2 white baby rabbits need a good home

If you're interested, do email me. :)

My baking woes

I am very bad at baking. In all the times I have attempted baking, most of them have failed. I can even remember the mishaps that happened in every attempt that I have made. There was the one when I baked a cake for my dog, and it was so dry she gave up and walked away after two mouthfuls. And then there was the craze to try to make macarons. I tried twice and both times ended up wasting a lot of money on almond powder. I have also failed in "unbaking" a mousse cake. It ended up in a semi-state of consciousness, not melting to mash, but failing to set hard enough. It was still edible but very strange.

The one time I remember baking something good, was when awwesomepossum and I made gingerbread men-shaped cookies for our clients in 2003. (And they were good only because awwesomepossum has a magical touch for such things!)

Which brings me to my latest "failed" attempt. Inspired by the wonderful photos of all my friends who bake like professionals, I decided to make some cupcakes after dinner today. They turned out delicious, especially since I added bananas. Except...they weren't banana cupcakes. They became banana muffins in the oven. :( They were looking decidedly beautiful halfway through the baking process, but somewhere at 20mins they started cracking and looking like authentic muffins. Sad. My only consolation is that as banana muffins, they were pretty tasty!

Awwesomepossum has encouraged me to practise more, and try again. I can't wait till the weekend, when I can get my hands on flour, butter and sugar, and start all over. Ten fingers crossed this time!

No Work Shower Cleaner

In the midst of trying to write this blog entry, my Macbook's adaptor gave a loud "piak" sound and breathed its last breath. Surprising to me, as it was only 3 years old. Mac products are famed to last for years, but that said, who knows how they make their products now, when profits override the need for lasting quality.

Speaking about products however, I simply had to write this entry on Melaleuca's No Work Shower Cleaner. If you have a shower stall in your bathroom that has a glass screen or screen door, you'd know that by the end of the week, the entire glass will be covered in hard water stains and soap scum, and the term "glass" wouldn't even begin to describe it. To clean it off, I had to use a mixture of bleach, soap and water, a good scouring pad, and a whole lot of arm strength to scrub off the stains. I accepted this as part of my weekly housekeeping routine, until I chanced upon this product by Melaleuca. All it needs is a few sprays on the glass after showering, and when the glass dries, you can see that it's noticeably cleaner. At the end of the week, it's just a tad bit dirty and my cleaning time in the bathroom is considerably shorter!

I think it's fantastic that I have No Work Shower Cleaner to aid me in my housekeeping, this is one product that will keep me happy for ages to come.

Positive thoughts for 2010

A recent discussion with friends on Facebook, a friend's post on "superiority" and "judging", as well as a chance encounter with Luke 6:37, made me realise I might be too much of a mean person of late.

" ³⁷Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. "

I'd admit I haven't been actively following Jesus' footsteps in recent years, and although I've always tried to be nice to people, there are some difficult personalities I dismiss with a wave of the hand.

So, with the bits of advice from Friend 1, 2, and 3, and a new fresh look on my blog, I resolve to judge less, condemn less and forgive more.

I dedicate this post...

I would like to dedicate this post to my grandparents' domestic helpers - Agnes, Lily and Maxilline. They have been a constant source of help and comfort to my grandparents, and I am appreciative that they are there to assist us. I would like to thank them for doing the housework, the cooking, and for all the help they provide to my grandparents in their daily affairs. I'm not one who believes in having a domestic helper at home to do my chores, but I truly am grateful that they are there for my grandparents whilst the rest of the family goes out to work in the day.

I've never seen anyone write a blog post to thank their domestic helpers. The people who pay for their services (I'm not one of them) probably think it's their job so obviously, they do what they get paid for. But I think Agnes, Lily and Maxilline are kind people, who genuinely care about their job and their lives here with my grandparents. It helps also that they come from the same country and have a small "community" of their own. There are too many stories of lonely maids who go mad and start to do crazy things. I know there are times too, when family members get rattled and become impatient when the three of them don't work as fast as they would like them to. It is human to err, and perhaps there are just too many orders barking around them to be able to attend to each quickly enough.

I hope they know they are appreciated in the household. My mother prepares a gift for them every Christmas, and whilst I have not actually verbally thanked them, I do try to help them at dinners when there are 20 hungry mouths to feed and only 6 hands amongst them to do the work. :)

Last Post of the Year

It's time to bid farewell to 2009 and say welcome to 2010. Although I usually abhor the passing of time - it flies too fast - and I yearn for the clock to turn back, I must say 2009 was a very long and somewhat depressing time. It all seems like a blur now but earlier in the year, when business was slow and rent too high, everything was bleak, gloomy and seemingly hopeless. Stock markets were bad, inflation abound, and yup, the office phone hardly rang. Add to that my list of personal problems and an Armageddon would have been merciful.

And so here I am on the last day of the year, feeling pensive. 2010 marks the start of a new decade! It seemed just yesterday that I was flying home from a holiday in UK and partaking in the Countdown to 2000 festivities along Orchard Road. It has been an eventful and fantastic 10 years. I can't say I'm regretting or anything like that, and I'm not one to look back and lament. I firmly believe in looking forward and as apprehensive or reluctant that I am, I can confidently say 2010 couldn't be any worse than 2009 was.

Here are some things I potentially can look forward to:
1. New office premises (?!)
2. A longer holiday, one that requires a longer than 7 hour flight
3. More business (!?)
4. Unexpected surprises, hopefully pleasant ones
5. More people knowing Cardblanche

And I gave up making resolutions a long time ago, but here are some I think I should try to attain:
1. Regular workout and gym sessions (at least 3 times a week)
2. More adventures and experiments in the kitchen
3. Improve my dessert skills
4. Meet and know more people
5. Increase awareness of Cardblanche

Happy New Year! And may all your dreams be fulfilled in the coming months!

Using a percolator

I've never used a percolator to make coffee before, and decided I should take pictures. Basically, I find it a novel and fun concept to be able to make espresso with a tiny contraption, and whilst it doesn't taste as fantastic as a cuppa brewed from a machine, it beats 3-in-1 coffees hands down.

Here goes:


1. Fill the percolator with water and tightly pack in espresso powder. (I used Illy-yums!) Put it over a small flame.


2. Heat up some milk if you take your espresso milky. I don't have a steamer to make "steamed milk" or froth up cappucino, so this will have to do.


3. Add in a drizzle of honey/maple syrup. I'm trying to find hazelnut syrup but it's very tough.


4. When the water in the percolator starts boiling, switch off the flame and let it stand until all the coffee appears on the top portion. Pour it into the cup, add the milk and syrup and voila, an easy, fuss-free, home-made cuppa espresso.