I won't say it, but I'm thinking it...

I have somewhat been living in a cage. Not that it's a bad thing but sometimes, it just makes me wonder.

There are things that I would want to try out before it's too late. But how...

Food, life and love.

Good bye young carefree life and hello working world.
First, lets talk about food.

1.Chili's

Well, I was looking really pale,anemic, as I had been working out a lot, doing weights and endurance training and I had not looked into the diet of an athlete. When doing extreme exercises like the ones I do, the diet of the person has to change or so I read. More iron rich food and what nots, and I have been maintaining the diet that I always have. Veg, meat, lil or no carbs. So I wasn't surprise that I was looking like I just donated blood to several banks. After doing some reading on the internet, beef was listed as one of the food that has the most source of iron. So, as my sister and mum were in Midvalley, we decided to have our dinner at Chili's.

I ordered their New York steak and I have to say, I am very disappointed. As shown in the picture below, that is the FATS. That is almost 40% of my steak. Mash was good as usual, veg tasteless. I had my fill of meat but was really put off by the amount of fats in my steak and for such an exorbitant price of RM59 ++ I could have gone to Tony Roma's instead.

2. Garden (Sunway Pyramid)

Had my dinner here with Pip. One word, awful.Ordered the pumpkin soup, the one I made at home tasted way better, the toasted "garlic" bread tasted like plastic. Serious. It was that bad. The steak was alright, though the size was pitiful for such a price. Can't remember the price but I remember it being pricey.

 

 Mash potato was TASTELESS. Nuff said. Never stepping foot into this garden ever again.


3.Brotzeit (Mid Valley)
After a long experience of disappointing and horrible food, we went back to a place that we knew would not disappoint us. Pricey yes but it is worth it, the quality AND quantity will speak for themselves.
 Bill came up to Rm180+ for 3 persons. Ordered the pork knuckle and the beef steak. DELICIOUS. The pork was to die for. The extra crunchy texture of the skin, you can literally hear the crunch in every bite. The meat was tender and succulent, chewy and soft.

Came with two sides of mash potato and sauerkraut. Mash potato was flavorful, every bite was a delight. The sauerkraut was delish, with the acidic and sour taste, it complemented the pork knuckle very well.

 Next is the beef steak. Heart stopping at first sight, the beef was drenched in brown mushroom gravy with a round slab of herb butter melting. But the item on the plate that really won my heart was the side of potatoes. Grilled? Fried? I had no idea, but it was achingly delicious. It was crispy on the outside and yet soft inside. This is the first time I had something like this. Do try this, I highly recommend this dish.

Well, I finally came to the part where a part of my life has ended and a new one has begun. Took a picture to commemorate my first day as an intern. I have to say, I quite enjoyed the experience. Cheers, to the working life.

This, is Abigail. =) What's the point of being a girl when we do not dress up and look pretty? Attended a wedding dinner and this is what we wore.

Ok, hopefully, this post will be followed with more stories. Cheers to life!

Dream what you want to dream, go where you want to go,
be what you want to be. Because you have only one life and
one chance to do all the things you want to do.

Unknown

Breathe...

I can finally breathe. Finally, just some pictures to show you what happened during my super long absence.

Attended my cousin's wedding. Again, finally. =) I got a chance to wear the lace dress that I bought. A little on the short side but I could not find the black stockings. But it was good, I think  I looked kinda good.

Couz in his suit with us all dolled up.

My parents and I. DO I look like my mum? A  lot of people say I do. =)

 Been downing quite a lot of coffee, mostly the packets/instant ones but I was treated to good coffee once in a while by the fella below.

Pip.

 The both of us have been quite busy with out own schedules and did not spend much time together and when the weekend arrived, we managed to squeeze some together time. He brought me to 1U on Saturday, just a dinner and walked around. Hand in hand, walking while talking. It was good. The sudden slow and easy evening after the hectic time we had for almost a month..

 Went to Midvalley on Sunday. Thanks to my sister, I am having a craving for Croissants. The buttery layers, crunchy layers on the outside, fluffy and warm on the inside. It has been such a long time since I've sunk my teeth into a piece of bread and savoring it bit by bit.

My imitation of a croissant.

We had the beef pie in Dome. Not bad. The side of mushrooms were coated with black pepper and let me tell you, it was delicious! From the picture, the portion looks big but it was ok. Just right for one person but as I had a very late lunch, I shared this with Pip. Had a miserable small cup of coffee which was quite pricey. Picture looked big but the cup was tiny.

That's all for now. =) Hopefully I can continue writing more and more posts.

Strength.

Well, title of post is pretty self explanatory.

Celtic symbol for strength.

Strength, no need for the dependence on others. Just wait, I will become stronger. 

Tired of everything. Tired of being a good little angel. Everyone has limits.Where's the letting go? 

                                 

Staying Positive. I try.

Well, trying times. It's hard. I have to keep reminding myself, do not expect. When you do not expect, you do not get disappointed.

One good turn deserves another? The idiom. Well, that's is a good example of expectation. One does a good thing and expects something good happens to them? It's hard. God, really it's hard.

It's hard to be nice to someone when they do not deserve it. You expect them to change? To feel grateful for your help. Don't. Don't expect.

Trying to keep my chin up and smile through clenched teeth.

God, Your will be done.

Foul mood.

It's the time of the month. Urghhhh. Hate you. arghhhhhhh. rant rant rant rant rant...

Why? God, why? The pain. Why?

Stabbing, nerve wrecking, teeth clenching pain. God... WHY????!!!

Foul mood, can't think straight.

A warning, I bite. Like real bad. So beware. Do not cross my path. Do not cross me. Do not come near me.

Age...

Age is catching up with me. I never thought I would say this but it's true. Gone are the days when I stay up till four in the morning and wake up at 8 with the energy of a young fawn. Gone are the days when my eyes aren't heavy, legs aren't shabby and soul not weary.

Getting sick and bouncing back to health, not as quickly as it used to be.

YOLO=You Only Live Once

 

Yes, I have a friend name YOLO.

Fell into the trap of Starbuck's marketing strategies.

What can I say, consumerism.

Lidded eyes, heavy price,

Arms a stretch, no more playing fetch,

Eyes burn, heart yearn, 

Young days, all gone away,

Stiff face, untied shoelace,

No trace, of the glory days.

I whip my egg whites back and forth...

I whip my egg whites back and forth, I whip my egg whites back and forth(in the tune of Willow Smith's WHIP MY HAIR).

So, I decided to continue my journey to the undiscovered land of baking. Was browsing though the net for marble cake recipes when I stumbled across this blog with this recipe. Marble Cake Recipe

Even with my sniffles(runny nose), I was eager to continue my journey after the past few failures that set my confidence level back a few notches. This recipe called for 8 large eggs but thanks to my fondness for eggs, I only had 4 eggs in my fridge. My egg eating record is eating 9 eggs in a day. I know, cholesterol level should be shooting up the roof. So now, I have to content myself with a maximum of 4 eggs a day. Well, I do not  eat 4 eggs everyday but, just to be careful, I gave myself a limit.

Made this today, and like my mum would always say, "Dixie, you always do things in a rush, get everything prepared before you start", which I failed to listen time and time again. Rushed through, panicked, and almost had a mini break down. As I was whipping the egg whites, I had to whisk the egg yolks with the sugar before adding it into the creamed butter. With the two hands occupied with the whipping of egg whites, my brain instructed my right hand to pour the egg yolks and sugar into the creamed butter. 

My brain must have concluded that it would not make a difference in whisking the butter, yolks and sugar together. =p

As I mentioned earlier, I halved the recipe and when I managed to get the batter in one piece, the panic struck. My pan was to big for the batter that I halved. Thus the small bowl in the cake. Pictures below.

Heard of cake in a mug? Well, this is bowl in a cake. 

 Before the bowl idea came to me, I was searching for aluminium foil to kind of seal part of the pan so as to turn the pan into a smaller one but my home in S'ban is as empty as Old Mother Hubard's cupboard.

I was scared my egg whites would deflate so I quickly grabbed a bowl, stuck it into the side of the pan and threw the pan into the oven. There, job done.

Pardon the holey surface, tasted fantastic!

 While squatting in front of the oven, I was praying that it would turn out alright, but the bubbly surface added more fear to my already panicked stricken heart.

As the warm buttery smell wafted from the oven, my head set me thinking that even though it may not look as nice as it should be, I was hoping that it would taste as good as it smells.

Took it cake out,took the bowl out. Time for the taste test.

It was a... well... it may have looked like the surface of the moon but it tasted GREAT!

Texture was light, fluffy and crumbly. I have always wanted my cakes to turn out as fluffy as this but I have never succeeded. It must be the whipping of the egg whites.

Youngest sis scraping the cake stuck on the bowl.

I will definitely make this again and this time, PREPARE AND DO NOT RUSH!

This recipe is a keeper. XD Am a happy baker today.

Marble Cake SUCCESS!!!

The S word.

One word. Swollen.
Second word. Left Arm.
Third word. Smart a**.

To be continued.

Crossroads...

Believe it or not. Crossroads are very real. I am not confused, just that the heart ain't letting go.  Should i do this or should I do that. Hmmm...

On a happier note, I have been trying to improve my skills. Practiced the guitar till the skin on my fingers are thick and peeling. Tried to "recultivate" my reading habits. I even bought a book. After many years of borrowing books(not that I don't buy any, it's just that I do not know which book is worth buying.), I finally bought one.

 

Thankfully, this was a good book. Not bad for a bedtime story, nothing adventurous or action packed but it is thought provoking and heart wrenching. It deals with an issue that many of us would never take a second to think about. Institutes for the mentally and physically challenged.

Do we know what goes on in those institutes that are so called built to protect these gifted people. Very thought provoking. Ok, I am not going to say anything more in case I spoil it for some people. Not a bad book. Not bad.

I don't really trust myself in buying books. I don't have a typical genre that I like. I read. PERIOD. I read romance novels, action, thriller, comedy, (well, so far I have not read a non fiction one, besides the Bible) and maybe even horror. Wait, what is a horror book anyway? 

Well, as for my baking. Don't even want to mention it. Longest failing streak. =( Maybe I should just stick to baking those that I have succeeded in making. I wanted to try something new, a new recipe but blah. 

There are some food pictures from an outing my sisters and I took to Mid Valley but I am far too superior to be sitting in front of my laptop uploading pictures. Aren't we all superior? 

For the past few weeks, I have turned into a night owl. I sleep at 5-6 in the morning and awaken to the hot afternoon sun on my face. That would usually be around 2-3pm.

Happy news, lost a few kilograms. XD

Not that I am dieting or anything. Just that since I have stopped going to the gym and running, I decided to cut back on my carb intake and started doing some exercises at home. Trust me when I say I have a mini gym at my place. Well, technically it's my dad's place but you know what I mean. 

A treadmill, a 5kg dumb bell, a yoga mat, a stepper (step up thingy), and a huge ass hula hoop (you know, the one that is made out of ratan and is as thick as your wrist).

The items that I usually use are the yoga mat and the dumb bell. That's all. Thanks to a very very annoying and irritating downstairs neighbor(goodness, thinking him as a neighbor even gets me repulsed). Mr.A is one heck of an annoying man. It started when the sound of the wooden chair scraping the floor, I mean once or twice and he would come up all the way, ring our doorbell and complain. Not once, not twice, this has been going on for a few months already. After the second complaint, we bought rubber soles for the chairs. We almost carpeted the whole floor. We were quite sure we would not encounter him but lo and behold up he comes again. It was then we realised that the upper floor was also making noises, like heavy items being dragged around(I think my family did not notice it sooner as we are quite used to noises and we are not easily irritated). We told him so many times that we ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR the noise and even showed that we rubber soled our chairs and carpeted most of the floor. But he was not contented. He even called the guards to come up to OUR door to check whether we were making noises!!! 

Just writing about this has brought up my anger level. Like a pest is he. There is no point in explaining to that man no more. But once he complained and my mum heard about it, she went right up to his door and well, she did not bite his head off but she did give him a piece of her mind. He did not make any more complaints after that but speak of the devil too soon, he appeared just 2 weeks ago. Now he says that there are people throwing cigarette butts over the balcony and the wind sweeps them into ours and his. Oh, and the usual noises that he hears. I have a good mind of giving him a PIECE OF MY MIND the next time he comes. 

Ok. I think this post is enough to cover up for the many absent posts. 

Cheerio!

Drowning self in recipes.

So. The holidays has just begun and I am already feeling very bored to my bones. =( So, what better opportunity than to look up for recipes and practicing my baking skills. 

Stumbled upon these three blogs, food blogs to be more specific.
1. http://smittenkitchen.com/
2. http://simplysogood.blogspot.com
3.http://cookingclassy.blogspot.com/

Made Apple Crumble today. So far, I have to say, I really admire those who take the effort to take a picture of each step of the process of making/baking something. Hats off to you guys. I have yet to learn that art of patience. So far, I only manage to take pictures of the stuff after they are done.

Modern oven, the TURBO OVEN.

The little bowl of sauce is actually apple sauce. =) Very sweet and tasted delicious.

Without any further due, let the pictures talk.


Next up, Bak chang?

Wounded

WOUNDED

Wounded heart, 

Just a start,

Disappointment stirs,

Not the first.

Ready aim fire,

Not a liar,

Judge me not,

Starting to rot.

Painless flees,

Like a thousand seas,

Growing more,

Rips through the floor.

 

Look through the glass,

Marble-stained glass,

This is not the last,

Of the past.

Wounded soul,

Growing old,

Holding on to yesteryear,

Eyes brimming with tears.

Meaning of life,

Why strive,

For pride goes by,

A whispering lie.

Stone cold,

Now bold,

Existence sold,

For gold.

                                                                                                                                                                                                    Dixie 

Fat and Thin, who are you to judge?

This is has been around for as long as anyone can remember. I am so fed up with people and with society itself that insist that being stick thin is perfect. A little meat on the bones DOES NOT constitute that you are fat. Such overbearing and ridiculous people. Hello, there is a difference between OVERWEIGHT and chubby and just the right size. Saw a comment on youtube about Kellly Clarkson being VERY OVERWEIGHT.

Society and their bull.

Honestly, do you think she is VERY OVERWEIGHT? Sorry, I had to emphasize on that as that comment really pissed me off.

Remember how people use to think women were beautiful, WITH CURVES? Look at most of the olden paintings, REAL WOMEN HAVE CURVES.

Missing again.

Short post.

4,000 words. One week. Go figure.

A little short fused at the moment but you are not helping either. Yes you.

PR 2 = crappiest essay I have to write. What sense? No, it's nonsense to be exact and yes, I am conversing with myself. Scared? See little red box with X marked on it, well, CLICK IT!




This fella below is the lead singer for Neon Trees.

THIS fella on the other hand, is famous movie star Jim Carrey. See where I'm heading?

They look SO ALIKE! Sorry, I could not get a better picture of Tyler Glenn(lead singer of Neon Trees) but try watching their video here. Go on, say that I am wrong, but watch the video first. First First FIRST!

I need STRENGTH.

I have observed something else under the sun. The fastest runner doesn't always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn't always win the battle. The wise sometimes go hungry, and the skillful are not necessarily wealthy. And those who are educated don't always lead successful lives. It is all decided by chance, by being in the right place at the right time. Ecclesiastes 9:11

Trials and tribulations, part and parcel of life. God, grant me strength to carry on.  Can't do this on my own. Feelings of jealousy, envy, misery, anger, injustice... need to stop. Point. You asked why? I wonder why. Seems unfair? Me too. Problems? Who knows. Tired? Maybe. Fed up? Keep going. Give up? Never.

A much needed Reunion.

 It's been a few years since I've met my high school friends. =( Still missing the whole lot, and a whole lot more who were not there. Some may be over seas, out of state etc. But thankfully, at least there was an effort to keep in touch with the remaining people who are still here.

Mei Ji called a few of us out to celebrate Kah Mun's birthday, so we met up in Pyramid and decided to go for dinner at Bubba Gump. It was my first time there. I have to say, portions were quite small but they serve AWESOME FRIES!!!!

Outside Bubba Gump, there is a long  bench, basically this whole restaurant centers around the movie Forest Gump. Don't know about it? Watch the movie. Tear jerking movie it was.

Pei Yee fooling around.

Raagini, Blue thing and birthday girl, Kah Mun. (L-R)

Forest Gump shoes.

Look, my name on the menu, now I can die peacfully, HAHA.

Birthday cake that Mei Ji made, small but delicious!

Scroll with all the birthday wishes made by Mei Ji, I felt that this is so creative!!!

Kah Mun and I

The whole lot, met new people! =)

'Seremban-nians" or Puterians.

 

Finally, together.

Pei Pei and I, she has been my best friend, all those crazy days in high school.

Raagini! Finally, a get together!

Taken by Pei Yee, I think I looked nice. =p Self praise, I know.

Food was not bad, and like I've said, portions a tad small. Missing a few people like Chloe, Jian Li, Mei Lin, and many more. Missing them a lot.

Sorry, did not take any pics of the food, was starving actually. Needed sustenance to fuel us. Overall, I MIGHT go back there again but it would not be my first choice of a restaurant if you are very hungry.

That is all. Hoping to have a bigger and "fuller" reunion, meaning more people! Night folks.