My New Year's Resolution

I'm not good in making a new year's resolution and neither very good at following it. So, year after year I don't bother to list, for surely I'll frustratingly jot the same for the following year's. However, after seeing Randy Pausch's last lecture, something struck me and made me rethink how I behave everyday. In addition, he also reminded me to value people and not things. I suppose it's not yet too late to make up a resolution, but instead of making a long list of "must-do's" for this year, I thought there is just one thing that I must do this year and beyond...

...appreciate life simply and live everyday to the max.

Happy New 2008 and Chinese New Year and thank God for giving us another year to live beautifully!

Suddenly 30

We dined in Joondalup to celebrate my cousin's 30th birthday. I had a "surf and turf" before, and when the plate arrived it had two oysters kilpatrick and a lovely steak on mash. Headed back to her place for some good games and fun. It was nice not to have the kids with me this time around, and I was able to chill out and be a rock chic for the night.
She specifically ordered chocolate mud cupcakes with ganache icing - something simple and elegant, just like her. Like me, she's not a big fan of those with towering toppings made of cream or buttercream. I only like making or looking at them, but don't fancy eating them.

The cupcakes were neatly arranged in the stand I got from them for Christmas. What you don't see in this picture are the missing two cupcakes my brother ate right after I iced the cakes!

Random things about mommy j

My turn. I'm 32 and ....

• I love food! I'm a foodie who cooks and eats! Cuisines I enjoy are Filipino, Chinese, Malaysian, Singaporean, Thai, Japanese, Vietnamese, French, Spanish, Italian, Turkish, and Greek.
• I love travelling. What better way to enjoy the above cuisines than to travel to their respective countries and try them cooked authentically. Perhaps I should check out the food in Italy, France and their neighbours next year! Yeah!
• I fear heights. I used to think I didn't have any phobias, but this one recently came and my knees do the "Elvis shake" when I look down.
• I admire Oprah. She's my hero. I love her good heart, generosity and love for making people grow in spirit and in mind. I enjoy watching her shows: on health - Dr. Oz's segments; on fashion and beauty - how to pick the right blue jeans; on relationships and on home. Sometimes I drag my hubby too in watching episodes he will enjoy. One day I hope to be part of her Chicago live tv audience, so I'd better start dialing now for those hot tickets!
• When I was maybe 8 yrs old, I read of cachous from my Lola's (grandma's) american cookbooks, and I loved her icing tips collection.
• I resent re-gifting. I can tell by its old sticky tape marks, accumulated dust and closet smell. It may prove economical, but it removes the joy and true spirit of gift giving. Re-gifting a received present doesn't acknowledge the original giver's sincere effort to please. Conversely, the person regifting shows little generosity and thoughtful effort to please.
• I dream of my own shop. Perhaps one day I'll have my little cafe (involving chocolates!) or my own little cake shop. In the meantime, I'm still dreaming, and have no concrete plans yet.

Wo(Man) of the house

To date, as a wife and mom I've done countless cooking for the boys, family and friends; clothes washing and folding; kids' nose-picking and dirty nappy changing; floor mopping; and clothes sewing. These are the jobs that are automatically imposed on me, and I've got my and your ancestors to blame for this. But I do these jobs not because I should do it, but because I think I do them better (and usually because I'm more willing to) than my husband. So, once in a while I feel like I have to get out of this stereotypical mold, and there's nothing else that gets me more high than doing something that the man-of-the-house ought to be doing, like the plumbing, painting, carpentry, etc.

I love doing those unusual tasks, and I must admit I'm not always successful at it. Notice when the christmas lights won't work because one of the 1000's of bulbs blew? When I was younger, I fixed ours by cutting off the faulty bulbs and taping the cut wires together. Oh, it worked for the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th bulb that didn't work....until it caused a short circuit and it sparked when I plugged it in! (Warning:Do not attempt this stunt at home!)

For years we lived without locking our sliding door with a key, but I thought this time I'd do something about it. A locksmith said it will cost over a hundred dollars, unless I bring the lock to him and he'll make a key for less the cost. I thought to myself, "How on earth will I dismantle the whole big sliding door and pack it in our car?" Later it dawned to me that he said, "lock" and not "door" *slapping forehead*. So, armed with a screwdriver, I easily managed to remove the barrel lock/key section (i.e. silver bottom-most part). But be warned: never, ever, ever slam the door shut and switch the manual locks to position (i.e. the 2 above it) when the lock/key system is removed because our door got stuck locked! Doomed, I thought, I can never get the manual switches to move....but with luck I manage to 'unlock' it by fiddling with the mechanisms inside. Phew! I just saved myself a locksmith's call out fee to open the door I locked and to remove the barrel lock and I' m soooo happy!

Sorry to sound so feminist and if I have offended some men, but us women should believe that we can do anything men can do. This is because it's innate in us (wo + man). Most men I know unfortunately struggles to do some of women's businesses, hence probably why we salute people like Jamie O. and Rocco D. when they show us they too can cook! (PS. Most good chefs are men, why is that?)

What's playing in my ear...

Makes Me Wonder

artist: Maroon 5

album: It Won't Be Soon Before Long (2007)