Flown in Noodles

When Evie asked me what I want from Taiwan, I immediately requested that she bring me some sesame sauce cold noodles. I was elated when she brought me three packets.

 

When I had a packet for breakfast yesterday, it was like eating happiness and joy. I just love it. Although it was already a day old, the noodles is still silky smooth. The sesame sauce was not salty and it was seasoned to perfection. The garlic paste added a little spiciness to my humble yet superbly delicious noodles.

Evie had gone to 7 eleven at about 5 am in the morning before leaving to the airport to get the three packets of noodles for me, so that she could get the ones made that morning.

I fell in love with this humble food when a friend introduced me to it when we were in Taiwan two years ago. I was sceptical in the beginning, but after the first mouthful, I was completely bought in.

If you are ever in Taiwan, try it.

And if you are flying from Taiwan,

remember to fly in some for me. Hee! Hee!

Little Garden

I like greeneries.

I long to sit in a nice little garden drinking my coffee or tea and reading a book or browsing a magazine.

Recently, I revamped my balcony garden and bought a nice outdoor chair and an ottoman for about S$600+

During the evenings, I really enjoy sitting outside, enjoying the evening breeze and my cup of drink.

The next thing is maybe to spruce up the other half with nicer plants.

Hot yummy rice buns

Is it apropriate to call these rice buns? But what I know is that this is the first time I see rice buns baked in this way. It's really creative of Esther's Pot to come up with this product. You can get this at Simpang Bedok food center.

They are quite tasty too. The rice is fragranced and one probably could take ten at one go as they are not very big.

Great for breakfast or go well with afternoon tea.

Stuffed with all the good stuffs

Just discovered this treasure at Breadtalk, a popular bakery chain here. It's now on my list of favourite bread from Breadtalk. It's filed with nuts, raisins and berries. Every mouthful is heavenly and you really don't feel guilty eating these. You just feel whole load of goodness.

Must try!!!

Go Green

This is the value pack salad I blogged about sometime ago. It's really value for money as it is quite a huge packet. Hidden underneath are a Japanese cucumber and cherry tomatoes. You can purchase this from Cold Storage and Shop N Save supermarkets.

Highly recommended!!!

Great for breakfast or dinner, if you are dieting like me.

A Story - The Wedding

A friend emailed me this story and I'm posting it here.

I hope I'm not infringing to any copy rights.

I believe the person who post the story has the intention of sending across a message and I hope by posting it here in my blog helps to  pass it on.

Her name is Katie Kirkpatrick, 21 year old. Next to her is her fiance, Nick 23.

This picture was taken prior to their wedding on 11 January 2005.

Katie has terminal cancer and spends hours in chemotherapy.

Here Nick awaits while she finishes one of her sessions.

Even in pain and dealing with her organs shutting down, with the help of morphine, Katie took care of every part of her wedding planning. Her wedding dress had to be adjusted several times due to Katie's constant weight loss.

 

An unexpected guest was the oxygen tank. Katie had to use it for the ceremony and reception. The other couple in this picture is Nick's parents, very emotional with the wedding, to see their son marrying the girl he fell in love with when he was an adolescent.

Katie, in a wheel chair, listening to her husband and her friends singing to her.

In the middle of the party, Katie had to rest a bit and catch her breath. The pain does not allow her to stand for a long period of time.

Katie died 5 days after her wedding.

To see a fragile woman dress as a bride with a beautiful smile makes you think ...

happiness is always there within reach ...

no matter how long it lasts ...

Let's enjoy life and don't live a complicated life.

Life is too short.

Work as if it was your last day.

Forgive as soon as possible.

Love without boundaries.

Laugh without control,

and never stop smiling.

Please pray for those suffering from cancer

we all have close to our heart.

Keep this going,

Prayers are always answered.

Spending does not necessarily mean happiness

The following is an excerpt from Sunday Times dated 15 August 2010:

"New York - She had so much: a two-bedroom apartment, two cars and enough wedding china to serve two dozen people.

Yet Ms Tammy Strobel was not happy. Working as a project manager with an investment management firm in Davis, California, and making about US$40 000 a year, she was, as she put it, caught in the "work-spend treadmill'. So, one day, she stepped off.

Inspired by books and blog entries about living simply, she and her husband, Mr Logan Smith, both 31, began donating some of their belongings to charity. Out went stacks of sweaters, shoes, books, pots and pans, and even the television.

Eventually, they got rid of their cars, too. Emboldened by a website that challenges consumers to live with just 100 personal items, Ms Strobel winnowed down her wardrobe and toiletries to precisely that number. Her mother called her crazy.

Today, three years after the couple began downsizing, they live in Portland, Oregon, in a 400 sq ft studio. Mr Smith is completing a doctorate in physiology. Ms Strobel happily works from home as a Web designer and freelance writer.

With her husband in his final weeks of school, her income of about US$24 000 a year covers their bills. They are still car-free but have bikes. One other thing they no longer have: US$30 000 of debt.

Now, the couple have money to travel and contribute to the education funds of their nieces and nephews. Because their debt is paid off, Ms Strobel works fewer hours, giving her time to be outdoors and to volunteer.

"The idea that you need to go bigger to be happy is false," she says. "I really believe that the acquisition of material goods doesn't bring happiness." ..."

This article is indeed thought provoking and set me thinking about my own life and spending. I don't think I am in a work-spend treadmill and I don't think I'm the sort that derive happiness through mindless spending. However, I do spend on things which are material and sometimes more than what I actually need.

Just look at the number of pair of jeans I have, yup more than I could wear in a week if I change them daily.

I might need to think about prioritizing what to spend on rather than to spend on things which I might not really need. Perhaps paying a little more for quality and healthy food should come top in the list, as there's nothing more important than health. Now, having the extra cash means I could buy quality food, which is good for health.

The other area should be on books and knowledge or stuff that enriched the soul.

Quoting from the same article, "One major finding is that spending money for an experience - concert tickets, French lessons, sushi-rolling classes, a hotel room in Monaco - produces longer-lasting satisfaction than spending money on plain old stuff.

On reason paying for experiences gives people longer-lasting happiness is that they can reminisce about them, researchers say.

That trip to Rome during which you waited in endless lines, broke your camera and argued with your spouse will typically be airbrushed with rosy recollection, says psychology professor Sonja Lyubomirsky at the University of California, Riverside.

In fact, scholars have found that anticipation increases happiness.

Considering buying an IPad? You might want to think about it as long as possible before taking on home.

Likewise about a Caribbean escape: You will get more pleasure if you book a flight in advance than if you book it at the last minute." unquote.

Thai Food

A friend recommended this authentic Thai food at Bedok Market Place at Simpang Bedok.

The food was indeed authentically Thai. Unlike some other eateries, the food from this stall were rather lite in terms of seasoning.

The mango salad was delicious, not too salty and very refreshing. The Pad Thai is a must try, and quite a huge portion.

Bedok Market Place is a rather quiet place and ideal for eating out.

Crackers with dip

I got a very pleasant surprise this morning. Cheri brought me breakfast. It came with a packet of crackers and dip in a little plastic container. I think the dip was made by her. It was something like salsa dip but full of natural taste. It didn't taste of salt or sugar, it was really natural. A little bit of tomato taste, couldn't really point out all the ingredients though.

As for the crackers, I've never tasted this brand before. It has a nice taste, definitely not salty yet not blend. I like it.

Thanks Cheri for the surprise!!!

Doggy in a basket

We went cycling at East Coast and brought Sunny along. We managed to rent a bicycle that has a basket infront which could take a dog. The basket seems too small for Sunny as we could see that when he tried to shift himself, there was no room for him to do so.

It was indeed an uncomfortabe ride for poor Sunny. After the less than an hour bicycle ride, I could feel my legs wobbly and physically drained. Ageing is not a very pleasant experience.

National Day breakfast

I prepared breakfast this morning and it was really sumptuous and filling. The portion was rather large. I had two halves of different bread from breadtalk, a very long pork sausage from cold storage, coffee from Nespresso, a sunny side-up, yogurt with berries and a huge bowl of salad from cold storage. Now Coldstorage sells this value pack salad at $4 + which is really value for money. There were two cloves of butterhead, and a few leaves of another vegetable, a long Japanese cucumber, seven yellow cherry tomatoes and a packet of sunflower seeds.
It was a satisfying breakfast!

Let there be light

A new addition to the family. This handsome standing lamp is from John Erdos, a furniture shop at Dempsey which caters more for the ang mo. It set us back by $690. I thought it compliment violet man pretty well.

Before the butterfly

I was revamping the balcony so that I could fit in a outdoor chair and table so that I could rest there in the evening when it is cooling and windy.

Derrick was prunning the plants and that was when we spotted a caterpillar. He wanted to discard the leave together with the caterpillar into the trash, but I thought that was not the best for the caterpillar.

I took it downstair to the garden and place the stalk of leaves on a plant making sure that I didn't face the caterpillar upward incase any bird spot it and decide to have it for dinner.

Hope the caterpillar would turn into a beautiful butterfly.

Dunhill

I bought myself a gift.

It is a man's clutch bag. I was attracted to it as it has a pocket for iphone and many compartments for notes, cards and even coins. It was sold in Orchard for S$590, but I asked Derrick to buy it at Changi Airport for S$530.

I was a little disappointed when I put my iphone into the pocket compartment for phone, I have difficulty zipping it. When I was trying it in the shop, I couldn't remember I had this problem at all.

So now I put my car key in the phone compartment instead and my iphone in the other side pocket.

Well, at least I manage to have all my stuff in it.