Thursday, January 28, 2010

Karaoke Khamis - Parlez vous français?

Care for some challenges? Why not sing in french? heheheh
I chose Celine Dion's song because I think this is one of the many singers who make french songs popular in non-french speaking countries. So, enjoy!!! practice makes perfect :D

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Makan-Makan Mardi - Mak Bee!

OMG!! I dunno what they 'really' put inside this thing, but I can't stop eating it!!
It's none other than Kuah Rojak Kacang Mak Bee (Mak Bee's Rojak Peanut Paste)
What is Rojak in english btw?



I bought this pot when I was in Penang last December. So it has been about 1 month and ahalf sitting inside my fridge. I have never taste this paste before. I thought that it would be very hot and spicy and I don't have any time to taste it. It happens that I have extra green apples from yesterday's baking. So I thought OK good time to taste this paste.

I read the ingredients on the label. There is soy sauce, peanut, chilies, sugar, shrimp paste and salt.



You can see that I eat it with the leftover Granny smith apple and green seedless grape. It was soooooooooo good (by malaysian standard though, not european LOL) I could lick the knife, the plate! I had to stop myself as I started to reach half of the pot! Preccioussss....

This is for sure one thing that I will put in my list as thing-to-bring-back-to-Europe LOL. And also thing to ask my mom to send via post! hahahaha...
So anyone in Penang? hihi

So if you'll excuse me.. I have plate to lick :P

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Karaoke Khamis - Let's 60s!


Ahh boyband, boyband... I think they exist since the early ages.. I wonder what would boybands in stone ages look and sound like LOL *^^*

I have been watching TV series 'Man of Certain Age' and they use 'When I grow up' by The Beach Boys song as the starting song. I like the lyrics of this song too..
We know The Beach Boys is oh-so famous once upon a time. They have so many great musics like When I grow up, Kokomo, Surfin' in the USA, and many more...
OK OK So The Beach Boys is not exactly boyband.. I think they revolutionize surf rock band and boyband hihihi
There are so many things going on during that era of 60s, 70s and 80s. This band survive all kinds of battles and yet they managed to dazzle younger generation (like me ^^) with their musics.

Here's for karaoke this week: When I grow up by The Beach Boys.
I can't find karaoke vid for this song. So here I posted the lyrics and the song vid.



When I grow up to be a man
Will I dig the same things that turn me on as a kid?
Will I look back and say that I wish I hadn't done what I did?
Will I joke around and still dig those sounds
When I grow up to be a man?

Will I look for the same things in a woman that I dig in a girl?
(fourteen fifteen)
Will I settle down fast or will I first wanna travel the world?
(sixteen seventeen)
Well I'm young and free but how will it be
When I grow up to be a man?

Oooooo Ooooooo Oooooooo
Will my kids be proud or think their old man is really a square?
(eighteen nineteen)
When they're out having fun yeah, will I still wanna have my share?
(twenty twenty-one)
Will I love my wife for the rest of my life
When I grow up to be a man?

What will I be when I grow up to be a man?
(twenty-two twenty-three)
Won't last forever
(twenty-four twenty-five)
It's kind of sad
(twenty-six twenty-seven)
Won't last forever
(twenty-eight twenty-nine)
It's kind of sad
(thirty thirty-one)
Won't last forever
(thirty-two...)



Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Wet Wednesday - Charity:Water

While browsing for donation organization for the Haiti earthquake, I stumbled upon the website by Charity:Water. This non-profit organization's mission is to bring freshwater to developing countries such as Kenya, Ethopia, etc. You can read more about this organization by click on the link I put above. They have great stories, information that could widen our perception about water.

I am so blessed to have drinking water, tap water, bath water, shower water everyday. Even so, I tend to 'forgot' to drink water. There are people out there who need to drink water, but they do not have the access to it. Or they must travel about 30 kilometers just to get to the water source. I just need to walk 3 meters, and I'm grumpy LOL...
Remember the moment when we wanted to have tap water, and when we turned the tap on, there is no water coming out? And we started to swear "who the hell switched off the water without prior notice" "oh I am so going to call the city hall to complain" or "oh no, no water, what am I going to do *panic*"

Personally, I can't live without clean water. Especially to clean up. I hate outdoor campings just because the thought of no running water makes me go into panic attack LOL... Perhaps I am spoilt or perhaps I am just plain lucky.
I realized that I must be grateful for the freshwater that I have access to everyday without any hassle.
I am grateful
I remember in Malaysia, it happened sometimes that they closed the waterworks for maintenance or that there is a broken pipe somewhere and some sectors do not have tap water. Oh dear dear.. The anxiety rose while waiting for the water to be available or when you heard that the city will send water truck to give water supplies during this "blackout". You can see households brought out all types of water storage containers, from buckets of all sizes to jerry can type container. Oh I hate when it happened.
Then to think of people in Ethopia, Kenya, Uganda etc that they have to wait for such charity to have the water tank truck to come and bring them some fresh clean water, it amazes me. I wish they could have easy access to freshwater as I have.
Anyway, it's better to start somewhere. Go to charity:water website and there are so many inspiring stories related to water mission in developing country.
I like this particular promo ad. I think it was made during the festive season.
Give love, give water :D

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Minum-minum Mardi - Tealight tea warmer

Heya!!!!
I found this thing in a shop in Brussels. It costs me about 5 euros. Not bad eh..

Tealight candle

+

Burner place

+

A mug

=


Tealight tea warmer!!!!

This thing keeps my drink hot hot hot :D


Monday, January 18, 2010

Mamma Mia Monday - Thank you for the music :-)


The tix arrived in the mail today!! Pysched!!! :D

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Karaoke Khamis - I believe in you

Now let's move the karaoke up a notch a bit this week, shall we :D
Celine Dion is known for her amazing voice and the high powerful voice. As for Il divo, they sang with great harmony and they are hot in the suits hahahaha

So poise yourself, breathe correctly, control your expression and prepare to tremble your lower lip like Celine Dion. LOL
I put 2 version of karaoke. Like this you know what I meant :D

*clap clap clap*



Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Wet Wednesday - Water to reduce risk of cancer


It is not a water post per se. But I think it is important to remind ourselves why drinking plenty of water is such a great deal. I've found a nice article on the web which put the ways in which we could reduce the risk of getting cancer.

In the list, water is on number 4.
4. Drink Plenty of Water

This is an easy one.

Research suggests that drinking plenty of water may reduce your risk of getting bladder cancer. Why? Water dilutes the cancerous agents in your urine, thereby reducing the time period these agents are in contact with your bladder.

Additionally, drinking lots of water will aid in the elimination of toxins from your body.

Research suggests that consistent dehydration may be linked to urinary tract, colon, and breast cancer.

It is recommended that you drink at least 8 glasses of water a day, more if you’re active.


So there you go. As the article said, this is easy. But I don't think it is not easy to make sure you drink minimum of 8 glasses per day. Without we noticing it, we tend to forget to drink. Yes, it's true.
Example: myself.
I need a reminder to drink water. I can go on the whole afternoon without water. Tsk tsk tsk.. this is not good.
So as I set a reminder for myself, I'm sharing this with everyone :D

Read more on the article here.

Have a plenty-o-water day!!!

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Makan-makan Mardi - Food for my Brain


Forget about exercising our Brain for now. Let's talk about feeding our Brain with yummy yet nourishing food. MMMmmmmm....
One of the brain functions is to store memories.

I stumbled upon an article on the web which listed out 5 foods to have better memory.
Frankly, I like the list. Thus, I'll share with you all here. Start by going to the supermarket or your organic stores and have these items on your groceries list!

1. Herbs
Studies have shown that even the smell of rosemary can improve memory performance in office workers.

Serious?? LOL
Then it listed also the 3G (yeah yeah I know not only apply to smartphones). Ginkgo, Ginseng and Gota kula.

2. Tea
Yeezzaaa... Ditch those cuppucino, latte or frappé. Start with the good ol tea :D
Perhaps the best news is that tea has up to 10X the polyphenols found in foods like fruits and vegetables.

3. Fruits and Vegies
There is no doubt about this vitamin and fibre source of food.
The thing to remember about memory boosting foods is color. You want dark reds, blues and greens.

Dark red, hmm I'm thinking of cherries, apple, black grapes.
Blueess... hmm blackcurrent..
Greeeeennnss.. well spinach, I'm not a big fan of greens, so I'll stick with spinach for now LOL

4. Fish and Nuts
Peanuts!!!! :D
Of course it's due to the omega-3 fatty thingy.

5. Honey
Yummaaayy..
The article listed this as dessert. I think it's to attract attention of the reader. I put honey because it's straight to the point. Honey rules!!
For last Christmas, we've chosen Honey has our Christmas pressies theme. We made hampers consists of honey items: different kind of honey, honey with the honeycomb, honey cakes, honey candies, honey soaps and honey rhummmm... So there ya go an idea for your next Christmas or Birthday pressies :)

Read the full article here.

Monday, January 11, 2010

Mamma Mia Monday - The ABBA Show


I bought tickets for The ABBA Show in February :D
Yay!!!
http://www.abba-the-show.com/

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Karaoke Khamis - Battlefield! Battlefield!

A feel good karaoke song hahahaha... There is nothing like singing your heart out after a long day at work :D

ENJOY!!!!



And I like Jordin's performance here. Though that is one ugly wedding dress, she wore it nicely, with great voice (plus the Jonas boys are nice deco hahaha)

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Wet Wednesday - Drink up!


Don't forget to drink water today. After you read this post, get yourself a glass of water and drink up!! Glug Glug Glug ;D

Thank yourself after that :)

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Makan-makan Mardi - Piece O Cake

Had an urge to eat cake. While thinking of cakes, I was thinking of great tv sitcom scenes that involved cakes. I know there are a lot of them out there but I put here 3 of my favorites. If you can think of any other that makes you crave for cakes after watching it, feel free to comment.

After work I went to an arab patisserie/boulangerie. I have been eyeing this place for sometime. So I decided to make a turn and enter the shop.

They got quite nice and fattening looking cakes! Yummy.I like! It looks like they have a lot of butter cream cakes which very rare to find here. It's mostly like Malaysian butter cream cakes. In Europe, they use a lot of creme patisseries, glazing and ganache. Then the cream is as part of the cake. Malaysian butter cream cake or I think more like American cakes, they have a big part of cake then the cream is only on top and around the cake. So when you eat it, it has a balance part of cake and cream.

Anyway, look what I bought! ;-) Verdict: Yuummmaaayyyy!! Just like I love it. Cake and cream balance. Blissss....




In order to not make me feel guilty eating them, I'll share with you (LOL) My hope is to be courageous enough to make beautiful yummy cakes :D

So here are the 3 tv sitcoms related to cakes that I like and enjoy them! (While I enjoy the cakes)

Mmmm.. cheesecake!



Mmm.. chocolate cake!



Mmm... special day cake!

Monday, January 4, 2010

Happy New Year 2010!

Happy New Year! Bonne Année! Akemashite omedeto gozaimasu!
No matter how you say it, the mark of new year in Gregorian calendar is here.

How did you celebrate the arrival of new year? What's your feeling when you woke up to the new day in the new year?

New day, new change, welcome it with positivity. I'm sure some of us can't wait for this event to start on new plan, new event, or even to add another year of goodness. It is possible that there are some of us who are so busy for the past few weeks and just do not have time to really reflect on new events or new plans. Don't be afraid. I fall under the latter category and of course I freaked out a week ago. I'm a well planned person, and having no plan for the year scared the bejezuz out of me LOL. Some deep breathings and voice of reason (my husband), I welcome 2010 with an open arm and trusting myself to the days to come.

I know that for the days to come I will continue to improve myself. As I am writing this gift, I started to gather some resolutions.



I resolve to continue and/or start contribute my love, life, mind, body and soul to the well-being of the myself, earth and humanity. I resolve for an honest, healthier and hopeful year!


Last year, I started to open up to living healthier, happier, wiser and to stop living in my own world but to think of those of less fortunate and how to make a better community. As I started to have the idea last year, it is not easy to fulfil such resolutions. I am hopeful :-)

Let's enjoy musics, savor the cultures, be grateful, save water, save energy/electricity, recycle, acknowledge what we like and what we love.

Here's a lovely gift passed on to you from ABBA. Not only ABBA is my all time favorite band, but this is my all time favorite new year song. Do take time to understand the lyric. This song was made for end of 1989, and welcoming 1990 (well after they disbanded).

Let's sing it!!