me,myself and i

welcome 2012 with new book!

2012-01-01T11:38:00.000+08:00

Hi 2012 -Please to meet you and please treat me good this year.

it's 2012! i got meself a book to celebrate. yea yea. i have like a gazillion books waiting to be read or completed. and i promised meself not to get any that is priced > $0 but i was swayed by the chance of winning $40 Amazon Gift Card. and it's new year. guess i can give meself a wee break.

one of my favourite historical romance writer's is eloisa james. i've not bought loads of her books as her books price is so stubborn. there were nearly no price drop on her books. however the ebook is USD1 cheaper than the hardcopy in amazon. and it is a couple of RM (around RM8-RM15) cheaper compare to local msian book shops.

eloisa new book

the duke is mine

get it from amazon

get it from acmamall

chance to win USD40 amazon gift card

add eloisa james @ fb.

btw, go grab this novella: winning the wild flower. it's free for now. tis very seldom for eloisa's books. i love it actually. i was hoping it will be blown into a full book as the way the novella was written, it could! but i guess it will not be so i have to be content with the new book.

lazy weekend

2011-10-16T05:32:00.001+08:00

it's the lazy weekend or what's left of it.
mom's in mcca for prayers for it was Renunciation Day of Guan Yin (Avalokiteshvara) yesterday. when mom's not around i somehow becomes a slug at home... i mean a bigger slug, he he.

i was comtemplating so hard to do something, a lot of things yesterday during near end of work day. pushed the thoughts out & continued working till quite late (or early as i was on shift).

reached home, check mails, fb, groupon (i'm such a coupon freak now...), watched downton abbey (i missed the premier - dont know what episode now but still had an entertaining watch, will be "checking" it out later), watched s01e01 of yuujinchou natsume (where i have left off years ago) & was craving for bubble milk tea like a pregnant lady.
butt, ended up glued to the tilam then slumbered off. pun intended.

today, decided to tick off the long list of to-do items including housework. should be a great work out. first need to ensure i get my butt off the stool n hands off the keyboard.
[yay! tick one off, clearing by 1000+ list of unread subscriptions @ google reader]

hey, just realised. after changing to the new blogger layout, where's the convenient amazon.com toolbar that i've used to search & add links?!!

"In a world of 1s and 0s… are you a zero, or The One?" - The Matrix (1999)

2011-09-29T08:07:00.013+08:00

just made an online trx for oscar NEO da 1000 juicer. [i've been scouting 4 a grt juicer for sometime now...]
so i've become a groupon freak... it is one of more expensive purchases that i've made. but i guess it's cheaper than getting one without groupon. i really wanted this to start juicing for health (!?!?).
besides, it also churns out yummy fruit sorbet, soya drink, nuts butter, pasta & noodles, grind meat n the list goes on.

qouting from the vitality4life site:
Juicing Fruit and Vegetables...
The Oscar Neo extracts the maximum juice from celery, carrots, peppers, radishes, cabbage, kale, in fact all vegetables including leafy greens such as parsley; spinach, without destroying the vital enzymes! The Oscar Neo efficiently juices soft and hard fruits, even citrus fruits, juice limes, skin & all!

Wheatgrass, aloe leaves and other herbs...
Wheatgrass, aloe leaves, pine needles and other medicinal herbs can be juiced with the Oscar Neo!

Great for mincing; chops and minces a wide range of foods...
The Oscar Neo chops and minces meat, garlic, scallions, red pepper, ginger, radish and many other foods, including herbs and seasonings. Organic baby foods or soft foods for palliative care are quick and easy to prepare with the blank screen provided

Makes fresh pasta...
You can make delicious fresh pasta and noodles in just minutes with the handy pasta nozzles and some fresh juice added in for extra nutrition!

Makes healthy desserts and sorbets - 100% Natural...
You can make healthy desserts and sorbets without feeling guilty as they are crammed with extra nutrition and 100% natural!

Nut butters, hommus and tahinis...
You can make a range of Nut Butters with the Oscar Neo! Try cashew, hazelnut, hommus and tahini's!

jagung kueh too rich but i love it

2011-08-22T09:07:00.001+08:00

oven is down

if you are linked to me in fb, you would have noticed i've been making sweets but with no baking :). well truth be told, it is not that i'm into alternatives e.g. steaming, etc. it is because my oven had broken down. it is still working but somehow the plate is not rotating. anyone think if i bake in it, the heat will be distrubuted evenly without the plate rotating? it's a conventional oven. any advice is welcomed. (btw, mami is still in the dark about this... she must also be thinking why isnt sofia baking the cheesecake i love.... tee hee...).

too much santan....
decided to make this jagung kueh aka corn custard. so the recipe said 1 cup of santan (coconut milk). didnt say thick or otherwise. so i got a packet of fresh santan from nearby hyper-mart which bloody expensive. can u imagine rm2.50 for barely 250ml of santan.so long story cut short. as normal some conflicts with mami. well jagung kueh was something she made with success in the past. being the older generation, when one does things that is not their norm, they would say it's wrong. sometimes they are right as they did eat salt more than i eat rice. so from the time i poured the 1 packet santan into the batter mixture she was mumbling n grumbling saying the santan too much. but heck, i've already poured it.

stir it, dont shake it
oh yes. this is one sweet that will make you burnt before you gain those calories. you've got to stir till your arm's muscles bulges. but think of the calories you've burnt, worth every drop of sweat :).

nyom...nyom...nyom...
mami tried a little n pulled a long face "coconut stench too strong" n henceforth didnt even pick another piece. guess she doesnt like the strong santan smell n i suspect subconsciously she rejected it because of my defiance. ha ha ha. doesnt matter. this means mumphf-more for mumphf-me!! i'll be bringing some to work. ha ha ha... great way to distribute the calories.

skincare craze

2011-08-04T08:40:00.008+08:00

until recently, i've been somewhat of a scrooge on skincare. but due to advancing age and the results of shift work, i've decided to look for better skincare products. well, yes i used to agree that more expensive doesn't mean better. but now i would say it depends :)

[i've received many likes on my fb status when i remarked that u know ur age is advancing when u look for age-defying/anti-ageing skincare....]

few years back, i had ventured into the higher range of facial care, h20plus.
as usual, the purchase wasn't planned & i was lured into the store by the surreal blueish theme.
since i had some dryness on my nose & cheeks, i was recommended the face oasis range. well it was their bestseller so it's obvious that the sales person will push this. & again the blueish theme of the range is really attractive.
since, i'm not going to review the product, i was not encouraged with the product and except for the cleansing water, i abandoned them after less than 2 months of usage.

then i was back to pharmacy-shelves-skincare product which again back to my routine usage pattern, i.e. diligently using it then inconsistently.

due to some promo on beautytalk @ sasa, i bought the latest craze bubble mask - oxymask "pau pau mien". i really recommend this but i hate the bottle. maybe i too cho-lor, it's not working i had to unscrew the pump to use it now. [check here for more] love the product as they have this gel based cream and serum which absorb really well into the skin & effect is instantaneous.
then the splurging began. the gel based cream [ghk-cu vital gel cream] (wanted to get this again but somehow ghk cream/gel is out of stock in all the sasa shop i went), night cream [snowy moisture cream] and essence [snowy memory essence] really absorb very quickly but i feel due to this i had to use a little bit more than usual except for the toner [refine toning lotion] & cleanser [double cleansing gel].
take note, result is great with quite a hefty price tag.

well, happy to say, my face glowed & some even commented on it.
ha. it's money well spent. though perhaps i've been consistent or putting on weight face bloated n stretched the face? ha ha ha.

so proud that i actually finished the cream/serum as they are actually just 30ml.

ha. this means another round of purse emptying operation. decided to try the biotherm product which is actually cheaper than beautytalk. nearly purchased kose sekkisei supreme but my arm had a fierce rash when testing the product.
the biotherm salesperson threw in some samples including a generous 30ml aquasource gel. i especially love the roll-on aquasource eye perfection and d-tox bb cream.
currently loving the biotherm products i've bought except that the vivo serum had a little weird smell.

folio cover for kindle

2011-08-02T07:07:00.001+08:00

time for me to get one of these since they are on sale :)

medieval romance now

2011-05-02T14:18:00.000+08:00

a change from regency?
check these books. there are below usd5.00 and an average of at least 4 stars reviews.

2010 RITA® Finalist
Winner of The Maggie & The Beacon
Booksellers' Best Award Finalist
margaret mallory @ amazon.com
margaret mallory's site

Received the Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award for Best Historical Romantic Mystery/Suspense
patricia ryan @ amazon.com
patricia ryan's site

note: currently all her kindle books are below usd5.00 and have an average of 4 stars reviews.

water for elephants

2011-04-24T17:10:00.001+08:00

if u have a kindle. go get Water for Elephants. even with 40% off in acmamall.com, it is still way cheaper @ amazon.com.
and it has been 48 days in top 100 for kindle books
i'm getting this now :)

gmail so smart :)

2011-04-22T18:31:00.002+08:00

or i'm so sua ku didnt notice this feature?
wrote an email with a line: "See attached" and clicked send without attaching the file.
then ms. gmail reminded me, awesome, eh?!!

[why gmail is a ms.? cos google is a mr. ... ha......ha.... ha....]

2011 Q2 read: it's christina dodd's :)

2011-04-20T16:13:00.001+08:00

ha. the upcoming trend of my blog would be of books / authors i'm reading.
so this month or quarter it's christina dodd.
i've been following her fb and checking amazon on her works n of course tracking on the discounts.
ok, so now i have my eyes on 1 book and 2 series which most of them earned 4-stars review from quite a bunch of ppl & price slashed to usd5.99 [which is much cheaper to the 32% discount on hardcopy @ acmamall.com]
dloaded the samples n added them in my wish list for easier tracking.

hmm.. if i paced out my reading, i think it could last until the next quarter?

the lost princess series

the switching places series

[so ok, some might know i'm facing difficult time due to my pa's amputation, not really the amputation part as the surgery was successful,recovering smoothly and got him out of danger, but his stubbornness which btw caused the amputation. he's well but i think i need to start meditation else i'll succumb to cardiac arrest by the week's end. i'm not elaborating more on his condition here, cos this blog, it's about me me me me me me. a form of escapism?]

adrienne basso's books price slash

2011-04-04T23:38:00.000+08:00

i've been monitoring adrienne basso and her e-books are on discounted price in amazon.com. yay!
for my kindlie:

check out adrienne basso books @ amazon

hk here i come

2011-03-29T23:51:00.000+08:00

aaa.. it's time for a break. it's a short trip & kinda rush. but mami agreed with me we take it slow & enjoy.
hopefully i can squeeze some shopping (besides scallops shopping :P).

2 rita award 2011 nominees for kindlie :)

2011-03-27T12:22:00.002+08:00

ok, so i've been clicking "buy now with 1 click" button for my kindlie [ which is my beloved kindle] like a mad woman lately. however most of them were free, usd0.99 or much cheaper than those i can get from http://www.acmamall.com/.

i revisited the samples i downloaded, and one of my fave author eloisa james's book: a kiss at midnight is nominated for 2011 rita award.

and, i discovered another sample: when harry met molly, which i downloaded ages ago, the author new to me, kieran kramer has also been nominated in i think 2 different categories - amazing, eh?! u should check out kieran kramer's site @ amazon as they have very catchy titles :)

i'm so getting these 2 books.

oh yes, i would like to recommend this book: The Mudlark by Delle Jacobs. it's only on ebook. really it's a fun FUN fun book :) n truth be told, i did pick some new vocabs as well.

let's read ppl.

weekend's here, che's back, laundry in the basket...

2011-03-26T09:29:00.001+08:00

beloved weekend has arrived. it would be a bz one as che's back and already lined up some activities with her. mostly is of gastronomic kind. :)
well i have another hour or so to tidy up the house before they touch down in puchong. a week of kiamchai laundry sitting in basket, stacks of pots, pans, plates waiting to be stacked, of course a very stubborn dog to be bath, etc.

anyways, ohio gozaimasu! enjoy your weekend. i definitely will.

bonjour comment allez vous aujourd'hui

2011-03-24T07:50:00.003+08:00

Merci, je vais bien.
i surprised myself that i actually dragged my feet out of the bed, greeting the cold, wet morning.
it is a surprised as i had a late night [early morning] watching A Very Long Engagement (2004) [Un long dimanche de fiançailles] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0344510/
a very persistent movie.

it's weird...

2011-03-23T21:29:00.006+08:00

erm. it has been 2 yrs. & i'm feeling a little weird blogging again. :)

wats up, sofia? a common question when [if] i meet up with my frens. to my close frens, i said nothing [then i get some worried looks... aaa wat frens are for, i heart u all!!!], to not so close frens, i shrugged nonchalantly. seriously, nothing really significant happened or changed in my life for the past 5, er 10 yrs? well, maybe like 20-30 kgs extra.
so tats it. my current update.

i love the current wfh [Work From Home] policy. this mean more quality time with vodka! [which i think he doesnt thinks so...] without the guilty feeling of neglecting him working loooong hours @ office vodka! controlling his peepee or poopoo.

the downside, food is so accessible too. haiz. elaboration not needed, ppl.
for consolation, i did 30mins on the crosstrainer and walked vodka!

it's already april 2009

2009-04-13T06:05:00.014+08:00

yo. so it's already april 2009. it is a little (a lot...) depressing to come to think of it that it's the 2nd quarter of the year and all i have done is work... well, ok.. managed to catch some cool anime as well.

since i'm not in the mood to yak about how miserable work is, so it's about what i'm watching currently. so happy days! yay! spring release is here and loads of new anime.

thanks to astro, we are actually watching same telecast with jp for tears to tiara. well, nothing to shout about - the anime i mean. it based on a hit rpg (of eroge nature). google it if you want to know more. i basically watched it cos 1. i had to wake up at 12am on sunday/monday this month as working in graveyard shift. 2. the protagonist has white/silver hair which remided me of gintama. 3. some how the eroge pique my interest, but haha NOT cos it's shown in astro, so there's no eroge ok!

again, thanks to astro - this time for real. it's FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST:BROTHERHOOD. i didnt follow this series cos it was so hyped-up. i'm one person that dont really watch the mainstream anime e.g. naruto, bleach,etc. but well i'm loving this. just first episode though. it's basically the remake of the previous but following more closely to the manga. well i dont read the manga, so i'll just enjoy it.

yea, those close to me already noticed that i'm some sort into baseball (if going to batting cage, playing wii baseball and getting a bruised thumb- still very colourful counts). dont follow games on tv and stuff. but hehehe... but hooked on baseball themed anime and at the moment : major 5th season and one outs. really cool anime. go watch it if you like baseball or think you might like it. one outs-nobody wins but i! is also a very unique baseball themed anime. it combines baseball+gambling. heheh, so now u know why i like one outs, eh? but the protagonist does not have that typical handsome/cute eyes but have a pair of cunning slit eyes - which is kinda mysterious and erm sexy?

i still love some kawaii-ness in anime although i've been spending much time with sports anime (and some seinen). i would recommend k-on. love the cute characters and reminds me of my old school days (well so long ago i'm afraid i might have forgotten most part of it)

mom's back in mcca for the week. i've been eating junks for all my meals. not sure to call them breakfast, lunch, dinner or supper. my time are all messed up due to graveyard shift and sudden call from mgr to go in at odd hours. so now i eat when hungry, eheheheh, and how many meals..., a lot, i lost count.and i still miss che loads... really. oh yea, i must make some time to take up fong's invitation to her bf's kebab place!

mac n cheese - i miss u

2008-12-19T08:21:00.001+08:00

xmas is just a few days away… so far no invitations for xmas dinners or lunches … hmm.. since i'll be back in mcca, i guess i'll just crashed myself @ tina’s place :P

thinking of xmas lunches, i missed tassa’s mom’s homey macaroni bake. aaa. this spurned me to dig my recipes for a simple baked mac n cheese. yea! the ingredients and steps are pretty simple.

8 oz elbow macaroni

1½ to 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

3 tbs butter

a pinch salt or to taste

a pinch of cayenne pepper

½ cup milk

1 egg

½ to 1 cup buttered fresh bread crumbs*

cook macaroni as per package instructed. drain.

cover bottom of 2-quart baking dish with a layer or macaroni, a layer of cheese, bits of butter, salt and pepper.

continue layering until all ingredients used, ending with a cheese layer.

whisk milk and egg together, pour over the top, cover with buttered bread crumbs.

bake in 350F oven for 25-25, until browned and cooked through.

serves 4-6.

*process 2 slices of bread in the food processor, toss with 2 to 3 tsp of butter

hmm. ok i would need to get the macaroni and milk. butter – checked. cheddar cheese, left ½ block… not sure enough. get from tesco as found the kraft cheddar block the cheaper there rm9.90 only. will substitute the cayenne pepper with chilli flakes + grounded pepper. i will add some shredded chicken meat for heartier meal J

only thing is the bread crumbs… sounds like messy. have use food processor = have to clean it later. somemore the current food processor, not sure can process the bread to crumbs.. i'll just skip the bread crumbs then haha...

ok! i will make this for sunday's lunch.

going thru the recipes makes me think of what to bake for cny. and i'm itching to bake some cookies. the thing is my blender has died on me.. hmm. but lucky me! i came across a cookies which does not need creaming! yay! it's a cornflakes cookie recipe – a fave for cny which i have not made for years. hmm. ok. will see how. if I bake them, i'll post the recipe n photos J

what undies are you?

2008-12-12T03:13:00.003+08:00

keh... i tot i would get granny's panties... seriously they are real comfy and i fit perfectly into them!
i love boy shorts undies too... they create a flattering silhouette when worn.. or i would like to think so :)
normally i don't spend $$$ for undies (yea i'm not those sexy feline types, & like there's someone for me to flaunt my booties ...) but i do own a few boy shorts undies which imho a little pricey. but still got them as they were on sale (buy second for 50%), comfy and most important - able to streeeeeeeeeeetch :P
go try the quiz : http://apps.facebook.com/girlsunderwear

so long farewell, auf weidersehen adieu to cheche

2008-10-04T13:08:00.004+08:00

my cheche is the bestest cheche in the world. ok. well she somtimes can be a little big bully, a little lazy at home, have horrible temper flares, etc. but i guess these are the parts and puzzles of having a cheche. it up my life at home when she's around. soon, i shall missed her tantrum throwing and bullying as she will be packing her bags to us of a. so these few weeks i've been travelling with her, eating with her, shopping with her, eating with her whenever she's up in kl or whenever i'm down in mcca. (ok a bit low toh... but here goes...) LOVE U, CHE ... really... ans I'LL MISS U... i think... really....ha ha *sob*

時をかける少女

2008-08-05T16:41:00.010+08:00

so far the best anime movie that i've watched in 2008. the simple but life-like graphics are really pleasing to the eyes. although the story involved fictional time-leaping ideas but the characters are very believable. and the ending... *spoiler below* ...well.. teary-kinda-happy ...(ok... i'm the sappy type). on top of that, the OP and ED songs are really great too.

i was captivated throughout the movie.

go catch it - & fall in love with it....

sypnosis
When 17-year-old Makoto Konno gains the ability to, quite literally, "leap" backwards through time, she immediately sets about improving her grades and preventing personal mishaps. However, she soon realises that changing the past isn't as simple as it seems, and eventually, will have to rely on her new powers to shape the future of herself and her friends. more on wiki.

the lead, makoto konno, reminds me of yurie hitotsubashi of kamichu! ... see the resemblance above, makoto being the older yurie...

what's going on with my life

2008-06-08T12:38:00.001+08:00

truthfully. nothing. really.
and. i am just plain lazy.

anyway. i'm pretty tired as i've been working the vampire shift for more than a month. and my sleeping schedule kept changing due to this and that... making the shift work worse.

one of the biggest news of the year would be bridget and chim's transfer to uk. aAaa. i'm happy for them but a little heartbroken and will miss them dearly. lucky couple. now they can travel the whole europe. aaaAAaa ... they promised they will wait for me to do prague with them :)

hsin vonn, one of my dear girlfriend has given birth to a baby last month. aaAAaa i've yet to visit her... i'm such a rotten friend... well... everyone needs a rotten friend, eh? :P

euro 2008 is here. and my fave team trounced turkey 2-0! banzai!!

and, yea. i've changed my hairstyle.

2008-03-28T12:26:00.006+08:00

i've always wanted to play the violin... tada tada and i'll going for my first lesson tonite! yay!! guess mom would be pengsaning soon :P

being tailed...

2008-03-25T22:53:00.001+08:00

few hours ago i had a scary experience.

i often read and heard cases of cars being tailed and robbed when they stopped.

just now as i was driving to work (i work shifts) , a white myvi came up behind and kept beaming my car and put the left signal.
i was pretty worried whether my car was having some problem or something that i was not aware. of course i didnt stop or slow down, but i did check all my signals and everything was fine.

{
i had the same experience before on highway on my way back from hometown but it was broad daylight and i stopped at the nearest reststop with the busiest section (after making sure the lorry that tailing n beaming n honing me passed me...). everything was ok... i was baffled and then angry...
later when i was on the road again i noticed the lorry was infront of me and a wira stopped by the road side. i guess this car suffered the same fate but NO they shouldnt have stopped in the middle of no where in the highway. it's dangerrous... but the lorry zoomed passed... sick lorry driver.
}

so back to current issue...
i continued driving as the road to my office is desserted and had no place with loads of ppl nearby. my eyesight is pretty bad at nite and was not able to catch the car number. however, it was a white myvi .
it caught up with me so i hit the gas ... i was worried it will purposely ram sideways to my car.
then luckily they decided to give up at a junction to turn into a college nearby.
I WAS SO RELIEVED!!

i suspect it could either be some real robbers with some bad intents but thankfully they were not persistent. maybe they know there will be office blocks coming up the road with guards... i dont know...
OR
some real SICK college students having some silly high. i believe in karma, it's a cycle ... they will face their sin sooner or later
OR
really something wrong with my car? i doubt as i checked every inch of my car when i reached the vacinity of my office.

2008-03-21T16:24:00.011+08:00

many moons ago, yinna introduced me to the happy tree friends (to relieve stress wor...). i was so hooked with these cute as button cartoon that i watched every episodes they had. due to the slowness of my dial-up line, i gave up and totally forgotten about them. until a minute ago... when i stumbled across them in youtube. aaAAaa. now i can enjoy watching my easter weekend watching the cutesy cotton candy critters .... DIE ...

________h_a_p_p_y___ e_a_s_t_e_r_!_________

toothy's easter smoochie

_________you__will _never _see _cartoons _the _same _again_._._.________