Earth Hour

Did you turn off your lights for Earth Hour just now?

As for me, I unwittingly took part in Earth Hour because I was out for dinner nearby from 830 to 930pm and thus, everything in my house was off! :P

I find it slightly contradicting that the marketing for Earth Hour focused on "turning off our lights" to "do our part" for the environment. Many excited individuals (and companies) around the world set about with ideas on candlelight dinners and parties in the dark. Funny thing is, the candles they were using were probably letting out a lot of soot and releasing lots of damaging gases into the air. Of course, there are the candles made out of palm oil which are more eco-friendly, but Imagine if the whole world lit lousy candles at the same time. We'd probably would have made a bigger dent on the ozone instead of saving it.

Another funny thing was the fact that many people would have left their air-conditioning and tv sets on whilst having the lights off. Hehe...it's quite an oxymoron.

waste not want not

Look how wasteful kimmy is with his dinner. I really don't want a wasteful fella in the house but I can't change him, can I?

His reason for dumping this whole load of spaghetti bolognaise - he's very full.

The reason I thought was more accurate - he hates beef.

Granted, there was quite a lot of beef - the smallest amount I could possibly buy was $1.95 worth and it was still a whole load of meat - and the carrots weren't softened enough. However, everything else was as delicious as I could make it, lots of onions, herbs and tomato puree, but maybe not simmered to perfection.

Although not recommended, I think I would do chicken bolognaise from now on. Or, not as all. Why waste perfectly good ingredients because my husband has a freakin fussy palate?

Mood: Bad.

can't sleep

It's 1am in the Lion City, I'm upset and I can't sleep. The reason for this is rather silly, but it's still affecting me in ways I can't really describe.

Hubby spent the whole of last weekend working. He works really long shifts so at the end of the day I don't really get to see him much. The few waking hours he has left is divided between me, dinner and his beloved computer.

Thus, I got really upset when he told me he was working the whole of this weekend too. Is this something I have to get used to?! He reasoned that it was difficult to get extra days to work with the current economic climate, so he was grabbing everything he could.

I've never had to deal with this. All along, our pact was that he avoid weekend overtime work since he already had to work one day of the weekend and he has been doing so for the last 5 years. As a result, I cherish that one day of the weekend that I get to see him and spend time with him. All the other off days he has are on weekdays and I have to work so...

Oh well, it's just nice that I have to work this weekend too. But my work only takes up 2-3 hours. It pains me to think that after I manage to get through a Saturday by myself, I have to wake up and do it all over again on Sunday. Thank goodness my parents and pets are always on hand to keep me company, when he doesn't. But I can't believe I have to do it two weeks in a row. :'(

I know I'm taking this too personally, but I just find it so depressing I only see him a few hours everyday and most of the time we're facing the telly or the monitor, not each other. Does he not like to engage in conversation with me anymore?

And that's why I'm still up and fretting about it.

My very own fruit/vege smoothie

Talking to BB gal everyday has its advantages. She keeps me updated on the latest health and beauty tips, and imparts the secrets of her super shiny skin as well.

She recently adopted the healthy diet of a raw foodist. Being raw means not cooking any of your foods and avoiding meats and carbs, relying on alternative sources of energy and protein instead. Whilst I think I am not ready to try mayonnaise, cakes and eggs that taste revolutionarily different, I reckon I could incorporate more raw vegetables into my diet.

I mentioned in a previous post that I started drinking celery juice regularly. Alas, this was only the juice and I was deprived of the much needed pulp as a good source of roughage. The fruit stall lady wouldn't let me pulp the celery (she was afraid the taste would permeate other drinks in her blender and some customers hate that) and thus, I had to take matters into my own hands! :P

Out came the blender that only got used once the whole of last year, and this morning I made a nice pineapple celery smoothie. It wasn't as cold as I expected despite lots of ice cubes and some iced water, and the 3 slices of pineapple I used were so sweet I couldn't taste the celery. It was a whole different feeling with this smoothie as compared to the juice I usually had. The smoothie comes with fibres, pulp and is thick and creamy, making me very full indeed.

I'm addicted. This experience was tanoshii(very fun!) and I will definitely be trying other fruits and vegetable mixes, like leafy vegetables or the strong tasting cucumber.

Saizeriya - cheap Italian eatery from Japan

In light of economic times, I've had to search out good deals - plenty nowadays in town - and cheap eateries to dine out in. Saizeriya's not that new, but I only had a go at it a couple of weeks back when I discovered it wasn't just cheap, it was VERY cheap.

Saizeriya sells Japanese styled Italian dishes. Their variety pales in comparison with Pasta de Waraku's colourful offerings, but their prices are only at half the amount! (Gasp!) You can get a bowl of pasta, 9 inch pizza or Hamburg steak for only about $7-8+. The Hamburg steak even comes with some sides of corn nibblets, veges and wedges. Top up a few dollars for rice, soup, salad or dessert, and only $2.80 for their "drink bar" which offers some 10-15 different types of beverages. Understandably, you can imagine school kids hanging out here after their meal, drinking and talking the day away. There are even different varieties of tea, and coffee (espresso, cappucino, latte...) from an automatic coffee machine. I am easily impressed and satisfied, so things like that pretty much knock my socks off.


Lighting is bright here, food-court style, but the retro chic booths will ignite feelings of nostalgia. A great family and children-friendly place as well.

177 River Valley Road,
#02-22 Liang Court Shopping Centre
Open Mon-Sun 11am to 10pm

A bag to love and to cherish?

A friend sent me this photo today. She knows I have been coveting a lovely Miu Miu for the longest time. However, she also knows I am in no financial position at the moment to blow a couple of thousand bucks on something frivolous (evil you! evil!).

That said, I must admit this bag that her friend is selling is gorgeous. (I dunno why her friend is selling this...money problems perhaps? This design only came in 10pcs for the Singapore market!) Imagine the lovely black leather with gold toned hardware and hot pink satin interior. The shape is one of a medium-sized satchel and looks elegant and stylish. Perhaps too elegant and stylish. I might have to revamp my wardrobe to look the part for my bag heh.

My decision is made. I mustn't be too hasty to splurge on luxury items at a time like this. Patience has its rewards, and although the nice designs might come and go, and the current season's offering might look like crap, something pretty will turn up one day, just for me. :)

Whassup?

It's been awhile since I felt inspired to put pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard. Nothing spectacular is happening in my life so far, to my dismay, and I wouldn't want to bore you with mundane details of everyday life.

On a cheerier note, a few things happened that made me perk up amidst the gloom of the grouchy economy and bad business here in office:

1. Hubby loved my spaghetti bolognaise, he hardly loves any of the dishes I whip up so this shows great promise!

2. We booked tickets to go to Tokyo yay! Got a really cheap deal which was actually an error in calculation on NWA.com. Nevertheless, we secured tickets at the low low price and will be bringing our moms with us to sight-see!

3. Inspired by BB gal, I started a regular regime of celery/vegetable juice. I can't do without it now, it perks me up every morning. I also tried a cucumber smoothie today mixed with apple and kiwi, and will be exploring other vegetables.

4. It was my birthday last week, and I managed to get by with little fanfare and no symptoms of depression. Thank God!

5. I discovered some new eateries which most of us can take joy in, dining out at low low prices...great for the "season". Will post up soon!