Merry X'mas & A Happy New Year !!

Christmas is always a JOYFUL & MERRY occasion to me even before i married a Catholic!!
It was only after my marriage that i take the effort to make X'mas an important celebration in my household !!
It used to be an annual family affair to have a thanks giving dinner on the EVE of X'mas!!
But this year, we'll be celebrating it at a highland, few thousands feet above ground!
I have been traveling a lot lately leaving my kids behind so since it coincides with school holiday, huby & I decided to bring them to Cameron Highland tomorrow. This is the boys' first visit and my last visit was before marriage so time is due for a re-visit!!

Unfortunately this time around, i wasn't excited at all..... guess i'm just exhausted....my whole body feels so soft!! In fact, i'm so sick of packing luggage...particularly so when i'm traveling with my kids. Despite only a 1 night stay, there seems to be so much necessities to bring along...... *sien*!!

check it out
.......The boys & my clothings.......
.... this is a super big bag u know .....


...........Cleansing necessities...............

.........After-Wash necessities..........

.........Only Simple Make-Up necessity.........

...........Light Food necessity..........

Do you also consider these as necessities?? Will you also be compel to bring these much when you travel (alone or with kids) or is it bcoz i'm so " CHAR POU " only???


Luckily this time we have the grandparents (maternal side) & 2 of my younger sis tagging along the trip so i trust this would further add JOYS to the festival !!
And this year our thanks giving dinner will be a warm STEAMBOAT with a slightly cooling weather (hopefully) !!!

Here's our boring recycled X'mas Tree ..... economy no good ler .... so nothing new to the tree, except with my fatty Sean sitting beside it (whom has since grown so much "wider" this year)!!


Finally, a significant task for the occassion.......how can I not bake something for X'mas??
Yet it was only a simple & lazy version.

Banana Macademia Nuts Cupcakes
with Santa Claus & his gifts sack on his motorbike!!
Given more time, i wana try doing fondant on the X'mas cupcakes!!

Again, may you & your family be granted with a
WARM, JOYOUS & MERRY X'MAS !!!

and

A HAPPY "OX" NEW YEAR !!

MIXED feelings .....

First of all, i hope i'm not too late to wish everyone a
Happy " Dong Zhi " festival !!!

I woke up very early today with a mission to accomplish....i.e. i 'grabbed' the task of making the Tong Yuen (glutinous rice ball) soup from mom. Mom needed them for prayers in the afternoon and i had to make them in time which i did of course!!

I admit that i was so much looking forward to this day so that i could make this favorite delicacy of mine & gave a little 'extra' touch on it to impress my family members. Mom being the usual 'boring' cook, would only have the balls in the original white & pink color with NO fillings !! And since i had many food colorings in store, i was eager to play around with colors!! And i must have missed working in the kitchen so much that i even decided to make fillings for the balls. An uncle has given us a pack of Aust. macademia nuts as souvenir recently which not only was a very much welcomed ingredient to my baking journey but also the only favourite nuts of mine....giggle!!

I blended them & added some sugar to make the fillings!!

I'm proud to say that i'm not letting this custom of rolling 'tong yuen' die in my hands....thou i might not be able to tell what's the history/story behind celebrating this festival....yikes so shame !!

Very happy to see the balls.....even more so when tasting them!!

See so beautiful they are...do you like the colors....as much as i do, hahaha.... yea, not too good but heck, who cares lar....once a while only ma!!

Unfortunately this year it was not a very big family gathering bcoz 2 of my sisters can't joined us for the dinner. So it was just another small gathering yet with the same amount of foods cooked by mom on the table : chicken, duck, prawns, mushroom with chicken feet & wrap 'sang choi' !!

Over dinner, a younger sis broke the news that she & her hub had decided to part for their separate ways !!! Guess not only me who felt devastated with the shocking news despite knowing that there were bits & pieces of cracks in the marriage. Gotta admit there was immediate pain in my heart, sour taste to the food & the festival mood has collapsed to fatality....esp after seeing the tears rolled down her cheek!! It was really hard to swallow the fact that they gave it up so easily!! Stating constant arguments, uncompromising, intolerance, irreconcilable & etc etc as reasons, yet the question that kept loitering in my mind was: why they could endured many years of courtship but could barely made a marriage worked for more than a year ???? why?? why?? why?? I tried not to judge but it was hard....deep beneath me i knew i would blamed 'him' .... no matter how in actual fact they were just not meant for each other!!
it's always easy said than done : 'try to put yourself in others' shoe' .....it's never easy to do!!

But i thought i should be able to understand the whole situation 'better' than anyone else as i had encountered a very similar scenarios!! When i knew my huby, i was already 'attached' ..... in fact it was a courtship for many years. But only god knows that he was just NOT "the one"!! My heart has literally DIED for this person (reasons are no longer important) and it was only FAIR to the other party that the rel/ship be ended given the situation. Yet, some will reckon the act as 'cruel', 'bad', 'evil' & etc as the only thing that they were able to see was 'sympathy' for him (as i found my true love & not him.....)

but i was grateful that i 'followed' my heart then and not merely listening to others who would blindly advised you against the new rel/ship!! Initially, everyone was strongly against my decision to break-off....my parents, siblings & even good friends. I was left with no one to turn to at a point of time....feeling so lost....so bleak....and uncertain of the future !!! Despite the weak spirit then, i did not know where i managed to pick up the guts to pursue my dream of a happy family & future!! I was also at the same time acted very selfish....as i did not even bother how much i have upset the people surrounding me then. A break-up might be perceived as a trivial matter but mine doesn't came off easily at all. It was a night-mare when the ex would 'risked his life' in his effort to stop you from leaving him or being together with someone else!! My mom had to live in fright & worry, the minute i left home....fearing for my safety, fearing that the next day's newspaper would feature another story of a triangle love horrific ending (no need to tell so clearly right?) so dramatic wan i tell u.....until a friend accused that i resulted in my mom's sudden depressed & miserable life hence looking so much older, of which i felt strongly remorseful & sorry!! During that period, not only my family members were affected, my good friends became the victims too....they were constantly disturbed by the annoying stalker.... which led to my next regret, i lost a few good friends as a result. And of course the victims do not exclude my dearest one.... no need to even mention.....
A lesson learnt was the more 'He' did & the more 'He' was trying to win back a 'dead heart', the more 'He' was into no ends and i turned from disliking him to HATE him so much so until i wish him die......i tell u !!!

I had to endure this whole 'struggling' period for nearly 2 years & it was the most tormented period on my life!!

Today after 7 years into a marriage, i must say that I'm most grateful & indebted that i still lurveee 'him' to bits for being a very responsible & wonderful huby as well as a superb hero to his broods!!
To mark this down: we'd reached our 7th wedding anniversary last 15December!! For someone who was so particular about keeping this celebration on-going as it was reckoned to be an extremely important date, it was truly hard to believe that i was totally forgotten about this day..... this year. I bet the main reason to this miracle happening was that my mind was just too occupied lately. I reached home from Japan on the eve, 14th itself and my mind had no space to even think about it until huby's handset suddenly gave an alarm ring at 12 midnight reminding him of the Day.....hahaha He was already in bed and i got so rot of guiltiness that night!!! hahaha

Anyway, life was hectic so it was excusable.....but i won't be so hectic every year so next year i'll surely remember to celebrate it BIG BIG, wokay !!!!

You know what...... i used to be for many years..... felt very 'embarrass' about telling my past relationship and will kept it away like sweeping them under the bed but suddenly i realised i'm no longer feeling a shame about it.....haha In fact, i felt proud that i'd gained a lot from this lesson...... few of my good friends kept telling & reminding me how much i have changed....LOL! more matured.... more understanding.... more affectionate.... very decisive & wise & etc etc..... most importantly, we both appreciated our love for each other more than any ordinary couple!!

Anyway, having such a 'rich' & complicated relationships as background, i should acknowledge & understand that only the couples itself would "knew" if the marriage/rel-ship works for them as after all, they are well grown up adults with 'wise thinking' capability!! While we could sympathies & offer a listening ear, we should not blindly advice unnecessarily!! We'll give her some room to clear her mind & mom assured her that the family is always here to welcome her!! As my huby said, it doesn't matter now who is wrong, it is more significant for sis to NOT LOOK BACK but be strong to stand up tall all over again and look into the potentially bright, interesting & colorful future !!!

Marriage can be merry yet fragile at the same time.
So lets learn to treasure more.....
Here's wishing everyone a happy marriage !!!

BENTO gears from Tokyu Hands

** Hello.... Hai hai **
i'm back....

yes, despite the year-end craze (both with work & personally) i got to be back here to deal with the bento loots that i'd brought back from Japan ......

Some were pre-ordered & taken up while some are open on sale (if anyone interested).

Anyhow, you can have them first hand Christene as promised, bcoz i had mostly gotten them with you in mind ..... u being the persistent bentoist !!

I had initially thought of posting the original cost of the items in Yen currency and the converted amount in MYR but after giving some thought, i reckon it is not wise to do so as a form of respect to other sellers of the same items around the blogsphere as they might be earning a living out of this....

Though i'm not into making a profit out of doing this, yet i would like to ensure that i DON'T lose out on currency exchange......pretty fair & reasonable i suppose ??!!
So I had leave the original price tag intact & you can just lift up the sticker with converted currency to view it.

Your understanding are much appreciated !!

Btw, i enjoyed browsing & shopping the bento gears so much .... my colleagues got FREAK OUT seeing how much i walloped, hahaha
And i was surprise that only after doing all the currency conversion, i realised these stuffs are NOT as CHEAP as i would have thought. Now i began to understand why our 100yen shop here do not sell them ........
none of the things i picked up from Tokyu Hands are near the price of 100yen or RM5.00!!!

In particular, i was a tad disappointed that the price of the lunch boxes in Tokyu Hands are far beyond my imagination so i just couldn't extend my hands to pick any of them !!!

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For you to choose first Chris
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Let me know this thurs if you already have any of them.

(1) Seaweed face puncher - 1 set each for Chris & Amah
RM70.00 each set

(2) Triangle Sushi rice mould / case
RM23.00

(3) Sausage cutters
RM16.00

(4) Tulip flower rice mould

RM15.00

(5) Sauce bottles

RM10.00

(6) Pooh Bear rice mould

RM18.00

(7) Animal paper cup

RM9.00

(8) Shaped seaweed

RM10.00

(9) Pooh bear shaped seaweed

RM10.00

(10) Paper cup

RM7.00

(11) Pooh Bear anti-bac / protection sheet

RM12.00

(12) Anti-bac sheet

RM7.00

(13) Cute animal baran

RM11.00

(14) Japanese cat baran
RM10.00

(15) Rice ball wrapper

RM12.00

(16) Pooh Bear plastic bag

RM16.00

(17) Purplelish flora bag

RM12.00

(18) Animal paper cup

RM8.00

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For Irene

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(19) Bread / multi-purpose cutters
RM19.00 each
Total = RM57.00

(20) Pooh Bear Cutter with Face Stencil
RM22.00

U think u like this ??.... (21) little cute food picks with 5 round silicon cups at
RM22.00
i remember you said other food picks are very long & sharp so how about these short ones??



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For Chooi Peng
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thanks for recommending this to me.... else i wouldn't have been able to taste such a wonderful delicacies from Hokkaido !!!

Each box is RM57.00
Total 2 boxes = RM114.00

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Looking forward to meet you guys .....

SAYONARA ........

Here are my final bits of prep.....before i bid good bye to my little monsters tomorrow !!

My biggest worry with this trip is my super sensitive nostril system....i had been diagnosed with sinus problem since young & with the current cold weather in japan, it really doubted me how would my nose react so i just gotta do all means to minimize any discomfort that possibly hits me!!

Since it's school holiday now, the boys are going to tag along to the airport and send mumy off....now i wonder if they would 'whine' or 'sob' as separation sets in ???

Mummy gonna miss you 2 & your stunts for sure !! Behave well ya...

Feel extremely bad for not being there on this 9th of Dec as the boys start their 10 days holiday camp (serve like orientation) at their new primary school ......
ohh boy, they are going to std. 1 already !!
Gotta thank my dearest for bearing with the babysitting & "mother hen" job again .... he is just the best daddy in our eyes, no wonder the boys "lurve" him more than me......tsk tsk .....reflect..... time to reflect.... !!

Well, whatever it is ....... bet it wasn't good to feel bad when all the run downs planned ahead are exorbitantly interesting, exciting, wonderful for sure !!

So wake up...go enjoy it to the max !!

A lucky soul that i am, i had my Japanese colleague planned & organised us a comprehensive itineraries ..... transport, accommodation, food, shopping, sight seeings & etc etc.....all well taken care of, except that the wallet will be subjected to continuous burning !!!

*** much appreciation still ***
doh mor arigato Sch'yo !!

That's about it....a quick post to say 'good bye' for the time being.....to all bloggies!!

Heard that our hotel has complimentary internet connectivity....if so, might be able to greet from facebook.... *grin*

Till then, I shall be back with juicy photos & hopefully good things to tell about Taipei & Japan !!

Enjoy the year-end CRAZE folks !!

p/s : ooh ya...my beloved one can be sarcastic too....knowing that it was my first winter experience & seeing thru the excitement in me.... he went & teased me :

" ah ngau chut sang lor " (anyone can translate this ahh???) .... chis cilaka betul ......

BENTO has lost track ......

Just wonder anyone still remember i made bento....... yet i don't seemed to be passing up my homework lately??!!
Life has been real hectic lately with traveling, birthday parties over & over again which got me into much preparation works, cooking & baking affairs....not forgetting catching up with works & back logs in the office!!

So, at one point of time, i told myself not to stress my mind with Bento at least for this moment!!
And so i had followed my heart.....kept cooking minimum for my kids' bento!! Ooh Yes, i still prepared bento for the boys (though simple). I only tried to do away with cooking!!

So what's bento without the need to lit up the stove??

Various shapes of bread with various fillings (peanut butter, strawberries jam & kaya) too!!

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Obviously with the red eggs below, it was a bento after the boys' birthday bash!!
Ooh ya....... i didn't lit up the stove for cooking but i did switched on the oven for baking....haha ridiculous heh!! yup those were my simple muffins and also seen were slices of star shaped pears!

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Another pumpkin muffins day with a marsh mellow treat!!

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Here is another bread day.
The boys had an outing day for concert rehearsal before their recent annual concert, to which the teacher specifically mentioned that the kids were only allowed to bring the bottle....absolutely NO BAGS allowed. So what did i do with the boys' snack when that was the instruction given?? As if the teacher is going to starve my kids, i die-die also want them to bring along some food (despite there were supposingly snacks provided).

I made them some sandwiches & packed into the animal zipper bags as shown below. I would rather risked losing these bags than the lunch box.
And i punched a hole onto the bag to make way for the hang over 'ring' which was then fastened onto their bottle strap!! That was tight & secure, isn't it??
hahaha....i also thought myself CRAZY......if that's what u'd been thinking!!

That way, i'm sure my kids didn't put any extra responsibility on the teachers' shoulder in ensuring that the kids' belongings were intact!!

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Next are some VERY BACKDATED bentos prepared way before my kids' recent b'day celebrations !!!

If you could remember, i had wanted to make some prawn tempura to serve my guests during my boys' simple b'day party at home. For that, i had been practising (trial & error here) to cook some decent looking tempuras!! Yet, it was failure for both the 2 times i tried.

When i managed to meet up with Christene & Nancy over a quick lunch the other day when they came to Kinokuniya, KLCC.....i quickly got my way to "DIG" some tips on how they do up with these prawn tempura!! Nancy shared that she used a stick/skewer to keep the prawn straight while for Chris, the success was contributed to her MIL (who got the prawns all prepared before passing them to her.....such lucky soul lar....)
Anyway, at least now i'm more certain what to do the next time .....thanks ladies!!
It was another nice chatting session....yes, chris proved that she was such the chatterbox queen, hehehe!!!

Though i don't achieved the desired shape of the tempura prawn, my ordinary fried prawn still tasted good. I had them in a bento for myself with lots of greenies & carrots and furikake on some rice!

The boys got the same food too for their bento.
2 pieces of sushi rice, kiwi, fried prawns, broccoli & carrot slices!!

That's the end of my recent BENTOs creation !!

I'm announcing a BENTO BREAK for the moment as it is now the school holiday and i have every right to call it off !!

Not only that, i'll be due for another round of traveling sagas......... so my mind will definitely be too congested for both Bento & Blog !!!

coming weekend, will be in Penang for huby's cousin wedding. It is going to be a rushing trip over the weekend as i am running out of leave so there's no way i could extend the trip!!

More so with the long waited & much anticipated japan trip in the week that follows suit!!
And i'd had been reminding myself HARD that year end is approaching real close which simply means a critical time for me as i will be closing another financial year's accounts .....
big task there!!!!

" i feel sorry for not being able to catch up more with a distance uncle & aunty this time in penang, hopefully we can do more in your next trip down to KL the next month.... for yet another relative wedding.....yeah, a year-end that's full of weddings "

:( very guilty of not dropping by for a long time too :(

Therefore i might have to also declare a blog break

(can't be too greedy & achieving so much at one time) !!!

Here i'm wishing all :

Happy school holiday!!
Merry X'mas!!
Happy New Year!!

And i shall be greeting you again ........hopefully real soon !!!