Sorry for neglecting my blog for so long!
I don't even know how I should start this post. Had taken a hiatus from blogging since December last year; not by choice, but rather due to some family matters. And one of the key happening is, my family has relocated from Singapore to Pattaya in Chonburi, Thailand due to my HB's job assignment, for a period of two years.
It has been a roller coaster ride thus far, from recce trips to school selection to house hunting, to packing, settling admin issues, managing interim living in SG. And finally the shift here, interim living once again; delays in our cargo, more admin procedures... it has been mentally and physically draining for the past 2 months, with a couple of emotional outbursts and breakdowns.
Frankly there is a lot on my mind about this relocation, yet I couldn't bring myself to recall them as it's too mentally exhausting to do so. Well I did whine a lot on my personal FB the past two months! LOL :p Therefore I'm going to leave it as that, less my mood gets affected again.
On the brighter side, there are a lot of things I would like to share as well, about living life in a different country, about the environment, lifestyle, weather etc; about the interesting places I visited, the nice food and eateries I tried... I guess just so many that I don't know where to get started! In time to come, I'll blog about them for sure, such as lovely cafes, interesting shops, markets, spa, places of interest etc.
Anyways I have started cooking on a daily basis and has been posting photos regularly on my FB and IG, it's just that I haven't pick up the mojo to edit photos, write recipes and blog. As it is, it's so tough writing this particular piece to kickstart my engine! Once again, I have to pick up from where I left off and re-start my blogging regime again!
Till my next post! Stay tuned!
Showing posts with label Summer Daydream. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Summer Daydream. Show all posts
06 February 2018
18 March 2016
My Birthday Rainbow Cake
This is going to be a random post about my birthday, cake and just ramblings :p
Yesterday was my birthday!! The final year that I can still declare myself officially as 30s! Don't know why I'm becoming more afraid of aging now? I must treasure my time this year and enjoy fully, partly because somehow stepping into the big 4 scares me, and partly because the kiddo is entering Primary School, a new milestone for both of us.
Anyways, went for a long spa therapy, followed by Korean BBQ dinner with the hb and kiddo, and finally birthday cake at home. It was simple, but lovely and I felt happy and blessed. Yep, that's how I feel so far this year, somehow I'm
feeling quite high with generally good moods, different from last year
where I was grumpy, grouchy and moody.
I remember last birthday was quite bad, I was feeling totally lousy. Worst, after looking at my birthday photo, my self-esteem dropped to an all-time low, I was overweight and looked haggard and ugly. Therefore, I made a wish to change myself for the better, through conscious healthy diet management and regular exercise. The path towards weight-loss wasn't easy, but somehow I persevered and survived, and lost about 7-8 kg. Read about my ramblings here.
So for the upcoming year, hope to lose another 3-4kg, so that I can buffer for weight gain, given that I really love to eat and actually dislike exercise. LOL :p
Well, for the past 2 years, the hb and kiddo had been buying the "Decorate-It-Yourself" cake from The Icing Room, and honestly speaking, the cake tasted blah -_- Sorry if I sounded snobbish or rude because I know many people love the concept and buy the cakes there, but I really disliked the cake.
So I decided, I will bake my own birthday cake. All along, I thought it's pretty weird to bake your own birthday cake, I mean, a bit pathetic right? The birthday girl still has to bake her own cake, can't her family buy cake from bakery or patisserie or something? But then again, I am a homebaker, I'm quite picky when it comes to cakes and pastries. Since I've been baking and selling cakes for others' birthdays, why can't I do it for myself? I can have any flavour and design I desire!
Initially I had big ideas, to try new recipes, new flavours etc. But I just returned from a sea-fishing trip in Malaysia, and tired lah. Cake, what cake? Oh ok, how about we just stick to my rainbow cake? I baked so many for others, I also want one for myself :)
Now, my family doesn't have very sweet tooth, and so do I. I always prefer the very tender and light type of cake, not too sweet as well, like the Japanese Strawberry Shortcake. Totally disliked fondant cakes as the cake texture is usually quite dense and the fondant is cloyingly sweet! Actually I'm not a big fan of buttercream either, a little bit is fine, but not a lot. Many people love chocolate, I like it, but likewise, not a lot. Finally 2 years ago, I attended a workshop on roll cakes and liked it a lot, so adapted the recipe for layer cakes instead. Spent much time and effort trying out, and managed to come up with a formula for order customization. So sorry, can't share the exact recipe or formula table, it's my baby.
Basically, the cake layer is baked using Japanese-style genoise sponge method where only 5 ingredients are used, flour, sugar, unsalted butter, milk and whole egg. The filling and frosting is made using whipping cream and mascarpone cheese and icing sugar (optional). Usually I will decorate with fruits or marshmallow (favourite for young children) but I wanted a sweet-looking flora look and I happened to have a box of swiss meringue buttercream in the freezer. While I really like the pretty-looking cakes with big blooms of roses and flowers that's very popular now, like I mentioned I'm not a big fan of buttercream (I'm not eating so much buttercream flowers), so I just randomly piped a few rosettes and some petite flowers and petals with whatever piping tips I have.
Heehee, turned out quite pretty, I'm pleased with it. I think I can add this design or similar to Meg's Pastry Studio :)
How the cake layers looked like before filling and frosting. Each layer is prepared and baked individually, as in prepare batter and bake, repeat 4 times (and not prepare one batter, divide into 4 baking pans). Very tedious!
The cake must be chilled, and best eaten cold, or just thaw for about 10-15 mins.
Love the cake texture, very tender and moist, pairs with the chantilly cream very well. The buttercream part was not bad; had reduced sugar so not too sweet, ate just a bit.
Looking forward to a great year of baking, cooking, travelling, dining and having fun!
18 September 2015
Ramblings about exercise and diet
6 months ago, a day after my 38th birthday, I stared at a photo taken during the home celebration and thought to myself, WTF, I looked like crap, frumpy, fat and haggard (partly also it was a super lousy celebration, don't ask). Finally took the courage to step onto the weighing scale and I was a bit shocked. Sheesh, confirming my suspicion that I put on a lot of weight (was always in denial). The tell-tale signs were there, a lot of clothes felt tight or worse, I couldn't fit into them. My HbA1c is also hovering at borderline ideal range.
It was there and then, I decided to make a change and that very evening, I started my exercise regime. Just start, don't make excuses, 1km is better than nothing at all! Started very slow covering only 1.5km and building up to about 5km progressively over 1 month. And thanks to my good friend J, who introduced me to the Runkeeper app, I'm able to track all my runs and exercise, keeping me in check and motivated!
In addition, started eating healthier and a bit of (mental) calorie counting, more vegetables and proteins and lesser carbo (more during breakfast and lunch and very little or none for dinner); try to avoid eating after 8pm. Once in a while, I still indulge but in moderation. The weight loss started off very slowly and at times I felt deflated, so I gave myself a goal, in fact 2 goals - to participate in a competitive 5km run (in 3 months) and to reward myself with a luxury branded bag upon losing 5kg.
Well, now that I have achieved my first 2 goals, I thought of penning my thoughts that went through my mind the past 6 months. I'm not the type who write motivational messages and what not. Actually these are just silly or even cynical ramblings, laughing at myself, so don't take me seriously!
It was there and then, I decided to make a change and that very evening, I started my exercise regime. Just start, don't make excuses, 1km is better than nothing at all! Started very slow covering only 1.5km and building up to about 5km progressively over 1 month. And thanks to my good friend J, who introduced me to the Runkeeper app, I'm able to track all my runs and exercise, keeping me in check and motivated!
In addition, started eating healthier and a bit of (mental) calorie counting, more vegetables and proteins and lesser carbo (more during breakfast and lunch and very little or none for dinner); try to avoid eating after 8pm. Once in a while, I still indulge but in moderation. The weight loss started off very slowly and at times I felt deflated, so I gave myself a goal, in fact 2 goals - to participate in a competitive 5km run (in 3 months) and to reward myself with a luxury branded bag upon losing 5kg.
Well, now that I have achieved my first 2 goals, I thought of penning my thoughts that went through my mind the past 6 months. I'm not the type who write motivational messages and what not. Actually these are just silly or even cynical ramblings, laughing at myself, so don't take me seriously!
- It took me 6 months of exercising 3-4 times a week, 4-6km each time, PLUS minimal carbo and lots of wholegrains and vegetables to lose 7kg. To me, it’s torture ok. I can’t decide whether I hate exercising more or dieting more.
- I really envy people who could eat all they want and wouldn’t gain weight or still look slim! For me, slightly more carbo will make me gain kilos. Or I suspect, even breathing air will make me get fat.
- I love food. Period. If I’m the type of people who will not gain weight no matter how much I eat, I will definitely live to eat.
- Nowadays I’m constantly hungry. I hardly have snacks at home, so I will linger in the kitchen trying to find any snacks at all. I love looking at food photos on FB, blogs, Instagram and sometimes I would just salivate at the pictures.
- Sometimes I will steal snacks from the kiddo’s goodie bags from school. I don’t allow him to eat most of the stuff anyway and if I don’t eat them, they go to the waste bin. Waste not right?
- I love to bake and cook. But the irony of it, nowadays I eat very little of what I baked and cooked. They went elsewhere, no prizes as to where they went.
- No, I've NOT turned into a health nut eating vegan and whatever macrobiotic diet. I repeat, I LOVE food, all the fatty, sinful ones, bring them on! Just in moderation, or work them off lor.
- I get water retention and bloaty very easily, if I don’t drink enough water. So I’m like a thirsty hippo drinking 2-2.5L of water every day, which is supposedly the recommended amount of water intake, which I believe most people don’t do. I wonder how they manage it.
- 6 months ago, I’ve not jogged like in 10 years. Never in my life would I imagine myself to join competitive 5km runs either. But I did 2 so far. Before I started all this running, my hb jio me to run 10km. I’m thinking to myself, siao bo? Run 5km want to die already, can I really do 10km?
- Anyways, I am very proud of myself, in fact surprised by my own determination. For that I’m rewarding myself with a branded handbag. Yes an expensive 4-figure one. I don’t care (less than $2k ok right?). No, not Chanel lah, cannot afford. But then, if I lost 10kg and run 10km and win 10million, maybe I will?
- Although I have lost 7kg, I still look stumpy. I have fat arms, that look like legs. And legs that look like tree trunk. I have resigned to the fate that I might never be slim slim. My family has fat genes.
- 5 years ago, I lost 12kg just by breastfeeding for 1 year. In fact I was the “lightest” since Secondary school days. I swear to myself I must maintain and not gain back the weight.
- Swearing is no use, I gained back 8kg in 5 years. But I gonna swear again, to maintain the current weight. Or better still, lose some more as buffer so that I can afford to gain some back.
- I’m convinced that I have to weigh myself every day so that I can keep in check. And only in the morning because I’m lighter in the morning! I would get paranoid even if I gain 200g, so I would relieve myself in the toilet and check again, maybe it’s just the water you know.
- I have 2 weighing scales, a digital one and a mechanical one. The mechanical one is 1.5-2kg less. Sometimes to make myself feel better I weigh myself on that one.
- The digital weighing scale also seems to have some error, sometimes when I change position, there will be a weight difference by a few hundred grams. So I would step up and down in different positions until I’m convinced.
- My favourite pair of jeans which is super ex is getting loose, not sure if I should just wear it with belt or get another slimmer pair. It’s really ex ok!
- Should I refresh my wardrobe since I’ve slimmed down? But 5 years ago, I refreshed my wardrobe but had to buy new ones coz I gained weight. If I refresh now, what if I gain weight again and have to buy new ones again? Cannot keep 2 sets lah, wardrobe space no enough.
- I used to jog in the morning, but I’m not a morning person. I’m sluggish and grumpy. So now I exercise at 4pm to make it in time for the kiddo to be back from school. I thought I’m siao to run at 4pm coz most days it’s super hot. But then I saw more siao people jogging at 2 or 3pm when it’s blazing hot.
- Each time before I jog, at about 3pm I will start looking out the window at the jogging track below my house to check the weather. And check at every 10 min interval. If it’s very hot, I would start debating to myself, should I go run at 4pm or not. Maybe I should just chill and take a break?
- Sometimes when it’s cloudy, I would be so happy, but after I change and get ready, or about to start, the sun turns on full blaze and I would curse and swear, WTF!
- Sometimes when it’s cloudy, I would be so happy, but after I change and get ready, or about to start, it starts to rain and I would curse and wear, WTF!
- Once, it’s cloudy I was so happy, after about 1km, it started to drizzle. I rushed home to bring in my laundry. After bringing in my laundry, the rain stopped. WTF! I went back downstairs to continue, and the sun came out.
- Usually my first 2-3 km is ok, energised and I could go on non-stop at a steady pace. But at the 3km pace, I start to regret, wondering why I am running and when will this ever end.
- I often wonder, why do I even bother to diet or exercise at all?
- Why is it that some people make running look so effortless, they run like air? I look like an elephant stomping the ground. And I huff and I puff like I’m about to collapse from asthma attack.
- Sometimes the weather would be cloudy and breezy at noon and 2pm, and I would be thinking whether to go for a run. But I’m worried that the sun would come out suddenly and it’ll be crazily hot. But it remains cloudy till 4pm and after I get ready, it turns sunny.
- Sometimes I find that I have no energy to run, is it because I’m on diet and eating less? But if I eat more in order to have more energy, then I’m not dieting and I can’t lose weight. How?
- When I run, if I let my mind think about some drama/movie that I’ve watched recently I find the distance is not as daunting and time passes quickly. But if I let my mind go blank, I would be counting each and every step I take and wondering why after running so long, I only cover 50 meters.
- Recently I tried jogging on treadmill at a hotel gym. It felts damn shiok to jog in air-con, and even better when plugging into Asian Food Channel watching Anna Olsen bake some mean looking molten chocolate cakes, and then thinking to myself, shall I reward myself with a slice of cake after the workout? Sheesh, have I turned into a health nut, exercising even during vacations?
- My most satisfied moments about exercising - during the warm-down and stretching, thinking to myself, I have survived yet another workout, I have burnt like 300 calories which means I could indulge in something 1000 calories later?
- My most satisfied moments about weight loss - stepping onto the weighing scale and seeing my weight go down and able to fit into old clothes once more, walking in clothing store and try on clothes a size smaller.
01 January 2015
2014 - Seriously what did I do? 2015 - Getting my act together!
Happy New Year!
Once again it's the time of the year for me to recall the things I have "accomplished" for the past year. Somehow 2014 had been a fuzzy year :p Or probably because I didn't feel like writing at all. Our family just came back from a holiday yesterday, I had lots to unpack and tonnes of clothing to wash. Moreover attended a wedding lunch and a gathering after that. Feeling so tired and just wanted to take a nice warm bath and go to sleep :p Probably this is exactly how I feel throughout the year, sluggish and procrastination.
Blogging
My blog is now 7 years old! Managed to blog more in 2014 (in fact a record number of posts since I started 7 years ago) since I'm not working and supposedly have more "free" time. But still there are several backlogs in the travel section, and I was supposed to categorise and update all the sections :( So I really have to stop procrastinating and get down to complete all these one fine day yah?
Actually I have also been thinking whether to split up my blog. Currently I have several interest areas like baking, cooking, travel, spa, shopping all in one blog. Should I set up another blog just on traveling/spa/shopping and dedicate this blog to baking and cooking? I'm still undecided, because when I first started, I wanted this blog to be a personal lifestyle blog, so this has been the direction all along. Is there a need to change?
Well, probably I should just finish up the backlogs and sections updating first, one thing at a time!
Cooking & Baking
Since I'm not working, I've been cooking more for the family at least 4-5 times a week. Check out the labels under Cooking for the dishes I've tried.
As for baking, most of the time there were for the orders I took, else it would be bakes requested by my son or for gatherings/parties.
For this year, I really hope to cook more healthy dishes, especially my lunch (which admittedly I had been eating some junk food), and also to attempt more new baking recipes. Have been hoarding a lot of cookbooks, bakeware and cookware, so it's high time I get into action and start to utilise them or de-stash.
Meg's Pastry Studio
When I first started Meg's Pastry Studio, it was more for fun and orders would most probably come from friends. Didn't expect to receive orders from strangers who came to my blog, some of whom became repeat customers and even recommended their friends. There weren't a lot of orders, a few a month at a comfortable pace. I still insist on quality over quantity, using premium ingredients without added chemicals (like sponge gel, ovalette to make cakes soft and tender).
Most of the orders in 2014 were for rainbow and ombre cakes in lychee and vanilla flavours, with a few chocolate cake orders. Actually other flavours like red velvet and carrot & walnut cake are available as well, but I guess these are more common and people came to me because of the uniqueness of rainbow and ombre cakes.
Had wanted to organise baking workshops but didn't have time to conceptualise. I'm inclined towards small group of up to 4 in a class. But then again, the thought of cleaning up afterwards made me think twice (I have no helper at home). Shall KIV this idea until I'm ready.
Upcoming, I'm thinking of starting a Facebook page for Meg's Pastry Studio. Let's see how it goes.
Travelling
Oh yes, we have been going places in 2014!
In February, hubby and I hopped to Hong Kong for a short trip and then a 6-day holiday in December with the little rascal for his first Disneyland experience. Don't think I'm going to blog about both trips; the first trip was short and not many photos taken. As for the second trip, it was hard to take good photos with the rascal around so probably going to post the photos on FB only.
In June, our family with our mums travelled to Ipoh and Cameron Highlands. We first flew in to Ipoh then rented a car and drove up to Cameron Highlands for 2 nights and then back to Ipoh for another 2 nights. It was a fun trip which turned out unexpectedly good. I'm still procrastinating on the photo editing and this I shall blog about.
In July, hubby and I decided to try a new place, Hua Hin. We flew in to BKK and rented a car and drove there. It was a great getaway and beyond our expectations. Definitely gonna blog about it!
In September, we brought the rascal to our favourite resort in Phuket for a rest and relax trip, tried a few new restaurants, so probably gonna blog about the trip.
How could I miss out my favourite country, Japan? Haha. This year, we went to Tokyo 2 times, once in April to celebrate hubby's birthday and another trip in December for our yearly onsen experience. Have already blogged about the April trip, shall blog about the December trip which was totally awesome!
In between, we also made several trips to Legoland in JB and a group travel to Kukup with our Uni friends.
Now that it's 2015, time to plan for more trips!
My soon-to-be-5 little rascal
Some say that 2-3 year-old toddlers are in their terrible twos or terrible threes? What do they call the four and five year-olds? I call them frustrating fours and fives! It's challenging talking to my rascal who's getting so articulate that it became a battle of wits trying to get him to listen to instructions. With a kiddo who's bursting with energy the moment he wakes up, many times I felt drained both mentally and physically. And I have only ONE. Kudos to those families with more kids. I seriously cannot take it. Anyways, after chatting with friends who have kids of similar age, I felt slightly better knowing that I'm not alone feeling the frustration.
Now that he is turning 5 (in 2 weeks' time), it's time I instill more discipline and order in the household.
What's in store for 2015
I'm not the type who would set up new year resolutions normally, but for 2015, there are a few which I hope to accomplish and it's best that I pen the thoughts and get down to doing them. In addition to those tasks already listed above, it's high time I do a major spring-cleaning and de-stash stuff as the whole house is in a major mess. Planning to complete this by Chinese New Year as we plan to host a couple of parties. Also hope to get into better shape by eating more healthily and exercising more. Have been practising yin yoga for the past year, but I know it's not enough.
It's time that I stop procrastinating and start getting into action already! Cheers to 2015!
Once again it's the time of the year for me to recall the things I have "accomplished" for the past year. Somehow 2014 had been a fuzzy year :p Or probably because I didn't feel like writing at all. Our family just came back from a holiday yesterday, I had lots to unpack and tonnes of clothing to wash. Moreover attended a wedding lunch and a gathering after that. Feeling so tired and just wanted to take a nice warm bath and go to sleep :p Probably this is exactly how I feel throughout the year, sluggish and procrastination.
Blogging
My blog is now 7 years old! Managed to blog more in 2014 (in fact a record number of posts since I started 7 years ago) since I'm not working and supposedly have more "free" time. But still there are several backlogs in the travel section, and I was supposed to categorise and update all the sections :( So I really have to stop procrastinating and get down to complete all these one fine day yah?
Actually I have also been thinking whether to split up my blog. Currently I have several interest areas like baking, cooking, travel, spa, shopping all in one blog. Should I set up another blog just on traveling/spa/shopping and dedicate this blog to baking and cooking? I'm still undecided, because when I first started, I wanted this blog to be a personal lifestyle blog, so this has been the direction all along. Is there a need to change?
Well, probably I should just finish up the backlogs and sections updating first, one thing at a time!
Cooking & Baking
Since I'm not working, I've been cooking more for the family at least 4-5 times a week. Check out the labels under Cooking for the dishes I've tried.
As for baking, most of the time there were for the orders I took, else it would be bakes requested by my son or for gatherings/parties.
For this year, I really hope to cook more healthy dishes, especially my lunch (which admittedly I had been eating some junk food), and also to attempt more new baking recipes. Have been hoarding a lot of cookbooks, bakeware and cookware, so it's high time I get into action and start to utilise them or de-stash.
Meg's Pastry Studio
When I first started Meg's Pastry Studio, it was more for fun and orders would most probably come from friends. Didn't expect to receive orders from strangers who came to my blog, some of whom became repeat customers and even recommended their friends. There weren't a lot of orders, a few a month at a comfortable pace. I still insist on quality over quantity, using premium ingredients without added chemicals (like sponge gel, ovalette to make cakes soft and tender).
Most of the orders in 2014 were for rainbow and ombre cakes in lychee and vanilla flavours, with a few chocolate cake orders. Actually other flavours like red velvet and carrot & walnut cake are available as well, but I guess these are more common and people came to me because of the uniqueness of rainbow and ombre cakes.
Had wanted to organise baking workshops but didn't have time to conceptualise. I'm inclined towards small group of up to 4 in a class. But then again, the thought of cleaning up afterwards made me think twice (I have no helper at home). Shall KIV this idea until I'm ready.
Upcoming, I'm thinking of starting a Facebook page for Meg's Pastry Studio. Let's see how it goes.
Travelling
Oh yes, we have been going places in 2014!
In February, hubby and I hopped to Hong Kong for a short trip and then a 6-day holiday in December with the little rascal for his first Disneyland experience. Don't think I'm going to blog about both trips; the first trip was short and not many photos taken. As for the second trip, it was hard to take good photos with the rascal around so probably going to post the photos on FB only.
In June, our family with our mums travelled to Ipoh and Cameron Highlands. We first flew in to Ipoh then rented a car and drove up to Cameron Highlands for 2 nights and then back to Ipoh for another 2 nights. It was a fun trip which turned out unexpectedly good. I'm still procrastinating on the photo editing and this I shall blog about.
In July, hubby and I decided to try a new place, Hua Hin. We flew in to BKK and rented a car and drove there. It was a great getaway and beyond our expectations. Definitely gonna blog about it!
In September, we brought the rascal to our favourite resort in Phuket for a rest and relax trip, tried a few new restaurants, so probably gonna blog about the trip.
How could I miss out my favourite country, Japan? Haha. This year, we went to Tokyo 2 times, once in April to celebrate hubby's birthday and another trip in December for our yearly onsen experience. Have already blogged about the April trip, shall blog about the December trip which was totally awesome!
In between, we also made several trips to Legoland in JB and a group travel to Kukup with our Uni friends.
Now that it's 2015, time to plan for more trips!
My soon-to-be-5 little rascal
Some say that 2-3 year-old toddlers are in their terrible twos or terrible threes? What do they call the four and five year-olds? I call them frustrating fours and fives! It's challenging talking to my rascal who's getting so articulate that it became a battle of wits trying to get him to listen to instructions. With a kiddo who's bursting with energy the moment he wakes up, many times I felt drained both mentally and physically. And I have only ONE. Kudos to those families with more kids. I seriously cannot take it. Anyways, after chatting with friends who have kids of similar age, I felt slightly better knowing that I'm not alone feeling the frustration.
Now that he is turning 5 (in 2 weeks' time), it's time I instill more discipline and order in the household.
What's in store for 2015
I'm not the type who would set up new year resolutions normally, but for 2015, there are a few which I hope to accomplish and it's best that I pen the thoughts and get down to doing them. In addition to those tasks already listed above, it's high time I do a major spring-cleaning and de-stash stuff as the whole house is in a major mess. Planning to complete this by Chinese New Year as we plan to host a couple of parties. Also hope to get into better shape by eating more healthily and exercising more. Have been practising yin yoga for the past year, but I know it's not enough.
It's time that I stop procrastinating and start getting into action already! Cheers to 2015!
01 January 2014
2013 - Gone in a flash! 2014 - What to look forward to?
Happy New Year 2014! I can't believe 2013 has just gone by!! I must say the past year seemed to go by in a flash or am I too muddle-headed to recall what transpired? As usual on 1 Jan every year, shall try to review the happenings of the past year, and look forward to the brand new year.
Blogging
Let's start with blogging. Yes, my blog is officially 6 years old (started on 1 Jan 2007). There were times when I didn't feel like blogging at all and thought of just shutting it down. But somehow I hanged on, it is still a medium for me to share my thoughts and what I enjoy doing. Have to remind myself, it doesn't matter how frequent I post or what I post because it is after all my personal blog.
Managed to blog slightly more in 2013, but still lots of backlogs which I hope to clear (I think I'm hopeless, repeating this statement year after year yet unable to fulfill :p). Oh oh, I finally consolidated my travel posts in the page "Travel - Eat, Sleep, Spa and Shop" which you can access from the tabs above (below the blog name), an easier way to browse through all my travel posts now. Still yet to consolidate the "Recipes", "Spa" and "Shopaholic" pages, which I must do so this year!
Work (and not)
I was working part-time most of this year. Long story, but to cut the story short, my one-year part-time contract ended in April, then extended for two more years. But I resigned after another half a year for personal reasons.
Yes, so right now I'm a homemaker, SAHM, bummer, whatever you call it. Work or not, I still run the household, from cleaning, washing to cooking. And I'm not a tai tai. Period.
Not sure if I will hunt for a job this year, will decide as we (my family) goes along and if there's suitable opportunity.
Cooking & Baking
Good news is, I had more time to cook and experiment on new dishes especially the past few months which I totally enjoyed. Have been kept busy with Asian Food Fest (started by a group a avid home cooks) as well as MediaCorp Channel 8 cook show 3 Plus 1 Series 4.
Asian Food Fest gives me the opportunity and courage to attempt cuisines out of my comfort zone especially the December theme on West Asia (Middle East) cuisine which is an eye-opener. So far, I've attempted Japanese, Thai and Middle East cuisine and looking forward to the upcoming ones. Check out my posts under AFF series.
The Cook Show 3 Plus 1 Series 4 which is currently running, provides lots of new ideas and tips on what to cook for the family. Check out my posts under Cooking Show 3 Plus 1.
As for baking, surprisingly have been baking lots of rainbow cakes and lychee ombre cakes. Ever since I blogged about dear son's rainbow cake for his 3rd birthday and subsequently lychee ombre cake, I received quite a number of queries on whether I bake them for sale. Since then, have had quite a number of orders =D. Amazing! Check out my posts under Baking - Cakes.
In this new year, will continue to test new recipes and improve on existing ones.
Launch of Meg's Pastry Studio
As a result of the order queries, finally decided to launch an online baking shop consolidating the bakes that are available for orders. Introducing Meg's Pastry Studio.
Taking things really slowly at my own comfortable pace because I wish to keep it at a hobby stage for now. Not sure if I would develop it into something more in future but no hurry, because I still want to enjoy baking and let others enjoy my baking and not for the sake of profit and loss.
In this new year, would like to test more new recipes and introduce them for sale!
Travelling
This is both hubby and my indulgence so yes it's still an integral part of our lives. Where have we been the past year, well the same old same old :p Not very adventurous, but who cares so long as we enjoyed ourselves :)
Malaysia - Desaru, Genting Highlands, Melaka.
Indonesia - Bintan
Thailand - Bangkok (2 times), Phuket (2 times), Koh Samui
Japan - Nagoya, Hokkaido
Didn't go Tokyo at all this year (GASP!) but went to two new places in Japan, Nagoya and Hokkaido and they are awesome! What can I say, let my blog posts and photos tell the story :))) Check out "Travel - Eat, Sleep, Spa and Shop" for the blog posts.
For 2014, I hope to return to Tokyo, as well as a few chillax getaways to Samui and Phuket once again. Probably a family trip to Taiwan?
My soon-to-be-4 little rascal
Save the best for the last. Dear son is growing up fast, he's going to be 4 in two weeks' time. He's super cheeky and chatty, and damn dramatic; relentless in asking 'whys' and annoyingly challenging us with never-ending 'buts'. He makes me happy yet angry, many a times I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Recently he learnt to apologise (very sweetly) after making me mad, but just as I was melting, he continued by giving excuses e.g. but because just now you never...
He's also a meddlesome little helper during my baking, so I let him help out for certain bakes. Will task him to gather ingredients like oil, flour, sugar and bakeware like measuring spoon, weighing scale, spatulas. And let him weigh the ingredients, mix the batter and scoop the dough etc.
For this year, hope to involve him in more outdoor activities and sports since 4 years old seems to be the starting mark for a number of sports.
What's in store for 2014
Don't really have any specific goals. Probably to get fit once again (starting yoga once a week and aim to go for jogs 2-3 times a week), develop my pastry studio, be healthy and happy.
2013 wasn't a smooth sailing year (constantly feeling vexed and frustrated), so here's to a better 2014!
Blogging
Let's start with blogging. Yes, my blog is officially 6 years old (started on 1 Jan 2007). There were times when I didn't feel like blogging at all and thought of just shutting it down. But somehow I hanged on, it is still a medium for me to share my thoughts and what I enjoy doing. Have to remind myself, it doesn't matter how frequent I post or what I post because it is after all my personal blog.
Managed to blog slightly more in 2013, but still lots of backlogs which I hope to clear (I think I'm hopeless, repeating this statement year after year yet unable to fulfill :p). Oh oh, I finally consolidated my travel posts in the page "Travel - Eat, Sleep, Spa and Shop" which you can access from the tabs above (below the blog name), an easier way to browse through all my travel posts now. Still yet to consolidate the "Recipes", "Spa" and "Shopaholic" pages, which I must do so this year!
Work (and not)
I was working part-time most of this year. Long story, but to cut the story short, my one-year part-time contract ended in April, then extended for two more years. But I resigned after another half a year for personal reasons.
Yes, so right now I'm a homemaker, SAHM, bummer, whatever you call it. Work or not, I still run the household, from cleaning, washing to cooking. And I'm not a tai tai. Period.
Not sure if I will hunt for a job this year, will decide as we (my family) goes along and if there's suitable opportunity.
Cooking & Baking
Good news is, I had more time to cook and experiment on new dishes especially the past few months which I totally enjoyed. Have been kept busy with Asian Food Fest (started by a group a avid home cooks) as well as MediaCorp Channel 8 cook show 3 Plus 1 Series 4.
Asian Food Fest gives me the opportunity and courage to attempt cuisines out of my comfort zone especially the December theme on West Asia (Middle East) cuisine which is an eye-opener. So far, I've attempted Japanese, Thai and Middle East cuisine and looking forward to the upcoming ones. Check out my posts under AFF series.
The Cook Show 3 Plus 1 Series 4 which is currently running, provides lots of new ideas and tips on what to cook for the family. Check out my posts under Cooking Show 3 Plus 1.
As for baking, surprisingly have been baking lots of rainbow cakes and lychee ombre cakes. Ever since I blogged about dear son's rainbow cake for his 3rd birthday and subsequently lychee ombre cake, I received quite a number of queries on whether I bake them for sale. Since then, have had quite a number of orders =D. Amazing! Check out my posts under Baking - Cakes.
In this new year, will continue to test new recipes and improve on existing ones.
Launch of Meg's Pastry Studio
As a result of the order queries, finally decided to launch an online baking shop consolidating the bakes that are available for orders. Introducing Meg's Pastry Studio.
Taking things really slowly at my own comfortable pace because I wish to keep it at a hobby stage for now. Not sure if I would develop it into something more in future but no hurry, because I still want to enjoy baking and let others enjoy my baking and not for the sake of profit and loss.
In this new year, would like to test more new recipes and introduce them for sale!
Travelling
This is both hubby and my indulgence so yes it's still an integral part of our lives. Where have we been the past year, well the same old same old :p Not very adventurous, but who cares so long as we enjoyed ourselves :)
Malaysia - Desaru, Genting Highlands, Melaka.
Indonesia - Bintan
Thailand - Bangkok (2 times), Phuket (2 times), Koh Samui
Japan - Nagoya, Hokkaido
Didn't go Tokyo at all this year (GASP!) but went to two new places in Japan, Nagoya and Hokkaido and they are awesome! What can I say, let my blog posts and photos tell the story :))) Check out "Travel - Eat, Sleep, Spa and Shop" for the blog posts.
For 2014, I hope to return to Tokyo, as well as a few chillax getaways to Samui and Phuket once again. Probably a family trip to Taiwan?
My soon-to-be-4 little rascal
Save the best for the last. Dear son is growing up fast, he's going to be 4 in two weeks' time. He's super cheeky and chatty, and damn dramatic; relentless in asking 'whys' and annoyingly challenging us with never-ending 'buts'. He makes me happy yet angry, many a times I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Recently he learnt to apologise (very sweetly) after making me mad, but just as I was melting, he continued by giving excuses e.g. but because just now you never...
He's also a meddlesome little helper during my baking, so I let him help out for certain bakes. Will task him to gather ingredients like oil, flour, sugar and bakeware like measuring spoon, weighing scale, spatulas. And let him weigh the ingredients, mix the batter and scoop the dough etc.
What's in store for 2014
Don't really have any specific goals. Probably to get fit once again (starting yoga once a week and aim to go for jogs 2-3 times a week), develop my pastry studio, be healthy and happy.
2013 wasn't a smooth sailing year (constantly feeling vexed and frustrated), so here's to a better 2014!
17 August 2013
Sorry for the MIA... will be back soon!
I know, I've not been blogging for a lonnnnggggg time. It's not that I don't want to, but I simply didn't have the energy nor mood to blog. I have tonnes of stuff to blog about, I didn't even bother to download photos from my camera, not to mention sorting and editing. WTF.
Well, I seem to be suffering from some extreme fatigue or is it just the current routine that's wreaking me apart? Working (6hrs a day excluding travelling time, and someone whom I loathe), chores (no helper, just a part-time helper 3hrs a week), cooking (dinner during weekdays, packed lunch for work on some days), the kiddo (you know, 3.5 year old active BOY), and baking (couple of orders, testing recipes etc). Overall feeling quite frustrated, moody and at times depressed.
But hopefully things will get better in September! Can't wait for the next 2 weeks to fly by. Lots to update!
Stay tuned!
Well, I seem to be suffering from some extreme fatigue or is it just the current routine that's wreaking me apart? Working (6hrs a day excluding travelling time, and someone whom I loathe), chores (no helper, just a part-time helper 3hrs a week), cooking (dinner during weekdays, packed lunch for work on some days), the kiddo (you know, 3.5 year old active BOY), and baking (couple of orders, testing recipes etc). Overall feeling quite frustrated, moody and at times depressed.
But hopefully things will get better in September! Can't wait for the next 2 weeks to fly by. Lots to update!
Stay tuned!
01 January 2013
2012 - Busy and tiring. 2013 - What's in store?
So another year has gone by? It's 2013?! Happy New Year.
Somehow, as one grows older, the year doesn't matter anymore, festivals don't mean anything... or maybe it's just me, being cynical and grumpy here. Seriously I couldn't really remember what transpired throughout the year, except for the holidays taken. LOL :p I guess my customary post every new year can help me look back and recall.
Back to work
Started working in April coz Ineed money, couldn't stand being a SAHM anymore, felt that it's time I work else I would lose touch with the corporate world. Found a part-time job on a one-year contract and thought that it would be a perfect way to warm up my rusty engines. Basically my working hours are 8.30am to 4pm daily (I know, not the typical part-time like 9am to 3pm, well it's a long story). Anyways, by the time I reach home, it's close to 5pm and I have less than one hour to cook before dear son reaches home from his childcare by school bus. It's kind of rush, but if I prepare the ingredients the night before, it's still manageable, albeit tiring. Sometimes, if I cook soup, I'll throw all the ingredients into my electric timer cooker in the morning before leaving the house and by the time I get home, soup's done and all I need is to cook rice.
That said, working life is never fun as usual, I have generally nice colleagues, but naturally in any workplace some nasty ones. I don't really bother too much anyway since number 1, it's just a part-time job that pays my bills, number 2, it's a one-year contract only and I'm free to decide what I want to do thereafter, and number 3, actually if I'm unhappy I can resign anytime lah, which I almost did.
I really salute full time working mums (especially those without help) more than ever because seriously it's very tiring to work, then go home to face the cooking, washing, chores and the kiddos. It's like working OT every single day?! Even though I have a part-time helper who comes in 4hrs weekly, the daily chores of cooking, washing, laundry etc. knocks me out literally at the end of each day, and I have only one kid. Enuf said.
My little monster
He's adapting fairly well into full-day childcare since April, luckily I had started him in half-day programme when he was almost 18 months old. Except that he gets sick more often especially the first six months of starting full-time.
2 more weeks and he will be THREE! And definitely getting more articulate each day and learning at an alarming pace, especially when he starts to ask why and what. Why why why... it's driving us nuts. Now we fully understand what other parents have advised, yes kids start to ask why at a certain point of their childhood and it drives adults crazy. He's also using emotions and tantrums to get what he wants and this part of discipline is certainly the tough part.
Once again, I wonder what he will be up to this year and whether I still have energy or patience to manage all the challenges.
Cooking/Baking/Workshops
I cook dinner 4 to 5 times during weekdays (except for weekends where we dine out and dear son dines at his grandma's place) which is important since lunch is mostly hawker food. But I try to pack salads once or twice a week, and cook more for dinners so that I can pack the extras for lunch the next day. Dishes are quick and easy so that I just need less than an hour. Fortunately dear son can eat most of our adult food now (except for spicy stuff) so I don't have to cook separately and it saves a lot of time. That said, I'm getting a little sick of recycling the same dishes and hope to find time to search for new dishes that are not too elaborate and could refresh my menu. Check out my cooking under the labels - Cooking - finger food and snacks/main dishes/salad/soup.
As for baking, unfortunately I couldn't bake as much as I wanted to, probably during the weekends when dear son goes to his grandma's place. But even when I bake, I stick to those tried and tested recipes or quick and easy ones to save time most of the time. Boring! Ok, I did try a few new recipes as well. Check out under Baking - Bread/Cake/Cookies/Cupcakes/Muffin/Kueh Kueh/Pastries
I still have a long list of to-try recipes, waiting for me, I wonder when I'll be able to attempt them all.
As for baking/cooking workshops, I attended even far lesser than previous years, coz there were a lot of errands to run or things to do that I simply couldn't find the time, even though there were some I had wanted to join. Have signed up for 2 workshops upcoming in Jan and Feb and I'm certainly looking foward to them.
Traveling
Hubby and I yearn for getaways even more, but unfortunately we weren't able to travel as much as we wanted to ever since I started working. Trips that we brought dear son along - Genting Highlands, Melaka, Bintan and Phuket. And trips we went on our own - Bangkok, Koh Samui, Tokyo (2 trips - once in March, then December) and Bintan (to celebrate our 10th anniversary). Initially we wanted to go Hokkaido for our 10th anniversary but decided to postpone the trip as if we were going Hokkaido, it has to be more than a week (couldn't take long leave and also tough to let MIL take care of dear son for prolong period). Unfortunately we also didn't manage any diving trip at all!!!
In about 2 weeks' time, hubby and I will be going to Bangkok (yes, it has sort of become our annual ritual apart from Tokyo), and thereafter not too sure about plans as hubby would be very busy with work. Hopefully we could steal short weekend getaways from time to time. I'm now very much into chillout holidays, just chillax instead of shopping or sightseeing.
I still 2 backdated posts to write about - Melaka and our most recent trip to Tokyo in Dec! Stay tuned for these 2 posts soon.
Blogging
With so many things going on in my life, means that blogging has taken a back seat once again and I managed 53 posts, a weekly blog? There were times when I felt like closing the blog altogether because I simply didn't have the energy to blog. Then again, this blog still serves as a good depository and summary of what I love and have done, so it would be a pity to give it up. Well, I'll try my best since this is my personal blog after all, no hard and fast rules.
The year ahead
Seriously I don't know what to expect in this brand new year. Still haven't find our ideal abode, especially when property prices are so crazy these days. Will continue to monitor and possibly do a minor renovation since our house is 10 years old and parts of it are beginning to break apart.
I also have to ponder about my job soon since the one-year contract is expiring in April. Hmmmm...
Been thinking about starting my online baking business for the longest time. Perhaps it's high time I act on it? Well...
And finally, hope that I can have more energy, feel less tired and grouchy this upcoming year. Happy New Year once again!
Somehow, as one grows older, the year doesn't matter anymore, festivals don't mean anything... or maybe it's just me, being cynical and grumpy here. Seriously I couldn't really remember what transpired throughout the year, except for the holidays taken. LOL :p I guess my customary post every new year can help me look back and recall.
Back to work
Started working in April coz I
That said, working life is never fun as usual, I have generally nice colleagues, but naturally in any workplace some nasty ones. I don't really bother too much anyway since number 1, it's just a part-time job that pays my bills, number 2, it's a one-year contract only and I'm free to decide what I want to do thereafter
I really salute full time working mums (especially those without help) more than ever because seriously it's very tiring to work, then go home to face the cooking, washing, chores and the kiddos. It's like working OT every single day?! Even though I have a part-time helper who comes in 4hrs weekly, the daily chores of cooking, washing, laundry etc. knocks me out literally at the end of each day, and I have only one kid. Enuf said.
My little monster
He's adapting fairly well into full-day childcare since April, luckily I had started him in half-day programme when he was almost 18 months old. Except that he gets sick more often especially the first six months of starting full-time.
2 more weeks and he will be THREE! And definitely getting more articulate each day and learning at an alarming pace, especially when he starts to ask why and what. Why why why... it's driving us nuts. Now we fully understand what other parents have advised, yes kids start to ask why at a certain point of their childhood and it drives adults crazy. He's also using emotions and tantrums to get what he wants and this part of discipline is certainly the tough part.
Once again, I wonder what he will be up to this year and whether I still have energy or patience to manage all the challenges.
Cooking/Baking/Workshops
I cook dinner 4 to 5 times during weekdays (except for weekends where we dine out and dear son dines at his grandma's place) which is important since lunch is mostly hawker food. But I try to pack salads once or twice a week, and cook more for dinners so that I can pack the extras for lunch the next day. Dishes are quick and easy so that I just need less than an hour. Fortunately dear son can eat most of our adult food now (except for spicy stuff) so I don't have to cook separately and it saves a lot of time. That said, I'm getting a little sick of recycling the same dishes and hope to find time to search for new dishes that are not too elaborate and could refresh my menu. Check out my cooking under the labels - Cooking - finger food and snacks/main dishes/salad/soup.
As for baking, unfortunately I couldn't bake as much as I wanted to, probably during the weekends when dear son goes to his grandma's place. But even when I bake, I stick to those tried and tested recipes or quick and easy ones to save time most of the time. Boring! Ok, I did try a few new recipes as well. Check out under Baking - Bread/Cake/Cookies/Cupcakes/Muffin/Kueh Kueh/Pastries
I still have a long list of to-try recipes, waiting for me, I wonder when I'll be able to attempt them all.
As for baking/cooking workshops, I attended even far lesser than previous years, coz there were a lot of errands to run or things to do that I simply couldn't find the time, even though there were some I had wanted to join. Have signed up for 2 workshops upcoming in Jan and Feb and I'm certainly looking foward to them.
Traveling
Hubby and I yearn for getaways even more, but unfortunately we weren't able to travel as much as we wanted to ever since I started working. Trips that we brought dear son along - Genting Highlands, Melaka, Bintan and Phuket. And trips we went on our own - Bangkok, Koh Samui, Tokyo (2 trips - once in March, then December) and Bintan (to celebrate our 10th anniversary). Initially we wanted to go Hokkaido for our 10th anniversary but decided to postpone the trip as if we were going Hokkaido, it has to be more than a week (couldn't take long leave and also tough to let MIL take care of dear son for prolong period). Unfortunately we also didn't manage any diving trip at all!!!
In about 2 weeks' time, hubby and I will be going to Bangkok (yes, it has sort of become our annual ritual apart from Tokyo), and thereafter not too sure about plans as hubby would be very busy with work. Hopefully we could steal short weekend getaways from time to time. I'm now very much into chillout holidays, just chillax instead of shopping or sightseeing.
I still 2 backdated posts to write about - Melaka and our most recent trip to Tokyo in Dec! Stay tuned for these 2 posts soon.
Blogging
With so many things going on in my life, means that blogging has taken a back seat once again and I managed 53 posts, a weekly blog? There were times when I felt like closing the blog altogether because I simply didn't have the energy to blog. Then again, this blog still serves as a good depository and summary of what I love and have done, so it would be a pity to give it up. Well, I'll try my best since this is my personal blog after all, no hard and fast rules.
The year ahead
Seriously I don't know what to expect in this brand new year. Still haven't find our ideal abode, especially when property prices are so crazy these days. Will continue to monitor and possibly do a minor renovation since our house is 10 years old and parts of it are beginning to break apart.
I also have to ponder about my job soon since the one-year contract is expiring in April. Hmmmm...
Been thinking about starting my online baking business for the longest time. Perhaps it's high time I act on it? Well...
And finally, hope that I can have more energy, feel less tired and grouchy this upcoming year. Happy New Year once again!
22 April 2012
First week as a working mum
The past week has been hectic and overwhelming for me. As it is, starting a new job/routine and managing a toddler/chores are already challenging enough, I had to be caught in train breakdowns on two consecutive days. The train breakdowns were a total culture shock as I had not taken the MRT to work for at least 7 years (previous job I took company bus).
On Tuesday, I was stuck at the Boon Lay MRT station and decided to take a cab after 30 mins of waiting as I didn't want to be late for my second day of work. The situation at the station and nearby roads were chaotic and people were frantically trying to get alternative forms of transport. The cab queue was way too long and not moving at all, so I decided to call a cab but was on hold for way too long. Desperate times called for desperate measures, so I simply went up to people who managed to call a cab to ask if they were going the same direction. There I was, this crazy woman running towards the cabs as they pulled up along the roadside and asking people to share the cab! Luckily after a few tries, I managed to find a couple going to the exact location where I was going =D That said, I was still late for 10 mins :(
Then on Wednesday, I was stuck at Buona Vista station while changing to the Circle Line. It was really frustrating as it was two days in a row and to make matters worse, the communication by the station staff were unclear and confusing! Anyways, I made a new friend who's also working at the same location and both of us decided to take the bus instead of waiting in futile. Goodness gracious, the bus stop just outside the station was like a war zone. Both of us had to jostle our way through the crowd in order to get up the bus. It's like survival of the fitness, where the winners managed to squeeze up the bus.
Ok, enough of my transport rant. I just pray that these two occasions would not be occurring too frequently! Anyway, I was actually glad to be working again, you know being involved in work work. But the downside is, I tend to go into an overdrive and workaholic mode such that I brought some stuff home to read on the first day of work! I must constantly remind myself that, this is just a part-time job, I shall work hard during office hours and switch off to focus on my family after work!!
That said, it's indeed tiring to juggle between work, my attention seeking toddler and housework. After reaching home, I have about 45 mins to cook before dear son returns home, so it's a mad rush. And when he reaches home, it's another mad rush to play with him, wash and dry the clothes and then serve dinner. After dinner, washing the dishes, bath him, read to him and put him to sleep, and then pack his bag for the next day. By the time all's done, it's usually close to 9.30-10pm and I'm busted. But this me-time is too precious, so I tend to do my stuff like surfing net, play iPad games etc before my eyelids couldn't open anymore. I wonder how I'm going to survive in the long run? I guess I will get used to it somehow. Hubby went fishing from Fri to Sat, so I had to manage everything on my own those two days. It was easier when I was a SAHM but now that I'm working, it became quite a challenge. Kudos to the single parents!
Wish that I have more time to bake and blog, but not this weekend since my MIL was sick and couldn't help to take care of dear son. Anyway, I managed to attend a baking class on Japanese Swiss Rolls and Macarons by Chef Aki Watanabe at Shermay's Cooking School today. Hope to blog about the class soon! *yawn* I think I'm getting a bit incoherent, time to rest. Ciao!
On Tuesday, I was stuck at the Boon Lay MRT station and decided to take a cab after 30 mins of waiting as I didn't want to be late for my second day of work. The situation at the station and nearby roads were chaotic and people were frantically trying to get alternative forms of transport. The cab queue was way too long and not moving at all, so I decided to call a cab but was on hold for way too long. Desperate times called for desperate measures, so I simply went up to people who managed to call a cab to ask if they were going the same direction. There I was, this crazy woman running towards the cabs as they pulled up along the roadside and asking people to share the cab! Luckily after a few tries, I managed to find a couple going to the exact location where I was going =D That said, I was still late for 10 mins :(
Then on Wednesday, I was stuck at Buona Vista station while changing to the Circle Line. It was really frustrating as it was two days in a row and to make matters worse, the communication by the station staff were unclear and confusing! Anyways, I made a new friend who's also working at the same location and both of us decided to take the bus instead of waiting in futile. Goodness gracious, the bus stop just outside the station was like a war zone. Both of us had to jostle our way through the crowd in order to get up the bus. It's like survival of the fitness, where the winners managed to squeeze up the bus.
Ok, enough of my transport rant. I just pray that these two occasions would not be occurring too frequently! Anyway, I was actually glad to be working again, you know being involved in work work. But the downside is, I tend to go into an overdrive and workaholic mode such that I brought some stuff home to read on the first day of work! I must constantly remind myself that, this is just a part-time job, I shall work hard during office hours and switch off to focus on my family after work!!
That said, it's indeed tiring to juggle between work, my attention seeking toddler and housework. After reaching home, I have about 45 mins to cook before dear son returns home, so it's a mad rush. And when he reaches home, it's another mad rush to play with him, wash and dry the clothes and then serve dinner. After dinner, washing the dishes, bath him, read to him and put him to sleep, and then pack his bag for the next day. By the time all's done, it's usually close to 9.30-10pm and I'm busted. But this me-time is too precious, so I tend to do my stuff like surfing net, play iPad games etc before my eyelids couldn't open anymore. I wonder how I'm going to survive in the long run? I guess I will get used to it somehow. Hubby went fishing from Fri to Sat, so I had to manage everything on my own those two days. It was easier when I was a SAHM but now that I'm working, it became quite a challenge. Kudos to the single parents!
Wish that I have more time to bake and blog, but not this weekend since my MIL was sick and couldn't help to take care of dear son. Anyway, I managed to attend a baking class on Japanese Swiss Rolls and Macarons by Chef Aki Watanabe at Shermay's Cooking School today. Hope to blog about the class soon! *yawn* I think I'm getting a bit incoherent, time to rest. Ciao!
15 April 2012
End of SAHM and another Strawberry Shortcake
I'm starting a new part-time job tomorrow!! So today marks the end of my journey as a Stay-At-Home-Mum and a new challenge as a working mum. Well, the job is considered part-time as I'll be working 34 hrs a week i.e. slightly shorter hours each day. At least I could reach home in time to cook dinner and then wait for dear son's return from the childcare centre. That said I would have only about an hour to cook dinner so I guess it's better that I prepare all the ingredients the night before.
Actually after a 2-year hiatus, I do have mixed feelings about returning to the corporate world. On one hand, I miss working and having a salary, but on the other hand, felt a little guilty towards my son and also apprehensive over the upcoming challenges of managing a job, household chores and responsibility as a mum all at the same time. It's also about getting used to a different routine, lifestyle and pace which is a change from being a SAHM. Well, I guess I would adapt in time to come, and hope that dear son could too. I've already converted him from half-day to full-day CC for a week, and he's slowly adapting albeit very sticky to me once he reached home.
The upcoming journey is not going to be a walk in the park, but we'll see how things go. Wish me luck!
Anyways, today is hubby's birthday so it's a perfect chance for me to practise my Strawberry Shortcake. There's only the three of us, so I couldn't possible bake the full original size cake (8")which is too big and too much.
So I simply halved the recipe for the Genoise Sponge and baked the cake in a 7"cake tin. The cake turned out shorter and shrunk a little. As usual I was pretty worried about the texture of the cake, but I had already folded the batter as gently as possible already.
For the chantilly cream, I made only 40% quantity of original recipe as I don't use much cream and always had lots of leftovers (400ml whipped cream, 40g sugar, 40g mascaprone cheese).
With experience from past 2 attempts, the frosting was smoother this time round. I sort of "crumb-coat" the cake first and chilled it for an hour before the actual frosting. The cake looked decent enough but still not perfect. I still think that chantilly cream is not as easy to frost as compared to buttercream. For the deco, simply strawberries, just like the other 2 attempts.
And for the taste test, the cake turned out great this time! Very fine, tender and moist, I believe I have nailed it, at least 80% :)
Overall, I'm quite happy with this attempt. The cake weighs about 900g to 1kg, depending on the amount of strawberries used and serves about 6 pax (generous slice) to 8 pax (small thin slice).
Pardon for the photographs, took very quick snapshots as dear son couldn't wait to get his hands on the cake. He's very into birthdays recently and insisted it was his birthday. Well, technically it's his 27th month birthday, so yes he shared the glory of the birthday song and candle with his daddy.
Ok then, I'm off now. Hope I could have enough time to blog with my new schedule!
Actually after a 2-year hiatus, I do have mixed feelings about returning to the corporate world. On one hand, I miss working and having a salary, but on the other hand, felt a little guilty towards my son and also apprehensive over the upcoming challenges of managing a job, household chores and responsibility as a mum all at the same time. It's also about getting used to a different routine, lifestyle and pace which is a change from being a SAHM. Well, I guess I would adapt in time to come, and hope that dear son could too. I've already converted him from half-day to full-day CC for a week, and he's slowly adapting albeit very sticky to me once he reached home.
The upcoming journey is not going to be a walk in the park, but we'll see how things go. Wish me luck!
Anyways, today is hubby's birthday so it's a perfect chance for me to practise my Strawberry Shortcake. There's only the three of us, so I couldn't possible bake the full original size cake (8")which is too big and too much.
For the chantilly cream, I made only 40% quantity of original recipe as I don't use much cream and always had lots of leftovers (400ml whipped cream, 40g sugar, 40g mascaprone cheese).
Overall, I'm quite happy with this attempt. The cake weighs about 900g to 1kg, depending on the amount of strawberries used and serves about 6 pax (generous slice) to 8 pax (small thin slice).
Ok then, I'm off now. Hope I could have enough time to blog with my new schedule!
17 March 2012
My Birthday and Cheese Breadsticks
Pardon me for my absence, went on a short 4D3N getaway to Tokyo/Kinugawa Onsen earlier this month and haven't been able to pick myself up to do anything constructive since then. I guess I must be suffering from post Tokyo syndrome. Missing Tokyo terribly, especially Kinugawa Onsen and the lovely cool and dry weather. Have sorted out the photos, will try to blog about this trip soon!
Anyways, it's my birthday today! Nothing special, spent the morning with my kiddo at the Botanic Gardens then sent him off to his grandma's place and I have the entire afternoon all to myself (till tomorrow evening, yipee!); and in the evening, going for a nice meal at Greenwood Fish Market wiht hubby. Well, I guess once you have a kid, your own birthday doesn't matter anymore, your kiddo's birthday becomes the focus.
So I was saying, I had my free afternoon and decided to bake some bread. Gotta pick up my baking mojo once again. Meeting some friends in the night and they love the luncheon meat soft buns so I made a batch of those. And in addition, a batch of Cheese Breadstick (using the Tangzhong/Water Roux 汤种method) recipe from LK of Food For Tots. I'm eager to try this method to see how it compares with the Japanese "Yukone" method (for the luncheon meat soft buns).
I love how this photo turned out, a little vintage looking? I thought the bread looked ok. Texture-wise, it was still slightly soft and fluffy when warm but drier and chewier once cold. Taste-wise, slightly saltish and flavourful with the use of cheese and dried pasley flakes. I added some Jap Mayo too.
This were the breadsticks before baking. I weighed each dough to be 45g instead of 60g as I like my breadsticks smaller size, managed to get 12 pieces. Would probably reduce the size further next time to see how they will turn out.
So what are the main differences?
For the Tangzhong/Water Roux 汤种method, I just need to cook some bread flour with water till 65 degree celsius then let the mixture cool completely before using. Whereas for the Yukone method, I would need to prepare the gelantinized starch at least 24 hrs beforehand by pouring boiling water into some bread flour. I guess both methods work on the same theory, to pre-cook some bread flour as a starter dough. One thing convenient about the Water Roux method, I can bake anytime I want whereas for the Yukone method, I have to plan ahead. I realised my candy thermometer starts registering only at 90 degree celsius so I had to "guesstimate" when to stop cooking the mixture, and I think I had overcooked the mixture as mine looked drier (like a lemon curd texture) as compared to her photo which looked more watery.
Another difference is the proofing time. For the Water Roux method, the first proofing was 40 mins, then second was 40 mins. Whereas for the Yukone method, the first proofing was 20 mins and second an hour.
The other difference is the addition of plain flour besides bread flour, and also inclusion of a little milk powder. Other than that, the ingredients and proportion are similar, plus minus here and there.
This was the breadsticks after baking, looked pretty :)
Well, this batch of cheese breadsticks couldn't compare with my luncheon meat soft buns which were super soft and fluffy, since I suspected I over-cooked the Water Roux. I would definitely try this recipe again to confirm my suspicion. I wish my breadsticks would be as fluffy and soft as my luncheon meat buns using this Water Roux method.
Anyway, how GOOD it feels to be baking again and I really enjoyed the peace and quietness the whole afternoon at home without the kiddo. Lalalala. Bliss :p
Anyways, it's my birthday today! Nothing special, spent the morning with my kiddo at the Botanic Gardens then sent him off to his grandma's place and I have the entire afternoon all to myself (till tomorrow evening, yipee!); and in the evening, going for a nice meal at Greenwood Fish Market wiht hubby. Well, I guess once you have a kid, your own birthday doesn't matter anymore, your kiddo's birthday becomes the focus.
So I was saying, I had my free afternoon and decided to bake some bread. Gotta pick up my baking mojo once again. Meeting some friends in the night and they love the luncheon meat soft buns so I made a batch of those. And in addition, a batch of Cheese Breadstick (using the Tangzhong/Water Roux 汤种method) recipe from LK of Food For Tots. I'm eager to try this method to see how it compares with the Japanese "Yukone" method (for the luncheon meat soft buns).
I love how this photo turned out, a little vintage looking? I thought the bread looked ok. Texture-wise, it was still slightly soft and fluffy when warm but drier and chewier once cold. Taste-wise, slightly saltish and flavourful with the use of cheese and dried pasley flakes. I added some Jap Mayo too.
This were the breadsticks before baking. I weighed each dough to be 45g instead of 60g as I like my breadsticks smaller size, managed to get 12 pieces. Would probably reduce the size further next time to see how they will turn out.
So what are the main differences?
For the Tangzhong/Water Roux 汤种method, I just need to cook some bread flour with water till 65 degree celsius then let the mixture cool completely before using. Whereas for the Yukone method, I would need to prepare the gelantinized starch at least 24 hrs beforehand by pouring boiling water into some bread flour. I guess both methods work on the same theory, to pre-cook some bread flour as a starter dough. One thing convenient about the Water Roux method, I can bake anytime I want whereas for the Yukone method, I have to plan ahead. I realised my candy thermometer starts registering only at 90 degree celsius so I had to "guesstimate" when to stop cooking the mixture, and I think I had overcooked the mixture as mine looked drier (like a lemon curd texture) as compared to her photo which looked more watery.
Another difference is the proofing time. For the Water Roux method, the first proofing was 40 mins, then second was 40 mins. Whereas for the Yukone method, the first proofing was 20 mins and second an hour.
The other difference is the addition of plain flour besides bread flour, and also inclusion of a little milk powder. Other than that, the ingredients and proportion are similar, plus minus here and there.
This was the breadsticks after baking, looked pretty :)
Well, this batch of cheese breadsticks couldn't compare with my luncheon meat soft buns which were super soft and fluffy, since I suspected I over-cooked the Water Roux. I would definitely try this recipe again to confirm my suspicion. I wish my breadsticks would be as fluffy and soft as my luncheon meat buns using this Water Roux method.
Anyway, how GOOD it feels to be baking again and I really enjoyed the peace and quietness the whole afternoon at home without the kiddo. Lalalala. Bliss :p
09 February 2012
鱼生 Yu Sheng and an Award
Although the Chinese New Year may be over, I'm still hankering after 鱼生 Yu Sheng, which is a raw fish salad that's eaten only during this particular festive period to signify good luck and prosperity. Unlike other goodies like bak kwa or pineapple tarts which are readily available anytime of the year, Yu Sheng is only available during CNY.
I love the combination of textures and flavours of the Yu Sheng, typically consisting of raw tri-colour radish (red, green and white) shreds, pickles, pomelo, raw fish and condiments like peanut, sesame seeds, cinnamon powder, pepper, and finally crispy crackers with a special sweet and sour sauce. Different eateries from restaurants to hawker stalls have their own creations of the dish. Pre-packed ingredients (without the radish and fish) are also available at supermarkets for people to create their home-made versions. I used to buy the pre-packed ones but found it rather tedious to make the radish shreds; somehow we could never achieve the thin shreds like commercial sold ones.
Anyway, I'm proud to declare that I ate the Yu Sheng 8 times this CNY :p Huat ah!!! Haha, shows how crazy I am over this dish right? Anyway, here's sharing one that I had at Chinatown Food Centre, a hawker stall Zhen Jie 珍姐 highly recommended by hubby's colleague. I understand that they only sell this during CNY period every year (normal days they sell claypot dishes).
*Apparently the lady boss is quite famous for she participated in a Channel U Super Mommy Competition a few years back. Saw her at the stall, she's indeed a beauty :)
If I'm not wrong, the stall will sell this till 12 Feb, so head to Chinatown Food Centre before the season closes!
http://www.zhenjieyusheng.sg/index.htm
_____________________________________________________________________________
An Award presented by Jane from Passionate About Baking!
Anyway, I'm supposed to pass this on, and I noticed many of the blogger friends I know already have this award. So, I'll just pass it on to the following 3 bloggers :)
01 January 2012
2011 - Life as a SAHM. 2012 - Looking forward to something...
Happy New Year! Goodbye 2011 and Hello 2012 :)
Another year has gone and it's unbelievable that I have been a SAHM for 2 years already. Life as a SAHM is not all rosy and sweet that many thought. I'm not a tai tai ok, I clean, I wash, I cook and I have to face an active and clingy toddler all day long. In fact I feel it's tougher than working life, so I really salute the full time working mums. In a nutshell, year 2011 was all about daily routine of managing the household and taking care of the little one. To make life morebearable pleasurable (you know, work-life balance), I tried injecting more personal activities like baking, cooking, travelling, blogging... and these were the things that helped keep my sanity for the past year :p
My Little Rascal
Can't believe that he's turning 2 in 2 weeks' time. Then again, it also seemed to be a long long year probably coz I faced him all day long. I remember his very first high fever immediately after his first birthday celebration. It was a terrible ordeal for hubby and I since we didn't have experience. I think we went KKH Children's Emergency 2 times and spent 5-6 hours there. Dear son's fever lasted for almost 4-5 days and it took more than a week before he recovered and that week seemed like eternity.
Anyway, he started walking quite steadily from 12-13 month onwards and all the more I had to keep an eye on every minute. He also became more assertive of his needs and demanded my full attention on him constantly. It got tougher to find activities to engage him all day at home so I began bringing him to parent-accompanied playgroups and kids' gyms. But bringing him out daily was also challenging and tiring, and I couldn't do much chores or cooking properly.
It got to a point where I couldn't handle anymore so decided to enroll him in a half-day Child Care Centre when he was about 17 month old. I thought it was also good for him to start learning independence and engage in communal/social activities. Most of the CCC around my area were running full capacity but managed to find one which was further away. The CCC is located 10 minutes away from hubby's workplace so it's quite convenient to send him in the mornings on his way to work. But slightly inconvenient for me to fetch him as I have to take 2 buses to fetch him at noon time. Well, it was better than nothing, at least I could have a few hours in the morning to complete chores and cook. By the time he was 21 month old, he started on school bus home so things became so much easier for me nowadays :)
Well, he's now "officially" into the terrible twos age, I wonder what challenges would there be in this coming year and I hope that I could muster the courage and have more patience to deal with more upcoming tantrums.
Travel/Diving
I'm so glad that we managed more overseas trips in year 2011 =D Being wanderlusts, hubby and I need constant renewal of energy through getaways! We brought dear son to Koh Samui, Genting Highlands, Melaka and KL; also did family trips to Cameron Highlands and Pulau Redang. Best part, just the 2 of us to Bangkok, Tokyo (to attend a wedding), Hong Kong/Macau (with a group of friends), Maldives (our 9th anniversary) and Hiroshima/Miyajima (extension of hubby's worktrip, post upcoming!). So yep, I'm happy! For diving, unfortunately we only managed a few dives in P. Redang and Maldives.
I sincerely hope that I could travel more in year 2012 :p We already have plans for Bangkok, Phuket and Hokkaido (10th anniversary), and probably a dive trip to Manado/Lembeh Straits in the Philippines.
Cooking/Baking/Workshops
Cooking is now a daily affair since it's more healthy for dear son, which also means that it was a challenge devising a weekly menu suitable for the whole family. It was tougher in the first half of the year since I had to cook separate meals for dear son as our food was still not suitable for him. Things got easier after he turned 18 month old, I began adapting our dishes to suit him mostly. Which means more soups and steamed dishes and less spicy or fried food whenever possible. I also acquired more cooking books/recipes naturally :p Some experiments can be found under my food-homecook posts.
I also baked more, and a lot of times were just simple recipes that were suitable for toddlers. Baking continued to be a form of therapy for me, and somehow I found that I became more efficient these days, probably due to experience gained over the past few years :) Some examples can be found under my Baking posts.
Managed to attend a few Baking and Cooking Workshops, but I was more selective since I didn't have the luxury of time.
I guess I would be continuing to cook in 2012, and probably would need to spend more effort in coming up with different menus since dear son is becoming quite a discerning eater. As for baking, definitely I want to bake more, I have a long list of to-bake recipes to complete!
Blogging
Glad that I managed more posts in 2011, than the previous 2 years. So hope that I could keep up with momentum and pace. Have also changed my blogskin recently and there are some pages I have in mind to update like my travel, spa, recipe lists... yep gonna find that to complete the task in 2012.
Looking ahead
So what does 2012 entail? Well, we are looking for a new place and really hope that we can make a move within these 2 years. And if we manage to settle, I would probably look for a part-time or contract job and then convert dear son to full day CC.
2012, may be a year of change and hopefully change for the better.
Another year has gone and it's unbelievable that I have been a SAHM for 2 years already. Life as a SAHM is not all rosy and sweet that many thought. I'm not a tai tai ok, I clean, I wash, I cook and I have to face an active and clingy toddler all day long. In fact I feel it's tougher than working life, so I really salute the full time working mums. In a nutshell, year 2011 was all about daily routine of managing the household and taking care of the little one. To make life more
My Little Rascal
Can't believe that he's turning 2 in 2 weeks' time. Then again, it also seemed to be a long long year probably coz I faced him all day long. I remember his very first high fever immediately after his first birthday celebration. It was a terrible ordeal for hubby and I since we didn't have experience. I think we went KKH Children's Emergency 2 times and spent 5-6 hours there. Dear son's fever lasted for almost 4-5 days and it took more than a week before he recovered and that week seemed like eternity.
Anyway, he started walking quite steadily from 12-13 month onwards and all the more I had to keep an eye on every minute. He also became more assertive of his needs and demanded my full attention on him constantly. It got tougher to find activities to engage him all day at home so I began bringing him to parent-accompanied playgroups and kids' gyms. But bringing him out daily was also challenging and tiring, and I couldn't do much chores or cooking properly.
It got to a point where I couldn't handle anymore so decided to enroll him in a half-day Child Care Centre when he was about 17 month old. I thought it was also good for him to start learning independence and engage in communal/social activities. Most of the CCC around my area were running full capacity but managed to find one which was further away. The CCC is located 10 minutes away from hubby's workplace so it's quite convenient to send him in the mornings on his way to work. But slightly inconvenient for me to fetch him as I have to take 2 buses to fetch him at noon time. Well, it was better than nothing, at least I could have a few hours in the morning to complete chores and cook. By the time he was 21 month old, he started on school bus home so things became so much easier for me nowadays :)
Well, he's now "officially" into the terrible twos age, I wonder what challenges would there be in this coming year and I hope that I could muster the courage and have more patience to deal with more upcoming tantrums.
Travel/Diving
I'm so glad that we managed more overseas trips in year 2011 =D Being wanderlusts, hubby and I need constant renewal of energy through getaways! We brought dear son to Koh Samui, Genting Highlands, Melaka and KL; also did family trips to Cameron Highlands and Pulau Redang. Best part, just the 2 of us to Bangkok, Tokyo (to attend a wedding), Hong Kong/Macau (with a group of friends), Maldives (our 9th anniversary) and Hiroshima/Miyajima (extension of hubby's worktrip, post upcoming!). So yep, I'm happy! For diving, unfortunately we only managed a few dives in P. Redang and Maldives.
I sincerely hope that I could travel more in year 2012 :p We already have plans for Bangkok, Phuket and Hokkaido (10th anniversary), and probably a dive trip to Manado/Lembeh Straits in the Philippines.
Cooking/Baking/Workshops
Cooking is now a daily affair since it's more healthy for dear son, which also means that it was a challenge devising a weekly menu suitable for the whole family. It was tougher in the first half of the year since I had to cook separate meals for dear son as our food was still not suitable for him. Things got easier after he turned 18 month old, I began adapting our dishes to suit him mostly. Which means more soups and steamed dishes and less spicy or fried food whenever possible. I also acquired more cooking books/recipes naturally :p Some experiments can be found under my food-homecook posts.
I also baked more, and a lot of times were just simple recipes that were suitable for toddlers. Baking continued to be a form of therapy for me, and somehow I found that I became more efficient these days, probably due to experience gained over the past few years :) Some examples can be found under my Baking posts.
Managed to attend a few Baking and Cooking Workshops, but I was more selective since I didn't have the luxury of time.
I guess I would be continuing to cook in 2012, and probably would need to spend more effort in coming up with different menus since dear son is becoming quite a discerning eater. As for baking, definitely I want to bake more, I have a long list of to-bake recipes to complete!
Blogging
Glad that I managed more posts in 2011, than the previous 2 years. So hope that I could keep up with momentum and pace. Have also changed my blogskin recently and there are some pages I have in mind to update like my travel, spa, recipe lists... yep gonna find that to complete the task in 2012.
Looking ahead
So what does 2012 entail? Well, we are looking for a new place and really hope that we can make a move within these 2 years. And if we manage to settle, I would probably look for a part-time or contract job and then convert dear son to full day CC.
2012, may be a year of change and hopefully change for the better.
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