What is life without friends? Here are Annabel's faithful companions. There are piglet, tigger, rabbit the rattle, Pepper (tersesat there.. a bodyguard perhaps?!), baby elmo, patrick (the dog)'s imposter, minnie mouse and some character that I don't recognise from Jalan Bijan (grandma said it looks scary with it's eyes popping out!).

3-4months now

Darling Bel is three months plus now. She is beginning to recognise people around her especially mommy. She is a happy smiley baby especially if you talk to her. Colourful pictures and the idiot box fascinate her. Now is also when she 'discovered' her hands, and how tasty they were. She would grab at almost anything and would hold on to you when being carried.

Unfortunately she had to experience her first diarrhoea this month (complete with fever and all). She had to be changed almost every couple of hours. Poor girl. The doctor prescribed probiotics, among others. Although it was strawberry flavoured, she didn't like it one bit. It was such a torture for both baby and mommy (not to mention grandma too!). Her tummy upset was most probably due to poor hygiene by the maid (at the expense of poor Annabel). Sigh... and it took quite a while to recover. She would past motion during or after each feed! This also prompted us to get her a rotavirus oral vaccination.

At her fourth month, she weighs 6kg and 63cm in length (not too bad considering all the diarrhoea!).

Doughnuts or donuts?

It is finally here. Yes, the craze for Big Apple doughnuts is finally here in Melaka! What is so special about a bunch of different topping doughnuts? There are a whole lot of 'new' (to doughnuts) flavours. And most importantly the toppings are of good quality (you can taste the difference), hence the dear price of RM2.20 a doughnut. These treats are soft and fluffy and not too big. A piece is often not enough. My favourite has got to be Duren Duren! Some are saying JCo is better but I have yet to try that.

Clockwise from top right: Duren Duren - durian-filled doughnut (they use fresh durians hence you are advised to consume it within three hours), chocolate shavings with tri-sliver of strawberry cream atop melted chocolate, melted chocolate, vanilla filling inside (reminds me of "Flowers in the Attic" whereby the grandma fed her grandkids arsenic-laced doughnuts, which happens to look somewhat like this), mango doughnut,.. and yours truly couldn't wait to indulge in Duren Duren before taking these pics hence the empty space. And yes, I bought two of those.

As much as i try to deny it, I'm now a member of Big Apple Anonymous.

Almost three

Annabel now sports a cool cap-shaped hairdo, signs that her hair is indeed growing. She weighs 5.4kg and 61.5cm in length in her third month. She is beginning to sleep throughout the night. No more disturbing mommy's beauty sleep. Good girl! And she is getting cuter by the day! She also likes kicking her little legs up in the air.

Annabel at month 2-3

Of trishaws and becas

If you've been to humble Melaka, you'll know that trishaws can be very colourful, not to mention noisy. I have nothing against it being bright. But noisy.. if at the right place and right time could definitely be tolerated. Well, this seems not to be the case here almost every Sunday morning. It would be like a carnival outside Christ Church Melaka. Well, it couldn't be helped i guess, being a tourist spot and all. But what could definitely help is that the trishaw pullers be a tad more considerate. In the middle of a service, the honks would go blaring followed by some noise of a music. People... have some respect (for your fellow Msians of other religion!!)! Couldn't they just pipe it down for just a few hours. Is that too much to ask for?

After the first month

Annabel weighs 4.9kg and 58cm in length (a 7cm increase since birth!) at two months. Look at her pretty patch of jet black hair. But unfortunately she had to shave it all off. Her hair is now growing slowly but surely albeit a few empty patches here and there. Poor thing. She also started to smile (esp if you talk silly with her). She likes to be talked to and would reply with her own baby talk. She seems to love talking.. hmm.. i can definitely see the similarity with daddy! Here is also when we introduced the pacifier to her. Yup and it has to be pink!

On being 1-2mths old

Precious foetus

This is how Annabel looks like in her 3-6mths of life...

Almost an april's fool baby

These are a compilation of the first few shots of little darling Annabel at 0-1mth. (TOB: 1408hrs, birth weight: 3.15kh, birth length: 51cm)

We we also worried then of her having jaundice, but thank God she was ok. This was also when we (more like mommy) nicknamed her 'nenek kentut' (sorry Bel) as she farted a lot (now an adult that passes gas a lot wouldn't be getting that same reaction would he?) and sometimes she looked like an old lady.. a cute one. And oh my, she can really burp! But you wouldn't want to mess with her when she's angry especially when her milk arrived late! She would turned all red in the face! Grandma said courtesy of the endless red-dates tea that mommy had to drink in the last few weeks (and it didn't stop there!).

She's such a sweety and definitely is gonna be manja as she's the first baby for both mommy and daddy's sides. Our precious first born...

Welcome!

Hi there! This is my 'new' blog. Thought it's about time to revamp rosietheposie with a fresh new look. And with sites like http://www.btemplates.com/, I'm spoilt for choices when choosing the right template. And being fickle doesn't help either.