Chubby Mandy

More than 3 months ago I embarked on a mercy mission to save a Mandarin Fish that was on the verge of death.

Well, it is my joy to announce that the mission was a huge success.

This is what Mandy looks like now.

 She has filled out and is so chubby that we fear she might burst her stomach.

Birthday Celebrations 2012 - Part 1

Last night I had my first birthday celebration for 2012.

It was a sibling's night out and so I thought of trying some place new. I suggested and we all agreed on La Boheme even though Baby Sis had been there before. Baby Bro got swept along by his two bossy elder sisters and had little say in the decision-making

Nevertheless whether we actually eat there would largely depend on their food passing muster with Baby Bro who is a vegetarian. Much to Baby Bro's relief, La Boheme was already closed so we took up his suggestion to have dinner at the Permai Village Cafe instead.

I found the interior to be a tad spartan and to be lacking in ambience for nice photographs. The food, however, was surprisingly good and did not taste vegetarian at all. There weren't any fake meat stuff inside and the flavours went so well together that they did not not seem contrived at all.

Foccacia Sandwich with Wedges, Quesadilla and Spaghetti A'la Lemon

We ordered and shared the three dishes above. My favourite was the spaghetti. I simply love the refreshing lemony aroma that infused the whole dish.

Since we are at a stage where we gain weight simply by looking at food, Baby Sis and I just ate our fill and Baby Bro had to finish the rest. I believe this kind of bullying is acceptable.

After that it's time for dessert and so we proceeded to China House for coffee and cakes. So semangat, driving from one end of town to the other.

We're supposed to share two slices of cakes but I couldn't resist the selection available so again we ended up with three types of cakes - Lemon Poppy Seed with Sour Cream Cake, Something with Raspberry Cake and Apple with Rum Raisin Cake.

Top: The only picture with the 3 of us was blur due to the waiter's shaky hands. Bottom: Baby Sis putting on her lipstick in readiness for the shoot. On the right from top to bottom: Poppy Seed Cake, Latte and Rum Raisin Cake

The many faces of the happy birthday girl with the Raspberry cake and more

Dinner at Cheers

I decided to start on a new adventure. A foodie adventure where we will try a new eating place every month.

We started off our adventure at Cheers Western Food along Jalan Tanjong Tokong. It's a good choice because hubby can watch the life coverage of the Olympics in London and the Malaysian badminton team is playing over dinner.

Their specialties are Crackling Pork Knuckle, BBQ Ribs and Lamb Shanlk. I decided on Pork Knuckle while hubby ordered Chicken Stroganoff.

But first came our drinks. It's Honey Lemon for me and Jasmine Green Tea for hubby.

I also took the Add On Special. For an additional RM10 I had a choice of either Mushroom or Vegetable Soup and Homemade Crepe with Ice Cream for dessert.

I chose the Vegetable Soup.

Then came the Pork Knuckle.

It's quite a huge portion for one person and I couldn't finish it. No wonder the waiter asked whether we wanted extra plates to share out the meal.

I loved the skin that was so crispy it was cracklin' all over with each bite.

Hubby said the flavours for the Chicken Stroganoff was good. His only complaint was that there was not enough gravy.

The simple homemade crepe with ice-cream was just nice to end our meal.

And the bill came to...

Wheee! No service charge and no government tax. Another good reason to come back for more.

I'm already know what to order for my next visit - Lamb Shank!

Beauty for Ashes

This is one of the most beautiful verses in God's word and one of my favourite. I remember singing these words in one of the old Scripture choruses during those early days when I first became a Christian. Through the years they have never failed to lift up my spirits whenever I get a bout of the blues.

Isaiah 61:1-3 (NKJV)
To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called trees of righteousness,
The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.

A Great Team

I have been invited to share at Youth Impact a number of times and those have been very special times for me because the youth have always had a special place in my heart.

Recently I was invited to share at Youth Impact again. The topic given to me was on BGR. Someone then mooted the idea of Hubby and I sharing together, which was to me a splendid idea indeed.

So last Saturday we did it. Together Hubby and I shared on the topic "Love, Marriage and ..." using our own story to illustrate the right way to approach BGR. We also answered some of their questions after the session.

I really enjoyed ministering together with Hubby, especially on this particular topic. We make a great team, even if I say so myself.

A Welcome Change

Today I felt so carefree at the EGM held to make a decision on the intended purchase of the 3rd Floor. No need to bother about taking notes for the minutes because I'm no longer the secretary.

Now the person responsible for all that is the one standing up on the extreme right in the photo below.

I am also no longer in the Church Board so it was a welcome change for me to just be a member of the floor.

Having said that, I also miss working with some wonderful people in the more than one decade of my service as Church Secretary; people like Day Bi and Night Bi.

We had our fun times and serious times but they were all good times.

Bird's Nest Soup

Today I made my first pot of Bird's Nest Soup.

Here We Go Round...

...the mulberry bush!

Two of my mulberry saplings are already bearing leaves and one of them has even started to fruit!

The other two are still not showing signs of life. I believe the fourth plant (poor thing!) may not survive the trauma of being replanted after being planted upside down.

Young, Fat Or Pregnant

While checking out a pair of maternity jeans for my 'bee this afternoon, I was flabbergasted when the shop-girl recommended that I take L size. I really didn't know whether to be flattered or to be offended.

I'm either look young enough to be expecting a baby :) or I'm so fat that I look pregnant :(

Envious

I was reminding our god-daughter to attend the town-hall meeting this Tuesday night to discuss the church's proposed purchase of the 3rd floor when she informed me that she and her husband will not be able to make it.

They are taking her mother out for dinner that night and it is something they are committed to every fortnightly Tuesday ever since they got married.

When I heard that I just couldn't help the wave of envy that swept over me.

How I wish we could spend more family time together with our 'bee and son-in-law on a regular basis. Unfortunately KL is their home now.

Starting on r12

Yesterday we launched a new cell group series entitled r12. r12 really sounds like some health supplement but, in a sense, that is an apt description because it is a spiritual health supplement.

We are embarking on an exciting adventure in pursuit for true spirituality as laid out by the apostle Paul in Romans chapter 12.

In the introductory session I wanted to remind the cell members on 3 matters with regards to spirituality. As usual, things did not turn out the way I expected :-( so, for the record, here's what I actually planned to say.

1. Do not confuse religiosity with spirituality. At the same time we cannot deny that spiritual disciplines are often a means to a deeper relationship with God. And spiritual disciplines like prayer, fasting and good works are, more often than not, the outflow and fruit of a vibrant relationship with God.


2. Do not confuse theological knowledge with spirituality. We can know a lot about God without knowing God. On the other hand, we cannot know God without knowing about Him. A desire to learn more about God and His ways should be the result of a love relationship with Him.


3. Lastly, do not compare yourself with others. Who are we to judge one another on spirituality? Only God knows the heart of a person. Instead of judging another brother or sister we would do well to check our own personal walk with the Lord and why we do things we do. Are we doing them out of love for God or love for the approval of people?

Annual Cell Durian Feast 2012

Somehow we have made it a cell tradition to have a durian feast once a year.

This year the organisers wanted to order RM400 worth of durians! We persuaded them to scale it down to RM200.

When the durians arrived - together with the mangosteens and rambutans - I thought there would not be enough for us to eat our fill. I was even more concerned when the first few durians they opened had worms.

As usual I overestimated our eating capacity. We had just enough for everyone and we ate our fill without reaching the point of diminishing returns.

To top it off, this year we also had steamed pulut, courtesy of Frankie Teh, to go with our durians. This is the traditional nyonya combination with durian and it would have been perfect if we had fresh santan to drench over our pulut and durian.

A Special Day

Some days are more special than others. Today is one of those days 'cos today is my Babee's first wedding anniversary.

She is also half-way through her pregnancy and today I felt my grandson's kick! And he really packs quite a punch.

No Next Time

This set of ads came into my Ads of the World RSS.

The three ads feature in turn the onion, the garlic and the cigarette - some of the most environmentally unfriendly stuff on earth.

The tag line is, "Next time, try it with a fresh breath."

Simple and clever.

In Denial

It is very difficult to help someone in denial. Even Alcoholics Anonymous recognises that the road to healing and recovery begins when the person admits to having a problem.

And when you try to gently get them to face reality they get angry and lash out at you. The standard accusation is that you cannot understand because you are not in the same situation and that you would have responded in like manner if it had happened to you.

And so they remain stuck in a world of "what might have been" instead of embracing a new season in life.

How sad can it be?

Blogger+

Trying a new mobile blogging app. I want better control over my text and my photos.