Moxie's First Paddle!

Instead of working on my cover letter for school I spent all evening mucking around trying to compile a video of Moxie's first swim. Ain't I the proud parent!

We visited my cousin over July 4th and dunked poor Mox in the pool muahahah. It turns out that all dogs can actually swim. Yes, even stumpy, pudgy Moxie! I suppose that's why they coined the term doggy paddle. Moxie was really freaked out and you could even hear her breathing really hard as she paddled. HAHA we're evil.

I spent hours on this so you have to watch it! She is mad cute ... ;)



Of course no dog was spared from this experiment. Next we pushed poor unsuspecting Pasha (the wolf) in as he circled the pool. Sadly I didn't get a video of it. We tried pushing him in again but he was too smart to be dunked a second time bleh :P

What's Growing??

So I bought some potted rosemary and parsley some time back. I was inspired by Michael Chiarello on the Food Network. He always has fresh herbs growing in his back yard! Wow how fabulous right? I had visions of barefoot me cooking pasta and nonchalently plucking fresh parsley from my little herb plants.

OK that was 2 months back. Fast forward to today. The rosemary is dead and the parsley is yellow. It's a wonder Moxie is still alive eh? HEEHEE But guess what the most disgusting thing is!! Today I actually found something growing in our pot of dead Rosemary.

A freaking MUSHROOM!!! OMG it thrives!!



Oh and for dramatic effect, here's the herbs looked when I first got em. I'm a plant murderer :(

Find me a laptop bag

I am such a wannabe. Decided to be a rebel and got a MacBook for school. They explicitly state at the school that Windows is the standard. But what the hell ... Macs are so nice. *Caresses new MacBook* And the MacBook can dual boot in windows. And another added bonus is I have my own tech support (DH) at home muahahahah :D

So now I need a cool laptop bag. None of those ugly black ones that scream the name of your company or school for me ok? I also want one that I can use daily through the seasons, when I'm dressed up or dressed down. Something that is classic but not boring. Must be able to carry other items too like a notebook, cell phone, wallet etc. Also cannot be too expensive. Haha a tall order eh.

I've narrowed it down to these bags:

But is flannel really suited for all seasons?


Would I get sick of the patterns?


Or a bowler from Freddy and Ma. You can design your own, but there are so many cool fabrics. I can't decide! The bowler is the boxy one.



Kate Spade. These are soooo cute! They have much cooler designs in Japan than the US. Sadly it's also the most expensive at $400++ and would be hard to get since it's only available in Japan :(

Click on the image to see how a laptop fits oh so nicely into the bag. Also comes with a laptop case and mouse pad. *DIES from coolness*


Which should I get? Send me the links if you know bags I might like :)

Photos are Deceiving

More adventures from the kitchen! We made paella for our Spanish potluck on Sunday. Lookie! Doesn't it look sooo yummy? The assortment of colors, the anticipation of yummy seafood ... We added pork, chorizo, mussels, shrimp, chicken thighs, squid, artichokes, peas. We sure had high hopes for this dish.



Ahh but you must see this coming given the post title. The dish was a disaster because we didn't finish cooking the rice before we left the house. The rice got all mushy and over cooked in the car ride over. :( Our poor tortured friends got to eat this concoction haha ... oh well we'll make it up next time.

Hrmmm I feel like making yam cake this weekend. Haven't had this in ages! *Dreams of yam cake with chilli ketchup*

Will you be my friend?

OMG I have never been so desperate in my life!! Thanks to my friend J, I started watching this teeny bopper korean drama on youtube. It's this rags to riches love story about an 18 year old girl who marries into the Korean Royal family. Of course the crown prince and her hate each other initially but eventually fall in love. A tried and true formula.

But I digress ... I've been enjoying these episodes (my guilty pleasure), 4 so far, till today! Apparently you can mark videos on youtube as "private" and now I can't watch episodes 5-24 unless I am the "friend" of the person who uploaded the video. OMG *SHRIEKSSSSSSSSSSSS* I cannot believe this is happening to me!!!

So I've requested to be this person's friend. And I am waiting ... waiting ... till I this person agrees to be my friend. Will he/she? Please please will you let me be your friend? Pretty Please? I will even let you sit with me during recess and share my mamee noodles.

The cast of the drama Goong (aka Palace). Ok cheesy costumes I know ... but but who can resist a good love story?

I QUIT

I finally quit my job 2 days ago. My first time! Can you believe I've never quit before? Ok well maybe from summer jobs, but that's expected. Congratulations to moi! And thanks to FQ for listening to me whine about this. :)

Now I can stop acting like I care. 6 more weeks to go. I did feel a slight tinge of panic afterall I'm giving up getting paid. Boohoo no more dinky lifestyle. Anyway I just sent out the email before I left work and everyone and their mother will find out tomorrow morning. I find it so weird that I was told to make the announcement to the entire group so early on, even people I don't usually work with.

Moxie and Jiak Zhua

Moxie and her pet snake snoozing in the back seat.

Road trips make me schleepy...

Into the Green Mountains

Trivia of the day: Did you know that Vermont = vert mont (french) = Green Mountain?

We took a weekend trip to Vermont last weekend since it was DH's 30th birthday. It wasn't easy picking a place to go. Our destination had to be within a 2-3hr drive and our choices were limited since we wanted to take Moxie with us.

NYC - Been there done that
New Hampshire - Bleh, DH used to live there
Conneticut - Does anyone even vacation there?
Rhode Island - Been there
Lake George - No nice hotels and a little far
Berkshires - Not much to do in the spring?
Vermont - YAY

Eventually I settled on Vermont since it's only 2hrs from Boston and I found this cute little B&B (Four Columns Inn) that allows pets. Another bonus is that the inn has a nice restaurant run by an "award winning" chef (taken with a grain of salt hehe).

Our room:


Unfortunately for us, the weather didn't cooperate and it rained all weekend! Yeah DH and I never have much luck with weather. It rained on our wedding day too and it was in July. We had to axe plans to go hiking on the Long Trail which stretches from Massachusetts to Canada!

We spent all weekend eating and driving around. Vermont really does live up to its name. You can see the mountains from most towns and it's green green green everywhere you go! Something else strange about Vermont also was that it had running water everywhere! From impromtu waterfalls on the mountain walls, to gushing streams (looked like rapids to me!) alongside the road.



Instead of hiking, we visited a farm, got a massage, bought vermont cheddar, maple syrup, ate in a gourmet diner car, and went to the Ben and Jerry's factory! Not too shabby I suppose. More stories and photos to come!

My Latest Obsession

I am always obsessing over something. Weddings, jeans, baking, korean dramas, grad school. This time it's cooking! After several failed attempts at baking, I figured cooking might be easier :) Churned out 3 fun dishes in the past week.

1) Stuffed Shells - This didn't turn out too well. I forgot to season the turkey and add salt. Amateurish ... Oopsie :p



2) Mutter Tofu - My healthy variation of the indian dish Mutter Paneer. I substituted the tofu for paneer and used olive oil instead of vegetable oil. I learned this from my old roomie and gal pal, A. It's surprisingly easy to make and very very tasty too (if I may say so myself lol). Spicey and great for a cold wet day.



The modified recipe here. It's pretty simple!

Mutter Tofu Recipe

Ingredients
- 1 package frozen peas
- 5 medium tomatos (chopped)
- 1 package tofu cubed
- 1 large yellow onion (diced)
- 5 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)

Spices
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 3 teaspoons garam masala (from indian grocer)
- 1.5 teaspoons tumeric (from indian grocer)
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 pinch cumin seads (from indian grocer)

Instructions
- Heat oil, throw in cumin seeds and wait for them to pop (this is the scary part!)
- Stir fry the garlic and onions till the onions are translucent
- Add the rest of the spices and stir till it is evenly distributed
- Add the tomatos and bring to a simmer (approx. 5 minutes)
- Add 3 cups water and bring to a simmer
- Add tofu and frozen peas
- Simmer for 20-30 minutes depending on how you want the consistency of the sauce

3) Our attempt at gourmet cooking over the weekend. Hubs helped out with this one. The milder flavor of the scallops went well with the tart green apples. We loved it and scarfed it down!

Recipe courtesy of La Tartine Gourmande. Seared scallops with green apple sauce and sugar snap peas:

Botched Hair Job

Speaking of highlights, I have a confession to make. I had chao ah lian hair for a month thanks to the stylist at Sasson Salon. You see I was desperate. The guy I usually go to was on vacation and my hair was in really bad shape. I mean wtf right? He's supposed to be at my beck and call!

Anyway, I told the new stylist that I wanted my existing highlights to be touched up. And that I wanted it SUBTLE. !*@(#@ Does this look subtle to you?? And how could hubs let me walk around like this?? *Cringes and dies*

I don't know how I convinced myself, but I lived with this Men's Egg look for a couple weeks. Then, one day I couldn't stand it anymore and being a soon-to-be poor student, fixed it myself with a package of L'oreal Feria in black cherry.

I think it turned out pretty good. Since I had highlights in already, the strands of hair picked up different tones so it looks like I still have highlights!

PS. It looks almost black in natural light. I am so HAPPY.

PPS. Thanks to matreshka also for the coloring tips! :D

Meme - Just for Fun

Got tagged by e~ via e-mail. Thought I'd post it to my blog because I can't bring myself to work anymore :)

Four Jobs I have had in my life:-
- Clerk at a gov agency
- Waitress at B Bombers in Holland V (HAHA)
- Barista at college cafe (mmm chocolate mint lattes!)
- Research assistant in neuro surgery lab (hey ratty ratty)

Four movies I would watch over and over again:
1. Pirates of the carribean (love love love)
2. Never been Kissed
3. Sixth Sense
4. Being John Malkovich - Run elijah! Run!!

Four places I have lived
1. Singapore, katong (all 18 years)
2. US, NC
3. US, NJ
3. US, MA (moved 4 times in 6 years, might be moving again!)


Four TV shows I Looooove to watch
1. Top Chef - Combines my guilty pleasures ..food and reality tv
2. The Apprentice (funny how it resembles the corporate world)
3. Lost (kinda ...till the plot got lost)
4. Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations (new found respect for him after he ate/enjoyed? the eyeballs of a seal ....RAW!!..extracted from a dead seal CARCASS)


Four Special Places I have been on Vacation:
1. Bali- Our mini honeymoon
2. Tokyo - I swear I put on 5 lbs there
3. London - I first step foot in Europe
4. Las Vegas - Recent family vacation that was so much fun

Goshdarnit I need to leave the frigging USA more!

Four Websites I visit Daily
1. Gmail
2. Bloglines -> to stalk my friends and read the news. I highly recommend.
3. Chompster - To see if there are any new posts (shameless plug here)
4. That's it ... bloglines lets me read all my favorite sites

Four of my Favourite Food
1. Sashimi duh ... especially uni, amaebi, and mirugai
2. ok ok Pocky ... hokkaido butter flavor is especially good
3. Katong Laksa
4. Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake from CCF
5. Corn - I love corn!!!
6. I know it only asks for 4 but I could go on and on and on

Four places I rather be right now:
1. On vacation in the Bahamas, Galapagos, Fiji, Greece, Turkey ... basically not at work
2. At the mall buying shoes shoes and more shoes!
3. Ok can't spend $$? At home making cranberry cupcakes and watching my favorite korean drama, All About Eve (slap me please ... I'm such a huang lian po)
4. Hanging out with my family somewhere (they so far away sniff)

Four Friends that have been tagged who I think will
respond:
No idea, but I tag Matreshka, S*, Rhys (but he got no blog), Gabby, Mil, and Singapore Grrl. Yes all 5 of my readers haha :)

Drinking the Koolaid

I'm in guys! Will most likely be back in school this fall. After painful waiting on admissions day, I finally got the e-mail at 5pm. Torture I tell you!! Ironically, as I was about to click on the link to learn my fate, a colleague walked into my office!! Talk about bad timing. He had all frigging day, but no he had to choose this very second. I was dying of anxiety as he rambled on *#@*#*@#

Anyway, I spent the past few weeks contemplating my decision. And after attending admissions weekend, I'm almost convinced that I will be making the right choice. The exhorbitant tuition will be well spent and the returns will be invaluable. Gosh listen to me!! I've really downed the poisoned koolaid! But I admit, part of the appeal is that I get to leave my job and school seems fun ... all the trips around the world <- wait I mean I will learn alot and this will help with my career and marketability.

Oh look, and to show how badly they want my 80k, they also sent a "care" package with a bumper sticker, map, binder, name card wallet complete with name cards ...etc.

ok no way I am ruining my car with that geeky sticker. no wait I probably have to sell my car and throw in a corgi to pay for school :p but my dad would be real proud and want the sticker for his car so all is not lost. The name cards were also seriously weird ... what does one do with that?

The Scout Law

We almost got lost in the forests of Rhode Island on Saturday. Haha I kid you not. I suppose the incident with the sillyporeans searching for the Japanese Karate master and getting lost ain't so funny after all.

We started off the hike in good spirits. 6 miles? No problemo. We're still young *cough*. The walk started off quite picturesquely. After an hour, we'd walked by a gurgling brook thing that ended in a reservoir. Awwww



All was well till 3 hours into the hike. We were getting tired, the trail was longer than we'd expected, the trail markings were confusing, and our map sucked. The supposed highlight of the trail, Penny Hill, didn't even much of a view. We didn't see any cool wildlife (pondskaters don't count). We had no compass, little water (3 small bottles between the 5 of us), no food, rain jackets, or cell phones (we left these in the car, as a consolation we didn't have service anyway). Wow weren't we brilliant?! And to make matters worst, we also saw large fist sized piles of poop on the trail ... hmmm

Looking back, the predicament we were in was pretty funny haha. Fortunately for us, we ran into 2 mountain bikers (guardian angels?) who kindly gave us directions back. It started thundering in the last leg of the hike but we even made it out an hour before sunset! YAY

A creepy shack we found. Though what good is it? With those huge gaps at the bottom, it wouldn't have provided much refuge from wild animals.


So much for hubs being a scout and me a guide in school. But hey, I say being prepared is boring, let's just wing it. :D

Sunday Cook Out

We're planning a cook out this weekend on our patio since the weather is going to be somewhat nice (sunny and a high of 60). We're desperate to enjoy the good weather while it lasts.

This is kinda last minute so I'm making up the recipe here at 10.30 on a Friday night. I'm thinking

Drinks
- Watermelon Margaritas

Appetizers

Veggies
- Grilled corn on the cob (I love corn!)
- Waldorf Salad

Meats


Dessert

Meringue Topped Southern Banana Pudding

Can't type anymore..too sleepy .....will continue tomorrow.

Attn: Children of the 80s

I found this 明天會更好 video on takchek's blog. So nostalgic ... but dude the hairdos gotta go. Do you recognize anyone? I'm not very well versed on taiwanese singers but hubs spotted Leslie Cheung.

My Stalker

I think I have a stalker at work. I was walking back from building #1 a week ago when this little guy with high waisted pants tried to make conversation with me (I've never met him before). As we were exchanging the usual niceties ... how are you blah blah blah ... he suddenly asked me if I go to the gym. Then he's like, and you only go on Tuesdays?

Awkward moment. My jaw dropped to my feet. How tf does he know I got to the gym at lunch and only on Tuesdays??? Thankfully for me, at that very moment, a loser coworker whom I haven't bothered to talk to in ages walks by. Never been so happy to see the guy. We have a normal conversation about the weather whilst allowing me to ditch stalker dude.

OK so I was at the gym again this week for my weekly spin class... and guess what!! I notice stalker dude in my class!! The question now is ... has he been going before this week? HRMMM am I so oblivious as to not have noticed him? HAHA Maybe he really isn't a stalker after all ... and I am just shameless. But then again how do you explain the weird stares I get as he walks by my office :p Ah hah!

Puppydom

I finally got round to scanning some photos we have of Moxie as a little puppy (4 weeks old?). Gosh she used to be so adorable ..... now she's just an overgrown pup hee

At 4 weeks old ... see the rest of the photos here.

Everybody Loves Cupcakes

After stumbling upon Cupcake Bake Shop by Chokylit's blog, I was inspired to make some of my own because they look so darn gorgeous in the photos!

Mine turned out amateur-ish. But they tasted yummy. I guess you can't go wrong with ingredients like cream, sugar, and butter that already taste good. I especially liked the raspberry frosting. It reminded me of the Raspberry Ripple ice cream that I used to love as a kid. The ice cream vendors on Orchard Road in Singapore still sell this wedged between 2 wafers or bread. So good on a hot day!

Oh yes, I should mention that I stupidly forgot to add the eggs to the batter till I was about to fill the cupcake shells. Not sure if that was why my cakes rose and then deflated haha! I also confess to over beating the cream ... oh well.

Me so lonely ...


Vanilla cupcakes with raspberry cream frosting ...

Second Thoughts

We recently hired a person from the said b-school for a position similar to mine (though I'm sure he's earning much more ..hrmm or is he?). I did however hear concerns that he wasn't experienced enough? Gosh what's going on in the job market? This dude has like more experience than I do. Are they looking for people with 15 years on their belts or something? How unfair. In any case it made me a little worried about whether b-school is really going to help me :p

Oh yes and an interview update. Thanks ya'll for the well wishes!!! You guys are the best. I ended up wearing the pant suit because of the weather and a good thing too since my lady interviewer and everyone else was wearing pants. I thought that the interview went alright except for a stupid question I asked at the end *kicks self* arhgk! But we'll see, you never really know with these things. I'll be prepared for the worst... ain't I the perpetual optimist! :)

Disclaimer: If you don't hear any thing more from me about this topic it probably means I've been dinged! Oh well life goes on ... at least I had a good run

MS Homes

Wow, so Martha Stewart has been busy designing homes and boy are they cute! Priced between 200-400k, I am almost ready to move back to North Carolina where these concept homes are. On second thought, I don't think I'll get used to the suburban life. :)



The homes are in Cary, NC. My friend, A from college, used to live there. It's really quite a cute town, quiet and close to all the universities in the area. A house like this in boston would be at least a million moolahs *sob* ...



Awwww this one is right out of a storybook. OK what do they even need a garage for??? It hardly snows in NC :P