lovestruck

I can't wait to watch this:

I’ve watched every episode of every season (only God knows how many times) and know all four characters like my life depended on them! Haha, I know it sounds a bit exaggerated but I swear that its true..

However, despite my fanaticism for the tv series, I have to say that the first movie was a slight disappointment. I thought that the girls were too ‘dressed up-ish’ and lacked the ‘realness’ that they so successfully weaved into the glitz and glamour of the tv series. But hey, who am I to complain? I still loved it ! ;)

My favourite part from the movie has to be the part where Carrie reads a love letter to Mr. Big, written by Beethoven, from the (non-existent) book “Love Letters of Great Men”.

This, I dedicate to my other half: 

Though still in bed, my thoughts go out to you, my Immortal Beloved, now and then joyfully, then sadly, waiting to learn whether or not fate will hear us -
     I can live only wholly with you or not at all -
     Yes, I am resolved to wander so long away from you until I can fly to your arms and say that I am really at home with you, and can send my soul enwrapped in you into the land of spirits -
     Yes, unhappily it must be so -
     You will be the more contained since you know my fidelity to you. No one else can ever possess my heart - never - never -
     Oh God, why must one be parted from one whom one so loves.
     And yet my life in V is now a wretched life -
     Your love makes me at once the happiest and the unhappiest of men -
     At my age I need a steady, quiet life - can that be so in our connection?
     My angel, I have just been told that the mailcoach goes every day - therefore I must close at once so that you may receive the letter at once -
     Be calm, only by a calm consideration of our existence can we achieve our purpose to live together -
     Be calm - love me - today - yesterday - what tearful longings for you - you - you - my life - my all - farewell.
     Oh continue to love me - never misjudge the most faithful heart of your beloved.
     ever thine
     ever mine
     ever ours
L

 

- H

What's for lunch today?

Once upon a cupcake (our first attempt)

a

(my close friend) Zapa (Zahiid) masa kurus and rambut panjang lagi....hihihihihihih his face that digs that cupcake is priceless !

Guilty Pleasures

Ok, here are some songs that I like to hear tapi tak pernah nak mengaku kat anyone that I listen to them. Malu la konon, because I'm suppose to be this intelligent, non-conformist woman! Kunun la...

1. Awas, KRU (teringat zaman melepak kat sekolah lepas UPSR dulu)
2. Apa saja untukmu, KRU (best love song ever! syok habis...)
3. Janji Tinggal Janji, KRU
4. Most of KRU's ballads actually.. tee hee hee.
5. All Backstreet Boys songs. Actually, not all. Only the earlier ones, circa 1995-1997.  Sigh, teringat zaman sekolah dulu melalak lagu BSB dalam dorm. Paling tak boleh blah sekali, buat BSB-inspired opening gambit and deco for Talentime! Masa ni walaupun I bukan dalam Kelab Seni (I Kelab Matematik tuuu) tapi sebab best friend I masa tu deputy president of the club so I boleh la menyibuk nak jadi committee jugak kan. Lol, that was good fun, indeed. 
6. Err, anyone remember 911? 
7. Britney Spears. (Shut up la)
8. Kanye West. But only his upbeat songs  which I listen to when I workout. Walaupun I banyak kutuk dia ni dgn my best friend. He's a gayfish, what do you expect?
9. A lot of hip hop songs especially by Eminem, 50 cent, Lil' Jon etc, etc. But these are also only because I need music to pump me up when I'm running on the threadmill. (Nak cover jugak tu...)
10. Rocky Balboa: The Best of Rocky Soundtrack!
11. Avril Lavigne. Best lah melalak to her pseudo-angry songs while driving back home from work.

But the guiltiest of all the guilt in the world would have to be… Jeng , Jeng, Jeng: 

Siti Nur Haliza! Perfect for relaxing okay because I usually put my brain aside and layan je her voice. ;) 

Maxis, Schmaxis!

Thank you for your continued support for Maxis services. We now have new rates for International SMS:

RM 0.50 / sms - All International destinations excluding Thailand, Nepal, Indonesia & Singapore.

RM 0.20 / sms - Thailand, Nepal, Indonesia & Singapore.

 

Rates for international SMS has gone up more than double of what it used to be. Which means I have to cut down on my sms-es to my other half. Sorry sayang =(

Conversations in the sauna

Scene 1

As I entered the sauna ... 

Woman: Come in, come in..join me!

Woman: .....yesss.. kita kasi keluar semua peluh ni .. all the toxic2 .. and burn the fat ....

Me: (angguk and senyum je lah)

Woman: This is equivalent to doing 100 lunges, 100 step ups..squats .. ..bla blaa bla 

Me (thinking): Wah, that easy ke to burn fat ?? aih, mcm tipu jek makcik .... 

Woman: ..bla bla bla bla bla bla ....this is another way la to burn fat... that's what Mohan told me ...

Me (thinking): kayy..and who is Mohan again..?

Scene 2

Woman 1: Haishh.. Panas ek ....!  (sambil tutup muka dgn towel)

Woman 2: Ha ah, this one dry, tak sama macam tadi dalam steam room tu ...

Woman 1: Hmm...... tadi steam, sekarang grill...tinggal nak letak pepper and seasoning jek....

Tapi yg paling sakit hati skali  dengar....

Scene 3 

As I was laying and relaxing on the bench, enter two mid-twenties girls.
 

Girl 1: I pun tak tau la kenapa.. Takat ni dah 3 org ajak I kawen tapi sume I tolak .... 

Girl 2: I pun macam ni je lah .. kerja, gym, makan tido.. kadang2 husband I balik keje penat jek ye lah sbb asyik meeting je kan .. 

Girl 1: My ex-boyfriend pun dah berapa kali ajak I kawen tapi ntah la .. 

Girl 2: I kadang2 bosan lah duduk rumah sorang, semenjak kawen ni ... 

.......bla bla bla bla bla bla bla pot pet pot pet  ........

Contrary to popular belief, the sauna is not going to help you burn fat, nor is it a place where you talk about your marriage life (or the lack of)! It is in fact, largely used for relaxation and therapy for your body, especially after a hard day's work or a vigorous work out at the gym. As such, conversations like in Scene 3 is highly unappreciated by patrons like yours truly. Hmmmpph!

Brownies galore !

I don't know what got into my mind yesterday when I asked my bestfriend if she was up for making (baking) brownies. The thing is, I've been wanting to bake these heavenly-crunchy-chocolate-y bites since for about two months ago. My hands were itching to bake something so I cruised the internet for some easy-to-make recipes and found one for the ULTIMATE BROWNIES. Seriously, that's what it is called. The ULTIMATE BROWNIES. So here are some photos of the ULTIMATE BROWNIES. (Haha, suka the drama effect from the BLOCK LETTERS) hee hee hee...

We made two batches of these and  this (above pic) is the second one. The first batch turned out pale and the top not as shiny and crispy as the second one (above pic). We figured out that I underestimated the amount of chocolate used because the measurement was in ounce (oz) and I gladly converted it to kg in my mind (tu la pandai sangat). Plus, we used cheap chocolate at first (Coklat brand K*jang..hehe). Oh, the horror, the horror!

It is true what Nigella Lawson proclaims (and I'm paraphrasing here), " .....you must never compromise on chocolate. When it comes to sweets and desserts, use only the best!...". Oh, how true.

Hence, with that in mind, Rini whipped out a bar of Vanh*uten cooking chocolate plus an extra bag of Vanh*uten Chocolate Chips and we went to work, yet again, to create the ULTIMATE BROWNIES.

These (above pic) are the pale brownies from the first batch. I think it also had something to do with the way we mixed and beat the eggs. But, fret no more, as we learned the second time not to compromise on chocolate and to pay close attention to the mix (sebab borak je kerja kan)  ..... and voila... !

Hmm... crispy, shiny-brownie-top and dense, fudge center chocolate brownies.....d'lish ..... ;p 

So, lesson learned for today is ....if the Domestic Goddess says not to compromise on chocolate, you DON'T COMPROMISE ON CHOCOLATE! 
 

Blonde moment

I have a story to tell and it goes like this:

One time I was driving back home from a hectic day at work. As I reached the first toll, I remembered that my SMART TAG device's batteries were running low and contemplated entering the Touch N Go lane instead. As I was really tired from the day's work, I really wasn't in the mood to stop, wind down the window, tap the card, wind up the window and then drive away. Yes, I was THAT tired.

So in a matter of a split second I made the decision to brave through the SMART TAG lane and hoped that my device was still working. But just as luck had it, the barrier did not lift up. "Shit", I thought, "don't tell me the batteries are dead". But that shouldn't be the case because my Smart Tag device was blinking, signaling that the batteries were still usable. I started to drive back and forth and back and forth, thinking that the sensor did not capture my device (all the while holding the device high in the air, out the window, above my car). I sighed a breath of relief when I saw one of the staff walking towards my car as I thought he should be able to help. As he approached my car, he smiled and said to me, " Kak, ni lane 'Touch N Go' .....bukan 'SMART TAG'". Suffice to say my face went completely red as I tapped the card on the machine and drove away as fast as I could.

It didn't help that when I told my boyfriend about the incident, he laughed and jokingly said, "Mak aih, dumb blonde nye you!". Siot btul! 

Have you had any of these moments? .... C'mon now ;)  

How about my adventure in Wonderland?

'Do you hear the snow against the window-panes, Kitty? How nice and soft it sounds! Just as if some one was kissing the window all over outside. I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says, "Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again." And when they wake up in the summer, Kitty, they dress themselves all in green, and dance about - whenever the wind blows - oh, that's very pretty!' cried Alice, dropping the ball of worsted to clap her hands.

- Through The Looking-Glass, Alice's Adventure in Wonderland

Ehem, please excuse the previous post. Don't mind me, it's the pms.

Wrath. Trash. Foul.

silly me, my emotions can go right up and straight down in just a blink of an eye. Beware, there's an extremist lurking somewhere in cyberspace. (and that'd be me).

SILLY RABBIT

On another (more depressing) note, it is so frustrating to think about my gym efforts. It seems as though my efforts are in vain as my number is not budging at all ! WTF WTF WTF

According to Fran Dreshcer (The Nanny, if it doesn't ring a bell), WTF stands for We The Future.

So..

WTF
WTF
WTF
WTF !!!!

I need some time alone and really can't wait for my trip to Kinabalu next month. Away from people, away from technology, I am planning to hide myself away in a secluded island/beach and not think about anything for a whole week. Let's pray that that will work out. Or else... WTF WTF WTF.

Happy, happy, ha - ha - ha - ha - happy ... hee hee hee.

Got me remembering a quote from a Tarantino movie:

And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers! And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee!"

Tak de kena mengena sebenarnya, but oh well, such is my (incoherent) writing.

Down with flu =(

busy saturday

I managed to squeeze in 3 events on Saturday to meet friends that mean the world to me =) The first was to a wedding of my precious girlfriend whom I've not met in quite a while since she went to the States to study. To her, I wish all the best and that my prayers are with her and hubby for a long lasting loving relationship! H*lena dear, you are an inspiration to me and I am so grateful to have you as a friend in my life.

Next, I went to visit another good friend (from school) who just gave birth to a gorgeous handsome baby boy. It was so surreal to hold him in my arms. Yayee, your baby boy is gonna break so many girls' hearts hehehe

Thereafter, rushed to a get-together hosted by another school mate at her apartment to also visit her now-4-month-old beautiful baby girl. This one is another cutie and will surely get heads turning once she grows older. :) The get-together had a potluck theme to it hence we were all required to bring food or drinks for everyone to enjoy. With me being broke and all, I rummaged through the contents of my fridge, the  night before, looking for whatever I can use to cook up a (storm, chewah!) decent spread. And, voila (!!) this is the result:

I call it baked chicken à la cincai kitchen goddess (because the ingredients were cincai and the latter is what I'd like to think of myself! aiseh, a girl can dream, can't she? =) )
By the way, you see that burnt gravy-like layer under the pieces of chicken? Thats caramelised honey...nyummm.. (hint hint for ingredient).

P/s: I think it turned out ok as only 2 pieces were left when we finished and by the time I got home, it just vanished into thin air (must've been my brother and the lil' ones)

Joy to the world

OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG

I found them!

My collection of 16-word stories that I wrote when I entered the 'Short Short Story' competition (organised by DIGI back in 2007). You see, I thought I lost them when my hard disk crashed. Until I went through some old email in my sent folder and found ALL of them.

I am happiness central right now and shall be going through each and every one of them in a short while. Will see if they are up to standard to be published on this blog (or not)  =D

By the way, one of my story was chosen as the favourite of a writer in New Straits Times when she wrote a feature article on the competition! I was so proud and all hyped up but unfortunately, I wasn't listed when they announced the six winners (who won a trip to the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival in Bali!)

Nevertheless, if I had a chance to this again, I would soooo do it, again. Of all the writings of writings, there is nothing more that I enjoy than writing (and reading) short stories. Whether they're good or not is a totally different story lah.

I love bazaar

My fund is running at an all-time low during this time of the year for reasons I shan't divulge for now. Let's just say that my expenses are a tad higher than what my budget permits every month plus I have that trip up Mount Kinabalu looming over in the next couple of months. Hence, when a good friend offered to join her in selling our pre-loved clothes (of which some have not even been worn) in a bazaar, I immediately jumped at the idea!

Considering this wasn't our first time, I wasn't really expecting to make that MUCH money anyway, but I didn't also expect the crowd to be really sloooowww. The last time we opened a booth at Subang Sky Park, the crowd was much more exciting and more importantly with higher buying power! Nevertheless, I still managed to pocket some money to ease my financial constraints for this month.

This time was also the first for me to regret parting with one of my precious items. I want my little pink sling bag back!!!!!!