I'm back.......and promise to stay connected!!

It's been a long time.....and I've finally realized that I have not be updating my blog for eh.........a few months.......?? *tongue* Anyway, I'm back and guess what, I'm gonna make a promise to stay in and about from now onwards.......possible everyday or at least every other day, OK? Thanks for being there and still patiently checking in here with me, you guys are the best.......EVER!! Love ya *muaks*

Let's mark today, 7th July 2011....start of a new chapter in this blog of mine. I will not only post what I have bake, or cook.......but in addition, I will also include my family and my daily life's experience in here. Well, of course, I don't wish to bore you, but at least with the intention that you get to know me as a person more besides just my baking....hehe

Yeah !! It's the month of July and I always like July besides December, as this is the month where it marks the starting of the second half of the year, and also a reminder that I'm another year wiser.....hehehe...I mean 'older'......but hey, what's wrong with getting older, the most important is "we age gracefully" *wink* and every year passed was achieved with great satisfaction. I'm very contended and blessed and I always thank GOD for the very abundant blessings that he has given me....Amen!!

So, a promise is a promise, the next post will be in the house .....shortly........stay tuned!

MANGO POMELO SAGO DESSERT

If only I was that cute.....I wouldn't mind being lazy all day....hehe

Wow! I have been lazy.....yeap, you got it right!! I have been really, very , seriously L-A-Z-Y!!!! What has happened to me? That was not the normal me, usually....though I admit I do feel lazy , once in awhile......but that usually just brush off when I had a full day of recharging. Lately, it's not the case, I dragged myself out of bed, almost everyday just to get Angel ready for school, then when Hubby drives the kids off to school, I would slipped back into bed for that 'short' extra hour of nap again (7am-8am), can you believe it?

Then, at work, I would yawn like a million times from 8.30am - 5pm, and would almost kill myself waiting for the clock to struck five. More so, when Friday is here, I would list a million things to do on my Saturday and Sunday..........but when the S-days are here, I would just give excuses and excuses to scrap everything off to the next week again. Hey!!! That's not me!!!

I think I know where the 'lazy bugs' came from.......it was the Taiwan trip that I recently had with my 3 girlfriends (1-5 April). Since we came back, I was dragging myself to do almost everything.........plain lazy huh, hmmmmm..........Need to stop right now, ^_^ Anyway, to get rid of the lazy bug in me, I need something really cold and refreshing to wake me up......and I decided to make some "Mango Pomelo Sago Dessert" that I saw in one of MiL's cookbook. With the heart set to make this dessert, and not having any of the ingredients required at home, this sure gives me a good reason to get my 'lazy butt' off the coach, drove to the CKS Supermarket to get what I need to construct this dessert, hehe.....serves me right, eh!!

But, it sure did worth all the while as the dessert was a hit with the kids begging me to make it again the following weekend. I personally liked it very much too, as I a big fan of anything 'mango' *wink*. if you are thinking of what dessert to have this weekend, do consider this especially I think the Mango season is on now.....or was it not? hehe........ anyway, here's the recipe to it:-

MANGO POMELO SAGO DESSERT 
Ingredients:
300gm ripe, sweet mangoes, pureed
200gm ripe , sweet mangoes, cubed
300gm Pomelo, segmented
100gm Sago (I did not put this because they were out of stock at the supermarket)
400ml Marigold Mango Peelfresh Juice
Sugar syrup by dissolving 2Tbsp sugar with 200ml water over low heat
150ml Evaporated milk

Method:

1. To prepare Sago, soak and rinsed sago in a bowl for about 30 minutes. Put it into a big pot of boiling water and leave it to boil until the sago turn translucent, then off the fire. Run the cooked sago under running water. Drained and set aside.
2. Dissolve the sugar with water over low heat. When the sugar is dissolved, turn the heat off, stir in the evaporated milk and pureed mangoes and leave to cool. Once it is cool, add in the mango juice, sago and segmented pomelo sacs and stir well.
3. Chill in the refrigerator well  before serving.it's very refreshing and yummy!!

 

 Lazy bugs are gone!! Yes....;)

SOCKS FOR JAPAN.......ALL MAILED OUT

Today is the 'd' day that the socks were on its way to Japan......yes!!! I'm so excited and so were the kids. I told them that I will be heading to the post-office first thing in the morning to get it mailed out to the attention of Mr Jason Kelly.

It was drizzling in the morning and the urge to get to the post -office was so great that I left the house early so that I get a parking somewhere near to the post-office entrance, as you can see, I have 2 boxes of it.......though it's not really big, but it sure does keeps both my hands occupied.

I reached the post-office at 8.10am and already it was packed with people waiting in line with their numbers. I quickly grabbed the consignment note that was ready at the counter and quickly filled it out, while waiting for my turn. I'm so glad and relief after I have safely sent it all out. The officer told me that with "Pos Eskpress" to international, it will take about 10 days as the situation in Japan is not that good now, some of the areas that was badly affected by the tsunami or the earthquake, actually makes transportation a bit difficult.

But, I've made it this far, and I'll keep my fingers crossed that these packages will reached Mr Jason Kelly safe and sound in about 10 days. I will monitor my emails to see the acknowledgment from him, as he promised he will do that to all senders. God bless!!

SOCKS FOR JAPAN....WE DID OUR PART

As promised to update you guys on the progress of our mission to participate in the "Socks For Japan" activity, here.....you can see my 4 kids doing their part in contributing not only their savings $$$ but also their effort to make it possible. I felt truly proud of each of them , as with a word of complaint , they efficiently completed the task that I assigned to them ^-^ Praise the Lord !!

75 pairs of socks for "Socks for Japan", Care Messages and Ziplock Bags

I think "One will feel most happiest , is when One has done something that One thinks that it is truly meaningful, not to Oneself, but to OTHERS."

We accumulated our money contribution and I headed to "SoxWorld" to pick the socks. I chose different sizes for different age group and colour and for both Female and Male. With the amount of money, we managed to buy 75 pairs of socks altogether. Then, I received the 'Care Message' that I sent earlier (2 days ago) to Jason Kelly's website to have it translated to Japanese. I duplicated 75 pieces of it and have it printed out.

The translated 'Care Message' in Japanese Language

Ian, Daniel, Dylan and Angelica doing their task of inserting each pair of socks into the Ziplock bag......

...attached a Care Message, compressed and sealed it, then lastly, labeled it.

All nicely packed 'With Love" from the kids

And so the packaging is done. Now, I will have to go search for box to store these socks for sending out soon. As I will be leaving for overseas on the 1st April, I will need to get this done within these 2 days.....Hurry!!

Stay tuned for the final chapter of 'Socks for Japan'......from US!

CAN YOU HELP?..................SOCKS FOR JAPAN

 

I'm sure everyone heard about the great breaking news of the recent March 11, 2011- Earthquake and Tsunami hit on Japan. It's so devastating and heartbreaking when I saw the waves quickly swallowing up the lands of many farmers, houses to thousands and millions, cars and trucks of every drivers, and even pushing the ships onshore like it doesn't weigh a hundred tonnes.

Until today, they 387,000 and even more living in the 2,200 shelters , man and women, babies and children of all ages, young and old. I don't know if you have ever thought of ever lending a helping hand to them.......maybe you might think that we are a world apart, and that is not possible? Or maybe, you doubt that what you contributed will not make any difference compared to others? But have you ever think that sometimes, it's not contribution that comes in the form of money or food that is the most important and useful........of course there are.....but sometimes, very little and basic daily necessity (especially to the Japanese) we overlooked such as "a pair of clean warm socks" will give them the moments of comfort on the spot when they put in on.

This is a website that one of my friend in Facebook posted and it really caught my attention as I was feeling very down since the natural disaster struck Japan ......I don't know why and what connection I have with them , but I felt deeply sorry and sad for them. I really wish I can help even though it the form of a very small 'token'.....and this is exactly what I found meaningful and heartwarming  - "SOCKS FOR JAPAN".

Please kindly take a moment of your time to click on the link and see what you can do .........even 10 pairs makes a big difference to these people. Below is a paragraph that I extracted from the official "Socks For Japan" website that explains "WHY SOCKS" and not other things ? which I think might actually help you to realize and understand, your participation makes a difference to this world.......even though its only "SOCKS".

WHY SOCKS?
Several reasons. Many of the victims ended up barefoot after fleeing in a hurry. In the disaster zone, feet get wet and then extra cold at night, especially in currently freezing weather. People often forget about socks in favor of more obvious items like blankets and jackets. Receiving a new, fresh pair of socks provides a moment of comfort. If those socks arrive with a caring note as well, it’s very heartening for victims. If you’ve ever been stuck in a pair of wet, cold socks or no socks at all, perhaps you remember how soothing it felt to pull on a warm, dry pair. Victims have already requested socks on TV news.

Socks aren’t primary support, but a token of care that will last beyond their small mid-crisis comfort. All supplies exist here in Japan, so we wanted something that delivered meaning past the need of the moment, something more special than what people get from emergency teams and government supplies. Military socks are not the most comfortable. Small joys matter. A March 17 CNN article observed about the victims: “It was the little things that helped them retain their sanity as an end to crisis still seemed distant.”

THANK YOU, GOD BLESS!!

p/s: I have received a reply from "Socks for Japan", Ms Machiko on the Care Letter's translation this morning, and my kids (each of them willing to contribute their daily savings (Pocket money) to buy as many pairs of socks and I'm in the midst of preparing the 'Little Warm Message' to be attached to each pair of socks. Next, I'll head to the store to buy some 'Ziplock Bags' and lots and lots of colourful SOCKS for all ages.....take the first step like I did, I promise you that you'll not regret ;)

Stay tuned.......will update you on the progress.....later!