Life as it is....

I guess I have been good this year!

2011-12-28T18:37:00.004-05:00

I love my new lightweight corduroy bag that the husband got me for Christmas! (I was actually surprised that he found my wishlist!)

Bayan Hippo makes the coolest bags..all the way from Turkey!

I added a matching button Snap on the top so I have the option of not using the zipper.

Win a year's supply of handmade soaps!

2010-07-12T05:59:00.002-04:00

A year's supply of handmade soaps??? Seriously??!!
I want!!

Win a year's supply of handmade soaps!

A Short Adventure

2010-06-08T13:32:00.000-04:00

So it's been awhile.The past few months have been a series of short adventures.

I was employed on a brief temporary assignment drawing floor plans for this company. And I absolutely loved it! Did I tell you that when I was 5 or 6 years old, I used to draw floor plans of my so-called dream house? So this was like my dream job. Just too bad it was just a short stint.

In May, we flew 30 hours back to Malaysia. And I hope I will never have to fly with China Airlines again. We managed to cramp as much as we can into our two weeks stay - visited with family, old high school and elementary school friends, went on a family vacation to Penang Island (all 19 of us), and ate all the food that I have been craving for, for the past three years. Yes, it's been three whole years since we last went "home".

Curry Laksa

Cakes from "Secret Recipe"

Leaving Malaysia wasn't so hard this time because we brought my parents back with us to the U.S and they will be with us for a few months. But leaving is always difficult and teary.

We finally had some snow!

2010-02-13T16:59:00.004-05:00

So it's not winter until you've had some snow, right?

Enough to make a snow angel...

And a snowman.. err..or Yoda or Shrek :)

What's happening so far

2010-01-22T14:08:00.004-05:00

Apologies for the long silence.
I have been clocking in more than 40 hours every week working on my Etsy shop since the holidays last year. The holiday rush was really exciting, albeit it left my fingers sore from all the crocheting! But I am not complaining.

I am currently working on re-stocking and finishing some wholesale orders. Yup, who would've thought you would see my scrubbies and dishcloths in a brick-and-mortar store someday!
A batch of dishcloths have made it's way to a store in New York, a small batch of scrubbies in an Art gallery in North Davidson, and I am working on another batch for a store in Utah.

Strangely, I still find this all very enjoyable and exhilarating!

Ten years ago, I was joking and told a friend that you would never ever see me sitting in an old rocking chair with knitting and crochet needles, glasses on my nose, watching TV and eating bon bons. (you get the picture)
Today, I have to eat back my words. Except for the rocking chair bit, the rest is true. So next time, I better think before I speak.
But right now, I will continue to enjoy the ride.

Things I Learned in North Carolina

2009-10-02T09:06:00.002-04:00

A team member posted this in our ACE team forum. It was so funny I had to share with you.

THINGS I LEARNED IN NORTH CAROLINA…

1) A possum is a flat animal that sleeps in the middle of the road.

2) There are 5,000 types of snakes and 4,998 of them live in NC.

3) There are 10,000 types of spiders, and all 10,000 of them live in NC.

4) If it grows, it'll s tick ya. If it crawls, it'll bite cha.

5) "Onced" and "Twiced" are words.

6) It is not a shopping cart, it's a buggy.

7) "Jaw-P?" means, "Did y'all go to the bathroom?"

8) People actually grow and eat okra.

9) "Fixinto" is one word.

10) There is no such thing as lunch. There is only dinner and then there is supper....

11) Iced tea is appropriate for all meals, and you start drinking it when you're two. We do like a little tea with our sugar.

12) Backwards and forwards means, "I know everything' about you."

13) The word "jeet" is actually a phrase meaning, "Did you eat?"

14) You don't have to wear a watch, because it doesn't matter what time it is. You work until you're done or it's too dark to see.

15) You don't PUSH buttons, you MASH em.

16) You measure distance in minutes.

17) You switch from heat to A/C in the same day.

18) All the festivals across the state are named after a fruit, vegetable, grain, insect or animal.

19) You know what a "Dawg" is.

20) You carry jumper cables in your car - for your own car.

21) You only own five spices: salt, pepper, Texas Pete, Tabasco and ketchup.

22) The local papers cover national and international news on one page, but require 6 pages for local gossip and high school football.

23) You think that the first day of deer season is a national holiday.

24) You find 100 degrees "a bit warm."

25) You know all four seasons: Almost summer, summer, still summer, and Christmas.

26) Going to Walmart is a favorite past time known as "goin' Walmartin" or "off to Wally World."

27) You describe the first cool snap (below 70 degrees) as good hog killin' weather.

28) Fried catfish is the other white meat.

29) We don't need no dang Driver's Ed.. If our mama says we can drive, we can drive, dag-nabbit.

30) If you understand these jokes then forward them to your NC friends and those who just wish they were from
The Great State Of North Carolina!!!!!

Soaps.... lots for soapy goodies coming my way :)

2009-09-20T17:28:00.005-04:00

Etsy is such a wonderful community of talented artsy folks. Through Etsy, I discovered handmade soaps and became an addict.
Last week, I participated in a survey at savor.etsy.com. This morning, I checked my email and Savor told me I had won a $100 shopping spree to her fantastic shop. I was godsmacked delirious and was doing the happy dance all day! Thank YOU Savor!

Now, off to add some of her delicious looking soaps into my cart

Happy 40th Jason!

2009-08-16T13:16:00.001-04:00

Jason turns 40 today! Happy Birthday honey!
Since he is not able to have a normal sugar-laden birthday cake anymore (real sugar causes dumping syndrome in gastric-bypass patients), I made him a meatloaf birthday cake :)

Strange creatures and mysterious hoodoos

2009-08-11T22:25:00.000-04:00

We saw this really weird creature at the dinosaur museum - Royal Tyrrell museum in Drumheller, AB

And the Hoodoos were just amazing.
Hope these natural beauties will remain for many more years

Canada vacation

2009-08-11T16:22:00.000-04:00

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

New York, New York

2009-07-27T23:24:00.003-04:00

Here's the photos of our recent trip to New York.
Details of the trip has been posted by hubby in his blog.

Table numbers

2009-07-24T11:26:00.005-04:00

These are the table numbers that I made for Michelle's wedding. It was fun.
We are looking forward to seeing her again and to be a part of her big day and also to see some of Calgary.

The Naturally Clean Kitchen

2009-07-14T22:19:00.004-04:00

I am excited to be featured amongst other talented fellow Etsians in today's Storque article :
How-To-Tuesday : The Naturally Clean Kitchen

The Charlotte Jazz band plays in Suncity, SC

2009-06-23T15:07:00.006-04:00

Please excuse the blurriness of the video. I took this with my regular camera.

Please no winning this thing!

2009-05-29T11:27:00.004-04:00

At the Matthews Beach Fest, there was this booth selling raffle tickets for this old Mercedes. I mean, seriously ancient old. Jason had one of these (the slightly newer version) some years ago. It made him go broke.

I was looking at something else and next thing I knew, there he was buying a Raffle.

Oh Lord, please don't let him win. You Raffle people, if you're reading this.... PLEASE do NOT pick Jason's name!!!!

Happy Earth Day

2009-04-22T08:26:00.001-04:00

I have a LOT of brown paper grocery bags. Each time we go to Trader Joes or Aldi, we come home with more brown paper grocery bags. We do have those tote bags that we're supposed to bring with us on our grocery trips but somehow I always forget to put them back in the car after we're done.

So today I decided to turn those brown paper grocery bags into mailing envelopes.

Happy Earth Day everyone!

SoapMaking anyone?

2009-04-06T19:39:00.012-04:00

I do not remember when I got addicted to handmade soaps. But I have been a big fan of a few talented handmade soap sellers and spending too much money on those delicious soaps. But hey, atleast it gets used to the very last sliver, and no more SLS!

On Saturday, I attended a SoapMaking party hosted by Tracey and April of the ACE (Amazing Carolina Etsians) team.
We started off making soap balls and scented a batch with lime and coconut and another batch with lemon zest. First, we grated Pure Castile Soap, added some distilled water and rolled them with our hands.
Next we made some body scrub using sea salt, some walnut oil and sunflower oil and essential oils of your choice. No more buying expensive store bought body scrubs with unknown ingredients anymore!

And the moment I have been waiting for was next - making soap from scratch!
After measuring all the ingredients, our gurus don on their safety goggles and rubber gloves and proceeded to add Lye to water. (very important not to do it the other way around or you will cause a volcanic reaction) . Then let the Lye sit in a plastic pitcher in a ventilated area until it drops down to 110F. (it took awhile).

In the meantime, get your fats and oils ready. We used lots of Olive Oil and Coconut butter and some Castor Oil, and melted them in a Stainless Steel stock pot.

When the Lye has reached the right temperature, slowly add the lye-water mixture to the soap pot and blend the Lye and Oils together using a stick blender until "trace" has been reached.

Next, slowly pour the soap mixture into a mold. Wrap the mold in a towel and let it sit in a warm and safe place. The soap mixture will begin to get hot as the saponification process starts.

It will take about 24 hours for the soap to harden enough to take it out of the mold and slice it.
After slicing, set the soap aside to cure. The soap needs to cure for atleast 4 weeks before it is safe enough to use.

Thanks Tracey and April for being such wonderful soap gurus! And to Tracey for letting us invade your kitchen!

And here's some members of the Ace team

Cooper's 6th Birthday party

2009-03-31T15:49:00.002-04:00

A day in Asheville - Glassblowing

2009-03-30T12:28:00.003-04:00

Two Saturdays ago, we took a daytrip to Asheville to learn how Elise (of www.inthelightglassworks.etsy.com) makes her amazing glass creations. She gave us a tour of her studio and showed us all the work that goes into each one of her items. It was simply amazing to see how a glass ball ornament is neatly cut up and turned into beautiful glass pendants like this or this.

She was also generous enough to let us try making glass ball ornaments. I would have loved to try but I woke up that morning and was a total klutz so I figured it would be safer for everyone if I didn't.

Now if you think glassblowing is easy, it sure ain't!

Being a part of the Natural Grooming Tips

2009-03-27T13:15:00.003-04:00

Here I am casually scrolling and browsing and almost fell off my chair when I stumbled upon my Organic Pakucho Makeup Remover pads in this Etsy Article - Handmade Weddings: Natural Grooming Tips from GreenUnion.
I have never been in The Storque before and I am just estatic!

I've been featured!

2009-03-22T10:19:00.002-04:00

I've been featured by Fresh Peaches today!
Here is the interview:
http://suchcoolstuff.blogspot.com/2009/03/laksaware.html

Wilmington last week

2009-03-17T12:21:00.000-04:00

Most of Jason's friends are turning 40 this year (including Jason himself).
Last week, it was Dave's 40th bash. We drove to Raleigh, and rode with Bert to Wilmington. In Bert's car were also 40 pink flamingoes, a heart, a bear, a smiley face and a cow.
You see, Bert's friend has a Flamingo Express business. They sneak up late at night, place these flamingos in your yard with a sign that may say "Honk! It's John's Birthday!" or something like that. And you wake up the next morning, look at your yard and go "Aarrgh.. these crazy people!!" or you just die laughing.

So, at 1am that night, the three of us were putting these flamingos, a heart, a bear, a smiley face and a cow in Dave's yard. We almost got busted.
We had some time in the afternoon to see the sights in Wilmington. Went downtown to see the ships, the quaint little shops and had a glass of Guinness at the Irish pub.
Then we went back to Dave's and Beka's for the party and we were the last ones to leave.
Jason always has a great time with his High School buddies.

Next morning, we went back to remove the flamingos and headed to Carolina Beach for a few minutes before driving back to Bert's place in Raleigh. Then back to Charlotte.

It's snowing in March!

2009-03-02T12:20:00.007-05:00

Big flakes started falling down from the skies around 6.30pm last night. And by 9pm or so, we had a nice good layer of snow to play in. I think we got around 4-6 inches of white snowman material snow.
So Jason and I put on our snow gear and went out to play.

This is Jason's snowman.

And me making a snowangel

This morning, as I was taking my packages out to the mailbox, I slipped and fell on the icy road. Nothing bad. Just bruises and scratches on my knees and palm. I was mentally telling myself not to fall as I was walking down the walkway and the next second, whooosh...splat. Clumsy me.

Where is the Calm ? Part Deux

2009-02-26T23:15:00.005-05:00

So after exactly six days since last week's incident, ServiceMasters were finally able to remove the 10 blowers, 2 dehumidifiers and the desiccant machine (the one with the hose that goes up the ceiling). We can finally hear ourselves think again. The noise from all those machines were starting to drive us crazy and making our skin look like prunes because it was so dry.

On Wednesday, the Construction manager came to reassess the restoration needed and will submit a report and breakdown cost to the Insurance company. Once the Insurance company approves the cost and receives our deductible money, they will pay ServiceMasters 50% downpayment before they can commence the restoration work.

So we hope everything will be back to normal within the next 2 -3 weeks. In the meantime, I found a plumber to install the Pressure Release Valve in the sideyard. I hope he shows up tomorrow.

And we need to schedule the tile guy to fix the two broken tiles in the bathroom.
So those are the two costs that we will bear including the deductible for the Insurance company, which works up to what we just received from Uncle Sam last week.
That totally sucks because I was hoping we would have some money from the tax refund to "play" with.

Where is the calm?

2009-02-19T23:43:00.004-05:00

We had just come home and realized that the water pressure was suddenly very strong, causing the toilets to "sing" and it would not stop running. So we fixed that and barely 5 minutes later, I heard Jason yelling downstairs that we have an emergency.
I ran down and saw a waterfall coming from the ceiling close to where our fireplace is and soaking the carpets. And then more water gushed down on the dining table and three other spots in the living room. I just blindly grabbed all the pots from the kitchen and a couple of buckets and some old towels and placed them where the water was gushing down, whilst Jason stopped the busted pipe in the Master bathroom upstairs (actually, it was the hose-pipe that hooks up the bathroom faucet that had broke). The bathroom was flooded and it seeped right through to our bedroom soaking the carpets in there too.

We called the County Water & Sewer Dept. and the line was transferred to 911. We guessed all the piping work that they had been doing on the streets outside the neighborhood for the past couple of days caused the sudden increase in our water pressure which busted our pipes.
So anyways, there was nothing they could do to help.

Jason's parents drove over immediately (bless their hearts) and brought the heavy-duty vacuum to suck up all the water and more towels to dry up the floors. We moved furniture around and did whatever we could.

Tomorrow, we'll have to call the Insurance company and we made an appointment with the plumber to come look at the situation.

My heart is still racing and I am paranoid that the ceiling will fall in because the water is still trapped between.
But we're just so thankful that we decided to come home a little earlier tonight. If we had not, we might have lost the whole house, and Trouble might have drowned.

Finding some Malaysians at last

2009-02-02T19:51:00.005-05:00

Last month, Jason stumbled upon the Charlotte Asian Potluck Club blog. He asked me to email them. I did and we were invited to join them for their next gathering which was held last Saturday.
We met four other Malaysian couples and another guy from Asheville who came without his wife.

The hostess, Sally and Kumar, made a fabulous spread and everyone else brought a dish or two. All Malaysian dishes. And everything tasted sooo good. It was just great seeing some Malaysian faces again and even better getting to know them all. Everyone was so friendly and easy-going and I felt right at "home". We talked about almost everything under the sun, including teh tarik, milo and the sarongs.

We were formally inducted into their group after getting the thumbs up for our Char Siu pastries. So Jason and I will be hosting the next gathering in Spring. We hope to not disappoint anyone with our culinary skills.

The big layoff week

2009-01-29T23:30:00.007-05:00

When I got the call at 8.30 two mornings ago, I thought, Oh no.. so this is it. My company has been going through a very challenging period, so I wasn't too surprised that a bunch of us were laid off.

In a weird way, I am actually relieved. I never felt I belonged there so leaving was easy because there were no feelings of attachment.

I haven't been bored either. And I have never felt so care-free in a long time. Although frugality will play a major role from now on, I think we will be able to manage for awhile.
My only worry right now is whether I will land myself another job before I deplete my bank account.
In the meantime, I'll be watching soap operas, eating bon bons and spending more time on Laksaware. Indeed, this could be a blessing in disguise.

Welcoming in the Year of the Ox

2009-01-25T20:10:00.005-05:00

Today is the eve of Chinese New Year. The biggest event of any Chinese New Year's Eve is the reunion dinner every family will have. So not forgetting this tradition, we had a little feast and invited the family over. We were also fortunate to have our friends, Selena and Phillip, over for the weekend.

It is also believed that the color red is commonly worn during Chinese New Year because red will scare away evil spirits and bad fortune. So here we are in red...

Here are other beliefs :

For Good luck

Opening windows and/or doors is considered to bring in the good luck of the new year. (It's going to be really cold tonight)
Switching on the lights for the night is considered good luck to 'scare away' ghosts and spirits of misfortune that may compromise the luck and fortune of the new year. (maybe the night light counts)
Sweets are eaten to ensure the consumer a "sweet" year. (chocolates are sweet. So that counts)
It is important to have the house completely clean from top to bottom before New Year's Day for good luck in the coming year. (however, cleaning the house on or after New Year's Day is frowned upon)(Hmm... I tried. But the house is never completely clean, but I can be sure I won't be cleaning tomorrow :))
Some believe that what happens on the first day of the new year reflects the rest of the year to come. Chinese people will often gamble at the beginning of the year, hoping to get luck and prosperity. (so I should play poker on Facebook?)
Wearing a new pair of slippers that is bought before the new year, because it means to step on the people who gossip about you. (Check. Yes, I am wearing one. So stop gossiping about me you people)
The night before the new year, bathe yourself in pomelo leaves and some say that you will be healthy for the rest of the new year. (Would showering in handmade soap that smells like pomelo work?)

Kong Hee Fatt Choy!!!

Spicing it up

2009-01-20T12:08:00.005-05:00

Recently, I discovered our Barkers' Rib Rub and All-purpose spice was in a Treasury. (yayy!)

A customer requested a sugar-free version for her diabetic husband, so we made a batch with splenda instead of sugar. She was very pleased with it. She left us feedback that it works great on fish too. We also sold another sugar-free one to another buyer in Michigan. I guess we need to make more.

I still get a warm fuzzy feeling when our buyers tell us they love what we make.

My new Toy-ota

2009-01-04T12:43:00.007-05:00

In the U.S, the end of the year is the best time to hunt for a car because that's when most dealerships offer incentives and price breaks so that they could meet their year-end budget. We have talked about switching my car for a better one, for various little hypothetical reasons.

While I absolutely love my 2005 Hyundai Elantra because it is versatile, easy to drive, fuel efficient, great A/C, excellent visibility and the right size for little me (plus I can spot it from far away because of its' striking blue color), it does have its' cons.

1) The check-engine light has been coming on for no reason. But it goes off after a few days. We think the gas cap might be the culprit or it may just be dirty gas.
2) Car pulls to the right. Twice it was because of a nail in the tire. But after fixing that, it still does that even after sending it for alignment.
3) Not so fun to drive on road trips because of the noise factor and bumpy suspension.
4) Not practical if we were to have kids/kid.(no Child seat latch)
5) Poor crash rating.
6) Car depreciates fast.

So we went scouting. Honestly, I was hoping I would not find anything so that I can keep my blue thang and not have to put myself through listening to those ~~vultures~~ car salesmen.
We tried the Fords, Toyotas and Hyundais. And narrowed down our choices to the Hyundai Elantra 2008 model (yes I still love the Elantra), Hyundai Tucson, Ford Escape, Toyota RAV4 and Toyota Corolla LE (or the Altis in Malaysia). Although I would love to have a smaller car like the Toyota Matrix but I have to remind myself that I am not single anymore and the Matrix would not allow me to haul luggages, stuff from Lowes or maybe baby strollers one day.

Did more research and more sleepless nights and we were finally down to two - Hyundai Elantra and Toyota Corolla LE. We drove them again and got to keep them for 2 hours. But I still could not make up my mind. (It is not like buying a dress or a pair of shoes)
We managed to get a good price for the Toyota which put it in the same price range as the Elantra that we were looking at. We wanted something that would allow us to make the same monthly payments as our existing Hyundai.

While the Toyota drives a lot smoother and has a great pickup, it did not have all the bells and whistles of the Hyundai.(satellite station, extra compartments, pockets behind the seat, volume control on the steering wheel, blue tooth capability).

But I would like to keep this next car for the next ~~100~~ 20 years or so. And the Toyota definitely holds its value better and is more fuel efficient. (can go up to 40 mpg).

So the Toyota won.

I had only 10 minutes to say goodbye to my blue thang. And I actually cried. Yes I can get sentimental.
I know I will love the Toyota (I don't even have a name for him yet. What do you call something that is gray and the color of ash? without sounding too depressing) and it will grow on me and I will get used to the gray color.

Farewell my blue thang....

Christmas 2008

2008-12-28T14:25:00.004-05:00

Warning : Boring video alert ! Beep ! Beep!

I ought to

2008-12-20T10:34:00.002-05:00

Found this video on Blossom Sundries and love it!

Thank you Secret Santa!

2008-12-13T21:32:00.003-05:00

I participated in a Secret Santa gift exchange this year with some of the ACE (Amazing Carolina Etsians) team members. On Friday, I received a parcel on the front door.

In the box was a beautiful handbound journal from UberArt.etsy.com, a pretty handmade Christmas card, a big bar of chocolate handmade soap from Barebummbath.etsy.com (Yumm!!) and my favorite chocolates-Ferrero Rocher!

Thank you, Secret Santa! Whoever you are, you nailed it!

Of parties and eggs and SpongeBob

2008-12-13T09:57:00.005-05:00

It's the time of year for holiday parties and Santa gift exchanges.
Last night, we went to Jason's colleague's house for their holiday party. We all pitched in and brought a dish. So I made some deviled eggs. I boiled 2 dozen eggs. Broke one. (Fried that one for later) And some didn't peel well. I ate those uglier looking ones and boiled 5 more. Sliced those eggs in half and placed 36 halves on the egg tray. And ate the extras. And ate a couple more at the party.
(I hope there is nothing wrong with eating too many eggs in one day. My cholesterol level probably just hit the roof)

Party was great. We each brought an anonymous gift and did the Secret Santa/White Elephant gift exchange. You pick a number. Smallest number gets to pick a gift first. Number 2 gets to decide if he wants to steal Number 1's gift or pick a gift from under the tree, and so on. If a gift gets stolen for the 3rd time, it's frozen and nobody gets to steal it anymore.

I decided to steal someone's Panera cookies and Panera gift card. Unfortunately, someone stole it right back from me. There was one last gift under the tree which I could not pick because it was the gift we brought. So I had to steal again. We ended up going home with a hideous pineapple frilly handbag (think SpongeBob), some chocolates and a handheld game.
But it was better than that Snowman lamp that Todd got stuck with, or the apron that keeps coming back year after year... Maybe the SpongeBob handbag will show up again next year as a gift bag.

Strangely enjoyable

2008-11-24T11:28:00.002-05:00

It's been awhile since I last went to church (I probably shouldn't be admitting this here). So I had planned to go to church yesterday. But since we got back into town at almost 1am the previous night, I had a late start and attended the later mass at 1pm at a different church. I was 15 minutes early and as I sat down, I noticed the "atmosphere" around me was a little different.
Then mass started and I realized that it was a Spanish mass.
I did not understand a single word except for an occasional "Uno, Dos, Tres". I stood when everyone stood and sat when everyone sat and enjoyed the La bamba beat that was added into conventional churchy music. I thought that was kinda cool. And one guy was doing some sort of a salsa walk as he was walking up the aisle. For a moment, I forgot that I was actually in the U.S.

I left shortly after and spent the rest of the time at their "reflection garden" outside. There was a pond and fountain and stations of the cross that were engraved in stone, a stone altar and a little area which I assume is where they sometimes hold outdoor masses. Very pretty. Very peaceful. I could have sat there for a good hour enjoying the solitude but it was too darn cold so I went home.

First Craft show experience

2008-11-17T13:12:00.005-05:00

The day finally came! After worrying and stressing and obsessing about this day, it arrived and I had a great time. I think Jason did too. (He got a little bored in the afternoon and thankfully there was a radio that he could tune in to listen to the ballgame)

We got to know and meet Gayle and her family. She's one of our team members from the ACE team on Etsy. Our tables were just beside each other in the same room. And I enjoyed their company tremendously. Her son, Mitchell, makes cards and they were a big hit. We bought some and Jason told him that we're going to send those to Malaysia. He was so excited and it really made his day coz he could not stop telling everybody about it.

There wasn't much of a crowd. Most of the buyers were their own church members. But everyone were so very nice.
Parents-in-law came during lunch time to help relieve us so that we could grab a quick lunch.

I sold a few scrubbies and Jason did a good job with his all-purpose spice and giving out samples. We went in with zero expectations and was just hoping to have an experience and meet some wonderful people. And we did.

That night, I slept like a baby. So relieved. And so very tired.
I admire those crafters who do shows like these almost every week. Where do they get all that energy from?

List of "must haves" for a craft show

2008-11-14T13:34:00.003-05:00

I'll be doing my very first craft show tomorrow. So I'm going to list what to bring here (so I know where to look if I were to do another craft show)

Inventory
Tablecloth
Shop Signage
Price signage
Change (dollar bills)
Apron / money holder
Business cards + holder (I'm using the EQ3 glass dish)
Tape (duct tape)
Pens, markers
Stapler
Paper bags, merchandise bags
Camera (and batteries)
Calculator
safety pins
hand sanitizer
baskets, wooden bowl, vase
boxes (to add additional layer)
table runner
Water
First aid kit
Tylenol

I am probably forgetting something.

Holiday Gift Guide

2008-11-13T18:56:00.005-05:00

Just discovered my bath scrubbie is being featured on UpstateFancy's holiday gift guide!

Bake Sale

2008-10-25T13:15:00.006-04:00

Our office had our annual Pink on Purpose Fund Raiser on Friday. Everyone was encouraged to bring in a baked item. So I made some coconut almond bars.

Life as it is today

2008-10-09T14:39:00.000-04:00

Someone sent me this today :

If you had purchased $1,000 of shares in Delta Airlines one year ago, you will have $49.00 today. If you had purchased $1,000 of shares in AIG one year ago, you will have $33.00 today. If you had purchased $1,000 of shares in Lehman Brothers one year ago, you will have $0.00 today. But, if you had purchased $1,000 worth of beer one year ago, drank all the beer, then turned in the aluminum cans for recycling refund, you will have received $214.00. Based on the above, the best current investment plan is to drink heavily & recycle. It is called the 401-Keg. A recent study found that the average American walks about 900 miles a year. Another study found that Americans drink, on average, 22 gallons of alcohol a year. That means that, on average, Americans get about 41 miles to the gallon! Makes you proud to be an American!

:)

Still no gas

2008-09-30T16:57:00.003-04:00

It's been two weeks and Charlotte is still facing a gas shortage.
People are rushing for gas and turning the situation into a state of emergency.

With a quarter tank, I drove to work last Thursday with hopes of finding some gas on the way but no luck. The two stations that had gas on the way home had long lines and maybe an hour wait. My company issued an email informing us that if we cannot find gas, we are allowed to work from home.

Friday morning, Jason called me up and told me the station down the road had gas. I got there at 7am and lines had already started to form with two police cars directing traffic and standing by incase a fight broke out. By afternoon, they were out of gas again.
Even at $4.19/gallon, I was glad my car is full.

Yesterday, we saw cars circling the Shell station near Walmart because they saw a tanker parked there. People are desperate.
Some cars will even follow behind a tanker just to see where it goes to get gas.

Mayor McCrory said he had considered ordering that gasoline be rationed, but decided that would create more panic and hoarding, which industry experts say are exacerbating the problem.
We've turned into vultures. But who is to blame?

Jason's debut

2008-09-28T17:30:00.004-04:00

Here's a short extract from yesterday's concert - tunes from the fifties and Broadway.

For the love of soaps

2008-09-18T17:45:00.005-04:00

Here's my latest addiction...... handmade soaps!

I bought these myself recently from here, here and here :And Jason got me these for my birthday from here :

And I bought a whole bunch of these.. and recently ordered more from this very wonderful lady as a collaboration with my scrubbies :

Yummy yummy-licious!

Insane

2008-09-13T19:01:00.002-04:00

On Thursday, the price of gas (petrol) was $3.65.
Yesterday, Jason called me on the way to work and told me that I better go get my car filled up.
I went out in the afternoon and there were atleast 15 cars all waiting in line at the gas station. I drove to the next one, and there were atleast 30 cars and causing traffic havoc. I waited in line. After 15 minutes, the guy who works there comes around to tell us that they were out of gas.

So I drove to two more gas stations and they were also out of gas. By now, the price of gas was already $4.29 per gallon. I finally found one station with 20 cars all waiting like vultures for gas. I was hoping that there'd still be some gas left for me when my turn came. There was.

Relieved, I went home.

Today, we saw atleast 5 stations all out of gas. And one station had gas for $5.75 ! And cars were still rushing for it!

This is a crime.

Oh, Ike, what have you done?

I've discovered the secret pre-teen language decoder

2008-09-11T15:09:00.003-04:00

http://ssshotaru.homestead.com/files/aolertranslator.html

Where's Bernie?

2008-08-27T23:36:00.001-04:00

I have been blogging here just to account for dates and facts to help me remember better.
And also trying to calm my nerves.

Thank you Suzie !

2008-08-27T11:58:00.000-04:00

Remember our wonderful groomer who so graciously rescued us and a sticky cat and did not want to accept our money?

Well, I ordered a print from this lady in Canada and it came in the mail today! I'll get it framed and will give it to the wonderful groomer this week.

When paths cross for a reason

2008-08-23T18:50:00.004-04:00

I find out on Thursday that our two managers from China and South Africa are in town for two weeks. I was told that the manager from China has been food-challenged all week and is just dying for some good authentic Chinese food. So far, she's been getting only Americanized Chinese food here. With some encouragement from Jason, I emailed her and told her that Jason and I will be happy to take them to our favorite Chinese restaurant on Saturday.
I immediately got a happy and relieved call back from her.

So we picked them up from the hotel today and brought them to Tin Tin Buffet.

After lunch, we brought them shopping at the mall because the Johannesburg colleague wanted to buy some Nike shoes and clothes for her daughter and mom.
We then took them back to their hotel.

I've always enjoyed meeting people from different cultures. It's like getting a glimpse of a country you've never been before and also puts another place to visit on my list.

I think we may have done a good deed today because we found out they were practically stuck in the hotel with no transport of their own. The other manager who is staying at the same hotel had gone home to Atlanta for the weekend leaving these two foreigners to fend for themselves. There is practically nowhere to eat or go around the hotel if you do not have a car.
In Charlotte, you will not find a taxi or a bus easily.

They are super nice and Jason and I are super pleased to have been able to make their stay a little more pleasant.

Trouble gets into trouble again

2008-08-15T15:55:00.004-04:00

We have been struggling to keep fruit flies out of the house this summer. They seem to like congregating around Trouble's food bowl and it's been really annoying. To him and to us. I've placed two bowls of apple cider vinegar and managed to trap a few fruit flies but the problem still persisted. We finally bought a sticky indoor fly trap and that did the trick. Bye bye fruit flies.

Then....

We came home pretty late last night and saw that the cat food bowl was upside down and across the hallway and the metal stand was flung in another direction. That's pretty unusual. Looks like something only an angry or distressed cat will do.
And then we noticed the missing sticky indoor fly trap.

Oh shucks.

So we find the cat, and true enough, that trap was stuck to his back side and tail and he was one unhappy cat. It was a struggle just pulling that thing off from him. Being a long haired cat, it was a total mess. He had like two dozen dead fruit flies stuck to his fur, and it was a total sticky mess.

We put him in the bathtub, put on our latex gloves, got a bottle of cleaning alcohol and cooking oil and a rag and tried washing the stickiness off. Did not work. We threw him in the shower, washed him off with shampoo. Did not work.

It left us with a terribly annoyed and pissed off cat.

Jason called the groomer (it was almost midnite now) and left her a message telling her we have a crisis.

This afternoon, the very nice groomer called and told us to bring Trouble in. She told me to stay and help her hold him down while she clipped his hair to get the sticky mess off.
It was tough. Trouble was hissing and he had his fangs out all the time, yelling and cursing us.

After the ordeal, the very nice groomer sent us home and did not want to accept our money.
She's an angel that groomer.

So we're home now. Trouble is not sticky anymore but he sure looks funny with a patchy haircut.

A refreshing, positive gender image

2008-08-02T20:57:00.003-04:00

I asked the husband the other day if he would be willing to help me make some scrubbies. He said No way. I said I'll promise not to tell anyone if he does. He said NO.

Well, I am hoping he'll change his mind after he reads this. :)

The Scrubbies are getting their 5 minutes of fame

2008-08-02T20:38:00.004-04:00

Last week, the New York Times contacted me and wanted to feature my scrubbies in their Sunday Styles section. They were going to do a page on hostess gifts and asked if I could Fedex some scrubbies over.
Hell yeah!!!

They are featured this weekend here.

Ok, it's not a big deal. But I am still doing the happy dance!

Chocolate cake in 5 minutes

2008-07-19T16:01:00.001-04:00

For emergency purposes :
http://www.dizzy-dee.com/recipe/chocolate-cake-in-5-minutes

I'd use the quiche dish instead of a mug. And if you have a torch, you can probably make a creme brulee.

Some fancy awkwardness

2008-07-18T23:40:00.002-04:00

We had our office dinner party tonight at a fancy restaurant to celebrate a good fiscal year. It started with two hours of appetizers and booze at the bar and then we were ushered into a private room with assigned seats. Menu consisted of bruschetta and bread, a choice of salad, a palate cleanser (mango sorbet+ vodka), your choice of veal, chicken, salmon or an eggplant entree and your choice of a dessert (tiramisu or creme brulee).

Waiters brought out our entree in individual silver domes and told us not to peek (I had "Be our guest" from Beauty and the Beast singing in my head), and they did a little drumroll and lifted the dome.

Throughout dinner and before dinner, everyone was buying shots for everyone else. And bottles of wine were passed around. And a magician showed us some tricks.

Other diners outside in the regular dining area were dancing the shag and a band was playing some beach music.

I was, as usual, a social handicap, and I've always felt awkward in social functions and having to mingle with people I don't really know because starting some small talk is not my forte. But I did make an effort to not be a wallflower.

I survived and I was sober because I might have told a little white lie.

Now, I am ready for the weekend!

These shoes are made for walking

2008-07-12T17:10:00.001-04:00

Two crazy fools decided to go for a walk today. And walk they did in the hot afternoon sun. They started the route through a neighboring neighborhood, past Squirrel lake, across Highway 485, passed a busy intersection, sought refuge at a church and continued onwards towards some offices.
5.8 miles (9.3 km) later, they were rescued by the parents.
Click here for the full story.

Weekend in Sneads Ferry

2008-07-07T19:29:00.000-04:00

Here are some photos from our July 4th weekend in Sneads Ferry at Ronald and Tammie's place.
Details of our trip is posted here.

The dock

Jason raking for clams

Ronald knee-boarding

Tammie on the tube

Tammie, Asia and Bernie

A mountain of yarn

2008-07-01T13:11:00.004-04:00

Good grief. What was I thinking?? The stuff I ordered arrived yesterday. I now have 160 hanks of yarn in my room + 192 that was wrongly sent = 352. 352!!!!

Gotta love em corks

2008-06-25T18:44:00.002-04:00

Omigod! Twice in a week? My laksa bowl trivet got selected to be in this treasury!

Treasury

2008-06-24T10:15:00.003-04:00

Yayy!! My trivet was selected and featured in the Treasury section of Etsy!

They love our mailbox so much that...

2008-06-20T15:57:00.004-04:00

It was a peaceful afternoon until I got a phone call from my neighbor across the street. She said "Oh good, you're working from home today! You better come outside now coz someone just ran over your mailbox!"

Again??!!! You gotta be kidding me!
This is the THIRD time someone decides to knock our mailbox down.

I go outside and I see our mailbox smashed on one side and the whole box laying lifeless on the ground and there was this truck who was trying to back out. I went up to the truck waving like a mad woman trying to stop him, at the same time trying to catch the name of the company of the truck.
The phone number was not visible.

So this big guy comes out of the truck and here's tiny me with both hands on my hips looking furious. (Don't mess with me when I am mad)
He apologized and told me he had already called his boss and that they were coming to replace it within 30 minutes.

I had doubts.

So I went online and got the phone number for this company and spoke to the manager. I did not want to give them a chance to deny so I asked "hey by any chance you have someone working in this neighborhood this afternoon?". He said "Yes" (probably thinking I was going to give him some business).
I said "Good, coz your guy just ran over my mailbox".

He said "Oh no"

I said "Oh yes he sure did"

He said "We will replace it"

I asked " When? My mailman comes in an hour. If we are not able to get our mail, that's not going to be nice"

He said he'll call me back and I got his name.

He did call me back and admitted that it was his guy who knocked the mailbox down (obviously his guy lied when he said he had already called his boss because his boss did not know of this incident before I called up)
He informed me that they had ordered a new one from the developer. He sounded nice and trustworthy enough.

In the meantime, Jason had called the police and they called me and said they were going to come by and ask some questions.
The police guy could not understand me over the phone and asked if I speak Spanish.
I told him No, I dont speak any Spanish but he brings a Spanish-speaking police officer over anyway.
They came over during lunch time and Jason was home. Good, coz I don't enjoy talking to people who have problems with my un-American accent. It gets frustrating.
So they asked questions, and called up the company who ran over the mailbox.

About 4 hours later, I saw a new mailbox sitting pretty outside.

Relieved.

All this hoohah over a mailbox! So very unnecessary, yet necessary.

I wonder if they'll allow us to build a concrete wall around our mailbox. Coz we know someone else is going to knock the mailbox down again... they just love our mailbox too much!

The trivets appeareth

2008-06-20T15:29:00.007-04:00

I made some trivets using some plain cork coasters that I had bought a long time ago and just sitting aimless in my closet. Since I had not painted for awhile, I decided to decorate the trivets with acrylic paint and sealed it with multiple layers of mod podge and Polyurethane sealant for protection and to make it water resistant.

Lately, I've been addicted to the blue/green/brown combination. I also painted a whole bunch of clothespin in that color but it became really tedious and I got bored doing it. I'd rather stay away from monotony.

Here's what I did :
I've listed them here. And I've sold one yesterday ! :)

Father's Day afternoon...

2008-06-15T15:55:00.001-04:00

Some good news

2008-06-10T13:21:00.002-04:00

- My Father-in-law's surgery went well. The doctor said the surgery went as he planned and he might also have fixed the problem on his left arm.

- My long-awaited Green card arrived from Vermont !!! The husband is stuck with me for another 10 years (and vice versa)

Phew.. and Yayyy!!!

Crochet needle case

2008-06-07T17:16:00.003-04:00

Today I made a crochet needle case for Jessey !!

I struggled with the tension setting and realized later that I did not thread the machine correctly. Duh!

Puerto Rico escapade

2008-05-28T14:27:00.030-04:00

Day 1

We left on Friday morning and flew into San Juan. Rented a car and drove to Old San Juan about 15 minutes from the airport. Old San Juan's colonial architecture of hanging balconies and cobble stone streets makes you feel like you have gone back in time. We drove by the cathedral and museums and stopped to visit San Cristobal Fort. This castle was built in 1771 and was designed to protect the city from land invasions.
Parking spaces were limited in Old San Juan so we did not stop much but just drove around to see the sites.

After a quick lunch of arroz (rice) with pigeon peas, we proceeded to head south.
Traffic was awful getting out of San Juan. We were only moving at 10mph. But the view from the highway was awesome. Lots of mountains and valleys on one side and clear blue waters on the

other side and square houses nestled on the mountains.

Three hours later, we stopped at Ponce and bought some snacks, water, juices, tuna cans, buns, etc. We had been warned that meals in the hotel were exorbitant.

We were stuck in traffic again getting out of Ponce.

We finally arrived in Guanica about 6pm, and checked into our hotel, which was just awesome.
Realizing that our hotel is located far away from any other amenities or restaurants, we were glad we bought those cans of tuna.
Dinner was a quick treat at the Las Palmas cafe in the hotel itself because we were just too tired of being in the car all afternoon and did not want to drive all the way down that narrow winding road down the mountains at night. Jason had what he called the best burger he'd ever eaten.

Day 2

Today we decided we'd venture out of Guanica and head west. Armed with a map and plenty of water, we drove to San German,

Puerto Rico's oldest settlement outside San Juan. Streets were again, very narrow. Roads were hilly. Buildings were interestingly old and mostly pink or orange, with a lot of old Spanish charm. Getting out of San German was indeed tricky because the streets were mostly one way and we found ourselves on the same streets again, and again.

Then we headed to Boqueron, a small beach town. The locals love hanging out here. We had lunch at Galloway's which is built on a dock. I had a conch salad and Jason had quesadillas.
We then checked out the beach and all the little kiosks selling "pinchos" ( raw clams, oysters, shellfish). I was so tempted to try some but was afraid to, not knowing how long they have been sitting out in the sun.

After Boqueron, we headed Southwest to Cabo Rojo, in search of the famous lighthouse. We drove, and drove.. and the roads disappeared, and we were on some dirt track. But we saw some cars in front of us and felt not so lost.
Then the narrow path opened to a lovely view of the bluest lagoon I've ever seen. And the lighthouse was up on a hill on the left. We parked and hiked up a rocky trail towards the lighthouse and the view was just breathtaking. We found ourselves on a cliff, overlooking a 200 feet drop to the sea, waves splashing against the limestone cliff. Just magnificent.For dinner, we headed out to La Parguera, which is also famous for its Bioluminescent bay to watch the dinoflagellates (by the millions) emitting flashes of light that give the water a ghostly glow whenever they are disturbed. Unfortunately, I was so ill in the restaurant that we had to leave even before ordering our food. The next few hours, I had no recollection of what happened. I just remember throwing up and having to go to the bathroom numerous times and I had an awful headache. I think I remember chanting to Jason that if I were to die here, just sprinkle my ashes into the deep blue Caribbean waters.

Day 3
The next morning, I felt much better. Which leaves me to think I had a case of sunstroke. Or it could also be food poisoning from the conch salad, though Jason says that it was 6 hours since I had eaten it, so it probably was already digested by the time I got sick.

After breakfast, we packed our backpacks and hiked the Cuevas trail in the Guanica Dry Forest reserve. True to its name, the forest was absolutely dry. Almost desert-like. Lots of Agave and cactus everywhere. At the top of the hill, the view of the sea was just awesome.

For dinner, Javier from the front desk had recommended a place in Guayanilla, a small fishing village, where the locals eat. He told us to ask for directions to the waterfront once we get into Guayanilla. We did. We had to. Because we got very lost. A nice old man at the gas station told us to follow him and he led us to the village with little restaurants on wooden stilts by the boardwalk. We looked for La Rinconada (which means little corner). It was crowded and the waiter told us we would have to wait for our food. Wait we did. After an hour or so, our food came and it was soooo good. We had the camarones tostones( fried plantain batter shaped into a bowl and filled with shrimps) and carrucho (crab) empanadillas (very similar to 'Cornish pasties' or the Malaysian curry puffs).

Day 4

Since this was our last day here, we decided to just take it easy and enjoy the beach at the hotel and made our spa appointments.

For lunch, we drove into town for some Chinese food. The menu was all in Spanish and interestingly, the food was really good and pretty authentic.

We ate dinner at the hotel and decided it was ok to splurge a little since this was technically our anniversary. We ordered the shrimp mofongo (made from fried green plantains, seasoned with garlic, olive oil and pork cracklings, then mashed and stuffed with shrimps) and some calamari fritters.

Day 5

We checked out of our hotel real early and made the drive to San Juan. I was nervous about missing our flight because of the traffic but we got into San Juan early enough. In fact, we were too early. So we contributed some money at the casino at the airport.

There was a Puerto Rican walking band playing at the departure hall. Cute.

This trip allowed us to immerse ourselves into a totally different culture and I learnt a lot of Spanish words because everything is in Spanish, even at McDonalds.
The word "Damas" came in real handy because most toilets are locked and you have to ask for the key.
Most Gas stations only accept cash. So you need to tell the cashier (in Spanish) which pump number and the amount of gas you want ($$ in liters)
People are very friendly and generally helpful.

It was a wonderful Anniversary for us both... and a much needed vacation!

Too many lemons in the fridge

2008-05-13T14:26:00.004-04:00

I have atleast 12 lemons leftover from the cleanse. We bought enough for two of us plus I thought I was going to do ten days of cleanse.

So I'm trying to use them up. I know I could just squeeze them all and make a pitcher of lemonade, but nah.. tired of that lemon drink.
Yesterday, I made a baked tuna lemon penne pasta.

Today, its lemon pudding cake baked in a crockpot.
Recipe will be posted here.

I'll give some away to the neighbors and put some lemons in the basket too :)

Mother's Day 2008 & Cheese "boogers"

2008-05-11T20:28:00.002-04:00

The Master Cleanse - Day Five

2008-05-07T22:55:00.002-04:00

I had the weirdest craving today - fried garlic. I wonder what my body is trying to tell me.
My sense of smell has also gotten really sensitive and I would smell french fries a mile away.
But what I miss most is the sensation of chewing food. I am getting tired of just drinking that lemon drink ALL day.
Energy level was great today.

Today, however, will be the last day of this cleanse. I am cutting it short by 5 days because I just found out that we'll be going out to eat for Mother's Day with the family. And it's a sin to not eat at a buffet. Not to mention, agonizing to watch.
In a way, I feel relieved and happy, and I just can't wait to eat this, this, this and this. But I'm also feeling disappointed for not getting the full results of the detox. Maybe next time.

Tomorrow, I'll start to break the cleanse by drinking a glass of orange juice in the morning and clear vegetable broth for lunch/dinner. No solid foods yet. The next day, it'll be vegetable broth again, and maybe some celery & tomato juice. And one small piece of watermelon.
According to the message board, it'll take a few days for your body to adjust fully to eating normal foods, and I want to give myself a head start so that I'll be able to enjoy some food at the buffet this Sunday.

So far, I've lost 5 lbs but I'm sure I'll put it all back again (or maybe more) because I'm just dying for a bucket of KFC drumsticks!

The Master Cleanse - Day Four

2008-05-06T18:42:00.001-04:00

My energy level is the highest in the mornings, which is really rare for me because I am in no way a morning person. So I find this change quite intriguing.

This afternoon, I just started coughing for no reason for a good 30 seconds and it stopped just like that. And I had to blow the mucus out of my nose. I told myself that I'm just detoxing.

Today, I decided to test my strength and perseverance by cooking dinner for the husband. I actually miss stirring over the stove and throwing stuff into a pot. So I made some penne with shrimp + ham in sundried tomato alfredo sauce. It was hard not to try and lick the spoon or eat the crumbs off the chopping board. But I survived that ordeal. Ofcourse I made sure I drank a whole glass of that lemon drink before I started cooking.

I'm going to try and make good use of the time I spend instead of eating and thinking about food to do something useful. So I'm reading the manual for the sewing machine that just arrived. And maybe try out something new. WhoopTDoo!

The Master Cleanse - Day Three

2008-05-05T19:15:00.004-04:00

The annoying headache finally went away this morning. Strangely, I had to go to the bathroom even before the salt water flush. (Readers, you can just skip to the next paragraph. Am noting this for personal future reference) I guess my body started its detoxification process coz what came out was mucus-like and yellow. No stools.

Salt water flush was easier today.

I wasn't hungry at all like the past two days. But I made the mistake of going too long between the lemon drink because of a one hour meeting this afternoon and felt really hungry and a little nauseous. But the lemon drink fixed that. So it's best to drink that lemon drink every 20-30 minutes so the hunger pangs won't get you.

And a spoonful of that maple syrup will really help to boost your energy level. I hope I won't get addicted to it.

Note : the lemon drink tastes better if you put it in the fridge.

The Master Cleanse - Day Two

2008-05-03T23:27:00.007-04:00

Getting up early on weekends has always been difficult. But today, I got up early and felt energized although I was woken up twice in the middle of the night with a blocked and bloody nose, which has been a norm for me for the past 2 months or so. Another reason I am doing this cleanse.

Did the Salt Water flush and stayed in the bathroom for 50 minutes!!!
I felt really hungry after that and drank my lemon drink in one long gulp. Not advisable as the tartness of the lemon tickles your throat and got me choking and snorting lemon up my nose.

While my energy level was still high, I took the opportunity to scrub the bathroom and do laundry.

Anyways, today has been tougher for me because Jason decided to quit last night and since then, I have been fighting off temptation. The house is constantly filled with tantalizing aromas of every darn thing that I am not supposed to eat. But I can only hope this will make me even stronger. Right now, I am craving for a fried egg so bad.

I havent had the need to stay close to the bathroom so that's good. Went to Walmart and stopped by to look at the Model home in our neighborhood. I'll put the floorplans under my pillow so we can dream of our dreamhouse :)

We spent the evening with the in-laws and Summer, the latest addition to the family, kept me occupied while everyone else had dinner. She's a sweetheart. I miss having a dog.

Now, I'm trying to fight off a headache so I'll call it a night. Energy level has dropped to zero.

The Chronicles of the Master Cleanse - Day 1

2008-05-03T19:29:00.000-04:00

I had a few errands to run this morning and I was afraid the Salt Water Flush would make me be toilet-ridden. So I did all those errands first (a trip to the Post-Office, fed the neighbor's cats) and came home to prepare myself for the flush.

The Salt Water drink wasn't as bad as I thought. I've read about the horrible after-effects that could happen to you after drinking this. So I made sure I measured the salt and water correctly. And waited for my body to tell me that it's "time". It took about 15 minutes and I had to run to the toilet. And sat in there for atleast 30 minutes which felt like forever. Salt water came out. Lots of it. Next time, I'm bringing a book with me.
My tummy made weird sounds I've never heard before. Like the sound of ripping a packing tape.

Then I made the lemon drink. Love it!

I'm feeling hungry all the time. And am drinking that lemon drink constantly.
Also made one glass of peppermint tea.

Even feeding Trouble those cat treats was a challenge. I had to talk myself out of putting the cat treat in my mouth. Yes, I was that hungry.

The day seemed to go by sooo slowly. Funny how much time in our daily lives actually revolves around food. Now that we're not cooking nor eating, we have so much time in our hands.

Side note :
The husband surprised me by volunteering to do this with me. I know it's going to be a whole lot tougher on him. He said he might quit after Day 3 but it's looking like he'll quit tonight. So we'll see. But I am feeling really proud of him to even want to give this a try!

Embarking on the Master Cleanse journey

2008-05-03T12:33:00.005-04:00

I've been thinking of doing this for some months now. But could never commit to it or find the right time to do it because there was always some thing going on. Today is the day I will say goodbye to solid food for the next 10 days. Just the thought of it makes me want to cry. Because I love food. And I love watching the Food Network.

So why, pray tell am I doing this?
For several personal reasons. It's a personal challenge. Sometimes, your body just tells you "Ok, it's time to flush out those toxins". Emotionally, mentally, physically. Toxins caused by stress of whether I will ever conceive, negativity, putting up with all that crap at work, allergies, anxiety of whether I will ever sell any of my wares on my website. (Incidently, I've sold 4 scrubbies within the last two weeks :)), frustrations, feeling grumpy for no reason and lack of exercise. It is also about renewing and soul-searching and overcoming mental blocks.

I'm going to record my progress here to keep me accountable and also for future reference incase I have this insane idea of wanting to do this again.

Basically, my day will start out with the salt water flush which is made from 1 quart (4 cups) of water with 2 teaspoons of uniodized sea salt. (Very important to get uniodized and not iodize sea salt).

Throughout the day, I will be drinking 6 - 12 8 oz glass of this lemonade drink :
8oz water
2 tbs fresh squeezed lemon juice (organic lemons if possible)
2 tbs grade B organic maple syrup
1/10 tsp cayenne pepper

And the occasional peppermint tea.

Optional : 1 glass of herbal laxative tea at night.
I've decided not to do this as I think the salt water flush in the morning is sufficient (or torture enough).

Also, try to use natural spring water if possible.

Partied all afternoon

2008-05-02T22:49:00.007-04:00

Jason's boss hosted a party at her newly built home this afternoon. She lives way out in the country, and almost everyone got lost heading there. Saw lots of horses and cows and goats on our way.
They built the house themselves. Huge and rustic. Feels like a vacation home.

There was NC Bar-B-Que and everyone brought a dish. Loads of food, drinks and homemade ice cream. Jason wanted to bring a portable grill and we skewered some Char Siu and Satay which we had marinated for a week.

Kristy also brought a game which was quite fun. Looks easier that it actually is. The goal is to get the bean bag into the hole.
My teammate and I won the game by one point. Yayy!

Then, Barry and Todd had a jam session with the drums and guitar. Very Cool.
Funny how a laid back party can wear you out. I'm ready for bed. Tomorrow, I am embarking on an internal cleansing ritual. If I am alive after 10 days, I'll blog about it.

Machine cometh

2008-04-29T16:53:00.005-04:00

I've been desiring a sewing machine for some months now. Not that I can sew much of anything really, but it's hard to explain. It's a desire of wanting to sew something, to create something that will blow my mind. Heck, it can even be a pillow case for all I care.
There is an old antique Singer machine in a closet here. It is one solid heavy dependable dude. I've made some needle cases from it, but you know.. it is antique and has its limitations and God do I hate the word Antique! (shudder)
As I do not have a permanent space for it, I have to carry that monster out each time I use it. I was initially sewing on the floor (don't ask me how), and then thankfully, the husband got me a hobby table with wheels for Christmas so that I can move said table out whenever I want to make something, but man, that heavy machine is a beast to carry around. I'll also be standing while I sew. Not comfortable but I ain't complaining.

So the hunt for a sewing machine began a couple of months back. I've been browsing and reading reviews and trying to figure out what I want.
And at the same time, trying to talk myself out from wanting a sewing machine. But the desire turned into an itch that would not go away.

Last Saturday, I saw an ad. for a one-day sale for a Commercial Grade Singer sewing machine. I went to check it out and there was a sales person who could answer all my amateur questions and also do a demo. Nice. But I wasn't willing to pay $399. I needed time to think. And I had 3 hours to do all that thinking and go back to the store before 5pm to get the machine if I decide to.
So I jotted down the model number and went home and spent the next 2 hours on the internet researching.
I read lots of pros and cons. Some people like it, some people don't. So I have to go with my gut feeling.
I found 5 dealers on the internet. As this was a Commercial grade one, they don't list the price so I called each one of them. And lo!!!.. All of them quoted me a price much lower than $399!!!
I finally found one who was willing to throw in a free cutter and who was also willing to give me a discount on a darning foot to do free-hand embroidery. My total came out to $259. (free shipping and no tax). (Thank God for tax rebates)

Happy. (and tap dancing)

Machine is on the way and should arrive this week.

Can't wait! (More tap dancing)

Some people make me sigh

2008-04-24T20:29:00.004-04:00

Dear Person standing infront of me at the check out counter,

If it is your first time using a credit card, please try and read the instructions on the pad instead of pressing ALL the buttons at the same time.
And if you keep pressing "NO" when the machine asks you "Is this amount correct?" then you deserve to be hit by a meteor. Because (duh!) you have to start ALL over again and the five people standing behind you will start shooting daggers into your dodo head.

Thank you!

Should I take the hose out and spray water on them?

2008-04-18T15:33:00.003-04:00

The neighbor who lives adjacent to us have three kids who play outside all the time. ALL. the. time.
Occasionally, they'll be playing in our front yard, which I don't really care.
But when they ring our doorbell five times a day, I care.
And I don't mean just ring once and run. They go ' ding dong ding dong ding dong ding dong ding dong, ding ding ding diiiiing' NON-STOP!
I get downstairs and they run away and hide.
And they repeat the same thing... five more times.

This started on Monday.
And Wednesday.
I was not at home yesterday so I don't know if they played too.

Today, I decided I had to put a stop to this. Either I go talk to their parents or something. Ugh. But I hate confrontations.

As I was about to get mail, I saw the kids in our yard and the younger one was trying to ask the brother to do something, which I presume was to ring our doorbell. I waited till they were walking towards the house. Then I opened the door. They were startled and started to back-off.

I told them in all seriousness that they should not play or ring our doorbell ever again because nice kids don't do that.

They had a look on their face as if to say "how does she know it was us?"

Let's see if they'll do it again.

A good dose of penicillin

2008-04-13T21:24:00.004-04:00

When one's entire body is achy, one's brains get weary and bodily sensory functions get defective. Or atleast that's how mine works when I've spent the weekend digging up dirt, shoveling, raking, putting down plastic sheeting and messing with gravel.

So what happens when my brains don't function?
I eat moldy bread.

Yuck.

Not on purpose ofcourse. I just did not SEE (sensory dysfunction) the mold on the sides of the bread.

Yuck.

Ten minutes after I've swallowed my last bite of toast, the husband says "Did you check your toast? It has mold all over the sides"

Yuck.

And I had an egg sandwich for breakfast too. Yuck.

Getting diarrhea and tummy ache is not a fun way to spend the Monday.
But penicillin comes from mold, yes?

Still.......Yuck.

claypot chicken rice

2008-04-07T16:50:00.005-04:00

I haven't had any real meals in awhile. The husband has been under the weather lately (allergies) and wasn't up to eating anything except junk food (fast food, pizzas, biscuits, microwavable meals). Cooking a meal for one person (me) just isn't worth it. But there is only so much junk food a person can take.

So no more junk today. I made some claypot chicken rice (using our wonderful rice cooker).

Recipe posted here.

Another nail

2008-04-02T22:44:00.002-04:00

My car has been pulling to the right for some months now. I've been meaning to send it for alignment but haven't had time to look into it. So since it was due for inspection and a service, we took it in today. We usually take our cars to this place just right next door to Jason's office because he can drop it off in the morning and collect it after work.

Turns out it wasn't the alignment that's been causing it to pull to the right. I have a nail in my tire. Last year, around this same time, I had a nail in the same tire too.
Coincidence or jinxed?

The weekend

2008-03-30T22:38:00.000-04:00

Saturday was spent over at Jason's parents'. The guys installed and put up a utility shed in the backyard. Pretty neat. We brought two dozen donuts over. Donuts are always a good source of energy and packed with nutrition :) After a couple of donuts, the nephews were running wild. Such fun watching them.

Sunday, James called up and we met up for lunch. He was in town for a race. We met at Tin Tin Buffet and stuffed ourselves. That place is always so good.
Skipped dinner, but had room for ice cream.

Weekends are always too short!

Blowing in the wind

2008-03-27T21:30:00.006-04:00

The weather is starting to warm up and I'm looking forward to spring. Sunshine and flowers and warm weather is much needed to drive away the doldrums.

Everyone in my department wanted to go out for lunch today. Some of us rode in my boss' car and she had the top to her convertible down. Despite what you see in movies, your hair will NOT blow in one direction in a convertible. Aside from being unattractive, hair whipping in your face can be painful.
I wonder if there's such thing as a "convertible proof" hairspray. I was also paranoid that a bird would shit on me. Nevertheless, it was a cool ride.

But the Mexican food we had for lunch... well, that wasn't so cool. It's just funny why they even bother putting pictures of each item in their menu. Every dish looked the same. Meat, beans, rice and cheese in one mushy pile.

It's all about food again

2008-03-22T23:45:00.000-04:00

Took Fiona and James to the Chinese restaurant at the Asian Mall for some Dim Sum. On weekends, they have carts of Dim Sum going around the tables and you can just pick your choice. We all stuffed ourselves. Yumm!!

Then we took a drive to North Davidson (NODA) and walked around and checked out some of the artsy stores. Stopped at Smelly Cat cafe for some frappes, coffee and smoothies.

For dinner, we rode the LYNX to uptown Charlotte and had some Irish food at Ri Ra's. Jason and I shared the Boxty Shepherd's pie which was some crepe + Shepherd's pie and long beans. The chips and curry was also pretty good. We cleaned our plates and proceeded upstairs for some live music but we left shortly after. I think we were all tired out.

Happy Easter

2008-03-22T19:15:00.007-04:00

It's been awhile since I made something for the neighbors. So since it's Easter, I thought it'd be a good time to give everyone something. I made some Pecan cupcakes and decorated them with carrots. The carrots were molded out of Starburst fruit chews (featured in last month's Woman's Day magazine). I got tired of "making" so many carrots so Jason came up with his brilliant idea of using white chocolate bits and mixing colors and turning them into carrots. I now have a lot of extra chocolate carrots. Anyone care for some?

And I just finished making a Easter Brownie cake for the Easter brunch on Sunday.

Cherokee

2008-03-16T22:14:00.001-04:00

Friday evening we drove up to Cherokee, stopping by Harold's at Gaffney, SC for dinner. Harold's was featured on the Food network recently, famous for its sloppy burgers and hotdogs and fatbacks. Food was really sloppy and cheap. We took home some of the fatbacks and used it for the Fried Kuay Teow :)

After passing Maggie Valley, the fog came down and visibility was reduced to almost zero. Driving up the curves and bends to the mountain was a nightmarish experience. Poor Jason. Glad we took his stable truck and glad that having a GPS helped ! We arrived around 10.30pm and James met us at the cabin.
Somehow, we found the energy to get out and head on to the casino and got back around 1am. (We all lost some money)

Saturday morning was beautiful and relaxing on the rocking chair on the back porch overlooking the river was a peaceful retreat. (ahh vacation..). Then we made Roti Canai for breakfast. (Best part of staying in a cabin is that we get to cook!). It started raining and rain it did ALL Saturday. We drove 30 miles to the Tennessee border but the rain kinda ruined the view of the Smoky mountains, so we drove home to the cabin and just wasted the Saturday away.

We made one more trip to the casino (lost a bit more money) and came back to our cabin to play some games. That was "funner" than losing money.Early Sunday morning, it was time to head on home. We all drove down to Maggie Valley for some good ol' country breakfast at Country Vittles and James and Fiona left us and made their way to SC.

Jason and I spent the rest of Sunday afternoon at the in-law's watching the basketball game and we met up with Ronald and Tammie later before they headed back to Chapel Hill.

The day off

2008-03-11T22:25:00.003-04:00

This afternoon, Fiona and I went to the Dollar Movie and watched No Country for Old Man. It is strange that a slow and boring movie like that can keep you glued to the screen for two hours, making it not so boring after all. The cat-and-mouse action was entertaining, yet some of the scenes do not make sense.
And I was not too happy with the ending.

Since Krispy Kreme was just next door to the cinema, we now have a dozen donuts sitting in our kitchen :)

Freebies

2008-03-08T21:43:00.005-05:00

Jason and I took the Light Rail into uptown today to the Charlotte Convention Center. There was a Rite Aid Health and Beauty Expo. They had free coupons and samples of popular products found in Rite Aid stores, and the opportunity to see on stage and get autographs from celebrities like the Carolina Panthers’ DeAngelo Williams, Alison Sweeney from “The Biggest Loser” and “Days of Our Lives,” Tae Bo creator Billy Blanks, and Cameron Mathison from Dancing with the Stars fame and "All My Children" amongst others.
Dora and Curious George was walking around and kids were just rushing up to get pictures taken with them.

I was impressed with all the stuff that they were giving away for nothing. I felt like I was trick-or-treating on Halloween.
Here's some of the loot we brought home.

And ofcourse, Cameron Mathison was hot!

But I was really impressed that the husband was so willing and patient and game for this ordeal that I had put him through.

You know...

2008-03-07T12:08:00.003-05:00

It was all good until I had to listen to this guy on the phone. He sits in the cubicle behind me and he's loud so I could not help but listen and grind my teeth.

*you know* I'm calling *you know* about *you know*... bla bla..*you know*. We *you know* understand. If *you know* like the presentation, we'll *you know*, take the next *you know* flight out. This is *you know* a great opportunity *you know*...etc..etc...

He had atleast 100 *you knows* in that 15 minute call.

Sold!

2008-03-01T23:59:00.007-05:00

Today, I had my first customer!
Sold 2 potholders + 1 dishcloth! Whoopee!!!
The shipping cost did not quite add up right, so I will end up forking out more for postage :( Oh well...
I've fixed it tho.
I'm so happy!! *I'm doing the tootsie-roll*

Peanut pancake

2008-02-23T22:32:00.001-05:00

I had to fix my craving. So I attempted to make the Peanut pancake (or Ban Kian Kuih) which is commonly sold at the night markets in Malaysia.
Thanks to Lily Wai Sek Hong's blog, I found this recipe.

I omitted the lye water (potassium carbonate & sodium bi-carbonate solution) and substituted it with water and white vinegar, and added brown sugar to the ingredients. The brown sugar is acidic and the alkaline in the baking soda needs this to react and neutralize.
I did not achieve the "honeycomb" effect. Next time, I will try and add more baking soda.

Will add this recipe into our laksaware recipe blog for easy future reference.

Square head

2008-02-21T18:51:00.006-05:00

Every time I feel this need to have my hair trimmed, I get the same old dilemma. Getting a hair cut is not a fun experience because I haven't found a hair salon that I like (yet). And I don't even get one every couple of months or so. My last hair cut was 6 months ago. Yes. SIX months ago. I got that one in Malaysia and I liked it.
Anyways, I decided it was time, and way overdue for a haircut. So I got one today on the way home from work.
I should have listened to my inner gut feeling telling me to walk out of the shop but I did not.
The stylist was somewhat rude. Maybe he had a bad day. But I should know better than to put my fate into the hands of a moody stylist.

Too late.

I came out looking like crap and then I had to pay him for it! And even gave him an obligatory tip! Damn.

I'm glad I did not let him cut my bangs. Or I'll really end up looking like this. Or worse.

A colorful afternoon

2008-02-19T12:33:00.005-05:00

On Sunday, mom-in-law invited me to watch Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the Halton Theatre in town. We met in church and rode the church bus to the theatre. The play is based on the biblical tale of Jacob's son Joseph and his 11 brothers. Very colorful and vibrant and good stage props.

I was a little disappointed that "Joseph" did not look anything like Jason Donovan.
Nevertheless, it was entertaining.

Sewing like a maniac

2008-02-16T20:46:00.003-05:00

I don't sew and I used to hate sewing. When I was younger, I've seen my mom sew but I never bothered to learn.
Jason has an antique Singer sewing machine and it's been sitting in the closet untouched. I've decided to experiment with it. Unfortunately for me, it doesn't come with instructions.
After spending 30 minutes trying to thread the needle in (and lots of frustration), I'm on the go. Then the bobbin decides to run out of thread. So I spend another 30 minutes on the internet trying to find some instructions on how to thread a bobbin. I don't think I got that fully right because the tension was all wrong but I managed to get enough thread into the bobbin and plop that thing back into its slot.
Thank God for this website!

So I made myself a knitting needle case. And I'm still alive. And I did not kill anyone. But I have a splitting headache now probably from cursing too much.

More Green Card news

2008-02-09T08:53:00.000-05:00

If you recall, I submitted my papers to USCIS for removal of conditions on my Permanent Residency in May 9, 2007.

On Thursday Feb 7, nine months later, I received a letter from the USCIS informing me that they had transfered my application to the Vermont Center for processing due to backlog.
The USCIS website says they "received a significant increase in applications last year, an increase in nearly 1.4 million as compared to the previous year. They have hired approximately 1500 new employees to address this workload. Things should be back where they were before the application spike by 2010."

2010??! 2010??!!

Today I read this : "Citizenship on hold for many immigrants".
President Bush is asking Congress to spend money to help businesses root out illegal workers (damn you illegal workers!) but he did not request additional funds to help legal immigrants become American citizens more quickly.
It says "Right now they are taking resources from permanent residence to do citizenship".

I'm screwed.

Trouble's little excursion

2008-02-05T16:19:00.000-05:00

Early Monday morning, we made the trip to Huntersville for Trouble's Radioactive Iodine treatment. Trouble was a little edgy and nervous in the car so I sat in the backseat with him and had him on my lap. He was wide-eyed and curiously looking out of the window, and finally settled down back in his cage and took a nap.

We were greeted by a team of very friendly staff at the hospital. We waited till all the other five cats who were undergoing the same treatment arrived. There was a Moe, Peaches, Kat and I don't remember the other two. The assistant came and spoke briefly to us individually. We said our "goodbyes" to Trouble and told him we'll see him soon and she took Trouble inside to the"examination room" while the cat owners were ushered upstairs for a briefing by the Doctor who was also pleased to answer any questions that we may have.

Each cat will be staying in a "Snyder Kitty condo" in the facility which is separate from the hospital, has his own food (we also brought him 4 cans of wet cat food), and is allowed a "comfort" item (we gave him a fleece blanket), which because of contamination can not be returned.

At 4pm, Dr Tom called and told us Trouble was doing well and he received the therapy treatment on the same day. Because he had involvement of both lobes of the thyroid gland, he needed a 2.66 dose of the ¹³¹I, which is a mid-range.

Today, Nicole, another assistant called and told us Trouble has been eating well (both wet and dry food), drank 1/4 of his water and has normal bowel and urine movement. And she said he is quite a talker.

They will call us again tomorrow to advise us Trouble's radioactive levels. If it's in the safe range, we can go pick him up tomorrow after 4pm.

This is the first time Trouble is away. The house seems kinda strange without him around. This morning, I imagined hearing a sound that could be him vomiting then I remember he is not here.
Out of habit, I still close the gate to my office upstairs when I leave the room, and then realized I need not have to because Trouble is not here. I still hear him meowing, and realized it's just the neighborhood kids playing outside. Turns out I am not the only one who thinks those kids sound like our Trouble.

Superbowl

2008-02-03T22:55:00.000-05:00

For someone who doesn't know much or care much about football, I must say this year's Superbowl was pretty exciting, especially the last 2 minutes of the game. Impressive. Giants won. And the commercials this year were better than last year's, in my opinion.
We usually watch the game over at the in-law's place and eat consecutively for 3 hours infront of the TV. Jason made some wings. We also had some shrimps, chilli, guacamole dip and chocolate fondue.

Earlier this afternoon we met up with Brendan and Alexis who were in Charlotte for the weekend and had sushi for lunch and they came over to our place to hang out for a bit before heading home to Winston-Salem.

Tomorrow morning at 6.45am, we'll be taking Trouble to Huntersville for his Radioactive Iodine Treatment. Poor fella will be there for 3 days before he gets to come home. Jason is giving him a little pep talk now.

Cooper made me a lantern!

2008-02-02T09:38:00.000-05:00

Cornflakes Butter Cookies

2008-01-20T21:02:00.000-05:00

One of the traditions during Chinese New Year is baking cookies. My mom and me would usually spend days baking a variety of cookies to distribute to friends and family and to serve guests when they come over for visits during the festive season.
I am going to try and preserve this tradition.
Today I made some cornflakes butter cookies. Since we didn't have any cornflakes, I substituted it with the almond flakes cereal.
Jason says it tastes like Pecan Sandies.

Here's the recipe :

Beat butter (2 sticks) and sugar (3/4 cup) till white and fluffy
Add one egg and continue to beat.
Fold in flour (3 3/4 cups).
Add cornflakes (1 cup)
Roll into tiny balls and place onto greased baking sheet.
Bake 15 to 20 minutes in 350F.

Makes about 60 cookies.

Fooled yet again

2008-01-20T08:11:00.000-05:00

In anticipation of the snow storm, we decided to cancel our weekend plans to attend the Caran's much awaited holiday party in Apex, NC. We had originally planned this trip with the Austin's and were supposed to leave around lunchtime on Saturday. On Friday, we were all constantly checking the weather forecast which did not look at all promising as the hours went by.

It rained for most part of Saturday with some snow mixed in. But not a lot. Jason and I stopped by Monkey Joe's for Wrenn's birthday party, watched 50 or more kids jumping happily in inflatable buildings and drove over to the Austins'. We had lunch at Ilios Noche and everyone enjoyed what they ordered and we split a delightfully choking tiramisu for dessert. Yumm!

This morning we woke up to bright sunny weather, with a light dusting of ice on roof tops and cars, and temperatures below freezing.

Where was the 4 inches of snow that we had been anticipating? Mr Weatherman fooled us again, or maybe he is just preparing us for the real thing.

Cloverfield

2008-01-18T19:52:00.000-05:00

Just came back from the movie Cloverfield.
Having to sit through 1 hour 15 minutes of a jittery, hand-held camera movie can get irritating. Not to mention, it made me feel a little motion sick.
Entertaining nonetheless. It is a wild ride.

Wrenn's funnies

2008-01-12T15:17:00.001-05:00

We celebrated my sis-in-law's and Wrenn's birthdays last night. Jason and I drove there separately as it was closer for him from work. But we arrived at the same time.
As we were leaving after dinner, Jason backed out of the drive way and I waited for him to leave first as I had parked mine on the road.
Wrenn was watching us leave. He didn't know we drove separately. As Jason drove off, Wrenn called out to me "RUN!! He's leaving you!!" and then.. "HURRY! You can still make it!"