Taking a break – Merry Christmas in advance.

Drove back from Subang Jaya on Friday morning despite being sick. Have been unwell for 3 days, and I’m not getting any better. Won’t be able to update my blog for quite some time since I don’t have access to the internet in Penang. So yea…that’s about it. I’ve started working in a health and wellness centre. Need to do a lot of “homework” to refresh my nutrition knowledge. lol.

My eldest sister and her family will be back on Tuesday night So excited. Can’t wait to see baby Avery!! Her 1st birthday was on 12 November. I didn’t have the chance to wish her myself.

Anyway, I’m glad to be home =) Praise God that my journey to and from Ipoh/SJ went very smoothly. Glory be to God forever and ever…

 

Ipoh and Subang Jaya

Of all the days, it started raining again this morning. The weather was great for the past few days, but not today. I’m leaving for Ipoh in the afternoon. Hopefully the weather will treat me a little bit better by bringing out Mr. Sun later. haha.

This site will be abandoned for 3 weeks. I’ll be back on 22 November (most likely).

 

Mixed feelings

Mommy will be home tonight. I’m both happy and sad. Happy that I finally get to see her, but sad because Avery and Lee miss her a lot. Lee said that Avery cried on and off for quite a while, most probably searching for grandma. OWH! *tears*

Mommy had tears in her eyes when she hugged Avery and bid goodbye. My heart sank. Two countries so far apart. It’s hard to visit one another. Although Lee and her family will be coming back in Nov, it’ll be just a brief visit, not more than a week. Sometimes I wish that Lee could have lived closer to Malaysia. I hardly get to spend the valuable time with her as she left home when I was 8 years old. Up until now, I think I’ve only seen her for not more than 10 times. I love my big sis very much. She has always been very independent and is my role model in every way. Her sacrifices and contributions to the family will never be forgotten. Papa and Mommy must be very proud and glad to have a daughter like her. We miss you, Lee. Do come home often…

I’m going to Ipoh and Subang Jaya this Friday to receive pre-job training for 3 weeks. Kind of nervous. Have not driven so far before. What concerns me most is the directions to get to my destinations. The roads in KL can be very confusing and complicated at times. No GPS lagi! Map pun tak boleh harap lah. haha!

 

Tim Tam-Sunsweet Cake and Chocolate Sauce

Dollie’s birthday is on next Tuesday, but I thought of doing something for her in advance at my house since she mentioned about coming over 2 weeks ago =) Despite the excitement, my mind couldn’t think of anything creative for the surprise birthday party. So I kept it VERY simple: baked a cake, placed it in my room upstairs, and then brought it down when she least expected it. Yeah, nothing special, I know. Yet I took the whole week figuring out what cake to make. My last-minute innovation was Tim Tam-Sunsweet Prune Cake. lol! Sounds weird, right?

Anyway, I made these last night:

Tim Tam-Sunsweet Cake

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter
1 egg
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tablespoon vanilla essence
Pinch of salt
1/2 tablespoon baking soda
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup flour
1/4 cup boiling water
1/2 cup coarsely crushed Tim Tam cookies
7 pitted Sunsweet prunes (chopped into pieces)

Methods:

1. Beat butter and sugar until creamy.
2. Add egg, vanilla, salt, and cocoa.
3. Mix baking soda in buttermilk. When it starts to fizz, mix it with the batter.
4. Add flour and mix until smooth (~3 minutes). Then, add boiling water. Mix again.
5. Stir the crushed Tim Tam cookies and chopped prunes into the batter.
6. Pour batter into a medium round pan.
7. Bake in preheated oven (180 degrees C) for about 30 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.

Chocolate Sauce

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon flour
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/2 cup boiling water
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Methods:

1. Melt the butter in a small saucepan.
2. Blend the flour and cocoa into the melted butter.
3. Add the boiling water to the butter mixture gradually. Stir the mixture for 1 – 2 minutes. Then, add sugar and vanilla just before turning off the fire; continue stirring.
4. Set aside to thicken and cool.

Okay, today is The Day! My special guests were Jess, Gillian, and none other than Dollie. Served them some drinks and fruits before the “surprise”. Probably not so much of a surprise as Dollie didn’t seem to have any reaction.

The birthday girl

From left: Dollie, Jess, me and Gillian

Can I have a slice, please?

Dollie’s share

First bite, it tasted a bit strange. But quite yummy on subsequent bites Gillian loved the cake. She said, “I’ve free Secret Recipe! Next time can Yum Cha at Xian’s bakery shop” haha. I don’t think it was that good. Anyway, thanks Gillian! *grin* The three girls liked the chocolate sauce though. mmm~

P/S: The cake was dense, moist, and not that sweet. Would taste better after chilling. Luckily I didn’t put too much prunes. The amount was just right! So the choc-prune flavour sort of balanced out.

 

Random

• have been thinking quite a lot lately. don’t have the mood to talk (to certain people and at a certain time).
• slept at 1am, woke up at 5am.
• had a weird dream about my mom. she had her hair cut short, grew so much taller and darker! lol.
• checked e-mail, chatted via msn, did some data entry, read book, watched tv, listened to music, makan and mandi.
• my day seemed to brighten up a little after receiving a picture from HJ. Thanks!

 

Healer

Thank God for healing my Papa’s back. He feels much better now. Praise His mighty Name and Hands! Amen Will continue to pray for Papa’s full recovery.

I went to the dentist this morning. Silly me. I was so restless and fearful that I just slept from 1am to 4am. I’ve always disliked the drilling!! wagh~ Anyway, guess what after the visit? Surprisingly I didn’t feel a slight hint of pain even without local anaesthetic .. so coooool! Yeay! I was praying earnestly to God, before and during my teeth were filled. When the process was completed, I didn’t even realise that since I was expecting more. I thought, “Eh, how come it’s not painful? Oh dear…the drilling is going to get deeper later! Brace yourself, Xian! Pray…” But soon after that, the dentist asked me to get up and I was all set to go home! huh? Aduih. So much easier than I’ve expected  (bengang)  T_T

Right. I just knew that I’m supposed to be in Ipoh for TWO weeks instead of one, and in SJ for one week, which makes it THREE weeks in total! That’s like almost a month man (lagi bengang). Ok, I need to take some time off to “digest” the info in my brain. lol.

 

Quote Mr.L: “I love myself so much”

 

Dim sum

I was supposed to visit the dentist and get my teeth filled this morning, but there were too many patients waiting. So I have to go back tomorrow. Just before 12pm, Papa was hungry and he wanted to eat dim sum again! This time, we went to a shop in Kampung Baru (near the B-Garden market), Bukit Mertajam.

Too bad! I didn’t bring my camera along =(

Siu Mai

Har Gow topped with scallop

Sesame ball with peanut filling

Xiao Long Bao

Eeee, the quality of the pictures isn’t that good. Simply took a few pics would do. The price was reasonable, and the service was quick. Six dishes plus tea = RM 18. After lunch, we went to Jusco to lepak. The weather these days is usually cloudy/rainy. Not too hot, which is good

P/S: Papa injured his back yesterday. I advised him to either consult the doctor or physiotherapist, but he didn’t want to. Hopefully he’ll feel better by tomorrow – *pray for his healing*. If he still feels the pain tomorrow, I’ll have to bring him to the clinic.

 

Killing time

I was alone in Penang for 2 days; and without being able to access to the internet, I took pictures of myself…YES, again! Oh mien, sorry. Extremely bored. Couldn’t help it. haha!

 

Time to have fun…and get serious!

Mommy will be back in exactly a week’s time! Papa and I are going to the airport next Tuesday night to pick her up. Lee and Avery will definitely miss her.

My eldest sis (Lee) and my niece (Avery). They have pretty eyes

Avery is going to miss Grandma =(

The Tseng family – Sunday brunch at the Reefs

A sunny day at the beach (Atlantic). Wagh..my eyes!

Making footprints. teehee

First encounter with sand, and being obsessed with it!

Early next month, I’ll start my new profession at BP Healthcare in Bayan Lepas, Penang. But first, I’ve to go to Ipoh and Subang jaya for 2 weeks to undergo training. The company will only provide accommodation (hostel), whereas the petrol and toll will be at my own expenses–> Jiak lat! =.= Hopefully I won’t get lost in those places since I’ll driving there by myself. wuuhoo!