The Popoheads ... life after the wedding dinner

So how well do you & I know me?

2006-03-02T12:45:00.000+08:00

Arena

(known to self and others)

caring, sentimental

Blind Spot

(known only to others)

able, adaptable, bold, brave, cheerful, clever, confident, dependable, energetic, extroverted, friendly, helpful, idealistic, independent, intelligent, kind, knowledgeable, logical, loving, mature, nervous, observant, self-assertive, spontaneous, trustworthy, warm, witty

Façade

(known only to self)

introverted, reflective, shy, tense

Unknown

(known to nobody)

accepting, calm, complex, dignified, giving, happy, ingenious, modest, organised, patient, powerful, proud, quiet, relaxed, religious, responsive, searching, self-conscious, sensible, silly, sympathetic, wise

All Percentages

able (33%) accepting (0%) adaptable (16%) bold (8%) brave (8%) calm (0%) caring (50%) cheerful (8%) clever (8%) complex (0%) confident (33%) dependable (25%) dignified (0%) energetic (16%) extroverted (8%) friendly (25%) giving (0%) happy (0%) helpful (41%) idealistic (16%) independent (16%) ingenious (0%) intelligent (25%) introverted (0%) kind (8%) knowledgeable (25%) logical (8%) loving (8%) mature (8%) modest (0%) nervous (8%) observant (8%) organised (0%) patient (0%) powerful (0%) proud (0%) quiet (0%) reflective (0%) relaxed (0%) religious (0%) responsive (0%) searching (0%) self-assertive (25%) self-conscious (0%) sensible (0%) sentimental (8%) shy (0%) silly (0%) spontaneous (33%) sympathetic (0%) tense (0%) trustworthy (16%) warm (33%) wise (0%) witty (33%)

Created by the Interactive Johari Window on 2.3.2006, using data from 12 respondents.
You can make your own Johari Window, or view killer.bunnie's full data.

The best medicine - Laughter

2006-02-09T21:31:00.000+08:00

haha ... found this off the blogger homepage ... not the funniest but something to chuckle over now and then ...

I pick this one for today's chuckle =)

http://www.dhadm.com/mediaHolder.php?id=378

it's the sniff flu bug

2006-02-09T20:10:00.000+08:00

it's official ... now i'm down with flu ... got 2 more days of MC (did return to work but my headache was killing me - synflex wasn't working so had to get a jab). Turn out I had fever, which explains why I was so doozy ... basically was gong dai dai and sleepy till I couldn't keep awake. After lunch (just next door so it's not so bad to walk) I tried to settle in but my headache was getting worse so I bailed out and wanted to go home. Barely into the cab ride I changed my mind, I had to go see the doctor.

Found out that I had photophobia (fear of light - which makes sense since sudden bright lights tend to trigger off migraines), and I had fever. Ok, so that explain part of my headache. Doc gave me a jab too - wasn't too painful but my butt ached for 15 minutes on the way back. Sweetie hubby came to pick me up, and thank goodness for it too. It was raining so heavily! And besides. I forgot to bring out my house keys (yes, again).

Came home and just went to bed. Rascal was fussing around but I didn't bother about him. He everntually woke me up while BARKING in his sleep (he was sleeping in the corner next to the bedside table).

Still having fever and I feel the onset of sore throat. Geez, not a good start to the year of Dog is it?

Aching, headaches, and giddiness

2006-02-07T21:35:00.000+08:00

For the past few days I haven't been feeling very good - headaches and backaches and slight giddiness. Today it got worse, my finger joints started to hurt too with the giddiness getting a bit more serious.

Called up Silvercross @ HV and 2 of my favs docs are on duty (one till 5pm and the other after that). Was quite happy since they are quite familiar with my medical history and they are very doctors who show interest in their patients.

Anyway Dr Soh thinks my problems (excluding the backache) is due to my nasal cavity being congested, hence the symptoms of "heated eyes", giddiness, headaches as well as my nasal sounding voice (not blocked nose). Gave me medical leave to cover for today (I went about 4pm - my hubby came and pick me up) and for tomorrow. Came home, took my medication and tried to sleep. It was terrible - I kept having nightmares and keep waking up every 10 minutes or so (checked the clock). I just hope it goes away soon ... It certainly doesn't feel good. Yes it is nice to have medical leave to rest, but it just means my work gets piled up. Also, we work as a team, my absence means stuff gets delayed for other people. And to be on medical leave because I feel like this, it's definitely not worth it.

No, I'm not preggy.

grrrrrrr

2006-01-31T11:24:00.000+08:00

I just rebooted my PC and I was wondering why it wasn't recognising my Olympus camera cable. I looked down, traced the end, and it was ... BEING CHEWED BY RASCAL! He's REALLY good ... he hid the end of the wire with his toy and so from top view, he's chewing his toy ... until i pulled the wired to see it attached to his mouth!

Argh! He chewed off enough to expose the cables (probably some wires too), and now he's being punished - ignored and locked up at the back.

No more photos till I find a replacement cable =(

Didi I mention I found him tearing holes in my carpets and rugs too? Innocently too, until I spotted him chewing an old rug i wanted to throw away. Then i spotted the balding patches on my carpet. So now, he doesn't have any rugs with him in the day time, unless it's under supervision.

*grrrr*

Let's send postcards! for a good cause =)

2006-01-18T13:33:00.000+08:00

Saw this from http://www.stefmike.org/mt-blogs/daxiang/ This will be fun to do, and it's going to cost you less than a dollar and just some efforts to locate the nearest postbox! What are you waiting for?

Dear neighbors:
My name is Lisa Cowart and I am a teacher of some of the most wonderful students in the world!
It is on behalf of my students that I would like to ask a favor of you.
I am teaching sixth grade social studies in Columbus, Georgia at Richards Middle School. Our class is emphasizing international studies and we are trying to learn about the world around us. A geography project that I am doing with my class involved us trying to get postcards sent to us from all over the United States and as many countries in the world as we can. When we get the cards, the class and I locate the place on the map. This is a great way for them to work on becoming familiar with the world outside of their own town. To this end, I need to help of anybody who would be willing to send us a postcard from another state or perhaps from another country.
We will be happy to reciprocate if the person gives us their return address. If you know anybody at all who lives in another state or in another country, would you be so kind as to pass this request along to them?
Please send our class a postcard at the following address:
Mrs. Cowart's Sixth Grade ClassRichards Middle School2892 Edgewood RoadColumbus, Georgia 31906 USA
Please pass this request along to anyone who you think would be willing to help us by sending us a postcard.
Sincerely,
Lisa Crowson Cowart

puppy lullaby

2006-01-11T23:06:00.000+08:00

Rascal and my hubby sleeping together on the floor ... isn't it sweet? =)

Rascally yours ...

2006-01-08T12:06:00.000+08:00

Rascal will soon be 6 months old! On that very day, he will recieve his very FIRST grooming *hehe* ... I've already booked an appointment with the Royal Pets Paradise (recommended by Eunice) on the 17th (one week later the price will go up becuz of the CNY) as well as the transport. His eyes are now permanently shaded by his fur (really wonder if he can see anything) and people are calling him FAT cuz of his fluffy fur (I fluff it up after i shower him).

Oh I've been trying to get rid of the stains on his beard and paws (really regret giving him flavoured rawhides) with this shampoo meant for dogs with white fur (has a pic of a cute Bichon in front) ... worked a little but his bread is still RED ... *sigh* I couldn't find this other brand as recommended by someone else in a forum, so i'll just try this one out first. In anycase, this one I got is good too, since it is a tearless formula ... as rascal squirms and tries to escape everytime he gets a shower, he ends up being wet from head to toe (ya and he looks a very wet rat) ...

I'm trying to persuade my hubby to get a second dog. He says no time for it and it's double the costs! I am going for "but Rascal needs a gf! he's all alone when we go to work!" line ...

so far he's agreed to consider it if I get a pay rise of at least $500 ... *sigh* let's hope my boss reads this and loves me enough to give me that raise :P

oh *rofl* i finally got my confirmation letter ... dated April 2004!

new addition to the family ...

2005-11-29T22:14:00.000+08:00

been meaning to note this down, but ah well, never got around to it ... been pretty busy ... kelly came back from Oz for a visit (and all i got to see her was for 2 misersable days) and my sis is also back for a visit ... not to mention ... there's been a new addition to my family for the past 1 month ... been busy cleaning up after all the shit and poo ...

anyway, everyone says hi to Rascal ... my miniature schnauzer ...

he has grown quite big, filling almost the entire length of the shopping basket we let him sit in when we bring him around ...

so why rascal huh? well the _original_ name we thought of was wuffles, but somehow it got mangled and sounded like wruffles, ruffles and even raffles, waffles *sigh* ...

and it begin to be very apparent that he was not the sweet young good boy he appear to be! boy, is he CHEEKY ... and so he became Rascal.

he looks like this now ... before i gave him an hair cut ...

so 2 comparison pictures for you to chuckle over =)

the root of all bugs ...

2005-11-09T18:00:00.000+08:00

found the cause of the invasion of the white wooly mealy bugs ... it dropped from the sky literally, from my neighbour's plant (one floor above me) ...

i found the cause by accident ... saw this alien branch of leaves among my plants so i picked it up ... almost suffered an heart attack when i saw it was loaded with BUGS ... big fat juicy ones too ... well, i had these unwanted guests dropping by over the next few days, so I had a alcohol filled session with my plants ... and the bugs were more than welcome to die in it ... forget about the poison, alcohol works, and works INSTANTLY too ... so i get the pleasure of seeing it die in front of me ... tt's all they deserve for sucking the life out of my plants! Revenge has never been so sweet ... or drunk with pleasure ...

was wondering if i should tell my neighbours and offer them a bottle of my spirits to deal with their bugs ... but i guess for now, as long i dun see any random alien leaves among my plants i still can deal with it ... just hope my african violets will survive ... they dun seem to be doing too well ...

and the recent turn in weather (to HOT) is killing my cyclamen plant =( it's starting to wither and turn yellow so for now i've put it into the shade, hoping it will survive *sob*

Mad with ICQ

2005-11-09T17:52:00.000+08:00

my email to ICQ:

Hi

I hope this is the right email to address my concerns about the icq ad for random chat - be a rebel.

I have been a long time icq (908868) and internet user - coming close to 12 years. I always have been an ICQ supporter, because it lets me keep in touch with my friends all over the world, and we stick to icq, despite the availablity of the other IM programs.

I was concerned when i saw the ad banner "Be a Rebel - ICQ random chat". It is inappropriate in my opinion to be using "mommy told you not to talk to strangers? Be a rebel". It has and still is good advise not to talk to strangers, especially impressionable youths. By encouraging people to "rebel" (tongue in cheek i assume), it does not promote safe internet usage.

I believe that ICQ has always been a responsible and civic member of the internet community, and this ad has upset me enough to prompt this complaint to you.

All I am asking is that, be responsible when encouraging people to try out new ICQ features.

Regards
Diane

massages and such ...

2005-10-16T22:44:00.000+08:00

yesterday we went to Thomson Plaza for ice cream but ended up with Roti Mum Coffee Buns (the best among those other roti's - roti boy and papa roti) and a foot massage ...

we saw the advert on the gantry while driving in ... $16 for a foot reflexology session! so we decided to check it out ... ah well it was only avail for weekdays =( but the normal package of $28 for 40 minute foot reflexology and 10 min neck, back and arm massage was quite attractive. They did have a slot available 15 minutes later so we decided to try it out ...

hehe i signed up a package after that, got a chiding from my hubby but i was quite worth it ... 12 sessions plus 1 40min body massage at $280 (works out to be $20 per foot massage and $40 for the body massage) ... if you like foot massage, you can try it out ... it's at Thomas Plaza, 3rd floor, Tranquility Cove. Try Uncle Goh, i wasn't yelping in pain or complaining about ticklish, so overall i though it was excellent.

Oh I also bought Harry Potter's latest book, the half-blood prince thingy (i'm not a fan of this series as you can tell) and i finished it today (ya and i speed read too). I was quite curious though, I don't seem to recall much of the details discussed from the Goblet of Fire, but I could well be missing a book inbetween.

All in all, quite a good read, but somewhat .. lacking? I am not sure, but something seems to be missing ... Goblet of Fire seems better, more complete and a satisfying read. Maybe I'll reread 2 or 3 more times and the story may seem more complete to me (like so what happens to Kreacher?) ... and the funny thing ... when I was reading the part about Harry breaking up with Ginny, reminds me of superman and spiderman and their loved ones ... too clinched i think.

and about D dying, couldn't they have use the "going back" in time thingy they did previously?

i ... hate ... bugs!

2005-10-16T22:28:00.000+08:00

yes you guessed it, my plants are again INFESTED ... this time round it's such a painful battle ... my plants are literally crawling with mealy bugs, and my kalanchoe with an unknown spidery bugs ...

I've already Vodka-ed my AVs, in hope of the bugs dying, but it's reproduction is AMAZING ... so i've resorted to my last hopes ... POISON ... horrible isn't it? I have to poison my own plants in order to poison the %*(^&(# bugs ... i've just done the deed, and it's suppose to effective sometime only after 1 month ... so i can only cross my fingers and hope my plants survived till then ...

so meanwhile i've thrown away my bug infested soil containers (2) as well 3 plants (one AF and two kalanchoe) and i hope i don't have to throw more away ... i'll be upset since it means i will be having less plants around. Hmmm then again it may mean i will have chance to experiment new plants hehe ... my cyclamen is doing pretty well with minimal care so it's good =) it was quite scary after reading all those postings on the plant so i guess my spot for it must be perfect ... just hope no more bugs ...

oh and one of my hydrangea died as well ... i dunno why but the leaves started turned brown and wilting awat ... and it's the plant i thought will do well, since it was sprouting off new branches ... how wrong I was ... because the other plant is actually FLOWERING! I'll post can post a picture of the flowers next week, since it's still budding ....

just hope for me no more bugs ok! and my poison will keep my poor plants bug free for 6 months ...

first wedding anniversary!

2005-10-04T21:25:00.000+08:00

ok we didn't do much *chuckle* to be exact, he went home to have dinner with his family, and I went for my cooking class ...

Duh? Haha not really ...

Because we went to Bintan on Sunday, and just returned this afternoon ...

It's a short trip but we got sunburnt and it costs a bomb for the food (not fantastic too) and massage (i know of better and cheaper massages in Singapore) ... and we have loads of work to do (see how responsible we are).

So just a picture for you to enjoy ...

Ya I was wearing a bikini (under the sarong wrap). No i didn't lose "that" tummy of mine ... I'm nearing to 60kg now so it should be "broader" than what was expose during the Turkish folkdance we did at the wedding dinner. The wonders of being married, heck with my fats, I'm proud of my "womanly" figure!

Yummy BBQ

2005-09-27T02:27:00.000+08:00

my current cooking class is quite cool!

I have learnt to date how to make yummy bbq chicken wings (these are similar to those u pay $1 for each at Newton Circus HC), Black pepper Char Siew, Salt Baked Chicken (though i think my normal lazy way of cooking herbal chicken is about there), and pipa duck!

I think my fav dish so far is the pipa duck and the bbq wings ... and of the 2, bbq wings win cuz it a lot less work ... see the pipa duck ... needs to be cleaned, stuffed and dipped in a vinegar solution before having to be air/sun dried for 8 hours and then entering the oven for another 1 plus hour ... i agree the duck taste really yummy but it's so much work ...

so next time you folks visit my place, i think my variety of dishes will extend beyond canned and pre-mixed food haha ...

Buddha jump over the wall ...

2005-09-04T21:40:00.000+08:00

i learnt it finally!!!

but well, somehow it was kinda of disappointment ... i think my ma jie's normal dried seafood with chicken soup tasted even better ...

the smoothness of the soup wasn't there, so maybe let me tinkle with the ingredients list, take a deep breathe and plunge in ... the soup is FREAKING expensive to make and now i'm toying with the idea of someone bringing in a "nu er hong" wine from China for me ...

Let me consider how I should go about doing it ...

but next on the list, i want to try making my ma jie's famous carrot cake ...

see ... where got time to have a kid? so much things to do, to learn and to see!

Ode to my pink kalanchoe

2005-09-04T21:33:00.000+08:00

Woe to you my beloved plant,
You lovingly bloomed your best for me,
Yet I killed you with a single blow,
Oh Woe is you,
and Woe is me,
for I can no longer gaze at your beauty,
when i 'Ohmm' to the rising sun.

Ya ... rubbish isn't it? I hadn't written a poem in years, but anyway you guess it, my poor pink kalanchoe plank was dying ... basically what happened was I trimmed off some flower stalks and some water got unto the stem and rot set it ... unfortunately, it was near to the base of the plant, so the plant was withering away unnoticed. I was figdeting with the leaves, wondering why they look so soft and wilted when i have given it quite a bit of water. Then i noticed the colour of death, black rot had eaten to the core of the stem. Sigh ... so I took out my pruning scissors and had to start snipping at the plant ... it is now ... 5 seperate plants and I'm hoping JUST ONE will survive ... I really love the colour of it and i think my husband will scream if I had to buy more plants ...

Maybe i'll just stick to my japanese roses ... there's more where it came from so even if i killed it, I could easily replace it ...

About my 'Alice du pont', yup my trick did work ... it's sprouting new lives from where i last snipped, but still NO FLOWERS BUDS ... where did i do wrong!!!

baking yummy treats ...

2005-09-04T21:24:00.000+08:00

*WOOF* goes my tester ... recently i've taken to searching recipes for doggie treats ...

i figured the treats i bought ... while it smells really yummy, i am not quite sure of the contents - how much artificial flavouring and perservatives ...

so i thought why not try baking some treats for them ... in case you were wondering who, it's Cheyne, Poppy, Pebbles and Milo ...

the first batch went pretty well i must say, the doggies kinda woofed it down but i was happy cuz it was of a healthy snack ...

it was made from flour, oats, fatty bacon and water! the bacon provided the fats and salt, so i didn't had to add extra, and the oats provided some fibre ... so next round I'm adding some cheese and wheatgerm ... but you go 'tut tut' on the percieved salt content, trust me, it's NOT even salty ... i had one and it was BLAND ... basically just tasteless ... but the dogs could smell the bacon and they quite enjoyed it! No preservatives too!

Going to try a new batch next week ... maybe i could make a business out of this? "home baked goodies for your beloved buddies without burning a hole in your pockets!" I was told by a friend ... she bought 100g of dog cookies at $9 i was like *wriggle eyebrows* *OUCH* ...

i rather bake my own :P

work, marriage and ...

2005-08-24T17:33:00.000+08:00

today i went down to a job agency for an quick interview ... it was quite strange ... stupid you may say, but one of the questions i asked the interviewer was if they had anything against married women ... maybe i'm over reacting but reactions I have personally come across as well as news that I have heard hadn't really empowered me with faith of employers ...

recently someone posted on a forum i visit that one employer actually asked her to sign an agreement not to get pregnant within the first 12 months of employment ... so there you go ...

I also had to write my anwers to some "philosphy" questions based on Sun Tzu's Strategy of War (in this case employment/ career) ... interestingly the person was quite surprised to recieved one page full of my answers ... i am longwinded at times but there is nothing more I like then to debate philosphy or general questions (trust me, i excel in this area when it comes to GP). Actually it was FUN to write about it ... one question was "how important is job security to you?" I wrote, "Job Security is important to some extent, to cover basic needs and neccessities. However, to pursue passion and interest, there is no guarentee of job security."

I would love to write more, but there is 10 questions to complete. I would have added, "While it may seem as a trade off between passion/ interest and stable monetary returns, job security is actually just an illusion. Basically it ends up as there is no real job security, only stability of income for a limited period." But i doubt that would get me a job with any employers.

So how did it go? it was a bit sad, but true. I am looking for administrative based jobs, but I am out of touch for the past 5 years. But frankly speaking, how out of touch can I be when I have to deal with paper work every day anyway? Travel desk? not an issue. Presentations and Reports? I do them all the time! Personnel and HR procedures? how hard can it be to follow? Tracking for paperwork, inventory and stationery? Boring but doable.

am i that unemployable? *sigh*

stupid bugs ...

2005-08-16T11:30:00.000+08:00

sigh ... now my chilli plants are infested with whiteflies ... going to blast them one more them tonight with soapy water ... my plants dun seem to be able to take the commercial bug spray ...

i found 2 mealy bugs on my kalachoe baby plants so i blasted the plants with the bug spray then took a tissue paper to squash them to death (just in case the bug spray didn't work) ... I also poured boiling water over the "infested" soil where i suspected them to be hiding ... maybe i should do that 1 more time tonight in case the bugs managed to escape the first time ... maybe i'm excessive but these bugs do nothing but suck life out of my plants ... parasites!

my japanese roses are blooming very nicely ... the single petals plants i have yellow, pink and orange ... beautiful! now am waiting for them to grow stronger (somehow i noticed the plants with orange/ salmon colored flowers are the most aggressive growers) and hopefully will provide me with some relief of colors on my balcony!

my climber ...Mandevilla x amoena 'Alice du Pont' but one pet name for it is pink allamanda ... it's suppose to be a PROLIFIC flowering climber but look at mine and it's BARE ... so i nip off the shoots for 2 reasons ... to stop the plant from concentrating all its resources on producing more leaves so that it can put some for flowers ... and also to make the plant branch out ... now i have 4 vertical shoots growing parallel ... it's not really covering my net that i've put up for it ... I've tried threatening it by saying if i don't see any flowers, i'll grow morning glories instead!

According to http://www.floridata.com/ref/m/mandev.cfm,

Mandevilla is a tender woody vine much beloved by gardeners in warmer climates. It provides a nonstop bounty of huge pink trumpet shaped flowers shown off against attractive evergreen foliage. The very showy flowers have white and gold throats and are up to 4 in (10 cm) across and arranged in racemes (flower clusters). Mandevilla blooms heaviest in summer and sporadically throughout the rest of the year. This vine's fuzzy young stems twine around supports, eventually scrambling to heights up to 10 ft (3 m). The handsome leathery leaves are dark green, up to 8 in (20 cm) long and 3-4 in (7.6-10 cm) wide. Given adequate care, mandevilla is pest free and fast growing.

So what am i doing wrong *cry* ....

Morning glory? the purple one? nope ... actually it's not even morning glory ... according to this malaysia website, it's called "Railway Creeper". A twining herb, very common in Malaysia, establishing itself on railway embankments, roadside and other similar places. The leaf is cut into five pointed lobes. The flowers have a purplish tinge. Grown from seeds.

Morning Glory come in an array of colors and while looking similar, looks like this

grows fast, flowers fast and die fast ... good for committment phobic like me ... found this cool site that shows the opening and closing of the flower ... short life!
http://sunflower.bio.indiana.edu/~rhangart/plantmotion/flowers/morningglory/morningglory.html

Irc ...

2005-08-10T22:37:00.000+08:00

IRC - Internet Relay Chat ....

To think i'll be celebrating my 12th anniversary as a IRC-er end of this year ...

today i happen to meet some of the old timers ... people i've met in my first 3 years of IRC-ing ...

i was so ... HAPPY !!!! it's was just an event and my boss asked me to attend ... and since my dearest hubby is going so why not ...

So first i saw was SIM ... my little brother in the IRC world ... then i saw GIM, my erm ... 4th or 5th hubby in the virtual world ... i also saw Capella , another IRC-er who is the hubby of another IRC-er friend of mine ...

so we chat about mutual friends, and caught a little about each other's life ... hmmm.... after a couple of drinks on a empty stomach ... i'm in maybe the 3rd heaven ... i'm just happy to be seeing my old friends and happy to be chatting to them ...

it's been really a great day today =)

hmmm ...

2005-08-10T22:33:00.000+08:00

ok i took a sneak taste at my raspberry gin ... hmmm is my verdict ... i'll think i need to throw in my strawberry jam and some sugar and let it alone for 3 months and i'm done ... i think i'm pretty much on track *hic*

Expired Raspberry jam ...

2005-08-10T17:00:00.000+08:00

Recently i have been digging out stuff from my food cabinets and finding things that have breathed their very last breath (expired) ...

I found this bottle of expired raspberry jam we bought from Kates Berry Farm from Tasmania last year ... well i opened it up and tasted it ... quite normal and no greeny or white furry stuff either ... just wondering if it's full of perservatives though (just a quick side track - my mini cabinet at the yard sprouted mushrooms! just unfortunately i can't tell if they are edible or not).

Anyway, I just thought why not just give my alcohol making interest a kick start ... so I scrapped up all the jam and dumped into a sterilzed vodka bottle and put in some gin ... shook it up a bit and it's now lying on my wine rack ... whether it will turn out nice or not I have no idea ... and I won't have an idea till ... er ... maybe 2 months later ... i might sneak a taste or two to check if i've enough fruity stuff inside, else I've a bottle of homemade strawberry jam somewhere which i can add in to enhance its flavour ....

I'm going to start on my strawberry confiture (vodka soaked strawberries to drink your tea with ... but i'm thinking of dropping them unto ice creams or glasses of white wine) and then strawberry vodka, and then my apple pie vodka ... Hopefully I'll get to collect my vodka from Carol sometime this week, then I can start my experiments this weekend! onz!

Does anyone know where i can buy Bacardi 151?

my other interests/ hobbies

2005-08-08T16:49:00.000+08:00

Yes, i do have hobbies/ interests in things that are not plants ... for example, baking, cooking, handicrafts (mostly to do with clay though) and ... anything to do with alcohol ...

if you must know, i'm crazy about collecting small bottles of alcohol ... i *ahem* came back from a trip to Europe with my main luggage weighing in at 28KG (not to mention my other bag weighing at 14kg as well as other stuff i had begged people to lobang back for me) with most of the weight contributed by such beloved horde ... it was so wonderful ... in Bath (UK) i acquired some of the apple beverage (the milder version so sadly), in Normandy (France) their lovely Apple Brandy, in Austria, their cute little round bottles of Mozart(?) liquer .... the list goes on ... the only thing i don't collect is beer i think ...

lately my interest is not so much as collecting (i'm thinking maybe to drink the honeymoon mead in my cabinet on my wedding annivesary) but well ... _CREATING_ alcoholic beverages of choice ... it's not a matter of cocktails ... it's more of ... HEALTHY stuff ... like fruity liqour ...

It kind of started recently, when i was musing to myself ... about how to create this lovely apple pie drink i had once in Chicago (from Bucket O Suds - YEAH! I was only of those lucky few who had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to visit the pub. I'll write something about the place one of these days) ... research turned into making fruit wines ... and now i'm sitting here thinking about my list of things to get before my first attempt at my Death By Apple Pie drink ... ingredients will remain secret until I've done the perfect brew but the end results will only be tasted 6 months later ... so watch out for it!

Plants again hehe

2005-08-08T16:29:00.000+08:00

Ok ... my XXX plant is known as kalanchoe ... i've just reposition them to a shadier spot since according to expert website it will only flower as long as it does not get more than 10 hours of sun light (artificial light included) ... so far my orange and pink ones are starting to flower again *phew* but no signs for my red color one *sigh* maybe it's just resting now or i should just brutally prune it further down the stems .... I've also dug up the soil and the plants are resting on a bed of charcoal for better drainage and less moisture ....

My dearest japanese roses (otherwise known as Portulaca) ... i moved them to a very sunny spot where they will get min 6 hours of direct sun ... did beautifully ... until i itchy hands decided to reposition it ... so now it's in a spot ... where it gets only 3 hours of sun! I only realised it after I had painsakingly repotted the plants into a long trough container ... i guess i'll just let it recover from the "repotting" before i transplant them to yet another pot ...

My chilli padi plants are doing quite well ... one plant have started to flower and the rest seems to be catching up ... also transplanted 3 from pots into a trough as my balcony is overrunned by them! Now i have 7 in pots (i gave away 2 last weekend) and 4 in my trough ...

My hydrangea are doing ok too ... growing but slowly since my backyard doesn't have direct sunlight ... it's bright enough though for it to survive so far in the open (mostly i let the rain does the job of watering the plants unless it's been exceptionally hot for a few days). It's supposed to be the PeeGees type ( shortform for Psomething Grandiflora) and _IF_ it blooms, I can alter the colours by either adding acidic or alkalinic stuff unto the soil ... cool =)

the next mad thing that i'm unto now is trying to have plants that I can eat off (other than my chilli padis) ... been eyeing tomatoes but still thinking since I'm not sure if there is really enough space and if I can even reach out to harvest the fruits ... no harm trying i guess ... just have to limit the size of the pot so that the plants won't grow too big ...

ok tt's all i have for plants ... i think ... what do you think of strawberries?

It's going to be a .....

2005-06-22T16:00:00.000+08:00

nay, dun get your hopes up. It's not a boy, it's not a girl. It's just going to be our 1st year anniversary (by virtue of the legal marriage system here) come this monday.

How times fly ... you bet ... both of us now need to buy bigger size clothings, but thankfully the wedding bands can remain as it is, though it's a wee bit tighter than normal.

Sometimes i still look at him and say "i still can't believe your my husband".

Sometimes (more often than not) we forget the romance of the relationship.

We seldom "paktor" anymore so I've signed us up for a seafood cuisine cooking class! at least there's sometime we both can do together on a weekend night, other than being potato couches.

We both have always been slower starters so there's always hope (like my hubby says).

plants and plants and plants ...

2005-06-22T15:02:00.000+08:00

are you getting sick of me talking about my plants?

oh well ... too bad cuz my life at home other than the really mundane stuff of laundry and cooking, is gardening (yes despite the lack of space).

recently i hadn't been cooking except to make soups - red and white carrot soup with pork, and the ABC soup (my family call it the potato soup - want the recipe? you can't go wrong with this soup). So ... nothing to talk about other than I'm starting to plan for my Christmas baking (fruitcakes are supposed to be baked 2 months in advance) ...

Ok let's talk about my plants ... my japanese roses are finally established and are flowering on and off (due to lack of sun still), my buggy plant now is growing beautifully and with lovely pink flowers blooming (1 opened and 6 more opening). My er ... XXX plant is doing well and I've 4 pots of baby plants from the stem cutting. I've bought 2 African Violets and so far they seem ok with the outdoor sun/ weather (despite the plantshop people saying need airconditioning). Only my orchid plant is still .... let's hope for the best ;P I'm trying to get my PHALAENOPSIS to bloom but it's supposed to be in an aircon room for 1 month before it is inclined to bloom ... only good thing is that it needs to be watered once or twice a week so most of the time i just leave it on the floor and can ignore it.

I was kind overly successful with my chilli padi ... now i have 14 seedlings and growing pretty well. Gave one plant away to my mum (the chilli is REALLY HOT) and thinking what else to do with the remaining 13. I also have one papaya seedling growing REAL SLOW ... so i guess it will be ages before I will even get to taste any of its fruits (provided the flowers will be pollinated).

My rose plant is ... INFESTED WITH RED SPIDER MITES!!!! so i've been faithfully spraying bug spray on them every day for the past 3 days and will continue for 4 more days ... I dun wan to take the risk anymore since i found some of them migrating to my water plants!

Talking about my water plants, I finally got around to arranging them. I split one pot (dun ask me the name - nice long leaves with stems and if it flowers, it's hanging down with several "tendrils" of purple flowers) as part of the plant were already growing outside the pot. Put it into a new pot and i didn't have any mud so i use the mud taken from another plant which i threw out (again i don't know the name) . The mud wasn't much so i used whatever remaining mix soil i had and thank goodness it's not floating or dirtying the water. If it flowers then it' be really really nice ... but again ... it needs SUN!

When i have more budget i'll buy more of the water lightning (each will set me back about $35 and above) to place around since the spotlight is long spoilt ...

So there for now!

hot days versus rainy days

2005-05-23T22:26:00.000+08:00

the weather has been crazy lately ... with wonderful sun at 12 noon and black clouds with rumbling thunder at 1 ... ah well ... the tropical weather at its best i guess ... the only problems is my plants at the balcony is not getting enough sun! they get sun only from 3pm onwards and with the rain clouds gathering at 1pm onwards, i can only stare at despair at my plants!

As the balconey get full hot sun from 3 to 5pm, our plants are those which requires direct sunlight ... oh ya, i've rearranged my mini garden at the balconey ... now I've a plant that has pink flower (hee my fav color!) which is a climber ... ya that one which was diseased but have managed to clean it up of the bugs! then I have my japanese roses, which i really hope will grow despite the lack of sun. I bought another new plant to complement my 2 existing plant of the same type (not sure what it is called) but we chose a different shade (DARK PINK!!!) and so it's doing quite well now ...

my last trough is for my chilli padi and spring onions ... but might transplant the chilli to a pot. I have one more trough which he suggested sunflowers (which i hadn't found the seeds yet) so maybe we can grow some tomatoes? but it's a bit difficult as it's over the railing (balancing on the edge and the "roof" of the 1st floor) ...

I've also realised what's wrong with my orchid plant, so i've managed to "rescue" my plant in time and it's growing new roots!

only one of my rose plant didn't make it (died) and the other ... let just say it's barely a shade of its former glory ...

foodwise ... been obsessing with the idea of braised soy sauce chicken, buddha jump over the wall and "dong gua zong"... been researching recipes but hadn't been cooking ... maybe i'll do soemthing over the next weekend =)

the ordinary days of married life ...

2005-04-23T22:41:00.000+08:00

So ... what have we been up too?

er ... work, work and work?

We have been busy at work, house is in a mess (trying to pack the house but bit by bit, so extremely messy) ...

Bought some new plants and to my dismay, it's full of BUGS! just sprayed with a plant spray and hope it gets better ... have bought some new planters too ... will work on it once my plant gets debugged hehe ... my japanese roses are not doing well at all =( not getting enuff sun and i think i used the wrong type of soil for it (too mushy) ... at least my rose plant from stem cutting are growing quite well after i moved to the balcony from the back (more sun) ...

rt now the balcony looks like a mess too! will have to wait till i sort out the plants and the plants to recover from the bugs (ooo i hate alphids!) ...

the fishies are doing well, but the population seems to be diminishing since we started cutting down the amount of food we feed them (too much pollution in the water) ... I plan to "re-landscape" the water feature in the near future too ... when i HAVE to clean the water feature ... then i'll rearrange the plants - need to get a new spot light too since the current out is already spoiled. Maybe just get the lightbulbs, since the Spotlight is so expensive and hard to arrange!

oh! and a new project ... just made a miniature wedding cake top for our wedding toppers ... will probably post it under the wedding cake story when it's finally done ... it's not the replica of our wedding cake at the solemnisation ... but i guess it's still something i designed since i built it from scratch! =)

Thoughts of end 2004

2005-01-03T16:16:00.000+08:00

ok well i know a lot of people say that with the tsunami disaster, no mood to celebrate new year and such .. but well what i am going to say will piss off some people but it's MY 2 cents worth of thoughts ..

disasters and unhappy things happen throughout the year, and all over the world. There will never be an end to it if you really want to talk about sad things.

But the fact is, life is full of ups and downs. So, we must move on.

Not to think how come like that, why like that ... it's a lot more positive and CONSTRUCTIVE if we think of what we CAN DO for those people who suffered and what can we learn from this (YES PLEASE APPRECIATE YOUR LOVE ONES WHILE THEY ARE STILL ALIVE) ...

With the new year, we move into another 365 days of the unknown, but don't bring into it the unhappiness, the fear... bring into the new year with HOPE ... which is best what man can do for himself.

PICS ARE UP!!!!!

2004-12-29T23:35:00.000+08:00

ok have put up the various pics from the various parts of our honeymoon ...

but only my pics, haven't looked through his pics yet ... perhaps later when i'm really not working? *heee*

also check out the "new" look of my photo gallery *strut*

2004-12-05T10:58:00.000+08:00

Oh i forgot to add, the pics for our Tasmania section is out ... I've yet to touch the Sydney and Melbourne, given that I still have another 400 pics outstanding from the camera i borrowed from Unisa. Mr Lai is in his own land of pictures, I have no idea where he has kept them.

And after all that, then I could "try" to recall what happened during the 3 weeks, giving a blow by blow account of ... the cows, the sheep, the horses, the sea, and the cars (the city bit).

2004-12-05T10:44:00.000+08:00

so ... how's life after the honeymoon? now that we have settled down and gotten back to work ...

tiring? still cleaning up the house, cuz since it's Christmas time, it means it's time to BAKE!!!

tried one new fruitcake recipe by some famous chef mother ... baked for 4 hours - our verdict? so-so ... not as good as the original recipe i used. So it means another round of soaking the dried fruits in VSOP, and then getting down to fuss about the oven for another 4 hours of baking time ... ya ... fruitcake is a pain when it comes to baking it, but Mr Lai loves it, and he specifically requested back for this other recipe ... well i love fruitcake too but i just hate the process of cleaning up. Yup, i admit i'm the messiest baker around. This year though i tried a different approach ... i actually TRY to get all the ingredients nicely laid out in their proper quantity. You can assume what the previous baking sessions are like :P

I'm also back to work, on part-time basis. Not sure if I could really handle a full time 9 to 5 job (oops these days 9 to 6 job) at the desk. I'm quite happy now with the arrangement, because it means i could do other things with the rest of the day. I'm now involved with some other sideline business, so i'm busy doing the "marketing" stuff like presentations and website. Better still, I'm brainstorming to see what other things I could better the current situation. I'm actually doing what I like (well at least temporarily ... it's better than nothing!).

Unfortunately, on the side of the coin means, lower income. I'm drawing less than half of what I use to (which wasn't much anyway - is any of my bosses reading this?) so there is the stress of finances. I just hope the sideline business takes off, so which i could do MORE for it, and of course, some income from it.

Maybe i'm too much of a dreamer?

back from Honeymoon!

2004-11-23T17:54:00.000+08:00

hi hi! we came back last night ... so exhausting ... cuz CLEANING UP THE HOUSE!

some of the stuff grew moudly cuz of the neverending raindance so got to do laundry (still have another 1 pile after completing 2 piles) and to wipe and mop and wash ... haiz ...

but the honeymoon was fun! got to catch up with melodies and ceneora so we didn't have to face each other throughout the trip!

the pics will be out ... in another week or so? got to send my negatives for processing and scanning first!

2004-11-02T14:52:00.000+08:00

People's been asking me about updates to this site - basically they want to know all about our married life!

We would love to update you ... but .... you see ...
1. we started work immediately after the wedding :(
2. weekends are spent cleaning up the house and arranging our stuff :( :(
3. doing our own laundry :( :( :(
4. ironing our clothes :( :( :( :(
5. arranging for our honeymoon =) =) =) =) =)

BUT I promise, you'll get to see all the exciting photos taken during the day, juicy stories, and PLUS PLUS, exclusively for you, stories and pictures from our honeymoon!

Isn't it worth the wait?

So just hang on there ... even if it means by a tiny weeny thin frayed thread ... ;)

New photos!!!!

2004-11-02T01:10:00.000+08:00

I've finally gotten around to muck around the website and the photos ...

i've just uploaded the photos taken by Unisa, Jonathan and Chee Sin unto the www.popoheads.com ... so please enjoy viewing their hardwork ... Thanks!

I'm supposed to get more photos and some videos, but you just have to wait because those people have yet to pass me the files!