careful now

I'm being extremely careful about not eating out right away. My tummy is clean now and if I am not careful, I might get a repeat of that horrible food poisoning episode. The food is so dirty here that it triggers an almost instant reaction... duh!

me?

So it's back to the reality of poor customer service, dog-eat-dog road users and rip-off shopping. Well, at least I won't have to worry about the shopping because I've done my fill over there. For once, I am so tired of shopping that I prefer to stay home. How's that even possible? How could that even be me?

of precious purses and pretending to be a princess

I recently found a little purse that I'd forgotten that I even had. When I was little, I used to have a collection of cute, fanciful purses that were given to me on my birthdays. Those were very precious to me and I would keep them away and take them out once in a while to look at them.

As I grew older and got busier with other things, I gradually forgot about my little collection of precious purses. Until the other day, I found them again and inside a few of them, I found some rusty old gold coins that I've had forever.

I'm sure they're not worth much and indeed I would never dream of selling them. They bring back many happy memories of the afternoons I would spend playing with those precious purses pretending I was a princess in some faraway land.

what's that white stuff?

I've just enjoyed my 2nd glass of milk this morning. Yes, I guess it's rare for many of us to drink milk because well, after we kicked the milk bottle, most of us rarely ever drank milk again. Not in our later childhood years, not in adulthood. Somehow milk is associated with babies and old folks. Us grown ups, we would never be caught dead drinking milk, seems to be the local mentality. So to even think that schoolgoing kids can somehow be made to drink milk (as opposed to Milo, Horlicks and Coke) is unimaginable. So really, who are we kidding here?

crap TV

I have gone from watching TV the whole day long to not watching at all. Yeah, that would definitely be more like me. Unless I find something that really interests me, I'd rather not waste my time sitting in front of the TV. When I first installed Astro, I thought there would be an endless list to watch but turns out, they keep "recycling the leftover rice" as my grandmother would say. It's crap TV if you ask me. So I'd rather not waste my time.

stash away some baby gold

It seems like the wedding season never ends. I'm getting invites through the year and I've long run out of gift ideas. It used to be that in our parents' time, they would just go out and buy gold bullion or jewelry as gifts but these days, with the economy the way it is, whoever wears gold jewelry any more?

Better to invest in gold bullion than show off the glittery stuff, they say. And it makes so much sense too. Stash away some gold and its value is going to soar and by the time the kids come, there will be spare cash to get the baby stuff together. Kids don't come cheap these days so young couples really have to think carefully and be prepared for all those extra expenses!

relentless

Eeks another hot day but the air is cooling so I guess I shouldn't complain. Not that I love the sun, but the cool air kinda makes it a little more tolerable to be outdoors. I have my handy dandy umbrella with me all the time because well, you never know. The sun here is relentless, unforgiving! And I'm such a big sissy LOL.

control freaks

Seems like there are way more control freaks out there than I thought. They really freak me out and I find it really frustrating dealing with them. Seems like all they want to do is take over your life and tell you how to live it. And they even try to control your kids? Gimme a break!

I really wonder if they know they're doing it or is it a subconscious thing to them? Because it really doesn't bode very well for them in the eyes of others. I think people like that need help. Seriously.

choosing beauty

And so my girl friend tells me that her youngest daughter is very vain, always has been and probably always will be. So it's not surprising she has mentioned that when she graduates high school next year, she wants to join one of the hair schools in Wichita and become a beautician. My girl friend thinks it's floosy to choose a career like that.

But I think it's okay, as long as her daughter is passionate about it and truly loves what she does and it pays the rent. Right? Who knows one day she might end up being the make-up artist for a wilted Paris Hilton or a hagged Justin Beiber. I told my girl friend not to fret over it. She should be happy her daughter knows what direction she wants to take in life.

my style of cooking vs theirs

It's funny how taste buds work. My kids are so used to my style of cooking that when they eat someone else's cooking, they usually turn their noses up and say, it's not the same. Maybe I've inevitably made food snobs of my kids because I tend to turn everything I cook into some sort of gourmet meal with all the bells and whistles.

And I've noticed, or at least my kids tell me, "other people's mothers" make pasta with tomato sauce or so little sauce it's like eating plain noodles. I tend to add a lot of extras to my meals because well, that's just me! I can't speak for other mothers.

hooked on cooking shows

Like I said, I'm beginning to get the hang of watching cooking shows. Yes, these are the real deal where they show you all the secrets, tell you how to save and show you quick and easy ways to whip up a nutritious meals.

The beauty of it is that chefs are cooking 2 or 3 things simultaneously, just like I would at home. Most of the cooking shows I've seen only show one dish being cooked at a time. I think it's definitely more realistic to be cooking a few dishes at once.

While one is boiling, you can get started on something else. That's what we do in real life, isn't it? You don't stand there and wait to complete one dish before starting on another, right? And that's why I've been hooked on them.

learning something useful

Guess I'm really at loose ends here. Watching way more TV than I normally do. Surfing the internet from the minute I wake up till the minute my head hits the pillow. In between, I'm munching on snacks and fruits and whipping up easy lunches for myself.

That's how exciting life is. Oh, and did I mention I also found some interesting investment information on the United States Gold Bureau website. No harm learning something useful, I guess, just in case I strike the lottery and suddenly find myself with more money than I can spend and need to invest some of it in precious metals.

That's always a good thought, isn't it?

morning stroll

I'm back from my morning stroll. I left earlier today but still it's not cold enough to warrant a jacket. I'm wearing my short sleeves and the soft cool breeze feels really nice on the skin. I'm not sure how hot the day is going to turn out to be. Let's wait and see.

Food Network

I've been watching a lot of TV lately. I'm not exactly a big TV fan and you'll hardly find me watching more than 3 hours of TV in a year! Yeah, that's how big an un-fan I am. But suddenly I'm hooked on the Food Network because well, cooking shows are fun to watch. Not that I'm in any way qualified to cook what they cook on TV, watching a chef show off his/her skills is half the fun right there.

still worth its weight in gold

So in this day and age when most people are cash-strapped, do you think anyone's going to buy gold bars? You betcha. I think those in the know, the people who are well-versed in financial investments, will tell you that gold is a very stable investment and that it's really worth investing in if you have the money.

And I'm inclined to believe that. I have heard people talk about the pros of investing in gold as opposed to other forms of investment, all while sitting in the bank awaiting my turn to do my banking. Indeed you can learn a lot just from asking and reading and even listening in to people asking questions at the bank's information desk.

tutti frutti

I'm in the midst of fruit paradise right now. Everywhere I look, it's bursting with fruit. Needless to say, I'm chomping down as much as I can. Nectarines, cantaloupe, grapes, bananas, blueberries! All my favorites so I'm one happy camper.

fish sauce

As some of you might know, I'm a big fan of spicy food. Lately though, my daily dose of spice has come from fresh raw chillies drowned in fish sauce. Fish sauce? Whatever happened to soy sauce? Yeah, exactly, when you can't have the real thing, I guess you just have to live with the closest substitute. Fish sauce definitely tastes different, no matter how you look at it. But I'm getting accustomed to the taste! Uh!